The best thing we have in life are relationships. We're so grateful for amazing friends, who traveled to Iceland, in December/January, to spend the New Year with us. WOW, that is what TRUE friends do.
Are you ready for some pictures of pure beauty, fun, and greatness? If so, scroll down and enjoy!
Here are our favorite doors in Iceland. Open up, please, and give us our friends!
Jerry and Ellen Sweat from Pleasant Grove, Utah and Lamar and Jill Carroll from Delta, Utah
Oh girlfriends, you are SOOOOO cute!
Ah, we love you friends. Thank you for traveling to Iceland to spend New Years Eve with us. As an FYI, us three couples have brought in the New Year together since 1980. When we told them last year, 2015/2016, that we would really miss being with them next year, they said . . . NO YOU WON'T, WE ARE COMING TO PARTY WITH YOU IN ICELAND.
Ha, this was the best picture ever. I took it from the 'middle seat' in the van. Terry couldn't get his debit card to work to get us out of the airport parking lot, so all three of the guys hopped out to figure it out. Three heads are better than one, right? Especially when you're reading Icelandic :)
First stop, as always, Blue Lagoon. Since the island had been having gale force winds, it was a real treat this day. Body surfing was possible, a face massage from hail, blowing snow, and frozen rain. Since the water was so nice and warm/hot, we just kind of hung out where we could get a little protection. It was a true introduction to Iceland. After two hours, the girls got out and left the guys still soaking, they were LOVING it.
Now, there is triple trouble. P.S. The 'real' vikings did not have horns on their helmets when they went in to battle.
We had the opportunity of celebrating Ellen's big '60' with her. Yes, a good time was had by all.
Trolls and the Little People are a big deal in Iceland. Us girls found a cute troll friend, Jill wanted to take him home with her.
The city center downtown has an ice skating rink. It was fun watching the children balance themselves with their red skating helper.
The guys witnessed a young man trying to impress his girlfriend with his skating skills, until he flew through the air and body planted himself in to the ice. . . . twice.
It was was so pretty, almost magical, walking downtown.
Jetlag is always hard, wake up Lamar or you won't sleep tonight :)
As always, the big church is beautiful. It's a little hard to get a picture when you have to stand in the middle of the road and hope no cars turn the corner though.
Jill and I walked ahead, the other four stayed behind, took some pictures, and enjoyed the moment.
Yup, Jill is a cutie!
Totally LOVE seeing my guy laugh. Jerry is the 'best medicine' a friend could ever have.
In the meantime, us girls always enjoy watching the guys laugh and tell stories. Jerry's stories are usually BIGGER, BETTER, and for sure FUNNIER than anyone else's.
Here it is . . . the BIG New Year's Eve celebration we've heard so much about. IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT! After it was all said and done, Jerry asked if we could book the same AirBnB next year and come back. IT WAS TOTLLY AWESOME!
Traditionally Icelanders start the evening with a festive family dinner, followed by a trip to a local bonfire (brenna) where they meet up and celebrate with neighbors. From around 10:30 to 11:35 the city streets go remarkably quite as a whopping 90% of the nation gather around their TV sets to watch Áramótaskaup – or the annual New Year’s Eve Ridicule (a comedy show broadcast by the national television channel, summing-up the major news stories and events of the year).
At 11:35 a brilliant display of fireworks is unleashed as 200,000 people (approximately the population of Reykjavík) set off around 500 tons of fireworks. They can’t wait for midnight and start shooting ‘em up as soon as Áramótaskaup is finished.
The amazing show is about 35-45 minutes long. Every home and apartment all around is literally lighting fireworks, it's like you're in the middle of a war zone.
We all agreed, the 4th of July celebration in the U.S. with their firework shows, will NEVER top what we experienced here in Iceland.
It is a family affair, everyone out in the streets laughing, talking, and running from the most recent box of explosions.
I told Jill to smile, that I was going to get a clever picture of her with the fireworks going off in the background. It kind of worked . . .
Just absolutely beautiful and amazing!
Happy New Year 2017. The year 2016, the year of Iceland, Family Search, miracles, and hearts stuffed full of precious memories, will forever be at the top of the 'favorite' list.
Thank you friends for traveling to Iceland to keep our tradition alive. We love each of you so very much! May each of you have a very blessed and Happy 2017!
