And the Rockets Red Glare...

The bombs bursting in air...... Last night we celebrated our nation's independence at Lehi City's fantabulous fireworks display.  The fireworks were marvelous, and we had a wonderful time. I could only venture one complaint, directed to my reader who has some pull with the fireworks display, and that was a wondering of where were all of the salutes?  You know the big bangs.  The really, really loud bangs that I miss in the morning because my husband removed me from my childhood nest.  Where were those?  Can I get an Amen from the audience.  The salutes are the best.  Salutes = a ton of noise, crammed into a small package, with a grand effect on all of the auditory senses, producing a feeling of pride and exhaultation in the participant. Regardless, the rest of the fireworks were beautiful and lasted exactly the right amount of time, so my complaint lacks a lot of umph because they were so good.

For those of you wondering how I took such great pictures of these fireworks I will offer a tutorial.  I turned the dial on my camera to the little moon icon, found the area I wanted to capture in my viewfinder, and pushed the button, thus capturing the image.  That's it.  It was easy peasy.  It was so easy in fact that I took several pictures.  That is the joy of a digital camera.  I am so glad that I have the freedom to take as many pictures as I want.  But that's what the 4th of July is all about, is freedom.
We sat by a delightful group of people at Thanksgiving Point.  We enjoyed the company of my Uncle Max and Aunt Alyson, and my sisters Jammie and Niki and their families.  We talked, laughed, ate Chex Mix, threw snaps, and broke glow sticks.  And then when the fireworks were over, we sat and talked some more, but only because we did not want to get stuck in the traffic madness, it had nothing to do with the company we were enjoying! 
For those of you wondering what we did with the rest of our holiday I will tell you.  We were the happy recipients of an invitation to Lehi's Fireman's breakfast, and then we watched "The Patriot," and then we went to a barbeque at the "new" Lehi park.  And then we went to a barbeque at Reed's parents.  It was a great day, but I am not going to lie to you.  After a week of festivities I am suffering from a "fun hangover."  Turns out, I am not built for a combination of early mornings and late nights.  I think I was aware of this fact but I have recently been suffering from amnesia due to intense sleep deprivation.  This situation will have to be remedied forthwith.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, I am going to take a nap.  Hopefully.

We Pledge Allegiance...

to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

We owe President Eisenhower for adding the words "under God" in 1954.  He stated, "In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war."

On this 4th of July we would like to pay tribute to the Armed Forces and to all of those who have fought, or are fighting, for our freedoms at home or abroad.  Reed and I are lucky enough to have a rich military heritage in our family and we would like to name and thank them individually for their service to our country.

Kerry Evans - Vietnam - Panama Canal Zone

Duane Evans - World War II - United States Navy

Daniel Simper - World War II - United States Merchant Marines

Ralph Murdoch - World War II - U.S. Marines - Pacific Theater - wounded at Iwo Jima

Daniel Carroll - World War I - United States Marines - 

wounded in combat

Murray Murdoch - World War I - United States Army

William Jones - Civil War - 1st Alabama Calvary (fought for North)

Robert Pixton - Mexican War - Mormon Battalion

Israel Evans - Mexican War - Mormon Battalion 

Samuel White - Mexcian War - Mormon Battalion 

Jesse Horton - War of 1812

Isaac Jones - War of 1812

Abraham Horton - Revolutionary War

Henry Thomas - Revolutionary War

We also had several uncles who fought in different wars, and one aunt who was a World War II nurse, and we would like to thank them as well, though we will not name them individually. We are proud to be American's, and are grateful for the freedoms which we enjoy, and are especially grateful to those who fought to preserve those freedoms.  We hope everyone has a safe and 

Happy 4th of July!

Celebrating our Country's Freedom...

by enjoying Provo's Freedom Festival.  Today, we awoke at 5:30 a.m. in order to be in Provo by 6:30.  After a quick stop at Harts for some crumb donuts and chocolate milk we were on our way.  We arrived just in time to see all 25 of the hot air balloons preparing to launch.  It was a visual feast for the eyes, and I again wished I had a better camera, but these will have to do.  After sizing up the crowd I asked a very pregnant lady if she would take our picture.  I could outrun her if she decided to take off with my camera, so she was a good choice.  Thank you pregnant lady, I hope things go well with your impending delivery.

