July 4, 2014

One of my favourite book series is the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I read them over and over growing up, brought them to England with us and pick them up every once in awhile. Last year when we were still in the UK, I picked up Little Town on the Prairie again.  The Fourth of July really stood out and I made a mental note to include it in our celebration the next year.  Living in the UK has given me a new appreciation and perspective of the land that I call home- the USA. Here are Laura's thoughts as the little town celebrates by reading the Declaration of Independence and singing 'My Country Tis of Thee': 

     The crowd was scattering away then, but Laura stood stock still.  Suddenly she had a completely new thought.  The Declaration and the song came together in her mind, and she thought: God is America's king. 

     She thought: Americans won't obey any king on earth. Americans are free.  That means they have to obey their own consciences.  No king bosses Pa; he has to boss himself.  Why (she thought), when I am a little older, Pa and Ma will stop telling me what to do, and there isn't anyone else who has a right to give me orders.  I will have to make myself be good. 

Her whole mind seemed to be lighted up by that thought.  that is what it means to be free.  It means, you have to be good.  "Our father's God, author of liberty-" The laws of Nature and of Nature's God endow you with a right to life and liberty.  Then you have to keep the laws of God, for God's law is the only thing that gives you a right to be free.  

This really resonates with me, I feel the responsibility of living in this country and want to be righteous and obedient to my father's God- so that my kids, and their kids can continue to be free. There are lots of people who will say that living in the USA is all about making choices- choices to do whatever that person feels like doing at the moment. With Laura I say that living in the Good ole USA, we have to make ourselves be good!

 New July 4 traditions this year- go to Wal-mart 3 different times, drive to Payson to get out of the heat, get caught in a rainstorm! It was actually a really fun day. We loved Payson, stopped at a little community carnival there. Then we drove north to do some hiking, which turned out to be really nice. With the kids we really pushed ourselves and went, oh, almost 1/2 mile. It was rough but we made it. The smell of the trees as the rain was pattering down was gorgeous! Paul and Jane rocked the hiking backpack! We made a stop for some icees, and decided to head home for fireworks in our driveway. Josh and Melo came over, and we all ended up in the bed of Paul's and Josh's truck driving down to the south gate on Miramar in search of fireworks we saw in the sky. Came home and CJL did some fireworks in the street. Beautiful memories in the gorgeous state of Arizona this year!

Fun with Triple L's- June 19-21

Swimming, shopping and eating is what ended up happening on Thursday and it was so much fun to just be totally relaxed and go with the flow. The adults even left for a few hours in the afternoon and made it over to Nordstrom last chance, and we may have stopped at Smashburger on the way home! Regan and Abby did a great job watching the little girls, and then we grilled for the kids and swam some more!

Ethan, AJ, Jamison, and Eli made a fort in the basement and slept in in Thursday night. Friday night the guys got up and got the boat to Canyon Lake. The girls made lunch, gathered up the little ones and met them later. It was awfully hot but the water was glorious. The cliffs and cactus are beautiful. So glad we discovered this place.

Buying the boat with the Lee's has been so much fun. The best part is we got to know this awesome family and spend time with them!

That girl. Oh man she is cute.

Nettie and Jill are pure goodness.

Saturday we made a big breakfast, swam some more, and the guys stayed home while the girls went out for a little shopping. Then we hit Pita Jungle for dinner, and a D-backs game. We got a babysitter for the little girlies, and enjoyed a night at the Ballfield! The Lee's left after the game and did another night drive. The Lapi's left Sunday morning. So sad to see them go, but grateful for the memories of this week. It was so fun to see the kids reconnect. These are friendships for a lifetime.

Grand Canyon, June 17,18 2014

Oh man we have been partying hard this week! Tuesday our good buddies the Lapicolas flew in and we met them up in Williams, AZ for an adventure on the train up to the Grand Canyon! This was a last minute decision and I am so glad we did it. It was so much fun to be able to chat, laugh, and catch up with Mike, Jill, AJ, and Regan on the train. We met Tuesday night up in Williams, went out for some Mexican food, and then swam at the hotel. Wednesday we got up, witnessed a old western shoot out, and then boarded the train for the Grand Canyon! The Lee family literally drove all night and then met us on the South Rim that morning. It was a fun reunion, we haven't seen these guys since last summer!

 

 I couldn't get enough of these cute buns! Or in Sadie's case saggy diaper buns!

 These boys talked and laughed and talked some more.

We hiked down Bright Angel trail for a little bit, as Kathy with a K advised us to. I was holding Sadie's hand and nervous the whole time! I don't think I could ever ride a mule down that trail!

We hiked to this little archway and took a picture with everyone! I can't wait to see that pic!

 Tay Tay come stand by me! Tay Tay, come play with me! These girls got along so well.

 Boarding the train for the return trip! Eli, Jonah, and Regan went with the Lee's, and Jamison and Taylor came with us. But the fun does not stop here… oh no, stay tuned!