Lake Powell

Josh and I decided that it's time that we take the plunge and get our family to Lake Powell.  We've each been as single kids, but it's been years and years.  We've wanted to take the family but just haven't found the right time or way to do it until now.  And honestly this is the first year that all the kids are old enough that we can actually take them all without worrying too much about tiny babies.  So the planning and packing began.  We knew we were going to camp but wanted to take the right stuff without overpacking too much.  We got some good ideas about meals and gear from friends that have gone and started getting prepped.  We did a trial pack of the boat to make sure we knew how much space we had before we actually packed the coolers and bins.  We had a pretty good idea of what we would need.  And off we went!

We drove down after work on Wednesday night and stayed overnight in the hotel near Bullfrog Marina.  We crammed into one hotel room but were so glad to just have a place to sleep that we all fell asleep instantly.  We woke up and had a quick breakfast on the go then headed to the dock to load up and get on the water.  By the time we got in the water it was about noon and it took us about an our or two to find the perfect spot.  We ended up in a canyon called Iceberg Canyon and found a great spot that backed up to a big cove.  The sand bar had a rock ledge all the way around it so it was easy to anchor the boat right up next to the shore and get our stuff out.  We felt so lucky to get such a good spot.  It was pretty much the hottest part of the day by the time we anchored and unloaded so we went back out for a couple hours and got some water time in.  When it was time for dinner, we were all hungry and ready to eat and relax.  The evenings were the best there and cooled off a little bit but never got too cold.  We all slept in a light sleeping bag and tent except Rease who set up each night in the boat.  Rhen started out in the boat with her the first night but got afraid of the bats that flew around so finished the week in the tent with the boys.  The nights became one of the most magical times there with stars the filled the black sky and a dead quiet that was so relaxing.  We were mesmerized by this place that we had all heard so much about but were just starting to experience!

Right around the corner from our camp was a great little cliff jumping spot.  The kids found it first as they were exploring and swam around the corner to find these awesome rocks to jump off.  They came back and got us and we cliff jumped there every day from that day on.  We usually spent most of the morning hanging out at camp, skipping rocks, playing games and reading.  Our camp was shady until almost 11:00 every day which was amazing!  We loved relaxing in the mornings and exploring around there before we got out on the water.  

Once we were out we skied and wakeboarded in the canyon and then just out into the main channel there was a good spot up near the wall that stayed pretty calm usually.  We were always on the look out for spots to jump and we found a cool little spot that the kids instantly named "Gru's nose". 

The kids have had quite a bit of boat time this year and are all feeling pretty comfortable with their wakeboarding, kneeboarding and skiing.  They are all getting really good!  We were usually in the water for most of the afternoon and by 4:00 or so we would find a shady spot to let the boat just float and we'd stay cool.  I loved this time of day - we had dance-offs, played cards, guessed songs, had snacks and sometimes just sat there enjoying the incredible surroundings.  

Evening at camp was always fun.  We had good food and someone was in charge of dishes each meal.  We washed in the lake and took baths a couple of times.  It was the best (and I wish I would have gotten a picture of it) when Josh told the boys to strip down cause they were going skinny dipping.  They all took their clothes off and then I promptly made them put life jackets back on before they got in the water.  So all the boys had life jackets and bare bums as they scrubbed and washed and swam across our little cove.  Desh still talks about how much fun he had "skinny dipping" at Lake Powell!

The last day we were there the boat had a hard time starting.  It was a little freaky cause we had no way to get back if we actually were broken down.  We did finally get it started (after a prayer and lots and lots of trying) and once we did, we didn't dare turn the boat off again.  So we let it idle while we packed up the camp and then left our gear so we could spend the day skiing.  We did all we could and all we wanted to do before we headed back to camp in the late afternoon to pack up the boat.  

We had to say goodbye to our camping cove and I may have shed a tear or two as we drove away.  We had the most fantastic and magical week on the lake and all agreed that we want to come back every year.  September turned out to be the perfect time for weather.  We were hot during the day and just perfect at night while we slept.  We luckily had no wind and no big problems with our boat.  We may have gotten lucky on our first trip there but it got us good and hooked.  We all officially LOVE Lake Powell!

 

Labor Day scones and pickle ball

The 7th annual scones and pickle ball tournament is here!  I can't believe we've been here long enough to have our 7th year already, but it's still going as strong as ever!  We love having the neighborhood gather and enjoy the beautiful day together.  The food is always delicious and the pickle ball tournament gets more competitive every year.  The pickle platter is still around and now holds the names of the past 7 winners.  Gracie and Connor joined us this year and took home the trophy!

 

Cabin work day

We had a family work day at the cabin this weekend and got a lot of winterizing stuff done up there.  Papa put the kids in charge of hauling the newly cut wood from the side of the cabin to the wood pile.  They were so cute and made good use of the size of their group and formed an assembly line.  It started with Keen and passed through all the young ones then ended with Rease and Rhen stacking it nicely.  It was actually very effective and they were done with the job in no time!

 

Misha's wedding

My good friend and fab five member got married today!  She has been single for a few years now and found someone that makes her totally happy and I couldn't be more happy for her!  We got to be there at the reception and we all picked up right where we left off 20 years ago.  Love these ladies to death.  

 

Beck Principal's Pride

Beck was the first one in his class to receive the Principal's Pride award!  He got it the very first week of school and his teacher, Mrs. Johnson, was so sweet about him.  Because of covid they don't allow parents in the school this year, but she sent me a picture of cute Beck and the principal.  Good work Beck!

 

Summer of Heroes

This year we have been studying the Book of Mormon together.  As we went through the long book of Alma this summer we learned about some of the "heroes" in the book.  It was fun to look forward to studying a new hero each week and try and figure out what they did to make them the hero.  We talked a lot about using the same qualities for ourselves and making a hero out of each one of us.  It was pretty cool to take a look at the end of the summer and see all those that we had learned about.

 

Roostery

Meet Roostery.  He is Beck's friend and constant companion.  We welcome him as part of the family. 

 

Corona laughs

Some things are just funny...and even though the world is as it is right now I have to just laugh!

 

Keen's Baptism

We had such a special day today as Keen Gregory was baptized!  He is the sweetest boy and has been looking forward to his baptism for months.  He knows what an important decision it is to be baptized and has been very thoughtful about it.  We're so proud of him and know he's going to continue to be a strong force for good.  

This baptism was especially meaningful for me and I was touched by the spirit throughout the meeting.  We have had quite an interesting year with the pandemic and are still in the middle of trying to navigate how to do things best.  Because of it, we were limited to 18 people at the church, so it was quite clear that we would have to limit even family members from joining us.  Aside from the 8 of us, Keen had just a few that he could invite.  He knew right away that he wanted Ranger and Canyon there with him along with both sets of grandparents.  He also invited our neighbors Darrel and Angela (who are new to Utah and very new in their knowledge of the church.)  And that was that.  We had a small, sweet group and I kept thinking "This is just who should be here." We were able to gather and focus on Keen and the important day it was for him.  And to listen to the words that had been prepared and the ordinance itself.  It was pretty special and powerful and I know the spirit touched each of those that were in the room.  

As we sat and wrote down some words for Keen afterward I knew that this would be a moment that I would remember forever.  I'm so grateful that we had the chance to be together as a small group who love each other and who love the Lord.  Keen is destined for greatness and I could feel that today! 

 

Overnight bike ride

Josh and Andy have been wanting to do another overnight ride on Wasatch Crest before the season ends.  They finally decided on a day and packed up to go.  Josh said it was an incredible ride that evening before they stopped halfway to spend the night.  They slept in their hammocks and then got up early the next morning to finish the trail.  The pictures are amazing with the sun setting and rising over those mountains!  They had a great time together and I'm so glad they have something that the both love to do!  Sounds like this is a yearly tradition in the making...

 

Pep Band

Rease has absolutely loved being in the marching band.  They practiced so hard over the summer with 3 weeks of camp and have continued 3 day a week practices since then.  It has been so good for her to work hard for something and love what she's doing!  One of the cool things they get to do besides prepping for their competitions, is play at the home football games.  This is the first game of the season and they were so excited to play for their team!  We are looking forward to a fun season ahead!

 

Keen's 8th birthday!

Keen turned the big #8 this year!  He really wanted to have a Smash Bros party so I made his cake to go along with it.  He had a few of his favorite friends come and they played video games for 2 hours and had a blast!  I have a feeling that we have many video game birthday parties in our future...

