Binky? What's that???

We have finally decided why Kierra refuses to take a pacifier...aka: binky. Jordyn was an avid binky sucker, Jeylin not as much but he still took one, Kierra, NEVER!!! I have maybe seen her with a pacifier in her mouth where she has actually sucked on it about five times total since she was born. She always preferred to suck on her fingers or the back of her hand. Until recently anyway. We have noticed that whenever she gets really studious...you know, when she's trying to figure out what something is or how it works, she just sits there really quietly and focuses really hard. My daughter, sitting in one place for long amounts of time and being completely satisfied...no way!! Well, here is the reason why, she has replaced the dependency for a binky with the ever-so-satisfying taste of her tongue. Here are a couple videos to point it out because it is too darn cute not to document. What's even cuter is the fact that she sticks her tongue out in order to suck on it.....SO stinkin' cute!!! Take a look....

Memory Game

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

It's Unbelievable

You know, it hit me the other day, I can't believe that it's been 7 years since I had my first baby girl. Well, almost 7 years anyway...she will be celebrating the lucky #7 next Saturday, the 2nd of August. What is even crazier than that....my niece Jaycee's birthday is the same day...and boy, how old do I feel when I have to tell people that she is turning 18!!!! It's been a crazy 7 years let me tell you. We've managed to pull through the tough times and take wonder in all the amazing things that have happened to us. In those short 7 years, we witnessed the terror of 9/11 (I was feeding Jordyn on the couch at my in-laws when that happened), moved into an apartment actually on September 12th of that year, said good-bye to a grandmother, and two grandfathers, had Jeylin, bought a house, got a dog, gave said dog away, got a cat, had Kierra...well, you get the point, the list just keeps going and going. My baby girl has been a flower girl at least four times, she is entering the second grade on August 25th, she starred in her first play this past February, and also played in her second season of t-ball. I still remember the day I found out I was pregnant and the incredibly long labor of having her. But all in all, it will be remembered as 7 of the most wonderful years our family has had. Here's to the next lucky 7. Happy Birthday Week my sweet Jordyn Alexis.

A Surprise Guest

Imagine this setting...last night, I'm sitting in the living room, watching tv, munching down on some lemon cookies when Bradley comes in from outside with a sand bucket in his hand. I can tell there is something in it and he says..."Look what I just found in the garage?" Instantly, I'm thinking it's a mouse or some other hideous creature that likes to lurk around in dirty places. I can't believe he brought it in the house. He starts walking to me and I yell at him to get away because then I'm thinking...maybe he is trying to scare me and he brought a snake in the house. Of course, I'm sure he's smarter than that because if that were to happen, he would be packing his bags and moving out immediately...nope, better yet, he would be leaving and I would pack his bags and send them to him! I gather that he was sensing all this emotion from me so he said, "Calm down, it's just a frog...but look at the size of it!" I could tell from the shadow in the bucket that it wasn't anything small...you know, like those little tiny frogs that always seem to be around. As I got up to look at it, I realized that it looked more like a frog you would see at my parents' pond...a stow-away maybe?? But, seeing as it rained all day yesterday I'm sure it just got confused and as for being in the garage....it was such a large frog, maybe it was going in there to feast on whatever food was on hand. Anyway, I took a couple pictures of it to share and just to let all of you know, this wasn't one of those small buckets. Oh and by the way, Brad did suggest that it was big enough to cook and eat....EWWWW!! Don't worry, he let him go in our neighbors' back yard.

Mom's Update

Thought I'd let everyone know that Mom had her Doctor appointment today and while she is slightly improving, she still has another week of bedrest :-( She does however get to go to see the Specialist in Lewiston for her broken leg on Monday so at least she gets to see a little bit of the outside world. I am still undecided if I will be coming back up on Monday to stay for the week....I just don't have the gas money to drive nor the time as things at my own house are starting to fall behind. I guess time will tell though. Hooray for tomorrow morning though!!! We finally get to go home and see Daddy and Maddie!!!! Brad also has Friday-Sunday off so hopefully we'll have some fun times! Thanks again for everyone who prayed for her to be on the mend.

