Road Trip to Manti, Utah

We had nothing on the calendar for yesterday, so we drove to Manti, Utah, to show the kids the temple where Brian and I got married more than 17 years ago. It was the most beautiful day! Much different from the snow stormy day we got married. I tested out my other lense for a few photos:

I was really far away. That's one of the cool things about the Manti Temple, you can see it for miles because it's on a hill. (I read that it was a rattlesnake-infested hill back when it was built. Yikes!) We walked all the way around the temple and tried to get the kids to cooperate for a few photos when we had an interesting view. Brian poo-pooed my idea of having one of the wedding photographers take a picture of all of us. I have no class, so I'm glad I asked him first. :)

We got married in the David E. Wells room, which is at the top of a free-standing spiral staircase. The information we got to prep for the wedding day said that everyone would have to take the stairs, there is no elevator access. Old school.

Emil would NOT come stand by us, so we started playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie, which he can't resist. It looks like we're making a Mormon Ad here, but they're just so happy to be playing Ring-Around-the-Rosie.

I told the kids to go knock on the door so I could get them up there and Bridget cautioned me that we would be interrupting. So proper. :) The boys live to interrupt, so that was the wrong thing to tell them. (My eyes were watering profusely by this time and I couldn't see through the lense well enough to know if anything was in focus. I could never be a real photographer.)

This is one of my favorite spots because this is where we took my favorite photo of me and Brian. As you can see, the kids cooperated like champions.

At the bottom of the stairs there is a wonderful gate. Once again the boys didn't feel like indulging me, so I had Bridget pose there by herself.

When we got home I showed her the photo of Mama and Daddy in the same spot.

She said, "Daddy looks really different now." Ha! I have our engagement photo in a tiny frame in our room and one time Emil picked it up and said, "MOM!" That was it. No, "Daddy!" Mom and some guy. I don't know how it's possible, but Brian is even more handsome with silver hair than he was with black hair. :)

From there we let the kids roll and roll on the giant lawn by the temple. The boys were so tired after all the rolling that they sat at the bottom and called for me to come get them. As we were watching them roll and trying not to pay attention to the mother-of-the-groom who was freaking out at anyone who came near her, I had a moment of...pure happiness. I thought about the day we took our wedding photos (the day we got married was kind of a blur), walking around the temple, and how in my best dreams I couldn't have imagined our life 17 years later being this good. 

We walked by a family taking photos at the pretty door and a baby wailing her heart out. Everyone looked bored and stressed at the same time. It made me happy to be walking around the temple with no time constraints. :)

We stopped at the Malt Shop for lunch, then drove back home. Maybe I'll put the lunch part on The Seven Bum Kitchen. I'd like to leave the temple portion all to itself. Ahhhh. It was the perfect way to spend the prettiest day of the year so far.