Happy 4th of July

It's the Fourth of July! Here's a cute pic of Daniel and Abi watching the fireworks out at Holladay Park tonight - 

I wanted to be a party pooper and just stay home, but I went with everyone and it was a bit crazy but it was good. It only kinda took a while to get out of all the traffic after it was done. We had a fun time. Ethan came up and joined us - taking a selfie with his sisters - 

And his BeReal - 

And this adorable one of him and Katharine! Look at her cute little pig tails - she looks like a little bug.

We went to our community breakfast today, which was fun. Abi and Lily took the kids over while Corey and I cleaned up after our morning bike ride. Corey got over there before me, cause I was nursing a few wounds cause I fell. But first, a few items of good news from our ride: I did the board both times! On the way up and on the way back down. AND I also did the rocks! For my future reference - I'll call "The Rocks" that small climb up rocks right before the 2nd bridge, where the round branch goes over the trail. Usually my head isn't in it - I might have done it one other time so far this spring/summer. Anyway, today I got geared up and as I approached I started yelling at myself "Come on! Come on!" and I did it, yay. On the way down, we did the techy section, and I did the first rock pile AGAIN yay but not the 2nd, but almost. AND I went over the log for the first time ever, yay! On the way down we also did the techy part I explored with Peter and Katharine on June 1st. Strava calls it Techgnar. And I did a downhill part Corey usually does right before the 3rd bridge - he sits and does it with his seat down, I did it standing, it was fun. Ok, and then one bad part on the way down, right after the 2nd bridge, I fell on "The Rocks" - I was going down and I was either going to slow or my shocks were too soft but my wheel got stuck below a rock and I went over my handlebars. Good news: Corey was close behind me and helped me up out of the mud. Also good news: I didn't break anything on my body or my bike. And it was really good that I was wearing long sleeved shirts and pants. They didn't get holes, but they definitely protected my skin from road rash wounds. I took a short walk up to the 2nd bridge to shake it out and get all the mud off of my hands in the stream. I was able to ride home fine but I was a bit shaky and I'm curious to see how bad my bruises will be tomorrow.  I feel very banged up. This is what hurts: my left outside ankle, left forearm, right front hip bone and left knee. My left knee is the worst looking but the ankle hurts the most. I joined everyone at the breakfast around 10 (I didn't eat - I had apples at home). 

They had some displays in the church foyer and gym about the history of the Granite area, of the railroad that used to be in the area (to transport the granite to Temple Square) and about when the chapel was built. 

I am fascinated by maps. I could look at and study these all day. 

This picture below made me emotional "WE ARE BUIDLING THE KINGDOM OF GOD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

They really were building the kingdom of God! Their service and sacrifices have blessed my life and the life of my family! I am very grateful! I want to live like that and make a sacrifice and contribution that will outlive me. So I loved that. But I have kids - where are they? Back to reality, time to go be a responsible mother - back out to the parade! Natalie and Lily had brought paints and painted their brothers in festive colors.

Daniel with his hands in the air - excited about the bucket of candy they were collecting!

They were so excited about the candy, that none of them even asked about going to the carnival after the parade ended. They just went over to Evan's house to eat their candy loot. Sweet, that is ok by me if it gets us out of the carnival. Joseph and Rachel - should we sing the song? 

"Joseph and Rachel sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Just kidding, we didn't see any kissing, just holding hands. And we loved her Rex Kwon Do pants! It was Hyrum's p-day and we told him about it (he has a pair too) and so she has his approval. After eating candy, Owen and Daniel came home and Natalie and Lily did more paint work on them. Peter is Avatar, and Daniel is feeling the strength of the fire nation!

And we just had a lazy day around the house until we decided to commit to go to see the fireworks. 

Kids brought books, playing cards, food....

Abi made her cocoa quickies, and we sat around and had fun as we waited for it to get dark. 

We lost track of Katharine momentarily, and then found her with a group that was sitting right next to us - she was sitting in their chair. We didn't see her over the back of the chair. And they thought she belonged to one of their friends, ha.

Almost dark! You ready Daniel!

The fireworks were very cool. Holladay always has a great show. It was a good holiday. Happy 4th!

A Covenant Land

Happy 4th of July! Our community had a breakfast and parade today. The 8 am breakfast time was helping in us getting kids to bed last night. At 8 this morning, MALSNOD were all ready to go and they rode their bikes over. Soph and Natalie dressed as opposite twins, tights and shirts donated by me. They decorated their bikes on Saturday night over at Sophi's friends house. 

