Kaleigh's Country Life

Slowly Losing My Sanity to Potty Training

2012-02-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

I kinda feel like there's not a whole lot to blog about lately, but life is going really well. We've had a fairly slow, relaxing January, and I just get to enjoy hanging out with my boys and having fun!

One of the most exciting things that have happened recently is that Grant and Connie received a mission call to serve at Martin's Cove in Wyoming. They are SO excited, and we all enjoy listening to Grant tell us how he is somehow going to figure out how to take his gator quad down there to use... We're a little skeptical that he will be able to change the rules on that one, but I guess we'll see. They will be there for 6 months and leave this April. It will definitely be very different around without grandma and grandpa! We will miss them a lot, but plans are already in the works for us to drive down there for a visit sometime while they are serving. Here is them opening their mission call! I thought I was recording it as a video... but obviously the picture below is not a video. Sad I didn't record it.

We are so impressed with the example they are setting by leaving there busy lives behind here to serve the Lord. All of the grandchildren will be able to write to them and pray for them while they are there.

Here are some pictures of the boys that I've taken recently. Brody love getting his picture taken. Connor's still not so sure about it.

Here is Connor at 3 mo. old on the rag quilt I just finished making for him. I couldn't get a picture of him without him opening his eyes extra big. As soon as he saw the camera they would get super wide. He's growing up so fast and starting to chunk up a bit.

I tried to get one of him smiling, because he smiles all the time, but he seemed to have a problem smiling while his eyes were open so wide. This was the only shot I got where he didn't have giant eyes, and he's sort of half smiling.

This is Brody's favourite pass-time in the whole world.... He lives a breathes for the chance to spend some time on the iPhone. I've got a few pre-school games and kids apps that he already knows how to navigate in and out of. We are recently trying to use this love for the iPhone as an incentive to get Brody to use his potty.

Yes, you heard correctly! We are potty training Brody!!!

... only it is taking the longest time ever, and we are seeing sides of him that I'd prefer not to know existed. Although he is very talented at going on the potty, he is very stubborn, and does not like sitting on the potty. However, we MAKE him sit on the potty, and then he usually does a great job. Our only accidents usually occur first thing in the morning as he's getting out of bed. Go figure, when he was in a diaper, he would always wake up with a dry diaper. Now that he is in big kid underwear, he seems to have to pee as soon as he starts moving in the morning. Thank goodness for mattress covers and washing machines.

I thought he would have figured out how to transition into telling us BEFORE he has to use the potty, but it seems that after 3 weeks of having pretty good success when we put him on, he has no desire to actually SIT on the potty, so he won't tell us if he has to go because he knows we will ask him to sit and try. Incentives don't work, constantly asking him doesn't seem to work, practicing doesn't seem to work... so I'm not sure where we're going wrong. Any ideas or advice would be so greatly appreciated, because I usually feel like I'm about to lose my sanity at least once a day.

So, I just bought a membership at this gym in Stirling. I think it is so great when people take the risk to start up a business in a small community. I have really wanted to exercise more, and have a hard time finding the motivation, so I'm trying out the gym idea in hopes that having to pay a bit of money will be more of an incentive to use it. I absolutely love the gym already. It's not too busy, really clean, and all of the equipment is in excellent condition. I can use it at whatever time of day I want, and that works wonderful for me, because Kevin's schedule is one that makes it difficult to go during the times I normally would go. Now that I'm exercising more, I feel great! I don't think I've lost much yet, but I feel more energetic and just that great feeling you have when you are active. My goal is to lose another 10 lbs. to make it back to the weight I was when I got married. Wish me luck!

(Also... have you tried Zumba? I LOVE it, and go every week since it started in Stirling. I'm awful at it, but I love it. Dancing is pure fun to me, and it makes exercising seem like it's not actually exercise. I'm hooked).

I've started up at directing the choirs again now for the Stirling School Elementary. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I started again. I love those kids. I love hearing their progress, and I love the feeling that I am helping them to learn to love music, and to understand how to sing. We were able to sing O Canada at a Hurricanes Hockey Game last week in Lethbridge. Only 16 of the kids could come, but they sang so well. I was proud to be in front of them. They were so well behaved, and they seemed to have a lot of fun. I'm so grateful for all of the parents who also came to support us. I know it makes a big difference to the kids to have their parents there to watch them perform. Even though it is just O Canada, I remember being older than them, doing the same thing, and being so nervous. I hope it's an experience they can remember as they grow older.

Kevin and I sang in church last Sunday. I try to act nonchalant when Kevin says yes to singing places with me, because I know that if I make a big deal out of it, he would stop saying yes. However, if I actually voiced my opinion to him on the matter, it would be this. I LOVE, and I mean L-O-V-E singing with my husband. I hate to admit it, cause it is kind of my thing, but he is a better singer than I am, and he still seems to be improving at it. Does he get razzed for singing? Yes, but he still does it every once in a while with me. He tries to act like he is only doing it because he doesn't like saying no to people, but I hope he realizes how important it is for him to set an example for other young men (and old men) that you can be a macho guy and still sing well. I know very few men who are willing to look past their own pride to sing in front of their friends, but he has been able to do that on several occasions now. I love him for it. I appreciate it. I look forward to hopefully doing it again with him in the future.

Amazing Family Pictures by Patti

2012-01-13T14:28:00.001-08:00

Well, a few days before Christmas, I STILL hadn't figured out what to get my in-laws for Christmas, and the only thing that they told me they wanted was a new family photo from us for their wall... so feeling bad about not doing it sooner, I called up my talented sister-in-law to see if she would be willing to snap some shots of us really quick one afternoon when I could convince Kevin to take off half an hour early to get them done.

So, we picked a time, and of coarse, Kevin was late getting home from work, so we had half the time we had planned for, which ended up being maybe 5 minutes before Patti had to leave. Nice. I know... We really owe her one.

But ---- SHE WORKED MAGIC!!!

Out of maybe 15 shots she took, these were some of my favourites (including the new blog photo).

AND there were more I could have put on here that she edited too.

I couldn't be more happy!

Did I mention that she had them edited and back to me the next day?!?

Seriously Patti, thank you!

Wish we all would have been looking at the camera on this one.

I think Grant and Connie enjoyed their new picture, and we were even able to get one up on our wall already too.

Connor Brooks Nelson

2011-11-03T19:16:00.001-07:00

I finally get the chance to introduce our new addition!

Connor Brooks Nelson

October 17, 2011

7 lbs. 9oz.

21" long

12:43 P.M.

We love him to pieces!!

He has been a perfect baby :) Somehow, I lucked out again!

He's got beautiful blonde hair!! Much lighter than Brody's was.

I love to watch him sleep :)

Brody is a big brother now!!

He ignored Connor for the first three days we were home.

But now, he has become a good helper and has to know where Connor is.

He picks up new phrases every day, and usually has me laughing at least a few times a day at what he says (compared to what he thinks he's saying).

Whenever he sees me holding Connor, he says, "So cute!!" - guess he picked that one up from me.

He likes to give Connor kisses and "hold him, Mommy?"

Brody is growing up so fast - it's hard to believe he was smaller than Connor only 2 years ago.

He's so handsome, like his dad.

And he's got big muscles...

See?

He didn't want to smile for us much.

Until his cousin, Maysa, started trying to make him laugh.

She did a good job. Aren't Patti's photos amazing! Thanks so much for taking these pictures!

He also likes to make funny faces when people are showing him attention.

And then he finally had enough.

But I can't get enough of this guy.

Did I mention that I love him?

And... still waiting...

2011-10-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems that my intuition was WAY off on this one, and I did not have the baby early... in fact, I am one day OVERdue today, and am slowly going nuts as I try to keep myself busy so that I don't think about it too much. The good news........ my induction day has been set for Monday, if nothing happens before then, so baby, we're almost there!!! Can't wait to meet you!!

This picture was taken today - and looks like maybe I should have worn a shirt that wasn't the same colour as our walls, but oh well.

Here are some things I've been doing to keep busy... well, pinterest is helping me out a bit, so I got into decorating some pumpkins... Any suggestions on the bow thing? I can't say that I have a natural bow talent, and I'm not terribly happy with this one. Project: use puff paint to dot fake "rhinestones" on the pumpkin. Super easy.

Pumpkin #2 - paint with chalkboard paint... only problem, I thought I had chalk I bought for teaching last year, and I don't have any... or at least I can't find it now. Brody and I will have fun with this one, and I am hoping to write ____ days until Halloween, and update it every day. Super easy, and cheap to make.

Of course, my new birthday present is helping me stay happy and "busy" - I have been sadly mourning the loss of the Mac I had from the school district last year while I taught. You have to return them at the end of the school year. Instead, I was sharing one with Kevin, which he uses for work, and which is four years old - not awful, but not a Mac. I LOVE the feeling of a new computer, and this one has not disappointed me :). (The smudges must be from my camera lens being dirty, because the laptop is still shiny and new...)

I've also been trying to get Brody excited for Halloween. We went outside to take pictures in his pumpkin shirt with the pumpkins (pre-crafting). He thought it was hilarious to roll them around the driveway.

Then Dad got home and tried to throw Brody in a pile of leaves. Brody thought it was great until he landed (softly) in the leaves. He did NOT want to lie down in them, but he did want to crunch around in them with his shoes... This kept us occupied for a while.

We've also been making Halloween treats! This is what Brody helped me make this morning...

SPOOKY WORMS IN DIRT!

Man, was Brody ever excited!

He thought the worms were fantastic!! However, after trying one with the oreo crumbs on it, he asked me to lick off all of the rest of them for him... I guess gummy worms are only good when the texture is normal.

What a mess!!!! We spent a while cleaning up after this one, but he had fun eating it.

I love my little man!

Cinnamon Toast the Right Way!

2011-10-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

I was so excited when I came across this today!!!

So, earlier this week, I decided to be extra adventurous and made cinnamon toast for the family for breakfast one morning. Mmm.... was it ever good. I did it the same way my mom used to make it when I grew up - by mixing the softened butter with the cinnamon and sugar, THEN spreading it on the bread before throwing it the oven to cook.

Two days later, Kevin was up early and decided to make cinnamon toast for us for breakfast (I know! Great, right?) However, I came out to the kitchen to find that he had gone about it all wrong! There was no spreadable cinnamon sugar mixture, but instead, he had toasted the bread, and put butter on it so the butter would melt. He then mixed together milk, cinnamon and sugar in a cup, and spread/poured that on top of the already toasted bread, and THEN put it in the oven to cook.

There was no way that this toast was going to taste as good as the tested recipe that I grew up with, so I kindly voiced that there might be some things that he could do to improve his cinnamon toast making skills... very kindly - I mean, he was making me breakfast, and I'll never discourage that. Kevin had me wait to try his creation before giving it a no, though, and it really wasn't too bad (but how bad can it get when butter and sugar are involved). We both left the house still under the impression that our method of cinnamon toast making was more correct.

...SO, I think it is great that someone else has already analyzed and tested the different cinnamon toast recips, and come to a conclusion... guess you have to follow the link to find out what the REAL best recipe is for cinnamon toast (and find out who was more correct).

Let me know how you make your cinnamon toast so I can give it a try. Maybe there's a recipe that hasn't been tested yet.

Whoever Came Up With This is Genius.

2011-09-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All I have to say, is that I wish I had found out about this website a long time ago... I can already tell it is going to be one of those things that I have a hard time staying away from, but I've already come across about 100 things I'd love to try to make, and tons of ideas for recipes and house decorating, and I've only looked for 20 minutes. I seriously cannot say more how much I love it! I'll never loose ideas from websites again, and who needs a favorites bar when you have pinterest! Thank you to Patti for introducing me to my new addiction.

If you haven't checked it out yet, you should...

Seriously.

Baby Blake

2011-09-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

My sister, Kim, asked me to do up some baby announcements for the newest addition to their family. Her photographer took some VERY cute pictures, and I wish I could have used them all in every announcement, but here is what I came up with. I'm not sure yet if she's using one of them, or going to do something different, but it was fun anyways :).

