LP 14

I always love Lake Powell, but for some reason this year was better than ever. Maybe it was because for the first time in hmmm, ever, I wasn't pregnant or nursing a baby. LP is just wayyyy better when you don't have to worry about things like babies crawling off the houseboat, or swollen ankles and heartburn.

It was also special because I got to bring my little Abby Lou Who. We usually don't take kids until they are 8 (besides the nursing babes, obvi) but due to an unfortunate accident on the 4th of July, my sweet mother-in-law wasn't able to watch my 3 younger kids like we had planned (she is doing much better now, by the way, but it was really scary!!). My sister in law took over babysitting duties because she is the nicest person on the planet, so I was still able to go, but I decided to take the Abs with me even though she is a little shy of the usual deadline.

I'm so glad she was able to come. She has always been intimidated by water and I was worried she would be my little attachment the whole trip and also have a hard time with the heat. Instead, she loved it! We were lucky to park the houseboat in a spot where there was plenty of shallow water and a beachy area so she was free to float around as much as she wanted. It was great to see her overcome her fears and truly enjoy something that has always frightened her.

I never would have thought Abby would even consider putting her face in the water so I was shocked when Jason gave her a little snorkeling lesson, and she fell in love with it! She spent the rest of the trip pretty much under the water. It's a good thing for kids to have dads. They give kids a lot more credit than moms do sometimes.

Abby can be really reserved. I loved seeing my family members, especially the in laws, interact with her and make her feel comfortable and special. Her Uncle James was so nice to her and it was the cutest thing to watch her confidence grow as she became his little buddy.

It melts my heart to see my mom with Abby. My kids are blessed with incredible grandparents. Someday they will realize how lucky they are!

Another great part of the trip was seeing Luke in this hat. My mom bought it for my dad, who refused to wear it. I told Luke he wouldn't have to wear sunscreen on his face if he would wear the hat, and it was pretty much glued to his head for the rest of the trip.

He became quite the little fisherman in this kayak. It was adorable. Jason even helped him rig up an anchor so he could fish without floating away. 

However, he also loved to fish from shore and it was not uncommon to look out the window and see what appeared to be The Hat floating through the water, fishing on its own, as he traveled from bank to bank. 

He caught a lot of fish all by himself and couldn't have been prouder.

He and Dallin loved having their cousin Katelyn there for part of the time. She is a good sport and goes along with all the boys' crazy ideas. Including bow fishing.

I mean, bow fishing? Does it get any more redneck? Don't get me started.

Jason was in heaven with his own fishing boat this year. In previous years he has either had a piece of junk boat that kept dying or else he fished off the jet skis, which isn't easy. Each morning he was up before dawn, ready to track down the latest school of striped bass, or small mouth bass or catfish or walleye or whatever. He took everyone on multiple fishing trips and kept things exciting. 

The official fish count of the trip was 130.  That's a lotta fishies.

This was my first time hiking to the arch. I'm always amazed at the beauty of Lake Powell!

Jason took the girls on a special fishing trip. We had fun harassing him and making him regret his decision to take us.

Thanks, Dad, for the best LP trip ever. I don't think I can wait a whole year to go back. I'm going to propose Christmas at Lake Powell this year. Who's with me?

Quick Trip to Burley

Last week my cute, fun little sister Kristen and her husband Nick made the journey to Idaho from their home in Wichita, so I packed up the kids and spent an amazing 28 hours in Burley. I know some people have attitudes about *Idaho* ("Ohhhh, you're from Idaho...") and to those people I want to say, yes, it is a terrible place, never go there. We don't want you!! As for me, I can't even look at these pictures without feeling a profound homesickness for my home state. I miss the open fields, the sprinklers clacking away in the distance, the crickets chirping in the night, the soft, luscious grass, and most of all, my family. 

All ten of the little cousins made the trip to see Kristen and were treated to endless 4-wheeler rides by my Dad.  My parents' lawn is so huge. I thought it was a curse when I was a kid because we had to mow the thing and then rake it! The whole thing! It took hours. But it taught me to work and turned me into the person I am today. So I guess I have that giant lawn to thank for many good things in my life, including fun times for my kids.

