Lake Powell 2010 Part 1

I am so lucky to have married into a "Lake Powell Family." Mikey's sister, Michelle, has a houseboat down in Bullfrog and she's been kind enough to invite us every year since we've been married, and we've been kind enough to accept! Hehe! So here's the Lake Powell 2010 Crew:

Mikey, Karie, Sydney, Heidi, Kerry, Ethan, Russ, Colleen, Riley, and Michelle

This is us at the Halls Crossing Marina

And I have to note that Mikey and I took practically none of these pictures. We took our camera, but so did everyone else! By the time the trip was over, between all the cameras that went to Lake Powell, we had over 3,300 photos!! So most of the pictures here are curtesy of Mikey's parents. (And here's a great place to plug Mikey's dad's photo blog. He's a great photographer who just takes pictures for fun. Take a look!)

Moki Canyon

Our favorite "sand place" in Moki Canyon

Crusin' around

Hiking to the ruins in Forgotten Canyon

Relaxing in Smith Fork Canyon

Mikey and I discovered a great system for massaging each other's feet!

A couple members of the "Dare Devil Club" who swam over to a scary crevice in Iceberg Canyon

Lunch on the boat

This cave in Iceberg Canyon is one of my favorite places in Lake Powell. It looks really small, but it's been a lot bigger in previous years because the waterlevel was lower. I wish we had a waterproof camera to take inside because it was gorgeous. It opens up after you swim under the thresh hold. The water was really clear and looked bright, bright green. It was awesome!

Mikey and I take this photo of us by this cave every year.

Annie's Canyon

Grandpa Russ getting his toes painted. What a good sport!

The culprits!

Because the price of gas is so high on the lake, instead of moving the houseboat into a canyon, we just left it on the buoy field. It was really nice to not have to worry too much about the boat during the storms, because we had storms!

Mikey jumping off the top of the houseboat!

The "Frog Hike" in Smith Fork Canyon

The kids had a blast looking for these tiny froggies as we hiked. Once the kids caught themselves a frog, they were very protective of that frog! (We adults were having heart attacks on behalf of the frogs. Poor little guys.)

Our destination of the hike--this beautiful cave

And that covers Lake Powell Part 1! Stay tuned for more!

Roomie Reunion!

As I posted earlier, it's been ten years since I graduated from high school, and that means it's also been about ten years since my freshman year at BYU. That was such a fun year! I moved down with my good friends Camille & Katie, and Katie brought along Caroline who she knew from junior high. When we moved into the dorms we didn't know the other two girls, Debi & Ashley, that we were placed with. But it worked out so well! We all got along great and our friendship has only gotten closer over these ten years. I love these girls!

Then over the course of four years at BYU we added and lost other roommates. Not all of them are pictured below (we're missing Jen, Danelle, Laura, Celeste, & Shannon). But added to the photo below are our other really close roommates, Janelle & Emily. I'm so blessed to know all these sweet girls. We still get together almost monthly. Love you guys!

And aren't those 4 little prego's next to me cute? One of them's already popped since this photo two weeks ago! Glad you're doing well, Emily!

Indoor Camping

At the beginning of the summer we had a Family Campout planned with my brothers & sisters and their cute kids. However, the weekend we had the campground scheduled, it poured and POURED! So, rather than miss out on the fun and cancel the campout, we just moved locations . . . to my sister Sharlene's home. The parents still set up the tents in the basement, we cooked our tin-foil dinners in the oven, and set up a portable fire-pit on the back patio and roasted giant marshmallows just feet away from the rain. We had such a fun and dry time!

A Late Night At Our House

Okay, so here's a little peak into a late night at our house. This is definitely past rational-thinking-hour. We just created these two masterful lip-syncs. It's the first time we've ever done this...and we had NO intention of posting it. But hey, it's still a little late and we're feeling crazy. We might live to regret it very soon. So...the first video is one of our favorite road-tripping songs, "Mockingbird," performed by James Taylor & Carly Simon. And the second video is "Joyful, Joyful" from "Sister Act 2." We recorded "Joyful, Joyful" first, and it's really, REALLY rough!! But, I guess it just shows how impromptu this all was! :) So, enjoy! Oh, I need to go to bed!

**You've got to get to (or skip to) about the 2 minute mark of the first video to see Mikey really shine! :D Let us know what you think!

Enjoying Our "Make Believe World"

This summer Mikey and I have been enjoying a rare experience, which will probably never repeat itself until retirement. We have both been off school and off work! Mikey's sister, Michelle, keeps asking us how we're enjoying our "make believe world," as this is definitely not a dose of reality. But, yes, we are loving it, as short-lived as it is (seeing that Mikey's summer classes start this week).

The other morning while we were enjoying slowly waking up, Mikey rolled over and suggested, "Hey, let's go to the Logan Temple today." So guess what! We did! We took the whole day, drove up, grabbed some lunch on the way, went through a session, and stopped for some chocolate-covered honeycomb at the Blue Bird Cafe on the way home. What a perfect day!


So, that's the kind of stuff we've been up to. Being together, keeping up on laundry (much easier during the summer than during the school year), reading books, seeing movies, and getting shave ice. Though it'll be quickly coming to an end, we've enjoyed our make believe world.

Reunion-ing!

Wow, 10 years!? This weekend is really my ten year high school reunion!? In a lot of ways it seems like yesterday I was in high school. When I get together with my cute high school buddies (which isn't often enough) it's like we haven't skipped a beat. But then when I think about all the things that have changed since then, it seems like forever. I mean, we didn't even have our own cell phones in high school and now I have third graders in my class that have their own cell phones! Things have changed a little.

I'm excited to go reminisce this weekend. I hope a lot of friends can make it. There are a lot of people I'd love to see. High school was fun...I'm okay that it's over...but it was great while it lasted. :) Enjoy a couple pics from then & now:

Then . . .

Choir Tour

Hanging out at my parents' house after a dance

5th Ward Seminary Graduates

Hanging out at my grandparents' cabin

Another choir tour

And now . . .

This was a couple weeks ago at a baby shower for my good friend, Alisha. Not everyone was able to make it, but we had so much fun!

Even though we don't see each other often, I'm so glad I've been able to keep in contact with so many special friends. Love you guys!