The MORE, the MERRIER

Chelsea was in town (as you know) and my uncle Steve and his adorable fam from Boston were here for a week. We had a BLAST! My kids were on cloud 9 the entire time. They LOVE LOVE LOVE their Auntie Chel, and they adore their Boston cousins. It was a great- and busy- couple weeks!

Breakfast with the sibs and the kiddos @ Silver Fork Lodge before...


another hike up to Donut Falls.



Daybreak Lake with Gram, Gramp, Steve, Heather and fam.

My darling grandparents and Steve, Madeleine and Preston.


Addi chasing Ben down the dock.

Then to my parents for a BBQ.

Tolman with his cousins and Uncle Steve. Tol wouldn't leave Preston's side all night.

PARK CITY with Chel, Becca, Danny and Emi.

Chel's girlfriend, Becca, flew in for a few days and it was great to meet her and spend time with them. And it is always a treat to hang out with Danny and Emi. Danny has got to be one of my favorite people. He cracks me up!

"Grandpa's Zoo" with the cousins

Tol, Addi, Preston, Kate and Ben


Riding on the new carousel.


I thought it was hilarious that Tol was on a grasshopper. You can't really see it in this pic, but that's why I'm laughing. *I don't know why I thought it was so funny.


Kate and Tol with the snake.


What's a trip to the zoo without getting a drink out of the lion's mouth and Mom getting it on film?

Boating

Dave helping Tol with his first time on the knee board. WAY TO GO, TOL!!


Pres, Steve and Maddie.

It was so great having so many people in town! We sure miss all these people and wish we all lived closer together.
Now back to real life. BOO!
until next time...

Care Bears

Addi's CARE BEARS were very tired after a long day of swimming.

Care Bear swimming pool.


Addi giving each of her Care Bears a kiss goodnight.


The Care Bears, sound asleep in their cribs.


They all slept very well with Addi watching over them... in her stroller... in the garage... for almost an hour. Whatever keeps her happy.

The Joy of Cooking

It is late. I should be in bed. I was dragging all morning from being up super late last night, yet here I am again, another lesson NOT learned. But tonight, my insomnolence is at least productive.
I just got home from seeing a movie with Chel, Becca (Chel's girlfriend), my dad and Curt. We walked out of The Time Travelers Wife, (it was HORRIBLE! I could have done a better job acting [and I got a mere B in Ms. Davis' 8th grade drama class]), and walked into Julie & Julia.
So I've NEVER liked to cook. I feel like it is such a waste of time. I mean, food is food. Why spend HOURS in the kitchen making something just to fill my tummy with something wonderful and delicious when a 30 second prep time bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats does the same thing?- wonderful AND delicious. I know I know... regrettably, Dave doesn't agree either.
I am a complex person, but when it comes to food I'm rather simple. My favorite food is cereal and I love PB&J. I could eat both everyday for the rest of my life and still not get sick of either.
So back to the question: why cook? I probably would be more inclined to cook for my family if they ate Ramen and Mac and Cheese every night, but they don't. You see, Dave LOVES to cook. It is his passion. He loves new recipes, obscure ingredients, and edible chemistry. Along with that sort of passion comes a bit of fastidiousness. So there's my excuse and the reason my family gets good, healthy home-cooked meals.
However, I was inspired by the stories and talents of Julia Childs and Julie Powell in the movie tonight and now I want to cook. I think I've been missing something in my boring day-to-day 'meals.' All the food in the movie looked AMAZING and the thing is, J&J loved creating all of it! Do I have it in me? ****I hope Dave doesn't read this post**** I actually have a desire to cook!

But, it's late and I'll probably wake up in the morning, pour myself a nice bowl of wonderful and delicious cereal, and this inkling will be a thing of the past.

Millcreek

It is a very rare occasion to have ALL the family together... and we are LOVING it!
Chel is here to visit for 10 whole days, and Nils is home from his summer in Arizona and is home for a few days before he heads back up to Logan. PARTY!


It's always a party with the Nelson 5 and a camera.



I'm so glad Aunt Mitz and Aunt Donna joined us. I LOVE these 2 ladies. They are my Grammy Jean's sisters and they remind me of her so much. Anyone who knows them knows that Mitz is the life of any party, and Donna is the SWEETEST thing ever.! Oh, Mar Mar and Spook Cat- I ADORE you both!


Here we are, preparing our tin foil dinners. Nothing better than dinner cooked over the campfire in the mountains. YUMMY! And cute Curt and Addi... great little buddies!


My adorable Grandpa and the kiddos! My Grandpa is the BEST Grandpa in the world. He loves kids sooooo much. He is constantly calling to talk to my kids on the phone and is ALL about them when we are with him. My kids LOVE Grandpa Pres so much and are extremely BLESSED to have him... as am I!


Nils, Curt and Matty. Matt is just like a bro to me- he and Nils have been friends forever. Matt spent the summer in ALASKA and just got home. We missed seeing his smiling face. Glad he's home and glad he joined us. Love you, Matty!


And here are the kiddos with their AUNTIE CHEL! They adore each other!

It was a FABULOUS night! FAB company, FAB food in FAB surroundings.

SMALL WONDERS

Tolman had his first day at SMALL WONDERS preschool last Friday. This will be his 3rd year of preschool, and if you remember from his 'first day of preschool' post last year, I said I'd be sending him off to Kindergarten this time next year. Well, it is now this time next year, and we've decided to wait another year for Kindergarten, mainly because he has a Summer birthday.

We decided to try a new preschool this year and so far so good. Tol is LOVING it there!


Here he is, all ready to go.


Showing off his SPIDER MAN backpack- and poor Addi, she thought she was also going to preschool and was so excited!


At the new school...


with his new teacher.


Those who know me knows I was totally STRESSED about sending him here. I won't bore you with details, but all I can say is I worried for no reason. I think this will be a GREAT place for Tol and am so glad I went through with it.


... and here is Addi again, thinking she is staying. Sorry Ad, LET'S GO!

Day on the lake

Dave had the afternoon off work, so we took advantage and took the boat out. Dave and I LOVE being on the boat and luckily our kiddos do, too.


Tol's favorite part of boating is driving the boat (of course), and Addi's favorite part is swinging 'like a monkey' between these 2 bars.


Cute little Addi Belle


Me and the kiddos.


Me and the little man taking a swim.


Dave and I love Utah lake. In fact, we spent almost the whole summer on that lake the summer before we got married. Dave lured me in by telling me that he loved my eyes and that they were the color of Utah Lake. To some, that might come as an insult cause Utah Lake has the reputation for being gross and murky. But, Dave loves the color of it and always admires it. So I'll take it as a compliment.
Anyway, with all the wonderful things Utah Lake has to offer, there IS a downside to it and that is it's SUPER shallow. Tol was driving us around so we weren't paying attention to the depth finder. OOPS! This pic is of Dave getting us out of the mess. He is full on touching the bottom! Luckily, no damage to the prop.


The moon looked amazing as the sun was setting! This pic doesn't do it justice, but it still looks pretty.

Even with Dave's crazy schedule, we have made it a priority to do something fun with the family EVERY chance we get. I love spending time with my crazy little family!

Beach Party

We are absolutely LOVING the Daybreak BEACH this summer... can you tell?

We've made it a weekly play-date with friends.


The little SAND MONSTER


Summer and Addison were cute little twinners in their swim cover-ups.

PIONEER DAY

We had a FABULOUS PIONEER DAY this year. We started it out with a little BEACH TIME with my parents and Curt. Dave was working (boo!) so it was just the 6 of us.

My kiddos can't get enough of the beach. Tol swims around and Ad loves to play in the sand.

Addi, my Pops and Curt. My Dad is training for a triathlon (I know-crazy) so he spent the day swimming laps in the lake with his flashy goggles. My Mom wore shorts and a polo to the lake not thinking she would get in. Well, she decided to get in- clothes and all. And Curt- to say he was embarassed by his crazy parents would be an understatement.

My parents RULE! My mom is trying to hide behind my dad. But I was too quick on the draw.

That night we had our own NEIGHBORHOOD OF FIRE. It has been a Nelson tradition for as long as I can remember to go to Liberty Park to watch the fireworks, but we broke tradish this year and stayed home and did our own. Jess (when it was too late) reminded me that this is our last PIONEER DAY in Utah for a while and we should have gone with the fam. That was kindof sad to think about. But we had a FUN night with just the 4 of us and didn't regret staying home.

The kids favorite was the snakes or worms or whatever those thingys are called. Dave is embarassed by his black socks in this pic- he just got off work. Remember he's part girl so he cares about stuff like that. And here's me and the munchkins watching the show.

Addi thought the fireworks were super loud. During the very last firework she decided to unplug her ears. And this is her with her *SPARKLER* She was extremely hesitant about the whole thing.

And last but not least, here's Tol and Dave with their *SPARKLERS* and Dave being the TIKI MON. TIKI MON was our finale firework and it did not disappoint.

Until next year... wait-will it be weird if we celebrate PIONEER DAY in Minnesota? (and why is this sentence underlined? I can't figure out how I did that so now I can't UNdo it. O-well).