FB Posts from 2014

Feb 2, 2014
Tonight I started reading the Little House on The Prairie books to our kids. They were a gift to me for Christmas by my parents in 1988. Memories.


April 15, 2014
I'm so proud of Baleigh today! She was selected to be Miss Poppy by the Lena American Legion Auxiliary! SHe will be crowned on May 14th at the Legion and hand out poppies on memorial Day, also she will ride in the Memorial Day Parade. What an honor!


May 21, 2014
This may not have been the reason I marrid him, but the fact that he knew I had run out of creamer and then drove 30 min one way to get me some, makes it one of the many reasons I stay with him. I love you Jacob.


May 22, 2014
The kids just impressed the heck out of me. While I was mowing lawn, they cleaned my car out, vacuumed, straightened up the house, scrubbed down the inside and outside of the storm doors, washed the screens for the kitchen windows(so I could put them up) and sorted the laundry(so I can do it after they go to bed. All I had to do was give the instructions and they executed the mission. The tiny army of Nielsen was very productive tonight. So proud of my independent kiddos.


June 25, 2014
The kids "prepared" and sang me a song tonight. This is my favorite song from Frozen and apparently they have been practicing it. I love Bean's faces.


July 4, 2014
Family 4th of July! My aunt Judy and uncle Gary and hosted this for as long as I can remember. This year was the most fun I have EVER had.


July 16, 2014
Taking a break from FB.


August 16, 2014
We started on August 8th with Cousin Bridgette West's wedding and ended on August 14th with a marathon trip home from Rapid City, SD.


September 28, 2014
Its been a long busy/change filled year for theNielsen family. Jake got promoted at one job, then made a career switch in February and got promoted again in July. I had my first anniversary at my job(which I still love), we bought a new bike, took our first vacation ever, and on Wednesday we will celebrate 9 years of marriage. It wasnt the easiest year we have hadin our 14 years of partnership, but I have a feeling year 10 of marriage is going to be incredible.


November 30, 2014
I seriously have the best dad (Bob Zimmerman) in the whole world. I was getting frustrated with how my day was progressing but he helped me fix the issues I was having. I'm really blessed.


December 25, 2014
We celebrated Christmas early this year. On Christmas Eve we opened all our presents (except the ones Santa was bringing) because Jake had to go to work early.

Summer/Fall 2014

This summer has been the most challenging and difficult time of my life. Our world has changed in so many ways. We have started rebuilding our lives and are moving toward the light at the end of the tunnel. I hope to be able to look back on this year and remember it with out any negative thoughts or painful memories.

Family Vacation Out West

I am stealing Jake's facebook update because he is way more succinct than I would have been. 

"Safely home from our travels.
Sat Aug 9th was cousin Bridgette Watters' (now West) Wedding in Hobart, IN. We spent the night at gracious host Katie and Skippy Comparin's.

Sun Aug 10th was 700 miles across IL, WI, MN, and into SD. We stopped at LaCrosse, WI for a picnic and pics with the world's largest 6 pack. On to Brookings, SD. Dinner at Pizza Ranch.

Mon Aug 11th started at the Laura Ingolls-Wilder Homestead in DeSmet, SD. It is the site of four of the books of the Little House series. The kids made rope, corn dolls, and a button game. They attended a one room school house, drove a horse cart, a buggy and rode a horse. Thor roped a calf. We had a picnic then on the road. We stopped in Arlington, SD at the war memorial, met some State troopers when Bean threw up in the car a block down the road, then drove across beautiful prairie for the rest of the day. We stopped at Al's Oasis in Oacoma on the shore of the Missouri River. Souvenirs. Then stopped at the Petrified Gardens. Souvenirs. Arrived at Rapid City 400 miles later. Dinner at the Firehouse.

Tues Aug 12th started at Reptile Gardens. Lunch at Philly Ted's. Museum of Geology. Boardwalk at Keystone and the lighting ceremony at Mt Rushmore. Kids had DQ hotdogs and unwound at the pool.

Wed Aug 13th We attempted to go to Custer Park, but the GPS failed us and we ended up at Rushmore Cave instead. Back to Mt Rushmore for Buffalo burgers. Scandinavia House for cultural souvenirs. The Dinosaur Museum. Hotel for a mid day swim. Arnold's 50s diner for dinner. Call of the Wild taxidermy display and the Dinosaur park at sunset.

Thur Aug 14th up at 630 for a one shot 1000 mile drive home. We stopped at Wall Drug. Souvenirs and a free fresh donut for veterans. We stopped at The Corn Palace and survived the murder house across the street. Thor discovered Potato Oles from Taco John's at lunch. Two stops for gas and the horrible disappointment of ordering a Godfather's Pizza and then arriving at the restaurant to find it closed and no forwarding address. We arrived at home at 10PM."

