Payson Temple Open House

On May 2nd, we were able to attend the Payson Temple Open House with Troy's family. It was such a great day. We have loved watching this temple grow from the mound of dirt we first saw when it was announced to the gorgeous building it is today. I'm not going to lie, taking our kids through was lots of work. We were exhausted by the end. It was completely worth it though to be able to teach them about the temple and show them the inside of this beautiful place.

Gray loves temples. His favorite primary song is, "I Love to See the Temple." He asks me to sing it to him every night when I put him to bed. Every time Gray sees a temple, he points and yells, "Temple! Temple! Pretty Temple!" So being able to take him inside was such a great experience. You can see him pointing up at the temple in some of the pictures.

Clara never likes to be contained. So the beginning of the tour during the video was rough. I ended up taking her out and chasing her through the halls. We also had to take breaks from the line into the temple itself, to keep her and Gray entertained. Once we got inside however, she calmed down a little. And when we were in the Celestial room, she just held Uncle Landon's hand and walked on her own. This is a huge deal. She doesn't do that very often. I think she could feel the special spirit there. Sweet girl.

Jackson had questions about everything. It was so fun to show him the baptismal font and tell him all about it. Same with the sealing room and the altar and mirrors there. We could point out all the little details and share our testimonies of what a special place the temple is. I'm so grateful we had this experience with our children.

The temple itself was exquisite. The dark wood throughout is just gorgeous. The furniture has some bold, but beautiful patterns and colors. Beautiful stained glass windows are featured throughout the entire building. Neil showed us how the flowers in the stained glass start as buds on the main floor/baptistry and then gradually bloom into full flowers in the Celestial room. There was beautiful artwork through the temple with gorgeous mountain landscapes, reflecting the area where the temple stands. The murals in the endowment rooms were just beautiful. And the place where the temple sits is also gorgeous. It is surrounded by a sod farm, so there are fields and fields of green, green grass that are just perfect. I love it!

After the tour, we took pictures in front of the temple, and then visited with Troy's Grandpa Bushman who, at almost 97 years old, was out in the parking lot, directing traffic. What a legacy of faith and commitment to serve! Grandpa Bushman and Christa began working the same shift as temple workers the week after the dedication.  Neil works in the Payson temple as well. I'm so grateful for the incredible faithful examples my children have to look up to. Our kids come from good stalk.

Jackson's Friend Party

For Jackson's friend birthday party this year, we had a breakfast and played t ball in the backyard. We had so much fun with these kiddos. My mom was so nice and took Clara and Gray during the party so we could focus our energy on Jackson and his buddies. Macy and Holly came dressed in their baseball gear and ready to play. It was adorable!

Jackson had a blast. I love how social Jackson is. He was so happy to share this day with his friends. I love the way he loves other people. We are sure proud of this boy.

Macy Dalling, Dagen and Ethan Rugg, Holly Dalling, Jackson, Seth Preston, and Jens Larsen

April 2015

A random April post for your viewing pleasure. Jackson got a ninja mask for his birthday and became a real- hard-core ninja guy. Pose and all.

Gray decided the dishwasher utensil bin was a great garage for his cars. He has started putting his cars in there when the dishwasher is empty. He lines the cars all up and then closes the door and says, "Bye cars!" Cute boy.

Grandma Barneck surprised the kids with new swimming suits for Easter. Gray picked his out himself. He wanted the swim shorts that had sharks one them. The next day he fell to PIECES that I would not let him wear the shorts. It was raining and cold outside. I let him wear the matching swim shirt, but that didn't appease him. So I sent my parents this picture of him sobbing in his high chair waiting for breakfast. Who knew shark shorts could be so loved? Ha.

Also a picture of Gray being cute in the tub. That boy is a crazy in the tub. He splashes and jumps until everything in the entire bathroom is wet. And he loves every second of it.

In April, Jackson and Gray celebrated their birthdays with their cousins who also have April birthdays: Madi, Boston, and Nikita. So funny how many grandchildren are packed into one month. They loved all blowing out the candles together. That day we also hit some golf balls in the backyard and Regan bounced the kids on the tramp from underneath. Our kids have cool uncles.

A picture Jackson drew of our family. So sweet!

Troy and I used our painting party Groupon. We had so much fun painting together. We also realized what perfectionists we are. Ha. Troy was a good sport doing this date with me, since it was my idea. We liked doing something different than we usually do, and we ended up with two fun paintings.

A picture of Gray being super cool with the sunglasses (from last year) that are now too small for his big head. Ha.

Lastly, I purchased a Garmin vivofit. Same idea as a Fit Bit, but different brand. It counts my steps for me and has an app that you sync to so you can compete with others. My mom and sisters have them too. It has been so fun! I am super competitive, so it totally motivates me to exercise. For the first time in my life I have been exercising regularly, so it's kind of a big deal. I get up and run for a 15 minutes every morning. I know it's not much, but makes me feel so good. I get about 2500 steps doing that and it jump starts my day. It also motivates me to get up early so that I can exercise and also work before the kids wake up. I don't know if I've mentioned it on the old blog, but I got a job with a company called Wumpsee.com. It is a calendar event website and I enter events for them from home. I'm paid per entry, so the demands are flexible and I'm able to work while the kids are sleeping. It's been such a blessing to us financially. We've been able to save up for some updates to our house which otherwise would have never happened. Anyway, long story short, that last photo is one Troy took of me and my mom running in place at Gray's birthday party to get more steps. Troy teases me that I have a sickness. Ha. Good thing it is a "sickness" that is helping me be more active.

Hooray for April!