It has been over a year since I have played on photoshop, and I remembered today that I totally miss it... although I know there is a whole lot more you can do, and I only skim the surface. I'd love to take a photo editing course if there ever was one around... anyone around here know of one? I also made up a few options to do one for our Nelson baby #2, so I don't have to worry about them later... but I'll save those until I have the little wiggler.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

2011-09-15T20:44:00.001-07:00

Brody turned 2 at the end of August, and I wanted to show off how proud I am of him and how wonderful it is to have him as part of our family.

My little man, Brody Dennis Nelson, was born August 27, 2009 and I was immediately smitten.

One year later, we celebrated his first birthday with some exciting cake eating, which he really enjoyed! He was already walking, saying some simple words, and had lots of teeth to show off.

We decided to do some cake for him this year again, but we asked him what kind of cake he wanted, and like his answer to most things these days, he said, "cars", ... Lightning McQueen it was!

Lots of his cousins came over to celebrate with us! Brody loves his cousins!

They all helped show Brody how to blow out the candles.

And then we went to the pool to enjoy it for the last time this year. Even Daddy (Kevin) was able to swim with us for a while before he had to go back to work. (Perhaps birthdays in harvest season are not as convenient as other times in the year... sorry Brody!)

Brody is such a good swimmer now. He did really good this year.
I love my little man!

His cousins Zachary and Blake, and Auntie Kim were able to spend most of the week with us before Brody's birthday. These two boys are hilarious! They feed off of each other until they are both so wired it is scary! Brody had to show Zachary his favorite toy in the park... the quad/car!

One of Brody's birthday presents was a lightning McQueen sprinkler! He had a blast trying to drink the water without getting wet. Notice his new Lightning McQueen t-shirt and his McQueen crocs. Man, he sure was spoiled by his cousins and grandparents!

Lucky for us, Zachary had a birthday only a few weeks after Brody's, so we headed up to Edmonton to celebrate that, as well as Blake's baby blessing. Here are all the kids at the park enjoying their juice boxes in the hot weather.

We also had a picnic. I took about 10 photos of this, and Brody was jamming his face with peanut butter sandwich in every one. Nothing comes between that boy and his peanut butter and honey. I think he is learning his speed eating skills from his father too.

And, just for you, Amber, here is my 37 week photo shot of all my chubbiness. Kind of scary to look at it in a photo. I didn't realize I was that big, or that swollen. A few more weeks to go!! I hope they go fast!

Our summer of fun!

2011-08-14T21:07:00.000-07:00

So this entry is more of a photo overload, but it covers our summer this year pretty good.

First, here is a picture of our farm's 5-legged calf that was born in the spring. It was still hanging around come summer, and the extra legg coming out of its shoulder didn't seem to bother it too much. Kevin hasn't seen it in the last while, but it is supposedly somewhere on out land growing big and fat with the other cows.

Brody has become a real chef and likes to help me make all of my baking. Here we were making pancakes for dad one morning and he did a great job of mixing the batter.

I found him like this one afternoon after I had left him briefly. Apparently it's more comfortable to golf in the nude. He figured out how to strip out of his pants and diaper at the beginning of the summer, but thankfully has only done it a handful of times.

Canada Day was fun, as always, in Raymond for the parade. We love that dad gets the day off to come play.

Brody took a while to figure out how fast he had to be to actually get any candy, but was doing well by the end of the parade. I heard the word 'candy' every day for the next month after this exciting event.

Me and Brody! He's not a big fan of looking at the camera.

We discoved quite early this summer that Brody reacts more severly than normal to mosquito bites. Unfortunately, one of his first bites was on his forhead, and the swelling spread down to his eye. This is how he looked for a few days after the bite.

We had fun with lots of the cousins while Kevin's sister, Lisa, was up for the beginning of July. We enjoyed a day at Writing-On-Stone as well, and Brody was especially excited to hang out with his new cousin, Ainsley. I forgot to take a picture of her, but she is adorable, and Brody loves her. Brody thought it was great to swim around with his cousins in the river there.

Stirling's celebration, Settler Days, was a lot of fun this summer. The family was involved in the family softball tournament. I was lucky enought to have an excuse not to play this year, so I wouldn't embarass myself with my lack of ability to throw a ball. Elena played with Brody while I watched Kevin and the rest play. We didn't win this year, but we'll make sure we bring it again next year.

Lots of the family participated in the Striling Parade. We decided to let Brody catch candy because he was pretty excited about the candy and I didn't imagine he would be too happy to throw it to other people.

The rest of the Nelson kids rode of the family float with the bull, or on their own horses. Brody sure got a lot of candy when this float passed by us!

Grandma Bennett came out with Grandpa and helped to monitor the candy eating throughout the parade while I took pictures.

Brody and I convinced dad(Kevin) to get on Gracie's horse to take Brody for a ride once the parade was over. I've only seen Kevin on a horse three times in my life, and so I'm hoping that we convince him to ride a bit more in the future to teach us how it's done.

The August long weekend was our Smith Family Reunion (my mom's family) in Fairmont, B.C.. We started the day with a lunch, and then my mom organized a pinjata for the great grandkids. They loved it. Here is Kim's oldest boy, Zach, having a go at it.

Next, we played a few games. One of the things that was planned was a Smith Family's Got Talent competition. Dad was one of the judges and got to wear a plastic head cap. We all had a great laugh. It took a while after he took it off to get the line to disappear around his head.

Mom's talent was a reading of the story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". She asked some unknowing family members to volunteer as helpers. This is what it looked like...

While their heads poked through the sheet, other family members acted as the character's hands to do what the story told them to do (put on lipstick, drink water, shave, brush teeth, eat pudding, etc.). Poor Dave... :)

We also had a family competition of "Minute to Win It", with a lot of fun activities. I wish I had taken more pictures, but here is one of Kevin picking up skittles with a straw and organizing them into cups for each color.

Brody really enjoyed the day.

Bennett Family Photo. Welcome to the family baby Blake! We're so glad that Kim was able to come with him so soon after he was born. What a sweet baby.

Smith Family Photo

We always make sure we spend a day at Wasa Lake when we go to Fairmont. Brody was especially excited to be able to have Dad around to swim with. He loves playing in the sand, and got really good at swimming by the end of the week.

What a fun week we had. I will miss seeing all of my cousins for another two years.

I'll update you soon on the rest of August and the other things we've been up to.

School's Out For the Summer!

2011-06-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

So it's finally true! My one, and for now, my only, year of teaching full time is over... and I have no idea what I am going to do with myself. I've been going in fast-paced mode for so long that I seriously almost felt guilty last night when I didn't have anything to do to get ready or any marking to do. My only job for the next week is figuring out where in my house to put all of the stuff that I've accumulated this year. Let me tell you about my year though, because it has definitely been a great one.

I've been teaching grade 2 at Stirling School since September. Grade 2 was a new experience for me at first, but it ended up being absolutely perfect for me. I have got to admit that I was originally expecting to have a few more 'accidents' and a lot more shoes to tie then I actually did. I had more than a few different qualified, excellent, hard-working teacher assistants and work-experience students in the room throughout the year, which was a HUGE blessing. I don't think I could have asked for more perfect fits in my classroom either. 20 little bodies keep you busy all day long, but despite my tired feet/knees, and the occasional headache, I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything. I am really going to miss seeing all of those kids on a regular basis. I am so proud of all that they have accomplished this year, and for the great people they are becoming. They put together the most adorable "Memory Book" for me to finish off the year, which I am totally going to cherish and love to look back on.

It's funny, once you become a teacher, to find that you've picked up some "must do's" what to do and not do when you have kids that start into school. I am SO grateful I got some insight into this before I had kids in school, because I now know how terribly important some of these things are.

1. Read at least 20 minutes every day with your child (either them reading or you).

students who do not have parents who are available to read with them on a regular basis seem to struggle in ALL subject areas, eventually affecting them socially as well. Reading carries over into everything.

2. Take more responsibility for your own child's education. The teacher can only do so much.

Have high expectations, and if they are not able to reach them, then seek opportunities to help them as much as possible to get them to achieve their best.
If your child has a specific area of need (speech, language, learning, etc.), don't be a push-over with the school. Parents that are advocates for their child, especially if they remain positive and not accusing to the school and administration, will generally get their child the extra help that they need to succeed.

3. Don't over-schedule your children, but do involve them with some outside-of-school activities.

Generally, students who were involved in out-of school activities seemed to be more socially well-adjusted, but also seemed to have more energy and more interest in the in-school things that we did. It gives them something to make them feel special.
Students that were over-scheduled often seemed tired, and seemed to do slightly less-well than somewhere in the middle.

4. Have a consistent and managed bed-time for your child.

Wow! Students/children who did not have a consistent bedtime or who seemed to have a less-structured routine at home were behaviorally extremely irritable and had a very difficult time with school work and even seemed to have a higher number of clashes and confrontations with friends. It seemed that this behavior could always be led back to one of two main reasons. Either the child admitted that they were tired and didn't get a good sleep, or else they missed breakfast/had an unhealthy breakfast and were hungry.

5. Therefore, kids need a healthy breakfast to do their best work. Also, send healthy snacks just in case.

6. Send your child to school with an extra pair of pants AND socks when the weather is really wet.

okay, so this year wasn't a typical year for southern Alberta, but honestly, K-3 students could NOT stay away from the puddles. It is kind of humiliating when you have to have a child call home for the second or third time in the same week (sometimes the same day), because they "fell in a puddle" or "got wet because my friend told me to". I currently hate the smell of wet, dirty socks. It is possibly just easier and okay to assume that kids will be kids and that they WILL get wet, so sent them an extra pair of clothes so that they can be comfortable in order to do their work for the rest of the day as well.

7. Therefore, gum boots are essential!!!!

8. Offer to volunteer in the classroom, especially as a reader. If possible, make the time consistent so that they kids come to expect seeing you at a regular time.

I loved my volunteers... enough said.

9. Give your child responsibilities.

students that were most helpful and most well behaved seemed to have developed a sense of personal responsibility for their actions.

10. Praise your child often.

nothing brakes my heart more than to hear a parent talk negatively about their child. It's important to know your child's weaknesses, but to criticize them for it instead of helping them improve, does no good.

I think that's all. But seriously, read with your children, nieces, nephews, siblings.... just read.

On a side note, I am now 24 weeks pregnant (woo-hoo!), and expecting a baby on October 13th this fall. We did not find out what we were having (Kevin's choice this time), but Kevin had an impression that it is a girl and that it will look like me, so I guess we'll see if he's right. In the mean time, I can make a few girl things anyways, because I already have all of the boy things that I need. If I don't have a girl, then some lucky friend of my that does will get some things.

Brody is growing up super fast lately. He is getting to be a really good talker, and even said our family prayer this morning with the help of dad guiding him what to say. I don't always understand what he says, but it is getting better. He learned how to climb out of his crib and play pen this week, so bed times are becoming a big struggle. Any suggestions are welcome. He does have a bed in his room that he can climb onto, but he doesn't seem to love sleeping in it yet. I probably want to move his crib out of his room sometime in July. It is really strange to look at him, especially over the last month, and to be amazed this this talking, strong-willed, funny boy is the same baby that I held in my arms less than 2 years ago. In the same amount of time he will be just about old enough to be in pre-school! I am so grateful to have had a wonderful day home care-giver to send him to every day that I worked (THANK YOU STEPHANIE!!!), but I am so sad to have missed a lot of his life over the last year. It will be so wonderful to be with him for a few months to ourselves before this new baby comes at least.

Any ideas for some cute baby girl crafts/things to buy/make, let me know! Sorry for the lack of blogging over the last year!

Time to Blog!!

2011-02-23T20:47:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm long past due for a new post, but I'm short on time. These are a few pictures of our loverly family taken last fall by Shannon Pratt Photography! Isn't Brody adorable! He hit his head on something at daycare the day before the pictures were booked, so if you notice the bruise, that's what happened.

Brody's Birthday Invite!

2010-08-13T07:36:00.001-07:00

Our little man turns 1 soon, and I'm excited to throw him a little party! Here is the invite to his tractor party! We love him so much! I can't believe it has already been just about a year!

Summer Fun!

2010-07-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

Summer's not summer unless you have the Raymond Parade on Canada Day! This was Brody's first time with the parade idea, and he absolutely LOVED the sucker that mom and dad let him have.

