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4 Seasonal Memories 6 Home Maintenence Spotlight - Rain Gutters 8 Holiday Hotspots 10 Game Night 12 Around Town - St George Children’s Museum 15 Die Hard - a Christmas Movie? 16 Trendy Gifts 17 Star Light, Star Bright 18 Selfies 101
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the Spirit
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Everyone at e h t h it w d e l il f of holidays
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s e i r o m e M Nick Boulton brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the SunWest Management team as our Landscape Coordinator. He is a great resource to have in your back pocket. If you would like help with your yard or have questions about plants (or cinnamon rolls!), Nick would love to connect with you. You can reach Nick at services@swmlife. com or 435-7736456.
By Nick Boulton, SunWest’s Cinnamon Roll Connection! 41 years ago, four women decided to combine their talents and created a show that incorporated Charles Dickens’ vision of Olde England around Christmas and called it the Dickens’ Christmas Festival. One of these women was my Aunt Kathy. They hand-selected each of the vendors that came from various parts of the country to sell all sorts of handmade arts and crafts. Workers and vendors wore old English clothing, and at times even talked with an English accent. It felt as if you were transported into that time period as you walked through the streets browsing all kinds of décor and goods. They even asked my grandfather, Bud, to participate with a booth where he would make and sell his amazing cinnamon rolls. Fast forward to the present day and my Aunt Kathy, Uncle Gary, and now their two daughters, Brittney and Mellissa, are still holding the Dickens Christmas Festival. My dad, brother, sister, and I have also continued the tradition of making
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What I Like mos t about the holidays:
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my grandfather’s delicious cinnamon rolls. To this day, only four people know the original secret family recipe that we use. It’s become a tradition for our family, and as we talk with patrons that visit the Festival, we’ve learned that it’s become a tradition for them and their families as well. We have heard of families driving 12 hours to come to the show, and we have shipped our famous cinnamon rolls as far as Chicago! We now not only sell Cinnamon, but have added several more flavors: Cinnamon Raisin, Caramel Pecan, & Orange Coconut with Craisins are some of the favorite flavors, and every once in a while we will try other flavors such as Maple and Bacon, Apple Cinnamon Fritter, the Sweeney Todd with Raspberry and White Chocolate, the Spicy Todd with
Raspberry, White chocolate and Jalapenos Jelly, the Aloha Bun with Pineapple, Coconut and Coconut Milk. So, if you’re looking for a new family tradition, this might be a great one for you! If you come this year, come by our booth to watch and even try one of our famous cinnamon rolls. Have a happy Christmas!
The Dickens’ Christmas Festival is a unique and unusual entertainment and shopping experience. From dancers, performers, plays of Charles Dickens’ books, to amazing paintings, hand crafted items for all ages, and yummy treats to please everyone. Everyone in your family will enjoy the festival. Bring your young ones to get a picture with the REAL Father Christmas, who will share some of his amazing stories. Southern Utah show: Dec. 1-4, (10am-9pm) Dixie Convention Center Click the links for more content! (1835 Convention Center Dr.)
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Home Maintenance Spotlight
The down & dirty of
Rain Gutters Maintaining your rain gutters and downspouts is crucial for protecting your home and roof from potential water damage. The gutter system controls the flow of rainwater from the rooflines. This protects your home’s roof, walls, foundation and landscape. If debris builds up, it could lead to sagging gutters, mold growth, wet basements, a leaky roof or water damage to the interior or exterior of your home. Gutters filled with debris can also make homes for rodents and other pests. While the biggest culprit of clogged gutters is all the leaves that fall on your roof, your gutters can also become damaged or clogged from bird’s nests, insects, ice, roof grit, and Southern Utah’s good old red dirt. To minimize the risk of damage to you home, it’s a good idea to have your gutters cleaned once or twice a year. If you have pine trees near your home, needles will need to be removed every three months to reduce the potential for clogging the gutters and downspouts. It’s tempting to put off this household chore, as it is a messy job that requires getting on a ladder (they don’t call this season Fall for nothing!), but neglecting gutter maintenance can lead to costly repairs down the line.
