Hey all!
Congrats to Jenn and Nick on their new callings! Your wards are so lucky!
We are really getting going on our studies these days which has been fun interspersed with LOTS of soccer. The weather has been quintessentially autumn up here which I love. Brisk mornings and evenings but gorgeous and warm during the day. But frosts and freezes are in the next couple days' forecasts so we are harvesting veggies, cutting herbs and flowers, and stockpiling pumpkins and squash. So fun!
Alex has been really busy with work and coaching soccer. Things are great with both. Peter loves having his dad for a coach and Alex has enjoyed it more than he thought he would, which is a relief to me who suggested he volunteer in the first place. Whew!
Ian is loving his band class at the middle school although he still hasn't played his instrument yet. He is also enjoying the photography class he is taking at our homeschool co-op.
Jack would play soccer every day if he could! He has a wonderful team and some amazing coaches who are really great mentors to all those boys. He is also really interested in Rube Goldberg chain reactions. I think he and Scott should team up and create one. I'll bet their fine minds could come up with something very cool!
Peter wants to play with friends as often as possible. He loves being with people and is a very sweet friend to everyone. He is also working really hard on reading and his numbers.
I'm just trying to keep everyone fed, in clean clothes, and at their various commitments and activities on time. We are also preparing for the Primary Program this upcoming Sunday and that has been taking a lot of time. It is going to be soooo good! Best Sunday of the year.
Hope all is well with you. It was fun to have Mom and Dad up here to go to the Parade of Homes. We saw some super lovely homes and I came back to my home with a bunch of ideas for improvements. Lucky Alex.
We're planning on being at Chet's blessing and hope to see some of you there!
Happy Fall, y'all!
Sunday, September 23, 2018
Nilsson News
I think Jenn deserves the blogger award for this month! I have been a huge slacker and I have a lot of things to blame it on, but I'll spare you that list. I guess the biggest thing to report was our trip to Seattle for Garrett's Spartan and some extra vacation time.
Mom and Dad arrived at our home on a Thursday night and before the sun was up, Garrett, Millie and myself were on the road. We drove and drove and drove some more. For about twelve hours to be exact. Millie was a trooper and was content to sit on my lap in the backseat. I loved the trees we saw through the mountains and then the rolling expanse of farm fields as we got into Washington. Then we hit the city and I was driving. Seattle is not Idaho Falls big and it isn't even Salt Lake City big. It is Seattle 2 million people big and every last one of them was on the same road that I was driving on! Yikes! I wanted to hide but knew that would be a bad idea since I was the one behind the wheel. The traffic was insane and it's that crazy all the time. Somehow we made it to our hotel room and I only lost a few years off my life during the process.
The next morning was Spartan! Garrett forgot to pack all of his life saving necessities into our car that sustains him through the race, so we packed his pockets full of Millie's little applesauce pouches and hoped that would be sufficient. After the pep talk from the announcer where they do a lot of hooting and hollering and "arooing," the racers were off. It was a 13 mile race with 31 obstacles throughout but the weather was perfect and overcast. It was Garrett's best race and he completed every obstacle but one. That is a major success!
After the race, we went and visited a miniature donkey farm. We were in donkey heaven surrounded by 100+ donkeys and Millie had a blast roaming the pastures with the micro minis that were no bigger than she was. It was very educational and we hope to implement some of the things we learned on our own farm. This lady makes more money in nine months selling her high quality donkeys than Garrett makes in his job in a year. I may need to change some things up a bit...
The rest of the trip we enjoyed botanical gardens, the zoo, driving through the Skagit valley farmlands and walking down by the wharf. It was a wonderful getaway and we are so grateful to mom and dad for watching the other kiddos while we were gone. I'm pretty sure the other kids had so much fun they didn't even know we were gone!
Fall is upon us here as well and we have been cleaning out the garden and working in the yard. We did enjoy some time drooling as we walked through the parade of homes with the Harts and parents. I think mom and dad found the perfect home! Well, several perfect homes. It was a good time!
Mom and Dad arrived at our home on a Thursday night and before the sun was up, Garrett, Millie and myself were on the road. We drove and drove and drove some more. For about twelve hours to be exact. Millie was a trooper and was content to sit on my lap in the backseat. I loved the trees we saw through the mountains and then the rolling expanse of farm fields as we got into Washington. Then we hit the city and I was driving. Seattle is not Idaho Falls big and it isn't even Salt Lake City big. It is Seattle 2 million people big and every last one of them was on the same road that I was driving on! Yikes! I wanted to hide but knew that would be a bad idea since I was the one behind the wheel. The traffic was insane and it's that crazy all the time. Somehow we made it to our hotel room and I only lost a few years off my life during the process.
