Christmas traditions - #20

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Christmas traditions - #19

Christmas morning started with the ring of the phone at 6:15 am! Since we knew who was on the other end of the line, we didn't mind the early hour. We have four phones in the house and we all got to talk to the Elder at the same time or listen in while he talked to each family member. The call lasted for about an hour and a half and it was pure HEAVEN to listen to his voice and learn more about the country, the people, his companion and his Christmas day celebration. Since he is 15 hours ahead in Mongolia, he was just going to bed on Christmas day as we were getting up. It was a wonderful Christmas present and a Christmas tradition that has been repeated over several years as we have talked to our missionaries on Christmas Day. He is happy, healthy and going very well and he sends his love and best wishes to all his family and friends. We love YOU dear Elder.

Christmas traditions - #18

AND HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED
Advocate * Almighty * Almighty God * Alpha and Omega * Beloved * Beloved Son * Bread of Life * Bridegroom * Christ * Christ Jesus * Christ the Lord * Christ the Son * Cornerstone * Counselor * Creator * Deliverer * Emmanuel * Eternal Father * Eternal Head * Eternal Judge * Everlasting God * Father * Father of Heaven and Earth * Firstborn * Founder of Peace * Fountain of all righteousness * God * God of Abrahan, Isaac, and Jacob * God of Israel * God of Miracles * God of Nature * God of the Whole Earth * God's Anointed * The Good Shepherd * Great and True Shepherd * Great I Am * Great Creator * Great Spirit * Holy Child * Holy One * Holy One of Israel * Husband * Immanuel * Jehovah * Jesus * Judge * Keeper of the Gate * King * King of all the Earth * King of Heaven * King of Kings * Lamb of God * Life and Light of the World * Living Water * Lord * Lord, God Almightly * Lord God Omnipotent * Lord God of Hosts * Lord Jehovah * Lord Jesus Christ * Lord my God * Lord of Lords * Lord of the Vineyard * Lord Omnipotent * Lord our God * Maker * Man * Master * Mediator * Messiah * Mighty God * Mighty One of Israel * One * Only Begotten of the Father * Only Begotten Son * Prince of Peace * Physician * Prophet * Redeemer * Redeemer of Israel * Redeemer of the World * Rock * Savior * Savior of the World * Servant * Shepherd * SON * Son of God * Son of Righteousness * Son of the Most High God * Stone * Supreme Being * Supreme Creator * The Everlasing Father * True and Living God * True Vine * Wonderful
JESUS CHRIST

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior.

Christmas traditions - #17

Our traditional baking day before Christmas was fun this year with Syd and Claire. We made the world famous sugar cookie recipe of my friend Patsy. Here is the recipe:
1 c. margarine
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 t. lemon extract
3 1/2 c. flour
3 t. baking powder
Mix together and chill in the fridge for at least one hour. Roll out thick. Cut into shapes. Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 7-9 minutes. Do not overbake! This recipe makes thick, soft sugar cookies and we love them!


We also made Grandma Mayme's world famous molasses cookies. Here is the recipe for them:
(I usually double this recipe)
1 c. shortening
1/2 c. molasses
1 heaping cup of sugar
2 beaten eggs
1/4 c. water, scant
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. allspice
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. soda
4 1/2 cups flour
Cream shortening, molasses and add sugar, eggs and water. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Divide dough into two halves and roll into two round rolls. Wrap in wax paper and put in the refrigerator over night or at least for a few hours. Cup cookie from the roll, about 1/4 inch think. Take at 325 degrees for 8/10 minutes. Frost with powdered sugar, water and butter to make a thin frosting. ENJOY!!! My Grandma made these cookies all the time and we all loved them. I hope you do too!

Christmas traditions - #16

Christmas time brings special treats for all the five senses - hearing, seeing, touching, tasting & SMELLING. I love the unique smells that occur only at Christmas - baking cookies, breads and candy. Freshly cut Christmas trees. Smells from special meals prepared only this time of year. I like to add a little Christmas scent to go along with all the naturally occurring smells that we enjoy.

• Candles

• Plug in Wallflowers from Bath and Body and in cinnamon, nutmeg, peppermint or pine

• My own Christmas scent creation, simmering in a little crock pot in the kitchen.

