Nielsen Clan

2012-01-20T09:27:00.000-08:00

I recently read a blog post from a mom that said she couldn't help but get a little annoyed at people that would tell her to love every moment of having little children. You know in the grocery store when they're all going crazy and you think what was I thinking bringing them. They're into everything, they're in every which way and all you needed was to get butter or something simple like that for dinner and you're standing in a line that will not move. It's stressful, don't get me wrong, but it's a learning opportunity for everyone.

I have always been a carpe diem person. I am known for getting emotional about anything. First day of school, last day of school, first tooth loss...you get the picture. I do enjoy those moments because I know they don't last. I know because Tyler was a super active little boy and now he sits at church quietly without snacks or coloring books or any other activity. I know it felt crazy and I will never forget how we couldn't sit longer than 2 minutes at a time. So excuse me for noticing that my kids are growing up no matter how hard I don't want them to, but they are and can I tell you how proud I am to call them my children. I love them so much. I love that I get to sit down and do homework with them everyday. No matter how much they don't want to. Life is such a precious gift! No matter how it's started it is a precious gift not to be taken lightly. I am so glad that we get to have children in this world to remind us the important things. I love that I get to serve the children of the Lincoln 3rd ward. I can feel their precious spirits when I walk into the primary room and see their smiling faces. I love that I get to see them grow and learn in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love how they challenge me and ask questions during a lesson. I know our Heavenly Father has an infinite amount of love for us. I can see it in the faces of the children around me. I know they have to grow up and the only thing that makes it o.k is that I know what wonderful people, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, maybe pilot, archaeologist and Veterinarian they will become. I hope you all have the chance to look into a child's face today and see the Joy that they have to share.

Still Going Strong

2010-12-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

O.K. so four kids has proved to keep things a lot busier around here. Here is another attempt to update.

Recently...

Tyler has lost a total of 6 teeth with number 7 threatening to come out very soon. He's in the third grade now which means he is dealing with multiplication, division, reports, cub scouts, Kumon and basketball season underway. He loves all his teachers and leaders and I am so grateful for them as well.. He is such a great big brother. He walks Grace to her class every morning before going to his own class to put his back pack down. He is always willing to help with Lily since Trev has been out of town A LOT!!!! He is an amazing kid and I am so grateful for him.

Grace also lost her first tooth this month and is official a big girl now. I can't believe how much she has changed this year. She is still my little shadow and I love it. She is doing very well is school and loves her teacher. I think her favorite subject is math but she has gotten 100% on all her spelling tests this year. She keeps changing her mind on what she wants to be when she grows up but number one is always a mom. She said she wants to have six kids at once because he loves babies so much. And she proves it by always playing and holding her little Lily. She is also in Kumon and has just moved out of the junior Kumon level into the big kid area. She loves books and drawing pictures. She has more love than she knows what to do with and is always ready to pucker up and give us a kiss.

Andrew just turned 5 on the 14th of December and keeps telling me he has to grow up to have his own family. I don't know what was harder for me him turning 5 or me turning 30. For such a long time he was my baby and I have loved me time with him at home. He is loving his Pre-K class and has made the greatest friends there, and so have I. He is also in Junior Kumon and is thriving. He can read all his homework by himself and loves doing it. He is an amazingly hard worker and doesn't stop until the job is done. He lights up the room when he walks in and makes you feel so loved and like you're his favorite person in the whole world. He learned how to ride a two wheel bike before Grace because his body is too big for those darn training wheels. So after riding two different hammy down bikes we decided he needed his very own big boy bike and he is doing great on it.

Our little Lily is such a doll. She is crawling, talking ( dada, mama) and is clapping her hands when she's happy. She is a total mama's girl but loves it when anybody holds her, as long as I'm not in the room she'll let you hold her forever. She can feed herself cheerios and puffs but really wants what the rest of us are eating. She is our little toe-head baldy but we think she has a perfectly round head to pull it all off. She is so blessed by love in this family that she hardly ever gets put down. She was diagnosed on Wednesday with Pneumonia that is being treated with antibiotics and she's already got more life in her. She is out petite little girl weighing in at 16 lb 15 oz. I'm used to kids being a size ahead of their age and she's 9 month old still wearing some 3-6 month clothes.

Trev is working, working, working!!!!! He is working so hard to get help get carpet recycling plants up and running that he has missed a few things with the family but he does it all for his family so we don't mind. He is loving the promise of long term income and so am I. He is still the teachers quorum advisor to the young men and after 6 1/2 years is still loving it.

I am still in primary working with the greatest group of ladies and getting spoiled by love from the children in our ward. I truly think it is the best calling to have to get to work with the children. They are so precious and innocent and want nothing else but love in return. I am so grateful for my family. They are my everything and I am so blessed to get to be their mother and wife. We have so much fun together and I am so proud of all of them. They all work so hard and know that their Heavenly Father loves them. What else could a mother ask for? I guess this has turned into my Christmas letter because I decided not to do Christmas cards this year. The postage alone to send to our closest family and friends was around $80 and I decided to simplify this year. Thank you all so much for all your love and I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year!

Our weekend in So Cal

2010-05-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

I have been in desperate need of an update to our blo

g and I am finally getting around to it. I'm skipping out on sleep to do this, but at least I know we're updated for a while.

This past weekend I took the kids and my mom and drove to L.A. to go see Trev. He's helping put together some machinery for a recycling plant. He had been gone for over a week and we were seriously missing having him around, especially me. My parents had participated in the "give a day get a day" program that Disney had done and received their free tickets Friday morning via their e-mail while we were eating breakfast deciding what to do. We tend to not tell the kids what we're doing until we're actually in the parking lot of what the activity is because we have learned that being surprised is better than being let down. So off we went to Disneyland for the day. I was probably as excited as the kids of not more. I love this place. I could have a season pass and never get sick of how happy it is. And yes we even took Lily. It really worked out great to have my parents their to take turns watching Lily and taking whoever to the bathroom or at least having some extra eyes on the kids. Here are some pictures from our trip and some of the kids from Easter and just other fun ones. Enjoy, who knows when I'll do this again.

Me holding Lily in the Baby Bjourn

The kids waiting for Dad to get their tickets so they could go to Disneyland.

Tyler found the golden goose egg at the Felts annual easter egg hunt. (Tyler and Sis. Felt)

I dressed Lily for church in her sleep and decided to have a photo shoot. Isn't she just adorable!

Me, Andrew and Lily defeating Zurg. It's a pretty fun one for the kids.

Andrew with his light saber.

The kids completely zonked out on the way back to the hotel.

Andrew had took a nap on the way down to L.A. and woke up when we got to the hotel and it was midnight. So of course he was excited to see daddy and wasn't ready to go to sleep. So we put him on the couch to sleep and watch Disney channel because we were exhausted. Well he woke Trev up at 5:30 and said "Dad, it's starting to get light outside so it's morning, get up". We didn't know for sure if he had stayed up all night from 1:30 till 5:30 a.m. but there was a chance. He did great at Disneyland all day until we got in the line for the rockets and he kept wanting me or Trev to hold him and we told him no but he could sit down on Trev's feet. Well he did and 30 seconds later was completely out. This was the ride he wanted to go on all day and we waited until 5 and he was gone and we couldn't wake him up for anything. At least I got a picture of Trev laughig and trying to buckle up on a weird angle. What a good dad!

Grace in line for the Rockets.

Tyler go a hold of the camera.

Kids by Alice in Wonderland

On the Merry Go Round

Photo op with Goofy.

Waiting to find Zurg.

By 100 acre forest.

