We have had a lovely, but busy fall. We were busy in August placing Dave's mom in a senior's lodge which was a bit touch and go since she wasn't liking the idea of not living in her home, but she has settled and liking her new digs. And my folks have moved into new digs as well. After living in the same home for 54 years, they decided that a condo would suit them better, so they moved to High River. We have been busy preparing for the move for the last two months. They had never moved, so their house was jam packed with stuff that needed to be sorted, sold, dejunked or donated. They still have too much stuff to fit nicely into their condo, but hopefully, more sorting and tossing is still to come. Sad to see the family home sold after all these years, but the move will be good for my parents.
We made a quick trip south to see Meagan and the kids (Mike too) and then to Palm Desert. Always fun to see the grandkids and we caught two birthdays while we were there. The grandkids are adorable! We have had a lot of focus on temples lately. The Calgary Temple is now finished and we are working there once a week. I know that we will love working there, if last week's experience is the norm. It is beautiful inside, and I hope that I can become more beautiful inside from going there often.
The Rexburg Temple is always a highlight of visiting Meg. It is literally a minute away from her house and it so easy to visit when it is that close. It is a busy temple and it is nice to see so many young people working there. It must make the school experience that much better. The murals were done by a professor at the university that was one of Hill's teachers. He also did the murals in Calgary's temple.
We went through Salt Lake on our way south and it was my first time through this original temple. It was great and the fall colors on Temple Square were spectacular! They were putting up the Christmas lights for their amazing light display. Seeing the temple lights at Christmas last year was a highlight for me and was something I have wanted to do since I was at BYU. I always love being in SLC!
The stark white of St. George Temple stands out against the red rock of the hills. My niece served her mission in St. George. It is a good stop for us and we often stay the night there (in a hotel, not the temple, although I think I have slept in the temple before)
When we are at the condo, we always like to go to the Redlands temple, which is about 50 minutes away from us. It has the most beautiful grounds of any temple I have seen. It has lush gardens and several fountains surrounded by flowers and palm trees. This pictures does not capture the spectalcular setting. It is so pretty.
The Sand Diego Temple is 2 hours aways from our condo in Palm Desert, but the drive is nice. We come over the mountains down to the ocean. I love the reprieve from the heat, and the humidity. The desert gets to be too much sometime. The temple is absolutely breath taking. It is right along the freeway and rises up like a castle. The architecture is amazing and the inside is even more amazing. It has the longest free standing spiral staircase in the world which wraps around for floors. The garden on the upper level is so tranquil and just what a temple by the ocean should have. I loved it! It is really a one of a kind temple.
After our quick trip, we headed back home. My passport expired so I had to cut the trip short. I feel gyped that I couldn't be there my customary 6 weeks, but getting away is always worth it. A strange thing happened as we were driving home that makes me laugh when I think about it. We stopped at a remote rest stop to have lunch and out of the restroom walked Harpo the Clown. He didn't say a word but waved, honked his little tin horn and shuffled on. It is not everyday that you run into fully dressed clown in the middle of the desert.
haha harpo, thats funny!
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