Christmas traditons - #15

We love to play Christmas music on the piano! Over the years (everyone including Andy who is not pictured) has played piano Christmas music. Some have played more enthusiastically than others, but still. The picture of reluctant Claire is a classic! All of our kids have participated in Christmas piano recitals and played Christmas songs, ranging from very difficult (Jordan and Rick) to very simple (Yevon, Dave and Claire) and from fun stuff to more traditional Christmas hymns. There is something about playing Christmas music on the piano that I love...the simplicity of it all the the chance to make some beautiful Christmas melodies come from the piano. We even break into group singing on Christmas eve and we've enjoyed that tradition for many years. I love having a piano in our home and for the beautiful music that has come from it over many years. An added perk is that our son-in-law R and daughter-in-law Courtney both play as well. I can't wait for the Christmas eve program. There is apt to be some good music played on the piano. We got it for Christmas in 1989 (wow, almost 20 years ago), and it has added so much to our home environment, especially at Christmas time. I think I'll go play a Christmas song right now...

Christmas traditions - #14

CHRISTMAS BOOKS
I love to read Christmas books, especially children's Christmas books. I started collecting them a long time ago and I probably have more than 30 now. One of my good friends (Connie) gave me a book each Christmas for many years.
Our children loved to read them and so did I!
I keep the religious one's upstairs and the Santa and other ones in a basket downstairs. Here are some of my favorites:
When Jesus Was Born in Bethlehem
The Christmas Creche
Jacob's Gift
Bright Christmas, An Angel Remembers
The Christmas Candle
The Gift of the Magi
The Christmas Pea Coat
A Night Without Darkness - A Nephite Christmas Story
Christmas Oranges
A Christmas Dress of Ellen
They Followed a Bright Star
The Forgotten Carols
Auntie Claus
Polar Express
The Three Trees
Christmas Day in the Morning
The Night Before Christmas
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Cup of Tea
The Little Match Girl
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree
The Velveteen Rabbit
Baboushka
Santa's Favorite Story
The Snow Queen

I can't wait until my grand babes come so that we can read them together! SIX MORE DAYS!!!

#8 addendum

That's mighty neighborly of you....Here is an addendum to Christmas tradition #8. Check out this great article, complete with pictures and recipes for those of you still contemplating what to do for the neighborhood gift! Good luck!

Christmas traditions - #13

Christmas traditions - #12

Let's PARTY!!!

Christmas just wouldn't be complete without attending a bunch of Christmas parties. Each year we have the tradition of attending several parties and this year has been no exception. Here are the ones we've attended so far:

Rick & I - his office dinner party with the big group (highlight - winning a $20 gift certificate to Los Hermanos)

Rick - his small group dinner office party (highlight - receiving an icecream accessory gift in the gift exchange)

Vonnie- my lunch office party with the big group in the new Gordon B. Hinckley building (highlight - receiving a nice, leather bound copy of the hymn book from the 1st presidency)

Vonnie - my lunch small group office party (highlight - making a contribution with the group to the Women's and Children's crisis center instead of exchanging gifts)

Rick & I - attending the SCERA breakfast party (highlight listening to various people share their favorite Christmas memories - my favorite was a man about the age of dad (G. Seastrand) who told about the first Christmas he came home after being away in the Pacific during WWII. It was very touching.)

Rick & I - attending the Cleofon (ladies group) dinner in the 2-3 million dollar home of one the members (highlight - the entertainment was great.)

Rick & I - attending the MTC Christmas dinner for the branch presidents and their wives (highlight - listening to Elder Hinckley and Elder Perry give talks at the end. The shrimp cocktail wasn't bad either.)

And what do all these Christmas parties have in common???

They all served food - and lots of it. How do you deal with all of the good food that is around at Christmas time? One year I gained 7 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years day. I vowed not to do that again this year, so I've tried the following strategies:

1. Eat, don't drink calories. Water only.

2. Exercise every day - M,W,F @ Curves and walking for an hour T & Th with Patsy

3. Don't eat as much at other meals on days when there is a party

4. Don't eat huge amounts. Try all my favorite things, but watch the amounts.

So far, so good. What strategies to you use?

