Lake Powell - A Little Bit of Paradise

On July 11 we headed out for our annual Lake Powell trip. Since we had to pick the houseboat up at 11 am the next day, we decided to stay the night in Green River so we wouldn't have to wake up so early.

Of course, it's not Lake Powell without the dads gathered around fixing something. This time it was an easy fix, just swapping out a dinged prop, on solid ground. Well, we got to the beach where we were supposed to meet the houseboat and it wasn't there. No big deal . . . we decided to launch the boats while we waited.

One hour late . . .

Mom and I decided to go check Halls Marina for the houseboat. Not there.

Two hours late . . .

Mom and I pick up the Steve Hansen family and head back to Bullfrog Marina. Since there was still no sign of the houseboat we decided to go get some lunch. Over lunch there was talk of getting a hotel room or renting another houseboat. Ahhh!!!

Three hours late . . .

After lunch Dad finally got a hold of the guy on the houseboat. His excuse? "Oh, I thought we were meeting you tomorrow at 11 . . ." Ya, I'm sure that's why they decided to come back today and empty the poop and refill the gas tanks, etc.

Five hours late . . .

We were all very excited to see the houseboat, even though it was late and not cleaned . . . at least we had one. It was time for the real fun to begin! Because of our late start we camped in Slick Rock Canyon for the night and then continued on to the San Juan on Sunday, which was fine because we didn't have much else to do on Sunday. As we took the boat and jet skis out to find a camp spot we found the Carabine's sitting in their boat which wouldn't start, so we dragged them back to the houseboat to be towed.

Monday morning the Carabine's boat was still out of service, the dads once again huddled up and decided that it was the fuel pump which had gone out, so we played without the Master Craft. Luckily, the Cowley's were coming down on Tuesday and they were able to round up another fuel pump to bring down. Meanwhile we played, and played hard like we always do at Lake Powell.

Dad carvin' it up.

A little cliff jumpin'.

A little hike to a wind-cave for the kids.

The trip was going great. We were skiing and playing and just having a ball . . . plus the Master Craft was working again so we could all get our surfing fix. Thursday morning the morning ski crew got up as usual to find the kind of glass you dream about, perfect. We all crawled into the boat and checked the ski locker for water, we found a little but the fuel pump had been fixed the day before so there was nothing unusual there. It was unusual, however, for the bilge pump to be pumping out so much water after Steve Carabine barefooted out of the canyon. We checked the ski locker again as Russ got ready to ski, and it was a little fuller than it had been.

Hmm . . . that's odd.

Oh, well, let's ski!

It was amazing that Russ even got up because the boat couldn't go more than 20 mph. When water started seeping onto Dad's feet, who was driving, we decided we had better stop and figure out what the problem was. Dad began idling back to camp while Russ and the other dads gathered for yet another huddle. But the bow of the boat was getting so low to the water that something had to be done . . . and fast. As we searched for any type of bailing bucket the only thing we found was plastic water bottles so we cut the tops off and started bailing by hand. When we finally made it back to camp we tied to the houseboat and some continued bailing while others jumped off to find some wet/dry vacuums.

Mary bailing with her water bottles.

Once we had enough of the water out that we could stop for a minute, the dads huddled up once more to figure out what the problem was. When everything had stopped and we were quiet we could actually HEAR water pouring into the boat.

"Um, I think there's water gushing in around this general area . . ."

The problem was finally located. The seal around the outdrive shaft that goes through the bottom of the boat had burst when we started the engine that morning and the boat had been filling up ever since. Unfortunately for the dads, the work was not over. They stopped the water flow, but then they had to actually get to the hose to fix it . . . which of course had to be under the engine at the hardest to reach place possible.

The dads in their huddle . . . dad and Russ playing in the engine compartment.

Once our fabulous bailing work wasn't needed anymore we went off to eat breakfast and then took another boat out to ski . . . without the dads, I know, what selfish children we are. The water wasn't as good as before but it was still pretty good. The Master Craft was fixed by late morning and we were off and playing once again.

