Lake Powell Family Reunion...(slideshow toward bottom of page)!!

Last Sunday we went to my dad's house in Page, Arizona where we met up with the rest of my family. My Uncle Greg & Aunt Jacque, Brycen and Gina from Oregon, Uncle Pat & Aunt Suzy, and Zach from Phoenix, Uncle Jim & Aunt Linda from Page, my cousin Tim & his wife Karen from Page, and their kids, Kourtnie and Andy. Also, my cousin Shelly and her daughter Maddy from Page. And of course my dad, and the five of us. My dad and his three brothers treated us all to a half a week on a houseboat on Lake Powell.

We set out from Wahweap on Monday and nestled the houseboat into the most beautiful little nook back by "Sand King".(which we did go to on Wed. and it was a BLAST!). Plus, we had every toy we could think of. My cousin Tim was able to get a ski boat so the kids could go knee boarding and skiing. And my Uncle Jim brought his two Sea Doos. The houseboat was huge and had everything including a big slide off of the back, which every single person there got their turn ate (well, except Karen...she broke her foot a few weeks earlier and had a cast on it. So she didn't get to enjoy the water stuff. Everyone brought something special, whether it was being wonderfully helpful, making food, being funny, or providing entertainment, it was all there. And speaking of the entertainment, my cousin Zach (www.myspace.com/zacharyjamesdodds) and my Uncle Greg are both very talented musicians and were nice enough to give us samplings of their music at night. That in itself was magical. Everyone sat around, under the moonlight, listening to amazing music.

I have to say, we have been stressed about this trip since March, when they first started planning it. Two little water babies on a house boat for three days? We were just so scared that something bad was going to happen, (especially considering that Ethan jumped off the boat at Yuba Lake). Well, I can happily say that it was an AMAZING trip. The water, the weather, the sand, the houseboat, the company, the entertainment, everything we did was just absolutely perfect. Nobody fell in the water. (Although Ethan did try, we made sure to make a stop at REI on our way down to buy a climbing harness so he was safely strapped in when we couldn't have our hands on him). My Uncle Greg did get some bruised ribs from falling off the knee board, and Maddy got a pretty nasty cut on her foot, probably from glass on the beach. But other than that, from the five of us at least, not even a sunburn. Can you imagine? We over-corrected on everything and it turned out to be very wise indeed.

This trip was so special and we are all going to hang on for dear life to the memories. We all got to spend time as a close family and I think I speak for all of us when I say we are going to cherish that week forever. Thanks again to all of my family for everything. I love you guys!