Patriotic hot air balloon with majestic Mount Timpanogo in the background Living where I live, I get to witness some awesome morning happenings. As I glanced out my window this morning around 7:00 am, I noticed a hot air balloon just climbing up above the tree line in my neighborhood. Hot air balloons in Provo Utah are part of the celebrations for the 4th of July Freedom Festival. Today, I only saw one, but over the next few days, we are sure to see many more. I am lucky to have a very good view from my house.
When my husband and I would bring our young family to Utah from California for vacation and to see family, we especially liked to come during the Freedom Festival. My Dad's birthday is on July 2nd. We liked to celebrate his special day with cookouts, campouts in the canyon, swimming at the hot pots, and also watching the hot air balloons early in the morning. One year the family helped fulfill a bucket list item for him. He finally got a ticket to ride up in one of the hot air balloons. It just went straight up and back down, but oh how he enjoyed it.
Band concerts in the park, the Patriotic Fireside in the Marriott Center, the Stadium of Fire concert in the big BYU football stadium, the Grand Parade down Center Street in Provo, and of course, FIREWORKS. There are always lots of fun things to do during the Freedom Festival.
For me, the best part of summer was getting to see family and to spend time together. As long as my parents were alive, Provo was a gathering spot even for extended family members. We loved to picnic under the trees near my parent's house, eat, play cards, visit, and then, of course, SING together.
One summer my sisters came to spend the summer with my little family in Los Angeles. I was expecting baby number five very soon and wasn't supposed to travel far. That's why they agreed to miss out on the summer festivities in Utah to help out their older sister. So, for the 4th of July, I wrote us a special three-part a cappella arrangement of "America, the Beautiful" that we could sing at Church. It was very important for each of us to be featured singing our own verse, in our own key, of course with the other two singing backup. We love singing together.
This particular arrangement has become a staple in our family's repertoire. It is sung in one form or another by family members every year. In fact, I also added a few other parts over the years so more of our family members could sing with us. It started out SSA, then SSAA, then SATB, then SSATB with descant. My Sister Bonnie just told me that she is having a women's group sing it in her ward in a couple of weeks. (She also said she is hoping to be able to sing the part I wrote for her - Sop. II - instead of having to cover any of the other parts.)
One of my most poignant memories of singing this arrangement was at a special memorial service just after the events of 9-11. My four daughters and I sang it together in Maryland. Since then, I will never think of the line "thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears" the same as before. I've also been able to sing it with my daughter and her five daughters at a Sunrise Service at the Gettysburg Battlefield Park in Pennsylvania. I am so happy we have been able to share this arrangement at many Patriotic events in many locations.
That hot air balloon I saw taking flight this morning was decorated in stars and stripes in red, white, and blue, our nation's colors. Just a reminder to be grateful we live in the "land of the free, and home of the brave."
When my husband and I would bring our young family to Utah from California for vacation and to see family, we especially liked to come during the Freedom Festival. My Dad's birthday is on July 2nd. We liked to celebrate his special day with cookouts, campouts in the canyon, swimming at the hot pots, and also watching the hot air balloons early in the morning. One year the family helped fulfill a bucket list item for him. He finally got a ticket to ride up in one of the hot air balloons. It just went straight up and back down, but oh how he enjoyed it.
Band concerts in the park, the Patriotic Fireside in the Marriott Center, the Stadium of Fire concert in the big BYU football stadium, the Grand Parade down Center Street in Provo, and of course, FIREWORKS. There are always lots of fun things to do during the Freedom Festival.
For me, the best part of summer was getting to see family and to spend time together. As long as my parents were alive, Provo was a gathering spot even for extended family members. We loved to picnic under the trees near my parent's house, eat, play cards, visit, and then, of course, SING together.
One summer my sisters came to spend the summer with my little family in Los Angeles. I was expecting baby number five very soon and wasn't supposed to travel far. That's why they agreed to miss out on the summer festivities in Utah to help out their older sister. So, for the 4th of July, I wrote us a special three-part a cappella arrangement of "America, the Beautiful" that we could sing at Church. It was very important for each of us to be featured singing our own verse, in our own key, of course with the other two singing backup. We love singing together.
This particular arrangement has become a staple in our family's repertoire. It is sung in one form or another by family members every year. In fact, I also added a few other parts over the years so more of our family members could sing with us. It started out SSA, then SSAA, then SATB, then SSATB with descant. My Sister Bonnie just told me that she is having a women's group sing it in her ward in a couple of weeks. (She also said she is hoping to be able to sing the part I wrote for her - Sop. II - instead of having to cover any of the other parts.)
One of my most poignant memories of singing this arrangement was at a special memorial service just after the events of 9-11. My four daughters and I sang it together in Maryland. Since then, I will never think of the line "thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears" the same as before. I've also been able to sing it with my daughter and her five daughters at a Sunrise Service at the Gettysburg Battlefield Park in Pennsylvania. I am so happy we have been able to share this arrangement at many Patriotic events in many locations.
That hot air balloon I saw taking flight this morning was decorated in stars and stripes in red, white, and blue, our nation's colors. Just a reminder to be grateful we live in the "land of the free, and home of the brave."
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