2010-04-13T09:17:00.001-07:00

Lily is 5 weeks old today! Wow does time fly! She's doing great. Has been sleeping through the night and when she's awake she wants to eat. She is changing right before my very eyes and it kind of makes me sad that they have to grow up. Grace is absolutely in love with her and is a huge help! Andrew loves to adore her and makes sure to give her a kiss after family prayers and then heads off to bed. Tyler is so busy with homework, chores and playing and still asks me after school when he gets in the car how Lily was for me. I love my kids and love the relationships they have with each other. I am so grateful for them.

Tomorrow is me and Trev's 9 year anniversary! 9 YEARS! I can't believe it's already been that long and then again a lot of work and love has happened in those years. I love my husband, he is such a good man. I'll post some wedding photos and updated pictures of all the kids tomorrow.

2010-04-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

To all of you who knew Cheryl she passed yesterday at 5:15. What a wonderful sister she was to all of us. Love you Gant family!

2010-03-15T08:08:00.000-07:00

I'm dedicating this day to my friend Cheryl who is on her way out of this world. Cheryl has been such an inspiration through her long fight with Cancer. She is an amazing woman and has been able to serve others when she is the one whom should be served. Cheryl we love you and pray for you and your family to be at peace.

Lily Mae Nielsen

2010-03-10T21:03:00.000-08:00

Announcing the arrival of

Lily Mae Nielsen

on March 9th 2010

7lbs 3 oz 20in

Happy Birthday Trev

2010-02-25T16:52:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Trev's birthday and he wanted it done old school. He hates his birthday because he hates attention from others. So the kids woke up and said their happy birthday's before he had to go to work and then after I picked up Grace and Andrew from school we took lunch to him and helped him at work. And by help I mean the kids played in the empty boxes from the new cabinets they were installing. Then we picked up Tyler and got homework done and I was in the kitchen for the rest of the night. Pork roast, mashed potatoes, gravy,cooked carrots, brownie ice cream cake, home made rolls and Shirley Temples. It was delicious but so much work for a week day meal. Just us and the kids and Nana came over later. It was a perfect day for him. He was a little disappointed I didn't have the baby on his birthday but I can't control these things.

Trev has had so much going on business wise and he has been working so hard and I know he does it all for our family. He is such a good dad and great husband. We love him so much! I wanted to post a picture of him but he never gets in the picture unless it's a whole family shot so use your imaginations.

20 Days couldn't come soon enough!

2010-02-16T15:56:00.000-08:00

A rant of things I'm thinking of today...

So I have 20 days to go until this little one is due. After a long night of tossing and turning I was fine with getting up and sending kids back to school after a long weekend. Andrew and I headed to Jamba Juice to share a smoothie because I flat out felt like I deserved it today. Well the yummy drink lead to more tossing and turning inside my belly. I'm going to enjoy this while I can because I know it will all end soon enough. I am so excited to see who has been growing inside this belly and to see the kids as older siblings helping out. Last time I had a baby I had two other little ones that still needed a lot of attention. After going to the park today with Grace and Andrew and noticing that they were taking care of the other kids around them I was grateful that I don't have any stress surrounding this new arrival as far as how the others will react.

I only worry that I'm burdening others while I'm in the hospital and someone else will have to feed, bathe, dress, get homework done and do all pick up and drop offs that are part of my daily life. I know it will get done I just can't help but worry about it. I am so lucky to have so much family and friends who have volunteered to help during that time. My saint of a mother in law will also be coming after I have the baby which will be such a blessing.

The month of December.

2010-01-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

December was a crazy month and here is an update with pictures

This is Tyler in his class when I went to help with Christmas around the world. Each class was a different country and I helped in Mexico where they learned about poinsettias and had nachos.

Tyler with his passport

Tyler in his winter performance

Before his performance looking all handsome

My brother Kevin came home from his mission on the 23rd and we got to welcome him home at the airport

Me, Shaun and the rest of the Peterson clan

Kev coming down the escalator

Andrew holding a sign would not let anyone stand in front of him he kept pushing people away, it was hilarious.

Grace and aunt Crystal, do they look related or what?

During Grace's Polar Express party in Kindergarten with Karlee Snow both sporting white bowed pigtails.

Enjoying their hot chocolate and waiting for their breakfast.

There were two classes put together and it was crazy but so much fun!

The conductor giving Grace her ticket, she was so excited!

The Lloyd family from our ward was in the Christmas parade and I needed to take their picture.

Trev and Grace before the run to the emergency room, listening to Trev's new ipod.

This is how cold it was in the morning, I do not belong in a cold environment like this.

It's hard to tell but Tyler made Grandma get an icicle off the house for him, it looks almost fake.

Grace and Mira playing with their new Furr Real pets.

I know these pictures aren't in order but oh well.
Tyler,Grace and Andrew on Christmas eve wearing their new PJ's

Andrew's first experience with snowboarding.

Andrew with his teacher Miss Tiffany on their party day.

Andrew during his Christmas performance, very proud of himself.

So it was a crazy month and I'm kind've glad it's all over even though we had a lot of fun. Now we're just gearing up for baby to come in March.

Happy Birthday Andrew boy!

2009-12-15T13:41:00.000-08:00

Holy moley macaroni and cheese. This is his new favorite saying
My little boy turned 4 yesterday and we had fun. It ended up being an early release day so Tyler was done at 1 then we headed off to go see The princess and the Frog which I almost fell asleep in. It was cute but not my most awake time of day. We opened presents at Nana's and then went to Chilis for dinner where they sang him Happy Birthday along with about 5 other people celebrating at Chilis. He had a great day and lots of attention. What more could a kid want. His smile lights up a room and is so contagious. He is so tenderhearted one minute and then tough as nails the next. He makes our life so much fun and lets me kiss him every once in a while. Happy Birthday Andrew aka Ocho, cutie pie, AJ!

2009-10-20T09:22:00.000-07:00

As some of you know Trev started working for 3-G Construction Co this summer in addition to his other two companies he's running. This company has a been a great blessing for us. He's on salary and have provided everything he needs to do the job. The downfall of this job is the traveling he does. They gave him a work van and GPS to get to his jobs that stretch to almost southern Cal, Oregon border, Reno, and everywhere in between. Yesterday he was on his way to Stockton to finish up a job and got in an accident. Of course he doesn't call me because "I'll just freak out", in his words. He called hi brother to come and help after he called CHP of course. He was on Moore Road, our own street and the doors that were stacked and held up by a tie fell and Trev looked back to check it out as the road was turning and went off the road and couldn't bring it back because the road and grass on the side were so slick from the recent rain. So the van found a power pole and cut the pole in half also cutting out power to our house and those of us out here in the country. I always call him after I've dropped the kids off to make sure he's safe. Yesterday when I called I asked if he was listening to the books we spent all night downloading and he said he hadn't gotten to it yet because he was in an accident and was in the CHP car writing down his statement of what happend. I know that by him talking that he's obviously not unconscious but he doesn't always give me all the details I need. He said he was fine and nobody was hurt, but I don't tend to believe him. So I continued to start to cry and memories of his previous accident 8 years ago when we were engaged came flooding back. He of course doesn't like that I've told people, hellow cyber world, but I was scared that he could've been seriously hurt or worse.

So today no matter how mad you are at your husband for not putting his clothes in the basket, or forgot to take the Trash out for your garbage day, be glad that he's there to be mad at. I love my husband and I know how stressed he is by work on a constant and daily basis, but I love how hard he works for us. Me and the kids are always praying for his safety even when he's home. We are so grateful for him and how much he loves us. This was more of a journal entry for me than for others but I needed to write about it. Have a safe and lovely day.

Grace's 5th Birthday

2009-09-24T10:26:00.000-07:00

Birthday Girl with Balloon hat at Wacky Tacky with cousins.
We went to The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner then headed to Wacky Tacky to surprise the kids with a fun night with their cousins. We are so lucky to have family around to celebrate these special times with!