8 year old stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 4'8" - 99%

Weight: 71 lbs. 3 oz. - 89%

My favorite things about 8 year old Keen:

1) Keen is big and tall and especially this last year has seemed to shoot up like a weed!  But even though he looks like he's older, he's still a little boy at heart.  He loves to play games, is still a really thoughtful little boy especially to me, and can laugh and cry within 15 seconds of the other depending on what is happening to him.  His emotions are all over the place at times and I have to remind myself that he's still just a young kid, though he may not look it!

2) Keen plays really hard!  When he's awake, he is jumping, kicking, running, screaming, climbing, wrestling, bouncing, asking a zillion questions, playing, teasing, punching, laughing, hitting, and anything else that he can find to do.  He has energy that won't quit and always wants to do something with it - which unfortunately turns out to be something to or with his brothers. (One of them is usually crying or fighting at all times of the day.)  But when the day is over, Keen is the first one to fall dead asleep on his pillow.  It's usually within 2 minutes of laying down on his bed and I can see why.  He exerts every bit of energy while he's awake, then crashes the minute he can to replenish for the next day.  Oh do I have a life ahead of me with this kid...

3) Keen LOVES pokemon cards!  He is crazy about them and always wants to play and trade and reorganize his binder.  All he wanted for his birthday this year was a new set of pokemon cards.  He is so cute as he's trying to always trade up for the best card he can find!

We love this boy and look forward to an energetic life ahead of him!  Happy Birthday Keen!
 

Cool

This one is taking full advantage of the time he has as the only one at home while the other kids are at school.  He claims the front seat and dons the glasses as if he owns the place.  I guess he kind of does...

 

First day of school

Can you believe we actually made it to the first day of school?  I think we were all nervous that we would actually never make it here, but the coronavirus can't stop this from happening!  There are a few changes things year as the schools are trying to figure out how to keep the kids safely in school but we're so glad that we're trying it and getting these kids back into the classroom.  They have a shortened week and only go to school Monday-Thursday with Friday being a "cleaning" day and also a day that kids can get extra help if needed.  They also have to wear masks all day, which is a big bummer but they don't seem to be too worried about it yet.  We will see how the year goes.  We are hoping for a year of fun and staying in school! And I can't hardly believe that all 6 of them are in school!  Desh starts preschool this year and is so excited that he gets to be like the other kids.  I'm amazed at the time that seems to be flying by.  Love these kids and am so proud of each of them in the stages they're in!

 

Hiking Mt. Timp

Josh, Rease, Rhen and I had an ambitious goal to hike Mt. Timpanogas this year.  I've never hiked it in all my years of living in Utah and we all wanted to say that we'd done it.  So we've been training for it this summer and finally the day arrived.  We stayed at the cabin the night before so that we could get up early and get on the trail while it was still dark.  We figured it would be good to get some miles behind us before the sun came up and it got too hot.  Turns out, it was a really smart thing to do - and an idea that many other people had as well!  When we got to the trailhead at 3:30 am there were already lots of headlamps along the trail ahead and above us.  We set out in the dark with our headlamps and map showing us the way.  It was actually really fun to hike in the dark and we felt like we were making lots of good progress.  The girls did great - only a couple times that we had to sit down and really talk through how we were actually going to make it all the way to the top and what kind of effort that would take.  They waffled back and forth between good and bad attitudes (with a few tears here and there) but finally decided that they were going to do it no matter what.  Onward and upward.

As the sun was coming up we realized how gorgeous our surroundings were and took some time to enjoy the wild flowers and the incredible view.  It has been so smoky in Utah the last few weeks, so it made for a hazy sky and a bright red sun.

I have to admit, this hike was long and hard.  By the time we got through the rock field and up to the saddle where we could look out over the valley, we were all pooped.  It was another mild and half up to the top and I wasn't sure how we could make it up.  But we took a good break and then gathered our energy to traverse the side of the mountain and up to the summit.  It was rocky with lots of climbing up big boulders and some really steep switchbacks.  It was for sure the hardest and most tiring part.  When we were just a few feet away from the shack at the top, my eyes filled with tears because we had actually made it!  I was so proud of the girls and their will power to make it through something that was really hard for them and to just keep going.  We were all so happy to be up there and realize that we had done something amazing!  It was nice to take a rest before we knew we had to head back down the way we had come.  But we did enjoy the rest!

