Summer Fun

When the school year winds to a close I always get so excited for the relaxed schedule of summer.  There's time to play and have lots of fun.  We bought a season pass to Seven Peaks and Trafalga, and even though we only made it there twice, we had a great time.  Here are some pictures of our first trip there in July.

Chris missed out on this trip because he worked all summer at Island Park Scout Camp.  He had a great time and earned some money for school, but he was sad to miss swimming.  We promised him we would go again after his work ended.

In August, Maren decided to enter things in the fair again this year, even though we only remembered about it the night before entries were due.   She made whole wheat bread, pumpkin bread, and gingersnaps and entered a quilted bag she sewed and a few items in antiques and photography.  She was a good sister and also picked out some books and antiques to enter for Emma since she was visiting cousins in Boise, and she surprised her later with a couple of blue and red ribbons and prize money.  Emma thought that was pretty great!   

Maren's entries did terrific!  For the set of New York Times magazines from 1935, she got the rosette for best overall book entry!  She has reminded me repeatedly that she wants to inherit it someday, so she was really proud.

We also talked Layla into entering items at the fair, and she was glad she did!  Layla's corn won the rosette for best vegetable in her age group. Her grandpa was so proud of it since it was grown in his garden with a little of her help.  He offered to pay her $15 in exchange for the rosette, and she thought that was a great deal!  She also won blue ribbons for herbs and a red ribbon for snickerdoodles.  She was feeling quite rich when she added up her winnings.

Each of Maren's baked goods got the blue ribbon for her age group, 15-18, and her gingersnap cookies took the rosette for best cookies overall!  We sent some of her cookies to Trevor and Megan in Afghanistan in a care package, so we hoped they appreciated getting the official best cookies!  Maren was really excited to do so well, especially since she is saving every dollar so she can go to EFY in Provo next year. 

At the end of the summer we helped Katherine move in to her dorm at BYU and then went to Trafalga and Seven Peaks in Provo.  Maren was excited to see what the dorm rooms were like since she wants to be there in a few years.

 We had a great time riding go-carts and playing miniature golf, although none of us were particularly good!

Even in go-carts people drive the way you expect they would.  Megan was a crazy terror and Maren was careful and cautious.  The boys were all somewhere in the middle.  Becky and Dave have decided that Megan will have to wait a few more years before they let her take driver's training.  Boise's streets are just not ready for her, yet.

After playing at Trafalga we headed over to Seven Peaks and spent the rest of the day swimming.  Great day!

Mindy's the one in red.  Anna is the one with the attitude and goofy expression!

To top off our fun day, as I was leaving to bring my car up front, I passed a cute, petite, blonde and thought, "That looks like Mindy Gledhill!"  She is one of our favorite singers, and we saw her in concert last December at the Performing Arts Center and then met her after the show.  When I came back with the van to load the kids up, Emma started shouting, "You're never going to guess who we just saw!"  I said, "Hmmm. Let me guess. Was it Mindy Gledhill?"  Becky had noticed her, too, and with her quick thinking, arranged a group photo that included an unknowing Mindy!  Thanks for photobombing our family picture, Mindy!  We love your music! 

First Nielson Family Reunion

We had our Nielson family reunion in Pocatello for one day and a day at Lava Hot Springs. My dad's family isn't too big. He has three sisters, Cavell, Rhea, and Shelly.  They're all really good at passing the buck (it's a family trait, I guess), so I got assigned to plan the reunion.

 

 For the day in Pocatello we planned games, lots of food, and some family history.  I asked Dad (who delegated to Mom), Rhea, Cavell, and Shelly to share some memories of their parents and it was great to hear their stories.  Becky made a wonderful slideshow of our families' pictures, and everyone had a good time laughing and reminiscing.  

  David Smith and Rob Reed

Michelle and  Adam Argyle

 

 

At Lava Hot Springs the next day people split up to swim or relax in the shade and visit.

 Shelly and Bob Davidson and their bunch had a great time at the pools.

 Laura, Becky, Karen, and Liam

 Laura and Tyson

 Anna, Ellie, and Emma enjoying the slides! They also tubed down the Portneuf river,

 got cut up a bit on rocks, but had fun.

 Hannah, Laura, Karen, Liam, Evie

 Michelle Argyle enjoying a Nielson family favorite,corn on the cob!

 The Kikel family

 We got a quick picture with most of the Nielson family, but Dave had already left with the older kids.

Hard work pays off...eventually!

Some jobs are relatively easy, like our windmill project.  Strong winds had ripped our windmill out of its cement anchors last winter, and the paint was old and rusted.  Devin straightened it and painted it for me, so now it is just how I have always wanted it.....patriotic!  Every time I look out my back window I just smile.  I love it!  He did such a great job.  When it is spinning it looks like Captain America's shield, which Maren loves!  She's kind of infatuated with him at the moment, but who isn't?

 Some jobs are a little harder and take more time, like my kitchen cupboard project.  I've been wanting to redo my cabinets for several years, but it's a huge endeavor and....well....I'll admit it.  I'm sort of lazy.  We finally pulled off about 1/3 of the doors and refinished the cabinets and changed the hardware. It was a lot of work and I still have 28 of my 47 cupboards to go, but I love it! 

 It's hard to tell from the pictures, but they used to be really yellow and now they are dark brown.  I know, they look the same in the picture, but really they are a dark walnut now.  It's just the flash.  And yes, I should have cleaned off the counters before I took the picture, but as I've already explained, I'm kind of lazy.

Some jobs, though, are much harder and they take a lot longer, like Christopher's Eagle Scout award.  Sometimes you think it will never end. Sometimes you feel that you will probably strangle your son, but you take comfort knowing that the judge will be lenient because he's probably had a son, too. Sometimes you get so you hate the sight of the Boy Scout office and feel your life would be so much better if you never had to see it's ugly brown siding again.  And then, amazingly, it is finished and the hard work has paid off!  Chris was awarded his eagle in July with his friend, Tyler Winder.  

 

We're proud of you, Chris!

And you, too, Tyler!

Not only are they good friends, but they have been in Scouting since they were Cub Scouts, so we thought it would be fun to have their Court of Honor together. 

I've been waiting to post this blog about his Eagle because several people took pictures for me during the Court of Honor and were going to give me the pictures.  However, for some strange reason this is the only one that I ended up with:

Hopefully, I will get some later and add them to the post.  Until then, here are some fun ones of Chris and his troop over the years:

Right where all monkeys belong!

Caleb Hibbert, Tyler Winder, Isaac Miller, Chris Symons, Patrick Riley, Mike Garcia

Proud parents

More proud parents

This picture has four of Chris' past Scout leaders, Tom Myers (who passed away 6 months before Chris got his award), Greg Romriell (who is also our dentist), Nate Jorgenson, and Del.  Joe Winder, in the picture above, was also one of his Scout leaders.  Chris has been fortunate to have lots of great leaders to help him earn his Eagle award and we are grateful for their help.
Yep, hard work does pay off......eventually.  And more importantly, it's worth the effort!