OUR UTAH TRIP

We left for Utah around noon on Saturday.  We went to Boise and filled the car with gas at he Costco there. It was cheaper than Nampa. We had a tailwind all the way to Bountiful and got tremendous gas mileage. Tony was elated. We got to Debbie's between 5:30 & 6.

We played some games with Deb and Danae. Alivia came over in the late evening and she looks fabulous. She is losing weight and she looks amazing. Kudo's to her. Sunday, we went to church  with Deb and Danae. Man, their ward looks like our Stake Conference. Our ward is shrinking like crazy so it was something to be in a ward that size. We were envious. lol Around noon, we drove to Bluffdale . Diane had invited us all out to dinner. Alivia, Danae and Deb took their car and Tony and I drove out in ours. Deb was trying to avoid anyone who was sick because she was having hip surgery in a week. Jess had caught a cold on one of his trips and was on the tail end of it. Deb decided to eat out in her car and she and her girls left immediately after dinner. I took advantage to do the same. I was going to Heather's to spend the night and the following day with her. My poor baby is having a real struggle and I wanted to be with her. Jon had taken the kids swimming so after Tony said hello to Heather, he left and went back to Dianes. Heather and I visited until Jon and the kids came home briefly and then left for his sister's home to have the monthly family dinner. Heather and I continued to visit and she poured her heart out to me. Oh how I wish I could do more than just listen. My heart hurts for her. Once Jon and the kids got home, we all went to bed and Heather and I continued to visit in bed till around 2am. We finally drifted off and started our day on Monday early. I made pancakes for the kids and then we got busy cleaning house. We picked up clothes, did laundry, folded clothes, put them away, cleaned Mara's room and the loft. It took us all day but it was good to be busy. We went to the store and Heather got a few items to make dinner. I went out to check on the kids.

Mara was skating in the driveway.

She posed for me in the grass. 

Sawyer was in the backyard picking weeds so I helped him until Mara came out and told us to come in for dinner. Jon was home and thanked me for helping in the yard. We ate dinner and it was delicious. Heather can cook like no other. I wish I had her talent. 

Tony came to pick me up at 7PM. Jon had been out mowing the lawn  but finished and went for a walk.  I told Heather I wanted to get a picture of her and the kids on the front porch. Jon  came around the corner, so we waited till he got home and took a nice photo. Carol was coming to visit Heather on Tuesday or possibly Wednesday. I told her to stay in touch. I called her Tuesday and she said she had decided to drive to St. George with the kids and stay at her in-laws condo. She didn't want to be home on her anniversary.

Tuesday, we went to Temple Square. We had been able to get tickets to the Visitor Center's tour. We parked in the Nordstrom parking lot below City Creek Mall and walked over to Temple Square.  Part of the square are still sectioned off , as they are still working on the temple but soon it will be open for 6 months for the open house. There are new statues on display on the grounds.  

They were beautiful. The grounds are going to be so wonderful when it is all done. 

We went into the New  Visitor Center and the stature of 

THE LIVING CHRIST 

is now on display with the temple in the window view.

We saw another beautiful statue of the Savior before we took the elevator to the basement to start the tour.

There was also a model of the SLC Temple with a picture of the temple in the background of all the scaffolding around it when it was being strengthened, reinforced and upgraded. We started the tour, which was fantastic! I wished I'd known we could take pictures from the start but I didn't so I missed a picture of the entry to the temple. The church has made this tour with life size rooms of what it's like in a temple. Such a brilliant idea! 

There was a baptismal font on a smaller scale. BUT, it let people know what one looks like and the Sister missionaries explained why we do baptism for our dead ancestors.

They explained that all our font's in the temples are supported by 12 oxen, which symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel.

We went into an endowment room and the stained glass windows were beautiful. 

The sisters explained what we do in an endowment room and explained that the endowment is a gift from God 

We then went into a Celestial room. The furniture, lights, flowers, vases and windows were all gorgeous.

The chandelier was beautiful as they all are in the celestial rooms. 

It was such a wonderful tour and I am so glad that people can see what the inside of a temple looks like and what we do in them.

They also showed us a sealing room and explained how we can seal our ancestors to us through the sealing ordinance. 

After exiting the main part of the tour, there was a BIG model of the SLC Temple and it was cut away showing all the rooms inside. 

It was really cool but I had the hardest time getting in front of it as there were so many people looking at it.  SO there is a bit of a glare and it's hard to see the rooms clearly. But, it was a cool thing to do and we were so happy to have gotten tickets. While we were on the last leg of this visit, I got a call from the dermatologist saying that the spot on my nose that they took the biopsy on is clear!!   YAY!~

GOD IS GOOD!!