St. George with the Bryans

On Friday our Cedar friends, the Bryans, called and asked if we'd like to meet them in St. George for a temple and play day. We did it once before, last summer, and had a lot of fun, but this time the weather was WAY BETTER! It was a gorgeous day with temps in the mid-60s, perfect for playing at the park, which is where we started. We went to the park just northwest of the temple, then the Bryans watched all the kids while Jonathan and I went and did baptisms, then we traded.
Their youngest little boy, O., is only about a month older than Brycen, and they hit it off right away (we hadn't seen them in months). They crawled all over the place together, and it was especially cute how they'd wait for each other before going off exploring. I guess you could call O. Brycen's first friend!

I heard Colby's wails long before I could even see him coming, so I took pictures while Jonathan talked to him. His friend, M., had hit him on the head with a stick--but it wasn't a stick! "It was a sword!" Gotta love kids.

Bailey found herself a friend who kept wanting to play frisbee with her, but the friend was being kind of bossy, so Bailey didn't want to play with her anymore. At first we told Bailey to be nice and keep playing with her until we heard how bossy this friend was really being, then we told her she didn't have to hang around her, so Bailey went and climbed a tree, and the other, much bigger, girl couldn't get up. So then she came over to talk to me and Jonathan. Jonathan was lying on the picnic blanket with his hat over his eyes, and in a very demanding voice she said, "Why are you doing that?" He said, "To keep the sun out of my eyes." Then, without another word, she stepped onto the blanket and laid down right next to him!!! I mean, like, arm-to-arm! I couldn't grab the camera fast enough! Jonathan sat straight up and looked over at all the other adults to make sure this girl's mystery parent wasn't about to come over and beat him up!
The girl didn't hurry to sit up, however, so I did get a picture of her on the blanket. (I think somebody doesn't get enough attention from her parents, what do you think?)

After the Bryans got back from the temple, we headed to the Washington City Community Center. If you haven't been there but live within visiting range, I highly recommend it for good family fun. There are water slides for all ages, from baby to adult, a small lazy river, a whirlpool, lap swim pool, and more.
This is our friend, Maren, with son #2, J., on her back. All 3 of their boys have the bluest eyes you'll ever see. So cute.

Little O wasn't sure about the water at first, and spent a lot of time shivering, but after Brycen woke up and joined him, he was all grins! He just needed his buddy!

Colby loved every minute and was totally red-eyed and exhausted by the time we left.


Bailey spent a lot of time wandering off and doing her own thing in the older kids' area, but fortunately there are lifeguards everywhere, and she's a pretty good little swimmer, too! (Another little story about her is that in the locker room when we were getting ready to leave, she told me, with tears in her eyes, that some slightly older girls had been openly whispering about her and pointing at her and laughing, while holding out their ears to mimic the way hers pop out. It broke my heart, but I told her to be proud of her "Roe" ears, because I have them, too, and we got them from my Grandpa Roe--and his dad--and we LOVE THEM! But can't kids just be CRUEL?!)

This is Derek with O. going down one of the water slides. I didn't catch Jonathan doing the same thing with Brycen, but neither baby was sure what to think!

In the end, despite a few tears and heartbreaks, it was a super fun day, and I'm so glad the Bryans called us! We needed it! And we're always up for a temple trip/kids exchange!