A Week in St. George

Life has been so nuts, so I'm a bit behind in my blogging. We spent last week in St. George. My Grandma has a condo there, and we don't use it nearly as often as we should! It was such a fun and relaxing trip. It was sooo hot, but so nice to get away. I had limited access to the internet, which meant I had major blogging withdrawals, and also Facebook (which I recently discovered and am also obsessed with) withdrawals. So now I'm definitely making up for lost time! To be honest, it was kind of nice to have some time where I couldn't always be by a computer. I forget how simple life used to be before the laptop.
Anyway, it was a great week. The majority of our time was spent at the pool. Makee went from pretty much hating the water to being a little fish! By the middle of our trip, he was splashing, sitting on the edge and jumping in (with a little assistance), and laughing when we spun him around. It was a riot. What a cute little Squish! I was so excited that he loved the water. We had a blast with him in the pool. Although we kept him very covered with his hat, rash guard, and board shorts, he managed to get some very dark little arms and legs. He's got quite the farmer tan.How sweet is this picture? Sleeping was a total nightmare in St. George. Mak cannot sleep well with us in the room--especially with a daddy who snores louder than thunder. He's not a fan of the play pen. None of us got much sleep on the trip. Most nights he would wake up at about midnight and refuse to go back in the playpen. So we spent our nights half awake, making sure we would roll over him and making sure he would crawl off the bed. But he took great naps!
While we were in St. George, Makee started pulling himself up to the standing position--a very big accomplishment, which will change my world forever. He also started waving like crazy! We FINALLY started brushing his teeth while we were there. I feel like an awful mom because he has had teeth for a few months now, but better late than never. When Daniel began to brush, Mak opened his mouth so wide and just sat there. I think he loved the taste of the paste. He cried when it was over.We also played a little racquetball, which I royally stunk at. Poor Dan was a good sport having his pitiful wife on his team. But it was totally fun! I think I could get into it.Daniel, my dad, and Jared went and hiked the narrows one day. Here are some of Dan's Photog skills. They said it was the most amazing hike they've ever been on. Darn, I'm sad I missed it (well, sorta sad). The boys had a great time.We did a whole lot of shopping at the Outlet Mall (which now has a Shade shirt store-the greatest store ever!). We also spent a lot of time at Red Cliffs Mall. Yes, I know. We have all those stores in Salt Lake, but there's something about shopping in St. George. It's so special!We celebrated Whit's college graduation (YAY!) and also her 23rd birthday while we were there also. We began the birthday celebration with opening gifts, of course. Makee gave her a flower that he picked with his daddy during a 6 am walk in the morning, and she thought it was the sweetest thing ever! She loves her little nephew. She also got some other sweet stuff between her birthday and graduation--a cool watch, some sunglasses, Nike Shox, and a camera. She was most excited about her new camera my parents gave her for graduation. Later on, we went to the Dinosaur Museum in St. George. The story is some doctor was beginning to build a bunch of buildings on this piece of land when they discovered a bunch of dino bones and fossilized tracks. It was actually pretty cool! Dan had been trying to coax us into going all week, and we finally caved. Mak loved it. We also hit the Olive Garden that day for lunch, and Larsen's Frostop for dinner...Mmmm. I love vacationing because with my family you don't cook a whole lot. We ate at the Pizza Factory, Chili's, and In and Out--pretty much all my favorite places to eat.
The last night we were there, we saw Les Miserables at the Tuachan Theatre. It was incredible. I love the entire atmosphere at the Tuachan, and the singing and acting was amazing! Whit gave Mom tickets for this play for her birthday clear in March, so we were all excited to go. Makai was killing me. As soon as it started, he became so excited, he was squealing and trying to reach the cast. But for some reason he became most excited during the "Lovely Ladies" song (do you know what song I'm talking about?) He started squealing and waving like crazy to all the "Lovely Ladies" on stage! It was a bit embarrassing, but a bit hilarious! We managed to find some seats in the top row in the corner where the babies could be a little louder until they finally fell asleep. I snuggled with Makee the entire second half of the play. Thanks for the fun night, Whit!Wow, what a great trip! Yeah, it was hot, but we had a blast. When we got home, Makee slept from 9 pm to 9 am--and so did Dan and I. I have to admit, I was a bit anxious to get home to my own bed...Or maybe I was just anxious for Makee to sleep in his own bed.So since Whit graduated and celebrated her birthday, here's a tribute to my little sis. Whitney is a great person. She puts people at ease, and she is so easy to talk to. She is also such a thoughtful person. She always seems to know the perfect gift for everyone for Christmas and birthdays. I have so many memories of her and I staying up late and talking about anything and everything. I've always been able to talk to Whit about anything. She's always stuck up for me when I didn't stick up for myself. Even though she's a bit hard-headed, and even though I had a lot of clothes and make-up stolen from her when we were living under the same roof, I still kind of love her! She makes everything so much more fun. She is such a hard worker. I'm so proud of her for finishing college. I know it hasn't been easy for her to finish with a baby. Whit is a great mom to her Isabelly, and her little girl loves her mommy so much. Sometime next year, she and Pete will be getting married, and we couldn't be happier for them. They have been so good for each other. I can't stand the thoughts of them moving away, but I know they will be so happy. I'm so lucky to have Whit as my sister. I couldn't ask for a better one. Happy Birthday, Hootie! We love you so much!