Ryker Says...

Ryker was doing one of his chores and I told him I loved him a lot.  He then said "Do you love me 10?"  I then replied more then 10.  He then said " 100?"  I said, " way more then 100?"  He said,"  100,000,000?"  I said "that is a big number but it might even be more then that."  To this he responded "that is the last number!"

A little later I asked Ryker to stop growing because he was getting to big.  He said," I can't it is Jesus's plan for us to grow up.  You are even going to grow up mom."

Our Dad and Papa

This is a post in tribute to our Dad and Papa.  On Veterans day (November 11, 2013) Shane's dad past away from complications due to Renal Cell Carcinoma.  He had been fighting it for a little over a year.  When he was diagnosed he was stage 4 which means the cancer had spread from his kidney to his bones and lungs.  Renal Cell Carcinoma is a cancer that love to eat away bone.  This was very painful for dad because it attacked his vertebrae.  When they found out he had cancer they scheduled surgery to remove the tumor that was once a kidney.  It was apparently very large.  This surgery took a toll on dad and was very hard for him and mom.  Dad tried very hard to beat this cancer we all prayed very hard and we kept in close contact with one another.  He tried Eastern medicine along with Western medicine.  I think they tried about everything they could think of.

I wanted to share this blog post with you and to remind my kids of some of the fun and wonderful experiences that they have had with their Papa.  We love you Dad!
Dad/Papa and Grandma were able to come for every baby blessing.

Reese's Blessing day.  (October  2011)

 Dad helped mom build this marshmallow guns for the family reunion.  The family had so much fun with them.

One of his many passions was taking pictures.  We treasure all of the pictures that he took.

 One thing that you could always count on is dad getting his kids involved in the things that he enjoyed.    When we were first married it was Racket ball, then golf, biking, cameras and motorcycles.  If you look closely you can see that Tanner is holding a camera very similar to Dads.

 We started to have family reunions which are wonderful.  The first place was out by the ocean.  This  is one of many taken there with all of us camera's in hand.  I am sure that dad has many, many pictures that we will be enjoying for years to come.

 This is the way Dad would love to travel.

 Grandma and Papa going to capture some of the greatest sights around.  Grandma is such a patient person.  Sometimes Papa would be taking pictures in one place for an hour.  She learned to bring a book.  :)

 Papa is holding Lauren with all of her Barbies.  I believe that I have pictures of all my girls doing this same thing.  He couldn't turn down a little kid sitting next to  him and just enjoy being together.

 Here is a picture of Dad opening a gift.  Look it is some of his favorites!  He did share with us which we were all wondering if he would.  It wasn't always the big things that brought joy but the yummy things too.

 When ever we went to go visit Papa and Grandma this is where you would find Brianna.  Sitting with Papa looking at his pictures with him or watching him play solitaire.  Of which he had an amazing record of like 99% correct.  Who can do that???  Well- Papa could that's who.  Brianna sat with him so often that Papa gave her a portfolio of his pictures.  She holds it like a treasure and loves that none of her siblings got one.

 Here is a picture of all the grandkids at that point and Grandma and Papa.  It was hard to get all the kids to look at the camera but we did get it.  I'm sure someone got a better picture but I am sure glad I got this one.  Hey-  Look Ryker isn't grumpy in the picture.  That comes in a few more years.  :)

 I thought this one was a funny one with Dad and his boys.

 Over the past years when dad was out and about this is how you would see him.  Capturing the beauty of what Heavenly Father has given us.  He seemed to find joy in trying to get the perfect picture.  Dad got very good at this.  Although he never quite seemed content with what he was able to do.  The rest of us are amazed at the shots that he got.  It even reminded us that we need to get out and enjoy the beauty of the earth.  Thank you for that gift.

 One year we went down to Utah for a baptism and we took the kids to discover temple square.  When we were there we took a look around the new conference center.  I enjoy this picture of dad enjoying this picture.

 On this time Papa came to visit us was a surprise.  I had just had Reese and Grandma was here to help out for a week.  Papa didn't let anyone know he was coming but when we heard the roar of his Harley we knew that he was here.  All of us were so glad to see him.  He had to put all the kids on the bike.

