Trip to St. George

We had a great little trip with the kids to St. George over President's Day weekend. Above is the view from the back of the condo we stayed in. (When we first got there, David pointed to the mesa on the right and said, "See that mom, that's a volcano."

Our kids were so excited when we first told them the plan a few weeks ago that they immediately started packing. They were especially into packing stuff to do in the car because we'd never really done a substantial car-trip. The most exciting of all? To get to watch dvd's in the car! Richard Scary books are also exciting.
When we took a potty-break in Fillmore Spencer spotted this four-wheeler and asked, "Can you take a picture of me by this, Mom?" So we did. :)
We rented a one-bedroom condo with a sofa couch, figuring we could put some kids on the floor. Then we discovered the whole thing had tile flooring! So smart Dad put three kids horizontally on the sofa bed and made a bed for Catherine from the couch cushions. They all slept amazingly well! Whew. Our kids thought the condo itself was so exotic. When we walked in Spencer said, "I want to live here the whole winter!" I kind of felt the same way! It was just so nice to walk around in the sunshine with no coats on. Locals felt like they were having a bit of a cold spell, but it felt great to us!

Sunday after church we took the kids to the St. George Temple and visitor's center. I love how the white temple contrasts with the red sandstone cliffs surrounding. (I didn't take this picture, but thought it was a good one.) This temple was the first completed (around 1870) after the pioneers came to Utah.A fun part of that was meeting up with Bret and Laura who were also in St. George for the weekend staying with Bret's parents.
Strangely, these are the only pictures I have with the temple in them. Laura took some of us with her good camera, so we'll post those another time. But for now, here you have Spencer doing his new favorite trick of hopping on one leg while rubbing his stomach and patting his head at the same time.
Inside the visitors center we saw a new movie called the Stonecutter about John Rowe Moyle who President Uchtdorf talked about in his last conference talk, "Lift Where You Stand." Beautiful little film and very inspiring.

In trying to keep David from climbing on every surface or running away for the 17th time we told him we'd take a picture of him by Jesus.

Then everyone else got a turn.

We also toured Brigham Young's winter home in St. George. The last time I went here (11 years ago) the wood trim was all white, which complimented the sandstone. They've since restored the wood trim to the colors that they were when Brigham Young lived here.

Cool quilts.

We also enjoyed swimming on Saturday and Monday (at indoor pools) going for walks, eating at restaurants, visiting some old friends from our mission (and their fancy house!) and watching Horton Hears a Who on the king size bed. (That show is funny! We all laughed a lot.) And making rock creations. (Spencer, behind our condo.)
On Monday before we left we stopped at the dinosaur tracks museum. About 9 years ago a retired farmer in St. George found these fosillized dinosaur foot prints and tracks on his land. It's one of the biggest and most extensive dinosaur discoveries in recent years. This is only a tiny fraction of them. Those doing the research and preservation have since built a museum right on top of the site itself.
This is a T-Rex print from New Mexico, just there for size perspective, but Spencer was really excited about it. He walked around with a notebook writing down important information the whole time we were there. David amused himself (but not us) by climing over barriers and purposely touching everything with a "Do Not Touch" lable. Can't you just see him scouting his next exploit?After the dinosaur museum, we hit the road for home. But not before waiting in a 17-car-line at the drive through at In and Out Burger. It was worth it. :)

On the way home we stopped at Cove Fort, built in the 1870's by Ira Hinckley (Gordon B. Hinckley's grandfather) on assignment from Brigham Young as a way-station on the route to southern Utah. (we were definitely back in the cold climate again!)

More quilts on beds.

I really like Cove Fort. They've restored it so beautifully. I can't imagine living there though. A mile and a half from a running creek until they finally diverted the creek. Pretty desolate. Ira Hinkley planted these trees inside. He also made friends with the indians and never had to use the fort for defensive purposes, only as a rest-station, mail and telegraph office, etc.

On top of the wall.

Back to the road.