The 4th of July, or Independence Day has more meaning to us than ever after having served a mission in Boston. Eric came to visit us there at Christmas and was forever changed by the history there. He said the following in his Facebook post on the 4th:
"Seven months ago I was in Boston, MA, visiting my parents. I guess I didn't really know what to expect since I had neither been nor planned on ever going there until then, but what I got was an amazing appreciation for this country. We toured lots of historical sights and saw many of the original places where the American Revolution was fought, and I haven't thought of America the same way since.
Whether or not you're personally convinced, the truth remains that it is a miracle that this country exists. A bunch of rebels organized by very inspired leaders took on the most powerful navy in the world in an effort for independence. More important than their weapons and battle strategies, they carried with them patriotism and a burning, unquenchable thirst for freedom. I'm seriously so grateful for all of the brave people that put their lives on the line in a very confident, yet unsure, effort to form this great country that we live in. Their unity and desire to break through British oppression is what this country is founded upon.
"The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant,
the active, the brave. Besides, Sir, we have no election. If we were
base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest.
There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are
forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is
inevitable; and let it come! I repeat, Sir, let it come!" (Patrick
Henry)
Happy 4th of July!! I'm both happy and amazed that our ancestors won and so proud to be an American."
It was just a year ago that we left the MTC in Provo, Utah, and headed to Boston, Massachusetts, to serve our mission! It was just this past week that our dear mission president and his wife, President and Sister Packard, and their family were released from serving their mission there. We love them and appreciate them for their service and for helping us grow and for giving us the incredible opportunity to serve with them in the MBM!
Eric and Hannah drove over from Provo to spend the weekend here in Colorado. Hannah wanted to come home to go to her missionary friend, John Wood's, homecoming party. He served a mission in Brazil and returned home to Lakewood, Colorado, on Tuesday, June 30th.
Here's Hannah and John's cool story. They were both called to serve in Brazil and were going to the MTC in Sao Paulo. We were thrilled that Hannah got to go directly to Brazil since so many missionaries have to wait a long time to get their Visas. I was, however, a little nervous about her flying all the way to Brazil alone. We were at the airport in Denver waiting in line to check her bags and there was this tall kid behind us in line in a suit and tie looking very much like a missionary. (Neither had missionary tags yet.)
We started talking to him and it turned out that he was going to Brazil to the MTC and as fate would have it-- they were seated next to each other first to Detroit (where they met up with other missionaries going to Brazil) and then onto Brazil.
They had a lot of time to chat and get to know each other and found out some fun and funny things they had in common, like....they were both obviously from Colorado, they both sang in the Colorado Allstate Choir at the same time (but didn't know each other), and they both watched Sharknado as their final movie the night before they left.
We met his family and they took our pictures and we took theirs with our departing missionaries and through the glass as they walked down the escalator to their planes. Sister Moore and Elder Wood served in the same district in the MTC for six weeks and became good enough friends that they decided to write to each other while serving in their separate missions. About four months ago, Elder Wood asked Hannah to wait for him and not get married before he returned home so that they could date and see how that went for them. She was happy to wait and now he's home and doesn't that just make a lovely story? We'll just have to wait and see how it unfolds. They had a happy reunion and enjoyed some fun time together over the weekend. She returned to Provo and he will be here in Colorado for the rest of the summer and then will attend BYU-Idaho in the Fall. Oh and by the way, he's 6'5" and she's 4'10". It's actually pretty cute.
While Hannah went to Lakewood to John's homecoming, Eric and I went to Boulder and had homemade hot out of the oven cookies at Boulder Baked! I had never been there and they were really good! Eric and Hannah had both talked about how good it was and I finally got the chance to experience it for myself. Mike was tired and decided to pass on the Boulder trip in favor of a quiet evening home...in the basement...with the big screen.
On Friday, Hannah and I got pedicures and shopped at Target while Eric met Nick Jones for lunch. Later in the afternoon, Eric did a project for me that I had been wanting to do since we moved in nearly four years ago. He hung some lights on our back deck! It looks awesome and I can't believe how something that simple makes me so happy!
On Friday evening, John came to Longmont and we took everyone to the Georgia Boys BBQ for dinner just to find out that they had sold out of pretty much all their meats! Boo! So we went to the Pump House instead and had a fun dinner together.
He's a very nice young man and very easy to talk to and we enjoyed getting to know him a little bit.
On Saturday morning, July 4th, Mike and I attended our ward's annual 4th of July pancake breakfast where he helps with the cooking. It is always very well attended and the food is delicious. We had pancakes, egg casserole, fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, and juice. We had some nice visits with some of the people at our table including Riley and Katie, our brand new converts from a couple of weeks ago.
At the end of the breakfast, Brother Doug Altman, asked people to come up and share patriotic experiences with us. It was very emotional and some very tender stories were shared. Brother Foutz shared about how emotional he became when his ship carrying him home from Korea came into San Francisco Bay and they spotted the Golden Gate Bridge.
