148

148 is a pretty big number. Sure there are a lot of bigger numbers, but I would say it is still large. Currently there are 148 temples throughout the entire world. For an added perspective, when my parents were growing up there were 13 temples and only 4 of them were outside of the United States. Now about half of the temples are outside of the United States. The latest one is the Indianapolis, Indiana.

Each temple is truly a House of God. I feel so blessed that I have always lived within a reasonable distance of a temple and now I am spoiled by living around so many. Honestly though, it doesn't matter how near or far a temple is to you. It matters if you take the time to go there. Even if you just spend time on the grounds of the temple, you will feel the spirit there. In the coming months and years there will be hundreds of temples throughout the world, so long as we go to the ones we currently have.

Promontory Summit

At the end of July, Jonathan and I went out to Promontory Summit (also known as the middle of nowhere) where the first Transcontinental Railroad was completed in May of 1869. I have been reading a lot about my Machen family history and my great-great grandparents took the train out to Utah when they emigrated just months after the railroad was completed.

They still have a little bit of railroad track for the replicas of the Central Pacific's Jupiter and the Union Pacific's No. 119. It was interesting to learn that the Jupiter is a wood burning engine while No. 119 is coal burning. Though it makes sense because the Jupiter was coming east from the forests of California while those coming west were struggling enough to find enough wood for the railroad ties.

I've grown up seeing the black and white photo of the two trains meeting, so I was very surprised to see how colorful they are in real life.

As we were leaving, we stumbled upon ATK Aerospace Systems. Jonathan and I both decided we should become rocket scientists so we can work there when we grow up.

It was amazing to see just how large the rocket booster that was used for the space shuttle is! I love all of the different adventures we are able to go on.

Flashback Friday

Jonathan has been backing up all of his pictures and videos to Google Photo over the past few weeks. (It's taking that long because of the thousands and thousands of pictures he has.) Well, after we got our camera Jonathan was practicing at we just so happened to be babysitting Lyla. Google saw the pictures and videos and made this cuteness.

I'm pretty sure this was the summer before her second birthday.

Elder Machen

I have been getting into my family history lately. It is fascinating learning who my ancestors are and their life experiences. One of my favorite things to learn about is my grandpa Machen's mission to Tahiti in the late 1930's. I haven't gotten my hands on his mission journal yet, but the stories I have read so far are wonderful.

This is one of my favorite stories:

"Then there was the time that Neal suddenly became very ill with an attack of kidney stones while he and his companion were laboring on one of the small islands. All of the members of the Church fasted and prayed with him and his companion until he was relieved of his pain and suffering. Those people had a child-like faith in the teachings of the gospel and their humility and sincerity were of lasting influence to the young men who had been sent to work with and teach them."

I can't wait until Jonathan and I have the opportunity to go and visit his mission. I think that there are many people there that still remember him because my grandparents served another mission in Tahiti in the 1980's and there were people that remembered my grandpa from his first mission.

It is such a blessing to me to have these wonderful memories to draw strength from as I face my own challenges. Our ancestors were real people that faced real challenges and we can still learn from them.

A Ty Weekend

A few weeks ago, we were able to spend the weekend with Tyler. It was a lot of fun! We started out at BYU, but apparently all of the cool things don't open until 10am. As we were waiting, we wandered around the library. We went to the map room and looked at a few different globes and maps. Then we stumbled on the 3-D printer and got to watch it print a simple piece. I can't wait to have a 3-D printer! I already have some ideas of what to print!

After the library, we headed to the Erying Science building to look at the crystals they have on display. Ty loved reading the names of them and telling us about which ones he has at home. We also went to the Bean Life Science Museum. He had to look at all of the animals and didn't believe us when we told him they have a liger. The in face do have a liger and it is not a mystical creature that Napoleon Dynamite would have you believe. It is an animal that's father is a lion and mother is a tiger.

Tyler liked knowing what all of the animals names are and he read every single plaque to us.

For being 8 years old, Ty doesn't always act like it. Even when he was a toddler, he preferred eating off of the adult menu rather than the kids menu when we would go out. As an eight year old, one of his favorite things to eat is ribs. He licks the bones clean! 

On Sunday, Tyler came with me to nursery. At first he was pretty bored because I was focused on getting out toys for the kids. After awhile, we started playing catch and some of the kids got really excited and wanted to join in. I had the kids take turns throwing the ball to Tyler. Ty was so patient with them and made sure that anyone who wanted a turn got one. After church, we went to the park so he could really throw the ball.

The thing that I was most excited about was seeing Tyler get interested in our family history. He was so excited to learn about all the famous people we are related to. That is a great place to start! Unfortunately, the weekend went by quickly, but I am so glad that we were able to spend some time with him.

Independence Day

It has become our tradition to spend our Independence Day up in Idaho with my brother's family. This year, my parents and Garrett started their trip in Orem with us. Then we made the drive up to Idaho Falls a few days before the best holiday of the year!

Ruby enjoyed her time in the pool with the big kids, until they started splashing too much.

The morning of the fourth, we headed up to the farm to play and shoot some guns. It was so cute watching the kids drive around. Clara enjoyed being driven around by the boys.

