After an exhausting and unending week the much anticipated Halloween finally arrived for us! We celebrated on Saturday rather than Sunday. The kids got dressed up and went to the trunk or treat at the church building and had a great time. It was FREEZING, literally! Of course, all of the locals thought it was a really nice night, especially because they are used to there being snow on the ground by now! It did snow this week but that was after it had rained all day. The snow stuck but it got so cold so quickly that night that in the morning everything was iced, especially the roads! Yeah, I stayed home that day!
It was a fun night anyway and seemed extra special for us because Scott was there! Now we just have Thanksgiving around the corner!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
I Totally Forgot the BEST Thing!!!!!!!
I can not believe that I forgot to tell you all about the best early birthday present I ever got! Let me just say that I have the best husband EVER!!!!!!
So, I hear on the radio that Kathy Mattea is coming to Anchorage for one night about 3 days before the concert is scheduled. I was so shocked because I didn't even realize she was still performing! It turns out that she is still making records even! Anyway, at first all I thought was that it would be sooo cool to go see her but I didn't have any hope that I could. The next day I hear about the concert on the radio again and I just get that bratty I-have-to-have-it feeling so when I got home I looked online to see how much the tickets are. They were so cheap I felt like it would be a crime to miss out on seeing her perform! I texted Scott and begged him to please take me. As ever, I got my way! Not only did he take me but we got a full date with dinner and NO kids! That is our first since his mid-tour leave last year in November FYI!
For dinner he took me to a place called the Bear's Tooth. I love it there! It's so Alaska but with a modern slightly upscale twist. The food is wonderful. They make these garlic cilantro french fries that are so GOOD!!!! I also had beer-batter halibut tacos and Scott had the halibut fish n' chips. For desert I got this ancho chili brownie with cinnamon ice cream that was indescribably amazing! Scott had the crem brule.
The concert was so cool. It was in this PAC that was about the size of Serrano's PAC for those of you who remember. It was very intimate. She had a completely acoustic band that included a mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, and guitar. She also did a couple songs where she played this really cool flute! Kathy was such a great performer. The band was so awesome and her voice was perfect! She was also hilarious! She really interacted with the audience and did such a good job! She told some amazing stories between songs as well. One was about her mom who had Alzheimer's before she passed away. Kathy said that at the very end of her mom's life when she couldn't talk or move on her own and was basically just a vegetable, she could still sing "You are my Sunshine". What a testament to music, huh? Kathy did a lot of songs off her most recent album "Cole". The whole album is about cole mining and even she admitted it's pretty depressing! Of course she sang "Where Have You Been" and we were all crying (it was just after her story about her mom too). She did not sing "Timber" and I feel like it's my fault. She asked for requests a couple of times and I didn't shout anything! In my defense I had lost most of voice from this stupid head cold though! Lol! The best part of it all was that Scott, who really doesn't care for "country" music, actually enjoyed himself so I didn't have to feel guilty for making him go! Hahaha!
It was such a great night and I am so glad I got to go!
So, I hear on the radio that Kathy Mattea is coming to Anchorage for one night about 3 days before the concert is scheduled. I was so shocked because I didn't even realize she was still performing! It turns out that she is still making records even! Anyway, at first all I thought was that it would be sooo cool to go see her but I didn't have any hope that I could. The next day I hear about the concert on the radio again and I just get that bratty I-have-to-have-it feeling so when I got home I looked online to see how much the tickets are. They were so cheap I felt like it would be a crime to miss out on seeing her perform! I texted Scott and begged him to please take me. As ever, I got my way! Not only did he take me but we got a full date with dinner and NO kids! That is our first since his mid-tour leave last year in November FYI!
For dinner he took me to a place called the Bear's Tooth. I love it there! It's so Alaska but with a modern slightly upscale twist. The food is wonderful. They make these garlic cilantro french fries that are so GOOD!!!! I also had beer-batter halibut tacos and Scott had the halibut fish n' chips. For desert I got this ancho chili brownie with cinnamon ice cream that was indescribably amazing! Scott had the crem brule.
