I love to see the temple

We took a Sunday drive to see all the temples in Utah County.

I thoroughly enjoyed our little trip.  The weather was perfect for a drive and we packed snacks and bottles of ice water so what's not to love?

Here are the Utah County temples in the order we saw them:

1) Mt. Timpanogos a.k.a. "our temple"

It's the one we see every day out our window.  Driving by it made me feel a longing to go inside.

Yes, Emma did this pose at EVERY SINGLE temple.  I didn't know she was doing that but Mark did.  This is why we can't have nice things. Ratty kids. 

2) Saratoga Springs

The temple there will be in a gorgeous spot overlooking the lake with all the mountain grandeur before it.  I wonder if/hope we'll be able to see it from our house.

We took a lovely route around the west side of the lake, landing in Goshen where I did my students teaching and then went to...

3) Payson

We can't not think about Braeden and Anna when we see the Payson temple.  I'm filled with gratitude that they were sealed in that beautiful place and that they are ours forever.

While we drove we talked about temples and which in the world we had visited.  I told them about the moment I decided I wanted to be married in the Salt Lake City Temple.  It was at my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary party.  They had a cake with a tiny Salt Lake City Temple on top made of crystal.  I realized that all my grandparents and my parents were married there and that was what I wanted too.

Up next was Provo.

4) Provo City Center

I can't see this beautiful temple without thinking about it being a tabernacle that burned and emerged more glorious than ever.

All the photos that are artsy like this were taken by Adam

5) Provo

This temple holds a special place in my heart because it was where we went with Stella for her first time to do baptisms for her family two weeks after Braeden baptized her in Virginia.

Our original plan was to see all the sites, even the ones not yet completed.  We generally know where the new Orem temple will be even though they haven't broken ground yet but:  we ran out of steam.

We had a lovely time and I 1) felt grateful for the wealth of temples we have here and 2) felt sad that we can't go inside.  Yet.  Someday soon hopefully we will be back.

Respite

Adam has had a very busy work schedule and all of us were feeling weary and discouraged by the news.  We decided to head for the hills--or mountains as it were for a Sunday drive.

We took Braeden and Anna with us so we took two cars, Adam's Subaru and Joan.  It was Joan's first time on a dirt road.  I baby her like she isn't a Jeep, but she is, in fact, a Jeep and did fine.

The mountains were beautiful and restorative.  We tried to get to Cascade Springs but every route was closed.  So we drove around the Wasatch back up some very narrow and winding roads.  We got up to where the aspens were just getting their leaves and there were still a (very few) patches of snow.  We were at almost 9000 feet.

When Braeden and Anna were in our car (they're the popular couple so they took turns being with Adam and me and Emma and Mark), we were talking about our feelings of helplessness.  I said something about all the blessings I have been given and what am I even doing?  Anna said, "Well, you are a mother."

I am.  Here's my message to the world:

Braeden found that stick and said, "What a good stick!"  He asked Mark if he still collects good sticks.

Mark kind of smiled at him indulgently because he doesn't still collect sticks and said, "If you turn it upside down it will be a better stick.  You want the biggest part on the bottom."

My boys and their sticks....

(When it was time to leave, Braeden said he didn't want to take it because it was such a good stick and maybe someone had left it there and still wanted it.  I said probably their mom didn't let them take it home.  I said, "Sorry Anna, Braeden and his sticks are up to you now."  Braeden left the stick behind.  He is, you know, 23 now.)

Mark climbed up on a post and appears to be pontificating which is nothing new.  Emma stood at his feet and said, "Here Mark, trust fall.  I'll catch you."

But Mark just leaped down onto the uneven ground like a 17 year old boy.

How I love these four:

Spending time with them is good for my soul.

It is not lost on me how fortunate I am that I live in this impossibly beautiful place where I've always felt safe.  It is not lost on me that I've never been suspected because of the color of my skin and that I have always had opportunities and safety nets.  I never did anything to deserve any of it.

