A Trip to the Desert

A few weeks ago Avery and I headed to Utah for 2 weeks to visit with family. Although Avery had been on an airplane before, this was the first time she could remember, and it was an exciting experience. We spent a few days up in the Salt Lake area before heading south to St. George. Avery had a great time playing with all of her cousins, even if she did have a hard time keeping all of their names straight. It was nice to spend time with my family members who we don't get to see often. Two of my nieces were being baptized, and it gave us a great excuse to spend a couple weeks visiting with 3 different families. While we were having fun playing, we missed Jason on our looong trip, so we were very excited that he came down for a few days as well. Avery wanted Daddy to help her with everything - it was awesome! After 18 days, Avery and I drove back with Grandma and Papa Thompson for 14 hours straight. We were ALL happy to get home. We had so much fun, Avery was completely worn out. She has slept in until almost noon every day since we got back! Why are vacations so tiring?

Avery was intent on reading the safety card on the plane.

Avery loved playing on the "tramp" with her cousins!

They spent hours out there with her... what good sports!!

We went to one of Abbie's soccer games. Avery was so inspired, she spent the whole game kicking the ball along the sidelines.

On May Day, we also attended Allyce's Maypole Dance at her school.

It was cool to see how the dance worked.

I just loved this picture of Grandpa, Avery and Jason on one of our sight-seeing excursions.

One of the best times we had was going out to dinner with Keri and her girls at Samuri 21. I have never eaten at a restaurant like this one.

Avery was scared of the fire and the burly chef. She warmed up eventually.

They threw shrimp for each person to catch in their mouth.

Avery takes a turn. She missed and the chef let her try a second time.

Jason and I even had a chance to get out and do some fun things on our own! We went golfing at the St George Golf Course. Well, Jason golfed and I drove the cart. It was great!

My sister-in-law also scored a few tickets to a Rick Springfield concert!! I am a huge 80's music fan, and Jason just simply loves concerts. The venue was awesome and the crowd was "entertaining". I really enjoyed the tunes as well.

The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed spending time outdoors. The girls had a great time feeding the ducks.

We also had the chance before we left to visit my brother Peter's grave site. He passed away about 6 months before Avery was born. We love to visit with his family. His wife and girls are amazing!