Brody got to meet my cousin Lana's baby, Mason! They even had the same shirts to wear for Canada Day! Best buds in the making!

Brody's getting pretty handsome!

We went up to Waterton for the day last week and enjoyed spending time with all of the Nelson cousins, including Lisa's kids, Hunter, Cassidy, Cambree and Brooklyn. Here we are at the new spray park enjoying the beautiful day!

Summer would also never be complete without a few tractor rides with Dad!! Here is Brody on his second ever tractor ride!! He always has fun until he discovers all of the neat buttons to press, and Dad has to hand him back to Mom so that he doesn't hurt anybody.

We hope you're enjoying the good weather too!

Quick Family Vacation

2010-06-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

Kevin and I ended deciding to make a trip to a homecoming in Okatoks last Sunday into an overnight family vacation to Calgary! It was the first real 'trip' we've gone on as a family, and Brody did so good in our hotel room! We had a great time spending our Monday morning at the Zoo with my cousin Lyndsey, her son, my Aunt Lynn, and my Aunt Lorena. Here are a few pictures from our fun (but chilly) time at the zoo!

The dinosaurs!! Beckam and Brody were a little bit concerned when it started to growl.

Brody and the Gorillas!

Kevin chased a peacock around with Brody, but it refused to show us it's pretty feathers.

Going for a ride on Daddy's shoulder! Brody's busy looking at the giraffe's.

Flamingos!!!

He fell asleep in the stroller just before we got to the tigers, which ended up walking right up in front of us and paced back and forth! It was so neat to see it so close up, as we were only about a three feet away from it! It even gave us a good growl. I never thought to take a picture though. Sorry!

We also headed up to the new mall in Balzac. It was our first time going, and Kevin spent several hours roaming around the Bass Pro Shop (hunting/outdoor store) there while I hit the real mall! It was successful! I love being able to shop at all of the stores that they don't have in Lethbridge. It is possible that I spent too much money while I was there, BUT, in my defence, most of the money was spent on things for Brody. He needs them, right?

Anyways, I love being able to steal Kevin away every once in a while from his work, and this trip was no disappointment. Hopefully our next family trip won't be too far in the future!

Brand!

2010-06-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

It was branding time for the Nelson's this weekend, so we all loaded up and headed up past Spring Coulee to the branding corals. Brody got to ride a horse with Dad while Mom watched nervously on. I have only seen Kevin on a horse one other time since we met, so I wasn't 100% sure he knew how to ride very well... Let's just say, for someone who has a family with a bunch of horses, I haven't been able to get him to take me riding even once. (I think this is because he doesn't know how to properly saddle them, but he denies this.) Anyways, I guess Brody was worth getting on one for him, and Brody seemed to enjoy it, although he was mostly interested in trying to get the reins into his mouth.

First you have to wrestle the calves...

Kevin's job, as he doesn't know how to rope them. If the ropers miss, then Kevin and the other 'younger men' have to literally chase them and wrestle them so that they don't run past and join all of the already-branded calves at the other end of the coral. This year Kevin only got one good kick to the stomach and to the arm, both delivered by the same calf.

Then the calves get branded, get their vaccination shots, and sometimes, get castrated...
You have to feel bad for the poor little guys, but when you're the wife of a rancher, you just have to learn to deal with it... and the smell that accompanies it.

My Dad really seems to like to come out branding with us when we go, so he took charge of the actual branding part of the job. Lets just say that he didn't smell too great on the way home, but he seemed to have fun. Thanks for your help Dad!
(He is in the purple sweater here)

You also have to guard the gate. Usually you have to watch the unbranded calves to make sure that they don't run past and joing the already-branded ones. This year, however, we had even worse luck with calves that were already branded joining the ones that weren't yet. That really makes for confusion for the ropers, so on the next bunch we switched the gate guards (I being a new one), and we then only had two sneak back in, in comparison to the roughly 20 that snuck back in for the first bunch! You'd think those calves wanted to be branded again!

Here is a picture of my nephews Noah and Orin guarding the gate by Kevin. The pole Orin is holding is more to wave in front of the calves to scare them away, and it usually works. The calves are so jumpy that they run away from you as soon as you make a movement... unless they sneak up behind you to get back into the pen, like they did yesterday. If that's the case, your only hope is usually to wave and yell, and then move out of the way fast if that doesn't work.

Break time!! Brody came out to see Dad while we waited for the branded calves to get counted. He was pretty excited!

Roxy, my sister-in-law, helped Maysa and Kasen lead the horse around the now-empty coral. Maysa is fearless. If no one had their eyes on her, she would wander down to the end of the corals with the calves and try to pet them. I finally picked her up to keep her from wandering away, and she fell asleep in less than a minute. She napped for the next three hours. I guess all of this branding wears a little girl out!

My other sister-in-law, Brett, tried out the ropes on her husband, Shawn.
Preparing to swing...

Success!

News of the Day

2010-05-28T12:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is true! I will be teaching grade 2 in Stirling School next fall for the year! I am so excited!

I decided last minute that I was going to apply, as I had planned on just subbing, but because I need to bank in my hours in order to keep my teaching certificate (two years of full time teaching completed in 3 years), and especially as I didn't sub even for six months after having Brody, I think it will be wisest for me to go full-time. This way I can get the hours in quickly and won't have to worry about loosing my certificate as much.

I am definitely very lucky to have gotten a position in Stirling, and seriously, how much more fun can you get then grade 2? (well, okay, I'd say that about most grades, but still).

Right now my biggest concerns are:

1. I am going to miss a lot of Brody's 'one-year old' year.

That makes me so sad. I know I'll still be able to spend time with him every day, but it is just not the same. I keep trying to remind myself not to worry because he will be napping for a good portion of the time I'm gone anyways. I need to decide where we will send him while I'm working. It is so nice to have the Daycare here in Stirling, especially when it is so close to the school. I like the program that they have so far, and I know that it is still improving all of the time, but I wonder if I might find a situation where he can stay with someone with just one or two children at home, so it is slightly quieter and more like he would be experiencing if he were home with me every day. I'm not even sure how much is appropriate to offer someone for a day-home situation as opposed to the day care. Is that normally more expensive? I could also see if I could get different people to watch him for different days of the week, but I don't know if it's better to be consistant with them? I need to decide soon, because I want to make sure that the daycare is not full for the fall if I decide to go that way.

2. Where do I start?

I am feeling kind of overwhelmed as to where to start with my planning for next year! There is so much to do, but there are still a lot of things that are not set in stone yet, so I don't want to do major planning until I have a more certain schedule. I'm nervous that my ideas won't work, or will not be as good for grade 2 as I think they will (as most of my experience is with the older students). I'm nervous that some of the parents that I now have a good relationship with will be unhappy with the way that I teach their child, and will wish their child was in another class. I'm worried that I will be overwhelmed with all of my work and will not have enough time to spend with Brody and to do house work and yard work, and that Kevin will be too busy farming to help as much as he thinks he will be able to. So... I guess I need to take a deep breath and think short-term for now, and remember that I really do enjoy teaching and that it is wonderful to see the students learning and progressing.

Any advice or ideas for me, I'd gladly listen. I hope that everything will work out in the end.

Surprise, surprise!!

2010-05-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

This month, for the May long weekend, it was my parents 30th Anniversary. Kim, Deanna and I decided that the best gift we could give them would be to plan a surprise get together in Calgary while my parents were there for Mark's graduation from Med school. Mom and Dad were staying at Kim's house overnight Friday, so Deanna and I showed up Saturday morning, and came to the door at the same time to surprise them. We ended up having to tell Dad in advance to stop him from taking mom golfing for the day before we even got there, but the reaction of my mom was still worth it.

We are so glad that my parents have worked so hard on their marriage and have continued to grow in love for each other. They are such a great example to us of what a marriage should be like. Here they are in Bowness Park, near Kim's house. We spent the day there with each other and enjoyed the beautiful, sunny weather.

Kim and her baby Zac

Keira Rose

Brody's first time sitting on the grass... he was quite entertained by toucing all of the pieces and trying to pull them out and put them in his mouth.

Brody was trying to push Zac over to get the ball... Keira would have none of it.

Brody was trying to show off his clapping skills to everyone, but it looks like there were more interesting things to look at.

Deanna and Kim

Brody also got his first full-head hair cut last week. I'm so used to it being longer now that it has taken a while to get use to the new look. He did pretty good for the top, but when I started trying to do around his ears he kind of freaked out. Here's the before pictures.

It wasn't a mullet yet, but I wasn't too keep about it starting to get longer in the back so... snip!

...but Mom!!! I liked my long hair! Can't you put it back on???

(half-way done)

This kept him quiet while I did the sides, but then he rubbed it on his hair-covered high-chair and I had to take it away before he was eating his own hair... and then he wasn't so happy again. It wasn't exactly the best hair-cut ever, but it will grow back in fairly well.

To my wonderful mother...

2010-05-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

I love my mom!

She is and has always been an amazing woman! I'm sure that I realized this as I waited in heaven to be born, as I watched her patiently wait through months of bed-rest in the hospital, with a three and five-year old at home with their dad. I'm sure that I knew how strong of a woman she was to have the courage to bring me into the world, even though doctors told her that it would be unwise because it would be so difficult. Without that courage, I wouldn't have life . I don't know that I could have been that patient, but you were. Thank you Mom.

Because of my mother, I have a knowledge that I am loved - my parents love me, and I also have a Savior who loves me. Without the many family prayers at 6:30 A.M. every school day, her emphasis on reading the scriptures (and example doing so), her unwaivering faith and testimony of the atonement and the truthfulness of the gospel, and without her example of service (especially for her family) and charity, I know I would not be the person I am today. She helped me learn that the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring joy into my life, and so I owe to her the beginnings of my own testimony, and to the joy I have found so far in my life. For that, I thank you Mom.

My mom, more than anything, has brought and kept our family relationships close, and continues to strengthen those relationships by getting us together whenever possible. I am so grateful for all of the family home evenings, games nights, exciting trips and fun activities that she is always so eager to plan for both our close family, and for our extended family on both sides. It is easy to see, by her actions, that family is central to her life. As my sisters and I move on in our lives to new stepping stones and adventures, I grow more and more aware that we are so lucky to have a family that has such a stong foundation, built by the efforts of my mother (and father). Thank-you Mom!

My mom has always been a good friend of mine, and I don't recall a moment when we have had any major difference of opinion to cause bad feelings. Although there will always be more that I can learn from my mom, I have really enjoyed the closeness that has occurred with her since I became a mom as well, or rather, even in anticipation of the event. Each day it seems that my eyes are opened even more to realize the extent of service that she has given to our family, and that she gives to my new family even now! I have no idea how I did not appreciate so many of the things that she did in the years that I grew up, but now that I am beginning to understand, I recognize that there is no way that I will ever be able to repay her for all of her continued efforts. Not only is she a great mother, but she is also a caring grandmother who, I'm sure, would do anything for the kids. Her love doesn't go unnoticed, and I'm grateful to have her support as I learn the ropes on motherhood and raising children. Thank-you Mom!

We are so lucky to have her in our lives!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

I love being a mom!!!

2010-05-04T12:39:00.000-07:00

I recently gave Brody his first hair trim - just around his ears and his sideburns. This is the "before" picture. I was going to take more pictures, but I found that it was more difficult than I thought and Brody was not impressed that he wasn't allowed to turn his head to look at the scissors. By the time I was done, he was definitely not in the mood for an "after" picture. Oh well!

Kim came down from Calgary for a few days, so we enjoyed going to the park here in town and giving the boys a ride in the swings! My camera batteries died before I could get a shot of Zachary and Brody together though.

He loved it!

Kevin and I are now the proud owners of this great car!! It has WAY more trunk space than my old Honda, and I love driving it (mostly because I am not a fan of manual cars, and this one is an automatic!). If anyone is interested in buying a 2002 Honda Civic, you might be able to bargain with us! I'll hopefully have some pictures up soon on autotrader.com or something. I'll let you know.

Brody has been such a happy kid lately that I find it so much harder to leave him when I get asked to sub-teach! I just love spending my days with him and making him laugh, which is usually easy to do.

