Eutopia!

That's the word I'd use to describe our adventure on Lake Powell in Utah, followed by two days in Sedona, AZ last month.  Before I say anything else, I want to say THANK YOU to Brian's sister, Elaine and her husband Marty who orchestrated the entire trip.  Their hard work is the main reason everyone was able to sit back and enjoy.  

We started the trip early in the morning on Sunday, August 3rd.  We left for the airport at 7am where we met up with Mom and Dad Ellis to take the 4+ hour flight to Phoenix together.  The first evening we stayed in Phoenix which is where Elaine and Marty live.  The eating started immediately as we grazed on homemade enchiladas.  YUM!  Then, it was birthday cake in honor of Brian.  We all went to bed early in preparation for the predawn departure to Lake Powell(a 4+ hour car ride).  

There were 17 of us:

Mom and Dad from SC

Elaine and Marty from AZ

Mark from CA

Kevin and Lauren from VA

Yvonne and Kenny from CT

Adele, Dennis, Megan and Theresa from FL

and the four of us from NC!!!

We had two houseboats(70' Millenium and 59' Discovery), a speedboat and a jetski.   The houseboats were amazing!  Roughing it did not apply to this camping trip!  The landscape itself was breathtaking, but being surrounded by family made it just that much more spectacular.  Brian loved being the captain of the Millenium and he did a great job!  I didn't want anything to do with getting that massive boat around the lake.  Beaching the boats for the night proved to be the most challenging.  Finding the right spot for two houseboats and getting them both anchored was a job for the entire crew.  

I loved having coffee on the top deck every morning.  I loved watching Christopher and Andrew surrounded by so much love from so many family members.  I grew up with a large extended family very close and know how great that feels!  I loved watching everyone have a great time skiing and tubing.  I loved sitting by the campfire.  I loved Yvonne's group prayer time and Kevin and Lauren's skit.  I loved all the laughs, the food and fun!!  

Sedona was beautiful!  We stayed there for two nights.  We went to Slide Rock State Park which has a natural water slide.  The water was cold, but everyone had fun!  We had a picnic lunch afterward and stopped at Dairy Queen for dessert!  We also hiked Cathedral Rock.  Christopher was a champ and loved hearing his echo at the top!  I carried Andrew in the backpack until the terrain was too narrow and steep.  Thank you, Elaine, for watching Andrew so that I could join the others at the top.    Otherwise, we hung out and ate very good food!  The carry-out pizza, breakfast at the airport and dinner at the Javelina Cantina were DEE-LISH!  Once again, being surrounded by family made each moment more enjoyable.

Our last night, we stayed in Phoenix.  We helped Marty celebrate his birthday and had another wonderful meal.  That was one amazing trip!  Thank you everyone for all the wonderful memories!!!