John and I arrive in St. George a few days early to prepare for Jonathan, Nathan, and Sam’s visit. We need to get the house ready by moving the furniture around and setting up the beds for the kids. We must stock the refrigerator and pantry with grandchildren-friendly foods. And of course, there is the general clean-up that needs to be done since we have not been in St. George since January.
Finally it is time it is time to go to the airport and pick them up. We are very excited. Spotting them coming down the escalator, I get in position to take a picture.
Our plans for the ride home was to stop at Cedar Pocket and have a picnic under one of the shaded tables. The Virgin River runs right through the park. It’s narrow and shallow at this point and I figured the kids would have fun throwing rocks in the river and hiking around. But as they say, the best laid plans… The temperatures are soaring and there is no way anyone wants to sit outside when it is over 110F out. So we stop at McDonalds in Mesquite instead. The weather forecast this week is to be really hot. We are going to have to adjust.
On Sunday we get up early to play tennis. At 7 AM the temperature is only around 70F and the sun has not gotten above the cliffs.
We take Nathan and Sam over to the pool at Entrada. Nathan is totally water-safe now while Sam still has a ways to go. Over the course of the week he will come along way. After swimming the boys enjoy Beeba’s mac ‘n cheese.
On Monday we spend quite a while at the Sand Hollow Aquatic Center. The pool is huge and has a big slide and currents. Sam is really taking to the water now and is no longer afraid to put his head in the water. He is floating well and can propel himself forward on his stomach and backwards on his back.
Monday night we have tickets to Peter Pan at the Tuacahn Amphitheater. Even though the play starts late, Nathan and Sam stay awake through the whole thing. They enjoy Peter Pan flying around, clap to keep Tinkerbell alive, and enjoy the short fireworks display. (As an aside, I never realized how creepy the story of Peter Pan is.)
In Part 2, we go to Bryce Canyon National Park and Zion National Park.