Brad and I decided to go to St. George over Pioneer Day weekend to visit Scott and Emma. The kids were spending some parent-time with their mother for four weeks in La Verkin, and we decided to come on the third weekend, just to spend some time with them.
Our first stop after we picked up Scott and Emma was the Rosenbruch Wildlife Center in southern St. George. They had an amazing wildlife collection in their museum, which we all found interesting and educational. I think Scott and Emma liked seeing the skunk family the best. My favorite part was seeing their exotic insect collection, which Scott and Emma did not appreciate. "It's too creepy," they complained.
We had lunch at Iceberg. The kids argued who would sit next to me.
After lunch, we went to our first church history site: Brigham Young's Winter Home. We thought it was neat how Brigham Young stayed in St. George with his wife, Amelia, every winter for the last four years of his life. He had Mulberry trees planted in his yard to feed silkworm caterpillars for the silk industry, as well as cotton plants and grape vines to help support the saints. We also thought it was neat how President Young had pictures of George Washington throughout his house. Apparently he had a very high respect for the first president of the United States.
There were cicadas everywhere! The males were extremely LOUD and could be heard for about a mile around. Brad thought at first they were imitating sprinkler systems. I told him no, that the shrill sound they make is of their own doing to look for females. Quite amazing creatures. They spend nearly 17 years of their lives underground, getting ready for the process of metamorphism. I had fun explaining the biology to Scott and Emma. Yes, I'm a big insect nut.
After the tour at Brigham Young's house, Brad and I took the kids to Hidden Valley Park, which is at the southern tip of St. George, completely hidden from view. It was a beautiful park, full of large play equipment, tennis courts, and big grassy lawns. We went there mainly because I knew they would have water fountains for the kids to play in. We got there and had a wonderful time getting wet and cooled off. I got wet, too. It was fun!
After getting wet at the park, we checked in at our hotel and went swimming in an indoor pool. This was my first time ever being in an indoor pool. Scott and Emma were very clingy and rarely left me alone while we were swimming, which I found both sweet and annoying. I think they really missed me over the past couple weeks.
On Sunday, we went to see the St. George Temple's visitor center. We spent a while watching video presentations and learning about the history of the temple. We also made a quick stop at the St. George Tabernacle right after lunch. We thought it was very neat to be inside the old sandstone building, listening to the history of the tabernacle, and walking up the old spiral staircase. Our tour guide let us sit at the bench directly behind the podium inside the chapel and told us that we were sitting in the same exact spot all presidents of the church sat, except for Joseph Smith Jr. It was a neat experience hearing the story of Lorenzo Snow told there when he had the revelation on tithing.
It was a wonderful trip! I know it meant a lot to Scott and Emma for us to come visit them.
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