5th Anniversary

We spent our anniversary this year in St. George at the Wingate by Wyndham hotel. It was absolutely perfect for us. Nice bed, microwave and fridge, BREAKFAST! yay! Free internet. And the prices were pretty good too. It's also right next to Walmart, which is awesome when you forget to bring stuff a lot.

We drove down on Thursday night and arrived at around 8 pm. This was the actual day of our anniversary so we went out and ate at Chili's. The waitress was so nice! She gave us a complimentary dessert for our anniversary! We were so stuffed we didn't even finish it. That's not like us (me) at all! But it was all delicious!

We went to bed pretty early that night. It is so wonderful to have a few days with just us. There were a few times where I checked for Ryan just out of habit. It was nice to just focus on our relationship and have grandma take care of Ryan.

I slept horribly. The beds were comfortable, but I just couldn't sleep. I think I was sleeping on the wrong side of the bed. Also - I think king size beds are just too big. I like to sleep on the side, but I also like to feel Jared and on a king size bed, that is impossible! I made Jared get up with me at 6:30 am for breakfast, because I couldn't sleep and he was awesome and went with me. :) Then we came back to bed for three hours or so. I got up and played on the internet while Jared slept more. I swear that man can sleep! And we were still exhausted and ready for bed early that night. :)

We finally got ready and left to go out to lunch. We ate at Panda Express and then went to see Inception. I thought it was pretty good. Very interesting concepts! I think I have dreamed I was inside of a dream since seeing it. Or have I? :)

After the movie we went back to our hotel to change into our Sunday clothes so we could go to the temple. I LOVE going to the temple on our anniversary. It just makes it that much more meaningful. It was dark after we got out, but the pictures look okay. :)


After the temple we went to eat at Claim Jumper Steakhouse. I buy Jared frozen entrees for the days that we don't have leftovers. He loves them. He loves them so much he has been dying to go to a Claim Jumper restaurant. We were both disappointed! The atmosphere was not as nice as the prices claimed they should be. Our Steak and Coconut shrimp cost us $27. We just shared a plate because it was so expensive. The options were pretty slim too. The food was okay, but I'm pretty sure that's the last time we will eat there. :)

On our way to St. George we listened to Ender's Game. Since you can't watch movies unless you pay exorbitant prices at the hotel, we listened to the book instead. I think I fell asleep about after 5 minutes. Poor Jared had to sit in bed awake while I was asleep. :) While he was trying to fall asleep I woke up twice freaking out. The first time I just sat straight up, then went back to sleep. The second time I sat up screaming about a bee. Those dreams that you have that are in the exact same room or position you are in are the worst! It was pretty funny though. :)

The next day we checked out and went on our way to Zion National Park. I went there twice in my college years and have been wanting to share it with Jared forever. We went on the hike to Emerald Pools. We took the middle to the upper and then took the lower back. It is a really nice hike. The middle hike is kind of stupid. I would take the lower for sure next time to the upper.

The last time I went on this hike was 5 1/2 years ago when I was not married, never had a baby, and was 20 pounds lighter. Who knew what I thought was an easy hike would be so exhausting! haha. Jared and I were both huffing and puffing for a lot of the way. Once our bodies got used to it, it wasn't so bad. I also came for Spring Break which is much cooler than summer. I wanted to go to the Outlook hike, but we didn't have time and we were both too exhausted. The main reason we didn't was that our camera battery died, and so what's the point if you can't document it!? I was so mad at myself.

Middle Pools

Upper Pools

There is a sign that says no swimming, but there were tons of people swimming. There were also some college boys jumping off that big rock into the water. It was probably under 5 feet there. They were crazy! It was good entertainment during lunch though. :)

This picture is pretty cool. I wanted to climb this rock and it was actually a lot scarier than I thought it would be. I keep forgetting I'm 5 years older! :)

On our way back home, we stopped by the Kolob Canyons Outlook and it was gorgeous. I got back in the car and then remembered I have a camera in my phone! So here are a few pictures, they aren't good quality, but they'll do. I love Southern Utah!

We had so much fun. We love Southern Utah, not so much the heat, but just the beauty. It was nice to reconnect and I can't wait until next year! The next post will be all the pictures my mom sent me to keep us posted. I loved it. :) I think Ryan and Grandma Lisa had fun too. Although, she was very glad to have us come home. haha. Thanks Mom for being here for us so we could go and have some fun.