Aaahhhhh. Valentine's Day.

For Valentine's Day, Doug sent me roses. Sometimes I get roses, sometimes chocolates, sometimes both. Sometimes I can't predict what he will end up surprising me with . This year, Doug knew that he wouldn't be home most of the day, so he sent them to me on Friday. He planned on having them arrive after he had left with his scouts, but they came while he was still home. He handed them to me, and explained that he was going to choose red (because I love red roses), but saw these and thought they were perfect. A rainbow in a vase.

These are my roses the first day. Different phases of blooming, but all beautiful.

Here are some of my favorites on Saturday. All starting to bloom. I love to see the petals gradually open. Roses go through such a change as they open up. So pretty to watch.

I took tons of pictures of them, but I love this one. You can see the velvety texture of the petals. They smell so good, and my whole house smells like roses.

Here they are, all open and beautiful. The yellow have been the last to open, but they are finally on their way. I have truly loved my rainbow in a vase. Thanks, sweetie!

Our day in the Draper Temple.

On February 7, I took my little family to the Draper Temple open house. We had some extra tickets, so we invited my 2 sisters and their families to go with us. It was so fun to go together. The Temple itself is beautiful, but of course, I am wild about temples. I am always so glad I live in a time where there are so many. It never ceases to amaze me that I am lucky enough to live at this time of the earth. What if I had lived back when the Levites were the only ones that could do ordinances? What if I had lived in a time where the gospel had been removed from the earth? I would never have the chance to experience the miracle and wonder of Temple work. What did I do in the pre-earth life that gave me the opportunity to live now?

The Draper Temple has the Sego Lily motif recurring in it's decor. It is in this glass,

and in the rug in the Bride's room, as well as other places. The design has a very relaxed feel, and there is a depiction of wildlife everywhere you turn.

I really liked these stained glass windows. They are beautiful in the sunlight. Very arts-and-crafts-y. I love that style.

This is my cute sister, Trina, with 2 of her boys, Jayden and Bridger. I am not sure they really understood what we were doing there, and what they were seeing, but I think they still had fun.

They especially liked the cookies at the end. So did I. We all wondered who had made them, and how many they went through every day. With the size of the crowds, that had to be tons and tons of cookie dough.

After we went through, we all stopped to take a picture. (After we finished our cookies, of course.) This is my littlest sis, Misty, with her hubby, Clint.

This is our little family of 3. I think we were all tired, and Doug was ready to go home. He needed some down time. Does it show? I am seriously rethinking the straight hair thing, and Miriam looks like she is eyeing another cookie. Definitely time to get us all home to relax together.

This is such a great opportunity to show our families and friends what a temple is really like. Most people never get the chance to enter one. Miriam feels so lucky that she was sealed to us. She just loves that she has been inside of a Temple to do her own work. I downloaded these pictures from the church website. You can view them, or you can download them to keep for yourself. There is also tons of information about the building, itself, and a few videos, as well. I was waiting to post so I could include one of them, but for some reason they are not all working. Still fun to browse, though. My favorite thing was the Celestial room ceiling. I could have stood there for hours staring at it, at least until my neck gave out.

Wouldn't you just love to have that on your bedroom ceiling, and wake up to it every morning? I feel so blessed to live in a time where these buildings are becoming so prolific. In just a few more months, we will have the opportunity to attend the Oquirrh Hills Temple open house. Even as a child growing up in this state, I never dreamed we would need so many temples. It is wonderful to be driving at night, and see a temple all lit up. They are so beautiful, and you can see them for miles.

In answer to my question in the beginning: I believe that I was sent here as a member of the church at this time, because I would be faithful and passionate in going about my Father's business. We are members of the church at this point in history, because we can accomplish his plans for those who came before. If there was one thing that I want to do while I am here, it is to bring my family, those who are here now and those who came before, to the temple to be together forever.

A three hour tour.

Here is what happened: We had been thinking we would go to the boat show last weekend. We are actually in the market for another boat. Nothing expensive or flashy, just something we can spend time with family and friends on. We miss that, now that we don't have a boat anymore.

Wednesday evening I was pulling into the driveway after scouts, and I rolled down the window to say "Hi" to Doug as he was walking to the front porch. Just as I rolled down the window, the DJ came on the radio to announce that the 10th caller would win boat show tickets. I told Doug to grab his phone and call. He pulled it out of his pocket, and actually had it on speed dial. Who'da thunk it? He was caller 3.