Mel brought along some paints, and she and Lily offered free face painting. CJEP headed over around 9, after Corey got back from a bike ride. And then Katharine and I walked over last after she was finished having breakfast at home. Standing in line for our breakfast - 

Peter enjoying his pancakes and eggs - 

I went to check out the face painting station. 

They do pretty good work! 

Owen and Daniel are airbenders! With Owen's friend Zander.

I walked from home with Katharine in the baby wrap and I carried 4 chairs for us to sit on during the parade. I would have only brought 2, but I knew Corey would offer his chair to a kid if they asked, so I had to bring a few extras. It worked out great - Joseph, Ethan, Corey and I were able to sit and watch. Sophi and Natalie rode their bikes in the parade, and Abi watched the little boys gather candy.

I barely was able to catch a pic of Sophi and Natalie in the parade - 

Wes helped Abi keep an eye on Peter. After the parade, we stayed and visited for a bit.

Owen shared an insight he had: "There are two days we get candy: July, and Halloween."

Then it was time for the carnival. The little kids wanted to go. We asked who of the older kids could help. Eth, you want to go to the parade? "That does not sound fun to me... I guess I'm getting old..." Abi took Owen and Daniel to the carnival, JE&W headed home with two chairs, S&N were already at the carnival (that's where the parade ended), and I walked home with P&K. Corey went to the parade to watch kids. 

Mel and Lily took their painting booth to the carnival and continued their work throughout the afternoon. 

Corey and Joseph went to pick them up a little bit later and invited Davi over and we cooked some ribs that Corey got for lunch, making the 4th complete with a bbq, even though I cooked them in the oven. 

And the kids ate candy, watched Avatar the Last Airbender, and were basically lazy all day. Corey and Joseph, Mel, Ethan, and Davi, went on a bike ride in Corner Canyon (in the 90+ degree heat of the day!) 

Then tonight all left here at 8:30 to go watch the fireworks at Holladay Park. Joseph bought some ice cream drumsticks to share and they had fun and I got to stay home with this sweet face

A few thoughts on freedom- Yesterday we watched Amazing Grace. That is a great movie and an amazing story. William Wilberforce is a man I want to learn more about. I pray that there are great men like him and George Washington in the world today, because we surely need them as much as the slaves needed Wilberforce and as much as the United States needed Washington. And after we watched it, I read a little bit of Timothy Ballard's book "The Pilgrim Hypothesis" (pages 186-190) to the kids. 

"Jefferson's ability to persuade the Frenchman [to sell the Louisiana Territory] would largely come down to the happenings in Hispaniola. If Napoleon, by some miracle, could be stopped there, perhaps he would lose motivation for North America. After all, of the two lands, the only wealth generating one at that time was the island. For the French dictator, the only immediate an obvious benefit of the American territory (mostly just wilderness) was its potential role as a means to support and protect his commercial enterprises at Hispaniola.

"Few today recognize what was at stake during this tense time in the Caribbean. Would the sacred lands of the Gardner of Eden, even Adam-ondi-Ahman, and the New Jerusalem, where so much was to happen soon concerning the restoration, end up in hands of a foreign dictator? Or would Thomas Jefferson prevail and bringing those lands into the protective arms of the United States, the nation that Savior spoke of as the place where latter-day Americans "should be established... and set up as free people by the power of the Father... that covenant of the Father may be fulfilled which he hath covenant ed with his people, O house of Israel" (3 Nephi 21:4)? 

"Who knew that while the African prince and former slave Toussaint Louverture stood his his ground on a Caribbean island, waiting for one of the most powerful forces on the planet to attack them, so much weighed in the balance? We know history and Henry Adams (grandson and great-grand-son to two American presidents) understood very well the situation: "Before Bonaparte could reach Louisiana, he was obliged to crush the power of Toussaint," he wrote. "If he and his blacks should still come easy to their fate, the wave of French empire would roll onto Louisiana and sweep far of the Mississippi; if Saint Domingo should resist, and succeeding resistance... America would be left to pursue her democratic destiny in peace." 

"Jefferson come in the meantime, refuse to comply with the French trade embargo placed upon Toussaint and rejected any idea prohibit in American merchants from supplying the Indian revolution. Beyond that, all America could do was pray. 

