Our family headed down to Thatcher to see the Gila Valley Temple. We pulled the kids out of school early and headed out. It was a three hour drive and it was awesome to finally see the temple. The kids were thrilled that we were attending the temple open house. It was a windy day, but I wanted to get some pictures of my family surrounding the Gila Valley Temple. It was great to visit the temple as a family, since temples bind families together. As the kids toured each room, it was fun to watch their expressions, especially when viewing the Baptistry and the Celestial Room. The experience is so hard to put to words as the Spirit touched our hearts as we viewed the temple. 
After viewing the temple, we headed to the Thatcher cemetery to view James Pace's grave. Jim was named after this man who marched with the Mormon Battalion before forming his own company to come back west. He founded Payson, Utah and finally settled in the Gila Valley. It didn't take us long to find his grave site and a memorial in his name. It was a great experience for the family to learn more about their dad's ancestors. After viewing the temple was such a good time to talk to the kids about James Pace since the temple binds the past, present, and future.
Angela participated in "Green Turtles" and "Yellow Indians" this year. She learned chords, how to play with both hands with correct fingering, learning the notes on the keyboard, learning notes on the staff, and more music theory. She also sang and performed a puppet show at the recital. Angela loved practicing the piano and it was great to hear her play. She had some friends in her class too and she enjoyed seeing them. Angela worked really hard and never got frustrated with the piano pieces, even when they got difficult, especially the fingering. This program has been a wonderful for Angela and she is ready for the next and last year of "Let's Play Music". 
