Memorial Day Weekend!!!

Warning: Picture Post! This past weekend we decided to get out of town! It was so nice, and so needed! As we were driving out I did the math and realized that I haven't left Las Vegas for 5 months! On Friday we headed to St. George. We kicked of the weekend at a patriotic concert. It was so beyond fabulous! My mom sings in the Southern Utah Heritage Choir, and they were putting on a Memorial Day concert, and it was amazing. It was nice to start the weekend off with a special reminder of what the holiday is all about. It was amazing as they sang and honored those who serve our country. It was also a really great teaching moment for the kids and helped them to figure it out! Before I go on, I want to say Thank you to all those in the armed forces who sacrifice so much for me, and for my family, especially for Jeff. We love you, we are proud of you, and we miss you!
On Saturday we got to hang out with my mom, her husband, John, and my brother Ryan and his family. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures! The kids had SO much fun playing with their cousins all day on Saturday. We hardly saw them! Emma and Sadie spent the day in the hills getting dirty. Preston and Jake went on a few walks, and played a baseball game with their Dads, Grandpa, and cousin Dakota. Stockton and Will became best buds! I remembered why I love family! It was so good to see them all and visit, and the time went too fast!
Sunday morning we headed to Panaca to see Melanie. This is what Emma and Stockton did for 24 hours straight I think!

Do you like how she is watching me to make sure I hold the kitten right?

We also had the honor of meeting the pet chicken Rex! Only my sister Melanie can go to Rexburg, Idaho, and come home with abandoned baby chickens! Rex has become a pet of sorts, and loves to eat from the kids hands!

The kids thought it was pretty cool to feel the chicken pecking for its food. Emma was brave and jumped right in to feed him. I thought she was going to be a chicken herself (no pun intended), but she proved me wrong! Once Aunt Melanie showed him how, Stockton wasn't afraid either.

There is a new unwritten rule in our family: You don't go anywhere without baseball stuff! There is ALWAYS an assortment of bats and balls in the back of the van in case the boys find a time to play, and you would be surprised at how often they find a time to play! I love to watch my boys doing what they love, and doing it together!

There's Stuart, doing what he does!

And my little baseball man is always the first one to find a reason to play ball.

Hunter preferred to watch. I didn't get a picture of Dakota and Dyllon in on the fun (because I'm a horrible photographer, and don't think of these things in the moment!).

Here's Aunt Melanie snuggling up to Stockton! He sure did love his visit to Panaca!

And this is what Emma did the entire time we were there. If she wasn't eating or sleeping, she was with the kittens. She named them all, and even had time to find a favorite. This little gray guy is named Meow. She would hold him/her and love on it, and only put it back with its mom when she was told to. Stuart was going soft on me and almost wanted to take it home with us. Luckily for me, it isn't quite old enough to be away from its mom yet! I love watching my kids interact with animals, but I don't want the responsibility of one myself. Call me a scrooge, but that's the way it is!

Anyway, it was an AWESOME weekend, and just what I needed!