St. George (late) Spring Break

Oh, how I love St. George! After a long, cold, cloudy winter, I longed for sun to clear my skin and warm my bones! We’ve been looking forward to this for weeks. Our mud season road trips have been simplified over the years; partly because of the kids’ school schedule and partly because I’m not ready to drag 4 kids on a tour of southern Utah. A long weekend in St. George was just what we all wanted!

We chose a cheap hotel this time, instead of camping. It was for the best. The kids loved the breakfast, pool, balcony, and a great location to all the best splash pads. Because that is what we did: Tour de Splash Pads! We got to all 4, but their favorite (by far) was Thunder Junction! It had it all. Even a little train you could ride for $1.

We also went to check out Gunlock Reservoir and its waterfalls. It was a once-in-a season experience because once the snow all melts and the reservoir fills, the waterfalls shut off. There were dozens! Gushing everywhere! I wish we had a drone so we could see them all. I had to keep a tight grip on Dallin and Drew so they wouldn’t follow the cliff jumpers! We ventured above the waterfalls to the reservoir itself and found a nice, calm beach with many little kids and relieved mothers. So much better!

We also made it to Zion for a quick hike and to soak in all that beauty! At first, we were going to axe the side trip to Zion… but something was pulling me there. I’m so glad we went! It was later in the afternoon, so most of the crowds were on their way out. The Virgin River was running super high! Dallin got excited every time he saw driftwood or debris charging down the river, and he even added some himself. It’s funny, last year at this time, the river was a trickle! It’s amazing what a good snow pack can do to the runoff.

We were scheduled to go home Monday and it was a good thing. The kids got a quick swim in before the rain started. And boy did it rain! We had to pass on Red Cliffs hike and the Kolob Canyon overlook. It did get us home rather quick and back to real life. Until next year, beautiful desert!

Easter

Our Easter was so sweet and simple this year! I opted out of the local egg hunts and parties and kept Easter to one day only. I think it was more laziness… and not having extra bags of Cadbury mini eggs lying around! Those things are deadly, once opened. The kids get enough candy as it is. They each got a chocolate bunny, a bag of candy, and a useful toy. The Easter bunny was so smart to bring items that needed restocking before summer: sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and play dough.

The family Easter party was at Nora’s house on Sunday afternoon. It was a wonderful Easter dinner spread topped off with amazing carrot cake that I could barely finish.

The egg hunt was a little different this year. We hid empty eggs for the kids to find and then they would bring them back in to “the store” and choose the candy they really want. Nora is brilliant! It started down pouring while they were hunting eggs, which only added to the excitement! All the kids left full, happy, and wet!

Spring Break Staycation

Since it was Bevan’s last week of work, we really couldn’t take off anywhere fun… like the rest of Heber valley does! So we planned fun activities around town, and I even took Anna and Dallin skiing a couple last times (in the afternoons, of course). Those poor kids have only ever known skiing in warm slush. I’m afraid for when they experience packed snow, ice, or even (gasp) fresh powder! They won’t know what to do!

We went to the Kamas pool on Tuesday and had a blast! We saw Dallin’s old swim teacher but I felt bad that he hasn’t progressed since the winter. We also did all the fun parks in the valley, even the one in the private community with the enormous sandbox! John let us come feed his kittens while his family was away, and the kids loved it. We even took any straggling neighbor kids that happened to be at our house.

Come with us to feed the kitties!

I loved that it broke up the day and created an excuse to leave the house. That’s about it though, kitties, parks, pools, and skiing. It was a very rounded spring break!