Let's take another trip back in time...

I can't even remember when we took this little, mini-vacation it was so long ago (actually, it was over the Valentine's Day weekend...I just remembered by looking at the pictures again)...all I remember is that the weather was WONderful.  I think we even rolled down the car windows a few times, the kids enjoyed the hot tub and the pool(?) and when I came out of the gym - yes, I went to the gym on vacation, but that's because I was eating like I was on vacation - I didn't even need to wear a jacket...just my sweaty self in sweaty gym clothes, i-pod, water bottle and my sweat-drenched towel!

We're so lucky to have a little place to escape to where all we have to do is get in the car and drive and everything else is provided...minus clothes, of course, and the mandatory trip to MEGA-STORE to buy everything we already had at home, but didn't bring!  THANKS MOM, DAD and JANETTE!!

Willie even gets to come along and I'm sure he's completely mixed-up because he's going from sitting in front of the fire place to keep warm at home, to sitting on the tile to cool off at the condo!

Visiting the condo in the winter isn't very fun for the kids because the pool isn't heated and there's not a lot to do but play games and watch TV unless you can afford to spend a lot of money for six people to have fun.  Of course for me and Will, there's sleep.  Exactly what I wanted to do on this vacation!

Since Valentine's Day was on Sunday - my Valentines and I went for a stroll around the St. George Temple grounds.  Beautiful and the best part...NO jackets required!!

 

My sweet girls. Listen! You can't hear them fighting in the pictures can you?

And there were still meltdowns.  How can we go anywhere or do anything without one child having a meltdown.  This was during Emma's meltdown.  I try my best to document most of my children's meltdowns.  I'm sure I was a stinker when I was this age...I still have little memories that haunt me, but I don't have proof in pictures.  My kids are so lucky to have me!

I looked back into my poorly-scanned archive of photos that I made for our family DVD and found this pic of the last time we visited the temple grounds in St. George...it was in 1999!  That was over 10 years ago!  Look how cute and little the kids look! Little Jay, Katie Jane and Lauren!  I kind of miss those days...in a very temporary kind of way.  As they get older, the worries as a parent get more scary, but the maintenance responsibilities get easier.

Not the best place to "work it", but...Emma's a natural.  How is it that most girls have it in them to pose for the camera?

See...the posing thing again.  I didn't tell my girls to do that.  And trying to get Jay to not "cheese-it" took more patience than anything.  You should see all the pictures that didn't make it because he was pulling a face.  Silly kid!!

The kids kept getting mad at me because I was telling them to stop closing their eyes.  The sun was bright and the temple is white and with all that light reflecting...it's blinding!!

Then this angelic sight (gag!!)  What's more romantic for Valentine's Day than to go to a sacred place and make out?  Hmmmm.  So just to be the ornery, mean person that I am, I led the whole family around the grounds to walk right in front of them.  That put a quick end to their make-out session! I seriously think they were scaring everyone else off.  No one was going near them until I paraded the family in front of their major PDA, and then that corner of the temple grounds became open again.

I know.  I'm rotten!

My Valentine. XOXOXOX

I guess the excursion was a success because the kids were willing to have some fun after walking around and looking up and posing for so long.  

I love spending time with my family.  I don't think they enjoy it as much as I do, but they're still young...and someday being boring and doing nothing but being together with their family will sound wonderful!