Pake Lowell

But most people like to refer to as Lake Powell. The kids and I went to Lake Powell with my family and had a great time. I was pretty scared to go all by myself on a trip without Matt to tag-team it with me, but I had so many people there to help out, especially young girls that live to play and take care of little kids. So actually, it was a wonderful trip and I had to do hardly anything, except handle the meltdowns that come with riding on a speedboat, not being allowed to eat candy for dinner or after brushing teeth before going to bed, and peeing in a toilet that isn't allowed to be flushed unless someone goes #2. That last one was a really hard concept for the kids to grasp, which is a good thing I guess. Also, sorry if that disgusts you, but that's how we roll on the ol' Humpherys' Houseboat.

We started the 5+ hour drive at about 8:30 in the morning. Beckett freaked out every time the boat, which was pulled by my brother's truck, would disappear from view or even get more than 20 ft from the car we were in. It was an unpleasant first couple of hours. We put a movie on in hopes of distracting him, which worked to keep him from crying about it, but my dad caught him in the rear view mirror the rest of the way checking on the boat every few minutes or so. At least we know that we will never lose anybody on a road trip with Beckett around.

Other than that, the trip down was rather painless. I guess that is one of the blessings of having older siblings with all of their kids older than mine. I had 2 babysitters in the car, plus my sister and her friend. It was very nice to sit in the front seat and let them handle everything.

Once we got there, we loaded the speedboat with as much luggage, food, and children as we could without sinking it, and headed to the houseboat. It took two trips, but once luggage and persons were all accounted for, we set off into open waters.

Anabelle loved every minute of being on the boat and being with the big kids. In fact, I hardly saw her all week. Even when we were both on the speedboat at the same time, I didn't see her much because she was always up front with the other kids having a great time bouncing on the waves. She is such a dare devil and teenage-wanna-be.

Beckett was nervous about riding on both boats. He was freaking out the whole mile long trip from Bullfrog Marina to the houseboat. Then he was a little uncertain about the houseboat moving. He had to have the doors shut so he couldn't hear the wind (another one of those Asperger things), and for a while, I had to sit with him and help him adjust to the new experience. After about 15 or 20 minutes, Beckett noticed this:

Look at my brave girl, front and center

 
He realized he was missing out on some fun, so he manned up, braved the wind, and ...

I was so proud of him! He rode up there the rest of the 2 hour drive to where we parked the boat.

The next day was a big day. Beckett caught his first fish ever. I don't know if anybody remembers the "Monster Fish" episode we had last year at the cabin, but I was afraid we were never going to get Beckett near another fishing pole even if it meant he wouldn't starve. But he did it. He was really excited about it too, as long as it didn't touch him.

Since we came home from the trip, Beckett has watched this video over and over again. I think he still is pretty excited about it. He actually caught two fish that morning. I guess he realized there are no such things as Monster Fish. :)

Belle and I went on a boat trip with half of the group later that day, and when we got back, this is what we saw:

He surprised me so many times on this trip. Belle did too, but I will get into that later. I am a chronological thinker.

The next day, all 20 of us piled into the speedboat and went to Rainbow Bridge. My dad's boat says it's max capacity is 18, but we figured that the three youngest people put together equaled one whole person, so we were good. Going into Rainbow Bridge it was smooth sailing. There was hardly anyone there and a park volunteer helped us dock our boat. As he saw all of the people in this one boat, he told us that we better be careful, we can get a citation for having more than the recommended amount of people in the boat. Freaked me out a little bit. We then proceeded to hike up to the Bridge.

If you have never had the opportunity to go to this amazing world wonder (no really, we have one of the 7 natural world wonders in our state, how cool is that?!), you really need to go. It is incredible. You can no longer hike up underneath it, because it is a sacred place for the Native Americans, but you can get close enough that you realize how freaking tall that thing is and that nature is incredible. There was another park volunteer at the bridge that told us about the history of the place and how it was discovered and the legend the Native Americans have of how it was made. They are neat stories, but I wont bore you by posting them on here. You can just go there and find out for yourself (incentive).

