Ghostly Parties

We've been celebrating Halloween all week, here in Cincinnati. From church & school parties to friend and neighborhood gatherings, we had a fun holiday.

Our ward's trunk or treat party got rained in, and it became classroom door to door treats. Brian helped coordinate scone-making. All the games and treats were excellent.

Amy was Tinker Bell, and Maggie became a pioneer for the event.

Here is James getting ready for a game. He wowed a lot of people with his disappearing wand trick.

Thanks to some fore-thought by really cool aunts (years ago), Scot was transform into an English Bobby. He wasn't as nice as he looks. Neither was Paul when he got a hold of the club.

Carving pumpkins with friends. They looked great on the steps Halloween night.


The real deal. Amy and Scot's costumes changed. I guess Paul's changed too since he went to the ward party as a obstinate 2 year old. On Halloween he was an obstinate elephant.
Paul went up to every house and said, "candy-mine-pumpkin." Then he commenced to ask for M&Ms, if they hadn't given him any. Yes, he was a very rude double-dipping toddler. Unfortunately, no one seemed to care, especially when he smiled and said "thank you!"

Amy as a "beautiful ballerina."

Scot was an accident prone roller blader. Under the helmet he's sporting a nice array of bandages and a black eye. Can you hear James's taunting?: "Scot's got make-up on!" The boys went on their own this year with friends. Scot wanted to make this the best year ever since it's his last. He's already excited to hand out candy for next year.

Hope you all had a great Halloween! For the Nielson clan, I've posted on the recipe site. I missed getting my ingredient, but I did pass along a site with some fun holiday treats.

Zombies? No, just sick kids.

Our Primary Sacrament Meeting Presentation was today. I didn't count, but I would estimate that 1/3 were not there due to sickness. If they had all been there I don't know where everyone would have sat--we would have been piled on the piano and down the aisles. Unbelievably, the Nielson kids were all there. Scot missed school all last week, and Maggie missed Friday. I'm looking forward to a busy non-kid-sick week. There is too much going on, including finishing up some Halloween costumes and (of course) partying with the ward, school, and neighbors. I'll try to have some good costume photos in the next couple days.

I was going to give you a clue of what everyone was going to be, but when I just asked them they've all changed...again. So, they may be a mass of mystical, hand-cart pulling ladybugs or tinkering elephants wearing top hats. Your guess is as good as mine.

P.S. The Primary Program was great!

Tour of Kirtland, Ohio

Grandma Charlotte visited us a couple of weeks ago. What a fun time we all had, especially visiting early church history sites in Kirtland, Ohio, and the surrounding area.

We started with Lake Eerie.
The rain had stopped just that day, so we didn't stay very long due to the windy chill. It is strange seeing such a large body of water that is not an ocean. Maggie wanted to know where the sea shells were hiding. If it comes from a lake, is it still a sea shell?

Here are all the kids at the visitor's center in Kirtland. Love the beautiful mums! At first we had a little difficulty getting a spot for a tour. They didn't tell us then, but it turns out that President Monson was there the same day, and they were trying to arrange things around his visit. How cool is that? Perhaps not as cool as actually seeing him, but we'll take what we can get.

The Kirtland Temple. Unfortunately, our group was too big to go up the the 3rd floor, but we still enjoyed walking up the steps to the 2nd story.

Perhaps our favorite place was the John Johnson farm. It was just our family on this tour (and Paul was behaving--first time all day). This is all of us on the front steps where Joseph Smith preached the night after being tarred and feathered.

I'm grateful to have visited these places, especially with my family. I learned a lot, and being there sure makes church history come alive. Next summer we look forward to going to more sites--hopefully Palymra and Niagara Falls. We'd love for someone to come go with us!

Annoying? Too bad.

A few phrases have surfaced this week that I thought you all might enjoy. Most of them are Paul's, but I couldn't resist adding something from Maggie.

