Neilson Family

Emi's 8th birthday

2009-10-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

Emi turned 8 last week! Can't even believe it. She asked me for weeks before her birthday if I was going to buy her any presents. As if she has ever had a birthday when I didn't buy her presents! She had a great day and loved being the center of attention.

Great Wolf Lodge

2009-08-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we traveled up to Dallas and met our great friends the Barh's at the Great Wolf logde. The Great Wolf Lodge is a hotel with a water park inside. The trip was way too short but the kids and I had a great time playing with our friends.

Jaike's B-day

2009-07-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

I know, I know! Try not to pass out. I am finally doing a new blog post. Today was Jaike's 3rd birthday! He is just so darn cute I couldn't help but post these pictures.

Trip to Utah

2009-04-18T19:17:00.001-07:00

I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Utah at the end of March for the blessing of my sister Katie's new twins. Almost my whole family was going to be there and I just didn't want to miss out. Nobody but my Mom and Dad knew that I was coming so it was fun to surprise everyone. It was such a great time and I am so glad that I was able to go.

Spring Break in Altus Oklahoma

2009-04-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

Mike was supposed to have spring break off this year and we were going to spend that time camping and hanging out as a family. But.........leave it to the Air Force to mess up our plans. Mike ended up having to go to Virginia that week for an Anatomy class. I didn't want to stay at home all spring break doing nothing so I packed up the kids and headed to Altus Oklahoma. If you don't remember, I lived there a couple of years ago and my GREAT friend Julie and her family still live there. We just hung out and let the kids play. They had a great time and so did I.

Blowing Bubbles

2009-03-03T14:13:00.000-08:00

Jaike was blowing bubbles in the back yard and I just thought his little lips were so cute. It's March 3rd and today was a perfect 80 degrees. I guess we should enjoy a little time outside before it's too hot.

Rollin' with the homies

2009-02-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

We just got this "bad boy" yesterday and now I'm rollin' with the homies. The surburban that I have been driving for the last 7 years has been giving us quite a few problems lately. I have replaced the transmission, fuel pump and put on new tires this last year. We decided it was time for something a little more reliable.

Church Bench

2009-01-25T20:48:00.000-08:00

My parents gave Mike and I this church pew several years ago when they moved from their house on Florence out to the orchard. This pew was in the chapel that my Dad gew up attending in Idaho Falls. Sometime after his mission they remodeled the chapel and sold off these old pews for dirt cheap. My Dad acquired two of them. They are a great memory for me. There is a slot on the back side for a hymn book. I remember that the Easter Bunny always hid an egg there. I can see exactly where they sat in that house on Florence street. Anyway, we have been very happy to have this one in our home. It has been in desperate need of a refinishing job though. I took it out of the house in August and started to sand it down but quickly lost interest. It was harder than I thought it was going to be. There were many layers of old varnish. A couple of weeks ago my friend Becca encouraged me to get it done. I decided I was going to have it done in a week. Why the heck was I being so lazy? Well, it took me two weeks but it's done and I am quite happy with the finished project.

Butterfly

2009-01-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

I have been meaning to put up a post about all of the fun things that I got for Christmas. Christmas seems like it was so long ago now but I still wanted to show Y'all my favorite Christmas gift from my husband. I have wanted this ring for a couple of months. I knew that he had already spend too much money on a gift for me (Bosch mixer) so I wasn't expecting anything else. This was a fun surprise. I know it's a little wild but hey, so am I.

Naked Piano Playing

2009-01-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

I have no idea why my son was naked when we had our friends the Ramptons over. But, He and Eliza were playing the piano and it was adorable, even if he was naked.

Chocolate Dipping

2008-12-23T20:34:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid my mom always had a bunch of her friends over at Christmas time to dip chocolates. I remember this being such a fun event. Last year I had my first chocolate dipping party and my Mom was there to help train me in the ways of chocolate dipping. I wasn't going to do it this year but kind of last minute my friend Becca encouraged me to do it again. We had a great time and walked away with more chocolates than any one human being should eat. Thanks for coming ladies!

