The Nelsonian

Snow Day!!! 2012

2012-01-16T13:19:00.001-08:00

Yesterday we awoke to a light blanket of snow on the ground. An hour later, it was really coming down. Travis said, "I'm not sure it would be a good idea to go to church today. Gasman would be really scary!" (Gasman road is a very curvy road that is the only road that takes us down from the bluffs to the main roads. It's about 2 miles long.) Not long after he voiced his concerns, the phones started ringing that church was canceled. Joseph and Connor were already outside playing in the snow. We ended up spending over 5 hours outside in the snow as it fell. Travis said it was one of best days he's had as a family in a while. Here are a few pictures of the day.

Spencer started out his morning snuggled up reading his favorite books. (We are big Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans)
Lizbet really wanted to go out in the snow...so we threw on an old sweatshirt and Connor's hat. She stayed pretty much on the deck, but had a blast!
Spencer decided that the snow was too tempting, so he abandoned his reading and headed out. (yes...our children wore their jammie's alllll day!)
Daddy went out and threw some snowballs and had some fun.
I was busy with the camera. We have 4 suet cages, 2 bird houses, one seed sock, and one hummingbird feeder all our in our backyard...they were all hopping busy.
This is the most hummingbird action we have seen since we moved here! They are sooo cool!
We moved to the front yard and the boys started helping Travis make a snowman...
....but then the neighbors invited the boys to sled down the street instead....
Lizbet got cold and just watched at the door with Daddy's snuggie.
They had a blast! Connor was the only one that wore jeans.
...meanwhile...Daddy worked on the snowman on his own...until Little Miss decided to go out and "help" him.
She said, "Too cold!", but had lots of fun watching.
What a cute Travee and his snowman! That thing will never melt...it never is warm up here on the Bluff's.
Joseph and Connor went down the hill together a lot. I baked peanut butter cookies and had Joseph take the plate out and hand them out to the neighbors while they were still warm to say thank you for including our kids. We have such awesome neighbors!!!
This was the first picture I took after it really started to come down. You can see the green of the grass still. (I'm not sure why this one ended up at the bottom, but that's okay)

It was a great day!

Science Experiment #1

2012-01-16T12:19:00.000-08:00

I got a nifty new book...
So...we are starting to do some of the experiments in the book. My plan was to take pictures of each step of some of them, and then print the pictures and let the boys organize and place them in their school notebooks. Then, I decided to also post some of them on my blog, so if I end up not getting around to having the pictures made, at least they can print the blog page for their records that we did indeed do such an experiment.

"Dehydration"....
The items required. A spud, salt, water....
Cut the spud in half...

Put water in each saucer (I promise...there's water in there). Add salt to one plate.

Write an S on the spud that goes into the salt water.
Let them sit. The book said to wait just 30 minutes and you will see a fabulous difference...NOT! We left them over night...
Here is the one that was in the salt. The water was all starchy and yucky and it was puckered at the bottom...
The water one looked pretty darn good.
Here is the difference.

I admit I was a tad disappointed in the results of this one, but it was significant enough that I could show the kids and make my point of dehydration. The kids had fun setting it all up and checking the progress.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-16T10:54:00.000-08:00

I haven't had access to the actual computer in..forever! I use my phone for most everything these days. But...I can't update my blog using my phone. So...I'm playing catch up today. I will start with Christmas 2011.

Santa came. Please not the lack of ornaments and garland on the lower half of the tree. Elizabeth stole many, many ornaments.
Christmas Eve we did lots of baking so we would have yummies for Christmas day and also leave plenty for Santa. Gingerbread cookies and Satchetortes for Santa, and cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Mmmmm
Christmas morning. Santa left the special, individual gifts on each blanket that the kids laid out. These blankets were gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Nelson. They opened them on Christmas Eve so that they could lay them out.
Joseph was the most excited of any of the kids.
Elizabeth wasn't sure what to think at first.
Spencer first had to check out what he got in his stocking...
Connor got the inner guts to a toilet from Santa! Sweeeet! (yes, I'm serious)
Joseph got, I believe, 9 different Cars 2 cars.
Elizabeth loved helping Daddy open his gifts.
Tinkerbell makeup kit!!!!!
Spencer got an Atari Playback 3. Talk about bringing back memories!

We have a billion pictures, but these are a good enough sample of the morning. They are very grateful for all the wonderful things they got. As usual, they were spoiled by their grandparents. The kids really made the holidays special this year. They had such a great enthusiasm for every tradition!

Family

2011-12-13T17:13:00.001-08:00

I took some pictures of the kids for Christmas cards and gifts etc. Here are the group photos.

Actually...this was taken for my mom. She bought us all Mariner sweatshirts and asked us to take a family photo with it for her.

This is their card. Super cool!

Glasses

2011-12-08T15:40:00.000-08:00

I suspected Spencer might need glasses this summer, but didn't pursue it because he didn't complain. Then about 2 weeks ago his Primary teacher mentioned that he couldn't see the posters that the music teacher was holding up during music time...then...he got a big old fat sty in his eye. I remember before I got my glasses that I had a lot of sty's...so I called Walmart Vision Center and asked how much it would cost for him to see the eye doctor and get glasses. (cause our insurance for the kids doesn't kick in until January) I made him an appt and off we all went. Travis went in with him to see the doctor while the rest of us wandered Walmart. Then, I went and helped pick out frames. He fell in love with these blue frames! He tried them on and did not want to take them off. We explained that the frames wouldn't help him see and they had to order lenses for the frames. He asked me to take a picture to help him remember what he looked like until he got his glasses. (they are supposed to be in on the 14th) It cost us less than $150 for the whole shebang, so I won't complain too loudly. It's unfortunate that it happened at Christmas time, but I would rather get zero presents for Christmas if it meant that my brilliant little boy could see. He was so thrilled to be able to see clearly. I sure do love this little 9 year old boy!

The Grand Tour...

2011-11-28T21:39:00.000-08:00

We had our 6 month inspection the other day, so our house had to be in pretty good order. Since it looked fairly decent, I thought I would snap some pictures for my mom and sisters who all wanted to see the whole house. I thought I would post them here too so that I have a record of the house being clean once. hahaha. I LOVE this house! It's old and kinda small and very quirky and I love it, love it, love it!!! I see some of the big gorgeous houses that my friends and family have and I get maybe a small tinge of jealousy, but then at night when I am putting the kids to bed and hanging out on the couch watching movies with my honey...I feel such a peace. This little house is for us. We are a quirky and goofy family with lots and lots of imperfections...but we are loving and give of what we have...just like our little house. I really hope we don't have to move anytime soon. That would make me very sad. But...until then...I will love and enjoy the little house on the bluffs!

Our bedroom. The big wall behind the bed is blank! So I didn't take a picture of it. I can't decide what I want to put there...
Joseph and Spencer's room.
Elizabeth and Connor's room. (and their totally ghetto window covering until I can figure out what I want to put up there. I reallllly wish I had my sewing machine these days!
The hallway. All the bedrooms, main bathroom, and pantry closet are in this hallway.
This is the original living room. We call it the small side or the computer side. We really really love that wood stove! Hot chocolate just tastes better when the water is heated on the top of the stove!
The kitchen is on my left. I love the openness of the place. Sooo much room!
This is in the big living room. It used to be the garage. I'm so happy we have the big living room and not a garage. This room is where we are always at!
The big living room again. We seriously need a big old recliner. More chairs anyway. It's so nice that we have to room to be able to say that!

The front door. Come on in! Notice the curtains in the window on the right. We have to gather them up like that when we turn the baseboard heater. If I had a sewing machine...I'd most likely hem the things up a bit...but...alas...we settle and are happy we have what we have.

The kitchen. The window makes me happy. I love being able look out the window at the birds and the kids when they play.

So...that is it. That is what we live in. I can not thank my Heavenly Father enough for helping us to get into this house and for blessing us with all that we have.

Movie Debut

2011-11-14T14:25:00.000-08:00

Our kids are so funny! Yesterday, after church, they decided to go out and slide down the little hill that leads into the forest next to our house. They used the toy tub that Elizabeth had dumped out...they nearly killed themselves a few times, but they had lots of fun. After the filming, Spencer took on the task of editing and making it into a movie suitable for Youtube. It's not really a movie...except for the fancy credits at the end...but it is funny to see what the kids do when the parents aren't present. Joseph kinda stuttered along cause he said he didn't have a script. It made us smile, so we will share the link and you can smile too. (o: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xIqfyFBgBk

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

Getting ready to go to Trunk or Treat at the church. The kids made their own costumes. Joseph was an AMC Pacer car, Spencer was a computer...well, he was actually Windows XP...Connor had a railroad crossing gate on his back and Elizabeth was cute with bwoo hair and her outfit my mom sent.
At first she didn't know what to think of it all, but when the candy started coming...she more than happy to participate!
Joseph and Connor doing the penny throw.
Spencer fishing.
After the party, we went to Walgreens to show Daddy the costumes and the loot accumulated. It was a total bummer that he had to work, but fun getting to go see him. (And Mike at the register had candy for cute trick or treaters.)

We also carved a pumpkin (had to wait for Halloween day cause if you carve one too soon, the raccoons eat them) and we also baked a Halloween cake for dessert! I do believe I can now declare...another successful Halloween!

My Love Affair...

2011-10-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

...with my Nook! I joke that my best friend after Travis is my Nook Color. (and also my original Nook...but I loaned that out, so at the moment it's just me and my Nook Color) I've considered giving it a name, but I'm not really that kind of person. All I know is that I am positive that I would be lost without it. I currently have 261 books. (and 125 magazines---thanks to their free 2 week trial on all magazines!) A very large portion are free e-books that I have acquired..the classics and B&N's free Friday books...but there are some that I have bought and have read over and over and over. Here are a couple of my favorite reads lately.

Okay...I haven't read this one yet...I'm eagerly awaiting it's release in 11 days...but I love all the other books in the Inheritance Cycle and own them all on my Nook.
These books have been my mental saving grace. There is something about these books that make me feel happy and safe and smarter. I don't know what it is. They aren't about magic or really fantasy...they take place in the 1300's and they are totally teenage boy books...but I have learned so much and have fallen in love with the characters. There are 10 books in this series...I own them all and have just finished reading them for the second time. I think they have replaced my Harry Potter books for now, because I can have them on my Nook and read them much more conveniently. They are easy reads, but very entertaining and like I said...they make me happy!
Anything by Rick Riordan is a good read. My boys loved the Percy Jackson movie. I love....love...love Greek mythology....I even took a class my senior year in High School called...Greek and Roman Mythology. You know what else I've always loved? Egyptian history, archaeology...all that good stuff...and guess what? Mr. Riordan the Great also has a new series (yes, I have both books) that are like the Percy Jackson books, only it involves Egyptian stuff. Awesome!

I have also recently read Pride and Prejudice, The Secret Garden and Swiss Family Robinson. I have sooooooo many books that I haven't even begun to read...but will eventually. I feel sad for books that don't get read.

Oh, and I have a couple of these books too...for read aloud time at night. The kids love Judy Moody, and the Magic Treehouse...Plus I have some great interactive books for Elizabeth. And I even subscribe to the Smithsonian magazine!

Yep...I LOVE my Nook. That's all I have to say...well, no, I could go on and on and on and on...as most of you know me would agree...But, I will say no more. I think I'm gonna go re-read the third Inheritance cycle book in preparation for my newest book. Or browse for a new freebie! Woo hooooooooo!!!!

She Cracks Me Up!

2011-10-20T23:01:00.000-07:00

Yes:

It's raining...

She's wearing my shoes...

She has no pants on...

Her legs are green...

She's as happy as a clam...

AND

She's absolutely adorable...

This little girl cracks me up. She brings so much joy to our home. She brings out a sparkle in her daddy's eye that no one else can. She is the cherry on top!

A Visit with Aunt Tracey

2011-10-18T23:18:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we drove over to Renton to visit Travis's parents. His oldest sister, Tracey came up from Vancouver. Tracey has ovarian cancer. She just finished her last round of chemo, so we got together to celebrate that event. It was a good little visit. Tracey is an amazing person. She has such a positive way about her, despite what she has been facing.

Connor charmed the pants off Aunt Tracey.
Elizabeth actually let Tracey hold her a couple of times...briefly.
The oldest and the youngest together.
We had his mom take a group photo...photography isn't her strong suit. (o;
Spencer is such a goof!
I told the kids to look cute for me...this is what I got...cuteness!

Cause They Are So Cute!

2011-10-09T22:39:00.001-07:00

I took the kids to church today by myself because Travis had to work. They all looked so cute! When we got home, I told them to go stand by the house because I wanted to get a picture with my phone. Spencer kept trying to NOT pull a face...therefore pulling a face... And I LOVE how Spencer and Connor are holding hands...and that Joseph is helping Elizabeth stay steady on the log she was standing on. I LOVE MY KIDS!!!!

Connor...Condor...Conrad...Kohwoh...*

2011-10-05T16:57:00.000-07:00

Happy 7th birthday to my little sweetie!

Connor is one of the kindest, sweetest, funniest little boys I know! He loves sponges and toilet floats and smoke detectors. He loves doing laundry and riding his bike. He is a joy to us and I'm so happy that he is ours!!! We love you, buddy!

