Lights at Temple Square

Completely loved being there for the lighting ceremony at Temple Square tonight. Fun spending time with Grandma Karla, Ryler, the Davis' plus one (Cambrie), Jake & Kensie and even Daron & the kids for a few minutes. Amazing colors & a sweet spirit! 🎄

mtseamonsfam Enjoying the Nativity at Temple Square with my family. So beautiful!
crumra53 Sorry to have missed it.You're such a beautiful family

One last one because we love the lights!!!!

Taking Names to the Temple

EARLY this morning, Liberty drove us to Billings for a Ward Temple trip. It was just a special date with Mom & daughter. {Justice had last football game and Brett stayed to support him} Liberty drove the WHOLE way there and back. She's getting to be a really great driver. 

This was our first time taking our own names to the temple. When doing our genealogy, we came across a family that needs some temple work done. Samuel Bower (born 1845) & Mary Ann Pidcock and their 10 children haven't been sealed as family yet. Some need baptisms, some need initiatories and some just need the endowment. Then Brett & I can take them & seal them all together forever. I'm so excited!

Liberty was able to baptize the rest of the girls & I did some Initiatory work for several of the women. 

 What a special day to be with Liberty in the Temple!

I made Liberty's day by taking her to Barnes & Noble. She LOVES books! We bought some books and ate some lunch at their Cafe. Good times!

Brigham City Temple

The girls & I stopped by the Brigham City Temple on our way home from UT. (Yeah! Another temple to add to the side of our Blog!!!) It was beautiful!

We also walked across the street to check out the old Tabernacle. It is old & has gorgeous brick and windows! The girls found a little bat. Crazy!

Temple Trip Billings: Baptisms & Babysitting

 It was our Stake Temple trip this weekend. We were lucky enough to participate again with the youth while they did Baptisms. We had a lot of youth come from our ward. Very special!

Then we headed to the Stake Center to help out with babysitting. The Stake Primary this time had lots of activities. They played BBall, 4-square, watched movies, had snacks, did art projects, and I took the littles on a nature walk. Fun & crazy times!

Denver Temple

Brett spent the week in Denver for work. But he also got to take some time and go to the Denver Temple. I'm glad he can do those things when he travels. 

Zach & Taylor Rasmussen's Wedding

The Rasmussen's wedding was the highlight (and main purpose) for our trip this week. Zach & Taylor got married in the Payson UT Temple this afternoon. They are so cute together! They make a beautiful couple. The sealer was pretty hilarious and also had lots of good advise for them. We really appreciate their righteous examples to us and our kids. It was so special to be there with them today as they got sealed.

They had a late luncheon and then reception on the 3rd floor of this building in Lindon, UT. Shauna made their cake. Everything was quite beautiful!

Of course, when the Rasmussens are involved- silliness is a given! LOL It was a long day so by the end- things became delirious. Fun times!

P.S. Brett & the kids (as well as the groomsmen) decorated their car. It's quite a tradition that they have. Lots of fun! Justice wanted a Sprite bottle to be taped to the top. Too funny!

Like Mother like Son

Today in the wedding chaos, kids were coming in & out of the Payson Temple several times. On one of those trips inside, Justice yanked on the door handle and it came off.  (Well- half of it came off. Then he told the desk and they came and took it off the rest of the way) Ooops!

Well... what makes it most memorable is that his Mom did the same thing 20 years ago!!! LOL 

On our wedding day in 1996 while we were taking pictures on the steps of the Salt Lake Temple, someone teased me that I should try and open the door. I  laughed and yanked on one of the handles. Unfortunately, it popped right off and rolled down the stairs. Oops! We were shocked, grabbed it and tried to fix it. It was so embarrassing! We let the Temple people know and continued with our pictures. It was quite the family joke for years after. ;) We even received a replica of the SL Temple doorknob a couple years later from Uncle Bud. Quite the memorable moment!

Here's us after we stuck the knob back in the hole and trying to control our laughter. Like Mother like Son!! LOL

Payson UT Temple

We took our family to the Payson UT Temple today. It was snowing so hard when we got there!!! You couldn't even see the temple until you got really close. 
The kids sat in the car and did homework while we participated in Zach & Taylor's wedding. By the time that Brett & I got out from the sealing- snow had accumulated on the grass. Brett, Justice and Ethan made a snowman on the grass. Silly boys!
I loved that we got to touch another temple. What a special tradition for our family. We're getting quite the collection down the side of our blog. I also just printed them all off to hang up in my home. So fun!

After pictures of the wedding party, Brett & I took Chandler, Ethan, Liberty and Justice to do Baptisms for the Dead. {Thanks Cheri for taking the girls with you} Since it was the middle of the day, it was only us in there. So glad we could be together in the temple! 

