24th of July Celebrations

As anyone who lives in Utah knows, the 24th of July is a big deal and we squeezed a lot into that weekend.  First, a drive with mom and dad to Brigham City to see the new LDS temple with a stop off at Maddox for fried chicken.

Next up was the Handcart Days parade in Bountiful where most the family, along with 5 bazillion others from Davis County sat 20 people deep to watch the festivities.

Cory (mom and dad's old neighbor) with his two sons led the way

Paige really hates bagpipes so it was important to include them in this blog.  She'd just as soon listen to fingernails on a blackboard.    But the reality was that most people were there to see the 2000+ stripling warriors who had been put together for the parade.  Characters from the Book of Mormon, they were organized through many of the local stakes (LDS boundaries) and really made a splash at the parade.  It was hard to see over all the bodies but they seemed to keep coming and coming.            

Finally on Sunday morning we went to hear the taping of Music and The Spoken Word at The Conference Center.  The choir sounded wonderful as always and the words were uplifting as they honored the pioneers.  At the end of the program they brought up Katherine Jenkins who had been the guest vocalist with the choir at the concert the night before and honored her with gifts and then as always they have her turn and face the choir while they sing "God Be With You Till We Meet Again". It's always very heartwarming and usually brings the artist to tears.  This was no different.