St. George

Dallin's parents planned a family trip down to St. George in mid-May.  They got a condo and we all headed down.  On our way, our little family stopped at the Payson Temple open house.  I was really excited to go because my grandpa is from Payson and my grandparents are buried down there.  We spent many Labor Days at Golden Onion Days and their parade and carnival.  With Zoey's obsession with temples, we figured we couldn't pass it up.

Zoey was a gem for the ride to Payson.  When we arrived a crazy storm kicked up with tons of wind and it was cold.  We made it just in time for our reservation and ran into the church for the introductory video.  Then we walked over to the temple to the point I was dreading - the booties.  We tried to tell Zoey they were marshmallows (like I did with Ogden) and she wasn't buying it.  So we told her we had to carry her until she put them on.  She saw everyone wearing them and wanted to walk to so complied.  She was a bit easier to handle this time around, probably because I had Dallin to help wrangle her.  She loved to see the oxen at the font and really liked the Celestial Room.  She did freak out when we carried her up some stairs and screamed.  I told her she couldn't scream and she let another one out just for good measure.  Little stinker.  She still talks about the "sparkle lights" (chandeliers) in the temple and how there are no toys in there.  I was so glad to be there with my little family and share that experience with her.

We stopped at the cemetery to drop by some flowers at my grandma's and aunt's graves for Mother's day.  It was a big debate when my grandpa died as to where to bury him.  My grandma was still alive (for 3 more weeks) and didn't want to be buried down there because no one would come and visit her but when he died first, it was decided that Payson would be the best.  At the next conference the Payson temple was announced and it was confirmed to us that that was the best place for them and I can't imagine how ecstatic my grandpa was in heaven.

After the cemetery we went to McDonald's on the way to the freeway and it made her day.  Temples and McDonalds?  Golden.  We got done right around nap time and changed out of our church clothes and hit the road.  She (and Dallin) fell asleep and napped all the way to Cedar City!  It was amazing.  We stopped in Cedar at the gas station for a bum change and potty break and snacks.  She picked out Sour Patch Kids.  I swear, this kid only eats STRONG flavors.

We made it down to St. George and settled into our room in the condo and headed to dinner.  We stopped at the grocery store for breakfast supplies afterward and went back to hang out at the hotel.  Of course, that weekend was the weekend it decided to start raining and not stop for weeks.  The only problem was Zoey telling us she wanted to go home every night.  She survived though.

The next day we got a slow start and everyone went hiking in Zions except our little family.  We wanted Zoey to get a good nap and stay on some kind of schedule so we headed to the Children's Museum in St. George.  And it's FREE!!!  They request donations but don't demand them.  We made a small donation and let her loose.  We took a picture of her behind the Zion's Bank desk for Daddy and Grandpa and Uncle Greggy. They had lots of really cute little areas, ending with a Frozen room.  Afterward we grabbed some lunch and put her down for a nap.  After her nap we headed to the  rec center where we had free passes with our stay.  Since the weather was cool for St. George we figured this would be the best option for swimming since it was indoors.  It was so disappointing!  The water was a little too cold and a breeze from open doors left me freezing.  All the toys in the picture looked cool but they were nowhere to be seen.  There was a little slide she enjoyed but it was overall really lame.  We kind of rushed her out so we could get back and cleaned up for our fancy dinner.  We went to Anasazi Grill to celebrate all the May birthdays and it was pretty yummy.  The fondue was the best.

The next day Dallin let me sleep in a little and then all the boys took off to go golfing and us girls went to get pedicures. We kept telling Zoey she could get her toes painted but the second she saw a bunch of Asian strangers, she would not leave my side.  It wasn't super relaxing as I was trying to keep her entertained while we all got pedicures but it was fine.  We all met up for lunch and then bummed around.  Some went to the pool and Zoey went down for a nap.  My sister-in-law's, Angela, family lives in St. George so her little brother and sister came over and her parents came over later for a BBQ.  My tummy felt horrible that night so I didn't eat much.

Zoey woke up that night crying so she slept with me.  She ended up rolling off the bed (for the first time ever) while I took a potty break.  Her bum was still raw (more on that in another post) and she was just miserable.  We hit the road the next morning and had to make quite a few stops on the way home due to dirty diapers.  We made it home and had a fun time spending time with family!  They are probably so grateful they don't have to watch Nemo six times a day but Zoey sure misses seeing them every day.