July with the Nelson Cousins

In July, we were able to spend a lot of time with our cousins! They came to Josh's baseball game and showed their support with signs that Lucy made, we enjoyed every minute we had with Annie and Patrick, we went to the Church History Museum, Megan and Lucy did gymnastics camp at BYU, we went swimming at the Provo Rec Center, we played at Grandma Nelson's a lot, and Lia modeled the new dress she got from Sarah Maughan.

Josh's Birthday

Josh turned 9 this year and we loved celebrating him! He spent the morning flying his new drone and building his new lego set, the afternoon at the lake with some of his best friends, and the evening having pigs in a blanket and going to see the BFG (which he's been wanting to see for months). That weekend we celebrated with Nate's family at our house. Josh is getting so big and so smart. He remembers every fact he's ever heard and loves to tell us about them. He did great in school this last year and his teacher loved him. It was a hard year for him making friends and adjusting to a new school, but I was so proud of how well he handled it. He loves doing things with Nate, playing with his friends, legos, and all things electronic. He also loves animals--we checked out 30 National Geographic Kids magazines at the library and he read them all pretty quickly. He's started liking basketball this year which has been a lot of fun. He's even taken a little interest in the Jazz which has also been fun. I've watched him become the favorite cousin for his younger boy cousins on Nate's side and it's been so great watching him play with them and take care of them. I can't wait to see what the future holds for Josh--the things he'll take interest in, the things he'll accomplish and the person he'll become. We love Josh and are so grateful for all he adds to our family!

4th of July

On the actual 4th of July we went to the East Millcreek parade and then to Nelson's for breakfast (and for most of the day) like we usually do. We all had a good time! That night since we weren't going to BYU like we usually do, we stayed home and watched the fireworks in our neighborhood. It was a pretty incredible show and it was nice to be home for a change.

Barson Retreat

At the end of June, we rented a cabin in Eden for the "Barson Retreat." It's more of a retreat than a reunion now. Ryan and Heather were in town and Kathie and Mike were supposed to come, but they didn't make it. It was really fun to be together, even though me missed Kathie and Mike and their family. Nate and Ryan and Scott got to go on a bike ride together, we played at Pineview Reservior, and hung out at the cabin. The highlight of the weekend were the lip syncs. Nate and the kids did a great job with ours and the others were pretty great too! I love watching the cousins play together and it was fun staying up late talking. This was the last year all the cousins will be together for a long time--Matthew will leave on his mission in the fall and it will be like dominos after that. We ended the weekend in Provo with my dad at BYU for the 4th of July celebration (even though it wasn't quite the 4th yet). Nate road his bike down and met us there. I love being with my family and am grateful for the times we have together!