24th of July

This year I, Jessica, was able to witness my first Pioneer Day parade! My first summer living in Utah was the first time I remember hearing about this holiday. I was shocked and excited to find out that I had an additional holiday off of work in July, other than the 4th, and then learned that it was for Pioneer Day, the day in which Utahns commemorate the entrance of the Saints into the Salt Lake Valley. In past years I have just celebrated the holiday by using my extra day off to go on some adventure or another. This year, however, I wanted to really experience it for the first time (as far as I can remember), so Danny and I took two of our nephews to go see the parade! There were some pretty incredible floats, and Senators, governors, mayors, the military, police men, and plenty of marching bands and clowns all take part. My personal favorites were the different groups of police men, which would weave in and out of different formations and do tricks on their motorbikes (the first group which all had ridiculous fake mustaches... including the one woman!) and seeing President Uchtdorf. We all loved it, and want to make going together into a tradition!

I have decided that I quite enjoy the 24th of July and all it stands for. It turns our minds and hearts to those who went before us, some our own forefathers, and their physical and spiritual dedication to what they believed in. It helps us to reflect on the hope of new beginnings and the accomplishments of those through all generations of time who venture into the unknown to better themselves, their families, their community, or the world. I am so grateful for the examples of these pioneers, and hope perhaps I can learn a few lessons from them.

The four of us at the parade

The "How to Train Your Dragon" Float