Spring Has Sprung

On Saturday, Jonathan went to a Big Data Conference in Salt Lake. While he was nerding out, I explored Temple Square and enjoyed the spring weather.

I took a tour of the Conference Center. (Don't worry Mom, I didn't get lost this time!)

Everything was so green and lush. I've really missed this.

The flowers smelled heavenly as I walked around. I love all of the tulips, dafodills, poppies, and English buttons. I told Jonathan when we grow up and have a house we will have all of these wonderful flowers.

You can't see it, but there were people EVERYWHERE! I can't blame them. It was a gorgeous spring day.

 I am so grateful that it's spring!

When I saw the ducks, I thought of Jonathan's brother Thomas. He likes to go duck hunting. These ducks were lucky he wasn't around.

After Jonathan finished up, we did a session in the temple. This was my first time ever in the Salt Lake temple. Jonathan can tell you that I was giddy to be there. It is such a unique experience in this temple because it is live. In the vast majority of temples, there is a combination of video and audio instruction. The video was just recently updated and is amazing, but there is just something about being in a live session. I can't find the words to describe it.

Jonathan was sitting next to a man and shared that it was his first time at a live session. The man said that he almost always goes to a live session and that he hasn't even seen the new movie. He wished he lived closer to a temple that had the video. When Jonathan told me I couldn't believe my ears. From our apartment in Orem to Salt Lake, we pass by 5 temples in the 40 minute drive. Apparently that's just too far away!

Anyway, it was a wonderful experience. I can't wait to go again.

Welcome Home

I haven't been feeling good for the past few days and I just had to get out of the apartment today. I went for a drive wandering the streets of Orem and Provo. As I came up on Provo there was a sign "Provo: Welcome Home". A wave of homesickness came over me. Utah is certainly nice but it's not Roseville. I thought about all of my nieces and nephews there and what they would tell me about. 

Ryan would tell me about how Minecraft works (again).

Tyler would teach me some big words that he knows like stupendous and precipitation.

Kyle would tell me he's not Kyle but one of the Avengers.

Lyla and I would have chips and other snacky foods instead of whatever we were having for dinner. 

Garrett would tell me how doctors are terrible people that give you shots.

Charlotte would show me how she can walk everywhere and now get into cupboards.

I'm so excited that Easter is coming soon. We're planning on spending it in Idaho with Chris's family. It won't be the madness that I miss, but it will be a little bit more like home.

Oquirrh Mountain

For Family Home Evening this week, Jonathan and I went to the Oquirrh Mountain temple. This was our first time being on the temple grounds. We've seen it dozens of times from the freeway, but it's easy to see temples along I-15.

We were there as the sun was setting and so we got to watch the color of the temple change from grey to a warm beige.

Since it was Monday, the gates were locked but we still were able to enjoy being there. I was at first surprised by the number of families there, but then realized that they were doing their own FHEs at the temple as well.

One of the families was a dad with his young teenaged son and daughter. He was asking them questions about ordinances that they have already participated in. It made me think about how we will do very similar things with our kids.

As we were taking pictures, we heard a helicopter. Jonathan quickly recognized that it wasn't just an ordinary one, but an Apache helicopter. I didn't see it at first, so I handed him the camera to get some pictures.

I am so grateful that we have the opportunity to live close to so many temples at this time. As we were looking at schools, a couple of them were 3 hours away from the nearest temple. In Utah, you can drive 3 hours and drive past about a dozen. It is a wonderful reminder to make sure that we go to them, not just to enjoy the grounds but also participate in the ordinances provided inside.

This Weekend

This weekend we have the opportunity to listen to living prophets. In preparation, I'm making a list of questions. I know that they will be answered.

Last Saturday was the General Women's meeting. All women 8 and older were invited to be there. The spirit was just incredible and General Conference is the same way. When we gather together, there is a very real power that comes with it. Here is a snipet from the General Women's meeting.

I invite you to join General Conference. Click here to watch it.