St. George

When Megan and I realized our kids had the same week off for spring break we knew we wanted to do a trip together! Bron found cheap tickets to Hawaii so we booked them. Trouble was, covid rules were still rearing their ugly head. In fact, Travis and I had just canceled our trip to Europe. (Such an enormous BUMMER, btw. We had our flights booked for almost a year, but covid rules were awful. I did not want to have to get the covid shot and still have to take tests at every airport and in every country we visited. With the chance that one would pop up positive and ruin the trip or prevent us from coming home.) Anyway, I was stressed about traveling to Hawaii with our kids. I wasn't going to give any of them the dumb shot. And so we would have to all take tests before we left and every 3 days. I just didn't see how we could manage that and not have at least one test come back positive. So, sadly, we canceled our tickets. What next?! The Shaheens have always said how fun it would be to show us around St. George, where they grew up. And I've only driven through St. George once, so it sounded like the perfect place! We booked a new, resort-type vacation rental to stay in called Arcadia. It was BEAUTIFUL! New and modern and had tons of space. 

Megan's parents lived only a few minutes away and her mom had gone to Costco for us- SO NICE! So we stopped by to pick up the food and see Megan's childhood home. Her parents are adorable. Virgil and Alice Steel. Being in their home reminded me of how it felt in my grandmother's home. So cozy! I loved seeing the family pictures and looking at scrapbooks and seeing where Alice taught preschool in the basement. The kids had fun playing on the zip line and pickleball court in the backyard. It's was just so fun getting to see where Megan lived! Afterward, we drove past Bron's humble home. His parent's don't still live there. I am amazed that his mom raised 8 kids there!! I loved hearing their stories of growing up here. It painted a picture and was so nice to finally have a visual of their childhoods. 

Ok, seriously, how cute are the two of them seeing us off?! Picturesque. 

Honestly.... St. George reminded me a lot of Gallup. Just saying. Surrounded by the beautiful red cliffs. The twisty, windy roads. Lots of hills and valleys. Similar looking landscape as far as shrubbery and trees. 

We went to Paula's Mexican Food for dinner and had a time trying to wrangle all our dozens of children in the front while we waited quite a while for our table. I don't think many of the patrons were thrilled about us being there! My stomach had started feeling off, but I ate what I could. By the time we were driving back to the condo, I was in serious pain. It was the strangest thing. I had definitely eaten my weight in almond M&M's on the drive that day, so I wondered if that had anything to do with it? We got back and it was all I could do to get to my bed. I was so sad to not hang out that night and visit but I could hardly think through the pain. I wanted to throw up, but that isn't my way. It was honestly one of the worst sicknesses I've had. I couldn't sleep. I was sure my stomach was going to explode. Around 2am, it finally happened. I started violently throwing up. It was awful. Like, so so awful. I was sure I was going to die. I don't even know if I've thrown up in our whole marriage. I was back and forth between my bed and the toilet for hours before finally falling asleep. The next morning I felt like I had taken a beating. I never wanted food for the rest of my life. Everyone got up and went on a hike then came back to spend the afternoon at the pool. I hated that I was missing out! I finally, gingerly made my way over but I was so afraid I had a virus and I didn't want to give it to anyone! I didn't feel sick anymore, but had major PTSD. 

We were going to go out as adults for dinner and Bron invited his nieces and nephew in law. They had super cute personalities and were a lot of fun to spend the evening with! After going to two places and leaving, we finally landed at a really pretty place called Wood Ash Rye. It was fancy! Its the kind of place where you just order a bunch of dishes and share, which was great. I didn't think I'd eat anything, but how could I resist??! I nibbled on a little of everything and was so grateful that my stomach accepted. Then, how could we resist Nielsens?! We miss that place! And ironically, I ran into my cousin Doug and his wife, Chelsea while we were there!

The next day we started out hiking at Pioneer Park. And isn't this the grandest sight?! I came down the stairs to the men making sack lunches. Bravo, husbands! The "hike" was mostly just climbing around on boulders. Where the kids scared us aplenty. And then there's this part called "The Little Narrows". It's a slot in a canyon that is extremely thin. The kids all ran up to it then got stuck behind a slow, old lady who eventually backed out. Megan stayed in front of me and if it wasn't for her leading the way there is no way in HECK I would have attempted it. As it was, I had to exercise some serious thought work to control myself from freaking out. Talk about claustrophobia and her sister friend, panic attack. I'm sweating a little remembering it. Travis was behind me and thankfully no earth shifts occurred for the 5 minutes we we shimmying. 

 

The St. George temple is still being remodeled so we couldn't get close to it, but we did a few tours inside the visitor's center.

