Sweet Santa Maria

I have decided that this is the best part of living in Santa Maria...the strawberries. A friend from the ward clued me into the secret of "Jam Berries!" The strawberry stands sell their berries that are apparently a little older at about half the price. I say "apparently" because I got three full flats, my friend got three flats and between the two of them, we found 2 bad berries! They were some of the best strawberries I have ever had. Yummy!

It was almost a shame to moosh them all up and make jam out of them. We did it anyway. Yesterday was my first jam making experience (besides helping cut up plums for my mom and dad...I wasn't too involved in that...didn't learn a thing). We started at about 9:30 in the morning and didn't finish until 5:oo last night. It was really fun, though. We made regular, some with less sugar, and some with no sugar, just Splenda). The less sugar version is my favorite. As you can see, I made enough to last a while and still had half a flat of strawberries left over.

This was an eye-opening experience for me. I learned that making Strawberry jam is about the easiest thing ever to do. I thought it was going to be hard. It was so easy that this morning, I decided to make a batch of boysenberry jam too...just for the heck of it. Any how...whenever I am really productive, I like to share it with everyone. Hope all is well with you all! Hasta!

We're a REALLY close family!

We have a little tradition in our family...Each morning, when Tyson wakes up, he comes and climbs into bed with me because I don't want to get up until I absolutely have to. Dal is usually already up and getting ready for work. When Kelsie wakes up, Dallan grabs her and she joins Tyson and me in my bed. For some reason, they have to share MY pillow. Even though, Dal is already up when they get into bed with me, they scrunch in close so that I am practically falling off the bed. The rest of the bed is not good enough I guess. In fact, no matter how close to me Tyson is when she gets there, Kelsie will wiggle her way between us so that she is in HER SPOT. Dal got a picture of it the other day and I thought it was pretty funny. I am sure that many of you have experienced the same kind of thing. Other than me getting the boot off the edge, it is a good tradition. (Pardon the AWFUL sheets...the ones that match are getting old so I had to pull out some we got for our wedding until I get some new ones.)

Does this shirt make my cyst look big?

Many of you have been asking how Kelsie's lump is doing. It seems to be doing rather well. It has gotten a bit bigger and invited a little lump friend to visit next door. No worries though. The doctor still does not seemed at all concerned. She has a follow-up visit (aka a way for them to milk me out of another $250) at the end of July. He said that we would schedule the surgery before the end of the year.



We were having some fun with the camera, so I thought I would get a better picture of it now that it is a nice purpleish color. Kelsie thought it was the funniest thing when I told her to look up. Fun times at the Rigby home!

Anyhow...nothing to worry about still, so Grandma, you can get some sleep. Thanks for all the concerns though. It's good to have so many people who care.

Rigby Family Roughing It

Since Mama and Papa Rigby are no longer in Ojai, we actually had to do something besides go visit them for the long weekend. Luckily, one of the boy scout camps was open for all the "Friends of Scouting" for the weekend. We had a blast. If the weather had cooperated a little bit better, it would have been perfect. This was the first time we had the chance to go camping as a family for more than one night. It was a good thing we were there for longer than one night, because the first night was a NIGHTMARE! I don't think Kelsie slept for more than 15 minutes at a time the entire night. Sorry to all our fellow campers! She did great the other 2 nights, though, so we may just go back again!



Tyson LOVED LOVED LOVED archery. We lucked out that not too many people were usually there, so he got to shoot as much as he wanted. He was a pretty good shot, too. He didn't really understand the concept of aiming, but some how seemed to get the arrow pretty close to the target most of the time. Mom and Dad didn't do to shabby either!

His second favorite activity was shooting the BB (I have no idea if that is how you write it) guns. I wasn't sure how I felt about the whole gun thing for my 4-year-old, but he loved it and I don't think it is going to change him for life!

We had great food, great company and a great time all around. We hear they do it again on Labor Day weekend. We can't wait!

Kelsie's Bump

A few months ago, we noticed a big hard bump on Kelsie's neck. We hoped it was just a swollen gland or something that would go away after some time. After about 2 months, we took her to the doctor. He said it was some kind of cyst that would need to be removed. So we trucked on over to the Ear Nose Throat specialist. He confirmed that it was a bump ( I'm sure he used some technical term, but I don't remember what it is...I know that it meant "bump" in medical jargon) and that it would need to be removed. We are scheduled to have an ultrasound this afternoon and then we will schedule the surgery. Before you all get too worried, neither of the doctors seemed concerned at all. It is just something that needs to be taken care of before it causes any infections, but I was told, "It is nothing to be worried about." Just thought I would post it in the name of keeping everybody informed. I tried to get a good picture of it, but I don't know if you can see it or not. Anyway, I'll let you know more when I know more.

Those "Crazy Nielsens" came down for another visit to Disneyland while our season passes are still good. We, of course, had a great time and took a million pictures. It was fun because Kelsie actually enjoyed it this time. She would get so excited when we would get close to a ride and could see it flying or doing whatever it did. Since I am blogging incompetent, I had to do this trip in 2 posts because it kept letting me only do 4 pictures at a time. I am sure that I could probably figure out how to fix it, but do I really want to? I don't think so!

