Sleepover Adventures and a Visit to Dr. Sid

What a fun weekend we have had here!!! It all began on Friday night when the Barrett girls came for a sleepover. We had yummy tacos for dinner, then we played Webkinz on the computer, then we played hide-and-seek, made bracelets, and watched "Princess Diaries"--the perfect evening! Sid went home before bedtime, but Camden, Riley, and their American Girl dolls stayed for the night. We had fun sleeping in our sleeping bags in the family room. At 6:00 a.m. sharp, Camden and Riley were ready for more fun. So, we listened to music, put on lip gloss, and took this lovely picture :-) Lamby even made an appearance for the early morning photo shoot. Grandpa made some delicious blueberry pancakes for breakfast, then we painted our nails with Grandma. Good times. We love our girl sleepovers!

Tonight before dinner I found this little doctor running around the house. She goes by Dr. Sid.

"What? You say you say that this baby is ill? Let me see if I can discern the problem."










"Whatever it is, it seems quite serious. She appears to be rather non-responsive."










"Wait a minute! I figured out the problem. This baby is made of plastic!"











"Whose idea was it to try and trick me? Hmmmm? Who was it? Was it yooooooou?"










You can't fool Dr. Sid! She looks very professorly in those glasses which actually belong to a teddy bear :-) But they're cuter on her.

About once a month I have to work on Sunday out at Camp Floyd, and today was my day to do so. Mom is so nice--she brought lunch out to me after she was done at the MTC. We had a fun lunch together, and having her there helped the time go by faster. Camp Floyd was on the front page of the Daily Herald today. A writer for the Herald called while I was watching the desk the other day and was asking questions about the Boy Scout camps we do every other weekend. Then on Saturday they sent a photographer out to the park to snap some pictures--one of which ended up on today's front page. It's always nice when we can get good publicity like that. I am quite excited because Mark is going to add a museum exhibit panel I designed to our display in the Commissary Museum! We don't have anything in the museum right now that explains who all of the well-known Civil War soldiers were that served at Camp Floyd. Most people don't know that Robert E. Lee's son was there or that the two generals who started the Battle of Gettysburg had both been at Camp Floyd. So, I designed an exhibit panel that explains the Civil War careers of several Johnston's Army soldiers. I was afraid that Mark would say that we didn't have enough money to actually have the panel printed, but he liked it so much that he said we'd go ahead with the panel production! I think it will add quite a bit to the exhibit.

I am excited for tomorrow because Mom, Dad, Rich, and I are taking a trip up to Promontory Point--aka Golden Spike National Historic Site! Hooray for the transcontinental railroad and hooray for Utah history!

Marley's at Harley's

Today Mom and I discovered our new favorite place to eat lunch: Marley's at the new Timpanogos Harley-Davidson Dealership! The whole place is really, really neat. The building, which just opened a couple of months ago, was constructed out of scrap metal from Geneva Steel and other early Utah industrial buildings. Some of the support beams are made out of old railroad trellis metal, and they even have one of the Geneva smokestacks on top of the building. There is a restaurant inside called Marley's, and they are famous for their gourmet sliders. Sliders are like little mini sandwiches (although when they pile all of the fixin's on, it's not so mini anymore). We had some chicken sliders with honey dill sauce. They also have really good salads, shoestring fries, and drinks. It was delicious! We want to go there again very soon. It almost made us want to become biker people!

U. S. News released their new college rankings. For some reason I love it when the college rankings lists come out. Harvard was #1. BYU was #113 on the list--right behind the University of Tennessee. We were tied with Texas Christian and the University of New Hampshire. Though BYU's spot is surely not as high as it should have been, at least we were ahead of other schools such as Arizona State University (#121), Kansas State University (#130), Louisiana State University (#130), and, most importantly, the University of Utah (#127). The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was up pretty high on the list at #40, and Clemson where Sarah and Joel are was high as well at #61. Good ol' Eastern Illinois University was #55 on the best master's degree universities in the Midwest. On Princeton Review's rankings, BYU was #1 on the list of "Stone Cold Sober" schools, and was also in the top 10 of the "Alternative Lifestyles Not an Alternative" and "Best College Library" lists. Perhaps BYU's most impressive national ranking this year, however, is FOOTBALL!! According to the AP poll, BYU is #16, and according to ESPN.com, we're #14!! Hooray! I'm so excited that football season is upon us. BYU will rock this year.