Then the guns came out.

I was very happy that I was able to hit one, especially since I wasn't wearing my glasses! Jonathan fell in love with the 

The kids had to do some more swimming, but this time they could slide into the pool.

We got to our spot to watch the fireworks a bit early, so the kids pretended they were Jedis with glow stick light sabers.

We had great seats for the show, as usual!

I am so grateful for this country and all the wonderful freedoms that so many have sacrificed their lives for.

Clip Board Wall

I have a problem with loose papers taking over my desk. It drives me absolutely crazy! Thanks to browsing on Pinterest, I got the idea of hanging clipboards on the wall to organize the mess.

source

 Before the company I work for moved, they were getting rid of various supplies including clipboards. I grabbed 8 and hung them up on my wall.

I love them! I have everything I need without it being a mess all over my desk.

Manti Temple Pageant

A couple of months ago, Jonathan and I made our way back to Manti. The Manti Temple is by far my favorite pioneer temple. We started our day in the temple. I love how well the interior has been preserved. It truly feels like you are stepping into a different era. Though this time we went into the office and the computers and printers felt out of place. Even though we spent about 3 hours in the temple, we still had a lot of time before the pageant. So, we just enjoyed spending some time together wandering through town.

We still had time, so we got some dinner and got seats. It was so beautiful watching the color of the temple change as the sun was setting.

As it got darker, many of the cast members were wandering through the crowd. One of them stopped and shared a little of his experience of being part of the pageant. He was from the Jordan area, but his grandparents live in Manti. He told us about how amazing was that thousands of people pull together a few weeks every year to do the pageant. There is so much to be done and yet it always gets done. He also told us that the sets they use are also used in the Hill Comorah Pageant in New York.

Finally it was dark enough for the pageant to begin! It was powerful to see so many of the stories that I had heard throughout my life. From Joseph Smith's first vision to the stories in the Book of Mormon to the pioneers making their way to Utah. I am so glad that we took the opportunity to go to the pageant. It was a unique way to experience the coming forth of the Book of Mormon.

A Whole New Blog!

Jonathan and I started a new blog! No need to fear, we are continuing with this one.

I was talking to Jonathan about updating his resume to include his hobby of 3-D animation with the URL of where they can be viewed. I realized after I said that, the bulk of his animations are just on the hard drive and wouldn't be accessible to really anyone but the two of us. I suggested we start a new blog for him to get his work out there for the world (and future employers) to see. I realized that I wanted to be able to share some of my more artistic projects there as well and so that is how Nelson Creations came about.

I'm going to keep a link to it in the side bar for anyone that is interested in our posts there. Honestly, I have no idea of how often there will be new posts there.

What's In A Name?

I want to share the inspiration for the name of our blog, Tea For Two. In middle school and high school I listened to a lot of big band music. Some of my favorite artists are Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald. One of my absolute songs is Tea For Two.

It seriously sounds like Jonathan and me. We are both homebodies and aren't particularly social. (With exception of when we were in the Singles Ward, because you aren't going to meet people if you don't go to the activities.)

One of my favorite stanzas is:

Nobody near us to see us or hear us
No friends or relations on weekend vacations
We won't have it known, dear
That we own a telephone, dear

I treasure our time together and the adventures we are able to share as the two of us.

The stanza that sealed the deal for naming our blog after this song is: 

We will raise a family
A boy for you and a girl for me
Can't you see how happy we will be?

Before we were married, we shared the desire to have a family. I started the blog a few months after we were married and so I felt like this fit perfectly except I love little boys and so the boy is for me and the girl can be for Jonathan. (That's what happens when you have 5 nephews in a row I guess!) Anyway, that's why our blog is named Tea For Two.

My People

These are my people. They are my ancestors that Jonathan and I have taken to the temple.

There are more I have to take and others that I've shared with my parents and siblings. They are very much alive and supporting me. I love the quote they are surrounding. It says "Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. 'Be still' they say. 'Watch and listen you are the result of the love of thousands.'" My mom saw it and knew that I needed it. I won't let them be forgotten and in turn they are watching over me. Sure, they don't change what's going on in my life, but they are cheering me on. They don't forget me.

Tuesdays

Sometimes Tuesdays can be as rough as Mondays...

So take a break and smell the {giant} flowers!

Answers to Life's Questions

Early on in our marriage, Jonathan and I had some big decisions to make. We weren't really sure how to find the answer, so we met with our Bishop. He didn't give us the answer, but he counseled us to go to the temple because we would get our answer there. Sure enough, we got our answer. It was crystal clear and I know it didn't come from me because it wasn't the answer I wanted.

Our first temple.

"Temples are places of personal revelation. When I have been weighed down by a problem or a difficulty, I have gone to the House of the Lord with a prayer in my heart for answers. The answers have come in clear and unmistakable ways."

—Ezra Taft Benson

Our current temple.

We take just about everything to the temple. There is nothing too insignificant that Heavenly Father won't offer guidance. Jonathan regularly takes some time to ponder about his homework and typically he gets insight on something he wasn't totally understanding. There is a clarity in the temple that makes it much easier for us to recognize the answer to whatever questions we have. It truly is the House of the Lord.