The next morning was Spartan! Garrett forgot to pack all of his life saving necessities into our car that sustains him through the race, so we packed his pockets full of Millie's little applesauce pouches and hoped that would be sufficient. After the pep talk from the announcer where they do a lot of hooting and hollering and "arooing," the racers were off. It was a 13 mile race with 31 obstacles throughout but the weather was perfect and overcast. It was Garrett's best race and he completed every obstacle but one. That is a major success!
Mannng Madness
Well, we are trying to figure out what the new normal is around here but we are loving the process. This morning for example was Wesley throwing up so we put him in the bath, Chet spitting up everywhere so giving him a bath. Everyone was clean for approximately 1.5 hours and then right before church Chet soaked his diaper through and got his clothes and the couch soaking wet. Then when we came home from church Wesley threw up again. Exciting!
It is starting to feel like fall these days and I am not ready for it. Mostly I am not ready to figure out what to do with a toddler when we can't go outside! But we are slowly get the garden and yard ready for hibernation.
Wesley is just growing up faster and faster. His vocabulary is remarkable and some of the cute things he is saying are: "I love, love, love _____ "(whatever he is thinking at the moment), "I have an idea," "Ta da!" and "Maybe" at the end of every answer to questions I ask. From the moment he wakes up to the end of the day, Wesley is talking constantly! He quotes books and the Mouse Cookie cartoon he likes to watch. It is very adorable.
Chet is just as cute as can be. He does everything forte. Eating, sleeping, talking, smiling, and crying when anything is not as it should be. He is very strong and rolled from his side to his tummy yesterday. He is a very loved baby and getting chubbier by the day. His blessing will be the week after general conference at 1:00 in case any of you didn't get the text.
Nick has been very busy especially since he got called as Elders Quorum President a few weeks ago. He is trying to balance work, calling and family time just like all the men in our family!
It was so great to see mom on Tuesday this week and the Dad on Thursday who brought back Wesley's carseat that was forgotten in mom's car! We'll take them any way we can!
It is starting to feel like fall these days and I am not ready for it. Mostly I am not ready to figure out what to do with a toddler when we can't go outside! But we are slowly get the garden and yard ready for hibernation.
Wesley is just growing up faster and faster. His vocabulary is remarkable and some of the cute things he is saying are: "I love, love, love _____ "(whatever he is thinking at the moment), "I have an idea," "Ta da!" and "Maybe" at the end of every answer to questions I ask. From the moment he wakes up to the end of the day, Wesley is talking constantly! He quotes books and the Mouse Cookie cartoon he likes to watch. It is very adorable.
Chet is just as cute as can be. He does everything forte. Eating, sleeping, talking, smiling, and crying when anything is not as it should be. He is very strong and rolled from his side to his tummy yesterday. He is a very loved baby and getting chubbier by the day. His blessing will be the week after general conference at 1:00 in case any of you didn't get the text.
Nick has been very busy especially since he got called as Elders Quorum President a few weeks ago. He is trying to balance work, calling and family time just like all the men in our family!
It was so great to see mom on Tuesday this week and the Dad on Thursday who brought back Wesley's carseat that was forgotten in mom's car! We'll take them any way we can!
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Flake Fun
So we decided that this was the weekend for wood cutting. And hey, we figured go big or go home so we took 2 trucks and 2 trailers! We left at 5:00AM and got back around 7:30PM with 4+ cords of wood. That is a lot of wood! We were so exhausted, dirty and satisfied. Thankfully we have been working out for the last several months so we aren't quite as sore as we were afraid we would be...of course, it is only the first day!
That is the only real adventure for this week! Hope that you all had a great week! Can't wait to hear about the Nilsson adventure! And an update on everyone else too!
Oh yeah, I was called as the second councilor in the RS presidency today.
That is the only real adventure for this week! Hope that you all had a great week! Can't wait to hear about the Nilsson adventure! And an update on everyone else too!
Oh yeah, I was called as the second councilor in the RS presidency today.
Monday, September 10, 2018
Flake Fun
We had a pretty good week in Snowflake because we actually were in Snowflake! In looking back, it has been 3 weeks since we had a normal weekend at home. It was very nice and relaxing! On Saturday we put half of our garden to rest so we only have zucchini, onions, squash, peppers and tomatoes left. And our little watermelon. Hopefully it is ripe because the plant is nearly completely dead.