The concert was so cool. It was in this PAC that was about the size of Serrano's PAC for those of you who remember. It was very intimate. She had a completely acoustic band that included a mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, and guitar. She also did a couple songs where she played this really cool flute! Kathy was such a great performer. The band was so awesome and her voice was perfect! She was also hilarious! She really interacted with the audience and did such a good job! She told some amazing stories between songs as well. One was about her mom who had Alzheimer's before she passed away. Kathy said that at the very end of her mom's life when she couldn't talk or move on her own and was basically just a vegetable, she could still sing "You are my Sunshine". What a testament to music, huh? Kathy did a lot of songs off her most recent album "Cole". The whole album is about cole mining and even she admitted it's pretty depressing! Of course she sang "Where Have You Been" and we were all crying (it was just after her story about her mom too). She did not sing "Timber" and I feel like it's my fault. She asked for requests a couple of times and I didn't shout anything! In my defense I had lost most of voice from this stupid head cold though! Lol! The best part of it all was that Scott, who really doesn't care for "country" music, actually enjoyed himself so I didn't have to feel guilty for making him go! Hahaha!
It was such a great night and I am so glad I got to go!
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Nothing Much
Wow, it's been a lot longer than I'd wanted since I posted anything! We have been busy with regular life and feeding people! We have had Scott's teacher and fellow soldier over for dinner. It was a really nice evening and I enjoyed talking with them a lot. Scott's teacher seemed to really enjoy the kids. She is the grandma type and they warmed up to her very quickly! We feed the missionaries about once a month and they are always a crack up to have over. We love to hear about all of their crazy experiences! I think Scott loves telling them his missionary stories just as much! Isabelle had a friend spend the night one weekend as well and she really had fun. We also hosted some friends from Fairbanks for a night when they came for their temple trip! Whew! I think maybe I should just open up a bed n' breakfast and start charging people!
Apparently we are having a "late Fall". When I heard that I just about died laughing. It is so cold already I am starting to think I may not survive the winter! Most mornings the cars are covered in ice and it only gets a bit warmer during the day. The days have been getting shorter as well. The sun comes up just after 8:30am so even the younger girls go to school in the dark! Scott took down the trampoline this weekend so that it doesn't get ruined over the winter and the kids are all heart broken. I think once the snow comes and they have the whole yard to play in and make forts they'll get over it!
Everyone is looking forward to Halloween. Bubba got his costume last week and won't take it off! He gets so excited every time he sees a decoration that it makes me laugh. I can't wait until Christmas! He'll really go nuts! Bubba is going to be a skeleton, Wesley a lion (courtesy of our dear friend!), Julianne a princess, Maddy a vampire princess, Desiree Artemus, and Isabelle is going to either be a vampire from Twilight or a punk rocker. It should be fun! Unfortunately we are having camera issues but we'll do our best for pictures!
I am feeling great and have managed to get through my first trimester without getting sick! So far the OB care I've gotten at the military hospital has been great and it's made me very hopeful that for the rest of my care and delivery. My biggest fear was really put at ease with my last appointment when the nurse practitioner informed me that they always offer induction at 39 weeks for moms who've had a baby before! So, I just have to make it that far and I'll be able to avoid a home/car birth!
I'll be sure to post ASAP after Halloween and put up some pictures! We love and miss you all!
Apparently we are having a "late Fall". When I heard that I just about died laughing. It is so cold already I am starting to think I may not survive the winter! Most mornings the cars are covered in ice and it only gets a bit warmer during the day. The days have been getting shorter as well. The sun comes up just after 8:30am so even the younger girls go to school in the dark! Scott took down the trampoline this weekend so that it doesn't get ruined over the winter and the kids are all heart broken. I think once the snow comes and they have the whole yard to play in and make forts they'll get over it!
Everyone is looking forward to Halloween. Bubba got his costume last week and won't take it off! He gets so excited every time he sees a decoration that it makes me laugh. I can't wait until Christmas! He'll really go nuts! Bubba is going to be a skeleton, Wesley a lion (courtesy of our dear friend!), Julianne a princess, Maddy a vampire princess, Desiree Artemus, and Isabelle is going to either be a vampire from Twilight or a punk rocker. It should be fun! Unfortunately we are having camera issues but we'll do our best for pictures!
I am feeling great and have managed to get through my first trimester without getting sick! So far the OB care I've gotten at the military hospital has been great and it's made me very hopeful that for the rest of my care and delivery. My biggest fear was really put at ease with my last appointment when the nurse practitioner informed me that they always offer induction at 39 weeks for moms who've had a baby before! So, I just have to make it that far and I'll be able to avoid a home/car birth!
I'll be sure to post ASAP after Halloween and put up some pictures! We love and miss you all!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Another Week Passes
I try to remember that the mundane in our home and family is of great interest to our friends and family who are scattered around the country! Nevertheless, this has truly been a an uneventful week around here. The weather can't seem to make up its mind so we have had rain, wind, sunshine and frost this week. Desiree's class was given a wonderful opportunity to visit the Campbell Creek Science Center http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/sciencecenter.html for three days in a row! She had an amazing experience there and I am continually amazed and so thankful for the wonderful schools here!
