Summa' Time

Summer, summer, summer. Where have you gone? Almost August already, and my to-do list has many to-do's still left on it! Here are a few of the things we have been working on so far this summer.

June - Tour de Cure

Cannon rode over 60 miles in this bike race. He wishes that his to-do list wasn't quite so long so that he had more time to pursue his biking hobby. Haha. Pursue. BTW, did I even spell that word correctly??

June - Neslen reunion
We had so much fun with Cannon's family at the end of June. We all stayed in a condo in Eden for several days, and had a blast. Here is Eli enjoying a ride on Cannon's back just before we took the gondola at Snow Basin. I SHOULD have taken pictures of the rest of the reunion too, but alas. I was just too tired this year! I'm hoping to mooch some from some of my sisters-in-law. Check out Heidi's blog for a great bunch of pics though.
Cherries - Yum!

Some totally nice (and inspired!) neighbor told us to pick as many cherries as we wanted from their trees, so we did! We ate tons of cherries, then canned the rest! The kids all helped with the canning, and that made it so much fun. I think this is the first time the kids have really been helpful with a canning project, and I am looking forward to the time that our trees and garden produce enough to can all summer! I have enough good helpers to get the job done!

Canada Day

Cannon was happy to see that the twins remembered Canada Day (July 1st) this year. We celebrated with cake. This was my creation of German chocolate cake, with additions (in red) made by Cannon.

4th of July - Perry City Fun Run

Cannon led the kids in a good stretch before they all ran in the 1 mile race (Cannon did the 5K). Natalie and her kids came too, and Eli and I were the only ones who didn't run! Well, Tanner and Logan actually rode in the stroller (thanks, Natalie) and everyone else ran. My attempt to get action shots at the finish line were a disaster, so what-you-see-is-what-you-get! Oh - and Sydney got a first place ribbon for her age bracket (9:31 for a mile!) and Cannon got a third place finish. Way to go, guys!!

4th of July fireworks

We went to the Brigham City fireworks accompanied by Brent and Missy, Natalie and Mark, and the kids. It was a great show, but I think I enjoyed the visiting more than anything. =) Eli enjoyed hanging out with the grownups too. Below is a picture of him with my brother, Brent.

Theater camp

Jackson, Jordan, and Sydney went to theater camp this year and loved it. Here is Sydney in the play, Stone Soup.

July - Montana

We took a quick trip to Montana to visit my sister, Jenni, and her family. Brent and Missy went too. Here is Jordan at the lake.

We also went to Lewis and Clark Caverns with Jenni's family. We thought that going underground would be a good way to escape the HEAT! We were right. The hike to and from the caves was rough, but the caves were a cool 50 degrees! Below is a picture of our tour guide telling us about the caves, and Tanner, who felt right at home being in front of the whole group. BTW, if you ever go to Lewis and Clark Caverns, I suggest you take only children competant enough to climb a zillion stairs. While ducking.

24th of July Parade - Bountiful

We had ton of fun in Bountiful this year going to the Pioneer Day parade and fireworks. Well, it was mostly fun. Fighting crowds and taking care of little ones during the heat can be a challenge. Here is Tanner, crying because he lost his blue balloon. Jordan saved the day by offering Tanner his white one. Thanks, Jordan. Of course, Jordan repaid us by needing to take FOUR trips to the port-a-potty during a 1 1/2 hour parade!!

Never ending summer project

So, I finally talked Cannon into buying a big playset for the kids this spring. From Costco (it is so cool! It it possible that I will play on it more than the kids.) The instructions say that it should take 2 adults 13 hours to put it up. I don't think so. It didn't mention all the prep work that had to be done. Like clearing weeds (shoulder high) from the play area. Or moving grass from one spot to another in order to get the play area in the proper dimensions. Or digging and moving boulders in order get a level spot. Or repairing storm drains that magically appear in the precise spot that you are digging. Or buying and moving and cutting railroad ties. Or moving terracing rocks which weigh 40 lbs a piece. Whoa. Here is Cannon after digging out said storm drain in preparation for the repair job. Currently, we are on step 11 of 37 in the ACTUAL set up directions. I'm thinking we'll have a playset before many more Saturdays pass by!

Sydney finally lost a tooth!!

It's been wiggly since May, and Sydney was so disappointed not to have lost her first tooth before the end of first grade. But it happened, finally, in July. In fact, she cleaned her tooth so well that the tooth fairy left her some fairy dust, aka Fun Dip.

Now, if you're still reading, you're awesome! And you are now an expert at the Neslen Family Summa' Time!

I Need Help

Ha ha. Okay, nice title. I ALWAYS need help! But I'm going for something specific here. I am planning the Clark reunion in August, and I need ideas! In my family, there are many, shall we say, smarties? Smart alecks! Ha ha. And they always have good ideas. I'm hoping to avoid being known as the "lame ideas" sibling. What am I saying? I am probably ALREADY known thus, but I going to try to shake this up a bit.


So. I need a theme. My cute sister gave me a great theme: What's the Scoop? Get it? Double meaning, lots of ways to build on this. It's a good theme. Maybe this is the one I'll use. But I gotta shop around a little, and my lame brain (or should I say, mommy brain?!) isn't generating any competition. So help me out. Give me some ideas.


Here are a few details. This is my parents' family. Dad, Nancy, eight siblings, and twenty-something grandkids ranging in age from 11 months to 19 years. Wait. Actually the youngest will be -3 months. Owen Brent will be born sometime in Oct/Nov. Anyway. We're staying in cabins at Carter Creek in the Uintas. We will spend 3 nights there. There are hikes, nature trails, horseshoes, volleyball, a playground, and ATV trails. Sounds fun,eh? So give me a theme. Or a few. And fun things to do, if you have any terrific ideas.


Here is a picture of that cute sister I mentioned. And her handsome husband. Andrea and Matt. And please look at Andrea's blog to see some other inspiring pictures of our family.