13 years!

Okay! I know that this picture looks like crap. I just took a picture of one of our wedding pictures with my camera. Anyway, can you believe that we have been married for 13 years? Only old people are married for 13 years! Where does the time go? I remember thinking that we were so cute that day. YUCK! I think that we look way better in our old age.

Although this picture does us absolutely no justice, we are so much better looking now than we were 13 years ago. Here's to another 13 years! Happy Anniversary to us!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Neilsons

Well, I was going to do a Christmas card this year but I just ran out of time. This is the picture that I was going to use. I don't usually like pictures like this. Only two of the kids are looking at the camera and that would normally bug me but for some reason I like it. So, here it is! MERRY CHRISTMAS from our home to yours. May this season be full of joy and wonderful memories for you and yours.

My Christmas Tree

So, I will try to make this long story very short; I was whining to my Dad the other day about not being able to go to a Christmas tree farm and cut down a tree this year. You can get live trees in San Antonio but only from a lot. Isn't that's like blasphemy? Anyway, my Dad said "Hey, why don't I send you a Christmas Tree?" Sure, who wouldn't love a beautiful, nobel Christmas tree from Oregon in their front room for Christmas? But, ship a Christmas tree? That can't be cheap! Before I knew it, plans were in motion to send me a Christmas tree. It was merely an experiment for my Dad. Could he even do it? How much would it cost? Would the tree be in one piece when it got here? Is he crazy or bored? Well, I came home from running some errands today and this is what I found on my doorstep!!!! Although the box had seen better days, the tree actually looked great! We are so excited to have a real live, grown in Oregon, Christmas tree this year! Thanks Dad!

Up on the housetops

Mike was putting the Christmas lights on the house and Tyler wanted to get up there so bad! We finally gave in. Yeah, yeah....................I know it's not the safest thing to put your three year old on the roof but he sat very still and thought it was the coolest thing EVER.

Alamo & River Walk

These are some fun pictures that we took of Grace, Emi & Tyler at the Riverwalk and the Alamo the other day.

Count your many blessings

We are so blessed in many ways. 'Tis the time of year that I tend to think a little more about my many blessings. This week I am reminded of how fortunate I am to be a part of two wonderful families. Of coarse, I miss my family and wish I could spend some time with them but we are so lucky to have Mike's parents here with us this week and we love them so much! Yesterday we had the oppurtunity to visit the Alamo (which is where this picture was taken) and the Riverwalk here in San Antonio. We had a great time. We look forward to spending a few more days with them.

CAN'T SLEEP!!!

Don't you hate it when you can't sleep? It's 1:40 in the morning and I have been laying in bed since about midnight and I can't fall asleep! I think that I am excited & anxious. Mike's parents are coming into town tomorrow (which is really today) and we just can't wait to see them. They will be here from Monday to Friday to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with us. Because they are coming I have so much to do. Mostly cleaning the house and running a couple of errands. I don't know why I like the house to be perfect for guests but, it's a must! I will spend my day scrubbing toilets, mopping floors, dusting, organizing, washing windows, doing laundry, changing sheets and vacuuming. I will be annoyed if my children put one thing out of place before Grandma and Grandpa get here and then it will all be destroyed 1.3 seconds after they arrive. Why do I do this to myself? I'm sure my insomnia has nothing to do with the fact that I ate popcorn and drank lots of Pepsi while I was watching the American Music Awards (go Carrie Underwood!!) tonight. I actually don't feel tired at all right now but I know that when I am trying to teach my 9:15 aerobics class I am going to be exhaused. Now that it's 1:54 I should really try to fall asleep again!

Which one would you choose?

So, I am having a Christmas dress delima. If my name was Mahina I would just whip up the perfect Christmas dresses for my daughters. But since not all of us posses such talents I have had to resort to purchasing two different dresses and can't decide which one I like better. I like that the pink and brown one has sleeves but I don't think it's quite as cute at the turquoise and brown. What do you think?

Hair Cut

For those of my friends that haven't seen me in awhile, you don't know that I cut my hair about a year ago into an "A" line. It was very slight at first but I have been wanting my hair to be a little less "bob-ish" and more dramatic. I went and got it cut today and I think it turned out okay. After years and years of really boring hair I think I have finally learned that it's just hair and it will grow back. Time to take some chances and spice things up a bit. Mike even likes it! Yeah!!

Yes I can!

Emi is hilarious. Last night Mike was on call and I was trying to get all the kids in bed. I had asked everyone to brush their teeth and I kept looking over to see Emi standing on her head. Why is it that kids can't just do what you ask the first time? After a couple of times I firmly said, "Emi, brush your teeth!" Her response was, "I am Mom!" Without looking at her I said "Emi, you can't brush your teeth and stand on your head at the same time." Then she says, "Yes I Can!" I look over and this is what I saw. I couldn't stop laughing.

I guess I'm finally going to blog

I don't know where I got the gene that makes me want to "fight the machine" all the time. You know what I mean right? The gene that makes you want to not do what everyone else is doing! For instance, the only reason that I haven't started a blog is because everyone else has one. That's totally dumb of me. What am I proving to anyone? Well, that's not really the only reason. I am also not computer savvy and didn't want to take the time to figure out how to do this blog thing. But, I do LOVE to stalk other people's blogs so I must like blogging. I suppose it's time to do one of my own. I guess I will conform. ARG! I hate conforming!!

Beautiful girl

Emi celebrated her 6th birthday in the month of October. I remember Rachel Wight saying in one of her blog entries that she has a tradition of taking her kids' pictures on their birthday. I thought that was such a neat tradition and decided to copy that idea. What a beautiful little lady.

Sunday Best

All my boys have been wearing to church for the last couple of months are shorts and short sleeve button up shirts. Nice shorts, mind you. But shorts none the less. Mike said that we needed to get them out of shorts and into some more appropriate church attire. Like the dutiful wife that I am (hee hee, funny joke) I got online and ordered them some new Sunday clothes right away. I was trying to take a picture of them in their Sunday best but they were being so uncooperative. This is the best that I could do. Those are some handsome devils!

This is the most handsome dude, don't cha think?

Need I say anymore!!!!

Pumpkin Patch

What I love about this picture is that of coarse my son is so cute but also the color of these pumkins. I have never seen this shade of pumpkin before. It's almost a pastel orange.

Jaike's real costume

See, Jaike really did have a Halloween costume.

Halloween in Texas

Halloween in Texas is weird! It's just shouldn't be 80 degrees when you are trick or treating. Halloween memories for me include things like; hot apple cider, heavy jackets and rain. I don't think I saw one kid in a jacket and we didn't drink hot apple cider. It's just not right I tell ya! But hey, the kids had a ball. That's what it's all about, I guess. Jaike really did have a costume. I know it's hard to tell from the picture. Here you see him as a "hawaiian" that's only because he got something sticky all over his real costume the night before at our ward Trunk or Treat. It's obvious what the other kids were from this picture but what you can't see is that Grace's costume has a name tag that says "Major Flirt." Anytime someone asked what she was she would just say "an army girl." She said that "major flirt" was kind of dumb but I think it's cute.