Looking Through The Kaleidoscope

August 2011

2012-01-24T12:10:00.000-08:00

August got off to a rough start. Remember how I said we were getting good at riding bikes all over town? Well, our luck ran out, my luck anyway. I decided to ride my bike to the gym and came to this intersection. I was on the left sidewalk heading into the construction zone, looking for cars, and then... bam! That sidewalk, looks like it dips, from this angle and from my angle. Well, it is a big fat curb with no pedestrian access. I crashed hard and broke my bike and tore some tendons in my shoulder. I was just lucky I didn't land on my head since I wasn't wearing a helmet. Next year: we all get helmets for our bikes!

Next up came Kai's baptism. I can't believe my little boy is 8 already! Where did the time go? He looked so handsome that day and so excited to get baptized. And I must say I was pretty proud of him.

Grandma Drake flew out to witness this event and we sure had a lot of fun with her.

Look at these two handsome men.

Fun with grandma!

The best restaurant in Provo! My brother's wife's family owns and operates this place and it is delicious! They serve authentic Taiwanese cuisine.

One super lazy cat!

Last "fun in the sun" for the year!

August is our anniversary month. This was 9 years. The kids wanted to help us celebrate this year so they mad us a banner (it's hard to read since they did it with pencil- Happy Anniversary) and helped cook a nice breakfast.

Jeremy attempting to help our duck learn how to fly. Mission unsuccessful!

Hanging out with cousin Ellie.

Jeremy wanted one last hoor-ah with the kids before school started. He took them hiking up the Grotto trail. They loved the hike and lunch, but the water was super cold and they weren't thrilled to have to get in it for a picture.

Back to school! This is the first day of school - kindergarten for Natalie, 3rd grade for Kai.

Riding bikes to school. Nicole's wishing she could come too.

Kai in his handsome new glasses, all ready for school.

Our first egg! Anikan was the first to start laying.

At the end of the month we decided to release Eggbert the duck into the wild. Winter was on the way and we worried that he would freeze to death here in our yard. So we took a family trip and did the deed. We brought a lot of bread to try and lure some ducky friends over to him. I hope he's is happy wherever he ended up.

July 2011

2012-01-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

Well I guess when you have 3 kids, every month seems very busy! Here are a few highlights of July.

You can click on each of these to enlarge them.

Top left to bottom right: Kai's 8th birthday. We had family parties for all the kids this year. *Kai had a Star Wars cake (I forgot to take a picture before we ate it. oops) *One of Kai's presents.

*Just finishing a 7 mi family bike ride! We were all getting into riding bikes everywhere we went.

*Water balloon fight! *Dad takes a hit.

*Nicole would fall asleep eating lunch every Sunday after church. It was a pretty rainy month. *It was fun to see the outlines of various toys left on the driveway, but it also was the season of the snail! They were everywhere! *A picnic in Genola; they sure don't make slides like that anymore!

*Home Improvement by Jeremy. Jeremy lost his job back in May so we did some major yard projects to fill our time. *A huge rock pile to fill in all out planters. *Some finished planters. *Jeremy hard at work.

Trying yummy cuisine at the Green Panda near the Riverwoods. My brother's wife's family owns and operates the restaurant. It is authentic taiwan cuisine, and it is delicious!

Our camping trip, you can read the whole story and see some film images here: http://www.frecklesphotography.blogspot.com/2011/07/fish-lake-camping-trip-film.html.

*The truck fully loaded, every inch crammed with stuff. *Kai soaking up the sun instead of helping unload. *Jeremy setting up camp with helpers. *Lunch. *A nice bike ride near the lake over to the lodge (we all got sunburned). *Lunch in the truck while it poured rain one day.

*Nicole asleep after a long bike ride. *Natalie the dirt queen. *Kai's new favorite game: Solitaire. *Kai chopping wood. *Fish Lake sign. *Taking a walk in the wilderness. *Nicole climbing rocks by our fishing spot (we didn't catch any fish).

Natalie gor her ears pierced this month! She had been begging us and we finally gave in. Here is her before and just after one side. She didn't even cry!

We did have some really nice days to just relax and play in the pool too!

June 2011

2011-12-08T12:36:00.001-08:00

Nicole with cute pony tails.

On our way to Colorado to visit Grandma Drake - leaving Spanish Fork through the canyon.

Our traditional pit stop in Grand Junction Colorado - the visitor's center. There is a picnic table right under this tree we eat lunch at. The kids wanted to climb the tree.

A rest stop up near Loveland Pass. Yes, it's June and there is that much snow up there! That's why we avoid winter trips to grandma's house in the middle of winter, too dangerous with all the snow.

Same rest stop - Reason #1 I love Colorado?! There is a ton of snow, but the sun is shining and it's warm enough for short sleeves! People really can ski in the winter with short sleeves some days!

Rest Stop closer to Denver, lower elevation. There was still snow, but this was when the whole nation was dealing with flooding. You can see the raging Colorado River waters!

Chasing bunnies (we call them all Fred) at Grandma's house.

Visiting the park in Littleton where Jeremy proposed to me.

The Denver Temple - a whole 15 minutes away from my mom's house.

We took the kids after church to go see it.

Reading stories with grandma Drake.

Running trains with Grandpa Hermes

Natalie turned 5 this month! I can't believe how big she is getting. We decided to just have family parties this year with all the kids.

Cousin Ellie was born! We are so happy for Jake and Marcee, she is such a cutie and the kids are excited to have a cousin close by to play with. Nicole is obsessed with Ellie. She pretends to call her on the phone a lot. haha

I learned a new craft - crochet. This was my second project. My first was a ball for the kitty. My first attempt looked more like a muffin, but my second try actually looked like a ball.

Jeremy took the kids fishing, which almost proved to be hazardous! Look closely at the next photo! Jeremy caught Nicole!!

This poor man trying to help Natalie almost got hooked too.

The final catch! Not too bad.

May- Part 2

2011-12-08T12:12:00.001-08:00

Kai built his new ship in a hurry. I'm still proud of him for working hard to earn the money and for saving it until he earned enough to reach his goal.

Kai's end of the year class performance.

Jeremy, Grandpa Nelson and Kai built a small go cart. They had a lot of fun pulling it with the jeep and racing it down the hill by our house.

Natalie's Preschool graduation!

Our annual yard sale, this time we teamed up with our friends the Walters. It was a fun and crazy morning! I think we'll do a repeat this coming summer. Natalie was our spokesperson for facebook advertising. I tried and tried to get a video of her saying, "We're having a yard sale this Saturday." This was one of the funny out takes:

What's better than a yard sale? 50% off all the junk left! haha We do this every year during the last hour and get swamped with people.

May Family Pictures - Part 1

2011-08-14T10:50:00.000-07:00

May was another big month for us, big enough that I need two posts!

Trying to get Natalie's hair curly. Taken with my iphone

Last month we bought chickens and a duck and Jeremy and our friend Steve built a chicken coop. The kids helped us paint it red! Notice how Natalie is in the same dress? A friend gave it to her and she wanted to wear it everyday for a while.

The finished product!

Natalie has a bad habit of hoarding! We had issues last december with her snatching baby Jesus from every nativity we came across. Now she is randomly taking things and hiding them under her bed.

Mostly things she is not allowed to have - my nail polish and makeup, candy. One morning we found a loaf of bread though; she claimed she was hungry!

My friend Debbie and I went to DI to find a small table for the studio. I found this and painted it blue. I think it looks really nice in here!

