Draper Temple Open House

Several months ago, my sister put together a family outing for the Draper Temple Open House. She wasn't sure how every one's schedule was so she planned it for the 14th and hoped everyone would be available. My parents went to Hawaii, so they were not able to come with us. We met up at the stake center. I couldn't believe how big the crowd was. We were scheduled for 3:00. It was 4:00 before we even got in to the video portion. Then we waited in that room for about 15 minutes after the video until we boarded the bus. The little kids loved their first bus ride. The big kids listened to the guide and commented as he spoke about Temples. Finally we were into the temple.

The temple was beautiful. I loved the stone baseboards, the warm wood and the cream/tan coloring. I would love to do the same coloring in our bedroom. Maybe I'll consider those colors for my basement. It was so beautiful, calming and comforting.

Both of the girls favorite room was the sealing room, "where we will get married." While we were in the sealing room, a couple shared with us the importance of families being sealed for time and all eternity. In the sealing rooms, they have a mirror on each side of the room. When you look in one mirror, you can see forever and ever. This is symbolic of how our marriages are for eternity. The girls loved looking in the mirrors.

After the tour, we went over to the stake center by the temple for cookies and water. I was so shocked as I looked around. There were kids with stacks of 5-6 cookies each. I was so proud of our kids. Ivy only wanted 1 cookie and Jade and Luke each only wanted one. But, the cookies were really good.

I am so grateful that we have so many beautiful temples around us. I love that we can see temples any day that we want to . I'm so glad that the girls recognize a temple and understand that the temple is the House of God and a very sacred place on earth. I look forward to the day that we are sitting in a sealing room again, while each of them kneel together with their sweet husband and vow to be together for time and all eternity.

Sweet Jade, is so afraid of growing up. When I talked to her about one day getting married in the temple, she started to cry because it makes her so nervous to grow up. I told her that if she follows the teachings of the prophets, listens to her teachers in church and turns to her mom and dad for help, then there is nothing to be afraid of. I pray that she follows my advise and then I truly believe everything will turn out for her. She is a special little girl.

Thanks, Aunt Kat for putting together this activity. The temple was beautiful. The company was fantastic and the experience was perfect for a Saturday afternoon.

Dippidee- yum!!!

Sharline and Amy are in TROUBLE. For the past 3 years, I have noticed the Dippidee sign whenever I would go to Costco or drove past the Del Taco. I've wondered what it was, and then I heard that it was really yummy and that there are women in the ward that frequent it, but I always thought that it must be really expensive and an indulgence I couldn't justify. Then on Wednesday, Amy brought a sugar cookie to the office for me and Sharlene to split. (OKAY OKAY- I know that a sugar cookie is not on my maintenance diet, but I counted those calories towards my allowed amount). That sugar cookie was so AMAZING. The butter cream frosting just melted in your mouth and so did the cookie.

So, because I am such an obsessive person, I had to go to their website and see where else they have been mentioned or reviewed. By doing this, I found that they have a blog and on this blog they feature a treat a week. Oh, but that's not the best part. When they mention it on the blog, you can go in and mention their blog and you get to buy one get one free. This week their treat was Lemon Cream Cheese Melt-Aways. Oh they are sooo good!

Jade and Luke split a Little Devil, Ivy got a mini chocolate cupcake while Harrison got the vanilla mini cupcake. They were so yummy!

I don't usually post about local businesses, but my last two posts have been. Hopefully you don't mind and go check out their blog- you'll be glad you did. (By the way, next birthday, I want the Big Devil in Devil's Food).

Cookie Cutters

Friday, I took the day off. I needed a break and the girls needed some mom time. They also needed haircuts. As soon as Jade got home from school, we packed up and headed out to Cookie Cutters to get a trim. Ashlee and Weston were fantastic with each of the girls. Jade picked the motorcycle and watch Scooby Doo. She really didn't want a haircut and was worried about how much we were going to cut off. She was begging for 1/2 an inch but we ended up doing about 2 inches. She was happy and adorable once Ashlee finished up with her.

Ivy picked the pink car (no surprise there) and she watched Barbi Princess and the Pauper. She wanted her hair cut clear up to her scalp, but was okay with just 2 inches.

Cookie Cutter does a lot of great things to help put the kids at ease and also make it a little easier on the parent's pocketbook. When you walk in there is a jungle gym with a slide, on the wall there is a game console and then the chairs are all different vehicles. While the kids are getting their hair cut they can watch a movie or play playstation and when they leave, they get a balloon and a cute cookie cutter. Now, for the parents, they give you a coupon book. The first haircut is 4$ off, the second is 3$ off and the third is 2$ off. They also have a product of the week that they discount, plus the kids get 2$ off if they get their hair cut during the month of their birthday. I was very impressed with the staff.

