Mountain, Of the Lord, and Park

On our way home we decided to see Mount Graham, the new Gila Valley Temple, and we got to play at the park. Since the drive is so long we were hoping that this would put us a few hours down the road for our next days journey as well. We learned that the long drive is still really long the next day :).

Here it he mountain. It has gotten tons of snow this year. We really wanted to make it up and let the kids play in the snow. By the time we got into town there was not enough time to do everything we wanted. Instead of spend the evening in the car we did things with the family instead.



Here is as much as we saw of the new temple. Since they are still finishing construction they would not let anyone on the grounds, bummer! It is very pretty, and the mountain behind it really makes a great scene.




While in town we went and visited the cemetery. We got to see my Dad's grave, and the kids got to see their namesakes (Talmage Cordell and Sandra Joalene). I think it's cool to be able to show them that they are named after family.



After that we ended up at the park playing for the rest of the afternoon. There was a storm blowing in, but otherwise it was a beautiful day! The kids ran around, played on the playground, did frisbee, soccer, and a little football. The adults got to throw the football around and try to keep the kids happy in the process (which included potty breaks).

Here is Jeff and the two boys playing soccer. They would kick him the ball and he would kick it back. He was a good multi-tasker!



Here is Grant. He did a great job playing so hard outside! He really enjoys soccer and kicks pretty good too!

Talmage also had a good time. He was a little more cranky so that made it harder, but over all really stayed with it and did well!

Everyone hanging out on the rocks at the park :).

Sandra and Bree playing on the big rock

Ella, learning to throw a football. She did really well too :)

Owen and Mhari took turns with the bubbles. The blanket got pretty slimy from all those bubbles!

It was a fun trip, and probably one of the biggest highlights of our spring break trip. We really enjoyed spending time at the park together and hanging out. It would have been nice to make it up the mountain, maybe we'll make it to the top another time. It had been about 7 years since were last in the Safford area, it was good to see the new temple, but also visit the cemetery. It's amazing how fast time does move by!