Saturday

We finally made it to the Ft. Lauderdale temple! This has been the longest span we have ever gone without a temple trip. With moving, starting med school, having a baby, and then the normal wait to get your baby on a nursing schedule that you can leave her long enough to do a session--it's been a while. This was top on our list of things to do this weekend and it was certainly a testimony builder to me that temples are so important and we need to make a much greater effort to get there more often! I loved every minute of it.

This random site-seeing lady from Las Vegas was kind enough to take our picture. Look at those blue skies! Such a pretty temple!

 

There is a massive park right beside the temple. It costs 1.50 to get in on weekends and holidays, but it is totally worth it. We got up at 5:30am to get everything ready so I could make the 8am session while Sterling played at the park with the kids and then we switched and he did the 11am session while we played.

They look so much alike to me. Their chins and cheeks and face shape. Such beautiful girls.

Ruth discovered that she is almost big enough to do the monkey bars so I spent a LOT of time holding her while she crossed. She can go from one to the next and then she drops. It is quite impressive actually, she's getting there!

I can't decide if my kids need a second pair of pants here or not. They both only have one pair that still fits from our Utah spring and there have been a couple of days chilly enough for long pants.

After Sterling finished his session we all came back to the park for lunch and more playing.

This is the most countrified I've felt since moving here. The area around the temple is really beautiful. We chatted about how we could maybe live in Florida forever if we lived here instead of Miami. Then I remembered the cockroaches.

That night we took the kids to see some lights and meet Santa Claus. Ruth saw him when he was standing in the middle of a room, ran right up to him, threw her arms around his middle and gave him a big hug. The entire crowd went "awww!". I think the night was worth it just for that one moment. My camera died before we met Santa, unfortunately, but it was a great time.

Awesome banyan trees. Such a different Christmas light experience.

Christmas lights and cacti--haha!

Our Sunday was also nice and relaxed. Sterling let me sleep in (kind of, I had gotten a huge mosquito bite during the night that kept me awake, rude) and made a gourmet breakfast for us and then went to his meetings while I got everyone ready. We came home and napped and relaxed and Sterling made dinner (I know, he's amazing!) and then did the dishes while I played with the kids--and held a fussy Molly. Then the kids went to bed and we watched You've Got Mail (its on netflix right now)---the internet! Hilarious! 

Today it's back to the real world. December 1st. A screaming baby with no one to hand her off to. She has literally screamed the entire day. Why oh why do I have such a fussy baby? The weekend was perfect though. We accomplished the things I can't do by myself, we played, we relaxed, we ENJOYED having Sterling around so much. Three kids is cake when you have another arm to help you! It was some wonderful family time and I am so grateful!