Bountiful temple

We didn't feel like bugging anyone to take the picture of all three of us. So we did it in pieces. Of course Hyrum had to be in both.

Hyrum loves living on the edge.

Family thoughts:

This is the temple we go to most often. It is almost exactly five minutes away from our home. The best room in this temple is definitely the celestial room. When you get here in the afternoon the sun is just blazing in! We try and make it here weekly.

Hyrum Loves the water! (or in his words "wa wa")

Logan Utah Temple Trip

Since we know practically no one in Logan we decided to make this a full day event. I went to the first session and then Marc went after I was done.


It was such a great day at the temple! We were so glad it decided not to rain today.




Marc's Thoughts:

The Logan temple is definitely one of the oldest in the church. You can tell by its rock facade and smaller interior rooms. It lacks some of the details and woodwork you find in the newer temples. I only switched rooms once during the session and it was only to go to the veil. This is very different than any other temple I have been too. The celestial room sits right underneath the cupola and has a gorgeous spindly chandelier. This is another temple that attests to the strength and dedication of the first saints in these later days.

Lori's Thoughts:
The session for me was really nice except for one thing...I had to go to the bathroom about half way through. This pregnancy has been different than with Hyrum because every time I have to go to the bathroom, it feels like the baby purposefully sits right on top of it. I was dying by the end and had a hard time walking because it hurt so bad. After this experience I have decided that from now on I should just inconvenience everyone and just go when I need to instead of holding it because it was a lot harder to focus during the end, which is my favorite part. It was still wonderful to be there but with pregnancy there are always little bonuses. What do you do?


Hyrum was such a sweetheart the entire time. He played outside for hours.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Jen (Marc's Sister) was really nice and watched Hyrum while we went


Marc's Thoughts:
This temple is filled with natural light. The long windows visible from the exterior bring all the light into the interior. It's a very simple rectangular shape. All the offices and changing rooms are on the first floor with the kingdom rooms on the second. It is always a treat to be the witness couple.


I am still trying hard to hide that baby belly.

Lori's Thoughts:
This session was lovely. This time through I had an overwhelming feeling of how amazing the temple is. The blessings we receive for not only ourselves individually, but for our families - past and future generations as well. It was incredible the power that this sacred ceremony fills you with. It was also a treat to be with Marc and to be the witness couple too! I loved the light woods used in the temple. It was gorgeous!

Manti Temple Trip

We were able to hit another temple this weekend. Manti! Lori is a bit attached to this temple because she went to Snow College for 2 1/2 years and was able to attend the temple frequently to do baptisms. We chose this weekend because it was the Manti Pageant as well. The Scholes were nice enough to let us stay with them. He was Lori's institute teacher and then the LD Singers director with Lori as well. He is awesome and his wife is fabulous and we had such a good time with them! They even watched Hyrum so that we could go to the temple and do a session together this time. Even though Lori had a little cold, it was a great weekend vacation.

We went and saw the Manti Pageant Friday night. We put Hyrum to bed at the Scholes and they were there in case he woke up so that we could go worry free. This was Marc's first time. We both loved the lighting and the weather. We forgot our camera on Friday night so we took a picture this picture on Saturday morning. We didn't sit in these seats but instead opted for a blanket, pillows and cuddling on a patch of grass. It was very romantic and a lot of fun!


Lori posing after the session.

Lori's Thoughts about the Temple:
This was such a wonderful session. For being at 7:00 in the morning, I was surprisingly alert and loved all of the peaceful feelings that surrounded me. This temple rivals the Salt Lake temple in elegance. It is so beautiful. Plus I love live sessions. They are my favorite. And to be there with Marc is always an added bonus. During this session I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for the gospel. Where would I be without it? I don't want to know. This was a wonderful temple trip!


Yes, Marc is a stud.

Here is a picture of us with The Scholes! They were so nice and let us stay at their home! We love them both.

Marc's Thoughts on the Temple:
One of the last live temple’s in the church. It was magnificent to move from room to room and try and follow the direction of the temple. The layout of this temple is a giant maze. The Creation room was painted with vivid murals depicting the 6 days. The front of the room had a large doorway in its center covered in curtains. Steps lead up to this opening. The Garden room was vivid with lots of pastels and large strokes and colors on the walls. The front of the room had two shade structures that hid us from seeing what went on behind. Stairs lead out of the Creation room and into a high ceilinged room that had a large man painted on the front. The man appeared to be of American Indian decent. The murals on the walls depicted periods of man’s history. The terrestrial room is the most phenomenal room of all! It has the best blue curtains high ceilings and lots of open space. Two fluted, Corinthian, columns support the ceiling in the center. The celestial room is simple in design with an ornate ceiling and comfortable chairs. The part I disliked about this temple was the hard wooden benches we sat on throughout the session. They were painted white and were pretty just not comfortable.

Aren't we the cutest couple ever!

Ogden Temple Trip

Our mom Patty was kind enough to watch Hyrum for us on Wednesday night so that we could go do a session at the Ogden Temple. It was so awesome! Here are some pics and thoughts about it!



Marc's Thoughts on the Ogden Temple:

This temple and the Provo temple are considered the most symbolically correct temples by many church scholars. It is a temple rich in simplicity. Much of what happens in the session deals with progression and this temple helps to reinforce that point with its architecture; Moving from the outside walls in and from the ground floor up until reaching the center celestial room. It was nice to finally do a session with Lori. The celestial room reminds me a lot of the South Jordan temple with weaving lines of metal in the glass and a large central chandelier.



Lori's Thoughts on the Ogden Temple:

Upon entering this temple, I felt a wave of dejavu because it looks and feels so much like the Provo temple. I felt like I was in the MTC again. Fun memories! Except my companion is now eternal! I am one lucky girl! It was so nice to actually be in the session with Marc. After going to the temple with him weekly for so many years, I have missed doing so as often now that Hyrum is here. We usually take turns now which is fine but it was wonderful to be with him tonight. Throughout the entire session I just had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. Gratitude for the gospel, for temples, for families, for the experiences I have had, for the people who have been in my life, for the blessings in my life, etc. The communication I felt with the Lord was so powerful tonight. I am so grateful for temples! They truly are a safe haven and a place to commune with our Heavenly Father!


We couldn't find anyone to take our picture in front of the sign.

Vernal Temple Trip!

We left on Friday afternoon and it took about 3ish hours. Hyrum did pretty good and slept for an hour of so but got really sick of the car after he woke up. I ended up hopping in the back to feed him and entertain him but we survived and arrived in Vernal around 5:30pm. We stayed in the dinosaur Best Western Inn. We put Hyrum down for his nap and went swimming in the hot tub which was literally right next door. It was the best hot tub room we had ever been in. After the hot tub, I went to get us Cafe Rio and frosty's while Marc stayed with Hyrum. Hyrum struggled to go to sleep because he wasn't in his own crib in his room so we all stayed up pretty late and when Hyrum finally fell asleep, Marc and I watched a movie. Then Marc woke up early to go to the temple first. Then Marc came back and I went to the temple while he packed up and then he and Hyrum came to pick me up. It was such a fun trip!

Marc's thoughts on the Vernal Temple:

This is a smaller temple. It is supposedly twice as big as some of the smallest temples built in the church. The design is unusual for the church. It is almost castle like with its big stones. The temple geometry is rectangular in design with progression through the temple following on the outside corridors with most of the endowment activities are in the central core. The third floor of the temple houses the sealing rooms and the second floor the telestial, terrestrial, and celestial room. A very simple celestial room, no broad windows or central chandelier. The room is simple in design with a large painting of Christ coming through the clouds. The neatest part of the celestial room is the entrance after the veil that has a wall made of etched glass with leaves. There was only one transition from the telestial room to the terrestrial room. It was beautiful as all temples are.

Lori's thoughts on the Vernal Temple:

The Vernal Temple is very unique because it has brown brick on the outside and has a lot of wood on the inside. It of course is beautiful. The session was wonderful and full of the spirit. My heart breaks thinking about those who can't go to the temple. It is such a place of peace and wonder. The Celestial room is magnificent in it's simplicity. When you walk in there is a etched glass wall of branches and leaves. And there is also a huge picture of Christ descending from heaven. There are a few chandeliers with beautiful little glass cups around each light. It is fabulous and I always feel a renewed sense of who I am and what my purpose is when I enter the celestial room. I know the temple is truly the house of God and love being there!

Here are the Pictures from our trip:

Here is our hotel


Hyrum seizing the day, crawling around after being in the car for so long!


He is one fast crawler!


Our room - Not very clean covered with Hyrum's toys, cereal, etc.


Hyrum playing around. The door back there is the bathroom where Hyrum slept in his pack-n-play.



Here we are standing in the rain getting our family picture together.


Daddy and Hyrum in the rain!


Mommy and Hyrum in the rain!


Me waiting for my boys to come and get me from the temple.


On the drive back, we stopped at Granny's Drive Inn in Heber where I remember going to get shakes when we would go camping.


Hyrum couldn't have the ice cream because of his dairy allergy so he settle for mango's...


And a long ice cream spoon. Yummy! It was such a fun trip!

WASHINGTON D.C TEMPLE!

Marc and I went to this temple during spring break while we were still dating. His family lives in Virgina which is 25 minutes away for D.C. So I went there to kind of "meet the family" and was a little nervous about it. I had meet them before and already loved them and hoped that they liked me too but these meetings were just short encounters. So now I would be staying at there house for a whole week. It turned out to be a fabulous week. I fell more in love with his family and with him as well. So they day we planned to go to the D.C. temple, we were suppose to meet his parents at the temple because we first went to see Arlington. After arriving at the temple, his parents hadn't come yet so we decided to use the rest rooms (we had been driving for a long time because we got lost. Marc usually doesn't get lost but I guess his mind was focusing on other things!) Anyway, Marc took and unusually long time in the bathroom and then he meet me outside and we started walking around the temple grounds (supposedly waiting for his parents to come). So we sit down on a bench and he starts by saying, "I guess I should probably explain what I did last Saturday..." Now, that Saturday right before we left for Virgina, Marc totally ditched me all day. He gave weird excuses and I thought that he was acting a little weird but then just brushed it off. So apparently he went ring shopping with Grant (our brother in law) and bought me a ring and then took my parents out to The Roof for dinner to ask them for my hand in marriage. So as he is telling me this, I of course didn't believe him. I kept saying things like "whatever" or "no way", "your teasing me", etc. He then informed me that he was very serious by kneeling down on one knee and pulling out a velvet box with a ring inside and asked "Lori, will you marry me?" I swear my eyes popped out of there sockets! I was so not expecting this! My eyes stung with tears and I gave him a huge hug! So after a few minutes of me hugging him and crying and letting the reality of what was happening sink in, he said "so are you going to answer me?" We laughed and I said a definite YES! It was one of the most awesome proposals ever! We then went into the temple to do a session (his parents didn't come, shocker!) As we were giving our recommends to the guy at the front, Marc was beaming and said "She said yes!" He told everyone that would listen in the temple. We were also asked to be the witness couple. Crazy! Anyway, it was a very spiritual session for both Marc and I because we felt that the holy ghost confirmed our decision and love!



It is such a GORGEOUS TEMPLE!