Man, do I love this show...

I. LOVE. SUMMER.

I love the Boy Scouts

(From The Daily Herald, June 16, 2009)

Scouts burn soiled and tattered flags in traditional ceremony

The weather cooperated as a crowd of people gathered in the parking lot of Macey's Food & Drug on 500 West in Provo for the Freedom Festival's annual Flag Retirement Ceremony.

Jacob Bigler, 14, of Provo, and Wesley Green, 13, of Springville, took part in the retirement of the flags. "We are retiring flags that represent our country and that is really neat," Bigler said. "It is a good experience."

The scouts learned how to fold flags and how to correctly retire them.

"We get to learn a lot," Green said.

Bigler and Green are both part of Boy Scout Troop 999 headed by Scoutmaster Andy "Bear" Baggs, of Provo. Troop 999 hosted the event and welcomed other Scouts and Girl Scouts, over age 12 and in full uniform, to participate in the retirement ceremony.

Baggs said most of the flags retired come from communities in Utah Valley. Troop 999 has been retiring flags for nearly 20 years, he said, and was asked by the Provo City Council to participate in the Freedom Festival flag retirement.

"It has grown immensely," Baggs said. "We've done it for a lot of years and retired a lot of flags."

The group retired flags that have become too tattered and worn to represent the values of the U.S. According to the U.S. Flag Code, "The flag, when it is in such condition that it is no longer a fitting emblem for display, should be destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning" (36 USC 19 176K).

Where did the time go?

Where did my little girl go?
Happy Birthday sweet girl! Enjoy it, sixteen only happens once.
Your dad and I will eventually get used to it...in the meantime...go easy on us! :)

My new favorite show...

Glee!!
Fall can't come fast enough.
And yes...I am a dork...have known it for years...no need to point it out. :)

A Wonderful Tribute

This is my third post in a row with music.
I can't explain it except to say I love music. I get this from my mom...and I thank her for it. I grew up with beautiful music playing in our home constantly. I am so grateful for this and have passed this onto my own children.

This video is one sent to me by a friend...beautiful, beautiful!

No more words are necessary.

Ode to Greatness

This is an ode to my favorite show and to the greatest band of all time.
Oh, and guess what starts tonight? :)

Turn your speakers up. LOUD. And enjoy!

No, not a Christmas song...but it should be.

This post will speak for itself. One of my all time favorite hymns...not Christmas-ish but even better. It gives me chills everytime. Enjoy!

"Oh, if only I could spend one day there..."

So you know in my last post I mentioned how I wish I could spend a day in my seven year old's brain? Well...I am serious. Some of the things she comes up with...let's just say she is creative for sure. And then you add her partner in crime...her older sister that might as well be her twin...and you can just guess the mischief these two come up with.

I was reminded this weekend of something these two did last school year and I just had to share.

So last Spring I get a call from the elementary school...I needed to bring a clean pair of pants down to the school for Gracie. At this point I am thinking, great...she peed her pants. I asked the secretary at the school if she had had an accident and she says no while trying not to laugh...Gracie just needed a clean pair.

So I head down to the school with pants in tow. I walk into the nurses office and there Gracie sits...giving me this little "look". I can't explain it...you'd just have to see it.

We go into the bathroom and I am asking her what happened as I help her change out of her pants. She says an egg broke in her pocket. I am thinking...an egg? Huh?

My mind immediately flashed back to earlier that morning...and to the image of Emma and Gracie in the kitchen by the fridge. They looked REALLY guilty and secretive but we were running late and really...what could they possibly be doing in the kitchen that time of the day that could be that bad? Little did I know...

Me: What in the world are you doing with an egg?!?!

Gracie: It's my pet egg.

Me: Your pet egg?!?!

Gracie(laughs kind of evil like): Emma has its twin...

I told you I would like to visit...now you see why. :)

Gratitude

(photo credit: unknown)

I was reading a friend's blog the other day...she was complaining how Christmas music is already playing on the radio and Thanksgiving is still a while away.
This really got me thinking a great deal. Don't get me wrong, I am looking forward to Christmas just as much as the next person...it is by far my favorite holiday. But it seems like more and more these days Thanksgiving is pretty much being by passed by as just a day to enjoy turkey and pie...at least commercially it seems that way.

I think we are selling ourselves short. We aren't allowing ourselves to focus on the meaning of Thanksgiving. The meaning that is too often over looked...gratitude. It is a simple word that we hear all the time...but the meaning to me is not simple. Gratitude. Something not expressed nearly enough.

Well, here are a just a few things I am grateful for...

I love how the sky looks the morning after a storm has cleared the air and the sun is shining. Everything is so in focus and sharp...almost hyper-focused. I am grateful for that.

I love driving down Freedom Blvd by the high school on a Friday night during football season...the Y is usually lit up...the high school band is beating their drums...the hum is the air is Awesome! I am grateful for that.

I am grateful for drive-up pharmacies...enough said.
I am grateful for my garage, especially in the winter when I don't have to scrape snow and ice off the car.
I am grateful for the internet...for so many reasons, but one being the ability to reconnect with old friends.
I am grateful for music and books...two of the best things in this life.
I am grateful for the view of the mountains off my back deck.
I am grateful for Dr.Pepper...yes, I am serious...it always puts a smile on my face.
I am grateful for the ability to capture the little moments in life on film...I need to spend more time on my own kids before its too late.

I am grateful for my eight year old and the one liners she blurts out in her pseudo southern accent...priceless.
I am grateful for my seven year old's little brain...oh if I could spend a day there...just one. :)
I am grateful for my almost twelve year old's creative spirit. Her imagination amazes and inspires me.
I am grateful for a son with a firm knowledge and foundation in the gospel. He teaches me many things.
I am grateful for my oldest child. She is a bright light in a sometimes very dark world.
I am grateful for a husband that loves his children and shows them through his actions not just words.

I am grateful for family and good friends.

I don't express emotions verbally too well...I think my emotions run too close to the surface and so many times I just don't say anything at all so I don't end up a blubbering idiot. I want to tell them...and they all know who they are...how much I love and appreciate them. Their love and support is a beacon to me. Their unwavering kindness means more than I can ever express...they are all an example to me of true Christlike love. We are truly blessed to have these people in our lives. The words thank you will never be sufficient.

I am grateful to know there is a purpose in this life and for the direction and focus that gives me.

And finally, I am most grateful for my Savior and the perfect gift He has given to me. I am grateful for the knowledge that through His Atonement we can all be clean and whole again. I can only hope to learn and appreciate more of what He did for all of us and never never take it for granted.