Do you ever get "Cabin Fever" in January? For some reason, the calendar changes and come mid month.....I am ready for a vacation to somewhere warmer and sunnier! When the opportunity presented itself last week, I jumped at the chance. Trav had to go to Zion's National Park for work and the kids were off track, so we made a little family trip out of it. In my mind, I thought Zion was the place that would provide me with the warmth and sunshine I was searching for.....little did I know they have had a record winter for snow fall! Once we arrived there, I didn't care though....it was absolutely incredible! My Dad swears he took us there as kids, but I don't remember that at all. To me, it was the first time I had witnessed it. Because we didn't leave til the middle of church to head out, we ended up driving through the park at 11:30 p.m. We had the entire place to ourselves. There wasn't another car in either direction. It was so beautiful! Trav and I kept pointing cool things out to the kids, who were too busy playing their DS's and watching movies from the back seat to really have time to care. We soon realized we had turned in to the parents "who appreciate the beauty and miracle of the Earth around us," and our kids were our former selves! The snow covered the red mountains and seriously sparkled in the moonlight. Trav and I were giddy it was SO cool. If you've never been to Zion's in the winter, you have to go! I was worried that daylight would mess up the feeling we had driving through at night, but it didn't disappoint. It was just as cool. We stayed at a little resort near the East entrance that has a bunch of individual cabins to rent. Julia kept telling us she "loved our new little house!"
We drove through that morning to get to the South Entrance to meet the guy for work, and stopped in spots to get some pictures, before heading off to Vegas to visit our good friends the Pingels!
As for Vegas.....well, that's a story all of it's own, isn't it?!! We thought it would be fun to stay on the strip and let the kids walk around and see some of the cool stuff that goes on! No sooner had we stepped out the door of New York New York......we started telling the kids, "Whatever you do, don't look down!" Within seconds of that we were saying, "Whatever you do, don't look up!" Tyler immediately said, "Mom, if I just close my eyes, will you hold my hand and guide me through then?" Hadn't been there in years, and had forgotten the horrible things there are to see! We dodged in to the M&M store and found some solice there! The kids thought that was worth the trip! We had fun watching the rollercoaster climb the hill right outside our room window. I was dying to ride it, but didn't have any takers, and because of the weird obsession I have about doing things by myself, we all missed out! We had a blast that night catching up with the Pingels though! We LOVE hanging out with them, and everytime we get together, we are able to pick right up where we left off! Thanks guys for letting us invite ourselves over for dinner! Vegas was 53 degrees....and strangely enough, provided the warmth and sunshine needed to feel like the trip was successful!
We drove home the next morning, stopping in St. George for lunch, a little browsing at the outlets and a tradition picture on a bench on the grounds of the temple, before heading home.
My Sis-in-law Heidi hooked us up when we got home, with a fun over-nighter at a Lodge in Bear Lake that she takes care of. Thanks to her beautiful daughter (our niece and babysitter) Megan, we were able to spend time with all of Trav's family for an adults only sleepover Friday night! We had a great time talking, laughing and sharing experiences with eachother. My other sis-in-law planned a great marriage game, in which Trav and I scored 70/70 and became the proud new owners of a Chili's Gift Certificate! (But we're taking the high road and not rubbing it in!)
All in all, our week out of "Dodge" was wonderful.....wish it would have been spread out a little more to enjoy it longer, but we found the sun, enjoyed some beautiful scenery, made awesome memories with family and friends, and lifted our spirits some!
