I'm sparkling, I sparkle, I'm a Sparkler

Happy 4th of July family. We missed being with you on this special day. Hope you all had a great holiday. I am not sure if you all realize how much I love our country. I feel that one of my greatest blessings has been to serve in the forces that defend this countries' freeedoms. ( and getting to fly while doing it is not a bad gig either.) I am a patriot and hope you all appreciate the great blessings that are ours because we were born in this land.

We went to the STL arch and watched the fireworks last night. We sat right underneath the arch on the grass and watched as they launched a great display from the middle of the river. It was spectacular. The wind was blowing slightly towards us so after a few minutes some of the fireworks were blocked out by the smoke. As the finale wound up, the top of the arch was obscured from view becasue all of the smoke formed an enormous cloud. We had picnics with several friends and played Kubb and other games. We had a really fun time with the Youngs on Friday night. We watched "What about Bob on the projection TV on their cieling and layed on our backs on couches and blankets. I jumped on the Young's trampline and was teaching the little girls how to do back flips. Mom had to go in the house. She couldn't stand the thought of me breaking my foot again. I also did some summersaults on the grass and the girls couldn't believe I could do that.

I took Brandon and a group of scouts on a canoeing trip down the Merimac river. There was a big tree in the middle of the river with a branch sticking straight up. We decided that whoever could climb it and jump off would be king of the river. The base of the branch was covered with moss and very slippery. Noone was able to get up so we boosted Brandon up a little past the moss and he was able to pull himself up and get his legs over the branch, then he got his hips on top and was able to stand up. He was the king. I was able to shimmy up the entire log from the bottom and did a flip into the water. The Gardner boys were king for a day. We went into the cave and were able to go nearly to the end. It was a good 35 minute walk in frigid water but we had a great time and there were lots of rock formations to enjoy.

Mom is in bad shape. She feels good but she has 3rd degree burns under her left arm and breast from the last week of radiation. Her skin is literally black with several blisters that are exposed and red and raw. I feel so bad but there is nothing we can do but wait for it to heal. They did intense radiation on the spot where she had no clear margin between the cancer and healthy tissue the last 8 days of her treatment. The radiation continues to burn for up to a week afterwards so we still have several days to go before it will start healing. She is all done though as of last Wednesday. They have a bell that you ring as you leave the cancer center for the last time and I went with her as she got to ring the bell. It was a touching sight. Three of her friends also went and they all went out to breakfast together that morning and then went and got pedicures. I drove to the airport and went to work.

I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of Vivian and the way she has dealt with all of this adversity. She has kept a great attitude and never pittied herself. She continued to serve as Relief Society President and never stopped serving others. She has been a great example. I hope I can be as strong when my turn comes to lay my all on the alter. Through it all God has blesssed us and we have learned again how much He loves us and that he never forgets or abandons us.