Holly Cow.....

Part One..

I have no idea where to even start. October had to be the CRAZIEST month of my life. It has taken me 2 weeks of November to get back on my feet. I keep putting off the blog, however, the blog fairy has not stopped by yet. So, that leaves me to do it.

So Here I Go....

September 28th...

Janette came home from Iraq. What a great day. Her flight was delayed and delayed again. It was like waiting to go into labour. You know it going to happen, you just don't know when. All the families gathered at the National Guard hanger at Sky Harbor. They opened the big hanger doors and the troops came in lined up in formation. Some big wigs said something. Really who cares, just release the soldiers. It has been great having her home. I forget half the time that I can call her anytime I need to. I missed her so much, so glad that is over.

September 29th...

Krew starts walking. He had been taking a lot of steps, however, he never took more then one or two. I keep saying, "he is going to wait until Janette gets home." And sure enough, he did.

October 1st...
The start of Fall Break. Symen and I thought it would be a great time to take the kiddos to Disneyland. So, we load up the kiddos and off we went to meet Grandpa Symen and Granny in California. We spent 2 full days in Disneyland and we had a BLAST!!

Going during October is so fun, it is all decked out in Halloween. My sister would love it, her two favorite things Disney and Halloween.

We spent the first day in Disneyland. We did it all. It was great, Zane was exactly 40 inches. So he was able to go on all the rides, except Indiana Jones. The kids loved the railroad roller coaster, honestly it made kinda sick. But I did it. Zane thought that space mountain was a little scary, but he did it! It was great we got there when the park opened, went on all the big rides before lunch, had a picinc lunch, and was back riding rides. Grandpa had us on a schedule for rides. He would go and get fast passes for us while we were on one ride, then send us off to another when we got off. It was great. The weather was prefect. On the second day it rained a little, not enough to stop us though. My favorite part, was the pineapple float. Pineapple soft sever with pineapple juice. YUMMY!!

We spent day two in Califorina. I keep telling Symen, Grandpa, and Granny how fun Toy Story is. We had to do it first, and of course it was closed. Emilee LOVED Screamin California, I think she went on it 4 times. I got to go on Soaring California this time, that was a cool ride. We had so much fun. Little Krew was such a tropper. He just went along for the ride. The kids want to do it again next year.

11 Months....

I am 11 months now and driving the car to take my parents to crazy town. I love to get into everything. I like to climb on top of cabinets to get to the computer. If I see something I want, I will do what every I need to do to get it. I am a great climber and I have learned to the fine art of throwing a fit. I can scream with the best of them.

I am refusing to walk, I can stand all by myself just fine. However, I don't want to walk because I can get there so much faster crawling. My mom is hoping that I start walking in the next couple of weeks.

I am a happy little guy, as long as I get what I want. All is well and I am looking to my first birthday next month.

Talk to you later,

Krew

Rock Candy...

The kiddos and I like to make something fun each weekend. Last week we made Rock Candy.

1. We boiled the sugar and water. We added food coloring and flavoring.

2. We poured them into jars and placed a pipe cleaner attached to popsicle stick in each flavor. We made 5 different flavors. Cherry, Lime, Raspberry, Orange, and Strawberry.

3. After letting them sit for 4 days, we had rock candy.

It was a fun project, however, I don't know what I thinking letting the kids eat pure sugar.

What to eat...

So after a couple rounds of allergy testing Krew is allergic to

Peanuts

Milk

Eggs

Potatoes

Rice

Chicken

So right now, the kid is eating a lot of hot dogs, fruit, veggies, and lunch meat. And, I thought that PKU was hard to adjust to.

Mom's little helper

I decided to take on the task of defrosting the frezzer. And with EVERTHING I do, Krew is right in the middle of it. He loved playing in the water and trying pick up the little pieces of ice. It took me a little longer then it should have, however, he had fun.

Friday Night Lights.

Brett is a Senior this year and is playing on the varsity team at Red Mountain. The first game of the season was amazing. The were behind at half time, but they rallied and won in the last few minutes of the game. So far, they are undefeated.

Mom and I go to the games on Friday night. We have such a good time. I can't wait until Janette can join in on Fiday Night Lights.

Two peas in a pod...

Camping...

Symen, Jim, and Grandpa took the kiddos camping last weekend. They went up to Forest Lakes area. They rode quads, played in the dirt, and sat by the campfire. And, what camping trip is not complete without s'mores. The kids had a blast and are looking forward to the next trip.

I stayed home with Krew and we cleaned house and did a little shopping. It was very quiet around here and I missed my family.

Let the schooling begin...

Zane has started preschool this year. He was so excited!! The older kids started before him, so everyday I would hear "Mom, do I go to school today?"

On his first day he ran into class and said "see you later Mom." He is doing very well. His teacher says he is very friendly, shares well, and is a smart little guy. He is loving school, however, I already miss my Zaner.

Garrit's new trick...

Garrit has been practing and has learned how to tie his own shoes.

10 Months...

Here I am at 10 months. I am in to everything. My favorite is my mom's bathroom drawer. I love to dump everything out and eat the q-tips. I am quick on my crawling and pulling myself up on everything. I love to talk. I can say, dad, Garrit, and NO-NO. I am a copy cat. If someone is clapping, dancing, or laughing I am trying to do it too.

This month my mom and dad found out the hard way that I am allergic to peanuts. After some testing I am allergic to eggs, milk, and peanuts. We are having a hard time adjusting my diet.

