Movin' On Down...To The East Side?

Let me just begin by confirming that I am alive. My blogging skills have slipped through the cracks, but I have a good excuse. We're moving!

Kevin and I decided to put the house up for sale in mid January. My thoughts were, "OK, we won't get anyone looking until April. If we get a buyer we will hold off on moving out until school is out." Not how it worked out. Our house sold in three weeks without a sign in our yard. We had it on the MLS, but I thought with this market it would still take a while. I think the timing just confirms to us what we knew was right.

So, now where are we going you ask? Well, let me explain the way I know best by making a long story longer. Our plan was to rent for a little bit and build again since it is a great time to build. However, Kevin is now building model homes in Idaho for the few months and is gone several days a week. In an effort to prevent our children from having a psychotic mother and a wife who wants to bail for some personal time as soon as Kevin comes home, I chose to move to my parents basement. Some may say such things in defeat, but I, however, am looking forward to it all. I am am not disillusioned to the reality of the situation, but I will have a full kitchen, a walk out basement, and Spencer has a really good buddy right next door. Oh yeah, and a little help upstairs if needs be. Plus, isn't the real party always down in Utah County? After Kevin is done with this project we will just reevaluate and go from there.

Speaking of Spencer, we will be pulling him out of his current school and moving him to the school by my parents. He is sad but is handling it really well. I think he takes courage in the fact that he has a friend right next door. Thank heavens. Olivia is oblivious. She has some idea we are staying with Nana and Papa, but I am more worried for them than for her.

At this moment, I am a single parent and living in a house with naked walls and shelves. I have done just about all the packing that needs to be done and just waiting for the furniture to get hauled out. I am blessed with happy children, and I believe that has made all the difference with my sanity. I recognize the Lord's hand in that as well as Noggin and the Disney channel. I should be dusting off shelves and wiping down baseboards but I just bought a bag of freshly baked cookies from Albertsons that I should probably just polish off. If I am doing that, there really can't be that much left to do, right?

Ignored Promtings?

Have you ever had a time when you feel something over and over, but you choose to ignore it because it seems so little and silly? You know that when you get that gut feeling to take action on something that could be a big deal like, "Go check the baby" or, "Get out of here now?" You do it. Well, last night I had that experience with the small thing. Bree, Taylor, and Lauren were here for a slumber party while our hubbies were out of town, and I put the kids to bed, and we went down stairs to talk until the wee hours of the morning.

I came back upstairs around 2:00am. I put both the kids in my room so I could keep tabs on them in the morning so they wouldn't wake anyone up. As I was retucking them in, I had a feeling TWICE to take Olivia potty. I ignored it...until 6:00... when she woke up crying because she had peed her pants. Awesome. We cleaned it up the best we could, and she had to sleep with out panties for a little while so we didn't wake Bree up in Olivia's room, but it really was no biggie.

Why is it that we ignore those promptings or what ever you define them as. What is the big deal? Why do we skip the simplest things? Because they seem inconsequential? Well, I tell you next time I will act. If all it does is save me some time and laundry, it's worth it!

Oh, and it was on Kevin's side. Hahaha! Shhh!

This Christmas Kevin surprised me with a new camera for helping him win the Nelson Biggest Loser competiton. I was so excited!!! He had heard me talking about how badly I wanted a nice camera because I was sick of the crappy pics my last camera took. There is nothing that can capture our memories better, and I need to take more photos. He decided to be sneeky and get me one and I couldn't be more thrilled.
Well, now I am totally overwhelmed with this thing. It couldn't possibly be that I haven't looked at the instruction manual, right? I really want to learn how to use it the right way and not just point and shoot everything. Alli was kind enough to offer her services to me, and I can't wait to take her up on it. With all my friends that are professional photographers out there...HELP! Just give me a few pointers to get me started!

