Lake Powell 2012

 WHAT? We went back to Lake Powell?

Yes, yes we did - I am not going to lie, I was definitely a little skeptical of going back to the beloved Lake Powell.  We left early Sunday morning and arrived into Bullfrog around 3pm with no problems along the way - Can you believe that?

We decided this year to spend the first night in the marina instead of rushing out trying to find a campsite, so it was definitely more relaxing, and plus we were able to load the boat when it was cooler and with not as many people around.

The Marnia after all has been our Home Sweet Home for how many years now...

 The only way to keep Eli entertained and from running off the dock into 400 feet deep water was to put him in the loading carts - he enjoyed it!

 After unloading and unpacking - which is quite a task - we celebrated with a much needed ice, cold beer!

 We ate dinner at the Bullfrog restaurant and then it was off to bed.

We slept pretty good and got up early to see if we could finally move the Dream Haven out of the Marina and onto the beautiful Lake!

 It was a success!  The Dream Haven actually made it to a beach for the first time in four years - for us anyways!  It was great.  We still had only one engine - but my dad said he wasn't going to miss out on another year, so we stayed close to Bullfrog, but still not in the marina!

We were planning to hook up with the Ferreras and Carnivals, so he had the big task of finding a beach big enough for 3 houseboats, 4 boats and 6 jestskis - sounds like circus doesn't it?

Well, we found an awesome beach in Halls Creek where we set up camp for the rest of the week and finally enjoyed the lake we've been missing out on!

Before even setting the anchors, my kids were on the beach and in the water playing!  They were in heaven and that pretty much is what they did all week long...

 Eli was so cute - before bed we would put a movie on and Eli would crawl up in Carson's lap to snuggle...he doesn't do that with many people!

 I think my dad's favorite event of the whole trip was playing volleyball with all his buddies!  You have to imagine old guys, sitting on at least 3 water noodles with beers in their hands playing water volleyball - quite a sight and very humorous!  There was not a lot of "volley" going on, but tons of trash talking and laughing!  I love seeing my dad have so much fun in Lake Powell - he deserves it!

 Since we couldn't really explore the lake with the houseboat, we took a day trip down to the Dam and the new Antelope Marnia in the Arizona part of Lake Powell.  It was an 8 hour trip down there and back, but it was fun to explore a part of the lake I had never been too...

 We took two boats down there, and we rode in John and Debbie's cabin cruiser - it made for a much smoother ride and plus the cabin provided a great place for the kids to play and take naps out of the sun during the long trip...

 We arrived into the Antelope marina around lunch time and was quite surprised by what we found.  This place was very upscale for Lake Powell and the kinds of house boats and speed boats there were absolutely amazing - lots of money down there!  We actually went on the top deck of one of those houseboats - it was ridiculous!  They had an outdoor kitchen with high end appliances - flat screen TVS all over the place, expensive lounge chairs with cushions and of course a hot tub! Talk about luxury - it made our houseboat look like a dump!  I only wish I could have seen the inside...

 We had lunch at the restaurant which was great and then played in the water before heading back...

 Eli had so much fun playing with Papa in the water...

 After leaving Antelope we headed over to the Dam, which I have never seen before.  I've been coming to Lake Powell for twenty years now and had never seen the Dam.  Now I can say I have and never need to go back down that way - it was a Dam! 

 Eli slept the whole way back and I think I did too...

 Eli LOVED playing in the water and was so comfortable like usual - no FEAR child.  He even went down the slide on the back of the boat!  I still can't believe he did it!

 Eli and Ashtyn loved going jet skiing too - I think my kids are just a little bit spoiled - I don't think I was on a jet ski until I was like sixteen or so...

We have been working all summer on getting Ashtyn comfortable swimming in the lake with her life jacket.  She was for some reason having a tough time trusting that the life jacket would actually help her float and swim when she couldn't touch the bottom.  But Matt worked with her and she finally got the hang of it.  By the end of the week she would get off the back of the houseboat and swim around without us - we were so, SO proud of her!  Especially her Papa!

 The weather was fantastic the whole week and we only had one storm move through one late afternoon leaving a rainbow in its trail...

 Carson and Ashtyn wanted to take a hike to find the gold at the end of the rainbow, so we started hiking up the mountain...

 We made it to the top - but found no gold!

 Eli enjoying his morning cup of coffee!

 Ashtyn fell in love with the older girls on the Ferrera and Carnival boats! 

I remember doing the same thing when I was younger - tagging along with Tony and Jamie wanting to be just like them!

Emma and Cassie invited Ashtyn over to their "Spa" for a mani and pedi - it was so adorable!

They did her toes and nails and I was very impressed with how well they did!

I even got a little pedi done - a little french tip even! 

I was very impressed!

 They are so CUTE!

 Matt finally got a chance to drive the Sea Ray!  Kevin let him take the wheel and he did great!  Now if we could just talk my dad into letting us borrow the boat for a weekend - that would be great!

Not counting on it though!

We spent another beautiful week in Lake Powell and not in the Bullfrog Marina!

I think my kids fell in love with Lake Powell just like I did at a young age, and hopefully we will have better luck from here on out, so my kids can grow up here, just as I did. 

Lake Powell 2012 goes down in the books as a SUCCESS - finally!