Bed Rest Update

First, I would like to say a BIG "Thank You!" to everyone who has been praying for my mom. My family, especially my parents, have been through so much this year that they need all the help they can get. I thought I'd give everyone an update on how she's been doing since being restricted to her bed.

Monday went well, she stayed in bed the entire day with the exception of two trips to the hospital for shots and blood draws and the same for Tuesday. By Wednesday, she was SICK of her room. For a couple days, she went to my Grandma's house (just across the drive way) and laid in her recliner all day long. We thought things were going well. They did decide that her blood wasn't thinning as fast as they would like so they doubled her shots. Instead of getting two a day, she started getting four a day PLUS blood draws. These shots burn and leave her abdomen completely bruised. They have to poke a different spot each time so she has about three or four lines across her belly of just bruise marks. I feel so bad for her. She decided that the medicine was starting to make her nauseous and so about twice a day, she would get a little irritable and need to just have some peace and quiet...not easy when you have three kids who love their Nana and especially love her when she doesn't get out of bed all day. But, we've managed.

Today, she went in at 8:00am to get her shot and when she came home, she laid on my bed so she could go through some of the paperwork with me in the office rather than me shuttling it back and forth between the two rooms. She started to feel nauseous and light headed so she decided to go get in her own bed. About 10 minutes later, she told me that she really wasn't feeling well and that she thought I better take her to the hospital. My uncle has been up visiting but at this particular moment, he was already in town (my parents live 6 miles from town) so I had to run across the driveway and tell my grandma to take her to the hospital so I could get the three kids together and take them to the babysitter. We all made it to the hospital and waited for test results. They ran an EKG on her and the reading came back abnormal so they thought she might have had a heart attack...Negative. Then, they thought the blood clot had moved...Negative. She had an abnormal reading on her liver but they decided that was just from a reaction to the shots and all the other medicine she has been taking as well as the other symptoms.

But, that's not the best part. You see, since this has all started, she has been seeing one Dr. but he is partners with another Dr. Well, her main Dr. was gone for whatever reason during the middle of last week and the second Dr. decided to double her dosage of shots (like I said previously), without talking to her first Dr. Today, in the emergency room, she saw her main Dr. and let's just say, he wasn't happy at all! This has happened quite a bit lately with her care and I've just come to the conclusion that the credibility of Grangeville's Syringa General Hospital is lacking and making it more like a "band-aid station" than a hospital. They are an acute care hospital but come on, a little communication would really make things run a lot smoother.

So anyway, it turned out to be a minor complication and all is well again. She doesn't have to take any more shots (at this point in time) which is nice but she still needs to go in and have blood draws to make sure her blood is continuing to stay as thin as they want it. The poor woman must feel more like a pin cushion these days than a human. After our three hour stay in the hospital, it was back home to bed and now, she must really stay in bed...no recliners or air mattresses...she's not happy because her wonderful, cheery and peaceful room now feels like a prison for her. Hopefully she'll be having an ultrasound later in the week and we'll know if the clots...yes ladies and gentlemen, she has three of them, have reduced in size.

So please, keep up the good work praying for her and my entire family as we continue to struggle through all the issues we are faced with.

THANK YOU!!!

A Peaceful Evening

As most of you have probably figured out, my parents have a wonderful array of animals and insects which inhabit their property. It is the MOST wonderful place to take pictures and all due to my mom's garden and landscaping. It really has brought all the animals, birds and insects back. I had a little lull in my day today and decided to take the kids up to see their horses and take the camera as well. It was such nice weather and really good lighting. Also, today I captured a butterfly and if you look closely, you'll actually see it sucking from the flower. And for those of you who might be interested, I added an updated picture of the little Robins...I think they might even be leaving their nest during the day too but I'm not quite sure.

Chico (Jordyn's horse) & Dusty (Jeylin's horse)

Jordyn petting Chico

Jeylin petting Chico...Dusty is still a little skiddish

The Butterfly

One of three Robin babies

Just a darling picture of Jeylin that I couldn't pass up

I hope you all don't get tired of my posting so many pictures, especially ones of animals and insects. As I told Brad's sister today (see comments from "At Last!" post), I probably wouldn't be posting so many stories or pictures if I was at home. It's just that my mom and dad's house has so much beauty and majesty to it and it's also a place where my kids can just be kids and not have to be stuffed inside because it's too hot to go outside. I just LOVE it up here. Well, I hope you all enjoy!