A Tag

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:45
2. Have you brushed your hair yet today? I guess
3. What is the name of the last song you listened to? Crush
4. Do you like to text? Heck yes
5. Facebook or My Space? Facebook, please.
6. Where is your favorite place to go? Disneyland with fam and tropical/MX/Caribbean with hubby
7. Do you have a passport? YES
8. Are you in love? You bet I am
9. Have you ever had a broken heart? Not too bad
10. When was the last time you "laughed your head off"? Last night. We call him BIRDman.
11. When was the last time you cried? Two nights ago
12. What is the best gift you have ever gotten? My husband
13. What was the best day of your life? When our children were born
14. What was the worst day of your life? It was only moments, but when there were complications during delivery with Olivia.
15. Pepsi or Coke? Coke baby.
16. Are you wearing socks? MmmHmm
17. Did you like high school? Yes
18. Where is the last place you went out to eat? Takashi
19. What is your biggest accomplishment in the past year? Still working on it. Food storage/getting my proverbial house in order.
20. What is one random fact about you? I secretly want twins (not so secret anymore), but I don't know if I could really handle it, or if the Lord would trust me! Hahaha!

K, now I tag Lydia, Bree, and Lauren!

Bargin Shopper Extraordinaire

I am probably boasting a bit in this post, but I will also be humble enough to admit that I didn't come up with this on my own. A great friend of mine, who is an amazing penny pincher, showed me this little trick. We had a little "penny pinching seminar" at her house a couple of months ago to learn how to save money while grocery shopping. She told us that "her husband works for the money, and she makes the money work for their family." I love that quote! Anyway, she talked about a website (pinchingyourpennies.com, but it is also like grocerysmarts) that shows the best deals for particular stores. THEN she showed that she buys coupons on ebay. Yes, that's right people. She is buying coupons on ebay. She only buys items on sale and also uses her coupons. She also uses %80 of her grocery budget on food storage (or basically stocking her pantry) and the other %20 on perishables (meat, veggies, etc.). Needless to say it was a very educational night.

Well, I put it into practice this week, and it had amazing results. Albertson's was having a fantastic sale on several things that I loved, so I decided to stock up. My parents gave us food storage for Christmas, and it made a huge dent in our overall progress in that category. However, for this sale I decided to by only non food items. Here is what I got:

10- 105 load Simple Pleasures Downy
13- 100 oz Tide with Color safe bleach alternative
8- 8 roll packs of Bounty Papertowels
20- Cascade Action Packs (20 per bag)
20- 6.2 oz Crest with Scope
20- Gillette Fusion razors (non disposable)
13- Betty Crocker Fruit snacks
4-24 pack of Dasani water

I spent $244.67

AND

I SAVED $701.95

Can you believe it??? I got a year supply of Downy, Tide, Bounty, Cascade, Crest, and razors (I have all the razors I need for life, I just need to buy refills if I want)! I also went to the store earlier this month for other groceries, and I still have money left in our grocery budget if I need to go back.
It works people, and I am addicted. It was so easy too! Just let me know if you have any questions if you want to give it a try. Happy saving!

Where has the time gone!!! I swear once December first hits, time just disappears. I have been so behind in blogging, checking email and anything that has to do with technology lately. It seems like any spare minute I have I would rather sit down and be lazy! This time of year is just go, go, go, and with all the events on the calender, I think I have just been exhausted before it even started.

Backing up a little, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was a Bailey year, and it was fun to get together with Kev's family especially since we were excited to get a surprise visit from his sister and our brother in law that are in dental school in LOO-ville, KY. The food was soooo tasty, and I still think I didn't eat enough of Kev's mom's awesome stuffing. It was so nice to just relax and visit. We didn't plan a whole lot for the day because we headed to Moab early the next morning. We contemplated running down to my parents house for a little bit since my mom hosted all her sibilings this year (why oh why does she do it on my off year), but we knew it would get late and would have a hard time being ready for the trip in the morning. So sad.

