Summer is flying by!

Well it is August and summer is almost over, for me at least. I go back to work next Wednesday. The only reason I am not totally depressed about it is that I am going back part-time again. YEA!! Well the end of July was a busy month for us. We had baseball, family reunions, and my parents and sister were in town.
Tyler had his last baseball tourney of the season in Heber City around July 24th. His team didn't end up winning the championship, but Tyler had an awesome tournament. He hit several doubles, and a triple. We were so proud of him. Overall, it was a great baseball season, but to tell you the truth I am glad it is over. Maybe now we can have more quality family time together instead of Ty having to go to 2 or more practices a week. I know Bryce feels differently, but it is nice to have him back at night also.
As I said we have had lots of family reunions lately also. The same weekend as the ball tournament the Garfields had a reunion in Provo. That is one of the reasons that mom and dad were in town. Pam and Ryan and their 3 girls came also. We all stayed at the Provo Marriott and participated in some of the Garfield reunion activities. We had a great time.
Then on Sat. July 26, there was a Neilson family reunion up in Huntsville. Mom and her sister Ann planned it and took care of all the preparations. It was a great success. And it was on mom's birthday. Happy Birthday!! We got a cake for everyone to enjoy and everyone sang happy birthday to mom. It was a great but busy weekend!!
Mom and Pam and Ryan and the girls stayed at our house for almost a week. It was so great to have them. We did a lot of fun things with the kids. We took them to Toads. That is a fun place for the kids to do arcade games, and laser tag. It is also a great place to spend a lot of money!! We also went to Fat Cats in downtown Ogden and did miniature glow golf and bowling. It was fun for Tyler, Brayden, and Ellie to spend some time with their cousins Brittany, Kali, and Sadi. We also went to a splash park in South Ogden and took a picnic. They had fun there. Ellie wasn't so sure about the water and fountains, but overall everyone enjoyed themselves. My cousin Shannon came also with her two kids, Wyatt and Brenna.
Well as you can see we have been busy, but it has been a great summer for us. We are actually leaving to go to Boise for the weekend to see Bryce's parents. One more last fun filled weekend before it is back to work. I hope you all enjoy the pictures of our last few weeks below. Sorry ,they aren't in any particular order.

Happy Birthday Brayden!!

Brayden turned 6 a week ago today on July 9. He had a great day. We gave him a set of golf clubs for his birthday. He loves them. Both him and Tyler are going to be good little golfers. Bryce took both of them to the driving range to hit a bucket last week. Bryce said Brayden needs a bit more practice before he gets to go on the course, but I'm sure it won't be long.

Swimming lessons & New pool

Today was the boys' first day at swim lessons. They take them each summer up in Brigham City at the Peak. They had a great time and did an awesome job. They are going to be good little swimmers, unlike their mother. I remember being traumatized once at swim lessons and so I never really learned to swim. Do you remember, mom?? Well anyways, me and Ellie just sat by the pool and roasted a bit in the sun.

I think next year I will get Ellie and me in a "mommy and me" class.

Well, after swimming at Steph's house last Sunday for Janet's birthday party, Bryce decided that we needed an above ground pool too. A "poor man pool" as Steph would say. It is 18 ft. across by 4 ft. deep. Bryce and his dad set it up this weekend. The boys and some of their cousins and friends have already had a blast in it. Bryce, Ellie and myself haven't gotten in just yet. The water temperature is about 84 degrees. I'm going to give it a few more days to cook in the hot sun. The boys will be able to practice their swim techniques in the pool. I think it will be a great investment for the family this summer.

Look, no cast!!

Well it has been 4 1/2 weeks since Tyler broke his arm and his cast is off. Bryce was in charge of taking him to the doctor yesterday to get it off. They got there 10minutes early and the girl at the front desk told him it would be an hour to an hour and a half wait. Well, that did not make Bryce too happy. They told Bryce they would give him a pager and they could go get ice cream at the cafeteria in the hospital to pass the time.

Bryce, as the business man, could see his precious time and money going down the tube as he waited, so he asked if they could just hurry and remove the cast and get an x-ray and they would be on their way. The doctor could call us later, after he looked at the x-ray if he needed to. Well, the girl kindly said that would not work because their wasn't even a room for them to take the cast off. Bryce was willing to get in done in the hallway, but they did not go for it.