He's getting around pretty quickly now, but this is what he does to get there! First, he pushes with his legs to make his bum go up in the air, then he pulls his front half forward to straighten out again. We love laughing as he does the "worm" across the room to get his favorite toy... the TV remote.

Brody also just got his first tooth at the end of April!! His second one is almost through now too, but here is a picture of his tiny first one, although I don't think he was too impressed with me taking this picture :)

We love him!

Inspired

2010-05-04T12:20:00.000-07:00

This made me cry. I came across it while blog-snooping, and was really touched by it. It is worth listening to and I was truly inspired by it!

Easter fun... and not so fun

2010-04-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope that everyone had a great time with the people they love most this week!

Here's a peek at our Easter weekend (or at least Good Friday).

I'll explain as to why the rest is not included later...

On Friday morning, my mom called to let me know that Deanna, my two neices, and herself wanted to come out to Stirling for our Easter Egg Hunt at the park by my house. The community puts on the hunt every year on Good Friday for the kids, and if you don't come on time, you miss it, because almost ALL of Stirling's kids come intent on finding the most candy - and there is a lot of it! I hadn't been to the hunt before this year (obviously because I had no kids), and wasn't even sure if I would go this year, as Brody can't eat any of the candy yet anyways, so I was glad for an excuse to be able to go to be with my sister and her kids! Lauren absolutely loved the whole hunt, and Keira was happy once she had a candy in each hand to hold, and didn't show much interest after that. I hadn't seen Deanna and her girls since Christmas, so it was so nice to have them down for a visit. My neices grow up way too fast for me to only see them every four months!

After the Easter candy hunt, mom, Dee and the girls came back to my house to dye some Easter eggs. Kevin's family has a tradition of throwing Easter eggs down the hill behind my backyard, and since my mom and Dee would be at my house when this happened, I figured that Lauren would need some eggs to throw. She was totally amazed at the colors that the eggs were turning. It was sure cute.

I also wanted to check out the egg decorating going on at my mother-in-law's house, with all of my Nelson neices and nephews. My mom watched Brody while I swung over to get some pictures of the kids in action.

Kason (2), showing his favorite egg

Amy (11) and Gracie (10) guarding their eggs and finishing their last touches. All of the egg-dyers seem to end up with at least one blue or green or pink-fingered hand (as seen here).

Lauren, with her bunny ears on, ready to throw her first egg down the hill. She was not too patient, however, and I was nearly hit by her flying egg before my camera was down. Her next throw went flying backwards instead of forwards, so we quickly moved Brody to a slightly safer location. :)

Kevin, trying to teach Brody how to throw an egg like a man! - Brody just wanted to put the blue egg in his mouth though.

That evening all of Kevin's siblings decided to leave the kids at home and go see a movie together. Brody's been really good and consistant with bedtime lately, so although Kevin and I have never left him with a babysitter (YW age) except when we were only somewhere else in Stirling, I decided that, as he would go to bed soon after we left, it shouldn't be a big concern to leave him with a trusted babysitter, who is over often just to play with Brody, and who watches him for me while I teach piano. She is so great with him, and he always seems to do so good with her, so I felt pretty confident that Brody would be fine if we left him with her. Right before we left, though, we got a phone call saying that everyone wanted to carpool in together. I told Kevin that we should take our own vehicle in, just in case we needed to come back early, but he assured me that his parents would be home if she needed them, and that he was sure Brody would be fine. I decided I probably was just over-worrying, and so we piled into Jimmy's suburban with everyone else to go to Lethbridge.

Of coarse, because I thought it wouldn't, something happened.

Just as our movie was starting we got a call from the sitter saying that, although he had fallen asleep soon after we left, Brody ended up waking up later with the flu, and had gotten sick in his crib. He also had managed to mess his diaper so much that it hadn't all stayed in where it should (TMI?? - this has happened to him before with me, but I imagine that, for a 13 year old, even one who is as good with babies and kids as my babysitter, having to deal with all of that would be quite the ordeal.) Anyways, I felt awful for leaving a babysitter to deal with all of that, and I couldn't exactly tell all 12 people I was with that they needed to leave the movie they had paid for to go right back home so that I could relieve my babysitter and be with Brody (who, of coarse, I could hear whining his 'I'm sick' cry in the background while I talked on the phone to my sitter). After calling my in-laws, I found that they were not home for the night, as Kevin had thought, and so I ended up having to call a neighbour, Geneil, to come to my house at 9:30pm to calm down a worried babysitter and help clean up and comfort my baby! Thank goodness for amazing neighbours (SERIOUSLY! She is the best!) and for a forgiving babysitter (next time, although that might not be fore a while, we will bring our own car to Lethbridge!!). I owe them both, big time!

Anyways, Brody did end up with some kind of flu bug, affecting all of his digestive system, and giving him a fever Saturday and Sunday. I cannot tell you how many diapers I have changed this week, and then how many outfits I have had to thoroughly clean because of leaking diapers (again, TMI?? sorry!). We are still waiting to hear back from lab tests (also unpleasant) to find out if he needs to take anything else, but he seems back to his normal self, or nearly so. I hate having a sick baby though - you feel so helpless to do anything for them.

Despite all of Brody's sickness, the Easter bunny braved the chance of catching the flu, and gave Brody some yummy treats and gifts on Sunday morning. Of coarse, because he is such a loving son, he immediately consented to allow his parents to eat all of his treats, but he seemed to like his other gifts. I'm sure he will look forward to the Easter Bunny's visit again next year!

Stirling Choirs

2010-03-31T19:03:00.000-07:00

Stirling School Senior Choir (Grades 4-6)

Stirling School Junior Choir (Grade 1-3... aren't they cute!)
Stirling Senior Choir sang 'O Canada' at a Hurricane's Hockey game in February! They had a great time, and did a wonderful job!

I am finishing off my first year of choir conducting tomorrow at our last assembly performance. I have absolutely LOVED the whole experience of working with the kids to do something that both they and I love. They did an amazing job at the Kiwanis Festival, with both jr. and sr. choirs receiving a grade of "Excellent" from their adjudicator. I have really learned a lot about conducting, and I am sure that I have so much more to learn as well! I will especially miss all of my grade 6 students who will be moving up into Junior High, so I won't see them in choir next fall when it begins again. I sure hope that things work out so that I can continue being the conductor for them in the next years to come! I really did love it!

Spending Time with Dad

2010-03-21T18:33:00.000-07:00

Kevin took his turn feeding Brody one morning before work.

The men in my life sound asleep on the couch.

Here's my attempt at the pizza bun recipe I posted last time. So, maybe my picture isn't quite as nice as the one from the 'www.ourbestbites.com' photo, but the dish sure tasted incredible!!

New Favorite Recipe Website

2010-03-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

I just discovered this recipe website recently at the recommendation of my sister-in-laws. So far, the results have been... delicious! It has great pictures, and for me, that really is the catch as to whether or not I use a recipe. If the pictures can make my mouth water, then I usually know that it is going to be good! Anyways, my sister-in-laws have made more of the recipes than I have as of yet (I've only made one, and plan to make another for supper tonight), but there are lots of great ideas that seem simple enough to make, but that taste AND look incredible.

So, if you are like me and get stumped as to what to make for dinner every night, and especially what to make if you want to entertain other people, check out this website:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/

Even the titles make my mouth water!!

Stuffed Bleu Potatoes

Pretzel Turtles

1-ingredient Icecream

Spicy Honey Chicken

SW Beef Wraps

Cashew Pork

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

Chocolate Mousse Crunch Cake

Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

(There are many more. Seriously, it's worth looking at.)

Sitting Tall

2010-03-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

Brody's going for a ride on Daddy's shoulders (I was not so excited about this, but Kevin did it anyways... Brody thought it was hilarious.)

We went for our first walk as a family.

Brody can sit up all by himself now (although I'm still afraid to try it on a harder surface like our not-so-soft carpet without sitting behind him to cushion his falls).

Coming in to get a closer look at the camera.

And then a lot closer! Hello Brody!

I'm so proud of my little guy. Not only is he doing such a good job of sitting up all by himself, but he is also making 'buh', 'muh' and 'guh' sounds. Today, for the first time, I heard a 'duh' sound too, so we'll try to get him to repeat that one over the next week sometime. Kevin's convinced that means he will be saying 'dada' soon, but he did the muh before the duh, so I'm still holding out for a mama first. Isn't having a six month old so much fun???! I want to pause him for a while so that I can enjoy the age longer.

Zac's visit

2010-02-23T17:26:00.000-08:00

Zac and Brody, hanging out in Tummy Time!

Brody and his Farm Roller - Loves that thing.

Zac meets a cat!! The cat sat nicely as it's ears and whiskers were pulled and poked.

It was so much fun this last week to have my sister Kim and her baby Zachary come for a visit for my Grandma's 80th birthday!! Brody and Zac had so much fun trying to grab each other's feet, face, ears, and whatever else they could get their hands on! Brody seems to have learned a few things from Zac because he is now rolling so much easier, and definitely from back to front - something that he had a hard time doing consistantly. We got some cute pictures of them having a fun bath together at grandma and grandpa's house, but I didn't have my camera, so I'll have to get them from Kim and maybe post them another time. I love my sister Kim so much, and it has been so neat to share the experience of having a baby with her at the same time. I learn so much from her about how to be a good mother, even though we are both pretty new to the whole mothering thing.

Yum Yum!

2010-02-08T08:28:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally caved in and started Brody on his first solid food today. He's just under 6 months, and although he still isn't seeming hungry after I feed him normally, he has been very attentive for the last month when Kevin and I are eating or putting anything near our mouths. I maybe could have held off a bit longer, but I was too excited to see him try out all of the new foods. Here is a video of his first experience with rice cereal!

Blogging... Worth the time?

2010-01-27T20:23:00.000-08:00

I've been feeling guilty lately for doing such a poor job of keeping my blog up to date. When I start thinking about blogging though, I realize that I have a nice long list of other things that I should be doing instead... laundry, meals, playing more with my baby, cleaning up those lonely stacks of papers/books that have been sitting (sometimes neatly, sometimes far from neatly) on the corners of my desk (and various other locations throughout my house), just waiting to be organized and put away. Finally, here I am blogging about blogging - an all time low, but a great example of how blogging can be a wonderful excuse to procrastinate beginning the organizing of those paper stacks.

So really, is it worth the time, or is it just something that I can add to my list of things I feel guilty for not finding enough time to do on a regular basis? Why do I do it? Well, at the top of my list would be the ability to show off how wonderful my little man is - because all mom's know how great it feels to talk about the children we love so much. Another reason, of coarse, is that exciting wait to see if, when you log on again, anyone will have commented on your post. Isn't that what has been contageously drawing people into facebook and twitter as well?? It's like the feeling of excitement you have when you get mail as a kid (before all your mail turns into bills, bills, bills, and bank statements). Finally, I have found that blogging has been great for giving me lots of ideas and solutions on mothering and making it through all the stages of our children's growth. I love being able to feel connected to the other mothers I know, and being able to read about their own experiences. A lot of wisdom can be gained by sharing those secrets of parenting with each other. I think that's what drives me most to log in to my blog.

In the end, I think it is worth it (maybe not excessively, but in moderation). Those paper stacks can wait a few minutes while I add to my pot of knowledge and build a few friendships. Honestly, most of my Christmas 'organizing' was done using organizational ideas I picked up from reading the blogs of others. So, maybe one day I will learn, on a blog, about how to tackle those paper stacks and enjoy it.

Maybe the real solution is to figure out how to be organized enough to clean the paper stacks and blog on a regular basis....
or maybe not. I really hate organizing those paper stacks.

