Thanksgiving - Zion's National Park

Our day in Zions was very cold. We had to get an early start since the park is so popular, even in the winter months, and we wanted be sure we could get parking in the main lot and access to a shuttle without a long line. The kids didn't even mind that masks were still required on shuttles because they said it helped keep their faces warm :)

Our main hike was the Riverside Walk that follows along the Virgin River to the start of the narrows. It's perfect for families as the main path is paved, yet there are tons of rocks to climb and parallel dirt paths along the water for older kids who are feeling more adventurous. Dave hadn't come to join us yet at this point, so I was grateful to have grandparents and cousins there to help with the other kids while I pushed Griffin in the stroller. 

While climbing big rocks we learned neither kid had hardly any traction left on their shoes which made for a slippery experience on the sandstone, but they persisted despite the sliding

The red cliffs still look beautiful in the winter

The Virgin River was such a pretty color of blue, but sure looked cold!! We saw lots of hikers in dry suits headed to the Narrows and I was glad to not be among them. Just thinking about wading in the water made my feet feel numb.

Charlie and Jack were good hiking buddies

Griffin had a great nap despite his swollen lip

End of the trail, you can see the narrows up ahead

All the Howe and Hindman cousins

Griffin and I matching in our periwinkle blue

We also made one quick stop at the Three Patriarchs before heading home

Poor Charlie passed out on the return shuttle

Thanksgiving - Snow Canyon

We made two trips to Snow Canyon because it's close by, beautiful and so fun to explore. For a state park there really is a ton of variety all within a small area.We walked through a slot canyon, climbed petrified dunes, hiked to a lava tube and played in the rolling hills of sand. The first visit was with cousins and grandparents, the second was just our family after Dave joined up with us from Texas. 

Exploring Jenny's Slot Canyon - a quick little hike off the main road that has a good payout for such small effort

Sophie in the wings on the Butterfly Trail

The reality of hiking with kids - there will be lots of crying, often by multiple kids

Sophie in the "killer bunny" lava tube

Playing with cousins in the dunes

With my mom and sister <3

On our second visit with Dave we spent a lot more time at the petrified dunes now that I had help supervising those who wanted to scramble around and carrying those who didn't

Made it to the top!

One of the dunes had tons of little pebbles all over the top where the sandstone had eroded away, leaving what looked like black marbles behind. You can see them all over in these photos

Three brothers enjoying a break on top of the world

Such spectacular views

Dave and I looking down over a dune called Turtle Rock

After it warmed up some, and the kids had their fill of climbing, we went over the real sand to soak up some sun and a little more play time before it was time to go back home

Thanksgiving - St. George

 There are so many fun things to do around St. George! This was a different season than our previous visits, which meant more jackets and less swimsuits, but there were still plenty to do and see. New adventures this time included the Cactus Gardens, the Sand Hollow Aquatic Center, a ninja warrior course at a park in Washington, and the massive hot tub at Entrada's fitness center. Not pictured here was a movie day to see Encanto and trips to Snow Canyon and Zions (coming in later posts)

We had a nice walk through the gardens. admiring all the different varieties of cacti and were able to see my cousin and his daughters who were also visiting for the holidays

We had a nice day to ride the train and play at Thunder Junction

We were surprised to see the water still running to the splash features. The sun was out, but it was not warm. My kids can't resist water though and went in anyways. 

Swimming with cousins! Everyone had a great time except Griffin who slipped about one minute into the activity and busted open his lip. It bled all over, so he and I spent the beginning half at the first aid station recovering. Poor buddy :(

A puzzle that I will likely not do again because the blue sky was massive and too hard

Making turkey desserts with cousins

Sophie really enjoyed the ninja course and kept breaking her own records, while the younger kids climbed rocks and played in the sand

Dinner at Texas Roadhouse! The kids all wanted to sit with Grandmari and Paco and Amy and I didn't say no to the idea. Doesn't Paco look thrilled??

Thanksgiving Dinner! Jeremy made delicious fried chicken, Dave made macaroni, and Texas Roadhouse provided the rolls. 

While some adults cleaned up, Dave and I took some of the kids back to the cactus gardens to see them all decorated with lights for Christmas

At one point we lost Davey. He decided he was done and went to the car without telling anyone, which led to lots of frantic searching in the dark only to come up empty. I was starting to think he'd wandered off into the desert. Luckily he was safe in the van, but sure gave us a good scare!

Uncle Brent came for Thanksgiving and we had fun swimming with him in the giant hot tub

Video: Thanksgiving in St. George