Stand Ye in Holy Places

The buildings we meet in on Sundays for church are some of my favorite places. In addition to our churches, we also have temples where we worship and perform important ordinances. We've decided as a family to visit temples more often in 2014. On this particular Saturday, we drove down to the Denver Temple. It's about an hour and a half drive from our home. Since the temple is a place where church-type stuff happens, we thought it would be appropriate to be in our "Sunday best" clothes. We had a great time at the temple. We walked, talked, took pictures, and enjoyed the time together as a family.

Family picture out in front of the temple.
I LOVE these faces!

Each LDS temple has a statue on top of an angel. I think these statues are really pretty. I took a few pictures of the angel from various angles. 

The angel from the front.

The angel from the side.

Here's the angel from behind the temple.

The kids are very much the largest focus of our lives. This is Kylee's senior year in high school, so we know the time is coming soon when our family dynamics will change. We're trying to do as many things as we can in the time we have still together. We love this kid and are proud of the person she has become.

Beautiful girl.

Here's Taygen, our super fun, talented 16-year old (looking an awful lot like Adele today, I might add).

Feeling the sun. Gorgeous. 

Olivia, Bella, and Spencer are still "easy" at these ages. Something about these ages... they're just still so very sweet and wonderful.

Gotta love that smile.

Contemplative moment.

Smile, Spencer!

These are a few of the random pictures we took throughout the morning. Spending time as a family is important. It takes effort, to be honest. Sometimes you have to sacrifice stuff you'd really like to do (or, even need to do). But I've never once felt sorry for spending time with my family. I've never once wished I would have had less time with them. Oh, we drive each other crazy - and we even get angry with each other from time to time. But, we love each other. We feel safe with each other. We are secure with each other. Thank goodness for the family.

Michelle's boys.

Spencer and I walking together. Love him!!!

Group hug. Who knew that Adele was going to be at the
Denver Temple today? =)

Friends forever.

I'm quite certain that Spencer is trying to figure out a
way to get in that water...

Selfie!

The Wonder of Light

Light illuminates
Pitch of night, light overcomes
Lost, then found, through light

My family and I discovered a real gem the other night in our little home town. The Gardens of Spring Creek is a community botanical garden off of Centre Ave. between Drake and Prospect Avenue. Over the holiday season, the grounds took on a new life as magical creatures from another universe created beautiful sculptures, dream scenes, and whimsical visions out of lights. We, the Hoeye's, spent just a few minutes exploring the grounds, but had it been just a tad bit warmer, we would have stayed for much, much longer. All of us, from the five-year old to the 44-year old, got lost in our imaginations as we played, viewed, and discovered the wonder of light.

Small example of the beauty of the lights.

The "flowers" were amazing.

Love these faces. Fun is always just around the corner.

Not sure if it's mistletoe or not... but any excuse is a good excuse!

New Year – New Beginnings

Today is the first day of 2014. I woke up today with a renewed sense of living. It's a bit colder outside; one of those watch-a-movie-inside-while-sitting-by-the-fire days. However, I rounded up the family and we went for a walk on one of the many paths here in Ft. Collins (minus Kylee, who had stayed the night at a friend's house the night before).

It was a beautiful day; snowy, cold, but in a perfect way.

The kids tried to catch snowflakes in their mouths.

Michelle and Taygen made mini snowmen.

We walked by the river and couldn't help but get right next to it.
Who can pass up the opportunity to throw rocks into the water?

Smiles all around. Great to get out of the house!