Lake Powell

So began our Lake Powell vacation. Forgive me if I share too many pictures, it was hard to pick my favorites.

We, along with my parents and sister, rented a house boat in Lake Powell for our vacation this year. What a wise decision. Kristian loved being on the 'big boat' as he called it. It is one of my favorite places on earth. Looking at these rocks is it really that hard to understand why? Notice the rocks that have recently fallen. This picture was taken while looking across the canyon from where we were anchored. We found a place that never was in direct sunlight. For those of you that have been there, you know that is a feat. We had to rig up a pulley system for out raft to be able to go out to the sun once in a while. And even there we only had sun from about 10am to 2pm. But it sure helped with the heat. We ran out of ice on the third or fourth day so it was nice to be out of the sun.

Before we left we purchased a Ocean Kayak that was a ton of fun. Kristian calls it 'mine red boat'. We had fun paddling around the canyon. Kristian did not like to sit right in front of Brian because he kept getting his head bumped. He even tried to paddle a few times. It was much more fun to just let dad do all the work though (I agree). My parents even tried it and liked it. Though it is a work out for the upper body. It is a good thing that it is so wide because if you tip it, it is VERY hard to get back in. (for us fat people)

This has to be one of my favorite pictures of my boys.

Kristian loved climbing around on the rocks and especially throwing them. We would have to fill a box of rocks for him to take back on the boat so he could throw them off the back. If we stayed on the rocks too long he would run out of rocks to throw. It was hard to keep up with him. I think that we all took advantage of when he took a nap so that we could recoup. He was great entertainment for us all.

While we were there, Kristian learned to swim. At first he was not sure about the water. He loves the water but has only been in water that no deeper than bath water. This was the first exposure to deep water. He held on to my life jacket so tight the first couple times we got in, but eventually we were able to get him to swim from me to Brian. Once he realized that he could get around on his own, it was hard to reign him in. It was just a matter of finding the right thing to bribe him with. Jumping off the rocks was the thing that worked. I could not believe how little fear he has. Complete trust in his parents. He did not want to stop. He just kept saying 'again, again', and of couse I would let him go again. I have it on video but am not sure I can figure out how to put it on here. I will try. When we were all done jumping he swam all the way from the rock back over to the boat (15feet or more) and then wanted to jump off the side of the boat as well.

He loved riding on the house boat. After driving the boat with Grandma he wanted to sit in the front just like everyone else was. It was just so hard to keep his eyes open when he was so relaxed. This is my idea of a vacation. If I get my way we will be back every year.