At last!!!

I finally got the pictures I wanted. I snapped a few of those elusive hummingbirds this morning! So, here you go, hope you enjoy.

We Start 'Em Young

Just couldn't resist taking these pictures of Kierra riding my brother's old trike. It definitely has seen better days but give her a little while and she'll be riding it right along with her brother and sister on their John Deere trikes.

Oh say can you see.....

Yesterday, Jordyn was playing around in the dirt, making mud pies and such...basically just doing what every red-blooded child should do. At one point, she was trying to put a flag into one of her pies as decoration but it wasn't in the exact spot she wanted. She attempted to pull it out and hit herself in the eye with it. After calming down, she showed her Nana. Nana responded by saying,

"Wow Jordyn, you sure did a number on your eye."

About 15 minutes later, Jordyn came back to Nana and asked this question...

"What number did I do Nana?"

It was too cute not to publish so there you go, the reason behind the wonderful pictures of my daughter's eye.

Nature Shots

Here are some nature shots from my parents' house. I've been trying to catch a hummingbird but so far, they have escaped me....maybe later though :) Anyway, above my parents' motion light on their garage, a robin had three babies. I have pictures on my computer at home when they were only about 1-2 days old....they weren't very cute then though, they had no feathers and their eyes were closed and looked like large black spots...almost like they had been in a serious fight. Now, about a week later, they have feathers and are starting to be a little more vocal and fun to photograph. I almost snuck one of the momma feeding them today but the baby monitor made noise and scared her away...guess I'll have to try again tomorrow. The other pictures are of a butterfly I caught in my mom's flowers...I think the one of it alone on the flower is my favorite. At then end, I decided to add a picture of Jordyn doing her chores...getting the eggs from the chicken coop. We average about a dozen a day and she loves this job! Well, hope you all enjoy!

Bubble Machine

One of the joys my children have is blowing bubbles. It seems as though there are always bubbles at either of the Nanas' houses and we almost always have a big jug of them under the kitchen sink at our house. Today, Jeylin decided he needed some "bubble time" and of course, me being who I am, thought..."Aaww, what a sweet and perfect photo opportunity." Actually, I've been trying to capture a bunch of pictures for the sole purpose of scrapbooking BUT, it seems as though I rarely find any time to make any....hopefully that'll change soon. Anyway, here are some pictures of Jeylin blowing bubbles and some randoms of Jordyn playing in the sprinkler and Kierra just being herself.

Three-Wheelin' Country Style

So, I've decided that my new favorite thing to put on my blog are videos of the crazy kids that I have...just in case you hadn't figured that out already. Jeylin is probably my craziest and therefore, he will probably have the most videos posted...such as this one. This is Jeylin showing us all the "proper" way to use a Nana-Nana's wheelchair ramp...

Sorry about the clarity of it...the sun was in the wrong spot. He normally goes a little faster but there were a lot of people around...I especially love the fact that the pedals are going so fast he needs to take his BARE feet off of them for safety! He's such the genius!

A Surprise Visit from....Daddy!!!!

Today was Brad's day off, well sort of anyway, he had to work for a couple hours. I called him this morning and told him that I wish he could come visit since he has tomorrow off as well but he said it probably wouldn't be a good idea so, we ended up talking on the phone for a while instead. Then, around 4:00, he walked into Mom & Dad's house and surprised us all! It was wonderful to see him but I just wish it would last longer than one night. I hope the kiddos don't fall apart tomorrow afternoon when he has to go home. After that, his next day off isn't until Friday the 18th. While he was here, he took the kids out and let them ride their 4-wheeler since I am unable to do so. Here is a video of Jeylin riding away. I took one of Jordyn as well but the wind was blowing so badly that all you can hear is static noise. I'll post some pictures later!! Enjoy.

