A Fairly Great Time

The Illinois State Fair has officially begun! Fair time is always exciting, but it was especially fun this year because I got to participate in last night's Twilight Parade, which officially kicked off the festivities. Here I am all geared up for the parade. As in the 4th of July parade, I once again got to ride in the Jeep with the really big cannon mounted on it. It's crazy that I get paid to do this kind of thing, right?

Here are all of the vehicles getting ready to leave for the parade. We made quite the procession driving through the city on our way to the parade route! We had about 25 volunteers and employees in the parade, either riding in the vehicles or walking alongside handing out candy to the kids.

Here's the view from the Jeep as we pulled into the fairgrounds. The entire parade route (about a mile long) which ended at the fairgrounds was absolutely PACKED with people--I couldn't believe it! It was a beautiful evening and a really fun experience. My favorite part was waving to the kids along the route--they were so cute. One little girl looked up at us and said, "I love the Army and I love candy!" The Jeeps did great until the very end of the parade when two of them died. Fortunately the Jeep I was in did not break down. The Humvee and one of the other trucks ended up having to tow the broken down vehicles back to the museum. At least they made it to the end of the parade!

Today at work I received some free passes to the fair, so Greg and I decided to go check things out there this evening. We only live about a mile from the fairgrounds, so we were able to just walk over. (Our proximity to the fairgrounds is good for walking there, but not so good for road closures and fireworks noise--they have fireworks every night--but I suppose it's all good fun.) Here is this year's butter cow! She wasn't quite finished, but we thought she looked pretty good anyway.

I found some delicious sweet potato fries! Yummmmmmy.










This year's "fad food" was fried Kool-Aid. It sounded so bizarre that we had to try some. So this is what fried Kool-Aid looks like. The closest thing I can compare it to is a cherry doughnut hole. It was quite tasty.




And here is Greg eating his fried Milky Way candy bar. He says that if heaven was a type of food, it would be a fried Milky Way. We also ate some yummy Jamaican chicken, but my favorite thing we had all evening was the watermelon lemonade--it was so delicious and refreshing.





We had a great time just walking around and seeing all of the animals and displays. It was a perfect evening at the fair.









And the walk home wasn't too bad either--since we got to enjoy this amazing sunset. I'd say the last couple of days have been fairly great.

Farewell to Friends

I am sad because tonight I had to say goodbye to my dear friends Crystal and John :-( We had a really fun dinner at Coz's Pizza (Greg was going to come, but then someone died so he had to go pick them up), but I was sad to say goodbye to them. They are off to Nashville for some fun new adventures! It stinks though, because now all of our fun friends who are our age have moved (or are moving) away: Crystal and John, Melissa and Matt, David and Teal, Rose and Chris, and Ashleen and John.

I realized that I never posted this picture of Crystal, Melissa, and me from Melissa's farewell dinner back in April. The one thing that all of these good friends of ours have in common is the Lincoln Home. Though working there ended up being pretty bad news, some of my best friends came out of that experience, so I'm grateful for it. I remember my very first day there, Crystal was so nice to me, and later that week, before I had even met Melissa, Crystal told me that Melissa was having a movie night at her house, and they wanted to invite me. They made me feel welcome right off the bat, and the three of us had SO MUCH fun together--even when times were rough at the Lincoln Home. I could always count on those two for a good laugh. I've been sad since Melissa moved away, but now that Crystal is moving too, I'm totally bummed! But the great thing about friendships is that they last through moves and changes, and I'm grateful for all of my wonderful Lincoln Home friends.

I am also grateful for my wonderful family! Today I received some copies of the family pictures we had taken while Greg and I were home in Utah. Now that's what I call a cute family! (Be sure to click on the picture so you can see the larger version.) I am a very lucky person.

Pioneer Day Trip

It has been quite the last couple of weeks--traveling, having fun, visiting family and friends! It all began on Friday, July 15, when Greg and I headed out for southern Missouri. We first stopped at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in Republic, Missouri, site of one of the first major Civil War battles in the west. I especially wanted to stop there because one of the Confederate generals in the battle was Sterling Price! He was one of the Missouri militia people who drove the Mormons out of Missouri back in 1838, and I've written a few papers about him. Wilson's Creek is also where the first Union general was killed in the Civil War: Nathaniel Lyon. It was a really neat battlefield! After Wilson's Creek, we went to George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri, where my Natchez friends Jim Heaney and Tim VanCleave now work. Jim was the supervisory ranger during my first summer in Natchez--I loved working for him! And Tim was one of my favorite friends and fellow rangers in Natchez. We also got to see Jim's wife Michelle who is SO NICE! They are such great friends, and I had really missed them. It had been five years since I had seen Jim and Michelle, so it was great to catch up with them. Jim gave us a nice tour of the park, and then we all went to dinner at a cute little place called the Diamond Cafe. It was such a fun afternoon, and seeing them brought back so many good memories.

