Pioneer Day!

One hundred and sixty-one years ago, a large train of wagons pulled into the valley which would later be the home to Salt Lake City, Utah. They were the first pioneers to arrive, but certainly not the last. Their stories are of faith, of courage, and of adversity. And its to those brave men and women that we owe our way of life here in Salt Lake City.

Today we had a great family get together. I don't get to see this side of my family nearly as often as I would like, but it was wonderful to see them all. We had a barbecue featuring hamburgers topped with homemade guacamole, corn, and watermelon. It was a pretty good time.

Here is my nephew Jaxson showing off his mad swinging skills. He was actually doing a pretty good job of keeping himself going in the "flying like a bird" position.

My niece, Kiera, sporting her mullet-bowlcut hybrid. I was able to take this between the repeated demands for more pushes. Yes, I am a sucker for little girls with mullets... does anyone else find that disturbing?

This is Oliver, one of the multitude of dogs we had at our family event. His lightning fast reflexes and prowess in battle made him the ideal competitor...

... versus Marley, Destroyer of Worlds. We had to keep him tied up because, as his moniker implies, he was frequently trashing the watermelon table. We decided to pit these two ferocious beasts against each other in deadly combat for our amusement...

... Or not.