Bassinet Speed Racing

I decided that since I am going to be staying in the guest bedroom/office at my parents' house for the next two weeks, I was going to help my mom out by organizing it. In order to do this however, she needs to sort through A LOT of paperwork and stuff...but, she's in a completely different room on the opposite end of the hallway. So, in the corner of the office, there was an old bassinet we had used for Kierra a couple of times. In the office, it's main job is once again, storage. I decided that it would be easiest to load it up as much as I could, wheel it into Mom's room, unload it and let her sort things into boxes and whenever the bassinet was empty, I'd go back for another load. During one of those moments, Kierra started getting crabby. Since the bassinet was almost empty, I put the rest of the stuff on the bed and sat her in it next to my side of the bed and gently rolled it back and forth. She absolutely loved being in it. When it was time to start dinner, she was still amused so I wheeled her down the hallway and into the kitchen to watch her. When I got on the tile floor, the bassinet rolled even faster and she laughed and giggled so much it was darling. Jordyn and Jeylin thought this was wonderful entertainment and thus decided to push her around the house. She had the largest smile on her face and at times, giggled hysterically. Here's a video of the whole event even though, Kierra was more mesmerized by the camera and therefore didn't smile or giggle but it's still funny...

Haves & Have Nots

I stole this from Laura's sister's site...I thought it was cool....thanks Lizzie! I thought I would have done more than I did but my count was 83 Haves....that leaves a lot of things left to do before I die...

200 Have and Have nots!

1. Touched an iceberg

2. Slept under the stars

3. Been a part of a hockey fight

4. Changed a baby's diaper
5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Swam with wild dolphins

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a tarantula

10. Said "I love you" and meant it

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise

15. Seen the Northern Lights

16. Gone to a professional sports game

17. Been to the top of the Sears Tower

18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Bet on a winning horse

23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Taken an ice cold bath

28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Ridden a roller coaster

31. Hit a home run

32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking

33. Adopted an accent for fun

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment

36. Loved your job 90% of the time

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Watched wild whales

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach

41. Gone sky diving

42. Visited Ireland

43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited India

45. Bench-pressed your own weight

46. Milked a cow

47. Alphabetized your personal files

48. Ever worn a superhero costume

49. Sung karaoke

50. Lounged around in bed all day

51. Gone snorkling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Done something you should regret, but don't

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Sung on a CD

60. Gone without food for 3 days

61. Made cookies from scratch

62. Won first prize in a costume contest

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Been in a combat zone

65. Spoken more than one language fluently

66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone

67. Bounced a check

68. Read - and understood - your credit report

69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy

70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did

71. Called or written your Congress person

72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

73. Seen the Golden Gate Bridge

74. Helped an animal give birth

75. Been fired or laid off from a job

76. Won money

77. Broken a bone

78. Ridden a motorcycle

79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph

80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing

82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

83. Eaten sushi

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read The Bible cover to cover

86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about

87. Gotten someone fired for their actions

88. Gone back to school

89. Changed your name

90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands

91. Eaten fried green tomatoes

92. Read The Iliad

93. Taught yourself an art from scratch

94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt

96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

97. Been elected to public office

98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream

99. Had to see someone you love in hospice care

100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair

102. Dyed your hair

103. Been a DJ

104. Rocked a baby to sleep

105. Ever dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fours (define high)

106. Raked your carpet

107. Brought out the best in people

108. Brought out the worst in people

109. Worn a mood ring

110. Ridden a horse

111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap

112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe

113. Buried a child

114. Gone to a Broadway play on Broadway

115. Been inside the pyramids

116. Shot a basketball into a basket

117. Danced at a disco

118. Played in a band

119. Shot a bird

120. Gone to an arboretum

121. Tutored someone

122. Ridden a train

123. Brought an old fad back into style

124. Eaten caviar

125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn't need

126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant

127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt

129. Lived in an historic place

130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage

131. Asked for a raise

132. Made a hole-in-one

133. Gone deep sea fishing

134. Gone roller skating

135. Run a marathon

136. Learned to surf

137. Invented something

138. Flown first class

139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite

140. Flown in a helicopter

141. Visited Africa

142. Sang a solo

143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment

145. Written a love-story

146. Seen Michelangelo's David

147. Had your portrait painted

148. Written a fan letter

149. Spent the night in something haunted

150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane

151. Ran away

152. Learned to juggle

153. Been a boss

154. Sat on a jury

155. Lied about your weight

156. Gone on a diet

157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget

158. Written a poem

159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox

160. Gotten food poisoning

161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission

162. Hiked the Grand Canyon

163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks

164. Gone to the opera

165. Gotten a letter from someone famous

166. Worn knickers

167. Ridden in a limousine

168. Attended the Olympics

169. Can hula or waltz

170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books
171. Been stuck in an elevator