Jim and Michelle live in Joplin, Missouri, which was hit so hard by the tornado a couple of months ago. We didn't see much damage from the freeway, but we did see a couple of downed buildings. That evening we drove on to Tulsa, Oklahoma. We spent the entire next day driving to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we spent the night. In the evening we went to Old Town Albuquerque, which was SO COOL!! I loved walking around and seeing the old buildings (this church was built in the 1700s) and the neat little shops.

The next day we drove to Phoenix to visit Greg's parents. We were pretty tired after three days of driving, so we rested up on Sunday, but had some fun adventures on Monday. On Monday afternoon there was another big dust storm. It was smaller than the one you may have heard about that blew through earlier in the month, but it was still pretty dusty! Greg and I went to see the new Harry Potter movie during the first part of the storm, but we caught part of it when we went into downtown Phoenix that evening with Greg's parents. We ate at a fun restaurant called Alice Cooperstown, featured on the Travel Channel show "Man vs. Food." Greg wanted to try the hot dog that we saw on the show: a two-foot long, three pound beast! Needless to say, we shared the hot dog, and it took us the next three days to eat it--and we still didn't finish all of it.

On Tuesday we all headed out for Tombstone, Arizona. Along the way we stopped at Saguaro National Park, home to a large population of Saguaro cacti. It was pretty amazing to see some of the huge Saguaros, especially considering that it takes them at least 75 years just to grow one of their arms! So they are really old, and a lot of them are really tall.

Our next stop was Tombstone, Arizona. There was a lot of neat stuff to see there, including the haunted Bird Cage Theater and all of the cool shops along the main drag. Greg took this cool picture of the stagecoach coming down the street with a storm in the background. One of the interesting/random things we saw in town was the world's largest rose bush.




We also got to see a re-enactment of the shootout at the O.K. Corral between the Earp brothers and the McLaury/Clanton brothers. Here are Greg and I with Wyatt, Morgan, and Virgil Earp after the gunfight. It was quite exciting!




On Wednesday we went to Casa Grande Ruins National Monument just south of Phoenix, which was really cool. Later that day we went to an Arizona Diamondbacks game at Chase Field in Phoenix, which was a lot of fun! Here I am with former Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson. The real Randy Johnson is 6'10" tall, but this guy was even taller! I was able to get autographs from about eight Diamondback players before the game (three of them were pitchers who ended up pitching in the game). It was quite the exciting game--we even saw Diamondbacks player Stephen Drew break his ankle, and one of the Milwaukee Brewers guys got hurt too. The Diamondbacks had a chance to win the game, but unfortunately they lost. (We were especially rooting for the Diamondbacks because the Brewers are ahead of the Cardinals in their division.)

We had a lot of fun staying with Greg's parents. It was really hot there in Arizona, but we kept hearing on the news how it felt even hotter back in Illinois with a big heat wave that rolled through the Midwest while we were gone, so we were glad that at least it wasn't humid in Arizona.

On Thursday morning we headed for Utah. We drove through Las Vegas and then stopped to see Grandpa Dick and Grandma Maurine in St. George. It was so great to see them! We had a nice lunch with them and enjoyed visiting and catching up on everything. I was sad to leave! But we had a good rest of the drive up to Orem where we arrived at Mom and Dad's house just in time to catch the end of their neighborhood party which included some aerial fireworks (now legal in Utah)!

A couple of years ago my family started the tradition of having a family reunion on Pioneer Day weekend. (Pioneer Day commemorates July 24, 1847, when the pioneers, including Brigham Young, first arrived in the Salt Lake Valley.) On Friday morning we began the reunion festivities by heading north to Logan, Utah. Along the way, Mom, Dad, Rich, Greg and I stopped at the Hill Air Force Base Museum in Roy. It is a really cool museum. I was especially happy to see Dad looking so good after his gallbladder surgery just a few weeks ago! After the museum, we headed up to Logan where we met up with Sarah, Joel, Eliza, Leo, Nate, Lindy, Camden, Riley, Sidney, and Ben. We spent a fun afternoon swimming in the pool at our hotel--it was especially fun to see the two little guys, Ben and Leo, give swimming a try for the first time. That evening we all had a fun dinner at Olive Garden, and then we went for a nice walk around the Logan Temple. It was a beautiful evening!

