Ivins Spring 2013

So Scott has been told he won't be working Fridays. Which is funny because I think he's only had one Friday off the last month or so. We had been wanting to go back down to St. George to the condo for a while. First we wanted to do Memorial Day weekend but then remembered it's his Grandma's 80th bday party that weekend and kind of a mini reunion with all his Bennion family. So then we thought the first weekend in May. That didn't work because they had work on Friday. A lot of work. He was going to leave noon on Thursday but they were slammed that week. It would have been bad if he left. And he would have missed out on a lot of hours. So we cancelled again. Then we decided to shoot for Mother's Day weekend. If he could leave right after the paper on Thursday we could still get down there before it was too late. So I spent the day packing and cleaning. I got everything loaded up and when were given the okay we picked up Scott and headed out. Charlotte had to go potty a few times but the bike rack held great and the 80 mph zones really helped make up time. We got down there around 9pm and stopped at Jack in the Box. We love it and there are none in Northern UT. So we got that since we hadn't really had dinner then headed to the condo. When we first pulled up we found two of these guys!

They're so cute! But one went in the garage under some shelving. We had to keep unpacking hoping he'd come out. Which he did. Then had to scoot him outside so he wouldn't be stuck there all night. We got unpacked. Bathed the kids. Got beds ready. We were lucky that the kids didn't sleep much in the car so we were able to get them down without major issues. Charlotte was really good and shared a room with Jackson. They both crashed pretty quick. They even slept in until 8 am the next morning. That NEVER happens. We're usually up at like 6:30 or 7 am. We all slept great. It was much needed rest. After breakfast we took a short ride. I had never really rode my bike out there and didn't know what inclines there were and how it would be towing the kids. The one path we took close to the condo was cake. There is one little market in town and we stopped there to get some produce. We went back home and I started working on some food prep and had to feed the kids and get my other grocery list together.

I went out to Walmart in Washington which was the best thing ever. That's where the polygamists shop. Fantastic sight. They were full on dressed like pioneers or something with similar hair-dos. Their carts were OVERFLOWING with food. All I could see in one ladies cart was Doritos bags. Literally almost falling out of her cart. It was crazy. Then I saw a girls either my age or younger. She looked young. Her cart was crazy full too. I wish Scott was with me to take a picture. My phone is not discreet. But I was right next to the younger one while looking for turkey bacon. She was  just so awesome. So wish I had a picture!

Rick was heading out that day too. We got there within like a minute of each other. Scott said we actually both texted him at the same time saying we'd be there in 20 min. I was actually 21 min and he was probably 22.... so close! Charlotte was super excited to see him. She loooooves Rick. Scott and Rick later decided to go shopping for Mother's Day. I took the kids on a bike ride. Charlotte crashed. She was tired. I went up Snow Canyon Pkwy but turned around at the gate because I left my wallet at home so I couldn't pay to ride up there. There was one tough hill I had to walk them up before the gate but it was a really pretty ride. I'd love to go to that park next time. Seems like a lot of neat stuff to see. Here are some pictures I took.

 Luckily this thunderstorm stayed west. It was producing hail but drifted south. Phew!

 I love seeing all the black lava rock with the red rock. There is a cinder cone hike at Snow State Park but its difficult. Something that would have to be done without the kids.

I just headed back after this and started to cook dinner. We ate and then decided to take the kids swimming.   We swam from about 8 to 9 and found another toad on the way back to the condo. Got the kids ready for bed and laid them down. We stayed up with Rick watching tv for a while and crashed around 11 pm. The next morning Rick went for a run and I made breakfast. After we all ate Scott and Rick went swimming and I took the kids on another ride. This time I just went down Snow Canyon Pkwy toward the highway leading to St. George. I had to turn around though because I had to pee really really bad. I thought I might die. But it was still a nice ride. After we got back Rick headed into St. George and Scott and I decided to go for a hike. We packed lunches and I found a hike with Petroglyphs. I wish they said how long the hikes were. They aren't documented very well online. We got our sunscreen on and found the Anasazi Valley Trailhead. I forgot a hat for Jackson but happened to bring a couple bandannas down so I just tied one up on his head.

