My Christmas present to myself.

So I decided that it was finally time to treat myself to a really nice camera. Actually it was a combination birthday present, 'good job in Florida... you've survived' present and Christmas present. So I got myself a Nikon D60 digital SLR camera! I'm so excited to start taking pictures with it... so when I do I'll be sure to share them. (and I'm sure there will be a lot, so this is just a warning)

A wonderful start

So I started out my Christmas break the best way that I know how. I went through the Newport Beach Temple to take out my endowment. It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad that I was able to be there with my parents and brother and sister.

An amazing concert

So the Friday that I got back from Florida, Michelle picked me up from the airport and we went straight to Gilbert for a Jon Schmidt concert. This year Jon was joined by one of his friends Steven Sharp Nelson. He is an amazing cellist. Actually I thought this year was really good to see the way they played off of each other. I think that it actually made for a better concert seeing them play together. It was highly enjoyable. If you ever get the chance to see him (or them together) I would highly recommend it.

Up close and personal....with the aligators.

So now that I'm back home in Phoenix and have time to share some of my adventure. So the second Sunday that I was in Florida I made my way down to Everglades National Park. I enjoyed my drive through the park so much last time that I had to stop and see it. The first place that I went was one of the visitor's centers that is just off the road. This is where I got my first glimpse of an alligator.They were a lot larger than I thought that they would be. Keep in mind though that I have never seen an alligator. I had no problem looking at the alligators from above... little did I know that I would soon be closer than I ever wanted to be to the alligators. So as I continued down the road I made another stop at one entrance to the Everglades National Park. So I decided to get out of the car and take a little walk down the road. Well I didn't get very far down the path when this is what I found. Not only that but there was one of the alligators that wanted to show off. I got close enough to take a picture, but that was close enough for me. I really didn't want to be any closer. As I continued on down the road I got to the main part of the National Park. I stopped at the main visitor's center at the National Park and learned a little bit about the park from the ranger there. I didn't know that there were different sections of the National Park. There are three main sections, and the elevation change between the the three different areas is 4 feet. The pine forest is at the highest level of the National Park. But when I heard pine forest this is not what I imagined. These don't seem like pine trees to me, but they're Everglade pine trees.The other section of the National Park is more what I imagined. Boardwalks over water and grass lands. There are sections were the water is only a few inches deep and other sections where it is really deep. The last part of Everglades National Park is down on the tip of Florida. So the area is more coastal and there are keys. I was actually down at the end of the park by the time it was time for sunset. It was another beautiful sunset in Florida.Overall I'm glad that I've been able to get out and see a little bit of Florida and the alligators.

Key West

So Sundays I don't have to worry about work at all (thank goodness). So Sunday morning I finally got to wake up when I wanted to... no to an alarm. Then I headed off to a local ward here. The Bonita Springs ward... it's not really large, but it was a ward. That's actually one thing that I really like about the church no matter where you go you can find a ward and it's the same as church. After church I decided to take a little drive. Actually it wasn't all that little of a drive. I decided to drive down to Key West. It's about a 5 hour drive, but it was definitely worth it. First I took US-41 west. It travels across the Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park. It was a really cool... and had it not been for the fact that I wanted to get to Key West before the sunset I drove through. (Maybe I'll have to go back to see more.) Then I took US-997 south. It traveled through a whole bunch of nurseries. I think you could probably find any plant you wanted. Then I finally reached US-1. It was only 124 miles to Key West. The drive was actually really cool, but since I was driving I couldn't take very many pictures of the trip down. It's a really cool drive and some day I'll have to go back when I can take more pictures. When I got down to Key West I drove around the island for a little bit until I found a place to park close to the water.The water was that amazing color of blue. It was so pretty.Then I drove around the island some more until I found a parking spot next to a beach that I could walk out onto. I was even able to take a picture of myself (to prove I was there). Thank goodness for the self timer feature on the camera.Then I waited on the beach until the sun almost went down. It was very picturesque. I didn't stay until sunset though, because I had a long drive back.But while I was driving away with Key West and sun in the rear view mirror I decided that I had to stop to take a picture cause it would just be so sad to miss the beautiful colors.The rest of the drive wasn't too bad. A little long, but definitely worth it. I'm so glad that I've have the opportunity to be down in in Florida. Not only for the opportunities that I've had at work, but also for the things that I've been able to see.

Sanibel Island

Thank goodness for Saturdays. After working long hours during the week its nice to get the opportunity to get out and see some of Florida while I'm here. This Saturday I decided to head up the cost to Sanibel Island. It's up north of where I'm staying. One of the reasons that I decided to head up to Sanibel is that there is a lighthouse out at the one end. I originally thought that it would be a larger lighthouse then the one that was there. The lighthouse was actually decorated for Christmas.
Another reason that I wanted to head out to Sanibel was that it's beaches are not only know for their beautiful white sands, but for all the shells that create this sand. It's hard to tell from the picture but there are large sections of the beach that are entirely covered with shells. I spent some time digging around to find some nice ones. It' amazes me how many beautiful shells there are. I would find one that I like... then look around and find one that was even more beautiful. I think that I ended up bringing a handful home with me. It's amazing, because I know they definitely won't be missed off the beach there are so many. I stuck around the beach until sunset. There is something so relaxing to me about the beach. Hearing the waves crash, feeling the sand on my toes, and feeling the warmth of the sun. The weather right now is actually really beautiful... I almost forget that its December! It was so nice to be outside... it didn't really even cool off until when the sun was going down. Well if I'm going to be working so hard during the week, at least I can get outside and see things around me on the weekends. It kind of makes all the hard work worth it.

Zion is beautiful

Saturday we decided to take a little trip out to Zion National Park to go for a hike. It was a beautiful day to be outside hiking. And I love all the red rocks at Zion.

We decided to do the Angel's landing hike at Zions.

I love the view from the hike, plus the hike accross the ridge.

I love hiking with Chris and Rob, because they make it so enjoyable.

Rob looking out over the lay of the land.

The boys at the highest point of the hike.

Chris dangling over the edge of the cliff.

Here's the group at the top... Shelly, Chris, Rob, Melissa & Mark.

I love the craziness...

...That is Thanksgiving!!!

A little football...

A lot of food...

Some craziness...

And tons of family!

So overall Thanksgiving was tons of fun this year.