Lake Powell

We recently went to Lake Powell on a Connelly family trip and had SO much fun! The Connellys used to go every year growing up and I have been able to go 3 or 4 times since Mike and I have been married. It is SUCH a fun trip. The water is unbelievably warm and the red rock is so beautiful. All you do is hang out, eat, play games and of course play in the water! It's definitely Mike's favorite vacation. It was so fun spending it with all of Mike's siblings and parents. Have I ever mentioned how amazing my in-laws are? I seriously could not have married into a better family. They are wonderful in every way and I love them all so much. Unfortunately Reed & Martin couldn't be there with us. We haave to get them out to Powell at some point! Here are some pictures of the awesome week.

 We arrived in the afternoon but we had to get right out on the water. Jill & Lynn were great. They kept the grandkids and the 5 "adult" kids went out on the water. My POOR sweet little Jay had strep throat :( It was a NASTY strain too. He was diagnosed the day we drove up (we had come after spending 2 days in Flagstaff with our friends) and even after getting antibiotics he was sick with a 104 temp for another 3 1/2 days. Only having him on advil and tylenol at the same time helped. Everyone was so great to help with him. Sadly most of them got sick too for it. I seriously hope no one ever has to go through this strain of strep again. It was horrible. Anyway, back to the good stuff...

 Watching my hot husband rock it wake-boarding. He is so naturally good at sports!

Rob was awesome to watch too! He too was blessed with that natural Connelly sports ability.

 The first night our air conditioning went out so Lake Powell supplied us with a free dinner at their restaurant. We found this cute guy outside after we ate :)

The cousins had so much fun playing together. I love how much they love each other! We stayed in a trailer near the lake and it was perfect. I would have been a total wreck if we had stayed on a houseboat with these littles - despite the fact that Mike thinks it would have been totally ok ;) He's pretty much the antithesis of someone who worries.

 Grandma was so fun with the babies! They loved being with her. I know she likes Lake Powell but I think the highlight of her trip was being with all 3 of her grandkids. She was so happy! She made the trip amazing too with all the WONDERFUL food she brought for us. We really ate like kings!

 Aunt Lissy was so sweet to play games with Jay and MyMy too.

 Grandma with the two baby girls she loves so much!

Robbie was awesome with the kids. I'm always amazed at how good he is with little ones. Seeing as he has no kids of his own yet it sure comes natural to him! All three kiddos loved playing with him. What a great uncle!

Grandpa and his girls. They loved being with Gramps! He was always showing them fun things to do or giving them yummy things to eat :) And he's the man that made this vacation possible. We love him so much!

 In the mornings we'd load up the boat with all the kids and head out to the water. 

 Meme and Mymy! I think these two are two peas in a pod. I sure hope Amaya grows up to be like her Aunty Megan!

 Life jackets - so we can be safe! The girls hated them. Especially Amaya but they kept them on at all times in the water. Even nap times! Jay on the other hand loved his life jacket. It was a whole new world for him swimming with a life jacket on. He had a blast!

 Doesn't Rob look like he belongs here? He was usually the captain of the boat.

 My beautiful sisters!

 Loving my hair in this one... The great thing about Powell though is it doesn't matter!

 Oh daddy, so nice!

 

 Can't you tell how much she loves that life jacket? ha ha ha!

 Such a handsome little man!

 Nap time! These pretty much occurred on the boat every day. The girls did surprisingly well with it all! It helped having a comfy grandma and grandpa to sleep on.

 Here are the 4 originals doing some cliff jumping!

Melis trying to help me conquer me fear - after almost dying in high school after jumping off a 70 foot cliff I don't much like heights anymore. I finally did jump!

 More fun in the water...

 After falling about 40 times I FINALLY got up!!! All it took was persistence. It helped when Rob tried pulling me up slower too.

 The nights were beautiful!

One morning we found a little sand bar and the kids had a great time playing together while the adults took turns on the SeeDoos. The little ones got to ride a few times too!

Jay and daddy took a trip across the little water canal and hiked on the little "mountain" on the other side. Jay exploring with his daddy!

After playing on the shore we went to get ice cream and feed the nasty carp! The kids thought it was pretty cool.

 So nasty.

Ice cream always tastes best in Powell!

Tired girls...

More fun in the water...

One of our last adventures was hiking up to these old Indian ruins. It was so cool! Jay loved going down the ladder into the cave.

And then one last dive into the Lake Powell waters. What a great trip!