Celebrating the 4th in our Favorite Place

Today is the main reason that we came down to St. George when we did.  We love to celebrate the Fourth of July in our favorite place!  We started the morning with a little pickle ball!  It was so fun to have Joey playing with us this time.  After working up a sweat we went and grabbed some McDonalds for breakfast.  Everyone got ready for the day and we dropped the boys off at House of Jump.  Harlee and I decided to skip the trampoline place and went shopping.  We went to TJ Max, Ross, and then Gap Factory.  We headed back to get the boys and we grabbed lunch at In and Out.  We went home to swim and relax for a little while and Harlee and I went to do a little more shopping.  We had a barbeque for dinner and then a little firework show of our own!  Joey hooked us up with some snakes and sparklers.  Once we were all out we drove down into town to watch the firework show.  We parked in a different spot this year and the firework show was amazing.  Love this tradition and had so much fun enjoying this special day with my family.  We will be taking off tomorrow to head home and I am so not ready for the vacation to end. 

Tuesday in the SG

After working a few hours in the morning, we packed a lunch and headed to Sand Hollow.  We had forgotten the trailer hitch so we had to go without the kayaks.  We did buy a new 6 person raft and we were excited to try it out.  We found an amazing parking space and did not have to walk too far before we found our perfect spot.  We unpacked and the kids could not get in the water fast enough.  They had so much fun playing on the raft, swimming and playingin the sand.  Joey and I relaxed and I actually got to read a book.  Such a beautiful day.  The time did get cut a little short because the wind kicked up.  We went home and swam for a bit.  Then we cleaned up a bit and went to Chili's for dinner.  It is so fun to go to dinner and have everyone enjoy it.  So grateful for my family and so grateful for these times together!

Monday in St. George

I know I mentioned it in my previous post about Joey's art lesson, but today was a pretty lackluster.  Joey and I had to spend many hours working so the kids were left to swim, relax, and play video games.  We did decide to make tonight the night to try something new.  We chose to go to Rigatti's pizza and then for dessert we would go to the Red Barn.  Joey and I had visited Rigatti's pizza before but the Red Barn would be the new place for all of us.  The pizza experience was not the best.  After ordering and waiting 45 minutes, I went up to ask how much longer it would be on our order.  The employees searched and finally found our order on the ground.  When the pizza finally came out it received mixed reviews.  Joey and I really liked it but the kids were not as interested.  Since it is a wood-fired pizza the kids thought it was burnt.  They were a lot more excited about the ice cream.  We all got double scoops and loved it!  Tag got lime flavored cotton candy.  I think we will definitely be making a repeat visit for sure!

A lesson from a pro

Today in St. George was slightly lackluster.  Joey and I both had a lot of work that we needed to do.  Joey did take a break from his work to take an art class.  Tag wanted to teach Joey how to draw Mario.  So Joey sat down and Tag walked him every detail of drawing the character.  He started with the eyes and worked on the rest.  If Joey did not do something exactly like he had instructed Tag would say "That is not what I said but that is ok!".  Such a cute and patient teacher.  Love that he is wanting to share his passion for drawing with others.  Such a special experience and so fun to watch. *Joey's is on the right and Tag's is on the left.

A Grand Experience

 

So I am 41 years old and I have never been to the Grand Canyon.  When Joey mentioned that it was only 2 1/2 hours away I knew we had to go.  We woke up and were out the door by 8am.  The kids were less than excited about the long drive but as soon as we got close they were so excited.  What an amazing sight!  The Grand Canyon is beautiful and so big!  We hiked to several of the look out points and enjoyed the beauty.  I cannot believe that this was formed by a river.  So amazing.  On the way home we stopped in Kanab for a little lunch before heading home.  We spent the rest of the day swimming and hiking in our backyard.  I am so grateful for the beauty of the earth.  Such a blessing to go and enjoy just a little part of Heavenly Father's creations today.  Love making memories!!  Thanks Joey for ignoring the gripes from our kids and getting us out to see this amazing canyon.