The Portland Temple

We were blessed to be able to see some of our friends from our days in Bellingham a couple of weeks ago. They now reside in a town near Portland and have a son who just graduated from high school. They were having a small get-together and sent us a note and we thought it'd be fun to go and see them since we aren't so far a way anymore! It was great being able to see them and catch up a bit. Their one and only daughter used to babysit for our girls regularly and now she's getting MARRIED! Wow! We weren't gone THAT long, were we?! :)

Anyway, the point is, we stopped off at the Portland Temple on the way to their house as our girls had never seen it and it's always nice for any of us to be able to look at the beauty of the Lord's temples up close! It's such a beautiful and serene place to be. Quiet and thought-provoking. For those of you who are not members of the LDS church, you are welcome to click on the link on the left of my blog. That is a site made specifically for those with questions about the church. I promise no missionaries are going to knock on your door just because you clicked on it. They might knock on your door cuz God sent them, but not because you clicked on the link! :) Anyway, anyone is welcome to reverently spend time on the temple grounds and like I said, we wanted to take the kids.

I was trying to get some nice pictures of them to maybe hang on the wall, but they weren't really all cooperating at the same time. I did get some good ones here and there, though, and if you look at the one with all of them in a row side by side you can see a bride and groom right above 4's head under the trees! They had either just gotten married or were about to do so and were having their pictures taken! The girls (especially 2 and 3) thought that was SO cool! Anyway, enjoy the pix of the girls and the temple! Ruth
Do you see the bride and groom? Look REALLY hard...
I'm pretty sure that 2 and 3 are old enough to comply when I say "smile and look at ME" but maybe not.
So pretty. I got a couple good ones of her. The girls really enjoyed this little reflection pool to the side of the temple.
She was cold. Hence the folded arms. At least she's looking this time, though! Cutie pie! And now she's looking, too! Hooray!
She would NOT look at me and make anything other than a grumpy face! This one turned out cute of her not having anything to do with the camera!
OOOOH! Do you see what I did? I could be a photographer for Home and Garden magazine or something! :)

The grounds are so lush with trees I had a hard time finding a place where I could be back far enough to take a picture of the entire side. I love the shape. I'll have to try again the next time we go back!