*Connor...birth name. Condor...nickname, silly. Conrad...Grandma Teese's nickname for him. Kohwoh....What Elizabeth calls him.

Izdet...

2011-10-02T17:34:00.000-07:00

that's what she calls herself...Izdet...it's really cute...and I don't want to ever forget.

Official!

2011-10-02T16:46:00.001-07:00

Travis finished his classes for Walgreens and is now officially an Executive Assistant Manager! Woot woot! I am so super proud of him! He has worked for a long time to get this. They moved us clear over here, then he took the classes (three-three day sessions over four months time), now he has completed the class and his promotion is official and we will finally get the stinkin' raise. (o: It's been tough out here living in a house with extra expenses...only having his mgt wages. This is such a blessing!

So a big thank you to everyone who prayed for us and gave us encouragement. It's been a good week!

ELEVEN!!!

2011-09-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my oldest baby turned ELEVEN years old!!!! I am not old enough to have a child that old...although...some of my friends that got married the same time as me now have 16 year olds...but that's their problem. (o; I can't believe how quickly time has flown by. I am so proud of the person that Joseph is. He is very kind hearted, thoughtful, creative, eager to please...all wrapped up...with a short fused temper like both his parents to make him complete. (o:

Joseph is our miracle child. He came as I was beginning to sink into a pit of despair...seriously. over 5 years and no child, I felt that my life would never be complete. And then along came Joseph. I thank my Heavenly Father every day for sending him to me...all of them, of course, but Joseph was the beginning. So, here I am...the mom of a tween boy who eats everything! I'm pretty proud!

A Do-Over

2011-09-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged for a long time. I keep thinking it has to be a big long story every time...with pictures. But, my current blog reading frenzy that I have gone on has shown me that short and sweet is fine...and good. So...that is what I will do. Because I love looking back on my blog at the things we did and said.

So...in the spirit of do-over's that have been very important to me lately...I begin again.

Today is my birthday. I'm getting old. 37. I don't feel old though...and Travis will be 40 in eleven days. That's old. Well...until I get there. Then it won't be. I think. Although last night Travis and I sat down to read after the kids went to bed. He handed me his Kindle and said, "You might find this interesting." Then he laid down on the floor to wait for me to finish...but he never made it that far. He began to snore. I finished the article, put down the Kindle, picked up my Nook, began to read...the next thing I know...it's an hour and a half later...Travis is asleep on the floor...I have drool on my chin and my neck has a crick cause I fell asleep in the chair...

Maybe we are getting old.

Anyway...Happy Birthday to me!

What's Been Goin' On?

2011-07-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

We have been...

Continually enjoying the beautiful scenery that is our back yard....
Finding awesome little visitors in our back yard...
Being too excited about the 4th of July, so having to light off just a few smoke balls right after church on the 3rd...(look at my cute husband having fun with my cute boys!)
Going to the church flag ceremony/pancake breakfast on the 4th....
And just having fun!

We all have our problems, but as long as we stick together as a family, we can do anything!

Salt Creek Park and Camp Hayden

2011-06-20T14:30:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday Travis had the day off so we headed out to explore some more of the many awesome places around our new home. This time we went to Salt Creek County Park. It was built on an old Army fort. The bunkers are still there. It was super cool. We wished we would have seen some gray whales. When they pass through the Strait they are very visible apparently. We didn't get to see any, but the view was breathtaking anyway.

We didn't camp, but we hit as much of the rest as we could. We had all day and lots of sunshine.
I love my family! Right after we took this picture, a deer trotted by. I abso-freakin-lutely love living here!
I am so proud to be the mother of these beautiful children!

We hiked down to see the tide pools on Tongue Point. The tide was a couple hours past from the lowest tide of the morning, so we didn't get to see a whole ton of aquatic life, but we did get to walk on the cool rocks and see the Strait. Gorgeous!
Boys were cautious but had a blast.
Daddy rescued Lizbet from going off an edge into a big old tide pool.

We ate a picnic lunch and then the kids played on this huge structure for a while.
Bombs at the Camp Hayden bunker. Big suckers!

We Are Here!!!!

2011-06-06T09:29:00.001-07:00

****lots of pictures in this one!!!*****

We made it! It was an insane couple of days trying to move out. A huge thank you to Travis's mom. She totally rocked cleaning the kitchen and helped pack. And Travis...he was super duper awesome driving that gigantic 26' truck (and towing the gray Escort!) Is it silly to be proud of him for driving that thing? He was awesome! Anyway, we ended up not meeting the closing time at the property managers place, so we spent a night in a hotel in Sequim. We had nothing but the clothes on our backs and we were grateful! We were so exhausted. The kids loved the hotel! The next day we picked up the keys and moved in. Thanks to a couple of the men from our new ward (at church), the unload was very quick. So...now it's been unpack and unpack. We love the cute little quirky house we have! (we Nelson's are cute and a little quirky so it is a perfect fit!) It's actually much much bigger than we had thought. When we came to look at it, I think we were so appalled by the yard, plus not having any furniture in it...we thought they were crazy saying it was almost 1,800 sq ft...we couldn't see it... But, now that we have our stuff in it...they were right and we were wrong...happily!

The area is more gorgeous than anyone could possibly imagine. We have not found a single thing that we dislike about this place. (well...Travis REALLY hates all the crab grass in the yard, but he's declared war and I know he will have it looking wonderful some day soon!) Our house has a forest around 50% of it. We sit in our yard and listen to all of the birds and little squirrels. But on calm days...we can also hear the seagulls and the ocean that are just two streets down. We see deer in the yard a lot! They are everywhere. Plus the mountains! Oh, the mountains take our breath away every time we see them...which is every time we drive to anywhere. *sigh* I am so grateful to Travis for working so hard to get this promotion and bring us to this wonderful place. It is truly a slice of paradise! I am so proud of him and I love him for all he's done for us. He's brought us to the perfect place. (plus...no traffic and the nicest people you will ever meet!)

Anyway...I'm going to try to post a few pictures of the move and the area. The internet is slow and the cell coverage is pretty much non-existent, but totally worth it!

Here are the kids at the hotel. We were so happy to get there. Travis ran to the store and got lunchables. We ate and then all passed out for about 10 hours.
It was kind of dark, but here is a picture of the house.
Here's our back yard. Love the big deck. Connor and Elizabeth spend practically every waking moment out there.
I'm telling you...nicest people ever. Our new neighbors across the street came by with a plate of cookies and this loaf of yummy homemade bread the day we moved in! Awesome!

Travis has been working hard trying to get the yard decent. It's been neglected for a long time. The kids have loved helping him.

Travis got a four day weekend this week, so we decided to pause on all the unpacking and have some fun. They washed the cars together. That was a special treat for them.
Then we went to the Old Railroad Bridge trail in Sequim. Mommy and Little Miss.

It was so gorgeous there! The bridge is now for foot traffic and bikes. That is the Dungeness river behind them. Cold and clear.

This makes me smile! She was throwing rocks. Daddy had to hold her so she wouldn't jump in to the river!

One half of the living room is unpacked enough that Travis and the boys were able to play Wii. We love all the space that we now have!

This is the view that we see when we drive to...well, anywhere! We were heading to Walmart at the time I took this one I think. *happy sigh*

Yesterday after church, our washer and dryer were delivered. Here are a couple of pictures of our cute and quirky little laundry room and the new machines. (that have been working around the clock since they were plugged in!)

The 2nd potty. I love having more than one toilet in the house. It was a must when we were searching. I also love the lime green sink!

And here are the washer and dryer! Poor little buggers are really squished in there, but they work and that's all I really care about! Yay for clean clothes!!!

The Sears guys left this bit of stretchy pipe thingy behind, so Elizabeth made friends with it. She carried it all over the place for quite a while. She is just super cute.

Okay...last picture for now because I have a million things to do and it's taking forever to download these pictures. This picture makes me smile. I was doing dishes and looked out my kitchen window and this is what I saw. Little children happy and having fun. Isn't that what life is all about??

More pictures will come soon. (o:

Ahhhhhh!!!!!! (and Dad was right!)

2011-05-22T00:10:00.000-07:00

So, last night, Travis calls me to tell me that we are not moving in 11 days, but we are moving in 6 days! Hello? Zoiks! I spent all day yesterday just cleaning and packing the smallest bedroom! How the heck am I gonna do that to the rest of the place in 6 days? Well, today it is now 5 days.

*sigh*Now I am now going to have to admit something that I reallllly hate admitting, even though anyone who knows me even a little knows the sad truth...I. Am. A. PACK RAT! Yep. And the worst part of it...I married one too. And we bred 4 little ones. My dad told me...out of love you know...that I am a pack rat and that when we move, maybe I should try to overcome that little habit and teach the rest of the family my secrets. He's right. It's true. I've always been the one that absolutely hates to throw anything away. I think some of it is the teacher in me. It's not a toilet paper roll...it's a puppet...or a chew toy for the guinea pigs! But...it's taking me for-ever to clean out and pack this place up. Part of that reason is cause I'm tossing! I'm tossing out things that normally I would think I needed (like the box of old Christmas cards that, about 10 years ago, I thought I should keep cause I might like to cut them up and use them in scrap booking or something...) Hello...haven't scrap booked anything for years! Gone! I feel cleansed!

Okay...break's over. Gotta get back to the grind. I am exorcising my demons. This house is clear...well...almost. Eeek...it's after midnight! Only 4 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!

Work Work Work!!!!

2011-05-18T16:37:00.000-07:00

Our application was approved and we got the contract for the house today! Woot! This means that we are in total overdrive here for packing and cleaning. We just couldn't get ourselves to get serious about the whole packing thing while we didn't have a place secured. BUT~now that it is in the bag...we are in serious box and toss mode. Here are a few pictures of what we did today before Travis went to work. (This is a reminder to clean off my little camera lens thing on my cell phone before taking pictures...sorry they are kinda fuzzy)

Here is Joseph with our "borrowed" shopping cart. Someone else borrowed it and left it on the side of the road, so we borrowed it from the side of the road and are using it to move boxes from the apartment to the garage. We will return it where we found it before we move. Joseph's new obsession is shopping carts and store interiors. The store interior part started when he started making model Wal-Marts using legos...the cart thing. I don't know. Our kids are home schooled...they have original ideas and tastes I suppose...very curious. (but for those who worry that our kids are completely shut out...have no fear...Mario Brothers and Sonic are very well loved here)
Anyway....here is Travis taking pictures of the kids. They were supposed to be helping, and did a wonderful job of playing gopher when we needed them to go for stuff, but they mostly just had a blast riding bikes and toy cars and being free in the *gasp* sun!

See....fun stuff! Can't wait to have an actual yard to put it all in instead of worrying about all the cars in the parking lot! Woot! (again)
So we swept out the garage and divided it up...left side donation and the right side is where we will start stacking boxes from inside the apartment. Never had a garage in any of our previous moves, so this is wonderful...I pack them...then Travis gets the snazzy borrowed cart and hauls them off to be in the garage. It will make for easier loading of the truck and makes more room for me to pack. Sweet!
After over two hours of cleaning and sorting and tossing and stacking...phew! ...we were hungry! So we took a break and had tacos in th garage. A garage picnic! Woot again!!!

Here is Lizbet enjoying her tortilla. Mmmm....cheap Mexican food.

Okay! Now...on to some other business. Since the house is pretty much ours (for however long we decide, but probably a year or so), I thought I would post a couple more picture. It is totally retro house. It was built in 1979 and I'm pretty sure that besides the fridge and stove...most of it has been there since it was built. But...it's a roof over our heads and I will enjoy making it into a home. (too bad I can't redo the cupboards and paint the doors a lighter color though)

Joseph took these pictures. We were busy looking at all the details while he was running around snapping photos. We are glad he did cause it's nice to have documentation of the place to figure out where everything will go. Like I said...it's little...like 1,300 sq ft little. We are super excited about this wood burning stove. It's gonna be fun this winter using it. If I remember correctly, there's even a place on top to put a kettle on! Yee haw!

Joseph took this picture from the outside window looking in. We actually really like the open kitchen. Please note the fence in the back yard and all the trees that you see out of the windows.
Here's a picture that they posted on their sight, which is why it is a bit crisper image than from Joseph's beat up old Canon that he inherited. They built in the garage and made this second half of the living room. Behind that awesome wood wall is a little tiny 1/2 bath/laundry room.

This is the other photo from the site. Notice the lack of the refrigerator? Down that little hall are the doors to the bathroom and bedrooms. Cute, eh? I can't wait!

Okay...back to work. Soooooo much to do!

We are moving...

2011-05-11T10:48:00.001-07:00

to here....

Well, sort of. Travis got promoted to Executive at Walgreens...a HUGE accomplishment considering after 33 stores in the district, he was the only one chosen. He's worked so hard for so many years for this opportunity. (I'm so proud!) The store that they are sending him to is in Sequim, WA. (that is pronounced...squim...like squid...yah, kind of weird, but we have a lot of odd names in Washington. This above picture is Port Angeles. We are hoping to rent a house in Port Angeles. It would be a 17 minute commute for him.

