Flake Fun

14 August 2016 - What a crazy couple of weeks it has been!  Scott attended an accounting conference in Tucson 2 weeks ago which was a good opportunity to rub shoulders with people from around the state.  My program purchased a storage container so we should begin to consolidate all of our stuff in the next couple of weeks which will be nice.

We were supposed to be hit with some big rains last week but only got a few sprinklings.  But we'll take whatever we can get.  The weather still is hot but our garden is doing well and we have given away quite a few zucchini.  Speaking of zucchini....

We are starting to put the house back together as you can see from the pictures below. We got a carpet estimate on Friday but installing is still weeks away.  We have to do the tile first.  Painting has gotten under way and the sheetrock is going up. 

That's about all that we have to report!  Can't wait to see you all in a few weeks! 

Manning Musings

This past week we have been focusing on moving. Thanks to Emma, Mom and Dad the move went pretty smooth. We didn't end up moving to Preston because we didn't hear anything from the apartments we contacted there...at least not until we moved to this place! I think we are supposed to be here for some reason. But we are happy to stay in Logan and our apartment has a little more sunlight, breathing room and a washer and dryer.
Nick is very busy with seminary training and guitar teaching and playing. He has had a good summer but has been busy which isn't as fun for his wife. He loves the Preston faculty and they will be a good group to work with this year.
Wesley is the cutest baby on the planet! It is amazing how he changes every day. Some of his favorite things lately are spitting and blowing bubbles, kicking almost all the time, and reading books. We sometimes are lucky to get a laugh out of him.
That's about it. So excited to see you in a few weeks!

Hart Happenings

The summer is racing right on by! Since we last posted we have been on a ward camp out, acquired yet another vacation rental property, got some good gardening done, played with friends and cousins at the park, picked huckleberries in the mountains, learned how to make mozzarella with Ruthie, and gardened like crazy!

It's a good summer time!

Huckleberry-ing

Dinner with the missionaries

At the local baseball game. Go Chukkars!

Lady bug lesson at gardening class. 

The latest addition to Stay for a Day Homes. 

Family Gathering details coming shortly....I hope your calendars are marked for September 2-5! Can't wait to see you!

Nilsson News

This week we celebrated haircuts for all the girls!  We no longer look like shag-muffins!  We went with a pixie cut for Eliza and short a-line for Addy and the regular for me.  It is perfect for this hot summer weather that has decided to move in.
Garrett went on high adventure with the priests and teachers this past Friday and Saturday.  They went on a 53 mile bike ride to the hot springs and back.  All went well until Garrett's bike had a mishap which sent him flying over the handle bars and he landed on his head.  Thankfully he was wearing a helmet because the helmet got cracked and his head did not.  He is achey and sore and has a few scratches and bruises but it could have been a lot worse, so we are counting our blessings.
We got our shutters finally finished  and they are now hanging on our house.  We bought some shrubs and landscape rocks so now we are ready to put our front flower bed back together.
Things are busy but good.  Now for some pictures!

As you can see from the before picture, there used to be juniper shrubs, three burning bush and one huge crabapple stump.  They are now all gone and there are shutters on the windows that we made from salvaged pallets from our wood shed.

This is the first phase of our sunroom demo. It opens things up a ton and has made a huge difference!

Blah garage door and then....Fun garage door!

And lest you think we don't do anything, here is proof that we do a few fun things occasionally.

 At the local dairy getting some yummy raw milk or as the kids say "real cows milk"

 Doing a river run in at Henry's Fork

 Henry's first few words have been very important ones like, "dirt, hammer, ouch, and stuck"

 Beautiful Girls!

Flake Fun

31 July 2016 - Where has the summer gone?  School is starting here in 2 weeks and it is hard to believe!  But it has been a good summer and I'm ready for things to cool down a little bit. 