Brian Stokes Mitchell

You know how it is when you find something you LOVE...something you fall for instantly... something that really grabs you? Well this just happened to me again. These moments don't come along very often, so I savor them when they do! I love the voice of Brian Stokes Mitchell. What a voice! I'll be needing one of his CDs soon. Very soon.
I first heard him sing while listening to Music and the Spoken word at the MTC in September. I'd never heard of him before. I was smitten instantly. Then yesterday he once again sang with the Mormon Tabernacle choir as their guest for Music and the Spoken word and for their annual Christmas concert. It was beyond wonderful. Here are a couple of clips for you to listen to his voice! See what I mean? Wow!!! I love Man of La Mancha and the role of Don Quixote played by Brian Stokes Mitchell in the clip. We saw the play at the Shakespeare festival a few years ago (unfortunately he didn't play Don Quixote, but the man who did was very good.) The Impossible Dream is such a moving song to me. Also, check out the brief appearance of the actress who played Maid Marion in Robin Hood & the Prince of Thieves movie a few years back.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Christmas traditions - #11

THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!

For many years I have had a secret little elf bring me gifts for the 12 days of Christmas. He leaves the gifts on the seat of my car, starting 12 days before Christmas! How sweet it that? I usually forget about this happy tradition until the day I go out to my car and open the door and what to my wondering eyes see,

but a little gift
and a sweet poem
attached to the gift
on a post-it-note
just for me!

The elf brings me things I need this time of year, like wrapping paper, tape, ribbons and bows, bags of candy to fill all my candy dishes, nuts, movie tickets, gift cards, tree ornaments, all my favorite things of all sorts and sometimes a special gift at the end on the 12th day.
I don't know how this little elf gets into our garage. My husband suspects some of our neighbors and he is irritated by the liberties they take in coming into our garage. I don't care who brings it! I LOVE MY LITTLE ELF!! THANKS ELFFIE!! You're the best ELFFIE a girl could have!

Christmas traditions - #10

I believe in Santa Claus. I really do.
I've always believed that he has the magical ability to make dreams come true. Growing up our parents did an extremely good job in building expectations and setting the stage for Christmas morning when we would get up to see what gifts Santa Claus had brought us. We had a ritual that we followed the night before and I remember lying awake for hours and hours in anticipation of the next morning. I would listen intently for any sounds that he might be in the house and I would wait and wait for the highly anticipated call from our father in the early morning "Good gal, he's been here!!!" Then we children would run wildly into the room to see what Santa had brought us. None of this eating breakfast first stuff. None of that waiting in line and filing into the room in an orderly fashion. As I recall, it was just run in the room and go for it! We would have - what seemed like- heaps of gifts (unwrapped) sitting in the place on the couch or a chair where we left our stockings the night before. The stockings would be filled and the gifts would be left and year after glorious year, the same thing would happen. Our parents worked magic and I became a true believer (which I still am.) With seven children, they did a marvelous job of creating a wonderful Christmas environment in our home and meeting our expectations.
In our family, our children wrote letters to Santa early in the month and mailed the letters. They would make up lists of the gifts they would like Santa to bring them and check them twice. They would try and be kind and not do anything too naughty. Rick and I would try our best to make their dreams come true and create a magical Christmas morning. I believe that children should believe in magic, and Santa Claus is magic to me still. I don't understand parents who don't allow their children to believe in Santa Claus or who ruin the magic of it all. Children find out soon enough about the ways of the world and they have such a small period of time when they can believe in things that don't intellectually make sense. They grow out of a belief in magic soon enough and I'm a believer in prolonging the inevitable as long as possible!
Traditionally, we put all of our Santa decorations in the family room and this is the place where we have enjoyed Christmas morning, the hanging of stockings on Christmas eve and the opening of gifts on Christmas morning . In our home early in the morning Mrs. Santa liked to turn up the heat by starting a fire, turn on some Christmas music and plug in the lights to the Christmas tree. There was a nice ambiance in the room for Christmas morning. Rick now call out "Good gal, he's been here" and the kids come running down from the upstairs. They liked to look through their Christmas stockings, check out any unwrapped gifts and then move on to opening the gifts under the tree one by one. There were usually lots of "oohs and aahs" and excited expressions and hopefully everyone was happy with the gifts Santa brought. Santa would bring toys and other items and the we parents would also provide gifts wrapped under the tree.
The tradition of Santa Claus is a fun part of Christmas. It's not the most important part, obviously, but it has a part in the celebration of Christmas that I have always enjoyed.
What's not to love about this legend?
"One legend associated with Santa says that he lives in the far north, in a land of perpetual snow. The American version of Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, while Father Christmas is said to reside in Lapland. Other details include: that he is married and lives with Mrs. Claus; that he makes a list of children throughout the world, categorizing them according to their behavior; that he delivers presents, including toys, candy, and other presents to all of the good boys and girls in the world, and sometimes coal or sticks to the naughty children, in one night; and that he accomplishes this feat with the aid of magical elves who make the toys, and eight or nine flying reindeer who pull his sleigh."

