Olsen-Clan

Valentine's Cards 2010

2010-02-09T19:43:00.000-08:00

Julie saw some Valentine's cards somewhere and got the idea to do the same thing with our kids this year for their Valentine's Day cards. We took their picture of them acting like they were handing us a sucker and then when you print the pictures you cut a couple of slits in the picture and insert a real Tootsie Pop and they hand it out to their class and friends for their Valentines Cards. I think it was a great idea and it adds a little bit of personalization to the cards. I think they turned out good; having three of the cutest kids in the world always helps out though :).

Skiing

2010-02-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

I have always loved skiing and was excited with the fact that Nathan has shown interest in learning to ski as well. What I am surprised about is how fast he has caught on to this sport. If it is not a black diamond run and un-groomed, he is bored with it. Which is great because it makes skiing with him a lot of fun. I never thought that my eight year old son would be able to keep up with me and sometimes out ski me. What a fun time it is to ski with him! I love it!

Caught up for the last few months

2009-10-10T23:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I believe after a few hours of posting, that I am all caught up for the last few months of no blogging.

Nathan's Baptism

2009-10-10T23:13:00.001-07:00

Well, our first child was Baptized today. We are so proud of him. It was such a good day. He had a lot of friends and family come to share this great experience with him. I still can't believe he is old enough to be baptized already. Time sure goes fast. I took some pictures of him late last night in his new church clothes he got a couple of days ago. He also received a journal and some scriptures with his name engraved in them. He is such a good natured boy "almost" all of the time.

Framed Temple Art

2009-10-10T23:02:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine and I have started to take pictures of Temples then make them look like a vintage print, printing them on canvas, then I have been building custom frames for the prints and then selling them. We are just getting started but the few that we have done so far have turned out very nice. She has quite a collection of photos of other temples already but I just started taking some to build my collection and took Brennan with me to capture a few of the Timpanogos Temple. I like how the turned out. But of course no post on our blog would be complete without a couple pictures of Brennan doing his crazy eyes.

A Fall Trip To Capitol Reef

2009-10-10T22:45:00.000-07:00

We made a trip to Capitol Reef National Park last Spring and had such a wonderful time that we decided to go again in the Fall. Just like six months ago, we had a blast. This time we were able to pick apples from the Pioneer planted orchards and eat to our hearts content. There were so many deer wandering around the camp, the kids were in heaven and Julie was afraid they were going to attack at any given moment.

We stopped and checked out the town of "Fruita's" little one room school house and it wasn't more than a few seconds and Natalie was playing school and role playing some story. She loves that kind of thing. Reading the rules in the rule book from back then really made me think either they were abused and deprived or our kids are spoiled and have to much. I think the proper balance is most likely somewhere in the middle. It was interesting to read the rules they had to abide by and the accompanying punishments for breaking the rules (5 lashings for playing cards at school);(10 lashing for girls or boys playing together); (2 lashings for coming to school with dirty fingernails) etc. etc. Male teachers could have one night a week for "courting" purposes and could take two nights a week for courting purposes if they attended church regularly. Interesting to see how they lived back then.

Nathan's favorite part last time we came was going to Goblin Valley so we made the trip there again as well. It is a kids dream playground! We all had a great time.

Nathan Turns "8"

2009-10-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

Our Nathan is 8 years old! Our kids are growing up so fast. He is definitely the most social one of our kids and always makes friends were ever we go (including McDonald's play land). If there is something fun going on and he gets wind of it, he wants to be involved. So for his B-Day party he wanted to invite every one he knew. He invited I believe almost his whole school class and all his neighborhood friends and cousins as well. If you know Nathan, that is just his kind of party. . . a whole lot of kids with one common goal; play and play some more! We had his party up a park and he had a blast.

Father and Son's Outing 2009

2009-10-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

The Father and Sons camp out this year was allot of fun. Nathan, Brennan, and I went up a day early to save the camp site for the rest of the ward and to enjoy the great outdoors. We had a blast shooting our bows, hiking, riding four wheelers and just relaxing. When it got dark and it was time to hit the sack I realized that we had taken out all but two sleeping bags from the trailer to was them following our last camp out and forgot to put them back in. I wasn't worried. . . I figured the two kids had one to use and it was warm enough that I could get by just sleeping with a little through blanket over me and could enjoy the nice pleasant breeze with the windows open. Let's just say, in the morning all the windows were shut, the heater was turned on and I was curled up sharing a sleeping bag with Brennan and there was a phone call placed to have a neighbor bring up reinforcements on the blankets later on that day! I got "COLD!" Needless to say, we still had a blast and I am so glad I have two boys that love the outdoors and camping just as much as I do.

It was funny, on the way into the camp site Nathan looked out the window of the truck and said. . . "Dad, you have to take a picture of that; It looks like Heavenly Father and Jesus are going to come down out of those clouds."

Natalie turns "5"

2009-10-10T22:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little girl Natalie is five already! Our family definitely would not be complete without her fun personality in it. Congrats on surviving another year with your brothers tourmenting you Nats!

