The Nelson Family

Build-A-Bear

2012-01-11T14:42:00.001-08:00

Tristan, Bella and Charlotte have the best Aunts and Uncles who do lots for them! One in particular who lives across the Atlantic ocean still does so much for these little ones. This year for the older two's birthdays Aunt Bonnie sent us to Build-A-Bear-Workshop for a bear each. It was so fun to watch as they got to stuff their own bear, add a heart, pick an outfit etc. Even dad got really into it!:) This is a fun activity with little children, they get so excited!

Tristan with his polar bear, of course we had to have a Utah State Jersey!
Bella & her Hello Kitty.
Baby Charlotte would not let Tristan's bear go! She loves his bear and is always "growling" at it.

Christmas Lights!

2011-12-12T10:07:00.000-08:00

In an effort to keep up my blog I thought today was as good as any to share our Christmas fun with you. Every year we like to go see the lights on Temple Square (well maybe not everyone). This year we made a stop first at the Gate Way to Build-A-Bear (a fun birthday gift from Aunt Bonnie) and it was a big hit, even Dad got into it! Then off to Temple Square to see some beautiful lights and a wonderful dinner at the Lion House. This is a fun tradition for our family and I'm so blessed that we live so close to Temple Square. It is a beautiful place!

Lets climb on everything!

Mom with Tristan & Bella. Bella was a little upset about having to share the picture with her older brother.

Lotti all bundled up!

Bella had to hold Dad's hand at all times!

SO EXCITED!

6 Years of Pure Bliss!

2011-11-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that Blake and I have been hitched for 6 wonderful years! With 6 moves and 4 children later these years have just flew by, where does time go? We have had some major blessings in our lives and I can see the Lord's hand in all things especially when it comes to our little children. I never would have thought we would have 4 children so fast, considering only one was really planned :) but I wouldn't change any of it!

This day 6 years ago we were married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple at 1:00pm. I remember the major stress I was under trying to have everything just right and alsoall the "problems" that happened. But one of the best parts, and most fun was before our sealing, Blake and I had some time alone together. First we forgot his wedding band (not that it makes a difference as he rarly wears it) so I went back and we had some time to sit, talk and laugh, as there is never a dull moment with Blake. We asked if we could see this one room as we were just waiting and the Patron said, "Yes, but remember, you're not married yet!" Walking into our sealing and seeing all my family (minus our missonary at the time) and all of Blake's family there for us was very special. It was a beautiful day! After the cerimony we took pictures for 3 hrs (Blake's favorite part! The photographer was the brunt of all of Blake's jokes for the whole rest of the night. :) Then to our dinner recpetion at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building! This was my favorite as I always wanted to have my reception there, they were so great to work with and made everything so beautiful and the food was great! Then off to the Grand America! I'll just stop there :) Anyways, it was a beautiful day and I am so greatful I married Blake. He is such a wonderful person and treats me and my children sooo sooo good! I love ya!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

With all that has happened with my pregnancy recently, September and October has gone by so fast I don't know where they went. Our regular fall activities we haven't been able to take advantage of due to bed rest etc. However, we did get to make it out to our favorite pumpkin patch with cousins, pick pumpkins, ride trackers, slid down "huge" slides, watch the pigs race, shoot corn and also were able to help a family in need all in one night! It is always so much fun!

Jetters & Lotti smiling for the camera

Picking our pumpkins

Charlotte and Daddy on the hay ride, her first pumpkin patch!

Livie, Bella and Tristan. "Can we go yet?!"

Charlotte's Blessing

2011-10-20T20:59:00.000-07:00

Its only been six months since this beautiful blessing day, but I needed to post something about this wonderful day! And to let Aunt Bonnie see Tristan's grown up blazer, isn't he a stud? Seriously can we take a least one good family picture? This day was such a crazy day! I always think I have all the time in the world but it always runs out on me. Bella wouldn't have anything to do with her hair bows, infact she threw them down the stairs, Tristan did his silly face and I look like I'm expecting a baby. Wait a minute, yup I am in this picture. But when all was said and done we blessed Charlotte Ruth (our little Lottie) on Easter Sunday 2011 and her Daddy gave a beautiful blessing! Thanks to a friend I have it all written down!

Since there are on average 3 babies being blessed each fast sunday in our family ward we were able to pick this wonderful day! Grandma and Grandpa Tollestrup and Aunt Angie drove all the way from Canada to be there, along with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson, Casey and Emily, Liv and Jet, Zac and Jamie and their family, Corey and Amanda and Great Uncle Larry and Aunt LaRae.

We'll see ya next year:)

Grandma and the Norwegian Sweater

2011-10-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

Grandma Ruth, Charlotte Ruth and the Norwegian Sweater

Bonnie I thought you might enjoy this, "its from Norway!"

Cool Girls

2011-10-20T20:29:00.001-07:00

I was 13 when this beauty was born, I can't believe how much she has grown! When I was home I had a lot of people tell me that I remind them of Avery or vice versa. I will take that anyday! She is so much fun and so good to my kids, its fun to have big cousin Avery around, she helps out so much. And did I say Beautiful?!

Canada

2011-10-20T20:13:00.001-07:00

The boys and Brigham

This little guy could get her laughing and giggling so hard!

There is none other like cousin Cody!

Our trip to Canada was full of crazy fun! My kids had so much fun with cousins, Grandma and Grandpa and Uncles and Aunts it made it hard for them to leave! Taking off for our trip back to Utah wasn't easy for Tristan and Bella. Bella cried until the boarder and I had to reassure her that maybe for Christmas we'll come back. When we reached Helena and stopped for gas, they both woke up and the first thing they asked was, "when is Christmas? How long until Christmas?" When we got home the Christmas list started along with Christmas books read for bedtime. There is only one problem...convincing Dad to go. He is not used to "Canadian Storms".

