Indie Ogden

When we first moved to Ogden, we knew nothing about it.  Indie Ogden and my friend Alicia really opened our eyes. It's our third year going to the Indie Ogden Awards and it was our favorite year yet! 

Mikaela is the lady behind it all.  She's a super hip mom with 2 ADORABLE kids.  It's been fun watching Indie Ogden grow!

  This guy on the left is Richie T from X96.  But we all knew him from our SUU college days.  (Yes, he was on the radio there too.)  

Congrats Mikaela!

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.

Indie Ogden Awards

It's happened yet again!  Actually, it's the second one.  (First one here)  While, we weren't completely blown away like we were last time, it was still excellent, just on a smaller scale.  This time they had tables for everyone with little giftbags of coupons and treats. 

There weren't quite as many food booths, we heard some dropped out last minute, but the ones that were there we delish.  I still love Tona's Sushi probably the best in Ogden and the Union Grill's Bread Pudding was to die for.

But hey, the husband and I got out yearly photobooth shot done.  I also realized that I was wearing the same shirt last year too..weird.  

Loved Indie Ogden Awards!

have you ever seen such a large green table?

went on a date the other night!  the oaks, up ogden canyon.   i even bought some new shoes for it.

somehow we got their biggest table and benches, but it was right next to the river outside, and it was lovely.

see the river down below? 

see what i mean by "benches?"  it was a huge table.

we weren't super hungry and decided to get the appetizer platter.  i saw all the veggie options and though hooray!  for some reason i didn't think they would ALL be deep fried.  they were good, until they suddenly became ungood when i felt my heart stopping.  (i j/k. but seriously.)

oh, maybe you are like me?  the person who always drips something on themselves? ALWAYS.  plus i knocked over my water cup too.  i sure know how to impress my man.

what did we DIDN'T do this weekend? part one

i'll be the first to admit that i always plan way too much, especially when the husband is gone, even if it's just overnight. 

friday: obon dancing practice

little cousin laney came to practice too.  then we went for some ice cream at Farr's Ice Cream

next, we had a sleepover!  

as you can tell, laney girl slept very well. 

we woke up to a lovely thunderstorm and a downpour of rain.  we sat and talked listening and smelling the rain.  i had hoped we'd make to the farmer's market on 25th street, but it was raining way to hard.

luckily, the rain stopped!  off to the farmer's market we went!  

we didn't have time to walk through all the booths, but we were able to get laney a ride with the sheriff!

it's always fun to have some sister time

ogden has all these old pianos set out on the street.  so fun to listen and see them everywhere!  i really want to get a piano and do something like this to it.  it's been on my mind for a while now, i just need to do it. 

we decided to stop and get lunch at Lucky Slice Pizza on 25th. 

i mean, how awesome it this?

delicious pizza on top, while there was even more delicious bruschetta on the bottom (no cheese please) for me!  it really was as good as it looks.  

Hiking Waterfall Canyon

Well, sort of.  Alicia and I decided to start hiking...which would be totally fine except for the additional 15 pounds I've added to my front.  Let's just say she makes things more interesting.  And, since I am quite accident prone, I feel the need to be a little more cautious with her attached.  Hence, we didn't actually hike Waterfall Canyon, we briskly walked the Bonneville Trail.  (I'd like to hike it with my husband first and make HIM carry the precious cargo)

Speaking of precious cargo, Alicia was a little wary about hiking so she brought along her knife in case we met anyone unruly.

 

All was well!  We made it out in one piece. 

South Ogden Days

Happy First Day of Summer! 

Apparently, South Ogden City, thought they would start it off with a carnival and car show.  You guys, I love summer.  Today the weather was perfect.

My husband has been out of town all week for Scout Camp and I can't wait until he gets home to take me for a romantic ferris wheel ride.  (He doesn't know it's happening yet.)

I really want to go back at night, I love all the lights.

I love vintage cars.  They just don't make them like they used too.

There are some pretty awesome booths out there too.

Baby girl and her favorite Auntie.

Look at the happy guy on the right! Isn't it so nice that he's smiling in our picture? 

I kind of wish I had signed up for this. 

Mud Volleyball.  All these years, I've been doing it all wrong. 

I hope my fellow Footzoners don't see this.  I have a soft spot for Hot Dogs, Polish Dogs.  Really, it's bad.  I can say no to sugar, but ask me about the processed meat dog and I cave. 

We also tried a Funnel Cake...not my favorite, but perhaps after my Polish Dog everything wasn't good.

Oh, the colors of Summer!

Oh, how I would have puked.  The Gravitron.

Now, that we live in Ogden, I've been trying hard to get out and see what it has to offer.  I haven't been disappointed yet. Plus, I am pretty sure that I'm going to this Demolition Derby.

Also, check out Indie Ogden.  They are one of the main reasons I started getting into the Local Stuff.  Plus, I'm going to write some articles for them!