Halloween 2011

Cowboy Derek
Cutest Cowboy in town!!
Derek continues to wear his cowboy boots almost every day.

Now batting number 1 on the Yankees...Nathan!!
I have to admit, this was the easiest costume in history! Thank you Nathan! You looked so cute.

m & m Livie
This is the first year that Livie and Matty made their own costumes. I did help a bit, but they really did a great job coming up with their ideas and creating their costumes. It was fun to see them be so proud of their creations. And they turned out FABULOUS!!

Flaming Marshmallow Matty
We used an upside down collapsible hamper for the shape of the marshmallow and then covered it in white fleece and of course every 8 year boy wants flames on his marshmallow.

My Halloween Cuties
They were all dressed and ready for their school Fall Festival
(carnival games, food, contests, and lots of fun)

This year the kids got to enjoy the carnival with their cousins. Anne, Emma, Sarah, Laura, and Adam joined us for the afternoon. Rachel and Howard too :)

Livie and her BFF Briley ("Fear the Beard")

Emma and Matty participated in the mummy wrapping contest. Emma wrapped and Matty stood still. It was so fun to watch Emma run around Matty as fast as she could and try to cover him in the entire roll of toilet paper.

Here's my little Cowboy blowing me a kiss. He had been throwing up the night before...so he really wasn't feeling all that well. I was just happy to see him having a good time. David came with us to the carnival, but left as soon as we got there because his stomach wasn't feeling so great. I felt so bad for him.

Go Emma, Go!! (oh, there was a hair spraying booth that my kids really enjoyed...hence the green hair)

Briley & Olivia in the mummy wrapping contest. They actually placed First! Way to go girls!

Kids needed to cool down in the shade under the pie eating contest tables. It was a beautiful sunny day. Not sure the cousins were used to feeling so warm on Halloween...they just moved to California from Colorado.

Halloween night. This is our trick or treating group just before they headed out to collect pounds of candy. After a Sunday of barfing in our house (by EVERY ONE of our family members), it was a relief that David and Howard could take the kids trick or treating on Halloween. I walked with them to the houses in our court, but then headed home due to my achy body. And Rachel was home with a messed up toe. It was killing her to walk on it. We were both home on the couch. Even with all the sickness throughout our Halloween weekend, the kids managed to have a great time and they looked so stinking cute!

Keeping My Promise

Here are some photos of the numerous end of the school year activities the kids were able to participate in:

Olivia and her 4th grade teacher Mrs. Clarke

Mattingly and his 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Hayashida

David was able to walk with us to school in the morning during the kids' last week of school (his students were already out for summer...so his start time each day was a little more flexible). Derek enjoyed the stroller in the mornings throughout the school year. In the afternoon, he loved riding his Razor scooter to school to pick up his siblings.

Flowers for their teachers on the last day of school. We were so blessed this school year with fantastic teachers. Just loved each of them!

Nathan & Daddy on Kindergarten Promotion Day!

Me & Nate with his promotion certificate (it was also pajama day at school for spirit week. Funny story...we dropped Nathan off at his classroom that morning and every kid in the class was all dressed up for the promotion, but not Nathan. He was wearing his pajamas because that is what was scheduled for spirit week. I told him that pajamas were fine with me, but if he wanted me to go home and get dressy clothes for him, I would. I thought he might feel silly being the only kid in pajamas. He wanted the pajamas! He was comfortable and happy and that made me happy.

Here is Olivia receiving Superintendent's Honor Roll (the highest academic honor). Wish the picture wasn't so blurry.

Mrs. Mullins and Nathan

Perfect Attendance Awards Assembly for the 3rd Trimester

Perfect Attendance Assembly for Matty too. He received the award for Perfect Attendance for the entire school year!

4th Grade Recorder Concert & Career Day...what you want to be when you grow up. Livie is dressed as a teacher of course :)

Nathan ready to ride his scooter home after his last day of Kindergarten. That was a tough moment for me. I will miss walking home with him at 11:10 am each day and hearing about his Kindergarten fun. He's growing up. Dang it!

Walking home after a fantastic 2010-2011 school year.

Here's Nathan receiving his award for Perfect Attendance for the 3rd trimester.

Kindergarten field trip to Fairytale Town

We went to the Sacramento Zoo that same day. Aren't these Kindergarten monkeys so cute!!

Mother's Day Tea in Kindergarten
(one of my most favorite days of the school year)
I was spoiled with songs, flowers, a beautiful portrait by Nate, a bracelet, a cupcake and lemonade. What a great day!

