A Birthday Temple Trip

 Mom's birthday was yesterday and the day that Mom and Dad work at the Temple.  We decided to drive down with them and enjoy Mom's birthday with her in the Temple.  On the way Jake and I were reading Walden...We have got to finish it once and for all!  It is a slow read and it isn't our favorite...which means it is really easy to pick another book to read...But we are finishing it by Friday.  Jake is lucky and he is 50 pages a head of me.  After reading for a few minutes my eyes got very heavy and then I woke up...not sure how long later....When I looked over at Jake he was sleeping too.

  There is just something about this book...

When we got to the temple we dropped Dad off because he had a meeting to get ready for.  Mom, Jake, and I headed to the Temple bookstore.  We tried to take a picture with the Temple in the background but the sun was glaring in their eyes.  I know it shouldn;t laugh at their pain but I just can't help it.

I had them close their eyes as I counted to 3.  On 3 they were supposed to open their eyes.  Jake opened his eyes but forgot to tell the rest of his face to be ready for the picture.

 (At the bookstore Jake found the 2nd book in a series he started and it was only $8 so I couldn't resist. I had to be back to the Temple for 5:00 but Jake didn't have to go in until 6:30 so he read in the car...Guess what he read.  The new book.  As of this morning when I woke up he had been up for an hour and had already read 182 pages of it...but he really should have been reading WALDEN!!!...He did read it today and I told him all other books are off limits until he finishes Walden)

After we checked out the bookstore we took Mom to the Temple but we still had a couple of hours until the Temple was open.  Jake was dying to go to Waffle House and there just happened to be one down the road.  He was one happy camper!

Back at the Temple we tried to take a selfie...

I had more luck taking a picture of Jake.

By the time we were done at the Temple it was dark out and my smart phone is awesome enough to still take great pictures in the dark.

I was out before Jake was taking pictures and got him coming out.

I love the feeling of peace I have when I leave the Temple with.  It is a place where you can totally shut out the stress of the world and clear your mind.  I always feel rejuvenated and ready to face the world when I leave.  I always have a better perspective on what really matters.  I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and I am reminded every time I go to the Temple and leave feeling closer to Him. 

What a way to spend Mom's birthday with her-in The House of the Lord!  I am so grateful for you Mom!  You are an amazing inspiration to our family and we love you!  I am so glad that we are all sealed together so that we can spend eternity as a family.

Our 1st Weekend in Seattle

After a day of traveling all day Friday, and a 3 hour time change we were pretty tired on Saturday. We had a fun day hanging out with Nee and Papa in their cute little apartment, that is just perfect for them. We had fun spending time playing the Wii, making fairy houses, running to a grocery store with tons of candy by the pound, and feeding...oh, I can't remember what we ended up naming him, but Nee and Papa's "pet Squirrel"...Confused? The pictures will make it a little clearer....And you know I took a lot. :)

Craft projects
Feeding...the cute squirrel, whatever his name is...

Nee and Papa working together doing the dishes. On Saturday night a couple from church had gotten tickets for them to go to the Nut Cracker. Our plane tickets were purchased after the Nut Cracker tickets and they hated to back out...We didn't mind them heading out for the evening because 7:00 pm in Seattle was 10:00 pm to us so we headed to bed!

On Sunday we went to church and had fun helping teach Nee's primary class with her. Later that day we went and walked around the Temple grounds and it was beautiful.


Jake said he really felt the Spirit...I could totally tell he did when we passed this statue and he...well, he acted like Jake, and I of course couldn't resist snapping a picture of it. In ten years when he is getting ready to go through the Temple to go on his mission (wow, it just hit me that 10 years is going to go by really fast....) I can show him this picture and remind him even at the tender age of 9 he was able to recognize the Spirit in holy places. :)
We had to prop up the camera and get a shot of all of us. Later in the week Mom and I were able to do a session at the Temple and it is just as gorgeous inside as it is out. I love going to the Temple....
The Stake Center is right next to the Temple and they had over 300 nativities on display, along with different rooms to show the Saviors life. The room these next few pictures were in, depicted His life from birth to Resurrection. It was amazing and a great reminder of Christ's perfect life. Even the children couldn't help but walk quietly through this room and take it all in.



The nativities were beautiful and there was even a living nativity (no animals, just Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus...Since I didn't want to post 100 pictures I decided on this one instead.

Jake's favorite nativity was this one of the Peanuts gang: