Summer happenings

-We've been swimming A LOT! I gotta work on my tan a bit so any chance we get to go to the pool, we're there.

-we can finally park in our garage! okay well, we're not suppose to be driving over the sidewalk they poured last week, but it's just sidewalk...it's not like i'm parking on the sidewalk. i'm driving over it.

-my cousin, diane, and i had a girls night out. we went to tony romas for appetizers, then to marble slab for ice cream.

-our phone is finally working! matt suspected it was the peg that the sidewalk formers nailed into the ground and sure enough when they pulled the peg/spike out, the phone started working again.

-we had an overnight trip to calgary. tanner had a dentist appointment (no cavities)

-a trip to the zoo in the blazing hot sun

-me back to work and matt on vacation now

-sleepovers...not me, tanner

-reading (secret daughter and now i'm starting 'the help')

-couch looking (not buying yet. i feel like we have to be in love with it not just like it)

we have my mom coming this weekend and then next weekend matt and tanner are going up to calgary while i stay home to help with the triathlon here in town. our town and the office i work in put it together so i feel a small sense of responsibility to help out. i know i don't have to but i was in it participating last year and this year i didn't train (okay let's be honest, i didn't WANT to do it this year) so i am helping by counting peoples laps in the pool (see, again, working on my tan...lol. it's like my version of sitting at the beach).

we have seen 2 movies, 'the Lincoln lawyer' and 'Arthur'. both were good stories but they did have some language in them. we are taking tanner to see cars 2 this week for our family fun day. he's been wanting to see it for a while. he's seen kung fu panda 2 and mr.poppers penguins while he was in calgary on his summer adventures with my mom and sisters.

matt's mom is coming the first week in august. we are determined to finally go to writing on stone.

what else are you doing this summer?

Carriage ride

I could not stop laughing at this sign every time we passed it. Too funny!




This is the same painting that's in the Cardston Temple where wherever you move, it looks like the Saviors feet follow you. It's really neat at this huge aspect.



The Temple is so small from way up on the top of the Church office building. It is the tallest building downtown.




The top of the Conference Center. See how one side is "prairie" and the other side "mountain"? Kind of cool




Tanner sorting fruit in the "farm" exhibit at the Children's museum. This is very similar to the Science Center in Calgary but somehow more fun.




This was just a cool wheel that I wanted to get a picture of.




Matt and Tanner in the front of the Children's Museum.




This was our splurge for our trip. We decided to do a carriage ride and it was so worth it. We did the Garden Tour one which takes you up into Memory Grove (another place to visit next time) and then back to temple square. It's about a 40-45 minute ride and the driver we had was really good at giving information on the things in Memory grove. It was worth it and if you can afford it, I would recommend it. This particular tour was $60. They have hour long ones for $80 and 30 minute ones for $40.




With Wesson our excellent horse. He has a brother named Smith (no lie, the driver told us this).

We also did lots of visiting and hanging out with my Aunt. We didn't shop too much. We got a little trinket at most of the places we went to. We also went to the Beehive house which I LOVE! It's really a neat place. Matt and Tanner didn't want their picture in front of it...they were hungry for The Lion House Pantry. But we did go there too.

I have to say that they have THE BEST Slurpee flavors there. They had pina colada. It was super yummy. The best Slurpee I've ever had, but they are really expensive. It cost us $4 for 3 Slurpee's (2 small and 1 med). A good deterrent for not buying Slurpee's every day while there.

We also attended a Pioneer day parade (not the main one) that was awesome! It was bigger and better than even the Raymond Parade. We got shirts, candy, free food passes, Frisbees, and bags of peanuts thrown out at us. The floats are much more elaborate as well. It was really good.

We had a wonderful time and it was exactly what we all needed. Thanks for letting me share our vacation pictures will all of you.

Temple Pictures

Since it's the Sabbath, I thought it would be appropriate to post my pictures of the Temple that we took.



Can I just say how difficult it is to get a picture of the Temple and reflection pond with NO people in front of it...it's pretty impossible actually.

So the solution is to tip your camera up so you just get the Temple without the pond. Not the same, but still beautiful.

So the next few pictures...this is a very common place for families and especially missionaries to get their picture taken. There literally was no one close around us so we sadly didn't get a family picture, but we made the best of it and Tanner got his picture taken with both Matt and then I...


Then Matt took one of me, since I am the only one in my family that didn't serve a mission. Amy, Megan, and Melany all have a picture of them on this pedestal in front of the Temple. Now it was MY turn...lol


Matt's "missionary" picture. I love him!


I love to see the temple!










A lot of married couples get their picture taken by these doors (there's a few sets, actually). While we were taking this photo, there was a wedding party just finishing up and when we finished, another wedding was coming over.




Tanner looks so small in comparison to these huge, massive doors.



We were lucky with this one. We asked someone to take a photo of us and he actually took a few pictures. We were very appreciative.




Can you believe that these are still original? So beautiful and intricate.





The view looking upward. So neat!





This was one of several of the same trees on the grounds. It actually provides shade for wedding guests waiting. They're right by the doors that newly married couples come out of the temple.