For men..a little gift giving training

I don't know if there are any men who read my blog, but if so, check out this video. and consider yourself warned.......hahahaha! Some of you female friends may want to show this video to your husband/boyfriend/significant other if they need a little training! Good luck!
Having said that, I realize that there are many men who already have this gift buying thing figured out and to them I say ~ Way to go!

Christmas traditions - #9

cHRiStMaS CarDs!!!

Check out this interesting blog entry called writing "Christmas Letters 101." It has some interesting things to consider when writing a family Christmas letter.
And that brings me to the main point on Christmas tradition #9. To send a card only or to send a family letter as well? To send an email card or to send no card at all. That is the question. Some people have strong feelings on the subject. Some people don't like the family letters and they just throw them away (or worse, they make fun of them!) I've kind of figured out some who don't like the family letters and I decided not to even bother them with it anymore.
I haven't ever really viewed the family newsletter as a "brag letter". I consider it a "catch up letter" and I enjoy reading them. For me, I LOVE Christmas cards that include a family letter or a note of some sort. I read every word and I enjoy catching up with family and friends to see what their year has been like, especially those who live far away. We've always sent a Christmas card/letter and I enjoy receiving them as well. When Rick gets home from work each day during December he always asks to see which cards have come that day and he enjoys reading what people have sent.
For years, I taped each card on to my kitchen hutch. More recently I have been putting them all in this HUGE Christmas stocking that hangs on the back of our front door. It gets really loaded by the time Christmas rolls around. Our kids who live far away even enjoy taking down the stocking and reading the cards and letters that are contained therein, because they know many of the people.
I love the family pictures on the Christmas cards, I love the Christmas greetings, I love the well-wishes and I love the kinds sentiments that are expressed. And I really enjoy the family updates!

Christmas traditions - #8

My sister Janet and I agree that "the neighborhood gift" sometimes causes ambivalent feelings. On the one hand, it IS fun to give and to receive and on the other hand, it usually takes a lot of time, some money and quite a bit of effort to make it happen - especially if you're making several dozen. I do like to give our neighbors something to let them now we're thinking about them and to wish them a Merry Christmas. We usually give a little something to our Home and Visiting Teaching families and our close friends in the neighborhood. But here is one of the problems - what if you give something to someone and not to someone else and they find out that they were left out....there is the potential for hurt feelings. Or another issue - you give a small inexpensive gift/treat to your neighbor and he/she gives you a more elaborate gift. Or yet another - Do you try and give something to everyone who gives you something? What if they came to your door on Christmas Eve to give you something and you don't have anything for them? And finally - do you ever re- gift??? How do you deal with this neighborhood gift "problem?"
Some things to consider:

• When your husband is the Bishop of the ward, people give you A LOT of stuff, mostly food and treats. I think it might be better to give the Bishop some sort or non-food item or take it over to the church so that all the staff can share while they are doing T. settlement. They're usually starving over there anyway. Unfortunately, we ended up throwing some treats out.
• Do you like home-baked treats? Some people I know (who will remain anonymous) feel anxious about eating some home prepared food and they throw it away.
• What do you do for your child's teachers or leaders? Anything?