A Christmas tree from Oregon

2008-12-09T14:55:00.001-08:00

You may remember that last year I was complaining to my Dad that I just couldn't find a decent tree in Texas. He decided to experiment and see if he could ship one to me. The experiment was a success. Well, he's done it again! Yesterday we got our Christmas tree in the mail all the way from Oregon! I think I have decided that this probably isn't the cheapest was to obtain a tree but, the kids think it's super cool that Grandpa sends them a tree. Tyler was so excited when he saw the box sitting on the porch. Of coarse, he knew what it was and he said, "Mom, our tree is here! Oh, I just love Grandpa Bell."

Actually, the box held up a little better this year than it did last year. I was worried that the top might be broken off because that part of the box was in the worst shape but, it wasnt!. It had a definate lean to the right but I don't think it's permanant. The tree looks and smells great. Thanks Dad!

Pies, Pies BEAUTIFUL Pies!

2008-12-01T16:59:00.000-08:00

Quite frankly, Thanksgiving dinner is not my favorite thing. I could do without the Turkey, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, and the yams. I do like the jello though. My favorite thing about Thanksgiving is all the food before and after the meal. The Chex mix, cheese ball with crackers, relish tray and PIES. I really am not in love with pie either but at Thanksgiving I always indulge. We actually went over to some friends house for dinner this year and our assignement was green bean casserole and pies. Everyone was asked to bring something to contribute to the main meal and then a couple of pies. There were 19 pies in all!! I didn't think the green bean casserole was "picture worthy" but these pies? These pies would make my Momma proud. I asked Mike to take a picture of them and he takes this ugly picture of them sitting on my stove top. I said "I don't really like that background, lets take another one of them on the counter." Next thing I know, he has this Thanksgiving sign of mine as a backdrop to the picture. I laughed out loud. What a nerd. These were delicious pies!

A nice surprise

2008-11-21T20:47:00.001-08:00

When I got home from the "twilight night" the house was dark and quiet. I turned on the kitchen light and found these beautiful roses on the kitchen counter from my sweet husband. Thanks honey!

TWILIGHT NIGHT

2008-11-21T20:42:00.000-08:00

Tonight me and a bunch of my girlfriends went out to dinner at Olive Garden and then to the Twilight movie. We had some shirts made that said "bite me" in honor of the occasion. The line for the movie was crazy and the screaming 16 year olds were hilarious. We had such a good time!

Could it be?

2008-11-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

I often wonder if anything I am saying to my kids actually registers. Don't you do that too? Today Grace got home from school, cleaned the windows, swept the patio, picked up dog poop, and watered the garden. I didn't ask her to do any of these things. Could what I have been saying and trying to teach all of these years actually be sinking in? Oh please, please, please!!!

BLOG STRIKE!!

2008-11-10T14:22:00.000-08:00

I have decided that I am on a total blog strike. Quite honestly there are plenty of things that I could talk about. Like my sister Beth coming to visit, that was fun. Or, going to Time Out For Women, uplifting. I could post pictures of Halloween or even talk about planting a winter garden. But, I just haven't had the energy. By the end of the day, I just wanna sit in front of the T.V. and do nothing for awhile. Sorry friends. I am still here and I even have lots of fun pictures that I will get around to posting sometime. TTFN

Mother of the year!

2008-10-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

Every other Tuesday Grace attends a "Faith in God" activity at the church. It's for the girls ages 8-11. They get together and make goals and have activities. She really enjoys it. This week they got done with their activity early so the girls were just running around in the gym. Appearantly, Grace was racing some of the other girls from one end of the gym to the other and slipped because she was wearing flip flops. She reach out for the wall to stop herself from hitting it and bent her wrist back. My friend LaRae brought her home and explained what happened. Grace could wiggle her fingers and roll her wrist without too much problems so we (Mike, me, Julie and Micah) felt that it was probably bruised or sprained. I sent her to school the next day and the next day and the next (count 'em....that's three days). I even made her do a cartwheel the day that she was supposed to have gymnastics to make sure that she really couldn't participate. She was still really "babying" her arm after THREE days so both Mike and Micah (he is our friend who is a flight doctor) said that I should probably take her into the doctor for an x-ray. So, on Friday after school I took her in. They took the film and WHAT???? A buckle fracture of the radius and ulna. I am probably the best mom on the planet! I made the poor girl walk around with a broken arm for three days. She was super excited to get a cast though.

