One Mormon and 32 Jews at the LDS Temple....

SO - what do you get when you put one Mormon and 32 Jews in the new LDS Oquirrh Temple? Answer: A private guided tour arranged by President Packer for the Temple Kol Ami members. Since David is a member, I was able to join his congregation for a special guided tour led by the Stake President, (President Homer), and his 2 counselors, along with 2 members of the LDS public relations office.

Before the tour, I was speaking with President Homer and asked how this tour happened to come about - he said that there was an inter-faith luncheon that President Monson attended along with several Rabbis from the valley, and President Monson arranged for the rabbis to have a private guided tour of the temple. David's rabbi, (Rabbi Rosen was among the group). Rabbi Rosen also took the tour a second time along with the general public, and President Packer extended the invitation to Rabbi Rosen for her to bring her congregation to the temple for a special guided tour of the temple and they would also be allowed to ask questions about the temple and the LDS faith.

I was so honored to be among the guests, and learned so much more than I would have just walking through on our own. And the Kol Ami congregation was treated very special. As they were moved from room to room, the various other tours were stopped, and the congregation was ushered into the rooms alone, the doors were closed and they were told the symbolic meanings of each room, what each room was used for, and were also allowed to asked questions.

The most often asked question was: if there was a higher authority between the rooms, and between the different temples in our faith. Which of course between the temples there is no differences.

We learned that the marble for the baptisty was imported from China, and the chandelier in the Celestial Room is over 15 feet tall and has over 19,447 individual hand cut Austrian Swarovski Crystals and that each painting hanging in the temple was personally approved by President Monson. President Homer estimates that over 600,000 visitors will tour the temple prior to the August 1st dedication.

This was indeed a very special temple tour. Then of course on to Dave's favorite part of every tour - the tent with the cookies. We were quite surprised to look at our watches and discover that this tour took 2 hours, twice as long as normal - but so worth it I think.

First Tomatoes of the Season

On Monday, (7/13/09), I picked the first 2 ripe tomatoes from our garden. Although they are small, they were pretty, and delicious. The others that are coming on are larger, and we should have a couple more next week. This year we decided to spend extra money on larger plants and we are reaping the benefits of fruits earlier. YUM. We have been enjoying lettuce, green onions, and broccoli for over a month and it has been wonderful. I noticed that our zucchini, green peppers, and Dave's hot peppers are also producing and should be ready to pick in a couple of weeks. When we got back from vacation, I planted green beans, (since our cucumbers all washed out from all the rains), and with all the hot weather, the beans are already sprouted and 2 inches tall. We are so blessed that Heavenly Father provides for us in such simple ways.

NEVER ask your husband for help...

When you have a photo taken and your 10 year old grandson decides at the very last minute to add bunny ears to your head, it can really be very upsetting. So, one would think that being married to a wonderful, caring husband that if you ask him to "fix the bunny ears" - the problem would be solved. Right!!?? Well, seems as thought I also forget about the prankster side of my husband and yea, he "FIXED" the bunny ears alright!!!

Must have been a real slow day at work for him... In fact, now that I look at it, it's not even the same picture !!!

Family Vacation for the 4th

This year Dave and I went back East for 10 days, it has been several years since we've visited my mom's sisters and my cousins in West Virginia. As a surprise, Dave bought an airline ticket for my grandson Ian to accompany us. We left early on Friday morning, (6/26/09 @ 6:00am), with a 3 hour lay over in Dallas, and arrived in Pittsburgh at 4:00pm. Everyone was surprised to see Ian and loved the idea that we brought him along. They were amazed that he grew so much since the last time they saw him.


And of course Ian's favorite part of the trip was Aunt Judy's new kitten, 11 week old Billy. Aunt Judy thought Ian was going to rub the fur off Billy.



On Saturday afternoon Dave, Ian, Aunt Judy, my cousin Russell and I went to town did some Wally World shopping, (Wal Mart), then had lunch at Applebee's. My Aunt and cousin have never had French Onion soup, so Dave made sure that they ordered it, and sure enough they LOVED it.



As a special surprise to my Aunt Judy, (she's 62), Dave and I purchased her a new stove and it was delivered by Lowes on Saturday. Her old stove was purchased in 1972, and only 1 burner was working on it. She was so surprised, we told her "Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Every Holiday". She kissed and hugged us - I thought she was going to cry. Dave and I cooked lots, and gave the stove quite a workout while we were there. They LOVE Mexican food, so on Sunday night we made up a batch of chicken and a batch of beef enchiladas. Then we made up another batch of each and froze them - so they could have them after we left. All kinds of cooking was done on that new stove that week.

On Tuesday morning; Dave, Ian, Judy, and I went on a little mini vacation to Morgantown. Dave and I used one of our timeshare weeks to reserve a 2 bedroom condo at Lakeview Golf Resort. On Tuesday night we went to Pittsburgh, (1 1/2 hour away), and had dinner at The Melting Pot. My Aunt and Ian both were mesmerized and loved it.

Here's Ian's video at Pittsburgh: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6DlOWB6K9c



On Wednesday Dave surprised Judy and I with a day spa treatment at Roma Spa located at the resort. When they found out Judy had never ever been to a spa, they treated her like royalty, as you can see from the photo :). We both got hot wax pedicures, and hour long massages. My Aunt was born with spina bifada and her back gives her a lot of pain, and after the massage, for the first time in months she was pain free, and has been pain free now for over 2 weeks. She wants to try to start getting massages every month now. I told her to get her doctor to write a prescription so her medical card would help pay for it as a therapeutic message. While we were being pampered, Dave and Ian swam in the pool. On Thursday, it poured the rain, but we played cards, talked and enjoyed the day inside. On Friday we went back to Judy's house.


On Saturday we celebrated the 4th of July and my cousin Russell's birthday, (which is on the 6th), with a picnic. My 86 year old Aunt Mae, my 2nd cousin Violet Grace, her husband Bob, Dave, Ian, Russell, and I ate until we were stuffed. There was so much food. A neighbor of my Aunt's stopped by and visited and we all told jokes and laughed. Then about 5:00 it was time to head into town for the 4th of July show.


AND GUESS WHAT ???? Along with more food, fireworks, and entertainment, we found out that Elvis is actually alive and well and living in of all places Gassaway, West Virginia. Go Figure !!


We arrived home on Sunday, July 5th around 11:15 pm, and got to our front door around midnight. So tired....

Anyways, it was great to see everyone, but when I think of family vacations I remember what Johnny Carson once said about Thanksgiving: "It's the one time of year you travel hundreds of miles to see everyone, and thank God, it's only 1 day a year".... AMEN Johnny. It's always good to be back home.