SunWest Services is here to help! Let us tackle cleaning your rain gutters so you can focus on the fun of the holidays! Contact us at 435-773-6456 or services@swmlife.com
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Rain Gutter Clean Out The leaves are coming down and clogging rain gutters all over town. Make sure your home is ready to handle whatever the winter has in store by scheduling your gutter cleaning service today! Then sit back and enjoy your holidays without the hassle or risk of dealing with gutters.
Gas Fireplace Cleaning Enhance the warmth of your home. We’ll clean your fireplace’s vents, glass, and logs to ensure your fireplace is in tip-top shape for the coming chilly weather!
Call us for all your home and landscape needs!
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New to the area, or looking for new traditions? There’s a lot to do in St George throughout the holiday season. In no particular order, below are a few of our favorites. Merry Christmas! Christmas Village at Stucki Farms
Nov 26th – Dec 23rd – $$ There are activities for all the family at: Food and Shopping, pictures with Santa or activities with Mrs. Claus, Ice Skating, a Tree Lot and more. Admission is $25-$35/person. See details and ticket info on their website: stgeorgechristmasvillage.com
Christmas Lights Around Town
Throughout December – Free For a free and festive evening, hop in the car and see the decked-out houses around town. HedgeHog Electric usually publishes a map each year with about 20 of the brightest homes. We haven’t seen the 2021 map yet, but here’s the link to their 2020 info and map. Car lines around the homes can be long, but worth it!, so plan accordingly.
Dickens Festival
Dec 1st – Dec 4th – $ The Festival is indoors at the Dixie Center. Tickets are $8-$10/person, children 3 and under are free. You can buy tickets and get a sampling of the shopping and activities on the Dickens’ Festival website. 8 l www.swmlife.com
Tuacahn’s Live Nativity / A Christmas Story
Nov 26th – Dec 23rd - ($$) If you have ever been to Tuacahn, you’ll know tickets for the Live Nativity are well worth $2-$3/person. The Nativity is even great for small children. A Christmas Story is a musical performed in the Indoor Hafen Theatre. Tickets start at $29 and the performance is sure to treat! Here’s the link to Tuacahn’s December 2021 Events.
North Pole Express at Thunder Junction Dec 3rd – Dec 20th (Selective Evenings) – $ During the evenings in December, the train at the Thunder Junction park in Tontaquint is transformed into the Polar Express. Tickets are $7 and limited to 250 each night. So, you’ll want to buy them from the St George Leisure Services Office, at 220 North 200 East, ahead of time. Check out St George City’s webpage for more info.
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Staheli Farms Drive-Thru Light Show
Dec 3rd – Dec 26th – $ Staheli Family Farm hosts a spectacular Holiday Light display featuring thousands of lights illuminating acres of farmland as you drive through in your own vehicle.
What classic holiday programs do you watch every year?
Breakfast with Santa
Dec 11th – $$ The Bloomington Country Club hosts Santa each year for breakfast. Call ahead to RSVP. Additionally, the Club ceremoniously turns on the Christmas lights each year with a party. This year, the ‘Lights On’ party is Thursday, Dec 9th. The lighting activities are free, and you can also RSVP for the special dinner that evening. Check out the Club’s website for more info or they can be reached at (435) 673-4687.
Run Run Reindeer 5k Family Fun Run
Dec 24th – $$ Ivins City hosts an annual fun run on the morning of Christmas Eve. This is a family friendly event, and costs $25-$35/person. If you wear a Santa suit or elf jumper, you won’t be the only one! For event info and registration, check out the Run Run Reindeer page.
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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
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A Charlie Brown Christmas
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A Christmas Story
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Its a Wonderful Life
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Christmas Vacation
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Yule Log
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Other
The Glacier Ice Rink in Cedar City
As temperatures allow – $ Great fun for all ages-whether skating or watching! The rink is outdoors, so dress accordingly. As it is outside, be sure to check their calendar before making the drive to Cedar City: CedarCityGlacier.com
Holiday Lights at Red Hills Desert Garden Through Jan 2nd A wonderland with thousands of holiday lights and displays that are guaranteed to add a little sparkle to the season. Lights are on nightly until 10pm. Learn more.
