Nielsen Lake Powell Trip 2014

Another successful Nielsen Lake Powell trip is in the books. We almost had the whole family there this year, we were missing Jack (who is currently on his mission) and Sawyer, a busy toddler who's parents thought it best to leave behind with in-laws... poor kid haha. Eleanor LOVED being around her Nielsen cousins and all of the fun adventures that come along with staying at Lake Powell. She kept Sam and I on our toes, always chasing after her to watch her every move, but she was in heaven and just wanted to take advantage of the fun. 

Most of the cousins one evening, telling stories around the dinner table...

Just look at that huge smile...

The water at the lake was rising really fast this year, Sam took this picture of our spot at the beginning of the week. As you can see we had a nice beach area to play around in right off of the houseboat. By the end of the week, practically the whole beach was under water. Every morning the men had to tighten up the houseboat and fix the stakes so we were still secure with the increase in water.

One day Sam dug a huge hole for the kids...

Eleanor was not happy about her life jacket the first two times we put it on her, but the rule at Lake Powell is that kids have to wear their life jackets at ALL times unless they are sleeping. By the end of the trip, Eleanor would cry when we would take the jacket off because she knew that it meant fun for the day was over. I'm glad she quickly got accustomed to it and it wasn't a battle.

Elle loves her cousin Stella and vice versa. Unfortunately, this is the best photo I got of the two during the week!

Parker was trying to catch fish all week and succeeded!

Our little diva...

One of Eleanor's favorite things to do was to go on a jet-ski ride. 

When we would bring the jet-ski back over to the area where we keep them tied up, Eleanor would immediately start signing "more". It was so cute! She is always up for adventure and never wants the fun to end! I was happy I caught her signing on the camera...

Sammy only did a few wakeboarding runs but spent more time on the slalom ski and found a new love for it. He hasn't skied in years and within just a few runs was looking (to me) like a pro behind the boat!

Eleanor grew a liking to her cousin Hank. They looked so cute just sitting on the stairs together hanging out...

Sam-the-Man pulled off getting up on the wake surf with Eleanor in tow. It was so fun to see the two of them out on the water together.

What her face really looked like most of the time on the board... (ha!)

Stella and Elle chilling with Grandma....

I didn't do any wakeboarding this trip because - side note- I'm pregnant! Sam and I found out our big news right before the trip and decided we would wait to share the news with family till we were in Arizona in July. All was going to plan until our last evening on the lake, Sam, the brother-in-laws, Elle and I were out on a boat run when I started throwing up over the side of the boat (the joys of pregnancy!). Sam explained it in the moment saying, "Oh, she's just a little sick. Don't worry." ha I felt so awkward so we spilled the beans that evening after dinner when everyone was together on the houseboat. Any way... I did get a turn of wake surfing in since you don't crash hard when doing that.

Another activity we did frequently was take the paddle boards out. Eleanor was always up for a ride and would tag a long with Sam or I on a board. I love this shot of her riding off into the sunset with her Prince Charming!

Once again, thank you Tracy and Sallee for a great week! The highlight for me was watching Eleanor have so much fun each day. No doubt she'll grow up loving Lake Powell just like her Daddy.