The horrible things happening in our country make me incredibly sad.  I don't understand the violence and destruction people are resorting too.  I don't understand how they can wreck their neighbors' livelihoods. I don't understand that level of hopelessness and fury.  I don't understand.  And I recognize that it's because I've never felt that level of hopelessness and fury that I don't understand.

We talked about it as part of our Come Follow Me discussion.  We talked about iniquity and inequality.  We talked about power and kings.  We talked about who our actual King is.  We talked about what we can do.  (Not a lot, it feels like.)

We decided we can vote.  We can try to be a positive light in our realms of influence and to the people around us.  We can pray.

I reminded them that we don't live in the kingdom of Davis.  We aren't in charge and we don't have to fix everything.  We live in the Kingdom of God.  We have a King and He loves all His children.  We need to follow His commandments and love His children too.

He is at the helm.

Adam's happy place

I grew up living on a dirt road but Adam is the one who loves driving on dirt roads.  Since our trip the previous weekend had been canceled courtesy of my head-ache, we went on Saturday.  This time it was more of a spontaneous decision and we didn't have everything ready.  It just took minutes to marshal the troops though and pack a cooler and a water jug and a bag of snacks.  Kids this age are kind of a dream.

What we didn't take was our map.  We have this big atlas that we bought when we went to Oklahoma because we forgot to take our map on that trip too.  We keep our atlas in the garage so we will remember to take it.

It isn't working.

We headed west and eventually hit a dirt road.  We had downloaded a map on Emma's phone because we knew we would lose cell service and we did.

Also, a combination of a really and truly warm day and everyone being stuck at home resulted in a BUSY road.  The place was packed with ATVs and pickup trucks pulling trailers of ATVs and little cars that struggled to navigate the dust choked road and slowed everyone down.  There were serious washboards in the road and we couldn't go very fast at all because we kept getting stuck behind slow vehicles.

We stopped along the way and looked at a few Pony Express station markers.

Adam took this picture.  It was at Simpson Springs.

I have always been fascinated by the Pony Express.  It feels like this mix of genius and craziness.  Adam had me tell everything I knew about the Pony Express to our kids like I was some sort of expert.  I'm really not.  But they listened appreciatively so we all pretended.

We finally made it to Fish Springs, our destination.  It is a wildlife refuge in the very middle of nowhere.  There is water there where birds stop mid migration.   We saw lots of ducks and some Canada Geese and sparrows and lots of coots and red-winged black birds.  (I didn't know the coots were named coots but I googled it when I got home.)

The most amazing thing was the pelicans.  Pelicans in the middle of the desert!

Adam took this picture through the binoculars.

The pelicans stayed away from the little road that skirted the ponds but we did see one flying near us and we saw one swimming nearby with a fish in its mouth.  It was so incongruous with the dusty remote drive we had been on that it was delightful.

It was a beautiful spot.  Spring is much later there.  It was all still brown with not much green showing yet.

I loved hearing the birds.  Some of them were familiar sounds that I've heard a lot and some of them were completely unfamiliar.  There were hundreds of different kinds of birds and I had no idea what most of them were.

We decided to head home a different way.  We didn't want to face the congested dusty road again and knew that it would probably be even more congested with people heading home too.  There was a way to go south to Delta but we weren't exactly sure which road was the best and we didn't have cell service or a map.  We looked on the map programed into Adam's navigation system in his car.  It isn't great but it gave us enough of an idea to give it a try.  We slowed down on the dirt road when there was a road heading south.  I read the faded barely legible sign that pointed to Delta.  Why not?

Adam was almost giddy.  Not only were we on an unfamiliar road but we weren't 100% sure where it would take us.  It's the kind of adventure he loves.  We had 3/4 of a full tank of gas and plenty of food and water so we went for it.  At one point, Adam said, "Did we tell anyone where we were going?"

We hadn't.

It was a great decision though.  We went through this lovely mountain pass and then soon enough we were on paved road!  The paved road took us all the way to the freeway.  The return trip was longer mileage wise but felt much faster and more pleasant than the trip there.

It pays to take a risk. (sometimes)

And also, we should remember to take our map!

The getaway

Braeden texted Adam to ask him to read a paper he had toiled long on.  He was proud of his work and wanted to share.

Adam was driving so I texted back this:

Emma said she was going to pose for a "candid shot."

I told him we were on the road.

We had made a great escape.  It was a scaled back (way back) version of the trip we wanted to take.  We took a day trip to Bryce Canyon.  We only stopped for gas and Adam passed out hand wipes every time we got back in the car.

It was gorgeous!  And cold.  Adam wanted to see Bryce Canyon in the snow so I guess we had to expect the cold.  It is further south than us but higher in elevation.

This, from Emma:

They are great travel companions.  They kept us in music and witticisms.

Here is Mark, trying to keep my ears warm (I failed to bring my headband/ear warmer that is necessary to my happiness in the cold wind).

The picture reminded me of another picture from another family trip (it was a warmer trip and I had braces and I carried Mark almost the entire time):

Turns out National Parks are photogenic.  (You heard it here first.)

I loved the way these two friend trees were supporting each other.

Adam texted this picture to him mom and she said it looked like Emma was a gnome on top of his hat.  

I'd buy that hat.

Besides being the number one driver and navigator (it seems like I could help with that but I truly can't), Adam supplied witticisms of his own.

He pointed out that dangerous cliffs were watching our children.

Our children didn't seem to be bothered.

What do you do on a snow day

First, there wasn't that much snow.  We got a skiff.  There was a lot more snow in other places in the district but Pleasant Grove is usually...pleasant...when it comes to snow.

We went to McDonald's for breakfast.  Adam and I took our laptops and did some work and Mark  used Adam's iPad and worked on homework.

I texted the kids our new business venture.

If you ever need something named, ask Emma.

I got a lot of work done and took sips of Adam's Diet Coke intermittently.  Adam said to Mark, "See, that's why I got a Diet Coke because I knew your mom would want some."

How to be a good husband life hacks.  Adam could do a podcast.

I also got caught up on a bunch of things at home (including ironing!  That's been a long time coming), I worked on family history with my incomparable friend Marie Louise, and I had a quiet easy day.

It was nice.

In the evening we played Boggle.  Mark had never played before.  How is that possible?  When we were tallying up points, Enoch called to chat.

I told him about Boggle and about how I'd won and about how I always win.  (If you can't brag to your brothers, who can you brag to?  Answer:  Your sisters, your kids, your spouse....)

Enoch said, "I always win when we play Boggle too."

I said, "I wonder who would win if we played."

He said, "I would."

I don't know about that, but I know if there was a contest about who had the most unabashed self confidence, Enoch would win.

Every time.

Winter

Emma sent this Southern California sunrise picture on Friday when she was at Disneyland in the 5:00 hour to get tickets to the new Star Wars ride (according to her:  worth it).

I sent my own early morning picture in return:

Two of my students coming in hot.  Some of the parents drop off their kids at the church behind the school and then they race across the field to me.

Winter with all its post Christmas reality has settled in.  I paid bills on Saturday and got three paper cuts in my ridiculously fragile winter skin.  Three!  I said to Mark, "I literally deal with paper all week long.  Why did I get three paper cuts just opening the mail?!?"

He said, "Maybe you don't have anyone to impress at home."

That's the ticket.  I get paper cuts when I forget to impress people....

Sunday morning before he left for his meetings, Adam eyed what I was wearing and said it was "a look."  I forgot I had on yoga pants under my dress to keep warm.

Happily I remembered to take them off before church.

At least the sun is shining.

Sunlight streaming through the windows warms the place up and lights up the plants.  There's still life around here!  We're not frozen yet!

Mesa Verde

How we love a good National Park (and they're all so good!).  We fell in love since we've moved to Utah.

We go out of our way for National Parks now.

Mesa Verde was out of our way but WORTH IT.

This is not a great picture snapped as we rounded a curve heading up the mesa.  It was a breathtaking view any way you looked.

