Little Getaway...

Nothing much has been going on here at the Royce home. Just a lot of the usual like school, homework, dance etc. And I have been getting really antsy to go somewhere! Literally going crazy, all couped up in my house wishing the winter would leave already! So last weekend when my mom invited us to go watch my brother play his first rugby game in Saint George I JUMPED at the invitation! I knew it would be cold there as well but it would be better than spending another weekend trying to fight the freezing weather at home. I had the house cleaned the bags packed all the kids and dogs loaded up in less than one day. By the time Rory got home from work that Friday I was practically in the car waiting for him to get in so I could leave. One zebra and a short 4 hrs later and we were there!!

This little guy was at a petting zoo in Scipio, the middle of nowhere! I couldn't believe it!

We stayed in a nice hotel with an indoor swimming pool so the kids got to swim their little hearts out. Ava had no fear of water by the time we left. She was jumping in and dunking herself. Rori Ana almost got the hang of swimming, I think by the end of this summer she will have it down. James and Nelly were fish and swam up and down that pool like there was no tomorrow. And Rory and I were exhausted to say the least (sorry no pictures, I wasn't thinking). Then we went to the rugby game, I am now a big fan of the game. Always something happening, never any down time and as horrible as this sounds I was amazed by the violent tackling and the way these guys just threw each other around and WITH OUT ANY PADS!! It was exciting to watch and pretty intense!!

That is Michael being tackled to the ground. He did a great job, especially for his first game!

The next day we had to head back home. The kids had school and Rory had work so off we went, but not without fitting in one last little hike to some caves my mom had told me about. The little hike there was beautiful, with all the recent rain they have had the desert was much greener than usual and there were little streams of water everywhere! Lucky for us we had just bought the kids some rain boots so they splashed around the whole way there.

I know that some of you will think I am off my rocker for taking my kids down into a cave. But, I promise I am very careful with all the crazy stuff we do with our children. Rory and I have and always will be adventurous. You would be amazed at the things we turn down because we know it probably wouldn't be the best idea to drag our kids through it!

My kids have seen and done more than most adults have. They have hiked through jungles, climbed mountains, swam through canyons and now... explored caves. And they LOVED every minute of it!!

Here we are lowering Rori Ana down into the cave...

Ava Lyn was SOOO mad that I wouldn't let her crawl down by herself! She kept yelling "NO MAMA" at me and would slap my hands away!

This is the entrance to the cave.
Another little tunnel we crawled through.

I would have loved to go in deeper but things got a little tight. And we went very unprepared, wearing rain boots and uggs, not the best cave gear. Next time we will go with more lights and helmets and the right clothes. And HOPEFULLY next time the battery on my camera wont die so I can get more pictures!!!

It was a great weekend and hopefully the first of many to come this year!!!