What am I gonna do with that kid?

2008-10-04T18:55:00.000-07:00

Oh my sweet, mischievious Tyler! That's who I'm talkin' about, who else? My dear friend Julie Bahr is coming to visit next week and I really wanted the upstairs bathroom to be all painted and cute when she got here. But, Mike is out of town enjoying some "man" time. So, I decided to paint the bathroom myself. Jaike was down for a nap and the kids were all in quiet time. Well, of coarse by the time I was about done, all the kids were out of quiet time and Jaike was awake. I was finishing up the second coat of paint on the last wall and Emi says, "Mom, Tyler poured red juice all over Indiana (the dog). I took a deep breath and went downstairs hoping that the red juice incident took place outside. Lucky for Tyler, it did! But, my poor dog was all red as well as Tyler and my back porch. I couldn't really let Tyler in the house because his feet were all red and I couldn't clean him off because I had 75 seconds of painting left. I guess I could have stopped and cleaned him off but I didn't. Anyway, I locked him outside until I could deal with him, which was probably about 5 mintues. He stood at the back window and cried the whole time. I wish I had a picture of the red mess but I was too mad to stop and find the camera. Seriously, Tyler gets into these kinds of messes all of the time, huh Julie (purple glitter glue)? What the heck do I do with this kid? So basically, I have decided that this is all Julie's fault. Don't you think? If she wasn't coming to town and I wasn't so worried about having a cute house for her, none of this would have happened.

Close ups

2008-09-27T06:47:00.000-07:00

I need new pictures of all my kids to hang on my family room wall. The one that's up there of Tyler right now is from when he was two and a half. The one's of the girls are from school the year that we lived in Oklahoma and the one of Jaike is from last summer. Mike took these ones for me last weekend. Now I just have to decide if they are "wall worthy." Here's the one problem that I see.....everybody is naked except for Grace. Can you tell? And what the heck is in Jaike's hair? It looks like a piece of rice. When Mike was taking these I didn't notice anything in his hair. I wonder if it's a reflection or something. Of coarse, I am NOT hanging the one of the dog on the wall. That's just dumb.

That darn dog!

2008-09-23T12:05:00.000-07:00

As much as I curse our dog, he really is a good dog. Everytime I turn around, someone (usually Jaike) is laying on top of that poor animal. He tolerates it very well. The kids really do love him a lot. So, I guess we'll have to keep that darn dog around for awhile.

Tables

2008-09-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

I have been eyeballing these tables out of the Pottery Barn catalog for months but of coarse I couldn't afford to buy them. I asked Mike to make them for me but knew that he probably wouldn't because he doesn't have a ton of spare time on his hands these days. While I was in Oregon Mike went on a rotation that gave him some more time at home than he was used to since his entire family was gone on vacation he used his spare time to make me these tables. There are actually two end tables but I didn't think that you needed to see a picture of both of them since they look exactly the same. Fun huh? Thanks Mike!!

Riley "Ranch"

2008-08-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

While on our vacation we were able to spend some time with our cousins on the Neilson side of the family. They live in Eagle Mountain and have horses. Everytime we went over to their house, all the kids wanted to do was ride the horses. Poor Grace, now she's dying to have one and doesn't really understand why they can have horses but we cant. Let's see......I think it's called money and space. Aunt Jennifer and Kirsten were so great about taking the kids for rides. I'm sure it's not the most fun thing for 16 year old Kirsten to ride her 4 & 2 year old cousins around but she was so willing. Thanks Rileys! We had lots of fun visiting with you.

Yellowstone

2008-08-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

As a part of our 5 week vacation we went to Yellowstone National Park with most of my siblings, their families and my parents. We all wore matching shirts and as dorky as that may seem, it really did help us keep track of everyone. The kids really liked the "stink pots", old faithful and the waterfalls. We stayed at a place right outside of Island Park called Henry's Lake. It was really beautiful and we had such a great time being with our family.

