Gilbert Temple Open House

We had the opportunity to join our youth and go to the Open House of the brand new Gilbert Arizona Temple. An Open House is when the general public can go through a brand new temple before it is dedication to the work of the Lord. A lot of our youth wouldn't normally have the means or opportunity to attend an Open House so their leaders and the Bishopric jumped on taking them. It was such a fun trip and I'm happy we got to tag along with our kiddos. Our Bishop, Kamron Reidhead, has a bus (random huh?!) that we all piled up in and headed down to the valley. To kill a little time and make the trip a little more fun, they decided to make and eat breakfast on our way. The bus is more a mix between a bus and a motorhome. It has a small kitchen area, some beds, and then bus seats in the front. 

They put the kitchen area to good work and made some very yummy pancakes and eggs. 

Here is Steve Miller pouring some orange juice. He is the 1st counselor in the Bishopric but should really get a job as a flight attendant. He was championship at going up and down the isles with cups full of juice and not spilling any.

It was a good 3.5 hour drive for us, but the kids kept busy chatting and playing cards.

 Denyce Hawk and Katie Willis 

Jordan Simpson and Brennan O'Hair 

The actual Temple is gorgeous. It's by far the prettiest temple I've ever been into. The attention to detail is exquisit and everything is so beautiful. From the windows to the chandelier and even the tile in the baptismal font are just beautiful. The girls were amazed at how pretty everything was and they were very excited to be able to go into the temple. The sealing rooms had light pouring into them and it was breathtaking. Arizona has two more temples in the next few years that are being built and I hope we can take our kids to more Open Houses and feel the spirit there.

Here's the whole group. Good looking bunch aren't they?

 Our kids were not being cooperative and it was super bright- but here is our family photo. It's just a more realistic picture right?

On the way back to the bus we had to walk through a huge field. What a good photo op huh?