Dallin turns 5/ Memorial Day

Since Dallin’s birthday is always Memorial Day weekend, it’s just a non-stop party. He celebrated in pre-school on Friday, which also happened to be show-n-tell. He wanted to bring baby Tommy and it was such a success! Baby Tommy performed for the class by rolling from his back to his stomach. So remarkable! On Saturday, Bevan took him to Wild West Days at the Heber Valley Railroad. He’s always been obsessed with trains and begs to ride it every time he hears the whistle from our house. After the train ride, we had lunch at Dairy Keen with Grandma and Grandpa Hawkins. We then killed the long afternoon trying out his new kiddie pool. It never got old. On Sunday, we had a party at Grandma and Grandpa Ackerson’s house. It was also Grandpa’s birthday so that meant a monstrous chocolate cake! Poor Grandma wasn’t feeling well, but she still loves hosting the party! On Monday, the celebration continued. After some leftover cake for breakfast, we headed to the cabin for dutch oven potatoes, jalapeno poppers, and a hike to Rocky Point. I think this was the first time EVER that Dallin ran ahead of us consistently. He used to have a low tolerance for hiking and we would always have to bribe/ carry him eventually. Maybe he’s growing up?! Or maybe it was his older “dude” cousins he was trying to keep up with?!

I just love this blondie-boy of mine! He has so much independence that he’s stretching everyday. He just loves being outside, on the trampoline, or on his bike. He also loves playing in the sandbox or digging for worms or “rolie-polies”. He’s such a 5-year-old! He exerts so much energy during the day, that when evening comes, he’s just begging to go to bed! He’s achieved so much in school this year. His speech is improving every month and is sooooo excited to start kindergarten next fall.

Mother Day Camping

Bevan got me the most awesome Mother’s Day present ever: a portable firebowl! It’s just a stand alone firepit you hook up to a tank of propane. No hauling wood, no smoke, no stink, no open-flame restrictions! We needed somewhere to try it out and Bevan suggested camping in St. George. Sure! We never took a “mud-season” vacation this year so this was it. We picked the perfect weekend! I was in the mid 90’s the whole week before, but a dry cold front rolled through our first night. Sure, it was windy, but the next day was only in the 70’s! The locals were all out and happy. We spent Saturday morning in the Children’s discovery museum. What a fantastic place to kill 4 hours with small children! It was so great, and would’ve been even better if we could just drop the kids off… but they have a strict policy about that. I guess parents have tried it in the past. I can’t blame them. Your kids barely notice you’re even there.

After that, we had lunch just outside at the splash pad/ red rock water feature area. It’s our favorite place in St. George. The kids just played and played, which turned into nap time once we hit the road for Zion. Silence is wonderful! Once they were freshly rested from their power naps, it was time for a hike! I’ve never experienced Zion in the later afternoon. It was so great! The crowds were on their way out and we found parking right up front at the visitor center. The ride up the canyon on the shuttle was so beautiful! I love that place! I remember how Bevan and I used to race each other up Angel’s Landing. Nowadays, we consider it a success if nobody gets hurt at Weeping Rock!

The kids begged for stuffed animals in the gift shop. We’re such suckers! Anna got a small raccoon, Drew got an owl, and Dallin got a rattle snake (that even has a little toy rattle inside its tail!). We cooked dinner at the picnic area and headed back to our campground in Leeds. It was late, but the boys still went swimming, Anna crashed on her sleeping bag, and I sat and stared at my beautiful fake campfire!

On Sunday, we found a local ward in Leeds. We snuck in during the opening song and sat in the back. It took a couple minutes for me to notice something was different. It was REALLY quiet. Did we hit the retirement community ward?! Nope, just a lot of older people. The “primary” sang for Mother’s Day and there were only 5 kids up there! Crazy! Our own kids would’ve almost doubled their primary… if we had stayed. I was itching to head home, so we did. We stopped in Cedar City and gawked at their lovely temple. I felt that made up for us skipping out early. We made it home in good time and reasonable silence. It was a great Mother’s Day trip. I love being a mom and the adventures we get to share with those little crazies of mine! People keep telling me to cherish it while they’re young and now I’m starting to get why.