st george sun

this past weekend we were fortunate enough to stay in my bro-in-law's grandparents' home down in sunny st. george. i needed that sun/getaway in a bad way. the drive down wasn't terrible. we expected kendall to cry for at least two hours, but she surprised us and only cried for about thirty minutes. brooklyn was excellent. without any technology on the way there or back home, she didn't whine or cry once. she just watched out the window and asked if we were there several times. just like i did as a kid.

when everyone got there, we unloaded our things and got all situated and then sat around and visited. chandler and whit weren't able to come and whole time it just never felt right. we missed having them there and hope that next time we can all be there. i went to bed pretty quick because i was exhausted and knew that kendall would be up early. which she was. we were the first ones up, followed by my siblings and my dad. we visited for a little bit, did some push-ups, and when everyone was up, the girls took off for a run. 

the trail was awesome and the run didn't kill me, though it was close. kenz had us to an interval run where we jogged for two minutes and then sprinted for one minute, repeated seven times. it was killer but felt so good afterward.

here is our post run sweaty selfie in front of this cool indian on a horse.

when we got back, my mom spoiled us with sourdough pancakes and bacon. heavenly.

then we were off on a little adventure/hike. we chose a trail that was easy enough for brooklyn and short. we were anxious to get back to the pool. but she loved it. and i think everyone enjoyed themselves.

 (i told james to try and take it to make it look like i wasn't standing on the gound. fail.)

including this little one. how delicious are those little legs?

we got home and changed into swim suits. it was time to relax and enjoy that sunshine!

the outdoor pool was pretty cold, so james took the girls indoors and they had a blast. kendall loved every second, except for when this picture was taken. she wanted to get back in the water.

all of the swimming tuckered her right out. i barely got her swim suit off and she was out.

i took advantage of the napping babe and got ready with everyone else to get ready to go out to dinner. we ended up at sakura and had a delicious meal together.

and since my mom's b-day was just a few days away, we decided to celebrate her. the flaming cheesecake. happy birthday mom!

for dessert, we split up. everyone except my dad, kenz, and i went to nielsen's custard. we went to swig so that kenz could try their amazing cookies and drinks. she'd never been, and i gladly accepted to be the one to go with her. she was impressed.

 then we met up with everyone again and finished our desserts together.

with the time change, sunday morning came early. we planned on hitting up an eleven o'clock sacrament meeting so i had to hurry. and thanks to james and my sisters, the four of us were out the door and barely late. i ended up with kendall in the mother's lounge, of course, but the rest of the meeting was enjoyable.

st. george was beautiful. blossoms and palm trees? yes please!

post church nap.

shortly after we got home from church, everyone but us packed up to head home. james took monday off so we had an extra day. and we were so glad he did!

we cooked a frozen pizza for dinner and ate out on the patio. perfect outdoor dining weather.

after dinner, we drove up to dixie rock to walk around a little bit. again, brooklyn was in 'exploring' heaven. she loves jake and the neverland pirates and is always on the look out for adventure. kendall was extremely happy to be outside and carried around everywhere.

i'm not this cheesy unless i'm talking to my baby. and yes, that's what i'm doing in this picture. she was just so dang happy.

we could have stayed another twenty minutes for sunset but opted to head back down and over to the temple. i couldn't wait to see brooklyn's eyes light up when we told her she could run up the steps and touch the temple.

it was the perfect spiritual activity to end our sunday. we rented a movie on the way home, kendall went to bed, and brooklyn watched one of her movies, it was great. the next morning, i went a run by myself which wasn't nearly as fun, we went swimming one more time, packed up, cleaned up, and were on the road home. it was such a fun getaway and just what i needed. we're lucky to have family that we can spend time with and do fun things with. and to be able to do it all with that st. george sun shining down on us, even better.

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