Amy's Party

Amy's 29! Last year before the big 30! So we celebrated with cake and good food. Aside from her birthday gifts and flowers, Mom, Dad, and I helped grade some English grammar papers for school.  It took forever! 

Kendra's 6!

Our cute little niece Kendra turned 6!  She started kindergarten this year and is growing up so fast. I was so glad we were able to come and celebrate with her. We camped out with the Garners and partied all weekend.

Michael knows how much Kendra loves fireworks, so that is what we got her for her birthday.  Nothing like chasing after parachute men in the sky.

Cammy made the cutest personal sized piñatas as party favors.  They were black or red and filled with yummy chocolate treats. 

Megan's birthday is only 4 days from Kendra's so she is always crashing the party and we had a little joint party for them both. 

We had a fun time playing with the party blowers and with our nieces.  We had a camp out in the backyard so Kendra could try out "tent" camping since she has only gone camping in her trailer.

Saturday we spent our time shooting Kendra's Bow and arrow, playing barbies, and then Kendra kicked our trash at Mario Cart.  What a fun weekend.  Happy Birthday Girly.  Glad we got to spend it with you.

Pomerelle

We made it to Pomerelle! But since it doesn't open until noon.  We hiked around Lake Cleveland to take up some time.  It was a short and beautiful little trek around the lake. Soon after 12 we headed to Pomerelle to ride the lift and play a game of frisbee golf-mountain style. I lost my frisbee several times in the trees.  Good thing Michael had a good eye.  We made it down the mountain with both frisbees and a few rocks in our shoes.

Shooting Guns

Michael and I decided to crash Amy and Juan's date by joining them to go shooting.  It took me a while to get comfortable with the guns.  I just kept thinking "You'll shoot your eye out." We didn't shoot any eyes, but we did shoot targets and water bottles. We shot up the filled water bottles Amy had saved from the Flower shop. Then took turns shooting at targets.  Amy and I got closest to the bulls-eye.

Hernandez Camping 2012

Thompson Flat Campground-Sawtooth National Forest 

 This year marks another successful camp out with Michael's family.  We wanted to try a different campsite this year instead of going to Indian Springs like we have the past 3 years.  We decided on Thompson Flat Campground near Lake Cleveland.  It turned out to be almost perfect... except for there was no water like we had anticipated and plenty of dirt for the kids to get themselves into trouble with.  The water was an easy fix since Steve and Gloria always seem to take trips in to town while we are camping; this was the perfect excuse for them to do so.  Lake Cleveland was all we needed to wash the dirt off.  We all had a fun afternoon with the kayaks. 

The Camping Bunch.... Megan, Julianna and I enjoyed a group hug while trying to deflate the raft.  Michael laughed at us and watched us struggle for a while then told us to roll it up sleeping bag style to squeeze the air out of it.  Now, why didn't I think of that? 

We enjoyed two toasty fires courtesy of Nick, Michael, and the girls.  I got a little too close and melted my asics. :(

Garner Family

Us Two

 Hernandez Trio

 The Judd Family

The Siqueiros Family

Cousin Camping - 2012

Since Grandma and Grandpa Hernandez passed away Michael and his cousins don't get together like they used to. The cousins are tired of it, so they planned a little intervention.

Cousin Camping-NO PARENTS ALLOWED.  

We spent two nights at Banbury Hot Springs and it went by way too fast.  Here are some pics of the first annual Cousin Camp Out.

Camping like Champs 

Mexican Horse Shoes

Swimming with these girls never gets boring...

The Mexicans. Bethany is so Dark.

Ella loved going down that slide until it stopped loving her.  Ella lost her footing and fell off the ladder while climbing to go down the slide.  It freaked us out.  She got a mean bump on her head and she scared every body out of the pool.  It wasn't too long after her mom held her and iced her head that she was begging to get back in the water to swim. What a strong kiddo. We are so glad she is okay.   

Happy Fourth!

 We had a great time celebrating on the Fourth of July.  It started off with our traditional backyard dutch oven breakfast.  I cooked the bacon and it was tasty.  It was nice just having family there and not the entire neighborhood and ward like we have done in the past years.  It is just so much work to set up and tear down when that many people come over.  We enjoyed the watching Gloria's family (young and old) yell for candy.  We got free otter pops, taffy, and some not so tasty ice cream.

 Ella was not happy with Michael and kept saying "Stop it! Michael... Stop it!" It was pretty darn cute.  She is a sassy girl when she needs to be.

Uncle David cooked up some yummy bratwurst for lunch and we sat around talking and learning about the prankster Uncle David was as a child.  Megan got to learn all kinds of things sitting next to grandpa.  After we got our slice of pie we made our way back to Burley to do some kayaking.  We got Gloria in the kayak! It took some provoking but she finally did it and  she really enjoyed floating.  I'm glad we convinced her to do it.  

We finished up the night with tasty ribs, fireworks and sparkler art.  My cousins and I traced the letters in reverse so that Michael could capture this image with a slow shutter speed.  Turned out pretty cool.  I am so grateful for the service men and women who fight to keep this country free, especially those from my extended family.  We have a lot to be thankful for. I am so grateful for the freedoms I have.  We truly are a blessed people.