Nielson Family Hightlights for 2007

Tyler - Another year, another job. As soon as Ty takes a new job, he's already eying his next move, and this year he became the engineering manager for his team. He's loving the new challenges and learning that come with the position. In addition to working long hours, Ty works hard to be a great husband and father, playing with the girls, taking Mindy on dates, traveling, and keeping the lawn looking beautiful. One of his big accomplishments this year was biking all 72 miles around Lake Tahoe.

Mindy - Between the kids, the travels, and building the house across the street, life has been busy and fulfilling. I took my first cruise, went to Rancho la Puerta spa for a week with my mom and sisters, and took a trip to Morocco - all such amazing experiences. I've been managing the construction of a custom spec house for my parents, picking out all the finishes, and making all those little decisions on how everything comes together. It's been a wonderful outlet for creativity and it gives me something to do that's my own. Up next, potty training Lilly. She's totally ready, but I need to train myself to take the time to train her.

Ava - It's been a big year for Ava. She continues to grow and mature at an astounding rate. Her big accomplishments this year were becoming potty trained and starting preschool (both in the month of August). Her favorite things were camping, taking dance lessons, and traveling to Disneyland, Tahoe, Hawaii, and her grandparents' house. She loves celebrating holidays, especially Halloween, Christmas, and birthdays.

Lilly - This time last year, Lilly was just learning to walk, so I'm sure you can imagine just how many changes have taken place this year. Her favorite thing is a music class she does with her mommy. When she's not at music class, she spends her time singing the songs over, and over, and over. We were all a little shocked that she could sing her ABC's and count to 5 before her 2nd birthday, but with a big sister and 5 cousins around all the time, she's got to work hard to keep up.

For Fashion or Fishing?

The Best Deal EVER!

Let me tell you how excited I was when I found 12 colored Sharpie pens at the dollar store. What an amazing deal!

Now let me tell you how delightfully disappointed I was to discover that I had unknowingly purchased Shapely pens. If they don't work, at least I got a good laugh for my dollar.

I Believe In Santa's Cause

Between the details of the nativity and Santa, Ava is, of course, confused. Lately she spends her days asking question after question:

Where was Jesus born? Can we go see him?
Can we go to the north pole? Can't we just take an airplane to get there?
Why does this Santa have glasses? There are two Santas?
Will Jesus get me a present for Christmas?

Each question is followed by a lengthy discussion, leading to more questions. It's a lot for a 3 year-old to wrap her mind around, and I don't necessarily have answers that make sense for her. Sometimes, I worry she's being overly confused and manipulated with the stories, but also enjoy watching the wheels turn in her brain as she works it out. There is nothing sweeter than to witness her trying her hardest to land on Santa's nice list, not only to get the goods on Christmas morning, but because she believes it "makes Jesus' heart happy."

My earliest Christmas memories most often include the Statler Brothers playing in the background. If you didn't grow up listening to this music, it might not be your first choice, but I have a special place in my heart for their Christmas songs. As I watch Ava trying to make sense of Christmas, I think about the words to their song, "I Believe in Santa's Cause," which basically says that whatever you believe or disbelieve, there is no doubting the magic Santa brings to a child's life. So with all the confusion, I think that whether your focus is on Christ's birth or Santa, the overall message of Christmas is about being kind and generous to family, friends, and strangers. And that's good.

A Moment to Vent

I know, I know. It's the holidays and I have a million reasons to be happy. I just have a few things I need to vent about before I continue with the festivities.

1. The writer's strike is seriously affecting my TV addiction.
2. I drove all the way to the Great Mall today to go to the Stride Rite outlet and their register was broken.
3. My local Costco stopped carrying Diet Dr. Pepper.

I feel better now. Thanks for listening!

Christmas Dresses

We created our own photo studio at home, and got these adorable pictures of the girls in their Christmas dresses. Bye-bye Kiddie Kandids!

Successful Christmas Tree Hunting

Calling all Griswold homes

Bethany: Is your house on fire, Clark?
Clark: No, Aunt Bethany, those are the Christmas lights.

Nope, this isn't our house. The picture barely does justice to the shocking amount of Christmas flare adorning this house a few blocks from ours. Every year they add a little more to their display, working further to earn the name of "the Griswold house." So if any of you want to send a picture of the Griswold house near you, I'll put it on my blog.

In the spirit of the Griswold family Christmas, here are some more quotes from our favorite Christmas movie:

I don't know what to say, except it's Christmas and we're all in misery.

Todd: Well, something had to come through the window! Something had to break the stereo!
Margo: And why is the carpet all wet, *Todd*?
Todd: I don't *know*, Margo!

The most enjoying traditions of the season are best enjoyed in the warm embrace of kith and kin. Thith tree is a thymbol of the thpirit of the Griswold family Chrithmath.

Oh, that uh, that there's an RV.... But, don't you go falling in love with it now, because, we're taking it with us when we leave here next month.

Eddie: You surprised to see us, Clark?
Clark: Oh, Eddie... If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn't be more surprised than I am now.

How much would you guess this project cost?

Project Update

I finished my week of insane projects and I'm ready to refocus on the many other things on my plate. Here are some pictures of the projects.

The Table

Ty & I bought this table from the consignment shop when we first got married. Ever since we moved into our house the wood stain seemed too light. Our very first project was stripping and re-staining my grandmother's end tables and it was so much work we swore we'd never do that again. My only options with this table were to repaint. I painted it a dark brown with a black glaze. Between sanding, two coats of primer, two coats of paint, two coats of glaze, and two coats of polyurethane, I put enough hours in that I might as well have stripped and stained the thing. It looks really good right now, but I'm worried that the paint is going to scratch and chip before too long.

The Side Yard

I've tried planting all sorts of vines along this fence to beautify the side yard and give us some more privacy from our neighbors. Nothing seemed to grow well, but we didn't have enough planting space to plant something more substantial. We hired a guy to cut out a row of pavers, and Ty and I spent all Saturday planting these plants that will grow together and up to give a natural screen between us and our neighbors (we have about 15 feet between us and them). All we have left to do is plug the sprinkler nozzles into the drip hose we installed this spring. The most exciting part of this project was getting to use a pick ax.

Since we were on a roll, we decided to clean up the yard, pick the lemons, and put up Christmas lights. Last year our lemon tree produced about 5 lemons. This year it produced enough to fill two buckets. As you can see, we had to pick some of the lemons while they were still green because there were enough to almost snap the young tree in half. Anyone have any good lemon recipes?