The Fourth

We spent the Fourth in Kanab at my Grandma's other house. My Aunt Laura got a pinata for the kids, Grandma terrorized Cooper by popping his balloon, and my kids were amazed at the fireworks!

Bryce Canyon 1/2 Marathon

I ran (and finished) the Bryce Canyon 1/2 Marathon this last weekend. I ran with my friend, Katie, and we maintained a 9:42 minute mile through 13.1 miles. It was a nice reminder about how hard the SG Marathon can be at points. The race goes from Ruby's Inn to Cannonville. The first four miles are great - downhill with a Bryce Canyon backdrop. And then you come to the bottom of the hill - pretty much flat, with slight hills, and really ugly terrain (kind of reminiscent of Whitewater, Colo.)

Katie and I stuck together. I love running with her - it's been so good for me to get to know her and some other ladies we do daily runs with in our ward. You always get to know someone better when you see each other as early as 4 am, endure good smells (essential oils) and bad smells (sweat), push each other to keep going through tears, and praise the man when you're done.

Anyway, it was a good run - I'm glad I'm taking the time to run and train for myself...or else I'd be an even more uptight wife/mom!

Lake Powell

Cousins: Milo, Savanah, Kylie, Avrie, Asia, Jemma

I have to say the highlight of the 4-day trip was the Jumbo Dog. Myself, along with my MIL, Mary, and three SsIL, Shaquel, Tiesha, and Kristen, jumped aboard. It was a blast (and I don't say that about stuff very often)! We totally felt like kids again - squealing, yelling, laughing, gulping water, and unintentionally trying to drown one other when the Dog would flip. When you become a wife/mom you kind of forget that you can still have those kid/teenage moments. Good times!

When we "do" Lake Powell, we always camp at Lone Rock Beach on the south end of the lake. And I'm proud to say that this year, my little family pretty much outlasted everyone! While everyone, at some point or another, got a hotel room, we stayed there through the dust storms, rain storms, wind, no wind, sun, and chill.

We've been camping the Po Man's way lately, though. When we were first married, in our young, foolish, and (mostly) debt-free days, we had a 37' toy-hauler fifth-wheel. That was downgraded to a 24' trailer, and now we just use a cargo trailer. Nobody, however, was complaining about our cargo trailer when we fit all 26 of us in there for dinner during a dust storm.

Cooper's favorite position on the boat

Our boat - isn't she a beauty?! (no, no, the little one on the left)

Sam

Kristen and Jimmy

We took turns fixing the meals.

Tiesha and Mary - the one time you'll see Mary in anything sleeveless. I was impressed, though, to see my father-in-law, Jim, in actual swim trunks instead of his usual slacks on the boat. I had to laugh, though: Jim, who owns a trucking company, suggested we bring a reefer (a refrigerated trailer) down to the lake to keep ourselves and our food cool....not a bad idea, except trying to navigate through two foot deep sand.

Cousins Connor and Rudy

Matt getting in position to water ski. Sam held him steady while Matt held tight to the ski rope hooked to a 4-wheeler on the beach. One of his uncles gave the 4-wheeler some gas and Matt was....

....up, and then down shortly after. He said he didn't want to try it again.