Paul is improving his social skills. Now instead of just saying "no," he answers with a polite "no, thank you." Does this mean he gets out of putting his coat on, washing his hands, or going to bed? "No way" --which unfortunately has also become a possible response.

One morning I was brushing Maggie's hair for school. This is never a pleasant experience for her. Snarls are just not fun. She and Amy had been playing and talking on their way up to my room where all the hair stuff is kept. Maggie settled on the chair and I started brushing her hair. Immediately Maggie's mood changed and she turned to Amy: "You just keep talking and talking and talking!! It's really annoying me!!" If only I could use this phrase as well.

With all the older kids in school, Amy and Paul have been having fun hanging out together. On the way to swim lessons at the YMCA they were telling each other knock-knock jokes. Paul liked to summarize the whole joke by saying "knock, knock...banana who! hahahaha!" At least Amy waited for a "who's there?"

A final phrase from Paul. I really hope I didn't inadvertently teach it to him, because it drives me crazy!! I thought "no way" was bad, but this taunting, teasing phrase is way worse. Ask Paul to clear his plate or put his blanket away, he might respond with a smirk and a "too bad!"

In Paul's words, I'll "be right back" with some new posts this week about my mom's visit and our trip to Kirtland. "See you later."

September Highlights

Our highlights for September:

• Chipper/shredder marathon weekend. Scot's the one in the chair "observing." --no flash photography, please.
• Labor Day family hike. I think I'm finally recovered.
• We enjoyed dinner and ice cream with my brother, Erin.
• I met all the kids' teachers at the school.
• I took an impromptu drive with Amy & Paul to D.C. area for Quinn's baby shower. Hated to give up the rental car.
• Brian & Scot attended the Stake 11-year-old Scout Day Camp.
• Two friends helped celebrate James' birthday with a trip to the movie theater. The popcorn shaped cake failed, so we just stuck cake & ice cream in popcorn bags. The kids all took turn destroying a party hat pinata, and goodie bags with microwave popcorn & candy were sent home in popcorn bags.
• Paul practiced to hit James' pinata. He overcame many obstacles, most of them being his hat.
• Brian and I went to the Louisville Temple and were actually able to attend a session.
• Maggie turned into Nannie McPhee. She did finally lose the other front top tooth. Not sure if the Tooth Fairy has made it here yet.
• We bought a tree for the front yard. We'll get around to planting it in October.

It was pretty busy around here, getting through the first month of school and transitioning to fall. We are looking forward to General Conference and a long list of items to accomplish between sessions.

2009 Backpacking Trip

Our family's summer goal was to train for and participate in a backpacking overnight trip. While we didn't achieve the end goal this year, we were able to complete all the training segments we planned. Here are the pictures from our last big hike. Starting out in the rain, everyone is now asking Santa for better raingear.

At the trailhead. Ready to go...(back to the car? Please?).


Break time. Trail mix, anyone?
Watch for the mud & poison ivy now that you can see without the poncho.


Nice pack, Scot!
We took all the gear we would need for an overnight trip. The boys pulled their weight and more.


What are you doing outside the pack?
Paul walked a good portion of the trail on his own, which saved me (he's not a light kid!).


We'll follow this guy anywhere.


We had a great time reaching for this goal, including lots of little hikes, equipment assessments, and overnight camps. We will keep working on getting the right gear, improving bathroom ettiquette, and dehydrating our own meals. There are so many beautiful places to explore here in Ohio, we are anxious to make this a family tradition.

Drool Me a River

Subtitle: "Nap Hard"

I don't know if Paul's sudden decision to take his naps wherever/whenever is a result of early morning family prayer, extra ball-kicking activities, or an unusual loss of stubborness but this is the second time we've caught him asleep in the family room. I got these shots while I was making lunch after walking to the park this morning. He did spend more time walking than riding in the stroller, and he laughed a whole lot going down the twisty tube slide. Poor little guy keeps wearing himself out!