When all piled back into the boat, there were more people that had shown up to see the Bridge. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but we forgot about this one spot in the canyon that Rainbow Bridge is located in that is super narrow and can only fit one boat at a time. The problem with us being so full is that if there were big waves (which are really big if there are tour boats going through that spot, which isn't a rare occurrence.  Those things are massive, I've seen speedboats catch air off those waves), there was a real possibility of water coming up over the front of the boat, which would be so very bad. We were all holding our breath as we went through, much like in 7 Brides for 7 Brothers when they are going through the pass during the winter and don't want to start an avalanche. Obviously we made it through, but I have to put some kind of thrill factor into my story.

After Rainbow Bridge, you have to go get ice cream at Dangling Rope and make the fish smoke (aka - feed the fish ice cream and it comes out there gills and it looks like they are smoking). Beckett thought that was just the best thing ever. First, the carps there are huge, so that was pretty exciting for him. Second, he thought it was hilarious to watch the fish fight over the food and to listen to the sucking sounds they make in the process. Anabelle loved it too. In fact, I think there was one point where I was afraid she was going to fall in, she was so engrossed in watching those fish eat. Kids make everything seem new and exciting.

Afterwards, we stopped in a canyon half way to the houseboat and went swimming. We had a blast. Beckett didn't last long in the water, but he did get in (a success in my book). There was a small sand dune, and that is where he spent most of the time during the pool party.

Belle did a little of both. In the sand, in the water, you know, typical kid stuff. She had so much fun with her cousins. All of my nieces and nephews are older than my kids, most of them by at least 5 years, so Anabelle just loved having them play with her and getting to act like one of the older girls.

After the swimming party, everyone was all tuckered out.

You will notice that Beckett is riding in the front. I was absolutely floored that he rode up there. I had to force him onto the boat. I tried to trick him into getting on, but he saw right through it, so I had to just drag him on (that was one of the more difficult moments of the trip, I wanted to give up and just stay on the houseboat, but luckily everyone was super supportive and we made it onto the boat). He was crying and really hated the loud sound of the boat. I had to hold his head against me the whole 2 1/2 hour drive to Rainbow Bridge. For him to ride up front, that he decided on his own, was amazing and I just couldn't believe it. I was, and still am, so proud of him.

The next day was a chill day, full of games and water fun, especially for Anabelle, the Thrill Seeker.

Can you believe that?! Those are two different times that she got on that. Granted the boat went slower than molasses, but she did it. She is braver than her mom. I wouldn't even do it. I am blown away by this girl and how adventurous she is. I am so proud of my little Thrill Junkie.

The next day was Escalante day, my personal favorite. Escalante Canyon is the most beautiful of all the canyons in my opinion. Case in point:

My brother and his wife offered to stay on the houseboat and watch Beckett for me. So Belle and I went and had a great time in one of my most favorite places on earth. We saw Cathedral in the Desert and La Gorce Arch (pictured above). We also did a little exploring trying to find some Native American ruins in the canyon and discovered some beautiful arms in the canyon we had never seen before. I wish we could have explored more. I do need to show you some silly pictures from our trip. Here is Belle's ensemble for our trip that day:

I love when kids do that. Too cute! And now I have to put one of me because it is only fair:

My head was hot and I did not want it to burn, and then it got out of control from there. This is one of the more normal pictures we took.

When we got back to the houseboat, my brother that had stayed with Beckett told me that Beckett was playing on the inner tubes tied on the back and fell in the water (life jacket on, no worries) and that my brother quickly got him out and told him that he floated because he had on his life jacket. Apparently that was all that needed to be said to him because Beckett just kept on playing on the tubes. In fact later that night he played with Anabelle and some cousins, and they all had a blast.