School!!!

2011-10-20T15:36:00.000-07:00

Ning Ning (Belle's blanket didn't make it into the class room, but mom did"babysit" her while she was at school.

Lighting McQueen, who else?!

This year both Bella and Tristan get to go to preschool. It is fun to wake up school days and hear "T, hey T-Dawg, who do you think is going to get Bisquit the Bunny today? Abby or Olivia?" Their conversations are so funny to listen to, they make my days!

Surprises! I Love 'Em!

2011-08-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had a really good surprise? My husband is #1 when it comes to great surprises! When we were dating he surprised me with a trip to California for the day just to swim in the ocean because I never had before in my life. He picked me up at 3am we drove to the airport, boarded our plane and spent the day in So Cal. swimming in the salt water. I think his biggest surprise on that trip was the $39.98 spent ALONE in freshly squeezed orange juice on the Queen Mary:), financial planners love that! Needless to say it was an amazing surprise to go with all the very many he spoiles me with!

Anyways, to my story. When we were up in Canada for Magrath Days I had a feeling we might be expecting a new bundle of joy at the end of April. When we got home I made an appointment with my doctor for my 6-7week first pregnancy visit. Last week I went in and as I saw my little baby on the ultra sound I could not believe how big the baby was and how well I could see everything! I saw the baby's face, arms etc. Then the doctor ask if I was ready to find out what the sex of my baby was and my reply, "how can you? I'm only 7 weeks along." "Oh no, " said my doctor, "you're 17 1/2 weeks along, your due date is at the end of January!" I couldn't believe it!

Wow, this baby, like all my other little angles, is certainly ment to be here. I have a set of Irish twins and just weeks short of another! I think this is the best surprise a mother could ask for:)!

PS. I have been trying to post my pics from the summer. I'm getting there, but I know I am a terrible blogger. But believe me when I say I'm working on it!

Baby Sister

2011-06-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

Our baby sister, also know as Yayee (Lotti) has grown so much these last 5 months! Here is a list of some of the things that have happened and that you have learned to do so far in life!
*You love to watch T & B play. You sometimes end up being the baby dragon they shoot their Nerf guns at.

*You grab your toes and feet! Just learned to do that a few days ago.

*A big smile is always on your face & you love love love to giggle!

*Matching is a must with big sister.

* In the morning you look like a baby chick with your fluffy blonde hair!

*You talk non stop!

*You're a cat napper.

*Rice cereal is now your favorite, after bottles of course.

*You are so chubby!

We love you baby Charlotte, you have such a sweet disposition about you and everyone is captivated by you!

Happy Anniversary

2011-06-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

This post should have been made 7 months ago, however our computer was broken which made it impossible to really post anything. But now that we have a computer at home my blog will be a little more up-to-date rather then "8months ago" underneath my name.

This year (or I guess I should say last year) Blake and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. We usually have been given new born babies for our anniversary gift :),but this year my finacial planner suggested not to get one another anything. Does anyone fall for this trick? Unfortunately I have,too many times. So with no gift on hand I was surprised with a full body message,dinner and a movie. He always does so much for me and its always such a surprise! To top the night off I came,home went up stairs to find my hiding children, only to find a beautiful new slay bed and bedroom set! What a stud!I love ya babe thanks for the best 5 years yet! And the 3 cutest little rascals a girl could ever ask for!

Coming Soon...

2011-06-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope all is well! We have been busy here at the Nelson household! I have been meaning to post all of our activities on our blog, however our computer finally gave up the ghost and I'm not sure that it will even turn on anymore. Since all I can figure out on Blake's computer is to write a line or two, with zero pictures, I am excited to say that we are getting a new computer! Soon I hope. Well, we've talked about it and I'm sure it will be here before you know it. Not that many people read this little blog, probably only my mom:). So stay tuned there is much to write and post about! My little dolly is getting bigger by the day!and giggles non stop, sassy stories about my princess and funny sayings from my studmuffin.

See you soon!

Tristan Errol

2011-03-04T17:30:00.000-08:00

Me: "Tristan how is your pizza?", Tristan: "Its a little bit awesome mom!"

I know what you're all thinking, does Megan still blog? Yes I do and I have been meaning to post more stories about our little "circus" for quite some time now. With Thanksgiving, Christmas, new baby! and much more I have neglected to post something about the young man in my life that I love so much, my Tristan.

If you asked me a year ago if I thought this little one would be talking my ear off as he is now I would probably tell you no. However, we have come along way from our biting days, Tristan has grown so much in just a year. He loves school and primary and is such a social butterfly! And did I mention class clown?! He knows all is letters & sounds, writes his name, reads and spells car, hat, bat, cat, Super Why, ball, Bella, mom & dad, tells jokes, rides his bike, loves basketball, football and golf, knows his numbers 1-20, loves puzzles and books and has enormous energy from the time he wakes up in the morning until he falls asleep. :) Since before he could walk he has loved Lightening McQueen and it is still his toy of choice. Lately, he has been into Kungfu, and the other night for our family movie night we watched Karate Kid (with Will Smith's son) and with a big bowel of popcorn in his hand he stood on our couch and kungfued a kick in the air while jumping off. He is a ton of fun but most of all he is the biggest sweetheart with the kindest heart. I love to pick him up from school as he screams my name and runs towards me with a huge hug ready for me! I love, love, love this little guy!