Trip to Salt Lake City on the "Tracks"

2009-10-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

While Julie's family was here from out of town over the 24th of July, we took all the kids to down town Salt Lake City riding the "Tracks." We went to the Gateway Mall and just hung out and ate lunch. All the Kids had a great time.

Water area up at the Gateway

Brennan isn't afraid to get wet

Natalie and her cousins and aunt Joanne

Brennan with his classic picture smile

24th of July in Holden

2009-10-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

As you can see the date in the title of this post does not match the current date of the actual post. It is not even remotely close. . . OK, so I am a slacker when it comes to keeping up with our Blog. Since one reason that I am "Blogging" is to keep a family journal I guess the cliche, "better late than never" can apply; right?

Every year we go down to Holden, UT with Julie's family and it is one of the highlights of the year. Julie's Moms side of the family is all from that town. Every year we go I am a little jealous of the small town atmosphere they enjoy there. The parade is about five minutes long and involves the whole ward. Following the parade there is a huge breakfast and allot of visiting and games followed by a Rib BBQ back at Norman's Place (Julie's Uncle). My mouth is watering just reminiscing about it. The kids really look forward to riding the horses, four wheelers and climbing the rope in the huge tree in Norman's back yard (one of Julie's uncle's said anyone that can climb to the top of the rope and touch the branch he would give a dollar to). All the kids had rope burns on their hands and legs in no time, but they were not complaining as they tried to win their fortune. As you can see from the pictures that follow; even I attempted the climb and succeeded not once but twice, and I have my two dollars to prove it!

Brennan and Jared, just riding the range :)

Madison showing the horse who is boss.

Julie and her "not" so little Cassidy (Niece)

Mckenzie holden the reins

Jared going for the "Gold"

Julie, starting the climb attempt

Nathan trying to earn his "Dollar"

Jared, driving the Tour Bus

One of the Parade Floats

Brennan and Nathan competing in the 3 legged race.

Uncle John and Brennan, just "Chillin"

“Cul-de-sac of Fire”

2009-07-09T00:03:00.000-07:00

Every year we celebrate our Independence with the company of great Neighbors and Friends! This year was no exception. We started the morning of with a Neighborhood Flag Raising Ceremony and followed that with a Children’s Bike parade and the rest of the day was filled with good conversation, food, and company. What more can a person ask for? I got lazy after the bike parade and didn’t take any pictures but I tried to get as many of the kids in the parade as I could; If i missed anyone I apolagize.

Prospecting up American Fork Canyon

2009-07-08T23:36:00.000-07:00

Nathan, Brennan and I along with some good friends (Peterson Family, Trosper Family, and Bryan Boshell) went up the canyon to do some exploring. It was such a blast that we ended up going back up there again a couple of days later to see what we missed. There were tons of old abandon mines (Silver and Gold) along with remnants of a ghost town, mountain man/mining cabins (at nearly 10,00 feet in elevation) and even some grave stones of victims of a diphtheria outbreak in the late 1800’s. There was a mining boom town up there called Forest City that grew to several thousand in the late 1800’s in anticipation on the American Fork Rail Road servicing it. The Railroad project ended up costing more money than it was worth and the down died with the news the railroad would not be completed. As we road our “four wheel drive” four wheelers up extremely steep and technical slopes and crawled over huge boulders, crossed snow covered passes (in July), and went through ice cold snow melt rivers all at between 8000-10,000 feet in elevation; all I can say to the long passed away residents of “Forest City” (who lived up there year round might I add) is . . . “You had Vision”, Determination, or where just crazy! (maybe a little of all three). It is so beautiful up there.

At one of the abandon mines, with the help of Marque Trosper, the kids discovered a ton of “Fools” Gold. They had a great time collecting it and planning out how they were going to spend their fortune.

We also discovered an old miners Cabin that someone was obviously homesteading and did some modern improvements since the 1800’s (such as plastic utensils scattered about). It was fun to find the cabin, but the experience would have been much more enjoyable if people did not do their best to destroy remnants of this past lifestyle for everyone else (windows broken etc.) Still it was fun and there was an outhouse on the very edge of the ridge line with the front door looking straight down to the mountain valley bellow. What a view he must have had each morning as he sat on the throne!

Foil Dinners after the Ride

Looking for more "GOLD"

Abandon mine loaded with Fools Gold

Look What I Found!!!! GOLD!!!

I saw it first, No I did!

Marque and Sarah also enjoy "Long Walks at the Beach."What a cute couple :)

The Outhouse with a "View"

"PLAY BALL!"

2009-07-08T23:14:00.000-07:00

Most of the Boys in the neighborhood ended up playing baseball this season and all thought they were pretty good (I must admit they really are all very talented athletes). Anyway the Mom’s in the neighborhood decided to challenge the young “wiper snappers” to a game. I don’t think they knew what they were getting themselves into.

What good sportsmanship they have!

I want compensation from “Sprite” for this commercial

Since Brennan was just a little young to play he past the time hanging out with his best friend, Abby! They really are great friends.