Provo City Center Temple Dedication

It just happened to be that while we were in UT- the whole Salt Lake Valley (maybe more of UT) was invited to participate in the Provo City Center Temple Dedication in place of regular Sunday meetings. Only those 8 and older & with a recommend could attend. Luckily, we were able to get in contact with our Bishop and the local Bishop in order to get a special recommend for Victoria. She was a bit nervous and super excited as well. {Glory stayed with Grandma Seamons and collected snail shells) It was a broadcast viewed at the local meetinghouses. They had a choir and speakers and the dedicatory prayer. It was a  special experience for our family to be there together. I love that the kids had a chance to see how a dedication works and be there with us.


We also had the opportunity to take the kids by the actual temple a couple days later so they could touch it. It was super cold & windy but it was a little miracle for us as well. On the way down to Payson- it was snowing really bad. However when we got out in Provo- there was no snow at all. Then when we left and got back on the road- it again began to snow. The Provo City Center Temple was our little oasis in the storm. Love it!

The story behind the new Provo City Center Temple is amazing!! It was originally built in 1861 so it's has been around for over 100 years. It used to be a Church house then a Tabernacle until it burned down to it's outer walls in 2010. Then it went through huge renovations to become a temple. I love the symbolism of being burned down and reborn as a new beautiful and eternal thing.

Historic photo shows Provo Tabernacle with the baptistery in the foreground and the Provo meetinghouse behind. (Source:history.lds.org)

Fire destroyed the tabernacle on Dec. 17, 2010

Reconstruction leaving outer walls but adding basement, underground parking and beautiful temple grounds.

Completed & dedicated Provo City Center Temple March 2016

Spokane Washington Temple

On our journey east, we also made a stop at the Spokane Washington Temple. Just as beautiful!

Spokane Washington

13710 East 40th Avenue

VERADALE,WASHINGTON 99037

UNITED STATES

1 509-926-2824

And made one more stop for Krispie Kreme for our journey home! Oh my yumminess! What a perfect way to end a long but amazing vacation!

Seattle Washington Temple

We made the effort to stop by the Seattle Temple on our way out of town so we could add an extra temple to the side of our blog. I love being able to let the kids touch different temples. So special!

We imitated a statue and enjoyed the beautiful flowers! And check out the sun shining behind Angel Moroni! I love it!

Laie Hawaii Temple

One of the highlights of our Hawaii trip was the chance to go to the Laie Hawaii Temple.
(even if I was poopy about how things didn't turn out like we planned. oops! Sorry, Fam!) It's such a beautiful, quiet, peaceful place! We loved that all the sisters Missionaries wore matching muumuus. It was impossible to miss them! ;) Liberty & Justice got the opportunity to do Baptisms for the Dead while Brett & I did a session and were able to sit in the Celestial Room for a bit.

We couldn't check into the hotel early so Justice & Liberty took turns watching the girls at the Visitor Center & the Temple Grounds while the other one did Baptisms. Glory complained at one point about being hungry and some of the missionaries spoiled them with movies and cotton candy! ;) Here's the little girls adventure at the Hawaii Temple:

Justice and Dad heading up to the Temple:

So glad that we can say that we've touched (and gone inside) the Hawaii Temple. What a blessing in our lives!

We also drove through the front of the Campus of BYU-Hawaii. Can you imagine going to College in Hawaii. Life would be a party!!! ;)

5-600 Naniloa Loop, Laie, HI 96762

(808) 293-2427

Session Every hour from 7-2, 4-8

Baptisms 7-9 am & 2-4 pm

Trek to the Temple & Justice 1st Time

Our Stake Presidency has been planning a big Trek to the Temple for this weekend. They scheduled it for a Friday and asked everyone to sacrifice and make the effort to attend. They scheduled all the wards at different times and setup for us to rotate and watch each others kids at the Stake Center after our time in the Temple.
We decided to get up early Friday morning (Brett took the day off & we kept the kids home from school) and head down to the Billings Temple in time to make it there by 11:30. We even drove through the clouds to get there. LOL

It was an extra special experience for our family because it happened to be Justice's 1st time inside the Temple. Since he turned 12, he was able to participate in the Baptisms for the Dead. Brian Payne was the Bishopric member in charge of our youth group so he pulled some strings so that Brett & I could be there with Justice & Liberty. How neat! I can't tell you how amazing it is to watch your kids make righteous choices and to be able to be there to watch them in the Temple. There's nothing like it! It turned out that 23 of our Youth came to participate in the Temple. Wow! {The youth groups before and after us only had 3 to 6 kids) It made it so it was a lot of waiting but so inspiring that so many would make the effort to come!

What a beautiful day at the Temple!

It was the 1st time for all three of these boys- TJ Smith (Fife's boy), Justice Seamons & Caleb Tubbs

So glad we could be there for Justice's 1st time!

