We found a new park, and it just might be our favorite. It’s twenty minutes south of us in Harrisville. I first found out about it when I drove by and saw disk golf stands. My husband and I, and sometimes our children, like to go disk golfing, so we are always keen to try out new courses. (By the way disc golfing is a wonderful hobby. The whole family can enjoy it, it is very inexpensive with startup costs of a $7 disk and you really only need one, and doesn’t take a whole lot of time. And you can do it anywhere, coursers are located across the country, which makes for some fun adventures on trips.) When I was looking up the course, I found out that not only did the park have a new disk golf course but it had a splash pad as well. Double win.

So last Saturday we spent the day in the park, throwing disks on a pretty good course, playing on the playground, and finishing up with the splash pad. This time the kids actually got soaked (last time we went to a splash pad they didn’t even get wet). It helps that Daddy decided to get his swimsuit on and play with them.

There has been a lot of talk about the equality of man and women. Empowered women want the same privileges, responsibilities, and roles as men. I have never felt a need or desire to join any movement of these feminist women, for I have never in my life felt like I was less than man.

It is good for women to get paid the same for men for doing the same job. It is good to not be discriminated against because of gender. But I do not desire or seek the responsibilities of men. I don’t want to sign up for the draft, I don’t want the priesthood, I don’t want to have to make a living for my family.

I am a stay at home. And it is not a degraded role I am stuck in. It is career and a calling I choose. I can grow children inside of me, I can feed my babies, and I can care and nurture for them in so many ways. What higher calling is there of being a mother? And no man can grow a child, or nurse. It is a privilege only for women.

So I am not concerned that men are stronger, more adapt at physical labor. I am not concerned that men hold the priesthood and not women. I am not concerned that there are more men in the workplace and in leadership roles.

Because I know I have been given a beautiful life, that is as important if not more so, than any of that. I have the opportunity to raise and shape the next generation. I have never felt like I was unequal to men, many times I have felt more valued.

If women demand the same roles as man, where does that leave men? Already education rates are falling in men. We should encourage them to step up and work to become the providers and leaders of our families, communities and countries. We need them in the more visibility leadership positions, in positions of strength.

So that I as a women can work in a hardly visible, but much more important supporting role. So I can shape my growing boys, so I can create a great Home that all people come back to and need.

I think I can understand that feeling about a housewife’s work being like that of Sisyphus (who was the stone rolling gentleman). But it is surely in reality the most important work in the world. What do ships, railways, miners, cars, government etc exist for except that people may be fed, warmed, and safe in their own homes? As Dr. Johnson said, “To be happy at home is the end of all human endeavour”. (1st to be happy to prepare for being happy in our own real home hereafter: 2nd in the meantime to be happy in our houses.) We wage war in order to have peace, we work in order to have leisure, we produce food in order to eat it. So your job is the one for which all others exist…C.S. Lewis (pg 447-Letter of CS Lewis 1988 ed.

When our lives are over, and if I spent all my time simply giving birth to raising my boys, and serving people quietly as a women, will my influence be less than a man’s? I think it will be greater. Anyone can be a CEO of a major company, but only I can bare and raise my children.

Unlike most of my life when I don’t use my camera, I remembered that I had a firework setting on the fourth and actually used it. It’s pretty fun to take photos of fireworks because it is very easy to get a good picture.

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We had a family reunion for my Dad’s parents on the fourth. It was a lot of fun with swimming, food, cousins I haven’t seen in years, and the great firework display. The next day we went to Seven Peaks and did even more swimming. It doesn’t get old when it is over 90 outside.

Apparently I was meant to mother boys. We have another one coming in December. The doctor was doing the ultrasound, and he stopped at one point and I looked at it and knew before he said anything that it was a boy. I was hoping a bit for a girl, but I’m not disappointing over another boy either. I love the ones I currently have so much, I don’t mind another.

These pictures are from a recent trip to Bear Lake that was a lot of fun. And my boys love sand. They are out playing in the sandbox for hours, and still adore beaches.

This is Mr. C’s demolition of his breakfast. 

Our brother-in-law gave us these blocks when they moved. PB loves them. One of many towers, this is a window tower according to the architect. 

This kids are out in the sandbox all the time. I have sand all over my house, but I don’t mind too much. 

After PB rejecting my plans for the day, I suggested we go to the splash pad up north of us in Tremonton. He readily agreed. I packed a lunch, and we drove up there. First they wanted to play in the sandbox, with a few diggers they had in there. After that they explored the playground. We ate lunch, and then I suggested we get in our swimsuits and play in the splash pad. They proceeded to watch everyone else play and occasionally bravely touch the water. Neither of them is a big fan of water, especially splashing water. When we were done, they weren’t wet. Wasted effort on my part to get their swimsuits on. They still had a good time, even if it wasn’t quite what I expected.

Right now, one of our favorite family activities is biking. It’s just easier than many other activities: the kids are taken care of with our big bike set-up. No complaining. PB is too old and big (or should be) to ride in the stroller or be carried while walking or hiking and he tends to be tired/bored/complain a lot. He likes the bike, and even decided to pedal sometimes. Joe takes the big bike, and he’s nice and strong for it. I’m a bit of a whimp, and find very slight hills tortuous.

A couple weeks ago we biked around Mantua Reservoir. I’ve passed by the lake a lot when I lived in Logan, but never stopped and did anything there. It’s very quite–even on Memorial day weekend it wasn’t crowded. There are beautiful views and flowers and we found more trails to come back and explore later. It was a great bike ride, because it is almost completely flat and a great length. It took us under an hour to bike around the whole lake.

An added bonus, was I was recently learning about small dams in an online permaculture class I was taking. It was fun to look at dam after learning about them, the shape and construction of everything has an added depth. After we were done with the bike ride, the kids played on the small beach. They were having a lot of fun until…

C fell in the water. He was so sad and wet, and it signaled time to go home.