Here Comes Trouble!!

Where did my EASY baby go?? In the last two weeks Gabe has gone from a mellow easy going baby to a toddler... no I can't call him that yet... He 's gone from a mellow easy going baby to a little bit bigger baby who has a mind of his own! Since he's been walking... that's ALL he wants to do now. No longer is he content to sit in the shopping cart holding a toy, now he wants to get out and I have to constatnly feed him fruit snacks in order to get any shopping done! And the worst is outside!! He used to watch from the window as the boys played, he'd pound on the glass but didn't have an interest in joining them. Well now that he's been outside and is able to walk around and go on the swing... he constantly goes over to the sliding door and tries to climb through it while whining and saying "wing, wing" (swing) oh, yeah, that' s another thing in the past few weeks he has started to say lots of new words and sounds. Each time Gabe wakes up, we say "bye-bye" to his binki and he throws it back into his crib until the next nap or bedtime. so when it's time for nap or bedtime again, we "look" for his binki and we call for it! He says "gink-ee" "gink-ee" and as soon as he see it he gets so excited! For his birthday we got him the leap frog animal sounds farm magnents... He LOVES it! And he is really interestd in animals now! When you ask him what the horse says he tells you "Heeeee" and the cow says "Mmmmmm" He also knows a kitty says "mou" a monkey says "Oh oh- ah ah" and a Dog says "oof oof" He can say "ball" and "ought-oh" and "down." He says down a lot lately because he wants to get down if we're holding him or if he's eating or if he'd getting his diaper changed. He just wants to go!! He perfected that word Sunday at church, and I heard little snickers from the people behind us who watched as he squirmed saying "down" over and over as we tried to distract him!! Ahhhh It's starting!!! And I thought packing nine months pregnant was hard!!! believe me, now that I have a little un-packer following me around...it's definatley more of a challenge!! Here are some pictures of what Gabe loves to do when I forget to close the bathroom door... Do they have toilet paper unrolling contests? He'd be the speed champion for sure!!

ought-oh... here comes trouble!!!

On the Way Home...more of Spring Break

We stopped at the Blue Bunny ice cream parlor on main street (a tradition of ours) and couldn't help but notice the grounds accross the street at the St. George tabernacle. they were under construction the last time we were there, but finished and full of people this time... we decided to join them and have one last water day before heading home to the cold!! We unpacked the boys swim suits and towels and they had so much fun playing!! They have a fountain there like the one at the Gateway mall. Not only that but also a fun man made shallow river with waterfalls and big rocks all around, mostly for walking in and dipping your feet!! There were tables and umbrellas's set up. People were picnicing and laying out on the grass.

Just what every little city needs!!

After the kids dried off we loaded up to head home. My mom called and said that my grandpa and my uncle both suggested that we stop at Fort Cove. It is between Kanosh and Beaver. Now it's a LDS church history site, but it was a fort built by President Hinckley's grandfather, Ira Hinckley under the calling from President Brigham Young. He built it to protect travelers from the American Indians and to offer a place of rest. It was also used as a telegraph and pony express station. It was incredible to learn about how it was built... back then they did not have the tools they have today so it's hard to imagine how hard they had to work! The outside walls of the fort are FOUR feet thick and made of lava rock that was hauled in. and the doors are two feet thick and VERY heavy!! It was fun for the boys to see the cut outs for guns and the perches on top of the roof for men to stand on and look out with a telescope... It was such a great place and we had the nicest older man missionary with a sparkle in his eye as he told the interesting stories with excitement in his voice. oh, and an interseting fact... this is the only fort of it's kind that never had any gunfire or an ambush and they say it's because of the Hinckley's friendliness and peaceful demeaner towards everyone, including the indians!! I am so glad that we stopped by. It was very interesting and lots of fun, especially for my army, fort, weapon, cowboys and Indian loving boys!! This was a great way to wrap up a perfect Spring Break!!

