To Sum Up December....

I'm going to just put it all in one post...
Here we are creating gingerbread houses with Mike's mom, her sister, and the Wood family:
We got to see who the artistic ones really were! Nicholas' 3rd grade all had a big party the last day of school before Christmas Break and here he is with his buddy, Noah:

Nicholas with more of his classroom buddies.

Christian, Warren, and Noah:

Mike's birthday -

He's holding the framed Nelson Family Motto (you'll have to stop by to get a better look at it) and his beloved Oregon Ducks blanket his mom made for him:

Getting help blowing out his candles on his banana cream pie. "3" candles on one side and "9" candles on the other (could he really be that old?):

"Cheese!"

Opening presents on Christmas Day:

Zach and Nicholas got "Othello" from Aunt Sara (Love that game!):

They can never have enough guns!

And best of all, Uncle Jonathan (my little brother) came to visit us from BYU for a couple days and we got to celebrate his birthday too! Here he and Zach completed assembling this wooden truck:

Not an easy feat considering the directions were all in Chinese! Thanks Nannie and Papa!

What a busy and fun month! And it's not over quite yet!

Happy Birthday to my Hubby!

Mike's coworker made this cake for him... (notice the braces).
How cute is that?!

Zach's Patriotism Award

Once a month the elementary school picks a "character trait" for the kids to work on and then one student from each class gets an award in that category. Zach earned the Patriotism award! To earn the award the students needed to follow school rules, help others, and show respect to the flag.
We all went to the school for the assembly at 7:50am that day to see Zach get his award. Hooray Zach!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Push pause on my music playlist first...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Gotta Love Santa!

Or maybe you don't...

Perhaps it would have helped Brooke if she knew Santa and Mrs. Claus were really her nursery teachers!

And... standing in front of our tree!
Nicholas getting a turn at cutting some branches off:

Zach getting a turn at trimming Grandma's tree too:

Jon Schmidt

A couple years ago when Jon Schmidt came to town I took Nicholas in hopes of motivating him to keep playing the piano. This year I took Zach. Zach was on the edge of his seat and loved the whole 2 1/2 hour show! Jon Schmidt brought his cellist, Steven Nelson and they are an awesome pair! Not only do they have great talent but they are so funny and entertaining! I could go on, but I'll just say, I can't wait for them to come back!
P.S. I added more of his songs to my playlist, scroll down to #55-59.

My Opinion Is...

When comparing the books to the movies:

Twilight Book = Thumbs Up
Twilight Movie = Thumbs Down

New Moon Book = Thumbs Down
New Moon Movie = Thumbs Up

What do you think?

I can cross this project off my Procrastination List!

Well, I can cross half of it off, anyway.
I finally decided to paint Brooke's room! We started with this pretty lavendar and today we picked out some paint strips in a complimentary pink for the remaining 2 walls.
Brooke loved to have permission to paint the walls and worked by my side the whole time!

And here's an unrelated picture of David playing in his favorite kitchen cupboard:

My Husband Has a Metal Mouth

Mike got braces today! And he got pink bands just for Brooke. Now that's a devoted dad!

Proof that it doesn't rain ALL the time in Oregon...

On the way to church yesterday, Brooke asks, "Mom, what are those things going up and down?"
Me: "Do you mean the windshield wipers?"
Brooke: "Yeah. Why do they do that?"
Me: "To clear the rain off the windshield so I can see better."
Brooke: "Look! All the cars are going up and down too!"

I'm introducing my child to windshield wipers at age 3. See, it doesn't rain all the time in the beautiful northwest! Either that or I just never take my kids anywhere in the rain...

Southwestern Chicken

When I find a recipe that is easy, healthy, and my kids eat every bite, I can't help but share it! I only added rolls and home canned pears to the meal. It was perfect to come home to after church last Sunday. I got this from the Reader's Digest.

You Will Need
2 cans (15 1/4 oz. each) whole-kernel corn, drained
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 jar (16 oz.) chunky salsa, divided
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz. each)
1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese


What to Do
In 5-qt. slow cooker, combine corn, black beans, and 1/2 cup salsa. Top with chicken; pour remaining salsa over chicken. Cover and cook on high 3 to 4 hours or on low 7 to 8 hours or until meat juices run clear. Sprinkle with cheese; cover until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings ($1.56 per serving)


Nutrition Facts: One serving equals 220 calories, 6 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 30 mg cholesterol, 805 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 12 g protein.

H1N1 Paranoia... Tensions Rise!

Happy Halloween!

Tradition takes us to Lakeview Farms pumpkin patch for the train and boat rides:

We decided not to wait for Mike to come with us on a Saturday (who wants the Saturday crowds?) and took Grandma on a weekday instead.

Zach managing the wheelbarrow:

Nicholas on the train:

Brooke found her pumpkin:

Carving pumpkins. We actually grew the white ones in our garden!

My traditional huge pumpkin cookie:

Some years it's pumpkin shaped brownies or sugar cookie, this year it's chocolate chip!
David and Brooke are headed to storytime at the library in their costumes:

David figuring out the Halloween candy (no, I didn't let him have any - we're kinda funny that way):

Zach, Nicholas, and Brooke heading out for trick-or-treating:

Now it's time to take down the Halloween decorations and move onto Thanksgiving!
May the holiday madness begin!

Monster Mash!

Yes, here are some crazy people I call my friends:
Mindy and Garrett "white trash"

Julie and Sheldon "wicked witch of the west and her winged-monkey"

Tonya and Tim "princess and the pea"

Tom and Heidi "pregnant kitty and her vet"

Me and Mike "Lame-o Intel employees"

Aaron and Terri "tooth fairy and girl from the spa"

Beth and Randy "Homecoming queen '85 and her jock boyfriend"

Reed and Myra "jedi and colonial lady"

Brian and Sydette "Korean wise guy and field worker"

Renita and Dave "Spirit of Halloween and missionary"

Just pictures of the kids staying busy

David's new thing is carrying around paper from the paper shredder:

That kid loves anything BUT toys!
Can't resist a sleeping baby:

Brooke playing dress-up with Sarya:

And scooters with Ellyana:

This is one way to take a nap:

Nicholas doing slave labor:

And Zach gets a little slave labor too: