A Seasonal Masterpiece

It has been a couple of years since we’ve made the trek downtown to see the lights on Temple Square. With extensive renovations of both the Salt Lake Temple and Temple Square beginning next month, we figured we’d better make the trip this year. Nathan had the opportunity to sing in the assembly hall last night, so it was the perfect time to go. We rode the train (Again. Malia got to ride twice in less than a week!) and braved the crowds to walk around a bit. Christmas on Temple Square really is an experience like no other. I know it is one of those things we take for granted around here, but it truly is spectacular.

I think this was one of the performances that Nathan was most excited for. Having the opportunity to sing on Temple Square is pretty cool, after all! We were able to warm up a bit (though just a bit due to the continually opening doors) while we listened to the choirs sing. It was a lovely way to spend a cold December night. I’m a music lover and Christmas music is high on my list of all-time favorite music topics, so being able to spend an hour listening to a variety of songs was fantastic.

I’m not sure what Temple Square will look like during the years of renovations, but I’m grateful I had an opportunity to share the lights and music with my family this year before it becomes a big construction zone. And I’m excited to see how it will all look once the renovations are over. If tradition is any indication, it will be magnificent.

A Perfect…And Cold…Night

Last night we went downtown to see the lights on Temple Square. It has been quite a few years since we’ve been, so the boys were super excited. In fact, we realized as we were driving that we haven’t been to see the lights since we moved and were no longer living across the street from a Trax station. Malia heard us say “train” and suddenly she was very excited about riding a train. Too bad we were driving in the car…

But Kevin had a stroke of genius as we were looking for a parking spot downtown and he chose a spot just across from the Trax station that is one stop away from Temple Square so we could take advantage of the free ride zone and ride one stop from our car to our destination. Malia was thrilled when we got on the train…and quite put out when we got off just a minute later. She kept saying, “I want to ride the train! I want to ride the train!”

But she was distracted just a few minutes later when she caught a glimpse of all the lights. And we enjoyed a nice walk around Temple Square and through the visitors’ centers. There were far fewer people than we expected so it would have been a delightful leisurely stroll if it hadn’t been so cold. It was only about 18 degrees and after a while we started going numb. We plan to go back another time so we can spend more time in the visitors’ centers (the boys all wanted to stay longer and see everything, but we didn’t have time) but I think we’ve decided that we’ll always go to see the lights on a weekday early in December. The lack of huge numbers of people made the whole thing just a little bit more enjoyable.

Festival of Lights

Last night we rode the train downtown and took the boys to the church history museum and then saw the lights on Temple Square. Nathan thought it was the best Festival of Lights ever. Matthew was thrilled about the train ride. Both Daniel and Nathan were more interested in the museum than we thought they would be. Kev and I discovered that we need to go back to the museum when we can devote more time to it and found a print of some art work that we want to hang in our future (hopefully not too far in the future!) home. It wasn't too cold and there weren't an overwhelming number of people. In short, we had a great time.