Summer's Here!

I guess it's high time I post an update. As of the last post, school got out that following week, so we have had a busy June so far. Scott and I celebrated our 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY (!) on June 1st so we celebrated the last days of school with a quick staycay here in town. Soon after, we only had a few days of busy things before heading out of town for a fun family trip.
The youth of our ward was attending the Manti pageant and had room for our family so we tagged along and capped the days before and after with fun.
First off, hours prior to departure, was Sadie's doc apt for her cast (and pins) removal. All healed well and she was so happy to have it off. I took some gnarly pics of what it looked like but I'll spare you that stomach churn.

First stop was the family cabin in Duck Creek, near Brianhead. We spent the night here and left the next morning for Goblin Valley. This place is in the middle of nowhere, and kind of out of the way, but worth the trip. My parents brought us here when we were kids so it was really fun to have ours at the right age to experience themselves.

If you are reading this and haven't seen Galaxy Quest, then you must satisfy this deficiency. It is so funny. At one point they visit a planet and Goblin Valley was the location they filmed it.
"We'd better get out of here before one of those things kills Guy!"
The kids climbed all over. Can you see them? Where's Waldo?




From GValley we drove up to Manti and joined our ward. Such a beautiful evening FULL OF FREAKING MOSQUITOES. Blech. I hate them. I had twelve bites before the night was through. Yes, even with repellent. PRO- it was fun to have the kids see this. CON- if you've seen it before, you never have to see it again. It's identical to what is preserved in your memory so save yourself an evening. :) But we enjoyed it.

Our sleeping situation was pretty awful but we survived (I'll spare you that story) and were ready after breakfast the next day to head to Powell and meet my parents on the houseboat! Woot!
The temps were nice but the water still cold. But what is temperature to kids? They swim in the ocean in the spring so this was no issue.

On Sunday, the temperatures were cooler with some breeze, perfect for my Dads suggestion to go visit Horseshoe Point. What an awesome sight!! I can't believe we hadn't done this before and we'll definitely be back. Amazing! (though nerve wracking with little kids- the drop off is right there)


The next day we took out the speed boat and explored some beaches. Scott got in some surfing and our last stop was this amazing sand dune.

This dune is special, people. We visited Powell many summers in my youth, most of which included trips with our special Larsen cousins. We discovered this dune and had so much fun running up and down. With all the water loss, this has been out of reach for many years. We thought we'd check it out again to see if, perhaps with all the water level increase, it may be accessible again. IT WAS!
White & pristine and waiting for us...it looks easy, yes?

It's NOT. But why climb? Because it's there (...and/or because of the potato chips, oreos and milk duds). All of us made it except Mom (the smart one who stayed in the shady boat).

Running down is the best part anyway. See? the boat is small! We supa-high.

It was a fun few days. Our kids are a blast at this age and I'm loving it. Now we're preparing for another 4th in Provo and are looking forward to all the family events!