Lake Powell...because one good campout deserves another.

No matter where I travel or by what I am awed, Lake Powell always leaves me the most breathless! Something about the red rock makes me happy. The warm water allows cold water wimps like me to ski all day. The clear night skies allow me to see millions of beautiful stars. The sandstone arches and formations make me wonder about the landscape's geological history (Geek alert!). I could go on and on and on.....
Lake Powell has always been a special place for Mike and me. It was where Mike told me he first loved me. Never mind my response was, "No you don't!" In my defense, we had only been dating for about two weeks. Besides about a month later we were engaged anyway. LOL
We haven't made it down since having kids so we were excited to introduce them to the wonder of Powell this year. We were also excited our awesome friends, the Elletts, were able to join us. We are even more excited they are still friends with us after Everett puked all over the boat and gave everyone the stomach flu. LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!
The trip wouldn't have been the same without Mike's dad joining us. If you were to look up "Grandfather" in the dictionary and add a ton of awesomeness you would have Ted Bollinger. He is the coolest Grandfather a kid could ask for and by far the best FIL I could ask for. He was a trooper for putting up with SIX little ones. They all flocked to him and there was one point he had them all out on a tube and us parents thought about ditching them just to get a break. We opted not to, but the kids were all calling him Grandpa by the end of the trip. :)
Just chillin' on the boat. It is baffling just how much STUFF five adults and six kids can accumulate! It was a tight squeeze till we found our camping spot. We always have a good time with the Elletts. Our kids are about the same ages and we all LOVE the outdoors.
They have three ADORABLE girls so Summy was in heaven. Ev was in heaven too. He followed Kiera around and kept telling me he was going to marry her. Lil stud. As the oldest in the group, Trace took it upon himself to order everyone around. He's lucky he got little opposition. Except when he tried to boss Mommy around. THAT didn't fly.
Last time we were at RAINBOW BRIDGE the trail had washed away and we couldn't get very close. I was happy we were able to hike right up to it this time around. Even Summy made the journey albeit mostly on Daddy's shoulders. Trace was ecstatic when the ranger showed us a Dilapasaurus footprint and I was ecstatic when they sprayed us with their water bottles. It was scorching hot!
We found a great little campsite where a short hike lead to a pond of tadpoles. I ADORE frogs so I got really excited about them. Trace is my little science buddy so he got excited too. I am so glad we can be nerds together. :)
Who doesn't love roasting marshmallows by a good ole campfire? We were lucky to be entertained by Everett as he told heart stopping ghost stories in his sweet little voice. We also had an appearance by Brett Michaels........wait.......oh it's just me! Ha ha ha.

I found this little gem on the boat and simply HAD to ski in it. It was too tight, itchy, smelled funny, had only one collar and was TOTALLY uncomfortable. Still, I paid my respects to the 70's and sported it it while boarding until it took my breath away. No I am serious! I couldn't breathe and had to get out of this thing.
The skiing was FANTASTIC!!! I have never wake boarded so close to the canyon walls! I didn't realize just how close we all got until we watched the video later. We skied hard and CRASHED even harder at times. Still worth it. :)
The best darn flagger this side of Bullfrog! Summy loved her life jacket so much we had to force her to take it OFF!!! We also had to PRY the flag out of her hands when nobody was actually in the water.
Well Powell, once again you have mystified me and made me long for the next time I get to enjoy your warm waters, your sandy beaches, your beautiful scenery.............sigh. Till next year.

A camping we will go.........

I have to say some of our fondest memories are from our camping trips. We kicked of summer this year with an adventure which took us to Green River, Goblin Valley and Moab. We were very excited Bubba and Tiffany were able to join us.
The first place we checked out was Goblin Valley. None of us had ever been there so it was a visual treat for us all! It is true what they say about GV, it really DOES look like another planet! It was a ginormous playground for all of us as we climbed over the "goblins" and shared what we thought they looked like. Some were more G-rated than others. ;) I also think this is where Summy gave Tiffany the name, "Tinky", by which she has been called ever since.

We even had a Sasquatch sighting!