Garden

2008-08-13T20:23:00.000-07:00

I've actually been meaning to blog about our garden since we planted it in March. I know that I took a picture of the garden once everything was grown but I can't find it now. Our tomato plants are actually 9 feet tall! Have you ever heard of such a thing? I would take a picture of it now but it's all starting to die. So, here's the garden in it's beginnings and my family eating the fruits of our labors. Notice, I am not eating the fruit of our labor cause corn on the cob isn't my "fav." What? I know, it's just so messy and all stuck up in my teeth and stuff. I think we've learned that next year we need to plant earlier cause it gets so blasted hot here that everything dies. Maybe by the time we move from Texas we will have it all figured out?

Aunt Pam

2008-08-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

I am back from vacation and ready to blog. Lots has happened in the last couple of months and I will try to catch y'all up in the next couple of weeks. Back in June, Aunt Pam flew out from Chicago to take care of my kids so that I could go to girls camp. She is so wonderful. My house was spotless, my laundry was done and my kids were spoiled. The kids had such a great time with her and we are so grateful that she was able to come out and see us. WE LOVE YOU AUNT PAMMY!

Happy Birthday JAIKE!!!

2008-07-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Today is my little Jaike's birthday! He is turing two. What a fun age two is. I'm mean, it's got it's challenges that's for sure but it really is fun. Jaike is trying really hard to talk and can already say lots of stuff. I love the funny stuff he says like "shes" instead of yes. He is so funny and happy. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAIKE!!

On Vacation

2008-07-12T11:32:00.001-07:00

Hey, I'm on vacation, thus the reason for no new posts as of late, and I left the cord that I plug into the computer to get the pictures off the camera in San Antonio. There is probably some other way to do it but that would require knowing anything about computers, which I don't. Ya'll will just have to wait for pictures till I get back in August.

OOPS

2008-06-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

We went to the pool with a bunch of girls in my ward last week. It was overcast and we really weren't at the pool that long so I didn't put suncreen on Jaike. OOPS, that was a big mistake!!! Poor kid, everytime I would lay him down to change his diaper he would arch his back and say "owee,back." When I would pick him up to hold him I couldn't touch his back at all. The sunburn is gone now but SHEESH, you think I would know better.

FREAKIN' OUT

2008-06-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

So my friend Jenn sent me an email today. Her sister has a daughter named Grace too and on her playlist she has a song called Gracie. The song is by a group named Ben Folds. I had never heard of them so I went to playlist.com to check out the song. You are never going to believe this but, they also have a song called Emaline! WHAT THE HECK!!! It's not spelled the same at my Emiline but what are the chances of that? I put both songs on my playlist so that you can check it out if you don't believe me. Freaky, huh?

Boating

2008-06-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

We intived ourselves out on one of our friends' boats last week, and we had such a great time. We spent the day tubing, wake boarding and cooling off in the water. Grace even tried the wakeboard and got up on her first attempt. She didn't stay up much longer than 10 seconds but she just kept trying. Thanks Todd & Cassie for letting us come!

Tagged - keepin' it real

2008-06-10T10:39:00.000-07:00

I was tagged...
The rules...10 photos, take them right away, no cleaning up first, tag 5 friends.

1.SELF PORTRAIT - isn't she lovely!

2.WHAT YOUR KIDS ARE DOING RIGHT NOW!!!

Tyler - still sleeping, yeah for me!

Jaike - still sleeping

Girls waiting at the bus stop on the last day of school. (which was actually almost a week ago. It just took me this long to post them.)

3. LAUNDRY PILE - I usually have a pile about that big on my bedroom floor, I swear it's never done.

4. FRIDGE - Usually a mess, it's on the bottom of my list of things to clean.

5. KITCHEN SINK - I hate stainless steel, it always looks dirty.

6. CLOSET - mulit-purpose room really, used for clothes, crafts, pictures, sewing stuff, ect..

7. TOILET - not always this clean, today is your lucky day!

8. FAVORITE SHOES - cause they look good with almost anything and they make me really tall!

9. FAVORITE ROOM - because it's usually clean.

10. DREAM VACATION - I don't really know where I would go. Maybe Switzerland or Ireland. I think it would be fun to take my kids if they were older. I don't really know how to get a picture of that and post it.

