Happy Birthday to my Wonderful Father in Law

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, good looking, sweet, and loving father in law William B. Nelson!

This is his mission picture( I believe).  He was called to serve in the Northern California Mission which included Sacramento of course. Thanks to Mom, we have a whole volume of pictures and stories about Dad and his life growing up.

And here is the latest picture I have of Dad and Mom with Bryce when they were here for Bryce's ordination.

Today he is 81 years old and I love him dearly!  Thanks Dad for being who you are, for being so loving and kind, for being such a valiant man of God, for taking care of us and always being there for us whenever we have needed you, for setting such a great example to all of us, for never wavering in your faith, and devotion to your Father in Heaven.  Thank you for being a great Patriarch of a great family, the family I was lucky enough to marry into....the family I always dreamed of being part of.  Thank you for loving me unconditionally for who I am.  Thank you for being a builder of homes, the best kind of homes there ever were......Homes of  Strength, Honor, Faith and Love!

Happy Birthday.....We Love you Tons!!!

Seriously

First of all,  here is our kitty cat "snowtip" or as I like to call him "ki ki poo poo head".  I know I know you wish you had thought up such a brilliant nickname ....LOL!  We have had this cat for about 9 years now.  He is pretty but that is about it.  He isn't much of a people person.  He doesn't like to be bothered too much except once  in a while to lay on top of me so that I will pet him.  Anyway, dont know how long he will be around.  Mike and I are getting tired of waking up in the morning to a pee stained bathroom rug.  Okay, I know, too much for  6:50 in the morning, but I just had to share his picture since he may not be around too much longer... are we mean?  i just cant handle any kind of evidence of animal  residue in my home.  He used to be no trouble at all.  I mean we have the cat box and we keep it cleaned out and that has always worked fine, so why now all of the sudden does he do this peeing thing on the bathroom rugs? Luckily we can wash them and he isn't peeing anywhere else. I just don't want to wait 'til it gets worse.    (don't be alarmed all you cat lovers....just giving him away.)

Secondly, work is going well so far.  I have my routine down.  Get up, walk or jog(when motivated), get kids off, go to work, come home, cook, clean, drive kids around, baseball, play practice, scouts, etc...family scriptures, get ready for bed....get up the next morning and do it all again....I need more women in my life....I mean Seriously!!

Happy Birthday Sugar Bear!

Happy Birthday to our Sugar Bear!  Today my Stephen Wayne turns 15 and I can't believe it!  This boy is just a smart, fun loving, and passionate guy!  He probably takes most after the Stephenson side of the family in personality(kinda crazy).  He has always been mistaken for older than he is.  He's always been taller than most of the kids his age and all of his teacher's throughout elementary school always commented on how much older he seemed to be.   He recieved straight A's all throughout elementary school and was just an all around good kid and then middle school hit....and boy was that an adjustment period with lots of new emotions and experiences.  Then middle school ended and 3 things happened to Stephen.  1-he received his patriarchal blessing, 2- he attended EFY and, 3- his older brother (his idol) went on a mission.  And we got our Sugar Bear Back!  It was the wackiest and most wonderful thing that has ever happened.  It was like he was transformed overnight in just a few weeks.  Stephen Wayne Nelson is a pretty special kid and he makes me laugh everyday!  Thank Goodness!  Happy Birthday to our Sugar Bear!

Random Stuff

Mike made fun of me last week at Bryce's game as I tried to take a picture of the 2 of us standing together ...I had to stretch my hands up so high to get him in the shot too. lol!

Denisa and I took her son Tyler to the SF airport last weekend and the guy in front of us paid the toll for us and Denisa had this look on her face for I dont know how long so I decided to take a picture of her. I love it!

This is Stephen's leg.....I found this picture on my camera Stephen had taken it after he jumped over the fence trying to get a baseball.  He loves anything that has to do with being rough and tough...pain, blood...but he wont watch a scarey movie lol!  He wore shorts to school the next day to show it off....weirdo!

 

Here's Mike with his favorite toy!  The Big Green Egg!  We got it a couple of years ago instead of a gas BBQ.  It cost much more though.  It's a charcoal bbq that is ceramic and in the shape of an egg...it's supposed to heat much faster, and hotter and more evenly than the gas ones...I have to admitt bbq does taste better when grilled on the Big Green Egg.  He loves that thing!

Here's the chicken Mike last cooked on the Big Green Egg....Stephen thought he needed a head.

Bryce thought it was pretty awesome that he found this heart-shaped chip in his bag last week.



Just some fun things to make me smile today....I needed it!

Life is crazy in a good way...

Well, I have to say that I am happy that spring has sprung!  I have been enjoying the sunshine and all.  But at the same time that means that lots of new things are happening too.  For instance now is that time that we get closer to performance time with "Beauty and the Beast" and "Cinderella".  Since I am working backstage I now get to attend all of the rehearsal's with Bryce which there are 3 of this week...  and then of course continue to drive Stephen back and forth to all of his.  Then on top of that Baseball season has started with both boys playing this year.  I absolutely love to watch my boys play sports.  I think it is amazing to see them in action and I love team sports!  They really learn to push eachother and all that competitive stuff it so invogorating!

( Here's Bryce at opening day playing 1st base on the Diamond Backs Team).

(Here's Stephen waiting for his game to start....playing freshman ball at Pleasant Grove High School)

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So, that's the fun stuff going on these days.  So, we are always on the go as you can imagine.  But we love it!  Of course there is always Scouts,  School, and church activities.

 Since Bryce has been back on track again, I've been enjoying having the house to myself during the day.  But, then Mike asked me a question on Monday, "so how are you doing on finding a job?"ughhhhh!  Now, why did he have to ask me that quesiton?  Well, I just tried to kind of ignore that one, even though I knew I shouldn't.  So, yesterday I was going about my day just trying to take care of everything and running some errands and I had to stop by my auto insurance company and make a payment and guess what?  My insurance guy offered me a job!  Okay, so is this a sign or what?  Actually, he is a good friend and we had spoken previously about employment.  The best part about it are the hours.....9-2 M-F...I mean it cant get better than that can it?  I feel extremely blessed right now.  So, I am busily working on getting my home in order and ready for me to go back to work on Monday.

I also did something else exciting yesterday...I purchased my airline tickets for a trip to Utah in May to see my sisters for a "Sister's weekend retreat" where my sister Dorothy will be coming out from Virgina,....Yay!  We havent seen her in about 3 years.  Can't wait!  And my airline tickets cost me $10 since I was able to use my rewards points on my American Express.  I love free stuff...dont you?

So yes, life is crazy right now but in a good way.  Lots to look forward to including the blessings that seem to always come when we most need them (someone is watching out for us) and spring is a great time of year to enjoy it!

Pistachio Cake

Ingredients:
1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 package (3.4oz) instant pistachio pudding mix
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
7 drops green food coloring

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.
2. In a large bowl mix together cake mix and pudding mix.  Make a well in the cener and pour in eggs, water, oil, almond extract and green food coloring.  Blend ingredients, then beat for 2 minutes at medium speed.
3. Pour into prepared 10 inch tube pan.  Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly pressed.  Cool in pan 15 minutes.  Turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

This was a hit last night but the boys said I should have frosted it.

Lucky?

I was "lucky" to have some extra time on my hands tonight and so I got creative and made cards and a Pistachio cake for my guys.

I feel "lucky" that Michael is serving so well and enjoying his mission so much. We missed not having him here to celebrate St. Patricks Day with us.

And I feel "lucky" to have these 3 handsome men still hanging around in my life to liven up each day. 

 But as i sit back and think, i realize...luck really has nothing to do with it:)