It also turned out to be Jada Pierson's 1st time. Her family couldn't come down so we drove her down with us. This is the 2nd time that Liberty has been able to be there with her friends on their first trip to the Temple. SO special!

So fun to be at the Temple together & with friends! Can't wait until Victoria & Glory can join us.

P.S. There was a mis-communication about child care so we ended up leaving the girls & the Payne kids together at the Church without people to watch them. (The group of youth that was supposed to watch our kids got dropped off at the wrong Church building.) They eventually worked it out but we have some pretty awesome kids that would look out for each other while we were gone.

SIDENOTE: We calculated. It will be cutting it close but there is a slight chance that we will ALL be able to go to the Temple the 1st time that Glory can go. But Liberty will turn 19 a couple months before that. There is a chance that she would already be gone on a Mission before Glory turns 12. The next year Justice would turn 18 and then leave on his mission & be gone for 2 years. We're hoping that Liberty's mission call comes after June 2020 or it won't be until 2023 that our whole family could go to the Temple together. Oh trickiness of timing!

Guymon Girlfriend Temple trip

Liberty's good friend, Katelynn just turned 12. For her birthday, she told her mom that she wanted to go do Baptisms for the Dead at the Billings Temple. AND she wanted Liberty to go with her. How special is that!?! Kaysie (Katelynn's mom) invited Liberty and me to make it a Girl's weekend.We had such a fun time!!!!
We got the girls out of school and took off Friday after lunch. Once we got down to Billings, our first stop was the Temple. It worked out perfect because they had a group of youth from Cody there already. The girls just joined them and got in right away. A member of the Temple Presidency took us aside and spoke to the girls about feeling the Spirit in the Temple. It was so kind of him to take an interest in our beautiful girls. It was so fun to watch the girls participate in the Temple. I am one lucky mom to have such a special, sacred opportunity to share moments like this with Liberty. Both girls didn't want to leave because of how peaceful they felt. I hope Liberty always remembers moments like this and continues in her desire to be at the Temple often.

Then, we took the girls to Barnes & Noble. They are both CRAZY readers so they were in heaven! Katelynn almost had her book done by the time we made it to dinner. During the rest of the trip, she read it a total of four times. See? CRAZY readers these girls are!!! Liberty was in a Sherlock Holmes mood and came home with some S.H. books that she's in love with!

We ate dinner... ok we STUFFED ourselves at Texas Roadhouse. It was so delicious!!! The joke for the weekend started here because Liberty confiscated ALLL the sugar packets they had at the table and anywhere else we went this weekend. Sugar Freak!! And Katelynn pretty much opened her mouth in every picture we took. These girls crack us up! They are two peas in a pod!

We headed to our hotel for the night. The girls read, swam, ate popcorn & hot cocoa and stayed up until wee hours of the morning!!! The alarm clock went off way too early for these late sleepers. LOL We did drag them out of bed for some breakfast though. It was yummy even if they were pretty much Zombies and a little short with their manners. ;)  

After packing up and checking out, we went shopping at Kohl's and then dropped the girls off to the Big Horn Waterpark. We were glad there was lifeguards because we weren't exactly sure if the girls would fall asleep and drowned somewhere while we were gone. LOL Despite the lack of sleep they were feeling, they had a blast!! But when we picked them up they were so zoned out we had to laugh. Oh, the price teenagers pay for late night partying! ;)

While the girls swam, Kaysie and I went and did a session at the Temple. It has been a very, very long time since I have done a session so it was extra special. I so needed to be there! How fun to be in the Temple and with good friends. Loved it! When we came out, it had snowed. It made the Temple grounds quite glorious! But it was so freezin' cold! Brrrrrr! Luckily, we picked up the girls and headed out so we could drive most of the way back with some daylight still left. We drove slow but got home safe.

What an amazing weekend! Thanks Guymon girls for including us on your special day. We luv you ladies! Happy Birthday Katelynn!

UT: Ogden Temple Open House

Even though we just moved in to our new house & haven't quite unpacked yet- we decided to take the weekend to go to UT. One of the bonuses of going this weekend is that Cheri got us tickets to the Ogden Temple Open House.

Most of the Davis Family & us headed into Ogden for the tour late Saturday morning. It's completely been redone and doesn't look anything like the Ogden Temple we remember. Here's Brett & I standing in front of the old Ogden Temple in 1997:

Here was us today in the redone Ogden Temple 2014. See? Nothing alike.

We did the tour. Brett explained tons of things to the kids. They also LOVED sitting n the Celestial Room. They never wanted to leave! After wards, we went through the Tabernacle and the Visitors tent. They had a fun backdrop that we got our picture taken in front of.

They also had a Christus Statue replica which I took a picture of Glory touching. How precious is that?

I love that my kids love to touch the temples. It's such a special place and I know they feel the spirit of it when we go.