The next morning we went to the Richmond City Cemetery (Richmond is a small town just north of Logan) where our ancestor Amanda Barnes Smith is buried. Here are the Barrett girls: Sidney, Riley, and Camden, at Amanda's grave (Amanda is their fifth-great grandmother). Amanda Barnes Smith is well-known in LDS Church History for what happened to her and her family at Haun's Mill, Missouri back in 1838. On October 30, a group of armed men confronted the Mormons staying at Haun's Mill. In the end of what became known as the Haun's Mill Massacre, 17 Mormon men were killed, including Amanda's husband Warren and their young son Sardius. Another of Amanda's sons, Alma, had his hip shot out. Over the next several weeks, all the while harassed by the mob, Amanda cared for Alma's wound. She prayed and was instructed by the Lord on how to construct a poultice to be placed in Alma's empty hip socket. Over time Alma's hip healed, and he lived a full life without even a bit of a limp. Amanda Barnes Smith is just one of our many pioneer ancestors who is a true example of faith and fortitude.

It was wonderful to have the whole family there together at the cemetery to remember our pioneer heritage. Mom and Dad told us stories about Amanda and her family, as well as some of the other pioneers buried in Richmond. We were able to take a picture of the whole family with Amanda's headstone in the lower right-hand corner. It was such a great morning, and a wonderful way to celebrate Pioneer Day weekend!

After the cemetery, we went to a fun harvest market at the Rockhill Creamery in Richmond. It is such a neat place! It turns out that the main building there was once owned by members of the Burnham family--and we are descended from the Burnham family! It was a Pioneer Day coincidence. After the harvest market, we all went to LD's Cafe there in Richmond for lunch, home of the world's greatest hamburger (as judged by Mom and me). It was, as always, delicious! After lunch we went to the Pepperidge Farm outlet store, and then made everyone's favorite stop at Fat Boy Ice Cream, also in Richmond, where we all enjoyed some tasty ice cream treats. Then we headed back to Orem.

Sunday was officially Pioneer Day, and we enjoyed going to church together and hearing more pioneer stories. As you can see, Leo especially got into the pioneer spirit! That evening we all had a nice dinner together at Mom and Dad's house, and then one of their neighbors came over to take some family pictures for us. As soon as I have the pictures, I'll be sure to post them. It was great that we could all be together!



On Monday, Greg, Rich and I went to the big Cabela's store in Lehi. Rich and I had never been there before, and it was quite exciting! We especially enjoyed lunch: Greg had a buffalo burger, I had an elk sandwich, and Rich had a wild boar sandwich--very exotic and quite yummy. That afternoon we all had a nice visit with Grandpa Taylor and Grandma Cathy. Here we all are with Grandpa. It was wonderful to see them! After our visit we had a nice dinner at Cracker Barrel.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we enjoyed spending more time with family and friends. On Tuesday Greg got to meet Matt Davis, director of the new Utah Valley Mortuary. Matt is a really nice guy, and we hope that someday when business picks up for him, he will be able to hire Greg! Also on Tuesday Greg got to see Nate and Lindy's nice new home in Highland. On Wednesday we loaded a bunch of the stuff (mostly books and more books) that I had left at Mom and Dad's house into our car. We wanted to clear things out for Mom and Dad's upcoming move to American Fork. We barely fit everything into our car, but we did it! That afternoon Mom, Greg and I had a fun lunch with our dear friend Yevon at the Bangkok Grill. It was wonderful to see her and catch up on things! After lunch we met Dad and went to see a movie about the 1856 Willie and Martin handcart company pioneers called "17 Miracles." It was so good! We also have some pioneer ancestors, the Hartles, who died along the way to Utah with the Willie and Martin companies, so the movie especially hit home for us. On Wednesday evening, we enjoyed just spending time with Mom and Dad. I was REALLY sad to leave the next morning! Greg took this picture of Mom, Dad and me right before we left. I must admit that it's really hard for me to live so far away from them. But, I knew that our fun vacation couldn't last forever (unfortunately).

So Greg and I headed out Thursday morning and drove to North Platte, Nebraska for the evening. We stayed at a really nice hotel right on the banks of the South Platte River. Greg and I braved the mosquitoes to get this nice picture of the sunset over the river--it was beautiful! We ate dinner at a place called Runza, which I had never heard of, but I read about it on the Nebraska page of our road atlas. A Runza is kind of like a Maid Rite--it is ground beef mixed with onions, cabbage, and spices, all cooked inside a tasty roll. It was quite delicious.

On Friday, July 29, two weeks after our road trip began, we made the last leg of our trip from North Platte to Springfield. Our trip took us over 4,000 miles through 12 states! (It would have only been 11 states, but we got diverted down through Kansas due to road construction in Nebraska.) Capping off our Pioneer Day trip, it was neat to travel along much of the same route the pioneers traveled back in the late 1840s and early 1850s. The highlight of the day was when we stopped at Haun's Mill in Missouri, site of the Haun's Mill Massacre. Today Haun's Mill is just an empty field along Shoal Creek, and it is far off the beaten path, but it is very peaceful there. It was especially nice to be there after hearing all of the stories about Amanda Barnes Smith and her courage in the face of such a horrible tragedy. I am grateful for my pioneer heritage and for the wonderful time we had visiting family and friends!

