We returned home this evening after spending a wonderful weekend in Utah. We were able to leave on Friday since most of the kids were out of school and Ashtyn had a large field trip planned. She wouldn't be missing much at school and her friend wasn't attending the field trip either so she was okay to miss it.
On Friday we had a wonderful day of driving. It took us a while to leave home as we had a few errands to do on our way out of town. The kids were so pleasant to each other on the drive and they really used their time to read and draw and play some iPad games. We didn't even turn on a movie. The baby slept 4 hours and was a sweetie pie after that! We enjoyed homemade taco soup with mom and dad at the house and kind of unwound and went to bed.
On Saturday I was able to get up and run. It felt so amazing! I haven't been able to run consistently at all since the baby was born. We all had waffles and prepared ourselves to attend the Ogden Temple Open House. It was a beautiful morning and we listened to some spiritual music on the drive over. Everyone was so excited! This was the main reason for our quick trip out to Utah.
The temple was so beautiful! The grounds and the feeling there enveloped us immediately. We viewed a short video in the tabernacle that was about the purpose of temples. I was so happy to have my kids learn/be reminded of how important temples are. Then, we went through the tour. It was so special to be in the temple with four of our kids and to share with them our testimonies that what happens there is the most important work in the world.......and that it's all about families......and that it is true. I hope that they will remember going and remember that they felt special and peaceful when they were in the temple. I hope that it will strengthen their own testimonies as they grow.
Afterward, we stopped at the Burger Bar in Roy so that we could get some lunch and so that I could walk down memory lane a little and tell the kids about when I would go there with my friends in high school. It was such a beautiful weather day and so pleasant to be outside.
Alisha and Steve and the boys came over and played at mom and dad's house with us in the afternoon. We went to Bountiful for dinner with Jeremy and Kelly and their boys. We celebrated mom and dad's 40th wedding anniversary!!! The kids were playing tag afterward and Payson almost ran in the street as a car rushed by. It was very scary!
Jason and Steve "camped out" in the Shepherd's backyard with Jantzen, Aubrey, Mitchell and Payson. The kids were SO excited to have this time with their dads. It wasn't so great for sleeping as the wind picked up and blew and the rain came down a few times. Everyone was exhausted in the morning and the kids were pretty cranky by the end of Sunday evening.
Sunday was August 31st, my parent's actual 40th anniversary. I feel so blessed that they are still married, through good and bad they have stuck it out and loved and helped each other. They are a tremendous strength to all of us in the family. They continue to do so much to help us. We all enjoyed attending Alisha and Steve's church together. The dads got to take naps ;). I played outside with my kids and had such a wonderful time with them! The temperature was perfect between the breeze and the sun. We played outside games for a couple of hours until Jason and Dad woke up. (or Jantzen woke them up, rather). Jeremy and Kelly came up for dinner and we had a nice evening together, talking and playing games.
Today we slept in instead of running and then got up and went to the Hooper Tomato Days parade and park festivities. We sure enjoyed another morning of beautiful weather. The kids loved the parade and the candy. They had wonderful children's carnival games set up at the park and they played every one with some tickets and earned some fun little prizes. Baby Jarrett was so happy and cute, as always. The kids ran around the playground before we had to head home and pack it up. We had another uneventful drive with everyone being mostly kind and talkative with each other. We are thankful to be home, safe and sound, once again. Everyone is going to bed much too late, though, so we pray for a restful night to make up for that.
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