172. Had a revelatory dream

173. Thought you might crash in an airplane

174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert

175. Saved someone's life

176. Eaten raw whale

177. Know how to sew
178. Laughed till your side hurt

179. Straddled the equator

180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing

181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival

182. Sent a message in a bottle

183. Spent the night in a hotel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

186. Joined a union

187. Donated blood or plasma

188. Built a campfire

189. Kept a blog

190. Had chicken pox

191. Worn custom made shoes or boots

192. Made a PowerPoint presentation

193. Taken a Hunter's Safety Course

194. Served at a soup kitchen

195. Conquered the Rubik's cube

196. Know CPR

197. Ridden in or owned a convertible

198. Found a long lost friend

199. Helped solve a crime

200. Gotten a professional massage

A New Development

This afternoon, I headed into the kids' room at my Mom & Dad's house to get Kierra, she had just waken up from her afternoon nap. I heard her whinning a little and decided I'd go in and see if maybe she was just uncovered or something and would go back to sleep but instead, this is what I found when I entered the room...

I just don't want to believe that my 7 1/2 month old baby girl is already pulling herself up :-( I just wish she could stay little forever....and oh the horror...the next stage is walking!!! Wish me luck!!!

Bed Rest???

Just wanted to update everyone that I need to go back to Grangeville today for the next two weeks. My mom has had a broken leg for 9 weeks and just discovered today that she has a blood clot in her thigh. The doctors have put her on bed rest for the next two weeks with the only movement permitted when she needs to go to the bathroom or take one of two trips to the hospital a day for shots. Since my dad has to work, I become her caretaker. Hopefully we can get her healed up in time for the Henderson (her family) Family Reunion which is scheduled to take place on the 18th & 19th of this month. Please keep her in your prayers that this blood clot goes away and doesn't cause any more problems with her health. I'm going to try and still add updates but we'll see how the time goes.

Mundt Family Vacation a.k.a Border Days

Well for those of you who do not know or have not read my past posts, Border Days is the annual Fourth of July event for my hometown of Grangeville, Idaho. This was the 97th year! It is home to Idaho's oldest rodeo as well as the largest egg toss event you will EVER see. We celebrate it for a full three days surrounding the 4th. This year, it was the 3rd through the 5th. Brad and I loaded up the car and headed for Grangeville on the 1st. We spent time visiting family and tried to get settled for the upcoming days. Each day of Border Days starts out at 9am with the Street Sports. Here, children and adults of all ages race on the street for money. Pre-school and under kids receive a 50 cent piece for their participation but all other kids and adults are only awarded for placing in the top 3. If you get first you win $3, second you win $2 and third, $1. After all age groups both male and female race, the streets or rather the benches are cleared and the street is full of teams of two getting ready for the Egg Toss. This year, we made a new record with 1400 participants tossing on the 4th...that's a lot of busy chickens to support the throwing of 700 eggs...and that is just one day...remember, there are three days of this stuff!!! My brother Brad and Bradley have ran in the men's open division of the races each year and have participated in the egg toss each year as well. Between the two of them, they always place in the races and have one the egg toss 5 times together.

Brad & Bradley getting ready to "THROW THE EGG"

One of the trick throws...the between the legs hike pass

Unfortunately, they didn't win this year but hey, there's always next year :) Jeylin has ran in the races as long as I can remember however, Jordyn has never wanted to. This year was different however...she had a little persuasion from her Auntie Jo during the Nielson family reunion and therefore ran all three days....taking 3rd place on the last day!!!

Jordyn in her street race debut, July 3rd

Jeylin races this same kid every year...this year, Jeylin made him trip. Don't worry, it was an accident and the kid was just fine.