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of our readers put up their Christmas lights on Thanksgiving weekend 27% are a bit slower and get them up sometime in December www.swmlife.com l 9
It’s Game Night!
Fun Games to play with friends and family As the Event C o o rd i n a t o r for SunWest Management, Casey infuses her creativuty into the activities and events she plans for our communities. She is a former dancer with the Rocky Mountain Repertory Ballet, and loves meeting people and creating friendships. Connect with Casey at caseyr@swmlife. com
“Cards are war, in disguise of a sport.” – Charles Lamb.
By Casey Ritter, SunWest’s Events Superstar There are roughly around 10,000 different card and board games. It can be overwhelming trying to pick one, let alone buy one without having played it. Most weekends, you will find me and my friends playing card games while our kids play at the children’s game table. Let me save you some guesswork; here are a few of our favorite games. Play Nine (The Card Game of Golf ) and Skyjo: These two are the games we play the most. Both are easy to learn and super fun with variable groups. In Play Nine, the goal is to shoot the lowest score by flipping, trading, and collecting cards throughout several rounds. Skyjo is a strategic card game where you aim to manipulate your cards so you have the lowest point total. Karma: This game is simple to learn and perfect for a quick 15 min game. It’s one of my favorites. The more you play, the more fun it becomes. It takes time to learn a winning strategy as to which cards are best to play when. I recommend looking it up on YouTube to learn how to play it as the instructions it comes with are not the greatest. Cover your assets: The game where the goal is to be the first millionaire! Defend your assets with like cards in your hand or Gold or Silver Wild Cards. Easy to learn in just minutes, with layers of strategy for years of fun! Stack pairs of assets to cover your valuables before they are stolen by other players.
Five Crowns: Five Crowns is a five-suited rummy-style card game. Arrange your entire hand into books and runs. The rotating wild card keeps players on their toes! The game begins with three cards, and 3s are wild, the next round has four cards, and 4s are wild, and so on until the Kings go wild! It’s a fun and addictive family game that provides excellent interaction for kids and adults! (1 to 7 players) 10 l www.swmlife.com
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Skull King: A more advanced or trickier card game. It is similar to the card game Spades, Hearts, or Euchre, where players bid on how many tricks they will win each round. While these games share identical foundations, Skull King brings much more to the table, with added layers of strategy and intrigue as well as additional expansion sets. Sequence: Play a card from your hand, place a chip on a corresponding space on the game board. When you have five in a row: it’s a sequence. You can have 2-12 players. It’s easy enough for ages 7 and up to play and challenging enough for adults. Qwixx: This is a great, quick strategy dice game. Just one round of this thrilling game, and you will be caught up in Qwixx fever! Enjoy! You can learn a lot about someone by the way they play games. Hopefully, your friendships and family relationships survive. Click the links for more content!
THE
BUDDY HOLLY STORY
Jun 24 - Aug 13
Nov 25 - Dec 22
Hits for younger kids (3 to 10 years old) Sleeping Queens is my kid’s favorite game. It is entertaining for the entire family. Recommend ages four and up. Use strategy, quick thinking, and a little luck to rouse napping nobles from their slumbers. Play a knight to steal a queen or take a chance on a juggling jester. But watch out for wicked potions and dastardly dragons! The player who wakes the most queens wins. Tenzi: Roll your 10 dice as fast as possible, making the game instantly competitive and fun for the whole family. It helps kids develop prompt and confident number recognition while being extremely fun and simple to play. www.swmlife.com l 11
ST.GEORGE CHILDREN’s
MUSEUM D I S C O V E R I M A G I N E C R E AT E
86 South Main, St. George Utah 84770 435-986-4000 | info@sgchildrensmuseum.org Sonya Darter, sonya@sgchildrensmuseum.org
If you are looking for a delightful place to spend time with your family, grandparents, and children consider the St. George Children’s Museum (SGCM)! This delightful place is custom made for children of all ages to discover, imagine, and create together. They welcome all families and believe in the power of play and exploration to positively influence families. The Museum is located in the heart of downtown St. George, Utah next to Town Square. While in the area, visitors can easily enjoy water play, a picnic in the park, a carousel ride, and the Museum in the same day. SGCM opened its doors in November of 2013 and has since hosted well over 800,000 guests from across the globe. Walk down “Main Street,” visit our dinosaur family, travel to a to a medieval castle, and sing karaoke favorites in our theater! Visitors can explore 12 rooms full of activities and exhibits about favorite topics including construction, transportation, farms, science, theatre, art, and much more! The Museum is accessible to all with an elevator, easy access to parking, and lots of seating for adults! Exhibit rooms include: • Kids at Work: Whether you choose to simulate an earthquake, build a brick structure, or experiment with gravity in a ball maze, there is no question that you’ll find an activity that is right for you in this room!
