~~ Houseboat at Lake Powell ~~ 2010

I feel so priveledged to be able to travel so many beautiful places in the world . . . Hawaii, Europe, South America . . .

But one of my favorite places anywhere is right in my own backyard practically . . .

It's Lake Powell in the Southern Central Utah area. We have a timeshare in a houseboat there and enjoy spending 1-2 weeks each summer there with friends and family. We all look forward it every year with great anticipation.

Here's the VERY BEST of our LAKE POWELL trip for this summer. I had hundreds of photos to choose from, and you'll probably see more specific posts later, but here's the highlights of this summer's adventure.






Sunsation - the Houseboat - We LOVE it!





it was one BIG slumber party every night - we all wanted to sleep on top of the boat so we we could see the star show every night





lots of game playing in between the water fun!





getting ready to head out on some boating adventures





looking straight up at the cliffs from the houseboat . . .





bodies were flying off the top of the houseboat almost continually . . .





getting ready for water skiing behind the jetski





we had our own personal swimming pool - and it was a big one!





so much time with cousins - cute girls everywhere you look :D





a little cliff jumping in the afternoons





couldn't resist the stow away peeking out from the neighbor boat at the marina . . .


Our own version of "Minute to Win it!"



the plastic cup challenge . . .





the get the Oreo cookie from your forehead to mouth challenge . . .


A hike to the restored ruins in Forgotten Canyon







we had to swim the mosquito, shark invested waters of the marsh to access the climb to the ruins . . .









Here we are after viewing all the ruins - there's a great view of the canyon from here!'





The "Captain" on vacation . . .





The "Captains wife" on vacation (ME!) - all sunburned and harried!





We lost a few people who had to leave before we took a nice group photo :(
We miss you Kelsie and David!





Heading off into the sunset - everything is packed up and ready to return home.

We hope we can return soon!!

Continue Reading...

Oh Man! I soooo needed a laugh today . . .

And I found one!

Thank you to Tammy at "Time Flies"

who pointed me in the direction of "Catalog Living"

which is now my new daily "must see"

Who really lives in these catalog pictures anyway?

(according to Catalog Living - it's Gary & Elaine)

Keep your hobbies to yourself

Gary, we were having such a lovely afternoon with the Andersons until you decided you just had to show off your string ball.

Pest Control

Not only are they super-cute, but ever since we installed these nets our household cases of malaria are down 75%!

Out of the Closet . . .

While Gary and Elaine were in the kitchen getting popcorn, the brave yellow sweater attempted its escape.

Enjoy!
and now - I gotta get back to work!

Continue Reading...

Birds of a Feather . . .

I'm quite far behind on all my the posts, topics and ideas I'd like to share from this year. Vacations, weekends, projects. But This was an easy one . . .

Just thought I'd share my one of my collections.

I collect birds you see.

Or at least I think I collect them, it's really kinda one sided . . .I provide the food, and they provide the entertainment :)





Exquisite - love the fluff!



So tiny - wings only a whirrr . . .




You are gorgeous!




and hungry apparently . . .




Oh no, I hope the cat doesn't see these slow waddling things . . .




Silhouette . . .




Kaw - That's his name - he's a noisy thing!





Wait a minute . . . how'd you get in here

adorable . . . . (but NOT a bird)




So nice that all the different colors posed so
nicely for me don't you think!





Sweet!





Teentsy - tiny little thing





Even a "plain jane" is beautiful!



What do you collect?

I'd love to see . . .

Continue Reading...

Just Rambling on . . .

(Late addition)

While I was rambling on over here,

Andrea was raving about a similar subject here.

"I do - a Case for Marriage" - Newsweek magazine

I would rant and rave myself - but she has done it soooo well!

and

Piper - here

"Newsweek vs The Proclamation"

Stop by for a look see

Whew! I've concluded this week (I'm sure many of you have come to this same conclusion ages and ages ago) that life is just one project after another and then you die :)

And I don't mean that in a negative way at all, it's just you finish something up and without a breather it's on to the next big thing.

Norm and I had a first for us this week, in our 30 years of marriage. Wow! I can hardly even think it, not to mention writing about it. That is a long time! (And I am REALLY old!)



We spoke together at a Fireside last Sunday evening.



Explanation for my non LDS friends and readers-

Firesides are informal gatherings of Church members and friends, often in
homes or other congenial surroundings, as if around a fire. The premises are
that the home is sacred ground and that all members are to "teach one another"
and share experiences and training, that "all may be edified of all and that
every man may have an equal privilege". Typically, firesides feature a single
speaker reporting new developments, insights, or interesting experiences.

And what did we speak on after our 30 years of marital experience but the importance of nurturing your marriage relationship. Frankly, we were wondering what we could possibly offer on the subject, and to be honest, I wondered during those first few weeks of contemplating the subject whether we would need "counseling" of some sort before we were finished.

(images borrowed from my previous post - Blast from the Past - our journey)

We discovered there were many things we did rather well, yet there was much that could be improved upon. You would think with the kids all out of the house, we would have nothing to do but focus upon each other. (I know - I thought that once upon a time myself - what else is there besides KIDS??) Life pulls you in a million different directions - church callings, (that's what we call service in our church) both Norm and I serve in our church in positions that require a great deal of time, Norm is over all the Young Single Adults in our area (though he has many that labor along with him) and I serve with the women as the President of the Relief Society.

(Relief Society is the auxiliary of our church created for women. At the very
first Relief Society meeting Emma Smith, wife of Joseph Smith, exclaimed, “We
are going to do something extraordinary!” It is now one of the oldest and
largest women’s organizations in existence and has been doing extraordinary
things for more than 150 years.)

Then you have to take into account we frequently pass each other on the freeway in our comings and going from work as I work at night as an RN and my husband at his office each day. Meanwhile you try to fit in all the extraneous activities, yard, home, garden, cooking, cleaning, pets (we have many), children (we still DO have them :)

It's no wonder that marriage is like a canoe in the middle of the river, it seldom stays in one place, if not moving upstream due to the efforts of the partnership, it frequently strays downstream swayed by the currents of life that move around and over it.

Why am I mentioning all this prolonged rambling along? Now, I thought I'd give you the secret in a nutshell . . . . shush . . . you ready for this . . . it's time. That commodity that none of us ever seem to have enough of. And believe it or not the quality of the time is vitally important also. We discovered that . . .

• A little bit of nurturing goes a long way.





• Daily prayer and gospel study together creates a stronger spiritual bond





• Regular and frequent activities together as a couple go a long way to reduce the stresses of life, fatigue and overcommitment (a common situation today!)





• Regular expressions of "I love you" and "thank you" are not difficult. If they are, perhaps you're not practicing them frequently enough.

No big secrets here, just a need for commitment to make them a priority every day. It's easier said than done, but with a little bit of nurturing we can experience the time honored adage that "love begets love" and find ourselves in a stronger more enduring relationship.

Okay . . . done rambling for now . . .

Continue Reading...