This was our second time going to a Cookie Cutters. The first was five years ago in Louisville. They do a nice job on a child's first haircut. They do a scrapbook and a little bag with hair from their first cut. I am happy to report that the service was great in Utah and Kentucky. (Notice Jade's identical expression 5 years ago).

My first post on Blissfully Domestic- Family

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Blue and Gold Banquet

This week we got to participate in something that, as a mother of two girls and no boys, I never thought we would. We went to the Blue and Gold Banquet. Scott is one of the Weblos advisors.

He and Justin spent several nights working on this fantastic dinosaur. Justin found a much smaller version and made a pattern from it. It looked amazing and everyone was very impressed with it.

The leaders did a fantastic job on the decorations, it had a Jurassic theme. The food was yummy and the activities were well planned and executed.

One of the funniest things to happen during the evening, was that Ivy won the jelly bean contest. "She" guessed 313 jelly beans and there were 316. When they called her name, she worked her way up to the front to claim her price. She was so excited and proud of herself. Scott had no idea how many there were, but guessed well. (This is the second time he has guessed close in the last 2 events we have attended).

Nice job Scouts leaders!

Breakfast Potatoes

Birthday Boy...

On Thursday the 12th, Scott celebrated his 38th birthday. He took a day off work and went snowmobiling with several friends. They went up past Heber and enjoyed some good, not great, snow. Scott and everyone else was hurting afterwards.

For Scott's birthday, the girls made him pictures of themselves with Scott. Then I got IKEA frames so that he can put them up in his office.

This picture was the first time Ivy has added a body to her pictures. Of course the hands are coming out of their heads. (We talked about it and asked her where her arms come out of on her body. She realized that they come out of her body. It was a very cute "ah-ha" moment).

Jade takes her art work very seriously. It's something that she is extremely proud of and enjoys doing. She is so meticulous and likes to draw everything she sees, dreams and makes up.

For Scott's birthday, we went to the Lehi Library Gala. Every year they do a fundraiser, but this is our first time going. They had the "Thrillionaires" and a catered meal. Of course there was NOTHING on the menu that fit in our diet, but we had small portions and enjoyed everything. The Thrillionaires are funny, but their kind of improv is not our favorite. They do a musical based on themes the audience yells out. Our favorite improv is the "Who's line is it anyone" format. But, that being said, they did an awesome job and were very funny. It was very fun to have a night out. Miss Kim babysat for us and Scott's parents, sister and brother-in-law joined us for the evening.

When we got home, Jade set the bar stools up around the stairs and put Scott's presents on the stairs for him to open. Apparently, the chair of honor was the stairs. Scott loved the pictures from the girls. I got him a pair of skinny jeans and I'm getting him an HD flip camera. What a lucky guy!

For his birthday treat, we went off our diet, but I was semi-conservative and got a little cake. I'll post more about the place where I got his cake in another post. But here's a picture of the Big Devil in white chocolate with cream cheese feeling. It was AMAZING. Very rich but a little slice was perfect.

We love you, Scott. Happy Birthday!

My Favorite HCG recipe so far

Aunt Lydia's Funeral

Back in 1981, I attended a homecoming. This homecoming was the first one that I remember. I was 9 years old. The homecoming wasn't just any old homecoming, it wasn't in my ward and it wasn't a 21 year old young man returning from serving the Lord for two years. This returned missionary was my aunt. Aunt Lydia served a mission after her husband passed away. It wasn't common for seniors to serve a proselyting mission. But, that is exactly what my aunt did. She was companions with young sisters and she went door to door while teaching the gospel in Wisconsin. On that Sunday, I knew that I needed to serve a mission. My decision to serve came from listening to the words that my aunt spoke. She shared her experiences and her testimony and if no one else in the room was touched, at least a 9 year old was.

Later, in 1993, I had my farewell. Aunt Lydia came. She hugged me and said I would be a wonderful missionary. Then, in 1994, she came to my homecoming. We visited and hugged again.

Aunt Lydia has now begun her final mission. She has returned to her husband and most of her family. In all of the years that I knew her, her love for the gospel will be what I remember. That is the impression that she left with me.

Here are some images that I would like to leave with you. There are pictures of her sister, Aunt Alice. There are some of her nephews and nieces. My sweet dad offered the dedication and said a very tender prayer. Her nephews shared stories and laughed about old times.

But in the end, all that was left, was the gentleman from the mortuary. He watched over the grave site and kept the spirit of the sweet afternoon sacred.

