Tuesday, June 30, 2009

I'll get to it eventually...


Well things are now slowing down ( I hope) around here. We had a successful Family Reunion that everyone enjoyed, and are not planning any other trips that I know of this summer. I can't believe that we only have three weeks left?! I have tons of pictures that I need to first get off the camera and then compile into slide shows and things to send out to family. That will happen eventually but I am slowing down too. I wonder if I will get one last burst of energy before the baby comes and decide to fill the freezer with food and scour the house or will remain with the status quot of having pretzels or whatever the kids want for dinner ( last night it was waffles and Ryan made them, yummy). Oh well, we'll see what happens.

On anther note, our family loves the monsoons, especially Andrew, and shows promise to be a meteorologist when he grows up. Every time I turn around he is on the National Weather Service website checking the weather and his favorite books to check out at the library are weather ones. So here is a picture of the little weather man himself.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Family Reunion Slide Show

The church at Virden New Mexico
The Holden family Flag and crest.
Well the slide show didn't work like I wanted it to so I'll just give you a brief synopsis. We went to Virdin New Mexico for 3 days at the very end of June the 25-27th. It was hot, hot, hot and very muggy. I was almost nine months pregnant. We were in charge. My part was the general store and candy. I also was helping with the kids water activities for Friday.
Our picture after a long week! I was so swollen I could hardly open my eyes!
Thursday was set up and mingle with everyone. We stayed in a room upstairs Thursday night and it was so hot I couldn't sleep! The girls were afraid of spiders but luckily we got them off the floor onto a bed. Friday Ryan was busy running the horse show tournament. My mom and sisters played parachute games with all the kids so they could get punches and buy things at the general store. After lunch the water games began and then a movie inside. Friday night was the talent show and we showed a slide show of all the pictures we had taken with a testimony meeting in the chapel afterwards. Saturday morning after breakfast we handed out all the winners of the guessing jars, family quilts, and horse shoe tournament. Then we packed, cleaned, and went home. On the way home we stopped for ice cream at "The Thing", it was good. Just before pulling in the drive way we decided to check our messages and what do you know someone was coming to look at our house in five minutes. So we quickly put our suitcases away and ran to grandma's house for a while. That made it a very long day, but it all turned out in the end.

Ryan helping with the horse shoe tournament.
Abigail and Dallen getting wet.
Water balloons and fun with sprinklers.

Foster loved playing ping pong on the stage with anyone who would play with him.

Grandma was queen of the kitchen which most of the time was as hot as the underworld!

An old picture of Great Grandpa and Grandma Cluff at a different family reunion. One in the white mountains I think.

Great Grandma Cluff and Uncle LaVar

The general store sign made by grandpa Cluff

Grandma Cluff would have single handed made all the meals for everyone. I am just glad she let us help her.
Grandma and April setting up.
The beautiful quilt that we made from Great Grandma Holden hand stitched squares. April and mom did most of the work.
The general store and candy guessing jars.
Fun with the parachute.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Bring on the Swim Meets


We officially had our first swim meet last night. It was a home meet at the YMCA and the weather was really nice. Andrew swam in the 9-10 age group which does 50 yard races. He swam the 50 Butterfly, 50 Breaststroke, and 50 Freestyle. There were only 3 9-10 boys last night so their were no relays but that was OK with me (because then we got to leave a little early, it was already 9pm!).
I should also mention that the other kids swimming lesson don't start until next week. Foster is the most excited and keeps wearing his swim suit instead of clothes (which reminds me I need to hide it before he wakes up). Yesterday he went to Fry's, the dollar store and Walmart in his swim suit with a T-shirt( I had to do a lot of struggling/pleading for that to happen). So their pictures will follow.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Chess/Checkers


The girls enjoyed playing games. I'm not sure if this was checkers with chess pieces or some combination in between but it was fun.

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Playing Ball with Dad



Another great thing about camping is that it takes you away from all the distractions of home. Ryan had time to teach Andrew and Foster (sort of ) how to catch and throw a ball. I learned that it is also important where you stand to take pictures!





Fun with Walkie Talkies


This was another of Grandma Nelson's fabulous ideas that Abigail and Foster loved. I'm not sure how many batteries we went through that weekend but they were worth their weight in gold. At one point I think we had all had enough and had to hide them for a while but it kept them busy for a long time!


