And On to St. George

We left Moab and drove to St. George to spend Easter with my family. After the Easter bunny stopped by on Saturday morning, we headed to the picnic. It was quiet this year. We missed seeing all the familiar faces, but we still had a good time. The food was yummy and the kids had a great candy hunt. My mom was such a good sport to wear the bunny suit. My mom was in charge of the picnic this year and so she felt responsible since none of the other family members would do it. Okay, I have guilt. I should have worn it for her. But my mom really did make a great bunny and it will be a fun memory for the grandkids. And the rest of us. He he. Dustin kept cat calling and saying, "Don't let John see you in that bunny suit." John is my Dad. Totally inappropriate. Totally.

We missed the train that is sometimes at the picnic so Justin gave several kids a ride in our bike trailer, including Ethan who is 10 years old. I guess you are never to old for a ride! Nolan was the lucky winner this year, who found the secret egg with the word "bunny" inside of it. I told him that if he finds the egg he should hide it. When he did find it and everyone was watching, he said to me, "Mom, should I hide it?" He was very confused and wasn't all that happy about winning the big stuffed bunny. But it was very nice of Aunt Charlene to bring it even though you can see all the men from my family laughing in the background. Later, Bryson was chasing my boys around with the bunny. I think they might have been genuinely afraid!

After the picnic we went to see The Hunger Games. We loved the movie! It very closely follows the book. Kamrie was nice to watch the kids for us. When we got back from the show, there was a sign on the door that read, "Phineas and Ferb Play - Come on in!" The kids had put together a little skit. Nolan took it very seriously and the cousins had a good time, even if it didn't make much sense to the rest of us that were watching. Here is Nolan introducing the play. He's got Easter stamps on his head.

Later that week, Justin and Nolan headed out on a 6 mile hike at Red Cliffs. It was quite technical (climbing rocks, holding onto ropes, crossing the river) but Nolan was loving it! Unfortunately, the trail became too difficult to follow and they decided to turn back. This put them miles away from the car, though, that we had left at the end of the hike. They called me for a ride but decided they would take another trail over to the car that was easier. Soon it was dark and they were still hiking. Thank goodness Justin had packed a flashlight for just such a situation. Toward the end Nolan said, "Dad, I'm getting tired of hiking in the dark. I'm getting tired of hiking at all." But he really was a trooper up until the end when Justin finally called to tell me they were safe at the car. They had hiked 8 miles, 1 hour of which was in the dark. Not to mention they hadn't had any dinner, only snacks, since we thought they'd be done around 7. If I had been there I would have been one cranky lady!  I feel bad for not insisting on picking them up when I had the chance, but I'm so thankful they came back safe! Nolan's hiking shoes didn't fare so well. They were full of holes, sand, and St. George's red dirt. We figure that our family hiked and biked a total of 47 miles over those 8 days of our trip so it doesn't surprise me that Nolan needs new hiking shoes!

Justin and I took our bikes out by ourselves for some mountain biking. I always thought I didn't like mountain biking but I had a good time, other than when I crashed into a creosote bush. I would rather go uphill though, because going downhill was so bumpy. I felt a little out of control. Justin loves the downhill. It's so great that the tortoise reserve is practically in my mom's backyard... it's full of great hiking and biking trails!

 

We did take the kids swimming and they loved the water! Ez seems to like the new floatie that he got in his Easter basket. It was so nice to celebrate Easter in St. George and enjoy the warm weather!