4th, 5th & 6th Grade Spring Choir Concert
All the songs were about food. Great music and a lot fun songs. The choir had such cute movements too. My kids love singing to the soundtrack. Livie has a music/band teacher that really puts in a lot of time. Livie is taking her summer band class that she offers out of her home on Wednesdays. Her flute playing is already much better than I ever was on the clarinet. She is thinking she wants to be a music teacher when she grows up.

Briley & Olivia

It has been very difficult for Olivia to accept that Briley will be moving this summer. We love her and her family. Really great people!

Softball 2011 Championship Game
We placed 2nd. Tough on the girls when we lost our championship game (hence some tears), but they had so much to be proud of! We had an awesome season! Way to go Dodgers! We celebrated our terrific season together with a huge swim party (BBQ, swimming, bounce house) at our catcher's home. It was a blast.

School is out now and we have been laying around the house, doing nothing. NOT!! Next post will consist of summer fun...swimming, bike rides, play dates, basketball camp, Mattingly's 8th birthday & baptism, baseball camp, Cub Scout Day Camp and............................!

Believe it or not!

Ok, I know that my blog has been dead for a long time now...but hey life is busy. Maybe this little entry will be enough to jump start my blogging habit once again. So enough about that! Here's a little spring summary of our life...

We got to sit through almost 4 innings of Matty's first baseball playoff game tonight (IN THE POURING RAIN). I'm sorry, I pay good money to live in "sunny" California. This is not baseball weather! His game was called/ended due to the rainy weather. They were ahead 1-0, but not sure if they will have to finish the game before moving onto round 2 of the playoffs. It has been a challenging season for Matty. He started off feeling like the worst kid on the team (which he wasn't), then he started making contact with the ball at the plate. They funny thing to me was that he thought he was the worst because he was striking out often, when most of the players on his team had the same problem. He didn't notice that strike outs were a team struggle. In the end, I am just happy that he is having fun being on a baseball team and that he wants to keep playing baseball. He had me worried there for a while. I was beginning to think we jinxed him when we named him "Mattingly". He has learned a lot this season about perseverance.

Tomorrow night is Olivia's first playoff softball game (highly doubt that game will happen, dumb rain). We are the #2 seed. We have to win 2 games to make it to the championship game. I really think her team can do it. She made me so proud last Saturday when she hit a hard ball off of the best pitcher in the league. She got on base and got an RBI. It was a very big moment in our game and I was so happy for her when she came through for her team when they really needed it. She is having so much fun with softball. It's hard for me to believe that she is old enough to be in the dugout singing softball cheers with her team (wasn't I just doing that??). Livie is very busy with school, homework, reading, school choir, playing the recorder, piano lessons, and now she is in beginner band at school (playing the flute). She loves spending time with her friends from school and from her team. Sometimes I feel more like her manager than her mom. I tell her all the time that she has a better social life than I do. It's ok, I love that she is involved in positive things. If only her allergies were better :(

Nathan is so close to finishing his Kindergarten year and that makes me so sad! I love everything about Kindergarten and I just don't want it to end yet! He is so smart and so funny. I am just happy that the "funny" hasn't become a problem at school like it can at home. He is everyone's friend (boys and girls) and I love that about him. He has become a pretty independent little boy. He really doesn't want me walking him up to his classroom anymore but I told him "too bad, I'm doing it anyway". He recently had his first ambulance ride when he accidently ate a small Snickers at school. I could really live a calmer life without those allergic reaction experiences. He has turned into a baseball stud this season. He is playing "coach pitch" and he impresses me each game with his hitting and fielding. He loves playing first base (of course, all the plays are to first base). He looks forward to every game and practice. His season ends this Saturday and he is going to miss playing on his Yankees team. Maybe soccer in the fall?

Derek is the champion little brother. This boy goes to at least 5 baseball/softball games a week and cheers for his siblings and their teams. He has learned some cheers and he loves to run out at the end of the game to put his hand in the huddle for the after game cheer. He follows Nathan's team to go and shake the other team's hands. He dresses for the game (his own baseball pants, an old t-ball Yankee shirt, his Yankees hat and his black high top Converse shoes). He's the cutest little bat boy out there. He can't wait for it to be his turn and I don't blame him. He gave me the greatest Mother's Day gift. He decided that day that he wanted to use the potty. I wasn't planning on potty training until after the baseball season, but he is doing so well with it. So independent and so excited about using it. How bad is it that there is a little part of me that is sad to see him wearing big boy undies? How did he get to be 3 so soon? He is completely addicted to his Razor scooter and he tells me he loves me at least 10 times a day. He likes to sing to me and it just melts my heart.

