Warmer Weather and Family Bonding

We were SO, SO excited for Chandler to come home. He had left to Florida almost three months ago and we missed him so much. I don't know that I looked forward to Spring Break this much before! We met him at the airport on Wednesday night at 9 and made our way to warmer weather in St. George. We spent great time together, getting reacquainted and connecting. Chandler was excited to be home and a bit tired from traveling. During our stay we ate great food--we love Bear Paw Cafe for brunch. We had so much fun hiking in Zions National Park. Watson was  a good sport and kept up most of the time. The boys (meaning Scott, Chandler, and Watson) loved playing by the water, skipping rocks and trying to make the biggest splash. I've discovered boys can be happy just about anywhere if there are water and rocks. We spent hours doing this. We had a great time swimming at the hotel and staying up late. After our three day trip we headed home. Chandler had a good time with friends the rest of the break and we fit in more family time with fishing and lots of family dinners. The week went by so quickly! It was hard to see Chandler leave again. We love and miss him. He really is such a big part of our little family.

 We stumbled upon this funny little gift shop with a ghost town. The boys ran around and explored each little building and fed the animals carrots. 

 We decided to be a bit adventurous by renting a Razr and goofing around in the sand dunes. Scott and Chandler had a great time. Watson and I were with them for half the time as the sunny weather was deceptive about the actual temperature. We were freezing. We opted for a movie while the other two went back out for their own adventure.

Our drive home was quiet. It seemed we wore out the two little guys sufficiently. I think a family trip is a success if the kids fall asleep on the way home. As a side note, I had a funny conversation with Chandler about the difference between a trip and a vacation. I said a trip is what you take with your family. It requires work and preparation and typically isn't restful for the parents. A 'vacation' is when Mom and Dad get away to some place they don't have to think about or prepare meals or direct activities. I like both, but usually after a 'trip' I'm ready for a 'vacation.' 
I'm grateful we had this time together. It was a great blessing for our family.