We had a great time in Moab. I am always taken back by its beauty when we are there, especially when we first arrive. Of course, I wimped out on all the bike rides and opted for walking, hiking, and tagging along in the car with the other girls. The weather was beautiful, and the kids had an absolute blast being outside so much. They also loved terrorizing the second floor of the motel we stayed in. Next time I think we need to request ALL our rooms to be next to eachother. I am sure our fellow occupants cheered when we checked out. We really appreciated Kevin's parents for doing this for us. We make such wonderful memories while we are there. It was especially wonderful to have them there because they left just a few days later to the D.R. Congo to work on a water project for a few months!

Life since Moab has been a blur. It seems as though the Christmas parties started even earlier this year and haven't stopped since. I am anticipating our Christmas break so we can just relax and enjoy time spent with family and no other obligations. I kept dragging my feet on decorating this year since I felt like we weren't even going to be here to enjoy it, but I finally got it all put up. I am so happy I did because it really helps to bring in some holiday cheer, which I desperatley needed. I have really been struggling with Spencer lately and have felt like I had reached my limits with him. The Lord must have known my breaking point and heard my prayers (as I bawled my eyes out in my car late one night), and I have been blessed to have an angel son the last two days. A Christmas miracle. It is amazing what one good day can do for a mothers morale.

The night I was in my car, I had to run a quick errand late at night and was listening to my Amy Grant Christmas album. As I was driving down the quiet snowy streets, Breath of Heaven began to play. My mind began to contemplate Mary's situation, and I was flooded with emotion. As I pondered her possible thougths and how difficult it must have been, I began replace the words of the song with myself and my temporary situation. I began to realize that even though I feel so inadequate as a mother at times, Heavenly Father knows me. He sees me. As He watches my face as I struggle, He still knows that I am the right mother for these children, and he also knows that I am offering all I have for them. Somedays I feel like I don't have much to give, but those simple tiny hugs and smiles, and "Yes Mom's" can give me all the validation I need.

I am so grateful for this time of year we have to reflect on the birth of our Savior. As hard as these economic times are, it is a wonderful chance to put aside our focus of worldly posessions and redirect us to what and who it is really about. I am so grateful for my amazing and loving husband and our beautiful children. I am also grateful we have such wonderfuly supportive families, friends and neighbors. We are blessed with great health, a warm home, and food on our table. Most of all we are blessed with the gospel in our lives. Is there really any greater gift? We wish you all a Merry Christmas and thank you for the part you play in our lives!

12:01 This Morning

That just about explains it.

I am still recovering from the midnight showing of Twilight. I don't remember the last time I stayed up until 3:30am, but it was a blast. I mean, how can you not when a modeling agency sends over their hottest guys with no shirts, leather jackets and motor cycles to pose on. Some theaters even had blood drives (genius). I am still struggling with the words to describe a theater full of frenzied, obsessed, swooning women, other than hysterical! Screams for every new character that was introduced on the screen, cat calls for their favorites, and squeals during the intense romantic moments. I'll remember to bring my paper bag for my next viewing ;) .

I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The movie was good and definitley less winded that the book. I loved the cast. I wasn't too fond of some of the camera angles and shots (a little "made for TV movie"ish), but how critical am I going to let myself get, right? I mean I am going back to see it again. I need to so I can actually just go watch it and not compare it to the book. I can't wait for the next three. Hooray for bigger budgets next time.

Thanks again girls for the great time!!!

OH, and Joel McHale is my boyfriend.

Too Much TV

We were at my parents house yesterday, and my mom has a Rubbermaid box with some old jewelry that she threw in it for the kids to play with. Spencer found a gold chain and turned to Kevin and said, "Hey you can take this gold chain and turn it into cash!"

We laughed, he was embarrassed. Shouldn't it really be me who is embarrassed for how much TV he watches? Just tell me it's OK, and that it isn't that he watches too much television, but it's that he is just a five year old who picks up on everything, OK? Good.