Star of the "Today Show"

Aunt Karalie was the star of this morning's "Today Show" feature about Betty Ford's funeral! You can see the segment by clicking here. She did such a great job! I think it's more than a coincidence that out of all of those people, they picked Aunt Karalie, who had not only the breast cancer connection to Mrs. Ford, but was also her former neighbor. It's pretty cool how they start out the segment by saying that the public came to the funeral to feel close to Mrs. Ford, and then they go right in to the interview with Aunt Karalie--she's the introduction to the whole segment! I think she did a great job. Way to go, Aunt Karalie!

Eventful Week

A lot has happened this week--some good things and some sad things! Last Saturday I worked for 14 hours--but it was okay because I was having fun. I never would have survived a 14-hour day at the Lincoln Home. My day began bright and early at the museum with a group of War of 1812 re-enactors who were having a conference there. As you can see, these guys were super hardcore. I love this picture of them in front of the tank. Things would have been different back then if they'd had tanks! They were really nice guys, and I learned a lot by listening to their various presentations. Later in the day we had a farewell BBQ at the museum for the director, Mark, who has accepted a job in Washington, D.C. I didn't get to work with him for very long, but he is a really nice guy and I enjoyed my time with him at the museum. The BBQ was a lot of fun, and Greg got to meet all of "the guys."

Unfortunately a couple of great people passed away this week. First of all, former First Lady Betty Ford died on Friday. Our family has always felt a special connection to her because when my mom was in high school and her family moved to Alexandria, Virginia, they lived across the street from Gerald and Betty Ford, and Mom would babysit their kids! She certainly has some good stories. One of my favorite stories about Betty Ford is from when she helped Mom get ready for the Junior Prom. Grandma had been out of town and was delayed in getting back home, and Mom had been babysitting some other kids whose parents had gotten home late, so she was running late. She needed to pick up her shoes, have her slip hemmed up, and her hair done, but Grandma was stuck on the road! So, she called Mrs. Ford who dropped what she was doing and came to Mom's aid. She hemmed Mom's slip, sewed an elastic into it, and helped Mom with her hair. She told Mom to bring her date by their house before the dance, and Mom remembers that both Mr. and Mrs. Ford made a big fuss over them. Mom says that the thing she remembers most about Mrs. Ford is that she was first and foremost a mother--which definitely shows in how she helped my mom get ready for the prom. Today my Aunt Karalie went to Mrs. Ford's funeral in Palm Desert, California, and she even ended up getting interviewed by the Today Show! So maybe you'll see her on TV tomorrow! Aunt Karalie was best friends with the Ford's youngest daughter Susan in Alexandria. And, Aunt Karalie, a four-time breast cancer survivor, always felt a special connection with Mrs. Ford, also a breast cancer survivor and awareness advocate. Gerald Ford was a great man and President, and Betty was a great woman. I love that I have grown up hearing stories about things that happened in their family life. Back in 2007 I had the opportunity to visit the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan with my graduate school classmates. This is where Mrs. Ford will be buried, next to President Ford. The words above their names at the gravesite are very appropriate: "Lives Committed to God, Country and Love."

And yesterday I found out that my very good friend, Harvey Black, passed away. He was married to Susan Easton Black, a Church History professor at BYU. I worked as Sister Black's research assistant for two years while I was at BYU, and since Harvey was a big part of everything she did, I was able to work with him a lot as well. Harvey was always interested in new technology, and one of the fun things I remember doing was setting up his new MP3 player for him to use when he was exercising. One of my very favorite memories is from the time that Mom and I spent with Susan and Harvey in Nauvoo in 2005. Sister Black needed some help with some research she was doing, and so Mom and I got to spend a few days with them. Part of our research took us through the rural Iowa countryside where we were looking for obscure little Mormon settlement sites. Mom took this picture of the Blacks and me at the Skunk River in Iowa where Harvey's ancestors had once settled. We had such a great time with them! Greg and I are grateful that we got to see Harvey one last time just a few weeks ago when we went to visit the Blacks in Nauvoo. We were only able to spend a few minutes with them, but now that he is gone, those few minutes are especially special to us. Unfortunately Harvey had been battling cancer for quite a while now, but he had been fighting hard. I suppose that in some ways it is good that he can now have a break from all of that. He will be greatly missed, and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to know and work with him!

In other news, today I went running and in the process of jumping over a ditch, I messed up my ankle/foot. I landed wrong on it, and the pain got worse all day. Greg and I went to the doctor to have it x-rayed this afternoon, and thankfully he doesn't think it is broken. However, he said that a break wouldn't show up for a few days, so in the meantime, I need to treat it like a broken foot. So I get to walk around in a giant, stylish boot for a few days. It is really painful when I walk! But after icing it (actually I used frozen corn, but it seems to work just as well) this evening, it is feeling a little better.