BYU's Carl Bloch Exhibit

These small prints are not going to do justice at all to the experience I had at BYU's Carl Bloch exhibit. The display was so well-done. The paintings are greater than life-size which made it easy to get lost in them. I loved the added insight on the rented ipad.

I had an experience with every painting. I have so much admiration for Carl Bloch--his understanding of the Savior, of people, and of tenderness. Through his work I know my Savior better. I know better how to feel like Him. And I know better how to feel close to Him.

Here are four of my favorites:

How intimately Christ's hand rests on the child's cheek. How comfortable and safe the child feels so close to Christ. How meek and trusting is the child. And then Christ's other hand says, Be here...be this child.

Imagine the emotion of this moment for the mother. In the painting you can see her heart breaking, her all-night vigil, her tears that have flowed for hours. And she doesn't know (but we know!) that Christ is there or what the next few moments will bring. The sun is rising behind Him...

Imagine us looking on the scene of Christ's agony and His wrestle with our sins and our pains.

Thomas' feelings at finding Christ who he thought he'd lost are so intense and varied.

There's so much to ponder...just a fantastic experience.

Our 2011 Family Vacation--Day 1

We'd wanted to drive far and wide in search of a warm climate, but in the interest of a van that has 270,000 miles on it and saving on gas and hotel fees, we stayed home and saw what there was to see along the Wasatch Front.First stop--The Living Planet Aquarium. Everybody enjoys petting the friendly manta rays.
Rachel and Aaron do their best impression of Penguin and Baby.
It's a cold day, so we picnic in the back of the van.
Second stop--JumpOnIt in American Fork. Tough to get to with all the freeway construction, but very fun.


Quin in action. He's usually behind the camera, so we have to add what pictures we can of him. :)
Family Home Evening at Temple Square.

Everyone had waited seven hours for dinner, so 9:30 PM found us at Taco Time. We ended up eating this late EVERY night!

Family Vacation 2011--Day 2

Day 2--Quin found seven working bikes and a trailer for a bike ride down the Legacy Highway Trail!
Eric takes a long turn pulling Chris in the trailer.
Aaron had a bike with tiny wheels and was always last. But he pedaled his heart out for the whole five miles!
We spent the evening at Boondock's Fun Center. Rachel and Amy enjoy a little dance competition.
Eric and Jonathan drive in a go-kart. It started to rain after their one and only ride, so I talked to management and got 4 Rainy Day passes. I guess that means we have to go back sometime. What was I thinking?

Family Vacation 2011--Day 3

Day 3--Bingham Copper Mine. What an awesome sight!
Notice the big tires.
See how the dumptrucks with those big tires dwarf the semi-truck driving next to them.
Nobody had ever been to IKEA before, so we stopped for a Swedish cultural experience. Here Chris enjoys the children's furniture department.
Next stop--The Planetarium and an IMAX movie. We saw "Mars needs Moms" in 3-D which was fun to do.
The boys on the moon.

Family Vacation 2011--Day 4

Day 4--We headed north to Honeyville and the Crystal Hot Springs. It was raining the whole time, but we didn't let that bother us too much. :) It was interesting to see people come with their picnic baskets like it was a balmy summer day.
The Burch Creek Mercantile. It's a little general store in South Ogden. By this time it was snowing fiercely. What better time for an ice cream cone?