Provo-Orem-Ogden, UT

Dear Friends:

This is the final post on my visit to Utah and Idaho.  This particular post is a collection of various images from the last few days after my wife's family reunion.

If you've actually read all of the posts from this trip (congrats if you've made it this far!), you'll notice that we've tried hard to visit LDS temples along the way.  To our family, these are some of the most sacred places on the planet.  In Utah, there is a large LDS population, which provides an opportunity for several temples.  While we didn't have the time to physically visit every one of them (there are currently 14 that are open, with several more under construction).  It is important to show the kids as many as we can, to help them understand how important they are to our faith.

While in Provo, we made another stop at Sodalicious, but only blocks away was the Provo City Center Temple, under construction.  This used to be the Provo Tabernacle, but has been restored and repurposed as a temple.  It's beautiful already and we can't wait to return when the construction is finished:

We went back to the Orem Food Truck Roundup, because we had such an awesome time last week.  I introduced my nephew to the Corndog Commander truck:

He ate every single bite...

G-Man was excited to finish his meal, so that he could enjoy another giant shave ice.  This time, he really wanted to try tiger's blood flavor:

We took the entire family up into Provo Canyon, to take some family portraits.  While those will be finished in a few weeks, I took this snapshot of G-Man and little L over the Provo River:

In our continual pursuit of culinary treats wherever we go...we decided to try a new establishment in Orem.  It's called WaffLuv.  They started as a food truck and have graduated to an actual brick-and-mortar storefront.  It didn't disappoint...at all.  Take freshly-made waffles (using dough, not batter) and cover them with ingredients like Nutella, cinnamon, sugar, raspberries, whip cream...you get the idea:

While in Utah, we were lucky enough to get tickets to an open house for the Ogden Temple.  This temple was completely remodeled and the work is simply...stunning.  You would have to work hard to take a bad picture of this structure:

Before a temple is dedicated for worship use, they usually hold an "open house" and allow the public to tour the interior of the temple.  These buildings are amazing - both inside and out.  To have the opportunity for the kids to see the rooms inside the temple was an incredible experience.  I wish all my friends could have the same opportunity to see what I see when I worship in our temples.

Next door, they had a set of exhibits about temples.  We took a few snapshots around the displays:

The day got even better.  When we lived in Boston, our Stake President (regional church leader) happened to live in our Ward (local congregation).  He and his wife are amazing people - such true examples of Christ-like love and service.  These two lovely people are now serving as the leaders of the Ogden Mission - responsible for almost four hundred missionaries throughout northern Utah and southern Idaho.  We were so fortunate to track them down and get a chance to catch-up at the mission office:

The kids got to sit in the Mission President's chair...big time ; )

Back in Orem, G-Man asked to have his picture taken with Grandma and Grandpa's dog Toby:

Both G-Man and L love this dog...I catch a lot of heat about not allowing the kids to have a dog ; )

On my last day in Utah, we decided to take a little drive to show the kids one more temple.  This time? The Provo Temple.  Since it was Sunday, there wasn't anyone around...which make it a great experience for just our family:

What a great way to finish my time in Utah, don't you agree? ; )