Our weekend has been wonderful however! It was conference week so we were able to hook the laptop up to the TV and watch conference from home. What a blessing! I love to sit and listen to what the Prophet, apostles and other leaders have to say. I always learn so much! This conference has especial left me feeling so grateful for the blessings of the temple! I hope you can take a moment to listen to the Mormon Message I posted about temples. Even for those of us who have been endowed and go to the temple it is a wonderful reminder of how beautiful God's plan is. I am especially grateful for the blessing of sealing. It brings me such comfort to know that even death will not take my family from me. They are my hope and my joy and I never want to be without them all!
Our upcoming week should be more of the usual! We are going to have Scott's Arabic teacher over for dinner at the end of the week so that may provide an interesting story or two! I am also working on creating a second blog that I hope will be worthy of sharing. I am planning on showing all the tricks I've learned for organizing and running our home as well as caring for the kids. I am excited to do it but also intimidated! We will see how it goes! I will be sure to let you know when it's ready!
Thanks also for all of your love and support. It means so much to me to have people care about us and especially for your encouragement and comfort!
Our weekend has been wonderful however! It was conference week so we were able to hook the laptop up to the TV and watch conference from home. What a blessing! I love to sit and listen to what the Prophet, apostles and other leaders have to say. I always learn so much! This conference has especial left me feeling so grateful for the blessings of the temple! I hope you can take a moment to listen to the Mormon Message I posted about temples. Even for those of us who have been endowed and go to the temple it is a wonderful reminder of how beautiful God's plan is. I am especially grateful for the blessing of sealing. It brings me such comfort to know that even death will not take my family from me. They are my hope and my joy and I never want to be without them all!
Our upcoming week should be more of the usual! We are going to have Scott's Arabic teacher over for dinner at the end of the week so that may provide an interesting story or two! I am also working on creating a second blog that I hope will be worthy of sharing. I am planning on showing all the tricks I've learned for organizing and running our home as well as caring for the kids. I am excited to do it but also intimidated! We will see how it goes! I will be sure to let you know when it's ready!
Thanks also for all of your love and support. It means so much to me to have people care about us and especially for your encouragement and comfort!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
New News!
Well, if you didn't immediately guess from your first look at my updated blog, here is the big announcement!
I am pregnant! Again! Number seven is on its way!
With slightly more trepidation than usual, we have decided to add to our family. We are praying that the timing will all work out well. With Scott being in the army it can be worrisome deciding when the best time to have a baby is-as evidenced by my having Wesley while he was deployed! That certainly was not in our plan! As it is, Scott is not slotted to deploy until late 2011, which gives me plenty of time to have the baby and get settled into the new routine before he goes. Of course, that's if we stay here in Alaska. This is the drama of military life. You can't really plan for anything around what the army wants to do. I've learned to just push on and know that Heavenly Father will help us and it will all work out.
So, the stats are thus-so far. I am currently 9 1/2 weeks pregnant. I am due April 27 of 2011. I will deliver at the military hospital here. Wesley and this baby will be about 21 months apart, which is not as close as a lot of the kids are! I have felt pretty good up to this point, which is wonderful after being so sick with my last pregnancy. I am praying that I will continue to feel well, and maybe even perk up a bit during my second trimester!
We are so happy and excited for this new addition. We feel so blessed in so many ways, and we are extremely grateful for all of the wonderful things in our lives, but especially for our family. It's humbling to know how much our Father in Heaven cares for us and to be given the beautiful responsibility of caring for these precious spirits.
I am excited to share this pregnancy with you all and show you all the changes our family goes through! It is going to be fun for sure! We miss all of our friends and family out there and especially look forward to being reunited with you all after the baby comes!
I am pregnant! Again! Number seven is on its way!
With slightly more trepidation than usual, we have decided to add to our family. We are praying that the timing will all work out well. With Scott being in the army it can be worrisome deciding when the best time to have a baby is-as evidenced by my having Wesley while he was deployed! That certainly was not in our plan! As it is, Scott is not slotted to deploy until late 2011, which gives me plenty of time to have the baby and get settled into the new routine before he goes. Of course, that's if we stay here in Alaska. This is the drama of military life. You can't really plan for anything around what the army wants to do. I've learned to just push on and know that Heavenly Father will help us and it will all work out.
