Fall Break in St. George

We took a little trip down to sunny St. George over Fall Break a couple weeks ago with Nana, Poppy, Kristin, Dan and Landon.  We had such a great time!  The weather was awesome (70s and 80s every day) and we had fun exploring Utah's Dixie.  When we first got down there, we went to a cute little splash pad near downtown St. George.  We hadn't checked into the condo yet, so all the kids' swimming suits were still packed, but they had fun running around in their clothes and didn't seem to care that they got soaked to the bone...

This picture makes me laugh.  I had no clue it had been taken until I was looking through all the pictures when we got home.  It appears as if Connor is...ummmm...doing his business in the splash pad...

But, actually they were just doing a little trick photography with a statue.  Silly boys...

Strike a pose...

Connor is such a good big brother.  He followed Viv as she ran and jumped all over the park...

Cohen taking a break...

By mid-afternoon, we were able to check into the condo.  We rented a condo about 10 minutes north of St. George because we waited a little too long to book reservations, so most the vacation condos in town were already booked for the weekend.  It ended up being a pretty nice complex, and the pool was a lot of fun.  As soon as we brought our suitcases inside, the kids were changing into their suits and were ready to hit the water...

These sillies love the water...

They had a great time splashing around with Landon too...

Nana and I had fun hanging out on the side of the pool and chatting...

Cute kiddo...

Another cute one...

And another...

And another...

Here's a big picture of the pool...

It had a fun little cave where you could sit to get out of the sun for a few minutes...

I think we wore the kids out because by dinner time, this happened.  Haha...

The next morning, the guys hit the trail for a little mountain biking.  The first ride they went on was an old favorite, Bear Claw Poppy.  I think Poppy likes this one just because of the name...

While they were gone, the girls and kids hung out at the condo working on a puzzle (this has become a tradition for these weekend getaways) and just hanging out.  We met up with the guys for a quick lunch and then they took off again to play 18 holes of golf...

While they were golfing, the rest of us met up with my Mom's friend, Judy, would lives near St. George.  She was our tour guide on a hike that took us to some nearby petroglyphs.  There were tons of them all over the place...

Judy and the boys going further up the trail to find more...

They were all very clear...

And seriously everywhere.  Every wall had at least one or two...

Taking a break to pose for a picture...

More petroglyphs...

And more...

And more...

It was a really fun hike.  We had a great time.  We were happy that Judy had the time to be our tour guide and take us on a hike not many people know about.

After the hike, we headed back to the condo to wait for the guys to return.  Here's Viv and Landon having fun on the double bunk beds.  So stinkin' cute!  These two are 2 1/2 years apart, but about the same size, and they love each other to pieces...

Once the guys got back from golfing, it was the girls turn to take off for some time away from the kids.  We went to dinner and then to Tuacahn, the outdoor theater just outside of St. George...

We saw The Wizard of Oz...

It was great!  Very well done.  The actors were awesome and they all had wonderful voices.  We had an fun little girls night...

The next morning, the guys started out the day with another ride.  This time they went to Gooseberry Mesa, which overlooks part of Zion National Park.  Look how gorgeous this view is...

Doing a little exploring at the lookout point...

Don't get too close to that edge, Poppy...

Pushing the envelope...

They took a lot of awesome pictures of the view...

I love the variations in the rock!  Seriously, I don't think there are many places in the world more beautiful than southern Utah...

While they were gone, the girls and kids had a lazy morning at the condo.  Cohen decided he wanted to be helpful and made the bunk bed.  This sweet kid is always trying to find ways to help.  Love him...

Once the guys returned from their ride, our family and Poppy decided to head out to Snow Canyon for the afternoon to do a little hiking.  However, on our way out there, we stumbled across a place called Pioneer Park right in the heart of St. George.  Don't let the name fool you--it's not a traditional park.  It's a bunch of rock formations that the city has turned into a park that people can explore to their hearts content.  It was awesome...

We found lots of little caves...

And climbed to the top of tall rocks...

And did a little jumping too...

Peek-a-boo...

I see you...

Perfect little spot for a tiny little girl...

My fellas...

A wide shot of part of the park.  Isn't it cool?

There were a couple places where bridges had been put up to link rock slabs together...

You'd never think this would be right near downtown St. George, but it is.  Here's the picture I took of the city to prove it.  Seriously, why have we never heard of this place?  It was amazing...

Connor found a rock formation that he thought looked like a kimono dragon with it's mouth open.  Don't get eaten, Connor...

There were a few primitive pioneer homes that were built by some of the first settlers to the area.  They were built right into the caves and openings in the rock walls.  It was pretty cool...

There were several slot canyons to explore too...

One that we found got pretty tight in one spot.  Mike, Poppy and the kids all went through it.  I waited with Viv.  I was surprised that Mike's claustrophobia didn't kick in while he was going through the slot canyon.  It got really, really tight, as you can see in this picture...

We had a great afternoon exploring the park.  We will definitely go back.  Once we got back to the condo, Mike and the kids went swimming again...

They are a bunch of fish and would probably live in the water, if they could...

The next day was our last day in St. George.  The boys started out the day with another bike ride.  This time they did the Gem Trail.  Mike got a flat tire.  And, not only was it flat, but he totally sliced open his tire.  They were able to fix it enough to finish the ride...

Poppy along the trail...

Mike too...

And Dan...

When they got back, we all went to brunch at the Black Bear Diner.  The kiddos had fun taking pictures with all the bear statues outside...

It was really yummy and we stuffed ourselves silly.  After that, we drove out to Snow Canyon State Park (since we never made it the day before) and did a little hiking to find the lava tubes that are part of the park.  You can see the entrance to one of them behind Vivvie and I in this picture...

The lava tubes are big cave-like channels created by extinct rivers of lava that once moved under the ground.  The lava has since cooled and turned to rock, leaving big open tubes under the ground that you can walk through and explore.  Here's Cohen waiting for his turn to get down in one of the lava tubes...

Mike helping Viv into one--although she ended up chickening out last second...

Dan, Mike and the boys down in one of the lava tubes looking up toward one of the entrances...

They were really cool.  The boys all explored the tubes for awhile and came back out...

We walked down the path and found another tube, but it didn't go very deep...

After seeing the lava tubes, we decided to follow the trail a little further to see where it lead...

We took lots of pictures along the way...

There was lots of gorgeous scenery...

I love Snow Canyon.  The combination of red and white rock is so pretty...

And the scrapes along the sandstone from years of erosion are pretty cool too...

By mid-afternoon, we finally packed up and drove back home.  It was a fun little vacay.  We all wished it had been one day longer, but it was nice to get away, even if it was just for the four days we were there.  We loved every second of it!  --Lindsay