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White Mountain Camping

So here's the readers digest story. You'll have to actually talk to me to get the unabridged version. We left Tucson packed and ready to go later than expected around 1pm. We decided to hook up with grandma and grandpa in Mesa and all left for the white mountains at around 6:30pm. We stopped in Payson for DQ ice cream cones (my favorite part of the trip up there, thanks grandpa Nelson!). Finally arriving at our manicured campground complete with flushing toilets at around 11pm. We made our arrival known with air mattress motors and pounding in tent stakes. Everyone around sure loved us that night. Thursday night was cold and our mattress that worked just the week before on the last camping trip decided to go flat every 2 hours. Conveniently I needed to make a trip to the bathrooms about that same time and Ryan's job was to blow the mattress up by the time I got back. Friday was lovely, we toured the lake "Big Lake" and seasoned cast iron cookware. Friday night was the same as Thursday night so we had gotten really good at it! Saturday was long for me. I happened to give my self food poisoning (from chicken I cooked, or not so well cooked I think?). So trips to the bathroom were every 15 minutes between collapsing on the half blown air mattress. Everyone had rented a boat so grandma and grandpa, Ben and Megan, Eric and Taye took our kids so that Ryan could clean and pack up everything himself (bless his heart) in between getting me what ever I needed. By lunch time I was empty and figured I was safe to get in the car so we ate lunch and headed home. Tired and dirty we had lots of fun and plan on doing it again next year... minus the campground and the food poisoning.

Checkers was a big hit this time. Grandma was so smart to bring them.

Here's our set up. It looks pretty good considering that we got to our site and set up at 11:30 pm in the dark (is there any other way to set up a tent?)

My parking job needed to be documented. I have to thank my co-pilot for watching all the rocks and my fans who supported me in this endeavor. (you needed to be there)

If there was ever a picture that could be captioned "Like father, like son." this would be it!

Cutting a Three Year Olds Hair Can be So Fun


I had to say something about this. Every time I cut Ryan and Andrew's hair Foster wants his hair cut. Even though I don't want to I indulge him thinking that this time he will hold still, but yet again no, he squirms. He wriggles and whines and I have exactly 2 minutes to cut whatever I can off his head without poking his eye out. Maybe next time.


Mt. Lemmon Wilderness Camping


Camping means dirt in Mt. Lemmon. It gets even dirtier when you choose to go off on your own and make your own campsite on the back of Mt. Bigalow. We had a fun time and enjoyed the cooler air and peacefulness, well as peaceful as you can get with 7 kids under the age of 9?! Foster's face was permanently like this, even after he was cleaned up it only took him 30 sec to get something on his face (and I timed it!).

Abigail's artist came out in her when we were there. Here is her thoughtful pose.

This is Ryan after having to lug all the equipment down the steep hill, set everything up, make the meals, and take the kids hiking. A daddy job is never done when it comes to camping.

Lilly found her favorite walking stick and didn't mind the bugs.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Where did June GO?

(My niece Charlotte with Minnie Mouse on their Disney Cruise. It doesn't have anything to do with our Nelson family but I loved the picture so much I had to share it!)
(My sisters with their babies all born in a six month period and it will only get worse!)
(swimming at Jim Mance pool for a Family Home Evening)

(Grandma Cluff and I waiting outside the Mesa Temple for Erin after her wedding.)
These are long lost photos of of my sister Lindy's camera. I realized while looking in Picasa that we didn't even have a June 09 folder and June is almost half way over already, it might as well be July (inside joke!). We have been so busy with selling the house, swim team, and summer school, and basically living life that I have had no time to take pictures, or a least I haven't loaded them on the computer. We have had lots of people look at our house, our realtor says that we are getting great traffic but no bites yet. But it is still a lot of work and a small miracle to leave the house at 8am to go to swim team with the house immaculate. Then after swim team we have a couple hours to hang towels up, eat lunch and get ready to go to school. The summer school at my moms is a blast. They learn about cooking and always make something to eat. They are making their own Book of Mormon video. And doing all sorts of mental exercises like speed reading, finger math, and brain puzzles and games. We barely have time to squeeze in the library and some lounging. On top of that we have had/are planning two camping trips. One we went on with my sister April and her husband Aric, to Mt. Lemmon, and the other adventure we start today in the white mountains by big lake with Ryan's mom, dad, brother Eric, and sister Megan, and their spouses. Yes I am 7 1/2 months pregnant but all my job to do is pack clothes and food at home and Ryan does the rest while I enjoy the cool, so it is a pretty good deal, although I don't enjoy the laundry afterward. So hopefully when we get back I will realize that I did document the month in pictures they just didn't make it onto the computer.
(Hiking Sabino Canyon over Christmas vacation last year.)


(Foster held by Lindy at their house in Provo on a stop up to Montana 06)


(hanging around riding bikes at Grandma Cluff's house)
(Andrew and Abigail being wise men)