Gila Valley Temple

The Gila Valley Temple Open House is happening right now. We decided it would be a wonderful experience taking the kids - it isn't often that there are open houses and we have been lucky to take the kids to the Newport Beach Temple and now the Gila Valley Temple. We are super excited for the Gilbert & Phoenix Temples to be built can't wait for those open houses. How wonderful is it that our kids will have experienced living in 2 different Temple districts and be able to participate in the Celebrations that go with getting a new Temple. Due to mass work, I ended up going without Stevan :( and Clayton will have to go with Grandma & Grandpa when they get back in town (he REALLY wants to go insdie a Temple - I think he's still committed to finding Jesus' bedroom and hoping he can have a chat with him). We left early - Google Map said it would take 3 hours, so with our reservation being 12:45, we left at 8:30am, to allow for a stop or two and lunch before getting to the Temple. On our way, there was a report that there had been an accident between Superior and Globe, and that the 60 had been closed down, but that it should re-open by 10am...so as we get closer - and its almost 10am, I notice traffic slowing down...great...I take a back-road through Superior and get past where the cars are lined up, but they still wouldn't let us on the 60...so listening to the radio we hear that they extended the closure until 11am. We decided take an alternate route rather than sit there for an hour - roughly an 80 mile out of the way detour to get around the closure and back to Globe so we can then get to Pima...We got to drive south through Kearney to Winkleman ( no need to go see those places people - boring) and then back north to the main highway at Globe...then back on track. Luckily we took this route instead of waiting it out, cause no sooner had we gotten back on track, we heard on the news that the closure was extended again until noon :( So we made it to the Temple just a little before our appointment time :) From the outside the Temple actually looks smaller than Newport Beach...It is beautiful inside as it should be and the kids really enjoyed the tour. They loved seeing the baptismal font, to which they noted that in the Newport Beach Temple they still had their scripture stones under the oxen...they hope they will be able to do this also for the Gilbert Temple. The girls LOVED the brides room with its beautiful chandalier and mirrors. The mural in the ordinance room was amazing...a beautiful desert scene, quite a change from the beach scene in Newport, and the last ordinance room was beautiful with slight blue accents in the filigree on the ceilings and in the lighting. The Celestial Room was also amazing as it should be, the girls were especially inpressed, as was I, of the huge chandalier in the middle - it was so bright and amazing to look at. The tour ended in 1 of the 2 sealing rooms which were also beautiful - the kids really enjoyed being at the altar looking at the mirrors. Mason talked with Ashlen about the sealing room we were sealed in and asked her if she remembered sitting on the altar as we were being sealed...what a memory - I don't even remember that!!!! He also thinks that the mirrors were full length in that room...anyone anyone....are there any full length mirrors in the largest sealing room off the Celestial Room in the LA Temple??? I guess Stevan and I need to go back and look...its been forever since we've been there...sorry for the digression...so the kids loved it - we then went to the building next door and enjoyed the cookies and displays, grabbed our cameras and headed back to take some photos outside the Temple. We ended up leaving after spending about an hour at the Temple and started on our trip back home. We stopped at this awesome little place for lunch on our way out of town...Taylors Freeze - we highly recommend it - good burgers and onion rings - and got back with no detour in 2 1/2 hours...the ride between Globe ad Superior is only 17 miles!!!! aaarrrggghhhh...well we made it and that was the point - detour or no detour. What a great day :)