"Toussaint knew he could never expect to win a front-on confrontation with the powerful French, so instead, he led his armies into the thick, forested mountains of the island, where the French would have to come to them and confront the terrifying prospect of guerilla warfare. The French found little success. And then, as could be expected in a conflict over promised lands, Mother Nature took over. And she took over in the form of Yellow Fever - Toussaint's most powerful ally. Nearly half of the first wave of French soldiers immediately died from the disease. 

"But even with those odds, the French were eventually able to capture Toussaint and send him to rot and die in a prison in France, which opened the way for other Haitian leaders who, unfortunately, in the name of revolution, committed horrible and unnecessary atrocities against innocent colonial civilians. Nevertheless, in the end, Toussaint's martyrdom only raised the morale of  his freedom-fighting countrymen, who now dug in harder against the French. His people would forever remember the words he spoke as the French carried him away in chains: "In overthrowing me," he yelled, "you have cut down in Sant Domingue only the trunk of the tree of liberty; it will spring up again from the roots, for they are numerous and they are deep." 

"His words proved prophetic as the French continued losing ground on the island. Desperate, the French command issued genocidal orders: all men and women, including teenagers (everyone twelve years old and older), must be murdered. They even brought three hundred starving bloodhounds and let them loose on the island to help with the mass murder. But the islanders could not be subdued. They would pay any price to remain free from slavery. 

"After more than forty thousand French soldiers perished, and the former slaves continued to fight back, gaining more and more ground against the invaders, the French finally quit and went home. Needless to say, their great plans to move on to North America were foiled. 

"On January 1, 1804, the island freedom fighters officially established their new independent nation, which they named Haiti, a word from the island's indigenous language, which means "land of the high mountains." Haiti became the first and only nation in history to be formed and led by former slaves after they successfully revolted against their masters, one of the very first nations on the planet to officially abolish slaver, and the second in the Western Hemisphere (after the United States) to achieve independence from the monarchs and dictators of the Old World. The Haitian revolution inspired abolitionist movements in other parts of the world..."

So I just remember, when I first read this book, feeling very grateful for these people in Haiti who fought for their freedom. They contributed in creating the free country I live in. I never knew this story before, but now that I do, I need to remember and be so thankful that they gave their lives for the freedom I enjoy. They played a part and are responsible, along with the Founding Fathers and patriots of the US Revolution, for creating the wonderful United States of America. It is a covenant land, and the covenant, with it's blessings and curses, remains upon it. I pray we will be righteous and serve Jesus Christ, that he may bless us! 

Book of Mormon, Ether 2:12

Uintahs and at Home

Corey and MHWA went camping yesterday. We'll see if they have any pictures for me when they get back. They were going to go fishing and backpacking in the Uintah's I think. I'm home with LSNODP. I stayed up way too late last night but feel fine today. I stayed up late studying Book of Mormon lands while I waited for Peter to stop crying in the closet. I'm trying to wean that baby a little bit, but he's so cute, I give in if I'm in there, hence why I had to hide.

Here's a cute video of him from Thursday night.
His little foot stomping thing is so funny, when he's trying to jump, but doesn't have the ability to do two feet off the ground, so instead he's stomping one foot very forcefully like a fiddler prepping the folks for some serious square dancing. We also love his "sticking out my belly" walk, that is a creation he came up with on his own, super funny.

Last night I put my little Peter to bed and then helped kids brush and floss, hoping he'd cry it out while I wasn't in there. But when we were done, P was still crying. So I had to give in to him or leave... I decided to grab a few books and had fun reading and blogging a little.

At 1:00 am I thought I should be sensible and go to bed. I went in and he was quiet. That's good, but the final test awaited... I opened the closet and snifffed, aaaaand he did it again, his final line of defense. He pooped. Sigh, that darn poop trick. So I got him out and of course he woke up as soon as I touched him. I changed his diaper, and then put him in the crib to start the process again. I stayed up until 2:30. It's been a good day though and I've felt fine even though I stayed up late. I need to get some resolve to wean this little boy though. I was pleased on Thursday morning though, when I woke up and was surprised to find that I was still in my own bed and not on the floor with him. Maybe he can figure this out, maybe there is some hope for us. Other that Peter training, today we had a nice day. Lily, Sophi, and Natalie all practiced their instruments today before noon so that was good! They are looking forward to going to Park City tomorrow for our annual week in the mountains with Corey's family.

... 4 hours later...

Corey and the kids are back safe. Here are a few pictures Mel shared with me.

 She enjoys flowers like I do.

Corey watching the kids, trying to keep the sun off his head.

That's a cute bonnet.

They went fishing, and I guess cliff jumping too.

They've showered and started laundry. Then Corey took ALL of them over to his parents house for fireworks, and I said I'd stay home and pick up a little bit since I didn't get much cleaning done today. I'm going to go clean more and listen to Come Follow Me stuff. I want to flood my life with the words of Christ found in the scriptures. One of our prophets, President Benson, told members of the church to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon. I once had the thought that if we want a flood to go throughout the earth, we better first be having a flood of the Book of Mormon in our personal life. So that's what I'm aiming for. I also liked something my little sister Patrice shared recently, an insight pointed out to her by Elder Halverson (Unshaken video minute 34:20 - another Come Follow Me lesson to add to my list!) - The great question they had from Alma 34:5: "And we have beheld that the great question which is in your minds is whether the word be in the Son of God, or whether there shall be no Christ." Bro Halverson "That's what the whole experiment was about, it's about Jesus. Even more than the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith, it's about Jesus. I think that if we did less in our attempts to prove the Book of Mormon is true, and more to use the Book of Mormon to prove that Jesus is the Son of God, people will end up loving the Book of Mormon as a result. because it was source, not because it was target." I'll still love searching and being curious about the ancient civilizations of the America's but I am going to work on focusing on Christ and his teachings. Those are the things that are supposed to get in my heart and change me so that I can stand before my maker. We'll find out how it all happened eventually, and until then I will strive to become like my Savior. That is the target.

I Love This Land

H and W slept up at Pineview on Thursday night. Yesterday, Corey headed up with MASNOD. He came home last night with HNOD, but MWAS stayed up there. I went to pick them up MWAS this afternoon and I took NODP with me. I called when I left around noon and told the kids to try and be packed up and ready to go, but they weren't. I got there shortly around 1:20. Pineview is a nice place, we live in a beautiful state and country. There were lots of people out camping or spending the day at the reservoir, good for them. Even with a worldwide pandemic going on, the world is a beautiful place and life is full of blessings. It was such a pretty drive up along the Weber river and past Huntsville. Life is good. We all got out and Mark made lunch - sandwiches, a few hotdogs, and MnM's. View of the table facing North - that's our tent, the kids are going to pack up then we'll take that down.

Looking to the East - 

facing south -

Facing West.

After I took those pics for documenting here, I helped them kick it in gear. It didn't take too long to pack up and we were on our way shortly after 2, which was good, cause Mel worked at 4 and wanted to shower before. Back at home, we had ice cream drumsticks to celebrate the 4th. 

 "It's what the Founding Father's would want." - Gaffigan

Ethan's recovery is going great, his cheeks haven't swollen up at all! He's been keeping them iced big time, good job Eth. He also has eaten solid foods already and is chewing, so hopefully he doesn't mess things up for his teeth's holes. Ethan and Hyrum played Battlefront most of the day as E continued his recovery. Corey took SNOD up to Park City again, We talked about being busy and what can help us get things done that we'd like to get done and how we can reach our goals. We might write up a new Nazarite vow. So, they left, and I played with Peter in the backyard.

We sat on the grass underneath a play structure thing, the one we use to get on the trampoline. Peter's cute. 

He can walk right under the trampoline without bending over or hitting his head. 

I also spent a fair amount of time killing our pesty bugs. I got on the roof, spraying them everywhere. Yesterday I found what I thought was their main colony, in the big log post beam in the front yard that attaches to the house. It had some big cracks in it and I sprayed and sprayed in there and they all ran out to their deaths.

The windows are covered with Raid and I'll be getting up there to wash the windows later, after I give the spray a few days to hopefully fend off the pests. I googled a lot today and I think I found the bug that it is! It's not the squash bug like I thought last week, I am pretty sure it's the Elm Seed bug. Stupid bugs.

Mel worked until 9 and then came home to get people to come with her to Provo to see fireworks at Lavell Edward's stadium.

So they were the official fireworks representatives for our family.  

Wes can't take a serious photo.

Listened to this BYU Devotional talk by David McCullough. One of my favorite stories from that book and of the Revolution is of the retreat from Brooklyn on August 29th, where there was the miracle of the wind and fog that saved the American cause. Pretty amazing. I'm so thankful and humbled to be an American. "There ain't no doubt I love this land. God bless the USA."