Welcome July....

July is quite possibly the best month of the entire year, second only to September, which month witnessed the birth of a girl named Natilie, and it just so happens that it was the bicentennial of our great nation the very year she was born.  We have high hopes for this month.  We hope to begin our celebration with a 4th of July extravaganza and then shortly thereafter celebrate our towns heritage with the Steel Days celebration.  We go to the parade, the carnival, and then watch fireworks at Grandma Glenda's house.  Soon after we will witness the birth of our new baby niece.  After this blessed event occurs we will move right into the 24th of July holiday.  Some of you may ask, What is the 24th of July holiday? and I will tell you.  It is the celebration of the arrival of the Mormon Pioneers into the Utah Valley after an arduous and deadly trek across our very beautiful, yet brutal country, and also the day Utah received statehood.  It is a magnificent holiday where we honor our pioneer heritage (and trust me our family has a lot of pioneer heritage - I'm not bragging, we really do) and celebrate their sacrifices on our behalf.  After this holiday we will close out the month with the celebration of Torey's ninth birthday, which hopes to be a fabulous affair.  So, here is to a great month.  May you not be too hot, or too dry - though I fear you will be both.

A short history lesson on the above pictured flag:  A General Stark gave his New Hampshire troops a rallying speech that would be the envy of any football coach today.  He said, "My men, yonder are the Hessians.  They were bought for seven pounds and ten pence a man.  Are you worth more?  Prove it.  Tonight, the American flag floats from yonder hill or Molly Stark sleeps a widow!"  If you don't believe this happened feel free to ask Google.  I am grateful that those men fought for our freedom, and I hope we all act like we are worth more than seven pounds and ten pence as we honor our great nation and the men who have fought for it!  I mean I'd like to think I'm worth a little bit more, even if it is only around the cost of a new pair of pants, or a pair of really great running shoes, you know, if someone was wanting to make up or something.