David is a very busy man this time of year. He has lots of school activities going on that keep him at work late into the night, but he makes the time to help Matty's team as an assistant coach. The two of us are having fun coaching Nathan's team. We have a great group of kids on the team and really nice families. These parents help out on the field and in the dugout. It helps make our experience enjoyable and not stressful. David and his dad recently built a mantel for our fireplace. It is almost completely finished and I really like how it looks in our house. I wish he had more time for projects. He's good at them and I know he enjoys them. Someday. He his recovering from the butt kicking his Lakers suffered in the playoffs. Hopefully the Yankees won't disappointment him as well. He had a proud daddy moment a few weeks ago when Olivia completed a research project/presentation on "Why Everyone Should Be a Yankees Fan".

As for me...well my spring days are filled with wife & mom duties, coaching 2 teams, volunteering in classrooms, chaperoning field trips, teaching the 6,7&8 year old kids each Sunday, fighting my battle with allergies and trying to get some exercise. I am beginning to really enjoy running. I have to admit that I am looking forward to the kids being on summer vacation. No homework and no school schedule to keep up with. Can't wait to swim, play, watch movies, BBQ, camp, visit family & friends, sleep & relax. Just a few more weeks to go :)

I think one day I will look back, read this and think, man I was busy! And believe it or not, I think I will miss those days.

Next post will include some pictures!

Winter Vacation is Here!

I just have to say how happy I am that winter vacation has finally arrived. Don't get me wrong...the school year really is flying by. I am just so happy to have my husband home with us for the next 3 weeks! His new job as an elementary school principal has been such a blessing to our family, but the downside of this job is that it keeps him away from home lots of days for very long amounts of time. We get to have him home with us now for the next 3 weeks and I am very grateful. No school schedules to worry about! Lots of play ahead...and maybe a few "honey-do" chores.

It's Great to Be 8 !!

Olivia Madeline
8 years old

Olivia turned 8 years old on Friday. Her birthday celebration began a little earlier in the week. She invited 5 friends over for a sleep over. The girls each created their own personal pizza, we baked cookies, had cake & ice cream, presents, watched a movie and were asleep by 11:40 PM. One friend felt a little homesick, so at midnight, she called home. In the morning, David made chocolate chip pancakes and then the girls did a little more baking (chocolate dipped pretzels). They played and laughed and really had a good time together. The boys did a good job being the "pesky little brothers", but overall it went well. I was very impressed with how well the girls all got along. It was a great party.

On Friday, she had the traditional birthday breakfast in bed and then we celebrated at home with our family and my parents. We had a steak dinner and more chocolate cake! Olivia opened the many cards she received, as well as some gifts. She got a new bike, a new yellow lab webkinz (she of course named Sophie), an easy bake oven and some boots that she hasn't really taken off yet. She couldn't wait to ride her new bike, so she bundled up and went out in the dark to try it out. It's a good thing we live in a court. She loved when the boys went to bed and she got to stay up a little later to play some Uno with her dad. It was a very nice birthday evening together.

So pretty in her baptism dress. David's dad (Papa) took some wonderful pictures of Olivia a few weeks before her baptism. These pictures are very special to us.

Dressed in the baptism jumpsuit...ready for her daddy to baptize her.

Saturday, was her special baptism day. It was a very special experience. She had invited lots of family to participate in the program (including a special song performed by her brothers, Hannah, Sydney & Kendall). Grammy & Papa shared very thoughtful words about baptism and the Holy Ghost. The spirit was very easily felt by all of us. I know that Olivia will remember this day with lots of love in her heart because of the efforts by everyone that participated in the program and who came to support her. One of the thoughts that continually ran through my mind during that great day was how blessed we are to have so much love and support shown to us by so many people. Truly a blessing.

Mommy & Livie right before her baptism program began.

This photo was taken after the baptism. Olivia had been so excited to wear her special white dress. She looked absolutely beautiful. David looked awfully handsome too.

Olivia picked out a chocolate cake with all white frosting for her special baptism day. After her baptism, we enjoyed cake together in the cultural hall.

Group shot of most of the kids! They were all so sweet and happy for Livie. I am so proud of Olivia and the example she sets for all these kids.

Livie & her brothers!

Nelson Family photo with our 8 year old daughter!

Here is Olivia opening cards and gifts that family & friends had brought for her. She received some very special things (scriptures, scripture bag, bracelets, bookmarks, journal, baptism keepsake book, stickers, pens & highlighters).

After a quick clean-up at the church, family joined up back at our house for some pizza, salad, and more visiting. It was really fun getting to spend some more time together. Mark & Becky, Steven, Bill & Helen all headed back to R.P. Thanks you guys for traveling and sharing this day with Olivia. It really meant a lot to her and to us.