Photo Mishap

What a bummer!  A big, big bummer!  What a big, fat, awful bummer!

I was downloading pictures from three different cameras, hundreds of pictures, months worth, when I accidentally deleted all of the pictures from one of the memory cards before downloading it.  I sat there stunned, thinking "Did I just do what I think I just did?" Yep. I did.  I tried to think of what might have been on that particular camera, but I couldn't think of anything that was missing, so I thought I was OK.  I reassured myself that it was probably just a few pictures that Emma took of the dog, or something like that, and I'd never miss a few pictures of Olive, right?  Just now, though, when I started to blog some things that happened in July, my sluggish memory started to return and I realized that I had deleted some good stuff, stuff I'll be sad to never see again. 

I wanted to blog about how much fun Del had on his birthday and show some pictures of him opening his favorite gift, four seasons of Jag (he loves that show and has become addicted to his dvds).  Nope. Can't do that.  I deleted all of the pictures.

I wanted to blog about how I almost won a Nissan Cube in July.  There were 250 people chosen through radio entries and each of the finalists came to the Nissan lot for a big party.  There were so many yummy things to eat, catered by several restaurants!    The drawing was in reverse: the last person's name to be drawn was the winner.  I was number 242!  There were only 7 left after me!  I almost got it!  Instead, I got a prize package for a trip to Bear World, free golfing in Ashton, a free car wash, and a free pizza.  Not bad, and the day was lots of fun.  We were able to catch up with several old friends, including Neal and Esther Larsen.  Neal does the morning show on the radio station that I called in to, and they used to be in our ward.  We also saw Amy and Jeff Mansfield, Cheryl and Brandon Quinn, who also used to be in our ward.  They were in the running to win, too, and I took pictures of them all.  Del took a picture of me as one of the 10 finalists with my hand on the car.  I was excited to post all of the pictures of my exciting almost-win.  Nope.  Can't do that.  I deleted all of the pictures.

I wanted to blog about my fun dinner with Samee and Jeremy Beck and Martie and Jason Hill.  It's always so fun to see friends from high school, and we don't get to see the Hills very often.  They brought their beautiful new baby, and we all had a fun time catching up at Chilis.  When we were leaving, we had a man outside take a group picture of us.  I was really excited to post it so Becky could see how much fun we had without her and be jealous!  (We invited her but she was on trek with their ward, roughing it in the woods!)  Nope.  Can't do that.  I deleted all of the pictures.


What a bummer!  A big, big bummer!  What a big, fat, awful bummer! But what a good lesson.  I think I'll double-check the memory cards next time!  I wonder what else I'll remember that was on that memory card?

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!

Mink Creek fire

When my parents lived in Mink Creek in the 90's, I thought that it was an absolutely ideal place to live.  Although you could be in town in just a few minutes, you could also stand on the deck and smell that you were in the forest.  I loved that smell.  Now the smell is charred and the beautiful landscape is interrupted by burnt-out skeletons of homes and vehicles. 

 

A fire, started from an accidental spark from a vehicle, began in the dry conditions on Charlotte Street and burned 66 homes before it could be contained.  Firemen from neighboring counties and states came to help battle the blaze, since many of our own firemen were in Colorado fighting the devastating fires there.  It was amazing that more homes weren't destroyed, since the dry conditions and high winds drove the fire directly to the Indian Hills neighborhood, with hundreds of homes in its path.  Gratitude for these brave firefighters was evident in signs all throughout the Mink Creek area.

Del and I drove the kids to the area a week later to see if my parents' old home was still standing.  We had heard that it might have burned down and we were anxious to see. I couldn't take a picture of the home without going onto the front lawn, so I just took a picture of the back driveway, which serves as a dividing line for two properties.  My parents' house to the right was untouched, but the house to the left was completely destroyed, as well as the houses across the street.

We drove up into the hills and saw that many, many homes were now just burnt rubble.  We were surprised at how little there was left on each property.  The fire consumed most things, leaving very little evidence of all of the stuff we prize so much and fill our houses with.  It was interesting to see how one house would be spared and the neighboring one would be completely gone.  The wind had been so strong that it had blown sparks everywhere and constantly changed the direction of the fire.

