A garden full of flowers: Over the river and through the woods...

..To Grandfather's house we go!

Jason had a little over a week off a few weeks ago, and we wanted to do something fun. Jason first wanted to go on a big road trip up to Oregon, over to Salt Lake, down to St George, and back home. With a three year old, and a one year old, I knew that trip could quickly turn into complete craziness. We instead decided to visit my grandpa and his wife Valerie who live in New Harmony. It is a cute, small town located pretty much in the wilderness north of St George, and about an hour away from Zion's national park. I have never been to their new home, and it was gorgeous. Their surroundings were absolutely beautiful, and so different from what we are used to in southern California. The small town, the fresh air, and the beautiful surroundings was a nice break from the hectic lifestyle in the city. We visited Zions Nation Park, because neither Jason nor myself have ever been there. It was breathtaking. We had so much fun walking on a short, paved hike (it was about one mile each way) to see a little water fall. The water actually landed on top of the trail, and visitor could walk under it if they wanted to. Wesley loved it. A middle aged couple next to us couldn't stop staring at him because he was just so excited to be there. He kept saying over and over, "Oh WOW!!!! WOW!!!!!!" Everyone was getting a kick out of his spirited personality. On our way home we stopped in Las Vegas and stayed a night. Jason gets a free night each year with his Marriot points. Vegas has so many fun things to see...but it also contains a lot of bad too. A lot of people hand out naughty cards along the strip. Most people just throw theirs on the floor. You kind of learn to not look at the floor while walking. Wesley asked, "mommy, what are all these cards doing on the floor?" He didn't know what was on them...my little treasure hunter just wanted to collect them! I am glad my boys are still young enough to not have any idea of the filth that surrounds them inVegas! Anyways, Wesley really wanted to see the volcano and the dancing water fountain again that he remember from our last trip to Vegas. Vegas also has a lot of other water fountains. We got a handful of pennies, and each time we saw a new fountain, we let Wesley throw a penny or two in. He LOVED that. :-) I also had the chance to go in the Bodies exhibit. For those that dont know what that is, it is an exhibit that has a bunch of dead bodies that have been preserved in a way that shows off certain aspects of the body...muscles, organs, tissues, veins, and so on. It was really amazing. I took Wesley in, and Jason stayed out with Chase. Wesley was pretty interested in it too, and I tried to teach him as much as he was willing to learn. There was a human reproduction area, and there were fetuses from conception, to about 34 weeks. It was hard to look at, but very fascinating at the same time. Wesley wanted to know all about them, and was very interested when he found out he used to be that little, and that all people used to be that little. Going in an exhibit like that really makes me appreciate life, and the complexity of the living body. It is amazing how delicate, and yet how robust our bodies are. It is a true miracle!

Overall, it was a really nice trip. Wesley was really hyper for the entire trip, and I was busy making sure he didn't destroy my Grandpa's nice home. I was pretty tired by the time we got home, but the trip was a lot of fun, and it created a lot of lasting memories.

Sorry the pictures are a little jumbled...we had three different cameras, and I pulled these pictures all the cameras...

We forgot Chase's booster seat, so the floor worked best! :-)

Look at their cute laundry room!!!!!

We also went to a dinosaur museum in St George. Basically, a man was digging up the ground to prepare it for buildings, and he discovered a bunch of well preserved dino tracks!! They just built the museum right over them. It was really interesting. Wesley got a little wild, and kept making the workers nervous when he kept trying to touch everything. :-p

cheesiest smile ever

A display he could actually touch!

Chase is almost the size of a T-Rex foot!

breathtaking

at the waterfall

playing in the water (and the mud!)

At the end of the hike there were 4 or 5 adult deer, and a baby deer!! It was so fun to see them so close!!

Vegas!!

Wesley really wanted to see the Volcano, but he was so tired from all the walking he had to do. We didn't have the double stroller, so he had to walk all over Vegas himself (well...sometimes he got a little help on Daddy's shoulders).