:)

Anyways, I had an exciting day today, as it was my first FULL day teaching up at the school here in Stirling - at least since having Brody. My little man got to attend his first day at day care (right across the street from the school). I must admit, I could not wait to go check on him as soon as the lunch bell rang, and I was overjoyed to see that he was happy when I got there. It seemed like I threw off his regular sleep/eat routine, but I think he did better than I thought he would, and (secretly) better than I hoped he would. I think part of me wished he wouldn't do well at all so that I could justify never leaving him to substitute teach again!! If only I already had that magical permanent teaching certificate so that I could stay at home with Brody much longer and not have to worry about getting a certain amount of hours in. They serisously do not consider females that want to start families when they make you work the equivalent of 2 years in a three year period. I honestly spend half my time convincing myself that it is worth it for me to keep subbing, and the other half of the time convincing myself that I need to be with Brody, teaching him and watching him grow up. Any mothers been through the same thing? Then you know what I mean. Oh well! Such is life, and I'm sure things will work out if I try to do the thing that's best for my family in the future, and follow any promptings that come to help me make that decision.

- 'til next time I want to procrastinate cleaning up those paper stacks and doing laundry!!
Ciao

Clothing Giveaway you might want to check out!

2010-01-13T12:56:00.000-08:00

Hey, Baby Eggi is having a clothing giveaway at www.thatsitmommy.com/2010/01/11/baby-eggi-review-giveaway/. You might want to check it out!

Sing, Sing, Sing, Sing - All you got to do is SING!

2010-01-12T09:44:00.000-08:00

So I got the boot out of Young Womens a few weeks ago (which I am sad about), but I'm on to try new things as the new Primary Music Leader Assistant. Although I get to take turns with the other Primary Music Leader, I will still be doing opening and closing exercises, singing time, as well as nursery music time at one time or another. This coming week I'm doing O.E.'s and Nursery, and I am realizing that the calling is more challenging then I thought (particularly nursery, as I learned last Sunday).

Anyways, I have a feeling that there is a possibility that someone reading this may have had that calling in their ward, or perhaps remembers what worked well back when they were in primary (I can't remember much from that far back). So... any suggestions or ideas are welcome!

What songs work well for nursery. Is it okay to use ones that aren't from the Children's song book?

What exciting games/ideas do you have for teaching the kids a song (specifically "He Sent His Son")

How do you smoothly transition nursery children into music time? How do you keep their attention once they are there?

Thanks for any input you have!!!

Ain't Nothing Better Than Christmas!

2009-12-30T10:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas is, by far, my favorite holiday and time of year!!! Nothing beats spending quality time with the family, giving to those you love, and remember the importance of the Savior in our lives! I really feel like we have been so blessed to have both of our families so close, and I only wish there could be more time to spend with them.

This year was also exciting because it was Brody's first Christmas!!!! He was very spoiled, especially by his grandparents! It was a lot of fun to have him around this year to be a part of all of our Christmas traditions!

Brody's standing!!!!! (well, almost!)

Me and Brody in front of Mom and Dad's Christmas tree!

Brody tried on his Christmas pajamas that we opened Christmas Eve.

What a cutie!!

Kevin played ball for the white team on Boxing Day! The final game was between Kevin's (and Jeff's) team, and Shawn (and Jimmy's) team! It was very intense. Kevin's team was up by three with 10 seconds left, when Kevin was fouled (but it wasn't called). Shawn got the ball and made a three point shot to tie the game. Of coarse, Shawn's team then ended up beating Kevin's by one point. Emotions were quite high after the game, and us wives got to listen to our husbands do a play-by-play on why their team should have won. All the boys joked around with Darren (my brother-in-law), who was reffing, that he was no longer in anyone's good books.

Grant and Connie recently also got a pool/hot tub put in their house (not outdoors), so Kevin and I were excited to take Brody out for his first time swimming!! (Don't worry! The pool was at the same temperature that his bath water is - just barely warm!)

He seemed to really like it! Unfortunately, he has outgrown his swim trunks now, and I don't have one that fits him, so we'll have to go shopping sometime.

Cafe Rio Recipes!!!! (at least close)

2009-12-08T09:27:00.000-08:00

I just found these, and I absolutely CANNOT wait to try them. This is one of our favorite restaurants, and we only get to eat it once a year when we go to Utah!

Check out the link to get them for yourself!!

Cafe Rio Restaurant Recipes

Anyone up for a Massage?

2009-11-25T15:31:00.000-08:00

Brody and I just finished our Baby Massage class which is held here in Stirling at the Parent Link center!!! On their last day, all of the babies were given a cute t-shirt from the instructor, and we took a picture. Here are Brody's first friends - (in order, clockwise) Jet, Jaxon, Sophia and Shelby! Missing that day were Isaac and Tristan, who Brody has hung out the most with, but who were both sick at home that day.

Unfortunately, the class ends around Brody's cranky time - 11:30, so I promise I didn't pinch him right before the pictures, and he really does like being massaged... as long as it is not at 11:30 :)

Brody is finally big enough to hang out in his Bumbo chair!!! He is loving it!

He even gives me a smile if I can convince him to look at me!

He's my little cutie!! I love him to bits!!

Bennett Familiy Photos!!!

2009-11-10T09:37:00.001-08:00

On Thanksgiving, Kim, Deanna and their families were able to come down to visit. Kim's friend, Rhonda Steed, agreed to take family photos for my parents while all of us kids were around. It was quite an eventful morning, with Brody making the firm decision to make it as difficult as possible to get nice family pictures. Rhonda worked her magic though, and these are just a few of the adorable pictures that she took for us. Lauren was a model in the making. Rhonda had her say "Hi Rhonda!" every time she wanted to take a picture. By the end, Lauren was saying "Hi Rhonda!" even when Rhonda wasn't taking a picture. Keira even did good, and was mesmerized by the flashing lights. Zach was a perfect little guy as usual, and slept through almost the whole ordeal. Thank-you Mom and Dad for doing pictures for us, and THANK-YOU RHONDA for having them turn out so great! Here's just a few of them.

Letters, letters, and more letters

2009-11-06T11:25:00.000-08:00

"Mommy, why are you making those faces at me, you look rediculous..."

Looking like the little studly guy he is!

Brody's looking a little tipsy after getting his fill of the good stuff!

Showing off his good neck muscles. Brody will hold his head up for over 10 minutes now! Not much luck on the rolling over yet, but we work on it every day!

So, I found a bunch of treasures at the dollar store, and tried to get crafty with letters. Here are the magnetic fridge letters I created using mod podge and cardboard dollar store letters, and sticky magnetic sheets.

I also got busy making somw bigger letters with wood letters from Dollarama, scrapbook paper, wood stain and mod podge. I'm giving these to my sister, Deanna, to help decorate her girls' bedrooms. I think we'll hang them up with ribbon, in bows (maybe... any other suggestions?)

We've been invaded!

2009-11-02T06:48:00.000-08:00

We've been invaded by aliens!! (or monsters, if you think it looks more like that)! Here's a look at Brody's first halloween costume! He didn't like being in it so much, and he especially did not like the sound of the velcro both times I had to take the costume off! We didn't go trick or treating really this year, because I wanted to be able to hand out candy, and Kevin wasn't home until after the trick-or-treating was over, but we did go over to grandma and grandpa's house early, just to show off his costume. I thought he was pretty cute!

Brody's First Sounds

2009-10-29T16:02:00.000-07:00

We had Brody's 2 mo. immunizations today! I measured him to be 23 1/2 inches, and just over 12 lbs., which seems about perfect to me. It was so rediculously sad to have to 'hold him down' while the health nurse gave him all three needles. I don't mind getting needles myself, but I don't like having to watch the needle go in, but that was pretty much impossible to avoid today for Brody. He did pretty good for the first few seconds of the first needle, and then the pain reaction set in and he began to wail!!!! I could have cried right along with him! I only hope that I am doing the right thing by immunizing him. It seems that there are different opinions on it everywhere I turn, and there doesn't seem to be one perfectly right choice. I'm kind of feeling the same way about this H1N1 virus vaccinations right now - for myself and Kevin that is... Brody's too young for it anyways. How are we supposed to know that it is the right thing? I could talk for a while about the different things I've seen and heard about it, but in the end, I think I will get it, but I'm not 100% sure it is the right thing to do for me. I do think it will be the best protection for Brody against it though. Hopefully it will end up not being a big deal for us, and we will be able to look back and wonder why we were all so worked up about it anyways! I guess will see. I'm just kind of unsettled about it still right now though.

Anyways, on a very happy note, Kevin and I have been over-the-top happy that Brody is starting to be very responsive to us finally! He loves having long, deep, not understandable conversations with Kevin, and sometimes with me (he seems to respond more to Kevin's voice than mine... sad, I know, to have that beginning already). He is so full of smiles most of the time (after his tummy is full) now too! I sometimes even stay awake longer than I need to after his night-time feeding just because it is so much fun watching him smile back at me! We're so lucky to have him in our lives!

Here is a video (although this is a few weeks ago now, so he is talking much much more now) of proof that our baby is making sounds at us now!! Next step - "Mom". (Kevin works on "da-da" nightly, but I know my baby will pull through on the mom side when the time comes.) At the beginning of the video is a 'not so happy Brody', but he does this bottom lip thing that is just way too cute, so I had to capture one of those moments too.

My Buddy

2009-10-26T11:59:00.000-07:00

I finally got my computer to work so that I could put up some pictures of Brody's blessing day (and other pictures from the last month).

Trying on the outfit a few days before to make sure it would fit! We had to borrow it from cousin Orin, because we could not find a nice white outfit small enough at any of the stores in Lethbridge.

(Sort of Smiling)

Kevin did a great job for the blessing, and I was able to write down a few things for Brody in his journal that he can look back on as he grows up. After church we all went to Grandma and Grandpa Nelson's house for a celebration/thanksgiving dinner!

Maysa and Kasen decided it was more fun to feed each other their Thanksgiving ice cream than it was to feed themselves. It was too cute watching them, that I just had to take a picture. They finished all their ice cream doing this!

Brody decided it was more fun to be grumpy than happy, so I had a hard time getting any good pictures of him. Finally, I just ended up taking one right before I changed him out of his blessing outfit, even though Kevin and I were not in it with him. Oh well!

Kasen wanted to help Uncle Kevin hold Brody while he slept (finally) later that Sunday. Other than the darker hair Brody has, I think he looks a lot like this little cousin of his. Lots of people also think he looks like Jimmy and Patti's youngest, Maysa.

Here are some other pictures from the month.

This one made me laugh... he makes such funny facial expressions as he is falling asleep!

Rita Joy came over for a visit last night, and so we took a picture of her holding baby Brody. She sure watches out for all of her special little great-nephews and great-nieces!

Announcing... Baby Brody

2009-10-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

I just finished doing up a baby announcement/thank you of Brody using the pictures Shanna Bikman (http://www.silverslides.com/) took for me! I sent them in to get developed today, but here is a sneak peek, even though you are probably receiving one if you are reading my blog :).

I absolutely LOVE Adobe Photoshop (although I only have the elements version), and have had a lot of fun making up baby or wedding announcements for a few friends in the past. Once you get started on it, it is totally addicting (somewhat like blogging!). Here are a few of the examples that I have done in the past. If anyone ever needs an announcement made up, give me a call! I would have a ton of fun doing it!

Cutest Nephew Around!!!

2009-10-17T16:59:00.000-07:00

Kim is just getting ready to send out her very adorable baby announcements for little Zachary William! The photos and the announcements were taken/created by Rhonda Steed! What great pictures!!!!! I sure wish Brody and Zac could grow up closer together, but Kim and I have plans to take turns travelling to visit each other often. "Little" Zac has almost already caught up to Brody in weight, and Brody`s been growing fast himself!! He was 11lbs. 12oz. last Wednesday at his six week checkup.

Brody was blessed at church on October 11 (Thanksgiving Sunday). He was such a good little boy for the blessing. Kevin said he only fussed a bit just as they were starting, but you couldn't hear it on the microphone at all. It was a very special blessing, and I know that I am so lucky to have such a sweet baby boy as part of my family. I am so glad that Kevin was worthy to give him the blessing. Brody was not such a good boy after the blessing though :) He cried almost the entire day, with short spurts of napping, after which he would be woken up by us having to go somewhere, or a niece or nephew wanting to touch his head or hold him. He had a good sleep that night though! He is inconsistantly, but gratefully, sleeping 7 hours straight some nights. Mommy and daddy couldn't be more proud of him when he does that! I have some pictures I want to put on of him in his blessing outfit, but my computer is not recognizing any new USBsor memory cards. If anyone reading this knows how to fix that, other than restarting your computer (we've tried that several times already), please let me know.

