St. George

We were able to go to St. George this past week.  It was full of tons of heat, children, swimming and fun!!!! Joey was able to bike everyday, sometimes even twice, and even hit up the Gooseberry trail.  On the way down we stopped at Cabella's which was a HUGE hit with the kids.  They loved the aquariums and it was a nice way to break up the trip.  Jonah learned two words, "Fish" and "Moo" (for moose).  Evie and Charles ran around that store as fast as their little legs could take them in, squealing with delight.
The kids spent most of their days outside in their swimming suits.  Evie was a different child this trip, because of the therapy and tried all sorts of new things.  She would run as fast as her little legs could take her, starting at the end of the yard, until she got to the pool and she would prep about three times (elbows bent swinging her arms for leverage) and she would jump in.  The first day she was very brave.  That lasted until she went head first into the pool.  From then on, she would still jump but they were "mermaid" jumps as Addie calls them.
 We went on a hike.  Evie did very well and was even taught how to pee in the wilderness.  She was skeptical of it at first but after a while she accepted the fact that there wasn't a toilet out there and it had to be this way.
The sand dunes were a blast! Joey and David hoisted people up in the air to do tricks.  Steve even did it.  (He didn't get very far, but he attempted.)  Danny took his turn and as he went to jump, plugged his nose as if he was jumping into a swimming pool.  Evie liked the sand.  All the kids worked together to make a birthday cake (in the star shaped sand toy) with candles (sticks), frosting (more sand), and so much more.   Happy Birthday was sung many times that night!  Jonah did not like the sand.  That surprised me, he was very upset at me for leaving him there to run down the hill a few times.  He made sure I took him with me when I came back to see what they were doing.  Evie sprinted down the sand hill many times and after a thorough bath they all slept well that night!!!
The splash pad was a hit with the little waterfalls and streams there was something there for everyone.  Jonah was unsure at first.  We made the mistake of plopping him in the middle of a larger current and a bunch of kids.  But when we found a place more secluded and mellow he had a blast.  He really enjoyed putting his hands in the waterfalls and stomping through the shallow water.  But after he found his favorites, he was more than happy to go sit in the stream.  Evie and Charles got a kick out of pushing me into the streams of the splash pad.  For some reason it was hilarious that an adult was getting wet.  I was glad for an excuse to get in because non of the other adults were in the water.  I am not talking about with just our family, throughout the whole place, and there were a lot of people there.

Overall it was a grand vacation!  The kids loved it and loved spending time with their cousins.  On the way home, Joey was convinced that he wasn't stopping.  a couple of times I sneaked a diaper between Evie and her panties.  One particular time I did not.  I thought he would stop.  He did not.  Evie peed.

From this vacation we took home the following: an infected knee, diarrhea, colds, and lots of happy memories!