Friday Night Date Night

For our date night last weekend, we went to Temple Square. The temperature was perfect and there really weren't that many people there because of it being a holiday weekend. We didn't walk around everywhere but we did walk all through the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and the gardens near it. We decided to stick to the east end of Temple square since it is often missed by people, including ourselves.
I can't get over how beautiful the flowers were in the center of the lobby in the JSMB.

Someday I will have an SLR camera so I can take better close up photos and all that but what I have does a great job for being point and click.

We went up to the 10th floor where we were able to gaze over the entire campus. The flowers are just incredible. Even petunias look pretty at Temple Square.


I did notice that the windows on the JSMB need to be cleaned. ;-)
There are also 2 baby Peregrine falcons living with their parents atop the JSMB. They were learning to fly the day we were there. There was a lady walking around with a walkie talkie and binoculars. She pointed out the female flying around and the daddy sitting atop one of the spires on the Temple. I wasn't fast enough with the camera to catch them, but the link on there has photos and a webcam that is in their box/nest. It was a really neat experience to see nature thriving in the middle of a city.
One of the things I had never really noticed before is the stature of the woman playing ring-around-the-rosey. I suppose it is one of the often missed beauties at the east end of the sqaure. It really touched my heart this time. The beautiful flowers with so much color while their joyful faces of playing. It was just very heart warming.

The Princess Bride Cookout

We are on the activities committee at church. For our June activity, we decided to have a Princess Bride Cookout. The goal was to have the movie playing while people in the ward got up and acted out the scenes. I know it worked for the sword fight scene between Inigo Montoya and "The Dread Pirate Roberts" but no other scenes were acted out; nevertheless, everyone had a great time.

We had dutch oven chicken with marinara sauce and pasta. We told everyone that costumes were welcome and we had quite a few princesses along with
even a dragon! We had 2 tv's set up with speakers so all in the pavilion could watch and hear the movie. Many of the little children ended up building sand castles in the sand volleyball court.
It was really windy and even rained a bit, but I think it was a huge success!

Happy 4th of July

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, which means, Rick and I had the day off today. We have had a great day and start to the weekend. This morning I made breakfast, then we cleaned up and went out to run errands. On the way home we picked up some lunch then ate it while watching Wimbledon. I have spent some time on my computer and now I am off to play some Guitar Hero. Probably going to hit the pool tomorrow along with a bbq and fireworks with family. What a wonderful time of year.
I want all my friends and family to know how much I appreciate being born at this time and in this country. I know that we are truly blessed to live in America.

HAPPY 4th of JULY!

Our Niece Amy

Rick and I have a niece named Amy who passed away from a blood clot 5 years ago. Her birthday was this past weekend. The last few years we have been going to the cemetery her birthday, usually at the same time as her mom and sisters. It is always a really neat experience. Just a chance to remember her. Actually, I never met her but I do remember when Rick took off work for the funeral. (It was before we were dating but it really struck me and obviously stood out for me.)
This year was a bit different and I don't know why. It is always very peaceful and quiet at the cemetery but this year I felt Amy's spirit as I have never felt it before. It was a calm feeling of reassurance that she is in Heaven and is very happy. It brought tears to my eyes.
I just want all who read this to know, I have a testimony of the after life. We can live with our loved ones for eternity.

Bacon

Today we ate bacon. Yeah I know that sounds lame but for the last few months we have only been eating turkey bacon. Heck it has been for at least 6 months since I last bought real bacon. When Rick first bit into it he said, "Whoa, that's good." I took my first bite and thought...mmmm That is SO good. I think I even let a little "mmm" slip out. It reminded me of this great clip.

mmmm, Bacon!

Baby Katie Turns 1

We were able to celebrate baby Katie's first birthday last week. Not only was all of her dad's family there, (Katie is our niece on Michele's side of the family) all of her mom's family was there too. We always have so much fun with them. We love having such a good relationship with so many wonderful people who truly are family. We had fun eating our bbq food on the picnic blanket, it sure is getting used now, while watching the older girls entertain us. All the while hoping that it wouldn't start raining on us.
The highlight of the night was watching Katie eat her cake. She was a bit apprehensive at first but she did eventually get the hang of it and boy did she have a good time!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

As all in the Salt Lake Valley know, we have been extremely blessed this year to have not only one new Temple but TWO! Talk about an unheard of event. Rick and I were able to visit the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House on Saturday June 6th. It was a wonderful experience.
It is so much like other Temples, in being so incredibly beautiful and yet so different as it has been individualized to reflect the area. I look forward to experiencing the blessing of the Temple there.