Then we ate lunch at a nearby park before driving to Zion's National Park about an hour away. We had heard that if you weren't there by 6am, you couldn't get in, so we decided to wait until later in the day and go when the initial crowds had lessened. It was my first time at Zions and it really was so breathtaking. Still coming out of winter... not quite spring... so it was still a bit dead as far as trees and landscape went.

We drove through the tunnel and managed to find some parking on the side of the road to try a hike called Canyon Overlook Trail. The kids were throwing rocks at the snow on the side of the mountain, then Steel threw a particularly big one at just the right spot to start a mini avalanche, lol. I saw it start to come down and had a three second panic attack when I realized how big the fallout was and that our car could become collateral damage, not to mention the little kids. I swiped Tanner out of the way and luckily no one got hurt! Good reminder that nature is powerful! 

Megan led this little band of adventurers and may have had her own panic attacks along the way! Nothing relaxing about taking 9 young children to a place of steep cliffs and minimal railings!!

Ok, I just can't with my little Jersey Shore kid! Haha! He got this necklace out of a toy vending machine at Paula's and was so proud of it. Coupled with this jacket and black shirt, he was channeling all the GTL vibes!

Then we drove back through the tunnel and up the canyon to where the road ends and the hike for the infamous Narrows starts. It's a hike through water so we only walked the mile up to the water where it starts. Saw some deer along the way! Now I really want to try doing this hike for reals. I know it's Leah's favorite!

There was a Harmon's grocery store right by our condo and I noticed they had caffeine free Dr. Pepper, which is Casey's favorite and no where to be found! Even online. So we got him several cases. 

It was St. Patrick's Day while we were there and I'm normally not "that mom", but I brought the makings for some leprechaun traps. It was really cute to see what the kids' imaginations came up with! You'll notice Tanner is not in these pictures. That's because on the drive home from Zions, Tanner started throwing up. He started to say his stomach hurt and we pulled over just as he started puking. I had no bags whatsoever, so I dumped out the backpack I had been hiking with and he FILLED it. I couldn't believe that much could be in one, small body. Poor guy. We were supposed to be heading to meet the Shaheens for dinner, so I just dropped off Travis and the other kids and drove him home. Right as we got in the door he started throwing up again. He was crying and so miserable. My heart broke for him. SO grateful we were back in St. George before he got sick though. 

The next morning, Travis stayed home with Tanner and I went with Megan and other kids to hike the lava tubes. Bron went to the pool with Navy. 

After the hike, we went to the pool for the afternoon. Lots of time throwing the football around!

Tanner was stable enough that we could leave him in bed watching TV while we went to a quick dinner at Red Fort Cuisine of India! I loved it! Mango lassi to drink and butter chicken and yummy garlic naan! I was in food heaven!

We spent our last morning playing games at the clubhouse and soaking up the sun before driving home. It wasn't Hawaii, but it really was such a fun vacation. We love the Shaheens and treasure any time we get to spend with them! 

Megan told us we had to stop at this gas station on the way out called Dutchman's Market to get cookies. They were worth the stop!

Travis had a paddle boarding race he wanted to go to with Gary, which was at Lake Havasu, just a slight detour on the way home. I dropped him and Olive off there, got Arby's in the drive through, then drove the remaining 4 hours home with the boys. We were about an hour from Gilbert when Tanner woke up crying. It was late. It was dark. I was going 80mph when he starts violently puking. I'm yelling for the boys to get a bag for him but they're freaking out, hugging the side of the car, terrified it's going to get on them!! Ugh! There's no where to pull over for several miles and it's pure chaos with Tanner crying and the car smelling and the boys yelling. I finally get to a rest stop and go back to clean up and can I just say. Oh.My.Gosh. There is throw up EVERYWHERE. It's all over him and the carseat and dripping down the bench and splattered all over everything packed on the floor, including Casey's Dr. Pepper. I have some baby wipes, but not enough. I strip him down, find some less dirty clothes to put on him and get him in the back of the car on a booster seat. I give him grocery bag in case he throws up more and we're on the road again. Maybe 20 minutes goes by and we repeat exactly what happened. I'm trying to find an exit, coaxing him to try and get it in the bag. Telling him it's going to be ok, all while he's screaming and crying and the boys are rolling down the windows and probably promising themselves they'll never have children. I'm out of wipes and clothes and can't even remember what I did to clean him up. I think I used dirty clothes to wipe him off. The poor guy was so miserable. Thank the HEAVENS he didn't throw up again after that. We got home so late. I carried Tanner upstairs to bathe him and put him on the floor in my room so that if he threw up again, I would be right next to him. Then I unloaded the whole car. Took apart his carseat on the driveway, sprayed it down best I could, showered and fell asleep utterly exhausted and ready to be woken up soon by my sick boy. I'm not sure at this point if the trip felt worth it, but I guess things won't always go perfectly. Life as a parent!