 His Harley brought him so much joy.  It was sad when he got sick he wasn't able to ride it any longer.   He would go out to the shed and just start it up to listen to it.  I think all of us were hoping that he would be able to ride it again.  When ever any of us see a Harley we think of Papa.  Even Ryker would ask if it was Papa riding by as we got passed by someone on a motorcycle.  It has left a strong impression with him.  Ryker told Shane that he needed to get a Harley when he was a Papa because that is what you do when you are a Papa!

 Lauren and Dad together.  He is helping her open her present.   I don't remember why he was doing it but I do remember him picking her up and willingly helping.

 Papa and Grandma came  for Paige's baptism.   Paige asked Papa to give the talk on the Holy Ghost.  He said that he was honored to do it because that was the first time he was asked to do a talk at one of the grandkids baptism.  The talk was very good.  One that I will always remember.  I don't think that I saw dad cry very often before he got sick but he did that day during his talk.  Dad, thanks for making that day such a great memory for so many of us.

 I think this picture of Heath and dad is funny because dad always seemed to have some new drink/food  that would help him do better on the 100 mile bike ride that they did together.  Heath doesn't look so sure about it.

Here are two different years of their 100 mile bike ride.  I'm still not sure why this was a fun thing for them but they always were willing to do it.  

 They were always glad when the ride was over.  Mom would drive the 100 miles and pick them all up.    That was something that they could always count on.  Mom being there!

 This picture is of one of a few Christmas's that we got to have mom and dad with us.  Reese is in the back as a baby so this was taken in 2011.  That was a fun Christmas.  Ryker got a Thor hammer and Papa had fun hitting him with it.  Papa also got a robot bug that he played with.  The kids had fun watching Papa act like a little kid.   I remember another year where we got Lauren a little basket ball and Papa and Shane would pass it back and forth most of the morning.  It was really fun to watch that kid side of him come out.

After looking through all of these pictures I have come to the conclusion that we need to go and get some more of our older pictures digitalized. 

There are so many things that I could say about this wonderful man.  He taught Shane and I the meaning of a generous Fast Offering, to work hard, look for the beauty Heavenly Father has given us, enjoy the things that bring you joy, serving brings happiness and love your family are just a small portion.   I am happy my kids were able to have a Papa that loved them and cared about how they were  doing. 

We all miss him a lot.  Ryker still prays every night that Papa is having a good time with Jesus.  When he first passed away Ryker prayed that Papa would have fun with his dad and then it moved on that he would have fun with Jesus.  It amazes me how big of impression it made on my little guy.  We will continue to  remember all of the wonderful things about our dad and Papa.  I know that we will be able to be together again one day if we do our part. I am thankful for that knowledge that there is a plan.

Rick and Taryn's Wedding Nov 2nd, 2013

 Well- we have now added a new member to our family.  Welcome Rick to our crazy family!  Their wedding was beautiful.  The weather turned out great for this time of year.  Dad walked Taryn down the isle.  I don't think that there was one dry eye.  It was very tender.

 This is all the of the nieces and nephews that were able to attend.  They enjoyed it especially because of all the leaves.  Can you believe I was able to get a picture of Ryker smiling in a group picture.  CRAZY!

 We have added another boy to the family.  Sorry Rick, the boys are a little out numbered.

 I thought this was a good picture if these siblings.

 Taryn was so sweet with dad.

 Dad and Grandma giving a little hug.

 The newly weds with their parents.

 Taryn had purchased umbrellas for the wedding just in case it was raining.  She got a few pictures with all of us holding them.  I hope that they turn out for them.

 The leaves were just gorgeous.  Taryn and Rick both looked amazing.

 Dad needed to take a little rest.  Lori and Grandma just got done taking a picture with him.

We had lunch at the spaghetti factory.  They cut their cake there.  But we were all so full that we couldn't eat it until later.  I don't really like cake but it was a yummy cake.

Taryn didn't want to get married until she  got Cherylyn and Tanner on face time.  It took some work because the wireless internet wasn't working.  Heath fixed it and then the wedding could begin.  Stephanie was able to prop the ipads up on the deck so they could see it.  So- we were all there.  The open house went well.  The kids all were down stairs watching  The Croods.  Brianna was the only one who had seen it so that worked out well.

Halloween 2013

 We had another great halloween.  The kids dressed up and we all enjoyed spending time together.
Reese was the cutest  snow princess of the year.  Don't you think so?

 Paige was a ninja and enjoyed the no fuss costume.  Paige got to dress up at the end of school and had a little party.  That was the first time in school she had gotten to do that so she was thrilled about that.

 Lauren was a Go-go  girl.   She didn't get to do anything at school and was bummed about that but her lunch helped lift her spirit.  For part of her costume we put glitter on her face which she really enjoyed.

 Brianna was Hermone from Harry Potter.  She read the whole series this summer in 2 1/2 months.  Bri really enjoyed them.   One thing that she will remember was at the middle school she was voted for the best character (costume) and received 6 crunch bars (one of her favorite).  That was really exciting for her.

 Ryker was batman.  He doesn't have half of his costume on in this picture but he does have Mr. Bear.  :)

 Brianna invited her friend to come and trick or treat at her dad's work with us this year.  She stayed and enjoyed some taco soup and then we all headed over to our wards trunk or treat.

 I think that my mantel turned out pretty good this year.  The picture didn't really do it justice though.

 We decorated the trunk of our van for the trunk or treat.  It was fun to let people see our pumpkins.  We don't  usually have very many trick or treaters.

 Here are our pumpkins.  I'll list them from left to right.  Lauren had the snoopy on his dog house, Paige had the cat in the moon light, Ryker had the bat with his letter R,  Shane had the scary face, Brianna had the throwing up pumpkin with a mustache,  I had the snoopy and charlie brown in the moon light, and Reese had the surprised pumpkin.

I also made the kids some fun lunches that I will post soon.  I hope that you all had a enjoyable halloween and look forward to hearing about them.

OK- I'm going to try to update you.

WOW- Time sure does fly.  We have had such a busy year and  I will be trying to update you so hold on!
First, Brianna turned 11 and she went and got her ears pierced.   She was nervous but after the first one it was ok.  She  likes wearing earrings but because of soccer she doesn't get to keep them in very long.

 Christmas came next.

ryker and lauren saying hi to santa.

Here are the kids in front of our tree.

 Next we got to go and visit grandma and papa.  It was great to spend some time with them.  I love that picture.  They are so cute!!!

 Then came Lauren's first time skiing.  Shane likes to take the kids night skiing because it is cheaper.  Lauren enjoyed going with her dad and big sisters.

 Doesn't she look cute.    That is Lauren even though you wouldn't know it.  :)

 Then one night for FHE we took our kids to go and see the temple.  We talked to the kids about how special it is to have one near us.  They all got to touch the temple.  I hope that they will remember how they felt that night.

 Then it was my turn to learn to ski.  I have been trying to figure out a way that I wouldn't have to do this but Shane purchased all my gear and then said it was time. I still don't really think it is for me...  I would rather stay home where it is warm and the shoes on my feet are comfortable.  Over all I'm glad that he wants to spend time with me but I would rather do it in the water.

 Paige then had her turn for a special day when she got her braces off.  We think that her teeth look great.

 Then came a BIG day for Shane he was ordained  as a high priest by his dad.  They came into town on a Friday and then left on Sunday.  It was short but very sweet.  Thank you for coming all this way to make his day so special.

 Rena, Steve and family came to visit us for spring break.  It was a good time.  Reese thought that Zander was fun to be with.

 We did our easter egg hunt on Saturday afternoon.  The little kids got to go first and they had a good time.  Ryker looks upset in this picture but I don't remember why.  I guess that is why I need to do this right when it happens.  :)

 The older kids are waiting to go and get their eggs.  They all had fun.  One funny story is that Rena, Maddie and I went to go and get some change from some money we had at the car wash.  It was late and I put the money in and it spit out dollar coins.  We thought that was great.  Then we got home and realized that we put dollar bills in to get dollar coins.  We laughed really hard.  The little kids could not understand that the coin was a dollar.  It would have been better to just have the dollar bills.  :)

 Sunday morning breakfast.  My sister and family had to leave to get back home.  It is always a sad day for me to see them leave.  We enjoyed the visit.

 The last day of skiing we took the girls up to the mountain to do some day skiing.  It was fun to see them all go.  They were excited to see me on skies.  I  thought I was doing good.  I was keeping up with lauren but at the end of the day she said that I was slow.  I guess I need to go with Ryker.  :)

 Shane with his big girls.

 Shane turned another year older.

 For his birthday I got him a sword from Lord of the Rings.  It is called Sting.  It came late in the mail and he was disappointed that he didn't get it.  A few days later is showed up and he was like a little kid in a candy store.  The kids all wanted a turn with it.  Shane now has it hanging on his wall in the office.

 Lauren had her 6th birthday.  She  was able to invite friends this year and had a blast with them.
They played on the tramp while we were waiting for the pizza to show up.

 They ate pizza, cupcake, ice-cream.  Played games and opened presents.  It was the easiest party that I have ever thrown.  The kids were all very well behaved.

 This year Lauren wanted to play T-ball.  She had fun playing and was good at it.

 I love watching Shane practice with her in the back yard.  Ryker always wanted to practice with them.

 I also got to have another birthday.  YEPPY another year older.

 Here is a picture of Paige's soccer team.  They had a lot of fun together this year.

 Ryker turned 4.  Can you believe my little boy is 4?  I can't.  He loves anything super hero.

 Paige's team played in a soccer tournament and did very good.

 Here is a picture of Lauren up to bat at the end of her season.

 We got to go and visit grandma and papa again. They all wanted to be by papa and watch TV with him.

 On this visit we went on a walk daily.  Lauren enjoyed holding hands with grandma.

 Also with papa.  He left us all in the dust one day because he wanted to get back to the game on TV.  It was one of the finals in the basketball series.  I don't remember who was playing though.

 And then we got to travel down to visit my sister.  We had a lot of fun.  On one of the days the kids rode their scooters to the park and played for awhile until it got to hot.

 I liked these shots I got of the kids coming down the slide.

 Brianna and Maddie being silly.  It is fun to see the older kids enjoy themselves.

 Then on one of the days we got bubbles on the tramp and set up a little pool and had a water party.  It was a hit!

 Then on Saturday we went to warm river and did some floating down the river.  It was fun.  When I was younger we would go camping there.  I miss doing that.

 Reese found a new place for her sunglasses.

 It was close to the 4th of July so we painted the girls fingernails.  I know that you can't really see their nails but we had a good time doing them all different.  By the end I think that we all had a few less brain cells from the smell.  :)

 When we got home it was the 4th of July.  The kid decorated there bikes for the parade.

 The ward had a breakfast at a local park.  It was the first one that Shane has been able to attend since he got his job.  It was nice to have him around.  That night we went to a friends house for a BBQ.

 Ryker and Lauren got to take swim lessons this summer.

 The picture above is of Ryker getting some help jumping off the diving board and Lauren is flying off below.  Brianna and Paige were in the swim team this year which met every morning and swam for an hour.  They both improved a ton this year and both want to do it again.  It was a HIT!

 Then came the rodeo parade that we have alway made it to and then later that night we went to the rodeo.  We had a good time.  The bulls were really good this year.

 One of the young women in our ward help teach Paige some tennis this year.  Paige loved the one on one time with her.  What a great influence it it one her.  Thank you.

 Then came the Nielson family reunion.  Here is a picture of all the grandkids.  Ryker didn't want to get his picture taken.  There isn't one picture that he would look and smile for so enjoy his bad attitude.

 And another picture.  I got so many pictures of the reunion it was had to just pick a few.  Here they are.

 One day we went to the lake.  It was fun.  Shane actually got in the lake and swam.  I don't remember the last time I saw him do this.  We purchased two row boats that we all took turns on.

 Then we went to windy ridge on Mt St. Helens.  It was very windy and almost lost a few hats.

 Then we went on a hike to see a waterfall.  It was my favorite.

 Taryn was able to come and spend some time with us.  Rick's dog got sick and wasn't able to come.  We were all sad about that.  We wanted to meet him.

 Ryker with his younger boy cousins that he can't stop talking about.  He still says he wants them to come to his birthday.

 Taryn with her nieces.

 Here is a little picture of the waterfall.  Not the best one though.  It was really pretty and the water was crystal clear.

 There was a hot tub that we all got to enjoy.

 Family picture of us.

 Grandma had her grandma store.

 Paige had her birthday the last day of the family reunion.  She turned 9.

 Then I got to go to girls camp.  It was a lot of fun.  My family survived with some help from good friends.  Thank you.  Oh- and one reason why I got to go was I have a new calling to serve in the YW.

 Silverwood has been a staple in our summers.   This year we were lucky enough to be able to take some extra kids with us.  They were a joy to have and my kids had a blast  with them.

 Shane enjoyed discovering the water park there.  It's not his favorite thing to do so we only do it every few years.  The girls really enjoyed the wave pool this year.

 Kelsey was able to come with us and as you can tell Ryker was able to enjoy that.  This might be Kelsey's last year going with us because she graduated.  She has come with us for 3 or 4 years now and has been the best.

 Reese never had a lack of attention.

 The last ride is always the carousel.  This year we got to ride it multiple times.  When we got off the horses Reese touched each one and said goodbye to it.  It was so CUTE!

 One more thing that has me very busy this year is we decided to build raised gardens.  This involved removing the grass, building the boxes, moving dirt from our front yard, getting compost, building the grid fro square foot gardens, and then planting, watering and weeding when needed.  But- it was all worth is when I saw my kids enjoying carrots right out of the garden.  We have all enjoyed watching it grow.  Our tomato plants went wild.  It was a good learning year.  We are building more raised gardens and hope to have more to report next year.

 Here are some pictures of my girls on the first day of school.  They  have really grown up.  Lauren is now in 1st grade and for the first month she was very tired and asked do I have school tomorrow.

 Paige is now in 4th grade and loves being back in school with her friends.

 Brianna is in 6th grade and is in middle school.  She had really grown up this year and loves being the only one in her family at the middle school.

 Here they are.  Ryker misses them and is ready to play when they get home.

 Reese turned 2!  How did that happen.  Her birthday was on a Wednesday and that is a super busy day around our house.  We have two soccer practices, I have mutual, and dad plays basketball.  So- we decided to celebrate on Thursday.  However-  I felt a little bad about it so I took her to the store to get her a small gift.  This little baby is what she decided on.

 She LOVES it.  She also started smiling really weird when you take pictures of her.  I'm sure you will see some of her cheesy face.

 One with her little cake that I made for her.

 Shane was doing yard work in the beginning of September and a hornet came over and stung him on his wrist.  This is taken the next day so it isn't quite as bad but for about a week it was very large.

 Paige is playing soccer this year on a developmental team and there are so many kids signed up that they had to split them into two teams.  They do all the practices together but on this day they were scheduled to play against each other.  Paige really enjoys being on this developmental  storm team.

 There must be some girls missing this day.

 Lauren is 6 and just lost her first tooth.  She was so excited.  A few days later she lost another one right  next to the other one.  She has a good gap in the front bottom now.

 General Conference is always a good time in our house.  On Sunday morning we hang out in our PJ's and have lots of muffins for breakfast as we watch.  My kids love conference which I just am happy about.  Candy does wonders for the desire to watch.  :)

 Last weekend we went to the corn maze.  It was cold outside  but nice.  Here are a few pictures that I was able to snap before Shane lost us in the maze.  He was the leader and didn't really want to stop for pictures.

 We just stopped to punch our cards.

 After the corn maze we stopped and picked out our pumpkins.  I was amazed that Ryker could pick his up for the picture.  It was very heavy.

 Paige found hers pretty quick.

 The kids found a big one for dad.  The kids also found one for Reese.  She just couldn't carry hers. :)

 Lauren wanted a small one.

 I ended up not getting a picture of Brianna with her.  She took the longest to find one.  I'll make sure that I  show you what they look like when they are carved.  Oh- I also was told I needed one.  That makes a lot of pumpkins that I get to hollow out.  Yep, that is right.  Every  year that seems to be my job.  YEA for ME!

Well-  That is our year in a very condensed nut shell.  I hope that you have enjoyed.  I know I now can cross one thing off of my need to do list.  I'm feeling good right now.  Hooray for me!