Temples At My Doorstep!

Alright, enough is enough (before I go on, what is the grammatically correct usage of "alright"? Is it "all right" or "alright"?)

Anyway, I have made a decision...

When I went to the temple for the first time (right before my mission), I wanted to go to every temple in Utah, as there is quite a selection! I actually had a plan to do so but because I did not want to go alone and I could not find someone else who wanted to accompany me, I did not reach that goal...yet. I am proud to say, however, that I did make it to the Salt Lake, Jordan River, and San Diego (one of my absolute favorites!!!) The San Diego opportunity was an amazing pre-mission gift from my brother and sister-in-law. That will forever be a top memory in my mind!

Anyway, this year, I was planning a trip to Brazil to spend a couple of weeks with my brother and his family during Christmas. The plans were almost finalized and I was about to purchase the tickets when I realized that it was a bit more pricey than I expected. :( I am planning a trip to see my sister and her new baby sometime during the fall but told myself that in order to maintain my sanity, I need to do some type of trip before then. Today, the answer just came to me...an extended temple trip!

I know that I can get Logan and Ogden done in the same day and then I can do Bountiful, Salt Lake and Jordan River one day and then Draper and Oquirrh Mountain another day. Then, I can travel to Utah County and do Mt Timpanogos and Provo. Manti and Vernal will be its own day, as will Monticello and St. George. Those four will need a bit more planning and some PTO. Then, I figured once Payson and Brigham City were completed, I could go see those and, once Ogden is finished with the change (which I realize will be in some time), I can visit that one again. I may even extend into Twin Falls, Rexburg and Idaho Falls (maybe Boise) and possibly down into Snowflake, Mesa and Gila Valley (but that is pretty far south). Las Vegas may even fall into the list. Denver (much like the Arizona temples) will require a much bigger commitment, so I'll have to see about that. I know for sure I will see every Utah Temple. Anybody interested in coming with? I do plan on taking a camera to snap shots of the grounds. I can promise a very fun trip!

For those who are interested, I have been able to see Salt Lake, Jordan River, Draper, Oquirrh Mountain, Mt. Timpanogos, Provo, Manti, Bountiful, Ogden, San Diego, Raleigh, Washington DC, Manhattan, Nauvoo, and Madrid. There are many more that I want to see, but this is one instance that requires patience (and a lot of money!) I've got the patience, but the money is lacking.

So there you have it. That is my plan to keep my sanity. I'm very excited!

Hmmmm

So, this was going to be a countdown clock. I got it all set up and put all the information it gave me (that weird looking code that when you paste it in and publish, it makes it look like it should). Anyway, I did that and it posted the weird code instead of the cool picture. I went to delete it and could not figure out how. Anyway, here is one thing that needs to be fixed on Blogger...give me a way to delete a post :)

Family Fiesta

The pictures have arrived! And they are amazing :). This was the first time in 10 years that my family had been all together. It was so much fun having everyone in the same room! The only sad thing was that it was very short-lived, but well-worth the time! Following are some of the other photos that were very well done!

All the siblings

All the grown-up children

This was a lucky picture. The fact that all of us were able to look at the camera and smile while there were 11 little children running around in the background. It turned out great!!

I liked the rustic-looking color!

All my nieces and nephews (minus two, but I know they were both there!)

Like I said, I had an amazing time with all of my family. There is one song with lyrics that really explain they way I felt (and feel) whenever I'm with my family. The singer is obvious, but I'll put the lyrics of the song here:

These are the special times

Times we'll remember.

These are the precious times,

The tender times, we'll hold in our hearts forever.

These are the sweetest times,

These times together.

And through it all one thing will always be true:

The special times are the times [we] share [together].

Family is amazing and there was one week this year when Heaven was on Earth!