The best EVER place to start the New Year is in Church, with great friends, and with our Savior Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for Him, and his presence by our side, always. I know that he knows our name. I know that he loves and cares for each of us so very much. He is the light of the world. It is because of him that we have the gift of eternal life with our families and those we love and hold most dear.
Now we are off to an Ice Cave Adventure! Well, we thought we were . . . until we left our apartment early Monday morning and found the van our dear friend Gummi had 'loaned' us while our friends were in town. Ugh, the front end was smashed and not drive-able. OUCH!!! At 3:30 a.m. Gummi was informed via the police his van had been in a hit and run accident.
The hit and run vehicle jumped the curb (about 20 feet), hit the little trailer, then the van, which then shoved over two parking spaces, which hit another parked car.
The little trailer was full of toys, which were spread all over ground. What a sad mess. The driver left his car at the scene and left on foot. WOWSER!
Gummi said the new year had 'started off with a bang, no worries, stuff happens'. Bless you, Gummi!
We traveled from Reykjavik, heading south, for about a six hour drive. There were 12 total on the tour, us three party animals, Gummi and Vala, and two other senior couple missionaries, Larry and Christine Michelsen from Missouri and Zeno and Teresa Pfau from Tucson, Arizona.
We had a final destination, but was in no hurry. Gummi knew every stop and detour to take, and was loaded with stories and history to share.
Vala had made lots of homemade snacks and food, and was the perfect host.
Below are several pictures of our three day bus tour with http://www.gtice.is/ and Gummi and his adorable wife, Vala.
True, Iceland is cold in the winter, but has to be if you want to see something as beautiful as this.
How about this . . . simply beautiful!
It just never stops, take it all in. Look at the color in the sky, the water, the green moss, the dark rocks, and the white snow. God is a talented artist.
Night picture! A beautiful waterfall along the way that someone place a light to shine on it. Keep in mind, the sunrise is around 11:00 a.m. and the sunset is before 4:00. So with just a little under five hours of daylight, the Icelanders have to be clever of how they can show of their natural beauty.
This was our sweet ride to the ice caves. Our young tour guide, Aaron, was adorable. He was born and raised in the area and literally LOVES the glaciers, volcanos, and all Mother Nature offers to create the beauty to behold.
Here is a snow covered glacier, and FYI, yes, there is a volcano below, rumbling.
Preparing for the tour . . .
Everyone needs the right gear, a buddy, and a smile to make the day just perfect.
Who would ever think to build a beautiful hotel out in the middle of literally nowhere? I'm certain my ancestors would have LOVED to stay in our nice room, comfy bed, and have a warm shower.
More beauty along the way.
More of the glacier in the picture above and below.
We have arrived, and it's time for everyone to put their crampons over their boots. The crampons have big spikes on the bottom and when you walk, you step extra hard on the ice and it holds you up safe with no slipping or sliding. Aaron checked to make certain everyone had them on spike side down, otherwise, he said you have just clipped on a pair of ice skates. YIKES! We all passed :)
These two are ready and waiting . . .
Here we are, we made it, inside a nature made ice cave. Just two days earlier this cave was closed down because there had been a rain storm, which melted some of the glacier, which created a huge flowing river through the cave. We were blessed with a sunny day, no wind, no water, just pure beauty!
It was SO amazing. When I looked around, it kind of looked like everyone was inside an aquarium. It was so blue, peaceful, and not very cold. Notice the white frost line, that is how high the water was flowing through just two days before.
The opening to the cave was really big. We were told the caves on the inside and out change constantly, and sometimes you have to crawl through a small opening to get inside. It was our lucky day all the way around.
Just another view of the opening with a few random pictures below.
Now tell me, does it not look like we're standing in an aquarium? We didn't see any fish though :)
Take a look at that . . . this young man from Holland got down on one knee and said 'will you marry me'. He then put the ring on her finger, and everyone cheered.
Lamar gave me a hug and told me thanks for bringing him to the ice caves.
Elder and Sister Michaelsen loved their ice cave tour as well. She always brings the best treats on our adventures and he is pleasant, happy, and fun.
This picture doesn't do justice for what was trying to capture. To get to and from the ice cave, we had to walk over a field of ice that was at least 10 feet deep, maybe more. It was SO clear, you could see swirls and swirls of frozen water patterns that were very cool. I had Terry put his foot in the picture to give it a little perspective. Also, can you see the little chips in the ice? They are from the spikes in the crampons. AMAZING!
