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| Bellevue Temple in the July sun |
"Let us be a temple-attending and a temple loving people. Let us hasten to the temple as frequently as time and means and personal circumstances allow. Let us go not only for our kindred dead, but lest us also go for the personal blessing of temple worship."
President Howard W. Hunter
One evening, after work, Shannon brought the boys to Bellevue from Renton and we had a Family Home Evening (Hereafter "FHE") at the Bellevue Temple.
The Temple grounds in Bellevue aren't large, but the boys always find a way to entertain themselves and make the most of the situation. Here Shannon and Zach are posing for a picture while the Stone Family attempts to teach their little girl walk. However, Tyler is concerned with the size and shape of Mrs. Stone's hands.
Tyler continued his close examination, now of Mr. Stone's hands. A conclusion was never reached as to the appropriateness of this family's hands, or whether or not baby girl Stone ever made it her fathers hands. Perhaps we can return soon to allow Tyler to continue his investigation.
Other FHE Shenanigans
Most evenings, after dinner, becomes a wild time. Both Tyler and Zach move about the house at a frenetic pace. Sometimes Tyler chases Zach, sometimes Zach chases Tyler, sometime Dad chases both of them (This is now called "The Awesome Game").
In an effort to bring order to Monday evenings Zach was named FHE president. The presidents duties include asking individuals to: prepare a lesson; give the opening and closing prayers; and choosing opening and closing songs; As president Zach's first official action was to decree that ice cream be served after every FHE. Normally Zach does a great job of leading FHE and is very focused throughout the entire event.(The purpose of "calling" him has president). However, he can still be distracted from time to time.
On a prior FHE evening, the distraction was provided by Tyler. After gathering the family in the living room, we sat down and started an opening prayer. Tyler, recognizing what we were doing, stopped his meandering around the first floor of the house, which is what he normally does during FHE, and joined us in the living room for the end of the prayer. With eyes closed you could hear the heavy footsteps of a toddler approaching across the wooden floor. As the prayer ended, Tyler came to a stop in the middle of the living room, and yelled "Amen!" Then, pausing only long enough to ensure we had all opened our eyes, Tyler declared it was time for Ice Cream by yelling, "ICE CREAM." Requests from his mother to wait until after the lesson were rebuffed by louder and more shrill demands for Ice Cream. After a moment of debate, Zach in his wisdom as FHE president, decided the program could be adjusted and the lesson could be taught while ice cream was being served. This change to program not only appeased the toddler, but also allowed us to teach the lesson in peace.
Fast forward to Monday nights FHE; Where Zach and the rest of the family gathered for FHE. Uncle Jeff and Grandma had also joined us for the evenings festivities. The larger crowd had unnerved Zach, but these challenges he would overcome. Zach tried to begin the meeting by singing a song. Despite asking Tyler to join us, he continued his normal meandering. Tyler, again, upon hearing us, lumbered into the family room. Expecting demand for Ice Cream, I began watching him closely. However, This time, rather than demand ice cream, he picked up a football helmet. The football helmet and many other toys had been relocated to the living room due to renovations taking place in the playroom.
First Tyler puts the helmet on his head, backwards. While the rest of us were given to song and trying to ignore the FHE rebel, Tyler was stumbling around the living room, vision impaired by what would normally be the back of a helmet. He corrected the problem by removing the helmet. Rather than set the helmet down, Tyler decided to give the helmet to Zach. Tyler crawled up on the couch and carefully placed the helmet on his brothers head. Tyler then climbed down and seemingly continued on his meandering. Zach, now thoroughly distracted, was prompted by Shannon and I to ask someone to give the opening prayer. After some discussion we were set to begin the opening prayer. Tyler, who was again asked to join the family, and this time he came running from across the room with a soccer ball in hand. With a full head of steam, and using all his weight Tyler flung the soccer ball at Zach's head from halfway across the living room. The shot was a direct hit on Zach's head, where only moments ago Tyler had placed the helmet.
