Lake Powell!

We had a great time at Lake Powell last weekend with Jake (Bill's brother), his wife Marianne, and their girls Abigail and Brooklyn. They are spending ten days at Powell and since it only takes us a little over an hour to get there we just had to join the fun. Jake and Marianne have an awesome motorhome and boat (with all the fun equipment), so we were lucky enough to take advantage of their toys. We got there Friday night and enjoyed a yummy dinner (for the record, Bill makes the world's best elk burgers) and a twilight boat ride:

Abby was kind enough to share her spot at the front of the boat with Caleb.

We spent almost all of Saturday out on the lake. The kids all did great in the water, with the very notable exception of Joshua. He was fine on the boat and on the tube, but he hated actually getting in the water and would scream if we tried to make him. He never has a problem in swimming pools, so I guess there's just something scary about lakes. Anyway, the day was spent pulling the kids around on the tube, cruising the lake on the boat, playing in the water, fishing, eating, etc. Jake and Marianne even convinced me to surf and wakeboard, which I'd never tried before (I've never even been waterskiing before, pathetic I know). Once I figured out how to get up I really enjoyed it. Caleb and Amanda both tried out the little waterskiing "trainer" and they did great. Caleb tried it first and he was a natural, so Amanda wanted to do it too. She had no trouble staying up, but for some reason she screamed the entire time she was skiing. We brought her in and once she calmed down and stopped crying she said, "That was fun. I want to go again." Maybe someday I'll figure that girl out.

Go Megan!

Bill the surfer-dude

Caleb showing his skills

Jake and Bill didn't have the greatest luck with their fishing. They went out early with the kids and caught one striper, as well as a catfish that Joshua caught but wasn't kept. Throughout the rest of the day they would stop and fish for a while, determined to catch more striper, but all they were getting was catfish, which they didn't want to mess with. Finally as it was starting to get dark and the kids were getting restless and hungry Bill finally caught another striper and we were able to go back to camp and fry them up. The striper was really tasty and according to Bill they were worth every second it took to catch them (although Marianne and I would probably disagree with that).

Bill, Amanda, and Jake

Bill catches yet another useless catfish

Caleb loves fishing with his dad. He's so proud that he has a "real" fishing pole and not a little kid one with Scooby Doo on it.

Since we needed to get back for 9 am church the next day we had to pack up and head back home. Many thanks to Jake for being willing to not only ferry us back to Halls Crossing at 11:00 pm, but also for hauling a cart full of our stuff (including Amanda) barefooted up to the road. Jake and Marianne were awesome hosts and we really appreciate their willingness to share their boat and motorhome with us. Thanks guys, we had a great time (now if only we can recover from the wakeboarding-induced soreness!).

I just love this picture. Look at the pure joy on their faces! They were laughing at a phonics toy that said, "U says uh, as in underwear." Ahh, underwear never ceases to be funny.

Amanda and Abby relax while the boys fish

This is about as close to the water as Joshua would get

Cannonball Caleb

Caleb modeling the latest in "boat-dried" hairstyles

Abby was a great little swim teacher for Amanda

Towing the kids on the tube. That's Jake and Marianne's motorhome in the background.

Joshua and Amanda both enjoyed naps on the boat

Little Brooklyn did so good on the boat