Tea Party

A few weeks ago we stopped at the Treehouse Museum.  Aiko still loves it.  You'd think after going so many times we'd get bored.  But we never to do. 

We had a tea party in the British Section this time. Which, I'd never even seen or noticed before.  I'll admit, I probably had just as much fun as she did.  I love watching her play "pretend."

She would drink some tea and then smack her lips and say "Ahhhh."

Can they make this stove for my kitchen?

Little Brother and dad were watching from their mini recliner.  Little brother dressed up for tea.

Aiko loves animals.  LOVES them.  In the Germany section we found this little Playhouse.  Some of the other kids were putting on a play. 

Aiko and I decided to put on our own play.  It's a play about little animals that get smashed by a giant baby in red shoes.  The end.

 

Aiko embracing her inner-quarter-Asian self. Don't worry, Pikachu is in the Japanese section. 

Ogden Temple Open House

 

 Last week, we were able to go to the Ogden Temple Open House.  It was beautiful.  Thanks for inviting us Roxanne!

Last week was crazy.  We were going to Iowa to see my Grandpa before he died...then we turned around and then didn't go.  Then we were going to go.  It was just a hectic, sad time.  Walking through the temple brought some calm into the storm.  Once we got to the celestial room, I was overwhelmed with a sense of peace.  I knew everything was going to be okay, and that Grandpa would be home soon.

Love this little family of mine!

Ogden Temple.

I wrote this article for Indie Ogden.

Religion is in my blood.  Years ago, my great-grandfather ran away from his home in Japan to come to America to be a pastor.  He settled in Ogden long before the original Ogden Temple was built.  My great-grandfather was the Pastor for the Ogden Japanese Christian Church for years.   His son (My grandfather) later joined the LDS church, and my family has been members of the LDS church ever since.  

I can’t even fathom what my ancestors would think, if they could see Ogden now.  No longer the fields of farmers, it is now one of the main hubs of Utah. Ogden has become host to huge, crowd-drawing events year-round. Not only did we just have an epic weekend by Pepsi, Ogden is also hosting the Tour of Utah and the USA Cycling masters Road National Championships, in the near future.  The Ogden Temple open house is expected to be another huge event. According to Fox 13 News, “More than 500,000 people have RSVP’d for the open house.”   That’s an average of 13,500 people PER DAY, for the next 37 days!    So. Many. People.

(Photo from Wikipedia)

On February 17, 2010 the LDS Church announced that the Ogden Temple would “undergo major exterior and interior renovations.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogden_Utah_Temple)  .  The Ogden Temple was originally dedicated in 1972 and was the 14^th temple.   Now, there are 142 temples worldwide, with 13 of them in Utah.

With the renovation, the square footage of the temple dropped from 131,000 sf to 115,000 sf.   The original entrance was changed from the west side to the east side, facing Washington Boulevard.  The exterior, which was designed in the 1970s, has been completely redone in stone and beautiful stained glass windows.  No small detail has been overlooked.  As the temple is a very sacred place for the LDS church, only the best of the best materials have been used.  (To view a gallery of the Ogden Temple before renovation please click here.  To view a gallery during construction click here. )  

Ogden Utah Temple.© 2014 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

Before a temple is dedicated, the LDS Church holds a public Open House for the Temple.  Our own Ogden Temple Open House will be held August 1 to September 6.  The tour includes a guided tour of the temple and the tabernacle building next door, along with a short 10 minute movie.   Visitors can ask questions and walk the grounds of the temple.  (To reserve tickets click here.) 

 

There will also be a Cultural Celebration on September 20, 2014 at the Weber State University Dee Events Center.  Youth from the LDS church, aged from 12-18 will be participating.  Dance and music practices are already being held for the event.  Elder Craig Fisher was quoted from standard.net saying, “We have original music written by people in the temple district. It focuses on our pioneer heritage, Ogden history, the Golden Spike, the Hispanic community, the Indian people and other prominent people from the area. It will be wonderful.”

Although, I am very excited for the open house, I am also just glad to have the temple finished.  For me, the temple is a place of peace and comfort.  It is a place that I can get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life there.   Hopefully, as you tour the grounds, you’ll be able to feel that same peace too.  It’s great to have our Ogden Temple complete once again.  