H-A-DOUBLE L-O-W-DOUBLE E-N SPELLS...

Speaking of overdue...I KNOW! I am behind on blogging. I could do a post on the election, but I am sure everyone knows how I feel about it. However, I will admit that from a historical standpoint that it was pretty amazing. To see how far our country has come in the last few decades is unreal. All the rest I have to say is, well, yackity schmackity bla bla bla.

So now on to the events that I so skillfully procrastinated! Halloween was a blast. We started the day off with a quick jaunt to my parents so me madre' could at least see the fruits of her labor. She made Oli's costume, and it turned out so cute! Of course we had to have Baby Tay match too. Getting pictures is never that easy, but we got a few. Spence wore his for about 6 seconds and took it off because he was too hot. Turns out that was the story of the night. I was a little disappointed we never got to pump blood through his chest plate. Oh well.
Then we were off to our ward Trunk or Treat. The look on Olivia's face was priceless when she figured out what this holiday was all about. This girl was business after that! Hilarious. It took about 20 minutes to finish up, so we thought we would head to our old neighborhood (after leaving a bowl of candy on our porch) to do some Trick or Treating. The kids loved going door to door with friends and being outside. Kev and I couldn't complain either because it felt like California outside.

After we made the loop we headed to our friend John's house for his annual Halloween/birthday bash. If any of you remember last years post, he and his wife were French maids! This year they were Abba. Oh, and that chest hair you see...um, it was "harvested." I am pretty sure I shivered when he told me that AFTER I touched it because I know he wasn't kidding. Thanks John. The party was a crack up as always.
A week before that our fam headed west for Disneyland. It was so fun because we didn't tell our kids where we were going until we got to the hotel. The huge Micky statue in the lobby gave it away, but didn't ruin the surprise in the least. Hey, we even got bumped up to a suite!!! Not bad, eh? It was extra fun because my parents and Eric and Bree decided to come along as well. We were starving for lunch so that was the first thing we did when we got there. We stopped at the Carnation Cafe and it was delicious!!! Right when we thought the bill was going to come, our waitress shows up with the Maderhorn Madness Sundae! My dad couldn't pass up seeing the kids faces, so he ordered it. TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! Actually, it's probably the best deal in DL! Eight bucks for that huge thing wasn't bad at all! Olivia kept rolling her eyes when she took a bite. She was in heaven. The strawberry was her "favorite piece." Then it was rides, rides, rides. It was great getting to see their little faces...especially on the scary rides. I am the meanest mom on the planet, but all of you already know that. Kevin washed his hands of it. I feel no guilt whatsoever. By Wedensday, my parents and E & Bree were heading out, and we stayed behind and met up with some friends and went to Mickey's Trick or Treat. Again, TOTALLY WORTH IT! It was such a fun atmosphere, and they gave away tons of candy. Hopefully we will do that again someday.

We finished the week off by staying at the Beckstrand's house. We went to the beach and Kev helped Dwight pickett for Proposition 8! Kev had so much fun, he did it again a couple days later!!! They got some pretty colorful comments, if you can imagine! It was so great to spend time with our friends, and to let our kids reconnect. Poor Beckstrands. With Brooks and Spencer being a month apart and their twin girls and Oli being a month and a half apart, it was like having a set of twins and triplets! It was a crazy house. Mylee was a champ for being the only one without a buddy. We even celebrated our nineth anniversary with them! We went to dinner and to Pinkberry. We had a wonderful time and want to go back tomorrow!

So there it is. Now I am up to date, and I will make sure to stay that way...maybe. OH, and I must say thank you to my amazing husband. These last nine years have been so easy and fun. He is such a wonderful man, husband, and father. He has made me happier than I deserve, and I am so happy we have an eternity together. I must not forget that he is smokin' hot too!!! I have always thought he was handsome (did you know that is what Kevin means? Haha), but I have to give him a shout out because he has lost a whopping 35 pounds in 8 weeks! Work it boy! I LOVE YOU!!!

