Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple

Today I was able to take the boys to the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple Open House. It was a great experience. We are so lucky to live so close to so many temples. It's amazing that we have been able to attend 2 temple Open Houses this year. Not many people have that opportunity. The boys were really good again. Elliott said the temple made him feel happy because it was quiet and he could feel the Spirit. I'm so grateful for the temple and the eternal blessings it provides. Elliott also loved looking in the mirrors in the sealing room. He couldn't see very well in the Draper Temple. The mirrors were much lower at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. This temple might be my favorite. The colors are beautiful, very different from the other temples I've seen. The walls are golden and everything is really earthy - lots of golds, greens, and browns. It was amazing. The other thing that was different was how much stone floor there was. Most of the main walkways and stairs were stone rather than carpeted. The central stairs and upstairs halls were carpeted. The temple was very beautiful. Overall our experience at this open house was much nicer than the Draper one. We were able to park right at the temple and walk around to get pictures. We were there for 1 1/2 hours instead of 4 (most of which was spent waiting at a chapel to get bussed to the temple). I'm so glad we were able to go. I'm looking forward to attending the dedication next month as well. We had fun visiting Stephen and Amy again afterwards too since they only live about 15 minutes away from the temple.

Yum!

I think he enjoyed licking the beater full of pudding.

Billions

Elliott has been on a number kick for a long time now, and he's really obsessed with billions, trillions, etc. He's always saying things like, "that was 9 billion seconds," or "that's 60 million billion inches." I try to explain to him that we don't usually talk about numbers that big since most things aren't really measured that big - especially when talking about time or numbers of things. I was trying to convince him that we generally just don't count things in billions. His response, "Mom, how many people are there in the world?" Well, he had me there...

Happy 4th of July!

Stephen and Amy invited us and Mary Anne's family over for a BBQ to celebrate the 4th. The kids had a blast. It was fun to visit together.

What's more American than roasting marshmallows on the BBQ! They were delicious! After dinner there was a rousing game of soccer.

Stephen and Amy live out in the country with farms around them. The horses come up to the fence (or even in the yard). Elliott thought they were cool but wasn't gonna get too close.

After soccer it was time for the sparklers. No, it's not even close to being dark outside, but seeing as it's not dark enough for fireworks until 10, we made do. It was still fun. The kids all enjoyed holding the sparklers. In fact, I think it was my first time too. Elliott was still awake when we got home around 9:30, and he kept talking about fireworks, so I decided to take him out to see the Stadium of Fire fireworks. We walked to the missionary field and found a great spot at the very back, just in front of the temple. We could see really well. It was Elliott's first fireworks display. He enjoyed it. He said it made his stomach feel like it was drumming. I'm glad I was able to take him to see them. I miss going to fireworks shows like we did every year growing up in Tustin. That was the best!

Derek's First Haircut

While we were in Vegas, I asked my dad to cut Derek's hair. He was very willing. He gave Elliott his first haircut too. Hooray for haircuts! By the time Derek finally got his haircut, the curls and everything else were getting a little out of control. I loved those curls, but they were cuter a couple weeks before when they weren't quite as long. Popeye did a great job. Derek was a little squirmy but hardly cried at all, so that was good. It looks great! My sweet little baby looks all grown up now.

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Look at that cute, cute boy!

Thanks, Popeye!

Las Vegas Summer

I took the boys to Grandma and Popeye's house a couple weeks ago for a week. We had a great time with them and seeing aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Several people asked me why I waited until it was really hot to visit - we wanted to go swimming, of course! We had lots of fun in the pool and at the splash parks.



Derek chillin' in the stroller.
Luke Adams and Elliott having fun! It was fun to play with Cheryl-Lynn and her boys, Luke and Andrew. The boys play great together. Too bad we don't live close anymore.

Elliott had a great time swimming. The first day (with Curt and Ethan) he was apprehensive and wouldn't go in the deep end. The second time (with Popeye, Dustin's fam and Dan's fam) I snuck him in the deep end and after a few minutes remembered it was fun. The third time (with Heather Leedom and Brynn) he didn't really hesitate. He just asked me to stick him in the deep part like I did the time before. He had a lot of fun swimming with his cousins. I don't have any pictures of Derek in the pool (hopefully Mom has some). The first day, we just went out to look at the pool and I stuck Derek's feet in. He wanted to get all the way in. The first day we really went swimming, he wasn't sure he wanted to get in the water. The second day he was napping so he didn't swim, but the third day, he had a great time. He really liked the waterfall. He didn't want anything to do with any floating devices. He just wanted to be securely held by mom. It was fun to be able to swim and have fun with friends.

How cute.

We also had so much fun at another awesome splash park with Dustin, Janelle, and kids, Kara and kids, Ethan, Caitlin, and Grandma. Derek thought the water was great! We can't wait to visit again. Too bad it will be too cold for swimming next time. We miss all of our Las Vegas family and friends. We love you!