LP Round 1

all the saba gang, plus a few extras we picked up along the way were rounded up as we set out on our annual adventure to explore the great depths of lake powell!  every year i look forward to this crazy, chaotic, assortment of people thrown together on a little old houseboat we like to call a family trip. my family has been going since before i was born! and later that year when I was just 6 months old i was granted the privilage of embarking on this adventure although i dont remember much of anything from this trip, i'm sure it was a blast. once i learned to crawl and eventually walk potentially out of my mother's sight, my invitation to the saba family lake trip was postponed until i was about 7. then all i could remember was that i had to wear a life jacket pretty much 24/7 and that i hated being the "little kid" of the trip, because of course all of my cool older cousins did not have to wear their life jackets when they were eating, sleeping, and just breathing. of course at this young age i did not see the reasoning my mother had behind this strict rule, which i despised so much.

after years had passed and i was no longer the youngest on the trip, we upgraded houseboats, this brings me to this year's trip!

we set sail to camp our newly acquired houseboat, Howie Doin? to the beautiful padre bay. with luck and some scouters we found the perfect spot! one we the anchor ropes were tied we started to set up camp and started cooking! sometimes as silly as it sounds i feel like this trip very well could revolve solely around the meals; what we are having, who is cooking and the scariest question of all, who is on dish duty?? i must say the food is exquisite, i must say no one ever goes hungry on this trip. with the amazing cooking of my grandma , aunts and uncles, and everyone else who helps fill in between it feels like a week of non-stop eating delicious foods, especially lebanese night. my favorite!

between meals our time is filled with jet skiing, wake boarding, tubing, and waterskiing. we have a blast on the water as well as on land. at night there are campfires with great company and a beautiful atmosphere. another one of my favorite things about this trip is the scenery. you couldn't ask to be stranded with 23 people on one houseboat in a more beautiful place! jokes aside, when the sun reflects off of the red rocks making a perfect reflection on the water as it sits like glass. all is peaceful. i marvel at the astounding creation that this place is, and take a moment to thank and almighty creator that i can enjoy His creation surrounded by the love of my family!

as the trip itself is a tradition, there are many smaller traditions within the trip as a whole. once safely ensured that we are along the utah border we have a thrilling night of fireworks!! this year's firework show filled with bright colors and loud bangs was extra special! my oldest cousin trace, proposed to his girlfriend audrey right there, down on one knee in the sand, headlamp and all underneath the shine of the moon and the blaze of fireworks...and she said yes!! tears were flowing and family was smiling. it was an awesome surprise and i know she will be an awesome addition to this wild family.

all and all it was a wonderful trip. with a minor setback of the top of our houseboat ripping off, the hot afternoon wind carried it right off and into the neighboring waters beside our houseboat. aside the damages to the boat, thankfully no one was hurt. being on the top of the houseboat just soaking up some early afternoon sun it was unreal to see the powerful micro-bursts of wind detach the metal canopy along with the railing off of the boat through the air and into the water, it looked like something out of the movie twister! this did cut our trip short as it altered the functionality of the electricity inside of the boat and we had to head in to the docks...topless! the boat of course ;)

masterpiece