Grounds For Sculpture.

Sometimes some of the best hidden gems are found right in our backyard. 

One Sunday after church we decided to go for a drive around different towns in our area, you know, to get more familiar with our surroundings, and stumbled upon a street full of random sculptures behind a gated face. We noticed a few people walking around, and knew it had to be some kind of artsy place because of where we were at. So as we traversed to the other side of the building it was then where we saw a sign that read "Hurrah welcome, Grounds for sculpture." Being the art lovers that we are, we decided to put this on our "places to go in our surrounding area list", and what do you know...the kids and I checked this place out last week!

I can't even begin to describe how amazing this place is, and these sculptures are huge! I can't even imagine how the artists come up with such ideas. So talented. I mean, check out this monstrosity of old ladies chatting! Chelsea and I gave Lexie a boost up on the bench so she can sit next to them while I took a photo! 

The detail in this sculpture was absolutely phenomenal. They made their wrinkles on their hands, and face so realistic. This picture doesn't do it justice. You need to come here in person to take a closer look. 

It took us about three hours to cover the entire grounds including the museum which is on the other side of the sculpture grounds. We walked through many unique sculptures, including this one of a man buried alive only showing certain parts of his body. Pretty cool. 

This is one of the sculptures that we saw on our Sunday drive that caught our eye, and got us interested in coming here. 

This one cracked my up! I really thought they were real people sunbathing! Noah thought it was especially interesting. Not sure if that's a good sign or not. After all...it is art. 

And this one where Chelsea is mimicking  the jogger. 

Noah wasn't too pleased when he realized there was no drink inside this coke sculpture. 

Lexie thought this idea was pretty neat. Any guesses as to what it is. 

In 2012 people in the community, and the artist came together to create a memory from their childhood, and with that memory the artist created a large scale drawing. As all the peoples drawings of their memories overlapped on the same paper, the artist created this installation out of paper pulp and epoxy. A layer of white paper pulp was layered over and around the red lines. As the white paper deteriorates the original line drawing will be revealed again. I look forward to seeing the drawing when the white paper crumbles to the ground! Such a cool idea!

And a few random sculptures that were all over the garden.

 Noah in 10 years. 

 Making my bed, and laying in it too! 

Special thanks to the little girl who took this pic. 

 Lexie all day. #reading

The look on Noah's face when he realized he has a full day of school now! 

And more random sculptures.

 For a minute I thought I was in D.C. when I saw this replicated sculpture of these statues waiting for the soup kitchen to open. 

Noah, my navigator of maps. He loves holding the map, and guiding us to where we need to go. 

We walked along a garden where they had bamboo shoots, and there's even a lake that lead into it. 

Although exhausted by closing time, we still managed to check out the Seward Johsnon Center for the arts which will be on another post. 

I call this 'reflection.'

It was literally a little after 5pm when Noah and Chelsea were making music. These cymbals are so loud, and I'm glad that we were one of the last people to leave because if you follow my snapchat (my username is r_jorgensen if you want to follow), or my IG snaps you can hear how loud they were while they were drumming on them! 

This place truly is a hidden gem, and worth getting membership for. It is a perfect place to walk around, and the scenery is perfect. A lot of green grass, a nearby lake, a courtyard with a mini water fall where you can find koi fish swimming in a pond, and more sculptures. Even my camera was in awe by taking all these photos which I'm not sorry for! 

Absolutely breathtaking. 

So fun to be exploring more places in our surrounding areas! 

Always Speak Kind Words to Each Other.

But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another. -Mosiah 4:15

A "husband and wife have a women responsibility to love and care for each other, and for their children." "The home is to be God's laboratory of love, and service," said President Russell M. Nelson> 

"Our Heavenly Father wants husbands and wives to be faithful to each other, and to esteem and treat their children as an heritage from the Lord."

In the book of Mormon, Jacob said that the love that husbands had for their wives, the love that wives had for their husbands, and the love that both had for their children was among the reasons the Laminates were at one point more righteous than the Nephites. (Jacob 3:7)

One of the best ways to invite love, and harmony into our homes is by speaking kindly to our family members. Speaking kindly brings the Holy Ghost. Sister Linda K. Burton, Relief Society general president, asked us to consider: 

"How often do we intentionally "speak kind words to each other?"

Not only is this the visiting teaching lesson for the month of August, but Jon, and I also taught it this past week for our FHE lesson. It seems like so many of us speak unkind words to each other. Sometimes without even knowing it. Not knowing how hurtful, or detrimental it can be to the other person. 

As a mother I know that I have been guilty at speaking unkind words to those I love, and I know I can do so much better. I have seen the difference in my kids when I have uttered words in anger, and how their demeanor changes. I see that it hurts, and how they will go to Jon telling them how I've been a "mean mom" today. 

After writing this post that's what has caused me even more to change, and treat others better. Whether it's family members, or any human being that crosses our path. As a member of the church it is my right, and duty to live as Christ is. And although I'll never reach perfection, I know I can always try. 

So thankful for the teachings of the gospel, and for a prophet that leads and guides us today in these latter days. There is nothing more peaceful than waking up, and reading the scriptures. Whether it's the bible, the Book of Mormon, a whole chapter, or even a verse. Just reading a snippet of one of those books, and seriously pondering, and studying it will help my day be better. The spirit of the Lord tends to be more calm, and peaceful when I put God's word first. 

I love the stories, and messages that are given monthly to us from our church magazine. When I read them my soul is uplifted, and i always try to imagine my life in one of the stories. Kind of like a "what if." Some of them I can relate to, and the ones I don't I can only imagine. 