2009-07-08T09:33:00.000-07:00

For those of you are are excellent at your blogging jobs, my hat is tipped to you. I think I have learned that the computer means work, banking, and other things that don't bring up happy feelings. I am going to try to do better.
Our Summer has been crazy already. First week I was at Twilight Camp for the cub scouts with my friend Debbie representing our pack as Station leaders. Second week was Girls camp so Grandma was out here watching the cousins so we played all week long with them.
Third week I took off with the kids, Elizabeth and Caitlyn Elzea and Grandma for Utah. On the way there the kids were awesome never even asked for one treat. We only stopped twice for food and we were making excellent time when this little warning light popped up and said 1 tire low pressure. This was about 20 miles before Wendover. My mother in law and I looked at each other and said let's just get to Wendover and we'll be fine. About five minutes later major blow out on my passenger rear tire. Immediately we were off the road and jumping into gear on what the next step is. Call the husband locate spare tire, which by the way on our Town and country is is underneath where the center console is. Get jack out of back and "T" tool to lower spare. Call husband again he's finding someone to sell us a tire in Wendover, of course they're not answering because it's about 9 pm and well it's past closing. Of course we're stopped so that means the kids need to go potty all at once. I take my handy dandy little go potty out and we're off to find some privacy for Grace and bushes for the boys. Meanwhile Grandma is on the ground putting the jack in place. Well I have to tell you how tough this mother in law is. Not a second went by that she wasn't trying to change the tire. Caitlyn and Elizabeth watched the kids while we tried to get the last lug nut off. Of course the only thing that would get it off is by jumping on top of the crank to loosen it. A funny sight I know! Finally get that last one loosened after about 15 minutes of all four of us trying to pull on the crank together. This so called jack that came with the car is the cheapest looking thing I have ever seen. The handle is all of like 12 inches long so putting under the car and trying to turn the crank to lift the car that is loaded was impossible. We finally had someone that from the other side of the freeway came across the divider and asked if we needed help. Um Yes! They were a couple of firefighters from Wendover. And their names wee Zach and Cody. Don't think that my kids didn't take the time they had to interview these guys. So they continued to put the spare on for us and load up the nasty old tire. Off to wendover to Many's garage. To make a long story somewhat shorter. We arrived in Utah after a15 hours on the road. The Elzea's had their first trip out of state and boy was it memorable. Andrew still asks when his girls are coming over. Any babysitter we've ever had he calls his girls. So cute! Since getting home from Utah we've swam a lot at Nana's, my dad, Trev and a couple of friends of ours all ran in a 5K on the 4Th. It's been busy but a fun summer so far. I'll try to up date more regularly so to avoid this huge post again! Happy Summer everyone!

Our late bloomer

2009-04-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

My little boy is now a full fledged kid. He's 6 going on 7 and just lost his first tooth today. You can only imagine how anxious I have been with my Dental Assisting background to "assist" in getting a tooth out of there. After examining his tooth on Friday I found that his permanent tooth couldn't wait any longer and was coming in behind the baby tooth. Yeah I stressed. We then went into the whole "T you have to keep wiggling your tooth, if you don't pull it out then we'll have to take you to the Dentist and she'll use tools and you won't like it as much!" He gets stressed very easily and last night when I went in to check on him before I went to bed I walk in to him stirring and say " No, it's gonna hurt, don't touch it anymore!". Yes we gave our child a nightmare, don't judge us. Tonight after dinner we decided to pull out the tooth as our activity. After 15-20 minutes of bleeding, pulling, flossing, restraining, mom got a hold of the tiniest tooth I have ever seen and pulled as tears came down his face and was telling me to stop because he thought I was going to pull out the other one too! I had already got it out and he didn't even notice. He was crying and said mom stop it's going to hurt, I held up his tooth and said well I guess it didn't because I already have it out. Then we went into crazy happiness cheers from the other two onlookers who I am sure are going to never let us touch their mouths again. Following the extraction was immediate bleeding with paper towels and then the Popsicle reward to help stop the bleeding and calm the stressed out kid. He was really excited and proceeded to call Nana and Papa to tell them and ask what his reward is. Hey they trained him to think that way! He also had gotten 100% on his spelling and math tests so we were really proud of him today. He has become such an awesome reader and loves to read everything now. He has been way into the Magic Tree house books. We're on #13 this week and I love reading them with him. In case you were wondering that's why I haven't put anything on Good reads for a while. We are loving this age with Tyler, he is so smart and truly an amazing kid. Between his surgery and how much he has going on he is a really good kid and still runs to me everyday after school and gives me and Andrew a hug. O.k. I know a mom rant! Love ya Ty!

Thinking about Your Mothers Day

2009-04-25T21:40:00.000-07:00

So many of you have been to one of my Demarle Rendez-Vous and have fell in love. Well mothers day is coming up and I encourage you to go through your catalog, and if you don't have one go online, and make a wish list in order of what you want first. Simply show your husband and say this is what I want for mothers day or do as I do sometimes for Holidays and say this is what you bought me for ______ day! My husband always loves it because less work for him and I get what I want. So please have your husbands or children call me and I will help them out. I take check, visa, mastercard and cash. Here is a link to look online but call me and I can help you through the process. It usually takes about a week and a half to get your order so you have to plan two weeks ahead, we also have a mothers day kit that I am considering buying for my own mother in law. Always a better deal to get a kit than sperately! O.k. sorry about the sales pitch but it was on my mind so feel free to call me.

8 Years of Marriage!

2009-04-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

On September 9th 2000 I meet Trev on a blind date. 2 1/2 months later we were engaged and five months after that we were married on April 14th. I thought that went by fast. Now we've been married 8 years and I don't know how it went by so fast. We have 3 gorgeous children and a fun, happy family that we have created. I love him so much. He is the hardest working person I know. He can do it all. Hard labor, or hard fun, he succeeds and at least appreciates it all. I'm so grateful for him and his love for me. He is always serving others and I have a lot to learn from him. We have our moments but they're so worth it. Happy Anniversary Trev!

Wow!

2009-04-11T23:04:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how long it's been since I blogged. It's been a whirlwind couple of months. I became a rep for a company as many of you know and have been volunteering for a lot of stuff. Between church, work, school breaks, holidays, surgery for Tyler, it has been crazy. I will be posting pictures soon because the weather has changed out here and I am loving it. Everything is green and bright. I loved conference last weekend. It really did me some good, as always, renewed my dedication to some aspects of my life that might have been deglected. I am more commited to being a missionary to all that I encounter and having more love for my fellow man by serving with a charitable heart. I just thought I would check in before tomorrow becasue I hope to have Easter pictures and more to tell about. Hope you all have a wonderful Easter!