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• The Farm: Milk a cow, gather eggs, and plant vegetables. After your farm jobs are finished, take a walk into the farmhouse kitchen and prepare a delicious meal. The possibilities are endless! • Transportation: Pilot an airplane or be a travel agent, a master car mechanic at the auto shop, or a junior train engineer. Whatever your fancy, it is an awesome handson learning experience! • Grocery Store: A place for children to shop for groceries with a cart just their size. Do not forget to check the food out at a cashier’s desk! • The Bank: A place to explore a miniature bank with faux checks, dollars, and vaults. You can withdraw money to pay for your groceries at the ATM. • Government Offices: A great opportunity to engage in learning the geography and history of our State and Country! • Theater and Communication: Dress up, dance, sing, or stay behind the scenes and control the stage music and lights in this mini rendition of Southern Utah’s Tuachan. Use this opportunity to experiment with other methods of communication in the newest room! • Prehistoric Place: Take a step back into time when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. Feel and touch the fossils and footprints and even climb on top of a life-sized triceratops! It will be an amazing experience you will never forget full of fun photography backdrops! • A Magic Castle: Dress up in royal clothing, sit on a throne, or battle the dragon in the castle room. This area of the Museum will take you to a land of fairy tales and whimsical imagination. • Desert Discovery: This room depicts the beautiful nature and design found in the deserts of Southern Utah, including native animals and insects. Use the interactive pulley system to haul faux rocks back and forth from across the room. • Sports and Exercise: The eye-play, elliptical, rock wall and basketball exhibits in this room are designed to get your heart pumping! After participating in these games, Click the links for more content!
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head on over to our heart monitor to watch your heart do its thing! I t a h W • Music Room: Discover about t s o m different instruments and Like ays: d i l o ways to create music. h the . s l l . .. e This room will take you The sm s are endless & s t e n i e k to a whole new world c o s iety of esh baked co pping r a v e h T of rhythms, melodies, de, fr , wra d outsi arland & the col rees & pine g th cinnamon vibrations, and sound! i ,t breads ibbon, cider w & games, the • Art Room: Shapes, r s paper & slices, puzzle s, etc. They colors and textures, e orange cents in stor d & new, of l s oh my! Stretch your o holiday mories, both es m i t y p e ap imagination in the Art recall m raditions & h y & l t i d m e Room while mixing and lov ith fa spent w nds. matching colors, creating with frie shapes and much, much more! The sky is the limit here! • Science Discovery Lab: This room is full of scientific explorations. Touch the plasma ball, feel the tornado, or learn how “frozen shadows” work. • Under The Sea: Listen to seagulls as you take a stroll down the boardwalk. Then you’ll lower down into a submarine where you can discover the control board and explore the depths of the sea! There has been an abundance of research around play and its positive effects on early childhood learning and development. In general, research shows strong links between creative play and language, physical, cognitive, and social development. Play is a healthy, essential part of childhood. The SGCM encourages young and old alike to learn through play in our museum. By providing a vibrant, engaging, interactive space, we help to strengthen children and families. The Museum is a space where creativity blooms to help develops confident, informed children who are excited by inquiry and the world around them. For more information visit online at www.sgchildrensmuseum.org or call (435) 986-4000. address is 86 South Main Street, St. George, Utah 84770. See you at the Museum! Parking is free. Admission to the Museum is $5 for ages two and older. There are discounts available for Senior Citizens, EBT card holders, and the Association of Children’s Museum reciprocal members.
