The highlight of July, of course, was when we got to be together at home for four days of the Independence Day holiday weekend. In our case, absence certainly does make the heart grow fonder. We consider ourselves greatly blessed as husband, wife, and parents. We find our greatest joys in the time spent together each day, helping and watching our children learn and grow.
On 3 July, we walked/ran/hiked the Bonneville Shoreline Trail that runs along the mountains just east of where we live. While I have run it several times, it was Shaela's first time on the trail. Now she's hooked, goes several times a week, and is working on reducing the time it takes her to make the trek. From the trail, there is a great view of the This is the Place Heritage Park. Since this is basically our backyard, we made good use of our membership there and spent several morning and early afternoon hours enjoying the park on the 4th. During that time, we got to ride on the mini train that had just opened that day. We even got to watch from the train as they shot an anvil about 30 feet up into the air at noon! Big booms and flying anvils are always fun for the kids and their parents. Of course there was much more to do, such as:
Riding the ponies,
Petting the calf,
Feeding the goats,
Crawling on the grass,
Making faces on the grass,
And just sitting on the grass and being content to have it. We even all took an afternoon nap in the shade of one of the trees near Brigham Young's farm house (not pictured, of course, because we were sleeping). During those days we also went to the pool and the zoo, but we mostly just enjoyed the time we had to be together.
One reason we like to play on the grass is that it just doesn't grow in some places. For those who have asked or been curious, here is a glimpse at the Marine Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms where I have been working for the summer. This shows the middle section of mainside, but mainside itself only takes up a tiny portion of the land that constitutes the training center. It stretches out for miles to the west and north, with massive valleys and mountain ranges where Marines can come together in full-scale combined arms exercises to develop their capabilities as Marine Air Ground Task Forces (MAGTF). Though most of my time is spent indoors in an office with no window, it has been a great experience. Working as trial counsel has been a superb learning experience. After all, how many first year law students get a chance to represent the government ("The Big G" as we call it) in court by prosecuting their own cases?
I have also fallen in love with the desert, or at least this quiet, rugged portion out here that forms the bridge between the Colorado and Mojave deserts. Having adjusted to the dry heat, I love to run for miles here along the mountains, especially on Friday evenings and Saturdays when no one else is out. Sometimes the beauty and majesty of the Lord's handiwork is breathtaking. I will miss the rugged expanses, the warm and clean air, and the salt-of-the-earth non-cityslicker people here. I have attended church meetings in lots of places throughout the US and the world, but this is the only place where someone says "good morning" from the pulpit and gets a rousing chorus of "good morning" back from the congregation. The hearty independence, hard work, genuine neighborliness, quiet dignity, and unequivocal physical and moral courage of the great American west still live on in places like Twentynine Palms, California. I am grateful that I have been able to spend a wonderful summer here.
