Last weekend we went to St. George, Utah, for a family gathering. It was my first time visiting (not just driving through). We were privileged to stay three nights for FREE at a posh home in a gated neighborhood, courtesy of the owners, who use this place as their second home.

Friday we hit the outlet malls and, with our coupon book, got some decent deals on stuff, including some jeans from the Levi’s outlet and a great dress from Downeast Outfitters for only $12.

That night we met up with some of John’s family for dinner at Chili’s where I had the Guiltless Chicken Sandwich (super good without a ton of calories) and for dessert the white chocolate molten lava cake (super-DUPER good and don’t even ask about the calories; it was worth every one).

On Saturday morning I took Wes to the neighborhood pool. The pool area was landscaped gorgeously with plenty of greenery and, best of all, at nine in the morning no one else was there. The water was a nice warm temperature. I borrowed a baby boat from a friend to see if it would help Wes feel more comfortable in the water. The problem was that he’s still small for it. When he sat in the boat, using good posture, the water came up nearly to his chin. When he slouched even a little it was over his mouth. I had to support him from underneath so he wouldn’t be sucking water.

I don’t think Wes was particularly impressed with swimming. He whined a bit until he found these little blue knobby things on the side of his baby boat. I’m not sure what their actual purpose is, but they served perfectly as a distraction for Wes while I floated him around the pool. He had so much fun playing that he forgot he was in the water.

Saturday afternoon we went to see Wall-E. Normally we wouldn’t take Wes with us to a movie, but John’s mom was there and she was more than willing to take him out if needed. She sat on the aisle with him on her lap. I shouldn’t have worried, though. It was funny to watch him because he just stared at the big screen, utterly transfixed. About half-hour into the film we glanced over and he had fallen sound asleep. If he had made a fuss, though, this would have been the movie to do it at, because there were tons of kids and plenty of babies in the audience. The other families probably would have been more understanding and forgiving than at a non-Disney/Pixar film.

Saturday night we went to a luau celebrating John’s great-aunt’s 90th birthday. In order to dress appropriately I had gone earlier in the week to Savers (a thrift store) and found Wes a luau onesie for $2.99. I should have gotten a better photo of him in it, because it was darn cute on him. As always, Wes was the life of the party, besides Aunt Grace. Here we are with Grace, plus John’s mom and step-dad.

Sunday morning Wes got a bath. We had to make do with what we had, so he got his first-ever bath in the kitchen sink. He fit pretty neatly.

In other news, Wes is getting the hang of pulling his knees under him. Here he is rocking back and forth on all fours.

Lastly, this week was also our sixth anniversary. I’ve read enough blogs to know that traditionally you’re supposed to post a wedding picture or something to show how happy and good-looking you were on your wedding day. And maybe to show off your dress. I don’t have any photos handy, so you’ll have to take my word that my dress was gorgeous, so much so that two other brides came up and complimented me on it while our photos were being taken. We were very happy-go-lucky and passably good-looking. Although now that John doesn’t wear braces and I wear contacts I think we’ve actually managed to improve with time. Kind of like our relationship. Six years stronger.