Family time and the Ogden Temple Open House

While the DeLeeuw's were visiting Joseph set up this big slip and slide in the front yard for them. We even had neighbors kids come and join the fun.

Great fun on a hot day.

We were able to go to the open house of the Ogden temple while they were here which was really nice. We are looking forward to having our temple open again. We certainly have missed it. The Bountiful temple was always packed no matter what time of day you went.

Here are the grandsons patiently waiting for the rest of the family to get there.

Joseph with Eric and Keith

The DeLeeuw family.

Alex doesn't like to cooperate for pictures and always looks the other way. Here is his point of view.

After the tour they had a visitors center that we could go through.

 

Afterwards we went to Farr's Ice cream shoppe. They did really well during the open house and I'm sure they are looking forward to the temple being open as many groups have the tradition of stopping by and getting their great ice cream after going to the temple.

They had this tent set up outside which was really nice for everyone.

Tyler and I had the opportunity to be volunteers for the open house and it truly was a wonderful experience. Tyler was a translator and I had the opportunity to help in the handi-cap parking lot and then on another day I was a volunteer in the baptistery area, It was wonderful to see the thousands of people who came  to tour the temple. Hopefully they felt the great spirit that was present. A few weeks later we were able to participate in the dedication of the temple which truly was a special opportunity.

Family Reunion 2014

The family reunion was held at grandma's house. Saturday was spent on Cedar mountain going to various sights.  The first one being Cedar Breaks.

 Grand kids and Great-grand kids.

 The Keyes family

 Bill and Alex

 Jessica with Brian and Trevor

 Zachary and Brian at Mammoth caves

 that evening we had dinner in Grandma's backyard.

The grand kids just hanging out and visiting.

On the way home: Martin's Cove

Coming back to Utah we stopped at Martins Cove for the grandsons. I slept in the car while everyone else went to the visitors center,as I was going to be driving the last half of the trip.

They had a youth group getting ready to leave on a trek and the missionaries were busy so the kids mostly wandered around. It is not as laid back as it was when we were there before. They want you to do a guided tour rather than wandering at your own pace. We didn't have a lot of time to wait for the next tour as we still had a long drive ahead of us. All in all our trip to South Dakota was really enjoyable and was fun to spend some of it with the grandkids.  

The Black Hills of Dakota Pt. 4

The DeLeeuws joined up with us for the rest of the trip.  

 What is camping without smores?

 ....and hot chocolate for breakfast.

Joesph cooking pancakes and sausage.

 We actually went to Mt. Rushmore 3 times while we were there but I thought I'd put these pictures all together. This is entryway to the monument. There were so many people that I felt like I was at the entrance to Disneyland.

 They have the flags from all the states in this walkway. Joseph is standing under the Utah State flag.

 Mt. Rushmore itself.

 looking back at the visitor center and amphitheater from the trail.

They have a trail that goes in front of the base of Mt. Rushmore and gives you different views of the monument. This walkway is in Nat'l treasure 2.

 When you leave the park heading west you come around a bend and get this profile of George Washington.

 We went back for the evening program.  There was a beautiful sunset while we were waiting for it to get dark. The program is a patriotic program which was nice to see that there is some patriotism in our country still. They emphasize the values and liberties that each of the presidents represented. 

At the end of the program the monument is lit up. Quite an impressive sight.

 All current and past military personal are invited to come down to the stage where they have some of them help lower the flag and then they give each one the opportunity to introduce themselves and tell what branch of the military they are a part of. There was quite a reverent feeling among the audience as they honored those who have and currently serve our country.

This was such a beautiful sight as we walked back to the parking garage.  The picture just doesn't do justice.  I talked with a scout troop that was there from Iowa as we walked out. I thought what a great opportunity for these young men to be here.

The Black Hills of South Dakota pt. 3

  This is Crazy horse monument. We just stopped along side the road to take this picture.

 In Hill City there is a train station that runs a steam engine from there over to Keystone. Of course we couldn't miss this opportunity.

 This engine was restored in Ely, Nevada where we were earlier this summer. So that was fun to learn

 as we had just toured the machine shop that would of done the restoration work.

It was an hour ride over to Keystone. As we went through the countryside and by many backyards they told the history of the area and all the mining that once took place. We spent a couple of hours wandering around Keystone before the return trip.  It is a sad little town that is completely dependent on the tourists.  They offer a walking tour of the original part of town which of course was the mining district. They have a little museum in their original schoolhouse that we went through.  A fun fact that we learned was that Carrie Ingalls (of Little House on the Prairie) married and settled in Keystone. They had a corner in there gift shop with memorabilia that belonged to her, including the little shepherdess figurine that is mentioned all through the books. So this was a highlight for me as I have always loved those books.

We passed hundreds of motorcycles that were there for the rally in Stergeon, SD.  They said they were expecting 500,000 motorcyclists for the event.

On our way back to Hill City the train didn't have enough steam and couldn't make it up one of the hills and came to a complete stop.  We sat there for awhile while they got the steam built back up.