Our time in the San Juan was coming to an end and we had to get some more playing in. The boys were gracious enough to let me join them for a little cliff jumping and on the way back to camp we pulled a "Panama." Now, if you don't know what a "Panama" is just think back to the movie Sahara, where they jump off the back of a moving yacht just before it blows up. Luckily, we didn't need to worry about the blowing up part but Nate, Kyle, Matt, and I stood on the back of the boat until we reached 20-25 mph and then jumped off backwards. It was a ton of fun! (Though it did give us all a headache that night).

We finished off our time in the San Juan without any more incidents and began the sad journey back to the marina. The girls enjoyed their annual moonlit bath, skinny dip, on Friday night and then it was Saturday and time to turn the houseboat in to the next group. While the houseboat was making its last leg of the journey a few of us decided to go out and get one last play in. Little Tyler Cowley had been begging me all morning for a wakeboard ride so we found a quiet spot in the main channel and got him out there. He got up, boarded for a while, then fell. Then he got up, boarded for a while and had a nice face plant. I asked him if that one hurt and he said yes but he wanted to go one more time. The third time he didn't get up, I think it was because of the blood that he started to see. His head was bleeding. We pulled him in and got some pressure on his head, you know how much head wounds bleed, as we headed out to find Steve Carabine, who is a surgeon. All the while Tyler kept repeating, "I don't want stitches, I don't want stitches . . ." We found Steve at the gas dock and when he heard that we had an injury he grabbed his handy-dandy medical kit and jumped onto our boat to have a look. By that time the bleeding had mostly stopped and we knew it wasn't a very big cut. He looked at it and said it would heal faster if he put one stitch in it. Tyler wasn't very happy but we headed back to the houseboat and he was very brave.

We turned the houseboat over, cleaned up and headed home. You know it's been a good vacation when you have worked hard, played hard, had a couple bumps and bruises, a few technical difficulties, and are extremely sore by the end. Ah, the adventures of Lake Powell! That is my kind of vacation.

The Ranch

So, it's been a while since I posted . . . I've been busy enjoying summer! I returned home from Ghana late the night of June 25 and the next morning Mom and I headed up to meet the Hansen family at the Baucom's Ranch. I've been lucky so far with travelling and haven't really been bothered by jet lag, so I was off and running. After the whole group made it up there we saddled up 17 horses and went for a long and beautiful ride.

We had such a long and cool spring that there were still TONS of gorgeous wildflowers still blooming (as you can see in the background)!

Miss Paige and her long legs prepping for a group photo.

We even got Papa Mac out on a horse!

And what a better way to spend the evening than . . .

Playing with the toys! Here's Jessica with her dad's Hungarian military bayonet riffle-thingy . . . I would hate to have this gun pointed at me, especially after seeing it blow logs to shreds . . .

Amy at the ready.

Ready aim Fire!
The crew shooting into the river bottoms.

Ah! I love vacations!

Akwaaba

After months of planning, my Ghana trip has come and gone! It was an amazing experience that I will never forget. With so many experiences and adventures over a months time, I will not be able to talk about it all at once. But hopefully I can add things in here and there.

We arrived in Ghana on June 1, after 48 hours of travelling (12 of which were spent in the Dubai airport). It was a relief to finally be on the ground and running. Luckily jet lag didn't seem to bother me much (I'm crossing my fingers that this doesn't change when it's time for London)! After another day of travelling, this time by van, we reached Cape Coast where we would spend most of our time while in Ghana.

Kandis in front of School for Classes 1, 2, and 3.

Once we got settled in we began working with a school/orphanage called Sankofa Mbofra Fie, which means "return to your roots." Although the school has over 250 children, our group of volunteers decided to focus on classes 1, 2, and 3, which are roughly equivalent to 1st through 3rd grades. Since we were only going to be in Ghana for a short time we also made the decision to focus on two things which we could really help these children with: English and self discovery. When we first began many of the children could recite their ABCs as well as write them, however, they could not identify a letter by itself. It was a big project but we began working on letter recognition and phonics as soon as we were able. By the time we left most of the children could identify their letters and tell us what sounds each letter made, some were even able to sound out words!

Along with English we worked on self discovery with the children. Sankofa is located in a small village about an hour outside of Cape Coast, so for the most part the children are unfamiliar with the ability to take an active role in their lives. The program director, David, explained to us that if these children end up doing anything other than subsistence farming in their lives, which we are hoping for with the education they are receiving, it is often the parents who will tell them what to do. I remember the first day that we began this self discovery class we passed out crayons and paper and asked each student to draw: 1) a picture of themselves, 2) their family, 3) their home, and 4) what they wanted to be in the future. It was difficult enough to get the children to understand the concept behind drawing the tangible things they had, like a self portrait, but it was even more difficult for them to understand the concept of the future and that they had a choice. We began listing things to help them out, a shop keeper, a driver, a footballer, etc. I just remember watching one little boy as the light bulb went on over his head and he bent over his paper and began drawing furiously. I wandered over to his little desk and asked him what he was drawing and he pointed to a picture of an airplane, he wanted to be a pilot! As the weeks went by the children really flourished creatively, they loved drawing and telling us about who they were, which they had never done before. It was great!

My Class 1 group coloring (from left to right): Mohammad, Ruth, Linda, Patience, Deborah, and Ivy.

When we weren't teaching the children we were working with David and the teachers to set up a sustainable program at Sankofa. We helped purchase good English and Math books, with teacher manuals to guide lessons, we set up a schedule, which was rather difficult for the teachers to stick to because they were used to doing what they wanted when they wanted, and we also made it possible for volunteers to come to the school and be able to jump right in and help without disrupting the school every time. Like everything else good in life, it was a lot of work but we feel like we accomplished a lot in the time that we had!

Hurray for Mommies!

Mom and Me

Happy Mother's Day to my mommy, my grandmas, and all the mothers out there who I love so much!

This past weekend was busy but great. Saturday we kicked off the day by watching Avery dominate the lacrosse field. The first game she scored 5 of the 11 goals for her team, and the second game she scored 3 goals out of 7. She is definitely a scoring machine.

Avery is the one with the ball in the far left of the picture (white jersey).

After Avery's first lacrosse game, Dad, Nate, and I headed out to Utah Lake for the first ski trip of the year. It's a little late in the year to get started but it has been a cold spring . . . better late than never though. It was a little chilly out on the lake, the air temperature was somewhere in the mid-60s and the water temperature was in the mid-50s. It was great!

Dad jumping the Sky Ski with snowy mountains in the background.

Mother's Day was great. We treated mom to a big breakfast of fruit, coffee cake, and waffles for breakfast before heading off to church. After church we gathered with my mom's side of the family to have a big dinner. Mom and Grandma

Luckily Indiana was present to solve any problems that came our way.

After dinner we headed to the cemetery to visit Nana and the other moms there. Here's myself, dad, and Avery with Nana.

Just a note . . .


I've gotten some grief from some friends and family about falling in love with, and featuring a Master Craft boat. So to be fair . . . and perfectly honest I love Malibu boats as well. I'll take either one, whichever proposes first.



Signing off . . .

The Future Mrs. Malibu

(or Mrs. Master Craft)

Addiction

I have an addiction.

I can't get over it . . . and it's consuming me.

I love to read.

I have been on a week long reading detox. Being an English major, my hunger for reading is satisfied constantly, sometimes it's jammed down my throat and I have to remind myself that at least I get to do something I love . . . but reading for school, no matter how great the books are (and they are great) is a lot different than reading for enjoyment. When you read for enjoyment there is no need for analysis, no need to prepare for a long paper on the work, you just let the story take you wherever it pleases.

To begin my detox I read The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series . . . and it felt great!!! I had read the first book back in Jr. High. Honestly, it has a good plot line for younger teens, but I have been curious to know what happened to the characters ever since, so when I passed the second and third books at a discounted price in Target I couldn't resist. I went home immediately and read the second book in one day. The second day I read the third book. And the third day . . . I went in to work with my mom to help scan some paperwork. After only a couple of hours sitting thinking about the fourth and final book I couldn't take it anymore. I borrowed the car keys from my mom and drove as fast as I could to Barnes and Noble to buy the fourth book. The third day . . . I read the fourth book.

I was feeling much better after three straight days of reading, but I was also feeling that depression of finishing a great book and needing another one. Luckily there was a glimmer of hope on the horizon . . . but I would have to wait five agonizing days.

If you haven't heard of Stephenie Meyer, let me introduce you. She is an AMAZING writer. She has written a series of books that have become hugely popular called the Twilight series. If you haven't heard of them, just you wait . . . check out her website StephenieMeyer.com and you will be directed to a zillion fan sites, news articles, interviews, etc. many are calling her the new "J.K. Rowling." Look for the movie trailers . . . it looks intense! With three Twilight books under her belt and the fourth and final on its way (to be released on August 2 . . . only 86 more days but who's counting!) she just released a new book yesterday. This new book is called The Host.

I was so excited for this book that I surprised my family by waking up early (now that school's out I have been taking advantage of sleeping in) and getting ready. I was parked in front of Barnes and Noble five minutes before they opened. I know I should be embarrassed . . . but I'm not! When the doors opened at nine I waited for two minutes . . . I didn't want to seem to eager, but then I couldn't wait any longer. The employees were excited that I was their first of many expected people to buy the book. Needless to say I've been in a different world for the past two days. I would have finished it all yesterday but I had to go to work, which was very painful.

If you have read any of Meyer's books this one is completely different. The writing style, the story line, everything, but that is just a tribute to the great author that she is. Her characters are developed very carefully and thoroughly . . . something that is not often accomplished today. To give a little preface without giving anything away, here is the teaser the book cover gives:

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.

When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind with visions of the man Melanie loves—Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

Like I was saying, her characters are so well developed that even though there are two people sharing the same body, she has managed to make them separate and distinct from each other. If you need a great book to read this is it for you. Meyer calls it "Science fiction for those who don't read science fiction," because even though the premise is clearly science fiction it does not match the writing style of most science fiction books.

Fun in the Sun

To celebrate the completion of my semester at school, mom and I headed down to St. George for a weekend in the sun. Papa Mac warned us that the outdoor pool was broken, but we assured him that as long as there were lounge chairs and sun we wouldn't mind. But the scene was comical nonetheless, with yellow caution tape surrounding the dry pool and someone's hiddeous 60s print chairs that they decided to share with the community. All of this did nothing to hinder our relaxation. Mom of course tanned but didn't burn . . . and I got fried like I always do my first weekend in the sun. My dad says it's becuase I'm a pasty-white European-American . . . but not for long! I got a good base tan this weekend.

One morning mom and I drove up to a walking trail outside the city to enjoy some new scenery as we exercised. I love the desert in the morning and evening when the sun is low over the landscape, it was beautiful!

Oh, and did I mention I fell in love? Well I did . . .

With the most gorgeous boat ever! The length is probably a little bit too long but I love everything else about it . . . especially the color. You can't really see it in this picture but it's not your typical red, it's more like a deep berry-red. Someday I'll have a boat just like it!

The 5"7' Giant

Watch out BYU campus! Here comes the 5"7' Giant! I don't know what's happening to the world but people are shrinking . . . boys in particular. Or maybe it's just that I come from an abnormally tall family . . . which is unlikely, we are tall but not abnormally so. You know since I've started my college career I have become very skilled in the art of walking across campus in heels. Most of my heels are about 3.5 to 4 inches tall, so the added inches makes me about 5"10' or 5"11.' I mean don't get me wrong . . . that's pretty good for a girl and I love being tall but it does become pretty comical when walking across BYU campus. The Land of Short Boys, as I call it. For instance, just the other day I was walking down the hall (in my 4 inch heels) looking at different announcements when a guy walking in the opposite direction, being the friendly BYU student that he was, said "Howdy" in his Texas accent. I smiled and continued walking until I turned the corner and was alone to chuckle by myself . . . the top of his head had been just a couple of inches above my shoulder. Note: this is not an uncommon experience. Although most cases may not be this extreme it is the norm for me to be taller than most boys and girls that I see. But to give BYU the benefit of the doubt, this strange phenomenon might be explained by the fact that I am an English major and all the tall people like to congregate in some super-secret place without my knowledge . . .

Thank You Mongols!

Thanks to the Mongolians and namadic people of the steppes we were able to enjoy a great over nighter at the yurt! The yurt design is actually pretty close to what an authentic yurt from the steppes of Asia looks like . . . though I don't think the ones there would be surrounded by quite so many hills and trees. It's amazing that one peoples form of shelter can be anothers form of recreation!

One of my good friends from high school, Jana, was able to come . . . here she is enjoying some music and relaxation on the bunks. Because of the recent spring weather the snow has been melting durning the day and freezing at night, which gave us a good foundation to go exploring off trail last night. We woke up this morning to about two inches of fresh snow and a beautiful sunrise. But soon, as we ate breakfast, the clouds came in and dumped two or three more inches of snow on us only to disappear for our hike out. To dad's dismay the fresh snow was extreemly sticky and difficult to ski on.

Yet again we had a wonderful adventure . . .

Avery, Dad, and myself on the bridge.

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."

- Andre Gide

~ ~ ~

This year is turning out to be a year travel and adventure for me. On May 30 I will be leaving for Ghana, Africa for a month. I am traveling with a group called Families for Children International and will be teaching orphans in the city of Cape Coast . . . about two hours from the capital, Accra. The preparation is getting to the fun stages now. I have taken care of my passport, vaccinations, malaria pills, etc. Now it's time to start planning lessons for the children!

~ ~ ~

Soon after that I will be jetting off to London to spend a semester abroad. The BYU London Center is just around the corner from Hyde park so we will be in a great location! From what I have learned about the program so far we will have classes in the morning, followed by free time to explore the city for the rest of the day. We will also take extended trips to the north and west of London, and a week long excursion to Paris.

Happy Halloween Update!!!

So as I fully expected I didn't do too well at posting regularly . . . but I've decided to attempt again. Update: Just after finals in May I jetted off to Hawaii to spend some time with my cousin who was attending BYU Hawaii. We had a blast! The rest of the summer I just worked, teaching swimming lessons and working at a boating store called Marine Products, and went on the occasional vacation. As of right now I am in my second year at BYU and LOVING my classes, which include Astronomy (it sounded fun and it is the most amazing class), Sociology, Later British Literature, American Heritage, and Public Speaking. And just so everyone knows . . . I have not yet converted (and never will!) to the dreaded blue BYU side. I am still a U of U fan and love to show it!

Just as you might expect there are some very interesting people here at BYU and I love watching them. My favorite group is called the Pen and the Quill club. They dress up in Medieval clothes (cape and all) and practice their sword fighting on the grass, or they set up tents and play their flutes! It's very entertaining. Because today is Halloween the characters have really come out. Walking to class I saw a lion and tiger walking together in full out furry, mascott costumes. Of course there are pirates, and pj wearing babies, and boys wearing lots of strange makeup . . . I even saw Thing 1 and Thing 2 in my Astronomy class this morning. Needless to say, if your bored just come to BYU, (or any busy place) find a bench, and watch the people all around you, you may even become inspired.

I was just accepted to a humanitarian program called Families for Children which works with orphans in Ghana, Africa . . . so I will be doing a little traveling this June! I am so excited to teach the kids over there and just experience the world which has always been my dream after watching my cousins set off on their own adventures! My passport is on its way, which makes everything all the more real!