My mom has always had holly hocks. They just seem like home to me. Aaron, you can enter this picture into the fair if you want. Ha ha.

The action really gets going when Grandma gets on the golf cart and whips everyone around. I love how Dallin is dragging behind the sled, Katelyn is surfing, Taylor is running toward the action and Abby and Luke are just along for the ride on the 4-wheeler.

Here's Kristen and her cute little friends, Tank and Lucy. What is more perfect than this picture (minus the sniffing)? The green grass, the yellow wheat that matches the dogs, sprinklers in the distance, the church I grew up with, and my long-lost sister gracing the scene in her pink shirt. Love and miss.

The homestead in all its glory. Those were my windows that you see on the top.

Abby loved peeking out of the playhouse.

Dallin of course brought his toy bow and spent a lot of time shooting straight up in the air at birds. I was surprised that he could actually hit them most of the time. Don't worry, the end of the arrow is a pencil eraser (but I'm sure the birds still got a good little shock when they got thwacked). I love how Dallin is looking up in the sky for an arrow to fall, Luke is hanging on the tree, and Katelyn is just basking in the grass. Nothing is really in focus except the tree leaves, but I think it kind of makes it look like heaven.

I know I often preach about Burley sunsets, but seriously people, can you beat this? Look at these two free birds out on the range. Kids were meant to stand on long green grass and gaze up into the sky on a summer's evening. That's just how it is.

This is a scene of much action and I LOVE it! Dallin stepped on a bee, so Nick, who is a doctor, is removing the stinger. Katelyn is looking gorgeous, Kristen is making her classic face, Halli is peeking around the corner at her mom walking in holding Austin's hand, and Jake is chillin' with his hand down the back of his diaper. Wassup?

Of course we had to "fill the bump" as we call it. The huge grassy hill in my parents' yard has a hole on one side and my dad has it rigged up to fill with irrigation water with a big pipe (providing the sprinklers in the field are on).  Luke and Katelyn are riding a kayak down the giant vinyl billboard sign that we use as a slip and slide and Dallin is lugging his kayak to the top. 

Oh, good times, good times.

Luke just had to go for a little dip all by himself when the action has ceased. This picture is bittersweet to me because Luke took a bad spill on his bike later in the week into a barbed wire fence and had to have his face stitched up in a few places (post to follow). I see his perfect skin in this picture and my heart just breaks. But I'm so glad he's okay.

So that's our trip to Burley. And yes, all my siblings who live far, far away, this was meant to make you homesick. Move back! Now! I'm not kidding. We need you.

Summa Time and the Livin's Easy

This summer feels like a time warp to me. I can't believe it's already July, but it seems like about 6 years since the school bus came and swallowed up my kids in the morning and  provided me with a day of relative peace. I'm not wishing the summer away, by any means, I'm just amazed that we've made it this far. And we are still trucking along. Here are a few (thousand) of the summer's highlights.

Dallin participated in the Pinewood Derby. His car was called Angry Buck and included a set of horns that Jason sawed off one of Dallin's toy deer the night before the race. Dallin's car was voted Most Likely to Get Shot. The Scouting Program and Me is still an area I am working on loving. Right now, we like each other. Someday I will be a Great Scouting Mom and actually work on requirements during the week. 

We have spent many, many hours at the ball park this year watching Dallin. He loves baseball and has done really well. I am proud of all his hard work and dedication. His team made it to the state tournament, which is yet to come, so our baseball days are far from over this season. I have enjoyed learning more about the sport of baseball (they really steal bases and don't get in trouble?) but I have not enjoyed wrestling Jake for hours on end. I am honestly considering a dog kennel for him, or at least some kind of portable fenced-in dog run.

We've had several fun fishing trips.  I'm grateful to have a husband who loves to take the kids fishing, even though I struggle with fishing because it seems like such a lose/lose situation to me. If the fish aren't biting, by darn we are going to sit there until they do. If the fish are biting, by darn we are going to sit there till the end of time because we can't waste such a golden opportunity. The worst is when a fish bites right at the beginning, and then never again. I sit and watch myself grow older.

