We are in Washington City (St. George), Utah for the next two weeks. Rob is working on a design for a lane addition to a bridge over the Virgin River. The kids and I were able to join him because I was able to get us into a rental home rather than a motel room. Definitely the way to go!

Nate has had so much fun exploring all the incredibly fun things to do here. We have an enclosed Nate-proof backyard with a water spigot and lots of landscaping rocks. He loves “swimming” in the large and deep garden tub and had a blast in the glass-enclosed shower. The kitchen faucet has a spray function that he loves to play with (I haven’t dared show him that it extends!). The big-screen tv has a woofer on the floor next to it that he enjoys putting his juice boxes on. There are no toddler locks on the doors so he can go wherever he wants. The kitchen chairs have wheels so when Madeleine is in her booster chair, he pushes her around the floor. There are lightweight bar stools that he can carry wherever he wants to go in order to get into things formerly out of reach. The owners must have a grandson because there are a billion matchbox cars for him to “vroom” with. If only we could all be so happy with such simple pleasures!

Here’s something that’s weird. Rob and I have been down here a multitude of times, both separate and together, and it’s always been kind of “eh.” You know? It’s just St. George. But this time we both are really liking the area. I’m not sure if it has to do with it being more developed than it used to be while retaining some “rural” qualities or the fact that now we have kids and see it as a clean, safe, and friendly place. Don’t worry, we’re not considering moving down here. The three main reasons are (1) The summer heat; (2) There are no equivalent engineering jobs for Rob. And (2) there is a house for sale one street over from where we are now. We looked at its flyer and found out it’s a 3-bedroom home just a little bigger than what we live in now, but nicely updated and upgraded. It’s selling for $337,000! Wow. That’s a lot of moolah for such a little home. Oh, well. There aren’t any kids around here anyway, only elderly snowbirds.