So, the stats are thus-so far. I am currently 9 1/2 weeks pregnant. I am due April 27 of 2011. I will deliver at the military hospital here. Wesley and this baby will be about 21 months apart, which is not as close as a lot of the kids are! I have felt pretty good up to this point, which is wonderful after being so sick with my last pregnancy. I am praying that I will continue to feel well, and maybe even perk up a bit during my second trimester!
We are so happy and excited for this new addition. We feel so blessed in so many ways, and we are extremely grateful for all of the wonderful things in our lives, but especially for our family. It's humbling to know how much our Father in Heaven cares for us and to be given the beautiful responsibility of caring for these precious spirits.
I am excited to share this pregnancy with you all and show you all the changes our family goes through! It is going to be fun for sure! We miss all of our friends and family out there and especially look forward to being reunited with you all after the baby comes!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
A Typical Week
It has been a typical week around the Nelson household. Scott brought a cold home so it has been making the rounds. So far he and I have suffered the most and Wesley is the current victim. I guess we can mark this down as illness number one for the cold/flu season!
The big highlight of the week was this Saturday. It must be true that parents will always get their revenge through their grandchildren because we had a microwave incident very similar to the one my sisters and I experienced growing up. I was in my room and Isabelle came to ask if she could make a corn dog. I said "Yeah, cook it for TWO minutes", and off she went. I hopped in the shower and didn't think about it again until Scott came in to tell me that he just put a fire out. According to Isabelle she heard TEN minutes in the microwave!!!! The witnesses all claim that smoke was billowing out of the microwave at six minutes when Scott yanked the blackened, shriveled smoldering corn dog out and dunked it in water. The house still smells like burning corn dog! Yuck!
Spencer is probably one of the funniest people I know. The list goes on and on from his affinity of collecting worms and slugs as "pets" to his refusal to wear a shirt so that he can be a muscle man. The best thing though is that he can play "yo momma" better than most adults. One day he said something to me and I didn't understand a word. When I told him I didn't know what he was saying Desiree piped in with "What, are you speaking Spanish or something?". Spencer looked at her with a completely straight face and said "And are you speaking Stupid or something?". I just about died laughing! Last night at bath time he was putting his face under the water and playing when he suddenly sat up sputtering. I asked him if he was ok and he said "Yeah, I think my brain is still alive"! He is such a hoot!
Since school started Julianne has become our wounded warrior. Every day she comes home with some new spectacular injury. In the first week of school she was running across the playground full tilt and tripped, smacking her knee right onto a large rock. Her whole knee turned black and blue and slightly swollen! This week she was running again and fell skinning her elbow. The funniest part is she doesn't remember she got hurt until a couple hours after she comes home, then I get a very tearful report about the injury as if it just happened! I think I had better just send in some first aid supplies to her teacher now!
I guess Desiree is wanting to taunt me because she now enjoys singing in public. I say that because about a month ago I really wanted to start a little family choir and have all the kids learn to sing the children's songs from church. It was going to be our own little family band. Well, Des threw down and refused to cooperate. She said she would never want to sing in front of people, it would be too embarrassing. Today in Primary she sang a solo in front of everyone! The little punk! Well now my band idea is back on dang it! And if anyone else has a problem they can just get over it! What's the point of having all these kids if they do some kind of cute performing act anyway???
The weather has been miserable up until this weekend so we didn't get out much. It's Autumn here and the leaves are changing and we see less of the sun. Actually, the sun nearly runs it's normal pattern of rising and setting so it does get dark at night! The problem, as ever here, is that it rains and rains and rains, so it's always cloudy. It's gotten a bit cooler as well. I am so dreading the snow. Just so I don't end on such a sour note I must say that the kids can't wait for the snow. They have lots of plans for all the ways that they are going to play in it. Yeah, they are so from So Cal! Hahahaha!
That sums up our week! Hopefully I'll have something more interesting for next time. Things that don't involve small kitchen fires preferably! We love and miss all y'all!
The big highlight of the week was this Saturday. It must be true that parents will always get their revenge through their grandchildren because we had a microwave incident very similar to the one my sisters and I experienced growing up. I was in my room and Isabelle came to ask if she could make a corn dog. I said "Yeah, cook it for TWO minutes", and off she went. I hopped in the shower and didn't think about it again until Scott came in to tell me that he just put a fire out. According to Isabelle she heard TEN minutes in the microwave!!!! The witnesses all claim that smoke was billowing out of the microwave at six minutes when Scott yanked the blackened, shriveled smoldering corn dog out and dunked it in water. The house still smells like burning corn dog! Yuck!