Charlotte Ruth

2011-02-19T20:27:00.000-08:00

She is Here! Our baby girl came to us Januray 12th at 11:09pm! Charlotte Ruth is her beautiful name (after Grandma T) and she is such a special little thing! She was 7 lbs, 6oz and 21 inches long. There something so special about holding and rocking a sweet baby girl in your arms, she brings such a sweet spirit into our home! I'm so greatful to be this little babe's mother.

So far Little Lottie has survived more then her fair share. Buzz Lightyear skims over her little face, she was the hurrdle in the 100 meter, and has taken her first trip down our stairs (that one is still too hard to write about for mom). She is such a beautiful little thing and such a wonderful baby!

Thanks to everyone for their help, gifts and yummy dinners. Especially Aunt Bonnie and the baby swing, it is my life saver and most important, Grandma Tollestrup who brought beautiful gifts, drove 750miles both ways, cooked, cleaned and put up with her youngest daughter! Thanks mother as I could not have done this little adventure without you!

"Miss B turns 3!"

2010-10-24T20:14:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is now 3 years old! It feels like just yesterday that we were bringing her home from the hospital and Tristan would crawl up to her, grab her bottle out of her mouth and start drinking! She has taken a lot of abuse from big brother "T-Dawg" but has learned much from him too, such as running away from mom in the grocery store, shutting the door on dad and mom, how to throw a football and how to write the letter "B".

Remembering when we had a feeling we were going to be expecting another baby (only about 10 weeks after having Tristan) we both were so excited! And even more so when w

This little princess can be very shy, however she has a very big personality when you get to know her.

Some of my favorite things about my baby doll are...

*Her blanket. You can't say anything about Bella without saying something about "Ning Ning". Ning Ning comes to dance, shopping, church, park, tramp, the Tree house or Discovering Gateway and I even catch her in the sand box digging for some burried treasure!
*She loves Cinderella!
*Her entourage of animals, baby dolls, purses, jewelry, makeup etc. It changes everyday and every morning she comes downstairs with her arms full of treasures.
*How she calls the church "Daddy's Temple".
*Bella is learning along side big brother and knows how to spell her name. She loves to learn.
*Before she could walk she would pack around this mini baby in her purse. She loves loves LOVES little babies and cannot wait for new little sister to come home.
*I love how she says "thank you" and "you're welcome".
*I love how she calls Tristan "T-Dawg!"
*With having this baby my back has hurt and I often say how uncomfortable I am. Little do I know little ears are listening. I asked Bella to clean up her puzzles and her reply was, "but Mom, by back and my tummy and my head hurts! I can't pick up my puzzles!"
*I love how she puts on her lip gloss.
* Bella is very shy, but has a big personality. I love to hear her little conversations with Tristan, her friends and Ning Ning. She is a funny little girl.
*She loves to sing and its fun to catch her sing to her dolls and animals.
*She loves her Daddy! The excitment starts when she hears the garage door open!
*Her laugh!!! Reminds me a lot of her Daddy's :)
*Hugs and kisses to T-Dawg when we drop off and pick-up from school.

I love this little princess! She has brought so much joy and happiness into our little home!

Happy Birthday Beautiful!

Conversation

2010-10-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Is it not so fun to have someone to talk to all the time and have a great conversation with? Since I left high school I have found that my best and most fun conversations are with my Mother and sisters. We talk usually once a day or most often we all talk to Bonnie once a day and she distributes the news to everyone else. Blake will come home and ask, "how are the Tollestrups today? Whats new?"
As we were driving to school today the conversation was started in the back with Bella Reese, "Mom look, the new park with the new school!!! I want to go to school like T-Dawg."
Tristan:"You can go to school B, just like me."
Bella: "No T-Dawg, I too scared."
Tristan: "Its not scary B. You learn your letters, ABC's, and get books and play with friends!"
I often forget how fast these two are growing up. It has been so fun to listen to their "conversations" throughout the day and house.

Happy Birthday Blakesters!