Pioneer Park

We love the view overlooking St. George at Pioneer Park! I LOVE the red rock everywhere especially in contrast to the green grass and palm trees...It's beautiful! although, I'd never want to trade green mountains full of quaking Aspen's and evergreen pines!! It's fun to see the differences but the mountains in Cache Valley will always hold a special place in my heart and are definatley more beautiful than any I've seen!! I can't even begin to describe the feeling as we round the corner coming out of Sardine canyon and there is...HOME... Cache Valley, with it's twinkiling lights, rolling hills, and acres of farm land. The Logan temple stands firm and magnificent above everything else and there in the background are the mountains!! I've wondered if I only feel this way because it's home to me, but I've heard other people say the same thing... there is just something special about Cache Valley!! I think moving away has only made my love for it stronger!! ...and what this has to do with Spring break in St. George, I have no idea! Just feeling sentimental I guess...

Everytime we're here the boys insist that we take a superhero picture of them holding up this mountain...

By the look on our faces can you guess what might be behind the camera?... I remember clearly Evan taking his time in the blazing heat, making sure to get the perfect shot...You can see the impatience seeping out of Glen and I! And Eli was jumping up and down and up and down, making goofy faces and loud bird calling noises trying to get Gabe to smile...it worked!!isn't he a doll! I'm sure people thought we were crazy!!

A trip to St. George would not be complete without a visit to Pioneer Park climbing the rocks, lizard hunting, rock throwing contests (BOYS!) and exploring. The best part for me was heading back to the hotel for a dip in the pool and some lounging in the sun...

Did I say dip in the pool and lounging in the sun?? That's just what I was HOPING for after a day of hiking around in the desert heat... what really happened was getting splashed relentlessly by two boys who love to tease. lifting Gabe in and out and in and out on the side of the pool- a game he loved! Only time to sip my diet coke and read my book for a minute once Glen got there after working for awhile.. such is life with three little boys and isn't it grand??!!!

This is the only day I took the camera to the pool with us and due to lots of things going on there was not too much time for photography, at least I got a few!! and just for the record... thanks to Glen I did get in a dip and some lounging... just not much this day but that's ok, we had lots of fun together!!

I'm Torn...

VS

So after last nights show... the predicted happened! I was hoping it would come down to one of the David's and Syesha because then it would be easy to choose a David. but, no It's the two David's who have both been my favorite's through the season. So how do I pick?? I like David Archuleta beacuse... hello not only is he from Utah!! he has an incredible voice too! He is lacking "star quality" though and seems a little TOO awkward in not so awkward circumstances... Hmmmm, probably his age??... I feel nervous for him when he's interviewing...He is very tenderhearted which comes off sometimes as insecure? but isn't he cute? I love his lips and his big brown eyes.... and he's just a little kid...so cute! Hmmmm! and then there's David Cook... the bad boy that is a rebel (ooo la la!) I like him! He's been accused of being over confident, but I think he's just shy! I love his rocker style and his guitar...what girl doesn't love a guy who play's guitar, come on!! although his hair is suppost to look messy... it's a bit too styled so it looks weird sometimes... But I really like his scruff and his gravely voice, and he's got good expressions...that sort of give me warm fuzzy's!! So... Archuleta or Cook?? who to vote for, who to vote for??? Hmmmmm?? I'm not sure...What do you think??

Finally, in shorts and outside!!... more of Spring break

Not only was there this great playground at our Hotel, we also spend a few afternoons at a new park in St. George called Hidden Valley Park! I have only seen park's comparable to it in L.A. It was incredible. For some reason I didn't get any pictures of it.... tells you how much fun we were having, I guess!! We played tennis on the courts. there was a basketball court and a sand volleyball pit. decked out bathrooms (mom's notice that stuff) and a water fountain run through area to help keep cool. the playgound was all made out of this rubber bouncy stuff... no bark chips hooray!!! There were Giant umbrella's all around for shade and comfy benches to sit on! and most important...what seemed like miles of fun unique play equipment plus swings, big slides, baby slides, a climbing wall and a huge grass area, surrounded by a walking trail!!! Here a few pictures of the boys just playing in the sunshine... Gabe's first time down a slide, playing at a park, and exploring OUTSIDE!!