Now on to a few glacier lagoons and a black sand beach covered with Diamonds....well it looked like Diamonds. Actually ice chunks brought in by the tide.
It is dark again, yet Gummi still stopped and shared with us one of his favorite old churches. He had the complete story of what families had lived in the area, we walked through the cemetery via cell phone flashlight power, and saw the graves of these precious people.
It's the morning of day three, and we're off to see more beauty. Look at this mountain and all frozen water hanging from it. Can you imagine what it looks like in the summer when it's not frozen. GREEN and waterfalls everywhere.
W
WOW....look at that backdrop.
The dark lines in the ice, breaking off from the glacier, is ash from years past.
Vala told me to look at the woman, with the blue head and beautiful scarf around her neck. I immediately saw what she was talking about. Terry said, THERE'S A LADY OUT THERE!
Really . . . we are here . . . WOW!
The cute Michaelsens
Terry said 'smile cutie'. . . . ahhh, he got me :)
One last look . . . see the people on the left corner of the picture . . puts in to perspective how enormous the glacier field is.
Just another waterfall. Our son Tyler is certain we have found and taken a picture of every waterfall in Iceland. Not even close. There are thousands of them, and each of is unique and beautiful.
Left side of the black sand beach...
Ride side of the black sand beach
A beautiful picture of a church at the top of the hill in the little village of Vik, that can be seen from the beach.
The picture does not do justice for the wall of pillars and columns you pass as you walk to the beach.
There is a cave that you usually can't go in to, because the water/waves will literally swipe you away. There are warning signs everywhere to watch out for the horrendous waves. However, the tide was really low and we got a picture . . we were told this was not common.
Whew, we made it home to Reykjavik safe and sound. Jerry and Lamar wanted to try whale steak, which we confirmed they would love. So we saved the last night for this great experience and invited our friends Olafur and Bjork to come with us. Sadly, Lamar took a tumble on our way home and bruised a few ribs. He stayed home to rest and the rest of us loved our whale steak dinner. Well, not Jill. She didn't try it, but she loved her Is (ice cream) treat after dinner.
Somehow this is the only picture I got of Elder and Sister Pfau. What fun they were to have on the trip. Just like I said in the beginning, this life is about relationships. Making them, keeping them, respecting them, and treasuring them.
How would you like to be the farmer and his family who live out in the middle of nowhere, on the south coast of Iceland, surrounded by this beauty? Priceless!
Yup, there I am again. Smile, be happy. Life is good!
Jerry and Ellen above and Jill and Ellen below, taken at our beautiful little chapel in Reykjavik.
The beautiful Icelandic flag flying in the wind at the Thingveller National Park. We had a beautiful crispy walk and enjoyed every moment.
http://www.thingvellir.is/english.aspx
Oh Lamar, you should have bought the hat. It looks REALLY good on you.
Of course, our trip wasn't complete until our friends saw where we have been hanging out the past year. They asked if they could see our office, we got permission to bring them in, and they had a zillion questions about our project. They actually thought it was amazing what we have been doing, they saw a few books that were two or three hundred years old, asked a million questions, and made us feel warm, happy, and special inside.
This is my last post coming from Iceland. We leave in just eight days, for home, to Spanish Fork, Utah. It's hard to believe the year is spent. SO MUCH has happened. Miracle after miracle. Our hearts and minds are stuffed with precious memories. Now it's time to pack our bags and head home soon to be with our family, friends, business partners, and those we've missed.
Our advice to others. DO IT! Step out of your comfort zone. Always remember just when you think you are going to give of yourself and sacrifice for someone else, YOU are the ones blessed beyond measure.
Now, BRING ON THE GRANDKIDS. We've missed those 23 little faces, their hugs, their kisses, and yes, even their messes. We really miss their parents, our five children. We're so proud of them, how they have watched over and taken care of each other and their Grandmother. We can't wait to see Grandma Great, Terry's mother. She turned 88 while we were here, and she is beyond excited to have her little boy home again. My first goal is to convince our little great granddaughter, Ember, that I'm her best friend :)
May our loving Heavenly Father bless each of you as you love, serve, and care for His children. Thank you for your prayers of support and comfort. We have felt them, they have meant so much to us.
Bless, bless (goodbye in Icelandic),
Elder and Sister Shepherd aka Terry & Lil