Julie, talking some "Trash":)

Swinging for the Fence . . .

Bryce Canyon/Kodachrome Basin

2009-07-08T22:44:00.000-07:00

One of our family’s goals this year was to visit the beautiful places that are so close to us. This trip we camped in Kodachrome Basin and also visited breath taking Bryce Canyon. I apologize in advance for all the pictures but this was only a few of the ones I took and I had such a hard time picking which ones to include in this post; the scenery was so awe inspiring the photos do not begin to do it justice! If you have ever been to Bryce Canyon, you know what I am talking about; and if you have not had that opportunity as of yet , I hope these pictures motivate you to visit this magnificent place! I wish we had more time to explore all their was to see. This will be a trip we will repeat again.
Julie’s brother, Jimmy and his family came with us and we all had a really good time. On one of the hikes in Kodachrome Basin there was a weird plant that Natalie nick named “Old Man Plant”, because she said it reminded her of an old man. I have no idea how her mind works but she decided that she wanted to do the “Old Man’s” hair. . .see if you can guess what picture that is. She also wanted so badly to catch a lizard on our last trip to Capital Reef but it was just to cold for them to be out during our trip, however this trip we saw plenty of lizards and even caught a few for a short amount of time before they would escape. Natalie would carry an empty water bottle everywhere we would hike and I couldn’t figure out why until she was putting sand in it and I asked what she was doing and explained that she was putting “desert” into the bottle so the lizard would be comfortable when she caught it, it wasn’t “sand”, it was “desert”. She is such a fun little girl, and we love her very much. Nathan and Brennan had the time of their lives hiking and exploring all over the place. I wish I still had that much energy.

Julie and I kept comenting to each other how Bryce Canyon was a combination of Alpine Mountain and Red rock Desert. It is as if they colided with each other in this canyon. Simply Beuatiful

This Chipmunk was so funny. . . You can totally see him savor the taste of this nut. It was almost like he was posing for the photo.

I always love finding abstract looking trees.

The Mighty "NATHAN" is ready to explore!

This is Natalie and the "Old Man" bush. I believe she is trying to braid his hair??

This is my "Mad" Face

Brennan just taking an afternoon nap

One of Brennan's favorite parts of camping is the fact that he can "pee" outside! He enjoys the simple things of life :)

Nathan and his Cousins worked really hard on becoming Jr. Rangers and this is where they were "Sworn" in. Congrats!

Nathan's First Pine Wood Derby

2009-07-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

Nathan’s Birthday is this Summer and he is going to be turning eight! That is one of those milestone years every boy looks forward to with great excitement. He will be getting Baptized, and he is also going to be starting “Scouts”! He was so excited that they let him participate in the Pine Wood Derby Race this year even though he wasn’t quite eight yet. It was a lot of fun for Nathan and I both to build his car and see it race. All I have to say is . . . we may not have taken First Place this year but this was our year to scout out the competition. I have a few tricks . . . I mean “Nathan” has a few ideas for next years race, so watch out. It was a blast!

Brennan, always flirting with the girls

Campout and B-Day

2009-05-20T22:52:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was my Dad’s wards “Father and Son’s Outing,” and Nathan, Brennan, and I went with him, as well as Steven, Aaron, Joshua, and Jason (Cousins and Uncle). It was a lot of fun. The kids favorite thing to do was play with the fire. What is it about fire that keeps them so entertained while keeping adults on the edge of our seats? I remember loving fire as a kid as well but I am sure my parents would agree that I was much more careful and responsible at that age than my kids are, so I am sure they did not have any stressJ. Despite the “Flaming Marshmallows” and the “Roasted Cactus on a Stick” we survived and had a great time. My Dad enjoyed giving the grandkids rides on the four wheeler and being the camp “Chef”. We were going to have a whole roasted pig for dinner but that is a whole different story.

Some of these pictures are from Brennan’s celebrated B-Day party. We celebrated a couple of days early because I am going to be out of town on his actual B-Day. He is growing up so fast! He is potty Trained now and always reminds us that he is “growing big like dad”. What a wonderful kid! Time goes by so fast.

Natalie Graduated Pre-School!

2009-05-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

Well I can't believe that Natalie is going to start Kindergarten in a few short months. She just graduated from her pre-school and had her program. She is such a character! The other day in church she was being a little to noisy so I took her out in the hallway and she wanted to walk around and enjoy her time out of Sacrament meeting, however I would not let her off the couch and told her while we were out of the meeting she had to sit on the couch and be reverent. She proceeded to convince me her plan was allot better but to no avail. After a few minutes of this debate she told me very dramatically and matter of fact that she was "losing her 'temperature'". I asked her to repeat what she had said to make sure I heard it right and she told me again that she was "losing her temperature." And that she had "just lost it." I couldn't stop laughing inside but did my best to not let her know I found it funny, mostly because I didn't want her to lose her "temperature" again on my account. We sure love Natalie and she is always making us laugh with the things she says and keeps us on our toes with the "Drama" she always introduces into every situation.

