St. George Parade of Homes

It was essential that we not miss our consecutive Parade of Homes attendance streak, so we got right to it. We saw nearly all of the homes on the last two days of the show. Another crop of very nice homes with some great decorating ideas. The home on the cover of the brochure was my favorite. If there was ever a zombie apocalypse and the population of the earth was reduced by 97%, I know where I would go to check out the vacated abodes.

The Sierer's

Our ward in St. George is the Snow Canyon 11th. When we attended there for the first time last year, we realized that the parents of one of our Honduran missionaries (Todd Sierer) lived in the same ward. We have since met them and ate lunch with them at Kokopelli's. It was wonderful to have Todd visit us at our home with his son and parents. We had a great time talking about Honduras, especially since we were to be leaving to tour Central America in just a few days. It is such a thrill to see these young men and women start families of their own, grow into leadership positions in their communities and the Church, and accomplish great things in their education and training to support their families.

KR's Quick Turnaround

I dropped KR off at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, the 20th, at the Vegas shuttle and she flew to Wenatchee to drive to St. George with her parents. Talk about a trooper! They left Wenatchee on Thursday and arrived TIRED in St. George on Friday evening the 22nd.

Kids in the House

It was great fun to have two of our family groups in town for the long weekend. They enjoy climbing on the rocks behind the house and looking for treasures. You have to keep an eye on Grant, however. If you turn your back on him, the next thing you see is him alone on a distant hilltop. We enjoyed good food, the sunshine, watching Max play, watching movies, playing Quiddler, swimming, hiking, attending Church, and just being together.  

Olivia and Ethan were having so much fun, in fact, that we decided to haul them home on Tuesday the 19th. The Dovers went home with Grant and Logan on the 18th, and Olivia and Ethan stayed another day with us. We had some things to do up north, and left the next morning and did ANOTHER quick turnaround in one day, coming back via Delta (you know I have never found a road I didn't like). Alas, there is not much out in the desert!

Mardi Gras and Valentine's at Entrada

KR thought it would be a good idea to attend a few club activities to meet people. Our first was the Mardi Gras dinner party on the 12th and then a Valentine's Day Party on the 14th. They were hosted by Entrada at the clubhouse. For Mardi Gras, there were a few people we knew from Church and some others that KR recognized from her exercise classes. Conclusions: 1) not really our crowd, 2) the food was good (buffet-style), especially the alligator filets (yes, alligator), and 3) the entertainment was interesting. The post-dinner festivities consisted of two parts: 1) a music\dance routine by the Entrada Exercise Ball Drum Corps. You figure it out, but it involved zumba steps, drum sticks, sequined outfits, and large rubber exercise balls (and very loud music with a rhythmic beat), and 2) a Vegas magician. We were late in getting into the dining room for dinner and ended up without seats. So they had to set up another table and we sat with the magician and his girlfriend. Actually it was entertaining, as we got some in some good, quality conversation. Paul had an interesting story. His ancestors were Russian Jews that were headed west and ran out of money. They eventually settled on Bear Lake and Paul calls himself a Jewish Mormon (I am assuming some of them converted to Mormonism at some point). He also has a great magic act that slips over into more philosophical\intellectual tricks. I am not sure what he thought of the opening act. At the Valentine's Party we sat with some of our friends from Church - again, good food.

The Glitter Mountains

Someone told us about an interesting spot just south of Washington Fields on the Arizona-Utah border, so we decided to take a look. It was a beautiful sunny day and we followed the directions we were given and found it easily. The locals call it the Glitter Mountains. As we neared the site with the sun shining, it was easy to see why. The mounds glittered brightly as we parked our car. It actually is an old pioneer gypsum mine. The gypsum was used for building materials, including early cabin windows. I gathered some up to make bookends.



Ric, Sharon & Mary in Town

Another nice thing about St. George (unlike Wenatchee) is that it seems to be a crossroads for travelers. With its proximity to many natural wonders (and Las Vegas), as the retirement place of many of our Seattle and Wenatchee friends, and as the home of several family members (Mary's mom, Marty and Mindy, and the Hackworth's), someone is always coming and going. And we are glad to help them out with a bed. Ric and Sharon were down visiting for a few days, and Mary was here over the same period visiting her mother. Ric and Sharon stayed overnight on the 6th and we enjoyed a drive on the morning of the 7th through Santa Clara, Kayenta, Ivins, and Snow Canyon. We had a nice lunch at Kokopelli's. If you are ever in St. George, check out the Bear Paw for breakfast. Expect to wait for a table during breakfast hours (see picture of our group waiting on the morning of the 9th). Almost anything on the menu will do, except maybe the chocolate chip pancakes. Even for an admitted chocoholic, they were a bit much. Liam seemed to think they were great, however! KR also took Afton Bateman and Mary to lunch at Kokopelli's on the 9th.