Pioneer Day

We went to Lagoon with Grant's family on Pioneer Day and had a great time!  The first thing Grant's mom wanted to do when we got there was take Old West pictures in Pioneer Village.  It was a bit of an ordeal to get all of us dressed up and posed for the picture, but they turned out pretty fun!  The little kids are of course the cutest in the pictures!

 Traditional serious.

 Smiles.

Silly. 

I love this one of Eliot shooting the camera! Looks like Eliot's getting a little Lehi in his blood already! :)

Surprisingly, Lagoon was pretty slow for a holiday, and some cloud cover kept it from getting hot until the late afternoon (when we were ready to head out anyway).  And with so many aunties and grandparents eager to take the boys, we actually got to squeeze in some thrill rides. My favorite was Wicked, a roller coaster that shoots you straight up, then down right at the start, but I learned that any spinning-type rides do me in now ... I'm getting old!  My previous favorite made my head spin for hours after, so spending the rest of the day on kid duty and taking Eliot on his first daring rides (he was pretty adventurous!) was just right for me.  I loved seeing Eliot get his first taste of thrill and adventure.  He had a blast, which was really fun to watch.  It was so fun to sit next to him on his first roller coaster and water rides and hear him giggle the whole time.  Very fun way to spend Pioneer Day.

I have realized this year how much I really love Pioneer Day.  It always feels like such a perfect extension of the 4th of July because I get to spend the whole month focusing a little more than usual on the people who have sacrificed so much for my freedoms and the privileges that I enjoy.  I love singing patriotic and then pioneer songs throughout the month at church, thinking about my own pioneer ancestors, and doing simple things like watching Legacy on a Sunday afternoon to help me remember and reflect on those who made my life and the things I love possible.  This year I've had even more of a chance to ponder on the pioneers and think more deeply about what they endured as I've been listening to Gerald Lund's The Work and the Glory series.

A phrase that always comes to mind this time of year comes from a talk Sister Elaine S. Dalton gave years ago in general conference.  She was talking about an experience she had while visiting a pioneer cemetery, where, as she was marveling over the great price her ancestors paid to help establish the church in the latter days, the impression came to her, as though her relatives were speaking right to her on that holy spot, "We did this for you."  I love that.  That phrase evokes such a sweet feeling in me -- "We did this for you."  With all the fun and festivities that surround the 4th and 24th of July, I do always try to take a quiet moment to reflect on those wonderful, heroic people who did what they did, and to express my appreciation that, at least in part, they did it for me.