O is for Over Due. J is for Justice.

With the economy tanking and nobody willing to be accountable for their actions, it's refreshing when you see justice served.

Case and point...

Bah hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

I love it! I also love the irony of it being on the 13th anniversary of him be acquitted of murder. How sweet is that juice (pun intended)!

Oh, and Spencer had "GREEN" day at school recently, which was the same day as "CrAzY sock" day. For some reason, I thought of this...


I love this kid.

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!!!

That's all.

Firsts and Finally's

It has been a big week around the Bailey house. OK, it was a big week a couple weeks ago! It seems as though posting has slipped my mind now that I am constantly monitoring the bladder activity of our 2 year old. Oh, and I have homework now too! It's hard to decide which is more exciting, Spencer starting Kindergarten or Olivia being potty trained.

Spencer has been absolutely loving school. He was so pumped up on the first day that we made him do jumping jacks to settle down! He couldn't wait to ride the bus with his best bud Davis. I wasn't one of those emotional moms. No crying for me, but I have to admit that when I saw our little guy walk up the steps on the bus, I got a lump in my throat. He didn't even look out the window and wave goodbye!!! Rude. I did laugh outloud as I saw the parade of minivans following behind the bus all the way to the school. Yup, laughed all the way to my own car, out the driveway, and to the school! Good thing though, he lined up with the wrong class! I am sure it would have been straightened out relatively quickly, but at least it validated my reasons for going. Sadly, he isn't as thrilled about homework, but I am sure he will soon realize that they aren't the worst TWO MINUTES of the day!
Olivia is officially potty trained. Well, at least in my book. She really has done very well. 95% of any of her accidents have been my fault due to lack of attention or over estimating the size of her bladder. She even went potty on the first day with out having me around. I have to admit that there is something thrilling about having somebody sing to you that never convenient question, "Come wipe my bUuuuum!" Thrilling when a two year old says it, not so much when they're five. Hopefully this pic isn't considered too risque'.
Due to the need for little ones to get up during the night to use the facilities, Olivia finally got her bed put together! I would have been fine keeping her in her crib for as long as possible, but I was too worried she would break her neck in the middle of the night. Kev and I picked out the cheapest, NEW mattress we could find, and set it up. I think I was more excited than Oli. I had her bedding sitting in her closet for over a year! Now she knows she's a big girl. Panties AND a big girl bed. She was seriously jumping like such a maniac, that I couldn't get a decent shot of her face! Crazy girl.
It's been fun around here. Now, can someone please teach Spencer how to ride a bike and Oli to peddle her trike!

Butt Wipe Bootcamp

There are two things I am not looking forward to this week.

1. Teaching Spencer how to wipe his own bum.

2. Potty training Olivia

The first is long overdue, but believe it or not, I was more willing to do it for him than to have to Shout every pair of his undies. I suddenly realized that I let the whole summer slip away, and now I am faced with the reality of either me dealing with it in the privacy of our own home or having his teacher call me and tell me about the mess she had to clean up after Spencer clogged the toilet. There are plenty of you moms who have already gone through this. Any pointers? I am guessing it really shouldn't be too big of a process. Fingers crossed.

As for Miss Oli, she has expressed enough interest in wearing her princess panties and the potty that I think this should be fairly easy. Probably famous last words. I have decided to opt out of using Pull Ups. Unnecessary in my book. Once again, that will probably come back to bite. One less child around the house for half the day should help with my ability to focus. I am sure Oli will thrilled with the opportunity to run around in panties all day, drinking Capri Suns, and watching TV.

Precognitive Puking

Early this morning, oh lets say around 5:30, I was comfy in our bed, in a state of REM.

