Thanksgiving Weekend

This year, Thanksgiving was at our house. So after a day filled with baking and smoking (the turkey), a day with 18 people in my house eating and playing cards, we needed a break. So, the day after Thanksgiving, we left Mayzee with a "pet resort", and went down to Salt Lake City where we met up with Ty's parents. We stayed at the Little America in downtown SLC. We had rooms just across the hall from Pam and Richard. It was a lot of fun, being able to spend some time together just having fun!
After getting settled in our room, we headed down to Temple Square so we could be there when they lit up the Christmas lights for the first time this season. While we were waiting for the sun to set, we did a little sight seeing. The my family had never been on the roof of the Conference Center, so we did that first. It was amazing up there. They have planted a huge garden and there are fountains and reflecting pools. It's beautiful. I would love to see it in the Summer, when the gardens are in bloom!





After walking around on the roof of the Conference Center, we went over to Temple Square proper. It was quite cold, so we decided to wait in the Visitor's Center. They have some really cool displays there. One of my favorites is a model of Jerusalem in the year 33 AD. There are buttons with short explanations about the life of Christ. When you push the button, a spotlight focuses on the part of the city where that event took place. Zachary and Samantha were entranced. Of course, we HAD to go up the ramp to the upper level to see the beautiful Christus. I love that statue of our Christ with His arms open to us, showing us where He has "engraved us on the palms of His hands."
By then, it was getting to be dusk outside, so we headed out to wait for the lights to come on. There were so many people! While we were waiting, stamping our feet and moving side to side to keep warm, I noticed a little girl holding a P.F. Changs bag and got so excited. The family luckily had their number programed in their phone from when they had to call for directions, so they gave me that number so we could make plans to eat there later. Soon, it was full dark and they turned on the lights. Because the economy is still down, there weren't as many lights as there have been in the past, but it was still breathtaking. I love the way the temple looks at night when it's all lit up, so I included a picture of that as well. When we had seen all that we wanted to see, we found a Cheesecake Factory and had dinner, followed by a slice of yummy Red Velvet Cheesecake. Then it was back to the hotel for some swimming in the indoor/outdoor pool. Then, back to the hotel room for some much needed rest.