Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of all of the fun things we did, for various reasons. So here is what we did:
*Drive the IronMan course.
We spent the first night in St. George so that Christopher could drive the bike course and see what he is in for. We knew before he signed up that St. George is known for being the toughest IronMan out there, so we knew there were hills involved but . . . wow. After seeing the switchbacks that he has to do TWICE as part of his 112 mile course, all I could say was "you're never going to be impressed that I do natural childbirth again after you do this, are you?" When I reminded him that this was voluntary, he reminded me that he actually had to pay a lot of money to go through this. Even worse.
All of this means that I probably won't be seeing as much of my husband in the near future. He has a lot of training ahead of him.
*Played with doggies and cousins.
My kids LOVE pets. A bit too much, actually, depending on how much the animal can fend for itself when it gets squished and pulled by all of that love. So they were very happy to get to know Sam and Lucy, my brother's doggies. Lucy is just finishing the puppy phase, but my kids did their very best to wear her out each day. And Kaitlyn loved to put a blanket on her lap for Sam to curl up and rest in.
And their cousin, Maya, was so cute with the kids. She read them stories, let them play with her Bendaroos, and helped them out all the time.
*Disc golf.
We played Disc Golf with Gary last time they came to visit us, and he just recently found out that there is a park 5 minutes from his house that has a course. Jackpot! It was a fantastic course - just one long park with nine holes. We had so much fun the first time, actually, that we ended up going three times.
If you've never played, basically it is golf played with special frisbee discs. Your goal is a basket sort of thing that catches the discs you throw into it.
It is a fantastic game because it doesn't take a lot of explaining or skill to enjoy it, the only cost is buying the discs, and then you just get to walk through a park with friends and have fun. The kids didn't get too into actually throwing the discs, but they had a grand time anyway.
We took breaks to balance discs on our heads . . .
See whose disc would roll the farthest down the hills . . .
And then just roll down the hills ourselves.
That was Kaitlyn's favorite part.
One family even brought a soccer ball to kick around as well. Not only do all of the cousins in those two families play soccer - the girls are on the same team that my brother coaches - but my brothers play on a team together as well.
*Made friendship bracelets.
It was Maya's birthday when we got there, and since I knew she was into crafty stuff I got her some friendship bracelet stuff - that was my favorite craft when I was her age! And sure enough, she knew a few types and had even sold some of them at school before. One of my favorite days on the trip was Saturday morning, when Christopher went out on a run with Jackie and had a great time, my kids were madly in love with the bendaroos for hours, Gary was playing Zelda, and Maya and I got to make some bracelets. I haven't gotten do that in years! I showed her a few new kinds to make, and we were off. I debated taking pictures, but . . . the best part was that we were all in our jammies until 10:30 or so.
*Played the Wii
My brother is amazing at the Wii, and my kids are just learning. Mario Brothers is always a good time though!
*Party!
Everyone came over for dinner Saturday night (well, not everyone, we were missing a brother and his family), and we had a blast. We saw them all when my Grandfather passed away last October, but I couldn't believe how much my nephew had grown! (Well, and my brother pointed out that I had grown a lot in that time too. Rather true!) And he can even pick up his mom.
He was really sweet with my kids too - Kaitlyn was laughing and shrieking almost all night, jumping and running around with him.
So we sat around and talked . . .
Listened to 80s Party music and danced to the beat . . .
And the girls had a Sumo match going on upstairs.
We had a cake so that we could sing for the Birthdays this month - though, with one brother missing, we were down three of our Birthdays. So it ended up being my family and Maya. And then, in the middle of the song, Tyler blew out all of of the candles! Stinker!
We had to relight them two more times before Kaitlyn got to blow out her own. Tyler was so proud of himself for getting there faster than us.
And of course, it wouldn't be my family if there weren't height comparisons. My older brothers (and husband) are all exactly 5'8" with shaved heads, so there has always been competition to see who has the extra centemeter on the other ones, but now are all shocked by how fast the next generation is catching up.
What a great week! I was amazed what some time out in the sun can do for you. I love snow and winter, but it is always great to have a little variety in the middle of it.
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