Spencer is probably one of the funniest people I know. The list goes on and on from his affinity of collecting worms and slugs as "pets" to his refusal to wear a shirt so that he can be a muscle man. The best thing though is that he can play "yo momma" better than most adults. One day he said something to me and I didn't understand a word. When I told him I didn't know what he was saying Desiree piped in with "What, are you speaking Spanish or something?". Spencer looked at her with a completely straight face and said "And are you speaking Stupid or something?". I just about died laughing! Last night at bath time he was putting his face under the water and playing when he suddenly sat up sputtering. I asked him if he was ok and he said "Yeah, I think my brain is still alive"! He is such a hoot!
Since school started Julianne has become our wounded warrior. Every day she comes home with some new spectacular injury. In the first week of school she was running across the playground full tilt and tripped, smacking her knee right onto a large rock. Her whole knee turned black and blue and slightly swollen! This week she was running again and fell skinning her elbow. The funniest part is she doesn't remember she got hurt until a couple hours after she comes home, then I get a very tearful report about the injury as if it just happened! I think I had better just send in some first aid supplies to her teacher now!
I guess Desiree is wanting to taunt me because she now enjoys singing in public. I say that because about a month ago I really wanted to start a little family choir and have all the kids learn to sing the children's songs from church. It was going to be our own little family band. Well, Des threw down and refused to cooperate. She said she would never want to sing in front of people, it would be too embarrassing. Today in Primary she sang a solo in front of everyone! The little punk! Well now my band idea is back on dang it! And if anyone else has a problem they can just get over it! What's the point of having all these kids if they do some kind of cute performing act anyway???
The weather has been miserable up until this weekend so we didn't get out much. It's Autumn here and the leaves are changing and we see less of the sun. Actually, the sun nearly runs it's normal pattern of rising and setting so it does get dark at night! The problem, as ever here, is that it rains and rains and rains, so it's always cloudy. It's gotten a bit cooler as well. I am so dreading the snow. Just so I don't end on such a sour note I must say that the kids can't wait for the snow. They have lots of plans for all the ways that they are going to play in it. Yeah, they are so from So Cal! Hahahaha!
That sums up our week! Hopefully I'll have something more interesting for next time. Things that don't involve small kitchen fires preferably! We love and miss all y'all!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Yes, the rumor is true. I have quit Facebook! I may have lost my mind, who knows, but crazy or not I have given up my facebook. My reasons are varied but I mostly just didn't want to waste so much of my time and energy on people who may have liked me in the past but currently couldn't care less. I have also found it very draining to watch someone I love spiral downward and destroy her life and her family's.
The good news is that I have decided to try and get my blog going again! This way those few family members and friends who do care can still stay updated and see pictures of the whole famn damily!
We are currently at the very beginning of a new school year. All four girls are going this year with Isabelle in her first year of middle school and Julianne in Kindergarten! Desiree is in the fourth grade and Madeline is in the first grade. So far so good, everyone likes their teachers and things are going great! Isabelle has adjusted beautifully to having multiple classes, dressing out for PE and all of the fun things that come with being in middle school. All of this combines to mean that our house is full and busy! So far we do not have any extra activities going. I don't know if I can deal with that yet!
We have been in Alaska for five months. Supposedly we had the wettest and coldest summer Anchorage has seen in many years. According to the "locals". Well, as far as I can tell even a "normal" summer here isn't very summery! Being a native southern Californian has probably ruined me from ever really enjoying the weather here. The kids like it better than me but still really missed swimming all summer. All I can do is pray that the army sends us somewhere warm next I guess!
I am looking forward to making this blog interesting enough to keep you coming back for more! I hope I can succeed!
The good news is that I have decided to try and get my blog going again! This way those few family members and friends who do care can still stay updated and see pictures of the whole famn damily!
We are currently at the very beginning of a new school year. All four girls are going this year with Isabelle in her first year of middle school and Julianne in Kindergarten! Desiree is in the fourth grade and Madeline is in the first grade. So far so good, everyone likes their teachers and things are going great! Isabelle has adjusted beautifully to having multiple classes, dressing out for PE and all of the fun things that come with being in middle school. All of this combines to mean that our house is full and busy! So far we do not have any extra activities going. I don't know if I can deal with that yet!
We have been in Alaska for five months. Supposedly we had the wettest and coldest summer Anchorage has seen in many years. According to the "locals". Well, as far as I can tell even a "normal" summer here isn't very summery! Being a native southern Californian has probably ruined me from ever really enjoying the weather here. The kids like it better than me but still really missed swimming all summer. All I can do is pray that the army sends us somewhere warm next I guess!
I am looking forward to making this blog interesting enough to keep you coming back for more! I hope I can succeed!
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