Natalie's Photography

Every year at school there is a "reflections" art contest. Kids can enter music compositions, drawings, dance, 3D art, and photography.

This year's theme was: The world would be a better place if...

Natalie decided her theme would be:

The world would be a better place if, people stopped cutting down trees.

She loves animals and knows that certain species are being threatened since they are losing their habitat. To show her theme in an artistic way she chose photography. She wanted pictures with lots of trees showing the beautiful fall colors. She took the all pictures herself and I was impressed with her natural talent for composition! I showed her a few editing techniques and then moved out of her way to let her edit them.  Here are her 2 favorites:

We have a budding photographer in the house!


Update:
Natalie won an award for her photograph and now it will go on to the next level of competition!

Nelson Family Reunion

We had a fun 3 day reunion with Jeremy's family in June, up at a cabin up by Park City. We have stayed there before, but it had been 5 years! 

It was so nice to disconnect and just enjoy each other's company. We had 2 four wheelers there which the kids were very excited to ride. We remembered that last time we were there, Kai called them feelers. "I want to go on a feeler ride!" he'd say.

While there we celebrated Ellie and Natalie's birthday since theirs are only a few days apart.

There were plenty of games to be played. Jamie and Jake were in charge of bingo. They even brought prizes! Kai and Nicole went for the candy, Natalie found a few treasures.

Best friends! Ellie groups all our kids together and just calls, "come here cousins!" 

More games! Julie and Tyler did a fun scavenger hunt for us all, too.

The girls loved having a bath in the jetted tub.

Dad's turn to drive the kiddos.

Of course we couldn't leave without a group picture. Jeremy went to great lengths helping me set it up.

All the siblings went for one last ride before we left. It is so beautiful up there!

Love you all!

Hare Krishna Temple Tour

Jeremy had a colleague visiting from India and we wanted to do something fun for him while he was here so he wouldn't have to sit in his hotel room. We went to the Hare Krishna Temple here in Spanish Fork for a tour and dinner. It is a really beautiful building complete with a working farm, garden, fish pond, and all sorts of animals. 

They rent out their llamas to backpackers and let us take two for a walk. Each kid got a chance to walk them up and down the stairs too. It was a fascinating experience.

Pinewood Derby

Last year Kai's car was a big disappointment, he got last in EVERY race! Luckily he was a good sport and wasn't too upset. We used the same car this year and tried to make it faster. Sadly, it only did slightly better, placing second to last or last. This time Kai was pretty sad since this was probably his last derby. Of course the cars that won were clearly designed and built by their dads. We actually let Kai do all of his. He did get a certificate for the most elaborate car though.

School Fundraiser Fun

At the beginning of the year the kids' school had their annual fundraiser. They all liked the bounce houses and slides the best. We were amazed that Jamal even conquered the huge one, it was the biggest one I've ever seen. I thought he'd be scared, but he didn't even flinch. 

Slumber Party - Sheep Style

Two adorable lambs got to have a sleep over at our house (long story). Anyway, the kids were heart broken when they found out they weren't staying so I did a little photo shoot for memory sake.

Kai and Natalie loved these two, and what's not to love they are sooo cute! Although in the morning they were covered with poop, but still cute nonetheless. The kids named them Brownie and Snowbell.

Nicole thought they were cute and played for a little while and then got bored. She likes animals, but only in small doses. 

Natalie walked around the yard singing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and thought it was so funny that they followed her. 

Remember how Nicole got bored? Well she then took the opportunity to photo bomb as many pictures as she could. She was a little jealous of the attention the lambs were getting. 

Ahhh, so cute!