This weekend we had the opportunity to attend the Mesa Temple open house in Mesa, Arizona. I have wanted to attend an open house all my life. It took a lot of work to make this weekend happen. My parents are in the middle of moving, so we disrupted their schedule and drove down to Phoenix on Saturday morning. Edward also had a NICA bike race in Phoenix. It ended up being perfect timing for us to also visit Susan and John at their new house. Jonah, Sonya's oldest just happened to be staying with John and Susan so we were also able to visit with him.
Saturday, we arrived at Craig and Blair's house in the afternoon. We dropped off my parents and then headed to Edward's race ride through. Nolen and I went on a three mile run while Edward practiced with his coach.
We then drove over to the East side of Mesa to have dinner with John and Susan. I am so grateful to have them in my life. We had a wonderful time visiting then drove back to Peoria to sleep at Craig and Blair's house. Nolen had so much fun playing with Turbo!
Sunday, we woke up early and drove over to the race. It was a 25 minute wait at the gate just to get in. So frustrating. We finally got to the start line and they moved the start of the race back to 8:30 because so many cars couldn't get through the gate in time. Edward had a tough race. I think his heart wasn't in it because he was really looking forward to seeing his cousin, Logan. Logan didn't show up until 3:00 on Sunday, so had a very short visit.
After the race, we stopped and go doughnuts then had fake Thanksgiving with Jared, Faith, Logan, Craig, Blair, Mom, and Dad. It was delicious!! Blair made such great side dishes and Craig made stake! Best fake Thanksgiving, EVER! Craig read everything he loved about my Dad. He remembered so many great moments in our childhood. It was so fun to relive those moments through Craig's memory. My dad really is a special person. He seems so tough on the outside but so soft on the inside. He loves all people and will help anyone.
Monday, I got up early and did a two hour exercise with Craig. He really is one of my favorite people on this planet. He makes me so happy. He is always trying to help others be happy. After our tough work out, we packed up and headed to the Mesa Temple. WOW! It was amazing. I can not express in words just how beautiful it really was inside all the different rooms. There was so much color! Purples and greens and soft creams were everywhere. I loved that my boys had the opportunity to walk through a temple as a child.
This is my dad's grandma's house. It is on Kimble street just down the road from the temple. My mom's grandmother lived across the street!! Her house was gone and there was a dirt parking lot in it's place.
