Summer School and the 4th of July

I know this post regarding the 4th of July is a little late in coming, but I wanted to share it anyway. I read an article in the Salt Lake Tribune about children not understanding why we celebrate the 4th of July. I was amazed that the article indicated that many children just think it is a day to go to a parade, watch fireworks, and have a barbecue. Since I am teaching summer school, I decided to survey a group of 3rd graders to see if the article was true. The conversation went like this.

Me: Did you all have a great 4th of July?
Students: YAH!!
Me: Why do we celebrate the 4th of July?
Student #1: Because one of the presidents died.
Me: ...Not quite...
Student #2: Because we have independence.
Me: What is independence?
Student #3: It means we can do anything we want and our parents cannot tell us what to do, so if we want to eat candy we can and they cannot tell us not to.
Me: ...ummmm...
Student #4: It means freedom.
Me: Freedom from what?
Student #5: Iraq!

Dinnertime Conversation...

Nikole has been craving a ham and cheese salad from Fredrico's - so Friday night we decided to make homemade ham and cheese salads for dinner. As we were preparing the "ingredients" for dinner, I had Jordan open a can of beets (which are optional at Fredrico's, but my favorite part of the salad). Our conversation sounded like this...

Jordan: What are beets made out of?
Mom: (Actually, I just paused, wondering if my child really does not know what a beet is - just as I am about to respond...Jessi adds to the conversation)
Jessi: They're made from cabbage.
Mom: (Laughing) Jessi, beets are not made from cabbage...
Nikole: Yah, cabbage is made from beets!
Mom: (More laughing!)

Andy's Graduation and Road Trip

My nephew, Andy, graduated from high school in June - so for our first trip of the summer, we all piled in the van and drove 13 hours to my brother's home in Moscow, Idaho. It was a long, long, long trip, but so fun to be together to share this day with Andy.

We loved the area that my brother lives in. It was a little town in the most northern part of Idaho that was gorgeous! He lives really close to some small mountains and there is a bike trail that is right behind his house. This is a view off his back deck. He also has a hot tub outside that we relaxed in while visiting - fun times!

A few days after Andy graduated, he and his best friend decided to go on a road trip to Idaho Falls (a 10 hour trip). We just happened to be about an hour behind them on our way home. This is what we came across about 50 miles outside of Missoula, Montana...

The problem was that the boys did not have a spare - they had called on tow truck, but we decided to go ahead and put our spare on their truck and then follow them into Missoula so they could get it taken care of. It was working out well, until our lug nut remover (what is that thing called?) did not fit their lug nuts. Just as we started to get discouraged a highway patrolman passed by. We flagged him down and used his "lug nut remover" and finally got the tire changed.

Oops! The boys had left the lights and flashers on while waiting...and changing the tire, so...guess what - dead battery. Thanks again to the Montana highway patrol for helping to jump start their truck!

Finally we were on the road - we actually ran into a few more glitches, but we did eventually make it home (left Moscow at 7 am - arrived in Logan at 12:30 am) and they eventually made it to Idaho Falls - alls well that ends well!!

Jordan's Baptism

Because I am new to the blogging world, I am going to catch up on a few fun events that our family has had over the past few months.

One of the most significant is that Jordan was baptized on May 24th. We so appreciate all the family and friends that attended her baptism and helped to make her day so special! It is hard to believe she is 8 years old...our baby is growing up!