3 Girls and a Guy

Lake Powell Without Lyle

Lake Powell is Lyle and Renn's thang. This year Lyle's wife, Ashleigh, had emergency appendix surgery four days before we were suppose to leave. I was in New York with the girls and Renn had to buy all the food and pack for Powell. This is the first time we took the houseboat out without Lyle. Renn was stressed! We did it, but we missed Lyle and his fam!

This is a pic of the girls wakeboarding. Yes I have the ugliest face going on. Alex and I were trying to jump higher. Alex is jumping pretty good lately. Her friend Taylor, from dance, came with us because Alex had no cousins her age. Taylor got up her first try wakeboarding. She rocked!

Jordan, Heather and fam came with us and Renn's bro, Randy, and fam. There were 12 children under the age of 13. We had a full boat. Adri's favorite thing to do boating is swimming. She always asks for a swim break. Heather and Corbyn out for a swim break. We spent a lot of time on the boat. It was hot! We stayed in Warm Springs Canyon. It was not far from the marina. That was nice! We didn't have to waste one day looking for a beach. Renn and Jordan got up early Monday morning and went out on the ski boat and traded a beach for a wake board ride. The guy said we could have his spot, if Renn and Jordan pulled him behind the boat. Nice!

The kids played hard and they slept wherever during the day. They were up early because the sun was up early. They are so cute when they are sleeping.

Love these sleeping kids!

Cliff jumping is another must. Randy's oldest boy, Mac, made lots of money this trip. He is more reserved and his dad would tell him he would pay him money in order to try something. He banked. Mac almost tried everything as long as money was involved.

One day I found some of the kids sticking their head and body parts in the cold cooler. This was fun to them. They are crazy.

We ate so good in Powell. Pork tacos, grilled chicken, hamburgers, pasta, taco salads, pizza and everynight we had dessert! We had homemade ice cream twice. It was the perfect afternoon snack. We played card games and made string bracelets for down time. The wind blew two straight days, so Renn, Randy, and Jenn parked it on the top of the boat to watch things. The next boat over would really swing sometimes. It was fun to watch them wrangle their boat and tie it back up. People running crazy everywhere. A few times we looked like crazy people trying to tie our boat up tighter. The wind is the worst part in Powell.

All of the kids and dads slept on top of the boat. It was hot inside the boat, but I still slept in my bed. I tried to sleep outside one night and I didn't sleep as well. Nights were so beautiful. It was fun to lay up top and look at the stars. I loved sleepy time. The kids were so pleasant and so tired.

We had two bdays in Powell this year. Aunt Heather's bday was in the middle of the week. Renn and I hung balloons for her and tried to make it special. Jordan brought a few presents for her. That night we made cheesecake. Heather is so fun to be around. She is such a great mother and wife. She always looks like a movie star even in Powell. We love you Heather and hope you had a great bday in Powell.

Stakes are not fun. The first day we dig and dig, drop the stakes in, and bury them with dirt and heavy rocks. Every few days the men would tighten the ropes. Mid week, the men dug new holes, deeper and with heavier ropes. Thats the worst part of Powell. One day we will have all of these boys doing the work. Digging burned some calories out in that sun! The women joined in too on occasion.

Random pics. Taylor was so easy to have in Powell. I love easy friends. No drama except from cute girlie girl Bryell. Heather's baby girl is giving them a run for their money. Her boys are so sweet and quiet, Jordan found his match! He deserves her. Hehe.

Our men were hilarious. There was always a project going on and it was sure to be entertaining. They would all three try to tighten ropes on this sea doo. They would tip and we women would laugh and cry. The rope got stuck in the propeller one day and Jordan put goggles on, a hose in his mouth and dived to get it untangled. Renn and Randy held the other end of the hose up. Jordan was coughing blood by the time he was done. Every morning these boys would get up aroun 5 a.m. and go surfing. They would purposely go by this one house boat to tick the guy off. They are thoughtful. They would be gone until 8 or 9 a.m. I needed my beauty sleep. One afternoon they all went out on this sea doo and rode hard. I'm sure bodies flew everywhere and so did POOP! Enough said.

One night we had smores. You can tell everyone enjoyed them. There was nothing left!

It wouldn't be Lake Powell without the trampoline, launcher and the nightly baths off the back of the boat! Lyle wasn't there so the launching wasn't as high. Lyle is bigger so he could launch higher. The kids would jump off the houseboat onto the trampoline. Probably not the smartest.

There were a lot of broken cracks this week. All the McBride men have a problem with their cracks. Notice the Robisons do not. The kids would all bathe, get in pjs and chill by the TV at night. They were exhausted.

All of the kids loved kneeboarding. My Kade is such a great boater. I love watching my little guy. He is a natural at whatever he tries, and he wants to try everything. Randy's fam loved kneeboarding too.

The slide is also popular at Powell. Alex is always found plugging her nose whether going down the slide or crashing on her wakeboard.

This year we had sea doos in Powell. They are Renn's business partners and he stores them at the marina. The kids loved them. They loved driving them and they loved being thrown off. We laughed so hard out on the sea doos. I was thrown off several times. Fun times! Don't drive with Kaden, he will throw you off for sure.

July 2nd was Adri's bday. It was the day before we came home. She loved being in Powell for her bday. She got an i pod touch and some other favorites. She also got homemade ice cream and chocolate cake. Adri turned 9 this year. She had a great day playing in the sun swimming and cliff jumping. We danced behind the boat and tried to fit everything in. It was not only Adri's bday, but our last day on the lake.

The tube is the best. Whether behind the boat or playing out on the lake like a raft! Renn's a crazy driver. He doesn't know what slow means unless there is a pregnant lady on board.

We found some more cliffs on Adri's bday. Swimming and cliff jumping are her favorites. She doesn't love doing things behind the boat. I think it scares her not being in control. We went back to the houseboat right after cliff jumping and decided to haul butt into the marina. We had to get there before night because the docking company wouldn't dock the houseboat too late. It was a mad rush to get the anchors out, clean everything up and be on our way. We didn't want to do it on Sunday. We made it at 9 p.m. at night. We got to sleep with air conditioning and take clean showers. It was nice. Adri got a little ripped off. We were going to do sparklers, but then decided to go to the marina. They are not allowed with all the gas around so we saved them for the 4th. Happy Bday cute girl! She was easy to please in Powell.

Powell was so different without Lyle and his fam this year. It was just our fam, my bro, and Renn's bro. The kids had a blast being with their cousins. The adults only stayed up late one night playing games. We were all exhausted from playing so hard. This year seemed like a lot more work. I was always stressed about the food. We had to start hiding food because some kids are pigs. Renn buys food for what is necessary. Lyle buys food for pigs. Renn watches the budget and his waistline. Lyle could care less about either. I felt like I cooked and cleaned a lot more too. I know it's a tradition that will go on for years. It's Renn's thang and he loves it. My kids love it too. I love it too, but it feels like home because I clean and cook just like at home. Powell in the fall? We will see what happens. I hope Lyle goes, because then I won't stress as much. Renn did it. His brother is super handy and Jordan has experience. We were safe and there were no accidents.