Temple Open House

We went this week to see the open house for the brand new temple in Provo.  It was BEAUTIFUL.  Everyone loved it.  Maggie especially loved the fancy chandeliers. Alan and I can't wait to go back!

I'm excited that, since Jared is now eight years old, he will be able to come to the temple dedication with Alan and me in March.

Jr. Jazz for Jared

This is a random, rare picture of Evelyn taking a nap (she hardly takes naps anymore.)  I thought it was funny because she has her backpack strapped on.  Ha ha.  We are in the process of trying to move her to a big-girl bed, but she is a bit resistant.  Oh, well.  I'm not in a hurry.

I signed Jared up for Jr. Jazz this year.  He has been having a ton of fun.  He definitely isn't as skilled as some of the other kids on his team, but he is great at guarding.  We are also trying to get him past the "hot potato" phase--he doesn't like to touch the ball much, and when it is passed to him, he wants to get rid of it as soon as possible.  Ha ha.  I definitely see a big improvement in him, though.  He just has one game left this season.

 It is hard to get action shots with my cruddy camera, so these are mostly shots of him just standing around.  Jared's jersey has a number 5 on it.

Ice Skating

A couple of weeks ago I took Maggie and Evelyn ice skating.  They had a "Talls and Smalls" morning at a local rink, so it was a really great deal.  Jared was sad that he had to go to school and miss it, but I'm sure we'll go back sometime when he can go.  It worked out perfectly with Maggie's PM Kindergarten schedule to take her.  

This was Maggie and Evelyn's first time ice skating, so it was a bit of an adventure.  Luckily the rink had these plastic "walkers" that the girls could use to help with balance.  Maggie got the hang of it quickly, but Evy still needed a lot of help.  

 The walker in action:

As you can see, the place was pretty empty for most of the time!

Maggie wanted to try skating without the walker, so I told her she had to hold on to the wall.  It was super cute to watch her.  

Billy Weekend in Seattle

Over the long weekend for Martin Luther King Day, I met up with four of my very best friends for a fun girls' weekend in Seattle.  Caroline, Ann-Marie, Ashley, and Kate were all my roommates at BYU for a long time.  We are all scattered across the US right now, but we made plans to meet up in Seattle, since Caroline was too pregnant to travel anywhere.

We stayed in a small VRBO and spent all weekend doing fun things.  On Saturday, we toured the Theo chocolate factory, ate lunch at a fun restaurant at Pike's Market, saw the Seattle troll, and went and saw a fancy play of My Fair Lady with a live orchestra.  It was FABULOUS.

We loved wearing our hair nets at the chocolate factory!

The tour was very interesting, and we got to try LOTS of yummy samples!

The view from the restaurant we ate at in Pike's Market--can't remember its name

Attempts at a selfie in front of Pike's Market

Walking in the rain

The Seattle troll under an overpass

Outside the Village Theater, where we saw My Fair Lady

 On Sunday, we had a low-key day.  We went to church with Caroline's family and ate a spaghetti dinner with them.   Everyone stayed up late playing games, but I actually went to bed super duper early feeling very sick.  I felt better the next morning.

On Monday we ate lunch at the Space Needle revolving restaurant and then toured the Chihuly Glass Museum.  It was so freaking awesome--definitely a highlight of the trip for me!  Then we stopped by the Bellevue Temple (closed because it was Monday, of course) and then had a low-key movie night at our VRBO.  

Space Needle

Views from the observation deck of the Space Needle

It was a clear morning, so we could see Mt. Ranier in the distance!

Kate and Ann-Marie taking pictures

Ashley and me (with my hood on--it was cold!)

Ah, yes!  Caroline was there, too!  I stole most of these pictures from her!

Eating at the Space Needle restaurant.  It rotates very slowly (45-minute rotation) so you can see all the views.  The food was very pricy, and it was hard for someone like me who doesn't like seafood to choose something, but the experience was super fun.

Ann-Marie and me

Since it was Ann-Marie's birthday, our server brought us a free ice cream sundae with dry ice all over the place.  It was quite a presentation!

 All of the next pictures are from the Chihuly Glass Museum. It was really quite stunning.  I would love to go back sometime and show Alan.

This is called the Persian ceiling exhibit.  I think I want a room like this in my house.

Another view of the Persian ceiling

This was a big "garden"--it reminded me of something out of Alice in Wonderland

Chandeliers

Space Needle as viewed from the glass museum

We got to watch someone blow glass

Saying goodbye at the airport Tuesday morning--so sad!

I can't wait to plan our next Billy trip in a few years!  I LOVE these girls with all my heart.