I tag Katie, Kat, Shannan, Emily Cutler, and Andrea Nelson. Come on guys! I usually hate stuff like this but this one is kind of fun.

Coolin' off ~ Texas style

2008-05-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

Mike was busy working in the yard the other day and asked the kids to clean out the wheelbarrow when he was done. Before we knew it, they were in their swimming suits cooling off ~ TEXAS STYLE!!!

Bathtime

2008-05-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when Indy needs a bath Tyler and Jaike just get in there with him. I think that's a little gross but Mike says he used to do it with his dog when he was a kid. Maybe boys just don't care about germs and dog hair floating around in the bath tub with them but - yuck! Boys are weird!

Grace's 9th Birthday

2008-04-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

Grace's birthday was on the 17th of April and that following weekend she invited a couple of friends bowling for her party. I think they all had a really great time. It crazy that she is 9 though. She was absolutely impossible to buy for this year. She didn't want any toys, she is totally over those. She has most of the music she wants. She has a bunch of jewlery already. Finally she told me that she wanted this outfit from the gymnastics studio where she takes gymnastics. It's green camo capris and a black top with matching camo words on it. It was way more than anyone should spend on an outfit for their 9 year old ($45) but since I didn't know what the heck to get for her and hadn't really bought much, she got the outfit. So it begins, huh? The clothes thing? Oh, she also got some birthday money and really wanted to buy a pair of Converse All Stars!!! Remember those? They're back!

THANKS ALLISON!!!

2008-04-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

I had a chance to talk to sweet Allison Oberg today. Our mission..........change my blog background!!! Yeah!!! Thanks Allison. It was great to talk to you again, it's been too long.

The Biggest Loser

2008-04-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

Do you watch that show? The finale is tonight and I can't wait. I have watched the show for a couple of seasons and I LOVE it. My sister Katie and I just laugh at each other cause we both sit there and cry. I love to see the transformations that people make in their bodies and in their lives. I feel so proud of them. It's a little silly, I know. If you haven't seen it, watch it tonight. The winner takes home $250,000 but the even cooler part is how different these people look. Several of them have lost over 100 pounds. It's amazing! Oh yes, and I know that this post would be a little cooler if I had a video or something attached but I am an IDIOT and I can't seem to figure out how to do that. Whatever.

What could I blog about?

2008-04-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

Seriously, sometimes I just think my life is so boring. What the heck am I going to blog about? Do you really want to hear that I taught an aerobics class today or that I took Jaike to the doctor to check on his surgical recovery? I could tell you about my dog going to the bathroom on my living room floor or that I never see my husband cause he lives at the hospital. How exciting is that? I love reading all Y'all's blogs but I just wonder sometimes if I have a blog worthy life. Another problem that I have been having is that Mike bought me a new camera with our tax return, nothing fancy, and I don't know how to get the pictures off of that darn thing. And then sometimes, I just feel lazy and want to lay down or watch T.V. & eat popcorn instead of blogging. So these are some of my lame excuses for the month that has passed with no new posts from me. I really am going to try and get some of these pictures off my camera this week so that you can see what the heck has been going on with us. Just try to have a little patience with me, will ya?

Blazing hot

2008-03-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

The temperature in San Antonio, Texas today was 95 Degrees!!! Honestly! That's not even okay.

Puppy Love

2008-02-17T20:20:00.001-08:00

My kids have wanted a dog for years! We keep promising them that we will get one but just never have. Well, we finally did it! We bought "Indy" a couple of weeks ago and didn't tell the kids. Mike went and picked him up yesterday and brought him home and the kids are in heaven, especially Grace. I don't think she has put that dog down for more that a minute at a time. It's like he's her little baby. He is a pretty handsome dude though. I think it will be a love/hate thing for me. As much as I am going to try and have the kids do all of the "dirty work" I know that I am going to have to do a lot of it. But how can you not love those blue eyes just a little bit?