At one property, the house was gone and the trees were blackened, but a deer had found some refuge there.

  Down the road, we saw a mother nursing two fawns on the front lawn of an untouched house.  It must have seemed like a safe place for her and her babies.

  It has been quite a shock for our community, but it is always amazing how tragedies can bring out the best in people.  Donations began pouring in so fast that officials had to ask people to wait until they could determine what the needs were.  Then the community began having fundraisers to help those who hadn't been insured.  Fortunately, it was determined later that all homes were insured (even though two families had defaulted on payments and thought they were uninsured, their banks had maintained payments). The LDS church organized a huge clean-up a week later and had over 2,000 men available to help clear the properties.  They came armed with chainsaws, trucks, shovels, and some willing hearts.  Del and Devin were happy to be helping, although they were pretty dirty and tired by the time the day was over.  Each homeowner, some with houses that were saved and some with houses that weren't, had been assigned a group of men and a truck.  The men cut trees and garbage and hauled them to the dump, as well as doing anything else the homeowner needed. There will be more clean-ups over the next few months, but none as big as this one.  We have also been collecting needed supplies for a family who is staying with relatives in our ward, the Lambsons.  They had a list of immediate needs and it was nice to be able to help. I had found a beautiful, new set of scriptures in a case at a yard sale the previous week and had bought it, although no one in our family needs another one, so I took it to her with some other things our ward had collected.  It had the previous owner's name on the cover, Agnes something, but other than that it had never been used.  Sis. Lambson told me that she marked her first scripture in it the next day and it made her cry.  She said it was her favorite donation.  It's been a sad thing for our community but a great opportunity to pull together and help each other out.

Emma's exciting month

Proud Emma and her cheesy father

 June was a big month for Emma.  First, she reached a major goal she has been working on all year.  Each year all of the 6th graders have an opportunity to win a $300 mountain bike and helmet from a local car dealership.  Emma has been so excited for the chance to win that bike for the past few years, since she knows it's her only shot at riding a non-hand-me-down beautiful bike!  All the kids have to do is have perfect attendance, including being on time each day.  That's all.  That's all?!  This was the hardest school year of my life!  Every time Emma was around someone who coughed or blew their nose she got a panicked look on her face, afraid she'd catch whatever foul germs they had and miss a day of school.  I was worried that she would become a germaphobe after this year, but so far she is a normal 12 year old.  Every night in her prayers, she remembered to ask Heavenly Father to bless her that she wouldn't get sick so she could earn a bike.  And He did bless her!  When the rest of our family caught colds and flu, she always managed to wait for a weekend or holiday.  Lucky girl! Then there was the worry about tardies.  We carpooled with a the Hibberts and whenever it was their week to drive we would have at least one day of Emma in tears and panic as they pulled up late to pick her up.  Their daughter wasn't a 6th grader and had no reason to hurry in the morning, often driving her parents crazy with her snail's pace.  She's a sweet, stubborn, slow child and we love her, but I wasn't sure if her friendship with Emma would survive if she made her lose that beautiful bike, so for the last few months of school we had Emma go with my friend, Maggie, the secretary at the school.  She was 45 minutes early for school every day and loved it!  No more stress and plenty of time to help and chat with her teacher each morning.  And the result?  She was one of seven 6th graders at our school who got a bike!

 

The dealership sponsored a free picnic for all of the winners and their families and presented them with their new bike.  There were hundreds of people there, and I think they gave away over 300 bikes.  It's pretty generous and the kids love it, although it really stresses parents out.  Emma has been having a great time riding around the neighborhood, so I guess it was all worth it!

Emma's other big event in June was her play, The Music Man.  She loves performing and she gets to do it twice a year with CMT.  She was a Pick-A-Little Lady, along with her friends, Priscilla and Britlyn, and they did a terrific job!

The girls with their teacher, Dana Atkins, who announced that it was her last play.  The girls were so sad that she has moved

Emma did her own hair every day in a Gibson Girl style.  She's pretty talented!

Emma's 6th grade teacher, Jessica Baker, came to support her and brought Emma her favorite flowers.  She's so sweet.  We love her!