We ate a picnic lunch at a table underneath a tree.  I remember laughing a lot--to the point that I thought we were maybe annoying the park ranger sitting at a table across the way--but I can't remember now what we were laughing about.

Even if I did remember, it probably wouldn't be that funny anymore.  That's just how it goes.

In preparation for our little hike to Cliff Palace, our park ranger, who Emma named Gar-bear (His name tag said Gary), gave us a lecture about how difficult the climb was and how we needed to drink lots of water and be in optimal health to even attempt it.  He said it was all the harder since we were at 7000 feet.

He said, "If you have a head-ache, I don't want you to go."

I'd had a headache for a week/weeks/a month?  Also, the hike was 3/4 of a mile, round trip.  I felt like we could handle it.

Gar-bear was a bit of an alarmist.  It wasn't that hard.  What it was was amazing.

It felt unreal.  Below, the picture has some people in it, for scale.

This picture doesn't show scale, just a cute red head.

This is a picture from the other side.

We climbed about 100 feet vertically back up to the top on ladders.  All I could think about was how people raised children there.  They didn't have ladders.  You could see the toe holds they used to climb.

It was pretty incredible.

We headed for home, stopping in Monticello to see the first little temple that was built.

It is smaller than the church next to it.  

Also, being in Monticello and realizing how remote it is made me appreciate the blessing that little temple is to this community and the surrounding area.

I was happy to get back to Utah.  The red rocks in southern Utah speak to my soul.  Driving through Moab and Green River, I felt buoyed up.  The beauty and variety of the earth keep on amazing me.

Maybe the boost in my spirits is what Utah's slogan, "Life elevated" means.

Utah County, that's where

At church on Sunday, a 15 year old girl spoke in sacrament meeting.  She said that she is on the cheer team at Timpanogos High School.  She said that their cheer squad set a goal to go to the temple for baptisms every month together to promote unity.

Adam leaned over to me and asked, "Where do we live?"

Living here has all the ups and downs of living anywhere, but seriously.  This is quite a unique place.

St. George in July

Or in other words, why do we do these things to ourselves....

Last Thursday we drove to St. George.  It was about 110 degrees there.  We met Scott and Lisa at Pizza Pie Cafe to load up before our hike in the Narrows.  We packed our lunches and readied everything for the next day.

Friday we left early for Zion National Park.  It was a beautiful, hot and sunny day.  After finally finally getting to the hike after a long wait for the shuttle (Zion National Park:  not an original idea), I was hot.

I don't usually enjoy swimming all that much.  To me, you swim to cool off and there are seldom times when I am hot enough that it merits a swim.

This time I was hot enough.

Also, hiking in the Narrows reminded me of Boulder Creek which I grew up swimming in with my sisters and cousins.  Earlier, I was a little nervous about the trip and afraid I would be the weak link (I wasn't) or that it wouldn't be that fun, but it was!  I had a great time.

Mark is asserting his dominance by T-posing (like all the cool kids are doing) and I'm T-posing right back at him because who is the dominant one?  The one brave enough to go under the cold water, that's who.

I was the first one to get submerged in the water which makes me the Champion Wild Cat according to my sisters.

Lisa came around the corner and saw me in the water and she said, "I thought you said you were indoorsy?!?"

And I am but I grew up swimming in water like that and I was hot.  Two reasons to embrace the outdoors.

The world is a beautiful place and Zion National Park is one of its prettiest spots.

After our day of adventuring we were starving and tired and really enjoyed our dinner at Cracker Barrel.

Saturday Adam and the kids went to Sand Hollow Reservoir with Scott and Lisa and I was back to being indoorsy.  I stayed in the hotel and worked on my online math classes while they played on wave runners.  They helped me pack up the van before they left and here is a text Adam sent me of Mark:

Mark is maybe the only person I know who would drink hot chocolate in July.

Later that afternoon we drove home.  We had foolishly turned our AC all the way off in our house and it was 93 degrees in our upstairs halls.  We are amateurs.

So it was good to be home, but not really.

I slept in the basement.