Temple and Family

We found out right before our trip that there was an open house going on for the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It's in South Jordan, not far from Salt Lake City.

Before temples are dedicated, they open them up to the public for tours. We've always wanted to go to one so that our kids could see how beautiful and peaceful it is inside. Spencer was especially excited about it. The whole thing was extremely organized. They had lots of tents set up on the temple grounds, and first we went in one of the tents and watched a video about the importance of temples. There were little guides all along the way; next they led us over to the temple, where we could walk through at our own pace. There really wasn't any kind of a formal tour inside, except in the sealing room. A small group of us sat down while a married couple talked to us about the importance of being sealed together as eternal families in the house of the Lord. The kids were especially amazed by the chandeliers throughout the temple, and we were told they even had diamonds in them for extra sparkle.

After a quick lunch we headed up Provo Canyon to Aspen Grove for the family reunion. They always start things off with Aspen Follies, which is a bunch of fun games in the big field. Mostly we just visit while the kids play the games. Maybe that's why our family never wins. The name of our group was "Choose the Wight!"

The big ball is always every one's favorite.

Our boys had 27 first cousins and 10 second cousins there to hang out with. What a group!

Here they had to pass the ball using just their feet.

Brennan especially liked climbing on all the little animal statues. They're new this time.

That night was the campfire at the amphitheater. The kids performed the skits they learned in their groups, then all the counselors did a bunch of fun, silly skits and songs. Afterwards they played dancing music, and the kids really got into it.