Lessons Learned from this FHE:
The Temple grounds in Bellevue aren't large, but the boys always find a way to entertain themselves and make the most of the situation. Here Shannon and Zach are posing for a picture while the Stone Family attempts to teach their little girl walk. However, Tyler is concerned with the size and shape of Mrs. Stone's hands.
Tyler continued his close examination, now of Mr. Stone's hands. A conclusion was never reached as to the appropriateness of this family's hands, or whether or not baby girl Stone ever made it her fathers hands. Perhaps we can return soon to allow Tyler to continue his investigation.
Other FHE Shenanigans
Most evenings, after dinner, becomes a wild time. Both Tyler and Zach move about the house at a frenetic pace. Sometimes Tyler chases Zach, sometimes Zach chases Tyler, sometime Dad chases both of them (This is now called "The Awesome Game").
In an effort to bring order to Monday evenings Zach was named FHE president. The presidents duties include asking individuals to: prepare a lesson; give the opening and closing prayers; and choosing opening and closing songs; As president Zach's first official action was to decree that ice cream be served after every FHE. Normally Zach does a great job of leading FHE and is very focused throughout the entire event.(The purpose of "calling" him has president). However, he can still be distracted from time to time.
On a prior FHE evening, the distraction was provided by Tyler. After gathering the family in the living room, we sat down and started an opening prayer. Tyler, recognizing what we were doing, stopped his meandering around the first floor of the house, which is what he normally does during FHE, and joined us in the living room for the end of the prayer. With eyes closed you could hear the heavy footsteps of a toddler approaching across the wooden floor. As the prayer ended, Tyler came to a stop in the middle of the living room, and yelled "Amen!" Then, pausing only long enough to ensure we had all opened our eyes, Tyler declared it was time for Ice Cream by yelling, "ICE CREAM." Requests from his mother to wait until after the lesson were rebuffed by louder and more shrill demands for Ice Cream. After a moment of debate, Zach in his wisdom as FHE president, decided the program could be adjusted and the lesson could be taught while ice cream was being served. This change to program not only appeased the toddler, but also allowed us to teach the lesson in peace.
Fast forward to Monday nights FHE; Where Zach and the rest of the family gathered for FHE. Uncle Jeff and Grandma had also joined us for the evenings festivities. The larger crowd had unnerved Zach, but these challenges he would overcome. Zach tried to begin the meeting by singing a song. Despite asking Tyler to join us, he continued his normal meandering. Tyler, again, upon hearing us, lumbered into the family room. Expecting demand for Ice Cream, I began watching him closely. However, This time, rather than demand ice cream, he picked up a football helmet. The football helmet and many other toys had been relocated to the living room due to renovations taking place in the playroom.
First Tyler puts the helmet on his head, backwards. While the rest of us were given to song and trying to ignore the FHE rebel, Tyler was stumbling around the living room, vision impaired by what would normally be the back of a helmet. He corrected the problem by removing the helmet. Rather than set the helmet down, Tyler decided to give the helmet to Zach. Tyler crawled up on the couch and carefully placed the helmet on his brothers head. Tyler then climbed down and seemingly continued on his meandering. Zach, now thoroughly distracted, was prompted by Shannon and I to ask someone to give the opening prayer. After some discussion we were set to begin the opening prayer. Tyler, who was again asked to join the family, and this time he came running from across the room with a soccer ball in hand. With a full head of steam, and using all his weight Tyler flung the soccer ball at Zach's head from halfway across the living room. The shot was a direct hit on Zach's head, where only moments ago Tyler had placed the helmet.
Lessons Learned from this FHE:
- Sometimes FHE is a full contact sport.
- Tyler is capable planning and executing multiple step tasks
- If a Tyler hands you protective gear, its probably wise to use it.
- We may need to have the video camera out and recording more often.
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