Yummy-licious

When we got home from Cali - look what I found in my garden! FYI - my veg. garden was an UTTER FAILURE. But, I can grow berries!


And yesterday I did a first - CANNING! Shayne thought I should put on a pioneer dress for the occassion (cause I actually have one!). I hope they taste as yummy as they look - and a big THANKS to Rach for making this happen. I wouldn't have done it without her.

It's a very DARK video, but not in the evil way! Hunter tore up the dance floor at the wedding reception. Here's a clip of him dancing with Laura-ba-dora!

No more gates!

Yeah!! Danny can manage the stairs now!

California

We went to our best friend's (LAURA) wedding in California. The amazing part about being there for her wedding was that we really got to spend time with her and her fiance (Maynrad) and it was SOOOO MUCH FUN!! PLUS, we got to be there for her INCREDIBLE and BEAUTIFUL wedding. I'm so sorry that I didn't take very good pictures of that day. Bummer. But here are a few. And FYI, Shayne added his commentary to the pictures.

The quilt made with Love for Laura and Maynrad

My mom did most of it, but I (yes, me!) did do the squares in the middle. I really helped sew something beautiful!
Our family at the wedding. Please note all the kid's shirts are clean, which may very well be the first time in our history.

"Blisters"

Laura and Maynrad - IN LOVE! (Maynrad lost his right hand during the wedding, but he was a good sport about it).

After the wedding, we had a family vacation in Sunny California. We had lots of time on the beach and we did the 3/1 pass to Sea World, Wild Animal Park, and San Diego Zoo. By the end of our "park" adventures, the kids were burned out on animals. They would have preferred Disney, or any place with rides, but it was fun to do something different. Here are more pictures to highlight our adventures.

The boys at the beach. Danny's really got to work on that tan.

"This is the worst tasting brown sugar I've ever eaten".

The boys under the sink. They are NOT coming of the closet.

I took away a shell he was trying to eat...

Hooray for disease!

It's a little funny to think that the boys enjoyed this part of the "Wild Animal Park" the best - it was an animatronic dinosaur park. Basically, our kids would rather see extinct animals.

"Our parents only had to pay $16 to see these lame dinosaurs. It just goes to show that whining pays."

Notice the dinosaur is giving the kids the same look that Hunter is giving Cole. That, "I could SO destroy you" look.

Snorkeling with Cole at La Jolla in San Diego was an absolutely highlight for me. He really did snorkel (with adult gear on!) and it was a surreal experience. I LOVED that moment in time and I will never forget the way I felt as we pointed at fish and swam hand in hand! By the way, who can make snorkeling gear look attractive?

Cole with Elmo

Funny Story - Cole ran right past Grover to get to Elmo. It cracked me up that the photographers begged him to go back claiming that Grover has feelings too! But, as you can see, Cole was thrilled to have his picture with Elmo. And it seems to be a RARE moment to have a SMILING Cole in a picture - I'm glad I got it!

Cole's the one on the left

En route to our home, we stopped in Vegas and got some play time with our cousins - who were there for the Labor Day weekend. We love family. It's so much fun to be together, anytime, anywhere.

Hunter and Carson playing together. Doesn't Carson have the bluest eyes you've ever seen?

This is my feeble attempt to show how girls would flock to Danny - at the pools, beaches, where ever we went. He is a magnet! Is this an indicator of his future?

Gotta share this one...

My good friend Kristy posted the following on her blog and I had to share it. I wish I had the cute photos she had along with it - but I'll have to share those another time! So, from Kristy:

A conversation heard in the car between Emily and friend Cole.

Em: Cole, do you think you would love me?

Cole: Ya, (dramatic pause) do you love me?

Em: Ya, do you wanna get married?

Cole: Ya, (another dramatic pause) do you wanna get married?

Em: Ya!

Cole: Do you have a princess dress?

And then the conversation took a 180 turn and they discussed important topics such as Hannah Montana and hitting heads on toilets. But back to the previous conversation, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to the future Mr. and Mrs. Nelson (yes, conveniently Cole and Emily already have the same last name, and no they are not related).
Emily will make a great wife as she is fun, free spirited, and in touch with her inner child. Cole is very sweet to Emily and hopes she will make him tacos and macaroni and cheese with hot dogs every night for dinner.The wedding will take place in about 20 years as there is a little growing up that has to happen.When the time comes, we wish this couple all the happiness in the world!

Play time

We were putting dinner together on Sunday evening and I knew that Danny was pulling pots and pans out of cupboards for his own entertainment. When I turned around, I was completely surprised to see this!

First Grade and school lunch

Hunter is officially in the 1st grade and I can't even begin to tell you how excited he has been for this day to come. I knew the novelty wore off quickly on the 2nd day of school and Hunter was dragging his feet to get ready and he looked at me and said, "but, it's soooo long!" It is definitely a big adjustment from Kindergarten.

Well, the funniest story is about lunch. On the first day, we packed a sack lunch. I thought I did pretty good - not just a sandwhich, but I had oreo's (a rare item in our house) and even a fruit leather along with a peach for him. I also sent a check with him for "future" school lunches - I had the check book out and I figured it was better to be prepared. He came home exclaiming that lunch was the best part of his day -- he ate his lunch and also got a corn dog, french fries, and even a chocolate milk.

"honey! You only buy a lunch if you don't bring a lunch from home!"

"ohhhhh, you didn't tell me that!"

DAY 2:
I went to a piano teacher clinic and I had to leave before Hunter left for school. I had a babysitter arranged (she's homeschooled so she wasn't missing school!) and I had arranged for a carpool too. Long story short - Hunter thought he needed another check for school lunch that day. He was persistent that our babysitter should sign one of my checks for $21 so he could have a hot school lunch! She, of course, refused and he was EXTREMELY upset. The neighbor ended up giving him $2 in cash so he could have a lunch for the day - she didn't know if I had already paid lunch money or not. Oh, sweet, sweet boy - the concept of a lunch account just did not exist! And I've just gotta say, a $21 dollar lunch would be a little steep for a school lunch.

Run, Run, RUN!

Not that anyone is interested - but yes, I'm still running! Thanks to Kristy! A few weeks ago we decided to try a little extra (we've been doing 3 miles all summer) and we managed to do a 4.5 mile run. It was AWESOME. Awesome, because I actually did it - and because it felt good! So, we did that a few times and today we decided to do even more. We did about 5.5 miles and DANG - it killed me. I came home and collapsed... felt ill, and well, I'm not quite fit for the 5 mile runs yet. But, I will get better, right? It can only GET BETTER (that's how I see it!). I keep thinking that at some point it will get easy... perhaps the 5k would be breezy-easy with these bigger miles under my shoes??!?! What a change in just 8 months!