Wedding fun

The king of Beer - and Jake

The world's largest 6 pack - and Heidi at the base in the center

Arlington, SD memorial to female soldiers

Arlington, SD memorial to Korean War Soldiers (Jake was part of 2 ID when deployed to Korea and Iraq)

Bean holding an evidence bag from the South Dakota Highway Patrol officers that checked up on us after we had to pull over to deal with her getting car-sick.

Pioneers

One room school house

Our little prairie girl

Al's Oasis - super cook chair

Al's Oasis - posing in the awesome chair

Roadside fun!

Petrified Gardens

Watching gator wrestling at Reptile Gardens

Petting a snake after the show

Giant Sea Turtle skeleton

My handsome hubby enjoying a good Philly Steak for a change.

Honest Abe - and my little family

Thor at the Museum of Geology at the College of Miners and Engineering in Rapid City, SD (Cool free attraction)

Thor looking so grown up

Bean rocking her South Dakota shirt

Trying not to mind my sunburn

My handsome hubby at Mt Rushmore

 

Dino Leg at Dinosaur Museum

Thor commanding his T-Rex Army

Bean and Heidi ready to take on the T-rex and his master

Wall Drug - Free Coffee and doughnut for veterans

The Corn Palace was under construction but still fun

Mt Rushmore mural made of corn

Downtown Keystone, SD

Triceratops skull and our little explorer.

4th of July 2014

This 4th of July Jake had to work. It was nice that he didn't have to be in until the afternoon however, because that allowed him to take a motorcycle ride through southern Wisconsin and hang out at my aunt and uncle's house until early afternoon. The kids and I stayed later and enjoyed the company of aunts and uncles, great aunts and uncles, cousins, second cousins, and even a third cousin. We played so many fun games and I think it was quite possibly the best 4th of July in my memory. Here are a few pictures of our day.

Little Olivia, looking adorable and patriotic

All my nieces

Me dominating in the pie eating contest. I owned that one!

posing with my Culver's gift card for winning at the pie eating contest

Bean crushing a relay race

Thor in his relay

My studly husband!

The fam on our favorite holiday.

Thor, Ivy, Kylie and Bean enjoying a snow cone after an epic water fight

My cousin Jessica an her little man Oliver. That kid is the sweetest, most adorable baby ever. So glad that she makes the trip up to see us from St Louis whenever she has time off.

The kids having a watermelon eating contest.

Miss Poppy

The past month has flown by since we were informed Baleigh was going to be Lena's Miss Poppy 2014. She interviewed for it months ago and here we are at Memorial Day weekend. She is a tiny local celebrity. She was crowned a little over a week ago, had several meet and greets, including one with the village mayor. She presented him with the first poppy of the year and accepted a donation to the American Legion as a result. I can't believe she was featured in three local papers as well. She will be out after school on Friday and first thing Saturday morning to hand out poppy's to the citizens of our lovely village. Then on Monday she will ride in the Memorial Day parade and place a wreath on the monument in the cemetery. We are so proud of how composed and grown up she has been during her responsibilities. She is taking them very seriously and we have had several long discussions about what Memorial Day really means. She understands that both mom and dad have had friends who went to war, and did not come home to their families.

Presenting the mayor with the first poppy of 2014

Crowning ceremony at the Lena American Legion

We had no idea a family picture would be taken, or we would have worn coordinating outfits.

Celebratory Breakfast at Two Eagles - Me and my handsome boy

Celebration breakfast with our Poppy Princess - this girl loves her daddy.

Easter

For the 2nd time since starting his new job, Jake had a full weekend off. We called his mom to see if she had plans for Easter and we were invited to come and visit her and her family down in Hobart, IN.
Saturday morning we went to the Easter Egg Hunt here in Lena, where the kids had a ball. Both Thor and Baleigh found one of the eggs with a prize in it. Thor actually found two, but decided to give one to another child so someone else could have a prize too.

We drove as far as Oak Forrest, IL on Saturday and spent the afternoon/evening with the best friends in the whole world. Katie and Skippy are the most wonderful host and hostess.

We got up bright and early on Easter morning to find that the Easter bunny had actually found us! After getting dressed up, Jake took us on the scenic drive through his childhood neighborhoods. It was fun for the kids to see where he had grown up.

Flip flops and pearls.....one classy little girl

Our handsome little man.

Loving their grandma Diane. Couldn't ask for a better grandma.

We played at the park, visited with family and had a generally wonderful time. It was a weekend to remember.