i had to share a few highlights of our time in utah.
the utah gerbers are active and kept us and the kids moving which we love.
{i told c they are one of the few families we could do adventure vacations with}.
we have similar lifestyles and with kids the same age, it works out well.
when we weren't eating or watching the wildcats, we were playing ping pong,
tennis or hiking. the boys were outside almost from morning to dusk on turkey
day exploring and playing with the dozens of kids that live in the neighborhood.
i grew up in a neighborhood full of kids, but nothing like this neighborhood.
kids were everywhere and they played outside all day it seemed - it was fabulous!
shannon reminded me that there are lots of mormons in utah and many still have
large families, so it's no uncommon for her neighbors to have 4 kids.
with every street being a cul-de-sac and no thru-traffic, parents felt safe to let their kids
roam and play. i forgot to mention the huge park with trees and lots of open area, tennis courts
and bikes trails a short walk away. I can see why they moved here. c and i let our boys go and
didn't call them in until it was time to eat.
it was refreshing to see these types of neighborhoods still exist, and to know there are
still parents around today who are comfortable letting their kids out of their sight to play.
kids need an opportunity to put all that teaching they've been given since they were toddlers to practice.
it fosters growth, confidence and helps 'em prepare for the world.
shannon and trevor fully understand this.
one morning, we all went hiking to a place trevor's family calls the 'vortex'.
the drive get to the park was gorgeous but once we parked, the real fun began.
the boys ran and explored red rock mountains, boulders and trails until we came upon
the 'vortex' which is literally a giant hole in the earth that one can hike down into.
the kids were in heaven! {and it was the perfect amount of physical and mental challenge}
 |
| the vortex |
the afternoon before we got on the road, i did a little photo shoot of maya and her bestie callie.
the girls were so excited, it made me excited {no bribing them like i have to do with my two}.
i drove the girls to two great locales that maya had picked out and the girls spent an hour being
my models. oh it's so much fun to have a niece!
~ i'm missing the utah gerbers already and beautiful st. george.
the red rock there is truly spectacular. fortunately, we will get to see this sweet
family again in the spring. trevor is planning to do this ironman,
and the san diego gerbers will be on the sidelines to cheer him on!