We went into the house, and he continued to call, but got busy signals over and over. We had a conversation about our day, talked about some scout things he said he'd help with, and then he called again. It rang and rang and rang. We continued to chat. He asked me if I thought he should stay on the phone, I said, "Why not? It won't hurt." In the middle of saying something to me, they actually answered the phone and told him he was caller 10. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I was stunned. Why can't those things happen when you can win something really good?

We went to the boat show and had too much fun looking at boats. It made me feel like spring might actually come, especially with all the snow we have had this week. It amazes me that they can fit so many boats in the building, and they are soooo close together. This boat was the least expensive we could find that night. That made it a winner for us.

Doug found a bunch that he wanted. The one he was really interested in can't be fitted with a wake board tower, so that was eliminated. As if we could afford any of them, anyway. Miriam had fun touring the houseboats and checking out the view.

She loved this boat. It looked cool, and she thought it would go super fast, so we took a picture of her with it. I think she would rather be in it, instead of underneath it, though.

Dad gave her the nickname "Skeeter" years ago, so of course we had to take this picture. She liked that it was sparkly, too.

Seeing that Doug and I are both graduates of AF high, we are grateful that someone is looking out for us. Go, Cavemen! Here is the proof in red, white, and black (school colors!):

We also saw some wakeboard demonstrations that were fun. Ok, to be truthful, most of them were the same stunts over and over, but one of the last ones was cool.

This boat had my vote. There was one down the aisle that had a TV on the passenger side, and I thought it would be great for kids when they have had enough, but it was in the way of the view out the front, and who needs a built in tv on a boat? You are out there to get away from that sort of thing. Besides, Doug would probably put one in, anyway. I would rather go for this one. Ahhh, someday.

We also saw some great choppers. I wish I had taken a picture of one that looked like a snake, but didn't think about it at the time. Very cool! I loved this one, too. It was airbrushed in black, but it definitely made me see things in red, white, and blue. Doug is a huge fan of motorcycles, and it seems to be rubbing off on Miriam.

We invited Erlene and Grant to go with us, and had a fun night. We seemed to get there at the right time, just before it got very crowded. We ate dinner, and had a fantastic time dreaming about warmer weather. I want to go again. Spring fever, anyone? After all was said and done, we finally found the boat we could afford. Too bad the kids wouldn't get out of it for us.

Any one up for a ride in the S.S. Mini-Minnow? Just for three hours or so, we'll be back before dinner. Right, little buddy?

What's in a name?

Great Grandpa Williams holding the littlest one of our family. I think I am going to use photoshop on that finger, though.

Last Sunday was the day that my little sister, Misty, and her husband, Clint, blessed their little girl, Brookelin Capri. The debate goes on as to whether we should call her Brookelin, or Capri. Maybe I haven't spent enough time with her, but I can't get it the same two times in a row. Of course, every time I am around my little sis, I end up calling her by my daughter's name, and I start calling my daughter, Misty. When I visit my Dad, I start calling him Doug. What is that about? Why do I have that problem? I'm sure it says something bizarre about me, I'm just not sure what it is. Maybe I just don't get out enough. I am working on it, though. Someday I will remember to call people by the correct name, at least that's what I tell myself.

This was one of the rare occasions that our family was mostly all in attendance. We didn't have a chance to get pictures, because not everyone could stay for the luncheon afterwards, but out of 10 siblings, 7 were in attendance. One lives out of state, one has passed away, and one couldn't make it. We also had my Dad's parents there. What an amazing thing for this family, we almost never get to see each other all at the same time. That was a pretty good turn out, considering. What a keepsake photo to use for her genealogy. Her four generations together to welcome her into the family.

I wish you could take a picture of the moment when all of the men gather together to give her a name and a blessing. My Grandpa at 90 years old, standing with his oldest son (my Dad), who is standing with his own sons, and the sons that became his through his daughters. All joining to show support and love for a little baby and her father in asking our Heavenly Father to watch over her. Such a powerful moment. We had a chance to celebrate a new little girl in the family that belongs to the youngest in my family. How fortunate are we that we have that opportunity? Quite a reality check. I guess I thought Misty would always be the baby, now she has one of her own.