Happy Pioneer Day!!

Here is a picture that my cousin Margel took of our fireworks from Friday. I hope she doesn't mind me using it. I thought it was pretty cool.

Quite a number of our family were at my Aunt Kayes house to watch fireworks. It was good to be together to celebrate.

Pioneer Days

This past Friday, July 24th, was Pioneer Day. Every July 24th, we celebrate the arrival of the Mormon pioneers back in 1847.

The following hymns remind me of the pioneers and what they did for me.

Carry On

1. Firm as the mountains around us,Stalwart and brave we standOn the rock our fathers plantedFor us in this goodly land—The rock of honor and virtue,Of faith in the living God.They raised his banner triumphant—Over the desert sod.
[Chorus]And we hear the desert singing:Carry on, carry on, carry on!Hills and vales and mountains ringing:Carry on, carry on, carry on!Holding aloft our colors,We march in the glorious dawn.O youth of the noble birthright,Carry on, carry on, carry on!
2. We’ll build on the rock they plantedA palace to the King.Into its shining corridors,Our songs of praise we’ll bring,For the heritage they left us,Not of gold or of worldly wealth,But a blessing everlastingOf love and joy and health.
Text: Ruth May Fox, 1853–1958. © 1948 IRI
Music: Alfred M. Durham, 1872–1957. © 1948 IRI

Come, Come Ye Saints

1. Come, come, ye Saints, no toil nor labor fear;But with joy wend your way.Though hard to you this journey may appear,Grace shall be as your day.’Tis better far for us to striveOur useless cares from us to drive;Do this, and joy your hearts will swell—All is well! All is well!
2. Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?’Tis not so; all is right.Why should we think to earn a great rewardIf we now shun the fight?Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.Our God will never us forsake;And soon we’ll have this tale to tell—All is well! All is well!
3. We’ll find the place which God for us prepared,Far away in the West,Where none shall come to hurt or make afraid;There the Saints will be blessed.We’ll make the air with music ring,Shout praises to our God and King;Above the rest these words we’ll tell—All is well! All is well!
4. And should we die before our journey’s through,Happy day! All is well!We then are free from toil and sorrow, too;With the just we shall dwell!But if our lives are spared againTo see the Saints their rest obtain,Oh, how we’ll make this chorus swell—All is well! All is well!
Text: William Clayton, 1814–1879
Music: English folk song

First Moon Landing

Today marked the 40th annivesary of the first moonwalk. That's right at
9:30 p.m. Houston time on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin put on their bulky moon suits and prepare to take the first steps on the moon.
Armstrong is the first to wriggle out of a square hole in the Eagle. Once outside, he lowers a small drawbridge that holds a TV camera. Now the world can watch as he backs down the ladder.
Back on the home planet, 600 million people watch on television. Armstrong touches the moon's surface and says, "That's one small step for man… one giant leap for mankind."
Aldrin climbs out next. "Beautiful! Beautiful!" he says. "Magnificent desolation." He and Armstrong struggle to plant an American flag on the moon's surface. They get it standing, barely, and take pictures. President Nixon calls and congratulates them. Finally, they gather 50 pounds of rocks and set up experiments.
After about two hours, Aldrin and Armstrong crawl back into the Eagle. Both men have now been awake for 22 straight hours. They are supposed to rest before the complicated rendezvous with Collins, who is circling the moon every two hours. But they can't. There is little heat in the paper-thin LM, and they shiver with cold.
After less than a day on the lunar surface, it is time to go. Using its one small engine, the top part of the Eagle rises up. Dust blows everywhere. "I looked up long enough to see the flag fall over," Aldrin recalls.
Armstrong and Aldrin rendezvous with Collins in the Command Module. Once all three astronauts are back onboard Columbia, they release the Eagle. It falls away and crashes on the moon. Columbia then heads back towards Earth.

It must have been something being able to see this on TV back then.

Walter Cronkite

This past week, the world lost one of the greatest newsman of all time, Walter Cronkite. He was known as Uncle Walter as many people turned in to him to watch the news. Many people referred to him as "the most trusted man in America". I remember growing up watching him on the evening news.

Cronkite was the face of the "CBS Evening News" from 1962 to 1981, when stories ranged from the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to racial and anti-war riots, Watergate and the Iranian hostage crisis.

It was Cronkite who read the bulletins coming from Dallas when Kennedy was shot Nov. 22, 1963, interrupting a live CBS-TV broadcast of a soap opera.

Cronkite died just three days before the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, just another moment of history linked with his reporting.

A few years ago, I was able to see him in Salt Lake as he took part in the Tabernacle Choirs annual Christmas program. It was a great experience that I'll always remember.

So it's farewell for another one of the "good guys"

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Last night, I went with some of my cousins to see the latest Harry Potter movie. Those that went were Margel, Kaylynne and her 3 boys Jaden, Levi, and Tyson, Tonja, and her daughter Kalista, and Katie. We went to Jordon Commons in Salt Lake to see it. The movie started at 9 which is late for me as I have early church on Sundays but I couldn't wait to see it. The movie was very good and the reviews are rating it very high. I highly recommend seeing this movie. It was quite a bit darker than any of the other movies but that's how it is in the book. I was kept on the edge of my seat the whole movie. I want to see it again while it's still in the theaters. I classify it as a buyer, meaning that I will definately buy this movie when it comes out on DVD.

