After cleaning out the boys room I had a bunch of socks that I was planning on just throwing out but then I thought, "Why not make SOCK PUPPETS!?" I thought Tanner would love it and sure enough he did! Plus they were a quiet distraction in Church today too. He had a little sock pal to eat cheerios with! ;) I just whipped them up with things I already had around the house and a little hot glue. I actually sewed the hair on so it's a little sturdier. Quick and fun!
Phantom was even more AMAZING than I expected! SO glad we went and it was so nice to go out with Dean. Dates are few and far between these days. Thanks Mom for watching the boys!
Dean will be heading back to school on Monday, so we figured we better squeeze in a few fun things this week before summer is officially over. We're SO lucky that Dean has summer's off....a major plus for being a teacher! We've definitely gotten used to having him around and it's going to be a big adjustment for all of us when he goes back. So today we went to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. The weather was absolutely perfect! Tanner LOVED it. Landon was an angel baby and was so good the whole time. And despite having no zoom on our camera (thanks Tanner!), we even managed to snag a few decent pictures...
Welcome to the zoo!
The tiger that growled just for us.
We rode an Elephant! ;)
Tanner and Dad even got to go on the Merry-go-Round.
Tanner LOVED the Komodo Dragon...he kept begging to go back and see him again.
Landon being a sweetheart. He sat in the stroller with his froggy, so happy and content the whole day. He even took a nap for a while. A successful first trip to the zoo for sure!
Tanner got to feel a tiger's skin and hold a tiger tooth!
Love the elephants...especially baby elephants!So Tanner was even more wild in Sacrament Meeting today than usual and he was diving off the bench head first. I of course asked him to stop diving off the bench and he responded, "I NEED (if you know Tanner he "needs" everything!) to dive off the bench with Jesus!" Ha! I'm pretty sure he figured if he did it with Jesus it would make it appropriate. What a stinker! Oh and he managed to bite a little girl in nursery today. Great! Guess we have topic for FHE tomorrow night..."How to behave in nursery!"
Tanner got a bicycle back in February for his birthday. We planned on him using it all summer but our summer's been so busy and we were gone to Utah so long that he really hasn't used it much yet. So last Monday for our FHE activity we drove out to the Church to do a little weeding while he rode his bike around the parking lot. His legs are still a little short for it but he's getting the hang of it. He's actually really good at peddling BACKWARDS. Now we just have to master moving FORWARD. He had a blast and of course we snapped a few pictures...
Most of these I made a long time ago but I didn't want to post them before I gave them away for fear of ruining the surprise for the recipients. This week I made a couple "Twilight" ones for my 2nd cousin who is having a baby, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't follow my blog so I think I'm safe. I actually know nothing about "Twilight" so I hope they're ok thanks to a little research on google. Really the possibilities are endless and they're so fun to make! You make a stencil from freezer paper and iron it directly onto the onesie and then paint it with fabric paint. After it drys you pull off the stencil and your left with perfectly clean lines and no bleeding!
"Twilight" Onesies
And these were for the twins as well...everything is cuter in twos!
Made this for my nephew Bryce...he wore it under his blessing outfit on his blessing day since his Aunt Andrea couldn't be there for it!So I've been wanting to make a Family Home Evening Chart for a while now and when we were in Utah I found the perfect metal board for it. I designed some lettering and picked up the little metal stars and magnets for our names and finally put it all together today. I LOVE how it turned out and can't wait to start using it.
Tonight we'll be seeing this guy...
Dean and Adam at our wedding (2006)
Dean and Adam on Halloween (2004)
Adam and Dean in front of their dorm (2000)This last week Dean's brother Jared and his family all came up to visit from Georgia. Tanner LOVED having some other kids around. We had a lot of fun with them and we were sad to see them go. Tanner and his cousin Hyrum are a day apart in age and now Landon and Amy are just a couple weeks apart. It's so fun when we get together because it's like having two sets of twins! Here are a few pictures from there visit...
think they're in charge around here, but really we all know the boys call the shots. Dean's the cyber school coordinator at the high school and has made himself indispensable as the go-to tech guy as well. Andrea loves being a stay-at-home mom, hanging with Keaton all day. She does her best to keep up with the boys and is Activity Days Leader at Church. She volunteers with the PTA and blogs in her "spare time."
is nearly 18 and is halfway through his freshman year at BYU. He's pursuing a degree in Chemistry but changes his mind often. He has pet snails in his dorm and is working on a podcast in his spare time. He also loves to cook and is enjoying his independence.
is 15 and in 10th grade. He plays the trumpet and piano and participates in the school musical every year. He can't wait to turn 16 and learn to drive and is enjoying being the oldest now that Tanner's away at school.
is 13 and in the 8th grade. He plays saxophone in the school band and continues to take piano lessons. He rocks the school musicals, plays on the boys soccer team, serves with NJHS, and a million other clubs. His mischievous smile keeps us all on our toes, and he is best known for his scavenging skills, bringing home all sorts of "treasures" he finds at school.
is a big 10 year old and rocking the 4th grade. He's the lone Nelson at the elementary, but handles that like a champ. He plays piano and is always talking our ears off. He's smart as a whip and loves playing soccer.
is almost 3 and absolutely full of energy. He loves music and sings all day long. He is smart as a whip and has an impeccable memory. He's adored by his big brothers and gets into EVERYTHING.