He wasn't even phased by that fall either. I panicked and made you all sea-sick for nothing. He got right back on the inner tube and kept on pushing his cousins off into the water. Belle had tons of fun playing on there too. She would jump from the houseboat to the tube and was so cute. I wanted to post a video of Belle being super cute on the inner tube, but it is a little long and this post is long enough as it is. Oh well. If you really want to see the rest of the videos, you are welcome to come over. Beckett will be more than happy to put them on. He loves to watch them. He even has them memorized.

One more thing about them playing on the inner tube. I am so sad I didn't catch it on the camera. Beckett had pushed Jessica (the older cousin in the video) and she was going to climb back on the tube, but first she said to Beckett teasingly, "Now you aren't going to push me off, are you?" Beckett said, "No." So she climbs on and he says, "SURPRISE!" and then pushes her in. I still laugh hard every time I think about it. Who knew Beckett could be so witty.

One of my other most favorite thing about Lake Powell is the stars. They are incredible. You can see the Milky Way and at least one shooting star. I loved to just lay on the top deck and watch them until I would fall asleep. It didn't happen much on this trip. I kind of had to go to bed when the kids did. Lame. But I did attempt to take a photo to show you blog followers.

Beautiful aren't they? You can see all of the stars.

Early the next morning, Belle decided to throw up. As most of you know, Matt and I have a deal, I change poopy diapers, and he takes care of throw up. He does not like poop but isn't bothered by throw up, I gag at the sound and smells of someone puking but have no problem with stinky diapers. Everybody wins. Unfortunately, I had to deal with this all by myself. It was not fun. Also, it was my last chance to go fishing. I had bought a fishing license (not cheap) and had not caught a single fish. The mornings that we had gone, there were boils all around, but I got nada. (Boils are when striped bass "corral" small fish at the surface of the water and then just start attacking them, with the fish jumping out of the water giving the appearance of boiling water) Most of the other guys had caught at least one. I really wanted to get one that morning. I couldn't leave Belle alone, and I didn't feel right about waking someone else up to take care of my sick child. She was acting better, so I took her with. She did fine. She only threw up once or twice while we were out, which is actually pretty good considering we were on a boat, stopping, going, turning lots, chasing those boils. Typing this out makes me feel guilty. Oh well. I think she had a good time. I don't think she was sick sick, I think something was just upsetting her tummy, so it was fine. And I did catch a fish. Only one, but mission accomplished. So it was all worth it. Right?

After we got back and had breakfast, we packed up to go home. Then we all loaded up in the speedboat and headed back to Bullfrog Marina. 

I told you we loaded up the boat. There was no leg room. We were all crammed in there with all of our bags and stuff. Tons of fun! No really. It really was one of the better trips to Lake Powell I've had. I wish Matt could have come, but maybe next time. 

July Update

Hello one and all. I am going to try something different with this update (logical is probably the better word). I am going to go in chronological order, instead of updating each individual of our family. I will begin with the 4th of July. We spent it with my family up at my parent's cabin.



We had a lovely time. The first night we had a birthday party for all of the June and July birthdays. We had brownies with marshmallow cream and fudge frosting on top. So yummy! Matt got in a lot of fishing. He caught quite a few fish, but we only ate 2 of them. It is very nice to be able to fish without needing to buy a fishing license. On Friday night, we all went outside and had a fireworks show in the gravel driveway. It was beautiful but the kids didn't like the sound very much. Matt had to take Beckett inside (I am sure not taking a nap that day had something to do with it as well).



The next day, Independence Day, we had a flag ceremony and talked about our great nation and how lucky we are to live here and ways that we can help to keep it great. It was special and thought provoking and made me misty-eyed. He is our handsome Color Guard.



Here is Belle saying she is ready for a trip around the lake in the raft.



It was a wonderful trip and we had lots of good food and played lots of fun games. I love getting together with family.

