Land of the Free, Home of the Brave

Who are these people you might ask? None other than my family; well part of my family. The only part of my dear family that was motivated enough to get up early on the birthday of this great nation and run a 5k on Coronodo Island. When my family (cough Jessica) suggested that she sign me up for the 15 k, I politely opted out. What is that old saying?.... I quite exercising, it was bad for my health. My thighs would rub together and my underwear would catch on fire. Well, that's how I felt at that moment and not wanting to get my belly out of bed. I was totally happy with just enjoying the doughnuts the runners brought back, and according to the picture my dad feels the exact same way that I do.

We all went to Old Poway Park for a day of fun. Colson thought is was great to ride the train around the park. It was a great 4th of July. I'm so lucky I got to spend it with all my family. I feel blessed that I live in a country where I am able to do be with all the ones I love.

Half Boy, Half Fish

Since moving into our new home we have become frequent users of the complex pools. There are two different pools, and we're lucky enough to have one about a 30 second walk from our front door. I was a little nervous about Colson at first, but he has proved to have the potential of the next Michael Phelps ( At least I think so). He has no fear when it comes to the water, which is a little scary, but is comforting to know that he's not terrified to try new things. This week he has started jumping in all by himself. He could honestly care less if Shane was their to catch him. He even sometimes gets made as Shane follows him around making sure he's right next to him. And if we thought that just running and jumping in was a full dare devil move, he's started to jump/ dive into the pool backwards. It's official this kid is CRAZY!!!!!!

Looking Cool with Dad

Ready to go home after a long afternoon of swimming!

On Our Way....

On our way down South we stopped to stay a day in St. George before traveling on to Henderson, to our new home. While we were there we did a little shopping. Seeing as it's much much hotter in Nevada than Idaho we needed to get more warm weather clothing and pajamas. Colson was such a trooper the entire time. I found this really cute hat and he loved it. He actually kept it on his head, which Colson does not normally do. Most of his hats end up being Frisbees or a container to pour his water bottle into.

Colson's trying not to look too bord

I'm sure Colson is thinking "Wow lady your legs are way smoother than my mom's!" "Hey Mom! This lady doesn't have prickly legs like you!"

I'm sure I'll become more accustom to making sure my legs are smoother now that I can't hide them in pants. Boooooo hot weather! (But I'm sure Shane is jumping for joy)

Colson got a kick out of sitting on this dog. I'm not quite sure if he realized it wasn't a real dog, but it kept him occupied while we waited for Grandma to finish shopping.

Farewell Blackfoot Idaho

Well, I have mixed emotions as I sit and write this post. Over the past hour I've cried, laughed and continue to giggle uncontrollably. I'm so proud of my husband. He is truly a remarkable man, but of course that's why I married him. Shane has been accepted to Touro University in Henderson Nevada. It's a suburb right outside of Las Vegas for those of you not familiar with the area. We are still in shock but so excited. We have a busy two months ahead of us. Sell the house, pack up, I need to finish out the school year teaching, find a new home and move.

This will be a wonderful experience for our family. I am a firm believer in this. We have prayed, fasted and humbled ourselves to know if this is what we should be doing. I've never felt so calm amid so much excitement. We will be so much closer to family. We are excited to be near my sister, grandmother and my aunt. We will miss our family in Idaho so much. There will be more to come once our ducks are all in a row and we start toward southern Nevada!

Belated Christmas....

I thought I was bad at blogging last year....this new year has brought lots of work and little time. I feel like I'm getting a hold on things a little, but life is still kind of hard right now. I just wish I wasn't so tired and drained by the time I get home. These pictures sad to say are a few we took at Thanksgiving time. (that I'm just barely posting) We made the trek out to Denver. Right as we left Blackfoot they had closed all the roads in Bingham County because the wind was 60 MPH. But that couldn't even stop us. As soon as we walked in the door Grandma had a special toy for Colson. Colson loves Elmo despite that fact that if you ask him about Elmo he refers to the little red monster as melmo. I guess "Melmo" was crying or fussy on the way back home because Colson kept trying to put his binky in his mouth.

Sad to say we had to put our sweet little boy in timeout a few times. The bottom stair has been the Nielson Family timeout spot since forever. In fact I remember my sister even getting put in timeout on the stairs once when she was home for summer break from college.

He liked the stairs so much he lounged there even when he didn't have to be.

Grandma kept telling him he didn't have to be there if he didn't want to.

The boys playing the Wii

Grandpa got his tent out that he bought for the grand kids. Colson loved it!

Lower Floor Appliance Store

This year for Halloween(I know this post is a little late) the first floor teachers at the school I work at all decided to dress up as appliances. One of the other first grade teachers is pregnant, and she was going to be a bun in the oven. After deliberation, heaven forbid she offend anyone so we decided to back her up and all be appliances. It was so fun! My kids kept on pushing my buttons and asking for popcorn or Eazy-Mac. In the end we ended up with an oven, a computer, a toaster, microwave and a coffee maker.

Not to turn sappy or anything, but these ladies are a big reason I go to work everyday. They have such passion for what they do and are so fun to be around. Lunch time everyday is just ridiculously fun. I can't imagine a Stalker Elementary without them!

Pumpkin,Pumpkin.....