D.C. Temple Trip

I had one of the best days yesterday. Our ward had a temple trip to the Washington D.C. Temple. I have always wanted to go to the D.C. Temple so I was very excited for this trip. I hadn't been to a temple in a while and I forgot how rejuvenating it is. There is power in temple attendance and I didn't realize what a significant difference it can make in my life until the end of the day.
Going to the temple is always better when shared with my beautiful wife. She is the most gorgeous person I know, inside and out. Here are some more stunning pics.

After the session we met up with Brad and Celeste, who were watching our girls. I got to play with Hallee and Brooklyn on the Temple lawn before we left. We found a grasshopper and Hallee was not shy.

Since we were in D.C. we figured we might as well take advantage of it and we went to the Mall. We went to a couple of the Smithsonian Museums while we were there, the American History and Natural History museums. Megan had her eye on the Hope Diamond in the Natural History Museum. While walking in between the museums we passed some street performers. I gave Hallee a dollar to give to one of them who was playing "drums"--he was using paint buckets and a shopping cart for his symbol. This is Hallee playing along with him.

I had a blast with the family, but mostly because I had blast with Hallee. We had so much fun in the museums and her excitement for the exhibits was contagious. At one of the exhibits there were mannequins and one had his mouth open showing his teeth. I went up to him and pretended he bit me. My partner in crime had my back. Hallee went up to him and said with a scowl, "Don't bite," as she smacked him. What a friend. As we were walking back to the car I said, "Hallee I had such a fun day with you. Thank you." She looked up at me and said, "You're welcome daddy." The fact that I'm here "daddy" makes me the happiest man in the world.

When we were leaving the Mall the sun was setting and it was a picturesque ending to a great day. On the ride back to Brad and Celeste's home I realized how attending the Temple had the power to change me. This whole week I have been hating myself for how hard I am on Hallee. I keep recommitting to have more patience with her the next day but sure enough I would fail day after day. I expected more than I should of from a two-year old and I didn't have the power to change this on my own, even though I desperately wanted to. But two hours at the Temple changed me and I felt more deserving when I heard the sweat little voice call me "daddy."