On Top Of A Mountain

I got a chance to see a beautiful building on Wednesday...the Oakland Temple. It's the first California temple I have had a chance to visit, and it set the bar pretty high for the rest of them! What a magnificent structure!

This temple was announced in 1962 and ground was immediately broken for construction to commence. It took just over two years to build and was dedicated in November of 1964. It is the only temple with five pillars, and these particular pillars were designed with the ethnicity of the Oakland residents in mind. The temple was HUGE! Probably about the same size as the Mesa Temple that I posted pictures of a few weeks ago.

We went to the Visitor's Center to see an art display by Walter Rane. He was commissioned by the First Presidency to paint scenes from the Book of Mormon over the past few years. His work was breath-taking, and it was fun to get a narration by an art student/sister missionary. Such a neat spirit is felt on temple grounds!

Sunday Babies

When I first began this blog (two years ago next month...wha?), the title was completely justified. I was leaving every Monday morning at 6:00 AM and returning Friday evening after flying over twenty hours over the course of the week to places all over the continent. The past few months have been a little, well, slow. I almost wonder if this blog should temporarily be called "The Adventures of the Camera-Loving Aunt," because I sure do take lots of pictures of babies any time I am around them. While getting ready for church yesterday morning, I picked up my phone to text T'liese to see if they wanted to come over for dinner since I hadn't seen their baby for two weeks and was starting to get a little weird because of it. I started a message, only to receive one from her inviting us over for a visit that evening! And baby Mayla was going to be there, too! It was a win-win situation that we couldn't resist. Because of the temporary name of my blog, I had to live up to such expectations.

So away we went to Phoenix. As we got there, Joe used some chocolate chips that we brought to make some delicious cookies. T'liese fed and changed Evan so he would be more fun for the rest of the evening, but he sure looks cute in stripes! Mayla and her parents soon arrived. She is three months now and locks on faces really well. I love her sweet smile and her "cooing" conversations. She is a sweetheart for sure. Evan is starting to smile more and simply makes my heart melt with his halfway grin. I dare say we have some pretty cute babies in the family.

While they both went down for a nap, the adults had to find something else to do other than kiss on babies. It was difficult at first, but we soon settled into a nice catch-up conversation. Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy having family so close? I really do. I have a great sister, and she married a great guy. I have a fun brother, and he married an incredible lady. Luckily, we all get along. It's a treat to spend time with them. And the cookies only made it sweeter.