once upon a weekend...

With Brad's job as crazy as it is right now, we think it's highly unlikely we'll be taking a summer vacation this year.  With that in mind, we are hoping to take several SHORT (1-2 day) getaways.  So this is the first (hopefully of several) mini vacations...a weekend in St. George.

We left after Brad got off work on Friday - Zach threw an absolute tantrum when Brad got in the driver's seat.  To avoid the wailing, we switched places and I drove.  All the way.  It's been a long time since I've driven that far.  We arrived at the house just in time to eat a late dinner and relax in front of the tv's until we fell asleep.

Saturday morning we headed to Snow Canyon.  We had rented scooters specifically for this reason...and it was amazing!  We drove to the top of the trail and Brad took the scooters and the big kids on a long, gorgeous ride:

In the meantime, the little boys and I drove back down the canyon to one of our favorite spots:

 

And here we spent some quality time with our new Target sand toys:

Which were quickly replaced by new and improved toys...aka sticks:

After a fun ride, Meagan and Josh joined us in the sand:

Brad continued to ride the electric scooter for quite a while as we played and got COVERED in sand.  Seriously, it was everywhere!

Brad returned and I was able to take the scooter for a little ride.  When I had filled my thrill quota for the day, riding back and forth on a short piece of trail (because I'm a chicken and I'm afraid of the hills and dips), we decided to go on a little hike.  The little guys had differing opinions as to which way we should go:

We drove to another favorite spot of ours - I don't even know what it's called, or if it has a name...but we go often.

and again...without the ring pops in our mouths:

Both of the big kids took off in different directions - Josh went up and Meagan went down.  At precisely the exact same moment, they each yelled for me to take their picture...and neither knew where the other was.  Here's where they were:

Meagan had no idea she was holding up her brother! :)

We had to check out all of the little holes and caves we could find:

The kids walked and climbed and explored and hiked and hiked and hiked:

Until they were so exhausted this one couldn't walk one more step:

 

Monkey see, Monkey do:

 

She thought this chimney coming up out of a "cave house" was really cool and immediately walked over to lift up the cap and peek down.  That's when I told her it was actually a toilet:

 

I know, I'm hilarious.

We decided we were done.  I always seemed to be a few steps behind everyone.  Which is just fine, because then I can witness heart-warming scenes like this:

After our morning/afternoon of hiking, we decided to go back to the house and relax for a while...but first we stopped at the theater to buy movie tickets.  We just had to see UP...and in 3-D, just because the glasses are so super cool:

  

especially with buttery fingerprints all over them:

 

and this little guy just couldn't hold still for a picture - he was way too excited!

After we filled up on popcorn, candy, and rootbeer, we decided to wait a while for dinner, and headed back to the house again.

The big kids broke out the scooters:

while we let the little boys play at the great park that's right behind Mom & Dad's house:

 

Around 9:00, we headed to town for dinner and a late-night Target run...'cause it's hard to drive by a Target and not stop.

On Sunday, we got up and spent some more time on the scooters and at the park before getting the house cleaned up and getting ready to leave.  Of course, we had to stop by Grandma Jill's on the way home.

Zach had to feed the birds:

 

Seth had to play in the dirt:

Meagan and Josh had to relax and watch the humming birds:

And Brad and I had to let Josh take our picture when he asked:

Then we loaded up the van again, turned on a good movie for the kids, and headed home. 

It was a quick little vacation, but we crammed a lot of fun into that day and a half - and we can't wait to go again!