Where do I begin??? We are back from vacation. I honestly think Lake Powell is evidence that there is a God. It is so amazing. 
We started out on the road on Friday July 7th. After about 12 hours on the road we arrived at Page, AZ and it was raining. Not to worry though, the weather was wonderful. We loaded up and headed out on the houseboat on Saturday morning. I have to say that the Arizona side of Lake Powell is not as picturesque (but still very beautiful) as the Utah side so we headed north on the lake. It was not long before we reached the red canyon of rock and cliffs. It is mind-blowing how beautiful it is. At our first campsite we blew up the water trampoline and everyone went off on their jet skis. Soon the skies turned black and a thunderstorm was upon us. It 
was time to scramble to “batten down the hatches”. The winds kicked up and we could see rain all around us in the distance. I loved it! The rain missed us but the pictures I got made it all worth it. The kids all used their new fishing poles (that Colleen got them) and Donny shared his fishing talents with the kids. Micky really took to it and became his sidekick catching the most fish. She just loved it!
Jet skiing took up a lot of our time. Micky even got out on 
Trevor’s 750 and stood up! He was so wonderful with her. This year she was his best friend and was fearless on that ski! Tyler took out our ski solo and loved it! Our ski was dubbed “the Caballero” by Trevor. It was perfect for the kids. Joey elected not to take any rides on it. Getting his feet off solid ground does not appeal to him. 
Although he loved getting on Donny’s ski while it was parked on the back of the boat. I personally was thrilled to write Donny’s new 850! That is a dream machine! We were able to take some long rides and see the back canyons. That had to be my favorite.
Most of the other entertainment included game playing. Colleen and I rekindled our “Spite ‘n Malice” card challenge and this year I reined supreme 7-5. I was thrilled with that outcome. She was the winner of our Scrabble game but I still beat Donny (hee, hee). The girls built a fire at one campsite and of course the portable DVD players were used a lot. Pete also brought the new satellite radio so we were able to catch our favorites. Colleen and I had to keep switching it to “Hair Nation”. There is nothing like those 80’s hair bands.
This year Tyler threw the memorable tantrum. 
He was floating and got swept away by a swift breeze and ended up in a lagoon. The pictures of him throwing a tantrum on a raft were priceless and he can laugh now. As usual being in a confined space for one week with the kiddies can be challenging but I did my best not to lose it. It was hardest while we were motoring and since we took the boat all the way up to Escalante there was lots of traveling back the last two days. Tensions ran high at times but thankfully a good book and the twin’s naps kept me sane. I have to say that when we returned we were all happy to be back. I was longing for a shower other than a dip in the lake with my Pantene…..but the vacation was not over yet. I loaded some of the over 400 pictures I took Lake Powell 2006
More to come but I better wrap up this edition.