A Little Trip to St. George

I have been going insane with this ridiculously hot summer and trying to keep the kids entertained indoors. So I planned a little vacation to Great Grandma Wiegel's house to add some fun to August! And fun we did have!! It was just what the doctor ordered for all of us. Daddy had to work so he got to rest and enjoy the house all to himself with us gone which is a plus all in itself. But I wouldn't have traded that fun filled trip for ANY amount of sleep, it was that good! And coming from a sleep deprived Mama, that's saying something!

The kids were excellent travel companions and didn't cry at all! For that I was extremely grateful because there's nothing worse than being stuck in the car with screaming kids....

About ready to hit the road. Peace Out Vegas!

After we got ourselves situated there at Grandma's house, we went to the St. George Temple! This was Austin's first temple experience and the fact that this was where Josh and I got married made this experience even more special! Before we left the house, Austin was playing with Grandma's cordless phone, pretending to talk to his Daddy. When I told him it was time to go, he said, "Hey Daddy I've got to go! I'm getting married in the temple today and I don't want to be late!" hahahaha! Oh my goodness that kid cracks me up! Apparently, he put two and two together that the temple is where you go to get married and since we were going to the temple, he must be getting married today! :)

Austin on his "wedding day" (hehe)

I love this lady with all my heart! She is such a special woman and has been the greatest example to me.

Holding Great Grandma's hand.

"I love to see the temple, I'm going there someday.

It was so much fun!

Watching the fountain

What a beautiful experience!

It was pretty hot outside, so after we toured the Visitors Center, we drove over to SWIG for their amazing sugar cookies and hand crafted sodas! Seriously, we were in heaven it was so yummy!! We also stopped by the new Tabernacle that is being built to look at the new statue of Robert Garner Jr. (my Great Great..... Grandpa)! When I was little, we used to go camping with my Dad every summer and I have the most wonderful memories of lying in the tent, huddled under our blankets and sleeping bags, listening to my Dad read from Robert Gardner's journal by lantern light. He was truly an incredible man and it was such an amazing experience to show my children his statue and explain to them that this was their Grandpa! Austin was enthralled by it and could not take his eyes off of the "big hammer" he was holding. I know this experience stuck with him because a couple days later we drove by the statue without even thinking about it and from the back seat heard Austin say, "Look! It's Grandpa!" We were shocked that he was able to remember that and recognize it so easily! The pictures we took weren't the greatest, but the experience was second to none.

Then we spent the rest of the night in Grandma's backyard watching the kids run through the sprinklers and play with side walk chalk, along with lots of bubbles!

Backyard fun!

The next day we went to the Children's Discovery Museum and played for hours. Austin did not want to leave but it was way past lunch time and Evie was starting to get grumpy. My Mom showed up right as we were about to leave. She was supposed to be with us the entire trip but she wasn't feeling well and decided to come up later. I was just grateful to have another pair of hands to help out at Chuck 'o Rama which is where we decided to eat lunch! Eating out with two young kids is always a stressful ordeal, but between the three of us women, we were able to make it fun! We went back to the house afterward and played on the slip 'n slide my mom had brought with her. It was a huge hit with Austin and before we knew it, both my Mom and I had put on my Grandma's funny old lady swim suits and joined him in all the fun! Because we had been playing in the water for so long, the yard started flooding! So we decided to take a break and go for a walk over to the pond to see the swans. They were mean suckers and I was totally freaked out that they would attack the kids! But they sure were beautiful. We didn't want the fun to end so we went into the club house and let the kids run around. It was such a perfect day :).

Working on the car in the "auto shop" was Austin's favorite part! Well, that and flying the airplane.

Fixing the tires.

Grandma showing Austin how its done ;)

Evie found a boyfriend while we were there! This little boy latched onto her like a fly to chocolate and would not let her out of his sight! He was obsessed with hugging her and was so cute as he helped her do her shopping! hehe! Is it possible to meet your one true love at 16 months old?

Farm boy milking the cows

Evie riding the cow as it was being milked hahaha.

There was this board that had all the different animal furs on it and Evie loved rubbing her face on it! Grandma thought it was pretty funny :).

My little copilots flying their plane.

Buying groceries

Playing in our castle!

Evie playing dress up on stage with the other little girls. She was so cute twirling around to the music!

Slip 'n Slide action!!

This boy was obsessed!

The next day we packed a picnic lunch and took the party up to the Pine Valley mountains! We spent the entire day playing in the dirt, wading through the stream, climbing rocks, and gathering wood for the pretend fire Austin was building on his big rock! The clouds came in along with thunder and we thought the rain would cut our party short, but we got lucky and only felt a couple raindrops. Plus the cloud cover made the temperature even more perfect! The only unsavory part of the whole day was Austin needing to go poop but struggling to go in the outhouse. He pooped his pants multiple times and I was about to lose my cool with him! Then my Mom pointed out that my shirt says "Love Life" and laughed at me. It made me laugh too and helped me to get through this potty training struggle.

The BIG ROCK Austin conquered!

Evie was so funny. She would NOT let anyone carry her and seemed to be on some kind of mission to prove to herself that she could do what everyone else could do (story of her life). Look at that little proud face!

Playing in the stream

Austin took every chance he could to pull down his pants and pee on things.... such a boy!

Hanging out and chatting while the kids played. It was so fun and peaceful!

We also stopped at the old pioneer cemetery to visit the graves of Robert Gardner and his Wife Leonora Cannon Gardner (my Grandma and Grandpa). I know this sounds strange but I absolutely love old cemeteries! I love looking at the beautiful headstones and wondering what their story was and what their lives were like. Once again, it was a special moment for me to share with my children. One of many on this trip!

Attempting to take a generational picture with our ancestors... Austin was more intrigued by the stick he'd just found.

Pretty soon Evie joined in on the stick hunt.

I have always LOVED that beautiful old white chapel built by the pioneers. It is amazing how well preserved it still is, along with many of the old houses!

The graves of Robert Gardner and his three wives.You gotta love polygamy! ;)

I just want to point out that with every strong man, there is an even stronger woman in the background. Leonora Cannon must have been amazing! I wish I could have known her.

Sweet little Eve has so much strength of her own inside her. I have always known that she is an old soul in a young body. I'm sure she had an amazing relationship with our pioneer women ancestors in the preexistence.

Austin cried the next morning when I informed him we had to go home. I couldn't blame him because I felt the same way! All I could do to make him feel better was promise him we would come back soon. Maybe next time Daddy will be able to come along with us! :)