As the summer got hotter, I decided to ask Matt to bring Beckett's train table downstairs. I felt bad whenever he went up there to play with his trains because it is so hot and stuffy up there. Beckett is so happy to have his trains back. I think he plays with them every morning while I fix breakfast. We have put it in what used to be our dining room (I will blog more about this in my next post). I moved our table into our kitchen so the train table could fit in the dining room. I also moved the table into the kitchen so we would actually eat at it. Our dining room was anything but a dining room. It was more our "where can we put this? People are coming over" storage room. So our table was always covered with stuff. Now it is the room where we eat and we can actually eat at it. I like it better this way. I don't know if I will put it back after it cools down.

Belle loves to climb. After we moved the train table downstairs, and the kitchen table into the kitchen, she decided she wanted to perfect her climbing skills. As you can see in the background of this cute photo of Beckett, she loves to climb up onto the train table. She pulls out the little drawer on the side of the table and then climbs into that and then up onto the table (she is a thinker).


Since she discovered her new-found climbing area, she has officially earned her name, "Babyzilla". She loves to destroy Beckett's train tracks and steal his trains. It is funny but it also gets old really fast when you hear Beckett constantly whining about his trains. That is our little Babyzilla.


Something scary that happened in July that has to do with Belle climbing was she fell off the kitchen table onto her head. She had climbed up and was sitting close to the edge when she lost her balance and fell off, landing head first. I was so scared. I called her doctor and he told me what to look out for in case she had a concussion. One thing they asked me to check was to see if her head was mushy where she hit. That freaked me out right there. But her head wasn't, it was hard and getting a large goose egg. I was very relieved. I watched her really close and she never showed signs of a concussion, so it turned out okay. Since the accident, I have been much more diligent at watching out for her climbing up onto the table and getting her off the table as soon as she climbs on.

For the 24th of July, Pioneer Day, we went up to the Cabin again with my mom and sisters. It was actually the night of the 24th and then all day Saturday (Matt doesn't get state holidays off, I'm not complaining though, I am just happy he gets paid holidays, whenever they are). We had a lovely time yet again. In fact, we saw the most animal life we have seen all year. We saw two moose (which is a rarity in and of itself), and a big hawk-ish bird (picture not included).



We ate pizza, which Beckett thoroughly enjoyed (really he did, it's his favorite).





I had kind of a Girlie day on Saturday while Matt watched the kids. We watched musicals like "Flower Drum Song" (I love that one) and "Anne Get Your Gun." Sara wanted to do my hair and take fancy pictures of us. I told her she needs to start a business called "Glamor shots by Sara." Here are the results. I think this particular backdrop helps beautify more than most.



For a while I have been wanting to finger paint with the kids. I wanted to use pudding so it didn't stain and so I wouldn't feel bad when they try to eat it. In fact I totally encouraged them to eat it. We used chocolate and vanilla. It wasn't much of a color lesson, but we had a lot of fun. Maybe I'll use pastachio pudding next time so we have green to liven things up.















The kids have found their new favorite thing. Climbing into the cupboard under the TV. They climb in, close the door and just giggle at each other, like they have found some new secret hiding place that Mom will never find. It is so cute.



One of Matt's favorite things that happened last month was taking down the tree in our front yard. The tree was only mostly dead last year when we moved in. This year it was all dead. So we cut it down, with the help of our wonderful home teachers. They had a great time. Matt climbed up in the tree to cut down the branches up at the top (I am sure that is one reason why he loved it right there). Then they cut down the trunk. When they got to the big main part, they cut into it part way and then tried to break the rest of the trunk off by tying it to the back of our home teacher's truck. Well, instead of breaking the tree in half, they just pulled the whole tree out instead.








That about raps up the our busy month of July. Stay tuned for more updates...


P.S. I just want to let certain family members that don't have blogs of their own know that they can leave comments on here. I made it so you can. I don't know that I even mentioned that when I told you all about my blog. I love getting comments. Not that I am conceited, really. I just love knowing who reads my blog. So everyone feel free to leave a comment.