Our last year at Lake Powell

We had a great week at Powell this year. Brett was able to get Mon., Tues., and Wed., off to be with us. I was so grateful to have him there for the first half of the week to adjust to life on a houseboat with an 18 month old and a REALLY big belly. The biggest challenge was sleeping. We all sleep on the top deck at night, but I knew that just wasn't going to work for Tavin and the rest of the guests on the boat. He likes to wake up at midnight and then again around 4 or 5 am to play with and sing to his toys in his crib. We also don't run the generator to save on gas so we can have endless boat pulls and seadoo rides (I'll put it bluntly...no air or electricity). So we had to come up with some alternatives. Tavin slept and took naps in his pack and play in my family's room. (THANK YOU mom, dad, and Rach for staying out during sleeping hours!) We also used a battery powered fan and baby monitor so it all worked out great. After Brett left I was pretty overwhelmed on how I was going to do it alone, BUT I ended up having tons of help!

Tavin and daddy watching some awesome wakeboard tricks.

Tavin learned how to use earplugs and listen to an IPod.

He spent most of his time in a diaper and hat to stay cool and as usual, he ate and ate and ate! He loved spending time with his cousins, esp. KaiLee.

Like I said, I had tons of help. I could not have done it with out my mom and sisters, my nieces, and Nancy and Ashley Jones! They would notice when I was at my breaking point and step in or they would let me go play a game (cause that is pretty much all I could do) and keep an eye on him. Ashley even took him out for a seadoo ride and he loved it so much he fell asleep.

(Some random chick off the internet.)

I did happen to convince my dad to let me airchair once (as long as I didn't try to do any tricks) and after barely squeezing in to the biggest vest, I'll admit, it was totally awkward with the extra front weight. : ) After I went, my dad took Tavin on the airchair. I FORGOT MY CAMERA on the houseboat. I was so mad at myself. He cried the whole time, but I bet they were tears of joy and excitement!

Let's just say, in the 15 years we have been going to Powell we have never had a trip where somewhere has not been severely injured, besides last year. I'm talking MANY hospital trips, helicopter flights, etc. Well, we did it again this year (which we credit to our devotionals put on by a different family each night)...well, mostly we did it again. I only hurt my back on the last day by squatting down/leaning forward, holding Tavin, to change his diaper. I'm surprised I am the only one with a hurt back after all the lifting and carrying to the bathroom, to the car, and so on that my dad, brother, and mom did. I'm still down for the count, but making good progress. Luckily I am blessed with lots of extra hands here to help lift, carry, change, rock to sleep, and play with Tavin. All in all it was a super fun week with my whole fam (except Brian), the Behrens, the Jones, and the Sistrunks.