4th of July Activities

Can I just say that I love the 4th of July! I love the warm weather, the summer family activities, the fireworks, the patriotic music and decorations, and I love living in this country--as imperfect as its government leaders may be. I feel that God has been watching over and preparing this country so that He could bring forth the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I've been reading a series about the American Revolution recently and have been so impressed by the sacrifices of men, women, and children that fight, live, and die for the freedoms and liberties we now enjoy. These brave and dedicated men and women didn't do it on their own either. They had divine intervention on numerous occasions that were not just coincidence. I'm grateful for good books that help me better appreciate the sacrifices of others and the many blessing we have today because of those who have gone before. I hope that I contribute to a better future for my children and grandchildren through the choices I make as well.

Here are some of the things we've been up to this week.

Monday: At the last minute we decided to go to a free concert at Taylorsville Dayzz where the Utah Symphony performed. We were all spread out on the lawn of a park listening to these amazing and talented musicians. They played the theme from Stars Wars, "Jupiter" by Gustav Holst, and a variety of patriotic classics. They ended with the War of 1812 complete with a group of "cannoneers" that shot off real cannons at the appropriate times during the song. It was pretty cool. After wards they had a great fireworks show that we both really enjoyed.

Thursday: We went to the Thanksgiving Point Gardens with Jason's parents and it was gorgeous! I love gardens. The nice thing is that for some reason it was almost completely empty and it was as if we had the gardens to ourselves. We enjoyed walking around them for a couple of hours and talking about all kinds of things. My experience was only dampened by those inconsiderate mosquitoes that got me a few times right as the sun was setting. After the gardens we went to Cold Stone for ice cream. Mmmmm. Yummy!

Saturday: We hiked to Bell Canyon Falls with Jason's parents. I think it was an 8 mi. hike round trip and took us about 4 hours. It was such a beautiful trip. I love being out in nature. The reservoir and surrounding rivers were more full than I've ever seen them. The Falls were must bigger than when we went on Labor Day last year and we couldn't get very close to them to get very good pictures.

That night we were invited over to another couple's house (Seth and Cassie) in our stake for dinner and games. We've gotten together several times before and really enjoy playing games with them. I actually know the husband from my master's program and we both just happened to move to the same stake in Sandy. They don't have any children yet either and it's been nice to have some friends in the same stage of life as us.

Sunday: Today we went to a double baby blessing for my cousins' babies. They both live really close and it was fun to see their family again.

Monday: Even though it hasn't happened yet, tomorrow we're going to the West Jordan parade with my parents and sister's family. We'll eat together and watch the Sugar House fireworks. I excited to spend time with family and especially happy to have a day off of work!













































This is a picture of us at Sugar House Park just before the fireworks began. We went with Kristilyn and Mark and their two boys. I walked with Kristilyn at least a half mile each way--She was a trooper with all that walking at 7 1/2 mo. pregnant with twins.