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!

Day at the Museum

My brother Sam is visiting on his break from school. We thought today would be a great day to cross off an activity from our list of "50 Fun Things to Do This Summer" by going up to Salt Lake City for the day!

We spent most of our time at the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. I've always wanted to take the kids to the museum, but the thought of taking 4 kids by myself always felt daunting, and we always have so many other things to do on Saturdays. It was so nice to have Sam with us -- another set of eyes and hands to help with the kids!

The kids spent a LOT of time at this amazing ball area. They put the balls in some tubes that shot everything up into a maze of tubes and then back down. We started the day here, and ended it here too!

 We also spent a lot of time at the water area. The kids could control buckets, a water pump, etc.

 Elizabeth in the play store

rock wall

Upstairs there were a lot of areas for building things, using various materials. And our boys love building!

These blocks sit on a platform -- you turn it on and it shakes to simulate an earthquake

 Nathan spent a lot of time connecting these tubes for a ball drop

 Nathan spent a lot of time building this car, with some help from Sam

A real Life Flight helicopter on the terrace!

Ryan came up from work and met us at the City Creek Center mall, just a few blocks away from the museum. We enjoyed dinner at the food court, and then we wandered through the mall. I enjoyed a stop at Nordstrom's and the kids found the play area. Nathan even picked up a present for Elizabeth's birthday at the Disney Store. It was a wonderful day!

To Be a Pioneer

The 24th of July is a major holiday in Utah: Pioneer Day. Since Ryan and I did not grow up here, and since he does not get Pioneer Day off of work, I always forget about it until the day of. So our festivities usually are doing the things we do any other July day :) Earlier this month I saw some ads for the city Pioneer Day celebration, and I made the effort to plan ahead and actually do something fun this year!

First we attended a neighborhood pancake breakfast, which included a huge slip 'n' slide on the hill of the park. Later in the day we went to the city Pioneer Day event. It was crowded but a lot of fun -- there was so much to do!

an Old West jail

 I think the boys' favorite activity was the ax throwing!

Benjamin                                                                        Nathan

Joshua

the target

 They also enjoyed the slingshot booth!

Nathan                                                                                Joshua

 Benjamin really got into it!

We wandered over to the adjacent Pioneer Village (which is always there, but we have never been to it). We got to see inside a typical home from the time the pioneers settled the area -- it was one itty-bitty room! I can't believe they would fit a family of 8-10 in there! We also went in a blacksmith's shop, played a few pioneer games, and took a turn with the handcart. Nathan was in an uncooperative mood, so Benjamin pulled the handcart alone -- I was very impressed!

Elizabeth made a paper bonnet at one of the booths, but was not ready to pose in it until we got home.

State Tournament

Nathan's baseball team, the Twins, had a really good season! They came in second in their league and so they advanced to the state tournament! They played 3 games in Payson earlier this week, and if they won 2 of them, they would advance to the next round.

Last year Nathan's team also went to the tournament, and we got creamed! Even though we were at a different location, I was expecting a similar outcome. Fortunately, this year was much better -- the teams were more of an even match.

We were winning the first game fairly soundly. Then the last inning two of our key players started making some cocky mistakes, and we ended up losing by a run! We won the second game -- it was close the whole time, but we won! The third game was really intense. Both teams had each won a game, so whoever won this game would advance to the next round. The Twins did really well at the beginning, and I was starting to arrange my schedule in my head to work around the next game. And then the momentum shifted, and we lost by a couple of runs.

Nathan got to pitch a little bit. He is also an amazing 3rd baseman, and during the tournament he made a few big plays at 3rd! Congratulations on a great season, Nathan! You have worked hard and it is fun to see your talents growing!