thank goodness

Happy Thanksgiving. This year, Thanksgiving was something special. It was a time to let go and be a kid again. I love my cousins. I love them so much. As you can see in the pictures, the place is beautiful, but really it's all about the people for me, and there was no where else I would've rather been than with these hooligans. 

the beach

morning walks on the beach

" Good morning, Gill."

I said, "Good morning, Gill" 

(obviously, we have only had our eyes open for no longer than 10 minutes:)

playing on the beach

We made up games, flew kites, played a little Turkey Bowl (until the injuries started to surface), surfed, skimboarded, built sandcastles and crushed them. It was such a wonderful week of nothing productive!! Just what I needed!

Jumping over the waves.

Cutest couple award goes to these two^^

Wally found this treasure on the beach (the body of a stingray!!) 

As you can see our family is treated with girls...lots of little girls.

Aren't they adorable?

The girls thought it would be a good idea to do Nick's hair...haha such flirts. 

Also would you look at Maggie's face.  Priceless.

but we can't forget the outnumbered, darling little boys...

{Ficher^^ asked me to take his picture and immediately faked he was asleep when I began snapping. Don't let this little act fool ya:)}

surfing

 all the day long...

Nick convinced me to get a wetsuit for Black Friday! BEST investment EVER! It was the warmest thing I have ever worn...definitely came in handy with the ice cold water. 

 into the night...

Abby, Hannah and Liza^^^

^^Hannah

my lovely parents

and of course, the sleepover

All the single cousins were shun to the basement of the beach house. By the end of the week we had 10 bodies in this room. Needless to say, this was one of the highlights of the week for me. We stayed up late in the night watching crazy hippo YouTube clips, laughing, crashing hard and waking up to Miranda Sings. I love my cousins more and more. They are pure and curious about life. Being one of the oldest in the basement, I couldn't help but look at this younger generation and think how lucky I am to be related to such smart, genuine people. Oh I love them!

This trip accentuated that love even more. 

 Ian's face says it all!!

 Speaking of kind, genuine people--I know where my cousins get it^^. My grandparents are the most loving couple alive, literally! I am so lucky to be included in such a powerhouse lineage. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for such a wonderful Thanksgiving!! It was a great break from the real world and a chance to be a child again. 

I love you both!!

Lake Powell with the Homers

This post is a little overdue, but I could not resist putting these pictures up on the blog. 

Nick's family was kind enough to let me tag along on their annual trip to Lake Powell. 

The last time I went to Lake Powell was 17 years ago. The only thing I remember were the red rocks and the colored zinc sunscreen my grandparents put on our faces as kids (more for excitement than for actual skincare purposes). With that said, I had no expectations of what the notorious Lake Powell would be. 

Nothing could have prepared me for this:

Beautiful, red canyon walls--getting bigger by the day, due to the increasingly low water levels. The sky was perfectly blue and the water smooth as glass at all hours of the day. Needless to say, we had a glorious time basking in the sun and enjoying each other's company.

It was a trip full of testosterone. There were three girls, myself included, and eight boys. It was a fun, wild trip. This houseboat was the perfect size. ^^^

The Homer family taught me how to slalom ski!!! 

 Man, I loved it. Lake Powell really is as magical as everyone esteems it to be. The water was smooth and ready for learners like me.

Nick's dad skiing. The Homers are champion slalomers.

Nicholas^^^

Flyboarding.

This is also overdue. Nick's life, for the past year or so, has been completely consumed with building his own (better, in my opinion) rendition of the flyboard. It has taken hours and hours of work to perfect this creation. Nick has a gift, and it only takes about two minutes of being around him to get a grasp of this beautiful talent. 

We took the flyboard to Lake Powell to play and perfect it.

Nothing can prepare you for this feeling of free-flying over water. 

Fishing.

Hiking to ancient ruins.

A quick snippet: