Witnessing history

Paul's work schedule just got switched to working four 10 hour days, leaving his fridays open for some cool outings. Since school was staring the next monday, Paul planned a day up in Salt Lake City because he had heard that the Declaration of Independence was going to be here for 2 days only. We arrived at the capitol building at about 3:30, thinking we'd have enough time before they closed it down at 5:00. HA!!! Boy, did we underestimate the patriotism of Utahns and the line that would be ours to tackle! After standing in line for 1.5 hours, finally in view of the document itself, they moved the Declaration (and the line) downstairs, where we continued to stand in line for another hour! Phew... that's dedication! This collage of pictures is from the event.

1st picture = Canon's looking for landmarks in the capitol for his BINGO scavenger hunt,
2nd = Paul manages a smile with Charlie after running around the capitol with the boys while Diana holds our place in line,
3rd = a picture of our family in front of one of 25 remaining copies of the Dunlap Broadsides (200 copies originally made and taken around to the colonies to spread the word for ratification). This is the only copy of the Declaration touring the country and only going to 12 states. This document was found after a guy bought a painting from a flea market for $4 because he liked the frame. Turns out, sandwiched between the painting and the frame was a document older than the signed original.
4th picture = Diana and Charlie... still in line!
5th = Andy and Canon when we first got there. Behind them is the roped off area where the Declaration was sitting before they moved it downstairs. 2.5 hours later, we got to stand in front of it just long enough to take a picture and look for the words, "all men are created equal."

As we were leaving at 6:00, we both asked ourselves if that was worth it. Though it was disappointing how long we waited for how short a time we got to look at it, we decided that it WAS worth it. If for no other reason, I had taken the time the day before to actually read the words in the Declaration of Independence for the first time. Paul read it while standing in line. Turning our thoughts to the birth of our nation as a free country, independent from the rule of a tyrannical leader, claiming rights and priveledges that mean so much to our daily life... that's got to be a good thing overall. God Bless America!