Lake Powell Adventures

 This was the first year we planned a Lake Powell trip without Jayden. We were also missing Aysia due to her mandatory Drill practices. So we were down to 2 kiddos heading to Lake Powell with the Wright Family. We told Skyler he could bring a couple of friends, but only Brayden Nault was able to join us since his other friends were either working or on vacations. The Wrights brought 2 friends as well. This year they bought into a newer houseboat which is also larger. We were able to bring down both boats and we were lucky that this trip was problem-free as far as any maintenance on any of the boats. We decided to arrive in the evening and sleep in the houseboat slip the first night so we would be prepared to leave bright and early. This years indoor activity of choice for the kids was bead art. Luckily the messes were held to a minimum with the beads since the kids are a little older and somewhat more responsible.

We found an amazing campsite upstream in Crystal Springs canyon. There was a large sandy beach and we had shade for a majority of the day which is a must. Luckily both Taylor and Bart both moved our boats away from a large crevasse in the canyon wall just in case we had a large rain storm. They knew a large waterfall could form in that area. So we made sure to be clear of that area and the guys were right. We had a couple of large storms that quickly came up and down poured for a few minutes. That short storm was heavy enough that the crevasse created a waterfall that lasted for hours and obliterated the beach that was just underneath it. We were safe and loved the storm and all the waterfalls it created, but it was a good reminder how scary things can get so quickly. 

Mom and Shonnie decided to take a nice easy ride on the tube while dad was pulling us with the boat. It was a little more wild than we anticipated, but we laughed so hard that the only sore part of our bodies after the ride were our stomachs.

 We brought the Lily-pad again this year which was a hit last year. King of the mat is always a must. From cliff jumping to paddle boarding and building sand castles to tubing and surfing... it was a perfect trip other than missing our favorite oldest daughter and oldest son.  Auri was even able to get up on the surf board for the first time this year with Skyler's help. It was definitely a relaxing vacation which is just what we needed as we are getting ready for the kids to start another school year.