Portland, OR Temple

We visited the Portland, OR Temple grounds last Sunday and they were absolutely beautiful. We drove out there and against my better judgement I decided to not bring my camera. Of course, once we got there and saw all that all the trees were blossoming I was heartbroken that I didn't bring it. We walked around the grounds just amazed by their beauty. The kids had so much fun being outside and even they seemed to appreciate the beauty of it all too. Brooke wanted to show me all the flowers and Jace loved the reflection pool. Well, on the way home Craig could tell I was feeling sorry for myself so he said we were going home to eat lunch then we could come back so I could take some pictures. I was SO happy! I love taking pictures. We ate lunch and drove back but on the way the clouds swarmed above us and it started to rain. We continued on and when we arrived back at the temple there was miraculously a break in the clouds. Craig took a nap in the car for the first part and I just let the kids play while I photographed them. They both loved the blossoms. . .Brooke called them "pacoewns" = popcorns. They both would gather huge handfuls and armfuls of blossoms that had collected on the ground and throw them in the air. It was bliss for me. Craig came and found us and I asked a stranger to take a family picture of us. We had a hard time getting Jace to stay close for it though. He kept playing in the reflection pool and was completely distracted. Once he accidentally stepped one step to far in it so one of his legs was completely wet. We had a wonderful time and as if on cue just as we were finishing it started to downpour. We ran through the rain to the car. We all had such a good time! I love the temple. It is so beautiful and there is always a feeling of peace there. I think the pictures turned out really fun . . .hopefully you do too!