Capital Reef

2009-04-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

For Spring Break this year we decided that we were going to go to Capital Reef National Park here in Utah. We have been talking about how people from all over the world come to Utah to see these beautiful National Parks and we haven’t even been to one of them as a family. So our new goal is to start visiting all these parks surrounding us. We bought a used trailer and made our first trip this last week. It was incredible to say the least! We had such a great time we even stayed longer than originally planned and would have stayed even longer if the obligations of the civilized and more stressful world did not drag us back into reality.

We stayed right in the park at the campground and left on a couple of day excursions during our stay. We ended up hiking Little Wild Horse Canyon, visiting Goblin Valley, Hiking Lower Calf Creek Falls, and Cohab Canyon as well. I have kind of grouped the Pictures to show each activity.

The First Group of Pictures are just variouse views from around our camp and us hanging out, enjoying the stress free life. The colors and views were so amazing and the pictures do not even begin to do them justice. We can not wait to go back! The buildings are of an old Mormon Pioneer settlement that ended up not taking off and is now owned by the National Park. The settlement is called "Fruita". There is a pioneer home named the "Gifford" home (named after its settlers) that is open to the public and you can see the way of life that they enjoyed. It was realy neat to see this and the kids all enjoyed seeing this as well. The town had many orchards that are still maintained today and during season you can pick and eat the fruit while you visit the park.

Our Hike to Little Wild Horse started out cold and Julie’s motivation even wavered as we drove to the trail head and she could hear the wind and see the Temperature drop. However we just bundled up warm and our determination was rewarded. This is probably the most amazing hikes I have ever done. Every step of the way you tell yourself that it can not get any better and the next corner you are even more astonished. This was Julie’s favorite hike of the trip and the kids needed no motivation because the whole hike is a playground! Incredible is the only word that can describe this Canyon. Hey it kept a two year old excited and motivated for four miles; need I say more?

Right near our camp was a trail head for Cohab Canyon. It is a very nice relaxing hike up a beautiful canyon full of different shades of browns and reds and the views from up top are incredible. I can’t believe desert can be so breathtaking. This hike has many off shoot narrow canyons that the kids loved to scamper up and down. Natalie and Brennan wore themselves out and Julie and I ended up carrying them back part of the way but the rewards were well worth the sacrifice. Brennan found sand up this canyon that was finer than any sand I have ever seen and he was mesmerized by it. He kept stoping any chance he got to run the sand through his fingers and marvel at it.

One of Nathan’s favorite parts of the trip was visiting Goblin Valley. All the kids enjoyed it but Nathan fell in love with it. He would set up a homestead and raise his future family there if it were allowed I think. Hide and Go Seek was the game of choice in this valley. While walking through these unearthly formations the only living vegetation was one flower and we couldn't figure out how it made it in this desolate valley.

I really enjoyed the Hike to Lower Calf Creek Falls. The trip to the trail head even had me second guessing the decision to go on this hike though. We had to go over Boulder Mountain Pass (9500 ft) and the weather did not resemble anything like Spring! It was 15 deg. And blizzard like conditions at the summit. Once we came back down to 5400 ft the temp was back up and not blizzards around. It is amazing what elevation does to the weather. This was the longest hike of all we did (6 miles round trip) but the kids were troopers and as long as we kept singing either “Santa Clause is Coming to Town” or “Follow me Boys. . . .Pick ‘em up and put ‘em down” Brennan was willing to keep hiking. This water fall is beyond description. It is out of a fairy tale or something. On the trail there we passed numerous Anasazi Granaries up in the cliffs (how did they ever get up there to build these things!?) and a pictogram that we nick named “The Three Nephites.” It is fun to imagine what life was like back them for these people and what all these remnants left behind meant.

this picture shows up close (above) and far away (below)of one of the graneries.

Golfing in Dixie

2009-03-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago a group of friends from the neighborhood and others all went down for a weekend golf outing in St. George. Golf alone always equals fun; If you have Golf + St. George weather + a bunch of good friends = Paradise! It was a lot of fun to say the least. As you can see from the pictures; Alec, being from the Vernal area, returned to his tribal instincts and couldn’t help but turn a gentleman’s game of golf into a full blown rabbit hunt. He wanted to bring his .22 rifle but when the course refused to let him put it in his golf bag he decided to just hit the rabbits with golf balls instead. Following his “kill” a coyote decided to come and take advantage of a free lunch. Poor Rabbit. Here is the real story. . . His ball ended up in the sage brush and went to play it and when he hit the ball it nailed a rabbit 50 ft or so away, All I heard was Eric yelling “You Killed it!” “You Killed it!” and Alec responding “No I didn’t!” and then Eric “Yes you did, it is not moving! There is blood coming out of his ear!” After a few minutes Alec came to grips that he had murdered an innocent bunny he felt terrible, had a little funeral service for it, buried it and then made a great shot out of the junk. Needless to say, all animals stayed clear of Alec the rest of the day. We played at “Sand Hollow” the first day and “Green Springs “ the second day. It was a blast even though I stink at golf it was a good time for all!

