Our New Temple

The Oquirrh Mountain Temple

On July 7th we took the kids to the open house for the new Oquirrh mountain temple. They were awed by the chance to go "inside" the temple. We wanted them to have a good experience so we took them first thing in the morning 8:00 sharp when it opened. We were one of the first people there, so there was no waiting in lines or pushing through the crowds. Plus it was very quiet and peaceful as there were very few people in the temple at the time. We were able to take our time and show the kids each room. At the Celestial Room we paused for a while and stood quietly after we explained this room to the kids. As we stood there little Max started toddling off and the girls giggled as they watched. It was so quiet and to listen to their little giggles just sounded like music! I couldn't help reflect how perfect these little kids really are and how they just seemed to fit in that room. I'm sure Heavenly Father just loves children and heaven wouldn't be heaven without the sound of little children.

Lynn and I have been able to return since then to help volunteer. We were given the opportunity to address the visitors in the Sealing Room (#5 was our little room). Lynn explained to visitors the purpose of the temple and especially the sealing power of the priesthood. I was asked to share my feelings, which I was very nervous about. I could not think of what I would say, my mind just drew a blank all the way up to the time we were stationed at our room. But as we watched the first group of visitors come in, there were a couple of families with their little children bringing them to see the "inside" of their first temple. I couldn't help but think of our experience bringing our kids and I finally knew what I would say. It was a very special experience. I felt the Lords spirit there. I'm so grateful and humbled to have been given such an amazing assignment. It has renewed my heart and increased my love for the temple and what it means to my family.

4th of July Birthday

This was such a fun day to have a birthday! We started out with the 4th of July Parade. It rained a little... just enough to keep us cool. Then the sky cleared out as we headed home for our BBQ. The men roasted hot dogs while Ashley painted the kids faces. Then Max fell asleep just in time for opening presents, and eating cake and ice cream! So Mom opened his presents and we saved him a cupcake for later. The kids played in the water - the pool, the sprinklers, with water guns and water balloons- to keep cool. We also enjoyed playing at the park with our cousins. Then we came home and had pizza thanks to Uncle Chad! Later that evening we all went to the church lawn across the street to watch the Magna Fire works. It's so great to be so close to all of the Magna 4th of July celebrations! It was a really fun day to have a birthday party for Max!!

Walking Man

So now that he's a year old, Max finally decided he'd waited long enough. Saturday, June 27, 2009 he started walking! I love his short little wobbly steps! I know it won't take him long before he's running around... but I just love these first few unsteadier steps. I'm amazed at how far he's going right off the bat! And of course now this leaves his hands free to do more mischief around the house. But what a cute little guy!

Graduate Dani of '09

Danielle graduated from Oaker Meadows Preschool this past Friday June 12, 2009. She is now officially headed to Kindergarten! Look out Magna Elementary, here she comes!!

Dani is sitting next to her best friends Emily and Wyatt.

Congratulations Dani, you are going to do great in elementary school!

Home Sweet Home

My house has pretty much been a big mess ever since...who knows? but this last weekend without really trying my family kind of chipped in and with what was a surprisingly minimal effort on my part, we got it picked up. And amazingly it's clean! And it has even stayed clean over the last few days. So I'm slightly shocked by this little miracle and went around the house taking pictures of every room. So I have proof the next time someone walks in my door and just looks at all the toys and junk laying everywhere, I can say "YES, my house is clean... on occasion!" So here is my "Virtual Tour" of my CLEAN house!!

of course the kids did drag out a few things- like giant puzzles...and I didn't put the dishes away before I took the picture. But they're (mostly) Clean!

Yes, this room is clean by Marissa standards. Any way hope you enjoyed the sneak peak. I'm hoping this is a long term trend and not just an over night thing. Maybe we've turned some kind of a corner and we can actually keep up on a few chores for a change! Here's hoping!!

Memorial Day

So this weekend we were planning to go see the graves of our ancestors. But poor Lynn has an abscess (bump) that is quite painful and has kept him in bed all weekend. So while Lynn went to the doctors, the kids and I took a two hour walk up Cemetery Hill to the Pleasant Green Cemetery on Monday. It was a perfect day for a walk after Sunday's rains cooled everything down for us. We found Grandma Davis, who is the great-grandma who lived in this house before us, along with her family. Sorry, I didn't take the camera and get pictures, but the valley was so pretty from up there. It was a little disappointing that we didn't get to go anywhere, but it turned out to be a nice relaxing day after all!

Mother's Tea

It was a special day at Allee and Dani's preschool. We had a Mother's Day party! We colored butterflies on the back of a matching game that had pictures of things mothers do for us. The kids serenaded us with a lovely song "I wish every child in the whole wide world had a great mother just like you!" We opened presents, a jewlery box with a pin inside. We read a card from each child, I am 14 years old according to Dani and I am 5 inches tall according to Allee. And of course, we had a treat, a cookie flower in a cup full of oreo dirt and gummy worms with ice cream. It was a lovely time with my two favorite preschoolers!