Til we meet again...

A day with Grandpa and Grandma

My parents have a membership to the zoo. With that membership, they are notified of special events. This past Saturday the zoo had a story telling time. Although the event itself was very far from superb, they had a great time at the zoo. They were encouraged to dress up like animals. Ivy didn't want to take hers off. I'm guessing she was perfectly warm and cozy. Jade didn't want to put hers on at all. The kids had a wonderful time. Thank you "dampa and Damma" for taking them to the zoo.

Following the zoo, they headed up to Park City to go to my cousin Emily's show. The kids all loved it. The picture Jade is pointed to, the girls insisted that it was me. The kids even struck a pose. They loved going there and I hope it is something they will continue to enjoy as they get older.

Thanks again Grandpa and Grandma for stealing our kids away for a wonderful Saturday.

Jade wanted...

Jade wanted to document some of her art work for the blog. She took my camera and snapped several pictures. Here are two. This first is of Scott and me on a date. Notice the disco ball and Scott's fancy bow tie. We're going to have to find a way to make this date night a reality. The bottom one shows the Christmas tree with all of the presents in front of it. Sadly, that one is pretty accurate.

Melt-in-your-mouth Caramels

Melt in your mouth Caramels

Baked Cajun Shrimp

Baked Cajun Shrimp

Future BYU Gymnast?

Friday night was a very fun night for Jade. Her gymnastics team got to perform at the BYU gymnastics meet. It was so cute. Jade got very excited watching the gymnasts. It refreshed her interest in gymnastics. She kept saying, "That was awesome!"

I was very impressed with how well she did. She had been really sick with a fever and a nasty cough. The doctor said it was just a cold and gave her cough syrup. I tried to get Jade to cancel on the meet, but there was absolutely no way she would miss it. Any time we told her she could stay home she'd say no way. There were a couple times that she was upset about her leo, or her bow and we said that she should stay home. She quickly adjusted her attitude and was ready to go.

Ivy was a crack up during the meet. She took off her shoes, shook her little fanny and enjoyed her candy and root beer.

Learning about the Temple...

When I was younger, we would get together with my cousins at least once a month for Sunday dinner. We gathered for birthdays and holidays. Now, we can go months without seeing them. It makes me very sad, but I guess everyone is just very busy.

A little over a week ago, we decided to gather. My uncle is a very wise man in the lessons of the gospel, so we got together for a Family Home Evening of sorts. The Draper Temple is currently open to visitors for an Open House. For many, if not all of the little kids, this is their first time getting to walk through a temple. So, we wanted to make sure they were prepared.

My mom did a very thoughtful lesson for the little kids and showed them pictures and talked about the sacred ordinances that take place inside the temple walls.

Then uncle shared with us the history of temples and tabernacles. It was a very thought provoking discussion and I greatly enjoyed hearing uncle speak to the family.

There were several members of the family not there, and here's a shout out to all of you that you were missed.

My birthday

Saturday the 21st was my 37th birthday. I can't believe I am getting so old. But, I had a wonderful birthday.

Friday night, Scott and I went to Wise Guys Comedy club with some friends of ours. We were planning on going to just the 8:00 show but they let everyone stay for the 10:00 hypnotist show. We did. It was hilarious. It would have been more fun if someone from our group would have gone up, but oh well.

My parents kept the girls over night. In the morning I went and met Grandma and Ivy at her dance class. Jade hung out a little longer with Grandpa. We spent the morning and afternoon hanging out at Grandpa and Grandma's house.

After a while, Scott, Ivy and I went shopping. Jade wanted to stay longer. I bought a really cute pair of jeans and Scott got several really great shirts. (It was really fun that my jeans are 2 sizes smaller than I used to wear). I love this diet.

In the evening, Grandpa and Grandma came up for some Baked Cajun Shrimp and presents.

The girls have been so excited to give me their presents. They started working on them earlier that week with Miss Kim. They each got me a flower pot and painted them beautifully. Then they filled them with dirt and impatience flowers. I'm so excited for spring so that they can start growing. Aren't they so darn cute!?

Scott gave me a huge surprise. He always does a fantastic job on my birthdays. He alwys comes through with something that I've been wanting but wouldn't ever buy for myself. This year was no different. He got me a sewing machine. (The one on my lap is not the one he got me).

A few days after my birthday, we went over to Nuttall's in American Fork and checked out some brother sewing machines. We were looking at one from Costco and the other from Nuttall's. We went with the one from Nuttall's. It's a bit better machine, works with the Disney embroidary patterns, free classes on how to use my machine, an extra font, a USB connection and a hard carrying case.

Here is my machine...