Pioneer Day Parade, Enoch, UT

Enoch is a small town just north of our house.  It is actually closer to our house than downtown Cedar City.  It was fun to see our friends in the parade.

Afterwards, there was a town party with live music, games, a dunking booth, and good food.










They cemented in this pole for the 'greased pole climb'.  There was $60 at the top for whoever could get it.  Despite several attempts, Tucker and Savannah couldn't do it.  It was SO slippery.





The local Baptist church provided free cotton candy, popcorn, and snow cones.  There were also free bounce houses.



Kids waited in line to be dunked in the dunking booth, including Savannah.





There was a large bubble machine to create this 'bubble field'.  I've never seen anything like it, but the kids loved it.

Pioneer Day Parade, Cedar City

Savannah and Tucker were part of the Cedar City Pioneer Day Parade.  It was fun to see them dressed up and celebrate our history.







This was our Ward's float, pulled by a neat old tractor.

Berry Family Reunion at Silver Lake, CA

Silver Lake is a beautiful lake south of Lake Tahoe near Kirkwood ski resort.  The lake was beautiful and the weather was perfect.

It was so nice to spent time with family and even meet relatives new to us.

Angela brought a box of family photos that led to fun family history stories.  Grandpa Aksland told us about his time visiting the cabin as a boy.  So neat to see the areas we have heard about and to get to know the family better.



Savannah and Tucker floating in the lake.

















That was our parking spot.  Driving and parking were a little challenging in such a large vehicle.

Taylorsville, California

Grandma and Grandpa Knight invited us to visit Taylorsville, California with them.  We took the scenic backroad -- a narrow, windy, dirt road that meanders through the hills, past creeks and dormant volcanos on the way.

It was a beautiful area and delicious food at the little market in Taylorsville.















The cash register in the market is over 100 years old and still works.

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Knight

On our way to Angela's family reunion, we stopped in Sparks and spent some time with Grandma and Grandpa Knight.  Of course, no visit is complete without a visit to See's Candies.



Cabela's was also hosting some family-friendly events.  So we made some crafts and shot some indoor-safe arrows from a bow.











A pretty intense game of corn-hole broke out between Grandpa and Savannah.

Happy Birthday Tucker

Tucker's Birthday this year was celebrated with cupcakes, candy, electronics, and books.





An entire tub of marshmallow cream.



Tucker received an electronics / soldering kit from Aunt Andrea and Uncle Brent.  It was an electronic dice machine. 



The finished electronic dice.

Utah Midsummer Renaissance Faire

Cedar City hosts the Utah Midsummer Renaissance Faire each summer.  They had Renaissance themed food, booths, and performances.  Some people went all out in dressing up for it.  I'm not really sure what Belly Dancing has to do with the Renaissance, but apparently it does since some dancers were performing.  Many of the booths were similar to the typical Cedar City Festival, so we we didn't stay too long.

Dirt Bikes in the Yard

Ok, it's not really our yard, but our house backs up to hills and jeep trails, so the kids and I have been exploring the area on our dirt bikes and bicycles.

We have a small, relatively cheap, electric dirt bike that does surprisingly well on the trails.

Carson's Custom T-Shirt

Carson designed a custom T-shirt last week. He designed all of the graphics by himself -- including an original font.

Midnight Design is Carson's online moniker.

Patriot Camp

I heard about a day camp called Patriot Camp, and it sounded fun, so I signed up. Tucker and Savannah would be campers, Carson would be a youth leader, and I would be a Team Mom. Every day there was at least one historical character dressed in costume, and the teams would go to different stations throughout the morning. Most of my pictures show other people besides us, but you can see all the great fun and learning that went on at Patriot Camp.

Learning about proper military formation from a German general who helped out at Valley Forge. 

The kids went to the schoolhouse a couple of days to learn the preamble to the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights by singing them in songs.

learning about soap-making

a talk with George and Martha Washington

learning from Polly Cooper, a member of the Oneida tribe who helped at Valley Forge.

Marquis de Lafayette, another helper at Valley Forge

learning about taxation without representation

making our own tea bags with dried peppermint

Carson working with other youth leaders