2010-10-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

It is the Eve of October 8th and an exiting time in the Nelson household as the man of the house turns the big 34 in the morning! Happy Birthday Babe! I remember celebrating your birthday for the first time at the Macaroni Grill and the fun birthday presents I was aloud then to get you. We have had some fun times and it has changed a lot, but definitely for the better. As now on the Eve of your bday instead of penne rustica, its popcorn & cheese with coke and a hand rag. This guy has so many amazing qualities that I just have to name a few, maybe a few 34 of them and some fun stories and memories...
(They are not in any particular order)
1. I love love love Blake's laugh!! He has a contagious laugh, when he starts I start. The best is going to the movies and he starts laughing during the parts where no one else will laugh, therefore making everyone else laugh because of his laugh. I hope that just made sense.
2. He is the best Dad in the world! When he comes home from a long day of work he always gets down and plays with Tdawg and Bells. He is always fun and they LOVE to hear the garage door open because that means, "Dads home!"
3. Coke. I cannot count how many times Blake has started his "goal" to get off coke but lets just say it is a lot!! It usually starts Monday morning and ends in a large headache Tuesday night.:)
4. He takes care of all the bills, need I say more?
5. Blake is always up beat and positive!
6. Loves sports! Everything from Basketball, football down to ping pong.
7. To go with num. 6 he is always playing sports with Tristan and Bella. Tristan's favorite sport right now is Football. It is fun to watch them "tackle" and "run the bases".
8. He has a story to go with everything. We will be driving down the street and he will say, "that reminds me of when I was hauling hay" or "Back in college". (I get a little tense when I hear the back-in-college ones :))
9. He puts up with my 9 months of expecting moments.:)
10. He is very humble and modest, one of my favorite things about him.
11. Hard working! He works so hard with everything and anything he does.
12. He will be patient and help me hang all my pictures/decor on the wall. He is great at measuring and hamering (always on an angle).
13. Blake is soo good with math. He can add/subtract/times/divide and figure out the percentage so fast!
14. Plays Rook like a pro., even though I don't always agree with his method of strategy.
15. Never says anything bad about others. (unless he sees some of his family or old friends walking down the street with a keg and a wife beater on. Please do not get offended, it is just a joke we have had going on since date1).
16. Boomshackalacka ( I don't even know if this is right or makes sense, but he says it all the time and now Tristan says it just like him and it will always make me laugh)
17. His love for the Office, Modern Family, Seinfield, Sportscenter, Glenn Beck, Hannity etc.
18. I remember our first Scrabble game we played together. We didn't make it past any 4 letter words.
19. I don't know if he has ever read a novel in his life.
20. For our anniversary last year he took me to see New Moon, (might I add because of all his popcorn lunches that this was the only movie he hadn't seen) and made fun of it the whole time, but I just laughed at all of his comments.
21. He is the best to travel with, he knows his way around so well, even in foreign countries:). Our trips are always so fun because he is such an easy going person who is always wanting to please others. I love that about him!
22. He is great with money. Very frugal whereas I am learning. :)
23. "Patience is the key word". That is the Tollestrup family motto. Well Blake has a lot of it especially when it comes to #22 and myself.
24. He has a testimony of the gospel.
25. I love how he dresses for work & church. Always so dapper.
26. Great at public speaking
27. He has a big heart and very compassionate.
28. He is great at golf and we love going to go to the driving range or the put put as a family. This summer he taught Tristan how to hit it off the tee. Bella, well, he is working on that, she insists on having her own golf clubs like T's, but must be pink and when she doesn't hit it, she just ends up throwing the golf ball.
29. When I look at my children I see so much of Blake. Bella is the spitting image of her dad and Tristan, well, when he is doing something mischievous, Blake is written all over his face.:)
30. He is a totally different person playing sports, especially basketball. :)
31. He works hard so I can stay home with the little ones.
32. We sit up at night and laugh and tell stories about our kids. I will always love this. It is surprising that they even made it to bed tonight as they were up and down "needing" a drink or another story etc. Looking at each other we just sat back and laughed.
33. He has always showed so much respect and love for me. Always opening my doors, giving me a hug and kiss when he comes home from work, and has Tristan and Bella always thank me for dinner and take their plates to the counter and since I've known him, he has never said an unkind word or called me any name ever. He has always given me confidence in anything I do.
34. Blake is the most selfless person I know. For Christmas, Father's Day, his birthday or whatever day I will always ask him what he wants and he will always say "nothing, I don't need anything." He is always putting others before himself!
I could write a billion more things about Blake, but I probably have embarrassed him enough with my cheesy list. But I realise how blessed I am to have him as my husband and father of our babies. Happy Birthday Babe, luv ya!

My Posts

2010-10-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I have posted anything on my blog. Sorry everyone. I have however written many posts and saved them until I could get my pictures on them. Having an older computer where it takes a lot longer to upload images and to write any post with half of the keys mysteriously missing :) makes blogging not always my favorite thing. When I see family and friends blogs, however, it makes me want to keep mine up as well. We had a very fun/fast summer and a very exiting start to fall with new baby-on-the-way, school, dance, birthdays etc. There is much to post so please stay tuned. :)

Canadian Cousins

2010-09-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

The "Cool Girls 2!"

Growing up we always had a lot of fun at Grandma's with our cousins. This summer we had that wonderful privilege as we spent time up in Canada with Grandma and Grandpa. With my brother living just around the block and my sister coming to camp out for a week, we got to know all of our Canadian cousins. There is Emma, Tody, Brady and Ave, also Briggs or "mom, that guy who takes his shorts and shirt off and is naked :) (sorry Becs), Ester, your Livie, Oaks, Aunt Becs, Emma's mom, Emma's Dad, Uncle Al, Aunt Ang, Grandma and Grandpa with the bad knee. We went swimming, played at the park, diving board, road bikes, sleepovers, Magrath Days, hiking, throwing rocks, more swimming, playing doll house, Rock-Paper-Scissors, fireworks, mashed potatoes and milk gravy and did I mention swimming?! These cousins along with our Provo cousins (you'll always be Provo as there is no way of going down there without thinking of them!) have a special place in my heart! Maybe it was all the babysitting I did as I was only 13 when Avery was born. They are really great cousins to my little ones and put up with a lot of tagging along and fit throwing!

One very funny story as I can not forget is one day after swimming with Cody, Emma and Brady we all went up to 'The Store' to pick a treat. Well, Bella picks her usual Cheetos and we went to Grandma's basement to relax. Bella was laying on Brady's lap and unlce Al came down to say hi to the kids and he turned to Bella to say Hi and give her a hug. Well, Bella is quite shy some moments and as Al tried to talk to her she closed her eyes as if she were alseep and couldn't see him, however she continued to put her cheesie little fingers in her Cheetos bag to help herself to some more 'treats'. Classic Bella.

They talk about their cousins all the time! Bella is always on her phone to Emma and Ave and we do her hair like Emma's, dress like Emma, and even dance like Emma. As I write she is even talking to Emma on her phone, "Hi Emma, ya my ning ning." When I asked Tristan who his best friend was he answered, "Cody". The other day I asked Tristan where he wanted to serve his mission he told me, "Canada, so I can visit Grandpa and Grandma, Cody and Brady."

