Payson Temple Cleansing

The Payson temple is the most recently completed temple in Utah. It will be dedicated in June. They are currently doing the Open House where people are allowed to walk through. We always take the opportunity to take our kids to the beautiful temples before they are closed to the general public.

The Payson temple is amazing. I can't decide which part is my favorite, although I love the stained glass windows throughout the building. The carpet and staircases were awesome and the celestial room was inspiring. Such a lovely, special building.

We happened to arrive at the temple during a storm. A torrential downpour really. I was touched by the dedication of parking attendants as they showed me where to park while they took a shower outside.

Upon arriving, we gave instructions to the troops to go quickly toward the temple, but with the caveat that everyone was guaranteed a good soaking. No lie there. The rain was coming down in sheets and we jumped out of the vehicle and ran for the temple.

Daisy fared the best since she wrapped herself in Tyler's jacket, but the rest of us looked like we had run under a waterfall. Hair was dripping, feet were slippery, glasses were fogged and splattered. But everyone at the temple had a smile for us, and inside we were given a towel to dry our faces. Robyn said, "At least we are nice and clean to enter the temple."

It was actually quite exhilarating to run through the rough weather. It was such a great analogy to come out of the storms of life to the peace and safety of the temple. We were able to view all the lovely rooms and remind our children of the importance of temple ordinances and the sacredness of the family.

And when we left, it had ceased raining. I was thinking we would have to get pictures another day, but we were still able to sneak a few in.

Love my eternal companion. We are going to try and come back soon when the temple opens for patrons. (Thanks for the photo, Robyn.)

Then we came home and warmed our insides with hot chocolate and apple cider. That is an important closer after playing in the rain.

(We missed the video they show at the beginning because we ran to the entrance, but I liked how quickly we were able to go through. It helps with squirmy small children. And in this case, they would have been squirmy, wet children.)

Still the Hope of America

Last year we went to Hope of America for the first time. That was helpful, because I knew exactly what to expect this time around.

Robyn wasn't going over early with someone else, so I made her lunch bag with a flag on it. It wasn't entirely accurate where she would be in the evening, but close enough.

I guess each year it changes where a certain school will be sitting. Thus, the color they wear will also change. I heard that Robyn's school wore yellow last year, but they were in the flag this year wearing white. (Same color as June last year, although different schools.) We are lucky to have had two kids in the flag. There are a LOT of kids outside it wearing yellow.

Here is Mo-mo and Robyn. Cute friends.

I took Robyn early and let Tyler bring the rest of the crew later. Some very kind friends of ours saved seats for us (thank you Taylor's), so we had an excellent view of the flag straight on instead of from the side. Here you can see it before it filled up.

Actually, even though they say everyone has to be there early, they always start late because they are waiting for people to show up and fill in the flag. And if no one comes, they move people around or put t-shirts on the seats for the picture so it looks nice and filled in.

They also have entertainment beforehand. The UVU Green Man Group is always a hit.

My favorite part was watching Robyn through the binoculars. She was clearly thrilled watching them. She would clap almost the whole time and her face was alight with wonder. (I asked her at the end what her favorite part was and she said the Green guys. I told her that I already knew that. I could read it in her eyes.) This picture is kind of blurry, but here is a guy jumping over seven kids. He is right over them.

Robyn wasn't too hard to find. She was right below the blue and she was two seats away from her teacher. Being a larger man (in comparison to all the kids) I could always find him in the crowd and then I only had to look two people down.

Thank goodness, the flag is in place. They are finally ready to get this show rolling.

Over on my side, it was fun to see the show sitting next to June. She performed last year, but she has never been in the audience. She loved watching all the synchronized actions. Like I said before...not difficult actions, but pretty cool when done all together.

This picture is pretty cool. Tyler took a shot through the binoculars.

One of the numbers was the same group of ladies from last year...and I still can't remember their name. But if my mom was right from last year, they are Jeanne Dixon's Golden Girls, ages 52-96.

This lady was clearly in the higher age bracket, but still mighty flexible. Go Grandma!!

Two of the best songs are at the end of the show. During America Rocks, they all wear sunglasses and rock out. Tyler was taking pictures. Clearly, it is hard to tell kids apart from so far away.

Don't worry. He figured out where she was eventually. She's back in center stage.

And of course the last song with all the lights. My favorite.

If I were going to give myself a tip for next year, it would be to park somewhere on campus and nowhere near the Marriott Center. We were too close and it took us forever to get home. For. Ev. Er.