Drive To Oregon

2009-03-12T23:00:00.000-07:00

Today I drove the beautiful drive from Utah to Bend, Oregon for a week and half of work. About sunset I was passing through a tiny little town called "Brothers". There were a few old homes/buildings backlit with the setting sun so I snapped a few shots of them before I ran out of light.

First Time This Year!

2008-12-29T19:51:00.000-08:00

One of Nathan’s Christmas presents was a day of skiing with his Dad. He wasted no time using the coupon; I must admit I was not disappointed he wanted to go so soon after receiving the gift, I was getting the itch to go ever since the last two big snow storms. This was Nathan’s third time going in his life (first time this year) and he did so great! He can now turn and stop very consistently. He keeps wanting to go to the “highest lift”, go off jumps and go down Black diamonds. He is so funny, some things scare him to death and other things he does not have even a “healthy” fear of. We both had a blast up at Solitude today and he was already begging to go again on the way down the canyon. I think I found a new skiing partner!

Caught in the act!

2008-12-25T21:13:00.000-08:00

Nathan is really into spying and detective work and so he was thrilled with the idea of trying to catch Santa in the act! So we had the idea of setting up the camera on a tripod in the living room and hooking it to a motion sensor to see what we could capture in the still of the night Christmas Eve. When we woke up Christmas morning we couldn’t believe what we found (with the help of photoshop)! The kids were dumb founded; Nathan just kept saying, “Wow, his bag is red? I always thought it would be brown.” It is always so amusing to hear Nathan’s Christmas list each year. He has such an imagination and comes up with some good ones that Julie and I are always saying to ourselves, “I don’t think they sell that at Target.” Last year the two things he wanted were a “Flying Squirrel Suit” and a “Snow Leopard Suit.” This year it was “Invisible Stuff”, a “Real Spy” (I guess to have at his disposal whenever he needs help with his espionage side business he runs.), and “$1,000”. Anyway, the kids got a real kick out of it and it was fun to see their reactions to the presents and also the captured photos. We hope every ones Christmas was as enjoyable as ours. Merry Christmas!

Happy Holidays From Our Family To Yours!

2008-12-09T23:13:00.000-08:00

We hope this newsletter finds you all doing well. Our family has been fortunate this year and we are all in good health and don’t have much to complain about.

As usual life is always busy and keeps us all hopping.

Brennan is now 2 going on 12. He thinks he is just one of the boys now and is becoming more mature and independent every day. He is such a character and provides plenty of entertainment on a daily basis. We went to Yellowstone National Park in Sept. and Brennan decided he is destined to become a “Mountain Man”. It has been months now and we still hear about “bears” and “mountains” and “four wheeler ride” multiple times every day. We have decided that if Brennan has those three things in his life he will never want for anything. To give you an idea of how obsessed he is . . . When we went down to Holden, UT for Thanksgiving we went up in the mountains to cut down our Christmas tree for the season. Brennan calls it a “Bear” tree instead of a Christmas Tree. He is such a fun little guy to be around though.

Natalie, on the other hand isn’t the outdoor guru that Brenan and Nathan are. Her favorite part of the Yellowstone vacation was the hotel we stayed at on the way up to Yellowstone. It had an indoor swimming pool and she had a blast. She wants to be a mom so bad and doesn’t have a problem telling you exactly how she feels. She is 100% girl and has such a fun personality.

Nathan loves the outdoors as much as Brennan but is not quite as obsessed with “Bears”. He loves to camp, hunt and his favorite thing in the world is to hike. He always wants to see what is around the corner and has such an adventurous attitude. He loves to ski and is looking forward to going again this year.

Julie keeps plenty busy getting the Kids to school every day and obtains plenty of exercise chasing Brennan around and keeping up with Nathans projects and experiments. She enjoys finding new recipes on the internet and has become quite the “Betty Crocker”. Everyone would choose her home cooked meals to going out any day; unless “McDonalds” is mentioned. All of our kids are in love with that place.

Jared is still working as a salesman for Vita-Mix and really enjoys interacting with people in sales. He has too many hobbies and never enough time. He is doing some cabinet jobs in his spare time and has started doing more photography as well. He always has to be busy doing something or else he goes crazy. He has a hard time sitting still for too long.

We are happy to report that life is good and despite the ups and downs that may come our way the ups far outnumber the downs. Every year we look at our lives and count ourselves extremely fortunate with the life that God has given us, the children that He has entrusted to us, the knowledge of our Savior, and the friendships that we share with each of you! If you ever find yourselves out this way, please stop by and keep in touch; we love to hear from you. May this next year be blessed for all of us and we hope you each have a wonderful Christmas and Holiday Season!

Quick Picture of Brennan

2008-12-08T20:14:00.000-08:00

Even though everyone that reads our Blog may think that it has an un-proportionate amount of photos of Brennan it is not because we love him the most. The reason is simply because he is the only one that doesn’t run away when they see the camera and actually likes to have his picture taken.

