I love to see the temple and...SURPRISE BROOKE!!!

I had been planning a surprise for months.

A big surprise for my, not so little, girl.

When our girls turn twelve, that magical age when suddenly clothes become more important, Beehive activities are the highlight of the week, and temple trips for baptisms are on the calendar, we do a little something special.

I want them to see more than the limited amount that they witness as they head in the temple with family and friends their age to do baptisms for others.

I want them to dream.

I want them to dream big.

I want them to dream of going here and then make it happen.

When we send our kids off to college, we usually have taken a trip to see the campus, or at least checked out every possible thing associated with that school we can find on the internet.

We talk to people who have gone there, and view pictures of the campus.

We find out what is required to qualify to go there, and then they make it happen.

Whether is it an ivy league school that requires the most dedicated of students, or the local school that works perfectly for your plans, you have to make an effort.

I want my children to dream big.

I want them to know that they can do anything they put their minds to.

If they work hard, do the right things, and pray with all their might, things can happen.

Wonderful things.

For Brooke, I wanted her to know that of all the amazing things she will accomplish in her life, kneeling across the altar from a young man who is worthy like her and seal their lives together forever, will be one of the greatest highlights of this journey.

And I wanted to show her exactly what that room would look like.

So...

On Thursday morning, I walked into the girls' room and woke up Brooke.  I had taken her trusty phone, so that she didn't automatically check the time.  I woke her gently and let her know it was time to get up and get ready for school.  John had already gone in before me once, but her tired body still did not want to budge from the comfort of her warm bed. I persisted, and finally got her going.  She reluctantly started to brush her hair and peeked at herself in the mirror through tired eyes.  

It wasn't working.

She was soooo tired.

So we went to Plan B.

"Do you want to go late to school?  Dad and I are going to take you to breakfast and then you can come back and get ready.  Does that work?"

Of course it did.

Who turns down going to school late and a sit down breakfast on a cold winter morning?

We headed to the airport.

With Brooke back asleep in the the backseat, I was giddy!

I hadn't slept all night, because of my excitement!

AND BOY DID IT WORK!

We gently woke her again from her car slumber, and announced that we were headed to Arizona.

IT was awesome!

She smiled, almost a, "ya right" kinda smile, but we were headed off, and when she saw her suitcase it was time to roll.

We got to Arizona very early, and our session for the temple wasn't until 4:30pm, so we had a little fun.

But first, this is what we saw when we headed to the Gilbert temple that afternoon...

Brooke started taking pictures out the car window as soon as we could see the temple.

It was magnificent, even from the street in the middle of the afternoon!

The temple was packed!  I mean packed!  There was no available parking near the  church and temple, so we parked in a dirt lot a block away.

This was the site as we headed that way.

The smiles on the faces of the people walking back to their cars from the temple, said it all!

One couple said, "Boy, you guys have come a long way!"

I had no idea how they knew we were out-of-towners, but I excitedly announced, "YES, we did!"  "All the way from Denver, just to be here and go in the temple today."

"Denver?" with a puzzled look on their face.

"But?" pointing to our license plate.

Only then did we realize our rental car had IOWA plates!

Well, not that far, but far enough to be just as excited as the neighbors up the street that will be able to sit on their porches in the warmth of their Arizona winters and see its' beautiful light each night.

We got in line with our tickets and talked to Ellie on the phone while we waited our turn.

Ellie had called to see if Brooke had stayed for the school Valentines' Dance.

Nope.

Not quite.

She was sad to say the least, but her time will come!

Maybe they will open a temple in Australia for her 12th year.

Who knows.

We watched a wonderful movie of how the saints had settled this town of Gilbert, and all the amazing history that surrounds this temple.

We were surrounded by people who were not of our faith.

It was amazing!

They asked questions that you could tell, they had been wanting to ask for a long time.

We stood in a line in front of the temple waiting our turn.

It was absolutely beautiful.

Brooke was absolutely beautiful.

For just a brief time, it was just the two of us.

No little girls pulling at my legs, or older kids needing money or a ride.

Just us.

It was a time I will never forget.

We took a few more pictures before we donned our booties (to keep the floors and carpets cleaned), and headed in.

We were unable to take pictures inside to preserve the reverence there.

It was beautiful.

The people were quiet and reverent.

We viewed sacred room after sacred room.

The beauty was tangible.

Brooke quickly noticed a pattern of flowers that seemed to envelope the entire interior.

She pointed out detail after detail.

Simply amazing.

The chandelier in the Celestial Room will not be something that we ever forget.

Nor the light that filled the room.

I suspect there will be a time, far in the future, when we visit this temple, and these baby palm trees will have grown into beautiful maturity.

I LOVE THIS GIRL!!

I am so grateful to John for taking over for me at home for a couple days, so that I could make these memories with Brooke.

I am grateful for the opportunity to see the temple touch my children's lives'.

I am grateful for a church that is willing to share with everyone who wants to know, the things of God.

I literally couldn't stop taking pictures.

I wanted to seal this memory, pictures and all, forever.

Just for memory sake, I want to back track on our day.

First of all, we slept our entire flight.

Waking up at 3:30am will do that to you.

When we arrived in Phoenix, we rented the least expensive car you could rent, BUT when we got to the lot, the attendant said, "Pick any car you want!"

We went for speed!

Funny side story: As we were loading the trunk of this sweet "guy" car, I said to Brooke, "Isn't this car sweet?"

The man, who was loading SEVEN matching bags next to us, said, "I wanted that one, but you know what they say, 'Happy wife, miserable life.'"

It was so funny!

We felt bad for the guy, but his loss was our gain. :)

Then it was off to breakfast and shopping in Scottsdale per Adrienne's suggestion.

It did NOT disappoint.

Breakfast was at The Breakfast Club.

It was delicious, and Emmett Smith was at the next table!

Day two we slept in until 10:08!!!

Got a little fun and sun in the pool.

And then cruised the neighborhoods around the new temple.

We discovered this neighborhood with incredible doors, which is where I took picture after picture much to Brooke's embarrassment.

Actually, by the end, she was pointing out the good ones.

BEAUTIFUL!!

After exploring Gilbert, we headed to Mesa and made the Mesa temple our last stop.

It was just as beautiful as we remembered!

Sweet model of Jerusalem in the visitors' center.

Brooke and I watched the old Mormon commercials and laughed.

So fun!

You remember, "Isn't it about time?"

A nice couple took a couple pics of us.  In her defense, she did say she was terrible at taking pictures. :)

Packing our bags in the parking lot of the Mesa temple!

Brooke also became obsessed with airplanes in the sky this trip.

She must have pointed out a couple dozen.

Very cute!

I can NEVER resist taking pictures of military families welcoming their loved ones home.

Swells my heart...always!

Brooke on the airport tram trying to avoid my last ditch effort to capture every single moment!

Brooke working on her photography skills when she captured these trees!

We love palm trees!

Some fuzzy I-Phone photos of our temple night!

We also checked out A.J.'s new stomping grounds as the starting QB for Mesa next Fall.

I am grateful for my testimony of Jesus Christ.  I know that within the walls of His temples, we can find answers that change our lives. It was within the walls of our Denver Temple that I knew for a surety that John was the man I should marry. It was within those same walls that I found comfort and peace after losing our girls.  It was within those walls that I seek forgiveness for my weaknesses, guidance for my children, prayers for my family and friends, and many more things that constantly bless my life.

May Brooke find those answers, and the peace and happiness that I have.

I love you Brooke Elizabeth!