Movin' On Up!

Today was the last day of swimming lessons for this session. Here are Lyssie and Danny proudly displaying the certificates saying they passed their classes and can move up to the next level.

What We're Up To...

A brief update on our comings and goings:

What is Jacob up to? No good! Wasn't I just extolling the virtues of this child a couple of weeks ago in his birthday post? I was multi-tasking the other morning and came back up to the kitchen just in time to see him painting the wall with fudgesicle. Why is he eating a fudgesicle first thing in the morning? Because a painful sore throat was passed from cousin to cousin at our little mini reunion last weekend so popsicles and fudgesicles have been in high demand (and rules and regulations about eating healthy...not so much)

What is Danny up to? Swimming lessons! He loves them with a passion and it is pretty entertaining to watch him because he's so uninhibited. His two oldest sisters used to have to be coaxed to do what the instructor asked and even then it was sometimes in vain. Danny jumps in with wild abandon, goes all the way under with pleasure and literally has a huge smile on his face the entire time. I wouldn't be surprised if he is even smiling while under water!

What is Lyssie up to? Reading, reading, reading! She is loving the Magic Treehouse series right now and is just about done with our local library's supply of them. Lyssie is also taking swimming lessons with Danny and is doing very well. She has a much different approach than he does (those who know them won't be surprised!) She dutifully accomplishes everything the instructor asks of her, but she takes it all very seriously. She has an intense look of concentration on her face throughout her lesson, though she will give me a smile and a thumbs up (parents watch through viewing windows) when she has done something she is especially proud of.

What is Haley up to? WALKING!! Today marks six weeks since her surgery so she is now officially weaning herself off of her crutches! YAY! She is a pretty active girl and it has not been easy to be on crutches for so long - especially now that we finally have beautiful weather again. Her physical therapist taught her how to walk on one crutch and that is her assignment for the first week.

What is Amber up to? Girls camp and babysitting! Amber had a ball at Girls' Camp again this year. What a great program. She came home exhausted, filthy and happy! I considered burning her clothes, as she did not change them ONCE the entire week! Amber also has a regular babysitting job for a family in our ward several times a week. She loves babysitting and is saving her earnings for a Nintendo DS - I'm sure she'll have it within the month because she's babysitting so much and saving so well.

What is Amy up to? Helping the kids with all of the above, trying to prepare mentally to take the kids to Utah for a week by herself (yes, I'm crazy), trying to work-out daily even though the kids are all home and life is crazy, and reading a ton (I love a good book!)

What is Brad up to? Work, work, work! He is officially done at ShopKo in mid-July but is going back and forth from ShopKo to his new practice until then. He's also busy with scout camp outs (he is in our ward's young mens program, working with the youth at church) and has been golfing a few times with our bro-in-law, Jerry.

Shameless Plug

So you may have noticed my sister, Lisa's, Etsy store link on the right side of our blog. I am addicted to her jewelry! And it's not just because she's my sister. I would probably have purchased one or two "pity items" if that were the case. But I keep buying more and more (sorry, Brad) because it's so cute on. Also, I like to leave her weird, overly-positive feedback. It's fun.

Anyway, here are some of the ear rings I've gotten from her. Don't you love them?! The 'lemon drop' ear rings were even featured on a Salt Lake website devoted to cool local things/places. That's right - she's famous!

Happy Fathers' Day!

A very happy Fathers' Day to the fathers in our lives! Brad and I both have great Dads (mostly now known as "Papa Jim" and "Papa Brent") They are exceptional people and we feel so blessed to have them in our lives.

I also want to wish Brad a happy Fathers' Day. He is a fantastic father to our five kids and we love him so much.

Happy Birthday, Scott!

We want to wish my brother, Scott, a happy 37th birthday today! We love our Uncle Scotty very much - and not just because he gives us really cool gifts (our dog, Mabel, and the Wii being the two stand-outs), but because he is kind and funny and loving. Scott also happens to hold the record for length-of-visit at our house - he was brave enough to stay with us for five whole days a couple of summers ago!

We love you, Scotty!

Summer Begins!

Thursday was our last day of school. I thought I'd post the first-day-of-school picture to compare with the last-day-of-school picture. It's always fun to see how they've grown.














Amber's gotten a lot taller, that's for sure. Alyssa has front teeth in the 'last day' picture. And, ever the accessory-lover, Haley has traded in her purse for crutches. She also looks extremely grouchy in the 'last day' picture, but really she is sad about leaving elementary school. They had a big slide show for the 5th graders and had all the kids crying and feeling nostalgic.

We have a little park in the center of our neighborhood and on the last day of school each year the neighborhood association throws a big bbq for all the families. The highlights of this annual event are the bounce houses and the cotton candy machine. This year there were kids lining up at the cotton candy machine before it was even producing. Danny kept going back and back. Like any good mom I photographed him eating his 1st, 2nd and 3rd cotton candies instead of reprimanding him. It's summer, okay?! The kids ran around crazy (except Haley who crutched around crazy) and had an absolute blast.

And speaking of absolute blasts...after the bbq, our Idaho Cousins arrived! They are visiting through Monday, which will be a lot of fun. We actually have quite a bit of family in Walla Walla this week. Our niece, Staci, is here with her son. Brad's parents, Barb and Brent, are here and our niece Robyn and her husband will be arriving tonight. They are all staying at the Humphreys, but the Idaho Cousins (Brad's sister, Lori, and her family) are here with us! Our kids are in heaven. And just to help you appreciate what's going on at the Nielson's this weekend we have 10 kids, 4 adults, 2 cats and an 80 pound dog stuffed into our 2100 sq ft house! PARTY! Actually, we are spending a good deal of each day at the Humphrey's house (Brad's sister) swimming in their pool (right now, for instance, they are all over there swimming while our 3 youngest are home napping and I am blogging/waiting for them to wake up). This weekend promises to be a very fun kick-off to a very fun summer!

Last week of school!

With the last day of school quickly approaching, this past week has just flown by! We've been busy every day with end-of-the-year concerts, assemblies, softball games, field trips, programs...you name it! And we're not quite out of the woods yet. Tomorrow is Haley's end-of-the-year field trip, followed Tuesday by the end-of-the-year water balloon fight with the teachers, followed Wednesday by the end-of-the-year basketball game against the teachers. The kids are having a blast, but I have to wonder why we send them to school at all in June!

The Weekend They've Been Waiting For!

For Haley's birthday this year Nana Jo and Papa Jim gave her tickets to High School Musical On Tour for the weekend it came to Portland. Well, this was the weekend and let me tell you, it was a performance chock full of cheesy tween goodness! Our kids loved it...and so did the gazillion other kids in attendance!

Nana and Papa bought six tickets - four for the oldest Nielson kids (Jacob is too little to go) and two for the lucky grown ups who got to accompany them. Brad and I were secretly hoping not to be those two lucky grown ups, but Nana and Papa were "gracious" enough to insist we take the two adult tickets to the performance while they stayed home to babysit Jacob. I must admit, we ended up being pleasantly surprised. It was a cute performance and a really fun afternoon! There was no photography allowed (I know that's a huge disappointment to all you closet High School Musical fans who were itching to see pictures) but here is one of the kids at the cool fountain across the street from Keller Auditorium.