Treats and Sacrifices

The boys opted to get ice cream and have hot fudge sundaes at home last night after the Priesthood Session of General Conference instead of going out for ice cream.  There are two bonuses for that.

1) Ryan and I got to have ice cream last night with them and listen to their recap of the evening.
2) The left over ice cream allowed for some After Conference P'zookies today.  Steven and Ryan even made them.  All Greg and I had to do was show up.  Sweet!

Thanks for teaching my kids all about these, Christie.  Thinking of you this evening.  Sisters are awesome!

Basic P'zookie recipe: Make a batch of the chocolate chip cookie dough of your choice.  Bake in a pan until half done.  Remove from oven and top with ice cream.  Eat right out of the pan while hot.  Enjoy.  (Tip: Let your kids eat part of your share or you'll be asking yourself what you could have possibly been thinking as you run or walk about 20 miles a day for the next several weeks to counteract all the calories.)

Tomorrow we're having popcorn and apple slices dipped in caramel sauce for Family Home Evening treats while we talk about what we learned this weekend.  Good thing Conference only comes around every 6 months.  It's going to take me until October Conference to calorically recover from April Conference! 

(I guess we all have to make sacrifices sometimes!)

You're Invited!! (Or at least you should have been.)

It's August. At our house that means lots of things are going on. This year the list looks something like this so far: the end of youth conference, Shan's birthday, a little Nelson reunion, Greg's birthday, Steven's birthday, friends visiting for BYU Education Week, the start of school, the start of soccer, the start of school again, the start of soccer for a second time, and our anniversary. I always hope that September brings a little bit of calm, but I'm giving up on that this year. So, bring on the rest of the birthdays and holidays and I'm looking forward to a fabulous nap in January. I've included a few pictures, if I have them, so you can feel a part of our month and all the celebrations, even if I forgot to send an invitation in time.

Shan in Maple Canyon on her birthday and at the end of Youth Conference (It's a "two-fer-one" shot. Facebook has the rest of the Youth Conference pics or email and I'll send you an invitation. The other birthday pics are of me blowing out candles with wet hair. They will not be posted here or on Facebook. Not even if you send me an email.)

Most of the Nelsons in town for our little reunion.
We're on the observation deck at the Church Office Building in Salt Lake trying to not be blown off. Majorly windy day. Others joined us later in the week, but I don't have any pictures.

Happy Birthday to all the Nelsons who have a birthday in August!
(Shan, Terri, Julia, Greg, Steven, Mike, and David)

Happy Birthday, Greg!
(He's holding the wooden knives that Steven carved for him.)

Happy Birthday, Steven!
He's holding the wooden knife Greg carved for him. It was a carving week. He also wanted this picture left just the way it was because, and I quote, "We look AWESOME with red eyes."

It was also an electric week capped with the complete dismantling of an old boom box when Steven got a new one for his birthday (which was still in the box at this point!). And I quote, "This is even better than video games!" So, I guess they really are happier without real presents. It may not be boxes like when they were 1, but old radios seem to make great presents. That should save on money spent at Christmas. (hint! hint!)

I forgot to take any pictures of our the two sweet ladies who stayed with us during Education Week, but they would go right here in our time line if they existed. I would like to make it to Ed. Week at some ppint. Unfortunately, it falls on the first week of school and I kind of feel like a mom ought to be around that first week. Maybe I'm crazy, but Ed. Week will still be there even when I don't have to think about the magical First Day of School.

That brings us to the first First Day of School:

Joseph- 7th grade

Steven- 5th grade

Ryan- 3rd grade (Yes, I TRIED to tell him those shorts didn't really match and couldn't he PLEASE make a better First Day impression and change into jean shorts, but he was quite adamant that black goes with blue and this is what he wanted to wear on his first day. Oh well. Moms worry about that kind of thing too much, I guess.)

The first First Day of school was also the first soccer game for Ryan this season.
(Don't you just LOVE his shorts? He does.)

A small diversion. Greg was working on a video project for the Library this week. This is the Science section at the library on the first First Day of School for us. Notice that it is empty. They have not started school, yet, and for some reason the people at Education Week don't stop down there much. I kept trying to get my friends to go down there for a nap because it's quite and there are soft couches to lay on, but I don't think even they stopped in. Oh well, their loss!

