God Bless America

I have to be honest...I'm pretty patriotic. I love my country so much, to the point that every year I start tearing up when i see those fireworks light up the sky. I guess for me its more about the people who gave us our Independence. I think about the people who fought and died for the idea of freedom. I think about Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Lincoln, and all our service men and women. Enough about my gratitude...lets talk about what we have done this weekend.

On Friday I had the day off. So we decided that it would be fun to check out some of the events going on in the area. We first started out at "Ellis Island in the park" at Scera park. Nothing too interesting there.

Then we headed down to "Freedom Day" in Provo. This was actually really fun and a lot better organized than any other freedom days. Go Freedom fest! They had a children's area where all the attractions were free. They had a large blow up slide and a blow up obstacle course. Audrey loved both and refused to get off. It was pretty cute. Oh, and I got my hair cut. It pretty much rocks.

Then on Satruday morning we had the parade. I'm not going to go into too much detail about what happened but it was not awesome.

Every year mom volunteers for the parade and organizes the bands. AKA I volunteer every year too. I had to be up by 5:45 so that i could be ready at 6:30 so mom and I could be there at 6:45.

Provo High has a driving range and every year we use the range for the buses to drop the bands off. When mom and I arrived there were 12 cars parked in the range. Somehow they had gotten in and thought it was okay to park there. Stupid people! So we had to make an announcement at the balloon area and about 7 of the cars ended up coming and moving. Which was nice. But we called a tow truck to come and get the others but he never showed up so we had to deal with it.

Since the driving range is so small we have to have the bands come at a certain time so that we can accommodate every band. They can't be early and they can't be late. The first two bands who needed to be there were 20 minutes late. Other bands were 15 minutes early and one band...I don't want to name names but I am...Juab. unloaded everything in the driving range and left there bus sitting there for over 30 minutes blocking the exit for other buses to leave. I had told the director several times that the bus needed to move. But it never did. When they finally started to move it was too late. I had 6 buses on the street waiting to enter the driving range. again remember people started showing up early.

Another problem was that we have to have the bands come in from the south. AKA they have to turn right into the range I can't have them cross traffic to get into the range. Well NO ONE LISTENS TO DIRECTIONS. I had people coming from the wrong direction. And the buses couldn't get out of the range because they need the middle area of the road to turn right back onto the street. But the buses couldn't get out because 4 buses were in their way. We ended up having to get 2 cops to stop traffic so that the buses coming out of the range could loop to the wrong side of the street to get around the buses in the middle. I hope you can see the visual image. Then one band didn't even use a bus and came in 20 cars. 20! We can't accommodate 20 cars! Mom had even talked to the director the night before and told them they could only have 5 cars in the driving range. We still needed to get 3 more buses in and out of the range. The worst part about it was I tried to direct them on where to park. Again NO ONE LISTENS!


Congratulations Liahona Alumni band and Juab marching band you will not be marching in the 2010 Freedom Festival Parade.

Another problem...yes, another problem. Because of the limited amount of space we have Bands can only have ONE support vehicle accompany the band. You guessed it some of the bands decided to have a few more than one. I'm talking two or three. That did not help the jam.

After that everything went really well. Bands...except Juab...were moving when I asked them to. They were lined up at the right time. It was very very nice. Thank you everyone for being so great.

Then I walked to parade with Timpanogos.

After the parade I went home and took a nap. Yeah for 4th of July naps.

STADIUM OF FIRE! Awesome theme song by the way!

I love the Stadium of Fire! I love going to it and experiencing it. It one of my favorite things to do for the 4th of July.

Since mom is the chairperson for the Baby Contest she was able to get tickets to the reception before the concert. That's right ladies and gents I was in the same room as the Jonas brothers. about 20 feet away. HA HA aren't you jealous? I was also really close to Glenn Beck too. FYI he rocks. He entered the stage to the A.F. Band and a choir playing and singing "76 Trombones" And he was really acting too. He wasn't walking out half hearted he was really getting into it. It was a lot of fun and a great way to start the show. Patrick and I both agreed that this was one of the better thought out stadium of fires we've been to.

here are some awesome vidoes. If you watch one watch the 3rd one. It's the best.