Dermarle At Home

2009-02-16T22:53:00.001-08:00

I have decided to start pitching in a little financially around here and I am now a rep for Demarle At Home. This stuff is so cool. It's bake ware and cookware that gives your food an aesthetic appearance to your already tasty food. I am so excited about his stuff. My wonderful cousin has been a rep for a couple of months now and has done a wonderful job of getting me hooked on this stuff. I was mainly interested in Hostessing a Rendez-Vous so I could get free stuff but now I am a rep and will be selling it as well. So you are all invited to my Launch parties. I'm having two. One on the 26th@ 7 pm and on the 28th at 10:30 am both are at my house so call if you're coming. I am so excited to show you how wonderful and marvelous this stuff is. Nothing sticks to it! I made meringue cookies this year for Christmas and they slid right off and I didn't have to scrub anything! OK I'll stop now but check out this website if you can't wait to see what it is. www.demarleathome.com

Afraid to Blog

2009-02-10T09:50:00.000-08:00

So have you ever been afraid to post about what's going on on your life because then it means it is really happening. I know a lot of us are going through some interesting things right now. Bizarre, scary, signs of the times kinds of things. But here is what I have learned. Canned chicken from your mother and father in law is an awesome gift. Home ground wheat makes much better tasting bread. And Food storage is a blessing. Some how every day around 4 pm I start panicking that we don't have anything to eat and then one of my children will suggest something and I'll look and prepare and it get made and eaten. I have been a witness to prayer and faith this past couple of weeks. But my children are still my children and they love me no matter if they get macaroni and cheese, top ramen or something a little bit fancier like honey balsamic glazed chicken. I know many of you feel the stress of cooking everyday. I love cooking don't get me wrong but it's the thought of my kids saying ew gross what is this, that scares me. I do make them eat what I make so that puts more pressure on making it kid friendly and tasty and healthy. Tyler doesn't like tomatoes or cheese, Andrew eats almost nothing dinnerish, and Grace wants me to feed her because she seems to be reverting back to her toddler years of needing me for everything. This is just my rant so don't feel compelled to comment. It's just part of my daily battle with dinner. One things I've learned is that if you play Josh Groban while you're cooking Italian you feel classier and it makes you try a little harder to make an inordinary dish. Happy cooking!

Baptism Fireside

2009-02-07T13:57:00.000-08:00

So tomorrow we have our Baptism Fireside and I'm giving the talk on baptism. I have such wonderful insightful friends in this blogging world of ours so I was wondering what are some good ideas you could share. I've checked out a lot of websites but I think first hand experience is priceless. I really want the kids to be excited about their baptism. So any thoughts you might have I will gladly take. We're all doing good. My friend Cristy had her baby on Tuesday and I got to go visit and hold, and even sneak in a diaper change while Nikki watched Andrew for me. He is so adorable, truly a cute baby. I even took some pictures. His name is Dean Owen and he was 7lbs 7 oz. So cute. He is just adorable.

The Home and Landscape Expo

2009-01-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

Because we were getting a little bored yesterday Trev decided to rent a booth at the Home and Landscape Expo. That means a lot of "Mandi, Hon, Sweety, where is ...?" Can you do this and get this and pick this up for me here. My answer was sure, no problem, whatever I can do to help. Which wouldn't have been a big deal but here was my schedule with out prep work for the show.
8:00 - Tyler school
10:00- 1st Target trip to get b-day present and tablecloths for expo and baby shower.
11:30 -feed kids and Trev lunch
12:00- Take Grace to school
12:21 - finally leave school to go to Rocklin to pick up tables and chairs from mom's
1:30 - volunteer at school for PTO "Pennies for patients"
2:35 - Get Tyler out of school and take tables and chairs out of car so kids can sit in seats.
2:45 - meet Nikki at church to take Tyler to Kumon in Rocklin
2:55 - Take Atali to her house
3:15 - Go pick up Grace from school
3:30 -Take Grace to B-day party
4:35 -Go pick up Pizza's
5:00- Pick up Grace from party
5:15 -Drop kids off at sisters to watch kids while I go to parent teacher conference for Grace
5:30 -Parent teacher Conference.
6:00 -Pick up kids from Sisters
6:15- Scramble to get homework done and get ready for bed.
8:00 Trev comes home from setting up booth
8:30 -2nd run to target for lunch bags
9:00- Head on pillow good night!
I'm sorry if this made you dizzy. But I thought I would share my day in the car with you. I have to say this isn't everyday but it easily could be. Now that is scarey. Come see Trev at the expo this weekend. Friday 12-8 Sat 10-7 and yes unfortunately Sunday 10-6. Bldg "A" lower level.

Power to the Small Businesses!

2009-01-14T20:09:00.000-08:00

How many of us or our spouses are self-employed? I'm thinkin' a lot . So here's my chance to give you all some free publicity. Comment on my post and lists the small business and a small description of what it is. This way we help friends and family out before taking our business to the big corporate man. So here's our small Businesses
M2 Builders- General Contractor, remodels, commercial, residential, tenant improvements, blown down fences, he does it all, nothing is too small or big of a job. m2builders@gmail.com
Advanced Engergy Audits- Tests the energy consumption in your home, efficientcy etc. And also tests new systems that have been installed. aeaudits@gmail.com
Call Trevor at 916-257-1222 for both.
Yes that's right the Nielsen's have two small businesses now and are in need of free publicity and work. So I'll post your business in my side bar if you do the same.

Christmas with the Smith Fam

2008-12-28T12:48:00.000-08:00

This year we were with my family for Christmas and we had a blast. We have a few traditions in our family and one is that we get these Ravioli's from a small mom and pop shop in San Jose every year. I am not a fan of these Ravioli's but I love that it's a tradition for us to eat them on Christmas Eve. My mom told us the story that she would eat them with her Grandparents and would listen to them for hours speak in Italian and have like a ten course dinner. They even had hand made Cannoli's, mm yummm. We have dropped that part of the tradition for the sake of Sanity. We have bread, Ravioli's and sparking cider. Then we get to open our pajamas and read the Christmas story from Luke 2 and then Santa came to visit before he started his deliveries for the night. The kids loved it. Tyler was in shock and beside himself and couldn't spit out everything that was in his head. Grace and Andrew loved it just as much and were so excited. We put the kids to bed and while we waited for them to fall asleep we watched It's a wonderful Life and The Christmas Story. While we were trying to explain the movie's to Laura the whole time we had a blast getting ready for Christmas morning. I love watching the kids faces and listening and answering their questions. Christmas morning started out early with Kyle calling at 6:30 a.m. It was so much for to talk to him and hear how he's doing. We played a lot , I vacuumed repeatedly with my new Dyson DC 17 , oh yeah, and ate a ton of food. We went over to my Aunt and Uncle's in the evening to see all our cousins who were here visiting and had a fun time catching up. It was a great day and everyone was happy all day!!! It was Christmas after all.

Fun Times

All the cousins checking out the new toys.

Super excited face?

I don't think he believed he was ever going to have a birthday

Andrew's new GeoTrax Airplane

Cupcakes for Lunch!
The Smith Grandkids

Santa Came to visit

The kids were so excited!

Some how it turned into dog pile night

She was so not excited about Christmas!

Christmas Morning, waiting on stairs, tradition? or cruel form of torture?

Tyler starting to open after getting his Leapster 2 and Hunting bag.

Grace got Dance lessons and Tutu's for Christmas!

My Dyson vacuum, I am in love!

Andrew and his D-Rex, it is so cool!

Trev did o.k. too, golf bag, golf balls, gadgets, a hat and coveralls that have his new business name on them. That's right we started a new business in December too, now we have two businesses to keep track of. Advanced Energy Audits and M2 Builders call 257-1222 for any Contractor or Energy needs. (How'd you like that little bit of advertisement?)

To say the least we were all spoiled and had a blast being with all the kids and seeing their adorable faces light up with all the fun. Christmas is so much fun with kids, how did we ever do it without them?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW

2008-12-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

So this little boy was a bit of a surprise but we seriously need him in our family. He is so sweet and loves to cuddle with mom and dad. He is growing way too fast. He is now wearing size 4/5 T shirts and is just now 3. I know... I'm in trouble. He loves his chicken nuggets and milk. He recently has discovered how to use those strong muscles in his legs to push bike pedals and loves being outside and helping daddy work. He already has a deep voice and is a bit of a "tough guy". Anything trucks, trains, cars, planes, animals, coloring, and did I mention this kid loves his milk. Due to a slacker of a mom he is not potty trained yet because I guess I like buying diapers j/k. We start monday on the potty training and will be done right?! I'm not that naive! I love this cute boy and he just can melt your heart with his laugh and smile. Here's a few pictures of him growing before our very eyes.!