May brought lots and lots of rain, so much that we had flood warnings and worries that the river right across the street from us would overflow. This is a picture of the water flooding part of our walking trail. There used to be a sidewalk going under the bridge, but it is completely covered by ice cold water.

The city was so worried about flooding that they widened the river banks, tore out a bunch of trees, and parked these cranes along the walking trail in case of debris blocking the water flow which would cause the river to overflow its banks.

We also got some answers concerning Nicole's stomach troubles. We had been waiting months to see a specialist. Until now we had been told from blood tests, that she was allergic to wheat, egg whites and milk. Not good news, that diet was so hard to maintain for her. Our specialist said he needed to do a colonoscopy to look inside her bowels, do biopsies and check her stomach. So we made a trip to primary children's hospital.

Kai had a procedure done when he was little and I forgot a camera. he looked so adorable in his little scrubs and I was so sad I don't have a picture of it. So I was determined to remember a camera this time. We got there only to realize we had left the battery at home in the charger. So I took some with my iphone instead, not the best quality, but at least we have some memories!

Here she is in her gown early in the morning, excited to be playing with toys and getting attention. I was in the middle of doing yarn extensions, but hadn't finished, so she looks like she has a mullet! haha

The results of all the tests showed she has Toddler's Diarrhea- meaning her stomach cannot break down the enzymes in fruit. So all we have to do is avoid fruit and fruit juice and she will grow out of it.

After she was done it was a different story, she just wanted to be cuddled, she didn't like being stuck in her little bed.

By the middle of the month our chickens were getting big!

Kai saved enough money to buy a lego set he had his eye on. We were proud that he saved for so long!

This was my Mothers Day morning surprise. Jeremy and the kids made breakfast and wrote me letters!

April Family Pictures

2011-07-25T13:11:00.000-07:00

April was a busy month, which is why I'm behind again! Here's a quick taste of the highlights:

Natalie and I had a play dough feast one day!

Kai is way into Star Wars now and wanted me to paint his face like Darth Mal, so I tried my best! haha

So of course the girls wanted to get in on the face painting too! Nicole is a kitty, Natalie wanted to be a butterfly, and Vada wanted to be a doll.

Here are my little Indians. They wore their Indian clothes to church in April. I still need to take them to the Indian Temple here and do some real pictures before they outgrow their clothes!!

Speaking of Temples...we all took a fun day trip to the Salt Lake Temple. The kids were excited to have a train ride.

The beginnings of our chicken coop by Jeremy. He was too busy to stop for a picture.

April [snow storms] bring May flowers???? We got so many huge snow storms in April!

The cat was not amused!

Our silly kitty loves to be tortured and snuggled! The kids had a long nap during conference!

Old MacDonald had a farm..... Meet Belle, Anikin Skywalker, and Eggbert. Can you guess who is who and who named who?!

The girls love to play salon now with me as their client. Mostly it's fun, but sometimes I look a little scary afterwards! haha

The Easter Bunny was lazy this year and just left baskets and a few eggs to find around the house.

iphone fun

2011-05-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

I am loving my new iphone, so many great things about it, but the best feature might be that I can take pictures, and they automatically load to Lightroom when I sync the phone to the computer. My old phone had a great camera but I couldn't ever get the pictures off the phone! So here are a few recent images....

Kai worked hard to earn $60 for a lego set. He helped Dad power rake our yard and a neighbor's yard! He also helped mow the lawns as well. Getting outside and working has been so good for him.

Our new family pets! Two chickens and a duck. This was their second outdoor experience. Kai named the black chicken Anikan Skywalker, Natalie named the yellow chicken Belle, and Jeremy and I named the duck Eggbert!

Natalie having a nap with our silly cat! He slept there with her for 2 hours!

Natalie wanted a princess game on the phone, so I got this free one and made her into a princess. It's good for a laugh I guess, kind of disturbing I think.

The fun couldn't stop there though, I had to test it on Jeremy too. Isn't he lovely?! : ) Just breathtaking!

BYU African American Children's Fair

2011-04-28T15:23:00.000-07:00

We went to the AA children's fair for the first time ever and had a blast! They had so many activities for the kids to do, like face painting, balloon making, a puppet show, games and prizes, and so much more. They also provided free snacks and entertainment. The kids didn't want to leave and we will be going back next year for sure!

This is a random picture I thought I would toss in. This is one of the FIRST times we thought winter was over and were surprised with more snow. The kids made a bucket head snowman! haha

St. George Trip

2011-04-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

One quick shot of some cute outfits from Christmas that my brother and sister in law got the kids! Ready to go to church.

In the car to go to St. George (to do our taxes). ; ) Doesn't everyone travel somewhere warm to do taxes? haha Nicole's already pulling her hair out.

Our fish! If we stay in a hotel it means 2 things to these kiddos: Cheetos and SWIMMING!

We went and hiked some of the red rocks. Natalie found a little hole to rest in.

King of the mountain!

The crack. It's hard to tell, but that small silver of light at the top of the image is the space you have to fit through to get to the top. Crazy, there is no way I would attempt that.

It was still a little chili there, but warm enough for lunch outside.

Snowed In

2011-04-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

This recent string of bad weather reminded me of the huge storm we got this year. We got dumped on, a few feet of snow. No one could get out to go to work, and school was cancelled ( a first in about 20 years I think).

Jeremy doing double duty, shoveling and calling work to say he's staying home. Silly boy, yes he's wearing shorts!

Looking down the street to the end of the cul de sac

Looking down the street the other way

Kai and Natalie peering out the door

Misc Halloween Pictures

2011-04-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

Natalie's Halloween party at school

Ready to go trick or treating...

At dad's work!

Church activity

Halloween night, freezing cold and ready to get some candy. Thanks Steve and debbie for the costumes.

It was snowing that night and soooo cold, the kids didn't last long, but they did get a lot of candy!

Hee Haw Farm last Fall

2011-04-08T08:07:00.000-07:00

We went to Hee Haws with some good friends last fall and the kids had a blast, it might need to be a yearly tradition!

Kai and Natalie jumping in the straw pit.

Natalie petting the pigs

Kai was fascinated with the chickens!

Daddy and the kids on a tractor ride. Nicole was screaming so he had to jump in too.

Look at my cute farm family!

Kai and Natalie wanted to be buried in the corn

Kai with his friend from birth, they are the same age. haha

All the kids got a pony ride, but Natalie's was the only good picture

The kids in a bucket

Trying to get a group shot of all the kids

First Snowfall

2011-02-24T11:39:00.000-08:00

These were from earlier this winter. The kids were so excited to go out and make a snowman with daddy! There wasn't much snow yet, but they were determined.

The masterpiece! Tomato eyes, a carrot nose, and I don't know what for the mouth, those might be nuts! haha

Three happy kids!

Glam Girls

2011-02-17T18:26:00.000-08:00

Natalie made this for me! This girl takes after me, she is obsessed with sticky things like stickers and tape. She created this masterpiece by taping all her coloring tools to the paper. haha She also cocooned a small pumpkin in tape, but took it all off before I could get a picture.

Playing dress up, with mommy's makeup on. Natalie is such a girlie girl, Nicole is in trouble, she's forced into all of Natalie's feminine whims. Or maybe I'm the one in trouble...when they turn into teenage shopaholics!

Posing for the camera!

This was Nicole's Halloween hairdo, but I never posted pictures of it. I did it myself! Cute puffy twists and funky parts. Her hair is fun to do!

The kids dancing in the living room while I was practicing flute one day. I didn't even know what they were doing until Jeremy showed me the pictures. They were dancing to my music. Awe, how cute!