The big news is that our ward boundaries were reorganized this weekend and we are now in a brand new ward - the Centennial 7th. It isn't just new for us; it is completely new! We only have a bishopric. So yesterday we only had sacrament meeting! Next week could be nothing but callings!
That is about all that we have to report! Hope that you all had a great holiday!
The big news is that our ward boundaries were reorganized this weekend and we are now in a brand new ward - the Centennial 7th. It isn't just new for us; it is completely new! We only have a bishopric. So yesterday we only had sacrament meeting! Next week could be nothing but callings!
That is about all that we have to report! Hope that you all had a great holiday!
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Hart Happenings
First off, so good to hear from T&T in Texas. Congrats on the new job Thomas! Glad you're loving it and are able to help people get on the right track. How rewarding! I'll have to check out Tori's workout. I need SOMETHING!
This week ended a lot different than it looked at the beginning of the week. It looked pretty normal on Monday. We were gearing up for Alex's big beginning of college football season party (B.C.F.S.P.) on Saturday and things were proceeding pretty normally with some play dates, garden class, soccer practices and games and then mom surprised us with a visit Tuesday night and stayed all day Wednesday looking at houses (gasp! eek! thrills!) and while she was here we decided we really should plan a retirement party for Dad. We've been talking about it for a while, but hadn't set a date or finalized any plans. Since Joe and Lori were coming up for the B.C.F.S.P Mom thought that maybe she and Dad should just come up here and have a celebration. We made some phone calls, pulled a few strings, and arranged a helicopter ride for Dad. Hopefully someone will post pictures because I don't have any on my phone. So, Mom and Dad came up Friday night and Saturday morning they met us at the airport where our friend took him for a lovely ride. The pilot (our ministering brother) landed in the field by the church close to our house and Joe and Alex were there with all the kids holding a banner that said: "BE FREE GRANDPA". Grandpa ran through the banner and then we all headed back to the house for breakfast. We met up with Ruth and co. at the Farmer's Market where the kids fought with duct tape weapons that a guy was selling. Thomas, you would have been so impressed! This man had set up a fighting arena with a bunch of weapons that he had made and let the kids go at it. Some adults jumped into the mix too. We also watched while a man worked a top on a lathe. It was so cool! I think Joe wants a lathe for Christmas. After the market we went out to the farm by Ruth's house and picked raspberries for an hour or so. The kids were enamored by the goats, as was Lori. I told her I would buy one for her as a housewarming gift if she would moved to Idaho. I still stand by that. I'm not above bribing people.
Backing up a bit, on Wednesday Mom helped us spit shine the house for the movie crew that was coming over to film a promotional video in our kitchen. It looked so lovely for about 8 hours that day. I was in heaven. The crew was so cool! They found out that Ian was interested in film making and they let him hold the camera and shoot some of the office scene. He got to talk shop with them and had such a good time. They invited him to come over to their studio anytime and they would show him around. At the end of things they had him pack up some gear and haul it out to their truck which they assured him was what much of their job consisted of what hauling gear, setting it up, taking it down and hauling it out. It was definitely a highlight of the week for Ian.
Fast forward to Saturday...after raspberry picking and lunch and homemade ice cream, Mom and Dad headed home, the Nilssons and Joe and Lori's family hung around and played spike ball. So fun! At 5:00 we all did a quick clean up of the first party to get ready for the second party, the Nilssons took off and then our friends the Dennings and the Shurtliffs showed up for dinner and games before the football game started. Joe and Lori had to leave before the game started at 8:45 (horrible time for a football game to start). Most of the moms took the kids home while the dads stayed to watch the game and a few more showed up for just the game. BYU won which was a miracle and totally unexpected for those fans who've gotten used to them losing! I totally hit a wall and went to watch a show with Ian on my bed but fell asleep instead. Alex sent the boys to bed and fell asleep himself after the game ended around 1:00 a.m. No one was particularly interested in getting out of bed this morning. Thank goodness for 1:00 church!
Alex's sister came up from Brigham City this afternoon and so we've been having a Hart family dinner and gathering this evening. Alex and his brother are challenging everyone to corn hole games in preparation for the tournament they are playing in next weekend. Funny brothers.
Hopefully we will be able to get some good work done tomorrow on Labor Day. Hope you all enjoy whatever it is that you are doing for the holiday. Are gyms closed on Labor Day?
