Traveling Together - Spring Break at Dinosaur National Monument

We got up early so we could grab breakfast before heading the 20 minutes or so from our hotel to the Dinosaur National Monument. While the adults were getting ready, we had all the little guys in our room playing with our bag of stuffed animals from our previous vacations. They were so cute! That might have to be a new tradition.

When everyone was ready, we loaded up and headed out. Our first stop was the Visitor's Center and the gift shop. The kids were so excited! It was easy to join in. We decided to let each of the little ones choose a plush dinosaur to help them remember how much fun we had. Then we all crawled back in the cars and headed for the Quarry.

Like the museum in St. George, the Quarry is an actual fossil site in the side of the mountain, enclosed by walls to make a viewing area. The ranger was very patient with all of our questions and she clearly had a passion for teaching the kids because she told them all about the measuring devices, the fossils, and the history of the Quarry.

After we left her station, we discovered several little areas for the kids that are interactive. My favorite was the large bench in the shape of a dinosaur bone!

Plenty of time and lots of questions later, the kids were ready for lunch, so we packed them all back in and headed to the hotel for sandwiches. Our sightseeing was only half over... 

Traveling Together - St George

Our flight got in about 1:00 pm and we had to leave for St George the next day. My sweetie wanted morning, but I needed just a little more time. I had 3 pairs of baseball pants for a friend's boy that needed some major alterations before we left....and 12 hats that needed numbers...as well as laundry and packing and maybe just a little sleep.

With the storm, we got to St George about 8:30 pm, but Curly had an early baseball game so after getting settled, we decided to get some sleep. I know I definitely needed some.

We got up early so that we could be in Hurricane by 8:00 am. It was so cold! My sweetie was working in the hotel room, so I left Baby Doll with him since she was still sleeping anyway. The game got off to a rocky start although when Curly got up, he smacked one almost to the centerfield fence; a solid double and an RBI. Curly played well, but the team came up short, 8-7. The second game of the day was wetter, but came up with a better result, 3-0 for the Sox.

We drove back into St George and it wasn't long before we changed our clothes so we could spend an hour or so in the pool. It was outdoors, but warm, and the hot tub was even better.

Then we watched a couple of movies and acted silly together.

The next morning was cold and rainy with snow that melted when it hit the ground. Sadly, our tournament was over because the fields were too wet to play...so we found somewhere else to play.

My sweetie made us an awesome steak dinner in our room since we had a little kitchenette. The room was paid through Saturday, and there was no point in going home early. 

So we spent more time in the pool.

It wouldn't be long before it was time to go home, so we had to enjoy it while it lasted.

Traveling Together: Hi-Dee-Ho, We are in Idaho

I'm so sorry I have been neglecting you! I have been running around like crazy getting ready for our after-Christmas trip to Idaho. I know, it seems like we travel all the time and we certainly have the means to travel more now that most of our kids are grown, but the biggest thing that has made the difference for us was buying a travel plan. I don't mean this to be an advertisement, but we got a 2-bedroom condo for a week in Idaho for $99! No, not per night, for the whole trip! The room was so cheap that we got one for Grandpa too. The rooms are fun and rustic and huge!

Grandpa doesn't normally like to go anywhere with us since the kids tend to get a bit rowdy, but we are with a pretty small group this time. My sweetie and I are in the 2-bedroom with Baby Doll and Scout and Grandpa and Curly and hanging out together in a 1-bedroom. They aren't too far away, and they have been with us since we got here. We are doing all of the cooking in our bigger quarters, so they mostly just sleep away from us.

We got in just before dark, unloaded, made and ate supper and then had just enough time for an hour in the game room. They have foosball, air hockey, ping pong, and one of those basketball hoop games. Since we are all busy with basketball (Baby Doll's team had their first real game this morning...) we all took a chance at making as many baskets as we could in one minute. Scout had 28 and refuses to believe that Curly beat her with 30 since he was doing his own counting and recording. I'm guessing we will be having a rematch tomorrow. I didn't do so well, but I managed to beat Scout in a game of ping pong and Baby Doll at air hockey, so I guess that's not so bad.

There are several feet of snow here which is fun since we have very little on the Wasatch Front. It is mostly crusted over, but is supposed to storm a little this week. The kids are excited to go sledding and play in the snow. 

Getting away is difficult with school in session, especially since it is the end of the term (which is why we don't have everyone with us), but the teachers are wonderfully adaptive since they all have zoom stuff going on anyway with all the COVID-19 problems. Our new governor announced that teachers in Utah will be able to get the vaccine starting next week. That is a huge relief for my sister and her family.

I'm excited to share this little trip with you. We have some fun things planned.