Wednesday, April 23, 2008


Sunday, April 20, 2008

Spring Break '08

We had the time of our lives this last week. I don't want to complain about the weather here because I get after Tim when he does BUT I was so excited to get to Southern Utah and enjoy the sun. I left on Saturday, April 12th with the girls and we headed straight to St. George. We stopped in Hurricane to drop off the their bikes so I didn't have to keep them in the car for a few days. We stayed in St. George at a hotel since the H.J. (not Howard but Hotel Johnson) had no vacancy. It was great for the girls and I to spend time together in a hotel and swimming in the pool. I could not believe the weather on Sunday and Monday. All I did was sit by the pool or in the park or in Chelsea's driveway soaking up the sun. The girls were more than anxious to get on their bikes and go. To ease Chelsea's fear on children getting injured on any wheeled device, I bought the girls helmets. I just want to add that none of the six children that my mom and dad successfully raised ever wore helmets as we rode up and down the main highway in Woodland. So I had to call my own kids safety geeks!!!



My addiction to the sun came out in full force. It was like I couldn't get enough and I wanted more and more and more. Tim came down Tuesday night and and brought a little of the Northern Utah glum with him. We couldn't go outside due to the "Hurricane" force winds so we opted for the Sand Hallow Aquatics Center. The water was ice cold and we only lasted about 45 minutes. I think this was the first experience of our test drive of four kids. (We had Jack with us) Tess started calling him her brother. It wasn't hard for me to handle four kids the real truth of it was that it was hard for Mia. She all of a sudden turned into needy little helpless baby.




Tim and the two older girls went on a four-wheeling excursion Thursday morning. I stayed home with Jack and Mia. By noon I was bored and so I put them in the car to head to Seagull Book. I thought I was capable of taking the two of them on a SMALL outing. Mia proved me wrong. To her credit she did fall asleep in the car and I had to wake her up. It was a very short experience and we headed back for La Verkin. This was the point I realized three is my magic number. Friday brought more riding and more sun. We went to a pool in Hurricane to cool off. The best part of the day however came with our night trip to Springdale. It is at the bottom part of Zion's Canyon. We went to a great pizza and noodle company. Followed by a round of ice cream!!




We knew Saturday was going to be our last chance to experience the amazing atmosphere so we planned a trip to Red Cliffs. Olivia and Dad were to meet us there on their way back from Mexico/Blythe/Las Vegas. Once we turned off and headed through Leeds, my heart started pounding. This was the place that many of my friends and I climbed, explored, but mostly just sun bathed for year while I was attending SUU. The warmth of the red rocks and the beauty they behold brought tears to my eyes. I was explaining to the girls this was one of my favorite places to go and they looked at me like I was from another planet. Like when the dinosaurs were on the earth. Dad was the only one who came to my rescue and told me he remembered seeing many pictures of me on these rocks. (OK- back from that trip down memory lane) The minute the kids got out of the car we could not stop them from their explorations. I thought it was great for Grandpa to be there to witness the genes in full force. No one could stop Mia and Noah from thinking they should climb higher or run faster. We made to the drainage pool where we all waded and played. It was just the perfect ending to a perfect Spring Break.

Thanks to Max and Chelsea for letting us once again take over their house and child. We really wanted to bring him home with us but apparently his parents like him too. I am not sure if we can top this vacation?!?!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Joining the Gang and Loving the SUN!

It is a well know fact that everyone who is my sister or sister-in law that has had a baby this year has had a boy. Starting with Jack in October, Luke in December, Drew in January, Baby Gunnerson to come in June and Boy named Sue in June as well. So a few weeks/months ago I decided to test my luck and see if Tim and I could cash in on everybody's good karma. I am excited to say that we will find out in October (again) if we have one more boy to add to the gang! Cross our fingers!

On to an actual update. We did head south for the weekend. There was a dance competition in St. George and it is one more way we can get a trip to St. George. We decided to leave Thursday night because the competition would take my entire day on Saturday and we wanted to spend sometime with the girls out doors. Can I just say that before this point I had been pretty patient with the snow and realize that I live in the mountains and this is just one of those "Spring-time in the Rockies." But now I am done with it!!!!!!! The snow must go or I am leaving!

Mia couldn't get enough of the park!

Ellie tried out every part of the park.

Friday we took the girls to one of the many parks in St. George. The girls just ran and played and the grins on their faces could have not been bigger. At one point Tess came over to me and said; "Mom I love St. George!" Once we got to the motel all they wanted to do is swim. Again they could not get enough of it. Their little eyes were red and Tess told me that when she looked at people her eyes were "steaming." The haze of chlorine really got to her. We had an awesome BBQ at the Johnson's and I just struggled to put my self back in the car to leave. To top it all off I went and test drove the new car that I want!!!! I will give Max and Chelsea the first call on it. Although we did not know that they wanted the same car as we did. (it seems to be a ongoing saga in our family) So we upgraded to the Buick Enclave and they can have dibs on the GMC Acadia or Arcadia (right MAX!)
When we returned home there was 7 inches of snow waiting for us in the driveway. My eyes seriously teared up.
The favorite part of the trip!

Getting to eat out at Applebee's.

The dance girls did phenomenal!!! We took six dances. Out of the six; 5 of them placed 1st, one took 2nd and of the 5 first places two received an additional trophy for overall grand champion.

To sum it all up I am not unpacking my bags because I planning on getting out of her the first chance I get! And as far as the first paragraph of this blog goes...APRIL FOOLS! What a day to update:)