Christmas Visitors at the Star Mill

2008-12-08T20:06:00.000-08:00

A place close by us called the Star Mill does a little Christmas Parade every year and Santa and Mrs. Clause always visit and give the children a free book and hot chocolate. We went down there and the kids had a really good time. They also were able to ride on an antique Fire Truck and even got to ring the bell (Natalie calls it a "Ring Dong"). They all thought that was pretty neat. Brennan was very eager to sit on Santa’s Lap again and Natalie was excited to sit on Mrs. Clause’s Lap but did not want to talk or look at Santa. Nathan was afraid to sit on Santa’s Lap this time and I couldn’t figure out why because that is not like him at all. I finally was able to get the reason out of him and it was because he hadn’t been on his best behavior the day before and was afraid Santa new about it and didn’t want to hear what he would have to say to him.

Living Nativity

2008-12-05T21:16:00.000-08:00

This year Julie made a list of fun Christmas time activities and is trying to do a few of them each week and tonight we decided to go to the living Nativity at the Provo Tabernacle (I highly recommend this activity). Julie and I had gone a long time ago when we were engaged (like 9 years ago) and it was fun then, and it has dramatically improved in that time. We took our kids and a couple of their friends as well and as you can see from the pictures they all had a great time! Since I am sure that many of you will not make it down there to see it yourself, I gladly took enough pictures to walk you through the whole program: ). I will narrate as you scroll down the pics. When the Wise Men walked by our bench, I heard Corbin tell Nathan "I think that is Obi-Won-Kanobe" and Nathan just said "Cool".

I hate the look of Camera Flash photography so I took these with a very high ISO film speed because it is so dark which gives it a much more natural light than camera flash would but gives the pictures a bit of a grainy look but I prefer this to using a flash (just my disclaimer).

These pictures are of the actual Nativity (very impressed with the short 20 min program).

Mary being informed by the Angel that she would give birth to our Savior.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 ¶ And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

And that was it. . . Short and sweet. It kept even Brennan's attention the whole 20 minutes.

After the program we went outside and they had all kinds of animals that the kids could pet with Shepard's and all! It was really neat. Brennan was determined that they all loved to eat leaves and didn't stop feeding them the whole time.

"Look, I am not even scaaaaarrred!"

"If you want to go out and play you need to eat just one more bite!"

"Hello Donkey, Do you want to eat some Leaves to?"

"OK, here you go Donkey, eat up."

"NO MORE LEAVES!!! I AM FULL"

"All I want for Christmas is a Train set"

The trip would not be complete without a quick stop at Krispy Kream! YUM YUM!
Wait for it. . . . Wait for it. . .

Just a little bit longer. . .

There they are!!!

Finally!!

And you know you had a good trip when this happens on the way home! Ahh. . . Success!

Christmas at the Mall!

2008-12-01T19:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, I know it has been almost a month since the last post, what can I say; I am a “Binge” blogger I guess. I will try to do better. I am trying to get Julie to do some posting as well so maybe between the two of us we can keep it up to date a bit better .

We went to the mall to see Santa tonight and just hang out and look at all the Christmas décor and such. It was so fun to see the kids react to all the Christmas magic there. We have been talking about Santa to the kids for a while now but Brennan has never seen him in person before tonight. It was so cute; as soon as went up to him Brennan’s eyes lit up and he yelled “Santa, Santa!” and spontaneously gave him a huge hug. I think it caught Santa off guard a bit as well. Then he found a rocking horse by Santa and just rocked and talked to him like he had known him his whole life. Natalie of course gave him her list standing at a safe five foot distance, she is so funny that way. After Santa we looked at all the different stores and Nathan saw a few things he forgot to tell Santa he wanted so he was very concerned and insistent that we speak to Santa again on the way out so he could “amend” his list and show him his toy he got from the “Chick-fil-A” kids meal. All in all it was a very pleasant trip to the mall, and now Brennan is obsessed with Santa and Christmas and that is all we hear about now. Although it is a nice change from “Mountains”, “Black Bears” and “Four Wheelers”, which are usually the only words out of his mouth.

Almost got it all back. . .

2008-11-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

Well, thanks to email archives, I was able to restore the blog to almost new condition. I few things missing (like the Header) but it was not as bad as I anticipated it was going to be. I will not be making that mistake again!

I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST DID THAT!!!

2008-11-05T15:43:00.000-08:00

You know that feeling you get when you do somthing and almost in the exact same instance you do it you realize you didn't want to do that but the process has already started and it is to late? I just experienced that feeling and still am in denial that I actually did what I just did!! I accidently deleted our BLOG!!! I was working on creating a blog just for photography and created a new account and wanted to start over with it and clicked on the delete blog. . . it told me that this action cannot be undone which I checked through (thinking I was logged in with the new account). Which about that time I looked at the top of the screen and saw that it was logged in with the Family Blog account at which time my heart started to race and I broke out in a cold sweat and started hyperventilating (ok maybe a little exaggeration but not by much). After sitting in denial for quite a while I figured I could piece most of it back together with confirmation emails I received but would be some time and more work than I want. So excuse the current state of the blog while it goes through some “Reconstruction” for a little while. I figured along with the “Change” the country is currently going through, I would jump on the bandwagon and “Change” my blog as well; although unwillingly. I guess the positive side of the whole thing is it was me that did it. If it was Julie I would never let her hear the end of it, but since it was me I have no one to blame but myself. Oh well, life will still go on despite the many "Changes" that accur.