Yesterday we drove all 2 1/2 hours to Port Angeles to look at this house....

but when we got there, it really looked like this.... (that's Travis talking to the property manager)

It's a tiny little house with a seriously angry yard, but with some TLC, it will be perfect for us while we wait out the raise to kick in. See, Travis got the promotion, but he has to take classes this summer and PASS them, in order to get the raise. The raise is a nice amount and will officially make Travis's passion and talent for retail actually really worth it. So, until the first of October, we needed a little place with low rent that would rent to us month to month. This is the one we picked. Oh, and can I just mentioned that there is a yard with a big old bad Elizabeth-proof fence...once we tame the grass...she is going to be in outdoor heaven! Anyway, we are crossing our fingers that the application will go through because if it doesn't...well, that would just plain suck! AND, they want Travis to start work there no later than Memorial Day! Yep...we are getting 3 weeks notice to find a home, pack up and move. Considering the fact that we have been in Ashley Terrace for almost 10 years...there's a lot to pack! And throw out! And donate! Zoiks! So, why am I sitting here typing on my blog instead of packing and cleaning? Cause I am seriously intimidated by the sheer amount of stuff we have managed to cram into 1,400 square feet!

Okay, off I go to slay the dragon. Here is a picture or two to make the post complete...

(please note that I have cut my boys hair since Easter...they were all looking sooo scraggly!)

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T10:50:00.001-07:00

Lizbet did her own hair for Easter Sunday.

Joseph
Connor and Spencer
Elizabeth used a couple of permanent markers to decorate her egg.

I think they did a good job.

Christmas in Pictures

2010-12-31T15:10:00.000-08:00

Because I am too lazy at the moment to write a whole bunch about our fabulous Christmas...I thought I could post some pictures..they speak for themselves! Enjoy!

Update for the week

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

So...Travis's mom went to her home after staying with us for 6 days. Poor lady was so sick, but I do believe she is recovering at a normal pace. Travis will be taking her to her doctor appointment this afternoon, so we will find out how it is healing. I remember (almost 25 years ago) when my right hand was in a cast thingy...it was very difficult to function. She is left handed and it was her left hand that was repaired, so she is having to learn how to do everything wrong handed.

Not much else to really report. We've been taking care of Travis's parents, doing school, and getting started (finally) on the Christmas decor. The kids have such a great spirit about the holiday season...it's quite catching!

My old, trusty cell phone died on me, so we went and got a new phone. We just do prepaid and only use the phones for texting, so I didn't care to have a fancy one, but since I last bought a phone (4 years ago)...technology has really taken off and a camera flip phone isn't a billion dollars anymore. So, that is what I got. So, below is a picture of my sleeping baby...taken by my little phone. She looked so sweet and innocent, I couldn't resist.

2010-12-02T15:13:00.000-08:00

So Thanksgiving was nice and quiet. We all stayed at home and enjoyed the turkey with ourselves. (o: Travis's dad had shingles and was too sick to do anything, so Travis took a bag of food over to them that afternoon.

Then..this Tuesday, Travis's mom had surgery on her hand. He took her to the hospital and stayed with her until she was ready to come home. Then, he brought her home to our house because his dad is still sick with the shingles and not really well enough to take care of himself and mom. She's going to stay with us for a few days and then we will see what happens.

Travis took this with his cell phone. She was pretty out of it then.
The kids have been very concerned about Grandma. Connor snuggled up to her the whole first night she was here.

Good old drugs had his mom knocked on her butt...and when she was awake, she was hallucinating. Here we have his mom drugged and Little Miss looking like she was drugged! (o:

What the Heck???

2010-11-23T15:19:00.000-08:00

Last I checked...I lived in the Seattle area and it was November...why is the weather behaving like it's December in Utah???
This was just the beginning. It snowed for more than 24 hours straight! Now it's butt cold!!!!

See our red van and gray escort? They look so cold out there. This morning when I woke up, it was 9 degrees on the wind chill factor. Dadgum! We are not used to that at all!

Oh...and I just included this because I thought it was so cute. Little Miss got hungry and helped herself to her favorite food. (o:

Halloween 2010

2010-11-02T23:32:00.000-07:00

Since Travis had his surgery...we kind of fell behind on the whole holiday thing this year. We did manage to get to the pumpkin patch and the annual Trunk or Treat at the church. Here are a few pictures of the fun times. Pumpkin patch...obviously. (o;

Our little Queen bee...Queen Elizabeth.

Connor the Crossbuck. He's so cute!

Joseph and Spencer were so excited to get started.

Connor's crossbuck. He's such a funny kid! Our kids are very original in their costume choices. No store bought things for us...except Lizbets...hers was a hand me down though.

Connor did get these at the dollar store and wanted to wear them, but he couldn't see to even walk...so he nixed it on his own.

As usual...Spencer wanted to be a stoplight. It's like his 3rd or 4th year being a stoplight, but it's super easy to make and it makes him happy so...

Last year Joseph was Grave Digger monster truck, so this year he was the driver, Dennis Anderson.

Elizabeth loved the feeling of this bee costume. She actually enjoyed wearing it. She really was as cute as a bug.

Today...

2010-10-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Travis had surgery. He had an umbilical hernia that needed to be taken care of. I had to stay home with all the kids, so his mom went with him and took brought him home. I asked how he was doing and this is what he sent me in response:
Funny guy! The surgery went very smoothly and he is now home and resting. Thanks to all the family and friends that prayed for us. They were heard because all went as perfectly as they could. Now he has a week to recover and then he can go back to work.

She's just soooo silly!

2010-10-18T18:23:00.000-07:00

I rest my case!

Wii and Bowling with Diet Coke Cans

2010-10-14T00:17:00.000-07:00

We caved and got the family a Wii. We got it at a good price. We have bonded over this stupid video game console. I'm loving the swordplay game. Travis enjoys bowling and sword play. We got Joseph and Spencer used copies of Monster Jam Urban Assault and Sim City Creator...those are their faves. Connor is a bowling maniac. Everyone gets a turn and we all have a blast cheering each other on.

Like I said, Connor is a bowling maniac now. So, tonight he got a bunch of empty Diet Coke cans out of our recycle box and lined them up and then went "bowling" for about an hour. He had Joseph playing with him and Elizabeth cheering him on. It was cute. They even convinced their dad to give it a shot.

Travis found out he has a hernia...belly button kind. He is scheduled for surgery on October 29th. He will be in at 9am and should be home by evening. Home from work for a week. He said he can use that time to work on homework. He's taking 4 classes right now and boy are they a lot of work! I hope that this surgery will relieve some of the pain he has had lately. Poor guy.

That's all I can write cause I'm simply pooped. Elizabeth has yet figured out the sleep is an important thing for all humans to do. She's 20 months old and only naps a few days a week. Then, at night she wakes up at least 3 times. I'm thinking we should get rid of the crib. She might sleep better in a little bed where she doesn't feel so trapped, cause she almost always ends up sleeping on our bedroom floor or the living room floor (with me on the couch to spare Travis the noise). Adios for now!

Stars and bugs and a Zoo to boot!

2010-09-30T21:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took the kids to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. We also took Travis's mom. We got to see lots of super cool fish and some neato animals too. We had a great time. We walked and walked for over 3 hours. Elizabeth was determined to walk the entire time...and she almost made it. She crashed at the Red Fox house at the very end.

After the Zoo we took Mom N. home. Connor found a roly poly pill bug while there and brought it home. It has it's own container of dirt (it's house). Today he rolled the thing around in a Matchbox convertible car, "flew" it in a toy plane and then sat it on his hand so it could 'see' the movie that they watched together. He calls it Mr. Pillbuggy. Connor is such a cute little character. He has so much life!

Lastly...last night when we came home, Spencer looked out at the stars (cause it was late!) and said, "Look at all the stars. The stars are the Sun's little children." He was so serious...My heart grew three sizes at that moment. (o: He's such a sweet and perceptive little boy.

So...I'm gonna download a bunch of pictures and so you can see Mr. Pillbuggy and also a sampling from the zoo.

Here is Mr. Pillbuggy watching Tom and Jerry help Sherlock Holmes solve a mystery.

Look! It's Mr. Pillbuggy!
Travis and his mom at the zoo. She looks so good! Travee's always cute!

Lizbet and the mama tiger had a little chat. I love this picture!!!

Aren't we just the cutest little family? (o;

She was meowing at the monkey. It was pretty cute! He was pointed back at her.

Touching the sea life.

Cutest boys ever!

Just a Recap

2010-09-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy. In the last 10 days we celebrated Travis's birthday, have had school every day except weekends, babysat Jake once (cause it was a teacher work day and he had no school), served 2 people their court papers (we do process serves for our friends husband-he's a lawyer...and they pay us), moved Joseph out of the boys bedroom and into Lizbet's room (cause he needs alone time and she doesn't believe in sleep so it's like he has his own room), helped Travis get ready to start school on Monday, gathered the seeds that weren't used at our assigned 5 Home Depots and packaged them up to send back to the Stover company (this is a merchandising job that Travis did over the summer) and went to the Fair! Elizabeth is still more work than all three of her brothers combined, and the boys are going through a teasing phase that makes it very loud in our house.

BUT...we all love each other and are pretty much in good health (lingering colds are almost gone and Elizabeth has 2 teeth ready to break through)...so...we say...we are great! Hope you are all having a great week and have a fabulous weekend!

Joseph's Birthday (and mine)

2010-09-14T10:02:00.000-07:00

Friday was my 36th birthday. Zoiks! Travis's parents took us all out for breakfast at Denny's (they give a free Grand Slam to birthday people). Then we came to our home and had icecream cake and Deone took me to the store and bought me a new purse. It was a lovely day.
NOW....on to the really important birthday! (o: Joseph turned 10 yesterday!!!!! 10!!!!

First, may I mention, that Travis had to go have a tooth pulled first thing in the morning. He got happy pills and went through Joseph's birthday in a fog, but pain free. (o:

Here is Joseph on the way to Grandmas house in this picture. I made him hold the cake cause I had to hold the pizzas.

Per his request...Papa Murphy's! Mmmmmmmmm

Condor being cute. Look close...pizza sauce face!

Grandma Teese got him a big Medusa!!! Sweet!

90% of the toys that he got were legos. I love watching him create. Nothing better than watching your child follow instructions and create something cool...or use their imagination and create something even cooler!

He worked an hour on it, but put together his gas tanker truck all by himself. He was so proud!

Lizbet has NOT been sleeping for the past...oh, I guess her entire life...but it's been worse this past week (yes...my brain is mush from lack of sleep). Apparently, it all caught up with her yesterday because she spent almost the entire party time at Grandma's looking just like this! (noice in the picture above this one...she's passed out behind Joseph)

I gave Connor and Spencer little party bags with playdough and stuff in them so they would have something to play with while Joseph assembled his lego things. Worked out nicely. (Peppo needs a haircut!)

Notice his awesome plates and cups!

Joseph said it was the best day of his life. I'm glad he had a good day. I'm not glad that my baby boy is already 10 years old!!! Where did the time go?

We Will Never Forget!

2010-09-11T23:02:00.000-07:00

First day of (home)School

2010-09-07T17:41:00.001-07:00

Today we started school. It was fun! I had them dress in their new shirts and comb their hair...this will be about the only time this year that they do this....then we took some pictures.
We talked about paragraphs and did some Saxon math. Then we discussed recycling and the new recycle container that we have at our apartments now. Connor practice writing his letters and we are going to read together tonight. We set some general rules and made a goal to earn 100 rocks by October so that we can go to the Zoo/Aquarium. It was a good day!
Joseph. I guess he's supposed to be in 4th grade. He's doing work all over the place. Some 5th grade, some 4th grade and even some 3rd grade stuff. I really don't like the grade level thing...he is where he is and that's what matters.

Spencer. He's 3rd grade.

Connor is doing Kindergarten work this year!

And Elizabeth had a great time making a HUGE mess while I taught the boys!

Some of the things we discussed that can be recycled.

Meet William...

2010-08-26T23:07:00.000-07:00

This week I have been incredibly sick. High fever, complete achy body, and swollen tonsils and glands. Travis was wonderful and took all the kids for a 2 hour drive so that I could sleep. Then he took the boys over to his parents. Then, the next day he came home from work and took the boys straight over to his folks again. He is one super duper husband! I went to the doctor and tested positive for strep, so I am taking drugs and slowly getting better.

One of the nights that they were over to his folks, Travis called me and made a request. He said that Spencer was totally breaking his heart. He couldn't stand watching his son go over to Burt's grave, talk to 'Burt' and then start to cry. So, he asked if we could find a way to buy another guinea pig. Of course I said yes...so he took the kids and they chose William! Here are some pictures of our newest addition. (by the way...William is Spencer's middle name...Joseph thought that would be a good name and Spencer agreed)
All the whorls like Burt had.

He was in focus til I snapped the picture...and he started walking toward the camera and made it all fuzzy. (o: Isn't he cute?

He is so soft and fuzzy.

We will miss you, Burt!

2010-08-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, our little guinea pig, Burt, passed away. He was only 2 1/2 years old. Poor little guy. He died in my arms. It was a sad day to lose the little pig, but I do believe that the part that hurt the most was seeing the grief that my boys went through. My heart broke to see how sad they were.
This is Burt the day we got him. He was such a little cutie!

Technically, Burt was Spencer's pet. He is such a tender hearted little boy. It was most difficult for him. He cried pretty much non stop for the entire day.

We made a little 'coffin' for him.