Oh wait! It's just Everett.
The next stop on our outdoor adventure was Little Wild Horse Canyon. We hiked through deep canyons with sandstone walls that were spectacular! I even made time for some yoga. lol
I am blown away by the beauty found in our state. I am often so wrapped up in the business of life I take for granted the fact I am surrounded by beauty in all directions. And there has always been something about the desert that makes me happy. Perhaps it is because I think I am cold-blooded. Seriously, I am ALWAYS cold and am perfectly content in triple digit heat!
Back at the campsite the fun continued. I cannot tell you how grateful I am Summy likes the outdoors. However I am even more grateful for her ability to maintain feminine grace while covered in dirt from head to toe. She carried this truck around calling it her "truck purse".
Everett is our anxious helper. Whether it's laundry or setting up the tent, he is willing to lend a hand and smiles the whole time. :) He has his daddy's contagious smile and his sweet little voice brightens all our days.
And finally Tracy, our car guy. From the time he was a tiny little dude he has had a love of all things with wheels. Mike made this dune buggy when he was younger and now Trace takes it everywhere to test it's "off-road abilities". He is growing up way to fast but I am so darn proud of him!
Since marrying into the Bollinger family I have learned they are never far from technology. Even in a TENT!
Camping is definitely one of my favorite past-times. I hope Summy continues to enjoy camping as well. I was always jealous of the Boy Scout's camping trips and hated the so-called "camping" in Young Women's. No offense! I foresee some rugged adventures for my daughter and me in the future. I foresee some shopping trips thrown in too. ;) We must stay well rounded right?
Our adventure continued with a stop at Tuscher Tunnel.
Then we were off to............MOAB! And I am happy to announce that my Disco came home with neither body damage nor we didn't get stuck in a rushing river bed! I call that success. And one more day of happy marriage. JK
We spent our final day exploring Green River. We went to a geyser, unsuccessfully searched for dinosaur bones, got a flat tire, and discovered a beautiful sandy beach.
WHAT A TRIP!

Fathers and Sons Campout

Thursday night Troy called and said that his ward had a fathers and sons campout on Friday, and wanted to see if we could go. After talking with Leesa, we decided I'd take the boys with Troy and Deacon. The Kids Had a great time getting dirty, throwing things in the fire, and playing with the other kids. Troy and I forgot to get plates, or utinsels for that matter, so here's some pictures of Everett and Deacon using their "Plastic Bag Plate", Troy Eating some Ketchup.

Everett even got a glipse of Sasquatch, but it turned out to just be Tracy.

The Great Outdoors

This weekend we headed for the canyons for some good old camping. We went with our good friends the Elletts and the Burton's as well as my bro and his wife. I was a little nervous taking seven-week-old Summer but she was a real trooper! She might as well get used to it now because we love the outdoors in our fam. We had some good times roasting mallows, teaching the kids about "blue darts", off-roading and just relaxing in the beautiful mountains. I organized a treasure hunt for the kiddies and made up a cheezy legend about a pirate named Ebekaneazer. Yeah, I know, when have you heard about Utah pirates? That is why it is a legend folks. Besides, they had fun and soaked up every bit of it.
The fun was a bit interrupted when we realized we were in the same area in which a boy was drug out of his tent by a bear last year and killed. There was a time I was alone at our campsite with Trace and Summer when I suddenly heard rustling in the bushes. Now, not to toot my own horn, but I don't scare easily and I was FREAKING OUT! I have learned that you are supposed to make a lot of noise to scare off black bears so Trace and I started banging sticks and yelling out. Part of me thought maybe it was a hiker and they were getting a kick out of our ridiculous behavior, but I would rather be safe than sorry. Well, I put Trace behind me (the cars were all gone) as I saw a glimpse of light brown in the bushes. Now I was like "Oh, crap! It's a mountain lion and my kids are lunch-size." I was ready to kick some lion butt when I saw two large ears poke up through the brush-it was a DEER! I felt like a total idiot, but at least I could breathe again.
The rest of the trip was fun, but we got dumped on the last night. It was peaceful to fall asleep to the rain, but packing up our stuff was quite messy. I guess that is just part of the camping experience.
I wish I had gotten some pics of the trail we had to drive up to get to our campsite. It was CRAZY! My car is great off-road and Mike is an experienced driver, but my poor Disco came home with some damage. :( I am finally talking to Mike again, but I am still sad. It isn't that bad, but it is bad enough to need a little body work. At least we are all safe-right?

Moab Fun

My Brother (Bubba) Christopher and I took the boys down to Moab last week so that Leesa could have a break and take it easy for a couple days. We stayed at a campground by Ken's lake, it was great, we could go swimming to keep cool, I think we swam every day!