lake powell

 If there isn't a Powell in heaven, I want a refund.

 You know you are up early to ski when the sky still looks like this.

 We hit the lake every morning between 5:30-6:00am to get the glass. Most people think we are nuts, but that is just because they haven't done it. One night we went out to ski right after dinner and I got to ski while the sun was setting and a gigantic harvest moon was rising over the red rock. Pretty sure it never ever gets better than that. Ever.

 You know one of the grandkids is skiing when grandpa has this look on his face.

 But he wears this shirt to remind us who is boss.

 Here are our poor little sleepy heads who sleep in the boat every night and wake up to all of us piling in at the crack of dawn for the morning ski. But this way they don't get left behind!

 Apparently it is now acceptable to get up on two skis if you are 50+. But that is only because Ken decided so. He has given my mom crap for years for getting up on two because of her injured hamstring. But now that he has found it easier, it is cool.

 No trip to Lake Powell is complete without the generator breaking down, or not working at all. The first few days are spent trying to get it going. We had to bring parts down with us. But we got it running!

 We also have to get a ski rope caught in one of the propellers. This year we managed to get it caught in both! My mom and uncle got it stuck on the ski boat propeller and tried not to tell grandpa, but he called them on it. Then it got sucked up into the jet ski. That one required some major surgery (with a serrated kitchen knife), but the rope was salvaged and the jet ski good as new.

 My boys LOVED Lake Powell. The first night was really rough. They both kept waking up every hour or so, and I didn't sleep much at all. But the rest of the trip they wore themselves out every day so by the time bedtime came around they just passed out.

 Scott and Ben took many a dingy ride this trip. I think it was Ben's favorite thing to do!

 They even took a snooze together out on the lake! Ben woke up before Scott. He just looked around grabbed the paddles and started rowing! It was so so funny!

 Grandpa Duane and Cole became best buddies. Cole really does love him. He even gives him loves. So so cute.

 Ben had a blast throwing balls off the top of the houseboat to Becky and Caden and Dillon in the water. He also loved swimming across the cove to throw rocks. Scott and Ben got trapped in a really sudden, really big downpour one day. I watched from the houseboat half amused, half terrified. I knew Ben was probably having a massive meltdown and Scott was panicking. They both made it through the storm.

 Baby Tanner and Cole were the bumbo kings this year. Tanner had his first taste of solids while Cole literally consumed everything in his path.

 He had to make sure the graham crackers were really gone and that I wasn't shorting him!

 Exhaustion won out with Cole eventually. He followed the bumbo baby tradition of Powell of passing out in the bumbo. Right in the middle of his roll. You know he had to be super tired to leave uneaten food on his tray.

 Cole loved watching all the boats drive by. He would wave and wave and wave. If the boat was especially noisy he would say "ooohhh."

 We had an army of pack and plays this year. When everybody was there we had four set up on the roof. Cole and Wayne are only a month apart, and Wayne is younger but so much bigger!

 We wrote Elder Nilsson postcards to let him know how much we miss him and how excited we are to have him back next year. Next year we will be writing postcards to Dillon!