Fourth of July.

The Fourth of July means a lot to me. I love my country. I've always loved reading about our history, specifically the courageous men and women who made sacrifices during wars. The stories give me chills. There are also stories that bring another kind of chills. We have evil in our past too. This year has been a good reminder for me that we cannot turn a blind eye to the imperfections of our country. But I also believe we cannot turn a blind eye to our greatness. I'm becoming more committed to the principle that I need to do my part to honor my country by being a good citizen and a good neighbor.

So I enjoy remembering my great heritage as an American on the Fourth of July. I also remember the great heritage I have as Doug Beck's daughter. My father died 10 years ago on the Fourth of July. I'm very proud to be Doug Beck's daughter. He gave me such a unique perspective on so many things. There are many times I'm sorting through an issue in my mind and I ponder on the question--What would Doug Beck's take be on this? He joked a lot. Too much maybe. I'm like that too. Sometimes Dan asks me a question and before I can respond, he says "Can we just jump to your third answer because I know the first two are going to be jokes."

But my dad could also deliver a serious, eloquent answer that came from his serious study on various subjects. He was well-read and well thought out. He truly loved learning, and he was great at getting along with lots of personalities. He was faithful to the Lord every single day. He was an amazingly good missionary. I want to honor my dad by raising my children right and remaining faithful to the Lord.

We had a great Fourth. My neighbor had a bunch of fireworks that were purchased for a show that was canceled due to COVID. So he set them off in a field down the way from all of our houses and we could each watch from our respective yards. I didn't take pictures because it was dark, but it was a really nice day. But my kids went to bed at 11, and we are paying for it today. No one wanted to get up this morning, and Harris was already back in bed before we had our family Sacrament Meeting at 9:30 a.m. Early bedtime tonight!

Beck gave Independence Day a whole new meaning when he took his first steps on that very day, not to be repeated since.

Okay, now my blog is doing this weird thing where it's erasing my photos as I use them so these are not going to be in order.

Church today. Like I said, Harris was already done for a nap, as was Beck. Which was a major bummer because Harris was the "blue" for our red, white and blue photo. Yet another photo plan thwarted by these kiddos. No one cares about my amazing ideas.

Were you a Star Crunch fan growing up? Decided to give the kids a sample of my favorite dessert as a kid. They don't seem appetizing to me anymore, but the kids loved them.

A new level of vanity for me. I took this picture to look at later because I swear everyone else looks better in their masks than I do.

Also, I'm thinking of painting my door a new color. I'm not a decorator, so I'm asking for opinions. Send me your votes. Also, shutters on the big windows on the left? Submit your ideas, and the committee will review them. Thank you.

On Monday, we went on a walking trail and my nature gals found a toad and of course picked it up. And then it peed on them, and then June dropped it, and then the toad scampered away. I may file this idea away for future use.

And of course June lost ANOTHER tooth. Five holes in her mouth right now.

And this is just pure genius. Dan and I had to take our van to get Pennsylvania tags, which meant all of the kids came along for the ride. Dan and I took turns running inside to sign the paperwork. While I was inside signing, the kids were reaching a whole new level or bored so Dan rigged up one of our masks to be a slingshot, and it filled up several minutes with fun and happiness. Dan is so good at stuff like this. I just make the kids memorize the Bible when they're bored.

Happy Fourth to you and yours!

The End.