Natalie has been watching too many fairy tales, she needs a "partner dancer." : )

Christmas 2010

2011-02-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

In an effort to be a better blogger this year, I will be posting lots of random pics from last year in a hurry to get me in the habit of posting more frequently.

Decorating the small tree the kids picked out. This one just cracks me up, I have no idea what Kai is doing??

My dad and grandma came to visit us at Thanksgiving this year.

Christmas Tree Hunting

2010-12-27T15:46:00.000-08:00

We get a real tree every year, I know it's bad for the environment, but that is one thing I give in on and feel ok about. haha This year the kids had a huge fight about which tree would coming home with us. Kai wanted a really small tree, and Natalie wanted a really big tree. We didn't really care, we usually get a big one, but it's not a big deal to us. So, we worked out a compromise, we picked one in between, one not too small and one not too big. This is it, the winner! : )

And now it is already out on the curb. I hate to throw it out so soon, but the cat keeps knocking it down and I'm tired of cleaning up spilled water.

More Summer Fun

2010-11-29T13:36:00.000-08:00

Every year we go to a picnic put on by the adoption agency we used: Heart and Soul Adoptions. It is so fun to see all the families they have helped and to see all the kids. They provide dinner and a bunch of blow up toys to jump and slide on. The kids loved them, but it's hard to get a good picture on them. So we played on the playground, too.

This year I had made a bunch of fabric flowers and was proud of myself that I made the girls wear them, probably more flowers than they needed at any given time, but, like I said, I was so proud that I actually made them! haha

Kai learned how to do monkey bars this year!

So of course Natalie wanted to try, but she got stuck. She can hang for a long time though.

Nicole loved the slide.

And one random image from my cousin's wedding we attended. My mom came out for the weekend to come too.

Family Reunion Fun

2010-11-12T18:03:00.000-08:00

Jeremy and I were in charge of planning the Nelson reunion this year. We decided to go up into the woods for a day and eat lots of good food, go for a hike, and do a craft with the kids. We collected rocks on a walk and then painted them.

Here are our finished happy rock people. Natalie's is the skinny blue one, Nicole's is next to hers with lots of color spots (maybe he has chicken pox), Kai's is above hers with a chin piercing. Mine is the black woman. I don't know if Jeremy's ended up in this picture?

We had a visitor.

The kids get a sweet trailer ride at Grandpa's house!

They also got to go out and pick out their own pumpkins this year!

Kai - AKA Captain Underpants!

2010-11-12T17:26:00.000-08:00

These are a few months old from a test shoot I did with Kai. I had this great concept in my head, but this was one that didn't turn out quite as great as planned. Mostly because Kai didn't have any plain white undies, so we improvised and used Natalie's panties instead, not so manly. I should have just thrown on his super hero ones, would have "made" the picture into a classic. But we still had fun and Kai is cute no matter what, so it's all good.

Picture Overload!

2010-10-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

I realized the other day that I am committing a sin I tell everyone else not to do... storing too many images on the hard drive. I had almost 6000 pictures in my lightroom program waiting for me to finish editing. So, it's time to clear the computer and post some of these pictures I've had sitting around forever!

These are from Valentine's day last year, just playing with some re-edits.

These are pretty recent, but I needed to wrap them up for the preschool waiting to see all the images.

Next up..Kai and family adventures. : )

A Colorado 4th of July

2010-08-27T17:26:00.000-07:00

We went to Colorado for the 4th of July and got to spend time with my mom, step dad, and my brother. The kids love to go to grandma's house and get spoiled, and we love being there, too, but sometimes the drive can seem never- ending. We had so many potty stops on this trip that we were all anxious to get there, especially after some hydroplaning in the mountains. We were minutes away from our last main exit when we got pulled over for speeding! The kids thought is was great, they wanted to look at the flashing lights and kept asking if we were going to jail. Jeremy and I weren't as enthusiastic.

Kai and Natalie enjoyed playing legos with uncle Kael and building a robot.

(all these pictures are from my mom's camera. I was too sick and tired to pull mine out. and we forgot to bring our point and shoot.)

We also celebrated Natalie, Kai, Jeremy, and my mom's birthdays with cake, presents, and a trip to a fun center. The roller derby was fun!

Kael found the most relaxing place to sit there.

We went swimming, too. This picture was taken a while after Nicole was rescued by a lifeguard (yes, I was a bad mother for a minute and didn't notice that she tipped over). Afterwards she was scared to death to be in the water without a floaty.

The kids decorated grandma's front porch and driveway, a few times.

Kai made some amazing shape figures with grandma's school chips. He's got skills!

And this is how we watched fireworks, in my mom's van because it was POURING rain! But in Colorado, nothing stops the show, we're tough and can handle any weather! haha

It was a great trip, we look forward to our summer Colorado trip every year.

Natalie is 4!

2010-07-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

Natalie told us that she wanted a Barbie party this year, all of a sudden she is into Barbies. But she wanted a cake with butterflies that was purple and green. Kari did a great job as usual with this one, Natalie was so excited about it.

I tried to get a few shots of her, but she was not interested, this was the best one I got.

We played nail polish spin the bottle for the activity. Can you tell how excited Kai was to play?!

They had to pick a color and spin the bottle, then go pain one nail on the person it pointed to.

The end result (after the boys had enough and went off to play):

Pretty fingers!

We are a little sneaky, the kids have so many toys that we keep a bunch in the crawl space and rotate them. Natalie had forgotten about this gem, so she got it again! haha Kai remembered though and almost ruined the surprise.

The party guests singing happy birthday!

Hamster Funeral

2010-07-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

I am playing catch - up on pictures. These were taken during Jeremy's last trip to India. One of the hamsters died and the kids wanted to do a funeral. The only thing was, we weren't sure which hamster died and both kids were fighting about whose had actually died. So we made two headstones.

And this is what I found sunday morning when trying to hurry and get all the kids ready for church! Little stinker.

Here is Kai in his dancing superheroes class he took at the youth arts festival this year. I love the foam light sabers the teacher made.

Kai to Work with Dad

2010-05-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Novell had Kids to Work day a few weeks back and so Kai came to spend half a day with me at work. We had a great time with all of the activities. He got to watch a play and a puppeteer and pet snakes and lizards. They had classes on engineering, marketing, security, and many others that they made pretty fun for the kids too. The girls came and met us for lunch at the end and watched the puppet show. We had a great time...... probably because none of what we did had anything to do with what I actually do at work :)

Easter Egg Hunt- AKA Parent Brawl

2010-04-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

I took Kai and Natalie to the city Easter egg hunt for the first time this year, and we may never do it again. They both had fun and got a small prize, but I was blown away by the "adult" behavior!

I was there by myself, Kai and Natalie were on two different fields, so I stuck with Natalie, camera in hand. Over the load speakers were warnings every minute, "parents, please stay off the field. Only 4 eggs per child." So I put on my long lens expecting to get some good shots of Natalie, drilled her on 4 eggs, and only 4 eggs.

Then the buzzer sounded, I was the only parent left standing on the sidelines!! SO much for my great pictures. I had to move out a little to try and get a shot. After Natalie had her eggs, I sat by her and helped her toss the extras back (She had about 7) when I noticed grown adults sweeping as many eggs as they could into their kid's baskets!

I went and found Kai, opened their eggs. Kai had a prize slip so we headed over to the beastly crowd waiting for their prizes. I saw kids holding bags of eggs, parents with 10 prize slips in their hands, with one child standing with them! So I asked one such family for an extra ticket so I could just get Kai and Natalie a gift.

