Zions.....

We decided we all needed to get out of the gloom earlier this month so we thought it would be a great idea to head down to Southern Utah - Zions, to be exact. Little did I realize that just because you go 'south' doesn't mean that you go 'warm'. I found a cabin on the Internet to rent and it was awesome, all except for the 5 feet of snow and the cold weather that surrounded us!!

We went with some neighbors of ours who also are blessed with 6 kids - so the grand total of those traveling was 16!! They have kids that range from 16 all the way down to 2, so we match up pretty well.

Driving through Zions we went from tons of snow to no snow by the time we left the park. It was interesting to see how much it changes during the 30 minute drive. It was beautiful in any weather.....

Blue, blue, blue skies!!!! Just what the doctor ordered.

Brenna did a great job taking pictures of the canyon - all of these pictures were taken on the same day, same drive...just goes to show you how fast things can change.

The cabin we stayed at had a hot tub, so that is where you could find the little kids 3 to 4 times a day. By the time we left 3 days later the dirt and grime ring around the edge of the water was enough to make anyone queasy!!

Ella and Jensen with the friends, Adam, Josh and Sam Chandler.

This is what happens the minute we would get in the car - she would crash!! I think it was due to lack of sleep and probably way too much sugar (notice the chocolate covered pretzels).

We drove into St. George one afternoon and went bowling at the most GHETTO bowling alley I have ever seen. It was small and dingy - and you had to push the reset button every time someone would bowl -

I am pretty sure St. George is a big enough town that it warrants a new bowling alley....

My cute guys - J.D. Jiles and Jensen

Like the shirts?? The big kids all bought these funny shirts at the outlet, apparently they are cool?? Shows you how much a mom knows because I would have never, ever, picked any of these shirts for any of my kids to wear.

Also, I don't think Drew got the memo to make a crusty face for the camera, love my smiley boy!

We spent our weekend doing alot of nothing. Playing games, sitting in the hot tub and most importantly eating - the amounts of food that we took and consumed were disturbing!
We stayed up way past all of our bedtimes and had 3 solid days of partying!!

The Chandlers brought their 4 wheelers and that was alot of fun for all the kids!! Ella loved riding with her big sister and for the most part that is where Drew spent most of his time. I let Brenna take me for a ride, and I think she tried to dump me over on purpose! I couldn't spend too much time out there because it was Freezing!!

Jiles got his very first Oreo cookie - he looks about as happy as I do when I eat Oreos (they were mint filled - even better than the original if you ask me)

Jiles also cut his very first tooth the day we left for our trip - what a handsome little devil.

All in all the getaway was just fabulous...minus almost breaking into the wrong cabin (a whole different story) and having loads of snow instead of sun, we had a great time. It is fun to travel with friends, luckily we have been blessed in our lives with many of them.