My Favorite Old Family Photos

July is a fun month in the state of Utah. With the Independence Day at the beginning of the month and Pioneer Day on the 24th, it feels like we are sounded perpetually by fireworks and celebration. And it is so much fun! As a kid I always loved Pioneer Day because my neighborhood had a bicycle parade. All of the children got to decorate their bicycles and wear pioneer clothing which usually consisted of a bonnet and some sort of dress for the girls. I love that it is a holiday where we look back upon our ancestors and celebrate their lives and accomplishments. So in honor of Pioneer Day, here are some of my favorite photos from my family history. I love looking at old photos! 

My Great-Grandmother Alice with her first baby. Her head wrap looks like the turbands that are currently popular. 

 Alice preparing to go hunting.

 Photo shoot with her sister and brother-in-law.

 Polaroid "Selfie."

 Old fashioned photo booth with her sisters.

 Camping

 The summer before my Great-Grandmother passed away, I spent some time at her house looking at old photos. When I saw a bunch of photos of her on a motorcycle, I remember being shocked and exclaiming/asking: "Grandma, you were a biker babe!??"

 A photo of my Great-great-grandmother Sarah (Left on the front row) with her sisters. She travelled to Utah as a child during the Pioneer era. 

 My Great-Grandmother Alice (second from the left) with a few of her sisters.

 My Great-Great Grandmother Sarah. 

 My Great-Great Grandfather William. 

 William on a bike. 

 My Great-Grandma Alice throwing a snowball. 

 Bicycle Gang in SLC.

 A class photo of my grandmother in elementary school. I look a lot like her.

My grandmother with her siblings. She's the little one.  

 My Great-Grandma's (on the other side of the family) kitchen. 

 My Great-Grandma Jeanette. I never met her because she died several years before I was born.

 One of my great aunts. I love her outfit. So classic. 

 My Great Uncle wearing his Korean War Uniform, Great-Grandpa wearing his WWI uniform, my great-grandma, my Grandpa trying on his brother's uniform, and another Great-Uncle wearing his WWII uniform. 

 My Great-Uncle posing in front of the family's first car. 

 My Great-Great Grandmother and her mother (My Great-Great-Great Grandmother.) 

 My Grandpa in front of his stock car, lucky number 28. 

 My Great-Great Grandmother before she was married.

 My Great-Great Grandmother Sarah as a little girl. 

 My Great-Grandparents on a trip to California. I LOVE old vacation photos! 

 My Great Grandmother and her second husband preparing for a night out. 

 Awesome old car!

 My Great-Great Grandmother in her home. 

 My Great Uncle Ron in his Navy Uniform. 

 The home of my Great-Great Grandparents.

 One of my Great-Aunts in a washtub. 

 My Great-Great Grandfather. 

A Day in the Life | Summer 2015

Sunday | July 12, 2015

This is not a typical Sunday for us, but I picked it because it was my youngest daughter's second birthday. We were on vacation with my family at a time-share.

9:00 PM (Saturday, July 11) | I try to put the birthday girl to bed but she will have none of it. At home she is still in a crib and cannot escape so she usually goes to sleep pretty easily, but at the condo she knows that other people are up and having fun so she is bound and determined to be part of it.

10:00 PM (Saturday, July 11) | The three girl cousins have all fallen asleep in the living room while watching the Disney Channel. I move my girls to their bed where they blissfully sleep for the next ten and a half hours.

8:30 AM | The Birthday Girl is up and ready to video chat with her daddy. She is really excited to see him because he left for Scout Camp on Wednesday and she hasn't seen him since then. They talk for several minutes and we can tell that she knows it is her birthday and is enjoying that fact.

9:00 AM | We eat a birthday breakfast of donuts out on the porch. I seriously love eating breakfast out there. A nice covered porch is my number one dream for any future house that we own. She enjoyed her donuts very much. While we were eating I taught her to hold up two fingers for her age.

9:30 AM - Balloon fight with Grandpa. Four kids against one adult and Grandpa still managed to win. My niece has long hair and it was sticking up everywhere, as were the curly haired girlies.

10:00 AM - Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... She's glued to the screen. The older girls find it hard to keep their eyes open.

10:30 AM | Snack time on the porch. Her favorite snack at home is pickles so I brought her a jar of Trader Joe's pickles. This was our first time trying this variety and they were quite strong. She endured and ended up enjoying them.

10:45 AM | Playing with toys on the porch. Barbies, Mini-dolls, and monster trucks.

11:45 AM | My oldest daughter talks me into letting the birthday girl open a present. She opens an Elmo coloring book and both girls go to town coloring!

12:00 PM | Pool time! 

1:30 PM | Lunch at the time share offices. My parents had to listen to a presentation, we just grabbed the free food and hung out in the rec building while we ate. The turkey sandwiches were delicious, and my girls especially loved the chips.

2:00 PM | The kids play with bubbles, color, and other toys and by 2:30 they are exhausted. The youngest two nap.

4:00 PM | The Birthday Girl wakes up and we call daddy again to chat.

4:30 PM | We begin dinner preparation, a BBQ.

5:30 PM | My oldest talks us into opening presents. She is very excited for her sister and for herself...she almost views it as a second birthday. The kids go nuts over the ice cream shop. The oldest two, ages 5 and 7, take charge. This leaves both two year olds feeling rather unhappy. The ice cream shop kept the kids entertained for a long time.

6:00 PM | I let the Birthday Girl watch a few minutes of Up! on my tablet to cheer her up. Watching a show + gummies + her blanket do the job and when she is happily playing again I finish prepping her cake.

6:30 PM | I make the mistake of leaving her cake unattended on the porch for five minutes and come outside to find that she has helped herself to the frosting, while the older kids watched and laughed. She definitley knew it was her cake. We asked her a few times if she would share her cake with her Grandpa who has a birthday three days after her. Her response was always a solid "No. My cake!"

6:35 PM | We sing happy birthday to the Birthday Girl and my dad. They each have their own cake.

7:00 PM | We video chat with various family members and tell my dad goodbye, he has to go home for the work week. Then we head to the pool and swim until 9:00 PM.