I guess I should wrap this up. I really loved the flag burning ceremony. It was really really great. And yes i shed a tear or two for our beloved flag.

But there is one thing that I want to tel you about. which is related to the title of the post. When the show started it looked like it was going to start raining on us. But I kid you not the sky was clear above us practically all night. They ended up rushing the jonas brothers off the stage because they thought it was going to rain when the clouds started getting real close and they wanted to start the fire works. But once those fire works started the clouds cleared. It really was amazing. I couldn't see the moon all night and all of a sudden you could. You could see the stars and actually watch the rain clouds dissipate behind the fireworks. It really was beautiful. One of those tender mercies of god.

I really do love this country and am happy we can celebrate it's birthday every year.

Love,
Elizabeth, Patrick and Audrey

Texas

I figure it's about time to tell you about Texas. Since we have been home for 2 weeks now. We left for Texas 2 days after we returned home from D.C. I was suppose to have 3 days to get ready but...on our way home we got stuck in Atlanta. Our flight from D.C. to Atlanta landed when our flight from Atlanta to Salt Lake took off. Fun right? WRONG!

So we got to stay the night in Atlanta. At least it was on Deltas' Dime and not ours. But man was it a nasty hotel. But there was a Waffle House a block away....and yes i got to eat at Waffle House. Was it good? AWESOME!

We left for Texas on Friday the 29th.

Saturday we went boating...need i say more? Maybe I should. It was really fun. I didn't get to wake board but Michelle and I did tube together. Dad can be pretty mean with that boat. I think Michelle has some pretty awesome footage of the tubing. She'll have to put it up on her blog. Hint Hint.

Sunday....was like any other Sunday. Except that Audrey refused to wake up. And since she had such a long day on Saturday I didn't want to wake her. So she got to stay home with Christine and Michaela. Poor Michaela wasn't feeling well too.

Monday was Kemah. Kemah is a boardwalk near NASA and Galveston. It has a bunch of traveling fair type rides. Audrey had a blast. There was a kiddo airplane that she rode about 10 times and a kiddo Ferris wheel. she wasn't much of a fan of the Farris wheel. But she rode it a few times. She also really enjoyed the train.

Tuesday we went boating again. Without Matt and Sam. the two of them still had school. this time I got to wake board. Oh and that's right I got up on my first try. I may be able to get up really fast but i can not stay up very long. the problem is that I can't stay behind the boat I travel over to the side of the boat and hang out outside the wake. I think i would have been able to stay up for a little while but I am the wind curse. Every time I would put the board on and get in the water the wind would just pick up and the water would be so choppy. And I just couldn't stay up. But then once I took the board off and got on the boat the wind would die down. It totally sucked. I know what your thinking oh Liz it was just that one time. you are wrong! Patrick and Katherine had gone in such nice water i decided to try again. And yep the wind was there again. Stupid wind curse. Patrick was doing really well too. He picked up on wake boarding really fast and by the end of the visit was actually trying to jump.

Wednesday or was it Thursday? One of the days I don't think we did anything. We really needed a break from everything. But One of the days we went to the Museum and saw the Chinese Terracotta Warriors and then went to an astros baseball game. The game was actually really fun...well the last 3 innings were fun. The rest of the time I was walking around with Audrey who didn't want to watch the baseball game. That's okay. Life goes on.

Friday was the graduation. The whole ceremony was 75 minutes long. It took us longer to get to the arena than it did for the graduation ceremony to last. And again I was walking around with Audrey who didn't want to watch. Do you see a trend? The valedictorian had a great speech...any kid who can quote Carrie Underwood and Miley Cyrus and still have a decent speech is okay in my book. And any kid who can quote Vitamin C in a benediction is also okay in my book. Sam your graduation was actually a good one...be proud of it. Because i sure can't be proud of mine....mine sucked. That's right graduating class of 2002 from Orem High. Ours sucked! It really really did.

