Shane's birthday wish...A trip to Lake Powell!

When I asked Shane what he wanted to do for his birthday, his response went something like this. "I'm going fishing.  You can come if you want, but I AM going fishing."  The kids and I figured that if we wanted to spend anytime with Shane at all on his birthday we should probably go with him.  We all loaded up in the pick-up with the boat in tow and headed to Lake Powell.  It was a beautiful, and enjoyable day.  We always enjoy going to the Lake but because of my surgery we were only able to go 3 times this year.  Disappointing for all of us.  Our plan is to make sure we go enough next year to make up for the trips we missed this year.

This picture is from our trip earlier in the year.  In the bucket, on the floor, is a baby crawdad (Pinchie) whom the kids loved playing with and played with him most of the day.  They liked him so much that they convinced us to let them take him home.  Unfortunately, for "Pinchie", the the cats liked him just as much. 

My little fishin' girl.  She has always really enjoyed catching and playing with fish.  Never afraid to pick them up and hold them.

That's a beauty little Midge!

Brody likes to fish as well.  So glad my kiddos love being out and enjoying outdoor activities.

Let er' lay and watch er' pay.  Famous quote from Shane Durfey.

See what happens when you practice patience.

Brody giving it a try.  He is usually a little more patient than Haylie. 

This photo was taken on our second trip.  As soon as we got parked, Haylie grabbed her pole and headed towards the lake.  She didn't even wait for her life vest.

Practicing Patience!

FISH ON FISH ON!!!! 

She baited her own hook, casted all by herself, and caught a fish all while we were setting up camp.

She needed a little help getting the hook out if it's mouth.

So proud of her Catfish.

That's my girl!  Way to get a hold of it.  Uncle Trev won't even hold a catfish, and I don't think Uncle Dust will either.

They love playing in the water.

Swimming back from the other side.  I think Haylie's winning.

Back to the opposite side again.  Time to empty rocks out of the shoes.



Shane and I decided that we would fish along the shoreline while they were playing.  Yea...that didn't happen.  So...

...we decided to kneeboard.

At first Brody wasn't so excited.

But then he loved it! 

 Wow BD...look at those guns.  Maybe Mitch should take you to the gun show!

Getting tired but won't let go.

Haylie's first solo attempt.

When you feel like you are balanced...go ahead and pull yourself up.

Almost there.  Keep pulling!

 SUCCESS!

 Look at that smile.  It says it all.  She was so proud of herself and so were we.

She rode and rode.  What a little trooper.

The wind came up during the night and these two little friends got separated from their camp.  Luckily for them I have two brave kids that set out on a mission to rescue them.  They had to swim/walk a long way to get to them.  I was getting a little nervous about them being so far away from camp but they had their vests on and I could see them at all times. 

 After playing with them for a short time, the people in the other camp came back so they made the hike over the their camp to return their new friends.

This was our trip for Shane's birthday.  Not nearly as warm as in the summer but...

We couldn't keep them out of the water.

Haylie waiting for Brodes to roll his pants so they could explore.

They've found something.

I made Haylie wear pants because it was quite chilly when we left.  When we got there the weather was nice so I told her she could run around in her undies. 

She wasn't so sure about it at first but then I took this picture and showed it to her.  She agreed that it looked like she was in her swimming suit.  Besides, there was nobody else on the Lake!

We fished for most of the day until it started to get cold.  There were only 2 fish caught all day.  Haylie caught a catfish, and yours truly caught a walleye.  Guess we showed those boys how it was done.  Best of all, when we returned home, Tracy called to see if we had caught any fish.  I told him I caught one and Haylie caught one.  His response..."didn't Shane fish?"  One to remember for sure!