If I'm honest, the thoughts of this tucked into the distance got me downright giddy and almost wanted to fast-forward through the holidays. My sisters and I began mulling this over right after Thanksgiving. With Sadie's birthday on January 6th we thought it would be fun to utilize Paul and Sharon's generosity and fabulous house in Hurricane for a little birthday R&R. When I spoke with Sharon about it, she was all for it. (soooo sweeeeet) Once New Years was crossed off this became my primary focus. As the day was getting closer to head out, I found myself with perma-grin. Of course, a get-away for me means lots and lots of planning, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping and making lists for Jon and the kids. Packing for myself was an afterthought.
Everyone could make it except for Mommy, Eliza and Ashley. They just couldn't get away with kids, work- and a wedding. So sad to not have them with us! Abby arrived first, (we met up here) and Sadie and Lindsey shortly after. We were on our way! The drive down was just lovely. Abby was a real peach to drive. Clear, blue skies, dry roads, and plenty of conversation. There never was more than a 10 second lull in conversation. We stopped in Cedar for a delicious lunch and pressed on. I kept saying, "This is so fun!" Just so fun to be with the sista's and so care-free! When we got to the house I think the thermostat said 40 degrees inside the house. Sadie was trying to figure out the fireplace while we all huddled under blankets. I finally put my feet in the kitchen sink under warm water! We decided to go get treats at the local grocery store and hit a movie while the house warmed up. It was Sadie's birthday, after all! We saw "The Tourist" which was pretty great, - It actually gets better several days later, for some reason.
The next morning we slept in, and met up with Lindsey's grandparents who were staying in St. George for the month. They treated us to a very nice lunch and then we went over to see their pad. Real nice. Then off to the Temple- I had not been to the St. George temple before. It is so beautiful inside. It feels so old but so well built. I'm not doing that justice with that description. It was great.
After the temple and a change of clothes we were off for some serious shopping. It was soooo fun to browse the stores, the mall, try on clothes, shoes, jewelry, take our time etc. We were starting a stockpile of goods at the house we knew was going to be trouble getting home. Each night we stayed up late talking, laughing, catching up on everything. Like I said, there was never a lull in conversation for 10 seconds. Saturday we got up and headed out to Vegas. We found H&M which was the main point of going to Vegas, and enjoyed a few shops around that area then headed off to the strip for some Belajio fountain watching, then to the Venetian for dinner.
We ate at Cafe something- or something Cafe. The spin-off from the Cheesecake Factory. I'm telling, you, what I ordered was sooooo de-lish, I'm still thinking about it. So very yummy! We were wondering why there was so many extra wacky looking people around- even for Vegas, what was up with the circus? Then Lindsey noticed the tags around everyones necks read there was an "Adult Expo" going on in that hotel. Ohhhhh.... now we get it. Then all of a sudden the star of the convention bounced in and sat right next to us. Talk about eye popping. There was all new material for the rest of the trip. (not literally material- she definately needed more fabric.) As Sadie put it: UN. BELEEEVE. ABLE. That was a doosey.
The next morning we got the house put back together real nice. It's such a nice place, and I always enjoy getting it cleaned up for some reason. I think because everything just sparkles and looks so great. And it's not my house. I was a little bummed the trip was coming to a close, it truly was the best time. I have the best sista's ever! How did I get so lucky? Love.
I was anxious to get home just in time to attend Adren's baptism fireside. He was so happy to see me, he kept squeezing my hand and smiling up at me. He's so excited to get baptized this year. I can't believe we're here! It was fun to get home and get run over by the kids all so happy to be together again. They were most anxious for their suprise, which luckily I remembered a couple hours earlier at our last gas station stop. Good ol' Jon had held down the fort real nice. It was funny because I noticed all the food I'd bought was still there. When I asked him why, he said he didn't know what to fix so he took the kids out for meals. Oh. Glad I went grocery shopping 3 times and a typed note of food options. And stuck it on the fridge. That Jon.....