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Biology of a Christmas Movie...
EDITION Joseph Brimer is a Resident Specialist at SunWest Management. He relishes being a problem solver, so he’s a perfect fit for the SunWest team! Contact Joseph at josephb@swmlife.com
By Joseph Brimer, SunWest’s Movie Connoisseur There are many, many great Christmas movies that we enjoy watching this time of year. One of my personal favorites, one I always get booed for, is “Die Hard.” I am here to say that “Die Hard” is, in fact, a Christmas movie; and I’ll prove it! What makes up a great holiday movie? Think of the classic ones. Is the holiday season constantly referenced? Music? Genre? What about the plot itself, family and/or romance? Let’s delve into “Die Hard.”
Setting: “Die Hard” takes place on Christmas Eve, in fact it’s built around the characters all participating in a work Christmas party. So far this seems to be right on par with other movies that where the setting is the day(s) leading up to Christmas. I don’t see how this can be disputed. Music: Everyone loves Christmas music which is why they are a part of great movies. “Die Hard” is no exception! From the orchestra playing Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” (a constant in many movies but especially classic Christmas movies) to individual characters humming different Christmas carols, “Die Hard” is full of seasonal cheer. Genre: I know what you’re thinking, “See, genre matters and “Die Hard” doesn’t have a leg to stand on”. Well, you’d be wrong! “Home Alone:” comedy. “While You Were Sleeping:” Romance. “A Christmas Carol:” dare I say, borderline horror. My point is that just because “Die Hard” is an action movie, it shouldn’t be excluded from the classic Christmas movie discussion. Plot: The whole point of the movie is that the main character flies from New York to LA to reconcile his marriage and be with his family for the holidays. There are several rom-coms that use that exact same plot. “Die Hard” is a family movie in the same way that “Deadpool” is a superhero movie, it all depends on how granular you take it. “Die Hard” uses a classic holiday plot - nothing says “I love you” like saving your family from terrorists! I could mic drop here and just end this article, but I have one more point to make. As in all movies, the characters go through a paradigm shift. But something that isn’t considered is the viewer, they’ve also been taken on this journey and they themselves have had a paradigm shift as well. Isn’t that the magical part about Christmas, that it has that effect on us, whether in real life or in movies? With that, I rest my case. Long live the “Die Hard” Christmas movie debate! Click the links for more content!
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Trendy Gifts
With today’s product shortages and lack of digital chips for electronics, it can be hard to find Christmas gifts. More and more people are trending to the idea of giving gifts that create memories and time together, rather than giving the usual gifts of more “stuff.” Use these ideas to find the perfect gift!
