Monkeys can Swim!

We had such a great time celebrating the 4th! We just packed in as many activities as possible! On the 3rd, our fence got installed, so our yard became so much more accessable for relaxing!! We have spent a few mornings enjoying the outdoors before it gets too hot! The night of the 3rd we went to Greenville Elementary to sit on the grass and enjoy Logan City's firework spectacular. When Christopher saw the fireworks, he immediately sat on my lap and started saying "oooh, aaahh." He was frustrated that they were so far away, and kept saying, "Prettys, come here!"



On the 4th, we were supposed to go to the parade in Lewiston, but B was being a royal stinker!! Tantrum after tantrum left us with no choice but to keep him home. (sorry Nielsen Family!) You know how parent's always make empty threats? Well we need to start following through, so we did. After lunch and a nap, we packed up the swim stuff and headed to Layton to swim at my aunt's house.

As you can see by the photos, my kid is a fish! He had on a swim vest, two arm floats, a pool noodle, and goggles! He was ready to conquer the pool! He even jumped off the diving board a few times. After Christopher saw B jumping, he decided that he wanted to do that too. Here is a photo of him jumping into Daddy's arms. (he did this several times!)

After swimming, we enjoyed a nice barbeque with lots of treats! I love my mom's side of the family, but I really love that they like sweets as much as I do! There were tons of yummy treats to enjoy! Chocolate covered fritos and pretzels were the best! (sounds weird, but soooo good!) After gorging on food, we swam some more. B would have never gotten out, except I lured him away with the option of playing Rock Band on the playstation. He and I took turns being the singer, while Dad did the Bass, and some more cousins pitched in on drums and guitar. I have to admit, that this game could become my next obsession. It was so much fun!



After leaving Layton, we went over to Ben's parents house to visit and light off fireworks. It was fun to see the kids (this includes Dad) getting so excited for fireworks. I am a little nervous to see the pyros emerging in this family.



Saturday was the cruise-in. We went down to main street to sit on the trailer to enjoy the show. The kids had a great time with all the pizza and treats they could eat! Sunday was spent back over at Ben's parents house enjoying Sunday dinner with the family.



The 4th of July will always be the best summer holiday for family memories! I look forward to it every year!

The Zoo

We would like to announce that the Nielsen Family Zoo has just completed a new addition to one of it's main attractions!

As of this weekend, the monkeys now have a new outdoor habitat! Visitors to the Zoo can now view the monkeys playing and interacting in a more natural environment. The monkeys have also been provided with various balls and objects for their physical development and enjoyment.

Said the head Zookeeper: "This outdoor enclosure is an exciting addition for us. It has been years in the planning, and has cost the Zoo quite a lot, but in the end we think it is worth it. The monkeys will have years of enjoyment in this new area."

Hours of visitation in this new outdoor enclosure have been extended from sun-up to sun-down. See the enclosed photos of the monkey habitat. Pictures of actual monkeys in thier new environment to follow.

10 Year Reunion

So this past weekend the whole family went down to SLC. We spent friday visiting my dad and stepmom. B had such a good time playing outside with them. The next morning we all enjoyed a pancake breakfast, ala the pancake king, and got ready for the days adventures. B helped his grandpa wash the car while we got packed up and ready to go.

We spent Saturday morning at Cabela's. B lovingly refers to this place as Uncle Bellas. Don't ask me why, I'm still trying to figure it out. On the way up point of the mountain, we passed IKEA, and B asked if we could go to the ball pit. I had to lie and tell him it was broken, and they were fixing it, so it was closed today. (What am I going to do when he gets older and knows better?) Ben got a new headlamp for his kayak trip this weekend. The boys really liked the fish and dead animals. EEWWW. I'm glad we are not a huntin' family.

We stopped off to see my best friend at her apartment on our way over to mom's. We dropped off the boys for a sleepover with their grandma, and heading to Little America for my 10 year reunion.