Travis's parents donated a small part of land in their back yard to be a cemetery. Travis dug the grave and I made a headstone. We all gathered together and said good-bye and buried him together.We will miss our little friend. We are grateful that we have Fluffy still. He is now getting a lot of extra love and attention.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-08-16T00:46:00.000-07:00

Happy 16th Anniversary to my sweet Travee! I love you with all my heart!

Spencer

2010-08-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

Mr. Peppo has decided to write in his blog again, but is upset that he has no comments yet...so...we've set the settings for anyone to be able to comment....please let him know that you are out there and have seen what he has done.

www.spencerwnelson.blogspot.com

Just Another Tuesday

2010-08-04T10:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went over to Travis's parents house. We went so we could play in their big back yard, and also to help out with some yard work. While we were there, we decided to dissect the yellowjacket nest that Travis got out of their tree the day before. (the darn things stung his mom 6 times...which is how we found the nest in the first place) It was absolutely amazing!
The thing was huge...about the size of a honeydew melon.

I got to do the dissecting. I was as careful as I could be.

All those hexagons were so perfectly placed. It was unbelievable. Nature is unbelievable!

There were all stages of life inside.

Then, I took the boys and Grandma out for a little drive so Travis could work on his lesson that he has to teach in church (Elders Quorum) in 2 weeks. We went to the Temple.

My sweet little turkeys.

It was a gorgeous day out. Only about 70 degrees...not a cloud in the sky.

Me and my little turkeys. I love them so much!

After our little drive, we went back and helped Daddy plant some grass in Grandma's yard and I murdered some weeds that dared enter my garden. Everyone was very tired when we went home...but it was definitely a good tired. (o:

My Purpose

2010-07-29T00:26:00.000-07:00

Spencer and I were discussing something philosophical, I'm sure, because that's how Spencer thinks.

Just a few minutes ago, I heard a noise. It's midnight...I shouldn't be hearing noises back in the boys bedroom. I went to check and found Spencer in the bathroom. I asked if he felt okay. He started to cry, which is classic Spencer when he's tired...well, or when he's been thinking about sensitive things. I asked him if he was crying because he was sick? No. Was he tired? Kind of. Was he sad? He didn't think so. So, what was bringing the tears? It was because Mommy came to check on him. He said that it made him cry because he was so happy that I cared enough about him to go check on him. He knows that he is my most favorite Spencer on the planet and that I loved him enough to make sure he was okay. That's what made my sweet, sensitive little 8 year old cry. I asked him if he had said his prayers. He hadn't and he was concerned that he was going to have bad dreams. I asked if he would like for me to say his prayer for him tonight. He said yes. So, instead of kneeling and praying the proper way, I held him in my arms and prayed for him...with him. Thanking Heavenly Father for helping us to have an eternal family. Asking Him to bless Spencer...to be with him through the night. After our prayer, I asked Spencer if he recognized the feelings of the Holy Ghost (beings that he's only been baptized for under 2 months I thought maybe he wasn't quite familiar)...then I reminded him of how comforting the Holy Ghost can be. He said he is familiar with that feeling. We agreed that since we'd prayed, he would go climb into bed and think happy thoughts of our family and the good feelings he has at home and also when he is at church. He would let the Holy Ghost comfort him and help him have a good night sleep.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because it is moments like this that define who I am and why I am here on this earth. I am a wife that loves the man that I married so much that I don't think being sealed to him for eternity is long enough. I am a mother that doesn't understand how my heart hasn't burst yet from the love and pride that I feel for my children. I am a daughter of my Heavenly Father, who loves me. He loves me so much that He sent me to this earth to two of the best parents ever...who raised me to know and love the Lord...who taught me never to settle, especially when it came to the person I were to marry. I didn't settle and I got one heck of a catch. This is my purpose. The messy house and the extra pounds on my big old butt...they are just extras that don't really matter in the end. Cuddling with my little boy, telling him how much I love him and sharing my testimony of the Gospel at 12:15 in the morning...that's just...it. What else can I say?

Well, I can say lots more because anybody who knows me knows that I don't know how to stop talking...but since it is now almost 1am and I'm not in my bed...I will just share a few fun pictures. We took the kids to our favorite little piece of sand in West Seattle because it has been gorgeous weather. Not a cloud in the sky and 80 degrees. Here are a couple of pictures to document our little fun day.

My four little blessings all huddled together having tons of fun!

Travis with his e-reader. He and I never leave home without them. (o:

Travis takes the boys out on the dock to see the jelly fish. Wasn't it gorgeous out there? (although...I miss the rain...sunny days are nice, but I love my rain!)

Cuter than cute...even with, um, I was gonna say bedhead, but she was asleep in a carseat, so...even with sweaty carseat hair. (o:

My best friend in the whole entire universe! (and his happenin' grandpa glasses) (He says he's not out to impress anyone...he's too old for that. These are practical and comfortable and I love him no matter what, so that's the end of that discussion.) (o:
Watching Little Miss pick up rocks.

We couldn't get a picture of Joseph holding still. He was having so much fun!

See...he's blurry. He had a blast getting water and taking it to the sand to try and make a sand castle.
Spencer had to analyze and observe before making his first move.
Connor found lots of dungeness crab shells.
That's pretty much it. It was a good day yesterday. Today we spent the day at my in-laws. We picked our first peas out of our garden. We all stood by the garden and ate the peas raw. Sooooo good.

Happy...

2010-07-19T22:10:00.000-07:00

I was playing with my little girl today...we were singing songs and hanging her upside down...just having fun. She laughed and laughed. I watched my little girl for a while after...she walked around smiling and being silly...what a great example of someone who just loves life. Sure, she doesn't have bills to pay and laundry to do, and menu's to plan, but still...she loves life, she loves just being with her family...

I need to be more like our Little Miss. I need to stop and take a moment once in a while and just enjoy all the wonderful things I have been blessed with. I get so caught up in how I don't have things done...I forget about all the things that I have done...like four beautiful children that I helped create...and the wonderful man that makes my heart sing...even after 16 years.

I'm gonna go rock my baby girl to sleep now. (o:

Ballard Locks

2010-07-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went to the Ballard Locks just for fun...

Little Miss had a blast just running and running and running....

The boys loved the sunshine...it was perfect...not too hot (like the day before was)

A Canadian Navy boat coming to 'invade' Seattle. (o:

Little Miss got her first pedicure that day. (o: She matched Mommy!

We had a pretty good 4th of July!

2010-07-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

Connor was sick, but he had front row seats.

So did Little Miss.

Joseph and his dad---two peas in a pod.

He wanted to smell like a smoke ball...or something.

They were excited.

Thank you Indian Reservation for the totally cool, and cheap fireworks.

Travis had lots of fun.

His mom came out and enjoyed the festivities. His dad was in bed because he had knee surgery 2 weeks ago.

The kids had a blast. Connor was sick, but couldn't resist sneaking out once in a while.

The girls.

Joseph is a little pyro man. He had the most fun with his dad. Yay fire! He wears these headphone things every year because he has such sensitive hearing.

Spencer didn't like the loud booming, but he had a lot of fun. He ate a TON that night. I've never seen him eat so much! Must have been good food.

See how pale Connor is? He ended up throwing up not long after this. He's much better now though.

Trying to show Elizbeth how to stomp on Pop-Its. (o: She was very brave until the loud ones came along. But, I think she had a lot of fun too, even though she's so small.

New Email...

2010-06-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

I have a new email address for all of you out there that I haven't gotten to email yet. (and for Rachael who went private...sent me an invite missy!) It is now dawnienelson@gmail.com.

Here are a couple of cute pictures of the kids from the other day...we went and played and bbq'd at G&G Nelson's. (o:

Condor and Peppo!
Playing ball with Daddy. Notice Lizbet was right in the middle of it all.

She LOVED the dirt!!!

The boys burned some boxes and cans. Here Joseph and Connor are playing fire fighters.

Elizabeth was in heaven playing outside!

A Preview...

2010-06-08T01:27:00.001-07:00

...of Mom and Dad's visit so far.
We went to Alki...

Spencer got baptized...

Little Miss got cuter...

Spencer got baptized by Daddy...

Spencer wore his new suit...

We went to Seattle and Mom saw "Twilight" stuff...

Connor loves playing with Grandpa Clair...A LOT...

We went to Pike Place Market...

We ate at Ivar's...

We've just had a wonderful time. I am already warning Travis that there will be LOTS AND LOTS of tears on Thursday when they leave. I'm not sure how I am going to deal with it, but, since I have a good husband and cute kids...I'm sure I'll manage.

My Parents are Coming!

2010-06-03T10:59:00.001-07:00

My mom and dad are coming to visit for a week! They will be here in 2 hours! It's been 5 years since Dad's been here. We are sooo excited! Dad will be able to speak at Spencer's baptism on Saturday. I'm so happy that they are able to come be with us. It's so difficult to live so far away!

Lots of pictures will be posted next week! (o: YAY!!!!!!

A Lot Going On...

2010-05-24T08:14:00.000-07:00

...but mostly not things that I want to share. Here is a small sample... We are getting ready for my parents to come visit (our home is a disaster), I'm pushing myself to overcome some physical hurdles because I'm tired of not being able to lose weight (that takes a lot of energy-but I'm seeing some success), we are plugging along with our notebooking for school, Elizabeth still only believes in sleeping 2 hours a day and eating nothing...anyway...just busy.

More later.

Notebooking

2010-05-06T16:40:00.001-07:00

I am getting hooked on a new method for homeschooling. Notebooking. It's kind of like scrapbooking, but not. Each boy has a 3 ring binder full of plastic page protectors. We do different activities and then put the pages that are made in the binders. Ummm...this is harder to describe than I thought. Okay...examples. We just finished reading a Magic Treehouse book about the Titanic. We studied some glaciers. The boys drew a picture of a glacier and described what they drew. That went into the notebook. Then, they wrote/drew a page of one thing they learned from the Titanic book. That went in. We are watching the show, "America, the Story of Us". After they watch each hour, they have to draw and write about what impressed them the most. Also, they painted terra cotta pots and then planted seeds to grow things. I took pictures of each child and their pot and they used that picture to make a page to go into the notebook. They do their copy work and in it goes. (yesterday their copywork was the poem, "Try, Try Again". They wrote it and are now memorizing it.

Anyway...I here are a couple of pictures from Josephs notebook to show what the heck I'm talking about. It has been very successful so far because my boys loooove to draw and color. Doing it this way has made it fun and interesting for them. Every day they love showing their book to their dad and telling him about the newest pages.

This is the cover to Joseph's notebook. Each boy decorated their notebooks according to what they love. This is a picture of Joseph being a famous monster truck driver. Notice the spotlights shining on him? (o:

Here is our home garden page...page 1. We will be taking another picture soon to document the middle stage and then the final stage. Again.. I love that the kids are free to add in their own personality. He did the assignment...which was to glue the picture down and write what he planted. The rest was just his creativity flowing.

Here is Joseph's page after we finished Hour of the Olympics.

I LOVE this page. He drew the minuteman shooting the redcoat. I didn't notice he spelled 'fighting' wrong until I scanned it.

Can you imagine 20 years from now...the boys showing their kids these notebooks? I love the idea that they will be able to see how much they improve in writing, drawing, describing etc.

So, I'm thinking that I might have finally found the method that my kids don't hate. We are still doing Saxon math, which they love and some additional grammar worksheets, which are in a different binder.

So...what do you think?

Here is a website that I am using for some inspiration.... www.notebookingpages.com.

Happy Birthday Spencer! #8!!

2010-04-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

This silly boy turned 8 today. He has had a great day! In this picture he is showing off the printing calculator that he got from G&G Anderson and the digital camera he got from us and G&G Nelson. He also got a train simulator game from us...he's been locked in the bedroom on the computer all afternoon. He said he is sooooo happy because he got the things he really wanted. I asked him if he was sooooo excited because he's going to get baptized...he said he was only some excited because it's not for another month and that he will get sooooo excited when time is closer. Funny kid.

So, Happy Birthday, Peppo! We love you!

Just a Little Cutie

2010-04-29T10:01:00.001-07:00

I can not believe that she is getting so grown up! She's gonna be 15 months old!~Funny thing is...she is just barely 20 pounds. She's tiny...but still growing up. She says please and thank you...she plays with her brothers toys and plays dolls with her Mommy. She loves to sit on her Daddy's lap and play with his watch. And when Daddy comes home from work, as soon as he walks through the door, she says, "Hi Daddy!"

Tomorrow Spencer turns 8! Why does time have to go by so quickly???

2010-04-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday...after I went to the dentist to get my root canal finished up...we all went over to Travis's parents house and got started on digging up the old garden and also help do some pruning etc. We are excited to get started on our garden again this year. Since Elizabeth was so small last year we didn't do much, but this year we have big plans. Here are a few pictures of what we did. We all came home pooped out! That's a great feeling!

Connor has still been suffering from an earache lately, so I gave him my ear warmer thing to wear outside.

Little Miss having a break from all her hard work of...walking in the grass! It was kind of tall grass and she's not a super-pro with the whole shoe walking thing yet...so this was a well deserved break. (o:

Travis's folks have a giant old bush/tree/bunch of random shoots of bush/tree that is all bunched up in a big corner of their yard. It's dying from the inside out, so Travis started cutting and pulling out all the dead wood. The kids helped stack it all up in a pile. They (meaning Travis and our sons) are planning to made a little clubhouse in the middle of the bush/tree thingy.

