Fun in February

February was full of basketball games. Mark, Dax, and Seth were all playing during January and February this year, but luckily, only a few had conflicts. Mark put together a team of friends and played in the Lehi league with Dad as coach. Unfortunately, Mom didn't get a picture of the team this year because Mark missed the last few games for baseball. Once again, we finished first in our league going into the tournament. Unfortunately, the tournament dates clashed with baseball tryouts and games, so we forfeited our way out of the tournament.

Mark played and shot well this season.

Dax also had Dad as his coach. There was a boy that was taller than Randy on Dax's team, so Dax had a lot of fun feeding him the basketball. He was a great team leader, and had a lot of fun. Of course, Dax's team went undefeated, and didn't really play any close games.

Dax was the point guard.

Dax had a great team!

Seth played on a team with a few friends from school. This was the first time that one of our boys played basketball without Dad coaching, so it was a little weird. Seth was the standout player and when he sat down, his team definitely suffered. We were so proud of how well he handled and shot the ball. And Seth enjoyed playing with friends. But in the end, we decided, it's better if Dad just coaches!

Seth with his medal. He watched the Olympics a few too many times!

Seth's team!

We loved watching Seth lead his team.

Grandma and Grandpa Daniels came down to stay with us for a weekend. They watched some basketball games and played games with us. We also introduced them to Brooker's and Blox. We always enjoy when they visit.

We laughed pretty hard at Telestrations.

We went to breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa, and Dax got this huge burrito.

We love spending time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Brooker's is the best!

The boys have to take a mad picture here.

Mom with her mom!

Grandma Ockey's birthday is in February and we really wanted the boys to learn about her and the wonderful mom that she was. So on her birthday, we ordered Chinese takeout, Dad made rice pudding, and we delivered bread to some neighbors. We also shared lots of memories about Grandma Ockey!

Grandma Ockey loved Chinese food.

Dad and his mom loved rice pudding. 

It was so fun delivering bread to neighbors.

Here are a few other fun things that happened in February. It was a short, but full month.

Mom went on Studio 5 and work make-up. All of the boys in the house freaked out.

We enjoyed watching the Olympics.

The boys competed in Federation and AIM and did very well!

We really hoped the Bengals would win in the Super Bowl. They didn't, but we enjoyed the party anyway.

Dax and his Deacons Quorum went to the Family History Center and took this fun picture!

A Day in Kanab

Mark and his buddy, TJ.

Mark had a baseball tournament in St. George. Mom, Seth and Mark hung out for a few days, while Dad and Dax stayed home so Dax could play his basketball game. But after Mark's team won 3 games, and tied the last one, Dad and Dax decided to join the rest of the family in St. George to watch Mark play some extra games.

Before we met up for a day of fun, Mark, Mom, and Seth visited a few of their favorite spots in St. George like Pioneer Park, and a new park called Cottonwood Cove. Meanwhile, back in Lehi, Dax was making breakfast for Dad. He was pretty spoiled.

Seth loves to take awesome pictures.

The boys love pioneer park.

Seth crawled through all of the little arches.

Mark climbed on every rock that he could.

Mark barely made it through the crack. His nose and back of head are touching here.

Pioneer Park is a pretty awesome place!

We climbed up to the arch this time.

They wanted to go to the Red Hills Desert Garden, too.

We found some dino tracks.

The next night we checked out a new park.

It is fun when the oldest and youngest play together.

Back in Lehi, Dad and Dax enjoyed a dinner out at Denny's.

Dax texted Mom the next morning with a bunch of questions about making sausage egg sandwiches.

He cooked them up for he and Dad. He is a great chef!

We had a full day to explore before Mark's games started on Monday, so once Dad and Dax arrived, we decided to spend a day in Kanab. We have so many things on our list for this area! After sharing a hotel in Cedar City, we headed up the canyon. Our first stop was at a favorite slot canyon called Red Hollow just outside Orderville. It is such a short hike into such an amazing slot. We hardly saw anyone along the trail, and we easily made it all the way to the end.

It was very snowy and icy going over the mountains from Cedar City to Kanab. The roads were clear. 

Slot canyons are the best.

Mark and Seth trying to show how long their legs are.

Red Hollow is a pretty narrow slot, so it is super fun.

Mom and Dad were squeezing through at the end.

This was an awesome stop!

A little farther down the road, we visited the Belly of the Dragon. This is a man-made tunnel under the highway that is used for drainage. The tunnel is pretty dark, and it really does look like you are walking inside a massive beast. We enjoyed the walk, but we were disappointed by the amount of grafitti. 

Belly of the Dragon was super interesting.

This is the view from the backside.

Easy trail, but big smiles!

Mark is getting pretty old these days!

Our next stop was a small arch called Sand Dune Arch, but not the famous one in Arches. This one was very unique. It looked a bit like a beehive, and there was nobody else around, which was nice. Along the way, Dax shouted, "Bald eagle!" So we stopped and there were two eagles hanging out near the road. No other cars even noticed. 

Dax spotted two bald eagles along the highway.

You could walk right underneath Sand Dune Arch.

And you could walk right on top, too!

Seth climbed up with Mark and Dax.

A scene from the Lion King!

We liked having the arch to ourselves. 

The sand caves where just the opposite. There were at least a hundred people scaling the steep slick rock to access the man-made caves. It was really cool to walk through the caves and look out the windows and far below to the highway. The caves weren't too deep, so we didn't need light, but it was a pretty spacious series of caves.

The sand caves were huge!

People were nice and took our pictures.

The rock coloring was beautiful.

This was a very cool adventure.

We love exploring together.

After this short series of adventures, we needed lunch. At the Mount Carmel Junction there is a historic restaurant called the Thunderbird. Though it was an hour wait, we decided it would be worth it to try the five flavors of pie that the restaurant is famous for. We ate a big lunch and then shared caramel apple, dazzleberry, and other pies. After lunch, we headed back to Cedar City to watch the NBA All-Star Game from our hotel room.

Unfortunately Mark's team lost their first game the next day, so they were eliminated. Still, we were so glad we got a much needed day to be together away from our usual tasks.

Dad is SO excited for pie!

Mark also loves pie!

All of the pies were delicious. It was amazing!