  

Yay, Luke got one! Now we can stay for six more hours.

This was a fun camping trip at East Canyon Resort for Jason's mission reunion. It was nice because we could  camp on grass! I loved the lack of dirt and rocks. It was also fun to meet a lot of people from Jason's mission and see his mission president again.

The fire on the mountain by Saratoga Springs provided lots of excitement.  We watched it burn down the mountain and cover the sun with smoke. I am so grateful to all those who helped get it under control and save so many homes!

Yikes, the flames!!!

We drove out and watched the helicopter filling up with water at Utah Lake and then fly over us in a blaze of glory to dump it on the fire. It gave me goosebumps to watch! I was so proud of the little helicopter guy. 

We had a fun night at the Timpanogos Archery Range. It is so beautiful and cool up there and so close. The kids LOVE to go shoot bows and roam through the hills.

Jason walking with his little herd toward the shooting course. I just love to see that little pack of rats from behind. 

Luke was in love with the huge weeds that you blow the little white thingies off of. I mean, what are those things? They aren't giant dandelions. Whatever they are, there are going to be a lot more of them now.

Jake fell in love with all the targets and I had a hard time dragging him away from all his new "puppies". He pretty much thinks all animals are puppies, especially horses. Except actual puppies, he calls those "dogs".

Another beautiful puppy to love. Am I the only one who thinks hunting targets are freaky?

Luke LOVES birds. His whole life revolves around birds (and Pokemon cards). He has been looking forward to the bird show at the Hutchings Museum since last year during Lehi Roundup Days and he was so excited to go see all his fine feathered friends again. This is some kind of falcon. Luke's dream in life is to have a pet condor. For now he has to settle for watching all the turkey vultures that circle around Lehi with their cool red heads and hooked beaks.

Abby loves owls and she was excited to get close to this little guy.

We found two frogs in our yard last week. One was alive and the other was... frozen. In time. I had to use all my restraint to keep from screaming when the "frozen" frog was brought into my house. He was all stretched out in a swimming position and hard as a rock. I mean, the look on his face... it still haunts my dreams. Shudder.

I used to be just like this when I was a kid. All happy about a frog and willing to touch the slimy little thing for hours on end. What happened to me? Why can't I touch animals anymore? Or kids who have been touching animals, or anything that kids who have been touching animals have touched? I'm afraid the thing my kids will remember most about me is the question, "Have you washed your hands with soap?" Sad, I tell you. Sad.

Jake wasn't so sure about the frog. Maybe I should put a guard frog by the front door to prevent this child from jumping ship since he has now learned to unlatch the deadbolt and open the door. I can officially never relax again.

We went to the Horse Parade in Lehi and Jake was thrilled to see so many "puppies" at once. He yelled "Hi puppy! Hi puppy!" for about 45 minutes.

Lots of fun cousins watching the parade.

We went to the annual Crane family reunion in Bennington, Idaho and had a great time. We camped in a tent the first night. The moon was so bright we didn't even need flashlights inside the tent! My parents brought their trailer so we had all the necessities. It was great.

This is my Grandma and Grandpa Crane's house where my mom grew up. I love this place and have so many memories here. I loved taking my kids there and showing them around.

Abby and Luke had fun exploring my grandma's attic. Apparently there is a bat problem up there. My Aunt Wilma showed us the guano and everything. I wanted to stay and try to catch a bad so badly, but we didn't have time. I hope the bats are still there the next time I visit. Then I will get my pet bat for SURE!

Abby was my little hiking partner. My relatives own this canyon and it is amazing to be there and think of  my grandpa herding sheep in these very same hills so many years ago. It is so peaceful to me. I think it feels like holy ground.

We always get a big breakfast with all the fixin's. Sometimes I look around and think, I can't believe I am related to all these people! But I am, and I am so grateful. My relatives are the BEST people on earth.

The fun family pic up in the canyon. Dirty and stinky and having the time of our lives. Such is summer. Lack of soap and all.