Erickson Reunion

 We went to the Erickson Reunion without Kevin this year since it was during first crop. The kids had an amazing time at the reservoir playing on the beach and boating. KayDee caught small fish or tadpoles with her cousins, Derrick loves rowing that raft and Samantha loved to knee board behind the boat. The kids played and played and played with all the fun stuff the resort offered. They golfed, swam, played games, decorated their reunion shirt and watched movies and ate! We did the team relay race a couple of times and had a grand finalie jumping in the pool as a big group. We are so grateful we get to have this time to spend together and make these memories.

Summer Activities

 Derrick and KayDee communicating by tube.

I put the kids in two summer town activities. They did a theater workshop for two weeks and learned all sorts of things about how much work it takes to put on a play. They were in a short play they helped prepare at the end of the class.

They also did Karate for a week and LOVED it! They were breaking boards, throwing stars and winning prizes. They had a great time!

Camping At Timid Springs

 We were fortunate enough to go camping this year on Beaver Mountain even without the reunion. The reunion is scheduled for August so we invited people to come to this camping trip and Kevin's two brothers, Milt and Travis and families, came up to join us. Kevin's parents joined us for an evening too.

 It was so quiet and very enjoyable. The kids played and we cooked our meals together.

 Collecting bb's.

 We even ventured to the ice caves so we could make ice cream. The ice cream churned so long that it made butter too! The beaters had a nice layer on them but we didn't notice it in the ice cream itself. :)

We had such a good trip that we decided we would have to do it again next year.

Helping Dad

Just Playing

 Samantha took some pictures of the kids playing in our backyard with Dani. They have so much fun together.

 We finally got a picture of Charleene with us. For some reason we forget when we get to see her nearly everyday. We love the privileges of living next to a newborn! We don't mind holding her while Bree has things she needs to get done.

 Dani has developed different relationships with each of the kids and enjoys them for different reasons. Dani absolutely loves to giggle at Derrick. He is the worlds best comedian to her.

 KayDee is someone she can play, color and blow bubbles with. And Samantha likes to sing and dance and do all sorts of silly things with her.

Fun in Vegas

 We were able to go to Las Vegas to visit my sister LeAnn's family. Maryn had her birthday party and a dance concert. The kids have so much fun together and it was fun to visit! We went out to dinner and they sang happy birthday to Maryn and KayDee (her birthday was in a couple days) and got ice cream and balloons.

Vaughn Erickson Family Reunion

We joined most of my siblings and my parents at East Canyon for the Erickson family reunion. This year my parents splurged and got shirts for everyone with a special message on the back. We had fun swimming, mini golfing, and figured out we like tennis but need to build some skill.
It was fun to be with everyone who came. Each family came in and out as they had time over the 3 days. Cousins were pleased to be together and enjoy the end of the summer. We had a very fun trip and are grateful my parents decided to have a big get together.

"The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, but to those that endure to the end..."

Back and Forth

 Samantha took some pictures of us while were were at home between crops. We have been back and forth to the farm as Kevin has been needed.

 Kevin called me while he was sitting in a tractor and told me to look outside and this is what I saw. It is beautiful! This is looking out from Travis and Bree's house.

 Daddy Daughters

Sunday braids.

Going to church.

Weeding

This summer we spent a lot of time weeding. The kids are in a music class our neighbor provides and allows us to work for her to pay for it, which has been a great blessing. We weeded their garden while they were gone to the Nauvoo pagent for 8 weeks during the summer. It was a big garden and a lot of work (maybe an acre). Toward the end of the summer, their young cat had kittens in this barrel. The cat hasn't quite figured out how to take care of her kittens so they did end up dying (more like disappearing) but it was still fun to see. We were able to pay for Samantha and Derrick's lessons for the year and about half of KayDee's. We feel so blessed from our neighbor's generosity. I just found out that they are selling food from the garden now since there was so much and have already earned over $200 with more to go. I thought that was great!

Riding Bareback

Samantha and Derrick were trying to get Dakota's feet hardened so he could walk on the road. Kevin didn't have time to put the saddle on and they enjoyed the adventure.

Blooming Cactus

The cactus in our yard were blooming at the beginning of June and it is especially nice because yellow flowers are my favorite. I was really excited to take pictures of them this year and I think they turned out great!

Splash Pad

We went with the neighbors to the Splash Pad. We really enjoy having these kinds of free activities around.
Derrick didn't want to get in the water since it was really windy that day. He doesn't do well with wet and cold wind.
Samantha and KayDee decided to sun bathe to warm up a bit. We forgot swimsuits so colored unders worked well...

Ice Cream Beards

Samantha received coupons for free ice cream to Iceberg from her school and she shared with her brother and sister. They each received a very tall, wide cone and started licking but they melted quick. I'm glad I didn't get one because I ended up with my fair share just controlling the drips. I can't imagine how bad it would have been if it had been 100 degrees like our normal June's are.