We have great cousins! We love and miss you so much!

Bella the Ballerina!

2010-09-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

With her big brother starting his new school there is no way little sister was going to be out shined! Miss B started her dance class with her friend Macey. They learn tap and ballet and let me tell you how darling these little sweeties are! Dressed in her tights, tutu and tap shoes she was so ready to dance! This little class brings out her personality in a fun way! She loves being a ballerina like Emma and Ave!

First Day of School!

2010-09-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

"First day of School! First day of school!" I felt very much like Marlin, the clown fish, on Finding Nemo last week as my little Nemo started his first day of preschool. He was so excited, I on the other hand was full of emotions (mostly due to the expecting baby on the way) nerviousness mostly, with the thought of letting my sweet little baby going all by himself. The night before Blake gave Tristan and Bella each a Father's Blessing and what a special experiance that was. My children actually sat still and reverent and when Tristan was done, Bella jumped off the couch and said, "My turn!"

The next morning we started off with a bowl of oatmeal and some sugar and with Tristan's new school shirt and Bella's new dance outfit we were all ready to go. Tristan was so excited for school and was so polite saying, "Thanks for breakfast mom!" and "I love you so much mom!" followed by a big hug and wet kiss! He sang all the way to school, "First day of school, first day of schoo!" When we reached the school he didn't even hold Mom's hand, he just ran as fast as he could to his class. He is my little stud and I am so excited for what is to come this year.

A Fathers Intuition!

2010-08-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

Since I've been a parent I understand a little about a father's intuition. Judging by the way my father reacted to me coming home late on the weekend nights, I'm pretty sure he had some idea about the grain elevators we were climbing, the bridges we jumped and how many hanging eggs hung down the streets of Raymond, Magrath and Cardston. (If he didn't know then, he knows now). Well, I'm sure Blake will have the same intuition about his little girls. Yes thats right, little girls. He has been saying for weeks that we are having anonther little girl and he was right! We left the doctors office an excited little family, well... all but one. I asked Tristan if he was excited about having a little sister and he said "No! I want a brother. I want to read to him and share my room, not Bella's."
Names are another fun topic. Blake and I so far cannot agree on a name, however I don't believe we will have a say as Bella Reese already told us that the baby's name is Emma Ave. For those of you who know her she usually gets her way!:)

A Week with the BONDS! Followed by a Trip to Canada!

2010-07-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

Well, we have had an adventurous month of July (and last part of June)! Aunt Becky and the children followed by Grandma in the Kia came down south for a week visit while Oakley went to "college" as Esther put it. Oakley came down for a week of BYU basketball camp and loved it. He stayed at the dorms the whole week, he is growing up way too fast!

We had a blast with swimming, shopping, driving, more shopping and a quick trip up to Park City! Aunt Becky bought Brigham and Tristan matching Buzz Lightyear PJs that look like the full Buzz Lightyear. They loved them! All trip they called each other Buzz! The last night Oakley surprised us with a firework show and then it was off to Canada!

We have had a fun two weeks so far! Tristan and Bella love to have cousins so close. Everyday they ask for Cody and Emma. Today we went swimming with Aunt Deanna and the kids and we had a blast. Tristan runs off the diving board all by himself and Bella Reese tried it a few times herself, with a little help from big cousin Avery. Bella loves her cousins, especially the boy cousins, Brady and Cody, she thinks they are "tute" and "pansome" (cute and handsome). I don't know what was more fun, the swimming or watching this one life guard who has a crush on my niece Avery. But we are making some fun memories for sure!

Tonight we are having a sleep over at Grandmas, Avery and Emma in the 'girls room' and Cody, Bella, and Tristan in one bed. Singing songs got old fast so instead we told stories. Cody told some, "out from my head" and Tristan's went something like this. "Once upon a time there was a boy named Tristan Errol Nelson, Bella, Mom, Aunt Megan (he has started calling me Aunt Megan, "Mom, Mom! AUNT MEGAN!!!') and Blake Dad went swimming, went off the diving board and then home to Grandma's house. The End." Bella's story went like this, "Mommy, Daddy, T and Bella, swimming, Grandma's house. Amen!"

I know this is a fast little rendition of our last couple weeks but if I didn't write it down I might have forgotten it. We really miss dad! And cannot wait until he comes up!

(I am sure there are many mistakes with this post, but my children are still running around. Our sleeping is a bit off as the sun does not go down until midnight up here!)

Park Adventures

2010-06-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

Bella playing with her bud Easten. They like to race down the slides.
Where ever we go and Tristan sees kids he always shoots, "Hey Guys!!!". He has the ability like his dad to make friends easily. This little boy was 6yrs old and they played How to Train Your Dragon the whole time. Tristan loved it!

We have such a fun little park just 10 houses down from ours and though our swing set is fun it is nothing compared to the PARK! Everyday it is either park or swimming, so every now and then we call up the neighborhood friends and head to the park. It is always a blast. Bella always has her baby stroller or shopping cart to push and Tristan is the stud with his sun glasses!

Fishing at the Indian Ponds

2010-06-20T22:01:00.001-07:00

Blake sporting the Zeniths sweatshirt. He did it to score some points with the fam.

Last week we went up to the annual Nelson family retreat to Roseivelt, Ut. We went up early with Casey, Emily and Livie to fish in the Uintahs at the Indian Ponds. Well, it turns out miss. Bella Reese LOVES to fish! I think a big part was the fact that Livie had a Dora fishing pole and of course she had to have it. Livie being the good cousin that she is, let her use it and surprisingly that little pole caught the most fish! Bella would not let me help her (not that I could do much to help anyways) just her Dad and she caught 4 fish! T-dawg caught one, but was more interest in exploring or throwing rocks in the ponds. It was a fun little family adventure and it is so fun to watch my children get older, they are growing up before my eyes!

