Quick Catch Up

I have gotten really far behind on my Blog so, I am going to give the shortened version the rest of my summer.

Church History Tour 

We enjoyed this trip with Hal's siblings and their spouses. In June we traveled to Buffalo, New York where we boarded our tour bus and continued our travels to our first stop in Niagra Falls, Canada.

Mike and Karma

Cynthia and Paul

Roy and Dixie

Louise and Jim Cook (Jim is a family friend that loves to be a part of the Mickelsen Family!). 

Cute picture of Dixie & Mike

Our trip included many Church History sites with stops in Mendon, Palmyra, and Fayette, New York.

Hal and I in front of Tomlinson Inn - Mendon, New York. 

Samuel Smith (brother to Joseph and the first missionary of the Church) stopped at this Inn with a knapsack filled with copies of the Book of Mormon. He talked with Phineas Young as well as others living in the area and gave Phineas a copy of the book. Eventually copies of the Book of Mormon were shared with Brigham Young, other Young family members and Heber C. Kimball.

 Palmyra - entering the Sacred Grove

Visiting the beautiful Sacred Grove was one of the highlights of our trip.

Palmyra Temple

Top of the Hill Cumorah

Whitmer Farm where the Church was organized - April 6, 1830 - Fayette, NY

Our trip continued with stops in Harmony, Pennsylvania and areas nearby.

 In front of Isaac and Elizabeth Hale's Home in Harmony, Pennsylvania

Paul in Harmony

Near the banks of the Susquehanna River

We then made our way to Kirtland, Ohio with stops in Colesville and South Bainbridge, New York.

Kirtland Temple

Our Family Group in front of the temple

I have only included a few of the highlights of this trip as I have also made a photo book that records much more of the detail. It was a great opportunity to spend time with Hal's family and we learned so much about Church History. 

Cousin Fun - June, July and August

Gigi, Liam, Dex and London play "Hide and Seek" - this is always a favorite game and they love to see if they can outsmart grandma!!

Gigi's special hiding place

              Dex and London hiding            

Liam's Hiding places

Ruby came to stay and play with Liam a couple of times and they both loved riding the "Grandpa horse"!

Cousins enjoying being together at Alex's farewell lunch on the day he entered the MTC.

Sam with his cast after his traumatic fall, miraculous rescue, surgery and recovery. 

Sareya's BYU Dance Clinic Performance

 Sareya attended a week long BYU dance clinic, and at the end of the week, the dancers put on a program.

 Grandpa and I enjoyed seeing her perform - of course, she was the best dancer (but then we aren't prejudiced or anything like that!!).

Swimming in Tricia and James' new pool

Tricia and James' put a pool in their backyard this summer.  It was quite a hassle with the company that did the work BUT, it is now the favorite summer gathering place for all the cousins!!

 Lillian watches in the pool as Conrad and Lulu come down the slide. Violet and Ruby are next in line!

 Violet and Aleeya are lifted to standing position by their dads and Dorothy and Sareya.  

 The older cousins were all more than happy to lift London up!

Lulu achieves full standing position!!

Cub Scout Pack Meeting

I was tending Dex and London and they went with me to Pack Meeting. They entertained themselves by making chalk drawings on the sidewalk while the scouts had relay races on the lawn.

 Two happy little artists

A Parade and a Cheerleader Fundraiser

 Each summer James enters a float in the "Salem Days" parade.  It is always a family affair. This year featured James as the "policeman", Evan and Allison as the crooked teeth and Lillian and Ella riding in the trailer throwing out candy and Treygan, Ruby, Evie and Preston walking along behind and also giving out treats.

Dorothy mached in the parade with the cheerleader squad. She is on the far row.

The Salem Hills High School cheerleaders also put on an exhibition and pizza dinner fund raiser.  Dorothy is the cheerleader on the end of the front row.

James, Sam and Preston enjoying the pizza