CuteKittyPunk

The Tilted Kiln 215 W St. George Blvd 435-275-6603 Hours: Tuesday - Friday 12:00-8:00; Saturday 10:00-6:00 www.thetiltedkiln.com https://www.facebook.com/thetiltedkiln/ Today the children and I got to play with clay at The Tilted Kiln in St. George . I had driven past this pottery studio many times not realizing all the fun things it has to offer. It's not just a pottery shop, though there is a section that some great local artists have pottery for sale. It has a section of ceramics that you can buy and paint yourself and they will cook it again after that.  That was fun to see. So many great ideas, from painting a large platter with the family name or something like "Dad's Burgers"to piggy banks and garden gnomes. They also had quite a few Christmas related ceramic crafts to paint. My kids and I had so much fun browsing the ideas and we surely will find ourselves back in the shop come summer vacation! :) You can come back for parties or other group ac...

According to Hedgehog Electric , this is the must see list for Christmas lights in Southwestern Utah. See map here for route! Thanks to my sister for finding me these links! I drove by this house the other day but the lights were not on yet... crazy how into the Christmas lights this house has a lot going on... image found here: video There is one newer spot to browse Christmas lights and that is at the new Desert Garden up on Red Hills Parkway next to Pioneer Park aka Dixie Rock! Okay, that's about all I have to say about that. One more thing, The Christmas lights display at Town Square at Main and Tabernacle are awesome... much better than at the Temple. I was a little disappointed with how few lights they had up at the temple... but I guess the temple makes up for it by having a nativity presentation and all those cool things you can do inside the visitor center.... image found here . which brings up a childhood memory. When I was a kid, I lived on t...

First snow this Fall, Jarvis Peak west of St. George, about 10 miles. Nice photo eh?! Photo courtesy Mark Today it was cold outside, burrrr... very cold. We had planned on having a mommy meet up at Firehouse Park but it was much too cold for that. We went inside to the Story Time hour over at St. George Library. Every week the St. George Library has several offerings for Story Time participation. I have only ever attended the Wednesday Story Time with Mrs. Mann. It is held at 10:00, 11:00 and 2:00 for ages 3-5, but I am usually there with my 2 year old and there are a lot of little ones with older siblings as well. Mrs. Mann plays fun music, reads longer stories for those ready to listen, there is usually a theme craft or coloring sheet at the end. It's fun. Mrs. Mann is awesome. She has a special gift interacting with the youngsters. She's a pro! There is also a Monday Story Time with Grandpa Steve 10:00-11:00 for ages 12 and younger. Again, Wednesday Evening Stor...

The City of St George is awesome when it comes to trails, parks, playgrounds and outdoor recreation. In fact, they just received an award for it, a gold medal  to be precise! This is one reason why St George is a great place to live and raise a family. I also like St George because it feels like a small town community even though the population is growing and Washington county is one of the fasting growing counties in the USA. It still has that small town feel to it. Maybe it's because there are several small communities in each little valley between the hills and mountains here. There are several places to take the little ones and little bit older ones to escape from the heat. But probably the best place is in downtown St George next to the Tabernacle. There are no playground toys, but they are not missed at this popular spot. This city block Town Square   is home to the famous Mormon Tabernacle, Children's Museum as well as the St George Library and the Splash Pad....

This is going to have to be an ongoing post... what I mean, is I might have to update it again next year. This is going to be a very big deal this year. My kids have never experienced real American Trick or Treating. I have talked about it, and they have seen it on tv shows over the years and they are very excited. As am I! This is why I wanted to pick a neighborhood that would be awesome for their first experience. Originally, I had planned to spend the weekend with my brother and his family in Spanish Fork, Utah. They live in a neighborhood with about a million kids so it was going to be perfect... but since the flu has affected everyone lately, and since my whole family was sick to death of road trips since we moved back here, we decided to stay in St. George. This posed a problem for me. I didn't know where the best street was. After a quick google search, I found nothing! No one has blogged about this, at least, not in the first three or four pages of a google search. ...

Another kid friendly hike we went on recently was to see the Anasazi Petroglyphs. This is more of a hike for school age kids unless you can find the short cut for younger kids. I only have one toddler, so we used the carrier so the whole family could enjoy this hike. We went on a warm day with the sun shining brightly and the kids were all pretty pooped when we reached the petroglyphs. I would suggest packing a lunch or snack to refresh your energy and then you can stay at the top to explore as long as you like. I will definitely return to this hiking spot when grandparents visit in winter. Plus the view north of Ivins city and Red Mountain is spectacular. Directions can be found   here or here . Photos courtesy of Mark Daams instagram .

Place:  Red Cliffs Desert Reserve aka Turtle Reserve Easy to Moderate Hiking Ability Hi there! I am Melissa Daams aka cUtekittypUnk aka Dixie Kitty! When I originally started this blog it was to record favorite recipes and review new food to me in the Netherlands. I was an American expat living in Eindhoven, Brabant, Nederland (not too far from the Belgium border). I lived there 10+ years. I raised my kids there, having four children, and now suddenly find myself back in the states. Originally I am from St George, Utah, and I was born and raised here until my parents moved our family to Northern Nevada when I was 9 years old. Most of my family and extended family left Southern Utah, and about a year ago 2014, my sister moved back here. Then my husband had enough of the Dutch weather and we are here, too. It sure has changed a lot since I was a kid. My hope is to review some dining establishments in the area and stuff to do for people with small children. So far so...