lake powell

Once again, (I think this is the 5th year that we've done this) we spent a few fabulous September days at Lake Powell with dear friends.  And once again, we had an amazing time.  :) 

Beautiful weather, smooth water, cliff jumping, waterskiing, wakeboarding, fighter-tubing, ladies-tubing, ice cream at Hall's, red-neck-submarine rides, delicious food, and lots of laughs.

We sleep in these:

But spend our days on the lake:

 

New this year ... Emery cleared the wake while wakeboarding.

Here's a photo of all the kids (minus 3 ... Tates had to leave early).

One afternoon we explored the Moqui sand hill:

And we even stayed an extra day and made the trek to hole-in-the-rock and Rainbow Bridge:

 

Loved the trip. Can't wait for Powell 2012.

California and the 4th of July

We went to California for the week of the 4th.   Endless sunshine, awesome weather, fabulous beaches, and uninterrupted family time for a whole week.  To sum it up in one word:   perfect.

I think the best part of the trip for Luke happened before we even left Salt Lake.  He got to drive us to the airport.  Well, steered us to the airport anyway.
 

And he was pretty happy about that ...

Once we got to California, our first stop was in Hollywood to see the stars along the "walk of fame" and check out the handprints and footprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater.

Then we headed down to Newport where we spent the first few days of our trip.  I'd be one happy girl if I could spend every 4th of July at Laguna Beach ... even though it was packed.  As in "can't-see-past-all-those-colorful-umbrellas" kind of packed.

Soaking up the sun and boogie-boarding at Laguna:

That night we went to an Angels game.  Watching a baseball game on the 4th of July was fun (after all, what's more American than baseball?), and the fireworks afterwards were spectacular.

But the best part for the boys was that they all got a ball from the game.

Tuesday we hung out at Shaw's Cove with our friends the Ingrams,

and then went to Newport Beach for more boogie-boarding and sand castle building before finishing the day with dinner at The Crab Cooker.

Wednesday we packed our bags and zipped down to San Diego, where we spent the last few days of the trip.

On Thursday afternoon I made a quick phone call and invited to my parents to join us for a few days ... and within just a few hours they had booked a flight, packed their bags, and joined us in sunny CA.

I think my favorite part of the trip was spending time here ...

Okay, if I can't spend every 4th of July at Laguna Beach, I'd be just as happy at Coronado.  Seriously, this place is spectacular.
Boogie-boarding, Smashball and picture-taking at Coronado:

Friday we toured the USS Midway aircraft carrier.  Super cool to see and we learned lots about life aboard a battleship.  It was especially fun to hear my dad's comments since he spent time on a battleship while serving in World War II.

After that we went to the San Diego Zoo where the boys were nearly trampled by an elephant and a lion roared really, really loud at us.

Saturday we headed to Old Town San Diego for lunch and to go through the Mormon Battalion Museum ...

... before heading back over to Coronado for more smashball and boogie-boarding.  While we played on the beach, my mom and dad opted to relax on a bench and read:

What a great week!

Memorial weekend trip to St. George

We love going to St. George over Memorial weekend ... the weather is just starting to get hot (but it's not usually 100 degrees yet), it feels like summer is officially here, and we usually get to go with Grandma, Grandpa, and the Mounteers, which makes a good trip even better.

We packed so many fun things in to those three days, we came home totally worn out, but with lots of fun memories.

Baseball games at Mathis Park:

Even grandma got in on the game:

With grandpa nearby, keeping a close eye on all the action:

My mistake.  Grandpa wasn't watching the baseball game. He was swinging a golf club. (As usual.)

Of course there was swimming:

And we spent one afternoon hiking:

And there was lots and lots of golfing with Grandpa:

And a bonus ... Emery turned 14 while we were there.  Nice three-day-long party, birthday boy.