Another picture I wanted to post was of both my legs, right around my knees... Strange, I know, but you should see how many bruises I have right now from carrying the carseat! I am just not strong enough to hold it away from my body a bit, so it consistantly bumps against the sides of my knees as I walk into church, or into someones house, or into the store. I had to wear a longer skirt last Sunday, just so that people didn't start wondering if someone had beat me up or something! I'm hoping my muscle strength catches up to Brody's weight gain, or perhaps my knees just need to toughen up so that they don't bruise anymore.

I started conducting the Stirling School Elementary Choirs yesterday after school! We are practicing every Monday from here until June. Brody's Aunt Patti is watching him while I am gone for the hour and a half (Thank you Patti!) I was absolutely blown away yesterday with how quickly the kids learned the music I had picked out! I definitely could have tried something slightly more difficult. The junior choir had a big mix up (which I felt pretty dumb about), as I was having the students put the music in order. I accidentally told them that one sheet was supposed to go in a place where a different one was supposed to go, so I thereby created utter chaos, and all of the students were intensely trying to get me to help at the same time. By the time we had everything figured out and in place, we only had ten minutes left. * Note to self for next time: Organize the music beforehand for the junior choir... in fact, organize EVERYTHING for those kids, because they get easily confused. All I can say is that I was very grateful to have Amy Harding (our accompanist) and Betty Pitcher in there helping me help EVERY student to make sure they had it right. I have been especially impressed with the turn-out for the choir. In a small school, I did not expect to have the 30 kids for the junior choir, and the 26 kids for the senior choir. I just hope I do a good job so that the administration will want to keep me on for the choirs next year as well. I am really excited to get more experience conducting choirs.

"Spooking" up my house!!!

2009-10-13T17:07:00.000-07:00

So, I have set a goal to become more crafty, as it seems that every single relief society sister in my ward have such talent for creating things and decorating their houses so that they look so cute! In my search for fun fall crafts, I came across a blog by Xazmin (I can't even remember how I found it now), who has posted a TON of really cute craft ideas that are so easy!!! ... and easy is something I can do! Here are a few of the cute fall and Halloween ideas I got off of her blog (which you should check out HERE)!

The first ideas are for fall (Directions).

Here are a few to squeeze in before Halloween comes around the corner!

(Directions)Made with 2x4 blocks, spray paint, mod podge, scrapbook paper from Michaels, and purple tule. I am SO loving the Mod Podge! There are so many things you can do with it!!

(Directions)

All you need is tissue paper, mod podge, green spray paint, a few jars, and some green tule! The battery powered candles would be great for this one, but if you used regular candles, you could just remove the center parts of the lids.

If any of you have any other ideas for what can be made with Mod podge, or and other cute (easy)halloween crafts, let me know!

Here is something else I came across while exploring the blogging world, and it made me laugh. Hopefully it will bring a smile to your face too!

Summary of Life

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.

2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.

3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.

4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.

5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.

6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.

7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.

8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:

1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.

2) Wrinkles don't hurt.

3) Families are like fudge..mostly sweet, with a few nuts.

4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

5) Laughing is good exercise... It's like jogging on the inside.

6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fibre, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD:

1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.

2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.

3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.

4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.

5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.

6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.

7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:

1) You believe in Santa Claus.

2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.

3) You are Santa Claus.

4) You look like Santa Claus.

SUCCESS:

At age 4 success is . . . not piddling in your pants.

At age 12 success is . . . having friends.

At age 17 success is . having a drivers license.

At age 35 success is . . having money.

At age 50 success is ... . having money.

At age 70 success is . . .. having a drivers license.

At age 75 success is . . having friends.

At age 80 success is . . not piddling in your pants.

My Little Cutie!

2009-10-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

I finally got my newborn pictures back from Shanna Bikman of Brody!!! He looks so dang cute in them that I have to share it with you all. Go to http://www.silverslides.com/, then to her website, then to clients, and put in the password BABYNELSON. I'm going to have a difficult time choosing ones to get printed off! She did such an amazing job with all of them! She also did my maternity photos, but the password for them is PRETTYMAMA (I didn't choose the password, Shanna did...). She has some serious talent for what she does!

One month later...

2009-09-29T19:52:00.000-07:00

Brody celebrated his 1 mo. mark last Sunday, and I can't believe how fast it has gone by!!! He is growing up so much already, I can hardly believe it. When I look at pictures of him the day he was born, he looks so small. He is finally starting to fill out a bit, and I've put the first pile of baby clothes that don't fit back in storage for any future babies.

Mom caught both me and Kevin snoozing with Brody (at different times) while at their house for dinner one Sunday - catching up on much needed sleep!!

Kristi and Shauna Leavitt put on a baby shower for me in Lethbridge! Thanks for the baby monitor Shauna!!!

Lynnae Wright and Karen Gilroy at Brody's shower

Mom took an evening off to show me how to can tomato sauce!!! My favorite! Thank you mom! Look at all those jars!

(sorry on the fuzzy picture)

Brody and I went to visit Aunt Ruth and Aunt Mary in Taber! Ruth was so excited to tell me that Brody was born on her father (my great grandfather's) birthday! It was nice visiting with Mary too! She was so kind to give me a cooler full of frozen Taber corn that she slaved over this summer. Mmmm. Nothing beats Taber corn!

Brody was excited to go to his first football game last weekend too! It was Raymond vs. LCI at the new football field! Brody even wore the nice 'football' hat that Grandma Bennett gave him! Of coarse, Brody cheered for LCI with me, while Kevin cheered for Raymond. 'Uncle' Wes is helping to coach LCI's team this year, so we were sad for him when LCI lost. We'll get them next time I hope!

Cousin Zac and Brody finally met last Sunday in Calgary at Zac's baby blessing!!!! We're sure they will be best buds growing up!! Everyone had a good laugh at the fact that they both look so much like their dad's and not much like each other! Oh well... I guess the Bennett genes must be recessive.

Four generations for both families!!!

Proud Moms!

Four generations with the women this time!

Got to love Grandma Smith's broken arm! She was supposed to go on a big European cruise next week, and now they have to wait to see if the last minute x-ray turns up good. Poor Grandma doesn't have much luck when it comes to big vacations. We are all glad that nothing more serious happened!

And then there were THREE!

2009-09-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to announce the birth of our baby boy!

Brody Dennis Nelson, on August 27, 2009.

That morning I woke up at 6AM with slight pains every 10 minutes. Because they weren't to hard, I sent Kevin to work, making him promise to call me every hour, just in case things progressed. By 11:00AM, things were still the same, so I decided to take things into my own hands and mow the lawn on the ride-on mower, hoping that it might bring on a change. Sure enough, a change occurred... the contractions completely stopped. Kevin phoned soon after, and I told him that it was a false alarm, but just in case, that he should call in a couple of hours to make sure they hadn't started again. Sure enough, an hour later, the contractions started up, and they were not quite as pain-free. Unfortunately, Kevin was out of phone service when I tried to call, so with the help of his brothers, someone eventually drove up and found him, and told him to get home. He made it there by 2:30... when my contractions were 4 minutes apart and Shawn's wife, Brett, was keeping me company in the hour while I waited. We arrived at the hospital around 3:30PM.

Here I am seconds before my water broke, feeling a bit sore. (Thank goodness it didn't happen two minutes earlier while I was coming up the elevator, or in the car!) The nurse had just told me that they would have to monitor me for at least half an hour to make sure that they weren't sending me home to wait longer. I was not impressed. I was in pain, and I did not want to go home...
...Then my water broke and I realized that I hadn't known what pain was before then! The nurse picked a great time to ask if I was interested in pain relief, and I quickly agreed to an epidural, which I had previously convinced myself I wouldn't do. I am SO glad I got it. I can almost say I enjoyed the whole labour experience once the epidural did its thing. I quickly went from 6cm-10cm in about an hour, then pushed for another hour, and Baby Nelson was born at 7:12PM!

7lbs. 7oz.

20 inch. long

~4 hours of hospital labour.

Baby Nelson takes his first few breaths of air! Happy Birthday buddy!

Proud dad got to stay with him while the nurses cleaned him up and checked him over.

Our first family photo!!!! We've disguised Baby Nelson's cone-head with the blanket here! It was looking pretty normal by the next morning already though.

Me and Brody finally made it back to our hospital room, and Kevin promptly brought us some food to eat! What a great dad! I was pretty hungry.

Here is Brody getting his first bath from the nice nurse at the hospital! He looked so different after his hair had been all cleaned up. It definitely has a bit of curl when it gets wet!

After a two nights and a day in the hospital, we got the go-ahead to take Baby Nelson home. Here is the cute outfit Grandma Bennett bought for him to go home in. He decided to pee on it while getting his diaper changed just before we left, so the back-up outfit had to come out.

The last thing we did before leaving the hospital was to finally commit to a name. We had a really hard time deciding, but felt that Brody Dennis Nelson should be his name. We hope he follows the examples of his Grandpa and Great Grandpa Bennett, who he was named after, as he lives his life.

He doesn't really like his car seat! -Still cries every time we put him in it.

Brody and I coming in the house after the drive home!

Grandma and Grandpa Bennett came out to Stirling to help us the first evening home. After making us a delicious supper, mom showed me house to bathe Brody (I was pretty nervous!) We were delighted to see his curls show through when his hair got wet! Here is a photo of him right after his bath.

My little sleeping angel!

Kevin thinks its child abuse when I spike his hair, but it is just so cute! It never stays like that for long anyways.

We love our little boy!

The Most Beautiful Place in the World!

2009-08-10T17:21:00.000-07:00

As tradition goes, we headed up for our week away to Fairmont, B.C. for the August long weekend with my sister's families and my parents. The weather was great, the water was great, and neither Kim or I went into early labour while away from home - all-in-all, it was a perfect week. Kevin went golfing almost every day, and I even got a round of mini-golf in (although I still got the highest score...). Here are some pictures of our week.

Here is Kevin, mid-dive off the diving board at the Fairmont Hot Springs pool.

Lauren and "Grandma"

Four bucks were relaxing right outside our condos one night while we were there. All four had beautiful racks, but this one was the only one that would look right at the camera for me.

Kevin insisted on getting a picture with the bucks :) He's all ready for hunting season.

The Gunderson Family at the natural hot springs.

What a face baby Keira!!

Lauren always closes her eyes when she poses for the pictures. It's way too cute! She loves her frog towel.

Deanna and happy baby Keira! She is always so full of smiles!

Keira and Grandpa

Since the boys had so much fun golfing all week, the girls decided that it was our turn to have a shot at golfing... so we went to Invermere to the mini-golf to really show off our putting skills.

Hole in 1 on hole #2!! I think this was the only hole I got less than 4 on.

The Smith family (my cousins) also have a time share in Fairmont, and so we spent a lot of the week with them as well.

All of the girls.

Kim and I had to make sure we had some fun taking big belly picture before we headed back home at the end of the week. I am 37 weeks here, and Kim would be 36 weeks. The funniest part of the week was doing prenatal yoga one morning together, and having Grandma Smith join us. When it came to touching our toes and all of the other flexibility moves, Grandma was the only one that could do them all!

Baby "bump"

Here is the whole family, right before we left for home. Thanks for organizing such a fun vacation Mom and Dad! We loved it!

Summertime!!!... and the living is easy!

2009-07-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

SHAWN and BRETT NELSON!

Kevin's youngest brother, Shawn Nelson, got married to Brett Baldry on July 3, 2009. We walked into the temple with a completely overcast sky, and walked out to find hardly a cloud to be seen. It ended up being a perfect day, and their outside reception later on was out of a fairytale. They make such a great couple! We are so excited to have Brett as part of our family now.

Kevin and I decided to take a "Family Photo" as we waited outside the temple for them to come out. What a good-looking husband I have!

This was a cute picture of Jeff and Angie's kids as we waited for Shawn and Brett to come out of the temple.
(left to right: Tycee, Noah, Autumn, Jade, Austin, and Gunner).

