Wow! I thought I'd have more time when the kids were all in school, but it seems to be going faster and faster! Chad and I have been back from Hawaii for 2 weeks now! I hate that it goes so fast. It was a wonderful trip and a great opportunity to see my parents. We were also able to spend several days with my oldest brother, sister-in-law and one of my nieces. One of the most memorable things about the trips was finally being able to snorkel. I am terrified of the ocean, yet LOVE the ocean. (I must've seen Jaws one too many times!) I am a bit claustrophobic as well, but once I put my face in the water--it was so AMAZING! The first time I tried was with my brother's family. Chad, Laura, and Ashley had not problem. (Craig doesn't snorkel.) We were in a preserve area where you couldn't touch anything, including ALL of the coral reef. So I panicked and quit. The water was only to about my thighs, but because I couldn't stand up and I headed the wrong direction and couldn't get to any sandy area, I'd had enough. I was really glad that I tried again the next week with my dad and Chad. They were trying an area called Shark's Reef first. I just watched--I'm not sure if it was the name or the BIG waves that scared me off :) Anyway, that proved too rough for them and so we went to the tide pools right by. (No sharks allowed in there!) I almost couldn't do it because Chad told me he almost put his hand on a sea urchin! Not knowing what they were, but knowing what they could do, I panicked. I soon saw one (there were hundreds of them) and realized they weren't sitting on top of the corral waiting to get me, they were hidden in holes, I was okay. However, I still panicked when I got in thick areas of corral because there were tons of them. I was able to see quite a few cool fish. It was amazing to me that we could talk and understand each other under the water, but out of the water I couldn't understand anything! I've rambled enough, but it was an amazing experience.

We went on many hikes while there and also enjoyed the Polynesian Cultural Center. I would love to go back and visit again, but maybe in the colder months! I have a wonderful mother-in-law who happily took our kids for 10 days! Now we are home and catching up with life. Football is over and wrestling doesn't start for another week, so this has been a calmer week. I'm glad the kids enjoy sports so much, but it gets tiring. I will try to be better at posting--all though I notice I'm not the only one that needs to improve!!!!!!!!!!!

School has been in for 2 weeks now!!! Unfortunately, I have had a major cough for all of that time and haven't been able to do all I've wanted to. On the VERY positive side--my kitchen and living room have been painted. We have lived in our home for 10 years this October and have never painted our kitchen because we couldn't decide what colors. Well, as Chad puts it, we more than stepped out on a limb! Our kitchen is now painted earth tone (orange color), stone hearth (deep brown), and a tan brown color and I LOVE it! Because of the valted ceilings and how it connects to the living room, we had to paint it as well. (It desperately needed it too!) It is the same tannish color and a darker green. It looks fantastic as well. It was a HUGE undertaking and I'm not the best painter, but I tried. Luckily we had Chad's brother's help and his mom's too.

The kids seem to be enjoying school. They've started back into dancing and piano as well. Skyler is going to start learning the guitar next week. He can stay after school once a week and learn for free! (Wish the guitar was free too! Luckily for the time being we have one to borrow.) Keiera is loving her all day school, however, she is VERY tired all of the time. She can't settle down at night and sleep and so the mornings and right after school are often challenging. I'm enjoying the time I have and hoping to get feeling better and be able to accomplish more each day.

Jaydon has been playing football since August and LOVING it! He has his first home game tomorrow. I'm excited because I haven't been to see him yet as his games have been so far away (Clearfield and Syracuse) and I've been sick. We haven't taken all the kids as he has to be there one hour early and the games last about 2 hours! We'll all get to watch him tomorrow though.

Not much else going on in the Nielson home! Hope everyone else is getting back into the swing of things too!

It's official!!! School has begun and my kids go ALL day! It will be so nice not having to worry about kindergarten anymore. Everyone keeps asking me what I'm going to do now! I have plenty of projects that have been waiting to get finished. Plus, now I can bead more! The best thing is when I have to go to Logan, like today, I don't have to worry about getting back! I had plenty of time to do everything today.

Last week we went to Bear Lake. It was a bit cold at first--I put my jacket on! But by the end of the day, it was plenty warm. We went with some friends and had a great time relaxing. When we got ready to leave, our van wouldn't start! The battery had died. Our friends had all left, but there were plenty of people around. They got it going and we headed to get our Raspberry shakes! I stayed in the van so we didn't have to turn it off. The shakes were delicious.

Jaydon will play his first football game this Saturday and so our Saturdays will be booked for the next 7 weeks! He seems to be enjoying it and it helps him get his energy out! His team scrimmaged another team last night and lost, but Chad said Jaydon did well. He's not afraid to get in there and pound someone!

Well, the kids will be home soon (Skyler already is) and I have a few more things to get done before then! Maybe with all my time I'll stay better on top of the blog!

These last few weeks have really flown by! Seems crazy to think that school starts next week!!!!!!!! The kids are ready and so am I! We have lots to do, so I'm sure it will be here sooner than I'm really ready for. (But not soon enough with all the fighting at our house.)

We went camping last weekend for the Ward Campout we were in charge of. The weather scared a lot of people off! We always send a sign-up around and it was the most people planning to come and ended up being the fewest we've ever had! Guess it's time to find a new activities person :) It was cold in the morning and rained for a few hours--during breakfast too! Everyone packed up and headed out pretty quick. We were just glad for those who braved the weather and came.

This week we are planning to go to Bear Lake. Hopefully the weather will hold out for that. We always try to go at least once--it is one of our favorite family activities.

Jaydon has started football this last week! This is a new experience for us and is very time consuming. Last week he had practice every day from 5:30-7 p.m. I think that will be the same this week. (He missed last Friday for the camp out.) This week they get to wear their gear for full contact. The games start a week from Saturday and unfortunately require travel!!! Good thing Skyler isn't playing competitive soccer too! It will be fun to see how Jaydon does.

The girls will be starting dancing in a few weeks. We will be going to their dance open house in about 1 hour and get them all signed up. They are both so excited!!!! (Not really. They both love to dance, but really wish they had friends taking with them.) We let them off last year, but it's time to start again. It will add more to our already full schedules, but they need it.

We have taken most of the summer off from piano and that has been a good thing. We are thinking about putting Skyler in the program at USU and letting Keiera take his place with our current teacher. When we started, she only had her two nephews taking. Now she has a waiting list with 8!!!! So the only way to get Keiera going, is to let her take Skyler's place. She loves to "play" the piano and it would be nice for her to learn some songs.

I have been busy with everything! I have even been able to sell more watch bands! I am having a big open house (backyard) this weekend and we'll see if that goes well so I can buy some more supplies.

Well, I guess I have bored you all long enough and will get back to the laundry!

I guess I will update our family while things have calmed down for a few minutes. We have been staying busy with many family activities the past two weeks. We went to a Worthington Family Reunion on the 17th of July. Just before arriving at the exit, our van lost all power. Luckily Chad was driving and was able to get us over to the side. His brother's family were behind us about 30 minutes and were able to come and tow us to a car care station. (They had to leave their camping trailor on the freeway to tow us!) A nice mechanic took time out of his already booked schedule to replace our alternator, which had gone out. Chad's parent's had been ahead of us and had two of our kids already. They took the other two as well and headed up to the camp. I went with Chad's brother's family back to get their trailor, get some lunch and drop it off to Chad. Much to our amazement, the van was finished and we all went up together. We had an enjoyable, but very HOT time.

Last week I, along with 2 other leaders and 2 dads, took all 12 of our Wolf's and Bear's to Day Camp at Camp Keisel just past Huntsville. I was very grateful that the van was already fixed! It was a beautiful area and the boys seemed to have a great time.

The kids had two of their cousins staying with Chad's parents all last week so the kids spent a lot of time between our house and Grandma's. We were able to have a fun time with them. My entire family (except my parents) met at the Logan Aquatic Center last weekend as well. I thought it would be packed as it was the 24th of July, but it was perfect. Best of all, none of my family got sunburned either! We all went to my oldest brother's house for pizza after.

The next day, we split up and I took the boys to Preston to a baptism and Chad took the girls to Huntington to a baptism. The boys were able to spend the afternoon with more cousins while I enjoyed shopping without them :) We then went to the Chamber's Family Reunion that evening. We got home about 10 minutes after Chad and the girls. It was a LONG day for all of us.

This week will be catching up on laundry, etc for me. Chad and Skyler will be leaving on Wed-Fri on a backpacking adventure. Sorry to say, but I am glad I'm not going! I'm going to spend my time BEADING! (If anyone is interested in an interchangeable watch band--visit my other blog Time2Bead.blogspot.com. Sometime in the near future I will have it completely finished!

Well, I guess it has been long enough! There should be lots to write about, but nothing stands out. The summer is FLYING by. That is a good/bad thing. I enjoy not having to wake up so early every morning, but the routine of a schedule would be nice. I am excited to have all of my kids in school ALL day this year! Maybe then I can get some projects finished--I have LOTS of things to do.

My beading business has become a bit overwhelming. I didn't realize how many people would want to come and use the beads I have bought--it has ended up taking up a LOT more time than I thought. I am excited to actually be able to sit down and create! I have finally organized everything--AGAIN--and hopefully for the last time. I have even sold some bands! I hope I can sell a LOT more so I can cover my costs of buying so many beads! For those who haven't seen the interchangeable watch bands--this is what my new hobby is. Alex has had fun making some for her as well. She has inspired some of my creations! Next week we are helping her friend's 4-H group make some.

Other than beading, I am still working in Scouts. However, I guess I will now be working with the Bear's instead of the Wolf's. I am a bit disappointed as I have put a lot of work into the Wolf program. I guess it's for the best. Now I can focus on Jaydon and getting him his Bear. It has been challenging trying to work on both programs. Tomorrow will probably be my last time with the Wolf's. We are going to the firestation in Logan. Should be fun! Then next week it's off to daycamp for both the Wolf's and the Bear's.

This weekend we will be going to a family reunion somewhere near Provo. We will be camping from Friday to Saturday. The following weekend we will be traveling back down to that area for a baptism and then heading straight back to another family reunion. We thought we had another baptism the following week, but that has been changed. The week after that though, is our Ward Camp that I am in charge of. This will be my third one. I didn't make it last year because Keiera broke her arm that week. She's already had her major accident for the summer, so we should be good.

Keiera had a bike accident a little over a week ago. She had to go visit the dentist that night and he pulled her top two teeth--thank goodness they were baby teeth! She went back for a follow-up visit yesterday and he had to lazer something off the inside of her mouth. She has been very brave, but she is still crazy and goes full speed ahead. (She got her bike back yesterday.)

Skyler has been to Scout Camp, been on 10, 15, and 25 mile bike rides and will be going backpacking for three days the last week of July! Good thing he enjoys the outdoors!

I think that's about it for our family! Hopefully I will make time to keep up on th blog in the future. It's easy to put it off!

I guess I should up-date the blog sooner rather than later! The first two weeks of summer flew by. I signed the kids up for the first session of swimming and we spent M-Th of both weeks swimming--mostly in the rain! We signed them up for the first session last year too and it rained! There were a few rainless mornings. They actually enjoyed swimming in the rain because it made the water seem warmer--it was just Chad or I that didn't enjoy standing in the rain watching them in the hot tub. They are all great swimmers and enjoyed lessons. Especially Keiera! She is quite the fish. We rode the bus as much as possible and that helped make the days go faster!

This week Skyler is gone to his first Scout Camp. Chad went with for a few days. He will be back tomorrow so he can get work in for the week. I haven't worried because Chad is there! I'm sure Skyler would've been just fine without him too! Chad and I will go back up on Friday for the Parent's Night. He went to Aspen Ridge near Preston, Idaho.

I've been keeping myself busy with my new hobby of beading interchangeable watch bands! It is quite addicting and sometimes frustrating when you drop the cord and all the beads go everywhere! It's fun to create different designs.

Not much else is happening at the Nielson's house! We did celebrate Chad's Birthday, Father's Day, the longest day of the year, and the first day of summer this past Sunday! What a day for Chad!

I guess it's been a bit longer than I thought! I was trying to follow the example of my brother :) We are now officially done with soccer for the season--I think! Alex still has two games that could be made up, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. She played a make-up game last Saturday and she scored her first goal ever, in fact she scored two!!! Now all of the kids have scored at least two goals this season. I even got a little in-door soccer in myself and may start playing outdoor once a week!

School is almost officially over as well--the middle two kids have about 40 minutes left! Keiera graduated from kindergarten on Tuesday!!!! WOW! I can't believe how old I am--I mean the kids are! I am so excited for next year--I'll get ALL day to accomplish something. Hopefully the summer doesn't get too boring for the kids. I've got them signed up for swim lessons starting next week--so much for sleeping in! (Those of us who had to get up by 6 a.m. will be able to sleep in though!) We will be riding the bus as much as possible and will have to catch it by 8:30 a.m.

Not much else is going on at our house!

Here we are into another week. Looking back at the calendar it looks like in addition to SOCCER, last week was full of scouts, dentist appointments, and eye dr. appointments. Luckily all of those appointments were for regular check-ups and much to Jaydon and Keiera's disappointment, they don't need glasses!!!! In fact the Dr. said that Keiera's eyes are perfect, which is rare for a 5 year old! She is just sure that they're not though. I'm sure she'll have the privilege of wearing glasses sooner than not.

Today Alex ran in her first Wellsville Mile. (All the Cache County 4th and 5th graders on the South of the Valley get to do this.) She did fantastic! She qualified for the 3rd heat which is the fastest group of girls and she ran it in 9:05. It was extremely hot this morning and she fought through it and ran her best.

Keiera and Jaydon both had soccer games tonight. Jaydon's team tied 1-1 and Keiera's won. Jaydon's team played on the smallest field yet this season and they struggled. They are used to more room and had a hard time not being on top of each other. Skyler is done for the season and Alex has a make-up game tomorrow--she will be missing and a regular scheduled game Thursday. She still possibly has 1-2 make-up games. Jaydon is now done and Keiera has a regular scheduled game Thursday and her last make-up game next Tuesday. I don't know what we'll do with soccer over and school! Oh--I know. We'll start right into swimming lessons!!!!!!

It seems that each week is the same for us--SOCCER, SOCCER, and more SOCCER!!!! Good thing we enjoy it for the most part. Keiera played last Wednesday and everything was going well until the downpour! We were wetter from that 10-15 minutes downpour than we were the previous Saturday in all of the rainy games! It came with a vengence! The poor little kids started crying and looking for parents and hence, the game ended about 15 minutes early. The games following that were just fine! The weather for the rest of the games that week was great.

We also had a pinewood derby last week. Jaydon worked hard on his car--with his dad's help--and the hard work paid off. He won first place! A few of us leaders also brought cars and mine also won :) It was a car I helped make a few years ago when we had a Ward pinewood derby. My car also beat Jaydon's!

Mother's Day was nice--after church that is! Chad and I had to speak! We learned at church that we weren't the first options, several people had said no! We tried to come up with an excuse, but none were to be found. This was Chad's third time speaking on Mother's Day.

I can't think of anything else that might be worth telling so I guess I'll end for another week.

Another week come and gone. Last week I was able to go to BYU's Women's Conference for the 8th year in a row! What a great husband I have. This year we had an even larger group go. We had 13 on Thursday and 16 on Friday! It was an amazing conference as always. I was going to try so hard to come home and be better from the things I learned. However, Saturday morning came with several grumpy kids. They had gone to a late night the night before and now didn't want to wake up for their early soccer games.

We finally made it to the first game, Jaydon's, just before it was to start. Alex stayed home, but Keiera was determined to come with me. It was POURING!!! I kept her pretty dry with the umbrella, but her feet were wet. We left Jaydon before half time in order to get Alex and Keiera to their games. Chad had to work, so I had to coach Keiera's team. Alex wasn't excited about playing in the rain, but I guess she didn't have to because the other team forfeited. I was surprised that 9/10 on Keiera's team showed up. They were all soaked by the end of the game, but had a great time playing hard. This was the first game I have seen of Keiera. All of the kids enjoy soccer! After her game I came home and changed clothes and warmed up for a bit before heading to Skyler's game. The other kids didn't come this time. Skyler wanted to play goalie and did a great job--he was freezing! The second half he played forward and did great. The other team weren't the best of sports and that was sad to see. All of the kids won their games for the day and I had a lot of WET clothes to wash. It was raining even harder and blowing hard during Skyler's game. Keiera looked like she had just gotten out of the shower after her game!

It has been a beautiful, rainy Spring weekend. I love all of the rain because I LOVE how GREEN everything is! ALL of the yards are on equal grounds for a few months :)

The kids each were able to play one of their soccer games last week. I still haven't been able to watch Keiera play because I have had to take someone else to their game! Skyler had two games last week and I missed both of them too! Alex and Skyler's teams both won their games. Jaydon's team played one player short and struggled. Keiera's team also lost this one. The games all were cancelled on Saturday due to the SNOW! I even shoveled the driveway for some exercise--it would've melted had I not. Chad was at work on Saturday, so it was a nice day to stay home. The kids were all able to go to the Primary activity instead.

Skyler didn't have a game on Saturday and was able to go on his first overnight Scout camp without his dad. He turned 12 on Sunday and they invited him to go on their camp. They were able to go fishing and on a 10 mile bike ride. Skyler loved it! I guess he kept getting too far ahead of everyone on the bike ride and they had to have him slow down. So what he lacks in size, he makes up in other areas! He is by far the shortest Deacon our ward has. I can't believe he is already twelve! The start of Young Men's has begun.

With the beautiful Spring weather last week each of the kids only played one of their two soccer games. Keiera was so upset that her first game was cancelled. It was only raining and they could still play! We had to convince her that she really didn't want to play in the VERY cold rain. It was nice not having all the games to run too, but now they'll have to try and reschedule a LOT of games. Chad had an EMS training early Saturday morning and so I got Skyler ready for his game at 9 a.m. Keiera thought she'd like to go, but after being there and getting our feet soaking wet just from walking across the VERY long grass, she was ready to go back home. I had forgotten chairs and water for Skyler anyway, so I took her home. Skyler played great--he wore out quickly, but he knew what he was doing. His team struggled, but only lost 2-4. Skyler scored on a penalty kick and had several other great shots. Alex's team was next--we just had to move fields. Chad had gone home and gotten her. She always surprises me when I watch her play with how aggressive she can be. Her team also lost there game. She did get one great shot on goal though! Next was Jaydon's game clear out in Wellsville. I took him there because Keiera's team started 15 minutes later in Hyrum. Jaydon's poor team got trounced! They lost 1-10+ and I seriously think the other team had 20! Jaydon finally made one goal after MANY attempts from him and another boy. He and this other boy would kick the ball from the half line to the goalie! Hopefully the teams will improve!!! Chad said Keiera played GREAT! She even scored 2 goals. Their team won! She got the ball away from a little boy both times and went around him to score! Wish I could have seen her. I will have to miss her game tonight as Jaydon plays at the same time again! She is even doing better listening at soccer practices--can't say much for some of the others though.

