Fantastic 4th of July

The 4th of July is seriously one of my favorite holidays and I think that is because my family has so many fun traditions. Because we've lived in 3 different states since moving away from Utah, this was the first time our kids experienced our crazy family traditions and we loved every minute of it!

On the eve of the 4th my WHOLE family gets together at my mom and dad's to set up tents in the backyard for the big sleepover.

Before the night is done we stuff ourselves with smores and snow cones.

Even after a very late night everyone is up at 6 am to go down and see the hot air balloon festival. 20 kids, and Andy, piling into Grandpas truck is the most exciting way to start the day!

I love these pictures of Kaden & Avrey! It was like nothing they had ever experienced.

That afternoon we headed to my sisters house to play on the worlds biggest slip n' slide!

Kaden made a new best friend with my niece Keena! The evening of the 4th we had a huge BBQ and Uncle Andy brought his motorcycle to give all the kids a ride. Kaden was so excited for his turn with Keena and from that point on could not be separated from her!

That night we all went down to the grounds outside of BYU's Lavell Edwards stadium to watch the fireworks. As if the kids had not had enough sugar we watched the sun go down while sipping squeeze its, eating popsicles and treats.

If there is one thing my family know best it is how to have a great time!!

Best Grandpa Ever

One thing I love about going back to UT is letting our kids enjoy things that we did as kids. One HOT afternoon we got together with the Gillespie cousins and played in the irrigation water at my parent's house.

My dad flooded the whole yard with water for endless amounts of fun!

The older kids competed to see who could sit in the water the longest. Despite the look of pain on Trey's face he had such a great time.

Miss Avrey even enjoyed dipping her feet in!!

The women folk aren't big on playing in the water, so instead they pass out the endless amounts of ice pops!! Forget water parks...irrigation at Grandpa's is hands down the best way to spend a hot summer day!

Salt Lake VIP Tour

While we were in UT we took the kids up to Salt Lake to spend the day with my sister Laura and see the sights of downtown. We also met up with my brother-in-law Andy who happens to work for the church; he treated us to a VIP tour of the conference center. We were able to go to the top garden area. We did get stuck up there in the rain for a few minutes but it was totally worth it!

He also gave us a backstage tour of the Conference Center. Trey thought it was pretty cool to go up on the same stage as the Prophet.

Andy works at the church office building so we were also able to go to the top and see all of downtown.

Since we were right there we took the boys on a tour of Brigham Young's home, the Beehive House.

You can't stop at the Beehive house, and not stop in next door at the Lion House pantry and enjoy some delicious pie!

We had such a great day with Laura, and to top it all off she surprised me with a great new find. A gluten free bakery!! We met my brother Kris, also a celiac, and his family there for some delicious cupcakes!

LeChem Family Reunion

We started our Utah trip out right by meeting Jeff's family in Park City for the first annual family reunion. We had such a great time and made many great memories...so many in fact that I can't share them all so here are the highlights.

We all stayed together in a beautiful home in Bear Hollow Village just down the road from the Utah Olympic Park. The kids had such a fun time with sleepovers and waking up to gift buckets from Gram.

Spending time at the pool was a favorite for everyone!

Time at the park playing basketball & baseball.

Trey smacking Uncle Jason in the face with a baseball giving him a bloody nose! Trey was so excited about his good hit, but then felt really bad that he hurt Jason.

Some choose to spend their "green fee" money actually playing the greens at Wasatch Mountain.

Others choose to spend their "green fee" money getting manicures and pedicures!!

A sunny afternoon at the Olympic Park watching the arial ski jumpers and enjoying lunch!

And, of course, a trip to Park City would not be complete without a ride down the Alpine Slide. We had such a great time and can't wait to do it all again!