Meridian Temple Open House

We've kind of become temple open house groupies...we'll travel to anyone that is even remotely close! So when they announced the dates for the Meridian Temple open house, we grabbed our tickets and planned a day trip. And it was going to be a lot of trip in one day! We packed snacks and a change of clothes, got the kids dressed in their Sunday best, and set off for the 4.5 hour drive to the Boise, Idaho area. The kids did great in the car, and were so excited to see another temple. This makes six temple open houses for Claire, Sophie, and Johnny. The are really coming to love being in the House of the Lord.

And the Meridian Temple was no different. It was a cold and wet day, but the temple still gorgeous. We all loved the unique architecture, and how the temple was situation overlooking a river. Inside the temple was beautiful, with thick wood moldings, an elegant color scheme, and incredible murals on the walls of the instruction rooms. The celestial room was, well, heavenly. Claire said that the chandelier in the celestial room of this temple was here favorite. In fact, upon completing our tour both girls declared that they would be getting married in the Meridian Temple, since it was their new favorite. :)

After the tour we spent some time in the visitor's center, getting our customary picture and letting Joey run around for a bit before getting back in the car. The kids enjoyed touching pieces of the granite and the stones used in the temple, as well as seeing door knobs and hinges. I really love how the church has added these visitor's centers to the open house tours.

With the tour complete, we had a couple more things to do on our day trip before we could start the trek home. First, Danny wanted to drive by his Lovell grandparents' old house. Danny lived there for a time, and visited often. Danny and I, along with Claire and Sophie, made a few trips up there to help clean and paint when the house was being prepared for listing. As we made our way there, Danny showed the kids the elementary school he went to for a little while, and pointed out how much the area had changed. We only got to drive by the house, but the new owners have repainted it and made some other changes and the house looks great. We promptly sent a picture to Great Grandma Lovell. :) With that done, the last thing we needed to do was eat...and we couldn't just grab food anywhere. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to try another "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" location! So we hit up the Westside Diner and everyone had a great meal!

What a great day! But we still had a 4.5 hour drive. :) The kids changed into pajamas for the drive, and we made our way home. All was going well until Joey started screaming about 50 minutes from home and didn't stop...until about 5 minutes from our front door. It stressed Claire to her limit, listening to that shrill screaming for what seemed like forever. But considering all the traveling we've done with that baby boy, and the fact that he has NEVER freaked out like that...well, I think it was fair. Plus it was a good toughening-up experience for the older kids. :) All said and done, it was a great day trip and we're so glad our kids will do these crazy adventures with us! I'm so proud of their willingness to sacrifice some comfort to see the temple, and I'm optimistic that the foundation we're laying now will keep a love of the temple in their lives forever. And that is worth every bit of effort we make to attend these open houses.