This week went by quickly.  I spent 3 days in Phoenix at an infectious disease conference which had some interesting parts to it.  The opening speaker was from the CDC and talked about a recent Salmonella outbreak that she had investigated.  It came from bearded dragons!  So, for any of you that are contemplating getting a bearded dragon or other lizard/reptile creature, let's chat before you do!  I might not sway your decision but I can give you some safety tips to think about!  (The CDC -Centers for Disease Control- doesn't recommend that families with children under 5 have those types of animals in the house!)

Our garden is doing really well.  I came home to find a 5 pound zucchini on the counter!  We have given quite a few zucchini's away which has been fun.  Last night we had fresh garden corn on the cob and tonight we are having dutch oven veggies with garden potatoes and broccoli!  Yum!!!

The house is coming along...

Hope you all have a wonderful week!  Can't wait to see you all in a few weeks!

Hart Happenings

So, I'm sure it's the same for everyone, but this summer is going by in a blur! We've had birthdays, surprise visits from family, made some new friends, and worked like crazy! The weather has been very hot and summery. Here are some pics to chronicle our activities during our recent blog absence. 

At Yellowstone for my birthday. 

At the zoo. 

The monarch butterfly we found as a caterpillar on a hike and brought home a watched hatch!

At scout day camp. 

At a friend's birthday. 

Peter's broken pinkie. Doesn't seem to bother him too much. 

Collecting seeds at garden class. 

It's been a great summer so far! We've made some great plans for the Family Gathering and will start sending out official information soon!  It'll be excellent!

A little sad in Happy Hyde Park

We have taken a month hiatus from the blog for a variety of reasons.  Mostly long Sundays and a crazy schedule, but it's time to resume contact with the outside world - or at least the inside world of Bellistons.

Today is a sad day here.  After a month of raising sweet little Donald Duck, he died this morning. Emma has felt for a long time that there was something not quite right with him.  But she took good care of him, feeding him special food and even catching bugs for him, made sure he got out in the sunshine and had water to swim in.  Emma and Dad went to Salt Lake early this morning to be with Grandpa and Christi for a Pioneer/Family History Day. Donald was still alive when they left, but when I went out to go to church, he had died.  I have been very sad all day.  Why is it so hard to see a little lifeless body, even if it's a butterfly, bird, or duck?  It was very sweet for Emma to have Donald to care for, even for a short time.  Lots of life lessons...

I agree with Ruth - the Tabernacle Choir Pioneer Day Concert was incredible.  They had the King's Singers perform with them, and boy were they good!  Very inspiring music.  Be sure to watch it if you can.

When I read about Jenn and Scott, and Ruth and Garrett, and Elise and Alex all doing fix up jobs I feel extremely lazy!  No such thing happening here!  We do have our driveway finished and will probably start driving on it again this week.  But that wasn't really our work.  We did help Lauren and Nick move a few things to their new apartment, but they have a lot of packing and unpacking work left to do.  We just kind of putter around here.  Well, I should say I putter.  Dad works hard outside whenever he is home.  The garden is growing well, especially the weeds.  But we also harvested our garlic and our onions and have enjoyed some very tasty raspberries.  I think we have beans coming on - maybe two, like Scott.  It should be a fairly productive harvest in the end, and then I will work at cooking and preserving it all!

Thomas and Victoria came Friday and watched fireworks with us for the Hyde Park pioneer celebration and Emma was in the parade yesterday and served watermelon slices at the celebration at the park.  She has 2 more parades tomorrow.  It's fun for her to be a princess :)

We are trying to get things arranged for our trip to Alaska.  There is a lot to do before we go. Mostly I'd like to get the 6 babies who are due, to come before we leave!  Not sure that's going to happen, but we are hoping it does.  Dad is going to Cedar City a couple of days before we leave and will be flying from Cedar to Salt Lake, arriving just minutes before we have to take off for Vancouver.  Keep your fingers crossed that the timing all works out!  We will be gone from August 5 to August 18.  If you want to come and keep Emma company and take care of Chester and the other animals, you are more than welcome!

Dad will be creating a new ward next Sunday.  They will have to meet in another church building, which will be strange, but necessary.  There's just not enough room for 9 wards to meet in one building on one Sunday.  It is always an adventure in the YSA stake!