So we are full into soccer again. When the weather is nice, it is fun to be outside watching the games. I hear it is suppose to snow again this weekend though! With Chad working on Saturday, maybe it would be nice not to have to get three of the four kids to soccer games. Skyler doesn't have one on Saturday, which is great. He gets to go with the Scouts on an overnight camp and then a 10 mile bike ride on Saturday. I still can't believe he is going to be 12 in less than one week!

I'm sure there will be much more soccer to write about next week!!! :)

What a crazy, busy week!!! We are back to trying to pack in as much as possible into each and every day. With the weather being better, all of the kids had at least one soccer practice last week. With four kids playing soccer again this year at 2 games a week plus a practice, I'm not exactly sure how we're going to get everyone everywhere!!! Last year was easier because the kids all had friends in the neighborhood on their teams--not this time! Saturdays will be particularly difficult with Chad working many of the Saturdays and 3/4 kids play in several different locations. Good thing we have grandparents that only live a mile away! They've offered to help and I'm sure there will be times I will need to. Chad is coaching Keiera's team yet again--even after promising we'd never do that again! They always end up needing help with coaches and Chad gets sucked in again. This is hard anyway as he can't be to all of the games. Well, after practice yesterday, he is determined more than ever NOT to coach Keiera's team. They are fun to watch though!

Our kids were out Thu-Mon for Spring Break. Chad didn't have to work Thursday so we decided to take the kids to a movie. Well, Chad ended up taking Alex and Jaydon to Race to Witch Mountain and I took Skyler and Keiera to Monsters Vs. Aliens. The biggest problem for me was that I had to wait until after the movie to eat some popcorn :) I LOVE Stadium 8's popcorn. The ones that went to Witch Mountain--loved it! Skyler enjoyed Monsters Vs Aliens, but Keiera struggled. We had to go out once for a drink and then later to the bathroom. We still had a good time.

Friday we had some cousins, Tacy and Rachel, come and visit so they would be familiar with us and our house when they stayed over night on Sunday. They did great and were easy to have. Although I have to say, I'm glad we're out of the diaper stage!!!! We had them for a 3 hours and then I took them home. We then picked them up late Sunday night and had them until 5:30 p.m. on Monday. I was worried how Rachel would be at night, but she woke up at 2 a.m. and when I finally found her binky, she went right back to sleep. She then woke up about 6:45 a.m. and I gave her her bottle and brought her in with me (Chad was at work.) She fell back asleep until 8:15 when Tacy and Keiera couldn't stay away any longer. It was a fitful sleep for her anyway. Jaydon and Skyler were able to sleep over at Kendall's house and we brought Gabby home with us. Gabby and Alex did a great job playing with Rachel in the morning. Keiera and Tacy played together really well too! In the afternoon Rachel took a LONG nap, which was nice. Then around 5:30 I met Julie at the hospital to trade kids back and then I took Tacy and Rachel up to see their new baby brother! He is a cute little thing with no name! Hopefully he has one by now :)

Saturday I took the kids to the Hyrum Easter Egg Hunt for the first time. (Chad was working.) It was crazy. Jaydon got about 20 eggs and Keiera only got 4! Skyler found $1.75 in quarters in his eggs though. Jaydon and Alex each got $.50. After Jaydon's soccer practice, I took them to Lee's Marketplace in Logan to get treats around the store. It was one continuous line around the store, but moved quickly. I take them there every year. Later that night, we went to the Church so Chad could get some things done and the Easter Bunny could visit our house. The kids had a great time finding candy all over the house. We only couldn't find one egg--I finally found it the next day! Sunday Easter was beautiful. After church, we waited until Chad was done with work and then met him in Logan to head out to his Brother Layne's for Easter dinner. We even got a game of Knights of Catan in!

I think I covered everything one way or another! And I'm sure you've all quit reading paragraphs ago! The next few weeks will just be filled with soccer.

Wow! This has been one heck of a Spring for our family with colds. Towards the end of last week Keiera woke up one morning and coughed for about an hour, but then was just fine. She did that for several mornings. Then family arrived to visit for their Spring Break and she decided she better start coughing more. What fun is family visiting if someone isn't sick? By Sunday she was coughing quite a bit. The poor thing coughed ALL night long! Actually I think she went 20-30 minutes in between sometimes. Chad finally took her downstairs and held her while he tried to sleep. She never complained once! They "slept" until 10:30 the next morning. By then, she definately had a fever too! No school, much to her frustration. She was almost done with the yellow books and really wanted to start the green ones. She didn't get to go to school yesterday either so I called her teacher and we went and picked up her last yellow book and her first green one. She was feeling much better, and barely had a fever, but I thought she probably shouldn't go and cough on everyone. So instead, I took her all over Logan running errands and coughing all over everything in the stores! We went to seven different stores and she did amazing! Her reward was a package of straws--go figure on that one! She coughed quite a bit last night, but hopefully can go to school today--we are out for Spring break the rest of the week :) I am suppose to be helping in her class for their Spring Party, so I hope she can go.

Anyway, yesterday finally felt like Spring and 3/4 kids had soccer practices. Keiera was one of those, but she didn't get to go. She coughs and coughs when she is running around. It was hard to keep her from running around though. It was a beautiful day and the snow has melted again, which means more is probably on the way! It's suppose to be a rainy Spring Break. Chad only has tomorrow off, so we might go to SLC--if we do, we might have something more exciting to tell about!

We did get to enjoy a lot of Chad's family this past weekend though. We had a niece and nephew stay with us from Friday-Sunday. On Saturday evening, Chad's sister and kids came up to spend a few days of their Spring Break. Sunday was a fun day with Chads sister and two of his brothers (plus their families of course). The kids loved playing and didn't want to leave, but we had school. We went and visited for a few hours on Monday night and then yesterday. They are leaving today.

I gave a FHE lesson on general conference a couple of weeks before conference using an article from the March Ensign. I adapted our thoughts around King Benjamin and the tents the people stayed in to listen. The kids didn't forget the tent part and were determined to have a tent to watch General Conference in. Chad helped them make one Saturday morning and they all did pretty well--especially considering their two cousins were there! I think this may become a tradition for them. They also enjoyed taking turns sleeping in the tent. The boys took the first night and the girls took the second night. This was one of the only times Chad has been off! I can only remember one other time he had both days off and on occasion has gotten one of the days! For some reason he is ALWAYS scheduled to work that weekend in April and October! It was very nice having him home--or maybe it was the tent and cousins--but I was able to listen to EVERY talk. I even stayed mostly awake. There were MANY amazing talks and I am excited for the conference Ensign to read them again.

There's are last week--much more to say than the previous weeks!

This week was pretty much the same as last week! Only this time Jaydon and Alex got one soccer practice in before the snow came again. Last Thursday Chad took Keiera skiing again--she LOVES it! Too bad she didn't decide to try it sooner in the season as that will probably be her last time. Beaver Mountain closed last Saturday and then with all the new snow decided to open this coming Friday/Saturday. Jaydon was also able to go skiing (and miss school!) with his dad last Friday. The kids all love to ski!!!

Well, as much as we need the moisture, I'm hoping that next week is warm and sunny for Spring Break! I enjoyed the few days of not having to turn the furnace on and opening our windows for some fresh air. Spring is my favorite season and I'm ready for a little warmth--I hate the summer heat though!

I have been avoiding posting anything becaue there really hasn't been anything to tell. The kids are all unhappy about the snow! They enjoyed playing outside and Alex and Keiera even got one soccer practice in. I'm trying to be positive as we need the moisture, but I'm ready for warmer weather. I LOVE spring!!!

There really isn't anything to tell about our family. We have all had colds--some of us AGAIN! This one of the worst head colds I think I've had. Luckily the kids didn't seem to get that part so bad. They mostly complained of their head and throat hurting. I think we're all through it now! Maybe there will be something exciting to tell about next week.

I guess another week has passed. Our major event for last week was that ALL of us went skiing for Chad's Work Ski Night. Chad has been trying to get Keiera to go all winter, but she has gotten so upset. (Chad has a season pass and so does Keiera--if you're 5 and under you get one free with a paying adult.) I wasn't sure how long she'd last up there, but she did fantastic! It was beautiful up there as well. One scary thing that happend was while Alex and I went up the lift. Just as we were about to the top, Alex told me her ski was stuck. I couldn't figure out how, but when I got off, she couldn't. A hook from the lift had hooked the back of her ski! They had to stop the lift and come and unhook it! She was nervous the next time up--I would've been too. Other than Jadon being crazy and wishing he were better, we had a great time.

The other excitement for us was ALL of the snow yesterday! Around 4:30 went Chad went and measured the middle of our backyard, there was 20.5". Other than Chad being out all day and night shoveling, it was amazing. I was looking forward to Spring, but I'm sure this will melt soon. We had a great time watching our dog, Mac play in it. It completely covered him!

Well, that's our week!

Our trip to Disneyland was a lot of fun. We left on Friday, February 13th and returned home late Sunday, February 22nd. We saw lots of our cousins throughout the trip as they were all so great to let us stay a night or two with them. We spent the first night in Las Vegas with some of our cousins and then headed to San Diego the next day where we stayed with more of our cousins until Monday. We had planned to go to Sea World on Monday, but it was a down pour all day. (Some of our luggage got wet even with a tarp wrapped around it all!) Luckily we hadn't boughten our tickets because we had checked the weather ahead of time.