Happy September!
This week ended a lot different than it looked at the beginning of the week. It looked pretty normal on Monday. We were gearing up for Alex's big beginning of college football season party (B.C.F.S.P.) on Saturday and things were proceeding pretty normally with some play dates, garden class, soccer practices and games and then mom surprised us with a visit Tuesday night and stayed all day Wednesday looking at houses (gasp! eek! thrills!) and while she was here we decided we really should plan a retirement party for Dad. We've been talking about it for a while, but hadn't set a date or finalized any plans. Since Joe and Lori were coming up for the B.C.F.S.P Mom thought that maybe she and Dad should just come up here and have a celebration. We made some phone calls, pulled a few strings, and arranged a helicopter ride for Dad. Hopefully someone will post pictures because I don't have any on my phone. So, Mom and Dad came up Friday night and Saturday morning they met us at the airport where our friend took him for a lovely ride. The pilot (our ministering brother) landed in the field by the church close to our house and Joe and Alex were there with all the kids holding a banner that said: "BE FREE GRANDPA". Grandpa ran through the banner and then we all headed back to the house for breakfast. We met up with Ruth and co. at the Farmer's Market where the kids fought with duct tape weapons that a guy was selling. Thomas, you would have been so impressed! This man had set up a fighting arena with a bunch of weapons that he had made and let the kids go at it. Some adults jumped into the mix too. We also watched while a man worked a top on a lathe. It was so cool! I think Joe wants a lathe for Christmas. After the market we went out to the farm by Ruth's house and picked raspberries for an hour or so. The kids were enamored by the goats, as was Lori. I told her I would buy one for her as a housewarming gift if she would moved to Idaho. I still stand by that. I'm not above bribing people.
Backing up a bit, on Wednesday Mom helped us spit shine the house for the movie crew that was coming over to film a promotional video in our kitchen. It looked so lovely for about 8 hours that day. I was in heaven. The crew was so cool! They found out that Ian was interested in film making and they let him hold the camera and shoot some of the office scene. He got to talk shop with them and had such a good time. They invited him to come over to their studio anytime and they would show him around. At the end of things they had him pack up some gear and haul it out to their truck which they assured him was what much of their job consisted of what hauling gear, setting it up, taking it down and hauling it out. It was definitely a highlight of the week for Ian.
Fast forward to Saturday...after raspberry picking and lunch and homemade ice cream, Mom and Dad headed home, the Nilssons and Joe and Lori's family hung around and played spike ball. So fun! At 5:00 we all did a quick clean up of the first party to get ready for the second party, the Nilssons took off and then our friends the Dennings and the Shurtliffs showed up for dinner and games before the football game started. Joe and Lori had to leave before the game started at 8:45 (horrible time for a football game to start). Most of the moms took the kids home while the dads stayed to watch the game and a few more showed up for just the game. BYU won which was a miracle and totally unexpected for those fans who've gotten used to them losing! I totally hit a wall and went to watch a show with Ian on my bed but fell asleep instead. Alex sent the boys to bed and fell asleep himself after the game ended around 1:00 a.m. No one was particularly interested in getting out of bed this morning. Thank goodness for 1:00 church!
Alex's sister came up from Brigham City this afternoon and so we've been having a Hart family dinner and gathering this evening. Alex and his brother are challenging everyone to corn hole games in preparation for the tournament they are playing in next weekend. Funny brothers.
Hopefully we will be able to get some good work done tomorrow on Labor Day. Hope you all enjoy whatever it is that you are doing for the holiday. Are gyms closed on Labor Day?
Happy September!
Flake Fun
Sorry that it has been a couple of weeks since our last post. Things in Snowflake are going fairly well. Our garden is really ramping up and we'll probably start bottling tomatoes soon. We have gotten 7 zucchini's off our one plant in the last week so yes, we are turning into those people! Our neighbors know to lock their cars!
Our ward/stake is being realigned so there was a lot of weeping and wailing in church today. Some of the people in our ward have been in the same ward for 50 years! It will be interesting (and good) to see the changes. The realignment meeting will happen at 7:00PM on Saturday and the changes go into effect the following morning.
Hope that everyone has a great week!
Our ward/stake is being realigned so there was a lot of weeping and wailing in church today. Some of the people in our ward have been in the same ward for 50 years! It will be interesting (and good) to see the changes. The realignment meeting will happen at 7:00PM on Saturday and the changes go into effect the following morning.
Hope that everyone has a great week!
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