Erika's 7th Birthday

 On July 24th we celebrated Erika's 7th birthday.  (We call her our pioneer baby.)  This is one of the first years we have actually been home for the 24th because every other year we have been vacationing this weekend, for some reason.    Tremonton actually has its' "Tremonton Days" celebration this weekend so this is the first time we were able to participate in this.

In the morning, after having Erika's favorite breakfast- crepes, and opening a few presents,  we headed over to the park where they had a bunch of booths set up and some free blow-up toys the kids could climb around on.   That night, they had fireworks at the park and we got to watch them from our house.  (Heidi and Jared were in bed.)

After the park, we came home for lunch then headed over to Brigham City and went swimming at the Community Pool.  I think this is our favorite place to go swimming.  They have little kiddy slides for the kids to go down and also a pretty fun waterslide kids can go on with mom and dad or by themselves.

Erika and Kyle have gotten so much better at swimming this year after a few sessions of lessons and they  both decided they were brave enough to go on their own this time.  They had a blast!  We met my parents at the pool and they had fun swimming with us, too.

Heidi was exhausted after all the fun!

After swimming  we all headed back home and had Erika's favorite homemade dinner- fettucine alfredo, and then cake.  I had a lot of fun making Erika's cake this year.  I learned how to do fondant at aYoung Women's activity a few months ago and had fun decorating my first cake with it.  The crayon box fits Erika perfectly because she LOVES to color!  We love our sweet Erika and are so grateful to have her as part of our family!

Michel Reunion at Strawberry

swimming in the lake-  Heidi, Aaron, Kyle, Amber, Gentry, Erika, Oma.

July 15-17th we headed up to the cabin at Strawberry Reservoir for a fun weekend.  This reunion included my dad's parents (Oma and Opa Michel) and all their children- my uncles, aunts, and cousins.  It was pretty crowded so we stayed in our tent trailer just outside the cabin.  The weather was perfect and we enjoyed swimming and boating in the lake as well as riding horses and motorcycles.

Kyle "helping" daddy drive the boat

 The last day of the trip was my birthday and one of the best gifts I got this year was my dad taking me on a horseback ride up into the mountains early that morning.  My aunt Eva came too and it was really nice.  I have missed riding.  My dad doesn't usually bring the horses up to the cabin because there really isn't anywhere to keep them, but he did it this time just for me and it meant a lot to me.  The kids had fun playing with my cousin Gentry and my cousin Malia's kids Dalton and Savannah.   It was good to see everyone again and to catch up.

Erika and Gentry riding Dusty (Leading them is my cousin Karl who also has the same birthday as me,  just a few years later.)

Me and Heidi riding my favorite horse Dusty on my birthday

Treehouse Museum

On July 11th, we took the kids to the Treehouse museum in Ogden.   It is a pretty fun place!  They do puppet shows and plays there, and story time.  They also do crafts, and have displays like a pretend train and a huge treehouse in the middle of the museum.  There were also little houses from different countries all over the world to explore.  There was a huge map of the USA and also one with all the counties in Utah.  It was a great learning environment for the kids and they had a really good time.    

Erika "milking" a cow  (Milk actually comes out.)

Howdy cowgirl!

The kids had fun "working" in the doctor's office.

Weekend in Boise

Aaron and the kids fishing with a net in the Boise river

We had a fun weekend up in Boise from July 8-10th.   Saturday morning we headed over to the MK Nature Center where they have many different kinds of fish in big ponds with viewing windows.  (I got a picture of a 7-ft sturgeon which was really cool!)  We walked around and enjoyed the beautiful walkways and ponds.   We also got to go with a guide to wade in the Boise river and try to catch little fish and different kinds of flies in a mesh net.  This was an adventure for sure!

Heidi has had enough adventure and
wants her daddy

Erika making a fish painting

Listening to our guide talk about the
different critters that live in the Boise river

Fun at the MK Nature Center

A fun picture of Erika and Kyle in mid-air

We had a nice picnic at the park (I love the parks in Boise) and the kids played for awhile.  Then, we went back to the apartment and after the men had a round of golf, we had a fun time swimming in the pool.   It was great to spend some time with grandma and grandpa.

4th of July in Sandy

We had a fun-packed weekend celebrating the 4th of July down in Sandy.   On Friday we headed up to Silver Lake and enjoyed fishing and walking around the lake where we watched little chipmunks play all around.   It was so beautiful!  

It is amazing how much Kyle loves to fish.     He  has been exposed to it a lot, but I also think he was just born with it.  He talks about it nonstop and is definitely not afraid to pick one up with his bare hands!  Don't you love the big hat with his ears poking out?  

 The highlight for me, of course, was watching Erika and Kyle ride in the neighborhood parade on Saturday morning.  This was a tradition I enjoyed when I was younger, too.  My dad bought a bunch of fun hats and even put some on the horses!  The kids also had fun riding around after it was over.   The parade goes all through the neighborhood to the park where there is a program and a big breakfast.   

Notice the "Happy Fourth of July" sign Erika made to tape to the saddle :)

What a sweet daddy!

Aaron was so nice to lead the girls around on the horse even though he gets allergies.    Bless his heart!

Later that day we went swimming in Oma's pool and then to the Living Planet Aquarium.   I never realized growing up how much my mom loves to swim.  We went with our family, but she never really went on her own.   It has been fun to see how excited she is about her pool.  She is like a fish- she can't get enough of it!   The kids had a lot of fun swimming, too.   They took 2 sessions of swimming lessons this summer and this made them a lot more confident.  (Which is also nicer for us.)  Thanks Oma and Opa for a fun weekend!