Sunday, July 31, 2011

our ten days at lake powell looked like this

When Grandma and Grandpa asked us if we wanted to join them and Uncle Matt & Aunt Kerri's family at Lake Powell in July, I sadly said no thanks.  When they asked again?  I declined.  The third?  Once again, "no, thank you".  After all, no matter how much I love Lake Powell, being eight months pregnant in 100 degree heat didn't sound all that fun.  however, you can imagine the fuss the girls made when they heard that we weren't going.  Of course, Grandma isn't one to be easily deterred either, so before long I caved and we found ourselves headed to Lake Powell for a ten day trip.  When it came down to it, I just couldn't say no to the girls.

Courtney knew he wouldn't be able to join us, but we were thrilled when he ended up working in Monticello the week we left and was able to join us for a few days at least that weekend.  He headed back on Sunday, taking Claire with him to spend a fun week with Aunt Haylee and the boys.  I'll admit it- I cried when they left. 

So.  Here are approximately a hundred pictures (give or take) of our adventure.  The company was great, the weather perfect (but a little warm!), and we were at Lake Powell with Grandma, Grandpa, and the cousins.  As you can imagine, the girls had a marvelous time.

A few of the favorite games were "King Of The Tube" and "Queen Of The Noodles".   The first is played by everyone clamoring to climb on the tube and stay as long as possible while everyone is trying to yank them off/flip the tube over.  The second is a new one, invented by Ryenne.  In this game, she steals all of the noodles and tries to keep anyone from getting one.  Despite Aunt Kerri and Grandma's best efforts, it turns out that Ryenne pretty much rocks in the way of noodle thievery.  



Claire was pretty thrilled with her sole ownership of Grandma and Granpa's jet ski, as their were no other toddlers to contend with.  She thought she was pretty big stuff.


Another favorite activity of Claire's was making "birthday soup" in the tote devised for feet washing.  When she wasn't dumping sand and rocks into the water, she was sitting in it.  Needless to say, it never did a lot of good as far as feet washing goes. 





Ryenne and Kate both skied plenty, and the kids logged hours (really!) on the tube.  Even Claire gave it a whirl and thought she was the cat's meow.  We laughed from the other boat at the way she cupped her hands around the outside of her face as she tried to holler over, "How is your day going?"







Uncle Matt was the resident fisherman, and the girls had a great time "assisting" him.  Ryenne and Kate even caught a fish of their own, which they thought was the coolest thing ever.  Gutting the fish, on the other hand?  Not so cool. 





One of the afternoons was spent on the "frog hike", as the kids called it.  Aunt Kerri and Uncle Matt guided them up a narrow canyon, where they caught dozens of frogs, ranging in size from teeny-tiny to pretty big.  They were in heaven!


Headed off on their adventure. . .


Emmy caught eight tiny frogs, or "four sets of twins" as she liked to say.  She was so excited and all set to bring them home.  "I've never had a pet of my very own," she pleaded.  I held my ground and all the frogs stayed in their happy Lake Powell home.  I don't do reptiles (are frogs even reptiles?  If not, I don't do whatever they are, either.)




The next picture is definitely my favorite of the trip.  Kate was showing me her pet frog when it jumped out of her hands and onto my lap.  I freaked out just a little, and she thought it was hilarious.  I love that we caught her delight on film!


The kids requirements of a campsite were these:  1)  a place they could hike around, explore, and catch lizards.  And 2) little cliffs for them to jump from.  This campsite met both requirements and the kids spent plenty of time exploring (Ryenne, Dallin, and Jeremiah were even sure they had found Indian ruins at one point).  They also found a few perfect spots for cliff jumping.  The water was rising so fast each day, however, that by the end of the trip, the "cliffs" were almost in underwater. 

While boating down the channel one afternoon, we saw a family hiking up these "steps" on the side of the cliff.  The kids were sure they had to do it, and do it they did.  I watched from the boat (pretty sure me and my big tummy headed up the cliff wasn't such a good idea), and breathed a sigh of relief when everyone made it back safely.  The pictures don't really show how steep it was.




Ryenne, Dallin, and Jeremiah found a perfect spot across the way at which they were sure they should pitch a tent and spend the night.  After spending an hour or two painting Grandma and Aunt Kerri's toenails, fanning us off, and spritzing us with cool water, they received a "yes" and excitedly packed for their expedition.  After loading everything on the tube, they tied a rope to the "hot dog" and pulled it across the way.  It took them several hours and was dark before they finally had a spot leveled off and the tent was pitched, but they were pleased as punch with themselves.  Unfortunately a storm came up the next morning, knocked the tent over, and broke one of the poles.  After all the excitement of trying to secure their precious belongings in the middle of a downpour, they decided that the boring old houseboat would do for the rest of the trip, after all. 


Jeremiah and Dallin paddle Ryenne and the gear across the bay.



The kids were dying for a trip to the sand dunes, and had a blast climbing up and rolling/sliding/tumbling down.



I loved the sand all over Kate's face.


A favorite memory of the trip was the night the kids threw glow sticks into the water and jumped off the top of the houseboat after them.  To top off the fun, Uncle Matt lit big, monster fireworks and we all cheered from the water.  It was such a fun night.



Ryenne wake boarded for the first time!





And Emmy got up on waterskis!  She wanted to try, but would either get nervous or fall asleep before she had a turn.  Finally the day before we left, she told me determinedly, "Mom, I want to go first before I loose my nerve."  She did, trying again and again until she got up.  Way to go Emmy!


Our sleeping quarters on the top of the houseboat.  This picture was taken the last morning, after we'd made it into Bullfrog in the dark so we could pass off the boat to Uncle Shawn the next morning.  Always an adventure!


When I asked the girls if they were ready to get home (because I was sure ready to see their Daddy and Miss Claire!), they quickly said "No!"  I think they could easily live at Lake Powell.  Hopefully (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa) we'll have lots more Lake Powell trips to come.  Three cheers for another fun adventure to one of my favorite places!

Thursday, July 28, 2011

tonsil free, day three


Tuesday morning we headed to the hospital bright and early for a fun day of tonsil removal. 
These two got along swimmingly.


The best part of the day was watching Ryenne after they gave her some medicine to make her a little drowsy.

"Everything's not the way it should be," she kept giggling.


The anesthesiologist and nurses were highly entertained by Claire, who, from all accounts, talked their ears off until she dozed off.  She wasn't nearly so happy after her surgery, but after a cuddle with Dad and a quick nap, all was well.




So far, so good.  Yesterday found Claire either very happy or very. . . not happy.  Ryenne is pretty sore but is being a brave little soldier.  I'm quite proud of her as stoicism isn't usually her best gig.  She's being a trooper.  We are basically living off otter pops, popsicles, and apple juice.  (Emmy and Kate are thrilled with the arrangement.  Otter pops for breakfast?  Okay!)

So.  Three days down, seven to go.  (Mr. Doctor keeps telling me to plan on a ten day nightmare and then I won't be disappointed.) 

here comes the sun


Phew. 

That was a grouchy little post the other day.  Sometimes I amaze even myself with my grouchiness.

All is well.  Life is good.  I am smiling.

My house is still a mess.

(There are some things no amount of sunshine can resolve).

The end.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

george creek 2011


George Creek 2011
I wasn't there, but this is what I've been told:

Lots of s'mores
Cousins galore (is there anything better?)
Polar bear contest in the creek
Four wheeler rides (Emmy and Kate drove a little one by themselves and was so proud!)
Target shooting (even the girls!)
Sleeping in a tent with Dad









Fun,fun, fun!  Life doesn't get better than a good 'ol George Creek weekend!