I'll re-evaluate next year, maybe we'll hold our own neighborhood hunt. How are our kids supposed to learn respect if so many adults can't follow a few simple requests?!

Anyway, Here's Natalie running off (In the pink coat).

Natalie again, checking her eggs and searching for me in the crowd.

I missed all of Kai's chase, so I got a picture of him afterward. I don't know where he put his basket. Kai was one lucky egg picker, he scored $3.00 and a prize ticket!

Fun With Grandma D

2010-04-22T18:28:00.000-07:00

My mom came to watch the kids for us while we went on our cruise. Looks like they all had a lot of fun! She took them to Jumpin' Jacks one day, and spoiled them the whole time. Thank you mom, we had such a fun time and a nice break from the cold. Sorry you got sick, sorry the kids got sick, and sorry you are still sick. Maybe next time you come to watch them it won't be winter. ; )

Firsts for Kai

2010-04-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

Kai's first play at school. "The Three Billy Goats Gruff"

Kai was the smallest of the three goats and did a great job!

He also started his first Fishing class. It was the coldest fishing class I've ever been to, but he had fun and wants to keep going with it.

For those who know Kai well, this picture is pretty fitting. Yes, that's his instructor in the camo taking care of Kai's pole and Kai is in the orange coat checking out the drainage pipe. He's a pretty persuasive little guy :)

A nice evening out

2010-04-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday we used two great gifts we had received for Christmas. Michael Buble concert from Anthony and Ashley and Cheesecake Factory gift card from Mike. Thanks guys, we had a wonderful time!

Naturally 7 opened for Buble and we loved them.

Ice Skating

2010-03-09T21:11:00.000-08:00

We're going to try and start posting more often. So, here's some family fun from earlier this week.

After skating we got to watch part of a hockey game while the kids finished their hot chocolate.

Kai's Halloween Pictures

2010-02-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am that behind in family pictures! And I didn't even get pictures of Natalie and Nicole this year, it was a busy year!

Family Pictures - November

2009-12-09T10:37:00.000-08:00

November 2009

Family Pictures - September and October

2009-11-06T10:24:00.000-08:00

October

October 2009

September

September 2009

Family Pictures (July & August)

2009-09-02T12:22:00.000-07:00

Oops looks like I've been busy. Here's two months worth of family fun!

July 2009

and August:

August 2009

Random

2009-08-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

Yup, I'm a red-head now! It's slightly less dramatic than this picture (taken from cell phone), but I thought I'd let my personality shine through! haha I wanted an orange, natural red, but the stylist convinced me this (red-brown) would be easier up-keep.

Our yummy dinner the other night! Fresh veggies, grilled chicken, cottage cheese and couscous. The kids loved it too! We've been trying to eat a lot healthier and have been losing weight! I'm down 8lbs and Jeremy is down 15! So not fair that guys lose weight easier!!

Misc Pictures From My Mom's Camera

2009-07-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

This was one T-ball game grandma came to. Look, he's actually running after a ball!

Super hero Kai!
At the park in Colorado.

The kids weren't too interested in the sparklers, so the adults decided to light them all at once! Much more fun! haha
Casa Bonita!!
At home with Grandma. I did her hair (grandma's that is) curly that day, isn't she cute?!

Mini Pilots

2009-07-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

The kids and I got to go visit Grandpa Doster at work in Provo. He is positioned there for fire season and was doing some flight training. We got to see him fly a little and then the kids were able to get inside and look around his helicopter. They had a lot of fun!

Nicole 4 Mo

2009-07-21T16:38:00.002-07:00

Catching up...

2009-07-21T16:36:00.000-07:00

Kai's Kindergarten teacher: Ms. Koelliker She was such a fun teacher, so good with the kids! Kai loved her class!

Kai's Transformers Party!

2009-07-21T16:32:00.001-07:00

Natalie's Princess Party

2009-07-21T16:29:00.001-07:00

Family Pictures - June

2009-07-12T13:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics from June - just click on the picture and it will take you to the whole album.

June 2009

Fathers and Sons Outing

2009-06-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Kai and I went with Grandpa to his Fathers and Sons outing and we had a great time. It is so
good to get up above everything (literally and figuratively) and see the beauties of nature. Kai found a new little friend named Grady and the highlight of their adventures was following a group of deer across the meadow and into the woods. That got our first set of clothes nice and wet, but was well worth it. The rain cut our hike pretty significantly the next morning but Kai seemed to care less and less the wetter he got.

Some Funny Stories Courtesy of Kai

2009-06-19T13:21:00.000-07:00

Kai woke up the other night and ran into the bathroom with me. I could tell he needed to go potty so I told him to to go, but he just stood there and peed in his Pajamas instead. So I cleaned him up, changed his pants and got him back in bed. I tried to have a conversation with him about why he did that, but he was acting a little funny so I let him go back to sleep.

The next morning (Sunday), I was showering when Jeremy came home to get the kids dressed for church. Jeremy found Kai in his room crying and distraught, and asked him what was the matter. Kai cried, "Jesus stole my striped pants!" He was convinced that Jesus had taken his pants in the night! He didn't remember a thing from the night before, he had been sleep walking. Even after Jeremy reminded him that I was the one who had changed him, he still believed it was Jesus! We promised him that Jesus didn't want or need his pants and laughed for a long time!

A few days later Kai and Natalie were playing boat on the couch. They were pretending to sail to India. Well, I told Kai to go get something in his room and he broke down, sobbing, "I can't, I'm in a boat....I can't walk on water!" I tried not to laugh as I told him to steer the Boat to land and walk on land to go get it. Once again, he started crying, "But it's so far away!" Never mind! He was a little tired that day. : )

And lastly.... We ate restaurant leftovers for dinner the other night, Jeremy had fish. He asked the kids if they wanted some (we NEVER eat fish at our house because neither Jeremy or I love it). Well, they both said yes, but Kai was confused, "You mean this is fish, like a fish that swims in the water?! Then where are the eyes?" Jeremy explained what they do with the head and he seemed satisfied and then took a bite, looked at it and said, "So fish has chicken inside?" Yep, sure does! haha We laughed for quite a while!

Family Pictures - May

2009-06-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

It has been great to send pictures to Nicole's birth mom every month because it forces us to get out the camera. Here is a link to some from May.

http://picasaweb.google.com/jeremynelson17/May200902?authkey=Gv1sRgCIrv9Yuq5aTsEQ&feat=directlink

Kai's Crazy Hair Day

2009-05-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

They had a crazy hair day at school, this is what we came up with.

Daddy / Natalie Date

2009-05-22T13:29:00.000-07:00

Natalie was so jealous that I took Kai to young mens last week that I knew I had to take her this week. The good news was that she had so much fun on our hike to the Y (Provo). The bad news was that I got to carry her up a mountain that I could barely climb myself (thanks Kris for the help carrying her) :)

On the way home I thought she was asleep until I heard her say "thanks for bringing me with you daddy, it was fun climbing the mountain". Ahh, how sweet! She's a cutie and I love her.

Catching Up

2009-05-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

Before Jeremy went to India Uncle Kael and Aunt Heather came over for a visit! The kids love these two and have so much fun playing with them.

I think they wear Kael out every time, what do you think??! : ) At least we don't have the luv sac anymore, kael can't fall asleep when he comes over.