Happy Fathers Day!

2010-06-20T21:13:00.001-07:00

It has been forever since I have written a post on this blog, to my family fans I am sorry! Uncle Al asks every time I talk to him to post some pictures of my children and now that I have finally had some time & a husband to help me figure out how to work our new camera we have some pictures!

But I couldn't help but write a few words about the wonderful fathers in my life. First, I have an amazing Dad and he is such a great Grandpa too! (T & B call him grandpa with the hurt knee). Growing up when I told people my last name they always asked "well who's your dad?" and I would tell them and they would always tell me how they loved to watch him play basketball back-in-the-day. When I was down in Provo surprisingly I was asked many times as well and always the same response. I write this not to be boastful, just simply proud. I love to hear his stories about life and where and what he has done. As a little kids he would always tell us stories about when he was growing up on the farm, and then in the background we would hear my mom say, "oh ya right". :) Fun times. Happy Fathers Day Big Phil! I sure love ya!

I have a pretty great father-in-law too! You should hear him speak, he is like a fountain of knowledge with the scriptures! He taught Blake how to work hard and he willingly lets us use his 4-wheelers, truck and trailer to go up line creek whenever we ask. Not to forget all the free gas and bringing them home after every trip dirty and muddy. Happy Fathers Day Nate!

My Favorite Father Blake.

He will probably make fun of me for writing this post, but I can't help but write a few somethin' somethins' about my husband! Here is just a short list that makes him such a great Father!

*When he comes home and the kids hear the garage door open they immediately run and hide and he will always "try" and look for them. Tristan and Bella think they are so sneaky.

*He plays games with them. Whatever they want, hide- and-seek, the Caterpillar game, memory, throw the ball at mom game etc.

*Jumps on the tramp and does "atomic bombs."

*Lets them take sips of his coke. (I don't know how 'good' that really is, but if you know Blake he loves coke!

*He helps them eat their dinner and if they want they sit on his lap.

*When Tristan is supposed to be in bed, some nights he will sneak downstairs and jump up right next to Blake while he is watching sportscenter. Blake lets him eat his popcorn and cheese (I know that doesn't sounds good, but actually its not too bad). Tristan will usually eat it all. My kids will not have popcorn without any cheese!

*The nights he is home, he'll bath the kids and make it so fun!

*He reads them bed time books.

*He gives them their vitamins every night.

*I've noticed, every time we are getting the 4-wheelers ready for a ride or trip he always lets Tristan help him. Help him to tie them down, drive them on the trailer etc. Tristan loves it so so much and just wants to be right there by his dad always. I'm sure Blake could do these things much faster without his "help", but he always involves him and its fun to watch.

*He lets Tristan drive the 4-wheeler.

*When Bella wakes up at night she wants her Daddy! He always holds her and she will usually fall right back to sleep in his arms. (It may sound a bit cheesy but its cute)

*Lately we have many MANY knock,knock jokes and he will always play along every time.

*Blake works hard in the church and with his calling(s). Its a great example for our kids to see.

*He has been teaching T & B to ride their new bikes.

*They Love to ride on Dads shoulders and he lets them whenever they want to. (all 48lbs)

*He tells them what a great Mother they have and how much he loves her. (That is my personal favorite)

*Lets just say I haven't been on my A game lately, so when he gets home from work he will take the kids so I can rest.

*Blake works very hard everyday. His line is "If I'm awake I'm working" and its true. He puts in long hours everyday so I can stay home a raise our children.

*He reads the scriptures every night. With little ones that can be hard to do:)

My list goes on and on. Blake will probably get a little embarrassed by this. But, I love him so much and he really is such a great father & husband! I love ya!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

2010-04-29T11:14:00.001-07:00

Well today it is windy, snowing and so so cold and to top it off Tristan has the flu and Bella Reese has a super bad cold and was up all last night. This morning Tristan came up the stairs and said, "Mom my tummy hurts bad". I didn't think much of it but as I put them in for their morning bath he had a 'throw up burp' (taken from the neighborhood boy who would always knock on our door for cookies etc. when we lived in Vegas. He would say, "ah, I just threw-up in my mouth!" Blake and I still joke about that) and it all started coming out. After he threw-up breakfast etc he said, " Ahhh, that was gross!" So we got out of the tub and I gave him and Bells a shower.

Growing up being sick was our favorite, because my mother would be at our beckon call all day and we always had Canadian Dry Ginger Ale! So I decided to go to the store and get some pop and things to make chicken noodle soup. Well, Tristan wanted to get a movie "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" he kept telling me "a chance of meatballs mom, thats what I want to watch," so of course I say yes. While we are in the store, I'm holding Tristan and he tells me again, "mom, my tummy hurts!" and before I knew it, he threw up again, this time all over me, himself and Fresh Market's floor. We hurried and cleaned up the best we could, ran and got our groceries and ginger ale. As we turned the corner down the beverage isle Bella says, "Mom! Look who it is....Dad's pop!" She was so excited she found her dads favorite pop, can we guess? Well if anyone knows Blake it is nothing other then Coke. Anyways, we hurried to the checkout and then to the Red Box to get our movies and then finally home. I hope my little ones get better soon, we have a couple birthdays to be partying at. :)

Better Late then Never

2010-04-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

We went to Temple Square with the Nelson family and had dinner at the Lion House. Here is little Bella with her boots. She loved being able to put them on and take them off herself so for months she wore these all over even if there was no snow to run threw.