We started out with our trusty map. Have I mentioned that Tyson pulls out his Disneyland and California Adventure maps on a regular basis and will talk the ear off of anybody who will listen to him. He loves to talk about which rides we went on, which ones he doesn't like and which ones he will go on next time.

Kelsie had a great time at Goofy's house. She went down the slide over and over. Each time, the static got stronger and stronger. By the time she got to the bottom of the slide each time, her hair would all be standing on end.

This was just a cute picture of all the kids at Winnie the Pooh. Tyson informs everyone that the Winnie the Pooh ride is fun, not scary, because it is all just pretend. What a brave boy!

R is for Rigby. What luck that California has one in it! We really liked it over there. All the rides are outside, so Ty doesn't get as spooked. We found a new favorite ride this time. It is a little rollercoaster with lots of sharp turns and a few drops. I wasn't sure what Ty would think, but he loved it and we ended up gong on it 4 or 5 times.

Disneyland Part 2

Good Ol' Uncle Dave made sure that the boys had cotton candy to enjoy. Tyson enjoyed it a little too much. He thought it was the greatest thing ever. He didn't even mind all the cleaning up each time he had some.

Don't worry, our timid Tyson was out in full force. He plugged his ears on every single ride (including the Carousel). He didn't like how loud everything was. This was waiting in line for the Jungle Cruise.

As always, we partied 'til we dropped...literally.

Ty gained a reputaion for being able to sleep anywhere. This picture is in front of Tony Romas. We stopped there one night to get some take out on our way back to the hotel. While we were looking at the menu, Tyson took a little nap out on the sidewalk. He was out cold!

A Real Shiner

Tyson got in his first fight this week. Just kidding! We were at the playground one day and he ran into another little boy. Unfortunately, it was the head of the other little boy that he ran into. I have never seen an eye puff up that quickly. (Tyson gets mad if I say it is his eye...it's his CHEEK!)

I told him that whenever anybody asks him about it, he should say, "You should see the other guy!" but he won't do it. I think he's going to have this mark for a while.

Little Bunnies

Easter this year was lots of fun with the Bishops here. We had a great Easter Egg Hunt Saturday night. I think the Easter Bunny told me he hid over 100 eggs in the back yard. He was right on the money with Sweedish Fish, colored marshmallows, pistachios, and even angel food cake. What an accommodating bunny!

Kelsie, of course, was more interested in getting the eggs open then in finding more of them. She liked to put eggs in Mathew's basket and then take them back again. She was not interested in finding any bubbles; whenever she found one, she would put it back where she got it and keep on moving!

Tyson was a star Easter-egg-finder! We had to keep emptying his basket because it would get too full.

Getting a picture of all of the kids was next to impossible...this was the best we could do. What cuties, huh? It was a great day!

The Bishop's Visit

My sister, Staci, her husband, Jake, and their kids came to visit this last week. We had a great time. It was really fun to have them. As you can see from the pictures, we had a little bit of a wind problem, but the weather was great other than that. We took them to some of our favorite spots and kept them busy, busy, busy. We had no problem putting the kids to bed each night because they were exhausted!


"Oso Flaco"

"The Bishops at Monana de Oro"

"Sara & Stan enjoying the view...and wind!"

"Rachel with her trademark smile"

"Dallan and the girls throwing rocks"

Thanks for coming guys! We had a blast!

Starting Out Young

Kelsie loves shoes! She has been trying out her first pair of flip flops lately. They make it a little harder to walk, but that doesn't stop her. Each time she trips over them or one falls off, she comes running over to me to have it put back on. With the blonde hair, she is looking more and more like a true "California Girl."

Kelsie's New Hobby

Since it was such a beautiful day today (Yes that is a little jab for all you cold weather dwellers...I got a little sweaty just sitting at the park), we spent the whole day enjoying ourselves outside. Anyway, Kelsie decided that she likes skate boarding. Wouldn't you know it? Notice she already has the low-riding down to a tee with the oversized onesie!



She got some good rides in...if only that grass didn't slow her down. Maybe next week she'll graduate to some patio riding.

She had a little down time between sweet rides, but made sure she was still looking good!

Here's a snap shot of her number one fan. (Ty felt left out and wanted his picture taken too!) What cute kids I have!

These are the days that I love being the Mom. I get to play outside all day, soak in the sun and laugh at the funny things Tyson and Kelsie do. What more could I ask for?

Reason For Concern?!

Tyson prides himself on the fact that he gets to get himself dressed every day. He can't do anything too terrible because what doesn't match a pair of jeans or tan pants? (That is the best part about boy clothes!) The only input I have in the process is to tell him whether it is hot or cold weather so he can decide between shorts and pants. I have to bite my tongue every once in a while, but for the most part, he does a great job. This is how he presented himself for the day last week. He thought he was pretty funny so we had to take a picture. What a cute little man!

Super Something

Tyson has decided that his favorite toy (of the roomful he has) is KELSIE! There is nothing better than controling another human being, right?! He likes to tell her what to do, chase her around, body slam her, pick her up and put her where he wants her and best of all, dress her up like his favorite super heros!



She makes a great construction worker and fireman, but this has to be my favorite so far. You have to admit she makes a pretty cute Super Baby!