fourth of july weekend in st. george

We spent the holiday weekend up in St. George visiting Grandma Smith- and we had such a great time!


We left on Thursday afternoon, right after Nathan got off of work. We were both so excited to be taking a vacation. We had to leave Buster with Aunty Jessica because he isn't quite house broken yet and still hasn't gotten over his separation anxiety; he just can't be left alone. We missed him, but we didn't miss his messes!


The drive up to Utah was nice. I love having just Tarin and Nathan time without any distractions.

I checked the weather before we left, so I would know what to pack for us, and it said to expect scattered thunderstorms. I was kind of excited because I love love love the rain! Unfortunately the whole drive up, the rain was just one step ahead of us. We just missed everywhere we went. It did leave behind that lovely after rain smell though, so that was nice.


We got to St. George around 11:00 and I was pooped! It's amazing how just sitting in a car can wear you out. We had plenty of time to sleep in the morning though. After breakfast, Grandma took us to a store that she thought I would like- Tai Pan. I didn't just like the store, I LOVED it. If we had had more money, I could have stayed there and shopped all day long. We did have a little spare change though, and since they were having a sale on metal stars and Americana decor, we picked up a couple things.

Nice! It gave me inspiration for the possible decoration of our maybe future home. Still waiting to hear back if they accepted our offer!

After shopping we went to lunch at Chuckarama, and then Nathan and I went on over the temple. I was really excited because I haven't ever been in any temple except for Mesa, and Nauvoo when they had their open house. I was a little nervous too, since I had never been before and we were going by ourselves- but when I mentioned it was our first time there, they gave us little temple stickers to wear, so that we would get the direction we needed.

It was neat how it was different, but the same. Very pretty too! Of course, I had to take pictures!

The entrance

Nathan in front of the temple



Tarin in front of the temple





We attempted to take pictures of both of us in front of the temple, but we couldn't manage. We are a little bit rusty on our self portrait skills.

I love the way the clouds look in this one, with the sun shining right behind- gorgeous!

I am so jealous of the trees they have there too! I think they are so pretty- and the shade is nice too!

After the temple, Nathan drove me up the mountain so I could get a picture of the temple from a different angle...

Just as beautiful far away as it is close up!

This is probably one of my all time favorite pictures of Nathan! My superman!

We had quite a treat for dinner...

Fazoli's!!! This was one of the things I was most looking forward to. I have missed Fazoli's so much. All the locations in the Phoenix area closed. =(

Nathan, chowing down on some of the delicious free bread sticks.

Nathan got the sampler platter, with extra alfredo. He LOVES alfredo sauce.

It took me forever to make up my mind on what to get- there are so many yummy choice. I decided on baked chicken parmesan! One of my old favorites

So scrumptious! Yum!

The next day was the 4th of July- my favorite holiday!! We slept in until almost noon, and then got sucked into a home renovation show on TLC- so our first excursion wasn't until almost 2 in the afternoon! It was another restaurant treat for me...

Iceberg!! The one in Mesa closed down a few years back, so it's must visit every time we come to Utah. They are the ones that got me hooked on fry sauce!

And of course we had to get a shake! Nathan got cheesecake and I got peanut butter. The "mini" size lasted us all day and then some. And how convenient- the cups are red white and blue!

Frozen goodness!

Since it was Independence day, we had to get "American" food. Nathan got a footlong hotdog and I got a hamburger. And what Iceberg meal would be complete without fries and fry sauce? It makes me hungry just thinking about it.

Later on we went to movies and saw the movie "Year One"- They really did show all the funny parts on the commercial. It was pretty stupid and horribly blasphemus. It was mildly entertaining though, so it wasn't a complete waste of money.

There were activities going on the park by Grandma's house all day long. We finally made our way over there after dinner. There were all kinds of booths selling tasty treats and novelties. There were a TON of people there- they wanted front row seats for the fireworks!

We sat in the street right outside the house- it was a great view! I was going to post one of our awesome fireworks videos, but quite frankly I lot my patience with blogger!

We had such a fun time, I was all wound up and it took me forever to fall asleep!

Nathan had a fun time tormenting honeybun while we there. I think they will miss each other though.

We reluctantly packed up the next morning and headed home. We had such a good time, I wish we could have stayed longer.

Oh yeah, and on the way back we stopped at a KFC that had a buffett! I guess those guys I used to work with from Fargo weren't full of crap after all! They used to tell me how all KFC's were supposed to be buffets and I would tell them they are crazy, because I have never come across such a thing in Phoenix. But low and behold there was one in Flagstaff. It was ok, I guess.

It was a fun trip, for sure. I can't wait for the next time we get to go up and visit! But it was good to get home and see our baby Buster too.