So as we continue to settle in our new area, and place I hope to always speak kind words to others. To my new neighbors (which I hardly ever see) strangers, every member of my church, but most of all my family, and especially my children, because they are the ones who are learning from me, and watching my example.

Here's hoping everyone has a wonderful weekend! 

Scenes of Mystic, CT In A Video.

Summer is not summer without venturing out to one of our favorite spots in the world, and with summer quickly winding down decided at the last minute to drive three hours to one of our favorite gems, Mystic. 

The kids are always down for pizza, and even more down when we are near the ocean, and Mystic seaport is always the perfect spot for us to go to where we can walk down the harbor, and down main street to window shop, and buy a little something if needed, and of course to eat at our favorite pizza place, Mystic Pizza! 

And have some yummy dessert at one of our favorite ice cream spots. 

This blog post will be super short because of all the numerous other posts I've written about Mystic which you can read here, here, and here. Also because I want to spend as much time with the kids before school resumes, and don't want to be on the computer too much. Besides...who reads this blog anyway, or reads other blogs during the summer. 

So instead of taking numerous photos I decide to make a little video of our trip instead, and I hope you enjoy it! 

 

Happy wednesday, and hope y'all enjoy the rest of the summer before it's gone! 

Philadelphia Temple Tour With My Family.

Finally made it to the open house with my entire family, and wish that Sierra could have joined in this wonderful moment with us. Time from work permitted her from visiting us this summer before school started (which is today), but we both already have a temple trip planned together when she visits for the holidays! Can hardly wait!

I could tell how much the kids were looking forward to finally going inside. Noah thought it was especially funny wearing these huge white slippers on his feet! This temple inside is unique in it's own, and absolutely fascinating! Completely different in architecture compared to any other temple I've ever seen. The paintings inside were stunning! I have to say one of my favorites as I stepped foot inside the foyer was the one where Benjamin Franklin is signing the constitution, and of course the huge painting of Jesus Christ. Perfect spot for that photo. It's as if He is welcoming everyone with open arms entering inside the temple. I also love how the windows replicate those inside Independence Hall. Taking pictures inside the temple are prohibited, but if you'd like to see some you can view them here. 

Our kids stood in awe, and amazement when they walked inside noticing the checkered floors. I was whispering to Noah how exciting this must be for him to be entering the temple for the first time. He whispered back in my ear, and said, "this isn't my first time mom, remember when we went inside the Kirkland temple, that was my first time." I then said to him, "True, but the church doesn't own that temple anymore." He was like, "what do you mean "own." Lol! I wasn't going to go into detail as to why we don't own it. I'll explain that to him when we are at home doing a lesson or something! 

After the tour of the temple we went inside the visitors center where we saw some of our favorite sister missionaries. It was also nice to see so many people coming in to take the time to tour the temple, and to see what we are all about. The visitors center is always open to the public, and if you have any questions there are missionaries from our church willing to answer any questions you may have about the temple, and the religion. 

The temple grounds are beautiful, and you can go up on the balcony to capture a nice view of the temple, and what surrounds it. I am so grateful that our kids were able to attend the open house with us. This is a once in a lifetime experience for some of us especially for non-members. 

Just a reminder that on September 9th it will be dedicated, and closed forever to the public so if you are interested in going on a tour you can reserve tickets here.

Family is everything. I know that my Savior lives, and that He wants us to be with our families for all eternity. That is the beauty, and the purpose of why we have temples built upon this earth. So that we can be with our families forever. Both the living, and the ones who have passed on.

And it also my hope that our children will marry their future sweethearts in the temple.

Beach Trip With New Friends At Bradley Beach.

Words cannot describe how blessed we are to have met some great people. 

Normally when one moves into a new area going to activities whether in our community, or at church may not seem like fun to newcomers, but for us...we were all for it. I have long since realized that in order to get out of my comfort zone, I need to get involved with going to activities in my community, and at church, lose myself in service, and fellowship like no other. 

Yesterday, the kids and I drove to Bradley Beach to meet up with the young women, and a few sisters from our church, including the Bishop's wife for an "almost end of summer fun beach trip." I just love these group of girls, and the sisters in our new congregation are pretty awesome too. These young women took Lexie under their wing, and made her feel welcomed since day one. Although Lexie misses her friends, and leaders back in our old congregation, she is grateful to have made some new ones. 

And so am I. 

We all had so much fun getting to know each other on a temporal level, and just laughed at how our girls were being in the water. It was relaxing, and stress free. There was no drama, or awkwardness. Just pure fun, and joy. We were all genuinely enjoying each others company eating homemade chocolate chip cookies (thanks Sister Neilson), and just soaking up the sun. Truly didn't want it to end.

As you can see I only took one photo, and a selfie of the kids and I upon leaving. I was having too much fun to be on my phone. There are only two snaps on my snapchat from this day (which you can view at r_jorgensen), but other than that my interest was in having fun with my kids, and getting to know my new sisters better. 

This was our first time at Bradley beach, and it is really pretty. Next time we come I'll take more pictures, but because I was among good people didn't worry about picture taking this time. 

So thankful for these wonderful ladies, and for the girls for making us all feel as if we are part of their church family. 

As it should be. 

And if it wasn't, well...I would still be who I am loving, and being accepting of others no matter what. And that's the beauty of the gospel is accepting people for who, and how they are. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and enjoying this low key, somewhat kind of less humid heat!