To read more about why the LDS Church builds Temples click here.

Public Open House Information (from LDSChurchtemples.com)

 The general public, including children of all ages, is invited to attend an open house of the Ogden Utah Temple. Admission is free, but reservations are requested.

Reservations:  Open house tickets are available at templeopenhouse.lds.org/tickets.
Open House Dates:  Friday, August 1, through Saturday, September 6, 2014, except for Sundays (August 3, August 10, August 17, August 24, and August 31, 2014)

Hours:

Sunday:  Closed Monday:  8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday–Saturday:  8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Location:  350 22nd Street, Ogden, Utah – View Map 

Dress:  Modest dress is requested. 

Parking:  Parking attendants will guide you to an available parking space. Plan to arrive early to allow time for traffic and parking.
Tours:  Open house tours will generally last about an hour. Tours will begin in the tabernacle on the north side of the temple where a ten-minute video will be presented. Following the video, there will be a tour of the temple. Guests are invited to visit the reception area after the tour to enjoy various displays about the temple and ask questions.

For more tour information and tickets click here.

To read about other everyday LDS Mormons click here

Other Utah Temples: Bountiful Temple, Brigham City Temple, Draper Temple, Jordan River Temple, Logan Temple, Manti Temple, Monticello Temple, Mount Timpanogos Temple, Oquirrh Mountain Temple, Provo Temple, Salt Lake Temple, St. George Temple, and Vernal Temple.

Jokes, Yarn Bombs and some Art.

Another weekend down on 25th street.  It's crazy how many things they have going on just down on that small street.  We passed by these guys, who were telling jokes.  I'm not sure about what, but I thought they were quite the crew.  My dad got me a new lens for my camera and I was trying my best to look like I knew what I was doing. (Thanks Dad!)

You may know this, you may not, but I love yarn.  I love crocheting, I wish I knew how to knit.  I have a whole section of my craft room bursting with yarn everywhere.  I've always got some yarn or pattern sitting around the house.  Crochet hooks are everywhere.  I love yarn.  So imagine my excitement to see some yarn bombing going on!  Who cares if it wasn't super pretty sometimes, it's just so much color...EVERYWHERE! 

I realize this is a very awkward photo, I'm not sure what I was doing, but it's yarn. 

 

  
See his socks?

Every year they have this Arts Festival for raising funds for the Union Station.  Artists come from all over and there are all sorts of different styles.  

One of the booths we found was a 3d printer.   The concept still blows my mind so I was super excited to see it in real life.  This is something from Star Trek or something.  Apparently, you take whatever material and design and this machine creates it for you.  It's the future people. 

Aiko and Auntie Hannah dancing to music. 

If you get a chance, just go walk down 25th Street.  It's beautiful.  Plus, every Saturday there is a huge Farmer's Market. 

One of my favorite pizza places.  They even have Vegan choices. 

 

A few more Yarn Bomb favorites!

 

Also, I was taking this awkward, shameless selfie and found it quite hilarious.  It kind of reminded me of those Native American paintings with a girl that's surrounded by the moon or wolf. . . except mine is more awesome because it appears I'm emerging out of a nice knit sweater. 

I'm cool like that. 

Rovalis

had us a good time this last week with our friend's natalie and marcus.  we went down to historic 25th (coupon in hand from indie ogden) and ate at Rovali's

prices were fair, food was delicious

topped with lavender lemonade (yes that's right, super good too)

along with a free cheesecake dessert (well the husband ate it)

we seriously debated about getting out to look at the lights in downtown ogden

it was like 28 degrees, then i remember my little sister hali...

she's in russia and it's -31 degrees

needless to say, we decided to get out and walk

good company theatre

good buddy alicia just opened a new theater in historic downtown ogden.

it's a lovely place.

good company theater

i'm super excited to go see the shows!

alicia and i have been friends since the early nineties 

(which makes me feel and sound super old right!?)

she and i would wear red bandanas whilst running amuck on the soccer fields.

aww, the good old soccer days. 

how we both miss you.

we are both kindred spirits through knee surgeries

both wish we could play again, both realizing we shouldn't.

love this lady.  

she's always bettering the world.