Our September was kind of a rough month. Erik was working nights the whole month, which left all of us exhausted and disconnected. Not that I don't LOVE putting the kids to bed by myself every night, and sleeping alone, and tiptoeing around all day while Daddy sleeps... Still, we're really glad to be on an easier rotation. And to make it better, the first week of October was vacation to Lake Powell! Our NY family members flew in to Phoenix to spend General Conference weekend with us, and then we drove up to the lake.
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| This is a pretty good indication of what Conference looked like at our house. Good thing they publish the talks afterward! |
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| A little cousin sunbathing up top. The family that tans together goes through chemo together. |
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| A family hike to Rainbow Bridge |
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| Poor Sam, the lone boy with 4 older girls. He wanted to be part of that club so badly - it didn't always work out so well for him. |
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| The water was perfect for water skiing because there was so much less traffic. Erik was in heaven. |
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| Erik and Sam in paradise |
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| These paddle boards were fantastic! They were perfect for getting into slot canyons and exploring without disturbing the serenity of the lake. Definitely my favorite activity this time around. |
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| Morgan's favorite activity was learning to shoot bows and arrows on the beach. |
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| So beautiful. We all decided we like Lake Powell better in the fall. No sunburns, it cools down at night, and it's much less crowded. |
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| On our way home, we detoured briefly to the Grand Canyon, just long enough to take some pictures and support their gift shop. |
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| Honestly, the cousins were much more interested in each other than they were in the scenery. After many failed attempts to impress them with the visual grandeur, we gave up and decided they had chosen the better priority anyway. |
There is nothing better than being surrounded by natural beauty with your family. And watching our kids all become great friends was the sweetest reward for the hard work that vacation inevitably is.
