3 Girls and a Guy

Where is the SUN?
Memorial Weekend 2011

There has been a lack of sun this spring. We had to find it. We were off to St. George for some fun in the sun. The girls and I begged Renn to come home way early Friday from work so we could swim and layout. We made it by 3 p.m. and did just that. It felt so right finally to have some Vitamin D in the body again. Then we met Jords fam and Matthews fam for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. We didn't even know Matthew was going. It was fun to see them here and there.

The men headed back to the hotel for more swimming while the girls headed for some shopping and menchies. Didn't buy much, but had fun trying on things and watching cute Bryell fight with another little girl at Menchies. Haha. We couldn't resist going to Menchies. The boys missed out.

Night swimming. Randy and Jenn arrived just in time to night swim. We would swim in the morning, at night, in the afternoon, whenever we had time. One night the men were in the inside pool while the women were at the grocery store. The men would all tell the kids to scream as soon as other guests came to swim. They wouldn't stay long. Most of the time they turned around and left. There were over 10 kids screaming their heads off. Ear piercing I'm sure. One lady really tried to tell the men off, but no one could really hear her. Renn, Jordan and Randy laughed about it for days. They had the indoor pool to themselves for the night. Kind of rude to the other guests. Renn says it's a fun memory for his kids.

Saturday we headed for Snow Canyon. It was fun while it lasted. We visited two sites before the chaos began. The kids loved playing in the sand dunes. Jordan made Kenzie a flower hair band. It was early morning and it felt nice to walk bare foot. I really figured out that I have a true teenager on my hands this trip. Alex would say "This is gay," and "What is the point of this." I would just laugh. It's funny that I have a child that old and who acts like a teenager.

We took a little hike to some pioneer names carved into the moutain side. Alex hiked to the very top. She had fun even though she had some funny comments. All the kids loved climbing around on the rocks.

Then the chaos began. We were hiking back to the cars and the men stuck out their hand to tell a van to slow down. The van was going fast and the speed limit was 20 mph. The man then swerved into all the of the men and children. Renn and Jordan hit the van with their hands and made a loud sound. Us women were a ways behind and saw the whole thing happen. I couldn't believe a van would swerve into our families ahead of us. He drove by us just a smiling. He was in a minivan with his own kids. He was inches away from hitting the men and kids. Jordan sped off in his car, ran the van off the road into the rangers station, ran into the rangers station, told them to do something with this guy or Jordan was going to hurt him. Jordan was pretty upset this man swerved into us. We sat there for a few hours while the cops were called and everyone filled out statements. All of the women left with the kids and went back to the hotel swimming. The men had to stay and talk with the cops. The cops said it was tit for tat. The guy almost hit us, but Jordan could have killed them running them off the road. We all got kicked out of Snow Canyon for 48 hours. We will have to go back to Snow Canyon on our next trip one day. Dumb day!

After the kids finished swimming, we went church site seeing. We went to Jacob Hamblin's home and Brigham Young's winter home. I love history. I could listen to the tour missionary guides forever. It's fascinating. I know I didn't appreciate it as a child, but I think all of us adults loved hearing about the sites. The kids would grumble here and there, but they were pretty good. My parents took us to Jacob Hamblin's growing up. I've been there several times. He had a few wives and many children. He was a real friend to the indians. He was a very honest, and loyal person.

Jacob Hamblin's home was nice, but Brigham Young's was fancy. This was his home and where he spent a lot of time watching the St. George Temple be built. He wanted to see a temple built before he died, because the SLC temple was going to take years. He made it. The temple can be seen from his home. It was fun to show the kids olden day times and to talk about the church away from home on vacation. Again I think the adults loved this a little more than the kids. One day they will appreciate it too.

We were starving and it was Memorial weekend. It was after 6 p.m. and we tried three different restaurants, but the waits were sooooooo long. We drove by Dennys and there were not very many cars, so we headed inside. We didn't have a wait. Randy and Jenn have never eaten there before. Spit wads were spit threw straws and there was lots of ruckus and noise. We have 11 kids between the three fams. I'm sure we were a spectacle, but a fun and entertaining one.

Sunday we always go to church on vacation. Some people in my family don't really like that, but that's the way I was raised and I love the memories. We went to church and then headed to Zions. Renn and I have never been to Zions. Pretty sad. Jordan got seperated from us, so it was Randy's fam and our fam for the day. It was chilly in Zions. The wind had picked up, but we hiked and rode the buses sight seeing.

Poor Kaden had a rash on his legs from his swimsuit and swimming all weekend. He couldn't walk with his shorts rubbing on it because he was in so much pain. We took his shorts off and he walked in his boxers. It was quite the sight, but we had no alternative. He was so funny and entertaining to watch because he was a goofball about it.

Zions was beautiful. We saw weeping rock, lower ponds, and other sights. Many sights and names in Zions go along with our church and history. It was like being in church all day. Renn thinks that after being in Moab and Powell many times, it's all the same. It was still beautiful and fun to hear about.

At one of the stops, we were going to get on a bus, but then decided it was the wrong one. A few of the kids had already gotten on the bus. When the bus doors shut and the kids realized the adults were not on the bus, they started screaming. Adri's scream was ear piercing and she was freaking out. I couldn't help but laugh at the hysteria she was in. We got the bus driver to stop and they got off. She cried a little bit and was very hesitant on each bus throughout the day. I'm sure the people on the bus got a laugh out of it.
Before we left, we went through a mile long tunnel. The longest tunnel ever. They carved it out back in the olden days. It took forever, but I can't remember all the details. It was pretty amazing to drive thru. Can you imagine carving that tunnel out without all the equipment we have today. It was a little freaky driving through thinking of earthquakes and such. We got back in time for dinner and bed.

Monday we woke up and Abby was sick. She laid in bed all morning while we packed up. We were going to go shopping, but Heather didn't feel so hot either. We went and visited Haycock's at their new condo. It's their second home. Then we headed home. Abby puked a few times Monday. Adri had begged all weekend for Cafe Rio and we never made it there. I promised her all weekend we would go to Rio. So we stopped and got carryout right before we got home. She was a happy girl with her pork burrito!

It was a nice getaway with family. We always have fun with Jordan's fam and Randy's fam. The kids love having all of their cousins around. Our hotel had family suites, indoor pool, outdoor pool, and hot breakfasts. We loved the sun!!! We will see you all in Powell in one month!!!