Nelson Family Blog: August 2022

Sunday, August 28, 2022

First Day of School 2022

It's hard to believe it, but the kids are back in school. We survived the first 3 days of school, and they actually went pretty well. The kids are doing their homework without too much complaining, having good attitudes, and working pretty neatly. I hope all those things continue.

Emma is a 5th grader this year. This might be a hard year for her, I think there will be a lot of homework and work involved with the school year, but I know she can do it. She has catechism this year, which is a lot of busy work, but we just have to stay on top of things and we will be fine. Emma is also going to do piano again this year, and she might play on a basketball team this fall. So, we have plenty of things to keep us busy this school year.

Elliott is a 2nd grader this year. He is excited because he is the tallest kid in Mrs. Knuth's classroom, and he gets to be one of the older kids to help some of the younger kids. Elliott asked to play piano this year, so we will start lessons with him, hopefully he enjoys that. I didn't sign Elliott up for soccer this fall, so we will just have to stay active outside at home, and maybe look into soccer in the spring.

Overall, the kids enjoy school. They have great friends, teachers, and it's a wonderful learning environment. They get frustrated with the homework sometimes, but I'm planning on us having a good school year.

I took the day off from work and dropped the kids off at school. They were pretty excited to be back at school. After school, we had some snacks, played some games, and they filled me in on how the first day went.

Today, we had the Bethel Bike ride after church. We rode 7 miles round trip from Bethel to Family Park. Both kids did really well on the bike ride and we all had a good time. After the ride, we had some ice cream treats back at the church, and then we went home. It was a fun afternoon.

Lately, Elliott has been really into fishing. Right now, John, Emma and Elliott are fishing by Hartford. Elliott loves to fish and even got a new tackle box that he is super proud of. This morning, I got a lesson about all the tackle that is in Elliott's tackle box. He is so happy to talk about fishing. It's really fun to see Elliott develop a new hobby.

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

40th Anniversary at Diamond Lake

While John and I were celebrating our 12 year anniversary, my parents were celebrating their 40th Anniversary. 40 years! That's crazy.

My parents did take a little trip for their anniversary. They went to Chippewa Falls, Stillwater, and a few other towns in Wisconsin. They just explored the towns, state parks, and breweries in the area, and just had a fun little week.

Over the weekend, all of us kids and significant others went to the lake to spend some time with mom and dad for their anniversary. We got to the lake around 6:00pm, and got settled in. Ryan and Emily were there already, and we all enjoyed a nice burger and brat supper and then a really nice fire. The kids had fun with some of the other kids at the lake, and we just had a nice time.

On Saturday, we had a breakfast brunch with some of the other campers at the lake who are friends with mom and dad. It was a really good brunch with a lot of food, and good company. Rachel, Carlos, and Elena arrived around noon. The kids played some baseball with some of the other kids, and we all enjoyed just hanging out, playing bags, drinking beer, and visiting. Elliott got really into fishing with Carlos, and spent most of the afternoon doing that. Emma and Elena had a lot of fun playing at the park and in the camper together.

For supper, Ryan made us a shrimp boil. It was delicious. It had shrimp, fresh sweet corn, fresh potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and homemade sausage. It was great. After supper, the kids and Rachel and Carlos headed to town to swim in the pool at the hotel they got, and then the kids ended up sleeping there because it got so late. So, we had a quiet evening with no kids at the campsite. We played a little 31, had another fire, and just visited.

On Sunday. we had a nice pancake breakfast, and then we played some ladder golf and started slowing packing up. The kids got back to the campsite around 2:00pm. We ate a quick lunch, took some photos, and then headed back home around 4:00pm. It was a fun, quick, weekend of family time. We spent time catching up, eating good food, and of course drinking good beer.

It was fun to spend time with everyone, and celebrate mom and dad a little. We all got them some gifts, and just enjoyed each other's company.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!!

Turner County Fair 2022

Another Turner County Fair has come and gone. It was a little bit different this year. Since everyone was home for Jeff's wedding, we didn't have all the extended family in town for the fair, so that was kind of unusual. But, it was still a fun fair.

Once again, I camped with the kids for the duration of the fair. It was really fun, but I was definitely ready to be done with the fair when it was over.

On Sunday, we moved into the camper, and then we checked in the bunnies in the afternoon. We also checked in the open class projects and then the 4-H projects (Emma had 21 projects!!). It was a little stressful having specific times and schedules to keep, and wagon loads of projects to mark and drop off. It's always a little crazy and un-organized, but we survived and got them all checked in. After that, we enjoyed the free BBQ supper and ice cream, and then we settled into the camper and relaxed for the rest of the evening. John went back home to work, and the kids and I enjoyed a movie and went to bed.

On Monday, Emma and I had to help with the 4-H judging. We helped hang up the posters and carry the projects to the judges. It was fun to help, but it got kind of long and boring. Eventually, Emma wandered to the camper to take a nap (she was fighting a bad cold). John came back around noon, and hung out with us until the bunny show at 4:00pm. Both kids did a really good job with the bunny show. Elliott did really well, and got his Cloverbud ribbon. He also even tried to do the showmanship part, and he learned a lot from that experience. Emma just did the regular bunny show (no showmanship) and she got a purple ribbon for her bunny again this year. Both kids were really happy. Jeff and Samantha came out that evening, and the kids had fun showing them their projects, and then being spoiled with treats and food all evening.

The kids did really well on their projects at the fair. Emma got a best of show ribbon for her mini succulent garden, and then she got an outstanding ribbon for her purple flower photo. So, that was super exciting. She also got mostly purple ribbons on the rest of her projects. She got a blue on her conservation poster, a red on a stick picture frame, and then a white ribbon on her clay candle holder. Overall, she was very happy and proud of her projects (as were her parents!!). She also won the people's choice award for a picture of Chase that she took and submitted in open class. That was another great highlight.

Elliott also did really well with his projects. He had to enter most of his in open class since he is still a Cloverbud. He got a Best of Show ribbon for his jeans flower container her made at Cloverbud camp. He was so proud of that, and he had to show it to everybody. He also got mostly blue ribbons, with a couple reds sprinkled in. He also got a special recognition award for his Pokemon diamond art project he submitted in the small fry category. He really enjoyed showing off all his projects to anybody who would come with him.

Tuesday was a quieter day at the fair. We spent the morning doing bunny chores, checking out the commercial exhibits, and then I had to watch the 4-H building for an hour in the late morning. After lunch, we headed home for showers, laundry, and to get ready for open house for school. The kids had fun bringing in their school supplies, seeing their friends, and starting to think about school again. It was a beautiful evening, and we had a good time with the kids. We also ate some Chik-Fil-A, which the kids enjoyed. We decided to sleep at home in real beds, and then head out to the fair the next morning.

On Wednesday, we got out to the fair in the late morning. My parents decided to drive over for the day, and check out the fair since they had never been there. The kids LOVED showing my parents the fair. They showed them the bunnies, and all the projects, and then all the buildings on the fairgrounds. My parents also bought them lunch and some wristbands for rides, and my dad even rode a ride with the kids. By early evening, my parents were ready to leave, and then the Tomczaks showed up to the fair. So, we got to explore the fairgrounds all over again. Plus, the kids got to ride some rides with Johnny, Anna, and Abby. We were very busy, hot, and a little overwhelmed. It was great to have so much company, but I'm not sure I've ever played tour guide quite so often. But, it was a great afternoon, and it was not hard to put those kids to bed that night. John came out and joined us after work, and then spent the night in the camper to help in the food stand the next day.

Thursday was another busy day. We started working in the 4-H food stand at 6:30 am and then worked until about noon. We were fairly busy, so the time went pretty quickly. It's always fun to work in the food stand, but I was ready to be done by the time our shift was over. The kids really enjoyed working in the food stand, they were a little sad when it was over. We went back to the camper for naps and relaxing, and then Polzins showed up to the fair. The kids got wristbands again, and they rode rides with the Polzins all afternoon. We also showed them all the projects and the bunnies. After the Polzins left, the kids rode the Sizzler with Grandma Barb and then Emma and Elliott rode the Zipper. Elliott was convinced he wanted to ride the zipper, and then I think he was a little terrified on it. He said he will never, ever, ever going to ride that ride again. I don't think he enjoyed it. I feel ya, kid.

The kids did participate in the Tractor Pull, but neither of them placed in their age category. Then, we all ate our last fair food supper, and then at 9:00pm, we went to pick up the projects and bunnies. It was a little crazy and stressful, but we got all the projects, ribbons, and premium money, and then got out of there. The kids and I spent one final night in the camper. We watched a movie, and then all 3 of us happily went to bed.

Friday, was basically a pack up and go home day. We packed up, packed the camper up, and then finally went home. We all showered, unpacked, and re-packed, and relaxed for a while before getting ready to head to Minnesota to go camping.

What. A. Week. I was so proud of the kids during the week. They acted very well, did well in their projects, and they had a great time at the fair. Elliott loved getting his bunny out of his cage, and then letting people pet his bunny while they walked through the bunny barn. He is so good at talking with people, engaging with them, and making them laugh. He makes me so happy. And Emma loved her independence to just run with her friends and do her own thing, she is getting so grown up, I can't handle it.