Lake Powel (part 2)

 We got so many great pictures this year of these kiddos (and grown-ups) playing in the fantastic Lake Powell "playground" that they needed their own post!

 Tye and Marsh before one of many crazy high cliff jumps

 Bentley surveying the scene before taking off into the water. He was seriously the bravest boy this year and jumped from some really high spots. I was so proud of him and he never made it a big deal but just sucked up his fear and went for it. He is so fun!

 

 Marsh and Joseph on a jump

 Cute Livs rockin' her shades

 Joseph waterskiing—that background is just too beautiful

 I fit in my annual waterskiing, in the middle of the day even! We hit some unusually glassy water one afternoon while my whole little family was out with my dad on the Malibu. My kids were super excited at the prospect of seeing my ski so I had to pull out my A game. It was pretty fun to hear them cheering and rooting me on!

 One of my favorite LP pics of all time—pure joy on that girl's face!

Cute blonde girl up on the red rocks

 Brave Livs trying out some higher jumps

 Family jump with uncle Marshall a little hidden in the back

Stacey and I got our nerves up and tried out some cliff jumps too. I don't think I've jumped from this high in many, many years but it was pretty fun—total adrenaline rush!

 Glassy morning glory

 Beans cruising around on the knee board

Late one afternoon we wanted to hike around the cliffs by our site and so we took these kiddos while Luke napped. It was such a sunny, hot day that we had to keep taking dips in the lake along the way to cool off (even though we were mostly soaking wet already.) 

 Our houseboat is peeking out of the left hand side of this picture. We had such good shelter from morning sunshine and crazy wind due to these big cliffs.

On our last night we made a little campfire, lit sparklers on the beach, and made s'mores. It was Luke's first s'more (I always like to put him to bed before we do fires :) Stacey caught that classic shot of my Dad jumping up because Luke had just burned him with a sparkler...ergo, Luke and fires don't mix well!

 Cute pics of snuggly cousins

The boys pulled out their handyman skills and fixed a sinking wave runner. I think they were pretty proud of their work and the machine held up great for the rest of our stay. Meanwhile the kids gave themselves relaxing spa treatments in the "special, soft sand."

The saddest part of our trip began with Tye's busted up finger from a ricocheting ski rope handle. It got worse and worse after he hurt it so he and my parents made a plan to head to Page early the next morning and get him an x-ray, but just before they drove off in the boat that morning, my mom tripped on something in the dark houseboat and really hurt her toe. She went with the boys anyway to find out if she had broken her toe and we ended up with two broken patients! They were both badly hurt but rallied for our last day on the lake. 

 

All too soon it was time to head back to the marina and unload off the lake. It was perfect timing really as Mason was getting sick, Tye's injury was not feeling good, and all the littles were worn totally out. It's always hard to leave this beautiful place though—such an awesome family tradition!

 

Our 2014 Lake Powell crew.
Thank you mom and dad for yet another amazing LP adventure!

Postscript: we pulled off the lake on a Saturday and decided to make the quick 2 hour drive to St George to stay for the rest of the weekend and unwind before heading home. As soon as we got to the SG house our kids were searching for their swimsuits so we could take them up to the pool! Never enough water play for these guys: