Today was very busy for me because Lily was too traumatized by the mouse to go inside the houseboat and help pack and clean etc. Still, I was very happy to get everything ready to go while she rode on the jet ski with Mary. They both were having a rough trip and it was very nice to see them have some fun together. Lily also took Clarissa on a ride and unhooked the kill switch while they tried to save a fish. Lily didn’t know how to get the kill switch back in and so she had to tow Clarissa on the jet ski by swimming 30 minutes back to shore. Clarissa was much more sad about the dying fish than the fact that their jet ski wasn’t working and Lily had to swim them back, lol.
Here is a video of Lily and Mary riding around and some final pictures of our trip.
Then I pulled up the anchors and drove everyone, but Lily back to Waweep in the Marina. Lily rode the jet ski next to us the whole way, and I was so grateful to hear that was a highlight for her on the trip. She communed peacefully, and mouse-free with the nature around her on that epic two-hour jet ski ride. We also all rode past the damn.
When we checked out they refunded our $680 in gas because of the mouse and jet ski issues. That was very helpful and we were grateful for that. We then drove home and pulled in at 11:30 PM. I was very tired for work the next day, and Lily was tired too, but motivated by her fear of mice to work on cleaning the house the whole next day.
Today started with me waking up before 6:00 to Jet Ski into Waweep marina so that I could rent a motorboat. The ride to the marina was amazing, and I captured some video along the way.
I rode past the Glenn Canyon damn on the my way to Waweep. It was such a short detour (just around a corner) that I took the whole family there the next day in the houseboat as we were leaving.
Back at the boat, the family was waking up to these beautiful views:
While I was checking out for the boat, Lily called me in a panic because while she and the kids were eating breakfast, a very large mouse scurried under the table while everyone was at the table. Lily has a full on phobia of mice, and that event completely emotionally undid her. That was the hell of today. Lily and the kids stayed on top of the house boat until I returned with the speed boat. The kids got bored and sang the bottles of beer song to pass the time:
Lily didn’t step foot inside of the houseboat after that except to eat dinner with the family, and she was so distressed during that meal that she said it was the worst meal of her life.
The heaven of today was the jet skiing and the boating. I loved my ride to get the motorboat, and I absolutely loved boating around with the family. It was also so neat for me to pick up a new skill as I had never motor boated before.
We cruised through almost all of Navajo Canyon. The kids loved sitting at the front of the boat with the wind in their hair. We found a wonderful sandy beach to park the boat, swim, eat lunch and play. It was truly magical.
Everyone was super tired after boating. I boated back to Waweep with Lydia after dropping everyone off and snapping this picture. Then I rode the jet ski back to the house boat. I let Lydia ride drive the jet ski back for almost the whole Arizona portion (which was most of the journey). She was legally allowed to operate a jet ski in Arizona without a permit (not so in Utah) so we felt better about her driving in Arizona before we crossed into Warm Creek (which was in Utah). She did drive some yesterday in our cove, but today she had a nice long ride driving. Lydia LOVED driving the jet ski and took it up to 30 miles per hour. She never wanted to stop, but did when her hand got sore from holding the throttle. It was such a fun experience for me to share her first jet ski driving with her. I could tell she really enjoyed it.
Back at the houseboat, I gave a tone more tube rides. Mary was having a truly tough evening. She got really freaked out and upset when Clarissa fell off her tube, and I towed her in, and she got water splashed in her face. Clarissa was fine, but Mary was very upset about it. Mary had been having a tough day already, almost to the level of Lily’s trauma. Mary, the whole trip, has been incredibly freaked out about all the spiders, gnats, and other bugs that have constantly surrounded us. She got so unhappy with the bug situation that at times she said she wanted to go home. Seeing Clarissa get splashed in the face when I towed her was apparently the last straw and she got really upset. I gave everyone else tube rides (and learned how to get people on their tube when they fell without towing them to shore) and everyone had a great time overall (Ammon did cry once when I steered him into a big wave hoping he would like it and he fell off and bit on his tooth painfully, but he soon recovered emotionally). After everyone had their turn jet skiing (and loving it) Mary had recovered and I took her on a long gentle ride during the sunset. It was magical and wonderful. Here are some videos.
You will notice that we have very few pictures for days 2 and 3 on Lake Powell. Everything turned out fine, but both days had some setbacks, and neither Lily or I were much in the picture taking mood.
I spent a lot of time by the radio trying to communicate with boat rentals to have someone come out and check our jet ski. On day 2 (Sunday), they finally made it out, figured it was a dead battery and then drove off because they didn’t have a replacement, and their jump pack wasn’t working. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out if and when they were coming the first time, and then if and when they were coming back. Lily and I still had great time to swim and play with the kids though, and the kids had an amazing time swimming, kayaking, and building mud balls they called Kol-Nuts which apparently are some type of fiery food served at a restaurant from the Pixar movie “Elemental”. They built sooooo many Kol-Nuts and were still doing it on the last day.
I was frustrated at the end of day two when we still had a non-functioning jet ski. It was very hard for their mechanic to get over to us because other people were having bigger problems they needed to prioritize (like a broken generator for example). When they finally made it to us and couldn’t help, I was very frustrated.
On day three, the kids continued to have a really great time, but I got more and more frustrated as the day went on. At one point, Lily, Lydia, Mary and I all tipped the jet ski over to discover for ourselves that I had gobbled up the rope in the propeller. I was dumfounded that the mechanics the day before didn’t suggest that we tip it over to look at it. It seems like that would be jet ski 101. I should have thought of it too, but I especially thought a mechanic would have thought of that. So we figured out the problem on our own (actually a mechanic, maybe the lead, suggested we tip it over the radio, so that pointed us in the right direction), but we still needed a mechanic to help get the rope out, because after all my trying, I still couldn’t get all the rope out. So around 11:00 on day 3 (the jet ski had been down for 40 hours at that point), two mechanics came. They helped get all the rope out, but then we learned that the batter was also dead because of all the times we tried to start it. And unfortunately they did not have any jumper kit or a new batter. So they took off again, unsure of when they would be back because it all depended on what other calls came up. At that point, I slumped over the steering wheel feeling upset, sad, frustrated and mostly loss. In my mind, I knew how much fun everyone could be having on this, our one chance to jet ski as a family. I knew everyone would love it, and we had never done it before and this was our opportunity. I knew it would just be the best, and now because I gobbled the rope, we were stuck just playing on the beach again. Lily was very sweet and consoling. I was sulking, and sad. The reality was though that the kids were super happy with the itinerary as it was. They swam and played on the beach happily. They didn’t know to feel loss for the jet ski. The did ask about it on day 3 because they wanted to ride it, but they weren’t put out when I told them it was still broken, they just still had a great time swimming, kayaking, and making Kol-Nuts. I eventually shook off my frustration and went to swim with them and I had a blast. I also remember lunch being very happy. We all just talked and talked and talked and really bonded. I understood that the bigger purpose of our trip, just being a family and bonding together, and having deep time together, was being accomplished, and that was very satisfying. I starting to cheer up, when the mechanics came back around 3PM carrying a battery!! We got the jet ski up in no time, and then the party began!
I took all the kids out on a jet ski ride and they all loved it. Then we had a delicious dinner. We’d been eating well thanks to Lily’s preparation and cooking (all I did was grill). By day 3, we had had spaghetti with hamburger, grilled chicken, salmon etc. After dinner, I took all the kids tubing until the sun went down. They all loved it. I was thrilled that I could share those experiences with the children. Lydia even got to drive the jet ski and she loved doing it. It was one of the happiest moments of my life sharing such joy and fun with my children in such a beautiful place. I knew they would love the jet ski and they did. I was also over the moon with joy that the jet ski was fixed and that part of our vacation experience was saved. The day ended very very happy.
Also, after roasting for two nights inside, we moved mattresses to the top and all slept outside. We actually got a little cold (but not bad) and had tons of bats flying all around us, but it was a major improvement over sleeping inside, especially given the spectacular view of the stars.
Clarissa with her little cronutI sent this image on day 2 to help the mechanics find us. I wanted to save it, because our beach was incredible, and I’d love to go back to that same beach someday. Even the mechanic commented that our beach was very nice. The cove we were in was just small enough to have barely any traffic and just large enough to cruise around on the jet ski and take kids tubing. Also, after the first night, the two other house boats near us left, and so for 4 days, we had the cove 100% to ourself (aside from the occasional fisher or water skier). I was totally in love with our beach.
Yesterday and today were very big days. Yesterday I had an intense day at work. It was already looking to be intense with the business that is fortunately starting to pick up, but then early in the morning I learned that one of my employees passed away. This news was tragic in its own right, and even more startling because 6 months ago, one of my employees also passed away. My team has been through a lot, but it is nothing compared to the grief of the families and close friends of my team members who have departed. My thoughts and prayers are truly with all of them.
I finished work around 9PM and then packed until 11 or so. Lily wasn’t feeling the best today, but she did a ton to pack, get ready, and prepare meals for Lake Powell, and the kids (mostly Mary) really helped her pack as well.
By 8:00 AM today (Saturday), we hit the road. We arrived around 1PM (we lost an hour because we arrived in Arizona). After checking in and loading all of our things into the house-boat, we got a tour and instructions from Jimmy. This was my first time operating a house boat. Jimmy’s instructions (many of which I caught on video) turned out to be critical. He was a little concerned that it was our first time, and it was just us two parents and four kids, but he gave us great advice about the generator, the jet ski, anchoring our boat and more. In the end, things went as well as they did because of him. Thank you Jimmy!
After Jimmy’s instructions, they helped us get the houseboat out of the marina and tie up our jet ski to it so we could tow it. After that, I was the captain, and with Lily as my navigator, we made our way to Warm Creek, a recommendation of the brother of our friend Derrek Marshall. We hung out with Derrek and Chelsea this week and they both gave us such great advice and encouragement about our upcoming adventure, and Derrek even called his brother (a Lake Powell expert) on the spot to get the advice on where to park the house boat.
We thought we hadn’t quite reached Warm Creek yet, and it was starting to get dark and we were getting nervous about daylight. We did see some nice beaches in a cove, though, so we figured we wouldn’t mess around with daylight. I jumped on the jet ski to scout around the cove to find a great place for our boat. After cruising for 2-3 minutes, I found the perfect beach. After driving up to it, I kicked my jet ski in reverse, and then it completely died. I tried over and over to turn it on, but had no luck. I thought maybe I flooded the engine somehow, so I slowly, but anxiously, counted to 60 and tried again, and still there was no luck. I realized it was a lost cause. I noticed there was another houseboat about a quarter mile from me as the bird flies. I kicked off my shoes and started to swim to it, and I quickly realized that would take forever. So I went back to shore, and with my shoes still off, I just started running along the shore line. I pretty quickly got into a massive patch of prickle bushes with no clear path around. Being in a hurry, I just ran straight through them, and yes, it did hurt. I then ran into a small channel I had to swim across before getting to land again, and then I ran to the other houseboat. I desperately pleaded with them to drive me 3 minutes to get back to Lily. I knew she and the kids would be worried sick. I foolishly didn’t take my phone. It turns out I would have had cell service, which I didn’t expect or think about. The people I bumped into acted a bit put out, and I could tell they were reluctant, and even a bit put out to help me, but they did, and for that I’m truly grateful.
When I got back to the houseboat, everyone was worried sick. The houseboat was drifting towards a rock ledge, and Lily couldn’t figure out how to start the boat. She knew how to start it, but the engines weren’t in neutral and she didn’t realize that and that is why it didn’t start. Once on the boat, everyone was very relieved. I explained everything, got the boat started, and went to the beach where my jet ski was docked. Once we parked, Lily and I started digging holes for the anchors. Then the boat started to float away. I rammed it up on the beach the way Jimmy told me (approach at 1,000 RPM then after you hit, crank it up to 3,000 RPM for good measure). Still, as my boat started to float away, I realized that didn’t quite do the trick. I hopped back in the boat, rebeached it, and then Lydia periodically would ram it forward to keep it beached while Lily and I dug holes for the anchors. My intention was for Lydia to ram at 1,000 RPM, but I didn’t communicate well and she was going full throttle, and probably rammed it 20 times. Needless to stay, It stayed put, Lily and I dug the holes, I put in the anchors and we were all set for the night. Lydia also helped dig after the inner anchors were in and we no longer needed her at the throttle.
It was a very adventurous day and we were grateful to be done at the end of the day. I don’t think we had a formal dinner because Lily and I were so tired and shook up, so people snacked and we all went to bed. Unfortunately we didn’t sleep super well either. Jimmy recommended we turn off the generator at night which means we can’t run the AC. I knew nothing about generators at night, so I followed his advice to a T worrying that any deviation could cause more problems. I later found out that we could run the generator 24/7 and he was probably just giving us advice to save some money, which was too bad because we boiled that night (and the night after) not realizing it was avoidable. Eventually, after the first two nights, we ended up sleeping on the roof (which Jimmy also recommended) and that was nicer.