A Week later, Jeremy came home from India bearing gifts for us all! Here's Natalie in her cute saree, holding her Indian Barabie doll! I'll take some better pics soon, we were just so excited that I had to grab a few shots.

Kai got a t-shirt and a rickshaw, Nicole got a t-shirt as well, and I got my own Saree!! I've been watching u-tube videos trying to learn how to wrap it and wear it. It actually takes some talent! I haven't perfected any of the styles yet, but when I do I'll take a picture! And you can bet I'm wearing it to church, it's so cool!

Busy?

2009-04-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

Yeah, this is why I haven't been e-mailing or calling!! I've been a little busy! haha

Journey To Nicole: The Awakening

2009-04-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

We went to dinner. We had heard that people in the south love to fry things, and sure enough they do. We tried the fried lasagna at Olive Garden, not bad. This was our first outing with Nicole; we were mentally exhausted and didn't expect all the attention we received.

The couple next to us began a conversation with us about Nicole and adoption. On any other day, I would have politely ignored them based on their appearance (yes, sometimes even I am judgmental). Both had tattoos head to toe (they ran a tattoo shop, go figure), but proved to be the nicest people. The best part of our conversation was when I asked, "Is there anything interesting to do here?" The response, "No mam, I'm sorry, you're in Mississippi!" The gentleman added, "You're doin' it!"

As we ate a few workers came by to take a look, but one girl made my day. Remember, I was tormented with guilt and sadness all morning. She marched over and said, "I heard you adopted and just had to come over here and tell you, God bless you. You are doing a great thing! I'm adopted. Thank you for doing what you are doing. There will come a day when she pulls "the, you're not my mom thing," but she won't really mean it. Thank you again!" I think I really needed to hear that at that moment, another blessing!

I don't remember the rest of that day, I know it involved more phone calls and e-mails, and I think another trip to the store for a few things we forgot.

Monday March 9th

One Olive Garden employee told us about a park nearby that we thought we'd venture to. We had nothing else to do, but wait for S & M to sign their paperwork. So we packed a bag and went out. (Oh, we finally got our own car seat back from the airline. Isn't Nicole the cutest thing in her car seat, she was so tiny!)

The park was beautiful. It was actually a lake with a road around it and small benches and parks all around. We stopped at a swing and sat in the sun for a while. That was a very relaxing morning. Later in the day we got the news that S & M had signed the papers and were directed to drive to Tupelo Mississippi. So, once again, we hurried and packed.

That was THE longest drive of my life. Not in actual time or distance, but in my perception of it. The landscape in MS is all trees, trees in every direction; huge, tall trees. You can't see anything but trees! We were on a small highway surrounded by trees. Every once in a while you would see an exit cut through the trees, and a few shacks along the sides of the road, but other than that, there was no way to tell if there was any civilization any where nearby, or how long you would have to drive to reach it. There were a few signs that were pretty funny. One was for a restaurant advertising fried pie! They really do love fried foods!

Anyway, I had to go to the little girl's room. I held it, and held it until I couldn't hold it any more. It was an emergency! Trees, and more trees! Finally we saw an exit that said Mississippi State College - 17 mi. I told Jeremy to take it and he hesitated, saying, it's 17 mi! "I don't care, get off!" I screamed. Luckily, it wasn't that far off the exit; I ran into one of the buildings while Jeremy had to explain to the security guard who we were! I think the drive was only about 3 hours in reality, but it took forever!

Tupelo. I think the town is just about what you'd picture in your head from the name. We ate some dinner and found our hotel.

Tuesday March 10th

By this time Jeremy and I were sick, but trying to feel better and not admit we were getting sicker. Meanwhile, Nicole had a Dr. apt scheduled at 10 am that morning. Picture the oldest, sweetest Dr and 70's era exam tables and equipment and you're there. The Dr. was nice and examined Nicole to follow the legal requirements of the state. Once again, we were playing a waiting game. The paperwork was supposed to be fed-exed to Tupelo on Monday, but didn't make it. So we had time to kill. We drove around the town looking for local places to shop (even though we didn't end up buying anything) and took in the scenery. One small drive-in offered fried bologna sandwiches, mmm, tempting (Jeremy took a picture of the sign, but sadly, he can't find it). When we were tired of driving and window shopping we went to a movie.

Movies don't start in Mississippi until 4pm and there are only 1-2 options that aren't rated R. We chose the only movie not rated R at that theater and were the only people in the theater! That's the great thing about newborns, they like to sleep a lot during the day. Jane called us during the movie to tell us that we had a court date, tomorrow! Wow, another huge blessing. As soon as we were done in court we could go home, we were really ready to get back home!

We met with our lawyer late that night to sign more paperwork and to prepare for our time in front of the judge in the morning.

Wednesday March 11th

I couldn't breathe. My nose was so clogged I sounded silly and my cough had taken my voice away; my throat burned and my chest hurt. Jeremy was in the same boat, we were horribly sick! This was supposed to be another very happy day for us and we were worn out. Nicole decided to cry all morning, too. We all dressed nicely, even Nicole in her new yellow dress and headed for court.

Inside the old court building there wasn't a single empty chair, the place was packed! Our lawyer escorted us to a small room to sit and wait, seeing all the people there that day we all thought it would be a long wait. The Lord was merciful once again and we were bumped to the front of the list, it was our turn. Nicole stopped crying long enough for us to make our appearance to the judge. He was an old, single man and asked us each about ourselves. He asked if we waived our right to wait 6 mo (umm, yes, we wanted to go home). He signed the document and told us that was the only happy thing he would get to do that day and thanked us.

We had thought about celebrating and taking pictures, but Nicole started crying again and we couldn't even breathe, we were miserable. So, sadly, no pictures of that event either. instead we rushed ourselves back the old doc.

We saw a different Dr. this time, a woman. She said we both had Bronchitis and gave us a prescription and told us we should get a shot as well. So in march 2 nurses with long needles who tell us to drop our pants. I asked where it was going, "right in the hip sweetie." Ouch!

Now that we had some medicine we could plan our trip home. Let me tell you, one way tickets purchased the day of and the day before is not the way to go, so expensive. We weighed our options, 3 different airport choices, huge price differences, and lots of layovers. We found one flight out of Tennessee that was a direct 3 hour flight, it was worth the huge fine from the car company to return the car somewhere else and get the shortest flight. It was also faster to drive up to Tennessee than to drive back down to Jackson Mississippi! The flight was early in the morning so we needed to get there that night. Another whirlwind packing session and we were off!

This time we made sure to take a legitimate highway with gas stations and fast food restaurants close by! This drive wasn't as long as the last, I think it was because of the road and because we were headed closer to home. I was looking out the window thinking to myself when I looked over at Jeremy and saw his chin against his chest for a split second before he jerked it back up! Ahhh! "You fell asleep!" Jeremy will still deny this, but I know what I saw. Needless to say, we pulled over and switched drivers for a while. I wasn't very safe on the road that day either, but at least I didn't fall asleep!

Memphis Tennessee

Jeremy drove us into the city and followed the map quest directions to our hotel near the airport. The directions landed us on the back side of the hotel with a large pedestrian walkway in between us on a dead end street. He went to go talk to someone in the hotel about parking and was immediately asked for money from a bum, who seeing which car he got out of, came and circled our car until Jeremy came back. That was our first impression of that city. The hotel manager asked what the guy looked like and stormed out to go to and find him. We decided we didn't even want to leave the hotel room that night after we asked a bell hop about places to go to dinner. He looked at us and at the baby and his watch and said it would just be better to order in! Ok, sounds good to me.

