No more surviving

As moms, we talk to each other a lot. We complain, compare stories, laugh, cry, lament, enjoy, etc as we share stories or give our daily run down to one another. One of the phrases I hear most is, "You're in survival mode." I've been telling myself that for years, "Just survive. Its just a phase. We'll get through this." Well, I've realized that with such a big family, survival mode has lasted over a decade. I had a thought one day, "I need to stop surviving and start living." I fear that with the caveat of just survive, I'll look back one day and realize that I've missed out on living. I can always use the excuse that I have too many kids to do something but I don't want to anymore.  I decided to have a big family and I'm done letting that dictate my daily routine.

Into young women's

Leah has been to Young Women's for three weeks now and she is absolutely loving it.

This past Tuesday, she told me she was so excited for Sunday. I asked why and she said, "I can't wait for YW, I just love it."

Today, she was set apart as the Beehive 2nd counselor which she's totally excited for.

Last weekend, the YW and their mothers went out to Gerlach. We stayed in this garage and went to the hot springs late at night. They had great devotionals, games, lots of food, and great down time.  As sad as I am that time is flying by and our oldest is already 12, it is very fun to be in this stage with Leah- she is a great example and first child in our family.

We labored

We had a great Labor Day. We headed up to Antelope Lake Friday after work and stayed and played hard until Sunday morning.  We had a blast on the water all day Saturday and relaxed by the fire in the evening. There was no cell service- it is so refreshing to get out of service for a change.

Kali didn't sleep well so I was up with her a lot to make sure she didn't wake the entire campground. But other than that, we had a great time enjoying a bit of mother nature.

Happy camper by day- nasty camper by night.

Annacey caught a fish which turned into a fish filleting education for all.

Sydney and Ellery were on the water all day. Literally. So much fun!

We never understood the seaweed collecting- at one point, they had the whole paddle board full of it.

Despite the long night, Kali still woke up happy- with a few great yawns.

The BBQ Rib cook-off. I love all the events Reno has to offer. 

This year we got to see them announce the winners!

A few highlights

We have a few big changes in our family this month. Everyone always says, "take advantage of these times because time flies." And it sure does. I'd like to think that I'm enjoying it the best I can.

This month: Sydney got baptized, Leah becomes a Young Woman, and Norah got blessed. 

We are so lucky to have supportive Grandparents, we loved having Grammie and Grandma and Grandpa here to celebrate these milestones with us.

Leah gave her last talk in Primary in July.

Norah's blessing. Doug gave such a great blessing for the sweetest baby.

How blessed we are to have this little one join our family.

Heidi made this baby blessing dress for Leah and all our girls have been blessed in it. She also made Sydney's dress, we love our sweet talented aunt Heidi.

After Sydney's baptism, we headed up to sand harbor with the Peachy's and Heidi. 

We sure love Lake Tahoe.

Back at it again school begins 2018

After a crazy summer trying to figure out life with a sixth human, I was kind of excited for school to start...  But then I realized my amazing helpers would be gone and our crazy life of dance, piano, soccer, etc. begins again, and I wanted to cry- which has been happening a lot this summer anyway.

Going back to school was especially difficult for Paige this year. It is the first year at Hunter Lake without Paige Nielsen in her class. These kids have some major holes in their hearts and I'm hoping they can find some good friends to help fill them. It kinda pulls at a mother's heart strings. Not to mention, I miss Courtney like crazy too!

We managed to sneak in some hair cuts and back to school shopping. Always fun to see their different personalities come out when we go shopping together. Paige- so practical. Leah and Sydney- fashion, fashion, fashion!

Cute Sydney- Mrs. Parker's class

Leah- Ms Mulligan's class

Paige- Mrs. Gregory.

It is officially Mrs Gregory's last year teaching and we are so lucky we got her again.

Traditional back to school dinner. I love this tradition and am getting more and more emotional as we talk about how to be a good student, friend, and person. We have great kids and they make me so proud. 

They left us!

We've known that the Nielsen's would be moving to Las Vegas since December. It has been something the kids have cried many nights about and have dreaded. In fact, they haven't wanted to go on vacation this year because they'd miss out on time to spend with them.

We lived it up this summer with lots of playdates, outings, a sleepover in the tent- which we don't allow sleep overs but said it was okay; the highlight was the sprinklers turning on at 5:45 in the morning! And to top it off, we had a girls trip to Sacramento with just the older kids. We love the Nielsen's like family. It is rare to find a perfect match in every way. 

Scenes from our girls trip.

Leah has been devastated to lose Wynn. So we did a pre-birthday date to get nails done and went to MOD pizza.

We had many playdates to help while Courtney and Jeremiah get packed, etc. Best place to go is the splash pad- everyone is locked in, kept cool in this heat, and no one can drown. 

Saying the final goodbye's was so hard for everyone.

Hopefully Brigham and Stevie really will get married and then we can all be related!!

Taking advantage of moms crazy time

This summer has felt a bit crazy trying to figure out life with a new baby and six kids. In an attempt to do some fun things, we went to the mall. Build a Bear had a special that you pay your age. We got there and the line wrapped all around the mall, probably a five to six hour line! On our way out, I asked, "Who wants to get their ears pierced?" I was just kidding but of course Sydney and Leah wouldn't let it go. So I told them it would be an early birthday present and we headed out.

These girls were so nervous but they hardly flinched. Both picked out pearls as their first earrings. And all day, they've been admiring their new accessories in the mirror.

Brigham was right there supporting them through the whole process and he found himself a new "star fish" or witch's wand!