St. George

I have seriously got to get caught up on this summer. We had so much fun - I haven't had time to record it.

In between Bear Lake trips we made our way to St. George. We love St. George in the winter....and we always have to go once in the summer so that we can live at the pool. (That is all you can do when it is 110 degrees).




We swam, ate at In-N-Out (Ava was so hungry she was eating the table - so sanitary!), went to see High School Musical 2 at Tuacahn, golfed, and swam some more.

March Madness

I know it's April....but our March was so full of fun - that I had to get it documented.



Kason had his annual baseball tournament in St. George. We enjoyed 80 degree weather...HEAVENLY!

The kids relished in being outside!

Kason and his team did great - I can't believe it is baseball season already.



Jaicee, Ava, and I actually had a side trip while in St. George. Jaicee had a dance competition on Saturday. But, of course we didn't want to stay home and miss out on all the St. George fun.

So...we drove back home on Friday night, went to her competition Saturday morning, and drove back to St. George that afternoon. Can you say CRAZY??

Family time is so wonderful....I love being with my little family (even when they are teasing and driving each other crazy)!

St. George, Celebrities, and Dogs

We decided to escape this dreary weather and head to sunny St. George. And, sunny it was!

60 DEGREES!!!

And so BEAUTIFUL!

I could live there....in the winter that is!




We had such a relaxing time, doing absolutely nothing! No laundry, no schedules, no school, no homework, no basketball games, no dance classes.....nothing but lots of swimming, basking in the sun at the park, hiking, golfing, golf ball hunting, movie watching, and playing as a family.




It was exactly what we all needed!

While swimming one day, I encountered a celebrity! Now, I have seen a few celebrities in my day....Alicia Keys, Martin Short, Karl Malone (is he a celebrity?) and more.....but I was most excited about this sighting. (Any of you that are true bloggers would agree.)

Into the pool area walked C Jane and her family! If you don't know C Jane and her family - you must click on her name and read her amazing and incredibly funny blog. When I saw her my initial reaction was to run up and give her a hug. Tell her what an incredible person I think she is, what an amazing writer, mother, and sister she is. How amazing she is for taking care of her sister's kids. How adorable her baby is in person, etc. etc. But my insecurities set in and I felt like I needed to give her family privacy. Instead I just gave her a big smile that I hoped portrayed my feelings.

One other exciting moment on our trip was picking up a little yorkie puppy for my sis-in-law. We thought it would be the perfect way to give our kids their "dog fix" since they can't stop begging for one.

Oh, how it backfired!

We wrongly took the kids with us to pick out the dog.....there were four of the cutest puppies wanting to be loved. So, obviously my kids thought we should take one home as well! We tried to explain that this wasn't a "spur of the moment" decision to make, and that although they were so cute - having a dog comes with much responsibility! This all fell on deaf ears because my kids bawled for a straight hour after leaving the dogs.

We are not talking just a little sniffling... we are talking about complete and utter crying! They were devastated, and we are definitely now "the meanest parents in the world".



Now, it is not that I don't like dogs....I don't mind them. It is just the fact that I have five kids -and I know that this dog will eventually become "my resposibility". I feel a little overwhelmed with my resposibilities as they are - that I am not sure I can add a dog in the mix. I can barely find a babysitter for my kids - and I don't even want to think about having to find a babysitter for my dog too. So, I would love to hear from you that have dogs.....do you recommend it??

Easter Weekend

I have been totally slacking in keeping up with my blog lately. It is always on my list of things to do, but seems to get pushed to the bottom by so many other urgent things! So here is a late update.

We were lucky enough to spend Easter weekend in warm and sunny St. George! It was so wonderful to feel the warm sun on my very white skin. I am someone who definitely needs Vitamin D. The sunshine always seems to snap me out of a somber mood.

We soaked up plenty of sun while we were there by going to 7 baseball games in three days! Kason had a baseball tournament, and they made it to the semifinals, which meant lots of baseball games! They ended up taking 4th out of 35 teams....not too bad! We were proud of Kason...he played great. Brandon and I love to watch the games...the girls and Braden on the other hand do well through about the first 4, and then don't want to sit and watch anymore baseball! Jaicee's comment at the end of the 7th game was, "since we have watched Kason play so much baseball, he gets to come and watch Halle and I go shopping!" I had to agree with her!

Kason pitching in one of his games (#22). I don't like when he pitches...it is way too nerve wracking for the mother!

The kids were very worried that the Easter Bunny would not find them so far away from home. But that Easter Bunny is pretty smart and found us all the way in St. George.

We got all ready to go to church...found the church....walked in, and we had missed it! We were told the wrong time. So, I guess it is the thought that counts! It did not feel like a complete Easter Sunday without church....I definitely missed it. But we took some pictures anyway!

No real "Easter dresses" this year...I decided they have plenty of dresses that they never wear! (Obviously they didn't bring them to St. George to wear either!)

Brandon's sister and her family were also in St. George - so we were able to have Easter dinner with them. We also went to the park and had a little egg hunt, flew kites, and played! It was perfect weather and a great weekend! I hope the 70's will last for more than just a week this spring...it always seems to get hot so quickly!

(See slide show above for the rest of the weekend pictures)

Baseball Begins!

This past weekend we went to St. George for Kason's baseball tournament. I can't believe baseball season is already upon us....here comes the crazy schedule. It was great, however, to have an excuse to take a mini-vacation. It was also nice to get in some sunshine - even though it wasn't nearly as warm as we would have liked!

Kason played two games on Friday, two games on Saturday, we had Sunday to relax, and played another game on Monday. They did great as a team - and it was fun to watch him play.

The girls and Braden on the other hand weren't so excited that baseball season was upon us again! They get a little tired sitting at ball games - so we have to pretty much transport all of their toys to the ball park to keep them entertained. Luckily, there are other little kids to play with to bide the time. And lots of treats at the "snack shack" to help keep Braden still...well mostly still (we did lose sight of him a couple of times). It is a definite adventure to have a very active two year old at the ballpark for multiple hours. Brandon and I just keep reminding ourselves that these are fun memories that we will look back on and laugh!

Jaicee, Halle, and baseball friends

We did get a couple of days of swimming in...which seemed to make up for the long baseball games.

And a trip to the park

Of course, Kason and Brandon only did one thing at the park....played baseball! Go Figure?

All in all, it was a fun filled family weekend. Of course, the temperature was 62 degrees when we had to leave on Monday. Isn't that how it always is??