Summer Summer

Loved our summer! It was fun to have our baby on a flexible schedule and do so so much together. Plus, he really enjoys all of it this year too and that has made it our favorite summer ever. Now getting out and doing tons with 4 kids in tow is super tricky and takes a lot out of me—I swear I'm always missing a child or I forget something crucial while we're out (swim diaper, stroller, sunblock, my own sandwich, etc...) but we forge ahead. We made a pretty generous bucket list back in June, and before school started we had done all of it but hike Donut Falls! (and we can save that for a lovely fall weekend).

Some of the fun included the following:

BYU day with cousins

 Blackridge Reservoir with LeB cousins:

  

 

 Trying out a new hike:

This one is up Yellow Fork Canyon in the Oquirrhs just a few miles west of us

Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum with my old BYU friends and their kiddos:

 

 

 2 sessions of tennis lessons:

 Tons of swims at the Draper Pool and a few visits to the library:

7 Peaks!

Other highlights captured by the iPhone:

Biking date with Cec and Chad up Emigration Canyon followed by breakfast at Ruth's Diner

A farewell date with Nanny and Grandpa at Fat Cats:

(we had planned to do Draper pool but afternoon thunder showers had closed the pool that day)

Hitting 1500 miles on my bike exactly 1 year after installing my odometer.

 Not too shabby, but by Labor day next year I want to have ridden at least 2000 more. I'm a little obsessed but it truly feels so good—it's such an amazing workout and I still have so much to improve on and I just feel happy doing it. This world is too beautiful for me and being out in it working hard and breathing fresh air just does it for me. 

Plus, I sort out all kinds of things in my head while I'm riding!

Our crazy August storms toppled this lovely tree in our backyard. It had been weakened by a pest—some kind of grub—and just couldn't withstand the fierce winds that day. So sad to loose such a great shady tree!

Fun picture of these girls at Maddie's 8th birthday party:

Fun picture of my delicious boy after we ate at Los Hermanos and he was so smeared up with beans that I had to dress him in the spare onesie I had in my purse. He is just too cute for me :)

A pic of the kids and me all wearing Keens in LP last month:

Funny boys on a date night with BYU friends (same ones I went to the dino museum with). We used to go out as couples all the time in our college days and it was too fun to get together again and laugh and laugh until our bellies ached. Love these great friends!

And a few more shots of riding buddies:

Heather and I rode the Mountain View Corridor one morning last month

(she was already needing to be out west for her son's soccer game so we started and ended and at his field by Jordan Landing)

 

With my hubby on the newish Murdock Canal Trail that runs from Alpine 

all the way to Provo Canyon.

More LP 2013

 Some action shots of the divers. My parents were giving them scores on each dive, Beans may have lost some for his split legs here :) These two seriously could have practiced diving the whole day. They became fast pros—practicing can have that effect!

 Playing on the boat and Stacey's cute pregnant bump

 Livs and I had a nice, slow tube ride together. My little siblings taught me these cool tubing moves a hundred years ago...

Bentley and Cares had a more exciting ride full of laughter and lots of screams thanks to Cares!

 Cutest freckled Cares :)

 My blonde boating girl

 Heading up Antelope Canyon (I think...)

 In the July heat, shady canyon walls are our favorite. This one turned out to have a great little cliff jumping spot too (but none of the pics of jumpers turned out...)

 Our little LP family (felt so small and easy to have just 3 kids!)

 Back at the house boat taking a paddle board turn. 

I'm laughing at how white the backs of my legs are!

 

Beans on the paddle board. He was a rock star on it.

 

Joseph's turn

 Livs at the cliff jumping spot just a short swim from the houseboat.

 Brave girl jumping in with her daddy!

Sea-doo rides with uncles—long standing LP tradition

 Trying to make the slip-n-slide work. I think we needed a steeper beach and slipperier bums :) 

But look at that sand–too pretty.

 Bean the skiing machine! He was a pro at the trainer ski this year and had several successful runs.

 I had some fun skiing too :) It's just the perfect place to do it—warm water and perfect, morning glass. So fun. But I sure pay for it the next day 

(sore in muscles I never use except for getting up on a ski!)

Love these houseboat drivers!

Lake Powell 2013

This vacation is always a highlight of summer. We think about it and plan for it from the day school ends and dream about our fun time playing in the water and with family non-stop. It's just our favorite natural playground and so beautiful all around. We decided to leave our Luke home this year because he is just the busiest bear who has absolutely no fear and would be a huge bundle of stress on the houseboat and in the water. Luckily, both my big sis and Nanny were able to watch over him so we could head off without him for a few nights. The only sad part of our trip this year was that it was so short—we only slept out on the water for 3 nights! Next year we are determined to stay for the whole week with our whole crazy crew of kids (here's to Joseph not having to take 3 vacation days for pioneer trek :) We loved trek, but it was definitely tricky to add that in this summer).

 The Smith LP crew 2103

And so, Powell. It's such a gorgeous place. The adults were all talking about how when we see it each summer it takes our breath away year after year. Even though we think we remember and know we love it, it's colors and skylines, that bright blue water against the red rock and towering cliffs—too beautiful. It's one of my happiest places for sure.

 

We had the most perfect beach this year. Maybe we like the water level being low!

 

A little family of rabbits lived in the brush of the beach and we saw them regularly coming to drink from the lake and check us out. This one was super brave and let my dad walk right past him!

I took this shot from the back of the houseboat. It was fun to have our own secluded bay and swim and play in so much open water without worrying about boat traffic.

My cute dad had a new toy this year: his auger drill so we could anchor into rocks just in case we needed to. We didn't need to but he certainly wanted to try it out anyway :)

More shots of our beach and the view of Gunsight. We had such amazing clouds. Every year we have sudden rain and micro-bursts of wind and weather as the monsoons do their thing down there. We had threats every afternoon, just before dinner time but they never turned into anything–kind of a surprise. My dad may have been a little sad he never needed to fire up the props and keep us steady in a wind storm :)

 Lots of fun boating time this year—no babies felt pretty liberating and gave us such a free and easy schedule.

 Of course the kids had some great downtime on the iPads–

especially playing all of Mason's cool apps.

 My brother and his cute family. And they are expecting another baby in the new year!

 Crazy pose after lots of smiling and holding still

 Stacey and I channeled the matching vibe

 Cool boy Beans

 Livs and Mase watching as we made our way back to Wahweap at the end of our stay. It really was too short of a trip but we couldn't leave Luke too long, I had to speak in church the next day, and also had girls' camp with my YW starting the next week. Plus our babe got some gross virus while we were gone and was feverish and sad. It was good to end when we did but yes, next year we will sit back and enjoy that gorgeous place for a longer stay.

 

The best part of LP is the non-stop playtime with family. Love seeing my cute kiddos together, love seeing them make fun memories with cousins, love having so much time to swim and cliff jump and hang with my children, love playing games with the grown-ups at night, and love, love, love the great bonds my kids build with my parents. I would love to have these kind of memories with my own grandparents. I'm pretty sure my mom and dad spent a full hour with Bentley and Cares teaching them how to dive. And the next day they did it again but helping them practice and perfect their dives. What a fun thing that would only happen during our long days on the lake. Hope my kids realize how lucky they are to have these people in their lives!

More pics from the underwater camera coming in another post...