We tried to get one of all of the Nelson girls in their cute yellow too-toos before the couple arrived. As we tried to arrange them on the step, we began to realize how impossible it was going to be to get a shot with all of the kids in it. Kudos to the photographer for her patience and any magic she was able to make happen in her picture taking over the next half an hour.

Shawn and Brett looked like the happiest couple in the world as they walked out of the Cardston Temple together as husband and wife.

And the chaos begins...

... and continues for about 15 minutes.

Here is Brett with all of her neices and nephews in front of the temple. How adorable!

I took some photos of Cindy, Josh and the kids outside the temple after we finished all the big family photos. We couldn't get Orin to smile after he was moved to sit by his mom, as he wanted to be sitting by his dad. It is still a great picture though.

Claire - Got to love those too-toos.

SMITH FAMILY REUNION 2009

July 4-7 was our Smith Family Reunion at the Mountain View Inn. We started off the weekend at the Waterton Reservoir for some boating and sun tanning. We went to church in Waterton on Sunday, and had our big "Smith's got Talent" show that night, where dad, once again, had us rolling with his "Simon Cowell" comments that he came up with. The "Bennett Family", or at least those of us that were there, did a "Kazoo Concerto". There are a few pictures of the other talents below. Monday we went to Waterton to hike Bear's hump (only me, mom, dad, and my cousin, Lindsay Tollman, opted out and went to meet them all a bit later for lunch). All of the hikers (including Grandma and Grandpa Smith, who weren't going to hike it, but then did, which made me feel pretty guily for not going - if they can do it, I could have done it easily) ended up getting drenched in a crazy downpoor that ended up convincing us to head back to Mountain View to play games at the cabin. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and catch up, especially with the cousins who don't live close, like Lana, Lindsay, and Colin and Camie and kids.

Danielle and Nicolle's oldest daughter, Kylie, started off the talent show with a song about a bug. She is way too cute!

The "Smith Brothers" did a rendition of "Hey Jude", which totally blew me away. I don't know Brad, Colten and Austin as much as many of my other cousins because of the longer distance away that they live, and I had never heard about how talented they were at singing (not to mention the other instruments they play!!). It definitely helped me to get to know their personalities a lot better to have them come up for the reunion. I'm so glad we have the reunions often so I can get to know all of my cousins as we get older.

Ashlyn got the Smith's got Talent award for "The Most Musically Gifted". She did a wonderful job playing her violin for us all! That is one instrument I have always wanted to learn.

hm.... this one needs some explaining. All of the "Smith" sisters decided to do a number in remembrance of Michael Jackson, who died last week. This is their interpretation of "Thriller". I wish I could have recorded it on video.

Grandma and Grandpa were last up on our Sunday night activity, and we were all brought almost to tears as they told us how much they love us and how the gospel has blessed their lives. I love them so much. They are such good examples for everyone in our family to follow.

My cousin Taylor was brave enough to be the "middle man" in this classic game where you toss the person in the middle around the circle while they stay as straight as they can. Lighter people like Taylor get moving very fast around the circle, and it is fun to watch them bounce back and forth.

Uncle Aaron taught us how to play a balance game (no idea on the name) where you try to make the opponent move their feet from a planted position, with only your hands allowed to touch while trying to push the other person over. It was very funny to watch.

SURVIVOR YW's CAMP 2009

I was able to go to YW's camp this year, and had an incredible time with all of the amazing girls in our Stirling 1st Ward. Our camp theme, "Survivor", seemed to get the girls excited as we organized them into tribes. Sister Sager, our camp specialist, did an amazing job planning great challenges, activities, crafts, the hike, and most especially, food for us to enjoy at the camp. I was lucky enough to sleep in the cabin, and avoided the bit of rain and cow mooing that affected the girls outside. I guess being 8 mo. pregnant gives me special treatment joys like that though. The cabin belongs to Ty Stef's family, and was perfect for our little camp. It is so beautiful to be camping at the foot of Chief Mountain! Even with the cloudy weather, we had very little to complain about for the four days of camp.

Day 1 - making the tribal flags

Tribe 1 - "Heaven's Angels"

Tribe 2 - "The Red Apples"

Challenge number 1 - blue and red glass plates...

...and then some slingshots and stones.
It took a while to hit them all, and we only had one casualty... Somehow one of the rocks ended up going completely sideways and hit one of our tiny beehives in the head. Good thing that not all the rocks went too fast or hard. She was left with a little goose egg, but nothing worse then that. I tried not to laugh at the fact that the girls were unable to hit the plates with any accuracy, but the one time a girl got anywhere even remotely unsafe, they hit her right in the head.
Poor Natasha.

Challenge number 2 - Tribal pictionary...

The tie breaker was "Sister Sager", our camp director. We had a good laugh at the resulting pictures.

Nothing like a pedicure and manicure on the last day of camp!

Katie and Lexus, two of my miamaids, at our camp awards ceremony. I think Katie got the "Happy Camper" award.

The girls, all still looking beautiful after a four day YW camp.

Finally, a last shot with all of the leaders.

Unless the boat sinks...

2009-07-01T07:28:00.000-07:00

Summer is finally here, and so that means that it is time to bring the boat out to the lake, and start having fun! Monday afternoon most of the family took off to the Raymond Ridge Reservoir for some tubing, wakeboarding, and good fun (it was too windy to ski). Angie, Jeff, their kids and I were the first to get there with the boat, and took it out on the lake to make sure everything was working properly after the winter in storage. Fifteen minutes into our trip, we opened up the storage hatch to get the wakeboard out, only to find that the hatch was 90% full of water! We were slowly sinking! Even with the water pumps on the water level didn't change much in the boat, so we had to bring it back to the dock and lift it out of the water to see what the matter was. Turns out that Kevin dewinterized the boat, and couldn't remember if he'd taken four or five plugs out, and put back roughly four or five when finishing the job... apparently there were five, and he only returned four. At least there was a quick fix for the problem, and we were able to take the boat out again for the rest of the afternoon. After all the kids had finished their fun tubing, Chad, Kevin, Austin and Hunter decided to try to go wakeboarding!!! Here are some pictures of the action.

Hunter and Austin watch as chad shows off his stuff!

Kevin's hair-do is looking particularly nice in this picture... his hair-gel had washed out, and it was looking especially froofy from the wind in the boat.

Austin finally got out of the wake soon after this.

This was Hunter's first time wakeboarding, and he did an excellent job!

Although he didn't make it up on the water this time, it is clear that he will have it before going home

Here is Kevin, cutting hard to the left for a big jump.

...The jump... He would have landed it fine, but he let go of the rope, and so ended up getting wet.

Here is Gunner, trying to share his marshmellow with me on the beach.

Life on the Farm!

2009-06-23T06:45:00.000-07:00

The season of long summer hours for Kevin has begun! With the lack of rain we have been getting, Kevin is starting to get quite busy with managing the farm's irrigation. It is a common sight to have him come home soaked from head to toe after trying to fix a pivot on one of their fields. One day this week he came home dressed like this, and I couldn't help but laugh. The hip weighters are oh so nice, Kevin!

Kevin's also made a new best friend. Our last kitten magically disappeared a while ago (how sad!) and Kevin decided he liked having one around, so he came home the next day with our new kitten, lovingly named "Cow" by Tycee. Cow is the brother of our last cat, and seems to absolutely adore Kevin. This following picture is a common sight these days as Kevin rests quickly at supper time before going back out to work. Cow will jump right up on his shoulder as he watches TV, or will, like you see, fall asleep right on his chest while he naps.

Deanna, Dave, Lauren and Keira were down in Lethbridge for Father's Day, and to see Kimmy and Jared's new baby. I convinced Deanna to bring the girls out to Stirling to show Lauren all of the different animals on the farm! She was very concerned about stepping in the 'poop' on the way through the field to see the horses.

Finally, we found a nice horse that didn't mind us petting it's nose. Lauren was a little nervous at first, but she seemed to enjoy it once she realized the horse wasn't going to eat her.

Lauren was a big fan of all of the cats at Angie and Jeff's house. Here is one of their littlest kittens. We had to work hard to convince her that there were other animals she might like to see too, like the chickens...

and the turkey

I finally got to steal Kevin away from the farm to go to the wedding reception for my cousin, Devin Bennett, and his new wife, (and my cousin on my mom's side), Kristie McCue. This isn't the best picture, but it's the only one I have of Keira. She is starting to get a bit chunkier, and has the most adorable smile, if you can get her to show it to you. She is growing up so fast!

Allie, Rachel, Diane and Lisa sand a number in the program during the reception. They are so talented!

Lauren especially enjoyed the weddind desserts - mini chocolate cupcakes. Here's what happened when we forgot to watch her for a minute, and she ate one on her own...

We had a wonderful Father's Day weekend, with the whole family around to celebrate our dad. I am so grateful for the example my dad is for me, and for the endless work and service he has given me throughout my life. Love you Dad! Happy Father's Day!

Getting to Know the Baldrys

2009-06-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

In anticipation for their upcoming wedding, Shawn and Brett thought it would be fun to throw a BBQ for both families to help us to get to know one another! Brett convinced Shawn to get one of the horses out after dinner to let the kids have a ride. Of coarse, Shawn had to ask Gracie to help him get the horse ready, although he denies that he doesn't know how. While some kids rode on the horses, the others all started playing a game of football on the lawn outside of Connie and Grant's house. We were entertained for the whole evening, watching the kids get the football, get tackled, start to cry, get angry, and then chase after whoever took the football from them. It was worth more than a few laughs!

Gracie thought she would take a rest in one of Connie's planters.

Kasen

Claire

Gunner

Even Rita got in on the football action!

Meow!

2009-05-18T06:42:00.000-07:00

Our kitten... still unnamed. She is way too cute. Kevin still hasn't taken her back, so I think we're keeping her!

25 weeks!

2009-05-11T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of baby and I during our 25 week of pregnancy.

I can't wait to finally meet him!

Hawaii Trip!!!

2009-04-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

Baby Nelson is starting to get bigger more quickly lately! Not only that, but he seems to like being extremely active. I only started feeling him move about two weeks ago, but now he is not shy at all about making himself known! Kevin's been able to feel him move quite a few times now too, and that is pretty neat. He seems to like Kevin's voice (as well as drums... seems like any good beats get him moving around). A group of native dancers did a performance at Magrath Elementary last week, and he moved around almost the entire time the drums were going - at least ten minutes straight. Either the vibrations irritate him, or else he's going to be a little drummer. I guess we'll see.

Kevin and I were sitting at home trying to decide what to do over the Easter break--- so I started looking up flight prices online. We found a good deal to Hawaii, and Kevin found out that one of his best friends, who is going to school at BYU Hawaii, was moving back to Utah the week after Easter break. We decided to book it! So three days later, we were on a flight to Oahu! The week was amazing! The weather was great, and the island was beautiful! It was the first larger vacation we have ever been on together, as it never worked out for us to go there for our honeymoon (Waterton was slightly less exciting). Better late than never though!

We purposely cut off the belly portion of my swimming suit :) Sorry!

Waikiki beach at sunset.

This is in the Tongan chief hut display at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Uh-oh. There's the belly shot.
This is a large model of the boats that the islanders used to travel way back when... now students from BYU Hawaii use it to travel from island to island once every year.

This is from the Polynesian Center's Boat Show (Maybe Tonga??) doing the Hakka (spelling?)

Here is the fish that Kevin caught when he went reef fishing with Mike.

"Silver-man" - a street performer along Waikiki Beach

A statue of Lehi blessing Nephi at the Hawaii Temple.

"Under Construction" - The Hawaii Temple.

Us enjoying a sunset on our last night in Hawaii!

Kevin's friend Mike, and his wife, Erika, on the beach.

Baby Nelson

2009-04-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

At 20 weeks of pregnancy, we finally had our ultrasound! It was such a neat experience. I was so glad that Kevin could come with me to see our baby for the first time! He was a feisty little guy for the ultrasound though! He flipped and rolled and moved all over, and I couldn't feel a thing (although I am feeling lots of little pokes and flips less than one week after!) Everything is definitely seeming more real now. They didn't let us know what the baby's sex was at the ultrasound appointment, but our ultrasound technician told us she knew almost instantly after placing the ultrasound machine on my belly, and from what we could see on the ultrasound pictures, it definitely looked like a boy to us too. I did get this confirmed by my doctor, Dr. Steed, on Wednesday though. It's much more fun now that we can start imagining what our little boy is going to be like. He may look remotely like an alien (see the picture where it shows his head face-on), but we think he is a pretty cute little guy. If anyone has any inspirational ideas on what boy names would be cute, let us know, because we aren't agreeing on many so far.

