days of '47 parade floats

every year in salt lake the days of '47 parade floats are all put inside a warehouse and are opened up to the public for a free viewing.  our neighbor told us that we needed to see this, so we scheduled a visit. we really didn't know what to expect, so we were pleasantly surprised that this was so kid friendly.  we will definitely be going back next year.

 

you get to walk around and view all of the floats.  at every float they have a kid-friendly activity, whether it was digging for gold, meeting a fairy or getting a free sample of ice cream.

 

this was our favorite float. the train moved back and forth through the tunnel.

after viewing all of the floats, you get to vote for your favorite.

we met up with the grovers!  so fun to see them again. 

we couldn't head down that way without stopping at culvers, which was a family favorite in wisconsin.  we even got to eat some beloved custard (and my absolute favorite french fries)!  yum.

nelson family reunion

being back in utah means that we get to go to more reunions and see long lost family we haven't seen in a while.  back in july, we got to attend the nelson family reunion.  we started out on a friday evening going to classic waterpark. the kids had a blast and were very brave trying out all of the slides. 

on saturday we all met at a park and ate some delicious food, let the kiddos run around and visited with family members.  the kids especially loved the park nearby.

you can't get everyone together and not take a picture.  these are grandma alice's great-grandkids.  sadly, grandma alice's face was covered up in all of my pictures.

grandma alice with her kids. 

pioneer day celebrations

tyler's mother invited us to join them for the bountiful handcart parade.  it's been fun celebrating pioneer day again.  for the past four years it pretty much came and went without much celebrating in wisconsin.  and my kids were all for another parade.  after the fourth of july parade they knew they'd be getting more parade goodies. 

 

our sweet reese joined us.

 

i love tanner's face here.  this pretty much sums up how he feels about looking at a camera and smiling.

 



emily and reagan were there as well.

our favorite float made it into the parade.  tanner was thrilled to see it again.

 they look bored to tears, but they really did have fun.

reagan enjoyed some flavored water that spilled on her lip.

fourth of july

the only picture i have from the fourth of july! we did have a great fourth of july this year. we went to the hedins for a breakfast and to watch the centerville parade. then we went home and enjoyed a barbeque and some swimming and our house with the grovers. this year we actually skipped out on the fireworks since tyler had to get up early.

bear lake-day three

our last day at bear lake was spent away from the water.  we decided it would be fun to check out minnetonka cave and take the tour.  katelyn and tanner especially loved this. 

and there was some relaxing and more putt-putt golf.  this time the kids had a chance to try it out.

 

on our way home i really wanted to grab a quick picture of the view you see coming in and out of bear lake.  it was so beautiful!  i really wish i could have gotten it exactly as we saw it.

bear lake-day two

the second day at bear lake was spent at the beach playing in the sand and playing on the boat.  we went to bear lake in early june, so the water was actually still quite cold!  not everyone got into the water that day.

the kids played while we enjoyed the gorgeous view.

katelyn and tanner with grandpa on the boat.

 

tyler was one of the brave ones to get in the water to ski.

even reese enjoyed the boat ride...kind of.  she slept as the boat was going, but wasn't very happy when the boat stopped.  it could have been the bulky life jacket, but sorry kiddo, it kept you safe.

caleb got buried in the sand and was turned into a mermaid.

all of the men plus a couple of the kids too.

the boys decided to go for a tube ride.  they are so fun to watch while riding together.

 

probably the best moment while riding.  andy kicked tyler off the tube while being pulled.  sadly, the picture was blurry.

daddy took tanner for a ride too.

i did eventually get on the tube with the other ladies with the promise that they would drive slooooowly.  like i said, the water was freezing.  katelyn rode with us as well.  i probaly wouldn't have posted this picture if katelyn wasn't looking so darn cute.