One couple in our neighborhood made it a policy to give a generous donation to the Humanitarian Aid fund instead of give neighborhood gifts. They took a card around to everyone and wished them a Merry Christmas, and noted in the card that they had made a donation instead of giving a neighborhood gift. I like this idea!
I'm always looking for something to do for "the gift." I've stolen/shared some great ideas from my sisters over the years and we've even made the gifts together to get them done and ready to give. I love advance preparation! This year I bought a case of inexpensive Santa cookie jars from Tai Pan and I made my sister Ann's cinnamon oatmeal pancake mix to put inside the jar. Mixes are so expensive to buy and this pancake mix is to die for! Plus it uses food storage items you will probably already have on hand. In case you're not on my list this year for a neighborhood gift, you'll have to go ahead and make the mix yourself....and please don't be offended that I didn't give you one. (hahahaha!)
Here you go: (oh, and please have a Merry Christmas)

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancake Mix
4 c. quick oats
2 c. flour
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. dry milk
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. cinnamon
2 t. salt
3 T. baking powder
1/2 t. cream of tartar

Mix together and put in an airtight container for no more than 6 months (as if it would last that long.) This mix will do about 4 batches of pancakes. When you're ready to make them, add 2 cups of the mix to 2 eggs, 3 T. oil and 1 c. water, mix and cook on a griddle.

This MUST HAVE syrup goes with them:
Almond buttermilk syrup
2 cubes butter
2 c. sugar
1 c. buttermilk
Boil 1 minute and then add 1 t. soda and 1 t. almond concentrate (a must) ENJOY!

Surprise! A New Look...

Yes, it's still me. Quite by accident, I got a new look on my blog. I was looking to edit and change something else, and bababa boom....this is what I ended up with. I guess it's OK, but I liked purple better :) I know I could go back to what I had, but change is good too! I just wish I knew how to widen the margins. I'd rather have wider text with not so much boarder showing. Anyone, anyone???

Christmas traditions - #7

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

We love to attend the annual production of A Christmas Carol at the Hale Theater. The themes addressed in the play are very thought provoking and a good reminder about how to keep Christmas well. We attended on Monday night for FHE and took my friend Dara with us. It was delightful. We saw R's cousins, in fact their entire family was there including the recently returned missionary. We also saw Ardeth Kapp and a few other well known faces. Here is a link to the book online if you have never read it. There are many quoatable lines and here are a few:

...and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed that knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us!
...Humbug!
...God Bless us, everyone!

Pandora Internet Radio

I made an amazing discovery! I don't know how many of you know about www.pandora.com but it is a great web site. You can listen to music over the internet without commercials for free! You can choose the type of music you want to listen to and it will play only the things you like. For those of you who work with a computer nearby, you can set it to play continuous music all day long. It's amazing. I've been listening to Christmas music on it at work and I LOVE IT. It's like listening to the radio only TONS better, because there are no commercials! Wow, I don't know how they do it, but it's great. I just found out about it at work last Friday and I'm hooked!!!
Who knew about this and didn't spread the news?

Joy to Everyone this Christmas ~ video link

I received this video link in an email from BYUarts as a thank you for supporting their performances. The email said :

We appreciate your faithful support of the many music, theatre, and dance performances we have presented this year. As a token of our gratitude, please enjoy a free Christmas song composed by Stephen Jones, Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communications at Brigham Young University, who teamed up with BYU alumni and some of Utah’s finest studio musicians to create a gift of music this Christmas season.The song, “Joy to Everyone This Christmas,” is part of an effort to share love, peace and joy this Christmas. BYU alumni, faculty, staff and students pooled their expertise to produce a music video and Web site as a medium to share their gift.

Take a mintue (well - 4.13 actually) and enjoy this Christmas treat!

Christmas traditions - #6

Service.

