{Spring Break 2012 TEN on Tuesday}

....Did ya miss me :) Ha Ha..... its been awhile we decided for Spring Break this year we'd take a family vacation so for 9 days we headed to St George and a couple days in Vegas.... for the most part it was so fun..

 SO Before we left I bought stuff at the dollar store and brown paper sacks and snacks for the kids. In each sac was an activity/toy/or game along with a treat and every hour and half or two hours they would get another bag....it worked AWESOME!! The best bag and activity was PIPE CLEANERS they made all sorts of things  from them for more then 2 hours!! and only watched a total of 1 movie the whole way down!!! It worked great and we did the same thing on the way home....

we spent our first two days with D's sister in the SLC area fun to have the cousins all play together and we had easter there....and enjoyed spending time with there family wish we lived closer together!

They also had a bunny that the kids couldn't put down they loved it...

Then Monday morning we headed to St George Utah we got an awesome deal on a hotel for three nights and enjoyed feeling the HOT sun for the first two days but then it got a little cloudy and cool.... 

BUT we visited the St George Temple and visitors center and the Brigham young winter home tour .....

 on tuesday we played at Zion National Park for the day.... hiking exploring and taking in the vastness of it all.....it was so pretty!!

one day we want to go back and do the narrows....

we did some swimming...some outlet shopping.....some eating at cafe rio twice....so fun just to be together making memories....St George is beautiful and so much to do!

 ....played at snow canyon and that was probably our favorite place beautiful, and kid friendly and just fun....

....the next morning we headed to Las Vegas to see hoover dam and briefly drive down the strip..... we stopped at the fountains at the Bellagio amazing water show.... D has an aunt and uncle in Vegas so we stayed with them and then headed to Hoover Dam friday morning....

And Friday we headed back to slc and spent another day there with family all in all it was a really fun trip we did a lot and drove a lot & made lots of memories....

So 

10 Random Spring Break things I learned....

1. I love my kids more than anything but I'm also super glad that there is something called School:) 9 days is a long time :)

2. My M is the most independent, free spirited child I have ever had the privilege of knowing and loving :)  AND

Who almost died twice from running into traffic...or running away in general....I was reminded quite regularly why we don't do this very often ha ha.. love me my M.

3.  What are the CHANCES of running into someone you haven't seen since you were 10 ?? Well I have this weirdness about me that remembers people even ones I haven't seen since I was 10...This nice man serving a mission for our church in the st George visitors center starting talking and I recognized the voice looked at him then looked at his name tag....then asked him if by chance he was so and so from so and so ...and oh my gosh weird eh! It was really cool..and he and his wife remembered me too....  .funny thing though I thought he's a lot shorter than I remember ....oh wait I was only 10 ha ha! Fun times...

{oh and running into someone from your hometown 16 hours away:) at cafe rio.

4. L is funny...She says on the way home then she laughs so hard ...then we all did...... "Dad it was really nice hanging out with you and  getting to know you better on this trip"  so L....pretty funny:)

5. VEGAS strip is not the place for children..... dirty, raunchy and definitely sin city...my kids did not like it ...we went to circus circus {which we shouldn't have it was the dirtiest place I have been to in a long time I felt like I needed a shower after among other things} K whispered to me "I don't like the feeling in here can we get out of here"....my thoughts exactly...disgusting place...

*{now if we were going with friends as adults and had some shows to go and stayed in a nice hotel it would be a different story} But there are far more places I would rather see....:) Each to there own though:)

6. Drove all the way to the Hoover dam only to have them tell us that there were no tours that day due to broken elevators :( WHAT luck we have! But it was still worth it and amazing!

7. What are the chances of driving as far as we did over the week + only to be stopped by a cop 2 minutes from home:( I told him we had been driving for 14 hours and the kids were whiny tired and ready to be home....it worked {it was only the truth}........... he let us off with a warning thank you nice cop:)

8. The secret for Canadians getting gas in the states with a card at the pump..an attendant told us.... when it says enter your postal card... you put in your numbers from your postal code zip ......and add zero's to make up the difference...nice tip eh!

9. That barq's root beer should not be drank by children ....who accidentally thought it was normal root beer and who incidentally were more hyper...... a half an hour later ........then I'd ever seen my two older kids ever be..note to self help them get their drinks ......holy crazy!!!

10. That there is nothing better than after a long full day of fun...seeing  dirty kids..... freshly bathed and hearing the sound of quietly sleeping children.....ahh silence and happy kids. Family....memories...... fun....

We all learned that going away makes you appreciate what you have the kids missed home cooked meals, clean clothes and their beds and friends...I'd have to say I agree but I love to travel and see the world too, but its always nice to come home.

and there it is....

Have a great week...

What has been your favorite family vacation?