We made sure to set our alarm so we would have plenty of time to get ready in the morning, but as a precaution we also packed as much as we could that night. Good thing we did!

Thursday March 12th

I awoke to Nicole's cries and barely had time to think before Jeremy said, "Our alarm didn't go off!" As if we hadn't been rushed enough times on this trip, we had to hurry. We showered and packed as fast as we could and got lost on the way to the car return. Jeremy parked the car and I dashed to the waiting bus to make sure they didn't leave. Once at the airport we had trouble at the ticket counter (the only seats available on-line were the exit row, we took them, knowing we had an infant). They had to change our tickets. Jeremy got upgraded to 1st class, but told me to sit there (I love him). We boarded the plane last and they closed the door. We were lucky we made it when we did, another flight had arrived late and about 10 people were waiting at the gate to get on. They wouldn't let them, they got there 2 minutes after us! That was another huge blessing for us, we actually made our flight!

I was comfy in my first-class seat and served a nice, warm breakfast. I rested while Nicole slept in my arms the entire flight. We were going home, with our new baby!

The kids were so excited to meet their new sister. The adventure of course continued when we drove from the airport to Kai's school to pick him up and he was MISSING, but that's a whole other story. We did eventually find him (he had ridden the bus home with another student), but not until I almost had a heart attack. After picking him up at a stranger's house, we went to Jeremy's parent's house to introduce Nicole to the whole family. Now I can end with the happily ever after part! : )

Journey to Nicole: Sleepless

2009-04-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

12:00 pm Friday March 6th

We sat at a small table eating our lunch, wires on our heads, goop in our hair. It was snowing outside and cold. We laughed and talked; talked about sleep. Soon it would be time for another nap at the sleep center, hopefully our last nap of the day.

It had been a long night already, neither of us sleeping well, separated in an office and lying on strange beds, covered in colorful wires. We were almost finished with our sleep apnea and narcolepsy tests.

2:00 pm

Goodnight.

2:40pm

I felt a touch on my shoulder and pried my eyes open, pulled out my earplugs, and stretched. "You're all finished," the nurse said, "I'm going to go wake up your husband." I started to gather my things and happened to check my phone, there was a message...

"Hi Evelyn, I have some exciting news. There was a little girl born this morning and we need a family to be there tomorrow. We called you first, but I really need to know very soon or I will start calling other families. Please call me as soon as you can!"

I couldn't breathe, was this a dream? I saw Jeremy sitting up in bed out of the corner of my eye and jumped into his room and blurted out the news. The nurse helped us pull off our wires and we raced to the car to call Jane. We needed more information, this was a huge decision that needed to be made right then. There was no time to waste.

We said one of the most important prayers in our life, and probably the shortest. I called Jane back with shaking hands and asked her what we needed to do to make this happen.

In the blink of an eye we were in a hurricane of motion and tasks to be done. First to the doctor's office for a blood test. I know people thought we looked strange with goop and orange marker on our heads, and crazy wild hair, but I didn't care! Next we decided to split up.

4:00 pm

At home I began to throw things into a suitcase while making hurried phone calls. Find place for the kids, pack, someone to feed dog, change my mind on clothes, repack, ask people to write reference letters and fax to Jane, pack clothes for kids....

Meanwhile Jeremy was at the bank, begging them to break some rules and let us withdraw money from our loan right then and there. I'm sure I can think of a couple of thoughts that crossed their minds based on his appearance! After much consideration, a phone call to Jane, and a very nice bank employee who put his neck on the line, Jeremy got the check.

We booked our flight, took a much needed shower, and got the kids off safely with Grandma and grandpa, and finished packing the suitcases. We got our things in the car and headed to Jane's house, completely exhausted.

10:15pm

We arrived at Jane's house to fill out all our paperwork and talk about the process and what to expect. It was nice to just sit for a minute, although I thought I might fall asleep. I don't remember what was said that night, it's all a blur. After our visit we were off to the airport.

1:00 am Saturday March 7th

Our plane took off. I put on that thing that airlines call a blanket, rested my head and tried to sleep. I heard Jeremy snoring on and off, and I know I managed to drift off a few times myself, but knew it wasn't going to be enough for the day ahead of us.

6:00 am - ?? ET

Gotta love the Atlanta Airport! It seems that no matter where a person is going you will almost always end up in Atlanta. I still couldn't sleep. Jeremy was curled up on the floor, lying on my backpack while I squinted at a page in the Reader's Digest. We half-heartedly ate a plain croissant for breakfast, hoping it would make our sick tummies feel better. Turns out, no solid sleep for two days makes you feel a little queasy.

About 10:00 am CT

The moisture clung to our faces as we left the plane in Jackson Mississippi. The warmth felt so good. We drug our feet down to the baggage claim to find, nothing. Not a single bag. People were walking all around us, trying to figure it out. I was too tired to move, I thought if I stared at it long enough our bags might magically appear! Finally someone said the baggage line was broken and all the bags were being taken to the missing bag station. Jeremy and I were delighted to see our bags in the hall. However, not so delighted to find out our car seat was missing, it didn't make the flight. They also didn't have any infant ones in stock, so we had to march through half the airport to find one to borrow. Our next adventure was renting a car. We tried a few lines, but the sales people were busy, it didn't even matter what company, we just needed a car fast. We picked out a shiny red Nissan, that we both decided later we hated, the design just didn't make any sense. And we were on the road again, not at all safe to be driving at this point. We were headed straight to the hospital. From the last news we had heard, we thought we might be bringing the baby home from the hospital with us that day, and were told to get there as soon as we could.

Around 12:00 pm CT

Our first taste of the south! We stopped for lunch at Hardee's for lunch where we found exemplary customer service. We should've known better when a biker dude at the nearest table told us it would be faster to go somewhere else and that he'd been waiting there for a LONG time. We ordered anyway. We sat and we waited, and we witnessed the southern way of life. Lots of people were waiting, while all the cooks were arguing about how to do things. And for as much as they argued and talked about how to do things, nothing actually got done, and so we waited some more. This became a theme we saw a few times on our trip.

About 1:00 pm CT

We found our way to the hospital in Meridian Mississippi. We knew we wouldn't be bringing Nicole home that day and were relieved. As excited as were, we needed a good night's sleep.

Not wanting to come in empty handed we went to buy some flowers. You would think with about 5 hospitals in the area one would have a gift shop open on a saturday?! Nope. Only one florist was open. Back to the hospital. Both of us wanted to freshen up a little since we had been traveling all night, we wanted to look somewhat presentable to S & M (names withheld for privacy).

When we made our way to the baby wing the nurses told us what room S was in. I was so nervous, more nervous than I have been for anything in my life. I laughed and asked Jeremy, "She knows we're white, right?!" My nerves were fried, every horror story I'd ever heard about adoption and birth moms changing their minds popped into my head! We came in slowly and were greeted by S. She was the kindest woman, I knew that immediately. It felt like she was the best friend I never knew I had. We talked for a minute and she asked if we wanted to see the baby. Of course we did, I said yes, feigning to be a little less excited than I was, trying not to jump up out of my chair with joy.

That's when we met our new baby girl, this beautiful, tiny baby. We both took turns holding her and stroking her head. I think it was love at first sight. We talked with S for a while and then M joined us a while later. We loved our time with them, getting to know them and their personalities, what a blessing it was for us to have that time with them. They were so much like us, we knew Nicole would fit into our family very well after meeting S &M. We talked as long as we could, but our sleep deprivation couldn't be ignored any longer. We said goodbye to S & M and baby Nicole.