My dream:
I was in our room, beginning my morning chores, when Spencer ran in and told me Olivia threw up. I bolted out of the room into the family room to find our rug rolled up length wise and Fruit Loops spewed out all over our beautiful walnut floor. I asked why the rug was rolled up and if there was throw up inside. Spencer thankfully said no. As I assessed the damage, I noted, and felt grateful for, the easy clean up. The last thing that I wanted to do was scrub puke out of carpet.

A few minutes later (or so it seemed it my particular state of consciousness), Kevin and I were awakened to Olivia crying in our doorway. Kevin flew out of bed to see what was the matter. I was still groggy and trying to figure out what was going on, when I heard Kevin say something about her throwing up. WHAT! I ran into the bathroom to see her finishing up the deed while Kev peeled his juicy shirt off. I decided to see what damage there was in her crib, and to my surprise, there was none!!! As much as I hate cleaning up vomit, I was thrilled with only having to wipe it up off the bathroom floor and toilet seat. Way to go Olivia! So far today we have had no other incidents. Lets keep our fingers crossed. Good thing we don't have any Fruit Loops in the house.

Sick kids are so sad, but I can't say I don't mind the napping...and the bed head!

Anatomy According To A 5 Year Old

This actually happened a few weeks ago, but I had to post it before I forgot.

My sister, Lydia, was talking to Spencer at my parents house, and when she finished speaking, he told her, "I could see your ugula." To be pronounced yu-gue-la. We got a good laugh out of it. I must admit I was impressed. How many five year olds do you know that that dangily thing is a uvula?

He's a genius...almost.

So much for asking

It may be milk's favorite cookie, but it is NOT my floor's favorite crumb. I need to lock the pantry.

Summer Sabbatical Is Over

We're alive!!!!!!! I know, I know. It has been a decade or so since I have posted. A combination of things lead to that, of course. It was mostly laziness, but we did have house guests for a month, went out of town a few times, thought my computer was broken, and on and on. It seems like I did this last summer too. Anyway, here is a run down of our lives for the last two months. I would love to say I will give you the summarized version of it, but you all know me too well. I will do my best.

After the last post, we had an incredible 80th surprise birthday party for my Grandma Christensen. I have to admit that the best part was seeing her reaction. She was truly surprised. It was so wonderful to have so many family members there to celebrate her life. If only I was as fit as she is now! She is such an inspiration!!! Eliza took pictures, so check her blog out. Uh, yeah, that was in June so you have to scan way back!

July was packed with festivities! It started out with a fabulous 4th of July weekend at the Harber/Nelson compound in Cedar Breaks. There was tons of four wheeling, food, fireworks, and I mustn't forget the sweet scavenger hunt Nola put together. BTW, our team one! I love getting together with those Nelson's. We laugh our brains out!

As soon as we got home, we greeted Mr. Michael Easley to our home! He just got a new job here, and crashed with us until Alli got here and 'till their house was ready. It was fun having them here...kittens and all! Our house seems so empty now! Alli and I had plenty of late nights. I have grown so much closer to her from this time we had. LOVE YOU ALLI!!! It was fun to get to know Michael better too. Too bad Spence wanted to wrestle all the day with him. Too bad for Harper that "Dolly" was making out with him by the end. Sigh. Glad to have you crazies here with us in Utah!!!

We also celebrated Kevin's birthday. Sadly, there is not much to speak of. I didn't really go above and beyond on this one. We did go to a movie! :P Next year? Maybe our Bear Lake trip a few days later made up for it. We had a blast with Kevin's family. We celebrated the 24th with some fireworks, and we also celebrated Big Steve's birthday too!

We also had a bridal shower for Lauren in Las Vegas. It was a busy weekend because we also went to Jason and Jen's wedding too. It was beautiful, and we are excited to see them so happy. The shower was fun, and it was fun to have a party just for the girls!

