Mom and Mark Adventure in St. George

Mark is playing on a super league baseball team this year. They were playing in a tournament in St. George the same weekend as Seth's music recital. So Mom and Mark traveled to St. George while Dad stayed home with Dax and Seth.

Mark and Mom left around lunchtime on Friday, and arrived at the baseball field right on time. Mark played 2nd base in the first game and did an awesome job. Then in the last inning they had him play center field because a lot of these kids were hitting it to the outfield. He had lots of great plays, but one was really awesome. He caught a fly ball, and then threw it to first to get the runner who had strayed too far from first base. Double Play! He ended up playing a lot more outfield that weekend. They lost the first game and won the 2nd. Mark stroked two doubles in the 2nd game. Both balls bounced right in front of the fence. He had a great baseball day and even earned a game ball! We went back to the hotel and Mom let him watch the end of the Jazz game, which they lost big time. Then we went to bed around 11:00 pm.

Can you see the Road Runner in the background?

I sneaked around and caught a great picture of the roadrunner. We saw him both nights. 

Mark played really well the first day. 

We also saw Great Blue Herons flying overhead. 

The next morning we slept in. It was about 8:00 when we got out of bed. We showered and had a happy McDonald's breakfast. Mark's first game wasn't until 3:00, so we had the morning to adventure. Unfortunately, the IronMan Triathalon was being run in St. George, so lots of roads were closed. Everything that we wanted to do was blocked by the run. We finally settled on a Nature Park where we had fun seeing fish and birds. Then we tried a little hike that started in the nature park and headed up toward Pioneer Park. That is where Mark wanted to go, so we crossed the IronMan race and enjoyed Pioneer Park, too.

Mark loves exploring places like this. 

We saw a mockingbird who sang to us for quite awhile. 

There were lizards everywhere.

Mark was excited to hike with Mom.

Pioneer Park was a lot of fun. Mark really wanted to see a turtle, but it didn't happen. We saw lots of cool lizards and birds, but the best part was squeezing through the Crack. This was by far the skinniest little slot that Mom has ever squeezed through. There was one part where she wasn't sure she could make it. Mark kept encouraging her and was patient for 5 minutes while Mom decided if she could continue on. She did, and she was proud of herself for making it. Mark can't wait to take Seth and Dax. He said Pioneer Park was the best.

A picture from our breakfast at McDonalds!

Mark wanted to see a tortoise, but it was the heat of the day so there was no way. 

This squirrel was chowing down. 

The views were pretty from Pioneer Park. 

There were little caves and arches everywhere.

I have quite a few jumping pictures!

This was a new bird for us. A Black Throated Sparrow! It has a beautiful song. 

The Crack is really just a crack. I barely fit. 

Mark thought it was the coolest place. 

I only freaked out for about 5 minutes. 

Mark could straddle the crack once we climbed out. 

We saw this beautiful hummingbird, too. 

After our adventure, we ate at Roy's Pizza (of course) and then headed back to the baseball field. Mark's team lost both games. Mark played well in the field, and didn't hit quite as well as the night before, but he did okay. The game ended a little after 7:00. After a team meeting, and a quick stop at Wendy's for dinner, Mom and Mark and Alema (we took one of Mark's teammates home) started home for Lehi. We arrived around 11:30 pm and went to bed. It was a long, but fun weekend.

Roy's is our happy place!

Mom loves watching Mark play. He is a star!