New Years

We took a super fun New Years road trip with Melissa and Justin Schmidt. We headed down to Zion National Park and St. George for a couple days. It was perfect! The company was great, the weather was gorgeous, and the vacation was the perfect way to end the holiday season.

We stayed the first night in a hotel just outside of Zion National Park. We went into the park the night we got into town and the next day. We did a couple hikes that were pretty fun. It was lovely. It is amazing that just a short drive can get us to such different scenery! The rock formations you can find down there are really something! We had a lot of laughs and adventures! 

~Justin and Melissa~

~Jumping off a cliff while the boys hold up the rock~

~Beautiful lookout we hiked too~

~Bryce the rock climber~

~Going back into the park~

~Being silly in the car~

~Weeping rock~

~Where is Bryce?~

After exploring Zion for bit we headed to St. George. We stayed in a nice little condo. The night we got into St. George was New Years Eve. We went out to dinner at Olive Garden and rang in the new year watching The Work and The Glory on TV. Justin was a bit disgusted at our choice of party movie but it was fun nonetheless! We popped streamers and watched the ball drop on TV right when it turned midnight so we felt we gave 2011 a proper send off and 2012 a proper welcome :)

New years day was Sunday. We went to a sacrament meeting in town then Bryce and I headed home for a Sunday nap. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the nice weather and playing games. The condo we stayed in was part of a sports complex so there was plenty to do! We played tennis, pool, ping-pong, foosball, basketball, shuffle board, and attempted to hot tub (I was too cold so we headed back to the condo). It was great! We all said how we have never played such a variety of games all in one day!

On Monday morning we woke up and headed the the St. George temple. Thankfully, that temple is open on Mondays for a half day. We were so glad! That temple is such a beautiful one and none of us had ever attended it. We did a session and it was just wonderful. I felt overwhelmed by the spirit as I finished up and met Bryce in the Celestial room. I am thankful to be a member of the church and be able to have faith building experiences like that one!
 

~In front of the temple~

~A beautiful temple on a beautiful day!~

This was a wonderful little trip! Melissa and Justin were so much fun! We had a lot of good laughs and made some good memories. We appreciate their friendship and were glad we chose to spend the holiday with them!

2011, you were good to us. Thank you!!
2012, welcome! We look forward to a great year!