Enough wtih the Fog

2008-12-09T07:06:00.001-08:00

So the fog was fun for the first couple of days, but it's been like two weeks. I do realize however that this is as close to the look of snow that we get so I think it helps with the Christmas feeling, but seriously because of where we live we're kept in the fog long after many of you have recieved your gift of the sun. I am not a cold or rain person but I am a Christmas person. So I will try to keep my spirits up but after Christmas I make no promises.

CHP Academy

2008-12-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

So for those of you who don't know that the economy sucks for construction right now, well it does. Leaving those of us who are in the industry without work that was so plentiful a few years ago. M2 Builders has now turned into Trevor being without his brother Jared as his partner. Jared also known as Hoss to many, entered the CHP Academy the beginning of November. It is some seriously hard work physically and mentally. And my sister in law Nikki is now a single mom during the week. She is seriously working as hard as a supporter and mother and I totally admire her for it. I don't think I could do it. Anyway so this week Jared got his picture taken while in class and I thought I would post it. The kids miss their uncle Hoss being around. Good luck Hoss we'r all praying for you guys!

Happy Halloween and humbling experiences

2008-11-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

If you're like me and you have a running/ walking buddy and you get to vent daily to your sounding board then we are blessed. But be warned things you say are heard, and not just by your buddy. I was walking last week and I starting asking Cristy who she thought would be replacing all the recently opened callings at church. So one by one they've been filling up except one, Primary 1st counselor, who got called as Stake Primary President. I told her that I've had my calling for about 2 years now and am finally getting the hang of it. I immediately followed that with maybe I shouldn't say anything because it'll be me getting the phone call. Sure enough last night a call from Brother Zambrana asking if he could come over and talk with us sent a chill through my body. He came and extended the call and I accepted of course. While I will really miss the youth that I teach in Sunday school, I am really excited to be with the children of the ward. They are truly angels and we are supposed to learn from them and be like them so hopefully I pick up some of their angelic traits.

Halloween is always a fun day for us, busy but fun. We go to my mom's house every year and eat some delicious soup and go trick or treating to some close neighbors, Grandma Fanara's house and aunt Sheila's. Who I must say spoiled the kids rotten with candy and cookies. I will be sending you guys the Dentist bill for cavities. Just kidding. They loved it and felt so special. Recently my little niece Ava has formed a strong attachment to Trevor and for the life of us can't figure out why. It might be all the the sweet treats he's slipped to her now and then but it is adorable. She wanted nothing to do with her parents and needed to be either holding hands or being held by him the entire night. It was adorable. We had a fun going around with the cousins and aunts and uncles while Nana and Papa passed out candy. Tyler was Darth Vader, Grace Bell, and Andrew was Woody and Bullseye. They love playing dress up and this was a pure night of Joy. It takes so little to make kids happy. Hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween.

So far this month...

2008-10-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

So far this month has been an exciting ride. Grace has had a UTI that wasn't responding to antibiotics so after a run to the ER monday night she is on a new antibiotic and hopefully wiping her system clean. We went to our annual Nielsens Family reunion on a quick trip to Black Dragon. Pumpkin patch for fun and a field trip and celebrated a ton of birthdays. I know I am being super detailed but I really don't want to relive all the details so if you have questions I'll answer but it's kind've exhausting to think about. For the most part we're doing good and having fun. The kids are happy and trying to soak up as much of this beautiful weather as possible. Happy Harvesting!

Presley and Kaylee Knapton

Our kids at Bishops Pumpkin Patch

Grace on her picture day

Grace, Chloe, and Gabi at Pumpkin patch for field trip

Grace and Gabi with the pumpkins they picked out.

Our neice's Taylor and Kate repelling.

Nephew Porter enjoying a snack waiting for his lunch.

Super mom, Shelane with Hazel on her back repelling. She's a cool chick.

Tagged

2008-09-30T00:16:00.001-07:00

So here's the rules. Go to your pictures, the 4th file and then the 4th picture and you have to post that picture. My sister tagged me so I'm tagging any of you that need something to post. This was Tyler when we were outside in the spring probably about 3 years ago. Cute little kid.

Family

2008-09-23T20:41:00.000-07:00

I have the best family. From my kids and husband, to siblings, nieces and nephews, in laws, MOM AND DAD, cousins, aunts, uncles, Grandpa, and especially this week Grandma Fanara. The lady of the hour or at least the 21st of September. It was her 80Th birthday and you would never guess it. She is my hero(in)! She's a lovely lady and I am so glad that she's around to play with my kids and for them to know her. On Saturday there was a surprise birthday party for her with everyone. Kyle was the only one missing but we still managed to get his life size picture of him in the family picture. There were 48 people in this picture who are either son, daughter, in-lawed, grandchild, or great grandchild. It was an amazing sight and hasn't happened in a long time. It was quite emotional for Grandma to see everyone together in one house. I imagine that must be what it's like when we get to see our loved ones who have passed on. I love you Grandma and thank you for all that you are and all that you do and have done!

When is it ever going to stop!

2008-09-20T08:47:00.000-07:00

I don't think I have stopped since school started. With Tyler and Grace's birthday's, all three kids with colds, t-ball, Kumon, carpool, and Grace's special visits to the doctor this week, late night fevers, HOMEWORK, company... I just marvel at those of you who have all your kids in extra curricular. I don't know how you do it. I am worn out at the end of the day. And that is laundry time around here. The funny thing is that I love it! I just don't know if you all take a minute to tell yourself you're doing good and that it's actually fun. I got to go to the temple last night with my mom, grandma, sister and brother in law ( it was supposed to be a whole family thing but things came up for everyone). Trev went abalone diving with a friend so I flew solo this time. I went with the intention of getting some answers to some questions and what I came out with was peace. PEACE. What a perfect lesson for me. The calming, joyous feeling of simple peace. Why is it so hard to have/get this wonderful state of mind, body and spirit? I am so grateful for that moment I had in The Lord's temple. It's amazing what comes into your head when you clear out the junk! Hope you all get a moment of peace soon, you deserve it.

2008-09-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help myself when I saw this quiz on my sister in law's blog. 20

That was almost Tyler's entire Kindergarten class. I bet his teacher could double that.

Happy Birthday Gracie Girl!

2008-09-09T22:50:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my little girl is 4. She truly lights up our life everyday. She also brings plenty of drama into it. She is caring, helpful, loving, thoughtful, beautiful, and hilarious. She has a beautiful smile and is super friendly. In fact we all usually embarrass Trev whenever we go anywhere because we'll talk to anyone and he wants to run. I love the song "In my Daughters Eyes", by Martina McBride. I've added it to my playlist at the bottom so scroll down and click on that and Gracie Girl if you haven't already listened to it. Those lyrics represent her perfectly. I am so grateful to have a daughter like her. I know some might think that I jinxed her by naming her Grace but to me she is the epitome of the word. I am so excited to see what she is going to do with her life because I know she's going to be amazing, I just don't want her to grow up all at the same time. I love you babe, Happy Birthday!

O.k.

2008-08-28T14:03:00.001-07:00

I know it seems that I should have more time during the summer months to add posts but I've been letting my kids stay up later later and watch movies, play games, eat ice cream you know all that fun summer stuff. We've been busy. I don't think any of you want to hear a complete play by play of what we've been doing so here's a list
Swimming, and more swimming, camping, camping, playing, friends, fun Sunday dinners, reading, reading, Olympics, movies, birthday parties, T-Ball.
We're excited for school that starts up on Tuesday and Tyler's birthday on Wednesday. Grace got to go with her best friend Gabi to the Nut Tree for Gabi's birthday with her grandma and mom, and I am helping out with a wedding on Saturday. So hopefully I'll take some pictures during the chaos and let you know how it goes.