Going South for the Winter...ok fine, just for Spring Break!

Last month for spring break we decided to try to escape the cold and head south!! My family of BOYS loves St. George... It is a boys place... plenty of dirt, rocks, lizards, golf, sweat, hiking...what more could a boy want...how about a swimming pool and maid service?? check! which just happens to be precisely why I love St. George too!! Glen made all the arrangements and as we were on the road I casually asked him, as I was flipping through my latest celebrity gossip magazine "So...What hotel are we staying in lover?" and he replied back "The Budget Inn." my jaw hit the floor and I'm pretty certain my eyes popped out of my head!! I won't tell you the rest of the conversation... I'm not that high maintenance but when you hear "Budget Inn??" come on... what comes to mind? A Ghetto hole right? so after lots of "discussion" my sweet husband says... "I looked into it, it seemed really great, if it's not perfect I'll find us another place!" That satisfied me for the rest of the drive but in the back of my mind I was getting ready to pounce when we pulled in...Well it doesn't happen very often but, I was wrong! Turns out, the Budget Inn is NEW! We stayed in a suite on ground level, the place had a Great big outdoor pool area, an indoor pool, fenced playground, and an indoor playland too... all of which were shiney new and clean!! a nice gym (although the treadmill was ancient) and complimentary breakfast!! I felt bad for assuming that the Budget Inn would be a hole!! Moral of the story... don't ever name a business with a bad name like... "Budget Inn", "tight wad hotel", or "low income haven" because no one is gonna want to stay there if you do!! We ended up loving the place, it was a perfect location and as I mentioned there were lots of fun things for the boys to do right there!! Below are a bunch of pictures of our little get away!! and may I just add a HUGE shout out to my husband for putting up with me and for planning the perfect Spring Break!!

like I said... a boys paradise...miles and miles of sand to roll in, dig holes in, get burried in and if your Gabe... To EAT!!

I think these are some of the cutest pictures of Gabe... just thinking, wondering, and exploring...

This one is especially for my grandma Murray, who loves babies little necks...so kissable!!


Here we are taking a little walk in Snow canyon, looking for turtles...didn't find one but the sunshine sure felt good, especially because back at home it was SNOWING!!

Here is the scrunched up nose I'm so in love with...just look at those cute teeth too!!

am I wierd because I think this face is cute? How could you not? Just look at him, what a doll!

Oh, there are still SO many pictures and details of our trip...but it's late and I'm sick of waiting for pictures to uplaod, it seems to be taking forever tonight... I'll add more tomorrow...

A little Heaven on Earth...

We went to the Thanksgiving Point tulip festival with my parents the second day that it opened... If you've been to the gardens there you know that they are more than beautiful... I knew that already and could only imagine how much more beautiful they would be, covered with millions of tulips...Well my heart sank a bit when we started down the paths and there were lots of buds instead!! There were a few patches of tulips here and there, and several daffodils... but not at all what I was expecting!! Oh, well...the weather was beautiful, and we had a great time!! I guess with all this cold the tulips didn't want to come out... I know just how they feel I'm tired of the cold too!! We decide we'd have to hope for lots of sunshine and check back!!

Notice Gabe's curled up toes and hands... He wasn't too sure about the grass!! Everytime we held his hands and stood him in the grass he'd raise up his little legs and pulled a funny face... and there was no way he was going to crawl in the stuff... he just sat there wondering why we were all laughing as he tried to balance without touching the grass!!

It's fun to watch all the giant fish in the lake. They mainly gathered over by us thanks to a few cheerios Glen found in the diaper bag!!

My sweet boys...

I am always snapping pictures of Gabe doing nothing, I can't resist ... isn't he just perfect?!