burke's birthday was on 9.11.09, and he had about 1 week of PTO. so, we decided to squeeze one last summer trip into the season! we went down to st. george, stayed in burke's family's condo, and camped/hiked/explored at zion's national park.
on our way down to st. george, we stopped by cove fort. it was built by ira hinckley - president hinckley's grandfather. it's a really cool little place packed with history. if you haven't been, check it out on your next venture south.
they've done a great job at preserving all of the rooms. it's really darling.
there are about 30 missionary couples that live there and give tours and things. they all maintain the garden out back. they are too sweet.
i love this shot of all of their mailboxes in a row! this would make a great painting...i might just give it a go.
the sunset was amazing. so vibrant!
the next day we just kind of lounged around the pool at the condo. look at my little sunbather! ha. all covered up wearin' his zinc oxide and my batman hat like an old man. (he was still suffering from his burn received at the soldier hollow classic).
that afternoon, we traveled to zion. there were some dark and ominous clouds overhead, and we were scared that we would have to camp in the rain. but, then the rainbows appeared just as we were approaching the park!
we ate at our favorite restaurant in springdale - the whiptail grill. soooooo yum-town!
we camped by the east rim of zion's that night. we were awaken at about 3am by these little monsters! our fault though - we left one of our food bags right in front of the tent! they were so funny, chomping away on our chips. we didn't want to get sprayed, but we tried flashing them with lights and yelling at them anyways...nothing worked. they completely ignored us, little stinkers. once they had full bellies, they trotted away leaving us with quite the mess to pick up.
the next morning, we drove through the east rim and stopped when we saw these guys! lovely bighorn sheep. they were just basking away in the morning sun.
they inspired burke to take a birthday run up the mountain.
cute lil' birfday boy.

once in the park, we decided to hike through a bit of the narrows.
go crocs! :) i had to tie shoelaces around mine so that they wouldn't slip off. but, other than that, they served us quite well!

it was really gorgeous. burke was in his element! he loved it.

he kept trying to get in the deepest parts of the water, just because.

because it was his birthday, and being the good wife that i am, i would hold his things while he explored the waters. i do not enjoy freezing temperatures. in fact, anything under 80 degrees numbs me. i am such a whimp! but, cute mr. austen loved it! so, it was worth it to me. he probably would have stayed forever if i didn't make him leave after a few hours.



burke accidently unpacked my hiking shorts, and i was NOT about to tromp around in waist deep water with my long jeans on...so, we cut them off. :)
i'm standing by this tree because it was so cute! it had a wild grape vine wrapping around it creating that darling canopy. i wish i could have taken it home with us.


this is my favorite. burke is so happy! he doesn't even care that he looks all scary and ghostly from his zinc oxide coverage. i love him.


gorgeous! it was the perfect day. :)
that night we got a little bit cleaned up and ate at the spotted dog restaurant. we were less than impressed, sadly. but, it was a good bday, nonetheless!
(my camera ran out of batteries earlier that day, so we were using the camera phone).
happy birthday baby!!!
i love you! thank you for being my darling husband. i adore you!
2 trips to in n' out while in st. george. thank you! they are perfect. beautiful. i don't know how i've lived with out them in utah. i am just so grateful that they are finally coming to orem! that will definitely make this winter more bearable.
(pictured above is a sara special - grilled cheese sandwich, animal style, no pickles and fries, no salt. the best)!
burke's parents watched our doggie-children while we were away. (thanks guys!) we missed them so much! the night we came back, this is how burke and kira fell asleep. i seriously don't understand how he dozes off like this! he has to be at least slightly narcaleptic, i swear.
now it's back to reality! cold weather, school, and work. blah.