Tuesday, Feb 17th we headed to Disneyland in another down pour. This was Jaydon's birthday and the reason we planned to go this week so we headed there. We had bought rain poncho's before leaving on our trip--good advice from friends! By the time we finished getting everything worked out with Jaydon's birthday (the computers weren't working), the rain had stopped. We didn't have to get our ponchos out again. It did sprinkle, but it wasn't cold. (For us anyway, the workers all had big coats on all day!) The rain kept people away and we had a great time.

Wednesday, Feb 18th we headed to the beach. We only stayed for about 1 hour because it was quite windy and Jaydon got taken down by a wave and was freezing. (Keiera also got quite wet and was freezing.) The waves were amazing! I love the ocean.

Thursday, Feb 19th we headed back to Disneyland early--that was great! We were able to go from ride to ride at first. We then headed to California Advenuture and spent the day with our cousins. (They had planned to go the same week!) We had a great time. After California closed, we went back to Disneyland. It was so busy that we didn't stay long.

Friday, Feb 20th we headed back to the parks. It was warm and CROWDED! We still had a good time, we just didn't stay long. We were sad they didn't do the fireworks, but we did see the Fantasmic show earlier in the week and that was great. The kids did great on all of the rides! There were only two that Keiera couldn't ride. One was the California Screamer Rollercoaster. I hate that one anyway so I didn't mind riding other things with her. The other was Indiana Jones--we all like that one. She was almost tall enough--the worker tried hard to help her be tall even! Not quite.

Saturday we packed all up and headed to Alamo, NV to more cousins. We stayed there until Sunday afternoon when we headed home. That was a long drive home. We were all tired--especially of riding in the van! We were all so excited to see our dog, Mac. (Chad's brother kept him the whole time! Boy do we owe them.) Layne brought him to us that night at 10:30 p.m.! I don't think they wanted to spend another night with him--he didn't do so well at night! He is finally doing well again now.

Well, there you have it. The Nielson family vacation was a success and now were catching up! Luckily the kids didn't have too much to make-up missing 4 days of school! Skyler has a test to make-up today after school and I think they're all caught up now.

Another week is gone. This week was more eventful. Seemed that someone was always going somewhere. We had Scouts, Activity Days, Basketball, Meetings, and more basketball. Chad and I also went to the Stake Valentine Dinner/Dance. That was fun, except that Chad got an EMT call and left me there for about an hour or more! I felt a bit out of place. Luckily as I am the Ward Activities person, we were also asked to help out at this activity and so I could busy myself in the kitchen some. When he got back we danced until it was over. There were only about 10 couples left! Our main responsiblity was to stay and help clean up after the activity was finished. Unfortunately (and as usual) we were some of the only ones to do so. We left with the couple in charge at 11:45 p.m.! It was a LONG, but enjoyable night.

The boys basketball teams did much better this week. Skyler's team was ahead for a while, but ended up losing. Skyler did great and even scored a basket. This is a great feat for the shortest player! He gets many jump balls as he is not afraid to reach in and take hold. This also causes some fouls :) Jaydon's team won by a long way this time. He made lots of baskets and just keeps going. Only problem is as the game goes on he gets wilder and wilder! They were both fun games to watch.

The kids are having a snowball fight with their dad right now! It has been a beautiful snowy day! I love winter when everything is covered with fresh, white snow! It is very heavy snow and the kids all worked together and made a great snowman to guard their playhouse! Besides all the snow around Christmas, this is the first time they've been able to be out playing in good snow! We haven't even gone sledding this year.

That's our excitement for the last week. This week will pass quickly as we are heading to Disneyland! We should have a lot to tell about in two weeks when we are back!

Another week has passed! (Or was that two?) Some of us are better and the rest of us are sick now too! Chad, Alex, Jaydon, and Keiera seem to have the sore throat/congestion that Skyler and I already had. I hope that we are all better by February 13th because that is when we will be leaving to go on our family vacation to Disneyland!

I'm not sure much out of the ordinary happened during the last two weeks. There's always school, laundry, homework, chores, laundry, scouts, piano, laundry, and more laundry! Chad has been skiing a few times and Skyler got to go with him once because he was out of school for the end of the term. I have even scrapbooked two pages! (And figured out how to add a background to our blog!!!!!!!!)

Both of the boys lost their basketball games again. We're not sure how they always end up on losing teams, but they usually have fun anyway. However, Skyler is tired of losing with maninly because of soccer. His competitive soccer team disolved and so we signed him up for Rec instead--that should be good for all of us.

I guess this will be a short entry because I really can't think of anything to add.

I guess I better not put this off anymore. We have been sick at our house as well. Skyler started a couple of weeks ago with me close behind. I am still sick! I am pretty good during the days now, but the night and mornings aren't so good. My throat has been pretty sore.

