What I learned during my Christmas vacation

I love Christmas.  I love family.  I love vacation.  I love travel.  All of these things together is just wonderful!  It was a special and unique Christmas - just me and the parents and St. George, celebrating like it was 1979!  :)  I'm grateful.  They are pretty great and it was lots of fun and relaxation.

Here are a few things I learned during my Christmas vacation:

• It's okay to work late and stop and stay at your sister's for Christmas Eve Eve, in fact, quite fun!  Happy Birthday, Joseph Smith!  
• Utah is BEAUTIFUL!  I really love driving across the state in the daylight and sunshine....and have you seen the Payson Temple?  Beautiful!
• Hiking, even in the cold and with a cold and especially in Zions National Park, does a body good!
• I think one of my favorite hikes of all time is Observation Point at Zion.  It's enchanting with the fall leaves in bloom and on Christmas Eve with a dusting of snow....and don't miss the cool nativity set across the canyon on the other mesa.
• You can only be in one place to see the sunset on a given day.  There are lots of great options.  Choose where you want to be and be ready!  :)
• It's good to relax and sleep and play (games, movies, talking) and exercise.
• It's good to spend time with family members, one-on-one.
• It's important to use our time well and to have goals and to keep a journal.
• It's good to spend time at the temple.  I really love the St. George Temple - its historic significance and beauty and the chances I've had to attend and feel the spirit there.  I'm reminded after my visit this time of how beautiful Heavenly Father's plan is and what a blessing it is to be a part of His work.  I think it's remarkable that there is always someone ready to step in and keep doing His work.  We help and serve and bless each other as we serve Him and are ready to step in.  :) 
• Snow Canyon is another pretty great place.  The world is beautiful!  It's good to explore and enjoy and appreciate.
• I'm grateful for weather reports and how they help us plan to avoid dangers, like snow.  :)  Again, Utah is a beautiful place - it was a whole new view a few days later....everything was WHITE!  Watching the sun set out my back window, I felt like I was driving out of the sunshine corner of the world into a beautiful snow globe.  Pretty neat!
• Even after Christmas is over, Temple Square is still magical #becauseofHim #HeistheGift !

Merry Christmas!