St. George / Zion Trip

This summer Nate took some time off from school – which means we get to do a little playing. We had a grand time with our family and friends (Suzy, Rich, Dezalin, Dreyasin). Thanks to mom and dad we had a very nice to place to stay.

Our Friends

Suzy, Rich, Dezalin, Dreyasin

Our Family

Jen, Nate, Aspen, Chase, Tytan

The Drive to St. George was not too bad and we ended it with dinner at Olive Garden. (it was alright – I don’t know if I loved it – but the left over’s were good to have around and didn’t have to cook or clean up) That night Suzi brought a movie- I thought it was a great idea because we were able to put kids to bed early so they could enjoy the day at Zion. Saturday we went to Zion. At Zion we took a cooler full of lunch supplies and Drinks. Nate and Rich had to carry it on and off the bus then hide it while we went on our hikes. Our first hike was to Weeping Rock. After that we went back to the lodge to eat lunch on the lawn (lunch was sandwiches, Chips, Juice, Cheese Sticks, we needed a treat that was not messy – like rice crispy treats – something store bought because of good packaging). Still lunch was good -lots better than the fries and hamburger which is sold at the lodge, although I did see someone eating a salad that looked good. I think we could have put the lunch in back packs and not had to worry about the cooler. Besides that a squirrels took a few bites out of it. After lunch we went to the River Side Walk. We packed up our water shoes to play in the water at the end of the hike. Tytan and Nate were the only ones who needed the water shoes. The small kids just wanted their shoes off and played in the water. (Aspen just wore her water shoes because she didn’t have to hike at all – Nate carried her in the backpack. ) After that the little kids were too tired to go on another hike. (About five hours (10:30-3:30) is all the hiking 4 year olds can handle – Ty could have gone on one more – maybe Emerald Pools) Drinking Water Notes: Maybe one of those water packs might have been easier to carry than bottle water. It seemed we needed one bottle of water per hike for two people. It might have been fun to camp there so the little kids could take a nap while the older ones went on another hike. After Zion I took Aspen home to take a nap (She doesn’t sleep in the car). Everyone else went to see a movie (Night at the Museum 2 – the kids loved it). I enjoyed the quiet time. We ordered Pizza for dinner (great choice). Sunday we went to 9:00 church. After church we stopped by Sand Hallow (which is just a few minutes from mom and dad’s house) The water was warmer than in Zion so if it was a Saturday (and not Sunday) it would be fun to bring life jackets for the kids and paddle out on rafts or something. Doug and Marry came over for dinner. It was fun to visit with them. Later that night we went to visit Nate’s friend Boa. We learned that Chase is very allergic to cats. The fun continued through Monday. Nate got up early and went back to Zion to hike (he hiked Angles Landing and one other one) he was back by 9:00 am. I slept in with the kids. We got ready to go swimming at the Washington pool. The pool didn’t open until 12:30 so we ate lunch at the park. They played at the pool until 4:00 .Ty and Chase had a blast and didn’t want to leave. Aspen was not bad. The pool was mostly covered so I didn’t have to worry about an umbrella for shade. After that we went home for very much needed naps. Dinner was easy - We ate all the leftover food (Olive Garden – Pizza). After a naps, showers, and dinner we went shopping at the out let stores and got the kids 4th of July outfits. Around 9:00 we picked up some Ice Cream at Lynns and went to Doug’s house for Ice Cream. We got home around 10:30 (Which is really late for our kids) they all fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Tuesday we got up and cleaned the house and went back to Spanish Fork. Cleaning the house was a little more difficult than I expected (it took longer) we packed a lunch (Which also took more time) but it was worth it. We ate lunch outside in Fillmore. It was nice to get home and have time to clean up and take care of a few things. Aspen was very tired and I lucked out that Nate was able to take Chase to his Smart Start Baseball Practice. (Nate had other Softball games later that night)

Zion

Dreyasin, Tytan, Chase, Dezalin

We just arrived

Tytan and Chase

Aspen and Nate walking to the bus

All the Kids Again

Weeping Rock Hike

Chase

Aspen

Tytan

Nate and Aspen

The River Side Hike

Behind this picture of Chase is the bus we get to ride on through Zion Canyon. Nate drove these buses for three summers (While he was in school) That was one of his favorite jobs.

Tytan kept count of all the squirrels - the count was around 22 on this hike. They were beyond friendly.

Chase, Tytan, Dez and Dreyasin

Rock Gardens

Dreyasin and his new best friend

Chase

Suzy and Dreyasin
hey want to watch that cool log drift down the river

Exploring Rocks

Chase, Dreyasin, Dez and Aspen

Nate showing the kids how to skip rocks

Nate and Tytan getting ready to head back to the bus