The morning began with a quick run to the temple and back. It was 40 degrees and I was freezing and sucking wind to get enough air. I decided being cold and not acclimated to high altitude was not on my vacation agenda and bailed after less than a mile. The temple sure looked beautiful at sunrise, though, and I felt great joy in the symbolism of being able to route the course of my run in its direction.
Cousins Ella and Claire headed to Colorado with their parents for a soccer tournament that morning. Quincy was glad to have 2 minutes to pop in for a cousin hug with Ella and wish her luck on her games.
We went to Gardner Village for the Carnival of Witches Breakfast with Grandma Lynda, Auntie Jana, and cute little cousin Avery.
The breakfast show ended up being targeted for a much younger audience than we had anticipated, but the girls were good sports, and we made our own fun walking around all the cute shops and hunting down all the funny witch decorations. It was decorated so cute for fall. I’m such a sucker for porches donned with corn stalks, hay bales and gourds!
We ended up back down in Provo at Kneaders for lunch, with the plan of heading up Provo canyon in search of something “naturey” and something “artsy” per the girls’ requests. I had told Kristi we were doing Kneaders for lunch, and she walked in the door while we ate! What?! My heart could burst seeing these two besties reunited.
And 10 minutes later, Carly walked through the door!!! Worlds colliding! Some of my favorites all in the same place! I suddenly felt so grateful that if my friends needed to move away, there was a great tender mercy that they were moved to Utah, where I would have opportunities to see them.
On a whim, Reese suggested we check something off the Utah bucket list and “hike the Y.”
I’d hoped to take the girls for a stroll through the hall of flags and to see the Foucault Pendulum. Instead, we were totally captivated in the Holdman Roots of Knowledge project in the library.
Wow! This is, by far, the most immersive art installation I have ever experienced. Quincy is particularly fascinated by glass artwork, be it blown, painted or crafted into stained window masterpieces. The creative vision, and technical care required for glass art methods are just remarkable.
We all agreed that our favorite panel depicted Chinese lanterns. I loved seeing these included in art that is totally dedicated to showing how knowledge has been along and acquired since the creation period. Im pleased that the girls recognize the tradition of sending lanterns of light and knowledge and testimony as part of our family culture.
We could have spent hours here, searching for pop culture, fictional, and historical references. Our tour guide pointed out several tangible items embedded in the glass. A piece of the Berlin Wall. A jump drive time capsule. A mite coin (like the widows mite). Fossils, and stones. I would have loved to see the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ included in this piece of art. There were a few references to the church (covered wagon, Salt Lake City temple, a quote from Joseph Smith, a sunstone from nauvoo temple), but nothing about the Book of Mormon, or restoration of the Holy Priesthood. I found this surprising, considering the permanent location of the art, and because excerpts from many religious texts from around the world and throughout history were included.
There so are many beautiful truths carefully welded into this masterpiece. The Book of Mormon is a direct line of communication between God and his children. Talk about a great source of knowledge! It seems a tragedy leave out such a sacred book in a panoramic kaleidoscope dedicated to knowledge, when a large population of the world have found treasures of wisdom and inspiration through reading its text.