Matthew 25:40
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

A big part of Christmas for me and Rick is being involved in giving service of some sort. Big projects. Little projects. Service projects for strangers, for neighbors, for family, for missionaries, sometimes for those poor in spirit who need a lift. I'm pretty sure that every year we've been involved in something. This year Rick made some wonderful suggestions of people we could help, and even though I may receive the credit, he has been the one behind me with the idea and the means. One year when I was the YW president, the Bishop helped buy a mobile home for a family in need. The YW were called in to clean the home and decorate it for Christmas and all the girls really got in to that project. Another year when I was involved in RS, we bought food for about 20 families and took turkey dinners to all those people. I've been involved in taking bread baskets and long distance calling cards to all the single women in the neighborhood. When our kids were little, we did the 12 days of Christmas to brighten the lives of various neighbors and friends. We've contributed anonymously to people who were struggling and we've invited single women to Christmas programs and to come over to our house for dinner. We've been involved in providing Christmas gifts for a family in need, buying children's clothing and other needed and wanted items for Christmas gifts.
This year at the MTC, they involved the 2000 missionaries in assembling 10,000 hygiene kits for Humanitarian aid. The missionaries loved being able to provide some service and do some good, even before they reach their fields of labor.
I just don't think Christmas would feel right if there weren't some sort of service involved. It's been fun to watch various families and to see what their service projects have been. I really like the Skeens idea of giving cash to their daughters and their families and letting them decide how they would spend it to provide service for someone in need. Instead of giving gifts to one anther, the Smiths choose a family in their area and provide Christmas gifts for them. There are many great ideas and ways to serve and it doesn't have to even involve spending money. To me giving of time, giving attention, giving of ones self is what brings happiness throughout the year.
We have Andy's missionary picture on our piano this year. He and thousands of others are out there doing what the Savior would do. They're giving of themselves, and helping to lift the burden of another. We can't all have that full-time opportunity to serve, but we can serve within our own sphere of influence. In front of his picture is a little manger that was made by a carpenter in our ward. He made one for each of he Young Women and we put a little bundle of straw in each. The idea is do give service each day through the month of December and as you do, to put a little hay in the manger. After a month of doing this, the manger fills up and is ready for the Christ child on Christmas day. I love this concept! Doing some little service each day for a family member, a friend, a co-worker, or even a stranger will help make your Christmas month so much better.
"In short, the Christmas spirit is the Christ spirit, that makes our hearts glow in brotherly love and friendship and prompts us to kind deeds of service. “It is the spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, obedience to which will bring ‘peace on earth,’ because it means—good will toward all men.” Giving, not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Then each Christmas will be the best Christmas ever. " Thomas S. Monson, “The Best Christmas Ever,” Ensign, Dec 2008, 4–8

Christmas traditions - #5

Dave, Courtney, Rick, Pat and I were fortunate to attend the 1st presidency Christmas devotional last night at the conference center. We loved to see the lights at Temple Square and to hear the words of President Monson, President Eyring and President Uchtdorf. The choir numbers were beautiful and the messages were inspirational. We always enjoying watching the fireside on TV most years and this year it was a special treat to attend the meeting in person. The conference center was so beautifully decorated and there is always such a good spirit there.

The Bethlehem innkeeper never got a second chance to house the holy family, but those who seek to follow the babe born in his stable will not only make room for Christ, they will emulate his light, his love and his care for others.
That was the message shared with members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide on Sunday as the faith's First Presidency presented its annual Christmas devotional in the Conference Center, with music by the Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square.
Speaking amid brightly decorated Christmas trees and poinsettias decorating the dais, President Thomas S. Monson said the innkeeper missed his greatest opportunity the night Christ was born. "Long years afterward, it would not do any good for him to repeat over and over again the words, 'If only I had known who they were, I would have made room for them."'
Today, many enjoy homes with rooms for eating, sleeping, playing, sewing and TV, "but no room for Christ," he said. While many desire to make room in their hearts for the Savior, "no matter how successful we have been thus far. ... I am confident we would all wish to do better." This Christmas season is the time to do so, he said. - Deseret News, Monday, December 8, 2008

It was a wonderful evening -except for the part where we got stuck in a parking garage for 45 minutes :( but we had a good time visiting. An added perk was seeing all the temple square lights turn on at once - at exactly the stroke of 5:30, they all went on. Quite a sight! The whole evening was another touching reminder for me to remember Jesus Christ and to do some good.