Jordyn also participated in the egg toss for the first time too but she soon got bored and Jeylin had to step in and help (only because his egg had already broke).

On the night of the 4th, we all head up to the High School football field for the fireworks show!! This year was the first year that we have had an electronic launching system and so the show was to be the best yet. It was shorter than past years since the fireworks could launch faster but the grand finale was the best I've ever seen and I have been going for the past 29 years. Unfortunately, I had turned my video camera off about two minutes prior and missed the entire thing. The kids loved them including Kierra and they also loved the sparklers they had at Nana & Papa's house.

These especially made Kierra laugh...but this is her giggling at the big fireworks on the 4th...

Here are some fireworks shots...sorry they aren't the best quality. It is very hard to capture something like that at night with slow shutter speed and no tripod but oh well, you get the idea.

The Nielson Family Reunion

I figured since I really had nothing better to write that I would give you all an update or rather, a recap, of our summer vacations. We started off with the Nielson Family Reunion. The entire family joined together (all 17 of us) for a trip to the beach on June 27th. This was so much fun even though the water was not as warm as we would have liked. One of the highlights was playing with a super huge inner tube like raft that my mother-in-law purchased at a yard sale for only $10!!!! We definitely got her money's worth. We used it as a "slip-n-slide" and also incorporated it into a football game....sort of like smear the queer. It was quite fun after you got over the chill of the water.

This is a picture of Korry (the youngest brother) sliding off the make-shift slip-n-slide into the river...

Here he is jumping OVER the raft.

This is a picture of all the grandkids (with the exception of our little Kierra) and Auntie Jo enjoying some time on the tube before the big "kids" take it away...

On the 28th, we all made the trip to Pullman (a mere 30-45 minutes away) to eat Chinese food and to enjoy a small, refreshing jaunt up a hill (1/2 mile) to see the vast palouse landscape. Here are a couple pictures from that trip as well...

Brad & I with Kierra at the top and the landscape shot

We finished the reunion with a family photo shoot on the 29th...here is one of many...

Unfortunately, Korry & Taffee had to leave a day earlier than the rest of the family so on the day that Dan & Maria took them to the airport, the rest of us (except Laura & Ellie) headed to the aquatic center....we just didn't think we had had enough sun or water. I would post pictures of that however, none of them really capture all of us that went and mostly they just include the three kids, Jordyn, Jeylin & Makayla splashing around. We all had a lot of fun and I think we have decided that we will be taking next year off so that the following year, 2010, we can all head to Yellowstone National Park and be able to save up enough money to travel and participate in a lot more fun. Until we all meet again!!!

Updated Pictures of Jeylin's Egg Toss Experience

Just thought I'd let you all know that I posted new pictures to Jeylin's Egg Toss Post.

Jeylin's First Egg Toss Experience

For years, we have all sat on the sidelines and watched Brad & Bradley compete and usually win the egg toss but this year, Jeylin decided he wanted to start practicing....possibly so he can take their places when they're too old to play :) While the Border Days Committee members were passing out the eggs this morning, Jeylin looked at Nana Rita and asked "Where's my egg?" to which she responded, "Do you want Papa to do the egg toss with you?". His eyes lit up and he immediately said YES!!! So, Papa jumps into the street, grabs an egg and he and Jeylin get in line with everyone else. Jeylin was doing great but could not grasp one important concept...YOU MUST WAIT FOR THE ANNOUNCER TO SAY "1....2....3....THROW THE EGG" BEFORE YOU THROW THE EGG!!! Even though he handled it very well, this made the egg toss a little more like an egg smash for Papa. The egg started with Jeylin and he tossed to to Papa. Papa tossed it back to Jeylin who, to my amazement, caught it with no problem. But then, he proceeded to grab it and throw with all his might back at Papa! Good thing he wasn't looking away because he caught it, gave it back to Jeylin and then they started again. Jeylin threw it one more time and then Papa threw it back but the third time, Jeylin tossed it at Papa's feet and they were done. It was pretty darn cute though. Looks like this tradition isn't going to end anytime soon. I didn't get a video of it but I do have a picture so here you go, here's Jeylin Michael Nielson in his Egg Toss debut...