Sister Gretchen Schmidt shared how Southwest Airlines honored the Vietnam Vets, including her father, by flying them free to DC to see the memorial honoring the Vietnam War Vets along with the other DC sights and then when they returned home to Denver all the Vets families were waiting at the airport to give them a proper welcome home with signs and banners and a band, etc. (unlike the ones they got when they arrived back from the Vietnam War). It was a very touching story.
Brother Riddle shared an experience he had of going to the Colorado Rockies game with his three young children just after 9/11 happened. He had promised his kids that at the 7th inning stretch they would get popcorn and cracker jacks thrown down to where they were sitting. That kept the kids happy in anticipation for the first seven innings! Finally after the 7th inning, the announcer said there was going to be something a little different that night and he announced that Lee Greenwood (famous country singer) was in the stands and would be performing "I'm Proud to Be An American." It was a very emotional song for that time and the fans were in tears including Brother Riddle. The older man behind him commented to him how impressed he was that he was there with his little kids and felt there was hope for this younger generation.
I shared with the group our experience in Boston and how being at all those wonderful historic sights had impacted us and made us so much more appreciative of this great land we live in! That was a great way to start our 4th!! We are truly blessed to be Americans!!
After the breakfast was over, we headed to Colorado Springs to celebrate with our kids down there. It was fun to have four of our kids and four of our grandkids together in one place. When you have 11 children and they are scattered all over the country, it's thrilling to have a few of them rounded up at any given time in the same place to celebrate something or just to get together!!! Can you tell I'm excited to have kids around?
We had a delicious BBQ at Tyler and Jaimee's house, played some games, and celebrated Claire and Jaimee's July birthdays a little early.
We headed to Colorado Springs' Memorial Park around 5:30. We found great parking spots and a great place to set up our chairs and blankets pretty near the band stand where the symphony played. They played about an hour before the fireworks and then played with the fireworks. It was awesome!
After the fireworks, we headed back to Tyler and Jaimee's house. The kids fell asleep and the adults (minus Mike and Hannah who both also fell asleep) played Rook. Sunday, we attended church and then Eric headed back to Provo and Mike, Hannah, and I headed back to Longmont. Hannah decided to stay a couple of extra days so she could spend a little more time with John. Our sweet friend, Jordyn Prestwich was here and was going back on Tuesday so it worked out perfectly. Eric was such a good sport to drive Hannah over and then to return back alone! He wins the good brother award!!
Our good friends, Janice and Cal Simmons, who have graciously let Mike and I stay at their house in Bountiful on a couple of different occasions, were in Longmont for the 4th and so some of our friends from church got together at the Wheelwrights for dinner so we could all have a chance to visit with them. Lovely friends and great food=a great evening!
On the way home, we decided to stop in and see Lori Davidson's brand new Yorkie puppies! Hannah was in puppy heaven!
Happy 4th of July!! I'm both happy and amazed that our ancestors won and so proud to be an American."
It was just a year ago that we left the MTC in Provo, Utah, and headed to Boston, Massachusetts, to serve our mission! It was just this past week that our dear mission president and his wife, President and Sister Packard, and their family were released from serving their mission there. We love them and appreciate them for their service and for helping us grow and for giving us the incredible opportunity to serve with them in the MBM!
Eric and Hannah drove over from Provo to spend the weekend here in Colorado. Hannah wanted to come home to go to her missionary friend, John Wood's, homecoming party. He served a mission in Brazil and returned home to Lakewood, Colorado, on Tuesday, June 30th.
Here's Hannah and John's cool story. They were both called to serve in Brazil and were going to the MTC in Sao Paulo. We were thrilled that Hannah got to go directly to Brazil since so many missionaries have to wait a long time to get their Visas. I was, however, a little nervous about her flying all the way to Brazil alone. We were at the airport in Denver waiting in line to check her bags and there was this tall kid behind us in line in a suit and tie looking very much like a missionary. (Neither had missionary tags yet.)
We started talking to him and it turned out that he was going to Brazil to the MTC and as fate would have it-- they were seated next to each other first to Detroit (where they met up with other missionaries going to Brazil) and then onto Brazil.
They had a lot of time to chat and get to know each other and found out some fun and funny things they had in common, like....they were both obviously from Colorado, they both sang in the Colorado Allstate Choir at the same time (but didn't know each other), and they both watched Sharknado as their final movie the night before they left.
We met his family and they took our pictures and we took theirs with our departing missionaries and through the glass as they walked down the escalator to their planes. Sister Moore and Elder Wood served in the same district in the MTC for six weeks and became good enough friends that they decided to write to each other while serving in their separate missions. About four months ago, Elder Wood asked Hannah to wait for him and not get married before he returned home so that they could date and see how that went for them. She was happy to wait and now he's home and doesn't that just make a lovely story? We'll just have to wait and see how it unfolds. They had a happy reunion and enjoyed some fun time together over the weekend. She returned to Provo and he will be here in Colorado for the rest of the summer and then will attend BYU-Idaho in the Fall. Oh and by the way, he's 6'5" and she's 4'10". It's actually pretty cute.
