Friday, July 29, 2011

4th of July Celebration!

And celebrate we did! It was such a fun day starting off with a barbeque at Rob and Jesse's new house. The Curtis family was all there minus Richard and Jon (who had to be with their friends that night) and my cousin Shanel was there with her family. That meant there were plenty of kids running around, playing on the swing set, watching the campfire, and being increasingly anxious for fireworks. Jesse went all out with flags, bead necklaces, balloons and decor all with a red, white and blue theme. We ate lots and had a great time catching up with each other!
Roman loves his cousins and wants to be just like "Spesper, Ewi, and Keweb." He thought he was the coolest kid on the block when Eli lent him his hat to match Spencers:
Fun on the slide...Karoline's new favorite thing to do...Capri, Ms. Independence:
Look at that face-sheer excitement and joy!Cheri and London, the happiest baby girl on the planet:
Jesse and Spencer:My parents as cute as always. I just have to laugh at my dad's shirt-he has started a Greek museum in Magna and was there earlier for their parade. He was not about to change...
Me and my baby girl who loved her beads:Rob and Jesse live so close to Sugarhouse Park that we were able to walk on over. It was the greatest! We left early so we could snatch a good spot and light some of our own fireworks...
We were worried about our spot because no one was around us. We were thinking that they would start going off right behind the trees in front of us and we would be totally out of luck. Thank goodness we were right where we were supposed to be and had an awesome view! Capri wasn't a huge fan, but was quite brave. Karoline actually liked them and her and I cuddled up the whole time. Roman thought they were about the coolest thing ever and he couldn't have been happier watching them with his dad and cousins. Such a great night!

Ford Property

We were lucky enough to get the invite up to Cody's family property again over the 4th of July weekend. It was so nice to get out of the heat and head up to the mountains just above Mt. Pleasant. Cody's mom, Diane, is a fabulous cook, even while camping and created a delicious dutch oven dinner and dessert. That combined with rides on the Rhino, Phase 10, and s'mores, it was a great day!
Here is Karoline and her new best friend:
And here is Capri and her new best friend, Cozy the Caterpillar. We actually had to bring him home and put him in our butterfly nursery even though we knew he would turn into a moth. Capri is obsessed with bugs and this was a favorite of hers!
Roman would have driven this thing all day long if he could, especially with his dad.My parents came up to and Karoline only wanted my mom. She does this ALL the time and literally hits me away if I try to take her from Grandma. Nice!Here is the Nielson fam on the bridge Cody's dad built:
We can't wait to see what's new next time!

Why I love our neighborhood...

Our sweet neighbors, the Loewens, offer up their shaved ice machine often. We head over in the evenings, eat some yummy snow cones, and hang out with all of our friends. The kids love to play while the adults chat it up, it's so great! A few days before the 4th, they went the extra mile and had a fireworks show. The kids were in awe as the fireworks went off one after another. We all had a great time and can't wait for another visit of Pina Colada and Tiger's Blood!
On our way over...Spencer, Kaleb and Eli got to join us too which made it that much more fun for my kids!
They also brought out their mini bounce house and the kids absolutely loved jumping and bouncing off the walls.
They served their snow cones with little umbrellas that Karoline loved.
Let the show begin...and Capri immediately covers her ears!
There were over 30 kids lined up on the curb!
Thanks again to my great neighbors who are always up for a good time!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

A few photos to wrap up our trip...

After dinner one night, Roman and Capri were running around and dancing. Capri was twirling to her hearts content and Roman turned into an awesome robot. Karoline was loving every minute of it. Here is my happy family...
One night we went into town for dinner at Panama's. We took the shuttle bus and then hopped into one of these makeshift taxis to reach the restaurant. Pretty sketchy, I know. The kids, however, loved it and thought of it as a Disneyland ride!
Austin, Naomi, Tyler, Mindy, Dave, Luke, Tiffany and Lilly
Koko and Lexy at Dairy Queen after dinner
Luke and Roman at dinner-they must have a Grammy who shops for them!
One of the Roman and Capri's favorite thing to do was paint pottery. It was the perfect distraction to get them out of the pool and sun for a minute. We came home with Lightning McQueen, an airplane, a unicorn, a butterfly and a bunny. All masterpieces and perfect souvenirs.
Roman, Sophie, Lexy, Luke, Lilly, Ava and Capri
Taking a walk through the resort after dinner:
Capri was obsessed with finding these hibiscus flowers and this one matched perfectly!
Karoline with her new pigtails!
Roman-such a little stud!
Every night before bed, Tucker had the job of finding creatures for the kids to hold. Gross. They couldn't wait to get their hands on hermit crabs, geckos, and lizards. Here is the catch of the night:

Tucker let me play some beach volleyball while he watched all three kids-what a sweetie. Here is Karoline, a great little fan, watching me play:
We loved our sweet suite and I wish I had taken some pictures of the place. It was every shade of blue and one night my girls matched perfectly with the room:
Every night after dinner we would head back and get the kids ready for bed. While getting in jammies, Capri wanted to take a picture all by herself and this is what she came up with:
Our last night there, we went to a delicious buffet dinner at the resort. It was a beautiful evening and the perfect way to end our trip.
The men of my life
Me and my girls
Such a fabulous trip! Until next time...

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Pool Time!

We spent most of our time in the pool. We would head out after breakfast around 9:30 and stay for hours until it was time to get ready for dinner. We figured we would be there for a good 6-7 hours somedays. Crazy! I am so lucky to have such great swimmers, but it was a bit too deep for them at 4.5 feet deep. That meant that they had to have one of us ready to catch them at any moment. Swim from the stairs to mom and dad, and back to the stairs. Repeat for hours of fun. Then there is the issue of Karoline who loves the water but doesn't realize that she can't yet swim. Needless to say, these were long days in the pool for Tucker and I, but the kids had such a great time and never wanted to get out...not for food, sunscreen or bedtime. Speaking of sunscreen-we went through 3 cans of the spray sunscreen, SPF 50, but no one got too red so I guess it worked!
Cutest little girl in Mexico!
Ready...Set...
Go!
Me and my girls loving the 90 degree water.
Roman has no fear when it comes to the water and he and his daddy came up with a bunch of new tricks!
How's that for a dismount!
Now it is Capri's turn to show off her new trick-she was so proud of herself!
Cannonball!
More of dad's tricks-the kids wanted to sit on the bottom of the pool so he would push them down!
It was extra hard to watch three kids in the pool all day so we really appreciated it when Grammy would help!
Look! It's a fish! Oh wait, it's Capri!
My water baby and her daddy
Me and my three favorites!