Yesterday was Pioneer Day or the Days of '47. I prefer Pioneer Day. It's right to the point. In 1847, the Mormon pioneers stepped into the Salt Lake Valley, and Brigham Young said, "This is the place." There were no trees. Just a barren wasteland. I often wonder what went through the minds of the people following him. Many were probably just glad they didn't have to walk any farther. I would have said, "What? Really? This isn't paradise!" But God wasn't leading them to paradise. Just to a place where they could worship in peace. So now every July 24th is Pioneer Day! A state holiday. That Kurtis doesn't get off work. But he did yesterday! Because it was Saturday. We decided to go hiking at three in the afternoon. It was probably about 98 degrees or something, but we didn't care. We packed water, and went up the mountain. I found a 1.5 mile hike on the Internet I thought our kids could handle practically in our own backyard. Yeah. They did great. They just wanted to stop
a lot. And drink a lot. Next time we go, we should go in the morning, I said. "Why in the morning?" Riley asked. He's always asking one question or another. Sometimes like 20 in an hour. "Because it wouldn't be as hot in the morning." "Why isn't it as hot in the morning?" "Because the sun is just starting to make things warm in the morning. Right now, it's the hottest part of the day (it was almost five o'clock)." "Why?" "Because the sun has been making it hot all day." "Oh." Try putting up with that when the heat is making you cranky. With that boy, it's pretty much endless. I tried. Most of the time I fail, but this time, I probably did alright.
After dinner, we lit the smoke bombs and did the pop pops. They are still really, really loud. But it's awesome! Then we waited for it to get dark, and lit off the awesome ones, and did sparklers. Fireworks are so freaking awesome! I just like them. :D
Setting off on a new adventure!
We saw a hawk, or some bird of prey like that.
The view from the mountain.
Another view shot with the shrubbery.
An illegal beehive operation. No, not really. I just have strange thoughts when I am hiking that amuse myself. Usually nobody else really understands me, though. :)
Check out my hot boys!
Just a cool dead tree.
Best dad ever.
Tank wars!
This one fell over, so we're not really sure how cool it actually was. :)
I thought these would be cool if they were lit together. It was alright.
A volcanic eruption.
This one sounded cooler than it actually was, but there's always next year.
The moon looked really awesome. I'm a fan.
Sparklers make cool pictures.
The epic battle begins.
A fight to the death.
A car approaches.
But it does not interrupt our battle.
The victor of the epic battle emerges, and fades into the darkness.
1 comment:
I am very impressed and I mean VERY impressed that your boys can have a battle and remain a safe distance from each other. Sounds like an awesome day. I remember Ana used to ask questions ALL the time. She hasn't for awhile and seems like she retained all the info she ever asked because she has turned out to always have a good answer for her brothers questions and observations and some of her past church teachers occasionally tell me how impressed they are with her insight and how she seems so mature for her age when you talk to her. My point is answering the annoying (it was sometimes-for every answer there was a "Why?") constant questions does eventually pay off.
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