First Day of School!

Today was the first day of school! Things went smoothly this morning -- I love that they are excited for school! And everyone had a great day with their new teachers and classmates.

Nathan is in 5th grade

Benjamin is in 3rd grade

Joshua is in 1st grade -- his first year of going all day. Elizabeth and I will miss him!

Aprons

For Valentine's Day, I made aprons for the boys -- I had made one for Elizabeth at Christmas and they had asked when they were getting one. The only thing is that I did not have enough time to finish the aprons in time for Valentine's. They opened their gifts, which were cut pieces of fabric. I told them I would finish them soon. Is six months later still considered "soon"?!

I worked on them while Nathan was out of town, and I'm happy with how they turned out. The boys are excited, and hopefully it means I will get more help in the kitchen :)

Nathan's

 Benjamin's

 Joshua's

A Week in Washington D.C.

As we drove home from the family reunion, we stopped by the airport and dropped Mom, Sam, and Nathan off. Many months ago, we planned for Nathan to visit Grandma and Grandpa Anders all by himself for a long week. Ryan and I thought it would be good for him to get that one-on-one time with his grandparents. We also want him to have the chance to see the sites in Washington D.C. before he learns U.S. history in 5th grade this coming school year. He has been so excited!

Since I wasn't there, I'll let him tell us about his trip:

The day I first got there, it was Sunday. I got out some Play-dough and made a sheep. I made it with a yellow body and then put black dots on top for its wool. Later in the week, Grandma taught me how to cross-stitch. I am working on a cross-stitch of Utah for my 4th grade teacher.

On Monday, Grandpa took me to Washington, D.C. We parked near the Jefferson Memorial, so we went there first. I learned that in Thomas Jefferson's time people could challenge each other to a gun duel if they were mad at each other. He won a duel and people still thought of him as a good guy.

There were quotes on the walls of the Jefferson Memorial

Then Grandpa and I got on a tour bus. We drove around for a while, taking many pictures of Washington D.C. The bus took us to the International Spy Museum, which was my favorite museum!

the Lincoln Memorial

another side of the Lincoln Memorial

The tour bus dropped us off and we went to a big grassy field in between the White House and the Washington Monument. After a while we saw a helicopter land in front of the White House. We watched President Obama get in and fly away (we were on the wrong side, so we could only see his feet)!

Back on the bus, we passed a lot more buildings, including the Capitol. It would have been faster to just walk because the bus took an indirect route compared to what we could have walked.

the Smithsonian castle

Washington Monument -- once again we couldn't go inside, this time because there had been an earthquake a few months ago

 There is a big river separating Washington D.C. from Virginia

Later in the week, Grandpa and I visited the Pentagon. We went to the memorial for the victims of the September 11 attacks. While standing at the memorial, you can look at the Pentagon and notice that a lot of the wall is a different color of stone -- that is where they repaired the wall after the attack.

this is the memorial

notice the right side of the building has darker stone than the left -- the right side has been repaired

Later in the week we got to visit Nanee in Norfolk. We spent the night and went to Busch Gardens amusement park. I was too busy having fun to take any pictures!

We spent two more days in Washington D.C. We went to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing where they print the money, and we went to the Holocaust Museum. We also went to the Library of Congress . . . I was disappointed that they wouldn't let us go see the books because we didn't have a library card. To qualify for a library card, you need to have a driver's license!

One million dollars in ten dollar bills!

I am glad that I got to visit Grandma and Grandpa. I got lots of ice cream and Diet Coke and tacos and chicken nuggets! I really enjoyed my trip!

Family Reunion

This weekend was the Nielsen family reunion -- my mom's side of the family. We enjoyed a couple of days with Granny and my aunts, uncles, cousins, and their families. It was a last-minute event as far as reunions go, so a lot of the family who lives far from Utah were not able to come, but I'm glad that Sam and Mom could join us!

Thursday evening we did a lot of fun relays and outdoor games, thanks to Evan and Karen. My kids loved that the winners for each game got to pick from a basket of large candy bars and Bubble Tape!

Airplane-making contest; Nathan's plane went the furthest!

 Granny was a good sport and gave it a try!

Noodle-throwing contest: Benjamin's turn

Joshua

Nathan

Nathan won the noodle-throwing contest, too!

Elizabeth was NOT happy that her brothers were getting candy and she wasn't. Luckily, she just had to stop crying and ask Uncle Evan nicely for some candy, and then everything was happy again!

 Which team will have the fewest balls on their side when time is up?

Who can unroll one streamer roll the fastest? I won this time!

my wonderful mom!

On Friday morning, Nathan and Benjamin went with Sam and some cousins on a hike. Elizabeth, Joshua, Mom, and I stayed at the house and visited with the other family members that stayed behind.

Elizabeth had fun rolling down the big hill in the backyard!

Joshua "borrowed" the camera for a few minutes, and I had to get it back!

After lunch, the kids stayed busy with the slip 'n' slide. Nathan had fun inside playing card games and board games with the older cousins.

Saturday morning we played more games, and my aunt Dorothy brought Pop Beads to entertain the kids. I was surprised that the boys loved it as much as Elizabeth did!

Friends

Elizabeth and Izzy were so cute playing with Elizabeth's new dolls today! I love that Elizabeth has such a great friend!