Lake Powell

 

The boys- L-R: Aiden, Ned, Lincoln, Chandler, Owen

Lake Powell is always a great time!  This year, we were able to stay the whole time- July 18-27.  Zach and I had to pull away just a little at the beginning.  We dropped the kids off at the houseboat Thursday night, then drove to Jodi and Chris's house to spend the night so we could head over to Delta first thing the next morning to attend Grandma Char's funeral.  The boat went over to Gunsight Bay on Friday, while we were at the funeral and then we ferried over to the Houseboat after attending the funeral. The kids were amazing while we were away- everyone said they helped each other out and took care of themselves very well.  

At Grandma Char's graveside

Grandma Char and Papa Ed at their wedding.  Papa Ed looks just like Zach at that age!!

Lydia, Nyle, West

We had a pretty full boat.  Eric had Tara, Angel, Chloe and Sahil, Chandler, Kendall, and Crue from his family with Kylee and Seth joining us for the last 2 days.  Jamie had Jackson and Lydia with her. Brandon was in Washington D.C. attending an F.B.I. class and Peyton on his Mission.  Darrin had his whole family: Tiff, Tana, Aiden and Bowen. Rick had Janae, Owen, Clara and Grant with Wyatt in the Mexico MTC on his mission.  We had our whole family and then we were missing Tammi and Kevin's family. 

Grandma's turn at lick-it-guess-it

Sunday we had church services with two talks and then the adults did a CFM lesson, the youth did a CFM lesson- led by Lincoln and Tana, Gwen and Kendall led a primary lesson for Nyle, West, and Grant. 

That evening Janae had planned a family olympics round of games and then a sensory lick-it-guess-it game.  

We were all laughing to tears on many occassions.  I'm proud to say, the Hills family represented well and scored the Gold!

One of the Olympic games- had to pick up the bag with teeth and only one leg.  Each round, the bag's top was cut to make it more challenging.  Ned represented well and earned us the Bronze. Tana took Silver and Crue- Gold

Zach represented us in the game of blowing the cups off the table only using a balloon. 

Oreo from forehead to mouth game- Success for Zach!

Gwen struggled a bit- but eventually got it, earning us a medal!

Lincoln and West worked together- West putting vaseline on Lincoln's nose and Lincoln picking up cotton balls and depositing them on another plate.  They earned us a gold!

After the Sunday games, the rest of the week was devoted to working on various surfing/wakeboarding/skiing goals.  

Ned and Gwen learned to slalom ski- earning a hoodie in the process. 

Nyle and I learned to surf without the rope- earning a beanie. 

West learned to do a switch-180 on the wakeboard- earning himself a beanie

Gwen, Ned, and Zach jumped off a toilet bowl cliff jump- earning a beanie for Gwen and Ned.

Lincoln had already earned many items in previous years so he spent the majority of his time working on honing his surfing skills. 

Ned also enjoyed honing his surfing skills.

Zach was the designated tube-puller. I think he quickly became a favorite Uncle with how often and how expertly he pulled those tubes. He was able to pull the boys crazy enough to give them the adrenaline rush they wanted.  

We ate tons of amazing meals.

Ned modeling his earned beanie and hoodie

Toilet-bowl plunge 

On Friday, Chris and Jodi joined us and took us tubing and to Face Canyon- one of our favorite places to go. 

The slot canyons at Face Canyon-- this is where we had to dodge a hungry carp who kept trying to nibble on us--it was a little creepy.

Bite-testing our Gold's earned from Family Olympics

Gwen and Kendall

Eric captured this amazing picture of the Moon Rising

4th of July Weekend

We love going to visit Jodi and Chris for the 4th of July.  My three youngest boys tell me their house is their favorite place on earth.  They spend almost all of their time outside with cousins, playing with animals (Sally the Cat is their favorite), jumping on the trampolines, playing night games, or just generally running around.  

This year, we started off our trip with helping Chris put on a July 4th day full of events for his town.  We helped him cook and serve breakfast for 160 people, and then cook and serve lunch for even more.  

In between breakfast and lunch, Jodi packed us all in her big white van to go watch the parade downtown.  We showed up a little late and missed the first few floats, but somehow managed to grab the best spot to sit--right under a tree that shaded us the entire parade!  

Ned got to drive the train over to the park for it to be used during the town's July 4th festivities

Lunchtime on the 4th with cousins

watching the neighbor's firework show at Dallas and Tim's

Some of the firework show in Richfield

Our perfect backpacking campsite

The day after the 4th we started the day off floating down the canal--a favorite activity for some of the kids. It's fun and a little freaky as we have to float underneath the freeway in a spider-infested tunnel.  The kids love it!  

That evening, we loaded up our gear for a backpacking hike up the canyon.  We hiked across the stream 5 or 6 times, crossed under the freeway, and eventually found this picturesque camping spot right next to the stream.  

Nyle learned a little about eating the right nutrition after battling an upset stomach, but after a few trips to the bathroom (aka the trees behind our campsite), he was fine and able to enjoy the rest of our journey. 

Ned's peeking his head out of his hammock as we all rouse for the day.

Nyle and West getting ready to heat up their instant oatmeal breakfast.

Roasting hot dogs for dinner

After our backpacking trip, the kids did their favorite thing--play with cousins in the backyard.  Lincoln went off to play pickleball with Heston and James, while the remaining kids roasted hot dogs, played with Sally, and worked on their gymnastic tricks on the trampolines and air mattresses.  They ended the night with a few rounds of "Freeze Tag" and "No Bears Out Tonight" in the dark.  

The kids were reluctant to leave Sunday afternoon.  They had so much fun and we were heading back into 120-degree weather!  Fortunately, we made a quick stop in to visit Grandma Hills on our way home, who quickly prepared dinner and cookies.  We were so glad we got to see her before we finished our drive home.