We had a busy week last week. I had my first Scout meeting with the Wolve's on Wednesday. There were only four of them there--Jaydon and his three buddies. They have a hard time sitting still, especially when Jaydon brings his football. As long as they are actively doing something, they are fine, but if you stop for a minute, they're up and going again. It will be a fun experience. I think it is probably a good thing that Jaydon will move up to Bears in a month. I have also been playing the piano in Primary--yeah, pretty scary. I am subbing for the regular pianist who just had a baby. I have done it for the past two Sundays and will do next Sunday. We then have Stake Conference and she will start back up the week after. She did ask if I would do it again when they bless their baby in March. Although I mess up every song, it has been a good experience for me. My biggest challenge is playing while they sing--especially if I mess up. I'm exercising my faith.

Skyler and Chad went on a Scout camp with the 12/13 year old Scouts on Fri/Sat somewhere in Salt Lake. They were able to stay warm sleeping in a cabin. Skyler was lucky his dad was with him as his water bottle leaked all over his sleeping bag and it was soaked! Chad stoked up the fire and dried it. They got to go sledding--Skyler's tube popped on the first run--and Skyler also got to launch his rocket, which flew! They had fun.

While they were gone, Alex got to have a late night. We were planning to get their Book It personal pan pizza's from Pizza Hut, but they didn't have any that day! So we went to Wendy's instead. We also got Movie Theatre popcorn for me, but my throat was hurting too much that I didn't eat much. We took her friend, Kaelei home at 9 p.m. because the next morning Keiera, Alex, and Kaelei went to a dance/cheer clinic held at Utah State. They had to be there at 8 a.m. to register and stayed until noon. I had to wake up all three of my kids!!! (The only day this break they didn't wake up on their own by 7 a.m.!) I came home and tried to have a short nap before taking Jaydon to his basketball game. His team was down by 11 in the first quarter. Then they held the other team the next two quarters. The fourth quarter they went ahead and almost won. Jaydon shot 2 foul shots--I don't think he was really suppose to. He made one of the two and put them ahead by 2 points. The other team scored within the last minute and Jaydon's team made several additional attempts. Luckily Jaydon had made that foul shot and they tied--17 to 17.

The girls got to perform at the Aggie Basketball game on Saturday night. When we first signed Alex up, she said she wouldn't perform. After the practice on Saturday, she was really mad at me because we didn't buy any tickets and it was a sold out game. I was able to call the lady in charge and get one before she gave back the extra ones she had. As it cost $10, we only bought one and Chad took the girls, including Alex's friend. I wanted to watch them, but I wasn't feeling good enough to go. Chad tried to video it for me, but only got a small part for some reason. I'm just glad they had fun and Chad was able to take them.

Well, that's our past week!

I am behind in typing this because we have been without Internet service since Saturday the 3rd. We are trying to save some money and switched Internet providers to Qwest price for life and in doing so, switched from Cable TV to Satellite. We didn't have the equipment to set up our Internet yet when they hooked up our Satellite and didn't realize that would affect our Internet connection. It was actually kind-of nice not to have someone at the computer all the time. It's amazing how much time we actually waste each day on here at the expense of letting you all know how we are :)

Our family stayed home for New Year's this year. The kids were so wild that we sent them to bed at 10:15-10:30. I figured that was late enough for them. Then Chad and I watched a movie. We turned it off for a few minutes to watch the New York Times ball drop--do they do that every hour for all of us? What a MESS! As New Year's is my birthday, I slept in. I received a BBQ grill for my birthday and didn't even send Chad to the doghouse!!! (If you haven't seen that you should go to bewareofthedoghouse.com -- it was a very clever ad by JC Penney!) I asked for the grill as ours died in September and we have had some steaks staring at me in the freezer since then! So Chad braved the cold weather and cooked me steak for dinner. It was FABULOUS!

Now we are back in the swing of things. We had a rough start on Monday with the elementary school. Apparently their heating system went out sometime last week and the school was freezing. They figured they'd get it working within a few hours and the kids would be fine with their coats on--funny not all kids realize the importance of wearing a coat in the Winter when it is 0-10 degrees outside! Apparently they started calling parents just after 11 a.m. to come and get their kids. Since I never received the call from the school I figured my kids should just stay there! Keiera didn't have Kindergarten and was so disappointed that I took her over to say "hi" to her teacher and to get the other two. They both went to lunch--like I said, they might as well stay there! Jaydon had finished and Alex had a home lunch so after checking them out, we went home. (The heat was starting to work at this point but was still VERY cold.) It was very chaotic and hopefully a good learning experience for the school. I was glad it wasn't an emergency because they were extremely unorganized. We were glad things were working well the rest of the week so we all could have a break from each other.

Not much else has happened, I guess we have started basketball! Jaydon had practice Tuesday and Skyler will have practice tomorrow at Nibley Elementary. Maybe he's on his cousin Tanner's team and we'll see our relatives again! We'll keep you all posted on that!