Mystery and Eternity

We paid a visit to the Mystery Castle.

I was a little nervous because I had read two opposing reviews of it online. The first said it was the most interesting and favorite part of their trip. The second said it was creepy and unnerving and they would never take small children.

Hmmm....well, my children aren't that small, and this place is an Arizona landmark, and I read about it in a book and I wanted to see it, so off we went.

My girls were positive I was lost. First I went down Baseline, but then I thought, "No, I should get on a freeway (there are so many here to choose from), but after traveling south for awhile when I should have been going west, I turned around and came back to where I started from. Then we went west, but when we got to a key turning point, the road wasn't there, so we went east, all the way back to where we started from, again.

Finally, I called my mom and she said, "Go west. Go way west." So we did, and we found it.

It was not creepy. It was interesting and thought-provoking and it stirred the imagination. I wondered what my girls were thinking because they were very quiet. Afterwards, they could tell me every word that the tour guides said, so they were definitely paying attention. You can read about the castle here.

I bought everyone a soda to reward them for being patient with me while I drove back and forth along Baseline and then I said, "Let's go walk around the temple grounds."

I love the Arizona temple. It brings so many good memories to mind. Plus, it is gorgeous there right now and we got to see a bride and it smelled like orange blossoms.

We listened to the presentation on Jesus and sat and watched the water in the fountain and I asked Jenna why she was being a shlumpy teenager.

She said she wasn't and that shlumpy wasn't even a real word.

I said it was because I was using it and she knew exactly what I meant when I said it.

She rolled her eyes at me.

I chuckled and thought, "I'm so glad she's mine forever."