Connor picked Mommy some 'flowers'.

I ended up digging about 3/4 of the garden myself while the others worked on the bush/tree thingy.

Joseph lookin' cool.

Here we were just getting started.
And here it is finished. We are going to let it dry out a bit and then we will have the kids help gather rocks and the big clumps of grass/weeds then we will add the fertilizer and stuff to it before we plant.

So...that's a good summary of what we did yesterday. I'm so glad it didn't rain. It was a gorgeous day..in the upper 60's. Perfect!

We'll post more pictures as we progress. We are sort of gardening novices...neither of us can remember how our parents did it when we were kids, so we are having fun learning and doing it our own way. (o:

Sick...sick...sick

2010-04-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

So the last month we have been sick around here. We get over one thing just to have the next thing come on. It's been a real pain. We've been to the doctor and also just toughed it out. Oh, and then I woke up one morning with my face quadrupled in size on one side...infected tooth. I had to get an emergency root canal. That was fun! BUT...I would like to think that we are beginning to see the end of all the sickness. I have been washing everything and Lysol-ing everything in sight. I hope we can kill the germs and not be sick for a while.

Anyway...here are a couple of things that we have done lately....
Travis and I are working to help get Dick Muri elected for Congress to replace our current Rep. who is a schmuck! We really like Dick. I went to one of his meet and greet type meetings. It was great. The guy on the right is Dick and the guy on the left is Kirby Wilbur of talk radio fame. Travis had to work and was very jealous of me for being there. But wait...where were all the kids if I was at the meeting and Travis was at work???.......Well, they were.....

...at a party! Jake..the little boy that I watch on Mondays...turned 5 and had a little party at his house. He only invited our boys. They had an absolute blast!

Here they are at the party with Jake's dad. They were really sad to leave the party. I swear, Ellie (Jakes mom), got my kids more stuff than we gave Jake! She went above and beyond.

One sunny day we decided to go hiking at Discovery park. It was beautiful and we had a wonderful day enjoying nature.
Lastly...Elizabeth has decided that her favorite song is "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". She can barely speak, but she can sing that song. It's super cute and we are determined to one day catch it on video. This picture is of her intently watching The Wiggles sing her favorite song.

Isn't she a cutie?

Loving the Sunshine

2010-03-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

The sun has come out to play the last couple of days so I've taken advantage of it we have gone out to play too. We went to Russell Road Park yesterday. Here are some photo's to prove that there is sun in Seattle.
Little picnic to give us some energy to play!

Joseph showing off his guns.

Spencer

Connor

Elizabeth...she didn't like the swing.

Her new snazzy shoes. She had to learn how to walk all over again! She loooooved the park though. She screamed a lot when we had to go.

Connor is a great climber.

Joseph looks so much like his Nelson cousins here.

I called this the 'chromosome'. Spencer had a difficult time getting up this thing at first, but I told him he wasn't allowed to say "I can't" and that he needed to practice. Within a half hour he had it mastered! That's my boy! With his hypermobility, he has a much more difficult time climbing etc, but he is really doing well.

We happened upon this little pirate ship park on the walk we went on after playing in the park. So, they got 2 parks in one day! Sweet!

My best attempt to get a group photo. I took about 5 and this is the closest I could get to seeing everyones face.

Before we left the boys had to draw in their Nature Notebooks.

Little Miss passed out at the pirate park. It was a great day!

Lately we...

2010-03-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

Built a volcano out of homemade clay for science. We named it Mt. Vesuvius 2.

Celebrated Grandpa Nelson's 80th birthday!

Went to Costco and ate giant hotdogs.

Connor really likes Costco hotdogs.

Ate donuts from Krispie Kreme..(this is a chocolate Fling)

And a little toe jam too. (o:

Finally...we watched cartoons on our Directv.

That about sums up our life. Simple but wonderful. We have started a new math program and it is going wonderfully. That's about it.

Oh yah! I also enjoy wearing my Muggle shirt around and either getting funny looks or thumbs up from the cool people that get it. (o:

Helllllooooo????

2010-02-22T23:59:00.000-08:00

So, we got a new computer...Elizabeth turned 1....I got a Nook and am addicted to it....Elizabeth can now walk~sort of~...I gave in and watched the Twilight movie~it was okay~....Travis still works at Walgreens and still loves it...we still go on drives to Seattle and Tacoma...the boys keep getting bigger without my permission...Elizabeth refuses to grow (10% weight at her 1 year checkup today)...I finally caved and am now reading all of Dan Brown's books and I like them...I still go to Weight Watchers, but thanks to all my stinkin health issues, I am stuck in the same place, but still determined...we are still sort of addicted to Facebook...I still love my husband and still have the cutest kids ever.

See, not much has changed, so you haven't really missed too much despite my extremely horrible blogging. I'll leave you with a picture of the family. (o:

Ta da!!!

2010-01-22T21:37:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth likes to hit herself and say "ouch", but she wouldn't say it...but she did say ta daaaaaaa! (o:

A Little Bit....

2010-01-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

Christmas has come and gone and good old Facebook has all the pictures! I seriously need to update this darn blog because it's been kind of my journal for the past couple of years.
My mom got all the kids Georgia shirts. Super cute! Elizabeth hates jackets though and threw a fit until I took this off. Booger!

I colored my hair because I found a hair that was a color that did not belong!

Mom bought them all matching outfits for church too. They all look pretty darn cute! Elizabeth doesn't like headbands as much as she used to though. Can you tell?

All in all it was a good Christmas. The kids got what they asked for and we have a job and our health. That's all you can ask for, right?

Christmas is coming...

2009-12-14T11:12:00.000-08:00

Little Miss looking beautiful in her new Christmas dress from Grandma Teese!

This is my favorite one!

She knows she's cute!

We bought our tree at the Fred Meyer down the street. We were waiting for Daddy to go get the FM worker so we could pay for our perfect tree. The Santa hats were purchased at Walgreens. Travis has to wear one every day at work, so the boys wanted one too.

The tree all decorated up.

Most of my nativity scenes.

My snowmen and our stockings. The fireplace is full. (o:

Connor made a tree out of one of our traffic cones and a spare strand of lights. Very creative. (o:

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-27T01:05:00.000-08:00

We did well this year. (o: Hope you all did too.

A Brief History...

2009-11-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

Or at least a little bit about what's been going on here. Elizabeth has been crawling for over a month now. She's almost 10 months old! She really wants to walk, and has been standing next to things then letting go and standing alone for a few seconds. She thinks she is reallly cool! She also has been eating more and more solid foods. I have hardly used any baby food jars...rather I feed her off of my plate. Here is a picture of her enjoying some good old mac and cheese.
She also looooves cushions and big fluffy blankets. She throws herself face first onto the cushion or blanket and then squeals with delite. It's super cute! I love how kind and gentle all three of her brothers are with her. If she starts getting into things that they are trying to play with, either Joseph moves her or Connor calls Joseph to move her for him. They really love her!

Also, I made the local newspaper...The Kent Reporter. A few of us helped load the food that was donated during our Lose for Good campaign onto the Food Bank truck. A reporter was there asking us questions...Debbie told him to talk to me, so there I am...the first two words of the article are my name. (o:

Lastly, I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!!! Travis got this picture from a friend on Facebook. It made us laugh. (o: Hope your turkey day is a good one!

It's all Facebooks Fault!

2009-11-13T01:21:00.000-08:00

I don't update my blog as often because I'm always on Facebook! But, I realize that there are people who don't have fb accounts, so I better put some pictures up for all to see. (o: Tuesday, we took Jake, a little boy I watch one day a week, and the kids up to Snoqualmie Pass and played in the snow. It was so much fun! Here are some pictures of our little adventure.

Halloween

2009-11-01T20:55:00.001-08:00

Halloween day we took a drive to Seattle, went to the church for Trunk-or-Treat, and then to G&G Nelson's for pigs in a blanket for dinner. (o: It was a super fun day and the kids got just enough candy. Yay for Halloween!

CRASH!!!!!

2009-10-28T11:50:00.000-07:00

Our computer crashed a few days ago! It was awful. We think we got some sort of virus, I don't know, but the only way we could save the computer and not cost us a billion dollars, we had to reload it all...which means...we lost it all. Pictures, journal entries...it was a sad day, but at least we have the computer back. We had saved a few things on an external hard drive we own, but not near enough.

Anyway...that's where I've been. Here are a couple of pictures. We went to the pumpkin patch as a family and took Travis's mom and then yesterday I took the little boy I babysit (Jake) and my kids to the patch again to get some little pumpkins to decorate.

9.6!!!

2009-10-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

Here is my final picture of my food pyramid. I lost 9.6 pounds during the 7 week challenge. Yay me! (o:

Ummmm...yah.

2009-10-12T14:50:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what to write about. My head is kinda foggy these days. I have been not feeling 'normal' since I had Elizabeth. She nearly killed me, after all. So, I went in to see my doctor 2 weeks ago. My blood pressure was incredibly high. They immediately put me on medication. I asked the doctor why I would be seeing this now...I'm losing weight...moving more...what the heck??? He said he didn't know, but to continue with the weight loss and the moving...except hold off on the moving for a week or two til the medicine kicks in. They took lots of my blood and will let me know if they found anything bad. I haven't heard from them...I'm hoping that means no news is good news, but I'm afraid to call and press the issue. I'll be going back in a couple of weeks, so we will discuss it all then for sure. But, needless to say..I have felt very, very tired. Physically and emotionally. When I went in, my nurse had a cow when she saw my blood pressure, told me I could have a stroke at any minute, and then ran out to get the doctor. Doctor Durch was calmer, but still did a lovely job at scaring me and causing some serious hypochondria on my part. (o:

Anyway, I am not the type of person who likes to discuss myself or my ailments. Just not my thing. So, here is a cute picture of my little Connor, who turned 5 last week! Can you believe that? Five years old! He can be such a little turd, but he is such a joy. We love him so much!

Oh, and just a quick note about Weight Watchers...I got a call yesterday and the local Weight Watchers vlogger wants to come to our home and interview me and then also interview me at one of my meetings. Nice, eh? I'll let you know if it gets onto the WW site.

Better go. I can hear Spencer in our bedroom teaching Connor the basics on letter sounds. They really want Connor to learn how to read, so they are helping me teach him. So cute! I've gotta go watch.

A Few Things

2009-10-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

The past week we have done a few things so I thought I would report in. The first thing we did was went on our annual trip over to Issaquah to see the salmon come home. We picked up Travis's mom and took her with us. The count was lower than normal this year, so we didn't get to see quite as many jumping, but it was still lots of fun.

Next, we decided to go on an impromptu road trip over the mountains to Ellensburg. It's 109 miles from Seattle. Again, we picked up Travis's mom and took her with us. We were going to go to a Children's Activity Museum, but since it was Saturday, they closed early, so we just drove around town for a while. We found the Elementary school that had a nice, new playground to play on, so that's what we did for about an hour and a half. Then we stopped at the local Dairy Queen and got a hotdog, then headed on out back to home. It's such a gorgeous drive through the mountains. Spencer said his favorite part of the trip were the rest stops. (o: Look at Little Miss...she has enough hair to wear little clips now!

The last thing was, last night we decided to go for a little night drive. The city is so beautiful at night. Travis made us get out of the car and do a group photo.

That's about it. Blogger is being totally retarded and I have no idea where the words are going to end up on this page, so I'm going to quit, but at least I have pictures and words for you all to see and that I can say that I have documented a few things for posterity.

We "Did the Puyallup"

2009-09-27T09:57:00.000-07:00

Such a great fair. Thank you to the Kent School District for sending us free tickets. All I had to do was Declare my Children and put myself slightly under the thumb of the Education Dept. in the state of Washington. It was worth it...I think.

Just Because

2009-09-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Apparently the only way to get comments on my blog is to post cute pictures of little kids. So, here is a picture of us from yesterday. We took the kids for a walk around West Seattle because it was a beautiful day and they needed to get out. (o:

Here's Another One..A Better One

2009-09-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the Providence Regina House. Really the video speaks for itself. Can you find the token fat chick? (o: I pulled this video off of Weight Watchers.com. (o:

I'm Getting Famous...sorta...not really.

2009-09-16T18:12:00.000-07:00

My involvement with Weight Watchers just keeps on getting more...involved. (o: Today my leader asked me if I would be willing to talk to the Corporate people about my experiences the past few years with the Lose for Good program...before it was the LFG program. She asked a couple of other people, and took all of our numbers. I said sure, thinking, she's taking tons of names. So, I gave Debbie my number and came home. An hour later I get a call from Debbie. She talked to the Corporate person and they were interested in ME. They wanted me to send in a short written statement about why I like the program etc. and she said they would contact me if they decided to use me. So, I typed it up and sent it to Debbie, who just emailed me that she sent it off. We shall see where that leads. But, hey...Corporate was interested. (o:

Plus, I am in 3 seconds of a video on WeightWatchers.com. Wahoo! Go here... http://community.weightwatchers.com/Challenges/ChallengePage.aspx?sid=1156867

I am towards the end of the video titled "The kickoff for the LFG"...after the 3 guys (they are all in my class). Don't blink or you'll miss me. 3 seconds is all there is. Elizabeth is with me. Kathy, our official blog person that is at the first of the video, said that she didn't put it together, and had wanted more of me, but I think they didn't put me on as much because Lizbet...BELCHED...half way through the interview. Yah, nice.

