George's house

We set off for St. George on Wednesday afternoon. Eva didn't understand where we were going, so she kept saying she wanted to get to George, or George's house.

I'm happy to report that, although the boys felt mildly queasy during the drive, no one got sick! Victory! (For the return trip, we got motion sickness bracelets for them, and that was even better.)

It was a pretty straight shot, so that helped. You've gotta love it when the speed limit is 75.

The condo we stayed in was so nice -- it was bigger than our house! All the bedrooms had armoires with TVs and DVD players, so the boys really enjoyed watching movies in bed at night (and so did we!).

Lucas was rather smitten with the robes in the closets. He wore his to bed each night, even though the sleeves were way too long.

We spent a LOT of time at the pool! It was beautiful and we often had it to ourselves, since most of the guests at the resort were there for the Senior Games. I didn't know that St. George had palm trees -- somehow that made it feel like we were in a more exotic locale.

Eva camped out most of the time in the kiddie pool, which was only 2 feet deep, where she could stand and feel ever so independent. This picture depicts one of her favorite activities, submersing up to her mouth, then popping up and saying "I went under the sea, Mom!". Then she would do a little dance and start singing Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid.

We went to Larsen's Frostop, which several people had recommended. I guess maybe we had built it up too much in our minds, because we were slightly disappointed. It greatly resembles the Purple Turtle in Pleasant Grove. Still, I'm not one to turn down a milkshake. (I had the pumpkin pie flavor, and, to their credit, there were chunks of crust swirled in.)

Although I was kind of disturbed by the video game they had. Extreme hunting?! I just cannot relate to that. At all.

By far the highlight of the trip for me was going to Zion National Park. I wish we could have stayed there so much longer, and I am determined to go back when the kids are a little older. I had an epiphany while we were there: I LOVE being in the mountains! OK, so I guess I already knew that, but I tend to forget it. I almost felt outdoorsy! (a little) And even as I was thinking that, my next thought was, "Jill is never going to believe this about me."

This is part of the Court of the Patriarchs. I couldn't get far enough back to get all of them in one shot!


Part of the way up our hike, we found this little partially-hidden sandy area. It was a perfect spot for the kids to stop and rest. The sand was the finest I've ever felt.


Max and I were kindred spirits in our love of the park. We wanted to stay longer and explore more, but Lucas and Eva had had it with the walking. I think we both felt a little like we had to wrench ourselves away.



Here's the funny thing: we got off the shuttle at the stop for Weeping Rock. It sounded like an easy little hike and we were intrigued by the hanging gardens and the water dripping from the rocks. But when we got out and walked to the paths, the signage was a bit unclear. We saw people walking up towards the right and others walking down from the left, so we assumed the trail circled around.

We hiked much much longer than we had anticipated and the trail was a little more difficult than expected. Then we met up with some people coming down who exclaimed over our bravery at taking that trail with the little kids. They said that not much further, the trail narrowed to a little ledge and that you had to grab on to the rocks to stay on. That was our first clue that we had taken the wrong trail!

When we came back down, the trail was a lot steeper than we had remembered, and we thought, "wow! we climbed up this?" At the bottom we saw that the trail on the left was the one that led to Weeping Rock. Max and I wanted to go see it, but the others were ready to leave.

I surprised myself by my fervent desire to return and see more of the wonders of the area. I would love to go to Arches, Bryce Canyon, and see more of Zion. When Lucas and Eva are old enough to hike more, I want to plan another trip to Southern Utah. Or maybe just Max and I will go sometime!

We stopped at one of the many rock and gemstone stores in Springdale. Marc and the boys scoffed at these huge chunks of colored glass, but I was quite taken with them.

and how about that display?

On our way home from St. George, we stopped to take some pictures of this yard. They had about 15-20 of these unusual sculptures. Each time we drove by, we had to slow way down so the kids could identify all of them.

It was a great little getaway. Thanks to Marc's parents for a wonderful Christmas gift!

To see more photos, click here.