Get Your Game On Girls...

At least once a year the girls in our family try to get together for some sort of  GIRL'S TRIP.  We usually do it for the St. George Parade of Homes, but it didn't work out at that time this year so we planned a Tuacahn trip instead.  It was great!  Now were just going to have to decide when we want to do it next year, I'm voting for both!

We can't seem to go anywhere without incorporating some sort of GAME into the action for extra fun.  Like for instance at the Parade of Homes, we usually have some sort of theme, like Home Show Bingo or an ABC game that we do while going through the homes.  I promise it makes it so much more fun.

This trip was no different.  Kristy came prepared with a TREASURE HUNT for us to play.  We each put in a dollar and the winner got the pot.

My first find a CIGARETTE BUD,

as Kristy likes to call them

Melinda's picture with a stranger.

Happy or not, I'm not too sure!

The other game we started off with was each of us picked a spot to put our initials on Kristy's car tire.  We chose a spot on the bumper and then each of us would put a quarter into the pot, when we stopped someplace, whosever initials were closer to the mark, won the pot.  I know we sound like some heavy duty gamblers! The wealth was pretty evenly spread out, except for poor DeAnn, she grew to HATE the game!

Besides GAMES as a big part of our get togethers, FOOD is right there with them.  Sadly we started out the trip at a place not even worthy of a picture or a mention, but we quickly redeemed ourselves and bounced right back!

I'm not quite sure where I've been hiding, but thankfully Shayda led us to this little gem, The Bear Paw.  I'm sure most of you have heard of it and probably even eaten there, but I've only ever seen it!  I'm glad I finally did more than see.  YUMMY!!

Mom and I split the strawberry banana crepes and the vanilla pecan waffles.  We loved them both!

Since we had a bad experience with dinner on the first night we decided to turn to the internet for suggestions and reviews.  We were strongly encouraged to eat at Samari 21, and boy were we ever glad!  Besides being delicious the entertainment was so much fun.  We had the best chef in the house, Tommy aka Jackie Chan.  He was great! and funny too!

I even finally broke down and tried SUSHI for the first time.  Karson was so proud.  I actually really liked it.  Now I know it's not the Sushi of sushies, like as in raw, but it was still sushi to me.

Now besides GAMES and FOOD there has got to be ENTERTAINMENT!

We are usually pretty good at creating our own. On this particular morning we got up and climbed around the Dixie red rocks.  We even got to be eye witnesses to a proposal, ahhh.

Once we were on the top of one of the rocks Kristy led us in a sisterhood chant.

It's supposed to fight against our double chins.  I sure hope it works!!

Other entertainment included laying by the pool, the young ones swimming, running and walking, shopping of course and the purpose of our trip, Tuachan.

It was so much fun, all of it!  My only regret is that my girls weren't able to come.  I honestly couldn't get them off my mind the entire time.  I'm sad they had to miss it, but I'm excited for next year.  They'll have NO choice, but to go.

I HOPE YOU HAVE A MINUTE...OR 30!

This is going to be one BIG post!  As I was downloading the pictures off my camera from our vacation I noticed that there were several that I wanted to blog about.  So I'm doing a Kylee style post (which I love by the way).

TREES

Luke has always been a tree climber but now the other two are following his lead. It's fun watching "kids be kids!"

I think we can safely say, "Spring has Sprung". 

Or has it!!!!

I couldn't believe when we woke up to this a couple of Monday's ago.  Needless to say the kids lost a couple of footholds on their favorite climbing tree.

GRANDCHILDREN HIGHLIGHTS

Of course it's all highlights when it comes to the grand kids, but here a just a couple.

We're proud of our oldest, Luke.  He just graduated, with honors!  He was crowned the King of Kindergarten!  Good job Luke:)

We, and all of my assistants, got to have Nixon for a week while Kylee and Conner were in California.  He was such a good little guy.  Kylee challenged us to teach him a few tricks, one of them being to be a better eater.  Well I think I did a pretty darn good job with that.  I found the trick is to just let him feed himself!  As you can see, he loved it!  And, he considers himself quite a pro.  Apparently now he won't accept food any other way.  Sorry!

OUR COASTAL CRUSADE

George and I just got home after enjoying a weeks vacation doing a California coastal loop.  We started in San Diego and then made our way up to San Francisco and home from there.  It was a lot of driving but we saw some beautiful places and had a really good time.  Here are some highlights from our trip.

A view from our hotel on Harbor Island

We took a trip out to Point Loma to see the lighthouse and on the way we ran across this amazing sight.  This is the Rosecrans Memorial Cemetary. Since it was Memorial Weekend they had placed a flag at every single grave marker.  It was truly an amazing sight! There were thousands. It was such a pretty setting for a cemetary and a nice tribute for all the men and women who have served our country.

This was also another little spot we visited on our way to the lighthouse.  I'm not sure of the official name, but it's a tidepool area.  It was so neat.  The cliffs were awesome looking.  I told George that the kids would love the place.  Just as I said it I realized it would never happen, George would be a wreck worrying about them falling or jumping into the water. And that was exactly his explanation.

Finally the

POINT LOMA LIGHTHOUSE

It was actually a cool little place and the view from there is amazing.

The best part for George was when he spotted THIS.  Hungry or not, there is NO way he could pass up the

DER WIENERSCHNITZEL!

Shops and sights from Cambria, CA

The beach by our hotel.  We had fun gathering some cool rocks. 

Hearst Castle

This place is amazing!

But, this was our favorite part of the tour.  This women, we'll call Flufffy, was hiliarious.  I don't think she heard a word or saw anything the tour guide said or pointed out.  She was only interested in filming herself amongst the glitz and glamor of the castle.  We got more enjoyment out of watching her than some of the artifacts.

Some sights from our side trips along the coast.  Sooo pretty!

SAN FRANCISCO

Our hotel

Or NOT

Here it is!  The cute little Vintage Court.  We bid for rooms on Priceline and we got this quaint little boutique hotel.  We actually quite liked it.  It was in a great area, just steps from Powell Street and the cable cars, such a nice amenity!

This is the FOY-A.  It's almost feels like walking into your grandma's house.  Plus they have wine tasting every day at 5:00 in case you're interested!

We had a great time in San Francisco.  Since I've been there twice recently, I kind of considered myself a pro at using public transportation. We took advantage of it in every form and  we didn't miss a thing, I even got George to see Wicked, which he admitted he enjoyed. 

It was a great vacation:)