Around 5:00 pm CT

Longing for sleep we headed ... to Walmart. There was no time to pack any baby things in our mad dash the night before, we needed supplies. Onsies, bottles, formula, blankets, etc. On to the hotel. It turns out that after you've been awake for a very many number of hours, it takes a certain percentage of that time to wind down and go to sleep. I don't remember what time we went to bed that night, but I do know it was late, and I also know I slept extremely well!

8:50 am (We thought) CT Saturday March 8th

I pushed my glass up to the juice machine and nothing came out. Still groggy I tried a few more times, still not working. Jeremy and I started to get some food and noticed a maid taking things away. A man sitting at a table laughed and said, "You did the same thing I did! I forgot about daylight savings. They're cleaning up, you'll have to ask them to turn on the machine." Oops, yes we did completely forget about that. It's not like we had anything on our minds!

After a few phone calls we discovered that S was able to go home the previous night and we called her at home to discuss details for the day. We were going to meet at the hospital after the doctor had checked in on Nicole the last time.

Around 11:00 am CT

We made it to the hospital first and waited in an empty room. S & M came soon after and we got to visit for a few minutes before the nurse came in and started the check- out process. She was packing diaper bags for us and handing documents and tags to S. I knew this day was going to be hard, but I was not prepared. I was trying not to cry; I was excited, nervous, scared and had no idea what to do or to expect. We all went to the parking lot together. I asked to get a picture of S & M with Nicole so that Nicole will have that when she is older. They took a picture of her as well and buckled her into our car seat and into our car. We gave hugs and said our good byes, M told me to keep in touch (which we will), and they left.

We sat in silence for a moment, finally able to breathe. I looked at Jeremy and every emotion I had poured out of me through the tears streaming down my face. I was happy, truly I was, but in that moment I was also in the depths of despair. I felt their loss so fully that I couldn't help but sob. I was sad for them and for the feelings they were going to experience in the future. Part of me felt terrible, like I had stolen their baby. Part of me wondered why they couldn't keep her, why we were being blessed through their bitter situation? I tried and tried to stop, but my heart was breaking for them. Jeremy felt the same way I did.

Back at the hotel we sat and stared at our miracle, happy and still sad, and in love. We made some phone calls and wrote e-mails to make our announcement. I took a few pictures because I knew everyone was dying to see what she looked like. And finally, when there were no more tears, hunger took over. We decided to go out to dinner....

2009-04-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

Natalie's first scraped arm of the season. She needed a lot of lotion (neosporin) and band aids to make it feel all better! : )

Jeremy's First Post (Just the Boys)

2009-03-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

Evelyn usually does all of the blogging for the family, but since she wasn't there it's a good excuse for me to try it out.

Since the kids now outnumber us 3 to 2 and we've had to switch to zone coverage, I've noticed the kids needing 1 on 1 time with us more. So, the girls went to a baby shower (thanks Kari & friends) and we took advantage and went for a daddy - son hike. Uncle Jake gave us a good idea of a nearby location (dripping rock).

Kai had a great time with his highlights consisting of 3 walking sticks, 2 cool rocks and 1 snail shell. He also learned to enjoy crossing the river and getting a bit wet (the first time "stung" because it was still shady in the canyon). Here are a few pictures.

California 2009

2009-03-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

Every year we take a trip somewhere warm to escape the cold winter here. This year we went to California again!

Jeremy's Aunt Irene and Uncle David were kind enough to house us for the first couple nights and the last couple nights of our stay. Natalie loved playing with their tiny dog Masako, and Kai colored up a storm. I'm not sure if they have any paper left.

Our first full day there it was pouring rain so we decided to go to the children's museum along with the rest of the world (it was a rainy holiday in California)! The kids had a lot of fun; Kai really liked the building blocks, and so did Irene.

That night Jeremy got some tennis in. He's so fast even the camera can't capture him. ; )

David even said he won most of the games. I wasn't there to witness this though, Natalie and I were still feeling sick.

The next day was mostly clear with a few rain showers during the day. We decided to head up to Point Loma. Here's our pictures at the lookout point by the visitor's center.

Quite the view! We watched a few boats leave the harbor, and a few jets take off from the naval base!
Next we hiked up to the lighthouse you can see behind Natalie and Kai.
Inside the small lighthouse.

Next door in a small house where the original lens is. The children are really loving learning about history, can't you tell?!
We walked around the lighthouse to the whale watching station and swear we saw whales in the water below so we drove down to the shore to investigate. But when we finally got there we couldn't see anything and it started raining again .So here's the token photo to prove we were there! Once again, the children are thrilled! haha
By now, we were hungry and searching for food. We ended up at Sea Port Village and walked to a pizza place where we shared lunch with the birds. The kids thought the birds were pretty funny and liked feeding them.

Kai had seen lots of boats on our various drive and told us he wanted to go on a boat that moved. So we boarded the ferry to Coronado Island! Not soon enough though, I got stung by a wasp while waiting in line, ouch! We found some ice cream and a snack on the island and came back. On the return, we stopped at the naval base to pick up some marines and sailed past a huge carrier; that was cool. By then we were all worn out and went to the hotel to crash!

The next day was a big day too, we went to Sea World with Uncle Kael and Aunt Heather! Kai and Natalie got to feed the seals, but the birds there are fierce and kept stealing the fish right out of our hands!

Here we are waiting for the Sea Lion show having a snack. Apparently five sandwiches makes a picnic at sea world and is frowned upon. ; )

We took the kids to pet the dolphins. Kai had fun, but Natalie....

just wanted to wash her hands! She didn't like touching the sting rays either, too slimy I guess.

We also got some rides in that day! I think that was one highlight for Kai.

But the most exciting thing to him was his sword! He had wanted one all day! Natalie got a Shamu puppet.

Shamu!

We went back to Sea World the next day, too. This was mommy's favorite part that day. Kai liked the walrus the best, and Natalie still liked the dolphin show. However, we had to leave early that day. About 30 minutes after this picture was taken Natalie threw up all over the cafe and all over Jeremy! Poor kiddo.

They slept so good every night and went to bed so early! Ah, aren't they cute?!

Our last day there Jeremy drove me to Oceanside for my workshop and took the kids to play at the pier. Kai really liked watching the surfers and Natalie liked meeting Charlie the Pelican.

Every time we visit California I want to stay! Until next year, I guess. Thanks David and Irene for letting us stay with sick kids and all!

Valentines Day 2009

2009-02-26T07:54:00.001-08:00

This year for Valentine's Day we had a double "date" at home with the kids. We figured it doesn't hurt to teach Kai how to treat women early on. The boys (Jeremy and Kai) made us girls (Natalie and I) a nice homemade candlelight dinner. Then they brought us a rose and a box of chocolates and asked us to dance! Natalie loved getting her flower, she smiled and said, "oh, wow!"

It was so cute watching Kai and Natalie dance, they were having so much fun that I had to grab a shot with the camera! : ) We ended the "date" by watching the date scene on Little Rascals. It was a fun night and I think the kids will remember it for a while.

How to remove Desitin From Carpet:

2009-02-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

Natalie squeezed half a tube of Desitin all over her carpet the other day, then proceeded to comb it and spread it out even further! She was out of my sight for 5 minutes!

So, here's the solution I found after I tried water, soap and water, and carpet cleaner....

Cover the area with baking soda and let sit for about an hour. Wipe with a wet cloth and dish soap. Keep rinsing and wiping. It removes the stain and leaves the carpet smelling fresh!