Here are the kids.  At this point they are getting slightly annoyed with my photography. Wouldn't it be great if they had a mom who would iron their shirts on occasion?  I think so too. 
The festival was amazing.  It was very relaxing to sit and watch the balloons float above us in the air with the mountains as a backdrop.  It was a breathtaking sight.  Did you know that if you wake up early enough you can watch the sun rise?  Well, you can.  And we did.  And it was beautiful.
Jake enjoyed laying on his blanket and taking in the event.  When he was a baby (1 or 2) he would make me chase all over town in the car following hot air balloons.  He has no memories of this, but enjoyed the event just the same.
Torey wrapped up in her blanket and laid down for much of the time that we were there.  Apparently 5:30 is way too early to get up.
Taylor and I wanted to stay longer, but the other two decided that they had enjoyed all they could possibly enjoy by about 7:30.  So, needless to say we were home by 8:00.
On a side note:  No work was completed at the hospital between the hours of 6:30 and 7:30, at least none of which I was a witness.  This behavior could have gone on longer, but as mentioned above we left.  I am sure they enjoyed themselves as much as we did!

Did you Know...

that the Continental Congress actually declared "that these United States are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States" on July 2, 1776?  It is a true, but little known fact.  Our founding fathers were cooped up behind closed doors, suffering in the summer heat, as they committed the greatest act of treason in recorded history.  These noble men could have been executed for their boldness in declaring independence. As John Hancock struck pen to paper, signing his name with a magnificent flourish, he made the comment that they must "all hang together."  Benjamin Franklin was quoted as replying, "Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately."  John Adams wrote to his wife on July 3, saying: "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America.--I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival.  It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by Solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty.  It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfire and Illuminations from one end of the Continent to the other from this time forward and forever more."

And so, it is in honor of our Founding Fathers, especially John Adams, who wanted to see our nation celebrate on this day, that we set out to solemnize July 2 with pomp, bonfire, and illumination.
Dear Reed:  Today we celebrated the 2nd of July.  We bought fireworks and snaps.  
We let the kids play with matches as they threw firecrackers and smoke bombs into the air.
There were anywhere from seven to nine kids involved in our daytime pyromania.  The snakes, which I remember fondly from my childhood, were complete duds.  They required a lot of matches, and because of this we went through A LOT of matches.
The good news is that only 5 of the 7 kids were burned, and of those, only two required additional medical treatment.  One kid, ours, was burned twice.  He was not figured into the original number.  Niki and I rated the day as a complete success.  Don't worry about the burns, we took care of them.  We even put mustard on one.  It's what the computer told us to do.  The burns were actually fortuitous because now the kids know the danger of playing with matches and fireworks.  It was a lesson learned.  Two lessons actually.  I mean we learned a little history, and we learned fire safety, what more can you ask for?  

Love - Nat

Happy 2nd of July everybody!

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.

Last but not least...

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday dear Easton....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

Splash Pad...

My favorite aunt, Alyson, called and invited us to enjoy a leisurely Monday afternoon at my cousin Mike's condo.  His daughter, McKell, was here for the weekend and they had just got a cute new puppy.  So we were officially joining a puppy/pool party and we were glad to go. The kids had a blast playing in the water, and I was really grateful for something to do.  Alyson, Cassandra, Niki, and I hung out and enjoyed each other's company while the kids played on the splash pad.  The invitation couldn't have come at a more perfect time as the mercury showed about 96* and we were not in the mood to stay inside, yet we didn't want to cook in Utah's dry heat either.  Here are the kids waiting for the water to dump on them from the overhead buckets:

Here is a picture of the whole crew.  Sierra and Jake are in the front with Jaycie, Torey and Taylor in the middle.  Kinzie and McKell are in the back.  They play really well together and are close in age so that makes it fun.
Perhaps the high point of the entire day, and I think you will all agree, was when it was time for lunch.  Aunt Alyson had so generously provided pizza and crazy sticks and the kids ate like they hadn't been fed in weeks.
And there we were, eating and talking, talking and eating, sharing stories and laughing at funny anecdotes when all of the sudden...
I ask "What's a honey bucket?"  And then we became very aware of what exactly a "honey bucket" was.  As we were enjoying the delicate mix of tomato, basil, and oregano another flavor presented itself.  An unwelcome flavor, and yet a very distinct flavor permeated through our pavilion and melded together with the pizza to create an unforgettable dining experience.  It wasn't as if the scent, or flavor, presented itself and then wafted away on a gentle breeze.  No, this flavor camped on our table, invaded our space really, as it moved through many subtle and not so subtle scents.  It seems that the "honey bucket" was designed specifically for emptying the "honey bucket" traveling latrine.  We kept waiting for the bucket to finish it's job, but the bucketeer was obviously not in any hurry to do so, thus we were able to enjoy the scent for quite some time.  I will never look at honey quite the same way.
Regardless of this one small experience we had a fantastic time and wanted to thank Alyson and McKell for inviting us, and Mike for moving to such a great condo complex.  Your home is beautiful, can't wait to see it again at the Christmas party!!!