Pioneer Day

Pioneer Day is the day in which members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints celebrate when the early Saints made it to the Salt Lake Valley after crossing the plains and enduring horrific persecution along the way. Some of my own ancestors were among those early Saints. My third great grandfather actually entered the valley on July 22, two days before the prophet Brigham Young; two days before we commemorate the Saints entering the Salt Lake Valley. Several other faithful ancestors sacrificed all they had to come west. Today is the day we get to remember those individuals, as well as many of the other men and women who continue to exhibit pioneer faith and fortitude in our days. I don't know if I could have done it. I don't know if I could have had the faith to move west - to leave everything I had for the unknown. I would like to think I could, but I often reflect on my own life now and wonder what "pioneer" sacrifices am I making? I realize that I'm not being asked to give up my home or family, but what am I asked to sacrifice? Do I make those sacrifices? These are some of the thoughts I have had as I've had the chance to reflect on why it is we celebrate this holiday (especially here in Utah).

Well I wish I could say that we did "pioneer" things to commemorate the day, but we didn't. However, we did spend time together with family and friends as we celebrated. We began our morning with a beautiful hike up White Pine Trail in Santaquin Canyon. This has become our family's favorite little hike...and we haven't even hiked the whole trail. We just enjoy the seclusion of the canyon and the solitude we feel as we hike this largely unknown trail.

After our hike, we grabbed some lunch then went to the movies. Danny, Jeff, Jonas and I saw Incredibles 2. Dallin had already seen it so he chose to see Ant Man and Wasp. Jonas is getting better at sitting through movies, but I was still really glad when he fell asleep.

That evening, we continued our neighborhood tradition of a potluck BBQ with fireworks. We joined friends and neighbors at the Chisholm's house for dinner prior to setting off fireworks. Unfortunately, the wind picked up right before we were going to light the fireworks so we postponed the show until the following evening. It was worth the wait though. I think we get bigger and better each year! All in all, it was a great holiday!