Secret Location for the 4th

We had a fun 4th of July and went to a park where there are hardly any people.  It was great.  The location is right outside the city, but there were hardly any cars there on the 4th of July.  You’d think it’d be packed.  We caught a few fish, got rained on just a little, but had a great time.

We’d like to say where this place is, but it’s just too good of a secret!

Oh, the joy.

We also attended a baseball game that had fireworks after the game.  The picture above was taken with my Android G1 Phone.  The game went into the 12th inning, and it was a lot of baseball.  Our brother-in-law caught a foul ball while there.

4th of July 2008

Fun times on the Fourth of July.

Fourth of July Festivities 2007

	Provo Balloon Launch We had a great time at the hot air balloon launch. We got up very early and took the family to Provo for the Freedom Festival Activities.
	Autumn had the chance to have her picture taken by a firetruck. After the balloons and the firetruck we visited BYU campus and saw the new Gordon B. Hickley Visitor and Alumni Center. To see our most recent pictures, click here.
	Duck Pond While in Provo, we visited the Duck Pond at BYU that we would visit when Autumn was much younger.
	Backyard Water Fun The family had a great time playing in the backyard with some new water toys. To see our most recent pictures, click here.
	Megan Laughing Megan had lots of fun on the Fourth!

July 4, 2006

This 4th of July holiday I hope we will all spend a little time reflecting on those who helped to form this nation. Recently, I finished reading John Adams and 1776 both written by David McCullough. Both books are superbly written preserving historical accuracy while wrapping you in the action and emotions that created the United States of America.

Mr. McCullough gave an address at Brigham Young University on September 27, 2005 entitled “The Glorious Cause of America: How a coarse, untrained army-’rabble in arms’-stood up to the world’s most powerful army.”

History as taught in schools is pitifully boring at best. Students are required to temporarily memorize dates and names to pass a silly multiple choice or fill-in-the-blank test. In more advanced classes, students are required to prepare for an essay questions that test the ability to contrast certain historical figures, types of government, policies, and other philosophies of the studied era.

One thing that we have left out in our history books is that the end was not known to those involved-that our history was their present, and that those involved knew as little of their future as we do of ours. They struggled with various personalities, arguments, debates, conflicts, and resolutions. The army struggled very hard to maintain soldiers especially throughout the winter. Also of note, organized armed conflict between the colonies and the British Empire had commenced long before the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Take a trip to your local bookstore or Internet retailer and purchase 1776 or John Adams and spend some time reflecting on the many miracles that took place to create and maintain the fledgling United States of America.

Read the transcript from Mr. McCullough’s remarks located at http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=1746

View answers from a question and answer session at http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=1753