Aaron & Bonnie invited us to come to Lake Powell with them this year! To say Kev was excited would be an understatement. Lake Powell is his favorite place on earth. There were five families that came. It was us, Aaron & Bonnie's family, Cam & Cindy Eggertz's family, Jocelyn Harris and family less Tom who couldn't make it, Karen Smith (Aaron's mom), and Chase & Brianne Smith (Aaron's brother and sister-in-law). There were 20 kids and 10 adults total. We started off our trip off in St. George and caravanned to Lake Powell.
Aaron & Bonnie have a beautiful houseboat that they just got this last year called "Lux". Kevin calls it "Megaboat". It was so nice. They keep it at Antelope Point Marina. I took this picture of the lake reflecting in the houseboat windows.
We spent the first night in the slip and then headed up lake the next morning. Mckenna had fun with both Maddy and Seqouia.
The kids and moms hung out on the screened third floor while the boat was being filled with gas and being pumped out before heading out. Dax and Parker entertained us with their dance moves.
Captain Aaron steering the boat with his two sidekicks, Cam and Kev.
The were amazing floor to ceiling windows all around the boat. I enjoyed the views of Lake Powell as we were cruising along. Hayden also found a new map to love.
Ruby and Hayden are both 4 yrs old and full of spunk! Ruby requested that I take her picture several times on the trip.
Addy had fun playing with Tivi. They are both two years old.
We parked the houseboat in the back of Middle Rock Creek canyon. There were beautiful redrock canyon walls all around us.
We also chose a good beach that the kids could enjoy. They spent a lot of time digging and making these rivers and pools in the sand.
Brianne, Bonnie, and I ended up wearing matching coverups one day. It was fun getting to know all the girls better. We made quite the team cooking and cleaning up. We ate like kings while we were there. My favorite night was when we had Steak and Chicken Kabobs.
Halle and Avery became inseparable during the trip. They worked hard with the other girls to build this Sea Turtle. There were seashells for eyes and then covering it's back.
Bonnie set up a pool on top of the houseboat for the little kids. The kids had fun playing in it while the Moms laid out on the top deck and got some sun.
Kev had his 35th birthday while we were there too! He was happy to spend his b-day in his favorite place!
He got to have some fun out on the waverunners.
He got to try out Aaron's new toy that is called a Flyboard. It has a long hose that is hooked up to the waverunner. As you give the waverunner gas, the waverunner jet is directed to the board you are strapped too. It propels the water through the tube and raises you out of the water. The guys loved it!
We had ice cream sandwiches that night for Kev's birthday dessert.
The next morning Addy had a turn on the waverunners. She was as happy as can be. She felt right at home since she rides snowmobiles every winter.
Kev had his chance at water skiing. He always looks good out there kicking up the water.
The girls hanging out in the front of the boat and cheering the guys on.
Kev also enjoys wakesurfing. Aaron's boat is a 2014 SuperAir Nautique G23 (brand new) that adjusts the wake with water ballast to make the wake huge. He was doing awesome until he wiped out and caught the rope on his arm.
His bruise looked like this the next day. But as he would tell you, it was all worth it.
Kev brought his trusty red raft and electric trolling motor along. He has had this thing since he was about 14 years old. We had fun cruising around and exploring. We told Hayden that he was the captain and could choose where we went.
One of our favorite spots was this small water cave. The water looked like green jello in the afternoon sunlight.
Cindy was our amazing yoga instructor for the night. It felt great to get a good stretch.
Mckenna obliged me by taking some pictures of us girls.
We also had a kid talent show on night. Avery was doing a back walkover in this picture. Almost all the kids took a turn.
We forced the kids up top for a group picture. We are minus Lyla and Dawson in this picture. The kids had so much fun together and got along great. It was fun that they are all so close in age.
Mckenna also turned 12 years old on Thursday June 19th! She had an unforgettable b-day at Lake Powell. She opened some presents from us that morning when she got up.
Aaron was nice enough to share his brand new wakesurfing boat with us. We left that morning for Rainbow Bridge. We listened to music as we sped along. Michael Jacksons song, "Love Never Felt So Good" was our theme song for the adventure to Rainbow bridge.
It was about 1 1/4 mile hike to the bridge and back. It was hot and a couple of our kids were on one.