Do you ever get "Cabin Fever" in January? For some reason, the calendar changes and come mid month.....I am ready for a vacation to somewhere warmer and sunnier! When the opportunity presented itself last week, I jumped at the chance. Trav had to go to Zion's National Park for work and the kids were off track, so we made a little family trip out of it. In my mind, I thought Zion was the place that would provide me with the warmth and sunshine I was searching for.....little did I know they have had a record winter for snow fall! Once we arrived there, I didn't care though....it was absolutely incredible! My Dad swears he took us there as kids, but I don't remember that at all. To me, it was the first time I had witnessed it. Because we didn't leave til the middle of church to head out, we ended up driving through the park at 11:30 p.m. We had the entire place to ourselves. There wasn't another car in either direction. It was so beautiful! Trav and I kept pointing cool things out to the kids, who were too busy playing their DS's and watching movies from the back seat to really have time to care. We soon realized we had turned in to the parents "who appreciate the beauty and miracle of the Earth around us," and our kids were our former selves! The snow covered the red mountains and seriously sparkled in the moonlight. Trav and I were giddy it was SO cool. If you've never been to Zion's in the winter, you have to go! I was worried that daylight would mess up the feeling we had driving through at night, but it didn't disappoint. It was just as cool. We stayed at a little resort near the East entrance that has a bunch of individual cabins to rent. Julia kept telling us she "loved our new little house!" 
We drove through that morning to get to the South Entrance to meet the guy for work, and stopped in spots to get some pictures, before heading off to Vegas to visit our good friends the Pingels!
As for Vegas.....well, that's a story all of it's own, isn't it?!! We thought it would be fun to stay on the strip and let the kids walk around and see some of the cool stuff that goes on! No sooner had we stepped out the door of New York New York......we started telling the kids, "Whatever you do, don't look down!" Within seconds of that we were saying, "Whatever you do, don't look up!" Tyler immediately said, "Mom, if I just close my eyes, will you hold my hand and guide me through then?" Hadn't been there in years, and had forgotten the horrible things there are to see! We dodged in to the M&M store and found some solice there! The kids thought that was worth the trip! We had fun watching the rollercoaster climb the hill right outside our room window. I was dying to ride it, but didn't have any takers, and because of the weird obsession I have about doing things by myself, we all missed out! We had a blast that night catching up with the Pingels though! We LOVE hanging out with them, and everytime we get together, we are able to pick right up where we left off! Thanks guys for letting us invite ourselves over for dinner! Vegas was 53 degrees....and strangely enough, provided the warmth and sunshine needed to feel like the trip was successful!
We drove home the next morning, stopping in St. George for lunch, a little browsing at the outlets and a tradition picture on a bench on the grounds of the temple, before heading home.
My Sis-in-law Heidi hooked us up when we got home, with a fun over-nighter at a Lodge in Bear Lake that she takes care of. Thanks to her beautiful daughter (our niece and babysitter) Megan, we were able to spend time with all of Trav's family for an adults only sleepover Friday night! We had a great time talking, laughing and sharing experiences with eachother. My other sis-in-law planned a great marriage game, in which Trav and I scored 70/70 and became the proud new owners of a Chili's Gift Certificate! (But we're taking the high road and not rubbing it in!) 
All in all, our week out of "Dodge" was wonderful.....wish it would have been spread out a little more to enjoy it longer, but we found the sun, enjoyed some beautiful scenery, made awesome memories with family and friends, and lifted our spirits some!
8 comments:
Super jealous of the mini family vacation. Looks like it was so fun! Had a great time at the Lodge with you guys too! Can't wait to do that again!
I am with Julia; I like your new house, too! Super cute! I am glad you had fun! :)
I know that feeling...we had to do the exact same thing!
Way way fun! Sounds like a great time :)
Wow! Sounds like you guys had a lot of fun things to keep you busy. How Fun!
How fun! I have been bugging Josh to take a trip back the January doldrums hit me as well. I loved looking at your pics. I have to agree about the whole Vegas experience though--we had planned to stay there overnight on the way down and on the way back from Disneyland. After staying there on the way down, I was just traumatized enough to make reservations for St. George instead on the way back. Ick! I'm glad you had a wonderful and safe trip.
Goodness gracious girl, in that picture of you and Travis, could you have looked a little more gorgeous. Can't believe how beautiful you are. Sounds like you had a wonderful time with your family and isn't that what life is "really" all about. Loves.
Merinda
You are so lucky! January is the perfect time to get away.
Unfortunatly Vegas has gone back to it's roots, and gotten worse. I went with Emily and my mother-in-law a couple of years ago. When we were walking on the strip I took Emily's hand and told her just to look straight ahead. We still had fun. (when we were inside:)
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