Tickets
• Concert • Comedy show • Local playhouse
Gift Cards
• Favorite restaurant • Ice cream joint • Gaming gift cards
Learning Opportunities • Coding classes • Pottery or art studio
Activity Passes • • • • •
Movie theater Museum Fun center Amusement Park Indoor rock-climbing gym
Excursions • • • • • •
Hotel stay Snowboarding or skiing pass Skydiving Hot air balloon ride Zipline adventure Boat or ski-doo rentals
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Star
Light
Star
Bright
By Ron Smith, Planetarium Educator You’ve undoubtedly seen an extremely bright star in the southwest as we go from evening twilight into full darkness. It’s not a star, but Venus, the brightest appearing planet in our night sky. Astronomers have long referred to Venus as our earth’s sister planet. Both planets have the same diameter. Both have a similar composition of rock and metal. Both planets have a similar distance from the sun. Earth lies 93 million miles away. Venus lies closer to the sun at 67 million miles away. By being closer to the sun than earth, astronomers once speculated that Venus might be a warmer, somewhat tropical version of earth. It’s blanketed by a thick cloud layer. If those clouds consist of water, like clouds on earth, maybe Venus is some kind of hot, steamy, tropical world. In the 1960s, a young astronomer named Carl Sagan analyzed the spectrum of the atmosphere of Venus. He found no evidence of water vapor. He only found carbon dioxide. In the 1970s, numerous spacecraft flew past Venus. They confirmed Carl Sagan’s research. Venus had a thick, carbon dioxide atmosphere that produces an incredibly intense greenhouse effect. The average temperature on the surface of Venus is 900 degrees Fahrenheit. The clouds are not droplets of water, but droplets of sulfuric acid. As Carl Sagan once said, if Venus is our sister planet, it’s our twin sister from hell. During the month of December and in early January, be sure to look toward the southwest in the early evening. You’ll be dazzled by our sister planet’s brightness and how it adds dazzling beauty into our twilight sky. Ron Smith’s teaching and lecturing career began at age 9 when his farther took him to see a planetarium show at the Griffith Observatory. Ten years later Ron’s dream came true when he began giving planetarium shows at Griffith while pursing an astronomy degree at the University of Southern California. After graduating from USC, Ron began his 34 year teaching career in the California Community College system. He first directed the Tessmann Planetarium at Santa Ana College, then two years later, became a professor of astronomy at Santa Monica College. In 1984 he left Southern California and taught for 18 years at Santa Rosa Junior College. There he produced planetarium programs for the college star theater, and taught astronomy, meteorology, and earth science. Ron considers himself to be a planetarium educator. In retirement, Ron continues to enjoy sharing his love of science with audiences at SunRiver, Dixie State University, and the Kayenta Center for the Performing Arts. Click the links for more content!
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Diana Juarez has 10 years of hospitality management experience, and it shows here in her work for SunWest. Her amazing sense of humor and passion to resolve any issue makes her a favorite with our clients. Reach Diana at dianaj@swmlife.com
Taking a selfie is what many people think is a necessary form of documentation when having a good time. In the past, I was not one of those people. Seeing a person take a picture of themselves used to make me cringe. In my mind, that was on the high spectrum of narcissism. While this may not be far from the truth for some people, I have learned there is value in taking a picture of yourself to enshrine a wonderful time or feeling.
Recently, while visiting a friend in Georgia, we noted how much fun we’ve had on previous trips, but we didn’t have any pictures to commemorate them. This was mainly due to me constantly saying, “no pictures, please.” I decided to make sure this visit was different; not only did we take an overkill of pictures, but we also went to a selfie museum. Though it was not an educational museum in the academic sense, I learned a lot. I had fun with my friend doing something she loves: taking pictures of ourselves. I learned that taking pictures of yourself because you feel cute should not be labeled as ostentatious. Now, I get to look back at the pictures and remember these beautiful shenanigans with my friend, all because somebody a long time ago said, ‘Let’s take a selfie.’
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Eight Great Reasons to Take a Selfie!
What
• A positive part of discovering your identity. I Like mos t • It can be something for yourself, create an at-home album of about the holidays: selfies with your cherished ones. • Empowering, because you take it when you usually feel and T decoratio he look your best. ns. It’s alw a nice whe • It helps you look back on memories of certain times. n you see ys so h o or your c • If no one else takes pictures of you, you can do it yourself. ity glowin mes g with decorativ • Great way to landmark yourself in case you go missing. e lights • You are in control of how you look and the angle of the picture. • Lastly, you don’t need a reason to take a selfie. Just go for it!
Perfect Selfie Spots in St George! • All the beautiful holiday decorated homes. • Restaurants with views or decorations like Cliffside, Feel Love Coffee in Ancestor Square, Ash Wood Rye, Crimson Corner Cafe, and River Rock Roasting in Hurricane • Temple grounds - once done with the construction - the rose bushes do wonders to your face as a backdrop • Scout Cave - hike with a beautiful view • Kayenta Art village • On the wall of Urban Renewal - look for the beautiful trellis with benches along Main Street • Mural Painting on St. George Art Museum • Tuacahn Amphitheater - It looks spectacular when you take the picture from one end of the water walkway • Seegmiller historic farm - old tractors give you a rustic selfie • On the golf course
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