Uncle Al says I never update my blog and he never gets to see pictures of his favorite niece and nephew. :) Well, I thought better late then never with some of our winter/Christmas pictures. For Christmas Blake gave me a beautiful professional camera:) (well, prof. for me anyways) so most of our Christmas morning and other pictures are on that camera and once I figure out what I am doing then I will post more pictures.

Spring has Sprung!

2010-03-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

Blake Jr.

This is the face I see right before he takes off down the grocery isle or out into the street.

How can I get mad at that?

Mia & Bella Reese

I love living in Utah! One of my favorite things is the weather. I know you are probably thinking, "the weather, what?" Yes the weather, spring comes early (well, early for us Canandians. I remember the snow would melt and thinking we were safe to wear shorts then all of a sudden the worst snow storm would hit, school would be canceled and driving was out of the questions because we couldn't even get the Maxima out of the driveway. Two years ago we packed our little family up to Cananda the last week in April for my little brother's wedding and it snowed the whole week we where there. Poor Blake was stuck inside and his 2 rounds of golf/day was out of the question.) and fall is longer then a month. With the weather now warm we are out jumping on the tramp, in the sand box or running to the park everyday. We also have been visiting my sister in Provo a lot lately and last week my children, along with their big cousin Mia, found some little flowers popping up in the flower garden. They decided to go in and out of the house with glass mugs full of water to water the flowers. "There is a purple flower Mum!" says Bella (her favorite color lately is purple). It was so fun to watch these little ones playing together so well without any tears!

T-Dawg

2010-02-24T14:44:00.000-08:00

Tristan had been going to preschool now for 3 months and it has done wonders for his speech! He loves school and all his little friends. It is so fun to watch him run in and say hi to Liam or Shawn and not even look back at where his mom went, he is getting to be such a "big kid". After school yesterday he was so tired that when we were in the car he said, "hurry home mom, I'm tired!". He doesn't take naps anymore, but yesterday he went right upstairs and got under his covers, told me to shut his closet so no monsters would come out and went to sleep. He had a two hour nap and when he woke up he came to the top of the stairs and said,"Hi Mom!" He played all afternoon and was the biggest angel! At dinner time, while he was eating he said, "thanks for the food mom! its good". He is growing up before our eyes! He was so funny last night I could go on forever! He had to sleep with Dad and didn't want me there and told me to go sleep in his bed. Blake usually watches sports center before bed so Tristan likes to sit up next to dad and watch basketball too. I had Blake turn it to the Olympics (ladies figure skating because the Canadian was skating last night, Go Canada!) and Tristan said, "no girls, i don't want girls, turn it to boys, i want basketball!" Blake was so proud!
I have such a wonderful little family, its so fun to watch my babies growing up!

2010-01-07T15:38:00.000-08:00

This morning as I got Isabella out of bed I said to her, "Guess where we're going today!". Her response, "the Temple?! Daddy's Temple!". Bella's favorite song that must be sung before she goes to bed(besides Blake's rendition of Shimmy, Shimmy Coco Puffs) is I Love to See the Temple. When we took the children to Princess and the Frog she saw the Disney Castle and screamed "Temple!!". Anyways, to get back to my story, when we go by our church she thinks its the Temple, and since Blake has meetings before church on Sunday, I take them by myself and the only way I get them out the door on time is to tell them we're going to get Daddy at church. So she thought we were going to meet her Daddy at church. She is such a funny little thing!

Isabella Reese

2009-11-27T19:34:00.000-08:00

Bella loves her Dad! I mean LOVES her Dad!! Everything is "no dadda do it!" She wants Dad to put her hair bow in, read her a book, sing her a song etc. When Blake comes home she runs as fast as she can to him to give her a big hug and kiss!

Pictures for Uncle Al, part 2

2009-11-27T19:24:00.000-08:00

Halloween! Tristan was a football player and Bella our little cheerleader! They couldn't wait to get into the candy!

Bella Loves to ride on Daddy's shoulders! We went on a fun trip to the pumpkin patch. Our favorite fall tradition!

Christmas Decor

2009-11-27T19:18:00.001-08:00

Here you go Becky, I hope you like it!

New Pics. for Uncle Al!

2009-11-19T15:14:00.001-08:00

I Love to See the Temple...

2009-11-09T20:44:00.000-08:00

Here is my Stud! He loves to smile for the camera!

I know this is old but for Labor Day weekend we decided to have a little family outing to Temple Square. As a little girl coming to Utah we would always visit Temple Square. It has a special place in my heart. The feeling there is sweet and special and I want my children to recognize that too. They loved running up and down the side walk, pointing and seeing the "Temple", playing in the fountains, and smelling the beautiful flowers too. Plus this is were Blake and I were married and he loves visiting all the "photo spots" that took us only 3hrs to shoot on wedding day!:)

Florence

2009-10-15T14:37:00.001-07:00

Tuscany

Florence, this was right by the Uffizi. During the day painters would come show their work etc. It is so beautiful!

Florence

2009-10-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Rome Our First Day #2!

2009-10-04T18:09:00.000-07:00

Our Beautiful Hotel Room. We stayed at the St. Regis Grand Hotel which was amazing and really so beautiful. We walked into our room and went down the hall and our room just kept going and going, all the way to a very large dressing room. Beneficial really knows(knew, i guess) how to pick beautiful Hotels etc. With our trip to Whistler, Arizona and we stayed at the Willard Grand Hotle in Washington D.C. They were all beautiful places.
Blake's Dad came too on his bicycle. J/K:)

The Spanish Steps

These are some of our friends we did most everything with and it was so fun to get to know them. Allison & Kyle, Andrea & Brady, myself & Blake.