But it is always worth it to see the future Hope of America sing their hearts out.

Softball in the Park

While it may sound like an epic title for an around-the-town folksy novel, "Softball in the Park" is merely an apt description for what we did tonight.

We invited another family, the Waite's, to play a little ball. Many were beginners, so we had some training as we went. But we are proud to say that everyone got a hit!

It wouldn't be Family Home Evening without a song, prayer, scripture, and treat; so we did those up front and quickly moved on to the game.

Who wants to wait until after the game to have treats? We had our ice cream before the game!

Look at her form—both of them! For batters, we talked a lot about "bending your knees," "sticking your bum out," and "swinging level."  For throwing or pitching, we talked about "pointing your toe," and "letting go." 

We had a blast and enjoyed the summer that spring seems to be throwing at us.

Liput Festival

Sorry, I meant tulip.

True to my word, we used our newly acquired membership to Thanksgiving Point and we went up to see the tulips. It was a beautiful day, made even better by the fact that everyone got their chores done before we went. (Saturday is still chore day because I am a mean mom.) The tulips were blooming nicely.

I told everyone to find their favorite flower and I would take a picture of it. I actually took quite a few pictures. 160 pictures. (Luckily Tyler didn't have the camera.) I made a list of my favorite pictures and still had 44. I figured that was a bit much for one blog post, even for me. So I have narrowed our tulip adventure down to 30 pictures--a very difficult task.

We found these cute pink pom-pom flowers right away. Guess whose favorite?

Pearl! Although I really liked these as well.

We saw several varieties of these interesting tulips. We went back and forth between calling them frosted or spikey. What do you think?

Next up...whose favorite?

June!

In general, I don't really like red and hot pink together, but I think it looks lovely here.

Quite the good looking group by the waterfall.

Here's another. Whose favorite?

Ivory!! Although these might be my favorite as well.

We went on a Saturday and there were many booths open with souvenirs, wares, and food. I sent the girls with their own money to buy snacks. I think it was a good experience for them. Yummy.

Not many left to guess from. Whose favorite was this flower?

Robyn! I didn't get a picture of her with the flower. She asked instead for me to take a picture with flowers on all sides of her. (She looks pretty cool...don't you agree?) She took her sketch book along and sketched everywhere we went. She came back with some really fun drawings.

I like when two colors mingle on one flower.

Over in the secret garden, Robyn took a picture for us.

I'm pretty lucky to have this handsome bloke around. (I guess you could say he was my favorite thing there.)

Although there was stiff competition.

I've always liked this fountain. I could spend the day here. You could call me a fountain bum. Oh look...there are some more fountain bums.

Tulips were blooming everywhere (as opposed to other years) but there was one section that didn't seem to be getting enough sun. Look at the very different sides of this fountain.

I don't think the Chinese lanterns were new, but I didn't remember them. The kids loved them. They add such a fun splash of color. And of course, they are ideal for jumping and reaching. Almost there Pearl.

Even June couldn't quite reach even though she is getting taller. She has almost caught up to me, although that isn't saying much. (Height is not one of my great attributes.)

Simple beauty.

There was a place I had never seen before called the Life of Christ Sculpture Garden. It was amazing. There was one huge piece in the middle of Christ walking on the water and then smaller scenes surrounding it. There are my two favorite:

The first vision. (I love how Heavenly Father and Jesus hover above the ground.)

And Lazarus being raised from the dead. You can look at it from every angle, but I love this angle...what Lazarus would have seen.

It is worth going to the gardens just to see that area.

In another area, they had a musician playing...I believe, the accordion. We stopped and listened for a minute. It was a good photo op.

Ivory did a little pose for me. She is not camera shy. (Come to think about it, none of my kids are.)

Tyler and I got a picture up on top of the hill by a pillar, much like another time we were there. Still in love...maybe not as young.

We ended our adventure over by the waterfalls. It was fun to take pictures of the water, but I enjoyed Robyn pondering the water more.

Daisy...we never did get a picture of you by your favorite flowers. I'm not sure you had a favorite. You seemed to love them all. Maybe you liked these Tiger Tulips the best? (That is not their official name. It just seems to fit.)

It was a wonderful day, and I only got sunburned a little. One last selfie as we walk out. Somehow we didn't get any tulips in the picture. Classic.

There you have our Tulip Festival Adventure in 30 pictures.