American Fork Steel Days 5k

Yesterday morning, I was in the American Fork Steel Days 5k. This is the 7th 5K I've been in this year. It started at 7 AM which is good because later it got up to 100 degrees. It started at the AF Fire Station. Then it went down 2nd North until 4th East. Then we went north on 4th East up a very steep hill. Then we turned west and ended up on 1st East and back down to the Fire House. It was a good route even with the steep hill climb. Several people I knew either from my ward or from the rec center where I work out were there. My sister in law, Kim, was there also. It was good to see them all there. I ended up doing one of my better times on this race. One of my good friends in my ward took pictures of me going over the finish line. I'll have to post them sometime so people will believe that I actually do enter these races.

After the 5k, I watched the parade. It was a good parade, not too long. There was not a lot of commercial stuff which tends to drag parades out.

Diet

Oh, if this could be true!! As many of you readers are aware, I've been working on my diet and working out. It's been quite a struggle as many of you know.

The other night, I found a quote by Erma Bombeck that I totally love!!

"I've been on a constant diet for the last two decades. I've lost a total for 789 pound. By all accounts, I should be hanging from a charm bracelet"

Dads Birthday

Last Tuesday, July 7th, was my dads birthday. Our family took him to Texas Roadhouse Restaurant at 106th S by the Southtowne Mall. The food was really good and there was a variety of food choices.

Afterwards, we went back to our house for cake and ice cream and to give him our gifts for him.

It was nice to get together as a family to celebrate Dads big day. I'm so grateful for my dad and for everthing he has done for me. He's the best dad ever and I'm so proud to be his daughter!! I hope that he enjoyed his birthday.

The first week in July is very busy for our family. Along with Dads birthday on the 7th, Moms birthday was on the 1st. We also had the 4th of July. It's been just a great big party!!

Happy 4th of July (a day late)

Happy 4th of July everyone!! Hope everyone had a nice and safe holiday. Last night, our family got together, had a bbq, and lit fireworks. We had the old standby, bbq hamburgers (yum!!). When it got dark, we started lighting fireworks. It's become tradition in our family that every 4th we stay home and do our own fireworks.

I am so grateful to be an American and to have been born in a free country!! There are so many countries in the world who do not have even half of the freedoms we have as Americans. I'm so grateful for those who have sacrificed and died in order for us to have a free nation.

This time of year always reminds me of the following song by Lee Greenwood.

God Bless The USA
by Lee Greenwood

If tomorrow all the things were gone,I’d worked for all my life.And I had to start again,with just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars,to be livin here today.‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom,and they can’t take that away.
And I’m proud to be an American,where at least I know I’m free.And I wont forget the men who died,who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,next to you and defend her still today.‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,to the hills of Tennessee.Across the plains of Texas,From sea to shining sea.
From Detroit down to Houston,and New York to L.A.Well there's pride in every American heart,and its time we stand and say.
That I’m proud to be an American,where at least I know I’m free.And I wont forget the men who died,who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,next to you and defend her still today.‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,God bless the USA.

And I’m proud to be and American,where at least I know I’m free.And I wont forget the men who died,who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,next to you and defend her still today.‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,God bless the USA.

I am so proud to be an American. We need to always remember what a wonderful country we live in.

Freedom Festival 5k

Yesterday morning, I went and did the Freedom Festival 5k in Provo. The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cool. It wasn't rainy at all which was good. The race started at 7 AM which is earlier than the other 5K I've been in this year. The route included going down the parade route on Univesity Avenue so we had people watching us. The last mile or so had a fairly steep hill to climb which was a bit tough. I guess I need to work on getting up hills better. My time was 47:34 which isn't my best time but isn't my worse time either. I need to keep in mind that there was quite a climb which slowed me down. I'm so glad that I did it. I love doing these 5k races. I think my next one I'll do with be in a couple weeks so I have time to recover.

Neighborhood Housefire

This past Friday, July 3rd, our normally quiet neighborhood had some excitement. A house about 4 blocks down from our house caught on fire. My dad happened to look out our window and saw a huge dark ball of smoke. We ran down to see what was happening, along with most of the neighborhood, and saw the house fully engulfed in flames. We found out that it was the home of one of our families in our ward. They have lived in the house for several years. No one was in the house when it started which was a good thing. There were several fire engines, police cars, and even an ambulance there. This first picture has the ladder truck which they used to spray water on the house. Unfortunately, the house is a complete loss. The family was left with just the clothes on their back. This is a family of six with 4 teenagers and the parents that are left with pretty much nothing. It was amazing to see everyone there trying to support this family in this difficult time. The fire investigator is still investigating the fire but he is thinking their was a short in their power strip for their computer. It was so surprising to see something like this in our neighborhood. Never in a million years did I think any of this would happen in our neighborhood!! My thoughts and prayers are with this family.