In March my parents bought a house in St. George and we were excited about having a new place to visit, but I didn't think it would happen this soon! One night while talking to my mom on the phone, I heard that Nat was thinking about making a trip down at the same time Derek was, and I was like, "well count us in too!" And the next thing you know I was booking flights for me and the little boys to join everyone in Utah just a couple weeks later.
It was a quick five day trip, but we had a blast playing with cousins and exploring St. George. We managed to fit in two trips to the Town Square splash pad, the Tabernacle, Snow Canyon, Thunder Junction, and the neighborhood pool. There are so many fun things to do in that area! I'm sure we will return frequently as it's a days drive from Amarillo, or a quick plane flight into Vegas and then a shuttle to St. George.
This boy was so bad on our drive from Vegas to St. George! He screamed for the entire trip, and then fell asleep with only about 10 minutes left. Look how smug he looks about all the fuss he made.
Reading bedtime books with Grandmari while the sun went down
Griffin and I got to take lots of early morning walks because he never really adjusted to the time change while we were there and always woke up too early
These two are the cutest cousins. They always have the greatest time together and rarely fight, which is pretty amazing for three year olds!
Squirt gun fun in the hot tub
Charlie and Briggen had a great time playing with all the rocks in the yard
Popsicle bath to wash off all the dirt and dust
Several of the cacti were blooming while we were visiting and they looked so pretty!
I was able to finish a desert theme puzzle during our trip
We went swimming in the neighborhood pool twice. It's nice because it's a walkable distance if you don't have a car because it was stolen by the golfers :)
TABERNACLE & TOWN SQUARE: Our first full day in St. George was a Sunday, so we made a trip to the Tabernacle for a tour. It's a beautiful building, but of special meaning to us because my ancestor, Miles Romney, was the architect of it's free standing spiral staircases. One interesting thing about the stairs is that when Brigham Young went to check the progress of the tabernacle he said that he balcony attached to the the staircases was too high. From those seats you could not see down to the pulpit below. But since the spiral staircases were already finished, it was not going to be easy to make any changes. After some arguing for a few days, it was decided that the stairs would be saved and the entire balcony would be lowered by 200 strong men holding it up while the posts were cut down one foot at a time until it was in the correct position. Then some steps were added to connect the spiral stairs down to the lower balcony. What a project!
On the steps to the Tabernacle and inside on one of the spiral staircases
The little cousins sitting in the balcony seats
After touring the Tabernacle, we walked next door to the splash pad area to let the kids cool off in the water and burn some energy. The water was warm and shallow, and the little river was fun to play in. Charlie loved it and had a great time!
Griffin on the other hand thought it was the worst and wanted nothing to do with the water. He was much happier eating snacks on Grandmari's lap instead.
Briggen and Charlie had fun floating these boats down the river and then chasing after them
THUNDER JUNCTION SPLASH PAD: Unfortunately a round of stomach flu went through part of the family, so while the sick people laid low, the well people took the kids to Thunder Junction to play. It's a really cool dinosaur themed park with a big play ground, a splash pad area, and a train that goes around the perimeter. It was too hot to spend much time on the playground, but the kids had a good time running in the fountains (even though the water was freezing) and then we changed into dry clothes and rode the train before heading home for lunch.
We were here during school so it was pretty empty, especially early in the morning
Hiding inside a dino egg
The train was not running the day before, so I'm glad we were visiting on a day that it was operational. Charlie loves trains!!
SNOW CANYON: We spent one morning in Snow Canyon. Nat and Briggen had gone home, but my dad, Derek, Faye and William came with us. We chose to hike the short Pioneer Names trail so we could stay in the shade of the cliffs, and because it's easy enough for little kids. After following a sandy trail you can scramble up some rocks to get close to where some early pioneers wrote their names under an arch rock. Pretty cool!
After our hike I thought Griffin might like a break from the pack to stretch his legs so I put him down, which turned out to be a bad idea. He hated the sand and rocks, and screamed until I held him again.
On the way out of the park we made an impromptu stop at Jenny's Canyon Trail, which turned out to be a very worthwhile stop. The trail is only about a half mile round trip, but leads to a fun little slot canyon. Charlie had the best time dropping rocks into holes in the wall and then watching them tumble down back to the sandy floor.
Some tired boys - Griffin has no excuse, but Charlie was a champion and did both hikes all on his own since there was no daddy there to carry him.
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