A beautiful, sunny day in Dixie. . .

We finally had a few free hours on a Sat. to do something fun. The weather was beautiful. Sunny, warm and no wind. Aren't all of you snow dwellers jealous? Anyway, we headed up to one of our favorite places to hike, the "Dixie" rock. It is named that because long ago someone painted "DIXIE" in big, bold, white letters up on a huge rock above St. George. Those of you familiar with the area know where it is. We hiked for a couple of hours and then had a picnic lunch. It was a great time and can I just tell you what great hikers the Bakers are? I think the smaller they are the better they are at climbing and hiking. The kids sure showed up us old folks!!

There is an amazing slot canyon there that you (if your 12 and under or REALLY skinny) can climb up and through. We got some really neat shots of the kids while they were in the narrowest part of the canyon and then when they all came out at the end. And "yes" for those of you who are wondering, people do get stuck in there!!

Unfortunately, I posted these photos backwards. This last picture should have been first, and the first last. (Remember, I am still learning!) This picture is standing over the "slot" looking down. The ones of the kids was taken looking down at them and zooming in on them. In reality, they were about thirty feet below us as we straddled the canyon. The first one is of them coming out.

Some people call this canyon the "smaller narrows" or "mini narrows" because it is similar to the real "narrows" hike you can do at Zion National Park.

Love to all. . .

Hiking the Dixie Rock. . .

The two big kids easily climbed to the top of this rather steep rock. We told Bryson not to go up there with him, but he had other plans. He actually scrambled up there faster than his big bro. and sis.!

You can't tell from this picture, but this perch was actually up quite high. JB set the kids up there and they couldn't get down by themselves. He teased them that we were going to leave them up there and we'd be back for them next week. Brinley's smile was quickly replaced with screams and tears of panic! What a big, mean daddy!

Bryson is such a wonderful big brother; he's holding the rock up so it won't fall on Brinley!

Braden rests in the shade for a minute before his next mountain challenge.

We learned something new about Bryson; he would rather blaze his own trail then to stick with the already established ones. He always chose the hardest way to get where we were going. Good for him!

How a three year old sleeps. . .

JB and I laughed our heads off one night when we went to check on the kids when they were asleep and this is what we saw:

I guess she just wanted to be prepared in case we happened to get rain INSIDE the house! Maybe we all should be so prepared!

Suzie and Brawner in Santa Clara. . .

We were lucky enought to have Suzie and Brawner stay with us on their way back to Provo. We love them dearly and had a fun time with them. We hope they come back again soon.

Suzie got a new car for Christmas and so JB, of course, had to drive it. She generously let him.

Nice Lexus, Suzie!

Brawner takes time away from his many girlfriends for a picture with Bryson and Brinley. His mind was so full of girls, he left his jacket, wallet and his suitcase at our house when he was rushing off to see one of his women!!

Utah beats Alabama!!!!

We watched the big game with Sylvia and Troy and their family. This is us celebrating the whipping we gave Alabama!!! Congratulations Utah!

New Years Day 2009. . .

We found this cool place in St. George to take the kids. It's called "Jumping Jacks" and it is a hugh warehouse with about 10 of those big bounce houses and large slides. We had a blast spending New Years day there. Our favorite was the big slides. The kids, especially JB, went crazy!! Happy New Years to everyone.

Brinley on a Brinley size bounce house.

Mom stealing a hug between jumps. I love my boy!!

Braden finally convinced Brinley to go down the big slide with him. We coudn't get her off of it after that. She loved it and wanted to go again and again.

Resting at the bottom of the slide after an intense ride.

Don't let go, daddy!

Van and Lauren visit the Bakers

Our nephew, Van and his wife, Lauren, spent their Christmas break from college in Alabama with Lauren's parents in St. George. They were able to sneak away and spend some time with us. Van told us what a great football team Alabama has and how we (UT.) didn't stand a chance against them; he has been sufficiently humbled now!!!!