Thoughts of the day...

2008-06-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

I love blue skies, especially when it's relief from smoke. We can finally go out and play and not feel like we're breathing in toxins all day long. My kids are on the mend from having strep throat but I need help. Andrew is a very sweet boy... most of the time but tell him no or if the kids take a toy he is out for blood. I've never had such an aggressive child and I am disciplining and staying on top of it but it's only dealing with the moment and doesn't seem to be sticking. He says sorry after I put him on the naughty chair but I'm kind of stressed about the long term behavior. Hopefully it's just a terrible 2's thing and will taper off as he gets older but if you have any ideas let me know. I'm open for criticism, advice, whatever!
In the meantime we are in full swing of summer with our garden producing delicious veggies and finally tomatoes that are just mouth watering. We had BLT's yesterday and they were excellent. Even Tyler who hates tomatoes had some. He made a funny face as he was doing it but he still ate them. If you have any ideas for me on the Andrew issues let me know, and as soon as possible would be better than later!

Our Disneyland Trip

2008-06-25T18:26:00.001-07:00

Under Construction!

2008-06-16T00:06:00.000-07:00

Don't mind the the pattern clashing going on. I'm just havinga little bit of fun. We got back from our trip to Disneyland today so I'll be posting all the fun sometime this week. I just have to get Trev off to scout camp in the morning so after that we should be back to normal. Happy Father's day to everyone!

Tagged by Laura

2008-06-03T14:15:00.000-07:00

How To Play This Game of Tag:
Post these rules on your blog.List: 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

3 Joys
1. When I pick up my kids from school they run to me and jump and I have to catch them or else I'd get plowed down, it's dangerous but they are the light of my life.
2. Going on a date with my husband.
3. Helping someone that really could use the help and they are appreciative of the help. I've been there in most cases.

3 Fears
1. Having someone close to me die. (Parents, siblings, spouse, kids, a little morbid I know)
2. One of my kids getting hurt. (ie Grace breaking her leg)
3. Failing as a mother. ( At least in a marriage you can almost always work through it, w/ kids the smallest most insignificant thing could happen and it would affect them forever)

3 obsessions/ collections
1. Having cleanly groomed eyebrows.
2. It used to be biting my nails but I recently kicked that habbit
3. Cleaning, I don't mean for it to be and you wouldn't know it, but when my house is dirty I can't function.

3 Goals
1. Run a 5K. (Just did that on memorial day)
2.Go back to school some day and get my degree
3. Lose weight, It's gonna take a whole lot of dieting because exercising alone is not working out too well.

3 random/surprising facts about myself
1. I love musicals, theater, rocking out with my kids to music.
2. I live for vacations, we have one coming up but it's a surprise to my kids so I'll tell you after it happens if you can't allready guess.
3.I am a Dental Assistant ( not working currently do to my lifelong full time job, mom)

5 people I tag:
1. Rosanne
2. Jess
3. Andrea
4. Cora
5. Lisa

My American Idol is...

2008-05-22T09:30:00.000-07:00

So even though my pick for American Idol didn't win despite my endless voting tuesday night I know we'll hear marvelous music from him soon. Now what am I gonna do on wednesday nights when Trev is at Young Men's?

Some pic's to catch you up...

2008-05-15T12:34:00.001-07:00

7 Year Anniversary

2008-04-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Trevor and I just celebrated our 7 year anniversary this weekend. We had so much fun. We went out on saturday just the two of us and did whatever we wanted. Dinner at Ruth's Chris steakhouse it was good but Carvers is better in my opinion. Then made our way to Payless shoe source where I always find a cute pair of shoes that are always in my price range. Sports Authority for a new putter for Trev and then to see Leatherheads. Such a fun night and Nikki and Jared had the kids over for a cousin night. The kids love going over and playing with their cousins so I didn't have to worry at all. A perfect night! Monday was actually our anniversary so we took the kids mini golfing and then we meet up with my fam for some mongolian BBQ and then we bought a VAN! Can you believe it, it was at Shauns' dealership and it's just what we've been looking for so we got it. I need to sell my pacifica today so if you know anyone that is in the market let me know. And to end the evening on a perfect note Trev surprised me and had our wedding video put onto a DVD. When we got married we just had some kids from the ward who were also in Video in high school at the time be our videographers. So the tape was aging and needed to be salvaged before it was ruined. I have the most amazing husband. He always has given me the perfect gifts, he knows me so well. I love him so much, and not because of the gifts. He works so hard and we have so much fun together. Our kids have the best dad and he loves being with us. Unless he's golfing he is always working or serving in his calling. I truly have a wonderful husband. Here's some pics's from our wedding day!

Easter with the Nielsens

2008-03-26T21:58:00.001-07:00

Spring is Here

2008-03-23T01:29:00.001-07:00

Well things are little out of order but that's life sometimes. Tyler had to build a Leprechaun trap for Kindergarten so we worked hard and came up with something cute but that sneaky little Leprechaun was too fast and much to Tyler's severe dissapointment he did not catch him. Then we had an Easter Party with a huge egg hunt and bounce house and slide with a money pit in some hay. Some friends of ours in the ward throw this huge bash every year at their farm that they run a day care and pre-school out of so it is a total kids party. It was just as fabulous this year as always and the weather was beautiful. I love spring!

Carrie And Keith...Your sneak peek

2008-03-23T00:12:00.000-07:00

So for Valentines Day Trev got me Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood Tickets! I was completely shocked and thrilled. The last concert I went to was Josh Groban when Tyler was a baby and he's 5 1/2. So we went on the 12th and even from the top of Arco Arena they were both excellent performers. Keith really got connected with the audience. I almost felt my age for a night. It was fun to go with Trev even though he's not a big sing to every song, stand up and dance kind of guy. He didn't seem to be annoyed that I could barely stay in my seat. So here's some pic's from that!

I know it's not very good but it's proof I was there. Carrie changed her outfit like 4 times. I couldn't wait to see what she was gonna wear next.

She really does have a great live performance

This is how Keith started out. He had so much energy, it was already 9:30 by the time he came out so I was starting to get tired, while the teenagers behind us were still going strong.

Thanks to the huge screen behind the stage we got to see Keith when he sat down and was playing his guitar. So at the end of the catwalk there was this circle and Carrie never did anything with it and we couldn't tell what it was used for and then Keith and his whole band walked out to it and they played 3 songs from the center of Arco Arena so that everyone got a 360 degree view, not a bad view! We had a blast and now I am in a concert mood and don't want to miss any good concerts. Michael Buble is coming but it's on Sunday... bummer!

Blog Woe's

2008-03-04T14:37:00.001-08:00

As many of you know I had a blog heartbreak. I picked a new layout without saving my information and now as you can see I am missing many of my friends blog addresses. Many of you have confessed to doing this same thing. It almost felt like typing up a paper for school and then with a click of some magical button it's gone, just like that. Well I hope not to do this again but there are no gaurantees that this thing in my head called a brain might actually work and remember my previous error. Not to beg but if you can please leave your blog address in the comments section or just e-mail me your address. If you want I will erase it after I have added you to the list.
Tonight I will be going to enrichment not to be enriched oh no, but to teach! I really feel inadequate about this task but at the same time it's a really fun subject. The Sense of Touch. We are giving ourselves a spiritual spa night. I am always a sucker for anything spa-ish. I wish I got to go around and see what the other classes will be talking about but hopefully I can get a sneek peak at their info. I'll take some pictures and post some after I have recooperated from this new experience. Wish me Luck!

My cute kids!

2008-02-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd show my kids off. We love going to our new park day. It's on wendesday's in case anyone is interested.

Here is Tyler climbing

Here's our Grace cute as ever!

Here is Andrew trying to be like is big brother and sister

The Newest Nielsen!

2008-02-24T20:48:00.000-08:00

So Wade and Shelane had their 5th. Josh Asa Nielsen born 2.23.08 7lbs 1oz. and 21.5 inches long.
You can visit their blog to read more about him. But they're doing good. He was almost born on Trev's birthday. Yes today Trev is 30 and he is so excited about it :( Trev loves having all the attention focused on him and having a birthday on sunday is even better. It was actually a pretty relaxing day. I planned on getting up early to feed all the animals for him but he beat me outside so I helped him with the ones that were in the barn. It was raining so he feed Lady and Slick that are out in the field. I sent him to bed so I could make him his breakfast and have the kids serve it to him. They love birthday's. I try to decorate for every holiday because they love it so much. I didn't get to the streamers last night because I fell asleep early and so of course Tyler asked me when he got up where all the decorations were. Thanks Tyler I almost didn't feel guilty. We gave Trev some snowboarding pants, work pants, and a boot dryer. You put your boots on these sticks that dry your boots for you. It's been a long winter of rain so Trev has had to use the hair dryer a few times to dry out his shoes. So hopefully the hair dryer will last me longer. We rushed to get ready for church that starts at 8:30 a.m. and made it in time for the opening hymn. I teach the Book of Mormon to the 14&15 year olds' in the room that Priesthood has it's opening exercises in. So I decided to embarrass Trev a little and write a birthday message on the chalkboard for the entire Priesthood to see. He loved it!!!! J/K My mom made another delicious meal and then the opened a few presents, played apples to apples and then I had to drop Trev off at the church for a fireside. It was a busy but good day. Trev I love you and you will always be 23 to me. Thanks for all that you do for us! We love you! ( I would post a pic of Trev but he hates having his picture taken too so use your imagination).

The New First Presidency!

2008-02-04T16:07:00.000-08:00

Wow does news travel fast, especially in the LDS community! I just heard this morning that President Monson is now the new Prophet (chills just ran up my arms), President Eyring 1st Counselor and President Uchtdorg 2nd Counselor. Just typing that made me realize that these men were called of God to lead us. I am so grateful for the Gospel, it's awesome. We had a meeting last night to realign the Lincoln wards, again, and we stayed in our ward. Nikki and Jared are back but we still couldn't get Britt and Chad in our ward. Britt lost a lot of friends in the split and she is bummed but understands growth is always good in the church. By the way Giants won the superbowl, that was kind've unexpected but we love the underdog don't we. The sun is out and I am inside cleaning. I love the sunshine through the windows though. It is just beautiful!

Bittersweet

2008-01-28T21:44:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we got to stay a little later at my parents house because Tyler didn't have school on Monday due to Martin Luther King Jr. day. So we got home late which usually means the kids sleep in a little bit the next day. I almost took the kids up to the snow by myself but when I woke up I decided I would just spend the day with the kids cleaning their rooms and just taking it easy. Well I get a phone call from Trev around 10:20 saying that Chris ( a lady that boards two horses at our house) is outside and she says that she thinks Duke is dying. So I get the kids situated so that I can run outside and check on him and by the time I got outside he had died. This is the big black horse that Grace and Tyler get bucked off of in September. He had this disease called HYPP which in layman's terms means that in his breeding he got a genetic disorder passed down to him that attacks your muscles. He had just recently been suffering from HYPP attacks which means that his muscles are spazzing out and you can see it rolling through his body. So I run outside to a dead horse that I had been holding a grudge towards because he hurt my Grace. So it starts to rain and I"m scrambling between making sure the kids are looking outside at him and trying to find blankets and tarps to cover up this huge horse. I was surprised at how hard it hit me. He was a beautiful horse and really had a cool personality. He was shown in some local horse shows and cleaned up really good. He was my dad's first horse and always would meet me at gate when we would get home from school and race us down the driveway as we pulled in to the garage he would run into his stall in the barn. He had a Stallion spirit. So that was a fun way to spend a day off.

Then on Wednesday I found out from Trev that some stuff from his job site got stolen, which really is the the norm now for us. Trev's brother and his wife came to visit, Mathew and Heidi, for Heidi's birthday. We had a lot of fun hanging out and celebrating Heidi's birthday. We went to Chuck e Cheese's for it on Saturday and wow was it crazy but we fun. They are such a cute couple and totally compliment each other. Heidi loves the kids and the kids love her. She is so much fun and is such a sweetheart. They flew home Sunday after dinner and then later that night we got the new that our beloved Prophet, President Hinckley died at home Sunday night. What a great man he was! I shed some tears during the Christmas Devotional this past year because you could tell his health was declining and he seemed a lot more fragile.

So he has gone home to be with his wife. Can you imagine the welcome home party he got! I will always remember his dear smile and spirit.

The week has been bittersweet, but winter always has it's bummer days. Man I can't wait for summer.

Nielsens at Yellowstone reunion

2008-01-04T20:41:00.000-08:00

(From top left to bottom right: Wade, Hazel, Shelane, Wyatt, Heidi, Mathew, Jared, Nikki, Jacob, Lisa, 2nd row: Allan, Lora, Preston, Sandy, Oliver, Mira, Cristal, Owen, 3rd row: Trevor, Andrew, Tristan, Carson, Devin, Ethan, Christian, Wesley, Shane 4th row: Me, Grace, Taylor, Ian,5th row: Tyler, Isaac, Kaitlyn, Porter, Collin, Atali, Jorden =37)

I forgot to add this picture but you need to see just how many Nielsens there were at our Yellowstone reunion. This is Trevor's mom and dad and brothers and sisters and all the kids. This picture is updated for now until Shelane has her baby, good job shelane! This is the clan.

Merry Christmas!

2008-01-03T21:33:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!

Santa brought me a new camera! Finally I can start annoying my kids again! We made the Trek east to Utah for Christmas with Trev's family and made it up to the Peterson's later on. We had an absolute blast. Yeah it's kind've hard to pack for five people plus presents but we totally were excited to go and really enjoyed spending an entire week. That never happens. Tyler finally got to play in the snow and make snow angels, and snowman, and sled and snow shoe. And he's not tired of it. Grace kept eating the snow and we had to keep taking her on a walk to find some clean edible snow. Andrew was attached to Dad the entire trip which was nice for me but I felt bad... somtimes. We played with cousins everyday and went sledding. Caught the BYU game, GO COUGARS! We really love visiting and loved our time with our Grandmas and Grandpa's. Keep watching for more updates. I should be doing this weekly now. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's.

About my blogging hiatus...

2007-11-26T12:05:00.000-08:00

Some of you might be wondering why the sudden decline in new posts. We've been on a serious potty training schedule. I think I reached my limit on diaper changes and spending money on them when I know Grace is old enough to be potty-trained. So after spending long day with the stress of it all I went to work. I started doing some research and found a book online written by a mom/ day care provider who has potty trained over 300 kids plus her own three boys. Her only credentials is her experience and doesn't mess around with theories, and what psychologists say. Start pre-potty training months before by making sure to keep them as dry as possible. That means being on top of the diaper changing and yes avoiding that saggy diaper look. So I've already started with Andrew. So far Grace hasn't had an accident for a couple days and we throw the biggest parties ever when she goes no.2 in the toilet. I think I almost cried because I was so happy. Having the week off for Thanksgiving relaxed us a bit. Hopefully she will stay consistent while at school. We had a great Thanksgiving with my family this year and even managed to get some family pictures taken. So don't be surprised if you've already seen our picture when it arrives in your mail. Mom made an awesome meal with all the fixings' and Laura made sweet potato casserole. She did a great job. It was a full house, though we did miss Kyle a ton. It was really weird not to have him there but it sounds like he was well taken care of at a members house. I am so grateful for all our friends and family. We have so many good people around us and who support us. I am so grateful for my own family. It is so fun so see them grow and to watch them start new things. Trev is such a hard working, loving, and fun husband and dad. It's the kids highlight when dad comes home. They always give him such a grand welcome home hug. I'm usually in the kitchen waiting for my turn. Anyway that's what's new with us hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-10-25T09:08:00.001-07:00

Go Tyler Go!

2007-10-25T08:45:00.000-07:00

Tyler is officially a kid. Since the sun decided to come out again this week we decided Tyler was ready to learn how to ride on two wheels. After I spent about an hour getting him brave enough to try it and letting him get the feel of it Trev came home and spent 5 minutes with him and he was off. He is doing so good! It's really nice to have such a long driveway for hime to ride on. This is exactly what I pictured when we decided to get our driveway paved. He said he needed to know how to ride a bike so he can go on a mission like uncle Kyle is in Arizona. Thank goodness for good examples.

The Cutest Kids

2007-10-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

I know I'm a little bias but I love all these kids. They each have the cutest little personalities. We are really excited to have Tiff, Brad and Ava move out here in a couple of weeks. Grace needs her "baby Aba". We've had a great week because GRACE GOT HER CAST OFF!!!!! Yes it finally happened and she's a little wobbly but loving her independence. We just need to work on her whining a little bit and we'll be good. Me and the kids got our flu shots on monday, Grace got her cast off on wednesday, Andrew had his last well baby check up thursday. I guess that means he's no longer a baby. That is really sad! Britt got to hear Andrew yell at me when I wouldn't let him keep his huge tonka trunk in his crib with him while he took a nap. It went something like"No no no no, blah blah blah blah, no no no no", with his finger pointing at me the whole time. Of course I couldn't help myself from laughing, which I think only angered him more. Lately instead of crying I just laugh at everything, I think it keep me sane. Mom had a birthday on Wednesay and we all went out to dinner except for Trev because had to go to Young Men's, he's so responsible. Anyway lifs is on the up and up and Tyler has his sacrament Primary program this sunday. He has his part memorized and knows the songs. We'll see what happens when it's time to get up there. O.k. that's all I have to say, and congratulations to Shelane and Wade, they're expecting there 5th child and it's a boy!!!

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-10-07T22:04:00.001-07:00

After the afternoon session of General Conference we stuffed the kids full of muffins, hash browns, Poferges (little pancakes from Holland), and juice. It was delicious. I finally got some pictures of Grace's cast using my mom's camera. Mine decided to quit after 5 years, 3 kids, well you understand... I managed to get Grace to sit still long enough for me to french braid her hair but it didn't last very long, but she's adorable anyway. Only 1 1/2 weeks till that beautiful cast comes off. She's trying to get get away with walking on it but we were given strict instructions from the doctor not to let her so we just keep having to tell her to sit on her bum, or at least what's left of it. She's lost tons of weight no idea how much but we can tell. As you can see she does eat. Maybe that's the next big diet craze. Break something that makes you immobile so you can only eat when somebody brings you your food. Hmmm we'll have to see....

Update from yesterday

2007-10-03T10:03:00.001-07:00

In case you were wondering Andrew did throw up last night and if you were wondering, almost 2 year olds don't like having a bowl in front of their face, they would rather let the mess spread all over their bed. I love laundry!!! So far Trev and I are in the clear, cross your fingers that it's just a kid thing. I'm thinking about calling the Lysol company and tell them that 99.9% isn't good enough, I want 100% disinfectant. More to come...

Kaiser's Flu clinic starts the 13th!

2007-10-02T14:01:00.000-07:00

I woke this morning to hear the sound of Tyler running into the bathroom and thought to myself "yay, I don't have to wake him up this morning". But as I walked into the bathroom I saw him crouching over the toilet puking. So when he was done I asked him if he was o.k. and I felt his head and no temperature. So I thought well at least it's just one kid. He said he felt better so I had him get dressed for school thinking and praying that he just had too much bacon last night with his BLT sandwich. So off to school we go. WAIT MOM STOP! I'M GOING TO THROW UP! Oh yes we had to stop just past Nikki's house on the way to school so he could empty what was left of his stomache. Then I turn my head only to see Nikki and her clan driving past us and she is full on cracking up. I think it's because yesterday I called her to tell her when the first day of Kaiser's flu clinic is, the 13th. Why did we talk about it! O.K. fine you can stay home Tyler ( poor kid). Well at least Grace is o.k. she can go to school. I hear a cough from the back and look and then eruption from my poor little Grace, yes her too. Well that was a fun ride in the car. I kept thinking please don't throw up on that cast because I can wash clothes but not the cast. So Andrew's fine, so far I'll keep you posted...there's always tonight!

Puka the dog

2007-09-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have been any part of the Smith family you know who Puka is. Last wednesday my mom discovered that she was bleeding from her "girl area" and that required an emergency visit to Loomis Basin Vet clinic which resulted in a two night stay after a mass was discovered. She was sent home on friday only to learn that night that is was cancer. After some of the shock has worn off it was decided the only humane thing to do to this very sweet little dog was to put her down. So saturday was tough. This might shock a few but yes we all cried. She was loved and spoiled by her feeding schedules and potty routine. The only thing that kind of tipped us off was how much of a routine she really had and how it had changed a lot. So what is the deal with pets who die? Will they be there ready to welcome us when we leave this world. I think so, but Puka will be barking to warn others that we've arrived. Thanks Puk for always being there.

Reflecting on my Birthday

2007-09-23T22:47:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to thank everybody for your well wishes on my birthday. I can't believe that I'm 27, on the other hand I have accomplished enough so I'm just about age appropriate. Today in church we sang "Because I have been given much", what a perfect song to sing on a birthday. It made me think of all the blessings in my life, family, friends who have always shown their love for me. I have a wonderful husband who understands me and loves me despite all my faults. It's kind've become a joke that my birthday is starting to become a birthday week, but it's just a good excuse to have fun and be with loved ones. My three darling children who light up my life everyday. They are such precious gifts to me and always make me smile. O.k. enough mushiness. Thanks for loving me

2007-09-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

Random pictures of the family

2007-09-21T17:28:00.000-07:00

Andrew at Ward Talent show
Tyler on Cruiser

Grace on Cruiser

Tyler had a school field trip to Fairlytale town, thus the red shirt

Our little cowgirl

Andrew's 1st year picture

Trev and LT (little Trevor) on his 2 year birthdayChristmas 2007

Andrew at San Francisco Giants game

Grace and Tyler outside AT&T Park

Tyler's first day of Kindergarten

5 years old

Grace first day of Pre-School

Almost 3

Are you kidding Me?

2007-09-20T09:14:00.000-07:00

O.k Laura, this is for you!
So I guess my life has been pretty comically eventful lately. From backed up septic system in my newly remodeled bathroom, Grace's broken leg on labor day, Tyler's quarter sized wad of tissue that had to be vacuumed out of his nose, and my muscle spasms in my back... exactly, are you kidding me! The timeline of events was all within a week of each other and leaving me only to have to visit Kaiser about 4 times.
Tyler started Kindergarten and has been wearing a certain color shirt for the past two weeks to go with the theme in his class. I didn't make him wear pink on picture day, that would've been one for the yearbook. Can you believe my son is going to be in a year book! I think that is just so amazing that I'm old enough to have a kid in a yearbook. Yes I'm having a birthday on Sunday. I'm not so excited about this one, it's old. Almost 30 , only 3 years away. How the heck did that happen? Well as long as I don't feel it I guess that's all that matters. Well an update soon I'm sure if life keeps going the way it is!