Grand Canyon and Utah Trip

We finally visited the Grand Canyon! This was the first time either of us had been. Before going to the Grand Canyon we met up with Daniel and Andrea in Sedona, Arizona. Daniel had just finished taking the bar exam in California, so we all celebrated with an end of the summer trip. The Grand Canyon was beautiful!

Belle and I then drove up to Utah with Daniel and Andrea. We had so many fun times while there! We met my family in Cedar City for the Shakespeare Festival, had a Ricks Family Reunion in Ogden, made some fun crafts, and altogether had a great time!!

Livin' the "high" life.

 

We're on top of the world!

 

Fun family photo

 

In Sedona, with the beautiful red rock!

 

At the Shakespeare Festival...and yes we ate some of the yummy cream cheese tarts!

 

Kissing cousins!

 

A proud moment for this soccer mom!

 

Two peas in a pod.

 

Beautiful walk at the Ricks Reunion.
Many of the proud descendants of LeVere Ricks. (About half of them were able to come to the reunion.)
Painting Amanda's room hot pink with a black trim! So girly, I love it!
Eating peach rainbows at Pace's Dairy Ann!
Crocheting cute hats! (Yes, I realize this doesn't fit Belle...it was made for a newborn, and she is definitely not a newborn anymore!)
Just my cute sisters! And we are on a hill...I am at least two inches shorter than both of them!

Weekend Away

Here are some of the highlights from our weekend rendezvous in California. Thanks Blaine and Amy for inviting us to come and stay with you!
Classic Disneyland picture.
Belle seemed to like the carousel ride, but her favorite was It's a Small World.
Ethan, Abigail, and Belle were so tired by the end of the day!
This little seal swam up on shore at La Jolla beach. Blaine snapped a picture before a nearby seal advocate reprimanded us.
Perfect timing, wouldn't ya say?
Our first time at the San Diego temple. It really is so beautiful!
Belle's first time in the ocean. She cried for the first two minutes...then LOVED it!
Look at those cute chubby legs.
Nothin' like a day at the beach with no tan to show for it!
It was so fun watching the kids play together.
Belle venturing off.
Yep, still always trying to get the camera.
Belle's future beau?

Nielson Family Reunion...and then some

As Platte often says, "we've made some good memories" in June and July. (He always asks Belle, "Do you want to make a memory today, huh?") We made a trip to Blanding for the Nielson Family Reunion over the July 4th weekend. Part of the reunion was held out on Elk Mountain at Platte's old cabin. We caught frogs, went hiking, rode horses, looked for deer, and ate lots of good food. Afterward, everyone watched fireworks from Josh's (Platte's brother) front lawn. It was a good ending to a long and eventful day: running the 5K bright and early, going to the parade, and making the trek out to Elk Mountain. It was great to be around family. All together, there were over 100 descendants of Platte's grandparents, Joseph and Marian Nielson.

After we returned, my sister Whitney was able to come spend a few days with us in Mesa. She hadn't seen Belle for 4 months and was amazed how much she had grown up! She seemed to think that Belle's hair had grown a lot, even though there still isn't much of it! She had fun watching Belle eat normal "grown-up" food, crawl, stand up and walk against everything, and read books. (Belle can turn pages with the best of them.) Her favorite book is "That's not my puppy..." because it is a touchy
-feely book and she loves to play with the different textures on each page. While she was here, Whitney took us out to one of our favorite restaurants. Thanks for everything, Whit! Come back soon.
Family picture in front of the saddle shed.
Belle's new favorite game.
The Preston Nielson clan.
Belle is scared of horses just like her mom (or as Platte says, like her Uncle France).
Beautiful picture, isn't it? Ha ha.
Trying to catch frogs in one of the Peavine ponds.
Our favorite bear's ear.
The bear's other ear.
At the classic Blanding 4th of July Parade.
Trying to get in touch with our Nielson pioneer heritage. This was at Bluff Fort.
She LOVES ice cream!
"I want to walk over here, Dad!"
Silly girl.
Whitney reading Belle a bedtime story.
Dairy Queen--a Ricks favorite!
Belle seriously loves to read!

Summer Fun

We are so happy that it is finally summertime. For us, summertime means time with family, fun in the sun, good books, and most importantly...no school! We visited with our families over Memorial Day weekend and had so much fun. It was great to be away from the heat and enjoy the Utah weather. We wished we could have stayed longer but Platte had to come back to start his job. He is working as an intern in the legal department of U-Haul International, Inc. U-Haul's corporate offices are in Phoenix. He is excited to learn a lot from working there this summer.

Belle has been growing up so much lately. She has increased her crawling speed to an all-time high, and thinks she can go anywhere she pleases. She is obsessed with standing up on anything and everything in the house--chairs, couches, walls, you name it. She has so much energy it is unbelievable. Belle's new favorite hobby is making all sorts of funny noises with her mouth--she chatters away, she spits with her tongue, and most recently she makes fish faces. It is hilarious. She seriously does it all day long. As you can see we are having so much fun observing her and watching her grow up!

Belle was supposed to be helping grandpa weed the flower beds. Instead she ate dirt.
Belle just hanging out.
Belle's first time swimming. It took her a while, but she eventually loved it!
Swimming with my family at the Rec Center in Bountiful.
Belle and Olivia playing together, or at least that's what we were trying to get them to do.
Dinner with my family, except Whitney. We missed you!
Belle with her favorite friend.
Belle loves playing with her Dad!
Fish Face.
Johann Sebastian Belle.