Lake Powell

 

We had a great time at Lake Powell this past weekend. Almost my entire family was there (we missed you Amber, Cody, Debbie and Jordan!) My parents have been doing the houseboat thing every summer with friends for the past 15 years. This is the first time we were able to go. Let me just say...I get it. I finally understand why everyone loves it so much. It was so relaxing and fun to be in such a beautiful place with all of your favorite people.

I was completely shocked when Brady wanted to jump off the houseboat. He's been going through a scaredy cat stage lately, so I couldn't believe it when he climbed right up and jumped...not a moment's hesitation. Definitely braver than his mom!

 Cool shot of Nathan (Melissa's oldest) jumping.

Dallin enjoying the big raft.

Dad on the boat in our little cove. It was his birthday (he wouldn't want me to reveal how old) on Saturday so we had a little party with cake and a present from all the kids (new ipad!) He is definitely in his element at Lake Powell.

Cliff jumping for the brave ones like Trevor

Melissa and Lindsay (oldest sis, youngest sis)

 Ashlee and Chelsea goofing around

All the girls (second from the left is Dana, a family friend, and last on the right is Kaitlin, Trevor's cute girlfriend)

 We were definitely in a silly mood that day. This picture was followed by a sweet synchronized swimming routine for all the men to enjoy. My sisters are some of the funniest people I know. Boy I love being with them.

 Gorgeous sunsets every night

 Lots of cousin time (here watching a movie on Grandma's bed)

Mallory got up on just her second try skiing!

Kenzie was a big hit with the little ones

 Lots of time spent digging on the beach

Cute Mal with mysterious spots on her skin

 Singing "Baby Shark" in the hot tub with Hayden and Skylar

 We all enjoyed cheering on the Cougars as they (barely) won their first game of the season. Good thing the boat had satellite or Mark might have had to stay home.

As an added bonus I got to see one of my best friends from Phoenix, Larissa, since they were on the lake that weekend too. Thanks for braving the crazy weather that afternoon  to come and see us, Mike and Ris!

 
Lastly, here's a shot of the funniest moment of the weekend. On our Sunday tour we came upon a huge group of college students docked in one of the canyons. They had this huge inflatable "blob" and as we were watching they launched this rather, um, large girl into the air. Quite the sight to see!

All in all, it was a fabulous weekend with lots of memories to treasure.While having 26 people on one boat was at times crazy and crowded I loved every minute of it and can't wait to go again.

Sew Crafty!

I spent an afternoon last week teaching Kenzie how to sew. She wanted some pillows for her new bedspread so we tried this cute ruffle pillow we had seen online. It was really quite easy to make and Kenzie did a great job. I really didn't help at all, just supervised. Turned out pretty cute!

 

Here's Kenzie's new color scheme, grey and lime green. We found the duvet cover at Ikea a few months back. She painted the grey on the walls herself. She's quite the DIYer!

Cabin Trip

Last weekend we celebrated the end of summer by heading to the mountains with my cousin Paul and his family. His parents have a cabin that's less than two hours away. We had such a great time relaxing and enjoying the great outdoors, plus Paul and Lesli are just a ton of fun to be with. A highlight was playing in the river/ hot springs nearby (this is right where we went for Girls Camp so we were familiar with the area).

 Dallin saving Lesli and Tanner from floating too far down the river

 Cute Avery

 Tanner looking manly

 Poor Mallory scraped her legs up pretty good

 Mark and Paul..BFFs and pretty much inseparable this summer. These two love being together and get along so well.

 Cute pic taken by Kenz

Saturday night Mark and Paul were determined to go back to the river and catch a salmon they had trapped earlier that day (the salmon were running at the time...so fun to watch!) Sure enough, they came back victorious with a pretty big fish they caught with their bare hands (Bear Grylls would be so proud!) They sliced it opened and found all the eggs the poor salmon was heading upstream to lay. (This is about half of the eggs.) Most of the group tried eating the eggs. Caviar! Apparently they tasted like eggs (I, of course, did not partake.)

All in all it was a great weekend. It's been so fun hanging out with these guys now that they live so close. We're hoping to go back to the cabin in the winter to play in the snow!

Look who's fourteen!

Mallory celebrated her 14th birthday on the 21st. She didn't want a party so we just had her friend Sarah and her family over for cake and ice cream Sunday night.

And look! She's finally not (in her opinion) the only teenager in America without a cell phone! Happy Birthday sweet girl, you've brought us so much laughter and joy the past 14 years. We couldn't be prouder.

Back to School

Today was the first day of school and while I'm sad to see our fun summer end I was definitely ready for a quiet house again. Everyone came home happy, even little Mallory who faced the big scary high school.

 Mallory: freshman, Kenzie: junior

 Every year I end up with a goofy picture of the boys...that's just who they are. This morning the sun was too bright so this is what I ended up with. Also, notice Dallin in his socks. That's because he left his new tennis shoes (the only pair we could find) in the car Mark took to work. So instead of sending the boys off on the bus we had to race to the clinic to get the shoes out and then get to school just in time. What a way to start the year!

Brady: 3rd grade, Dallin: 5th grade

Summer Decor

Most of the colors in my house are reds, browns, gold and olive green. I'd been wanting to freshen it and update it for awhile now. I decided to use some brighter colors for spring and summer and then bring back the warmer colors in the fall. Here's a few things I've done (for my sisters who don't get to visit often enough).

These are hydrangeas from our front yard. I love these flowers, they start out white, turn a soft green and then more of a pinky mauve towards fall.

Here's our entryway ledge that's a fun place to decorate for the season or holiday.

I found this cute little canvas sign at Michael's for only $1 in my favorite color. Love it.

These dried flower/ball things were only $1 each at Michael's too!

Here's the fabric I changed the curtains in the kitchen out with (after approval from friends and sisters via cell phone picture in the middle of the fabric store). This is such an easy way to make curtains, I didn't even sew these and they'll be easy to switch out with the old ones next month.

I'm really enjoying using more greens, yellows and white to brighten everything and bring the outdoors in. Gives it a whole new look (although I can't wait for fall to come with its gorgeous colors).