The lower lights

I've got a new tradition.  My gal Alex and I have been buddies since college.  She invited me to the Lower Lights concert, which I had just heard about from my other blog here.  Alex and I have always been kindred spirits, from our Construction Management program, to our girly outfits and our love for Anthropologie.  I also knew that she would TOTALLY wear these holiday crowns to the concert and be just as excited as I was about it.  

The concert was at the Masonic Temple in Salt Lake City. It is quite the building.  So many cool things and so little time to check it out.  You can't tell, but the ceiling looked like the sky. 

I wasn't really quite sure what to expect, I had only listened to a few songs (here.)  Check them out.

The concert was phenomenal.  It was so. much. fun. I also believe that they sounded so much better in person too actually.  They had a bunch of additional singers and fiddlers.  

Amazing.

At the end of the concert they allowed people to come up and dance.  You better believe Alex and I went up.  My only regret was that I didn't bring my family.  They do allow kids at the concert.

Thanks so much Alex.  It opened up a whole new world.  

Bees Game

The Husband's office had their summer party at a Bees Game.  We'd never been to a game yet, so we were excited to go.

One moment she is quietly cuddling, only to turn into this crazy child whipping her head about.

She kept pointing at the sky and say "Airplane!"  I had to explain to her that dragonflies were not the same thing.

Luckily, it was a pretty cool night.  While we didn't get to stay for the whole game, it was still a fun family outing!

Welcome to the Selfie section of this blog.  Yes, Aiko really is that chubby.  Yes, little brother is that pale and smiley.  

Random photo after we got home. 

Yes, little brother can almost hold onto his bottle.  Adorable right?!

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.

Christmas Lights

We went with the church youth to go see the temple lights this year.  Which, I feel that the temple lights have lessened, plus I also had to find a bathroom immediately, so I didn't really get any good pictures in temple square.

We walked past the Macy Candy windows, which were pretty cool and then we sat in City Creek waiting for their water show...which was extremely short.

It's a good thing that part of City Creek is heated, because this kid wouldn't stay in her bear suit this year.

Ninja Baby.

The water light show, well, it wasn't that awesome.  It seemed too short to be something to wait for.  Aiko wasn't super impressed.

what did we didn't do this weekend? part two

after the farmer's market we decided to go see the obon festival in salt lake.

as you can tell, some of us were happy.  hannah was just upset because she didn't take a nap (seriously.)  we waited in the car for 20 minutes for it to stop pouring. 

luckily it dried up and we were able to get some sushi and get ready to watch the taiko drummers!

aiko loves to see her japanese heritage and eat the oranges, including the rinds.

you guys...i'm so excited!  i'm going to be learning how to do this in september!!