St. George Vacation - Snow Canyon

Another day of our vacation, we made plans to go hiking in Snow's Canyon. We had to start early (well..."vacation" early) and take lots of water and Gatorade (along with a few snacks!). I LOVE that Snow's Canyon has a good range of easy trails for our little ones or longer, more difficult trails, if that is what you want. Anyway, we got in two short "hikes" and then I took Abbie, Annie, Parker, and Connor on a little bit longer hike while Matt stayed with a napping Allie. Apparently, I took a lot of pictures this day....so I'll just let the pictures do the talking! ;)

Another thumbs-up activity to do when you visit St. George! (On a funny note, when we stopped at my parents house on our drive back to Boise, we discovered that my Dad, 4 brothers & nephew were hiking in the next canyon over at the exact day & time that we were at Snow's Canyon...what a small world!)

St. George Vacation - Dinosaur Museum

One of the mornings, we got up and went to see the dinosaur museum. The boys were beyond excited to see "real dinosaur tracks"! Abbie & Annie patiently went along, and luckily they had origami there to divert their attention, even though I didn't get any pictures of that...LOL!

Here are the boys, getting a look at the rocks that some of the prints were found (you can see their origami swans sitting on the ground next to them, if you look closely).

They especially liked the little displays that they could actually touch!

Here we are learning about the path that the dinosaurs tread....the museum is built around the actual property that the tracks were found. The volunteers were SO nice and took time to answer any questions we had!
So, if you have boys & happen to be in St. George...stop by the Dinosaur Discover at Johnson Farm!

St. George Vacation - Historic Downtown Tour

We just got back from a fantastic family vacation!! This year we decided to spend the week in St. George, Utah. One of the days we took a tour of historic downtown. They had live actors do presentations about major events that helped establish St. George. We started off hearing from Jacob Hamblin, who was one of the first pioneers to go to St. George, and also had a wonderful relationship with the Native Americans and was known as always being honest in his dealings.

Next we visited the Opera House (where we were greeted by Orson Pratt) which was a gathering place for entertainment & social events!

After stopping at the Tabernacle and also the Washington County Courthouse, we visited Brigham Young's winter home. Here's one of the only shots we got of all the kids together that day...

And, here's Brigham Young. Not only was he a great actor, but was so friendly as well. You could tell he really enjoyed being a part of the tour!

What a great way to spend one of our mornings! We got some history in, we learned more about our Church, what the pioneers went through living in such a hot climate, and we had a lot of fun!

Pigtails!

Allie's hair finally fit into her first pigtails the other day....SO CUTE!

PS: her smiles crack me up!

This Morning...

...I was cleaning up the kitchen as the kids came in & out of the back door a few times. When I was all done, I peaked out into the backyard to see what everybody was up too. Apparently, I missed all but one of my cute kids come in. This is what I found!!

Allie playing by herself on the trampoline...first walking around the edges!
Then jumping up & down (I think this one is hilarious...look at that hair!).

Then she was laying & rolling around....she finally spotted me!

And here was the priceless smile I got!! :)

Of course, most of the kids thought she was too cute...so they joined in with her too!! (I think they were playing queens & kings, which is why they all have a blanket around their necks - to be their robes, or whatever).

What a great way to start my day!! :)

We Are The Champions!!

Abbie's U12 Soccer Team, the Blizzards, played in the championship game on Wednesday night. It was a serious game, always close or tied most of the game. It was against a really good team they have played on several occasions, and played in the championship game at the end of fall season last year. The other team came up the winners that time, so the Blizzards came into this game even more revved up & wanting to win....AND THEY DID!! Congrats Blizzards on an amazing season!!

Just before the game....
Lining up for their blue ribbons!!....

Team hugs....lots of happy girls!!...

And Abbie w/her ribbon! She wore her jersey & ribbon to school the next day (that is a smile there...the wind was just blowing a ton)!

It is so fun watching my girl's play!! It's so fun to see some hard work come together in great team work & an exciting game!! Congratulations Abbie & the Blizzards!

Playing Catch-Up: Field Trips

We took 2 different field trips with Connor's preschool in April. One to the Zoo (always a favorite) and a we tried out the Idaho Botanical Gardens for the first time....both were lots of fun for the kids!!

Here the boys are at the zoo...it seems we always have to take a picture by the penguins!!...


Hiding in a grass hut (by the lions!)....

The next two are from our field trip to the botanical garden....

I think I have as much fun on the field trips as the kids!!

Playing Catch-Up: Piano Recital Time

Abbie & Annie had their Spring Piano Recital on the middle of May....it's fun to see how much they improve from one recital to the next...it seems, this time, both of them have made some amazing progress!! They both performed beautifully & I think they both should be pleased with themselves!

On a side note, the recital was held at a new studio this time....the piano Abbie & Annie played on a beautiful, full sized grand piano! It was gorgeous!!

Playing Catch-up: Annie's Birthday

Annie had her birthday in April....It's hard to believe that my Annie-Bear is already 9 years old. But, she is....and I think she had a fabulous day!!

I may be a little biased...but I think she's beautiful!! :)

Parker's New Trick

No more training wheels!!!

Last year, Parker would have NOTHING to do with learning to ride a 2-wheeler....and even until yesterday he wasn't convinced that he wanted too. However, yesterday afternoon, I took him over to the basketball park by our house and told him we was going to learn (I *may* have threatened that he wouldn't be able to play the Wii until he could ride down the street & back)!! After a bit of complaining, a bit of crying, and A WHOLE LOT of trying, he finally got the hang of it! It was SO worth it, too....once we got back home, he kept telling us how fun it was to ride a 2-wheeler and how happy he was to learn!! He put a lot of effort into riding, and even though he wanted to give up, he didn't!! Way to go, Parks!!