Today was the 4th of July, so of course we began our celebration with our traditional breakfast--yummy healthy pancakes with real whipped cream, strawberries, and blueberries for topping, savory gourmet scrambled eggs with onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms, orange juice, and, the pièce de résistance, bacon. We only have bacon twice a year: 4th of July and Christmas. This tradition started back in the days when we would get up very early and go over and watch the hot air balloons lift off, or sometimes we would participate in the 5k and the fun run, too, all of which are a part of Provo's big Freedom Festival. After running or watching the balloons, it would be midmorning, and we'd all be starving. We'd rush home and make a big, yummy breakfast. Over the years we've dropped the balloons and the run, but we've kept the breakfast. ;^)
Ben came over the night before, so he was there for the breakfast, so that made it even more fun. After that we played a few games (of course). That evening we went to see Kelly Clarkson, Carly Rae Jepson, and Cirque du Soleil perform as part of the Stadium of Fire. The acts were all very good, and the fireworks were amazing. Patty Davis was the MC, and she performed a very moving rendition of "Lean on Me." After the fireworks, we went over and joined the street dance for a while as we waited for traffic to die down.
Mike and Alison took all the pictures, so I'll upload those later, but here is the slide show from Caleb's court of honor. I made this slide show for Caleb and the other boy who was getting his Eagle, and everyone seemed to think it was amazing. I think it was because I set the whole thing to "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan. Ha. It was fun to watch the boys grow up from little 12 year olds to now listening to that music. I was Caleb's number one volunteer for his Eagle, so it was a big relief to get this finished off.
Well, these are the big things that happened this month:
Ben moved out to some apartments by UVU. Mike, Denee, and Alison helped him move in. He's been in touch since then and seems to be doing well. This is a big step for him; we are proud and happy.
Alison got a job teaching English at Thomas Jefferson Junior High in Kearns. She doesn't know yet what grade she is going to teach. Mike also recently got a new job with a real design firm. So, the Canars are moving up in the world. Yes, if up means north. They are planning to rent out their condo in Springville and rent an apartment in the Draper/Sandy/Bluffdale area for a while to accomodate their new working locations.
Megan took great pity on her mom and went with her to get a pedicure.
Caleb is still playing a lot of D & D. Luckily it is not always at our house. It is a good group of boys, though, and they seem to have fun.
Mark spent the last week at scout camp. He arrived home not too worse for the wear.
Denee is looking for a new job, as her old one kind of disappeared on her (her part-time position was eliminated.) She has an offer, but it is a 40 minute drive, so she's still hoping to find something closer.
Testimony of the month: Heavenly Father does care about us and hears and answers our prayers. When I (Denee) went up to interview at a school in Salt Lake, I stopped by the Fashion Place Mall on the way home. When I got back to my car, I realized, after some searching and visiting of lost and founds, that I had locked my keys in the car. The nearest member of the family who can drive was Mark at work in Provo, almost an hour away. I sat on one of the benches in the mall and closed my eyes and prayed that Heavenly Father would help me to know what to do. I opened my eyes and looked across the way and saw a display window in the store Crate and Barrel. They had set up kind of a picnic scene, and one of the items on display was a telescoping hotdog/marshmellow fork.
The spirit whispered to me that this was the answer to my problem. You see, I've been keeping the back window of my car open just a crack (about 1/4 inch) due to some smelly plastics that were left in the car last month. So I went in and bought the fork. I took it out to the parking lot, and, ignoring the stares of passerbys, I proceeded to break into my own car. I'm thankful for the quick inspiration that I had, and it was a real testimony to me of how the spirit will give us answers if we stop and ask and listen.