Anyway, in the 3 weeks since I started, I've lost 5.4 pounds, so I am pretty happy with that. Here is a picture of my food shrine as of today.

Lose-A-Palooza!

2009-09-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

Today is Weight Watchers Losa-A-Palooza! Every blog entry that says "Lose For Good" today "donates" a dollar toward ending childrens hunger. So, I'm doing my part...even though I have a blog entry that talks about Lose for Good already. (o: It really is a great program. In 2 weeks I've lost 2.4. I have 2.4 pounds of food sitting on my tv stand. That food will be donated to a hungry child. What a good feeling! So, like I said before, if you need to lose weight and want to join WW, now would be an awesome time to do it! Or, if you don't need to lose weight, but want to help, get in contact with someone you know that is a member (like me) and they can bring your food in for you.

This is my leader, Debbie, and Jenny McCarthy. Lose for Good was all Debbie's idea. We'd been doing it for years before the CEO heard about it and decided to incorporate it Nationally. I explained more about it on September 10th....so scroll on down. (o:

Joseph's Birthday

2009-09-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of scene's from Joseph's birthday. Thank you to all that sent him cards and gifts! He had a great day!

This is Little Miss checking out the guinea pigs. She first played in the food pellets, and then tried to take their water. It was pretty cute.

Happy Birthday Joseph!

2009-09-13T12:03:00.001-07:00

Happy 9th Birthday to my Joseph! We love you!!!!

Today I turn 35...

2009-09-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

...do I look that old? (o:

Actually, I went and got my hair cut...gift from my in-laws. She actually didn't take too much off...mostly cut the damaged stuff off and gave me some layers. She suggested that as I lose weight, I could go shorter. I liked that idea.

Speaking of weight loss....

Yesterday I went to Seattle with my WW leader, Debbie and a couple of other people in our group. We went to Providence Regina House to help pack food for toddlers that WW has donated. If you have heard anything about the Lose For Good program...that was my leader's idea and I have been a part of it since it's conception back in 2003. It went National last year. This is the 2nd year and is going strong. The press was supposed to be there, but didn't show. That's okay with me since I jokingly called myself the "token fat person" there and Bob was the "token dude". (o: I was the only one that is still working toward goal (most of the others were leaders) (darn Elizabeth! pregnancy + too much christmas baking=go back to start card~almost) But...it was a wonderful experience and I have now found a new place that I want to donate all my stuff to. D.I. usually gets my stuff, but this place needs it so much more...and they don't charge the people. We donated 1,000 pounds of food and stuffed over 100 bags for little toddlers. if you want to know more about the Lose for Good program you can go to the WW website or ask me. I'll try to get more info on later, but Spencer is standing over me waiting for his computer turn and Elizabeth is on my lap~I've typed this whole thing with one hand. (o:

Here's our part of the group. There were about 8 more people, like Debbie's boss and some other leaders...but these guys are Debbie's folk...we were there from the beginning. (o:

l.to r. Bob, Barb, Kathy, Debbie the Great!, Me, and Jo.

I am insanely proud to be a part of this group and to know Debbie. Best of all, because of my extra involvement with this program...my weight is goin down! Woohoo!

A New Week

2009-09-07T12:04:00.000-07:00

This week is going to be a busy week. Today we have already had school. I am going to be going to get my hair cut and then we are taking Grandma Deone shopping with us. (we really need some groceries) Then we will come home and clean up the place a bit cause tomorrow we will be having a guest. Our friend Jake is going to be coming over every Tuesday to stay with us for the day. His parents both work on Tuesdays, so he needs a place to go...what funner (yes, it is a word at the moment) place to be than the Nelson's???? (don't answer that) (o: He will be here bright and early so we need to have things ready for the day before he comes.

Then...on Wednesday I am going to Regina House in Seattle with my Weight Watcher leader and a couple of people from our meetings to help out packing packs of food for toddlers and helping promote the Lose for Good campaign that MY leader dreamed up years ago. The WW CEO liked her idea so much, they turned it in to something national. I was there the first year she did it and I was there when the CEO came and heard her idea. I'm so proud to be a part of it. I'll post more about it all after Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, Travis is going to do his first ever radio blogcast! He'll be talking about politics mostly. If I remember tomorrow, I will get the listening info for you. If you are on facebook, you can get the info there.
Okay, I need to get going. My place is a mess...no...it's a MESS!!! So, I leave you with a picture of my kids being cute.

Silly Baby Girl

2009-09-02T21:08:00.001-07:00

This is for all those who just can't resist a good laugh by a baby! Joseph was pushing the Sunday paper around on the floor and she thought he was hilarious. I do see that my carpet under the little table is in serious need of vacuuming though. Yikes! But Elizabeth is beyond cute here. (in my humble opinion) (o:

A New School Year

2009-09-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

I started our new school year yesterday. The teachers in our school district are on strike, so our kids are having to do school while listening to their neighbor friends play outside. But, come end of the school year, our kids will be playing and their friends will still be in school, so it will all work out. The kids have done well so far. I'm way more organized this year than I have ever been. There is a lot to keep track of having three kids. I turned in my intent form for both Joseph and Spencer this year, so I've got a lot more accountability for them.

I think it will be a really fun year. We are using Magic Tree House books and their research guides for History and Geography (mostly), and have some fun story books in line for reading. We actually just finished reading "The Boxcar Children". It was a great story and we plan on reading more of their adventures. Actually, it was such a fun story that we got more involved than we normally do when reading a book. The children in the book eat blueberries and milk for dinner one night, so we went down to the fresh market and bought fresh blueberries and had blueberries and milk while we read. Then, the children made a stew, so we picked carrots from our garden and got fresh potatoes and onions from the market and made a beef and vegetable stew in the crock pot. The kids loved it and loved feeling like they could relate more closely to the characters.

Anyway, I got a tad off topic there. I found some great ideas from an LDS homeschool book. Her best advice was the way she schedules. It seems to fit my family, so that is what we will be doing. It's a very simple layout....basics like math and language arts every day and then special topics that I can adjust to make sure Connor's involved once a week...example...Monday-Science, Tuesday-Art/Music, Wednesday-Composition/Creative Writing, Thursday-History, Friday-Book of Mormon/religious studies. I work with Connor on his reading while the older boys do silent reading and he does coloring and letter practice while the older boys work on math and LA etc. It's working so far. We will do field trips whenever we feel like it.(o: Mainly, though, when Travis has the day off so he can go and enjoy the fun, plus help me with kid control.

Tuesday's we will be watching a little boy named Jake. He's just a couple of months younger than Connor, so I will be planning some things for him to do while we have school on Tuesday's.

That's about it for now. I wanted to just get this out there so if I can't remember when I started school, or lose my way, I can return to this post and get my head on again. (o: I'll leave you with some cute pictures.
Group photo. Connor is such a goof ball.

Joseph-3rd grade. Age 8. I have a couple of photo's of just Joseph's face, but he insisted I have a picture of him with Baby Doggie. He's had that dog since he was 3 months old. It's his oldest and best friend and comes to school every morning.

Spencer-2nd grade. Age 7.

Connor. Kindergarten. Age 4. I think he looks so old in this picture!

I installed these shelves in our entry way. Each boy has their own shelf with their own bin of crayons and stuff. It also holds their books that they need daily. On the right we have history books, science books, and chapter books. It's pretty organized for now. I hope they keep it this way cause it's working well for them so far.

A Quickie

2009-08-31T18:05:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of pictures to tide you over til I get some spare time. School starts tomorrow and Travis had the last 4 days off (which always means computer time is very limited for me), so here's a shot of my cutie patootie and also a shot of us with Travis's mom. We took her for a drive Saturday to Gig Harbor. The kids played at a cool park and we ate at a Dairy Queen that had Elvis everywhere!

We Went to Seattle...

2009-08-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

...again. (o: We love going to Seattle. It's been a little while since Travis's new job started. It was beautiful evening. We had lots of fun and got stopped by a man that our boys had run by and said "excuse me" when they ran by him. He stopped me to tell me that my baby was beautiful and he had never seen 3 little boys be so polite to a complete stranger. He thanked me for doing such a good job as a parent in teaching my child common respect for people and said our family was refreshing. (o: Nice, eh? (Travis was in the bathroom or else he would have been complimented too, I'm sure)

Kinda just went by...

2009-08-23T07:20:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was our Anniversary. Travis worked, I stayed home from church with sick kids. It wasn't a very thrilling anniversary. But, that's okay because it was still our anniversary. 15 years. That's a long time. Our marriage is a teenager. (o: We did go and see the new Harry Potter movie...finally...on Friday. It was an awesome movie! I cried. Like...a...baby!!! Embarrassing, I know, but I thought that they did a beautiful job at cramming the book into such a short time span. (yes, it was 2 1/2 hours...I coulda sat there for 5 hours if I had to) I especially was impressed with how Alan Rickman portrayed Snape in the end. He did such an excellent job of expressing the torment that you know he was feeling...without saying a word. It was just fabulous. I hope that it will be out in time for Christmas, and I've already told my mom that's all I want. (o: I know, I am a hopeless addict. But, Harry Potter has gotten me through some tough times and made me happy. I'm going to have to get a new set...maybe the set of all paperbacks...for the kids to read, cause I've pretty much worn the ones I have out. My kids are just now asking to see the first movie and I am allowing it. But only the first. I told them we would start reading the books once we finish with the Boxcar Children series. *sigh* It makes me happy.

(I do not know why I have started the habit of using all these dots .... but I have so I hope I don't annoy anyone out there with them.)

Yesterday we went to visit Travis at his new home store. They transferred him to a store that is not open 24 hours!!! It's a really nice store with really nice people. I really love the Walgreens company so far. Well, since Travis got "paid up" as Connor said, I told them I would buy them a treat. They each got a sell inflating whoopee cushion.

Looks just like the yellow one. Yep, I wish you could have heard them. Laughing so hard tear were rolling down their faces. Of course, after about 6 hours of CONTINUOUS use, they started to tear and the fart sounds are weak, but they really had a spectacular time with those things. They were kinda pricey, so I was bummed that they didn't hold up better. The reason they are so into whoopee cushions is because of this chick...

Don't ask. You can go to http://respectthepouch.com/ if you really wanna know. It's a Capri Sun thing. We don't even have cable, but they saw the commercials and we have internet...that's all it took.

Anyway...to finish off my rather long and rambling post, here is a picture I took of my children because I love them so much...
Wait...here's another...just because. I tried to be clever and put them on different steps, but I'm not a photographer and they really wanted to leave to go buy their little fart bags, so...
Oh, and ps...Little Lizbet is 90% ready to crawl. She's almost got it. She's 6 month old! Crawling?! Isn't that kinda sad? I'm crying again. I need to go read me some HP.

Our Healthy Lizbet

2009-08-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

(This picture was taken at the doc's while we waited for the nurse to come in with the shots!)

Elizabeth went to the doctors for her 6 month check up. She was declared very healthy and extremely cute! She is also really tiny! Well, really tiny compared to all of her brothers. I'm used to my boys being in the 95% for height and weight. She's 50% for height and 25% for weight! (of course her giant Nelson pumpkin head is at 75%) She's almost crawling already and loves to copy things that her brothers are doing.

Nothing else really new to report. I'm still up to my elbows in my Home Education stuff. I've just about got Science done. It's a lot of work customizing my lessons, but worth it because I have more attentive children. Someday I dream of the day that I can just buy a program all packaged together and the kids be thrilled with it, but if it never happens, that's okay, because in all my researching I learn a lot too.

I have guinea pig cages to clean now.

August? Already? How did that happen?

2009-08-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

First of all...some important business. ***Rachael Olson*** I tried emailing you and my email came back. And since you can't make up your mind on facebook...my email address is dawnie3@att.net. Get me on your list. I'm having serious withdrawls!!!

Okay. I can not believe that it is August! And it's almost the middle of August even! Hello! My little baby girl is 6 MONTHS old!! Time...you are not my friend these days. So, the last few days I have been reorganizing my apartment. Isn't that what most women need to do once in a while. Move stuff around. I'm not as crazy as Shauna who not only moves things around, but strips them all and paints them! But, I have been reworking our Education areas. We totally outgrew our little laundry room classroom and have been working in the living room. So, I installed some shelves and moved the desk and did a bunch of stuff like that. It feels good to move stuff around cause then you are forced to clean certain areas that otherwise wouldn't be touched. I'll post photos after it's all done.

