Tuesday, July 12, 2011

St. George, Utah ... part 1

The kids and I flew out for a family reunion of sorts in Southern Utah, the afternoon of the fourth.  We met up with my parents and brothers family who arrived the day before, and a day later Barb and Stuart arrived.  We had a grand week seeing the sights of Southern Utah, seeing some of my extended family.  One of the highlights was getting to see my grandfather and his wife Ruth.  Oh how we love them and miss them!!  

I would not recommend visiting St. George in July ... dry heat or not, it was blazing hot -- it's no wonder we got a steal of a deal on the condos we rented.  But we stayed at a great resort with lots of good accommodations for the group we had. 

Here are a few highlights from our trip::

Because we were with my Dad and brother in country that screams, "hike me," "explore me," we did lots and lots of both. 

We geocached as often as we could.  We are still looking for a good accurate geocache Android app.  If you know of any, let me know. 


We really enjoyed hiking in Snow Canyon.  On Tuesday we explored the Pioneer Names trail.  It is possible that the Samuel Wittwer listed is my father's great grandfather.  But we have no record or proof of it and consequently are skeptical of it's authenticity.  None the less, it was a lot of fun and I'm really proud of how well the little ones did climbing up the very steep slope.  



Facing the Pioneer Names slope, is large rock/boulder everyone scrambled up for pictures.  





Thursday morning we went to Jenny's Canyon, also in Snow Canyon and another very kid friendly hike.  These pockets in the rock were all throughout the canyon. 





Sunday, July 10, 2011

Happy Birthday Anna!

Picture taken outside Jenny's Canyon, Snow Canyon, St. George, Utah, Thursday morning. 

We celebrated with my family this morning, before everyone had to head home after our week long vacation together with a yummy birthday brunch.  

Bob came for dinner (macaroni and cheese with hot dogs) and pink cupcakes with pink ice cream.  I asked everyone to share what they love about Anna.  

Alex -- She does a good job singing and was fun to go to singing [class] with. 

Sam -- Cute and hugable, she shares hugs with everyone

Emily -- She has a great smile that cheers me up when I'm sad. 

Rebecca -- She does things her own way and she's okay doing them her own way. 

Bob -- Her enthusiasm and her likeness of the color pink. 

Papa -- Her ability to make me laugh. 

Mom -- Her distinctive sense of style. 


Happy birthday sweet girl!!  You are such an important part of our family!