Girls' trip!

This past weekend my mom took me and my sisters to St. George for a girls getaway! We had a blast! My mom got us a condo in the Green Valley Resort. It was on the South end of town. We got there late Friday night.

Saturday we decided to go up to Hilldale and Colorado City to see how the Polygamists live. Let me tell you, it was a lot different than I ever expected. My mom and Lindy had been before and wanted to take us up and show us what it was all about. The houses in the slide show are from our trip. If you'll notice, none of the houses have yards and the streets are all dirt roads, except for the main ones. The houses are very large and they are not finished. If they don't finish their homes, they don't have to pay taxes on them...go figure. I've heard that the government is cracking down on that though. The homes are made of plywood and then just painted over. There were many people out since it was Saturday. We saw many small children out playing in the dirt yards. All the girls had long dresses on and the boys had long-sleeved button up shirts. Most of the adults we saw were driving big vans or unloading vans full of groceries. None of them would make eye contact with us except for the children. They would all wave as we drove by, they were really cute. All the windows in the homes were covered and almost all the homes had tall fences around them. They are very private people. Most driveways had several vans in them too! It was so interesting. I feel so bad for the little children we saw. I feel so blessed not to have been born into that culture. We truly felt like we were in a different country. I can't believe there is a place like that in the United States of America. It was absolutely unbelievable! If you want your eyes opened, go to Hilldale or Colorado City. Also, if you are curious about the polygamists, there is a book called Escape. It is about a woman who escaped from Hilldale with her eight children. It is an amazing story. We listened to it on our way home from St. George. It really made me angry at the way women are treated in that culture! I would highly suggest reading it. It's a very eye opening story.

Anyway, Sunday we went to church with my mom's friend Jill and her husband, Lynn. We had dinner with them after and then they took us on a drive up to the Mountain Meadows Massacre site. It was pretty sobering. We didn't stay long because it was so cold and windy. We also went and walked around a few red rock hills. It was a fun day with lots of laughs. Jill and Lynn are great people and were so welcoming. Thanks a bunch to them.

On Monday, Mom and I went to a store called Krumpets. It is a home decor store that Jill told us about. They had really great stuff and really great prices. I got some fun stuff for the house. Later, we all went and got pedicures at The Skin Institute. It was my first one and definitely worth the money. We met up later with Jordan and Kalli for lunch at Ruby River. They were on a road trip for spring break and were passing through town that day. It was fun to see them. After lunch mom took us shopping and bought us all a new outfit! The rest of the day and most of the night was spent in the condo watching Prison Break! I borrowed it from the neighbor and Nat, Lindy, and Al really got hooked on the trip. The next morning we checked out and grabbed some lunch at Port of Sub. Then we were on our way. Thank-you so much, mom, for a great trip! I feel like I can be a better mom now, for a while anyway!