We are just getting ready to head to HAWAII this weekend for the Easter break! Finally! We have been saving up to go on some kind of a nice vacation for a long time, and things never seem to work out for us to go. It looks like I will also finally be able to meet Kevin's good friend, Mike, who is just finishing his schooling at BYU Hawaii this year. Him and his wife are going to show us around the island and take us to the Polynesian Cultural Center while we are there. It has been interesting finding summer clothes that will fit me while we are there! I seem to have exploded over night, and have noticed that, since Wednesday, people are starting to look at my stomach before they look at my face. I guess I will have to get used to that.

Expecting!

2009-03-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

The months seemed to fly by this winter for us, and we are already at spring!!!! (thank goodness!) Too bad the forecast called for flurries this week.

Lots of exciting things have been happening our way since January, the most exciting of which is that we are expecting an addition to our family around August 20th! That makes me 18 weeks along right now! Just about half way there! What makes it even more special is that our baby will have two cousins born in the same year as it on the Bennett side. Deanna and Dave Gunderson had their new baby girl, Keira, a few weeks ago, and Kim and Mark are expecting as well! Kim is due the week after I am. We'll see who has theirs first!

Deanna's looking pretty good for just having a baby! Check out Keira's dark eyes.

Papa and Nana Bennett with baby Keira.

Kim and baby Keira taking a nap!

Kevin and I haven't met Keira yet, but we hope to over the Easter break.

So far my pregnancy has been pretty much unnoticeable. I have only been nauseous a few times, and it only lasted temporarily. I have been a little more sleepy though, and am trying to keep my energy up as I teach my last month in Magrath Elementary. As far as a baby bump, I'm still fitting into most of my old clothes, with the exception of a few pairs of pants and skirts that were slightly too small before anyways. The clothes are all just fitting more tightly now. So far the only people commenting on noticing my bump are those that already knew I was pregnant, so I guess that means that I must still just look like I am putting on weight to those that don't know. It's been a fun ride so far though. Kim hasn't had it quite as easy as me on the nausea side of things, so I always feel guilty when I talk to her about how she's feeling. I'm sure that any future pregnancies might surprise me though, and I will have my chance to feel the worst of it.

Our ultrasound is booked for April 6th, which will be extremely exciting. We are still deciding whether to find out what we are having (meaning, I have decided, but now Kevin is trying to convince me that we should keep it a surprise, even though it was his idea to find out when I asked him a month ago... so I'm thinking that we will find out...). I will definitely put pictures up as we get closer to the due date.

This is me just after waking up from a nap, and Kevin having convinced me that it would be a good idea to take a picture of my stomach... Not a pretty picture, but at least it give you an idea of what I'm talking about when I say that my clothes are fitting a bit tighter than before. This was at week 16, and I really haven't gotten too much bigger since then. It just looks like I've had a few too many donuts that day.

Calving season has started, and it adds a lot of excitement around the farm. Many of the nieces and nephews go out with Uncle Jimmy to check the cows. Kevin's been taking the night shift fairly often, and he has had a few miracles, and a few that didn't make it. Yesterday he came home with a really neat story. One of his co-workers got their truck stuck near the calving pens, so he was on his way to help him out of the mud. On his way he decided to randomly check the cows. As he drove up, he saw that one cow had just finished giving birth. The calf, however, still had the birth sack over its head and was suffocating. Kevin was able to break the sack and save the calf. By the time he got to his co-worker's truck, it was already out of the mud, so we figure it was more than just coincidence that he happened upon the calf yesterday.

As far as practicum goes, I have enjoyed every bit of it. All of the students and all of the teachers have welcomed me into the school and have made my teaching experience wonderful. I look forward to going every day, and already know it will be hard to leave. It is an exceptional school, and I would happily take a job there in the future if the timing was right. I'm hoping at least to sub there for May and June, and then again after Christmas as I try to work up my hours to get my permanent teaching certificate.

Sledding!!!!

2009-01-15T16:35:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pictures of us over the Christmas holidays. As tradition, on New Years Day we headed up to the special sledding hill up on the Raymond Ridge, built a bonfire, and watched as all of the Nelson kids took turns getting air and wiping out on their sleds. This year Ty won for the most air, and Kevin won for the biggest crash (he hit a major rock and went FLYING through the air only to land face first into the snow. Two weeks later his tailbone still hurts!!).

This is one unhappy Claire... she didn't want to go sledding with Kevin.

I think this one is Ty, doing a superman! He has no fear!

Jade and Gracie

Noah, looking a bit cold.

All the boys trying to out-do Ty. They didn't succeed.

Ty again... Josh helping to fix the jump between runs.

Maysa after waking from her nap.

Ryder crashed out by the fire.

Gunner

Halle, beautiful as always!

Josh and Claire. All she wanted the whole afternoon was her dad.

Another Christmas Gone!

2008-12-29T08:47:00.000-08:00

Well, we had a busy, but enjoyable Christmas this year! It was so great to be able to see Kim and Mark, Deanna and Dave, and all of our other relatives over the last week and a half. Deanna and Dave's daughter, Lauren, has grown up so much since August! She is so smart, and so fun now, as she is talking all the time, and does the funniest things.

Here is Lauren at Mary's house for the Bennett Family Christmas get together on December 23. This is what she did when we asked her to show us where her gums were. It was too funny. Deanna and her are staying down in Lethbridge at Mom and Dad's house for the rest of the month, as Deanna is on bed rest for now, and there are more of us to help her out down here. I am so excited to see Lauren lots while they are here.

We had a great Christmas and were spoiled beyond belief. Kevin's big gift is a new hunting bow (Ross Cardiac, '08). Unfortunately, it has not made it up from the states yet, but Chad's parents are going to bring it back up for us sometime this week. Our nephew, Austin, also got a hunting bow, so he is excited to go out shooting targets with Kevin as soon as he gets his bow adjusted. My big gift is some house renovations that Kevin is going to start!! I am so excited. He is re-doing our pantry to add more shelves and storage space, and then beginning on our main-floor bathroom, which we hardly use because everything is broken in it in some way. It is going to be great. He is also working on fixing my car radio so that I can get reception out here in Stirling (aparently by antenna is broken).

For Boxing day, Kevin was asked to play in a Stirling School Alumni Basketball tournament. Here are some pictures of my amazingly talented husband.

Kevin's team won 3rd place out of 6 teams. It turned out to be a lot of fun. The fundraiser was a huge success, and we are pretty sure that this tournament will be an annual event now.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2008-12-17T07:30:00.000-08:00

We have been enjoying our Christmas tree for over a month already (I put it up the week after Remembrance Day)! Our living room isn't quite big enough for our tree, so we had to do some major furniture rearranging. It's a little tight now, but at least we got it to fit - and even in front of the window! My piano students have been quite thrilled about our tree, as it has a remote for the lights. With the flick of a switch, all of the white lights turn off, and the colored lights come on!! It got to the point where I would have to hide my tree light remote because they would be more interested in changing the colors of my tree lights each week rather than play the piano!

On that note, I've really enjoyed teaching piano to a few of the kids around Stirling. I don't have too many students, but I think that I have the best ones. They did such a good job at our Christmas recital last week! I took them to the Raymond Hospital Extended Care, and we were able to entertain the residents that are currently staying there. They even got a chance to visit with a few of them after the recital! Piano lessons will start up again in January.

The best news of the week is that I have completed all of my final exams for the semester. Even better than that is the fact that I will never have to take a University exam again if I choose not to! I only have one semester left, and I will be doing a practicum for that semester at Magrath Elementary School, teaching grade 5 social studies. Mrs. Lorna Dorner will be my teacher mentor there for the next four months. Kevin is especially excited about this change, because now I will be home to help make dinner when he is working late! No more long nights studying for me!

Here is a picture of the desk that I have been living at for many, many days over the last four years.... a little messy right now, but it will be clean soon, now that I my studying days are over!!!!!!!

Actually, I didn't mind being stuck inside studying for the last few days. Doing anything INSIDE looked like a much better idea than working OUTSIDE! I feel bad for Kevin every morning as he puts on his five layers of clothing to go work at the feedlot! Brrr! We had a huge dump of snow a few days ago, and it keeps snowing off and on since then, with North winds to boot! Time to bust out the hot chocolate! I wasn't even able to get my car out of the driveway until Monday, and the wind has gone and blown a snow drift right behind it again last night, so it looks like I might not be going anywhere today either.

Here is a look at our cold-looking house.

We are re-painting the outside this Spring.

So much snow!!!!! The best thing is when the snow-plower piles the snow from the road right at the end of our driveway. Jimmy had to come clear the snow away with the skid steer this week so that I could get my car out.

My Church Calling

2008-11-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

Since September 2007, I have been having a lot of fun working with the young women in our ward. At the moment, I am the 1st counsellor in the YW's, and get to be mainly involved with the Miamaid girls, age 14-16. Right now there are only three Miamaids in our ward - Sarah and Jacquie Miller, and Allana Davison. We have a TON of fun.

Last week all of the YW leaders in the Stake were asked to submit a photo of the leaders from their ward at Stake leadership training. It was the first time I had gotten a picture with all of the ladies that I work with in the Ward. These women have become some of my best friends in Stirling, and I couldn't ask for better examples to look up to. Here is the picture of us at our YW in Excellence night this year.

Moroni's Quest Fireside

2008-11-16T09:05:00.000-08:00

Last Night we were able to go to the Moroni's Quest Fireside put on by the Lethbridge East Stake. We were Moroni's Quest 'tribe leaders' last July, and were able to join in on this great experience for the youth in our Stake. Although we were too busy to take many photos while we were there, the Stake leaders planned well, and had a great committee there just for the purpose of catching each moment on camera. As we watched the video last night at the fireside, so many great memories came back to the surface. It was great to see most of our tribe members last night as well. It was too bad that not everyone could make it. We hope to be able to keep in touch with all of our tribe members as they graduate and move on with their lives. We also hope that the Moroni's Quest experience helped to strengthen their testimonies of the Book of Mormon, as it did ours.

Halloween!!!

2008-11-08T07:55:00.000-08:00

We couldn't help but put some pictures up of our cute nieces and nephews that came trick-or-treating to our house on Halloween! Even though Lou was up in Edmonton for it, we'll put one of her on here too.

Here is one of Deanna and Dave's girl Lauren. I love how she goes for the carrot instead of the candy!!! We sure miss seeing them as often, now that they moved up north for Dave's schooling. Lou is growing up way to fast. We can't wait to see them over Christmas.Here is one of our nephew, Gunner. We loved his skunk costume! He was sure excited to get the candy from us!

Amy, Elena, Ty, and Jay also came to get some candy from us. Jay was so excited about his costume!

I was excited to have Gracie and Sadie show up to piano lessons earlier in the day in full costume!!! They made a great scary witch and fairy princess! Sadie assured us that she wanted to be a witch, but that it didn't work out, so she is going to be a really scary witch next year!

After all the trick-or-treaters had headed home to eat all of their goodies, we were able to have some friends out to go to Stirling's Haunted House with us. Robyn (who was my roommate before we got married) and her husband Jance hadn't been to Stirling before, so we hope they enjoyed their visit! At one point, the Haunted House workers began dragging us girls away into a dark hallway with a dirt floor. Even though we knew nothing too bad would happen, it still gets your heart racing to feel like something is going to jump out at you at any moment. They really did a good job of it this year! Well worth the money.

Welcome

2008-10-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

We finally decided that it was time to stay in touch with all of our family and friends using a blog! I'm sure there is a lot more I can do to improve it yet, but so far I've actually found it a lot easier to set up than I had guessed it would be. We will try to update the site with photos and information as often as we can!

Feel free to comment on any of our posts, and let us know if there is anything you think we can do to improve the site!