My Baby is FIVE!

UNLESS

 


We had a Lorax themed 5th Birthday for Jorja this year. She loved the movie and it was fun to put together all of Dr. Seuss crazy trees and creatures for her party.

 Jorja standing by one of my many Truffula Trees that I made.

 The Birthday girl was too funny pretending to be shy when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her.

 Olivia and Jorja surprised me by drawing these super cute pictures of all the characters from the movie/book. Apparently there is a short lesson in the extras on the movie. They were adorable, we kept them up for awhile in the toy room.

 We had lots of fruit and Truffula tree fruit pancakes for dinner!

Jorja's drawing of The Lorax

Olivia's drawings of all the characters!

 Jorja was spoiled rotten! We had a great time being together. Thank you to everyone being there to help celebrate and make it a special occasion for her. She was well loved that day!

 Josh's beard at one of it's longest stages... behind him the Lorax Stash I made with a little quote from the book and some truffula trees for Jorja to keep.

 Our Barbaloots, marshmallows and singing fish for snacks!

 Lorax cookies and Truffula tree cupcakes with Barbaloots hanging under the trees. These turned out supper cute! Thanks mom for piping all the stashes on the Lorax's. They were too fun!

 We made a bit bigger cake for Jorja to have her own special birthday girl cake.

 Our Lorax stash straws! We had lots of fun with these... for weeks even!

Lindsey helped us a lot to set up and as always was a great sport to show off her Lorax Stash!

Hello, It's AVON calling...

This Summer has been busy and wonderful so far. I am looking forward to posting about or adventures.  I am in need of sitting down and taking time to do just that... promise to not take too long.  In the middle of all our family adventures I started a personal one. I signed up to sale Avon.  Crazy stuff... like I already have two jobs. Three if you count being a mom, but I have been thinking about it for a long time. I love Avon products and I felt like it is something I could do for me more and take with us in the future for wherever we end up. I can work at it as little or as much as I want. Plus, I can be home for the most part.  So, I printed up new business cards with my Avon and Massage info on them.  I think they are super cute!   It will be a fun adventure I think!   So... if you don't have an Avon representative and would like a brochure I would love to get one to you. =)  Or you can order online at: www.youravon.com/megannielsen  
Thanks to everyone who is such a great support in my life. I love you all! 
Ok... off to the other job. McKay Dee here I come.
   I wish you all the best this 4th of July! Happy Independence Day! I should have some time this weekend to post. Will make it a priority to get some pictures up here. =)

Annular Eclips

Yesterday we had lovely evening visiting with the family over another scrumptious dinner. After we had lots of fun trying to see the Eclipse...something that is rare indeed.  I remember seeing one when I was a kid in elementary school.  I want to say it was in third or fourth grade.  It was fun to educate Olivia about the eclipse and let her see it. Josh was very inventive and we got a pretty good view through our CD's.  I took some OK pictures considering there was no planning involved and I'm quite the amateur photographer.  It was fun being apart of something so unique. There was quiet the interesting feeling in the air and the light was lovely and odd as the eclipse progressed. It was fascinating for sure!

Here is a bit of info... an exerpt from the Salt Lake Tribune:
'Ring of Fire' eclipse puts on a show for southern Utah crowds

"Such an eclipse can occur multiple times a year, but it can only be seen from a small portion of the planet. The last annular eclipse visible from the United States was in January 1994, and the next one won’t happen until Oct. 14, 2023, Wiggins said.

The eclipse happens only during a new moon, when the illuminated side of the moon is facing away from the Earth. It doesn’t happen frequently because the moon’s orbit is tilted, so it is often below or above the Earth.

The difference between an annular eclipse and a full eclipse depends on how far from Earth the moon is as it makes its elliptical orbit. When the moon is closer to the Earth, it blocks only about 90 percent of the sun, causing an annular eclipse. In the Salt Lake City, eclipse watchers could see what is called a deep partial eclipse, when the sun becomes a crescent as the moon passes in front of it."
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/54150685-78/eclipse-moon-solar-annular.html.csp
By SHEENA McFARLAND and Brennan Smith| The Salt Lake Tribune

 

 

The eclipse starting, these three pictures were taken by Josh

Josh's hands... you can see the eclipse through the holes in his fingers. Too cool!

 

You can see the shadow of the eclipse in this picture, SO COOL! It was just a sliver, about as complete as we could get with our location. 

 

 

This was the best picture of the actual eclipse... seen though a cd.

 

The easiest way to show the kids. Poked some holes in a paper.

Birthday and Mothers Day

 I had a great weekend celebrating my 30th Birthday and Mothers Day this year. I hope everyone had a good time along with me.  I started celebrating early... a few of my amazing co-workers headed to breakfast with me straight after work Saturday morning. We had a good time at Jeremiahs and it was a great start to my days off! I have amazing co-workers and they made me feel so loved and appreciated.


After some sleep... we headed to the Boy Scouts Annual Spaghetti Dinner over at St. Olaf's Catholic Church. It has turned into a great tradition. It's nice to support our local Scouts and they do a great job with this event!  It's all you can eat, plus bread sticks, a drink and cookies for dessert. The little Scouts go around with raffle tickets and the older boys help serve. They did a great job and I hope they raised lots of money!

