Payson Temple Open house

I drove past the Payson Temple as it was being built and knew I wanted to go to the open house and see the inside of that beautiful temple.  My Mom had some tickets, so I loaded the kids in the car and we took off.  Jake was so bummed, but he had a field trip that day and didn't know which one to miss.  In the end, he decided to go on the field trip.  

My Dad and Sam's grave were on the way to the temple, so we stopped by and did our best to clean them up even though we forgot the bucket with cleaning supplies.

It's been a long time since we've been there.  I think this is the first time we have pictures of Jason because he was always asleep in the car.  We might have some of him as a baby, but I just can't remember.  Anyway, Jason and Nate were climbing all over my dad's grave and I wanted to stop them, but in the end, I let them climb.  My Dad wouldn't mind at all.  There are so many things that we miss him for in this life, and that I feel like he is missing out on.  I hope that he isn't missing out as much as I think.  I hope he sees us and is a part of our lives from the other side of the veil.
I also hope that Sam knows what a good sister he has in Allie.  She went around and found little pieces of flowers to make a bouquet to put on his grave.  She takes such good care of her brothers...all of them.

Lori's girls came with us too.  Allie is surrounded by mostly boys on the Schwab side, so she is always happy to get with the girl cousins that surround her on my side of the family.

After the cemetery, we went to the temple.  It was beautiful.
I was a little nervous about taking the boys, but I hoped they would feel the special spirit of the temple and be calmed.  It didn't really happen.  I wonder if there are many other kids who can say they ran in the halls of an LDS temple and had to be stopped by a patron.  It sure made me feel good about my parenting skills.
Other than the littles being a bit wild, it was a really neat experience.  There weren't as many people as we are used to seeing at these type of things.  At one point in the tour, you could go into a celestial room as they talked about the ordinance work that goes on in that room.  I didn't hear what they had to say because I had to leave with Jason, but I think it was neat that they talked to anyone who wanted to listen.

The flowers on the grounds were gorgeous.  I couldn't believe how big some of the tulips were.

My Mom is an awesome child wrangler...

I didn't end up with a good picture of the temple, so this will have to do.  It was a quick trip there and back because I wanted to be home for Jake, but it was completely worth it.  I look forward to going to the temple when it opens.  I love to see the temple!