In some ways, the way down was just as hard as the way up.  It turned out to be a pretty hot day and the trail was in the sun the whole way down.  We trudged on and on and couldn't believe that we had come so far just that morning.  The trail seemed to never end!  We tried really hard to keep up the good attitudes and fight away the tears.  And we did it.  We were tired, hot, dirty and by the end, pretty grumpy.  But we did make it back to our car exactly 12 hours after we had started early that morning.  

We all felt a real sense of accomplishment as we got in the car and headed for home.  It was a tough thing physically and mentally that we had just done and we were so happy and proud to say we made it to the top!

 

Armor

We've had some extra boxes floating around the house the last couple weeks and the kids decided to do something with them.  They played in this body armor all afternoon!

 

The bike wreck

Josh and Rease took an early morning trip to Corner Canyon for a bike ride this morning.  Unfortunately Rease had a crash and burn on the way down...She's tough though.  These things only make her stronger...

 

Birthdays

We celebrate birthdays for two of my very favorite people in August! Melissa's birthday is Aug 13th and Stephanie's is Aug 24th.  We wanted to do something fun for each of their special days so we started out with a girls sleepover at the cabin.  We stopped for dinner at Thai Land on the way down and once we got to the cabin we sat down and had a night full of playing Sky-Jo.  Melissa made cinnamon bear popcorn and we each brought a treat to share with everyone for the evening.  It was so fun to be together and have such a great place to stay.  We got up early the next morning and paddle boarded at Deer Creek for a few hours.  I haven't done much paddle boarding so it was an adjustment to get my balance figured out.  But it was soooo fun!  We had a great morning with perfect weather for it.  

And for the other special day we got a group together to go to Top Golf.  It's always fun when we got there even if I'm not a very good golfer.  The food is yummy and we had two pods side by side that we could all hang out together and chit chat back and forth. 

Such a fun month of celebrating these two wonderful friends!

 

St. George

Our annual end of summer trip to St. George is here!  Robin and Guy are always so generous to let us stay in their house down there and we look forward to it every year!  This is our van all packed and ready to go for the week!

Once we get there we basically do the same thing every day.  We wake up in the morning and take an early morning hike before the sun heats everything up.  Then we have lunch and sometimes a nap and then spend the rest of the day at the pool. At night we watch movies, play games, eat treats and then start over the next day.  It's amazing.  Here are some highlights from our week:

The kids always request to hike at the Dixie Rocks at least one of the days every year we go.  It's super fun with lots of little hideout spots to discover.  Both Roosteries, Waaa Waaa and Buzzard came along for the hike today and we had to get a picture of all of them together.  

The pool is soooo fun down there and when I say we spend hours there every day, I'm not lying.  Literally we are there for 3 or 4 hours a day.  It's the best way to beat the heat!

Last year we discovered the White Rocks hike and the kids wanted to do it again this year.  It's really fun to see the contrast between the white and red rocks and this place has a lot of open rock that the kids always love to run around on.

Keen's birthday is usually smack in the middle of our St. George week and this year we celebrated again while we were there!  I'm sure another day of cake and presents is coming when we get home, but for now these gifts and a trip to Nelson's Frozen Custard did the trick! Happy Birthday Keen Gregory!

Josh met us down there for the last couple days and we loved having him with us!  We took a hike together in Snow Canyon and went on the Pioneer Names trail.  It was really cool cause we climbed up the rocks and saw names that had been written in wagon grease when the pioneers came through.  It was really cool to see!  

This is such a fun week that we get to spend together before the kids all get back into school and we're so grateful that we got to be there!  

Next up?  We'll see if school actually starts for the kiddos this year...Corona has messed everything up...

 

Wasatch Crest

Andy requested one thing for his birthday this year - to ride Wasatch Crest together.  We were happy to oblige!  Josh and Andy have ridden this together a couple of times, but this was my first time and it was just as incredible as they said it was!  We started up Guardsman's Pass and had a bit of a climb at the beginning.  But once we got to the top of that pass, it was lots of downhill and traversing and just a little bit of uphill here and there.  It was absolutely gorgeous the whole ride!  It was so fun to see the valleys from up top and the wildflowers were out in full bloom.  I could not get enough of the scenery that we were riding through and kept thinking how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful state!  We had a really fun group and stuck together most of the ride - though I always bring up the rear which is totally fine by me.  I hope this is Andy's request every year cause I would gladly do this again!