Saturday we had one last boating excursion. This time everyone came. And I mean everyone. All 16 of us. Here we go with role call. Dad, Veniece, Mike, Ferneta, Christine, Michaela, Jenny, Gavin, Katherine, Michelle, Dan, Patrick, Me, Audrey, Matt, and Sam. This time I was able to stay behind the boat for a few seconds but once i started heading toward the side and about to go over the wake I would fall because I got too nervous. But I still had fun getting water up my nose.

Sunday Patrick and I headed home. yep Audrey stayed for a few extra days. You'll have to ask dad and Veniece about the visit. All I know is that Patrick and I went and did something every night and had no parental responsibilities. It was really really awesome.

I don't have any pictures with me at work. I'll post pictures soon.

Love,
Elizabeth, Patrick and Audrey

Washington D.C.

Here it goes. I've got lots and lots to talk about.

We went to D.C. for memorial day this year. It was a lot of fun. We flew in on Friday and got there around 5 pm and headed right over to Arlington to see grandpa. The airport was like a 5 minute drive away and it was on the way to the hotel. It was really pretty.


After that we headed to the hotel to check in and eat dinner. Which by the way was over priced and not very good. We'll remember that next year. After eating and checking in we and spent the remainder of the evening walking around the mall. Mainly, we stayed near Lincoln. We did take a stroll to the Korean memorial but by the time we had walked around Lincoln and the Korean the sun had gone down and Audrey was getting angry so we went back to the hotel to go to bed.

On Saturday we had tickets to the Ford Theater for 10 o'clock. It was nice and cool inside and Audrey fell asleep on my lap.

I guess she was not too interested in hearing about how Lincoln died. It was really cool. I suggest everyone take time to go and see that. But it did feel a little weird taking a tour of where he was shot and where he died. It's a little hard to explain. It was just odd. But really really cool. After ford we walked down to the national archives and spent about 2 hours in line. By the time we actually got to get near the constitution, bill of rights, and the Declaration of Independence, Audrey was way too upset about being in line for so long. so i ran around to room took about 10 seconds to look at the 3 documents and then ran out. We then waited for everyone in the gift shop and Audrey picked out two books. One about Lincoln and another about the 4th of July. When mom came out she said that Patrick and Katherine were still looking. So the two of us walked back to the car. (that was parked next to the ford theater) and then drove back down to pick the two of them up. It was actually perfect timing. As the two of us approached the car the two of them were done. They just needed to wait 5 minutes and we were there. Not bad.

The rest of the day was spent at Mount Vernon. This is another place that everyone needs to go to. It really is a beautiful house.Washington did pick a beautiful place.

There was a class from a local high school who were dressed up. They did a really great job. they walked around acting as though there were some of washingtons guests. They would square dance and teach the visitors how to. they even had a monk battle in the middle of the big grassy area. it was awesome and some of the kids got very dramatic about dying. It was really cool to watch while we were in line.

The plantation only has dirt roads so you can imagine how hard it was to push the wheelchair. Grandma ended up making us leave her in the shade of a big tree. Trust me we protested a lot about this. It was not an easy thing to do, but she was insistent.

To see the house we had to wait in another line and Audrey was just amazing. She understood what we were doing she didn't try and get in front of others she just was perfect.

After Vernon we met up with J.R. and Arlene and went to dinner. After dinner we went over to the Iwo Jima memorial. But poor little Audrey was at the end of her rope and was not a happy camper about being there. She had done so well all day. You really couldn't ask for more from her.

On Sunday we started the day out at the Pentagon Memorial. This was a really interesting memorial. It's really hard to explain so wiki will do it for me.

