Back to School 2014

I guess the summer is officially over because the kids are now back in school.  Last week, Amelia went the half-week Clear Creek Camp that the district puts on each summer and had a great time learning about the environment, making friends, and doing crafts and other "camp" things.

Amelia is all ready to get on the bus Monday morning.

Amelia and her group doing some tracking.

What camp is complete without a hot dog roast?

Although Collin is not in school quite yet, he was happy to help send the others on the way!

Adventures for Jeff and Amanda

These past two weeks have been full of fun adventures for Jeff and Amanda.  Wednesday last week, we got up early and began our hike up to the summit of Mount Timpanogos.  The scenery is amazing up there complete with wildflowers, waterfalls, and wild animals.  While we were in the shack a mother mountain goat almost joined us inside.  It was neat to see her up close with her kid!  On the way back down, we encountered four Big Horn sheep rams.  Lucky for us they were just casually grazing!  The pic of the two of us shows the shack in the background.  That pic was on the way down from the summit.  On the way up, we couldn't see the top because of the cloud cover!

This week (for Amanda's birthday), we went to see Wicked at the Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake and thoroughly enjoyed the experience!  The music was beautiful and the acting superb.

Time just flies

I can't believe it is August already.  The summer just flew by and now we are thinking about school starting up again.  I just wanted to share a couple of pictures from this summer:

The kids at the Provo Cemetery on Memorial Day

Jeff and Amanda next to the big tree.

Amanda finished the Utah Valley Half Marathon and Jeff finished the Utah Valley Marathon!

Amelia with her masterclass teacher at Suzuki string camp.

Claire and Zady with their masterclass teacher
at Suzuki string camp

Taking advantage of Battle Creek Falls to cool off (with Shannon,
Ben, Emily, and Anthony).

 At the Provo Freedom Fest Balloon Launch.

Hanging out at the Freedom Fest Parade in Provo with Lizzy, Jared, and their crew.

We enjoyed a picnic lunch with the Bertasso family.

All the Michaelis (and Rogers) cousins got together for a nice outing picking huckleberries up near Kelly Canyon (at an undisclosed location).

Huckleberries everywhere! It was really hard to stop picking
and leave all those berries on the bush!

Claire and Grandpa hanging out in the raspberries. 

It's Groundhog Day

Alright, it is Groundhog Day today, but the post really doesn't have anything to do with groundhogs.  Just an update on us since the last time (which apparently was a long time ago):

Jeff started taking classes at BYU in January and seems to be enjoying it.  He finally got another job as well that will work with his school schedule.  Both of us have signed up to run the Utah Valley Marathon in June, so we are both busy "training" for that as well.  Amanda is taking the family quilting activities seriously and working on a few quilts for the kids right now (pictures to come in the future).

The kids are all growing like crazy little weeds.  Ross started kindergarten last fall and has some ups and downs, but is doing well in his class.  Claire just earned a candy bar for practicing an exercise 25 times each day on her violin (which she was pretty happy about).  Zady and Amelia are both doing "Knowledge Bowl" at their school, so there are constant questions about the geography of the United States going around the house right now (mostly states and capitals).  Collin's biggest accomplishment lately is he decided he could use the toilet instead of a diaper -- most of the time.

Captain Ross at his birthday party

Temple Square

Claire, Zady, and Amelia at Temple Square

Waiting in line at the visitor's center to see the Christus Statue