Hey everyone...I'm hosting a couple of auctions for the Christian and Stephanie Nielson family. You can check them out here.

BYU football!!!

ok...so is anyone else as excited for byu football to start as i am? i love, love, love the fall mostly for that reason. so david and i have been going to the scrimmages and a few of the practices and i can hardly wait for the games to start! last week we went to the big fall sports "cougar kickoff". it was so much fun to see our "big boys" (the boys who stayed with us this summer) signing autographs and being all cute with the kids. good luck danny, justin, iona, nate, & tonna.

poor christian...

well...it finally happend, we made our first trip to the ER. and as you can tell by the picture, it was christian, and he was happily playing again minutes after cutting his lip open on the corner of the desk. that boy...

david took him to the ER and said he was such a trooper the whole time. they did have to sedate him so that they could be sure to sew his lip back together at the right place - good thing there was a good doctor there. can you imagine having a crooked lip your whole life (minus 2 years)? his lip was pretty swollen for a few days, but the stitches are out now and he's lookin good!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTIAN!!!

our whimsical birthday boy

these are his birthday cakes this year - a dirt cake and a sand cake. the kids LOVED them and we had fun sharing them with everyone when we celebrated all the august birthdays. grandpa turned 92!

christian sporting his new woody costume. didn't have quite the same effect that jack's buzz costume had. I think chrisitan was ready to take it off after about 2 minutes. (eh, bittersweet) we spent the evening and next day at timp lodge up at sundance - so much fun! we found the short cut to stewart falls and hiked that the next day - perfect hike for the boys - not too long with lots of rocks and water!
christian's birthday party/playgroup - i can't believe i actually got this picture with all the kiddos in it - (well, i'm actually holding jane so she isn't in it) it was fun, but crazy!

The Last of the 24th...well not forever

We went to Suz's house for snowcones and fireworks at the end of the day. We all love it there! We have so much fun every week and every time we go over! Isn't Christian cute?! Don't you wish you were eating a snowcone? (P.S. Best place to get a snowcone on earth--Matsumotos, Haleiwa, Oahu. Or just go down the road to Aoki's. Just as good, maybe betta, no line...and their web site has hapa haole music to dance to)

the kids played with sparklers...


and the neighbors put on a SPECTACULAR fireworks show...really...I was so impressed. It was big like stadium of fire big. loved it. Love the fourth of July and the copy cat celebrations of the 24th. (This was not a dogging on the 24th as a holiday. I love it and I love the pioneers, it just feels like another 4th of July cause it is in the same month and you might as well celebrate it the same way with fireworks and parades and watermelon. If there were another day in October worth celebrating we would probably dress up and ask people for free candy and hope there were no needles inside them like we do on the 31st. It is just what you do in October. I guess there is a day--Columbus day, right? We could be more creative with that one. I hear the rumblings of rebuilding the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria and floating them in Utah Lake during a microburst. But we would probably still dress up--like Columbus and his crew, and when we got to shore, we'd probably ask people for free candy--like Columbus did to the Indians--I think that is an acurate historical fact...I read it on Wikipedia.) :)

More 24th

We all had fun at the Pleasant Grove Pool. I usually don't like public pools. It is cause I am a pool snob. It had to come out sooner or later, but I admit it. I turn my nose up at pools that I have to swim at with other people. I will admit that they are much better than the old school pools you see in the movie Sandlot with a bow shaped pool, with one diving board, and a lifeguard (who can't really save you). But I will ruin the fun of these pool pictures if I go on. So, just look at how happy the kids are at the pool and all my rantings and snobbery will be breezed away from your minds...

Another reason to be so proud of Jack! He os terrified of the slide, but I bribed him with Cheetos and told him I would make a movie of it (see below) if he went down...so he did :) And he LOVED it! And he kept doing it. He was my brave little boy that day. This is a big step for us...

This is not the slide movie...this is my Jaws movie, so sing the tune as you watch, it is more fun. Duh, Duh...Duh, Duh

This is the one. It is boring and long (it is posted for Jacks sake--you don't need to watch it :) You probably will, lets be honest. So I will give you a song to sing along as you watch. How about...You've Got to pray just to make it today by M.C. Hammer...enjoy!

Our Waterfall

As part of our 24th of July festivities we (Jenny, Jack, Chunk, Jane, Christy, Justin, Morgan, Kade, Suz, Kasey, Kasey's friend, Jacob, Abam, and I--wow, I wasn't planning on saying everyone, but it happened) went to Battle Creek Falls in Pleasant Grove for a little hike. I rate it high. It was easy, a lot of water for half of it, a fun ending. I am biased though, cause this is where I proposed to Jenny almost 6 years ago. It was fun to go back!

Now look at us...nuts.
I thought this was way cute. I was so proud of Jack that day! He crossed the river all by himself under the falls and hiked the whole time without being carried!! He was so brave and so fun!

an evening at the park

a new hobby for jack
jack wasn't looking...
cute baby jane.

I had this great idea...(the real reason for this post!)

NERAK

Aug 21, 2017...the next total solar eclipse visible from the United States. Let's be ready.

Thanks everyone for a fun movie night!!

jane's blessing day

thanks to everyone who came to jane's blessing.

isn't she beautiful!?!

and her brothers totally adore her. i love it!

Summer

summer treats
don't you love this picture?jenny's new indoor soccer team (she rocks!) Her team name: BOTOX.

the boys at bridal veil

Heaven will have the most delicious cherries and it will be summer all the time. I am banking on it. Plus, I think it is in the scriptures...somewhere in Ezekiel.

3 Crazies

Jack wanted to try on Jane's bows and clips. Jenny let him...

Christian and Christian. Christian (the younger) LOVED Sweet Tomatoes. He likes all his food in different spots. He was more excited about the setup than he was the actual food. He is so dang cute. (P.S. Christian, I miss you...)
Here is Jane. We had to have a picture with her "purple lipstick." Jenny is mad I am posting it. I think it rocks!!I call this--Tower Hugabutt. (This is for Emma as a preview for her life in November.) 2 Kids in full-time diapers is fun. Not as fun as 3 kids in sacrament meeting on meltdown (in fairness to Jane--she was a saint). Good thing President Bateman was 2 rows behind us. (Although you have to be at least 4 away to prevent an underpew visit from Chunky.)

Sisters...

I'm so sad - Jessie moved to Arizona on Saturday and Jodi is leaving for Germany tomorrow. I love you both - best of luck with your new adventures...

p.s. Happy Birthday Jodi!!!

rocks in the river

I think this is one of the boys favorite things to do. Anytime we are near water, they LOVE to throw rocks in! It is one of the things I love about summertime...

This picture is classic...The angle is off, so it looks like murder
2 cute boys (When Jenny and I pray, I still have a hard time not calling all three of our kids "the boys" as a collective title. I find myself correcting myself saying, "the boys and Jane"

p.s. jane and jenny were at a relief society thing.

Check out baby steals today------>

They did a contest for a diaper bag and Jenny won! I think she will be announced on the site today. Everyone should check it out! Fun huh?!?!

Christian and Jane

Don't you love Christian holding his legs in this. It was a hold of satisfaction and giddiness after giving Jane his toy! It was a cute moment!
Christian is really cute with Jane (he kind of pronounces it Jean). He calls her cute and wants to hold her all the time! He is such a cute little chunk!

a little blurry--but cute!

our only excuse...