We drove to South Jordan to attend the Jordan River Temple. This has the most beautiful Celestial Room in it. I loved it more than Cardston. This Temple is different inside in that it has escalators so it kind of feels like a church office building more than a Temple. At least it did to me. All the Temples are beautiful and all have different, unique features. For example, I've been told that Cardston Temple is the only Temple of all the Temples that has dark wood throughout it. It's also the only Temple (so I've been told by someone who works in the Temple) that it's the only one that doesn't have a gate or fence around it. Interesting, huh?







Happy Sabbath and enjoy!

The Conference Center or is it Centre?

There was so much to see here and this was probably my favorite thing we did. The Conference Center is really a great piece of work. It's truly amazing all the details and the art is really beautiful. You could easily spend a couple hours in here but the tour is about 40 minutes. We got there first thing at 9am and so we got a tour on our own because there was no one else there at that time waiting for the tour. It was like our own private tour and it was so great.

Lynn, yes, I have noticed the height of people are now taller too. The Daughter of Utah museum was closed for reno's but I've been in it before and yes I remember how teeny tiny the waists were on the petticoats and how small the shoes were.




Water seems to be a theme on this trip...lol. This was the waterfall in front of the Conference Center. It's really magnificent and starts at the top of the center.





Door 15 is where you go in to have the tour. It's at the front of the building.




Just a picture of Temple Square from above



On the top of the Conference Center, one side represents what the Pioneers first saw when they entered the valley (this side, bush and "prickly's") and the other represents the Mountains. It has lots of evergreens (you'll see a picture of it on Tuesday from way above).




Remember the semi-awkward picture of us in front of a fountain in the first post? This is Tanner in front of it.





Tanner, just hangin' out with President Hinckley. They have all the busts (I believe that's what they're called) of all the prophets. Joseph Smith's is made from his death mask and really shows his gentle, mild character.





Our tour guide said that this was the most recent picture of our dear, sweet prophet. She said it had just gone up that week (we were there on Wednesday...so obviously it's VERY new). I LOVE this picture.





Remember the glass fountain from my first post? This is what it looks like from above.






This is the oldest painting in the conference center. It's, if I remember correctly, 103 years old. Just really amazing to me.





I don't know why my camera didn't flash properly when I took this and another inside picture. But this was the "lighter" one of the two.





They have this hall where they have oil paintings of all the original apostles (the ones that served with Joseph Smith). The one on the bottom right is the Prophets brother, William. If you can click on it and zoom in a bit, you can really see the resemblance of the Smith brothers.


I highly recommend going to the Conference Center if you're ever in Salt Lake. I would love to go again and learn different things.

Pioneer Museum

A handcart that the Pioneers used to cross the plains.




The Wagons are quite large inside. They seem to be deceptively small on t.v.






This is what they used for the Sacrament. I'm glad we don't have to share cups now.





This is a chain that was used when building the Salt Lake Temple. Really amazing when you think of how old the Temple is and realizing that this chain is a hundred years old and the pioneers that we hear about actually touched this.






This use to be on the Cardston Temple. Now it's in the museum. I believe it was the original.





Upstairs they have these displays of all the prophets. This is Joseph Smiths display. It was really neat to be there and see the things that were displayed that he used and a page of the Book of Mormon that he translated. Really special.






This was the original lock and key on Joseph and Emma's Nauvoo Mansion house! Again, really special to see that.






This is Brigham Young's ring. If you can see, there's a beehive etched on it.






Tanner with Moroni...just hangin' out...lol. He was SOOOO excited to see this statue.






This pulpit is NOT made with President Hinckley's walnut tree (do you know the story?) but it IS made with a different walnut tree.




I LOVED this exhibit. It's called "I am a Child of God" exhibit. Lots of fun things to do and see. They even had a mini nursery. This was the "Lehi's Dream" part of the exhibit. Again, it was so much fun!




A different part of the exhibit.





THIS IS President Hinckley Walnut tree. They have the story book that he wrote about it right next to it. If you don't know the story or haven't read or got the book, I highly recommend it. It's a beautiful story and really shows just how much he was involved and had a hand in how the Conference Center turned out.





This was my favorite part. It's a 'Scripture Wall'. Behind each of those book pieces are questions and pictures about their respective book. It's a great teaching tool and really good for all ages. There's some harder questions for older kids on each piece and easier ones for little kids.





This is one of the last remaining ORIGINAL pioneer's home that has been preserved. It is really quite tiny and makes me so grateful that I have the home that I do. Pioneers lived in such small spaces and I think a lot of us have become comfortable with big houses and lots of space. This house had 2 beds in it and shared the same space as the kitchen. If you had to live like this, could you???? If you lived in a house this small with so little belongings, it wouldn't be too hard to pack up your wagon and leave. Now a days, it takes days to pack up our houses.




We then headed over to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for the movie "Joseph Smith:Prophet of the restoration". I believe that's what it's called. That's what the movie is about. It was truly inspirational and really something I will never forget the feeling I left with. It helped my appreciation for Joseph Smith grow even stronger. My testimony of the Prophet has never waivered but it has helped me appreciate what he did even more than before.





Before we saw the movie, we had some time to kill so we ate at "The Nauvoo Cafe". It was really good food. I had a blackened chicken ceasar salad, Matt had a roast beef sandwich and Tanner had a quesidilla. It was really good food and the price was very reasonable.