We had two first days of school because the middle school and high school use the first First Day of School as an orientation for the incoming 7th and 9th graders respectively. So, Joseph, Steven, and Ryan went on the first First Day. Erica and Spencer went on the second First Day.

Erica- 11th grade
(Yes, she catches the bus at "Sun-rise O'clock"- at least for now. Later in the fall and winter she catches it pre-dawn.)

Spencer- 8th grade

If we had a kindergartner we would have a third First Day, but that's not until next week and thankfully it won't impact our lives. Whew! Our little friend, Lizzie, is very anxiously counting down the days, though.

The second First Day also happened to fall on our 17th anniversary. It did not even dawn on me to take any pictures. Greg took the following:

because the second First Day and our anniversary also happened to be Steven's first soccer game day. It was also soccer practice for Spencer and Joseph as well as the open house at the middle school. Greg went with Steven while I took Spencer and Joseph. So, in order to have a little celebration, Greg took the day off and we went to the temple and out to lunch at the Sky Room Restaurant at BYU. (There are many, many Ed. Week people that visit the Sky Room. Maybe that's why they're not in the library.)

Well, that's it for now. Greg, Spencer, and Joseph had a scout camp out last night (no pictures, aren't you glad!) and we had a Stake picnic tonight.

As my friend, Lisa, named her- Erica Shortcake

Our friend, Dallas.
And everyone thinks we are boring people. Just look how wild and crazy we can be.

I thought it was nice of the Stake to fix dinner for me to celebrate our second-day-after-our-anniversary. Do you celebrate that day? We usually don't either.

Having a Day

53 Day until school starts.

I'm not counting.

Just stating a fact.

Have a nice day.

Pre-Birthday Camp Out

9:00-ish-Tomorrow is Joseph's 12th birthday and the school district was nice enough to give him the day off for a Teacher Quality Day. It also might snow for the first time in several weeks, so we can pretend it's a snow day, too. So, to prolong the birthday excitement as long as possible, Joseph asked if he could sleep on the bean bag tonight. I don't know why that is such a treat as I would take my bed any day over the bean bag, but it is. Well, one thing led to another and right now all 5 kids are in Spencer and Joseph's room for a pre-birthday "camp out". I won't say "sleep-over" because judging by the sounds floating up from the basement there is no sleep going on at this point. I'm not bothered, though. They are very happy, friendly voices and no one is bothering any one else (minor miracle, but not one of the "everyday" variety, unfortunately!). They are talking and laughing and having a great time. It's a smiling heart moment for me.

10:55- They are still talking and laughing and having a great time, though it has slowed down considerably. The suggestion to make this a birthday tradition has been tossed around. I am all for spending quality time with the siblings and making some fun memories. Memories at 11:00 p.m. are the #1 reason we don't do these things on a school night, so a huge line will be drawn there! For now, the rest of the lights are going out and the boring grown-ups are going to sleep.

Where Did We Go Wrong

Today was the season opener for BYU football. They played against Northern Iowa and won 41-17. (Yeah!). It was a fun game. Greg got 2 season tickets for his birthday. There are 6 home games, which worked out great. Each of the kids and I could go to a game with Greg and enjoy the BYU football experience. Perfect plan. So, what went wrong? This week was Ryans' turn to go to the game. At 3:30 I called him upstairs to get ready. He decided he didn't want to go. Steven didn't want to go. Spencer didn't want to go. Erica didn't want to go. Joseph was playing at a friends' house. I have a terrible cold and wanted to stay home, but who in their right mind passes up a chance to go to a football game?! I went and had a great time. How do Greg and I, both BYU grads who never missed a home game the whole time we were students, have children who have grown up to not want to watch BYU football? I thought is was passed along in the genome somehow! Ok, we haven't exactly lived in areas where BYU football was played-either in person or on TV. Neither are we the pay-hundreds-of-dollars-to fly-across-the-country-to-see-BYU-play type of people. But, we did watch it when we could and even traveled from CA to AZ to see them play against ASU once. I guess it's not enough. So, let us be a warning to all of you out there. Teach, teach, teach your children about the really important things in life and don't forget about BYU football. No, Keith, ASU doesn't even come close to being as important. Cosmo, Cosmo, Cosmo not Sparky, Sparky, Sparky! Next week is an away game. We have soccer and viola during the first quarter, but the kids will have a new kind of homework when we get home. Lucky for them, it involves the TV.