Announcing the Arrival....

Announcing the arrival of the newest family member:
ANDREW JENSEN NIELSON
6 lbs. 10 oz.
19 1/4 inches

Andrew was born yesterday. Delivery was nice and quick. It has been so fun to bring a new baby home. The kids have just giggled at every little squeek and move that he makes. They are all so proud of him!




What a cutie!

Can you tell that Brigham was bored with the hospital? Bodell and Shae were VERY EXCITED about the arrival of their new brother.

The whole family. WOW-- FOUR kids!

I always think newborns look so funny in their big carseats!

Picnic at Comb

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful spring weather in January on Saturday. We packed a lunch and headed for Comb. The kids had a great time climbing the trees and playing in the dirt. At one point we realized that we hadn't seen Brigham for a while. When we found him he had stripped down and was playing naked in the soft dirt. When he saw Josh coming he quickly jumped face forward in the dirt (still naked) and did a reverse snow angel. It was quite a funny site. Brigham could have stayed out there all day.

Brigham after the naked escapade.

Sydney posing in one of the many trees she climbed.

The rest of the kids, not quite as brave as Sydney.

My First Professional Gig

I was asked to play in a community concert. I needed to prepare enough pieces to play for about 25 minutes. I have been dreading the event. Last night was the concert. I was very relieved when it was over. The event coordinators gave me an envelope when I was there. I thought it was probably a thank you card. When I opened it, it was a check. I guess I am now a professional pianist!

We did not take pictures at the concert. Here I am at home showing off my prize money. I guess I have no more pride if I am displaying my picture when I am nine months pregnant.

Balloon Festival

We went to the Bluff Balloon Festival this weekend. It was beautiful watching the balloon along the red rocks. The kids liked predicting which balloon was going to be up first. Although they liked watching all the balloons in the sky, I think their favorite part was the hot chocolate and breakfast at Twin Rocks.

Design on a Dime

My project last week was to re-do Brigham's room to get it ready for the baby. Brigham was still sleeping in a crib because I didn't want to add another bed to the small room until I absolutely had to. Here is my re-creation of the boys' room:

BEFORE:

There wasn't much to this room before.


BORING!

AFTER:

This is our re-design on a budget. We didn't buy any new furniture. That bed came from Josh's house. He slept on it when he was a kid. In any other room, I think it would look horrible, but I think it looks great with the cowboy theme. It is hard to tell from these pictures, but we painted the walls and added a window seal (I did that window seal myself!) Brigham has been so proud to sleep in his BIG BOY bed! The girls are quite jealous of the room makeover. Now they are begging me to start on theirs.

I have been itching to use my new scroll saw that I got for Christmas, so I decided to cut out the
"Howdy" from wood. I was happy with the result!

Just a side note: We have had this new bedding on for a week. Brigham has already thrown-up on it. I can't remember the last time he threw up. I guess he was just waiting for some brand new bedding! It has been properly broken in!

Shae's All About Me Week

Shae's kindergarten spotlights a child each week. Shae's spotlight was last week. She was so excited to make her poster and talk about it in class. On Friday I went in and talked about Shae and we played "Shae BINGO." Shae had a perma-grin the entire time. It was cute to see. She is such a fun and energetic kid. For a treat we brought OREOs (one of Shae's favorite snacks.)

Josh Finally Gets His Deer

Well, Josh didn't get a deer during bow season, and he was sad that he didn't draw out for rifle. I guess he was feeling a little sad that he didn't get a deer last year so he decided to go hunting this morning on his way to work. I will admit his choice of weapon is a little unorthodox.

In case you were wondering, yes this is the car that we bought BRAND NEW last year!


Anyone want to come over for some road kill venison tonight? YUM! YUM!