Mustang Island

2008-02-05T11:39:00.000-08:00

Since moving from Oregon we sure have missed visiting the beach. While my parents were here we went to Mustang Island which is about 2 hours south of San Antonio. We went on New Years day and the forcast was windy and tempuratures in the 60's. This was a turn off for a lot of Texans but all of my west coast "peeps" could only hope for this kind of weather at the coast. We all had a really great time.

Fredricksburg

2008-02-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

This is another picture from Christmas time that I have been meaning to blog. We went to a German town called Fredrickburg cause I thought my Dad and Mom might enjoy it. It turned out to be not so German but we still had a good time. We passed by this wall and I just had to have a picture of my family in front of it.

Hottie

2008-02-05T11:28:00.000-08:00

Mike keeps bugging me cause he says the picture that I put on our 13th Anniversary blog post was ugly and he looked stupid. This is a better one of us now. It was taken during Christmas time while my parents were visiting. I think Grace actually took the picture. Usually she cuts our heads off but she did a good job this time. I just needed to post this so that ya'll know that Mike is still a "hottie"

What's wrong with this picture?

2008-02-01T18:04:00.003-08:00

If you are a lover of candy, like myself, then you will know that there is something terribly wrong with this picture!! For those of you that don't have a sweet-tooth, let me enlighten you..........WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO THE ORANGE ONES?????? Oh no, I didn't eat them and then take the picture, they are just missing. What's a girl to do?

MAN BLOG!!

2008-01-18T19:18:00.000-08:00

LADIES YOU ARE ALL BUSTED!!!. I am onto your secret little blog world and I think it is about time to inject a little testosterone. Thus, THE MAN BLOG!!! It is my intention to add some manly posts every now and then, as my way of keeping tabs on your blogging activities, while still exuding massive amounts on manliness.

Man Blog #1 has been inspired by my recent construction of our storage shed. Our home here in Texas does not have adequate storage space. As a result, the garage (AKA my Man Space) was exceedingly cluttered. I could only think of two ways to add some storage space. I could either finish some of our attic, or build a storage shed. After many a Man trip to Lowe's I decided to build a shed. I did not want one of those flimsy metal ones or a plastic piece of junk, instead I went straight for a Mike Neilson original design. We are talking about a 10 x 12 foot little piece of Man Heaven complete with vaulted ceilings, custom lighting, full size door and carpet with padding. Oh yeah this is one for the MAN BLOG.

This project started with probably the most painful part. I had to re-route some sprinkler lines which meant digging about 45 feet of trench by hand. Now some of you may be rolling your eyes at this seemingly easy task, but let me educate you on the soil, or lack thereof in this area. You see, in my back yard there is approximately 2 inches of soil covering who knows how many feet of rock. I was forced to hack my way through all of that with a tool resembling a pick axe. It was not fun.

With my sprinklers properly routed and my trench deep enough to accommodate the border stones, It took an evening and the help of the rest of the family to set this border made of recycled ( code for taken from our builders dump pile) sand stone. This part was pretty enjoyable and we made quick work of it. The overall purpose of this border is to keep the gravel pad separated from the lawn. I forgot to factor in Little boys and dump trucks who have now spread gravel all over the back yard.

This is my favorite piece of the whole border. It was fun to work with the different shapes of rocks we had. For the stones we had to modify Becca served as the hammer babe. I would hold the chisle and she would give it a stout whack when needed. She did a great job and I still have all of my fingers. These two stones seemed to be made for one another. Stone Mason? Maybe not.

A lot of my decision to undertake this project during Christmas Break had to do with the knowledge that Ma and Pa Bell were coming. This meant I would have captive labor for about ten days and the price would be right. All I had to do was feed and house these two for a few days and in return I got to work them as hard as I wanted. Thanks for all of your help Ma and Pa. I am sure there will be payback down the road.

The Day the Bell's arrive I had 3 yards of gravel delivered and waiting in the drive way. I just wanted it to be clear when they drove up that this was no ordinary vacation. With the help of our friends the Williamson's, who showed up that night, we moved all of the gravel in no time at all.

