The Last Couple Weeks of July

July 4th

 We went over to some friend's house and had a BBQ and played games before the fireworks.  Eric was wiped out from all the fun we had the day before (Marisol's birthday).

 The kids played on the water jungle gym.

 There goes Omar down the slide!  Marisol was close behind.

 

We ended the evening at the small town's firework display.  It was actually quite good for a smaller town.

 

The Cache Valley Cruise In

 We managed to make it to the Cruise In this year.  The kids really enjoyed watching the old cars drive by.  Marisol thought some made way too much noise!  It was funny what was classified as "old".

 Here are a few of some of our favorites.

 Swim lessons

 This is the kids' third year doing swim lessons.  They are becoming quite good.  They just might want to be on a swim team next year.  Aren't all kids attracted to the water?

 Summer evenings are full of beautiful sunsets and tricks on the tramp.  We even got Eric on the tramp one night.  I found out that my tailbone is still sore from breaking it last summer, so needless to say, I have to be careful when I am on the tramp.

 Happy 90th Birthday Grandma Emma!

 This neat lady turned 90 on July 13th.  She has been a great strength to our family and many others!  Here's to another 90 years!

Sunday evenings are filled with games in our house.  We love playing games as a family and snaking on popcorn.  Last night, Marisol and I ended up in a tie for Ticket to Ride.  The kids are getting really good.  Soon, they will be out playing their mom and dad in every game!

Marisol's Birthday

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARISOL!

Marisol had her 10th birthday on July 3rd.  I am now a mom of two 10 year olds, wow!  Soon Omar and Marisol will be starting their last year of elementary school.  They aren't so little any more!

We started off with celebrating Marisol's birthday and Father's Day with a family party on my side.  Her grandparents, aunts and uncles know her so well.  She is such a joy to have in our family!

 Marisol's birthday started of with a yummy breakfast of sweet pork quesadillas, fresh strawberries, and apple juice.  She wanted to go to the pool as a family, so we make cupcakes with blue frosting and fishy sprinkles.

 Marisol decided to open presents before the pool.  It was a very High School Musical birthday!

 Marisol loves singing along to the music and watching the movies and learning the dance moves.

 Believe it or not, we sang Happy Birthday to Marisol, blew out candles and enjoyed a cupcake before the pool.

 Aunt Maren came and stayed with us to celebrate Marisol's birthday!  It's always fun to have her come and stay with us.

 Marisol choose to go to dinner at Cafe Sabor.  It is a family favorite Mexican restaurant.

 After dinner, our county does the big firework display on the 3rd.  So we headed to the university to find a spot outside the stadium to enjoy the show.  We played games as we waited for the sky to become dark.

 We put Eric in charge of holding our spots while we went on a walk to pass the time.

 Marisol's big day ended with a fantastic display of fireworks and music.  The girl was so tired on her action packed day, that she fell asleep during the fireworks.  How does that happen?  All in all, it was a perfect birthday for Marisol!

BNL Concert

 Eric and I were fortunate enough to go to the BNL concert.  It was a fun kid free date night.   The opening bands were Guster and Bens Fold Five.  I had not heard of Guster before, but I quite enjoyed them!

 The stage getting set up for Guster.

 My hot date and I!

 Guster

 Guster

 And one more of Guster

 Ben Folds Five

 Waiting for BNL to come on stage!

 Crazy light shows!

 Million Dollar song, one of my favorites.

What an awesome concert.  It made me feel young and free again!  Now if only I can get my hands on some Dave Matthews Band tickets...

Discovery Gateway Children's Museum

 We spent the day at the children's museum in Salt Lake.  We first went to the museum shortly after the kids were home and they were a little overwhelmed.  So we thought we would go back and they enjoyed it so much more this time. 

 They loved sitting in the helicopter.  Marisol thought it was too loud!

 Marisol was trying her hand at being a News caster,

 and weather girl.

 The kids are getting their work out done.

 What strong kids I have!

 Marisol wanted to see how many blocks whe could lift.

 Omar built his fort, while Marisol decided to take a nap.

All in all, it was a great day spent at the museum!

Nibley Heritage Days

 For Heritage Days, the city planned a week full of fun activities.  Our week started off with a concert in the park.  It was fun listening to the music while we ate our picnic dinner.

 The music was provided by a gentleman who was featured on the tv show "The Voice".  His name was Ryan Innes.  We still sing his song "You melt my Butter" in our house.  Afterwards, was the children's play "The Odessy".  It was so fun seeing past students perform.  What talent our city has!  After dark, there were fireworks.  We thought we could see them from our tramp, so we got all settled and waited.  Unfortunately, we could barely see them over the roof of our backyard neighbors house.  Oh well.

 Saturday was filled with great activities at the Heritage Park.  The kids were able to build rockets and then launch them high in the sky.

 There were blow up slides, carnival games, music, and yummy food!

 Saturday morning was the city parade.  Big Blue came along and gave the kids high fives.  We talked Dave and his kids into coming to the parade with us.

 The cast of the children's play.

 The Army Reserve brought the climbing wall and the Bull Ride.  The kids had a fun time climbing to the top.

Marisol riding the mechanical bull.
Omar getting ready for his ride.

 My awesome tan line from our day in the sun!