They say that if you throw a coin into the fountain you will return to Rome, if you throw 2 coins into the fountain you will find love and if you throw 3 coins into the fountain you will get married. Since we both have 2&3 already we just threw 1 coin each in, we had to save the rest for the public bathrooms:)

The Fountain of Trevi!

ROME!!! Our first day!

2009-09-20T21:33:00.000-07:00

The Pantheon! This was one of my favorite places. This was built in 125AD and everything is original. The dome, the marble floors and the colums are all orginal. The colums are all one piece of marble and came from Egypt. This is such an amazing building! Raphael the Roman Renaissance artist is buried here (as in one of the Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles).

Our first day in Rome was so much fun! When we arrived we went first to Piazza Navona for lunch. It is this lovely pedestrian squares with Bernini's famous Fountain of the Rivers. We stopped here for lunch at a fun cafe and this is where we purchased our paintins! So many painters come and this is where they sell their paintings etc. After lunch we went on a walking tour of Rome and this is what we saw & learned.

Pompeii

2009-09-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

Ever since Mr. Alston's social studies, grade 6 class I've been fascinated with Pompeii. Well, I got the chance to go and convinced my hubby to come along. We set off with Kyle & Allison, Brady & Andrea, Bob Hall and his wife Jill. Pompeii is an hour from Rome so we went to the train station and the first six bought train tickets on a less expensive train and when it was our turn to pay the train had sold out, so we had to up-grade to a train that was $40/person one way to Pompeii and it was leaving in 5 min. So we hurried and bought our tickets, ran to find our train and jumped on the train as it was leaving the station. The whole trip was to hurry and catch the train from here to there etc. But we arrived in Pompeii and started our 4 hour walk on rock and stone. I always thought Pompeii was a little village, but it was a huge city and they still haven't dug a portion of it up yet. You could see the original tile and paintings. Down the streets you could see where they would have driven their carts. I enjoyed it so much because I learned so much about it before and how they had built everything was simply amazing.

The Colosseum

2009-09-20T20:25:00.001-07:00

The first night we arrived in Rome our group of six went out to dinner and then walked to the

Colosseum at night. It was so beautiful with all the lights on at night. This amphitheatre at one time was completely covered in white marble, the outside and inside. While walking with our tour it was so neat to see the original marble that had once covered the seats, stairs etc. The original numbers still can be seen from the outside to indicate which "doorway" to enter according to class. Our tour guide said that Gladiator(the movie) depicted the Colosseum the best of any Hollywood movie. The Arch of Constantine is right next to the Colosseum.

The Vatican City & Castel Sant'Angelo

2009-09-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Castel Sant'Angelo (as seen on Angels and Demons, that is one of the reasons why we went there because Blake said it was on the movie) was fortified in 271 AD.

The Vatican City & St. Peter's Basilica

2009-09-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

This is the Famous La Pieta' of Michelangelo. St. Peter's Basilica was amazing with how big it was and its beautiful architecture.

The Most Amazing Night of My Life...well maybe just one

2009-09-20T18:36:00.000-07:00

Our final night in Rome ended with a lot of emotion as it was the last night that Beneficial Financial Group would ever be together. They gave us a private tour of the Sistine Chapel and Museum. This was my favorite day and night of the whole trip. The Sistine Chapel was amazing! I had seen so many pictures of all the art and the ceiling that Michelangelo painted was unbelievable! It is smaller then I imagined, our pictures did not turn out so well as we could not use our flash. After the tour, they took us up to a Villa that looks over all of Rome. It was a beautiful white marble home that they had turned into a hotel. Our dinner was so good, as the food in Italy is very different then "American Italian". Not like our favorite Macaroni Grill. Very healthy and plain as our pizzas were just fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, a slice of ham and some cheese. But the bruschetta was the best I'd ever had. Anyways, while we eat the 3 teners from the Rome Opra sang to us, all the classics. They were wonerful and soooo talented! After everything they had us go out on to the balcany and from below they let off fireworks. They were the best fireworks I had ever seen. (I know that doesn't sound like much coming from Magrath Days, but being almost level with the firework and so close, it really was amazing!).

Summer Vacations

2009-09-20T17:46:00.000-07:00

The Road to Hana!

Blake and I rented a jeep for a day to drive the "Road to Hana". It is this two lane (sometimes one single lane road over the bridges) road up to the village of Hana. It is such a beautiful and relaxing place! We stopped and walked down to the black beach and cave, bought a fresh coconut and drank right out of it. So does not taste like the yummy coconut that I eat back home in Utah.

Aloha! We enjoyed a wonderful Luau, thanks to Errol and Joanne. The food was amazing and so was the entertainment, I was just sad that I didn't get to see any of the Nelson boys up there hula dancing!

2009-04-08T19:26:00.001-07:00

Today Tristan, Bella and I went to the Treehouse!!!! As always it was so much fun! We went with my California Cousins, Kathy and Missy and their three children. It was so great to catch up with my cousins and watch my children run around and just "have a ball!" (as Grandma Poofins would say)

2009-04-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

Beautiful Bella!

2009-04-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

Tristan loves to get his picture taken (usually). When I get the camera out he gets a big smile and says "cheeeeese!"

2009-04-02T14:22:00.000-07:00

I finally started our family blog! I hope I am doing this right! I thought I would start with some pictures of our beautiful children Tristan (2) and Isabella (1). Enjoy!