While Hannah went to Lakewood to John's homecoming, Eric and I went to Boulder and had homemade hot out of the oven cookies at Boulder Baked! I had never been there and they were really good! Eric and Hannah had both talked about how good it was and I finally got the chance to experience it for myself. Mike was tired and decided to pass on the Boulder trip in favor of a quiet evening home...in the basement...with the big screen.
On Friday, Hannah and I got pedicures and shopped at Target while Eric met Nick Jones for lunch. Later in the afternoon, Eric did a project for me that I had been wanting to do since we moved in nearly four years ago. He hung some lights on our back deck! It looks awesome and I can't believe how something that simple makes me so happy!
On Friday evening, John came to Longmont and we took everyone to the Georgia Boys BBQ for dinner just to find out that they had sold out of pretty much all their meats! Boo! So we went to the Pump House instead and had a fun dinner together.
He's a very nice young man and very easy to talk to and we enjoyed getting to know him a little bit.
On Saturday morning, July 4th, Mike and I attended our ward's annual 4th of July pancake breakfast where he helps with the cooking. It is always very well attended and the food is delicious. We had pancakes, egg casserole, fresh fruit, bacon, sausage, and juice. We had some nice visits with some of the people at our table including Riley and Katie, our brand new converts from a couple of weeks ago.
At the end of the breakfast, Brother Doug Altman, asked people to come up and share patriotic experiences with us. It was very emotional and some very tender stories were shared. Brother Foutz shared about how emotional he became when his ship carrying him home from Korea came into San Francisco Bay and they spotted the Golden Gate Bridge.
Sister Gretchen Schmidt shared how Southwest Airlines honored the Vietnam Vets, including her father, by flying them free to DC to see the memorial honoring the Vietnam War Vets along with the other DC sights and then when they returned home to Denver all the Vets families were waiting at the airport to give them a proper welcome home with signs and banners and a band, etc. (unlike the ones they got when they arrived back from the Vietnam War). It was a very touching story.
Brother Riddle shared an experience he had of going to the Colorado Rockies game with his three young children just after 9/11 happened. He had promised his kids that at the 7th inning stretch they would get popcorn and cracker jacks thrown down to where they were sitting. That kept the kids happy in anticipation for the first seven innings! Finally after the 7th inning, the announcer said there was going to be something a little different that night and he announced that Lee Greenwood (famous country singer) was in the stands and would be performing "I'm Proud to Be An American." It was a very emotional song for that time and the fans were in tears including Brother Riddle. The older man behind him commented to him how impressed he was that he was there with his little kids and felt there was hope for this younger generation.
I shared with the group our experience in Boston and how being at all those wonderful historic sights had impacted us and made us so much more appreciative of this great land we live in! That was a great way to start our 4th!! We are truly blessed to be Americans!!
After the breakfast was over, we headed to Colorado Springs to celebrate with our kids down there. It was fun to have four of our kids and four of our grandkids together in one place. When you have 11 children and they are scattered all over the country, it's thrilling to have a few of them rounded up at any given time in the same place to celebrate something or just to get together!!! Can you tell I'm excited to have kids around?
We had a delicious BBQ at Tyler and Jaimee's house, played some games, and celebrated Claire and Jaimee's July birthdays a little early.
We headed to Colorado Springs' Memorial Park around 5:30. We found great parking spots and a great place to set up our chairs and blankets pretty near the band stand where the symphony played. They played about an hour before the fireworks and then played with the fireworks. It was awesome!
After the fireworks, we headed back to Tyler and Jaimee's house. The kids fell asleep and the adults (minus Mike and Hannah who both also fell asleep) played Rook. Sunday, we attended church and then Eric headed back to Provo and Mike, Hannah, and I headed back to Longmont. Hannah decided to stay a couple of extra days so she could spend a little more time with John. Our sweet friend, Jordyn Prestwich was here and was going back on Tuesday so it worked out perfectly. Eric was such a good sport to drive Hannah over and then to return back alone! He wins the good brother award!!
Our good friends, Janice and Cal Simmons, who have graciously let Mike and I stay at their house in Bountiful on a couple of different occasions, were in Longmont for the 4th and so some of our friends from church got together at the Wheelwrights for dinner so we could all have a chance to visit with them. Lovely friends and great food=a great evening!
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| Bryce and Skip Holland, Dorothy Bertch, Janice and Cal Simmons, Ron and Elizabeth Wheelwright (Becky is taking the picture), us, Ed and LaDee Holdsworth, Shelly and David Trane (Bishop), and Paula Vidales |
On the way home, we decided to stop in and see Lori Davidson's brand new Yorkie puppies! Hannah was in puppy heaven!
We resisted temptation and did not get a puppy! On Monday, Hannah spent time with her good friend Zoe and then with Myles and then spent the evening with John. She left on Tuesday. We sure enjoyed having her and Eric home with us! Can't wait until middle of August when she'll be back for a couple of weeks!
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