It was so interesting to see how much people had changed in 10 years. Seriously, if we weren't all wearing name tags, I would not have know many of the faces I saw. The class of '98 must have some problems with the drinking water, cause all the guys were big and bald. (well, about 89%) The girls aged a lot better. I got to catch up with a few good friends I hadn't seen in years, so that was a bonus. The most interesting part was hearing what people had done since graduation. Lots of world travelers! (not including missions)

When Ben and I had had enough of the socializing, we headed up to our room. We got a tower suit, which was supposed to be a really nice room. To be fair, it was very big and roomy. However, it was very pink. Pink carpet, pink striped wallpaper, pink comforter, pink curtains. The decorating style was supposed to be French Colonial. More like Barbie goes to Paris. We attemted to get a good night's sleep (we were without kids, afterall) But I just couldn't get comfortable. I have always had a hard time not sleeping in my own bed, but this was bad! The pillows were very small and flat, and the bed was hard. Needless to say, I tried to go back to sleep after waking at 3:00 a.m., and was not successful. One good thing about the room: lots of magazines to read. After waiting till 7, so I wouldn't wake Ben, I got dressed and ready to LEAVE! We decided not to stay for sunday brunch ( I was tired and very cranky with this place) and drove to find a place for breakfast. As we were driving, my groggy head turned to headache, turned to migrane. By the time we got to Mimi's Cafe (awesome place to eat) my head was pounding and my stomache was churning. At the restaurant I had to turn off the light at our table because it was too bright, and every time someone clanked a fork or glass, my stomach did flip flops. I was so sad that I couldn't even stomach my yummy looking plate of french toast.

We headed back to mom's place, where I found out that B also woke up at 4:00 a.m. and did not go back to sleep. Maybe he has my same problem. So I went to lie down on the bed and fell asleep. After about an hour's long nap, we ate lunch and headed home. We stopped to see my grandma and grandpa in Layton for a while. They always get a kick out of the boys, and we love any time we get to spend with them. After that, we headed home to Logan to spend Sunday eavening having dinner at Ben's parent's house.

Next time I plan a trip, there will be less activities and more sleeping!!!

Summer reading fair

So the cute little library by our house always does a summer reading kick-off activity. B has been waiting to go to it for two weeks, and would always ask if the fair was ready yet. Well, we took him to the fair on Saturday and he had a blast! The gave the kids a bag filled with posters, bookmarks, a treat, and a reading chart. When the kids have read (or been read to) for 10 hours, they get to take the chart back to the library to pick out a prize! The fair also had free bottled water, cotton candy, popcorn, cookies, and goldfish crackers. They had tons of giant inflatable rides, and a few other carnival rides, all for free! Christopher wasn't really interested in playing on the inflatable toys, but he sure ate tons of free food. Here are some pics of B enjoying the fair!

Here's B sliding down the giant inflatable slide:

And here he is cheesing it up for mom inside the bounce house:

ABC's of me

Okay, so I was tagged like a month ago, and now I am finally getting around to doing this! p.s. You just got tagged too!

A-ATTACHED OR SINGLE- Attached - Coming up on 6 yrs!
B-BEST FRIEND- I have too many great friends to single anyone out as the "best" one.
C-CAKE OR PIE- Cake. Definately Cake. However, peanut butter cup pie makes me think about it harder.
D-DAY OF CHOICE- Saturday.
E-ESSENTIAL ITEM- Food, with make-up a close second.
F-FAVORITE COLOR- Purple, but Sage green seems to dominate right now.
G-GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT- Two boys, still a work in progress...
I-INDULGENCES- Tootsie rolls. I think I have a problem.
J-JANUARY OR JULY- July! Two holidays and great summer weather! What's so great about January?
K-KIDS- Benjamin and Christopher, my two crazy monkeys!
L-LIFE IS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT- DVR. If you have it, you know what I mean.
M-MARRIAGE DATE- September 20, 2002
N-NUMBER OF SIBLINGS- 2 sisters. One older, one younger.
O-ORANGES OR APPLES- Umm, has anyone seen me eat fruit?
P-PHOBIAS OR FEARS- Spiders-the big ones. (anything bigger than my pinky nail qualifies)
Q-QUOTES- God gives every bird it's food, but he doesn't put it in the nest.
R-REASON TO SMILE- Going to Europe this fall.
S-SEASON-Fall - The smells, the colors, the wardwrobe.
T-TAG - You, if you have read this far!
U-UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME- I really like to play Barbies. I still have mine.
V-VERY FAVORITE STORE- A mix between Tai Pan and Target. I could spend all day in those places, even without a dime to spend!
W-WORST HABIT- Plucking my eyebrows. Should've left that to an expert.
X-X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND- Ultrasound. Both of my boys were total flashers. Couldn't have been surprised if I wanted to.
Y-YOUR FAVORITE JUNK FOOD- Do I have to pick one? A tie between Lee's brownies and Funyuns chips.
Z-ZODIAC-Aries.

Fun pictures

So back in the beginning of May, my sisters came up to Logan to surprise my mom for her birthday. We all went out and got pictures done. Take a look and see how they turned out!