A Quick Update

2008-11-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

I havn't posted in a while because of work but thought I would do a quick post.

The other morning I was doing something out in front of our yard and Brennan decided he wanted to come out with me but was not dressed; I told him to go get some clothes on and come back out when he was dressed. . . this was the result.

He was so proud of himself for doing it all by himself without help. He kept saying "I did it!" "I did it!".

A week or so ago I wanted to go up to a Woodworking Tool show in Sandy. The kids were playing with neighbor friends and so Julie and I were going to leave them here to play while we went up there for a couple of hours. Natalie and her friends decided they wanted to come along as well so we took them with us. It was so funny listening to their conversation on the way up there because they had no idea what we were going to a wood working tool show and they each had their own version in their little minds of what we were going to. Somehow one of the girls thought "Sponge Bob" was involved, and each one had their own version of what they were in for. Well they were surprised when they saw what it was but did not seem to disappointed. . . they were together and still had a great time. Kids are so entertaining to watch and listen to.

--
Posted By The "Olsen Family" to OLSEN-CLAN at 11/05/2008 12:30:00 AM

Who needs ‘Tony Hawk’ when you have a neighborhood full these guys?

2008-10-23T21:06:00.000-07:00

I started out to take a couple of pictures with Nathan’s Halloween shirt my mom gave him to send to her; and it quickly turned into. . . “Dad, take my picture with my skateboard while I do this trick.” Then a lot of the neighborhood friends where playing in the yard and they ran home and got their skateboards and we took a few shots together. So if they end up turning into a rebellious skateboarding gang in their teenage years, you can trace it back to this point in their young, moldable lives.

--Posted By The "Olsen Family" to OLSEN-CLAN at 10/23/2008 06:55:00 PM

They all want a "specific" Prince Charming

2008-10-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Natalie was feeling a little left out while I was taking the neighborhood boys skateboard pictures so I took a few of Natalie and a couple of her best friends real fast. I just told them whoever danced would be able to have a “Prince Charming”; I had no idea that would trigger an in depth conversation of what “Prince” they would be going home with. . . you see, I learned that it matters greatly whether it is Cinderella’s Prince or Snow Whites Prince or the “Beast” after he turns into a Prince. . . you get the idea. After they determined what “Prince” was paired to who they were happy to dance around. One of these days I want to have them really dress up and do their hair and take some serious photos. We are so lucky to live in such a wonderful neighborhood where the kids have so many good kids to grow up with and hang out.

--Posted By The "Olsen Family" to OLSEN-CLAN at 10/23/2008 06:14:00 PM

A Couple of Family Photos

2008-10-15T15:41:00.000-07:00

We figured we had better take a family picture before all the leaves are gone and also because the last one we took has Brenan as a newborn and he looks nothing like it anymore. So I dusted off the remoter shutter release and had to buy some more batteries and after a million shots we got one that was semi acceptable. Nothing more stressful than taking family pictures with young kids and not being able to be at the camera to direct. They all kept asking Julie why Dad was in such a bad mood and Natalie asked if I needed a nap. Oh well, at least we got the shot.

Fall Hike in the Canyon with the 'Boys"

2008-10-08T15:41:00.000-07:00

We went on a hike up American Fork Canyon yesterday and the colors were amazing! The pictures in no way do the real view justice. Brenan and Nathan take after their Dad in the way they love to get out and hike/explore. I always find it such a stress relief to be in the wilderness. I really need to do it more often. It is getting easier to do it with the kids now as they grow a bit older. The temperature was just right and the view extraordinary! You will notice that Brenan had to have his binoculars again and was constantly on the lookout for Bears. He is such a character. Nathan developed quite the leave collection on the hike and his favorite was the one he is holding up in the picture that he says glows in the sunlight. Fun time had by all.

Q-Back Club Trip to Southern California! Go Blue!!

2008-09-25T15:41:00.000-07:00

We have such great neighbors!! One of our neighbors put together a trip to southern California for Father's and their Son's and it included a day to Disney Land, an LA Dodgers Game, a Chargers football game and a day at the beach as well! Need I say more. The activities alone make for a great trip and add in great friends and Neighbor's and you have a trip that is hard to top. It was so much fun and the kids had such a great time. Disneyland was a blast. I bribed Nathan and told him I would pay him $5 if he went on all the rides and let me just say it was $5 well spent; there was no "Winnie the Pooh" or "It's a Small World" rides this trip and No Mom's to talk him out of the "Fun" rides. It was a well planned day in both Disneyland and California Adventure. We rode all the rides we wanted and came back to the hotel late and exhausted.

