Lake Powell 2009

We had another fabulous trip to Lake Powell this year. We really missed Kevin and Jessica but all the other kids were able to come and we enjoyed every minute of it. Tyler brought his girlfriend, Tatum and Kylie brought her friend, Sarah. Our weather was perfect, the boats ran well and it was a great trip!

Logan had a great time, but we spent every second following him around. Luckily with so many of us, we succeeded in keeping him safe! Isn't he cute?!

Logan and big sister Amber (aka ~ his 2nd mom)

Logan loved kayak rides and Tyler was happy to paddle him around.

These next few pictures are a little disturbing until you realize that he LOVED it and couldn't wait to get back up and do it again!

Jacob spent most of his time playing with cousins. They swam, dug in the sand, fished, and danced on top of the houseboat. He had a great time, but they spent a lot of time on the other houseboat. He and my nephew Mark competed over this cute little girl's attention the whole week. (She was a cousin of a cousin however, and not their cousin so its okay!)

He did however stop by for a nap once in awhile.

Whitney picks things up quickly. She skis, wakeboards and can do some great tricks on a kneeboard. She's dang cute as well don't you think?

Kylie brought her friend, Sarah this year. We loved her!

Amber, Sarah, and Kylie were brave enough to be pulled on a tube by Bret. I think Kylie and Sarah thought since Bret's wife was on the tube, he'd be nice. They were wrong.

Lindsay got up on skis the very first time she tried when she was only 7 or 8. She stood up and skied for probably 10 minutes her first time. Amazing. This year she learned to slalom ski.

Bret is so much fun to take to the lake! I've never seen anyone wakeboard on a kneeboard before. Apparently it can be done.

If Tyler wants to sit on the couch, Tyler sits on the couch. Oh, and that means whether there is room or not.

Poor Tatum got stuck in between Tyler and Bret on the tube. They tortured her the whole time as they switched places over the top of her and hung off the sides. Made for some interesting pictures but I'll spare you those.

Bret, Amber, Tyler and Tatum took a ride on a 2 person kayak. And they even added Logan to the mix.

Tyler learned the art of an air chair this year.
Chris, Nikki, and Tatum were in 1 person kayaks. Cheryl and I took the 2 person kayak and we headed off for a race accross the lake. Cheryl and I were clearly in the lead when Chris grabbed the back of our kayak and flipped it around turning us backwards. He's obviously not a nice person. Tatum and Nikki said he flipped theirs too, but that can't possibly be true because we didn't win. It's never too early for a Dad to start teaching his son how to drive a boat. I think Logan would even sit on his lap and watch something as boring as golf. They have a great bond.

Where's Logan?

When we have to ask ourselves, "Where's Logan?", it's never a good sign. Last time we wondered where he was, we found him sitting in the toilet, playing in the water. A couple of hours ago, I asked my mom, "Where's Logan?". She said he was in the backyard playing, but it had been a couple of minutes since she looked out the window. We looked out to see that he had climbed over the pond fence, picked up the fish net, and had caught a fish! He was holding it up for us to see! He's too funny!

I've been tagged

A-Z's All about ME

Nikki tagged me~ so here goes...

A-Z's All about ME...........
A – Age: 46
B – Bed size: Queen
C – Chore you hate: Putting laundry away
D – Dogs' names: Minnie and Howie
E – Essential start your day item: Sunlight
F – Favorite color: Red
G – Gold or Silver: Silver ~ but I'm old so I still have gold
H – Height: 5'5"
I – Instruments you play: piano and I'm pretty good at the drums on Rock Band
J – Job title: wife, mom, preschool teacher
K – Kid(s): Kevin and Jessica, Tyler, Amber and Bret, Lindsay, Kylie, Whitney, Jacob, & Logan
L – Living arrangements: Glendale, AZ with husband Kevin, and 6 of the 8 kids
M – Mom’s name: Dottie
N – Nicknames: Miss Linda (given by my preschool kids)
O- Overnight stay in the hospital other than your birth: other than giving birth, I've also had a couple of surgeries
P – Pet Peeve: rude people
Q – Quote from a movie: "That's going to leave a mark"
R – Right or left handed: Right
S – Siblings: 2 brothers ~ Mark and Kevin
T – Time you wake up: 7 AM is my favorite time, but Logan is usually up by 6
U- Underwear: Of course
V- Vegetable you dislike: Brussel Sprouts
W – Ways you drink your coffee: Don't drink it but I LOVE the smell of coffee
X - rays you’ve had: just teeth
Y – Yummy food you make: Whatever Costco sells already prepared and frozen
Z – Zoo favorite : The gorillas

Now pass this on to 3 other friends that you want to get to know better...so here goes! I'm tagging:

Amber, Lindsay and Stephanie

Kylie

Kylie often goes unnoticed in our family. It has become a HUGE joke. Especially after a trip to Utah a couple years ago. Anyone who knows Grandpa Starkey knows that Grandpa Starkey never forgets anything. We saw him only a couple times a year, yet when we saw him, he would ask about every detail of our lives. We all lined up to give Grandpa our hello hugs. As Kylie approached the front of the line, Grandpa says, "Now who are you?" She smiled and simply said, "Kylie". He responded with the answer that we can forever tease her for. "Well Kylie, I completely forgot about you!"

Anyone who knows Kylie knows that she is an amazing girl. I am so grateful to have her as a sister. She lightens up the mood when something goes terribly wrong. She takes the time to have deep conversations about books, music, and movies with Whitney. She sits down and jokes with Jacob. She plays with Logan outside and in the pool. She gets A's in most every class. And...she does it with a smile.

I feel like I am not even doing this girl justice by the things that I am saying. Just take the time to get to know her, you'll know what I mean.

She wrote my Dad probably the best Father's Day Poem, ever. It is totally Kylie's personality. I envy her for it.

There is no one like our father
Just no one at all
We’re always going to love him
even though he’s not very tall.

He teaches us at an early age
things like what is important in life
Now we know that we should love him
way more than we love his wife.

Maybe our father is perhaps
much alike the weather
always changing and unpredictable
forever and forever

But one thing that our father
does really very well
is always looking out for us kids
as anyone can tell

So if we make you feel down father
if we make you feel mad or blue
please always remember
that we’re just taking after you!

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY DAD!!!

Isn't that the greatest! I love you Kylie!

The Evolution of Dance ~ Family Reunion Style

This past weekend we attended the Billingsley Bunch Reunion. This year was our 29th annual reunion. We have a huge family, but we get together often enough that my kids are great friends with my cousin's grandkids! Saturday night we always have a skit night followed by homemade ice cream. Here is the McAlister family skit. My parents, brothers, sister in law, niece, nephews, along with our family allowed us to do our version of the Evolution of Dance. Jacob is missing because he fell running to base earlier in the day and sliced up his behind and couldn't dance. Tyler is missing because he was hiking the Grand Canyon.

Family Picture

I was just looking at Jessica's facebook pictures from her wedding, and saw our family picture. It reminded me of a class picture at school. Everybody line up!

Spell It

We were getting ready for church on Sunday. I got Logan out of the bathtub and while getting him dressed, asked if he was ready to go to church. Jacob heard me and said, "Mom you should probably spell that so he won't cry." Jacob always loves it once we get there, but would much rather stay home in his pajamas.