MLK Holiday 2026 with Nick's kids

 Nick and family came down to Southern Utah for the Martin Luther King Jr. School holiday of Monday and Tuesday, Jan 19 and 20, 2026. 

The got her just after 5 on Sunday. We ate tacos for Sunday Dinner.

Monday morning we all headed to St. George. Mike was helping ( read: supervising) Eric trim yard trees that their HOA and insurance inspector said had to be further away from the roof line. So they trimmed a fairly large oak if many limbs. Plus two trips to Home depot, of course! 

 We ( Nick's family and me)  hiked. Leeds Canyon Kiln. It was just short enough for me. We grabbed some burgers and fries to take to Eric's & Matt's  house and ate lunch with them

 Then Nick and family went to go hike some more and see some petroglyphs. I stayed at Eric's, borrowed his car and ran to Hobby Lobby. That place is HUGE! But I didn't find any flannel fabric for baby blankets, drat. I hate shopping.  I spent time visiting with their dogs, catching up in emails and watching them trim the tree.

In the evening, we came home and made home made individual pizzas. They were okay. 

Tuesday morning, Nick, Kaylee, Rachel and I went to the Cedar City Temple so Rachel could have her first experience doing proxy baptisms! In MY temple! It was very nice. We had some donuts after with everyone (Mike stayed home with the younger ones while we were at the temple), then they packed up and went back home, stopping to see my Mom on the way out of town. 

It was a short trip, but were so glad they came.

Here's some photos of our outdoor and doggy adventures.

Emily inside the Leeds Kiln

The path TO the kiln was short and well-marked

I like moss. A lot. This was a very wet area . . . For a desert.

Logan ran ahead of us on the trail and said, "Come look! I found an igloo made of stones!"

There was quite a lot of Manzanita on the trail. And juniper, pinion, cactus, etc etc.

San and Emily. 

This is just visiting after lunch

 I think Eric was showing a video to them on his phone.

Lots of kids and lots of hairy dogs. Just two, but they sure shed a lot!

Info placard for the Leeds Canyon Kiln. Very interesting.

At the Leeds Charcoal kiln.

Or, an igloo made of stones :-)

We had fun playing lots of games while the kids were here, too.

We also walked the dogs to a dog park nearby while we were there after lunch. Those are some VERY strong dogs! They do live going to the dog park!

That's Rachel up in the tree. Of course. I loved climbing trees at her age, too. We had some good ones in Texas!

There was a fun playground for kids at the nearby "Firehouse Park", too.

San

Kya