Powell

Last week, the kids and I made our annual pilgrimage to Lake Powell. Unfortunately, Daddy used up all of his sick and vacation time when Soren was born, so he wasn't able to go with us. I was admittedly a bit nervous about traveling with three little twerps all alone - and to top it off, Soren was diagnosed with Walking Pneumonia 2 days before departure. But, we toughed it out and went anyway, and boy are we glad we didn't wimp out! Abby and Isaac were great helpers - taking turns singing songs, waving toys, and sticking a bottle in Soren's mouth any time he cried during the drive down. Once we got there - they eagerly jumped right into our fun-filled lake adventure.

They took turns driving the boat and jet ski.

And tickled their brother on the boat.

This was our awesome company - 13 kids in all (3 were not present in this photo). We never claimed to be a quiet boat!

We spent our days enjoying the beautiful scenery and playing all day long! My kids were champions of the tube.

When the weather got rainy in the evenings, we had quiet indoor time. Here's my buddy Misty doing a little story time to tame the masses.

I love this shot - Big Abi (Misty's kid) and Little Abby (my kid) sitting in the front of the boat in exactly the same position as their mommies - 25 years ago! Man, we're old!

I brought plenty of crafts for the kids - pirate tatoos were a hit, with kids of all ages!

We all let out just a bit of our inner pirates as we got inked!

Soren was a little trooper. He loved chillin' on the boat while we went skiing and wakeboarding, slept through the night every single night (even when he was caught on top of the houseboat in the middle of a sudden downpour), and giggled and grinned all day long. I couldn't have asked for a better, easier baby!

Abby and Isaac made sure he was never forgotten.

Isaac busted a move on the EZ ski - "got up" several times behind the boat. Way to go Isaac!

Abby helped make dinner. Pizza on the grill - mmmmm!

Little Soso was a champ - even strapped to my belly for a long, hot hike to the Indian ruins.

So, this next shot may look peaceful enough, but what you DON'T see, is the one moment of the entire trip where I was questioning my sanity at coming on this trip alone. Here I was, dipping mysick infant in the nasty lake water for the first time, trying to help him avoid lapping it up like a little doggie while at the same time holding him carefully to avoid getting water in his already troubled ears, when I hear a piercing scream from the shore. I look over to find Abby in tears screaming for me. I pawn Soren off on the only other adult in the water (who just happened to be holding a two year old in the other arm) and ran to the shore thinking Abby must be near death due to the volume and intensity of her shrieks. Turns out, the kid-who-is-deathly-afraid-of-the-weird-housboat-potty couldn't hold it all week after all and had an accident in her suit. Sick. So, there I am, baby sobbing in the water with a stranger, cleaning poop on the edge of the boat when I hear a SPLASH from behind. I look over (yes, poopy swimsuit still in hand) to see Isaac falling headfirst into the water and coming up screaming that he's drowning. Yes, he had a life jacket on and was in no real danger - but his shrieks combined with Soren's and Abby's were just what I needed for what seemed like 4 hours until I got the poop cleaned up and everyone out of the water alive. Sheesh!

Thankfully, that was an isolated incident, and after a few more hours on the water, Soren learned to enjoy his swims, Isaac learned to trust his life jacket, and Abby learned to do her business in lightning speed, while holding her breath and closing her eyes and imagining herself in a happy place.

Downtime on the boat was spent crafting it up - making necklaces, braiding hair, painting fingernails - we had our own little beauty parlor going on.

I even bit the bullet and allowed my nails to be suffocated by the nasty stuff.

Did I mention that Soren was flipping adorable the entire trip? He just sat there and giggled at anyone who would look at him.

We goofed around on the boat until everyone was pooped.

And when I was out playing, there were plenty of willing arms to hold my sweet baby.

Isaac and Abby played with their Powell buddies.

And we made Plaster of Paris hand prints in the sand.

At the end of a fun week, it was hard to come home. Reality bites.