So, Obama is going to announce his VP candidate today--not exciting. No matter who he chooses, it won't make him any more appealing. McCain, on the other hand, could significantly increase his voter appeal by choosing Mitt Romney as his VP. Hopefully he will! Each day that Obama speaks (which is every day), I like him less and less. Today he is saying that we should all look to China as an example of economic strength. Translation: "Let me be your Communist dictator!" I have compiled a list of the top reasons I will not be voting for Obama in November:

• He thinks that late term abortion is okay (in other words, the baby is big enough to survive outside the mother's womb, and he thinks that mothers should still have the right to have an abortion at that point). In fact, I won't vote for anyone who thinks that any kind of abortion is okay, but Obama's vocal opposition to an Illinois bill that would have protected the rights of late term fetuses who survive abortion attempts made me especially sick. Kudos to McCain who said the other day that he believes babies are real people at the very moment they are conceived. Obama said that he thinks he has raised his daughters to make good choices, but if they do happen to "mess up," he doesn't think they should have to be "punished" with a baby (that makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit).
• He is in favor of socialized health care. Nothing drives me more crazy than people who want handouts and aren't willing to work for what they get. If health care was free for everyone, then why would anyone want to go out and get a job? They wouldn't.
  
• He thinks that Russia's actions in Georgia were just like our actions in Iraq.
  
• He thinks that there are 58 states. He seriously said, "Well, I have visited 57 states already and we just have one more to go." Last time I looked at the flag, there were only 50 stars on it--oh, right, he doesn't look at the flag.
• He thinks that "The Star-Spangled Banner" is too violent of a song to have for our national anthem.
• Every other word he says is "ummmm," or "hmmmm," or "well," or "uhhhhhh."
• He thinks that helping to free the people in Iraq was a bad idea.

The list could go on, but that's all I'll do for today. Tonight we are going to have a sleepover extravaganza with Camden and Riley!

Two Weeks!

Two weeks from today Mom and I will be leaving for Washington D. C.!!!!!! I am extremely excited! I have never been to our nation's capital--but have always wanted to go there. Mom used to live there, so she knows her way around the city very well. I have learned so much about Washington D. C. during my years of history classes. That city has played such an important role in the founding and evolution of our country. I remember in my architecture class earlier this year we talked about all of the architectural styles that were developed in Washington D. C. as the nation was trying to shape its identity and prove to the world that this new country was going to be successful. Even Pierre L'Enfant's city layout design was quite revolutionary. In my historic preservation class last fall we frequently talked about George Washington's Mount Vernon estate. It is America's most famous historic house, and it was actually one of the first historic preservation projects in the country. I remember being fascinated by this article we read about the paint analysis done on the interior of Mount Vernon. George Washington had some pretty wild colors in there, and I am excited to see it in person. Mom and I are even going to go on the "National Treasure Tour" of the estate!!

I am also looking forward to seeing Arlington--Mary Custis and Robert E. Lee's estate. The National Park Service has removed all of the furniture from the home while they are doing some restoration, but that's okay--it will just look more like it must have when the Lees had to clear out of the house during the Civil War. I have been reading about the mansion, and I think it was quite unfair that the U. S. government just took over the home. You see, when Robert E. Lee elected to side with the Confederate Army instead of the U. S. Army, he was pronounced a traitor to the Union. After he left to fight in the war, his wife, Mary Custis (who had inherited Arlington from her parents) was forced to leave the home because of its proximity to Washington D. C. The Union troops wanted to take over the house because they were upset with Robert E. Lee. Originally the Union troops didn't hurt the house itself--they just camped out on the lawn, but after the Confederate victory at First Bull Run, they decided to make the home their headquarters. The Custis family had a lot of George Washington's things--because Mary's father was George Washington's step-grandson--and after the home was taken over by the U. S. Army, people started walking off with the Washington items left behind by the Lees. Then, the government demanded that Robert E. Lee pay taxes on the home, so he sent the money with a messenger, but then he received word that they would not accept the money unless he presented it to them in person. He couldn't do that, so the government took possession of Arlington. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton decided that to spite Robert E. Lee, they would begin burying Union troops on the grounds of Arlington--claiming that since Lee had killed the men, he deserved to have them buried literally in his former front yard. They specifically buried people close to the mansion so that it could never be inhabited again. Thus were the beginnings of Arlington National Cemetery. I think it's quite sad that the Lees were never able to return to their home. I am very excited to visit Arlington!

Pre-Order Yours Today!

Just kidding--I won't be trying to influence anyone to buy my book, but if you do want to buy it, it's now available for pre-order! It won't actually be in stores until November 3, but sometimes places offer a discounted pre-order price. The book can be found at barnesandnoble.com, amazon.com, and arcadiapublishing.com. Hooray! I am very excited that the release date is approaching. I even have my own publicist. How cool is that?

Today the Museum of Church History and Art in Salt Lake called and offered me a job writing the historical guide for missionaries at the Liberty Jail historic site in Missouri! That would be my dream come true, but unfortunately I had to turn them down :-( The problem is that the timing is all wrong. I would just be hired as an intern, and though it would pay well, I wouldn't have benefits or anything. I would take it in a heartbeat, but since I'm getting married in October, I guess it wouldn't be a good idea to have Greg move out here without having a job with benefits. So for now we'll need to go back to Illinois where he does have a job, I'll finish my school internship with the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (if IHPA survives Blago's budget cuts), and then maybe we can find something back out here in the near future. The man I talked with today said that they will be doing other historic site manuals in the future, and there is a possibility that they could hire me next year. We'll see what happens.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave . . .

I love " The Star-Spangled Banner." It represents everything upon which our country was founded and helps us remember our nation's rich history. The poem which later became our national anthem was written by Francis Scott Key and originally entitled, "Defense of Fort McHenry." Francis Scott Key was a well-known American lawyer, and when his friend William Beanes was taken prisoner by the British in Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812, Key headed to Baltimore to try and rescue Dr. Beanes. On September 3, 1814, Key and John S. Skinner, an American prisoner exchange agent, left Baltimore for the British flagship the HMS Tonnant. On board the ship, they arranged for the release of Dr. Beanes, but since the Americans had overheard British plans to attack Baltimore, the men were to be detained until after the bombardment of the city. The Americans were transferred to another ship and witnessed the Battle of Baltimore from out in the harbor. Beginning at dusk on September 13, 1814, British ships fired on the fort for 25 consecutive hours. Four Americans were killed in the fort and 24 were wounded, but soldiers continued to return fire, and on the morning of September 15, British ships realized that they were not going to get past the fort. Francis Scott Key and the other Americans in the harbor went out on the deck of the ship and saw that, despite the 25-hour bombardment, the American flag at Fort McHenry was still waving. Thus, the inspiration for "Defense of Fort McHenry," which later became "The Star-Spangled Banner."

One of the neatest places I have ever visited was Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor. I went there with my buddy Angie back in January. Walking through the fort and looking out over the harbor greatly increased my appreciation for the meaning and origin of our national anthem. We don't often hear the words to the other verses of the song, but they too are a wonderful expression of what America stands for:

O! say can you see by the dawn's early light

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming.

Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,

O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming.

And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,

Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,

What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,

As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,

In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:

'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,

A home and a country should leave us no more!

Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.

No refuge could save the hireling and slave

From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

And this be our motto: 'In God is our trust.'

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

It is interesting that during the Civil War, Francis Scott Key's grandson Francis Key Howard, was imprisoned at Fort McHenry for publishing pro-South sentiments in his Baltimore newspaper. He talked about how ironic it was that he was a prisoner in the very spot that had inspired his grandfather's famous poem about America and freedom. During the Civil War, "The Star-Spangled Banner" was claimed as an anthem for both the North and South. However, Northern editions of the song featured an additional verse penned by Oliver Wendell Holmes in 1861:

When our land is illumined with liberty's smile,

If a foe from within strikes a blow at her glory,

Down, down with the traitor that tries to defile

The flag of the stars, and the page of her story!

By the millions unchained, who their birthright have gained

We will keep her bright blazon forever unstained;

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave,

While the land of the free is the home of the brave.

Truly, "The Star-Spangled Banner" has played an important role in America's history, and its words pronounce everything that makes our country unique. It was the perfect choice for the national anthem.

In the recent past, there have been some political grumblings about Barack Obama's ideas about patriotism--or the lack thereof. This picture, taken at a campaign ralley in Iowa while the national anthem was being played, is quite scary. Notice Barack's hands clasped together in front of him. Heck, even Hillary knows that you're supposed to put your hand over your heart during the national anthem! The U. S. Code states:

TITLE 36 > Subtitle I > Part A > CHAPTER 3

§ 301. National anthem

(a) Designation.— The composition consisting of the words and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem.

(b) Conduct During Playing.— During a rendition of the national anthem—

(1) when the flag is displayed—

(A) all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart;

(B) men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold the headdress at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and

(C) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note; and

(2) when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed.

Hmmmmm. I have also heard it said that Obama feels that "The Star-Spangled Banner" is too violent to be the national anthem. He thinks that the song indicates that we like to be a warring nation. No, it just means that there have been wars in the past--and the present--which have been and are a necessity to maintain the freedoms that we as Americans enjoy. Our country has and is trying to extend those freedoms to oppressed nations--which is a noble cause.

Anyway, those are my political and historical thoughts for the day. I am out at Camp Floyd today for work. For the most part it should be a pretty quiet day, as Mondays usually are, but I am not looking forward to the task I have been given of mopping the bathroom floors this afternoon. James left me a note requesting that I perform said task. Oh well, at least I don't need to clean the toilets! Yesterday at church the primary kids were very funny and wild (mostly wild). One of them said to me, "I'm glad you're my teacher because you alawys look so pretty." Awww, that was nice. But a few minutes later Tanner, the same child who uttered that affectionate phrase, was wreaking havoc throughout the primary room. Nauvoo, who was in somewhat of a bad mood, decided to lie down on the floor, Ashley was licking her feet, Tanner was trying to eat my watch, and Alex was crying because he wanted his dad. Needless to say, when I got home from church I was pooped!