St George Trip: June 2010

Okay, so I just found this post that I never posted.  I never finished writing it!  Sheesh!!  I did have a baby at the end of the summer that year, so probably what part of the problem was along with being SO busy that summer!   Anyway, I thought I might as well post what I had written:

So many fun memories--where to start I don't know and I don't have the time for detail--I think I will just make a list to help me remember and add detail another time.

St. George--one of the highlights of our summer!  

Our first family vacation with just our family that we have taken since Aubrey was a baby.  We left Sunday morning, stopped in Filmore (Jon's families' stomping grounds--they built their first house down there and his dad was the county doctor).  We went to a Sacrament meeting and then visited an old family friend.  Then we headed out to Cove Fort, ate lunch, went on a tour (the missionaries were very excited to do a tour and it was a little too long for 3 little kids, but it was fun and there was some really neat stuff).  I do enjoy old-fashioned things! 
Then off to St. George!!  We checked in, went to dinner and then got in the pool!  The kids LOVED the pool!  I was really surprised how much they enjoyed it and weren't afraid of it in the least!  They had to wear arm floaties of course since they don't know how to swim.  Aubrey and Jonathan would jump in at the deepest parts over and over again.  All three of them would "swim" all around the pool and just had a blast!  The next day we did some touring--Brigham Young Home, DUP, hiked Snow Canyon (the kids are a little too brave and were freaking out their pregnant mother hiking those cliffs!!).  Then we went to the Dinosaur museum--which isn't that exciting, but our kids loved it and enjoyed the little intro-movie thing.  before leaving for St. George I looked up parks and whatnot on-line.  They have a great city website and they have a ton of great parks and several with splash pads.  So we had a picnic ready and we went to a splash park.  We ate and then played.  It was an awesome park!  The kids loved playing in the water, then on the toys, then back to the water.  Jonathan loved the water the most and loved stepping on where the water would be shooting out.  Aubrey was very good with him and helped push him on swings--it was really cute.  We went back to the motel, changed out of the wet clothes and then it was off to the St. George D.I.--they have great summer clothes down there and our main reason for going is pretty funny--the motel room had a really nice huge flat screen tv--but we couldn't hook our DVD player or Nintendo into it--you could only watch cable on it, which we don't waste our time with--commercials and lack of choice on what to watch.  So we decided we would see if DI had a cheap TV to buy and watch what we wanted to and play nintendo (2 things we had really wanted to do as a family in the evenings).  And yes, DI had a pretty decent TV for pretty darn cheap!  Everyone picked out a toy and I got some cute maternity clothes.  Then we went out for dinner and back to the Motel for swimming.  Then popped popcorn and started a movie--The Music Man--which the kids really enjoyed but got too tired to watch the whole thing!

Climbing the Red Rocks

 The Dinosaur Museum

The Splash Park--Aubrey is pushing Jonathan on the swing

The kids being silly

Tuesday--we got ready and got on the road headed to Grafton and Zions National Park.  We went to Grafton on the way there (a small ghost town up a canyon just before you get to Zion's that my anscestors helped settle).   It was fun to see that it is being fixed up and restored.  There were little lizards all over and we almost caught one!
We continued on to Zions--ate lunch, attended a "kids" workshop/class" that was really boring--but Aubrey enjoyed it.  They did have several "Stuffed Animals" that the kids really enjoyed seeing--the highlight for Mariah being a bald eagle--her favorite animal.  Then we got on a shuttle and started a hike.  The kids did an awesome job and I loved how they thoroughly enjoyed nature and the beauty around us.  They even saw a frog, hundreds of tadpoles, lizards, and a mouse!  And they even held the mouse--it was quite cute and they were amazingly brave.  Mariah was especially sad to leave the mouse.  She wanted to go get some food for it and take it home.   Then we went to a museum and headed back to St. George.  We went out for dinner, went swimming, and then back to our room and finished watching "The Music Man".  It was such a fun day!

Valentines Day

I started the day off with a 4 mile run--holding a 8:30 minute mile average--which I was pleased with--I am hoping to be able to start holding 8 minute miles for my average.  My first mile is generally my slowest, unless I am doing more than 6 miles, I sometimes start to slow off and on through longer runs.  Anyway, I got home just in time to make pink heart shaped pancakes for breakfast.  The kids loved them and it was really fun to do.  Then it was off to school and back home for strength training since I didn't meet my partner as usual and I need to do it as I am really wanting to get better and stronger at running.  It was intense, hard, and ultimately awesome. 
After getting cleaned up and ready, I decided to go to Jon's work and get lunch together-which I have never done actually.  We went to Subway and I got to see Jon's office, which is really nice.  He's on the 7th floor of the building and he has a nice window view of palm trees, homes, and desert.  Then it was off to do the coupon shopping I had procrastinated and now it was the last day of the sale, but we did awesome and got some great things. 
We got home just in time to meet the girls coming home from school.  They enjoyed opening up their school valentines and some that had come in the mail (they got more in the mail the following day, so that was really nice-and we still haven't sent ours--on my to-do list, I know, so behind.  I am just so good at being behind on things, it really is a talent and I think I haven't hidden that talent and it has really grown-ha ha!). 
Jon got me roses and my favorite treat, "Chocolate Extreme Blizzard" from  DQ, only substituting the brownie chunks with oreos--yum yum yummy!!  What a sweetheart! 
Our Relief Society hosted an 80's prom.  Jon and I really didn't have any 80's clothes-more like 90's, and we meant to go to Savers and find something, but we didn't, so we just wore something close.  Jon wore his high school tuxedo and I wore a dress I had made for graduation that wasn't in style then--more of my own style, but could be looked at as 80's since it was pastel colors, puffy sleeves (not 80's puffy, but some puff to them for sure), and a belt made out of the same fabric.  But it really was fun to get dressed up (even if it wasn't what I would ideally like to have worn) and go on a dance date. 
As we got in the car it made us both feel like we were "dating" again in High school--going to a dance.  They did an amazing job at the church.  They had tables set up on one end with a buffet table to get dinner, a photo booth (which we got some really cute pictures of ourselves), arcade like games set up on tv's, a chocolate fountain table with all kinds of things to dip, and then of course, a DJ and music.  It was really fun and so many people looked so awesome!   Then we came home, got comfy, popped popcorn, cuddled, & watched a Remington Steele (currently our favorite tv show episodes).  It was a really really nice Valentines!