He was tired and it was kind of hot so he wasn't super comfortable in the backpack. Won't do that again in the heat nor will we go on such a long hike. Charlotte wanted Scott to carry her after like 10 ft. That kid has walked down to the store and back. Probably 2-3 miles round trip which was probably about the length of the hike. We did have some really pretty views.

After a long walk we did make it to some petroglyphs. It was really neat to see.

 There was a sweet view of this valley too.

After the hike up poor Jack was done. He was getting hot and he hadn't napped so he was tired. I took his shirt off the last 15 min to cool him off. He took a nap and Charlotte did too. My friend Ashley who I've known since I was like 4 or 5 came up with her husband Peter who was a friend from a class in high school. They are awesome and hilarious and I love them both. They live in Vegas now so every time we are down south we try to meet up with them. I was so excited to have them come visit. It was really great to visit and chat and just hang out and laugh. Scott and Rick left around 7 pm to go visit his friend's brother who is actually like a friend now. He works for the city of St. George as a city planner I believe. Him and his wife are really awesome. Our weekend was short so we were cramming a lot in but Scott was glad he got to hang out with them for a bit. Ashley, Peter, the kids and I decided to check out the swans. I fed the one in the lake that's just to the west of the condo. This guy ate out of my hand. But kinda bit me and it hurt. They are also HUGE! Swans are just crazy and kinda scary birds.

 Then we walked over to the other lake to the east to see the other ones. Charlotte went running up to a mom sitting on a nest which was a huge mistake. Thank goodness for the fence. The male swan was on the other side of the lake and he took off to protect her. I have never seen a swan fly like that. Ashley and Peter were freaking out and I had to get Charlotte to run back over so she didn't get attacked. That swan gave us some nasty looks and was very threatening. We didn't stick around long. It was pretty funny to see though. Oh man... good memories. This is him below giving us the evil eye.

We went back inside for a bit and Charlotte was dressing up in Ashley's stuff. She had a blast with Ashley and Peter.

 I was so glad that they came up to visit. We'll hopefully meet up with them again next time we're down. I miss my So Cal friends a ton and it might be a long time before I see any of my other friends. Nobody is ever in UT and we're lucky to be able to afford to go to St. George so at least I can see the only friend that calls me anymore. Ashley's always been good with keeping in touch and calls me once a month or every other month. She's so funny to chat with too. Can't wait to see her and Peter again.

We slept good that night and ate leftovers the next morning. Charlotte ran around while we tried to clean and do some laundry.

 We left around noon and made a stop at Home Depot. I totally spaced on getting my mom something for Mother's Day so we stopped there. Then we grabbed some Jack in the Box and hopped on the freeway. My bike gave us great issues. It took us an hour and half to get to Cedar City. It was like the wind kept catching the tires and flinging up in the wind. We could not figure out why it was doing that. I had absolutely no issues going down and it was crazy on the way home. It took us 6 hours to get home. Definitely did not feel like Mother's Day at all. No breaks for me. It was a hard day and my parents had invited us for dinner. So we were rushing to get home in time and had to unpack the car and get the food in the fridge and were kind of late. We had to wait to see Scott's parent's the next day because our whole day was thrown off from the bike.

It was a really nice trip though. Scott is going down with his brothers and dad for Father's Day weekend. That will be the first weekend Scott and I go more than 24 hours not seeing each other. I'm hoping we can get down there sometime this summer. Even if its a million degrees then. We for sure want to do a week once Scott's vacation resets the end of July I think. If there is a Friday he has off we'll head down a Thurs evening again and stay through the following weekend. Take a nice long trip. That would be so fun. It's such a nice break to go down there and as long as we can swing gas it really doesn't cost much since I can bring food from home or make what I was going to make at home. Love it down there. So glad we took this trip. Our family needed a little break.