We love having our cousins in town!

This past summer was full of fun, which is why I have been slacking in the blogging world-we haven't had a second! I am determined to catch up, but I still don't have a lot of great pictures on my sister-in-law's camera so bear with me.

We had ALL of Tucker's family in town for a week with the arrival of our new adorable niece Isla. Everyone wanted to be here to see her and welcome her into the Nielson family. Unfortunately, I have zero pictures of the sweet baby girl so once I get permission from her mommy, I will post some of hers!

It was so fun to see these two together, Karoline and her cousin just three months older, Naomi:
And some of the other grandkids dancing and running in the rain:
It was so nice to finally see everyone and get these kids together for some great fun!

Thanksgiving Point

Who knew how much the little town of Lehi had to offer? We had such a great time at Thanksgiving Point, at the Dinosaur Museum and Farm Country. The first time we went to see the dinosaurs, Capri was a bit freaked out and we spent more time in the gift shop than in the actual museum. She heard the recorded sound effects and had her hands over her ears immediately (something she does whenever she is fearful), and even when we were home, she told me how scary the dinosaurs are that, "make sounds." However, the second time around, she dove right in and even watched the 3-D dino movie (though she wouldn't put the glasses on). Roman was in awe the entire time and now has a love for the creatures. Their favorite part was playing in the water and sand tables.

Making handprints:
Capri with cousins Lily and Luke:My kids love animals and so to see them up close and personal is a lot of fun for them. Here they took pony rides, watched the new baby chicks, went on a wagon ride, watched a big old horse poop, loved being in the "from farm to factory" room, and played in the miniature buildings (more pictures to come from my sister-on-law's camera):

Capri as happy as can be: Roman as happy as can be:

This place did not disappoint!

Gateway Discovery Museum

I had never taken the kids to the Gateway Museum and now I can't wait to take them again. It was fabulous fun for all of the kids and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them investigate, play and explore everything this place had to offer. I remember my favorite things from the old children's museum I went to growing up and wasn't surprised that my kids had similar interests. Number one being the store-I loved playing in the store as a child and had it not been for the insane crowds, my kids would have played there all day. I also loved the helicopter which was by far Roman's favorite part of this museum. Something they didn't offer to me that they did include here were dress-ups. Capri got a hold of this and never took it off (until I had to literally tear it off!):She was a "cowboy girl," as she put it. Definitely not typical for my girlie-girl, but cute as ever.

This was another part that the kids loved, the construction site. Here Roman and Sammy are intense about working the "cranes."
Here they are in the helicopter...and Capri still sporting the cowboy getup:Nothing like frozen yogurt to top off a great day at Gateway!

And yes, that bowl is ridiculously big.

Life on the Malibu

The kids love being on Grampy's boat. They don't even mind wearing the life jackets, especially when Capri got a new pink one! We took a couple of trips out on the lake with the Ludwigs and had a great time swimming, wakeboarding, kneeboarding and tubing...

Can you believe it? I actually got Capri in the cold water with me:
Tiffany, Dave and Tucker in the pristine waters of Utah Lake:
Grampy out on the tube with the boys, Roman and Luke-both of whom did NOT want to get off!
Aunt Tiffy with baby Karoline...and no, she doesn't have a life jacket on. Am I a terrible mother?
Tucker was a stud of a dad and took Roman on the kneeboard...
Check them out:
Capri wouldn't dare go out, but she was the cutest flag girl I have ever seen:
I love that even if we have crappy water that day, we always have a good time chatting, playing in the water, and enjoying each other's company. :)

Lazy Summer Days...

I love this picture because it depicts one of summer's greatest attributes, being lazy. Here are the kids with their cousins, Luke and Sophie, hanging out on Grampy's hammock:My kids had so much fun having their cousins in town. Roman was loving having another boy to play with and Capri adored Sophie-someone to cater to her every need.
Karoline is laughing all the time, but especially when her brother and sister are entertaining her. She was one happy camper watching all 4 kids on the hammock:

Little Lady Ballet

When I was preschool/kindergarten age, I was enrolled in Little Lady Ballet with Miss Connie as my teacher. I absolutely loved it. Me and all of my Little Lady friends adored Miss Connie with her sweet voice and perfect disposition. Classes were held at the Old Meeting House and I remember the cute little benches for our cute little bums. My ballet shoes were given stickers, one blue and one pink, to differentiate right foot from left foot. We practiced and practiced (though it all seemed like play) for the upcoming recitals which may have been my favorite part, especially because of the costumes. I look back at those pictures and videos and see how much fun I had and so I couldn't wait to get Capri into ballet.

This summer was it. Connie's daughter Natalie, also a darling friend, was an incredible dancer and decided to start teaching recently. Little Lady Ballet had been re-opened andI was so excited for Capri to try her summer workshop. It was perfect. Because Capri is shy and somewhat fearful when it comes to these things, this 5-class workshop was a great introduction.

When I took her the first day, it was like deja vu! Natalie held classes in her own home studio, but oh so close to Old Meeting House. Her studio was so cute and the first thing Capri said was, "Mom! It's pink!" She had those very same benches as well. Capri's ballet shoes are now marked with a blue star and pink heart-perfect. Miss Natalie and Miss Connie were as sweet as ever and Capri ended up loving them. She never danced much while in class, but she would come home and show me everything she had learned. It has been over for a few weeks now and yet she is dancing more and more and loves it. Hooray!

She started every class but one, sitting next to me, waiting until she was comfortable to go and join the rest of her class.On the pink benches-I loved to watch her sit with the other girls and immediately start chatting with whoever was sitting next to her.Getting ready for skipping and sliding:My little ballerina:

Wow, I have a lot of catching up to do...

...and I hope that someday I will have time to do it! I guess I will start little by little as I try to show what a great summer we have had so far. Don't be surprised if things are completely out of order as a bunch of my pictures are on my mother-in-law's computer and I can never remember to bring a flash drive. So, here it goes!