To honor the 184 victims, 184 illuminated benches, have been arranged according to the victim's ages, from 3 to 71, in a landscaped 1.93-acre plot. Each bench is engraved with the name of a victim. The benches representing the victims that were inside the Pentagon are arranged so those reading the names will face the Pentagon's south facade, where the plane hit; benches dedicated to victims aboard the plane are arranged so that those reading the engraved name will be facing skyward along the path the plane traveled.



After the Pentagon we drove over to the Air Force Memorial. I think this is my favorite memorial. Not because it's the air force but because it really is just so pretty. I really enjoyed my time there. Audrey and I made sure we touched every spire thingy.

Here is the view of it from grandpa's grave

this is the explanation of the memorial from it's website.

The Air Force Memorial is rooted in the necessary symbolic transition of making the medium of the Air Force visible. The Air Force has the medium of air, which is very difficult to show.

The Memorial itself is 270 feet high and appears to be soaring; its array of arcs against the sky evokes a modern image of flight by jet and space vehicles. At the same time, it enshrines the past in permanent remembrance of the pioneers of flight who came before, and pays homage to those of the future.

Once the decision was made to have vertical elements, the number three became important, three being resonant with significant associations for the Air Force, including the three core values of today: Integrity first, Service before self, and Excellence in all we do. It is also the smallest number of elements needed to define and enclose a space. The spires are asymmetrical, dynamic, each a different height so that the view of the Memorial changes from every angle.

The memorial is truly breath taking.

After that we stared heading back in to D.C. (the memorial is out in Arlington...between the pentagon and the cemetery) But because Rolling Thunder


(too hard to explain check out their site here....http://www.rollingthunder1.com/) was having a parade across the Arlington memorial bridge. Everything....and i mean everything was backed up. It took us about 2 hours to get back into the city. And then forever to find a place to park (even with the handicapped parking pass) because there were so many people wanting to see rolling thunder. Finally we found a spot about a half mile away from the mall (where we were to re-meet with J.R. and Arlene) when we get a call from J.R. and Arlene telling us that they are getting on the metro to go to Union Station to eat. I decided...i was a brat about this...that it would not be a good idea to go to Union Station. So we walked another mile to the Old Post Office to eat while mom walked back to the car to drive it over there to meet us. But in hind sight we should have gone to the Station because the post office did not have A.C. and it was incredibly hot and stuffy.


After lunch we drove over to the Capitol to meet up with them again. But found out that the Memorial Day Concert was going on that Night. Everyone thought that i would be a great idea to attend. I however...being a brat again...did not think it would be a good thing for audrey. It was 4:30 the concert didn't start until 8 and then it would go for several hours. It was not going to be fun for Patrick and I. While J.R., Arlene, and Grandma saved seats for Katherine and Mom. Mom and Katherine took the three of us back to the Hotel.

We ate at the resturant in the Hotel, watched Tinkerbell (audrey fell asleep in the bed with us watching it was soo cute and we didn't have the heart to move her...lucky little girl....unlucky parents.) and Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel and then went to sleep.

The next day, Monday, was memorial day. And the city is just jam packed with things going on. there are wreath lay ceremonies at every memorial. We went to the ceremony at the Air Force Memorial.

Audrey of course did not want to sit and watch so the two of us wandered around near the bathrooms so that we would not disturb the ceremony. By the way those bathrooms at the Air Force memorial are amazing. The walls, floor and ceiling were black granite. And it was Air Conditioned. I didn't want to leave and go back out into the murky heat.

After the ceremony we headed back to Arlington to pay our respects to grandpa.

Obama's carpool drove right by us. That was pretty cool. (man this post is long...I'll try and finish it up)

I seriously can't remember what we did for the rest of the day. I know that grandma saw the parade. We walked around the mall for a little while. We made our way to the Smithsonian. Katherine got to see an art museum and Audrey got to run wild in the Natural History Museum.

You can look at more pictures in the album on the right.

We left that day...but I done with this post so I'll tell you what happened tomorrow.

Sorry this was so long.

Loves,
Elizabeth, Patrick and Audrey

Home....finally

Well, we're back from D.C. and it only took 27 hours.