When I was growing up my family had a few family vacations to Lake Powell. Even saying "Lake Powell" makes me feel a little giddy and excited. Lake Powell is the most beautiful place. It is a red rock canyon that has been dammed up and is now a lake where there is boating and hiking and relaxing and exploring. It is in Arizona and hot and the water feels like bath water. There were a few years when we were kids where we had an annual tradition of going to Lake Powell. Then we didn't go for a few years and the next time I went I was a teen with our young women's group from church. I remember watching my mom and another mom that was there. They packed all kinds of delicious food for the trip, had treats, games, sand toys, water toys, towels, sunscreen and all kinds of random things to make the trip comfortable. I watched how much work it was to get ready for the trip and then to make each day fun. They did all the packing, planning and shopping all to make it a great experience for everyone there. Then when we were there they would go swim with us and enjoy the relaxing parts. They wore their swimming suits without being self conscious of how they looked. They joked and laughed and had fun. They encouraged us to have fun too. As a kid they taught us that it is ok to pee in a lake. In fact, I remember my younger brother just about had a panic attack when my mom tried to convince him that it really was okay to pee in the lake. They sat on the boat for hours holding the flag and cheering us on when we tried over and over again to get up or master a new skill while wake boarding or water skiing. Then had a warm towel and smile waiting for us when we got out of the water. I decided that I wanted to be a "Lake Powell Mom."
I coined the phrase "Lake Powell Mom" myself, but essentially it is a mom that is up for adventure and up for fun and really has not much to do with Lake Powell itself. When I was pregnant with Charlotte I went to a Banff Film Festival and saw this family that lived on top of a mountain and their girls would ski in their spare time and another family had a rock climbing wall in their house. My sister told me about a family that took their toddler on hiking/backpacking trip for a year. When I think about these moms I think about what it is like to try to figure out what kind of food to make or how to get the warm socks to the top or the mountain or when they are going to have time to clean all the chalk dust in the house from the climbing wall, or how to pack just enough to keep the pack light but have all the essentials. Now I have no intention of moving to the top of a mountain or camping for a year(I need a Target a little too much), but I love the idea of doing fun, adventurous things with my little ones. However, I have learned that often the packing, planning and executing these excursions falls to the mom. And now..I'm the mom. Sometimes when I'm in the midst of packing for a trip or even a picnic at the park I wonder if it will be worth it. I wonder if I should just wait until they are older. I think that I would rather use my energy laying on the couch watching TV (sad...but true). I feel guilty that I am not deep cleaning (who are we kidding I should be doing the basic cleaning) my house like I know I should or finally getting around to organizing my closet. The problem is going on adventures with kids is always a coin toss as to whether you are brave for going on the adventure or stupid for dragging your kids along. Sometimes I flip-flop between feeling courageous and feeling like I have made the worst decision ever. Somehow I think that even when these times turn into huge disasters it will create cooler memories than watching Frozen or Penguins for the millionth time. I really have to remind myself of this goal on a regular basis. I don't feel like I am there yet, but I'm learning. This summer we went to Lake Powell with my family. Luckily, my mom was there to still be the real "lake powell mom" and take care of all the logistics, but it was a blast.
Playing "Party, Party" with Ama. It is a favorite!
She liked the water...when she was asleep on the shore.
Elliott fell asleep while we were tubing. It was clearly not a hardcore tubing ride.
Cousins!
The Baby cousins
I'm a mom.
Gathering "summer air" the night before the first day of preschool for Charlotte. Summer air is stored in a bag and saved to be breathed in when school/winter seems suffocating you. This is a tradition that I did growing up
First day of preschool! I woke her up and her eyes immediately popped open and she had a instant smile on her face. She picked her own outfit and was so excited.
Vivian starting to learn to smile.
Staying at Kingsmill and getting ready to go to Water Country USA.
Check out how cute these two are. Holding hands...so sweet!!
On the way to the dentist I handed Charlotte a toothbrush. Ideally I would have methodically brushed her teeth before showing up to the appointment, but instead I chucked a toothbrush back to her to do it on the way. By the time we got there charlotte was crying because she got her toothbrush stuck in her hair. Four-year-olds are strange.
Elliott's first dental appointment was little more than a typical toothbrush session with dad.
I watched my friend's kids and picked Charlotte up for preschool. I walked in with a 4 yr old, 3 yr old, 2 yr old, 1 yr old and new baby. It was a crazy couple of minutes and Im glad I don't have to do it on a regular basis, but honestly the kids were as good as they could be.
Apple picking is so much fun and plus the apples are delicious.
We went to the world bicycle championships in Richmond. It was really cool to be there and watch people completing their dreams. Finish lines always make me tear up.
My college roommate came to visit and it made me oh so happy. I'm glad a filled out my questionnaire so perfect to end up getting assigned with Katie.
Oh and we have a whole boatload of kids now!! We are moms.
We went to go swimming on the Sedwick's house and Cora loved hanging out with Nana and Charlotte was unsure about how she felt about sharing her Nana time.
The little ones sporting their BYU gear.
On Sundays I put gel in Elliott's hair to give him a nice combover. This Sunday he was TICKEd about it and spent the next few minutes making it messy again. But now with the gel it stayed that way. Why do I bother?
We went to the world bicycle championships in Richmond. It was really cool to be there and watch people completing their dreams. Finish lines always make me tear up.
My college roommate came to visit and it made me oh so happy. I'm glad a filled out my questionnaire so perfect to end up getting assigned with Katie.
Oh and we have a whole boatload of kids now!! We are moms.
We went to go swimming on the Sedwick's house and Cora loved hanging out with Nana and Charlotte was unsure about how she felt about sharing her Nana time.
The little ones sporting their BYU gear.
On Sundays I put gel in Elliott's hair to give him a nice combover. This Sunday he was TICKED about it and spent the next few minutes making it messy again. But now with the gel it stayed that way. Why do I bother?