Speaking of education...I have also been planning school. Only we are going to try not to call it school. Thomas Jefferson Ed people...at least the people that I have interacted with recently (I need to re-read that book!) call it Home Education. Not Home Schooling. I like the sound of that, and my kids seem to think that it sounds cool too...so, I have been planning this years education. I'm beginning to feel more like I know what I'm doing, but at the same time having a panic attack cause the boys are getting older and also Connor is thrown into the mix this year. BUT...I'll be okay. Like my dad ALWAYS used to ask me...how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Got it! (o:

It's been some weird times lately. The heat threw us all off. Then, Travis worked his first week of over night shifts. They do a week every 5 weeks, I believe. He left home at midnight and returned home at 9am. Then, he locked himself in the bedroom until 7pm and slept. Seven days he did this. Then, he was given 4 days off to try and recover. That's what he did all weekend. Tried to get his head back on straight. So, it's been a strange the past couple of weeks. (but, let me say...over night shift or not....he LOVES working at Walgreens!!!) So, I have lots more to say but not the energy, nor the time to say it, so here are a few pictures because everyone loves pictures!
Little Miss is now sleeping part time in her new crib. She sleeps in it for a couple of hours...wakes up...wants to be held for an hour or so...then goes back in her crib. Repeat. It makes for a long night, but she'll come around eventually and all will be well. (they all did) I'm tired, but I remind myself that she is my last and what is a few months of sleepiness in my long lifetime. It's so worth it when you see this cute little face.

This was during the day. I was putting away laundry and stuck her in here. I couldn't decide which picture to post, so I put them all on.We called her our little Princess when she was born, but she has been promoted to Queen Elizabeth in our house now.

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We took Travis's mom down to Tacoma and Federal Way just for fun on Friday. Went over the Narrows bridge and hit a couple of malls. Here is Travis and Lizbet at the Tacoma Mall. See where she gets her beautiful blue eyes?

Travee said, "My two girls." Awww

Our cute boys having a burger with Grandma D. They love going out with her!

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I know this is fuzzy, but I love it and since it's my blog, I can share it if I want...blurry stuff and all. Isn't she the sweetest?

It's Just Too Hot!

2009-07-30T10:55:00.000-07:00

I know! I haven't blogged for a while. You have to admit that the last blog was one of the cutest ever though. It's just been too hot to be sitting at the computer lately. Yesterday we not only smashed the record high, but it was also the hottest day EVER recorded in Western Washington history. And nobody...well VERY few...has air conditioning here. We could have driven around in our van that has a/c BUT it was in the shop being repaired! So, we went to Travis's parents house while we waited for the car to be fixed and played for a while...then ran through the sprinkler and just got very wet. That includes Travis and I!

Here are a couple of pictures to prove what I say is true.

Actually, first of all, here is a picture of the carrots I pulled from our garden. I was thinning them out a bit. These 'baby' carrots were awesome! Peas are gone...they were yummy too. Cucumbers never grew. They grew last year so I'm not sure what I did wrong this year, but it's ok. We'll do better next year.

This is at his folks. That says 103! Plus, in Seattle there's humidity. Not too much, but enough we could feel it.

Spencer spent a lot of his time inside making 'food' for his dogs. Then he took them outside and let them have a picnic. (notice the brown grass)
A close up of the food he made.

Notice the time? That's when the boys are supposed to be in bed. The top # is outside, middle # humidity in the house, and bottom temp # is inside the house. It got down to 86 this morning.

We put all 4 kids on the living room floor with all the fans we own (4) turned onto them. Yep, even Elizabeth slept on the floor. I was on the couch and Travis was at work in the air conditioned bldg. (he has the night shift for the next week) They didn't go to sleep until 1:30am and woke up at 9:30. Well, Elizabeth woke up at 8, which is why she isn't in the picture. I turned off my flash to snap this one, so it's kinda fuzzy, but you get the idea.

So, that's the summary of "adventures in we think we are going to die of heat in Seattle". It's not supposed to get this hot here. Average temp for yesterday was 79. That's what we are used to, so this is big news to us. Thanks for letting me vent and complain and whine. I know all the people in Texas and Nevada think we are whimps, but how many of them have a/c in their homes? I thought so. (o:

Ice Cream Anyone?

2009-07-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

Covington Days! 2009

2009-07-19T08:51:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I took the kids to Covington Days. (Covington is the next town over...it's where Kohl's and Walmart are) It's a nice little town. Travis was originally planning on coming, but they changed his work schedule on Friday, so he had to go to work instead. But...since we promised a parade...I took 'em myself! They were very well behaved and we had a lot of fun. We watched the parade go by (which comprised of people walking and waving, a couple of clowns, a bunch of tractors, a garbage truck and a fire truck...pretty much) Then we went over to the little fair part...just like last year. The kids thought it was "awesome"! We collected some little prizes from the booths, played on a fire truck, shared an elephant ear, and watched some fancy drummers. It was a really good time. Although, I have learned that paying special attention to my children and slathering them with sunscreen is the right thing to do...just don't forget myself! I hurriedly put some on my arms, but missed my chest and face and now look very lobster-ish.
Waiting for the parade to start. Elizabeth was asleep. I put the blanket over her the entire time so don't worry, she wasn't in the sun.

We'd just arrived and she was looking cute!

Connor, his blanket, and his thumb. This is classic Connor. He really enjoyed the parade.

Joseph likes to pose. He was standing under the great big tree to get some shade. Notice the parade behind him?

After the parade we went to the fair part. Here the boys are meeting Sparky the fire dog. That dude must have been so hot!

Checking out the inside of the truck!

I froze some Roaring Waters Capri Suns the night before, so by the time we got really hot...they were melted to perfection. Spencer ws enjoying our little break in the shade.

Then...last night, the boys were getting ready to go to bed. They stopped to tell Elizabeth good night and ended up playing with her for a while. This made us very happy to see how much they love their little sister!

Dear Mr. Thrift Store Man...

2009-07-16T20:53:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr. Thrift Store Inventor Man,

I wanted to write you a note and tell you how much I am in love with you and all that you have done for me and my family. We have gained so much from your invention. I love my new chair...my kids love their new books and toys...Travis loves his new ties. I just wanted you to know that there is a special place in heaven for you...right next to Mr. Inventor of the Epidural.

Thanks again,

A grateful Thrift Store shopper.

(and no...this doesn't count for the Mrs. Yard Sale Inventor woman~yes..she's a woman cause she's just trying to get rid of all the junk in her house right away. Thrift stores are air conditioned and have carts!)

Just had to say it. (o:

Oh, and here are a couple of pictures just because she's too stinkin cute for words.

This is what she looked like for church Sunday.
This is at G & G Nelson's house. I was showing them the hat she wears when I take her on my morning walks. Too cute!

Her first taste of rice cereal. She really liked it and couldn't get enough.

This video is for Mom. (that deep Hi Grandma Teese at the end was Connor Being silly) Love ya!

Fun Stuff!

2009-07-11T07:41:00.000-07:00

First of all...Joseph and Spencer are totally into these books...
Joseph isn't the kind of kid that enjoys sitting down and reading a book. BUT, he really enjoys these. We've been snatching them up at the thrift stores. I think we have 12 now. There are 42 in the series so far. We are getting the compnion study guides and are using them as history lessons. We also printed out and put together passports from the website http://magictreehouse.com. They answer questions about the books they've read and then get the stamp for that book. They love it!

Anyway, yesterday we went to the D.I. (it's a thrift store). We had a blast and made out like bandits! Check out what we got!
They were practicing their balancing so I snapped this cause it was just too cute of them all lined up.

Here they are with their loot. We were waiting for Travis to bring the van over to pick us all up. Connor got a vehicle, Joseph got a McDonalds, and Spencer got an ATM machine. They were very happy and it cost us I think $9 for all that.

Lizbet got a Baby Genius book. She loves it!

This was my prize. I got this sweet chair! It swivels. I don't know why, but it reminds me of Grandma Rose. I just love it. It's in mint condition and I got it for practically nothing! SWEET!

Baby girl got a Little People castle. If you look closely, you can see she has a little people person in her right hand. She was up on her elbows playing until I snapped the photo.

That's it for the thrift store pictures, but here are a couple of misc. ones. Spencer has been really interested in weather maps, so we bought him a USA Today and he carried the weather page around the whole day, studying it. I taught him how to read it and what the legends meant and all that good stuff. We bought him another one the next day and he compared them. It was very exciting for his dad who loves loves loves weather.

Of course, no blog entry is complete without cute pictures of Elizabeth. She can sit up on her own now for about 10 seconds or so before falling over. Not bad for a 5 month old. Can you tell it's been a tad cooler lately? Gave me a chance to hurry and put on a couple of long sleeve outfits she has.

I LOVE the lilac and brown!!!!!

The 4th Weekend

2009-07-06T09:05:00.001-07:00

This was a pretty fun holiday weekend...even with a sick baby and a husband who had to work. Thursday I took Elizabeth to the doctor. She developed the scariest sounding cough I've ever heard. The doctor said not to worry about the cough, her lungs sounded great, but to worry about her ears...she got her first ear infection. )o: She got some of the pink stuff and lots of Tylenol for the fever and that's the end of that. She is doing very good today. Still has the cough, but it is fading.

Friday night, my friend from high school, Sage Browne, and her boyfriend, Don, came to visit from the Boston area. Sage had a thing down in Portland, so since they were on our coast, they drove up and visited. It didn't go at all how I had hoped it would. I had all these plans to go to the Kubota Gardens with them and do fun stuff...but Elizabeth was sooo sick. So, Friday night they came and I fixed dinner and we just hung out and the kids showed off and acted crazy and scared poor Sage and Don to the point that I'm pretty sure they've decided never to have children. They also stopped by Saturday night and had ice cream and just visited for a couple of hours. The worst part of all that was that Friday and Saturday I was more tired than I can ever remember being. I was so exhausted. (babies with sore throats, ear aches, and fevers only sleep a few minutes at a time) There were so many 'awkward silences' cause it took everything in me to come up with the little conversation that we did have. Now that I'm rested I am thinking of a million questions that I have for both of them. Don is a very nice guy. He seems very interesting and I'm sure I would be a much more engaging hostess had I gotten more than an hour of sleep (not an exaggeration)each night. Anyway...it was really great to see her and meet Don. She seems happy and that makes me happy.

Saturday Travis had to work. He closed, so we took advantage of having him with us the first half of the day. His folks really wanted to go to Denny's for breakfast, so that's what we did. The kids got cool alien cups and we all had a great time. Then we went to his parents house and did a few smokeballs and pop-its and cooked some hot dogs on the grill. After Travis left I let them run through the sprinkler for an hour and then we made smores. They were exhausted that night, but it was great.

Here are a few pictures from this weekend.
She looks cute even when she doesn't feel good. This is one of the hats Aunt Kristina sent. It was perfect for going out in the sun.

Daddy did the small amount of fireworks we got with the boys. (nothing loud)

Good ole sprinkler! Spencer ended up taking his shirt off too. It was close to 90 degrees that day. They had sooo much fun!

I said, "Joseph, how's your day going?" and this was his response.

Here they were roasting their marshmallows for the smores. They were so happy. They kept saying, "We're having fun! We wish Daddy could be here to have fun too!" We really missed him, but are grateful that he was at a job and working to provide for the family. There will be lots of 4ths in the future.

He's gonna kill me, but since they don't have a computer...what he doesn't know wont hurt him...right? This is Travis's dad. He had minor surgery to remove a small piece of skin cancer next to his nose. This is the result. His face is pretty bruised. His eyes were swollen shut a couple of days before, so he's lookin pretty here. (o:

Oh, and a funny little tid bit...No loud fireworks this year meant that Joseph didn't have to wear the big ear plug head phone things. But, Spencer walked around plugging his nose the entire time because he didn't want to get sick from the smell. Funny kids.

Here is Sage and Don on the top of the Space Needle. No, I didn't go with them. Like I said...I was exhausted when they came and wasn't thinking straight...so I took no pictures of them! Hello! This photo was STOLEN from Don's facebook page. (thanks Don) Aren't they cute?

And that's it for now folks. Sunday we went to church, Travis worked that night, and me and the kids hung out and watched cartoons and camped on the living room floor. Just for fun.

Cousins and the Garden

2009-07-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, first of all, may I say that I feel a tad guilty about what I said about Michael Jackson. He did get kind of weird at the end, but after watching some of his old videos that brought me back to my childhood, and then reading about how sad and lonely his life has been, I have changed my tune just a bit. It is too bad that he died, but after all that I read, it may have been a blessing for him. He seemed to be wasting away to nothing.

Now, what I'm really sad about is Billy Mays dying! We loved his show Pitchmen! Even the kids. Joseph just saw this picture and said, "Hey, it's the guy from Pitchmen!" He was one of those true American stories. Worked hard starting at the bottom and became rich and famous. Now, at 50, he's gone. It's just sad.

Anyway...enough about dead celebrities. Here are a few new pictures for your enjoyment. My sister, Bobbie, had her third baby yesterday. A girl named Annie Lynn. I will post more about her as soon as they get on the stick and get me some pictures. (o:

Travis's brother Jeff and his family came by the other day before heading back to California. We lined the kid up for a cousin picture. Olivia is the blond in the front and Amelia is the other one. (o: They are good girls. Growing up so fast! Wish they lived closer. Olivia is 11. She's almost at the age that she could babysit. I really wish she lived closer. (especially since the current charge is $8 an hour for a babysitter now)

The other day we were over at Travis's parents house. We did a little garden weeding and watering and then picked all the peas that were ready. YUMMY! They didn't get cooked. We just brought them home and snacked on them raw. Kids loved them!
Elizabeth with our bounty. Joseph took this picture. I pulled a couple of carrots to thin them out so if you look closely, you can see the tiny carrots. He was concerned that we not leave the carrots out of the picture.

One little sweet pea posing with the peas.

I just thought this was a cute picture of our little girl in her little sister shirt.

