What have U been up to this summer?

This year our summer has been pretty low key since Jared is taking his first medical school class, but here is a list some of the stuff that we have been up to.

We went to our first pro baseball game the Detroit Tigers.

Sitting behind all the drunks! :)

We are silly.

I (Melisa) got in a little car accident while being lost. :( My poor new car but thank goodness for insurance, its back to new.

Olivia's Granny had surgery so she has been blowing lots of get well kisses from Michigan to Utah.

This summer we have also been learning how to go potty like a big girl and have been very successful so far (thanks for all the advice). She loves to put on her on undies note the tucked in shirt. :)

Jared has found a job for Olivia, shining his shoes.

We did celebrate the fourth of July like most Americans by going to a parade and eating fruit snacks.

And lighted fireworks with our new friends.

I learned how to make bread with a great recipe from my second mom (Jeanne).

Our poor Olivia got Conjunctivitis, this was the first time she had ever had a prescription.

Olivia and I went to the zoo and she rode on a camel.

We play with our dolls daily.

Sometimes we get bored and take random pictures.

Olivia and I (Melisa) went to a dairy farm with some ladies in our branch and their kids.

I milked the cow. EWWW!

And Olivia got to sit on a tractor while we were there. (she's frowning because she just hit her cheek on the steering wheel and is holding the tears)

That pretty much sums up our summer so far.

REWIND- Road Trip

CAUTION: Lots of pictures!

Day:1

Jared, Olivia and I left on our road trip headed to our new home in Michigan on Saturday June 6th in the morning.

All ready to go and saying "good bye" to Utah. :(

On the first day we didn't do anything exciting we just drove straight to Denver Colorado and enjoyed a beautiful drive.

This was Olivia's first time staying at a hotel.
(What a silly)

Day: 2

This was a LOOONG day driving through Kansas to Missouri.

Me and my grumpy little girl. She was such a good girl on the whole trip but sometimes enough was enough for her.
Olivia and I had fun in the back reading books, playing with stickers, coloring, talking on our play phones,(thanks Granny) and watching Disney movies.

While Jared had fun driving.

Day:3

On day three we went to Liberty Jail in Independence Missouri. It was really interesting to see the jail that Joseph Smith and a few other great men stayed in for so many months.

This is a small part of the jail.

Sleepy OliviaI loved how she put her foot up while she was coloring, what a silly girl.

Carthage Jail
After we finished at Liberty Jail we drove to Carthage Jail in Illinois. That was a really sad but neat experience that we were able to have as a family. We were able to go into the bedroom that the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith died in. After that experience we drove to Nauvoo.
Mississippi River

Day 4:

On the fourth day we visited Nauvoo and had so much fun seeing the beautiful Nauvoo Temple, the old pioneer homes, activities, riding in wagons and just exploring.

Olivia
If you know Olivia then you know she had to get a picture with the horses.

Jared and Olivia in front of the Nauvoo Temple.

Olivia and me.

Our little family on the temple steps.

What a beautiful temple!

This is Jared entertaining himself.

After we had a ride from the ox Olivia got to pet them.

Nauvoo was such a fun and spiritual experience and I highly recommend people to visit it if they haven't and ever have the chance, plus all the attractions run by the LDS church are free.

That evening we started heading over to Chicago.
(Nothing makes Olivia happier then a new pack of PEZ).

Day: 4

On the fourth day of our trip we arrived in Chicago and went straight to the Navy Pier. Where we rode on a tour boat that takes you through the city.

Olivia and her Daddy looking at all the towers as Olivia calls them.

While we were in Chicago we stayed at Jared's cousins home with his wife and their beautiful daughter. They were very nice to us and we really enjoyed staying with them in their home and visiting.

Day: 5

It was really rainy on this day :( because of the rain we didn't get to do to much exploring outside.

But Jared did get his picture in front of this "Bean". (It's the one thing he really wanted to do in Chicago?!)

Oh and he really wanted a Chicago style pizza. Jared and Olivia thought it was really yummy but I didn't think it was that special.

She actually ate her whole slice.
Since it was raining so hard Olivia got to experience riding in a taxi a few times with no car seat Scary!
P.S. Taxi's are so gross!

We went to the Field Museum in Chicago. The museum was really COOL and big.

The museum kind of reminded me of Night at the Museum. It had mummies (my favorite), dinosaurs, pretty much every animal (stuffed), fish, insects, things about different cultures, and a lot of other great things. They had this little section for kids where they had dress up clothes (it was kind of gross to let her put them on) and activities for kids as well.
Here is Olivia picking corn.Jared and Olivia standing in front of Sue the T-Rex. All the bones are real except for the skull.

After the museum it stopped raining so we went and rode the ferris wheel on the Navy Pier. It was so cold.

If you ask Olivia about our trip she will tell you all about riding the horse.

Day: 6

We drove to our new home in Michigan!

And made a little stop at Jared's new favorite stadium.

We had a great road trip and had tons of great adventures. We hope that you enjoyed seeing a few of them.

Sorry about all the pictures but I did warn you!