The Indianapolis Temple

On Friday, we had the chance to attend the Indianapolis Temple Open House.  I'd like to say that it was smooth sailing and a lovely experience all around, but that wouldn't be true.  Much like our experience in driving to the Kansas City Temple Open House a few years ago, there were obstacles in full force trying to prevent us from making this family outing happen.  

A storm started brewing late Thursday night, and by storm I mean Grace, who went to bed that night {after an impromptu movie night for the older kids} declaring that she didn't want to go and we couldn't make her.  Friday morning found her in the same state of mind, digging her heels in even harder, and refusing to get a move on.  Alex started chiming in as well -- he didn't want to have to wear church clothes -- and it took every fiber of my Grace-whispering skills to turn that child around.  After a prolonged tantrum filled with broken record declarations of "I hate the temple!" and "I'm not wearing church clothes!" and "It will be boring in the car and we won't get screen time!", I finally convinced her that we were going as a family and that was that.  Of course, I willingly made several concessions to ease her into the idea and to sweeten the deal.  Letting them stay up later that night to watch the newest Disney original movie premiere?  No problem.  Wearing gym shorts under her skirt along with flip flops for a quick change after our tour was over?  Absolutely -- great idea!  Watching something on our phones while driving to Indianapolis?  You betcha.  Hahahaha.  We made it on the road mostly on time, and overall, I'd say it was a lot less stressful than our pre-Kansas City open house trek.

The drive over was mostly pain free and we made it right on time for our tour to start.  It was at this point that Grace brought up the fact that she never ate breakfast and was really hungry, and Alex and Jane were both throwing fits about being thirsty, but everyone managed to suck it up and we enjoyed our tour as best as is possible with 5 kids who were in varying states of hunger and sleep deprivation from over the course of the week.  Haha.  In all honestly, they did pretty great.  Even if Alex really couldn't handle the booties they made us put over our shoes to protect the flooring in the interior of the temple.

The temple was beautiful, inside and out, and once the tour was over, we were able to take some pictures outside before we left.  It was a bright and gorgeous day, and the only downfall was that it was SO sunny that I could hardly keep my eyes open outside!  Like seriously.  It was practically impossible.  My eyes were watering every time I opened them up!  It made it a little tricky to try and take pictures, and in the family shot we got, I think my eyes are the only ones not fully open because I just couldn't do it!  Haha.

After taking pictures on the temple grounds, we went into a tent setup, where there was information about the temple as well as a replica of the Christus statue in Salt Lake City.  The kids were excited to take pictures in front of it, and after a few more shots we headed out to get some food and to meet up with some friends.

Even though we experienced so much resistance from certain children while trying to GET to the temple, I'm so glad that we were able to make it as a family.  I am hopeful that they will remember this temple {and possibly the Kansas City temple as well}, and the spirit that was felt.

One of the best perks of driving over to Indianapolis for the temple open house, was meeting up with my freshman year roomie and one of my very best friends from college.  Natalie and her family drove up from St. Louis, and we were able to spend a couple hours hanging out at the Nature Center in Holliday Park before we all had to head back home.

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All in all, it was a day to remember!  Now that we're back home and reality is setting in on us, I'm realizing that the summer is basically over and we are now in the Back to School grind.  I've only got a couple more weeks to whip these kids back into shape for things like schedules, and earlier wake up calls, and making lunches on their own.  Here's to hoping we can get everything under control.  :)