It was a big day, and I felt happy to be in Lake Powell, to all be safe, and to have learned a new skill operating a house boat!
Today was an absolutely magical day. It started for me with a bike ride with my friend Daniel Olsen. It was hard enough to keep up with him for South Fork canyon, and I couldn’t believe that after I South Fork (where I split off to go home) he was then riding all of the Alpine Loop and Tibble Fork. He’s so in shape! I loved my ride and weather was perfect. I was wanting a ride, and I was so grateful it worked out.
Then I loaded Lydia, Mary, Ammon and Clarissa in the car to go to Lagoon for Clarissa’s birthday. We announced to Clarissa yesterday that we were going. About this time last year, we decided to go to Lagoon. It was a little after Clarissa’s birthday, and on a whim we decided to continue celebrating her with a family trip to Lagoon. On-line, they said they were open until 9PM, but when we got there last year, we learned they were only open until 7:00. We also learned it was around $95/adult and everyone except Clarissa was somehow tall enough to be an adult! Since we arrived after 3 and would not have much time in the park, we turned around and went home (we went tubing down the Provo river instead). Clarissa was heartbroken last year (it doesn’t help that you have to pass the roller coasters on the way to the ticket booth), and she cried and screamed in the car, “They don’t love us. They don’t love anybody. If they loved people, they wouldn’t charge $500. What, do you have to be rich to go Lagoon?! Do you have to have $500?!” To this day, that is one of my favorite anecdotes about Clarissa. I was so happy when today, on this years’ Lagoon trip, Clarissa said to me (referencing last years catastrophe), “Dad, so the story has a happy ending.” It most certainly did. I’ll also note that I wore the exact same green t-shirt that I wore on a previous lagoon trip.
Today was absolutely magical on all fronts. Lily is not much into theme parks, so she stayed home and did a lot of transformational and beautiful journal writing which she shared with me when I got home.
The rest of us picked up my dad and Suzanne and made it to Lagoon around noon.
We immediately hit some low-key rides like the haunted ride near the entrance of the park, the kiddy lady-bug drop drop ride, the kiddy bat roller coaster and another kiddy ride.
Right outside of the haunted ride near the entrance of the park.
About that time, we all ate lunch (A blend of Subway and burgers). Then the rides started to really pick up.
I have long wanted a buddy for roller coasters. I LOVE roller coasters, and Lily, Lydia and Mary all have some blend of fear and nausea with roller coasters so none of them ever want to ride them. Our last theme park that had adult rides was Orlando’s Universal studios, and I patiently went on all the kids rides, and then did the Hulk ride twice at the end of the day when the lines were gone so I could get my thrills.
Clarissa has been talking a big game lately about how she wants to ride roller coasters, and today was the day to learn if she and Ammon truly were going to be my roller coaster buddies. After lunch (convenient time for big roller coasters), the intensity started to pick up.
We started with Jet Star 2 (which she technically wasn’t tall enough for, but they let her on). I’ve always loved that coaster. Everyone else loved it too.
We then did Rattlesnake rapids, which was a HUGE hit for everyone.
The swing ride is always a blast.
And Lagoon’s hand-carved wooden merry-go round is a true treasure. It is over 100 years old, and the horses are hand-carved by master craftspeople who immigrated from Russia and other countries. It is the only one of its kind in Utah, and there are only around 170 of its kind in the in the world.
Then we started to turn up the heat a little bit. We went on the wooden roller coaster (a true Lagoon classic). Mary (knowing her limits) opted out. The rest of everyone enjoyed it, INCLUDING AMMON AND CLARISSA. It was starting to seem like she and Ammon truly had a stomach for big roller coasters.