And as of August 20th, I have taken my first 2 steps. Another couple of weeks and I will be walking.

Life is good as always. I am happy, healthy, and very loved.

Until next month.

Krew

Backin up a bit...

This summer Garrit and Zane went to swim lessons. I LOVED their teacher, Ms. Shelly.

On the first day, all Garrit would say is "Mom, I know how to swim." The poor kid went kicking and screaming. After the 3rd day he was all good and he is now swimming like a fish.

Zane on the other hand was very excited to go to swim lessons. However, after the first day he was not wanting to go back. On the second day he did not want to take off his shirt or flip-flops, so he got put in the pool with it all on. He learned his lesson and enjoy the next 2 weeks of lessons. Zane has the ability to swim, however, he is working on his self-confidence.

Back to School!!!

Yes, it is that time of year again. Back to school. The kids were so excited and ready to go. Ok, maybe that was me. Emilee and Garrit are looking forward to staying in the same school all year. Not like last year with 3 different schools in 3 different states.Garrit is going into the 1st grade.
Emilee is going into 3rd grade.

Emma is going into 5th grade.

We are all looking forward to a great school year!!

Where to start...

It has been a crazy month here at the VanNelson household. With all that is going on my blog has been put on the back burner. So, sit down (you might want to get a snack or drink) relax, and catch up with us.

9 months...

Another month has gone by. I am walking my way around everything I can. I am also starting to stand by myself. I eat all the time. And just because I am a "baby" that doesn't mean I don't know when you are eating. If you are eating and I am not. That's a problem for you and me.

I am such a happy little guy. I am always smiling and laughing. I love to play with my brothers and the girls take good care of me. What more can a guy ask for.

We will see what next month has in store for me.

Love,

Krew

4th of July!!

We packed up the family and headed down to Sierra Vista, were Tyson and Robin live. We had a lot of fun. The kids love to play together. We made smores. I have to be honest, wood, a liter, gasoline, and 3 males. I don't think Mr. Safety would approve of this. However, they got the fire started with out the gas. Zane tried out some new shoes. I don't think red is his color.
We swam, played at the park and watched fire works. While the dad's took the kiddos to fire works Robin and I got a chance to sit and chat. I have such a wonderful sister-in-law. It was a good old fashion American 4th of July. Family, food, and fireworks.

Wrestling with Dad...

The kids love when Dad does Steamroller!! They all lay on the bed and Symen tells them a nice soft story about sticks on the beach or in this case dead snakes in the road.

Then all of a sudden, as steamroller comes by. And he rolls over them.

Army man...

At a birthday party the kids received army paint. Zane and Garrit had fun with it. Now my sister wants to get the boys the real stuff. (No thank you, Janette)

Zane's Army face.

Janette came home for R&R...

Janette has been in Iraq for almost 9 months, she left 5 days before Krew was born. She came home for 14 days on R&R. When I hugged her, I could not let go. It was so amazing having her home.

We had a ton of fun while she was home. We went to a Cubs game. It was amazing, it had everything you need at a game. Hot dogs, popcorn, Mom almost getting hit by a home run ball, and a good old fashion fan fight. You would have thought your were in Chicago there was more Cub fans the Diamondback fans. It was great time.

And the Cubbies won!! As my sister said on Facebook, this picture says it all. Even the crazy guy holding the flag, he was the one that started the fight.
We went and saw Eclipse. Janette has been reading the books while in Iraq, so to go see it with her was really fun. The movie was great. It ran pretty close to the book.

She spent time teaching Jake the Rubik cube. Janette and I also did a puzzle. When we are in the nursing home together, that is what we will be doing. We ate and ate.The best was Janette reading with Zane. For his birthday he got How does a dinosaur say I love you. We read it every night, so he has it memorized. He has been telling Janette about since February. So the first morning she was home Zane got his books.

Zane loves Janette. When we were at the airport waiting for her bag. Zane held tight to her leg.

The tooth fairy stop by...

Garrit lost his first tooth. It was getting pretty wiggly, however, the kid would not let me touch it. After, eating his hot dog on a stick he noticed his tooth fell out. My first thoughts were "Crud" but luckily the tooth was lying right on the table. He was so excited. I love his face in this picture.

SMILE!!

The only thing to do in AZ during the summer...

Swim! We have been spending a ton of time out in the pool. Garrit and Zane took lessons this year and they are both swimming. The kiddos are so tan it is just crazy talk.


Emilee's Baptism.

On, May 15th

Emilee was baptised. It was such a special day for her. She started her day off with a quick trip to Sunsplash (can't pass up free tickets and our PKU friends) We did all the big rides in 1 hour.

We headed over to the church and she got dressed. She was so excited, she did not stop smiling. It was so great to watch Symen baptize her. A fathers love is amazing. She was confirmed by some of the same men that blessed her, Dad, Uncle Aaron, Grandpa Salisbury, and some new ones too. Joel, John, Nate, and Scott.

She is already diving into her new scriptures (which made me cry when I saw her name on them). She is being such a good example to her brothers. Emilee loves church and her family. She gets up every fast Sunday and shares her testimony.

It was a great day. We had family and friends from all over to share this day with her. There was a lot of love for her.

Are you tired yet?

Zane is. He fell asleep one night watching Jake play computer. This boy can sleep anywhere.

This is what we have been up to. Its been a crazy month, but it has been a lot of fun.