So, Bryce and Tyler just left. Quite upset, I might add. I got a phone call as they were on their way back to Bryce's office. He told me what had happened and explained to me that he had plenty of "tools" at his shop to get the cast off. I couldn't believe my ears. He was going to take the cast off himself with his "tools"?!

Back at Bryce's shop they first tried to soak his arm in water and slide the cast off, which of course didn't work. So then they got a grinder and cut it off. Tyler called me and said that it was off. His cast that is, and I asked him if his arm was okay and he said everything was fine. Whew!!

I think I will be taking Tyler to the doctor from now on!

Happy Birthday Tyler!!

Well Tyler is now 9 years old. His birthday was on Monday. I can't believe how fasts kids grow up. He had a great day. He played with his best friend Parker, had his favorite dinner (spaghetti), and made sure he got out of all his chores. We will be having a family party for his b-day and Brayden's soon.

He wanted a rip stick (like a skateboard for those who don't know) for his birthday. I wasn't set on it, because I don't want anymore broken bones, but his dad got it anyway. He loves it. He thinks he's a pro already.

Sawtooth Relay

Well, this last Saturday Bryce and I participated in the Sawtooth Relay in Idaho. This is our second time. Tom (Bryce's brother) and his wife Darcy signed us up. The Sawtooth Relay is a 62 mile run from Stanley, Idaho to Ketchum, Idaho. Ketchum is close to Sun Valley. It is a relay team of 6 people who each run 2 legs of about 4.5-6.0 miles each. So you basically run a total of about 9-12 miles each. It is a beautiful run through the mountains with breathtaking views.





Our team consisted of Bryce and myself, Tom and Darcy, and a couple Darcy knows from Boise, Emily and Danny. We drove up on Friday and stayed in small cabins on the Salmon River in Stanley. That was fun!! The boys (Tyler, Brayden, Brady, Creighton, and Bennett) had a great time throwing rocks across the river, finding snakes, and just being boys. We went to bed about 10:00 that night and Bryce got up around 6:00 am. He was the first one on the team to run. Him and Tom went to the starting line to check in and me and the kids slept in a bit longer. Bryce started his run at 6:45 and finished his 1st leg of about 6 miles in 45 minutes. Way to go Bryce!! He came back to the cabin and we were still in bed. But we all quickly got up and were on our way to find our team and cheer them on.





Darcy, Danny, and Emily had the next 3 legs of the race. Then Tom's first leg was the infamous climb to the Galena summit. A gain of about 1400 feet. The summit sits at about 8700 feet above sea level. Tom did a great job. That would be tough. My first leg was after Tom's, so I had the run from the top to the bottom. A loss of 1400 feet. I had never ran much downhill before so I wasn't what to expect. The first few miles were great. My lungs held up and my legs felt great. But, about 3 1/2 miles into my 6 mile leg, I noticed my feet were starting to hurt. The last 2 1/2 miles were quite painful and not much fun, but I did make it. Luckily I had some cheerleaders along the way.





After I finished I was taking off my shoes in the car as we were on our way to cheer on Danny who was running the next leg, I noticed HUGE blisters on the side of my big toes. I should have got new running shoes, because now I was paying the price. I was supposed to run the last leg to the finish line, which was only 2.5 miles but I couldn't even get my shoes back on. We weren't sure who was going to run it for me. Bryce had another 6 mile leg to do and Tom had a 5 mile one. They were going to see how they felt and then decide. It ended up that Danny ran the last leg for me. What a trooper!!





Wow! What an experience. We had a great weekend. Ellie was a trooper all day in the car on Saturday. The boys had a lot of fun cheering us on and getting us water along the way. They even hooked up with an all girl team and did some dancing (with their shirts off I might add). We have it on video. It is hilarious!!





Well I have posted a slide show of all the pictures from the relay, hopefully it worked. It was a bit difficult to get the slide show to work.

More pictures

Well I was having trouble getting pictures on my blog, but I may have figured it out. Here are some more pictures of the family. Oh and if you are wondering where Bryce is in any of the pictures, well he just got a new camera so he is now the one taking the pictures!!





Sweet Ellie Girl!!









Sneaky Little Brayden!!










One of Tyler's wounds-OUCH!!