Calgary Temple Trip!

Last month they had the open house for the Calgary Temple going. We decided to go on the last day. It was on a Saturday. But instead of making it in one trip, I booked a hotel and we went up Friday afternoon. It made for a much nicer trip. Not sure what it is about the drive to Calgary, but it's crazy with our family. Seriously, I can drive with my 4 kids by myself to Kalispel, without a hitch. But try a trip to Calgary and they are BONKERS!!! Not sure why, but it's true. So that's why we broke it up into two days.

We got to our hotel, which has a nice water park, and slides. The kids were so excited to go check it out. But we went and ate first then came back and went swimming. Everyone had a blast. I got my exercise running after DJ. He loved the slides. He didn't want to go with me, so I'd go first then catch him at the bottom. Crazy boy. We swam for just over an hour, then called it good. It was getting late.

We got ready for bed and watched TV and had popcorn. Luckily, we all had a good sleep. There was no breakfast in the hotel, so we got up in the morning and went to McDonald's for breakfast. The kids ate good and then played their little hearts out in the play place.

Then we went back to the hotel and got ready to go swimming again. I asked for a later check out and they said that was fine. We were going to check out at 1pm. So we had LOTS of time to go swimming. We were down there for a long time. The kids had fun. I tried and tried to get Brianna to go on the slides but she refused. I finally got her to go on my lap. She said it was fun, but didn't want to go again. The other three just stayed on the slides. I stayed at the bottom and would catch DJ. I missed him one time and he went under the water (he had his life jacket on), and really scared himself. So he decided to play with Brianna. Abbi and Cadence made some new friends and had fun going on the slides with them. There were no lifeguards, so kids would go in long trains on the slides. Another reason why we kept a close eye on them. We made all of our kids wear life jackets. Just makes me feel a bit better!

Abbi and Cadence raced each other down the slides. These two loved the slides! DJ's in the far right corner watching. That's where Richard sat so he could watch everyone.

Brianna and DJ playing in the water together.

Cadence just coming down the green slide!

Abbi just came off the yellow slide.

Brianna and DJ in the kid area. I was up on the stairs looking down at them, sitting in the "waterfall" pool!

DJ going down the little slide.

Brianna loved the little slide. She would of stayed there all day!! Funny girl!

DJ and Brianna played for a LONG time with this water fountain. DJ even got a bucket and would try to put it over the water. It was pretty funny! I videoed it!

Here's my 2 water slide maniacs!! Silly girls!

After a couple of hours we called it good. We went up stairs and we gave all the kids a bath and washed their hair. We all got ready to go. By this time it was snowing pretty hard outside. I didn't come prepared for snow. We all had our hoodies. Oh well! We started driving and decided to have lunch after we went to the Temple. Well, we would regret that decision later on! ha ha!

We found the Temple after an hour of driving. DJ fell asleep on the way. It was impossible to find a parking spot. We finally found one a couple blocks away. I had to carry DJ (since he was still half asleep and insisted on me carrying him), and Richard walked with the girls. We didn't have to wait long and got right into the chapel of the church. Where we watched a very interesting video on the Temples. Then we waited out turn to walk into the temple. Once we got outside, a nice volunteer saw our little "freezing" family. He came and got us and took us right up to the doors and got us inside. He said the girls looked like they were going to freeze to death!! He was very nice.

It was really crowded and we walked through the Temple. It's absolutely beautiful inside and out. Amazing all the work that goes into it. The kids weren't saying much until we came into the Celestial Room. They started to whisper and ask us questions. We stayed in there a bit longer so we could answer their questions. Then we went into a Sealing Room. Again the girls were in awe. They were all asking me questions. I lifted each of them up and showed them the mirrors and how it signifies that we can be a family forever, because their image went on forever. They LOVED that. If someone asks them about the temple, they say they loved the "mirror" room the best! It was a neat experience to have as a family.

It was freezing cold out when we got back outside. I didn't get one picture of the Temple. Hopefully we can go back when it's nicer out and the kids aren't starving. By this time, they were all complaining that they were starving. I didn't blame them since it was 3pm by this time. We came back into the church where they had cookies and water set up for everyone. So we all grabbed a cookie and headed out to the suburban.

It was snowing hard and our windshield wipers weren't working at all. So we stopped at Walmart and we all went in and I took the kids into the bathrooms where we changed out of our church clothes into warmer ones!! Then we headed to the South side of Calgary. It took us FOREVER!!!

We finally made it and stopped at Eastside Mario's for dinner. I think by this time the kids gave up on us. I felt kind of bad. I guess I'm just not used to Calgary traffic. We went in and ordered some appetizers right away and then put in our dinner orders. Usually I order two kid size dinners and my kids share. Since they are all such small eaters. But luckily this time I was smart and had them each pick their own. WOW, they all ate so good. DJ and Brianna cleaned their plates of spaghetti and was licking them off!! I guess I should starve them more often. Ha ha...just joking!

Us eating our appetizers!! Ha ha, I think Richard was hungry too!!

DJ was so excited when his food came out! He chowed down!

Cadence went right to work too, eating all her food!

Brianna finished that whole plate of spaghetti! Our kids were hungry!

Brianna drinking and Abbi eating in the back ground.

DJ just cracked me up. He sat there and just kept eating!! Such a cutie!

Then the kids each got three small ice cream cones. I didn't think that they'd be able to finish them. But they are everything! I'm so glad we stopped there and had a good dinner. The kids were happy and we all had a good time at dinner.

Abbi eating her miniature cones!

Brianna loved eating the ice cream!

DJ didn't want to be bothered, he was enjoying it so much!

Cadence with her cone!

After dinner we all went back out to the suburban. We got the kids all belted in and comfortable with blankets and pillows. I put on a movie and away we went. They did so awesome on the way home. It was snowing hard out. We finally drove out of it by Claresholm. We drove straight home. It was a good little family trip. I'm so glad we did it. It was a good experience!