Dixie on my mind

WARNING TO READERS: THIS IS NO SMALL POST! I DON'T DO ANYTHING IN MODERATION. MAKE SURE YOU GIVE YOURSELF ENOUGH TIME TO READ. OR SKIP TO THE PHOTOS.

Ever feel like you need a vacation from vacation? Or, like you are jet lagged when you didn't fly anywhere? As I sit here filing through all my pictures from the weekend, I realize I am exhausted with good reason. We left Thursday morning for St. George and made it down there by 2pm. We ran the entire weekend and just got home this evening. We took a Dodge Charger this time - although not an SUV, loved it! It was plenty big enough. The kids were well entertained on the way down with movies, DS games, books and music. Traveling with kids is just not like it used to be. We used to play the License Plate game. Or, count cows.. you know.. good ole fashioned non electronic games - that's another blog post for another day.

As soon as we were checked in and the car unloaded, the kids were in the pool. We stayed at the Marriott Townplace Suites. It was nice to have two bedrooms, three t.v.'s and a kitchen. The pool was just outside our window so the kids were checking constantly on the amount of people down there. As soon as it was down to a handful of kids, they made a run for it. It's so nice to be at a point with my kids that I can go chill on a lawn chair and not actually have to get in with them. All those years of swimming lessons are starting to pay off. I did enjoy the hot tub.. nightly.

So, besides swimming, we visited Grandma, climbed the Dixie Rock, toured the Brigham Young Winter Home, shopped the outlet malls, spent our rainy day at the Wild Life Museum and the Johnson Dinosaur Museum, ate at our favorite restaurant (Benja's) and rode the ATV's at Sand Hallow Park. Whew. Jer and I thought every day that the kids would crash early since we kept them busy.. never worked. Every night we were ready to call it a night by 7pm, but the kids would get a second wind and start bouncing off walls. So that was usually when they hit the pool. As much as the fighting and complaining was annoying - at least they were clean. A nightly swim and then right to the tub to get the chlorine out. That part was nice.

Thursday night we went to Pirate Island Pizza (thanks to a cute post by Emily). The kids got a kick out of the whole thing. Rumor has it that they are building one in West Jordan. We will be there - definitely fans. Josh hit the jack pot on one of the games and won 250 tickets! His night was made at that point! And, as we were leaving we ran into some friends from our old ward - Jason and Brandy Allen. Such a small world.

Aarrrrgh Matie!

Friday was our day to take advantage of the sunshine...

Climbing the Dixie Rock is a favorite tradition...

Saturday it rained and was only about 55 degrees outside. .

... so we went to the Wild Life Museum...

... and then to the Dinosaur Museum...

Sunday was the big finale to our vacation. The Easter Bunny brought "stuff" rather than candy this year. There was a little bit of candy, but each kid got a game, a book, and an art kit. It made for good entertainment on the way home.

Josh got a 3D Sponge Bob card game, Erin got Cookin' Cookies (super cute card game), and Emma got Toss Up (another FUN game for the whole family- thanks Alisha for telling the Easter Bunny about this one). Once everyone was ready for the day, we went to Sand Hallow Park and played with Grandma, Grandpa and Cari. It was a great way to spend Easter (except for the part where we didn't go to church. That was a little strange to not get the kids all ready for church on Easter morning). Erin and Jer never left the beach. The sand was soft and warm. Erin was entertained there all day. Her pants kept falling down so when we got back to the hotel, her little crack was full of sand! Check out Grandma's blog for some awesome crack shots.

Emma loved riding the Sand Dunes. She hated wearing a helmet and got tired fast, but giggled the whole time we were riding.

Josh didn't even dress for riding - he was too excited to dig on the beach. He kept telling me he wasn't interested in riding the ATV's. But, eventually he went and loved it. As much as some people go there to be crazy on the dirt bikes, sand buggies and ATV's, once you get up to the top, it's no longer about going fast. It's gorgeous! The view was amazing. Josh kept saying how awesome it was to look out at the lake. That is the part I love about riding. (Cari is there to go fast... can you tell? Look at her bike... it's all about speed).

So that pretty much is our weekend in a nutshell - ha ha. Not really a nutshell - that's not how I roll. Im never short and sweet.. never just to the point. . .

We went back to the hotel last night for one last swim. This time the kids actually realized they were tired! The sun drains you! We were all so sunburned and so exhausted. I'm thinking our day at Sand Hallow is what is making me feel like we were running the whole time. I'm sunburned and sore! And I'm realizing I'm not 18 any more. Okay, so that reality sunk in long ago, but I don't turn brown overnight. . I actually stay sunburned. And, instead of enjoying muscle pain due to a good work out, I'm crying like a baby.

Until next time.. this Dixie Chic is going to bed...