The current heat wave

Holy cow. As school was starting it rained everyday for three weeks straight. Now we have a major heat wave. It is HOT! Like I would swim everyday if I had access to a pool hot. This weather is crazy. My fear is that one day it will be 90 degrees and the next it will be 40 degrees. That is how it goes in Utah it seems. I have still been enjoying the outdoors, just have to wait until 6pm to workout in the heat.

I have been rollerblading a lot the past two weeks. It has been fun to switch up my exercise. I forgot how much I love it. I let Moki off the leash to swim when we Rollerblade because she has to work so hard.

 Some random dog followed us the entire time one night. He even jumped in my car after. I was like....oh no you didn't!!!!!!

The trails are beautiful this time of year.

 Probably should not have attempted a picture while moving. I am happy to report I didn't crash!

 Made it up to Bridal Veil Falls from the Riverwoods. That was quite the workout. It was beautiful though. Going back to the car was all downhill.

Last weekend was a whirlwind. I cleaned and did laundry on Friday so I could have time to play the rest of the weekend. I also decorated for fall. It was a good decision because the rest of the weekend was busy. Saturday I went to the temple, rollerbladed, biked, did Moki's dog class and then headed to Sam and Amanda's to get some Andrew time. That boy is the best. He is at such an enjoyable age and I love spending time with him. I actually had planned to spend the whole weekend up in Murray but I went out to get my bag of clothes and toiletries and realized I left them on my couch in Provo. SUPER LAME! Glad I got to spend Saturday evening with them though.

 Good times. BYU played during my bike ride and dog class but I supported them by wearing my BYU game shirt all day. And they won.

 On Sunday all of Utah got to participate in the Ogden Temple Re-dedication. It was an amazing service. It was also amazing to have no other meetings and church for an hour and a half.....did I just say that out loud. I loved the dedication though. The temple is beautiful! Here is a before and after picture.

During the dedication there is an opportunity for the audience to participate in the Hosanna Shout. I realized I really didn't know what Hosanna meant. I went home and looked it up. On www.lds.org it says:

A word from Hebrew that means “please save us” and is used in praise and supplication.

At the Feast of Tabernacles, which celebrated the Lord’s deliverance of Israel into the promised land, people chanted the words of Psalm 118 and waved palm branches. At the Lord’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the multitudes cried “Hosanna” and spread palm branches for Jesus to ride upon, thus demonstrating their understanding that Jesus was the same Lord who had delivered Israel anciently (Ps. 118:25–26; Matt. 21:9, 15; Mark 11:9–10; John 12:13). These people recognized Christ as the long-awaited Messiah. The word Hosanna has become a celebration of the Messiah in all ages (1 Ne. 11:6; 3 Ne. 11:14–17). The hosanna shout was included in the dedication of the Kirtland Temple (D&C 109:79) and is now a part of the dedication of modern temples.

I really appreciated this description. I love that we are asking/begging the Messiah to save us. The part I love the most is that in the temple ordinances are performed that can save us. Our sins can be forgiven and we learn how to live to be able to be in God's presence again someday. In these holy walls families are sealed for all eternity. I can't think of a more precious gift other than the gift of the atonement from the Savior. 

I loved being able to use my white handkerchief that I received on my mission. I had no idea how many temple dedications I would get to be a part of in my lifetime when I received this gift from my mission president and his wife.

It is a visual reminder of a very special time in my life when I served the Lord for 18 months. I can't believe that time was so long ago.

Dan has been trying to organize a game night with the siblings that live in Utah for a while. Last night it finally happened. It was lots of fun. We ended up not playing games but we ate food and visited.

Andrew was being so funny and cute at the restaurant. 

 Anthony looked like he was missing some teeth for a while.

 One more of Andrew and his mom.

 It is always nice to be able to spend time with family. Andrew discovered sidewalk chalk last night and we spent a lot of time drawing outside.

This morning when I headed to work Moki looked like this.....

 When I picked her up from the groomers she looked like this:

Not really the look I was hoping for but oh well. The good news is she will not need a hair cut for a long time. She also will not be too hot. The bad news is she looks ugly and underfed. She doesn't seem to mind though. Luckily her hair grows really fast.