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Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Relief Society Night


Val Verda 2nd Ward Relief Society

We love when we get to be with small church groups. As returned missionaries we each have a deep love of testifying of Jesus Christ. Their theme for ths year was "Faith is not by chance, but by choice." -Elder Neil L. Anderson
Pioneers are terrific examples of choosing faith and we loved sharing our stories of our ancestors as we testified of faith. This was a real special event because it was the home ward of Stephanie's aunt. Her aunts, Debbie and Becka, her Grandma and Mom were all there to support the Royalty! 

Monday, July 25, 2016

DUP Museum Open House



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Thank you to the International Society of the Daughter's of Utah Pioneers! We preserve the spirit of the pioneers and we are grateful to be your ambassadors. 

Days of '47 Parade




         "An Inspired and Blooming Generation" 


We are grateful to David Breitenbeker and his team at Innovative Design Concepts for our beautiful float!! We couldn't have asked for anything more queenly. 



Sterling Poulson and John Woodbury are on the Days of '47 Committee. We were excited to spend time with them watching the rest of the parade. We appreciate all the work the Days of '47 Committee has done. It has been such an incredible year!
We were honored to sit with Governor Herbert and his wife, Jeanette.



At the end of the parade route was the Deseret News Classic Marathon. We jumped off of our float, and by the persuasion of the announcer, we ran a quick dash in our dresses and high heels, to cross the Finish Line! They were kind enough to give us finisher medals and snap a few pictures. 


We are forever grateful to Cathy Ehlert and Judy Binns for their incredible work with us. They are busy ladies with families and other responsibilities, but they spend their summer with us at all of our events. We can't accurately describe all they do to schedule our events, plan the pageant, and make sure everything runs smoothly, but we want to tell them how much we love and appreciate all they do for us as the Royalty. WE LOVE YOU!! 

Sunrise Service



The Days of ’47 Sunrise Service is presented by the Salt Lake Pioneer Chapter of the Sons of Utah Pioneers. We met at 7:00 a.m. on Monday, July 25th, at the Tabernacle on Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City. The program included wonderful music by the Salt Lake City Institute combined choirs and an inspirational talk by Elder LeGrand R. Curtis Jr., a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.






The Mormon Battalion, conducted a flag ceremony and the Pledge of Allegiance.We were introduced by Maureen Smith, the President of the International Society of Daughter's of Utah Pioneers. We then were able to share a little about ourselves and our Pioneer Ancestors. 
Baylee sang a beautiful "Pioneer Lullaby" that was accompanied by her friend, Hailey Mayle. It was wonderful!
This was the perfect way to start off our Pioneer Day celebrations!


Friday, July 22, 2016

Pioneer Day Concert

This year's Pioneer Day Commemoration Concert featured the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, Wasatch & District Pipe Band, and the King's Singers. 
We felt a little empty without our crowns and sash, but we love attending events as "civilians". We love the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but there is something special when it is a Pioneer Concert and you can feel the spirit of the Pioneers. We have truly come to love our ancestors more this summer, and have grown close to them as we've shared their stories to the community.

The King's Singers were absolutely amazing! They sang many wonderful songs, but our favorite was the Primary Medley they sang. The Music Department at BYU asked them to come and sing this arrangement last year, and it was filled with Primary favorite likes Popcorn Popping, Give Said the Little Stream, and He Sent His Son

We were able to bring some of our family and friends to the concert, and were grateful for the tickets. In the midst of the chaos of the world, it's nice to feel the calming of sweet music and feel God's love for His children. We love the Pioneers!

Thursday, July 21, 2016

RODEO

   We know how to have a good time! One night of Rodeo just isn't enough, and we are lucky to attend the Days of '47 Rodeo 4 nights!! If you don't have tickets to this event yet, it's not too late. Giddyup!

Rodeo Heroes

We feel special when little girls see us and say to their mom's, "Look it's a princess!" We feel that way whenever we get to meet leaders from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are our heroes, and we get just as giddy to see them as little kids do to see us in crowns! We were so blessed to meet Elder M. Russell Ballard and his family at the Rodeo. Thank you for your kindness and love!



Behind every great man is an amazing woman! We loved getting to meet Sister Ballard. 

Elder Price is our liaison to the Brethren during the rodeo, and he is the greatest!
We really feel royal being in a 6 horse drawn carriage each night at the rodeo. These horses cost more than most cars, and they came all the way from Colorado!! That is some serious horse power as the wagon gets going.

Sugar House Rotary Club

Sugar House Rotary is the Sweetest Club in Rotary!

The Royalty was especially excited for their event today. The Rotary Club invited the mothers of the Royalty to attend for this speaking engagement.  All the visitors (a lot!) stood and introduced themselves. While we were all standing, the club sang us thing cute song:

"Welcome to Sugar House Rotary,
We're mighty glad you are here
We'd like to sing you a long song
But a wrong song might appear
So sit you down and make some
friends today.. Right here!"

Cassie, a Club Director, shared this wonderful thought, and she was kind enough to let us share it. We meet the most amazing people, and we feel lucky that Cassie said such wonderful things about the future generation.

"In the past, people were born royal. Nowadays, in our country, royalty comes from what you do and who you are! As you will hear from these women today, their ROYALTY represents their accomplishments, their ability to understand that charity, patience, compassion, and truth are what makes them such a special brand of women, each individually talented and beautifully driven from their hearts because they know how to share their messages of personal history, love and hope. Bless us all on this wonderful day, bless the young people of our state and country-- for theirs is the world of our future!"

Baylee, with her mother Christine Hansen. Christine always has the most AMAZING jewelry!! She drives all the way from St. George to support Baylee and the Royalty.

Stephanie with her mother, Laura Bland. She has the most beautiful smile and we can see where Steph gets her luscious brown hair! Laura drives from the top of Utah, Smithfield, to be with Steph.  
Cathy Ehlert was Rachel's mom today. Rachel's mom is hosting a Family Reunion for over 70 people, so she wasn't able to attend. But Rachel's mom is pretty great:)


Thank you to all the members of the Sugar House Rotary for making the event so fun and memorable. A special thank you to their President, Ken Simpson. You truly are the sweetest club!

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

Sandy Rotary Club

We were incredibly happy to join the Sandy Rotary Club at their meeting this week! We are right in the thick of Pioneer season, and loved sharing about our pioneer ancestors with this group. Rotary's Motto is "Service Above Self", and we could feel that exemplified through these members!
The Rotary 4 Way Test:
















Of the things we think, say, or do:
Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
(And this group's addition:) Is it fun??
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