But the next test was going to be very big. I told Clarissa about Colossus the Fire Dragon and how it had two loops in it. She had her heart set on it and constantly talked about it (she was constantly talking about the Cannibal ride too until we learned she was too short for it). So, after the wooden roller coaster, my dad (who was shaping up to also be an amazing roller-coaster buddy) and I took Ammon and Clarissa on Colossus. She was barely tall enough to ride. SHE AND AMMON LOVED IT. It was a very intense coaster. It did startle her a little, but overall she loved the thrill. After that, I knew for sure that she and Ammon were thrill ride lovers like me. Before the end of the day, Ammon, Clarissa, my dad and I went on 8 roller coasters. Colossus and Wicked (where you go straight up and straight down) were the two most intense. Here are all the coasters us four did:
The Bat
Jet Star 2
Wooden Roller Coaster
Colossus: The Fire Dragon
Wicked
Spider
Colossus: The Fire Dragon (Clarissa did while Ammon did Cliffhanger)
Wild Mouse
Wooden Roller Coaster
Colossus
Wicked
Wild Mouse
And so…….I HAVE THRILL ROLLER COASTER BUDDIES, HOORAY!!! It was so fun going on intense rides with my dad (and seeing his joy too) and Ammon and Clarissa. It was truly a magical day.
We also went on the train ride, per my dad’s suggestion and saw some truly wonderful animals.
At the end of the day, my dad really wanted to go on Cliffhanger and Clarissa was too short, so I took her on Colossus for the second time while Ammon and my dad went on Cliffhanger. One of my favorite parts of the whole day was how my dad gushed about how fun the ride was when it was over, and how he loved hanging upside-down suspended. Both he and Ammon got completely drenched from it.
As we were exiting the park, my dad and I threw baseballs at milk cartons to win Mary a medium-sized pig stuffed animal. We both knocked them all over on our first try (with three balls) and then tried twice to upgrade Mary to the bigger pig, but failed on our second and third attempts. Still, it was so fun to try.
Also, Suzanne was such a delight as always. She is so good with the kids, and palled around with Lydia and Mary whenever the rest of us split off for coasters. She played games with them and went on more low-key rides with them. Also, when it started to rain like crazy at 7:15, I suggested we just call it a day. Suzanne suggested we wait for a bit to see if the rain stopped. The rain did stop and so many people had left the park, that we got a bunch of rides in right at the end, and some of the best highlights of the entire day were in that last hour and a half.
The whole day was magical and happy. I am so grateful for it. The day after, Clarissa asked if we could maybe go to Lagoon every year on her birthday. For me personally, I would love nothing more. I. Was. So. Much. Fun.
Our sweet girl, Clarissa, turned 6 today! She’s been looking forward to and asking about her birthday for months. Today her birthday finally came! Georgia had a root canal today that was relatively involved because she went under full anesthesia, so Lily was with her in the morning. But the root canal was a success, and I got a chance to take Clarissa, Ammon and Mary to Ihop (Clarissa’s request) for her birthday breakfast. They even gave her a cup of ice-cream after her breakfast!
At home, I let her open one of her birthday presents, which was a Polly Pocket toy.
Clarissa was opening presents throughout the day, and when Lily got home, Clarissa opened her new sequin backpack, which was something she specifically requested.
While I worked, Lily took Clarissa and Ammon to the trampoline park, “Hang Time.” Clarissa also requested that and since most of the kids are in school now, the place was mostly empty. I was jealous because it looked like so much fun, haha, but I’m so so glad Ammon and Clarissa had a great time.
For dinner, Clarissa got her wish of going to Olive Garden and playing games (without needing to share) on their screen device. Then they gave her a free desert and even wrote, “Happy Birthday” on it.
I just had to take the picture of Basil
At home, we sang with the cake that Mary made for Clarissa, but we didn’t eat it because Clarissa already had had about 5 treats throughout the day, including desert at Olive Garden. We decided to save the cake for the next day.
Clarissa, we love you so much. You make us smile, laugh, and feel loved every single day. You are cute, smart, and so determined (you demonstrated so much grit when you learned to ride your bike). We love you so so so much and we hope your 6th year is your best one yet!
I had a very intense, stressful, yet successful day today. It was a great relief when Lily called me early in the day, beaming, to tell me that Clarissa, Ammon and Lydia were incredible at the swim tryouts. She was especially amazed at Ammon and Clarissa and Ammon performed the backstroke and breast stroke to the best of their abilities when they have never learned those strokes. And all three of them had to swim incredible distances. Lily was worried Ammon and Clarissa wouldn’t be able to swim the required distance for each stroke, but they did it and Lily was beyond thrilled. It was so fun to hear Lily gush about it on the phone.
Also, Lily took Lydia to back-to-school night tonight. I can’t believe Lydia is a 7th grader!
