St George- a hot trip south

We went with Steve's family again to St George this summer. We were able  to rent the same house as last year. We spent Sunday eve-Thursday morning playing in the pool and enjoying a break from the routine.
 We ate well and got lots of sunshine. We all had fun.
-Sunday night, we arrived to a hot house and delicious pizza.
-Monday, we spent the better part of the day by the pool. Zac and I were outside from 9-2:30. Even with reapplications of sunscreen, Zac got fried.


Jenna liked being thrown.



Took some courage and coaxing, but TR got brave and jumped  to Steve a lot.

There was a grapevine over by the ladder. It  had delicious, ripe grapes. Gage partook some and threw some.

TR and the lizard

Zac liked the peace and quite of pool- all to himself.



Jenna and Christian were best buds this trip.

His face and my forehead are currently peeling as a result of this day at the pool. We had carne asada meat with mangos and rice for dinner. Yummo. After dinner, we went to the cemetery to learn about the pioneer heritage of Steve's family. We finished the night with DQ.

-Tuesday, it was overcast in the morning, so we swam again. We attempted to play some cards while the kids swam. During Gage's nap, Lissa and I, Scot and Julene went to the outlet mall. I did well at Children's Place. I heart shopping. Later that afternoon, we all swam. I especially enjoyed that time in the pool with the kids. Gage and I rode a boat. I tried to ride a whale for 8 seconds. The kids enjoyed diving for toys, spraying each other, and being thrown. That night we had Cafe Rio- pork salad.

Fried faces and tall boys.

-Wednesday, we went to Hidden Valley Splash pad for a little while. It was hot, but as we sat there and melted and watched the kids, Steve and I decided that we don't do stuff like that for ourselves, we do it for the kids. They had fun. Trevor even held a pet snake.

 That afternoon, we swam again. The weather and the pool temperature was perfect for swimming. Later that evening, we went to Cracker Barrel, and despite 2 spills and some crying, it was a success. After dinner, our family went to visit Brig and Trevor. We just love them. We are at home with them. We have been friends for a long time.
-Thursday we slept in then packed, tidied the house, and hit the road.

I was happy, on a side note, that the kids slept well and got along well with the cousins.

Jenna and Gage cuddled up in the red room

Grandad, Gage, and Jeff on the couch

The kids watching a movie

The ride down. This 32oz made Gage bearable.

 I was also pleased that Jenna and Zac are swimming well.
 We are grateful to Scot and Julene for their generosity and support of all of us kids/grand kids getting together.

Fun at the Reservoir with Tiff

I met up with my dear friend Tiffney to play just in the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. (She came up from Nevada.) This Reservoir is nestled in there, and who knew it was even there. What a great day for it. It wasn't too crowded or too hot. The kids must  have been half crazy to get in, but they had a blast. (It was cold water).

I love that Tiff's kids and mine get along. Nathan and Zac were fast friends, and Jenna and Elaina always hit it off. They all had a good time.

They played with  their water squirters, dug in the pebble sand, swam, and floated on tubes. We(grown-ups) sat, watched, and talked.  Thank you Tiff for taking time to see us. There is nothing like a old friend-....and ice cream and fry sauce on anything fried. I am thankful for the moments we take to make memories.

Trevor said, "I am just going to sit here and enjoy my snack."

Who doesn't love ice cream slobbering down your front?

This hole in the wall restaurant had great fried food and a fun outdoor atmosphere, which was great for 8 kids.
From L to R: Elaina, Lucy, and Jenna

The boys. L to R: Trevor, Thomas, Nathan, and Zac

The Fourth of July

We have been going to Blanding for the fourth of July pretty steady our entire marriage. It is the best place for the fourth. I say that every year that I have blogged about it. We went down on Sunday.
 That night we made pinatas with Grandma Julene. Monday we went canoeing. This was perhaps my most favorite activity. Scot got the canoes from the scouts and we played for a couple of hours. Gage was not impressed with actually riding but he enjoyed staying on shore. Zac and TR liked the canoe, but really liked exploring the "coast". Jenna loved canoeing. She also swam in the reservoir.

Uncle "Big Christian"

Gage and Roman

Steve and Brandon

Playing on the shore

 Trevor and Kaiden BFFs

Gager getting brave...

Jenna swam out to the island.

 Later that day we had FHE and played games. Once it was dark, the adults went crawdad fishing with Little Christian and Zac and Jenna. We left the little guys home with Grandma. This was probably the high light of the trip for Zac. He did stay out late after Lissa and I and the other kids retired from the reservoir. They came home at 11:30pm. They caught several. Jeff was probably the master, but everyone who wanted to catch one did and could. We netted several, and also used string with bacon tied to the end to catch them.

L to R: Christian, Steve, Jeff, Zac

 Tuesday, Steve and Jeff prepared the crawdad boil. We have seen this on the Food network. Steve was very excited. I would say that this was the highlight of the trip for him. He boiled water,  a seasoning mix, onions, lemons, garlic, potatoes, corn, shrimp, and sausage, then added the live critters. They quickly turned bright red. We ate this outside. We even poured it on the table as per tradition in Louisianan. It was pretty good. the claw meat was easy to eat because there was nothing to avoid or devein. The novelty of it was the best part of the meal. BTW, our kids all tried it and ate it. Zac blessed the boil. He was sweet. He was excited to eat it. He had fun.

Zac is proud

Later that day we went to the public pool which is a great pool.
Wednesday was the 4th. The parade started at 10:30. It was a nice parade that was a tribute to the veterans of war and those that protect our freedom. They did a tribute to Steve's high school buddy, Jason Workman- a Blanding native, that was a Navy Seal that died last year. There was also the regular candy throwing that is very irregular anywhere else. They aren't stingy. Also there were the water works, where the crowd gets sprayed by the fire engines. That is always a hit with Zac.

Honoring the flag as they went by...

Gage is digging for gold, I guess.

wet zac with his candy bag

 Afterward we visited Steve's Granny that was home from the nursing home for the day. It was good to see her. That afternoon we played a game of baseball with Steve's cousins. That was awesome. Everyone who played had fun. Wednesday night were the fireworks. Despite the recent wild fires in Utah, the fireworks display still was held. Thankfully we got rain that day in Blanding and they were careful. It was a great display. All 4 of the kids were still going strong at 10 pm when the fireworks began. The band in the back ground, the booms and stillness lulled TR and Gage asleep. They were worn out.

pre-firework party on the hillside.

Hanging out with family- the Merrels and the Broderick cousins were there.

Trevor's way to nap in the van on the way home- tuckered out.

 Thursday we were on the road by 10:30am. It was a great trip.