Lake Powell.....

{and the rest of August.....}

But, let's be honest, starting a month off at LAKE POWELL.....

well, that just rocks. :)

If you noticed in my HUGE July (click here) post,  I just did, there were NO boating pictures.  

Well I spared you,  cause I knew this MASSIVE post with ALL boating pictures was on it's way!

What can I say?

We are a family of LOVE for the water, sunshine, boating and good friends.

And that's EXACTLY what this trip was!

We were invited to enjoy life on these boats!

My parents next door neighbors invited our whole fam along, and we weren't sure we were going to be able to make this trip, but it all worked out thanks to Heidi and my sis helping us with lil Korv! You guys are the BEST!!!

Chris and Natalie are seriously such great neighbors! They always have been and they are some of the kindest and most giving people in the entire world.  We were lucky to be able to spend the week around such fabulous people. :) 

A HUGE THANKS to them and my parents for taking us along!!!!!

So we loaded everything up, and hit the road.  

We were so excited to take Cam along! He couldn't wait! 

He built a hut in the backseat for Dad and him to play in for the ride. They seem to be enjoying it, don't they?

We arrived that night in quite the rainstorm, and I was kinda bummed to see such a storm, but the next morning we woke up to gorgeous blue skies and sunshine.  That is typical Lake Powell weather for ya!

That morning they loaded the houseboat up and we set sail to find a spot to park.  Ryan took the reins, but he let Cameron do some driving.;) 

Made. His. Day.

Ryan is such a stud.  He is so great with kids and is one of the most HELPFUL people I have ever met.  He NEVER hesitates to provide assistance to anyone! 

Mom and Dad tryin' out the "G skets" as Cam would say.

This was Cam's BEST FRIEND the entire time! 

Bailey!

We loved her! What a doll!!! Who knew a 11 year old was so FUN!!??

She made little friendship bracelets the first day we were there, and they became the ICON of the trip! Everyone had one before we were done.

Cameron ADMIRED his. He wore it until it fell off on November 12. That was a sad day.

 Typical day for us was: Set off on some exploring and admire the sights!

Ryan (bottom left) had a great idea to climb THROUGH this mountain.
Nice and Steep....
But as you can see....It does come out the other side.
Rex is just trying to figure out how to get down....

 Usually after exploring, we'd head back, relax, and take turns making dinner on the boat.
There was some DELISH food!
I love the pic of Cam totally CRASHED on the couch.
He wore himself out!

Cam and his creations.....

This is definitely one of my favorite things to do.....I could just ride and hang out on dads boat all day!
If you look at the bottom right pic, that is Bailey officially giving Dad his bracelet....
Cameron was concerned Grandpa wouldn't have a bracelet.

 One morning I woke up, to find Dad, Rex and Cameron on top of the mountain!
They had hiked that whole thing and Cam LOVED it!

We LOVED stopping in random spots and jumping out of the boat and swimming!

Cam adored being with Grandma and Grandpa ALL WEEK!!!! (and so did we!)

                                             

Of course, there is the slide off the back of the houseboat! Rex always being daring.....

I gotta admit, the reason I'm laughing so hard here is cause, well I just watched my mom and dad slide down a slide!! That rocked! :)

We LIVE for tubing.  Oh it is sooooo much fun. I won't tell you how many tubes my dad has replaced since we bought these. :)

 The KIDS love riding them! By the end of the trip, Cameron was pretty tubed out. Which was fine...
Cause then the adults get to ride...and that gets FUN!!

 Rex & Cam and Kelsey & Bailey
Did I mention how fun Kelsey is too? She is married to Ryan...She is a doll!!
Loved hangin' with them!
Such a fun couple!

These pics speak for themselves....

Once again Rex and Ryan...rockin' the tubes :)

We loved going sightseeing! This is as we were getting ready to go in 

"The Cathedral"

It was GORGEOUS. The pic on the left, I snapped while laying down.  The view was gorgeous looking up.

Tight corridors once we got in between those walls!

This was my favorite spot the last time we were at Lake Powell!

Endless mountains of beauty. I really couldn't get enough of it! Amazing how high the water was this year!!

See Rex standing there on the left? And Cam looking up at him? Great perspective of just how HIGH these mountains are!

Life through the eyes of a 4 year old...

 We had to fill up on gas at Halls Crossing, so every time we stopped, we of course got some
DELICIOUS TREATS!
Aren't my parents so cute? They were so much fun!!!
I love them!

These are like my favorite pics of Cam ever.  I love his hair. 

 But most of all, these pics totally sum up this trip!

A lot of R&R happens at Lake Powell  (when there is no storms in sight)

 Of course....The famous CLIFF JUMPING.
That is always a must while at LP!
I just wish pics did their justice for how high we were!

I LOVED watching this.  We heard 2 little boys start screaming and I wasn't sure what I was going to find...

But they had caught a FROG!!!!

Cam & Jaxsons face show it all! He LOVED holding it!

Cam was so happy when Jaxson showed up to play!

 One of my other favorite things... (notice how they are all my favorites??)
a good ole fashioned LAKE POWELL shower! :)
Did I mention how sweet Kelsey is?  Isn't she cute,even with shampoo in her hair?
Natural beauty!
So glad she and Ry were there to hang with! It made the trip!!
ahhh, good times!!! :)

 2 new boat drivers.... :)

Cam LOVED when Rex drove, that meant he got to hang out with Grandpa!!
He ♥'s him!!!

The kids loved pumpin the tunes up and dancin' in the water to "DYNAMITE"!

 STUD.MUFFIN. ♥

 We decided to hit the lake early one morning while the water was smooth....We didn't get the smooth water,
but Ryan was pulling me and he was determined to get me to clear the wake...

and I came so so so so close, but clipped the far side of the wake. :(

Next time Ryan! :)

Rex wanted one last REAL.GOOD.TUBE RIDE. So he got it. 

He dominated it this time! :)

My dad is a PRO at knowing how to give such an awesome tube ride!

As Rex always tells him....

"Steve, you are a surgeon with this thing"

and it's true, so precise, and perfect in making the boat do exactly what he wants!

Sad to say, but the trip did come to an end.  I got this pic the night before we left and I loved it, cause it was like the perfect sunset to say goodbye to one of my favorite places :)

We had so much fun! Thanks again to EVERYONE!!!! :)
(ok, so the rest of August is gonna have to be a seperate post. ha ha)
** Don't you love listening to Christmas music while reading about boating??. Ah, gotta love it, right???