Charting the Path to Civil Rights

Today we celebrate the birth of Martin Luther King Jr. He led marches and movements that continued the civil rights movement. I deeply admire Martin Luther King Jr., but I think there is another person who charted the path that Martin Luther King Jr. continued on. To me Thurgood Marshall opened so many doors in the area of civil rights. He argued more cases before the United States Supreme Court (32) than any other lawyer and he won 29 of those cases. Just to name a few:

1. School integration from primary to graduate schools.

2. Overthrowing "white primary" election policies.

3. Overthrowing the legality of race restrictive covenants in neighborhoods.

4. Defended and won the rights of civil rights demonstrators.

5. Brown v. Board of Education: Demolished legal basis for segregation in public schools.

6. Browder v. Gayle: Bus segregation ended, ending the Montgomery bus boycott. 

I am thankful to all people who stand up for what they believe is their right. The power to voice your point of view to the government and be heard is what makes this country great! I am thankful Martin Luther King Jr., and countless others who did this through marches, protests, gatherings and so forth. I am grateful Thurgood Marshall for recognizing laws that diminished civil rights and fighting for those rights through the legal system. We would not be where we are today without his efforts!

http://www.thurgoodmarshall.com/speeches/tmlaw_article.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurgood_Marshall

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 The days following Christmas are more of a family celebration for our extended family. On December 30th we enjoyed a great dinner together and enjoyed a gift exchange!

 The kids love to play together, especially in the basement and Grandpa and Grandma's House!

 Mom did extremely well all week with the events. She loves having family around but it does make her sleepy... 

 For new years eve we had our annual family white elephant party and as always it was a great success! Kris and the kids played a little basketball, shirts and skins. He was a little out numbered and Alyssa had to help him out!

 The older nieces are growing up so fast! In fact for Alexis' white elephant they threw a bachelorette party! She was a good sport about it!

 There were several funny white elephants including Hefier's Happy Place, Jimmer Ferduck, Cory's dolls, Muppets vs. Sesame Street, and Grandma Bellows as leader of team Jacob and Jacob as team "Bellaows!" This party is a highlight of the holidays for me!!! What a great family I have!

Merry Christmas, December 25, 2011

 Larsens

 Gillespies

 Grandpa and Grandma Bellows

 Hortons

 Gillespies

Christmas Lights

 Kelly, Deah, and I went to the festival of trees on December 3rd. We ran into the Hortons and decided to join them on a trip to temple square. Here are Marcus, Quincey, and Caleb on Trax.

I took some fun pictures of the Hortons. I am so glad we ran into them.

 Deah was hesitant to come because she did not have a coat that matched. Needless to say we talked her into it.

 Kris and Michelle came up for family night on December 5th and we enjoyed another trip on the train and the beautiful Christmas lights!

 Claire was dressed nice and warm and Josh had an awesome hat!

 We had fun with the giant nutcracker in the Joseph Smith Building...

 ...and took great pictures in front of the tree!

Kris has a great love for the ZCMI windows that have not been decorated for many years but this year Kris found one with some "great" decoration! I have a great family!!!!!

Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving!

 We enjoyed a beautiful thanksgiving with the Lecheminants in Parker, Colorado

 Julie prepared so many great foods during our trip, even though Jeff got the credit!

 The weather was 65 degrees on thanksgiving day so we enjoyed the beautiful day in the park with the kids.

 Julie completely out did herself with an amazing thanksgiving dinner and with help from her little helper!

 Dad and Mom gave into the tryptophan more than once on the trip. 

 The kids came and enjoyed the pool at the hotel.

 Trey planned a white elephant party while we were there. He gave Dad, his Grandpa, snakes! Grandpa does NOT like snakes!

What an amazing vacation with amazing food and incredible family! We love the Lecheminants!

Temple Grandin

 I had an interesting opportunity this week to drive Temple Grandin to Logan, Utah as part of my work at the Disability Law Center. She is an amazing scientist that designed more humane slaughter houses for cattle. She has autism and is a wonderful advocate for being your best self. A movie about her life was made by HBO, starring Claire Daines, it is well worth watching! 

It was interesting to have the opportunity to talk to her one on one and I learned she does 100 sit-ups everyday. This is 99 more than I can do! I am grateful for unforgettable experiences. 

Here is her website: http://www.templegrandin.com/

Kerri's halloween Party

 Kerri threw her annual Halloween party on October 30th. We enjoyed some very creative dishes and

 ... even better costumes!

 Dad handed out candy and the kids had a ball!

Witch Festival

 The girls and I went to the Witch Festival at Gardner Village,

 We had a great time and Deah met her dream guy, well something like that.

It was a lot of fun, but there were a ton of people there!

They did some fun set ups with Witches, I loved Witchy Poo!