Baby girl loves to chew on her big toe. Her feet are such a great new find!

Father's Day Weekend

2009-06-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

First of all...Michael Jackson died today and I have to say that I kinda don't care much. Everyone's making a huge deal. I know he was "King of Pop" and I have some great memories from the 80's of his music, but he got kinda weird and I have lots in my life that, to me, is more important than Jacko. (Sorry Jackson family)

On to the important things. (o: Father's day weekend we had lots of fun. Travis's older brother and his family came up to visit from California. We went to his folks place to bbq and enjoy their company on Saturday. Travis and Jeff ended up playing outside with all the kids while I stayed in and talked to the folks, and Jeff's wife Patty, and also his sister, Tracey. They were outside throwing Nerf balls at each other and the kids and occasionally at me if I got close enough to the sliding door. They all had a lot of fun. I'm not sure who had more fun...the big kids, or the little kids.
Before weekend pictures though, here is a cute picture of Lizbet checking out her dad's watch. Eventually, all our kids have become fascinated with daddy's watch. It was pretty cute.

Here is Olivia, Connor and Jeff. Olivia just turned 11. I can't believe how old she is now! I remember her being Elizabeth's size...like...yesterday!

Here is Amelia, who is Joseph's age, Travis being my manly man, and Joseph.

Sunday Travis had to work, but when he got home (and we got home from church), I fixed him a very yummy meal and we had a nice quiet dad's day together.

This is funny. I told the boys we could get their dad a giant cookie cake. (we've never gotten one before and they really wanted to try one out and, as Spencer pointed out..they were on sale) We go and, of course, since it's the day before dad's day, the choices were limited, but the kids decided they really wanted to get him this fishing one. Travis doesn't fish. I'm sure he's done it before in his life, but I've never seen it. At least I have pictures to prove that I went fishing as a kid (Thanks G&G Anderson for those memories). But, that's what they wanted, so that's what we got. Of course it was yummy~especially after we scraped off 90% of that frosting. I think the kids wanted that one because of the fishing guy and fish because yesterday when I went into the bathroom, I found the sink full of water with those 2 fish in the water and the fishing guy standing next to the sink with his line in the water. It was pretty funny and I wish now I would have taken a picture of it.

Anyway, it was a good weekend. Travis said that he was happy and that's what matters.

Father's Day

2009-06-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to say Happy Father's day to a couple of important Fathers.
First and foremost...to my Travee. About 5 years into our marriage I gave Travis the option of opting out of our marriage so he could go find a woman that wasn't told she would never have children. I knew what a great dad he would make and felt so bad that I wasn't giving him that opportunity. He told me no and I was crazy. I'm glad he did, because miracles happen and I am able every day, to watch Travis be that great dad that I knew he would be. I love him more than anything...despite any gooberness that he may have. (o: Thank you, Travis, for giving me four beautiful children, and for being the loving father that you are. You are the love of my life and I can't imagine my life without you.
There's some special bond between a father and daughter. I can see this already.

How can I not love this man?

Travee, you're the best!

Look at that good looking bunch! Another great dad is Travis's dad, Ken. Here he is with the family. He is a very spiritual man that would do anything for us. He's always interesting to talk to and I'm glad that he's still around...even though he's promised to die since I married Travis almost 15 years ago. ("Now that my youngest is married...I can die")

This is my daddy. You will never find a more honest, upstanding, kind man as my dad. He loves his family and his country. I get along very well with my dad and, unlike most of the population that finds my dad a tad too quiet, I love talking to him and we can literally talk for hours. We enjoy the same types of things...books we read, the Civil War. It's fun to talk to Dad. (o:

I'm very proud that my dad retired a full bird Colonel in the Army. I'm grateful for the experiences that being an Army brat gave to me. Thanks Dad, for all you did and do for me. I love you!

Oh, I also still have one living Grandpa~Morgan Anderson. I don't have a picture at the moment on this computer...but he looks a LOT like my dad (well, vice versa) but really...if you know my dad, you know my grandpa. He's a great man. He's not even 80 yrs old and they have 40 GREAT grandchildren! Quite the legacy.

(Also, I miss my Grandpa Jake more than anyone will ever know!)

So, you can see, I'm a pretty lucky girl. If we got to choose our family in heaven, I must have had first round pick cause I got the best of everything!

Happy Father's Day!!!

Stuff Goes On

2009-06-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

Travis started a new job last week. A better job. A tiny bit more money, but more hours and a much better (more positive) work environment. So...the last couple of weeks have been stressful, yet peaceful and then happy. We kind of felt like we were in a foggy haze for a while, but now the sun has come out and the haze has cleared and I'm feeling more like my old self. I, however, have TONS of stuff to do to make up for those couple of weeks where, I learned, when you are in a hazy fog, you don't get much accomplished.

Here are just a couple of pictures for your enjoyment.
Elizabeth is growing like crazy. She had her 4 month apptmt. She's 90% for height and 45% for weight. She does seem so much smaller than the boys...who were all square. (90% &90%) She's healthy and happy. Spencer also went in...his 7 yr old check up. He's healthy and well too. He is tall and skinny also. 75% for height and 50% for weight. My kids definitely have Isaak genes. At least these two do. My mom sent this purple outfit and my sister-in-law sent the headband. Yay for purple!!!

You can't really see it, but this is a purple dress mom sent. We were going home from church here. I forgot to mention that Little Miss (that's what Joseph calls her) drives me crazy cause every time I lay her on the floor she immediately rolls over and starts screaming cause she doesn't know how to roll from tummy to back yet, but loves to roll over the other way...so I can't just lay her down on the floor anymore..unless I post Joseph next to her to roll her back over every time. (which he happily does quite often)

Here are the boys playing nicely together. It was Spencer's computer time Sunday after church. He decided to dig out an old game we had...Police Chase. (It's where they drive a car through an obstacle course or city and if they want, they can have the police chase them)Joseph and Connor were cheering Spencer on as he played. It was pretty cute! And yes, that is pizza in the background. Homemade pizza thank you very much. When we came home from church I made the dough and the kids helped make their own individual pizzas. Travis and I had tomato, green onions, and green peppers. The boys all had mushrooms, (YUCK! I can't believe all 3 boys love mushrooms~Travis and I hate them) tomatoes and Spencer threw on some onions. They were very yummy and kinda of a fun treat to have on a Sunday evening.

Okay, that's it for now. Elizabeth is throwing a fit behind me because she wants me to hold her. No other reason...she's fed, changed, napped. She just wants to be held. Darn it! Guess I'll have to go snuggle with my baby.(o:

Misc Fun

2009-06-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of random type thoughts and pictures I wanted to share. Enjoy!
I know we live by it and we see it all the time, but how can I not be totally in love with this gorgeous mountain? It was a clear day...I just had to snap a photo and share. I heart Mt. Rainier!

We don't have very many Krispie Kreme's around here, so every once in a (great) while we take the boys and get them each a donut and let them watch the whole donut making process. Notice that even my biggest 'boy' is enthralled? (o: They were making chocolate frosted ones that day.

Of course, Elizabeth didn't care about the donuts, but spent her time looking adorable.

A few days ago the kids were all cranky and seemed like they needed to get out, but it was a cloudy, rainy day, so we put them in the car and went for a drive. We headed down towards Tacoma and ended up at the Narrows bridge. You have to pay a small toll to come back, but it was totally worth it. We went to a big Borders book store in Gig Harbor and let them spend lots of time browsing the cool kid section. Then we went home. It turned in to a pretty great day.

I just thought this was a cool shot.

And lastly, look who is big enough to play in her exersaucer!!! She can go about 15 minutes before she gets tired, but it's an exciting new thing for her to do and she is so proud of herself when she's in it. *sigh* It's just not fair that she is growing so fast!

That's it for now. Hope you all have a fabulous week!

In a Mood

2009-06-07T01:56:00.000-07:00

It's the middle of the night, I'm tired, but I can't stop coughing cause I have a cold, so what's a girl to do? Why watch (and listen to) her favorite people on youtube of course.

I am going to share a couple of my faves because...1. I can 2. You might enjoy them 3. They will all then be more easily accessible for my listening (and watching) pleasure without having to search for them.

So..here we go. First..Il Divo. I have such a crush on a Swiss man...no wait, an American...no, a Frenchman...a Spaniard?? Ah heck, I'm in love with them all. If anyone is looking for a perfect birthday gift for me...how about a million dollars and Il Divo in my um..living room..for a private concert. (o: **wink**

This song is one of my most faves of theirs because I have the greatest mom in the universe and I'm hoping that some day my kids will say the same thing about me. Love ya mom!!!

Next, if Il Divo is busy...Josh Groban can come on over. This song is my theme song.

And lastly, dedicated to all those people in the world..friends and family...that have touched my life in some way...you raise me up. Here are my female loves...Celtic Woman. (I have Travis in love with them too) (I know, Josh sings this too, but I love the girls' version a tad better~and this concert is my all time fave for them)

So, I hope you will be uplifted in some way by these songs that make me happy. (and now you have a glimpse into what I listen to when I'm not singing the Wheels on the Bus)

OH! I almost forgot. Today I woke up, looked in the mirror and nearly burst into tears because my hair is soooo thin on top right now. So...I pulled out the scissors and...CHOP! Here are a couple of pictures of what I did to myself. (I know Rachael could have done a million times better, but I was desperate!) (and dressed in my skivvies)

What do ya think?

Life

2009-06-03T09:05:00.000-07:00

When life gives you lemons...make lemonade. Well, we've been handed some big old lemons lately. We decided to pull out the Splenda and make some lemonade. And when you have kids as sweet as this...it's not too hard to do.

Great-Aunt Joyce sent this outfit. Mommy made the headband.

Travis had to run into the store to buy some bandaids. (Spencer injured himself and we were in the car so we stopped because otherwise we wouldn't hear the end of it until we got home). While he was gone, the kids and I played with the camera. I tapped Joseph on the shoulder and snapped this.

Then I tapped Spencer.

Connor was clear in the back...in the trunk. I called his name and...snap. (o:

Then, they got me. It was only fair I suppose.

Elizabeth was trapped in her car seat, so she started sticking her tongue out at Joseph for fun. Look at that tiny tongue!!!

I just stuck the camera in her carseat and snapped one. Turned out pretty cute.I finally had to take her out of her seat cause it's been flipping hot here and she was getting mad at being all strapped in, so I took her out and took a picture of her farmer Jane outfit.

So, no matter what the trials, as long as I have these little monkeys...we are doing okay. (Oh, and the big Gorilla makes me pretty happy too)

(big gorilla feeding the littlest monkey) (o:

Free Fun=The Ballard Locks

2009-05-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we decided to take the boys out for a little drive. Connor, Joseph, and Elizabeth all have colds and have been stuck in the house for a few days...plus, we just needed to get out. So, we loaded everyone up and thought we would just drive to the city and back as usual. When we got into the city Travis asked what I thought of going to the Ballard Locks. We haven't ever done that...I've lived here for 14 years and I've never been there, so I said sure. (plus, it's free except a couple dollars parking) So, off we went to the famous Ballard locks. Here is a photo journal of our little trip.
In Ballard we rolled up next to this lovely little car. It's covered in old floppy discs! Notice the keys (like from a keyboard) all around the trim? The license plate read, "disc dvr" or something like that. Isn't that funny? We saw lots of people snapping pictures of her car with their camera phones. Gotta love the, um, interesting people who live in Seattle.

When we arrived at the docks, we were very happy to see that at 6 pm we no longer had to pay for parking. It was 6:10. Wahoo~a truly free trip. (o: Of course we had to do a family shot when we first got there. Notice the funny guys to the left that posed for the photo? I said, "Connor looks like he's the devil and Spencer looks possessed."

I just loved this shot. The right side was for big boats, left side smaller boats. The bridge is a train bridge and usually the right side is lifted up, but a train had just passed by so the bridge was down.

This is inside the lock for the big boats. It is nearly empty. They were just beginning to fill it when we got there. Can you guess how high the water gets before they open it? The green is kind of a give away.

The lock is almost full. We loved this cool house boat.

The locks were filled and the boats left. The people waved to our kids as they went through.

How many clowns can you fit in a phone booth?

Despite not feeling well, these children had a tremendous amount of energy!

We got to climb lots of stairs...but the view was worth it...

....don't ya think?

We were walking along side a guy with a dog. He noticed that Elizabeth was watching the dog very closely so he picked up the dog and introduced them. She thought it was way cool.

Ever watch "Deadliest Catch" on Discovery channel? It's one of our favorite shows. It's very intersting and most of the guys are from Seattle. Ballard is a Scandinavian town. (Nelson's are all Scandinavians so we fit in well there). Most of the fisherman are Scandinavian. (ever heard Capt. Sig speak Norwegian?) Whenever we go to Ballard I ask,"Can you see any of the boats? The Northwestern? Cornelia Marie? The Wizard?" I've never seen any of them there, but I know they go there. But, even though I haven't seen their boats, I have seen...

...the Lockspot. This is where they filmed the show "After the Catch". We passed a sign that said something about Deadliest Catch tours as we were driving away. We are so going to have to go back there soon so I can get a closer look...and someday I will have to eat there...someday.

So. That is our little spur of the moment trip. We took 100 pictures. We had fun and the kids slept well last night. (o: