The Temple

My son Ethan and his wife LaShae at the Snowflake Arizona Temple on the date of their sealing, on July 25, 2020

our family at the Snowflake Arizona Temple on Ethan & LaShae's sealing day. This is my 41st temple

our family at the temple

my 41st temple

my sons holding LaShae

Krew exploring the temple grounds

the happy couple heading out of the temple

our family with LaShae's family

my new daughter in law LaShae

my son Ethan

my daughters Rebecca, LaShae, Lizzie, and Jancy

my sons Jamey, Teancum, Ethan, and Micah

me and my son Ethan

During the time that all of the temples were closed because of COVID, we were very blessed to get to enter the temples twice -- once for our son Teancum's endowment before his mission, and once for our son Ethan's sealing. Because of COVID, Ethan and LaShae were married in her backyard in April 2020, but then the temples opened for certain live ordinances only, and with very limited numbers. For their sealing, they were only allowed to have five people total in the temple with them. So they had James and I, both of LaShae's parents, and then Ethan had to choose between his brothers - so he chose his brother James. Besides the seven of us, the sealer and his wife were also in the temple with us, and that was it -- in the entire temple! The sealer and his wife met us at the front door and let us in. They brought us to the sealing room, and we were able to witness Ethan and LaShae getting married. It was an incredible experience! I have never been "alone" in a temple before. It was so sacred to know that we were the only ones there in the House of the Lord. The Snowflake Temple isn't very big, but it is beautiful. It is located at 1875 West Canyon Drive. It was dedicated in 2002.

The Trip

We stayed in a hotel in Show Low, which is about a half hour from Snowflake. We arrived in time to have a bridal shower in LaShae's backyard the night before their sealing. After the sealing we took photos of the many people who had gathered for the sealing. Then we had a reception in LaShae's backyard. We didn't do a lot of sight-seeing in Snowflake because we were busy with wedding festivities the whole time. Snowflake was a special destination for our son James' life as well, because he attended a friend's wedding at this temple in 2022 and brought his girlfriend with him. He later went on a trip to a waterfall in Snowflake and proposed to Ellie there. She is now my daughter-in-law!