Memorial Weekend

Visiting graves on Memorial Day is something Tim has done every year since growing up with his family. It was one of his favorite holidays as a kid. He loved spending time with his cousins at the cemetery, visiting those in his family that had passed away. When Tim and I dated, he invited me to his Memorial Day tradition of visiting the cemetery's.  I had no idea people did this. I did not grow up visiting the cemetery on Memorial Day. It was a weekend we spent on vacation or enjoying the outdoors somewhere away from home. We have since incorporated these two traditions into our little family. 

On Sunday, we took the kids up to visit my grandma Jean, my aunt Sharon, (who both passed away last year) and my grandpa Joe's grave at Larkin cemetery. Then we took the kids to the Dog Park down by Tanner Park, ( a park I went to as a kid) The kids loved seeing all the dogs on the trail, playing in the freezing cold water and.....exploring new sites.

At Sharon and Grandpa Joe's grave

At Grandma Jean's grave 

Beautiful views of the mountains that I grew up on

It's always an adventure with these two kiddos

These four are my whole world....I'm so very blessed

This little girl is always up for an adventure

My two little girls

Allie always finds the FUN everywhere we go....

On Memorial Day, we meet up with Tim's parents and siblings and their kids at Tim's grandpa's at Valley View cemetery. After that, we drive up to visit Tim's mother's parents out in Lake Hills cemetery. The kids love seeing their cousins and playing around the cemetery. We then had lunch at Tim's parents house and spent the afternoon with them. That night we took the kids to dinner, and then headed up American Fork Canyon to take a hike up to Cascade Springs. I had been told it was a great hike for kids, since the trails are paved and pretty flat. I wasn't expecting the beauty that we saw. This place is magical. It really is. I can't believe I have lived in Utah all these years, and have never been here. I felt like we were in a botanical garden! The moss on the rocks were so beautiful, the water was gushing through the rocks, which made for a beautiful scenery! We had a blast, and we will be back to explore some more!

Allie, Naomi and Mason sporting their RED WHITE and BLUE

Allie 7 years old 

Naomi 13 months old

Mason 5 years old

Me and my three miracles 

Tim and his little girl

Naomi just Chillin' on sunny memorial day

The Kehl cousins 

Chad, Melanie, Matt, Julie, Me, Tim, and Clara and Roger Kehl 

Visiting the graves with cousins

Cascade Springs in American Fork Canyon

Over the bridge with these two explorers

A family photo on the bridge

The water was super clear 

The scenery was spectacular 

The springs and water falls are gorgeous

The waterfall bridge

The gushing waterfall

A stop on the bench for a rest 

These two loved leading the way

The springs

Allie and Mason love to explore 

They thought the fallen tree was pretty awesome

The moss and lily pads in the pond were amazingly beautiful 

Allie took this picture, which looked straight out of a magazine

The ponds

One, Two, Three.....the three are forever friends........

Goodbye, memorial day 2016.....we sure had a blast exploring new things, and celebrating the people that have gone before us......until next year........