A glimpse of spring

Our spontaneous trip to St. George was wonderful. We loved not bundling the kids up in coats every time we went out. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be outside without shivering. I didn't miss the sight of snow one single bit. Here are a few of the highlights...

*Playing outside...Halle & Aidan literally played outside on Saturday for 3 hours straight. Halle was so excited to ride her new Hello Kitty scooter that we gave her for her birthday. They explored and "hiked" around the backyard and got really dirty in the red sand. Normally that would bug me, but this time I was so ok with it. I loved watching them run around and play together. Aidan did everything Halle did...or tried to any way.

They played at the park and watched Dad fly the airplane...until the wind picked up and landed it in a tree! It's amazing what a little fresh air and sunshine will do for your emotional well being. I was a much more patient mom and my kids were not nearly as whiny.



*Swimming...As I was packing for the trip, I pulled the kids swim suits out and I was excited that they'd be able to swim, but then it hit me that I'd have to pour myself into a bathing suit also. I almost had a panic attack. The last swimsuit I wore was a maternity one and although I wasn't cute in it, I at least had a good excuse for being big. Lets just say that I have a new resolve to lose that last 10 pounds before the summer rolls around and I'm forced to be seen in a swimsuit around people I actually know.

They were only slightly disappointed that the outdoor pool was closed, but quickly got over it. I was excited to see that Halle's swimming skills that she learned over the summer have stuck with her. She was swimming all over that pool. Aidan had fun hanging out and floating around in the tube. Avery experienced her first dip in the pool and was very impartial to it, didn't LOVE it or HATE it. I love all her chubbies in her new swim suit.

Halle calls this her "Gabriella" (from High School Musical 2) swimsuit.

*Bowling...I can count on both hands the times I've been bowling in the last 10 years. It's not that I don't like it, more that I'm pretty horrible. Ever since we got our Wii Halle has been asking us to take her "real" bowling. They didn't have any lanes available with the bumpers (I think I was more disappointed than Halle) so we just bowled on the regular lane. Halle got a little frustrated that she wasn't quite as good at real bowling as she is on the Wii, but she still had fun. Aidan couldn't really lift the 5 lb. ball by himself and every time we put it down for him to push, he just tried to kick it. He had more fun playing the arcade games.






*The Parade of Homes...As much as Tucker & I really wanted to see the Parade of Homes, we knew the kids would probably rather watch paint dry. This house was just around the corner from my in-laws home so we got to drive past it several times. I imagine it was pretty fabulous on the inside.



*Lunch at the Pizza Factory...I love their bread twists and salad bar. Yummy! I'm glad the new one in Washington is finally open...although it was packed we didn't wait long.


*Going to church with Lavell Edwards...He pulled into the parking lot just behind us and parked next to us. He offered to help us in with "all" our kids...you would have thought we had 10 kids in our car. What a nice man. His cute wife chatted it up with Halle.

I'm still perplexed at how we managed to get to 9AM church on time so effortlessly while there, at home it's nothing short of a miracle if we're there before the opening song. Not sure how we pulled that one off.

*I started AND finished reading my book club book. I haven't read a book in 2 days for quite a while. Loved it. I even started a second book on our drive home.

*Avery's 1st tooth came in...What a surprise! I figured with the amount of drool that comes out of her mouth in a day that it had to be around the corner. She was just as pleasant as always though. What a happy baby she is!

She's trying to show you her new tooth in this picture...

*Just hanging out...






We had planned on coming home Monday, but were having too much fun and decided there would be much less traffic if we came home today instead. As we drove home, I watched the temperature gage in our car drop lower and lower and I really just wanted to turn around and head back, but all good things must come to an end. It was just a little taste of Spring that I'm hoping isn't too far off.