Sunny St. George

Every year about this time I feel like I'm going to explode if I don't see and feel the sun. I have a hard time during the winter months and the inevitable January inversion really pulls me down. Greg suggested we head to sunny St. George over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend and I whole-heartely agreed. It was the best idea and our family had an incredible weekend.
We drove down on Friday night after dinner. The drive down wasn't too bad; Kate slept and the boys watched a movie and listened to the Magyk CDs. We pulled into the condo about 10pm and went straight to bed.

January 17
Saturday morning, Greg and the boys went shopping for breakfast (sugared cereal and Sunny Delight; oh well, we're on vacation!). We then headed to the outlets for some shopping. We didn't find too much - Kate got a dress, Enoch picked out some pants and sunglasses and Gavin found some much needed jeans and a stripped sweater. We ate at Carl's Jr. for lunch and had a picnic outside; the weather was absolutely beautiful. After lunch, we went grocery shopping to get food for the rest of our stay. Kate was in need of a nap so we went back to the condo and let the boys watch a movie (we redboxed Prince Caspian) and Kate napped.
We heard about this great new Aquatic Center down the road in Ivins so we decided to try it out. It took us about 30 minutes to get everyone in their swimming suits and ready to go. It was only about 5 minutes from the condo and looked like a lot of fun. Unfortunately, we arrived at 5:45pm and it closed at 6pm. The kids were so disappointed. Enoch was so looking forward to swimming (that and drinking out of a drinking fountain were all he wanted to do in St. George!). Even though the sun was going down and it was about 45 degrees, we drove back to the condo and went swimming there - outside. It was chilly. The water was warm, but not warm enough. Greg and Kate played in the kiddie pool (Kate was not allowed in the big pool with her swim diaper), Gavin hopped between the kiddie pool and the hot tub, and Enoch stayed in the hot tub the entire time. It was against the rules for Gavin and Enoch to be in the hot tub, but we were the only ones there and it was so cold and the water wasn't really too hot. Enoch just sat on the top step and had a great time. It didn't take long for Kate's lips to turn blue, so we quickly dried off and drove to the condo.
We filled up the big tub with warm water and let the kids play, warm up and wash off. Enoch slipped when getting out and got a very nasty cut on the underside of his chin. I was worried he would need stitches, but Greg cleaned him up and put on a band-aid. Enoch was excited because Greg told him he would have a scar that matches his. Thankfully, the kids all slept well that night.

January 18
The next morning was Sunday. We got ready for church and at 8:45am we drove around looking for a church with cars in the parking lot. We found one quickly. As we sat down, Greg leaned over and mentioned that there were not any other kids there, or even people of our age. It turns out we picked a retirement branch to attend. After the opening song, the man conducting announced that there was no primary in their branch, but that the kids were welcome to attend Sunday School. Gavin was thrilled that he didn't have to go to a strange Primary. We left after Sacrament Meeting.
After church we drove over to the Temple. The St. George Temple is one of my favorites. It looks so white clean and striking in the midst of all the red rock. It is a beautiful temple. Enoch was fascinated by it and spent the first five minutes just looking up at it.


We walked around the temple for awhile, then browsed the Visitor Center. We watched the new movie about the stonecutter, John Moyle. It was amazing movie and if you have the opportunity to see it - do it. It was fantastic and very humbling.
It was now nap time, so back to the condo. We ate lunch and broke our hard-and-fast rule of no TV on Sunday. We let the boys watch Discovery channel (there was a Dirty Jobs marathon). Greg and I relaxed and read. When Kate woke up, we ate lunch, put on our sun screen and drove out to Snow Canyon. It was perfect - so beautiful with solid blue skies, warm weather and the kids were so entertained they forgot to be whiny and disagreeable!
We started with a hike at the Petrified Sand Dunes. It wasn't so much a hike, just free rein to roam the harden sand dunes. It was so much fun! We went where we wanted and the kids wandered and explored. The only grumpy one of us was Kate, who was stuck in her backpack - she wanted to go with her brothers. We did let her out for a bit and she loved it. Enoch loved digging in the sand and playing in the very teeny pond of water he found. Gavin wanted to climb as high as he could. Of course, fearless Enoch followed and I had to push down my panic as they went higher and higher. We all survived and had a wonderful time.





We thought the kids were worn out from the sand dunes, but they wanted to go on another hike. We picked the Jenny's Canyon hike and I'm so glad we did. The hike started out slow and boring, but when we reached the end, there was a small slot canyon and the kids had an incredible time exploring. They loved to climb and see all the little cracks and crevices. After, we hiked to the lookout and admired the view.




That night was a bit crazy. Dirty Jobs marathon was still on, so the boys watched a bit before bed. Once eveyone was in bed, the boys slept great. Kate did not. She woke up about 12 and was up and mad until about 3:30 am. Since we were sharing walls with neighbors, we didn't feel like we could let her scream. So, we held her, feed her, Greg took her for a drive and finally she fell asleep. Greg and I were very tired the next day, but ready for some more fun.

January 19
We took it easy the next morning. We started cleaning the condo and that always takes more time than you think it will. We wanted to squeeze in some more swimming so we went over to the pool. Thankfully, the sun was out this time. The kids had a great time and it was fun to see how much Kate enjoyed the water. Doesn't she look cute in her swimming suit!


After swimming, we ate lunch, finished cleaning the condo, packed up the car and went to play some more. We found this amazing park just a few miles from the condo. It was so much fun; very unique play equipment. It was crowded since it was the first weekend it was open and it was also a holiday. We didn't stay long, but know to go back next time we're in town.
The drive home was painfully difficult. Everyone was tired and cranky. We watched a movie, listened to Magyk, and stopped 3 times for potty breaks and french fries at Burger King. It was a super fun weekend and I'm so glad we did it; it's also nice to be home!