We are glad we got to see it though. It was huge! We took a group picture with those of us who came on the outing.
When we got back to the dock we busted out the popsicles we had brought to share for Mckenna's b-day. There was sour patch kids and jelly belly flavors. It doesn't get much better than a cold popsicle on a 95 degree day.
On the way back to the houseboat we stopped by the water cave in Rock Creek bay and found this cool rock shoal (Kev calls them "whales") in he middle of the bay on the way back. It looked like everyone was standing on the water.
Back at the houseboat the kids took turns jumping off the top deck. Mckenna was brave and took a turn jumping too. She hardly even hesitated. It was about a 30 ft drop off the 4th level of the boat. We were down in the kayak cheering her on. Thanks Cindy for taking pictures for me!
Her b-day wish was to go tubing with Maddie, Sequioa, Josh, Porter, and Danny. Tubing was one of the highlights of the trip for her. They had a riot every day getting bounced, whipped, and even dumped behind the waverrunner.
We managed to stick 12 candles in a smore.
Here she is making her birthday wish at Lake Powell.
I took some pictures of her in her new sundress on top of the houseboat. We can't believe that our beautiful girl is already 12!
The next day I had fun chilling on the Relaxation Station. It was the perfect place for the Moms to talk and the little ones to play.
Kev tried out the flyboard again. Aaron took this cool pic of him.
He was definitely more in control this time around. He even learned how to dive down like a dolphin and resurface into the air.
Kev, Addy, and I went exploring that afternoon on one of the waverunners. We headed out into the main channel and found another rock shoal at the entrance to Grotto Canyon. Addy wanted to get out and stand on it. She looked so little standing there with the canyon walls behind her.
I loved it when I looked down and I could see a rainbow in the water we were spraying up.
We found a cool slot canyon to drive through in Whetherill Canyon on the waverunner. It was beautiful. The water was so still that it was hard to tell where the canyon walls stopped and water began. It was one of the highlights of the trip for me.
We found this cool cave in Rock Creek bay too. We went there three different times. The ski boat could even fit in this cave.
Parker loved being out on the Kayaks. He would paddle until it got too dark.
The next day Cindy and I went on a tube ride with some of the younger kids. We had a fun time eventhough we weren't going fast.
Kev suggested he take us all on a Mom's tube ride. I had a feeling he might try and tip us over. You can tell from this picture that we did catch some air. I looked back at one point and Jocelyn was holding onto the tube and her legs were flying straight out behind her. We did tip but it was very unexpected. The tube had turned around so Kev slowed down for us to turn around. Before any of us knew it our legs had flipped over our heads and we were upside down in the water. I had been holding on tight to the tube and when I opened my eyes the tube was above me. Luckily, I pushed off in the right direction and got out from under the tube.
We were still smiling when we got back too. It was a lot of fun hanging out with these girls! I'm so glad I got to know them better. Aarons mom Karen was also on the trip with us. I had a good time talking with her too. She became "Grandma" to all the kids on the boat.
On the last night we had "Closing Ceremonies" and the guys had a marshmallow roasting contest.
The older kids were in charge of the judging. They chose Cam as being the best marshmallow roaster.
Halle had fun playing on the beach with her new friends Avery and Ella. They had so much fun together every day of this trip.
Jocelyn is hilarious and came up with this! They were all dressed up with sunglasses on their chins and sang "Call Me Maybe".
Parker became an expert Slapjack player on this trip. He and Danny were playing a game right before bed. The older kids all slept on the 3rd level of the houseboat. It was completely screened off but yet totally open for the views with tons of open space and a huge bar/grill. It was one big sleepover every night.
The kids always looked forward to the Dads telling stories each night. Cam was the best storyteller of the group. They were all stories about their childhood since they all grew up together. Some of these stories were hilarious! We all laughed so hard each night that we almost cried.
In this picture Aaron is having the kids promise/pledge that they will never try the same stuff their Dad's did growing up. They promised never to jump off 100 foot cliffs at Powell, steal their friends go-cart, shoot golf balls into orbit with Silver Serpents, superman across a dark room over your bed into a concrete wall, drive a 130+ mph, jump cars, and zipline off their Grandma's house...to name a few.
It was such an amazing trip! The company was the best, the food delicious, the accommodations beyond comfortable, and the location perfect!
