Spring Break Part III: Mountain Biking, the Temple, and Other Fun Memories
Can playing in the sunshine all day with my boys be my real life, please? I know! I'll just hire a maid and make sure I {mostly} keep up on the laundry and dishes. Also, forget things like piano lessons and baseball and the kids' education. Okay. So it really wouldn't work out as well as I'd like, but it's a good idea! Maybe that's why vacations feel so amazing.
We did so much during our time in St. George that it's all becoming a big blur. I carted my camera around to most of our adventures but wound up leaving it at the townhouse the last couple of days. I suppose camera burn out set in and living right smack in the middle of the moment won out!
Memories Not Pictured:
:: The morning we fed ducks half a loaf of bread at the park. Conrad thought it was the coolest thing! He was lucky though; there was one lone goose there who snipped a piece of bread right from his fingers, without scraping said little fingers!
:: The afternoon spent at the Washington City Rec Center pool! Jed floated his way around the lazy river until he turned into a raisin. Levi was determined to stop all three water geisers at once on the playground. (Lol!) And Conrad wouldn't stop raving about the dump bucket. "Bucket!" he exclaimed over and over in his excited little voice. He rode on my lap down the fast three story hydro tube at least a dozen times and begged for more. I think Conrad might have had a died and went to heaven afternoon there in that pool. Our water baby was so happy!
:: The afternoon the boys and I struggled and then finally succeeded in finding a battery powered scooter belonging to the city to ride! I paid to rent time on it through an app and they took turns riding around the city block while Conrad ran through the splash pad in his pull-up. He had goosebumps but didn't care a bit!
:: Nielson's Custard! It was overpriced and delicious. Worth it.
:: A couple of pit-stops at the gas station for a refreshing ICEE. I love seeing all three boys in the back seat with those big plastic cups and even bigger smiles... stained blue, of course. Haha.
:: Visiting Uncle Dustin and Aunt Cami for a couple hours at their home one evening. It was so good to see them! Those Nelsons are really good and fun people.
:: Other visits to parks and the neighborhood swimming pool. We were enjoying the hot tub one evening with our friends, the Raigers. It was about 9pm and Conrad had only caught a 20 minute nap that day in the car. He was tired! He actually begged to go to bed. "Naaap. Bed," he requested. It was the most pathetic thing I have ever heard. And so I wrapped him up and walked him home. He was sleeping peacefully in bed within ten minutes.
Stopping to smell the flowers again! Conrad can ride like the wind on his little strider bike, but not when he's distracted by something else. I love how little kids notice and appreciate the details of the day around them. It reminds me to slow down and enjoy too.
We took the boys to ride Bear Claw Poppy one morning. Levi complained about riding uphill, of course, but pretty much rocked it riding down!
^^Jed is more cautious by nature, but it was all his idea to take on this hill!^^
An afternoon pit stop at Thunder Junction (AKA The Dinosaur Park or The Train Park) to play!
^^Not sure how sanitary that water was, but he survived. It also was definitely not warm enough to be playing in the cold water, but Conrad didn't care!^^
Excitedly waiting for the train! Conrad's whole body lit up when it was our turn for a ride.
^^Choo! Choo! Bron and Jed sat up front, so I got these two all to myself.^^
St. George is a biker's paradise. We visited an amazing bike park! Conrad tried riding down some features by himself. I grabbed his arm to keep him on course and from completely wiping out. Levi tried some wooden features too, except he wasn't quite as lucky. Levi fell and scraped up his elbow and hip pretty good. There was blood. After a fair amount of tears and some encouragement, he got back on his bike and rode again... down a different but even more challenging course. Brave boy! I am so proud of him. After conquering the course with Bron four or so times, Levi said he could lead me down the course! So much confidence in that tiny frame. We rode it twice together. So, so fun!
^^Just trying to be one of the big kids.^^
^^Checking out his own belly button. Haha.^^
^^I spy Bron and Levi riding that course down there! Such a pretty view!^^
Potty break! This trip is when the whole potty training thing completely clicked for Conrad. He stayed dry during our 8 hour road trips. He even stayed dry through the night! Wow!!! We just have one last hurdle to conquer: pooping in the toilet. I think he's scared, even though he's done it a few times? I'm not sure. I just remember it taking a few months with Levi until one day it clicked for him and we never looked back. I'm hoping the same thing will happen with Conrad.
We visited the St. George Temple one morning. It was the first temple completed in the state of Utah. And it's a pretty one! We hung out in the visitors' center for quite a while. (Conrad tried peeing on the flowers at the temple, by the way. Haha.) The big boys watched some documentary videos about missionaries and their lives and experiences. When Levi came out of the room, he gave me the sweetest hug.
"Mom, I don't want to spend my money on toys. I want to save my money for a mission because it's all about service. Service makes people happy."
I was floored. Levi is such a mature and intuitive kid! How many six year olds would pick up on that message? Wow. We had a brief conversation about how service makes other people happy, but how it also makes us happy. Service makes us better people. Thinking of others helps make things go more smoothly, even at home in our own family. Geez, I need to be a better example of selflessness. I wonder what marvelous things Levi will do with his talents and abilities in his lifetime.
^^Palm trees and blossoms! It was so pretty!^^
^^Stuffing a couple of flowers in his pockets for later.^^
^^From the afternoon Bron and I left a napping conrad and two big boys watching a movie to rest and unwind while we went for a short mountain bike ride. That's right, I rode a "black expert" trail. Woot! Well, most of it anyway. Ha.^^
On Saturday, Uncle Dustin graciously took the kids for several hours so that I could join Bron and two friends (Nick and Clay for the record) on an epic mountain bike ride unique to southern Utah. We took on a mesa called Little Creek. I'm so glad they invited me along. I had so much fun! The trail definitely pushed my abilities but it was the first time I got to see what my new bike can really do. Oh, can she climb and descend! She's AMAZING!!! There were so many times when I rolled through a drop or climbed a steep side of slick rock that I knew there was no way my old bike could have done it. I am so excited to grow into my new bike!!!
Bron and Clay were test driving loaners from the bike festival. They are now both determined to buy new bikes. Needless to say, I think the bike festival was worth it for them this year.
^^One last pic from the townhome. The way Conrad watched the fireplace cracked me up!^^
Thank you for the good times and precious memories, St. George! We can't wait to come back again.
If you missed it, Spring Break Part II Here!
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