All of the kids were there to help and some even got to ride in the wheel barrow.

Day #1 of construction coincided with Becca's first annual Chocolate dipping party. So as the ladies were inside making chocolate miracles, Pa Bell and I were outside leveling the gravel pad, setting the foundation, building the floor and standing up four walls. It was fun work and we made the best of it thanks to the MVT, (most valuable tool) my new set of nail guns. That was the best $100 I have ever spent.

Day #2 was focused on framing the roof. In the face of a doubting father in law. I was brave enough to cut my own rafters. With my trusty speed square and some left over knowledge from my construction days with Canyon Heights, (Thanks Aaron Krikava) things worked out alright.

My buddies were always close by to "Help". Tyler even got to shoot the nail gun, which he thought was really cool.

I had a lot of fun working with Pa Bell. To his credit he probably saved me a ton of time and money just by eliminating or rather illuminating mistakes I was about to make. He never called me an outright Moron but I knew what he was thinking. In this picture he is demonstrating his stellar abilities with a nail gun. He did not even shoot himself.

Construction days 3 and 4 were focused on putting up the siding and installing the trim around the window.

After I got home from work on Day #4 we put the sheathing on the roof and called it a day.
In the next couple of days, between Christmas and all of the other fun stuff we did while Grandma and Grandpa were in town, we managed to put up all of the trim and pretty much complete the job. When Pa Bell left, the only thing I had to do was finish the roofing.

All in all, I think this is the best shed I have ever built. Since this picture was taken I have sealed the floor, installed carpet and padding as well as a bunch of shelves. The clutter in the garage is already much better. The last thing left to do is paint it to match the house. I was planning to do that with the long weekend, but it looks like the weather is not going to cooperate.

Well I hope you have enjoyed MAN BLOG #1. The shed was a fun project and I am sure it will serve us well. Thanks again to all of those who helped.

As for my next project; stone borders for our flower beds, tree wells and the garden. Wish me luck.

Lots of love Mike N.

American Idol

2008-01-16T18:45:00.000-08:00

Do you totally LOVE American Idol? If you have been hibernating and weren't aware that season 7 has begun, it has! Simon can be a little harsh but I think that's why I like him. It's a pretty family friendly show too. My kids really like to watch it. I think it's the only show that we sit down and watch together as a family. Tyler and Jaike aren't really interested but we usually pop some popcorn and that's all they care about. If you don't watch, you really should tune in. I highly recommend it.

Dr. Neilson

2008-01-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the grossness of this post. Kind of yucky, huh? My point in this post is to say that sometimes having a dentist in the house can be quite handy. Emi has had "double teeth" for months. We thought that the babies would eventually fall out on their own but it just wasn't happening. Finally "Dr. Neilson" came to the rescue. Emi was a little frightened of the shot but hardly flinched. After that, it was a pretty painless procedure for her. It's not often that us ladies get to see their husbands in their professional element. It was pretty cool to witness. I am sure he saved us a pretty penny too. Thanks Doctor.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER DEAR!!!!

2008-01-10T13:07:00.001-08:00

Where does the time go? It seems like not too long ago that we welcomed this screaming little baby boy into our lives. He sure has grown up. Fortunately, most of the screaming has stopped. Well, that's kind of a lie. He still has quiet a bit of attitude but we love him and wish him a happy birthday.

13 years!

2007-12-27T20:16:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-03T21:16:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-03T20:31:00.001-08:00

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

2007-11-22T17:42:00.001-08:00

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

2007-11-21T21:06:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2007-11-18T23:40:00.000-08:00

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?

2007-11-10T19:02:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-07T12:37:00.001-08:00

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!

2007-11-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-06T14:22:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-06T13:08:00.001-08:00

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

2007-11-06T13:01:00.001-08:00

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?

2007-11-06T12:53:00.000-08:00

Need I say anymore!!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2007-11-06T12:50:00.001-08:00

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

2007-11-06T12:47:00.001-08:00

See, Jaike really did have a Halloween costume.

Halloween in Texas

2007-11-06T12:30:00.001-08:00

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.