Oh, and it helped remove the stains from Natalie's pants, too!

My Comeback

2009-01-29T16:25:00.001-08:00

I've begun a long quest to become somewhat fashionable again! I'm going to buy a few items at a time to add to my very casual wardrobe and update my tired mommy look. Like I said, this is going to take a while since money really doesn't grow on trees. Darn.

Anyway, I've been sporting the same, old- lady purse for about 3+ years now. Sad huh?! This was the first thing begging to be updated. Here are my finds:

I may have made a mistake by going all brown, but that's what I really like right now, so I guess I'll live with it, for another 3 years. Just kidding!

My date purse, for occasions when I'm not concealing diapers/wipes, snacks, toys, wrappers, hair clippies, you get the idea. On sale at Kohls for $10!

My everyday bag, that now holds a cool wallet, too! Purse- Kohls, wallet (first photo)- Target.

Beautiful Curls

2009-01-29T16:09:00.000-08:00

Since I have finally mastered my head of curls (after 29 yrs) I thought I would share my secret with everyone! Anyone with thick hair and a slight wave can do this, I promise! My hair isn't actually that curly on it's own, if I just let it dry and do nothing to it, I end up with a full head of frizz and a few waves! ; ) (Sorry for the bad pictures, my cell phone distorts and blurs everything!)

How to do curly hair:

1. Fresh out of the shower (curls need to be washed everyday and re-done) comb with a wide-tooth comb. Part your hair now if you want it parted.

2. Flip your head up-side down and gently scrunch curls in a towel to get some moisture out. You still want your hair pretty wet.

3. Use a curling cream, gel or mousse and apply to hair. I like: Sun n' Silk cream and mousse.

4. Blow dry with head up-side down with a diffuser (looks like a ray gun or something) just until you start getting some fly-aways. Be sure to move the dryer to different areas frequently.

5. Spray with a curling spray gel. I like Aussie's sprunch spray or TRESemme's curl spray gel.

6. Continue drying, your hair will get dry and be crunchy, keep drying a few more minutes and you will end up with soft, luscious curls that last all day!

Other things that help:

Go to a stylist that knows what they are doing! If you have thick hair it is good to get it "thinned" so that you don't look like a poodle. Also, layers are your friend! And, you can't add too much texture either! With layers and texture your hair will lay nicely.

Good Luck!

Christmas Video

2008-12-28T10:14:00.001-08:00

This is the video I made for my family for Christmas. I think we have the best, worst hair photos ever and wanted to emphasize that. I took each family's recent photo and put one of their past do's on everyone! Check it out...

Christmas Wishes

2008-12-18T07:17:00.001-08:00

I wrapped the kids' presents last night after they went to bed, but forgot to warn them. This morning Kai and Natalie rushed into our room so excited. Kai said, "I think Santa came and left us presents to open!" He was very disappointed when I told him that they were actually from mom and dad and that they didn't get to open them until Christmas. Poor Kai, I think I crushed his dream, he wouldn't stop crying.

I told him Santa was still going to come if he was a good boy, but that would be in a few days too. He is so excited about Santa this year it's adorable! He said Santa came to his school yesterday and landed on the roof and sang him jingle bells! I think we might need to go visit santa at the mall this year too just because he is so excited.

Natalie informed me that she wanted a purple present from Santa with a princess in it!

Christmas Card

2008-12-11T07:25:00.000-08:00

Hint: Click the text to enlarge so you can actually read it!

Family Pictures

2008-12-06T19:52:00.000-08:00

So these are way late (we took them on Thanksgiving) but here is the whole clan (Jeremy's side)! And a cute one of my sisters-in-law! Enjoy.

Naughty or Nice

2008-12-03T13:54:00.001-08:00

Kai has been learning some very naughty things at school lately! Why can't kindergartners even have a clear mind? Honestly! Everything he talks about is about poop or hitting/shooting/killing bad guys.

We went to the dentist the other day (Kai and I had appointments). After our teeth were cleaned and I was gathering our things Kai ran up to me and whispered in my ear, "That lady (the technician who cleaned our teeth) is kinda ugly!" I about died, I told him that wasn't very nice to say. Later we had a big long talk about how we should be nice to everyone, and that all people look different and how we shouldn't say bad things. I don't think he got the message.

India

2008-11-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

We are counting our blessing right now! The area in India that Jeremy used to go to was under attack this last week! I am glad he went a few weeks earlier, that is scary. Since Novell opened a new office he shouldn't have to go back to that area anymore though.

Natalie and the Imaginary Skunks

2008-11-29T18:34:00.000-08:00

This is the conversation Natalie and I had last week when I dropped Kai off to school.....

Me: It smells like a skunk!

Natalie: A Skunk? Where's a skunk?

Kai: No, it smells like a skunk Natalie.

Natalie: I see a skunk. It doesn't have a tail. It's cute.

Me: You do? I don't think there are any skunks.

Natalie: I see another one.

Kai goes to school, we drive away.

Natalie: I didn't see the other one!

Natalie later: I saw cute skunks, but (sadly, with a pouty face) I didn't see the other one. Where's another skunk? Can we see a skunk?

She really likes to make things up lately; She also sees monsters in her room and tells Kai when to shoot mysterious bad guys!

Santa and Christmas Shopping

2008-11-29T15:19:00.000-08:00

Kai asked me the other day where Santa lives! I told him about the North Pole and he said, "I want to go there. Can we go see him there?" I then explained that we could go see him in a few weeks when he comes to the mall and he can tell him what he wants. Apparently that wasn't good enough. He said, "I want to see him. I'm going to stay awake before Christmas so I can see him when he comes!" This is such a fun age!

We went shopping for a few toys on black friday and we took the kids with us. It's getting a lot harder to hide things from Kai! We let them play with the toys all through the store and then told them it was time to put them back (we do this a lot so they are used to that). Jeremy took the kids away while I checked out and I put Jeremy's jacket over the top right as they came back. Only, I forgot to cover it down lower, at Kai's eye level so he saw them right away and said, "mom didn't put those back!" So we pretended again!

This time Jeremy took the kids to the car and I followed a short distance behind (because I was supposed to be returning the toys). He put them in the car, then we put the toys in. All set, we pulled it off! Wait, just kidding....

We didn't know that one of the toys made noise (a big transformer). Every time we hit a bump we heard noise and Kai would say things like, "I heard Bumblebee again!" or, "I heard the toy that mom didn't put back!" So we just turned up the radio and tried to ignore it saying we had no idea what it was! haha We "fixed" the problem the next time we stopped! : )

Guess next time I'll find a babysitter!!

Resident Artist

2008-11-25T16:40:00.000-08:00

Kai loves to draw and doodles all over his school papers, but this last one cracked me up! Jeremy and I couldn't stop laughing!!! Kai drew our family, with anatomical features.....guess which one is me?!

Here's the order: Daddy, Kai, Mommy, Natalie.

Kai said I have rainbow hair. He didn't say anything about the circles though! haha

Daddy's picture is pretty funny too though. Kai said, " this is daddy with no hair."

I think he's got some great potential!

Welcome

2008-11-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our new family blog! I know it's a little drab and empty right now, but it will be coming to life soon!

We are attempting to try and separate our personal family matters from my business blog, since we feel like we are putting too much personal information on there! Jeremy and I will both be posting here so check back often and leave comments so we know you were here!

You can add a link to this blog if you wish, but please do not use our last name! We are hoping to leave this blog public so that potential birth moms can view it! Thanks.