The Dodgers game was awesome. We talked our way up to the front row somehow and the kids were able to interact with the players and get autographs. What a dream come true! I was very impressed with the way the players treated the kids, they made them feel special and were very thoughtful with them. Especially Matt Kemp. The Beach was a lot of fun as well but with a big scare when we lost Nathan for a while and had me pretty panicked for a few minutes. The Chargers game was a great experience as well but just a suggestion to anyone going to a pro Football game. . . get your jearsy before you go to the game (you will not like the prices at the game, I almost had a heart attach).

2008-09-15T15:41:00.000-07:00

2008-09-15T15:40:00.001-07:00

A Trip to Yellowstone I hope to Repeat!

2008-09-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

Well a lot has happened since my last post!! We have had a busy couple of months. We went to Yellowstone with my Parents, Brothers and Stephanie and Jason and her family. We all chipped in and rented a lodge in Island Park and spent three days in Yellowstone area. What a great relaxing trip. I would suggest this trip to anyone and hope to repeat this vacation. Brennan discovered what binoculars where on this trip and they were a permanent attachment to his neck the whole trip; anytime someone saw an animal and brought it to the attention of the rest of those in the vehicle he immediately would hold the binoculars to his eyes (most of the time backwards) and say where! Where! And as soon as the binoculars where to his eyes he would say "I see it!" "I see it!". Ever since the trip he is obsessed with bears as well. Any time he hears anything it is "A Bear"! What a Fun Trip. We went up a day early and stayed in Pocatello at a nice hotel and Swam, explored the foothills and saw a lot of deer and even a "Bear", and played a lot of table tennis and Swam some more. The whole family had a great time!

2008-07-31T15:40:00.000-07:00

On Monday evening we went up to my Mom and Dad’s for a BBQ. Kim and Jodi were there from California and so was Tammy and her kids Bryan, Kim and family. Kirk and Shari were there as well as their kids, and of course Grandpa, Jake, John and Heidi. If I forgot any one I apologize. It was so good to see everyone and visit. We always look forward to the opportunity to visit with family and if you add food to the equation it is a no brainer; we will be there! The Kids had a great time playing with all of their cousins and vandalizing my parents yard/house.

A day up the canyon with Cousin's

2008-07-27T15:39:00.002-07:00

Julie’s Brothers and Sister and all the cousins were at our house this week and each day we had fun events that were enjoyed by all. These pictures are of our trip up the canyon. The water was cold but that did not keep the kids from playing in it. We went four wheeling as well but did not get any pictures of that.

Natalie's B-Day with Cousins

2008-07-27T15:39:00.001-07:00

While a lot of Natalie’s Cousins and family where in town we had a little B-Day party for her Saturday night. She felt pretty special and Brennan was licking his chops, all he cared about was chowing down on some cake. Natalie is now officially 4 yrs old now.

More Family Reunion Fun!

2008-07-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

We went up to Snow Bird for the day and had a blast! The kids loved the Alpine Slide and Rock Wall. We road the tram up to the top and hiked down to a tunnel that goes through the mountain to the other side (mineral basin). There was still patches of snow every where up top so of course we had to have a snow ball fight. It was a lot of fun and Nathan is asking everyday now when we can go back.

FW:

2008-07-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

On the 24^th of July, we made our annual trip down to Holden, UT (Julie’s Family is from there). We all look forward to the trip each year. It begins with a parade of about everyone in the town that starts at 9:00 am and Ends at 9:03 am. So if you are late you miss out on the candy which is thrown. We then have a huge feast of a breakfast in the church/town park or pavilion and then head over to Julie’s uncle Norman’s where we have a great family gathering. We climb ropes, eat ribs, visit shoot bows and arrows and ride horses! It is always so much fun. This year there are two baby horses so we couldn’t take the mothers out to far but we did have the kids ride them close by the babies. I forgot my real camera so I had to resort to my cell phone camera but at least you can see what was going on and we captured the memories.

Our Ward Pioneer Trek

2008-06-30T15:39:00.001-07:00

Yes, we all survived our Wards Pioneer Trek. It was such a wonderful experience to go on. It was unique in the fact that whole families went, not just youth; which is a very rare occurrence. Nathan was in heaven the whole time. He loves hiking and camping and both of those activities where in rich supply. Julie is not a big camper but really enjoyed the experience. I didn’t think that Brennan was going to get his nap for three days, however the rhythm of being pushed in a handcart over rocks, sagebrush and holes seemed to do its trick to putting him to sleep each day around his nap. The first night was rough; Brennan woke up half a dozen times screaming uncontrollably and wanting his bear and blanket (which was outside the tent somewhere in the dark). The second night went a lot better, mainly because we had his bear and blanket and he was more worn out. We made a Blog site especially for the trek so people could enjoy pics and stories. Feel free to check it out as well. It is www.OrchardHillsWard.blogspot.com . I will post more detail later. I have to go put some band aids on some blisters J.

Our Ward Pioneer Trek

2008-06-30T15:39:00.000-07:00