 Jorja was slurping up her spaghetti!  Too funny!

We dragged Colin along with us since Grandma Ginger went to Idaho to visit the Kelley Clan.

Josh and Colin ate three plates of spaghetti and like five breads, when the scout helping us asked if Josh wanted another plate and Josh declined saying he ate three whole plates, without missing a beat that little scout said, "that's nothing , I see guys come in and eat six plates." Ha Ha!  He put them in their place.  Josh really enjoyed the fact that we were drinking coffee in church! Hee hee. I did also, it was good coffee.

 After the spaghetti dinner we met up with my Daddy and Sherrie to visit and then they kept our kids over night while Josh and I went to the comedy club.   The girls were very excited to have a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house. It has been a long while since they did just that. We played domminoes until having the leave about nine pm.  Jorja kicked out butt the first two rounds.  Josh wasn't feeling so well and ended up napping on the couch.

We met up with Brandy and Devin and they spoiled me with buying my ticket to the show.  We had a great time and lots of laughs at Wise Guys in West Valley.  The Sklar Brothers were the main act. They were super silly. Almost peed my pants laughing! It was a memorable evening. Thanks to my Hubby, Brandy and Dev for such a great evening!

Randy and Jason Sklar... too funny! Check our their new show on the History Channel. United Stats of America. Looks interesting.

These lovely roses were left by my sister-in-law. One for Mom and I on Mothers Day. Thanks Linz!

 On my Birthday I got the best present ever! I just woke up when I was ready... to no alarm or kids. Just when I was ready! I LOVE THAT!  Then...I noticed this lovely aroma drifting up from the kitchen. My mom had made me coffee and was well on her way to making french toast.  SPOILED I am!  We enjoyed a nice little breakfast together before heading to get the girls from my Dad's house.

Grandma Taylor and My Mommy!

 We spent Mothers Day Evening at my Grandma Taylor's House.  It was fun to sit down and have dinner with my cute Grandma. We then played games and visited with my Aunt Sherrie and Uncle  John when they came to visit.  It was a lovely mellow evening visiting with family. Thanks to everyone for making such a great day!

Three Generations

 I am so grateful for these Amazing Moms in my life. I have so many wonderful Mothers who have touched my life. I have a beautiful Step-Mom, Sherrie and thoughtful Mother-In-Law, Ginger... and countless other adopted Mothers who I love and adore! I am so thankful for all they have done for me! I love you all endlessly!  But... These two lovely Ladies have touch my soul and I wouldn't be here without them.  They are amazing examples in my life and am truly grateful for their love. They are amazing Moms!  I hope they had a wonderful Mothers Day and I hope they know how much I love them!

am.newuvision.us

Four Generations

 I talked to and got lots of Birthday wishes from so many people. Thank you all for thinking of me. I love you all!   It was a lovely day filled with lots of joy. Not a bad way to start off 30!

Mom's yard is starting to look amazing! Mom has been working hard to get the garden in and her hard work shows. This lovely lady puts on a good show!  I am so enjoying Spring!

 Olivia and Jorja painting outside just before Family dinner on May 20th. It was a perfect day to be outside!

Oil pastels By: Olivia

I had to share Olivia's latest art piece. This is her new creation with oil pastels. She is learning so much from her art teacher, Denise, and I am so grateful she has been able to attend these classes. Thanks a bunch Grandma Launi!

 On the 19th we went walking down Main Street to see the Chalk Art Festival. It was a lovely show and I recommend everyone go next year! Maybe I can even talk Olivia into entering to draw a picture. Hee hee!

Water color By: Barbra Gustaveson. This is one of my Favorites!

Water color By: Barbra Gustaveson.  This is the print I got. She loves flowers!

We also stopped into the Lamp Light Art Gallery to see and support on of my favorite local artists Miss. Barbra Gustaveson.  She was my Art teacher at Farmington Junior High... way back when.  It was her first two years as a teacher at Farmington and I was her first T.A..  I was so excited to finally get to come see one of her events! I have always had to work on the days of her shows.  They were also displaying her advanced classes art. There are some talented 9th graders out there! I didn't even think about it... but when I saw her I started crying. She touched my life in such a positive way and she inspires me so! I need to do art more... She makes me realize how much I need it in my life. Thank you Barbra for being such a wonderful teacher. We need more people like you!

Water color By: Barbra Gustaveson.  This one is absolutely lovely!

Lady Bug Adventures!

 For Easter the kids got bug growing kits from Josh and I.  I thought it would be something fun and educational for the kids. Turned out it was for us adults also. We did enjoy watching them change from larvae, to pupa and then to lady beetles.  We still need to send away for our butterfly's... but look forward to that adventure also.



 

Jorja watching our lady bugs... fresh hatched from their pupa state.

 Or lady beetles! We kept them for about a week before we let them go out by our rose bushes.

 It was a beautiful May day with all the flower starting to bloom in our yard.

 Saying goodbye to our lady beetles!  We had to coax them out of their cozy little home.

 FREEDOM!  We had a great time getting to know our lady bugs and look forward to raising some again one day.