The Nielsens

Happy Birthday Kristjan!!

Kristjan turned 7 last week!!! Since it landed on a Thursday, we had a small celebration with just the four of us. I like to make my boys a special dinner and dessert of their choosing. Kristjan's request was the Papa Murphey's little kid pizzas, where they get to assemble it themselves. We picked up one for each boy, and then a normal pizza for Pete and I. For dessert, we had mint chocolate chip ice cream (his favorite!). Pete and I gave Kristjan his gifts from us, plus cards that came in the mail from grandparents. Family called off and on thru the evening to wish him a Happy Birthday. It was so funny. At one point he was talking to his Aunt Dee when I heard him say "Can I be done talking now?" Both boys haven't figured out that on the day of their birthday, everyone will be calling lol.

Mini frosted donuts I made for Kristjan to share
with his class. All week he kept telling his teacher
about these :)

Mini Chefs!

Presents!!

Go See It!

Kristjan was busy the month of February attending Go See It! trips with his den for Cub Scouts. They went to the library, a fire station, and a printing press.

Lynnwood Library: We went one evening to the library. the boys learned how books are checked in and out, how to look for a book, and even signed up for their very own library card!

Lynnwood Fire Station: The next trip was to the fire station. I was exhausted that evening, so I had Pete go in my place. I'm guessing the boys were shown around, and were able to see some pretty cool stuff. Unfortunately, the trip was cut short due to a call coming in. BUT the boys got to watch them get ready and leave for it!

Sound Publishing: This was the last requirement for the boys in order to rank. We were hoping on the tour to be able to see actual publishing going on, but for whatever reason, they were running a little behind. BUT they gave each boy a huge roll of paper, which seemed to be a hit with them :)

( A Short) Winter Backpacking Trip

Pete recently took Clifford on a winter backpacking trip to somewhere in North Bend. They met up with his friends Nic and Nate. Their plan was to hike up as far as they wanted and then campout for the weekend. Pete said it started off great, with no snow whatsoever. But as they continued on, that soon changed. From my understanding, they made it as far as to the trailhead. They camped somewhere off to the side. The plan was for them to stay a few nights, but they all came home after one. They were cold and wet. There wasn't enough room for Nic and Nate's tent. I was told they worked hard to get a fire going, only to have a HUGE rock fall and land right on top it. Pete said the noise of the rock falling was loud, and that if Clifford had been anywhere near the fire, it would have crushed him. Scary! Pete sent me a text the next afternoon when they were on their way home. I wasn't too disappointed. It happened to be a 3-day weekend, and all I really wanted was for all of us to be home together doing absolutely nothing.

Clifford and Pete ready for
their hiking adventure!

Trail looks good so far...

..until they hiked around the corner
and saw this.

Clifford crawled in and took a nap
once Pete had the tent set up.

Guys trying to get a fire going

Pic of Pete's new tent

Not sure what Clifford's doing here,
but this is after they hiked back to the car

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day this year was uneventful for us. Boys had their "friendship" parties at school. I instructed Kristjan to not eat any candy until he came home. Clifford, however, ate all of his in class and didn't have any to bring home (surprise! surprise!). We fixed up an ordinary dinner before heading over to the Hazard's house to plan the scout's Blue & Gold party (I'm on PTA with Shane, his wife Sherri is the scout's treasurer, and both their boys go to school/scouts with our boys). The next evening was the school's Valentine Dance. Shane and I set up the dance. Earlier that day I baked up some goodies for the bake sale. Clifford did a bit a dancing that evening, but mainly hung out with his friend Matthew. They scammed me and Matthew's mom all night: Clifford would get money from me for treats and then share with Matthew. Then Matthew would get money from his mom for treats and share with Clifford. They thought they had us fooled, but we both knew what was going on. Kristjan didn't really dance, though he did participate in the Limbo, and ate a lot of candy. By the end of it all, both boys were wired. Pete ditched me at the dance to go grocery shopping for his camping trip the next day. As I said, very uneventful. I think next year Valentine's Day falls on a Friday. Maybe we'll plan ahead and do something fun.

Boys made their own Valentine's

Valentine treats for
Clifford 'n Kristjan's teachers

Treats for the bake sale (the cupcake
is a layer of brownie and a layer of cake!)

Clifford 'n Kristjan's Family Birthday Party!

The first weekend in February we had the boys' joint family birthday party. It was a small crowd this year, but fun nevertheless! My family drove up from Yakima, including my brother Roddy and his family from Tri-Cities. That was exciting because they recently moved up from California after his discharge from the Navy. It was great to visit with him and his wife Tricia, along with their 2 cute boys Riley and Conner. The entire Brignone clan came as well (lol they have so may kids that we don't refer to them as a "family" anymore), who happened to be moving up north to Mount Vernon that weekend as well. As all our parties do, it went great! Lots of fun and laughs. The boys are definitely well loved by everyone :)

Kristjan giving Grandma hugs!