The next day Paisley kept saying, "Don't go away again. Just stay home". Eli told me he missed me soooo much his tummy hurt. Guess it's good I don't do that very often.
UN-BELEEEV-ABLE.
ps- I've been waiting for Lindsey or Abby to post this, so I could steal pics. My camera batry was dead first day. Thanks!
Everyone could make it except for Mommy, Eliza and Ashley. They just couldn't get away with kids, work- and a wedding. So sad to not have them with us! Abby arrived first, (we met up here) and Sadie and Lindsey shortly after. We were on our way! The drive down was just lovely. Abby was a real peach to drive. Clear, blue skies, dry roads, and plenty of conversation. There never was more than a 10 second lull in conversation. We stopped in Cedar for a delicious lunch and pressed on. I kept saying, "This is so fun!" Just so fun to be with the sista's and so care-free! When we got to the house I think the thermostat said 40 degrees inside the house. Sadie was trying to figure out the fireplace while we all huddled under blankets. I finally put my feet in the kitchen sink under warm water! We decided to go get treats at the local grocery store and hit a movie while the house warmed up. It was Sadie's birthday, after all! We saw "The Tourist" which was pretty great, - It actually gets better several days later, for some reason.
The next morning we slept in, and met up with Lindsey's grandparents who were staying in St. George for the month. They treated us to a very nice lunch and then we went over to see their pad. Real nice. Then off to the Temple- I had not been to the St. George temple before. It is so beautiful inside. It feels so old but so well built. I'm not doing that justice with that description. It was great.
After the temple and a change of clothes we were off for some serious shopping. It was soooo fun to browse the stores, the mall, try on clothes, shoes, jewelry, take our time etc. We were starting a stockpile of goods at the house we knew was going to be trouble getting home. Each night we stayed up late talking, laughing, catching up on everything. Like I said, there was never a lull in conversation for 10 seconds. Saturday we got up and headed out to Vegas. We found H&M which was the main point of going to Vegas, and enjoyed a few shops around that area then headed off to the strip for some Belajio fountain watching, then to the Venetian for dinner.
We ate at Cafe something- or something Cafe. The spin-off from the Cheesecake Factory. I'm telling, you, what I ordered was sooooo de-lish, I'm still thinking about it. So very yummy! We were wondering why there was so many extra wacky looking people around- even for Vegas, what was up with the circus? Then Lindsey noticed the tags around everyones necks read there was an "Adult Expo" going on in that hotel. Ohhhhh.... now we get it. Then all of a sudden the star of the convention bounced in and sat right next to us. Talk about eye popping. There was all new material for the rest of the trip. (not literally material- she definately needed more fabric.) As Sadie put it: UN. BELEEEVE. ABLE. That was a doosey.
The next morning we got the house put back together real nice. It's such a nice place, and I always enjoy getting it cleaned up for some reason. I think because everything just sparkles and looks so great. And it's not my house. I was a little bummed the trip was coming to a close, it truly was the best time. I have the best sista's ever! How did I get so lucky? Love.
I was anxious to get home just in time to attend Adren's baptism fireside. He was so happy to see me, he kept squeezing my hand and smiling up at me. He's so excited to get baptized this year. I can't believe we're here! It was fun to get home and get run over by the kids all so happy to be together again. They were most anxious for their suprise, which luckily I remembered a couple hours earlier at our last gas station stop. Good ol' Jon had held down the fort real nice. It was funny because I noticed all the food I'd bought was still there. When I asked him why, he said he didn't know what to fix so he took the kids out for meals. Oh. Glad I went grocery shopping 3 times and a typed note of food options. And stuck it on the fridge. That Jon.....
The next day Paisley kept saying, "Don't go away again. Just stay home". Eli told me he missed me soooo much his tummy hurt. Guess it's good I don't do that very often.
UN-BELEEEV-ABLE.
ps- I've been waiting for Lindsey or Abby to post this, so I could steal pics. My camera batry was dead first day. Thanks!