A Mitchell Wonderland

We had one very filthly boy at the end of this excursion, but it was so fun to watch him explore.

Creature-Hunters

Kolob Reservoir

After canoeing and a picnic lunch, we spent quite a while exploring the shore. The kids found more crawdads (live ones), a frog, ducks, and lots of wildflowers. The weather this day was just perfect.

Canoeing!

Kolob Reservoir--July 5 After we packed up camp, we met some of my cousins at the reservoir and spent some time on the water. Guy went out with Sheridan, Caleb and Marcus first, while I took Mitchell with Stephanie and Amanda. The two canoes came back to shore about the same time and Mitchell insisted on getting in the boat with his brothers so Guy took all 4 boys while I went out again with Kendra and Serena. We both canoed to what the boys named "Crawdad Island" because of all the dismembered claws they found on the shore.

The bottom two pictures are Kendra and her family. Apparently, Trenton wasn't too thrilled with the experience.

One Just for You, Shanda! :-)

I believe Guy's "oh-so-polite" words were, "Hey, Shanda! Can we borrow that basketball?" You certainly earned the "I'm Not A Camping Wimp" Award this year.

Mitchell on the Move

Mitchell ran on very little food and almost no sleep at the reunion, but run he did, most often dragging my (poor, tired) mom along with him (one can see why she is his favorite person).

Proof They Played Hard!

More Family Reunion- Trenton crashed right as dinner was starting, and Caleb hit a wall just after eating.

Nielson Family Reunion * July 4-5, 2008

Here are a few highlights from the fun family reunion at Kolob in Southern Utah over the 4th of July. My mom and her 4 siblings, and many of their kids/grandkids all camped together, and my 100-year-old grandmother even came up for an afternoon. It was great to catch up with cousins, some of whom I hadn't seen in quite a while. Above: Caleb, Gavin, Marcus, Kira (the 4 Musketeers) at the pot-luck.

Talia and Sheridan--a study in contrasts.

Me, Shanda and Serena singing at the "Talent Show" (no running water, but we did have a couple of PA systems--pretty telling about our family :-)

Talia, Tessa and Mitchell stay somewhat contained while we pack up camp.

My hopes for the next reunion:
1) That the water be working
2) That someone figure out how to turn down the mid-day temps a little
3) That the reunion can last a day longer so that we can get a real late-night game marathon going. Besides, we really have so many cousins, we need more time to just talk to everyone.

We had a blast, though.

Haircut Mood Swings

June, 2008
1) Mitchell was so excited for his turn to get his hair cut that he was pushing Sheridan off prematurely.
2) Then he saw the clippers/scissors and decided they were ok until they got within 6 inches of his head.
3) Resigned to his fate. There are actually lots of blurry pictures (an ear here, a cheek in another) that show the physical struggle M put up, but in the end (and this was no where near the end) we did manage to get somewhat of a decent cut.

My goal is to someday have a haircut day where no one whines--or at least where no one bursts into tears. Sigh.

Caleb's "Supai"

June 20-21, 2008 When Sheridan was 5, he and Guy went with Marenda and Sam to Havasupai in the Grand Canyon. The trip included a 10 mile hike in (I think it was 10, though it may have only been 8--I can't remember) and Guy and Sheridan trained for several months to be able to make the trek. At the time, Marcus kept asking when he could "have a Supai" himself. While that big an outing hasn't really been an option since 2003 when Sheridan went, we've kind of made a tradition of having the boys do some kind of hike with Dad before they start kindergarten. When Marcus was starting Kindergarten, we camped up near Squaw Peak and then Caleb and I droped Guy, Sheridan and Marcus at the top of Rock Canyon and they hiked down the canyon, and all the way to the house--about 5 miles. So, last month, Guy was lamenting the fact that he just hasn't had the time/opportunity to be with the younger boys like he was with Sheridan so he planned two short backpacking trips. First he took Marcus (and all the pictures from that trip are on Guy's phone and I haven't gotten them yet, so I'll have to include them later), and the next Friday he took Caleb. Both times they hiked in the Big Springs area up the South Fork of Provo Canyon. The hikes didn't really compare in length the the original Havasupai adventure but the boys (young and old) had a great time.Some of the highlights from Caleb's trip included playing games in the tent before bed, befriending many a caterpillar (in the 3rd picture he's trying to holding some so they'd be seen), and checking out the beaver dam.