Elder Nelson comes home!

My brother Ty left for his mission to Spokane Washington on Mar. 17th 2010 (st. patrick's day).

 He returned home Mar. 19, 2012 and we were SO excited to see him!


 The kids and I headed down to St. George a few days before Ty came home, so we had fun celebrating St. Patrick's day with Grandma, Alena, Amanda, Alisa, Nate and Bailey.

Grandma did a FUN scavenger hunt for the kiddos that lead them to their...

...treasures of Gold!!

 

That night we headed to Krave for dessert-a St. George favorite. We can't ever leave without a little Krave being had once (or twice :) ), during our visits!

(Tyler, Amanda, Nate, Kylee)

Mom was SO excited to have Ty coming home, and having our whole family back together again for the first time in 3 years, she got a little weepy before Ty's plane even arrived. :)

Everybody waiting patiently...

Grandma Olsen, Bailey and Kylee

Tyler and Amanda

The St. George airport is very small so they let you just wait right by the door where they walk in from walking off the plane. When we saw Ty's plane arrive, everybody was glued to the windows just hoping to be the first to catch a glimpse of him. The kids lined up with their welcome home signs to be the first to greet him.

Mom was the first to hug him and I don't think she let go for a few minutes. :)

 

Everybody, including my grandparents who also live in St. George, was able to be there for Ty except for Bobby who was in the middle of mid-terms :(.

Ty has such a GREAT group of loving and supportive friends and it was fun to see them all at the airport to welcome him home as well.

 

We love our Uncle Ty!!!

The weather in St. George was Awesome in March, so we had lots of fun outdoor days at the park by my mom's house. They LOVE rolling down this hill!

We had LOTS of races! They even made Alisa and I join in on the fun :)

And after the kiddos go to bed, it's games games games! And of course a little chips and salsa!!

Uncle Ty was fun before his mission, but in two years he matured...a LOT :), and the kids are absolutely in love with him. He paid special attention to all of them the whole time we were here and they loved playing and wrestling with him.

A little down time after a long day playing in the sun and water.

Since we were down there for so long, mom also put a fun Easter egg hunt together for the kids.

After they found all their eggs, grandma said the Easter Bunny had left them some Easter baskets they were supposed to hunt and find as well!

First they had to skip...

...then they had to hop...

 

...then they had to crawl...

...and lastly they had to quietly sneak to...

...the hiding place!

Grandma is SO fun!!

One day we had a girls day and checked Alena out of school to take her to lunch! Love my sistas!

 

My mom was just starting to get her garden ready when we were there, so she let the kids come out and help her plant and water.

Little gardeners :)

We were talking in the kitchen one afternoon and the kids were quiet-that NEVER happens (besides the time Tyler drew all over his face with Alena's mascara), but when we went to check on them they were being so good sitting on the couch reading together.

Ahhhh, we LOVE being in St. George and spending time with family! We're so happy that Ty is home, but more importantly that he chose to serve the Lord for 2 years and was able to bring so many people happiness through our Savior Jesus Christ. We are grateful for his example of dedication and love for others and miss his inspiring letters home every week. I loved having 2 siblings out serving missions and know that our family has been blessed through their actions. But it is dang good to have him home! :)