Call me a dork, but I am sooooo in love with Utah! I love everything about it.... The 4 seasons, the mountains, the lakes, the family-oriented communities, all the fun things there are to do with children, the unique history, being so close to Church Headquarters...... I could go on and on. I am just grateful to live here. I thought it would be really fun to teach my boys a little about Utah History this month - since July 24th is Pioneer Day. We have had a lot of fun visiting some local sites and learning more about our wonderful state! I loved how Liam was sooooo excited to learn all about Utah - the state flag, bird, insect, flower..... Ever since I told him about how the Seagull is our state bird, he seems to spot them everywhere! We have had some great conversations and he has asked a lot of questions about Utah.. pioneers... the difference between Governor Huntsman and Pres. Monson, what Government is, who Brigham Young was..... I have discovered that Liam and I have something in common - we both love History! Maybe someday he will enjoy going to art museums with me since his Daddy gets bored there quite easily:) Lance just enjoyed being out of the house during our little field trips! His favorite part was running all over the place trying to give his mom a heart attack. I wish he could share some of his energy with me! He is getting harder to keep up with these days with my growing belly. Well so here are some pictures of our little field trips....
We had a great time walking through the newly remodeled State Capitol Building. The boys were fascinated by all the stairs and the beautiful murals on the ceilings. We talked about laws and why we have them. Liam really seemed fascinated by the experience.
We went on a drive to the Granite Temple Quarry up Little Cottonwood Canyon. It is the place where the Salt Lake Temple construction workers broke away the Granite to use for the outside walls of the Temple. I am in awe of the men who traveled there - long before cars - and broke away those huge rocks and transported them all the way to the Temple. No wonder it took 40 years to build! It was amazing to see the marks all over the rocks where the Granite was broken away. I am amazed by the sacrifice and hard work! 
In order for the Quarry trip to make sense to the boys I thought we ought to take them to Temple Square to see the Temple, and the beautiful granite up close. Liam thought it was neat that the Temple was built out of the stones that were from the Mountain. Now he notices buildings that are made out of stone. He thought the Capitol Building stones looked like the Temple stones.
Besides the Temple there was a lot to show the boys at Temple Square... The Historic Tabernacle...
The Visitor's Center.....
Brigham Young's Home....
The Church Administration Building where the 1st Presidency have their offices...
Joseph Smith Memorial Building...
We also took a trip up to "This is the Place Monument." It was really neat because it was the first time that Liam and Lance have been to the cabin there that was built by their ancestors. Liam and Lance's Great Great Grandpa was born in that little cabin. I am lucky to have married into a family that has a rich pioneer history. It was neat to be able to tell the boys about the sacrifices that their ancestors made coming across the plains to Utah. The boys were really excited because their Great Grandma Henriksen was there dressed in her Pioneer costume telling stories about her Pioneer Ancestry to visitors walking through. She was excited to see them too! I love that Lady! She is amazing - it was her father that was born in the cabin. She told me she is working on a blanket for our little baby on the way. I think our baby will be something like her 53rd great-grandchild and she has made a blanket for each one of them - amazing!
It has been a great time learning more about our History. I think we might make this a tradition every July. There are many more places that we didn't get around to visiting so that leaves a lot for us to do next year! Utah is great!
6 comments:
what cute ideas! Thank you for sharing and what a awesome mom you are! You are so inspiring to me!
You look so adorable being pregnant!
What an amazing mom you are (I already knew that though) How fun to learn about this great state we have. Im sure I could use a brush up myself. What great ideas!
You are awesome!! I bet your boys loved all the places you went and learned so much!
We just did most of that same stuff on Monday! I love history, too. I could eat that stuff up all day. Looks like a fun day for you guys. Hope it wasn't too hot!
Hey Dani,
I think taking Liam and Lance to all the state historical sites is a great idea. It would be fun to make it a yearly tradition. I didn't know the story about about Grandma Henriksen. That's so cool that Liam and Lance got to walk through the log cabin that their great-great grandpa was born in. Grandma Sue
Wow, what an accomplishment to do so much to learn about Utah's history. I bet Liam will remember this too! What a great idea. It makes me want to learn more about Michigan too and it makes me miss my home of Utah. I love and miss you!
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