MOVEMBER

This is Ben's "Movember" contribution, courtesy of his sister and a sharpie marker....

THANKSGIVING

We decided in the grocery store last week that what we really wanted to do for Thanksgiving was drive to Salt Lake and spend it with the Smiths. So that is what we did! It was a great trip. The kids played and played and played some more. Annette and I cooked and walked and visited a ton. The boys played football, went to watch the Utes play and shopped for guns. Throw in a few board games, a couple of movies and some great food and we all really enjoyed ourselves!

TEMPLE

I was really excited that we would be able to see the Christmas lights at Temple Square while we were in Salt Lake. The last time we were there was in 2004 so none of the kids remembered it. We made an evening of it, having the best dinner ever with everyone at Red Iguana first.

We hit the display windows at Macy's first. They were created completely out of candy and really, really cool. I told Nick he should make something for the windows at our house......

Then we headed over to the main attraction. The temple is so beautiful!! Even without all the lights, being near the Salt Lake Temple is just awesome. 

 Nick was absolutely darling. I was telling him that this is where Dad and I were married and a few things and he just got the sweetest look on his face. "I have never been by this temple before," he said. He read what is carved and the side  of it an asked me if he could touch it while I took his picture. We talked about the temple, the special feeling that is felt even on the grounds around it, and when he will get to go inside. He can't WAIT until he turns twelve.:) It was a very tender moment. 

The lights were as pretty as I remembered them. The church does such a stellar job and temple square was just amazing with all the lanterns and nativities everywhere. All the kids had fun and we got a few good (dark!) pictures.

We went in to use the restrooms in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building just as a choir was singing up in the balcony. That is such a gorgeous building. It was fun to see the chandeliers and the giant statue of Joseph Smith. The kids thought it was really neat that the prophet lives there too.:)

We topped off the night with peppermint milkshakes from Chic-Fil-a. Seriously, can an evening get any better than this???