24th of July

Matt had the day off for the 24th of July, but he was going on a long bike ride, so I decided to take the kids to the parade with my Mom and Pam and her grandkids. We got there and found great seats. The parade was pretty good, but a bit slow at first because I swear they had a block between each entry in the parade. The kids hounded my Mom for food and toys from the vendors, and then cried when they saw the next vendor had something better (a little embarrassing). We had to leave a little before it was over because we were heading over to meet the Gloeckner girls at St. Anne's Homeless Shelter to serve some food to the homeless. The kids had a good time and hopefully learned a little about life for others less fortunate. The patrons enjoyed seeing the kids serve the food. Addy was serving the dessert, Alex was pineapples, Connor was coleslaw, and Cassy was mashed potatoes. Addy could hardly keep her fingers in the gloves they were so big! At one point someone called Alex a "mam" and he was not happy about it. Luckily the next guy said, "Thanks, little dude!" That night we had Grandpa Cola over for dinner to celebrate the holiday.

I so hope that my kids understand how important it is to serve others. I feel like we are always going over this. The other day I was saying something to Cassy about possibly moving so that the kids could attend some better schools and have better influences in their lives, when she reminded me that life is not always about serving people who are homeless and sometimes it is about befriending people and being kind to people who don't have a lot of kindness in their lives. I just hope that my kids can do this and still remember who they are.

Summer of Service

One of the things I am hoping to teach my kids is the joy of service, so we are trying to live a summer of service this year. On Wednesdays, we are planning on trying to fit in a service project and also a little something fun, or a field trip to somewhere that we have never visited. Matt's day off is Wednesday, so this way he can be a part of the fun. This week we went and made breakfast for the people who were staying at the Ronald McDonald House in SLC. We made french toast and sausage and cut up strawberries. Of course it was a little stressful because we were caught behind an accident on I-15, but we made it and were able to provide breakfast for about 35 people. The kids got right in there and helped cook it all up (especially Cassy and Connor). It is so fun to have them be old enough to help out so much and to see them be so capable and in charge of themselves. The families staying at the house were very appreciative.

After breakfast, we headed off to the Kennecott Bingham Copper Mine. It is a huge copper mine and we had never been to before. The mine is huge (one of the few man made things that can actually be seen from space). It was interesting to learn more about the mine and the operations there. We were especially interested in the big trucks that haul off the debris. They are as big as a two story house!

Cabela's was the next stop on our tour (much to Cassidy's chagrin). It is a big sportsman's store that I had heard was really cool. The boys had fun and Matt bought some bullets so they could go shooting. The store has lots of stuffed animals, especially deer. There is also a fresh water aquarium with a variety of fish. We were most impressed with the huge catfish.

We stopped at a picnic area at Thanksgiving Point to eat our lunch and play a little soccer. We had a great day serving and exploring some places we have never been!