Temple Square

Two great things about Temple Square:
1. It's free
2. There is A/C in the buildings (ours is out at home and we've been dying)

We usually visit Temple Square in December to look at the Christmas lights and rarely spend our time in the Visitor's Centers. We started our visit in the North Visitor's Center.
The kids loved taking the escalators down to the basement. There are great models, displays and videos that explain about the scriptures. It included prophets from the old testament, new testament, Book of Mormon and latter-day prophets. There is also an amazing display about the Church humanitarian efforts around the world. My kids loved pushing the buttons to watch the videos and looking at the manequins that were all dressed up.

On the main floor is a very neat model of Jerusalem. When you push buttons, it highlights places on the model and shows you where things are such as the Garden of Gethsemane and the Hill of Calvary. There are also beautiful paintings of the Savior's life.

The upstairs was definitely a favorite. It's where the Christus statue is. It doesn't matter how old I get, I still marvel at this beautiful statue with the stars and planets around it.

We went inside the Tabernacle. The kids were amazed at the architecture and the sister missionaries were very informative about the building.
We also loved the exhibit about the building of the Salt Lake Temple in the South Visitor's Center. They have tools and blueprints, yolk and wagons, and hand-carved furniture from the temple.

We enjoyed the reflecting pool in front of the temple and the beautiful flowers by the Church Office Building. There is a lot of construction going on this summer- both inside and outside of temple square. They are busy working on the City Creek project across the road and inside, they have torn up a lot of sidewalks. But it didn't take away from the incredible beauty and awesome peace that is always found at Temple Square!

Drive In Movie

After a series of events that ruined my plans for yesterday's Friday Adventure, we decided to go to a movie at the Redwood Drive-In! My son wanted to see Kung Fu Panda and I thought that sounded like a great idea. Besides, my husband could go with us, too.

Here are some things you should bring:
*CASH-we didn't have enough and had to go find an ATM and come back.
*Snacks- I got each person an $.88 box of candy at Wal Mart, their own can of Pringles chips and a bottled soda.
*Pillows
*Blankets
*Camp Chairs
*Some people had dinner and coolers full of snacks

Things you should know:
Children under 5: free
Children 6-9: $1
Adults 10 and up: $7
*The first movie started at 9:30.
*Arrive early- we were there 45 minutes early and that would have been just right, except we had to go find cash. We ended up back quite far by the time we got back.
*Take something for the kids to do while waiting for the movie to start. My kids brought the game Catch Phrase to play-smart kids.
*When you pull in to a spot, make sure you can see over the cars in front of you. The people next to us had their mini van, but were sitting in camp chairs. Someone came and parked in front of them and they had to pick up all their stuff and move it so they could see.
*The drive in theater on Redwood Road is a double or even triple feature. We went for Kung Fu Panda, but stayed for Indiana Jones. Luckily, my little ones fell asleep. It was fun to stay up late with the older kids.

Here are some drive-in theaters in Utah:
Salt Lake City: Redwood Drive In
Ogden: Motor Vu Drive in and Swap Meet
Mount Pleasant: Basin Drive In Theater
Tooele: Motor Vu Drive In