Manti Trip

This trip gets its own entry.
For the last few years I've heard my sister-in-law Kristen talk about the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti and how nice it is. A few days before the event ended this past June, I remembered it was being held.  I made a few phone calls to the nearby hotels in Manti and was placed on a waiting list, in case there was a cancellation.  Luckily, there was one.  So, we packed our bags that Wednesday afternoon, picked up Newel from work and drove to Manti. 
Manti is is the middle of nowhere, really.  It's surrounded by farms and it's relatively a small town.  It is also the 4th settlement the Mormon Pioneers made when they arrived to the Utah territory.  So, when we were driving to Manti...I wasn't expecting much.  As you're about to reach the road to Manti, you make a right hand turn at the highway intersection and then you drive on a straight road for a few miles.  Then, it slightly curves and as you come out of the curve, you are surprised by a breathtaking view of the Manti Temple.  That's the tallest building you can see.  It's on top of a hill.
We arrived to our hotel...unpacked our bags, saved our seats at the Pageant and started to explore.  I LOVED the old pioneer houses by the Temple. They were so adorable.  The atmosphere was of a nice small town feel.  Even though the other Christian protesters were there, it was nice to ignore them when we were around such nice surroundings.  We grabbed a bite to eat...got our free Gordon B. Hinckley video, and walked around some more. We let the kids play at a playground and then headed back to the Temple to watch the show. 
There aren't any photos of the performance, because it's hard to take good pictures with a camera phone, but the performance was fabulous! The costumes, the music, the entire performance!  My favorite part was the guy who stood at the top of the temple dressed as the angel Moroni.
Maya was so tired she fell asleep halfway through the performance.  After the show was over, we headed back to the hotel, that was across the street from the temple. Also, another thing I really liked was seeing the constellations.  The night was clear and the stars were bright. 
We mainly drove just to see the performance, so the next morning, we got up pretty early and drove back home. I hope we get to go next year and perhaps go with the rest our family.