August came so fast, and we managed to squeeze in baby Taylor's blessing in before we all headed to Mesa for Ryan and Lauren's wedding!!!! What a wonderful weekend. You will need to refer to Lydia's blog for the pictures. Spencer got some interesting shots as he played photographer at the reception. Anywho, we barely made into town with enough time for me to fly over to the temple for Lauren's endowment session. I was so glad I made it in time, but it was sweltering in there! Poor Lauren almost passed out...for the second time that day (you'll have to get the story from her. It's great). Later that night we experienced the full meaning of "monsoon season." Yeah. Really. Flooding and all. It cleared up by morning just leaving behind all the awesome humidity. Oh, my hair was rockin' it. We had a wonderful family dinner with all the family that was in town. Ryan is so blessed to marry into such a great family. They are a blast! Kevin and I are contemplating inviting ourselves down for Christmas. We love warm weather Christmas's!

The sealing was beautiful, of course. The only bad part was waiting outside in the scorching heat during pictures. BLEH!!! I am a complainer, but I did feel worse for Ry and Lauren! All those layers! The reception was fun, and the video was exceptionally excellent considering it had two completely random pictures of Eric...by himself. Hahaha! We loved it all. We especially love that Ryan found Lauren. She will fit in perfectly with our family and he with hers.

Finally, we capped the week off with a couple days in Vegas visiting Stacey and Lance's clan at Cal and Jeanette's house (THANKS!), and then a few days swimming in St. George. It was a fun way to break the week up, but we are so glad to be home. I must say that I am lovin' this 85 degree weather! I am a little sad to see the summer coming to an end, but I can't help but anticipate the fall either...

...and I'm spent!

Auction Block Party

Humm diddy um ditty um ditty um ditty...SOLD YOUR WAY to bidder 156!

OK, so I lack the auctioneering skills, but I will say that I ran myself ragged last night helping out at the big home and property auction last night for ENAuctioneering. Kevin and I were able to participate with the rest of the Nelson crew and it was a blast!!! I think everyone had pre-auction nerves. No one knew what the turn out would be or how many actual bidders to expect. We had a few here and there that showed up before registration was supposed to start which had some of us a little nervous because our bid packages hadn't shown up, but we had a back up plan to keep us rolling. People started filing in and then we were all on our toes! I couldn't believe what a turn out we had!!! We kept numbering bid cards, thinking it would be enough, but it never was. I think we had about 179 registered bidders. We even had a few superstitious people! Love it!

As people began showing up I realized that I had no reason to be nervous. You could sense the nerves on the bidders. Most of them had never been to anything like this and were anxious to learn the process. They were in great hands. Uncle E is alway so cool, calm and collected. I can't forget humorous either. He has a way of loosening up any crowd! Also, I must say that Miss Aleda Nelson was as cool as I have ever seen her before. She was even groovin' to the band between properties! You go girl! My cute hubby even got a $20 tip!!! That lucky mug didn't have to move all night. He found a hot corner while the rest of us ran the room. Yeah, I was a little jealous since my calves were cramping in the heals I wore. Thanks Lydia for trading me shoes! Lesson learned.

All in all, the night was a great success. The over all vibe from the crowd was energetic and optimistic, except for Lydia's one account, but we will let her tell that one! I am sure now that we have some educated bidders, there will be even better results the next go around. After all was said and done, we were all worn out, hungry, and pretty excited at the results. Of course our way too generous Uncle E took us to a late night dinner to wrap up the night. Work or play those Nelsons' know how to party! Thanks for the adventure last night!

I Got It From Norma

I am one who has truly been blessed with an amazing heritage. The women on all sides of our family are very strong. Strong personalities, strong opinions, strong sense of humor, strong testimonies. These are all traits that I feel I have inherited. There is one, however, that always seemed so mild and gentile. This was my Grandma Nelson. She was the kind of woman who was an ideal grandmother. She was soft spoken, reverent, and always very proper. She had an old timey bun that she always wore on the top of her head. I only once saw her hair down, and I remember it made me gasp when I saw that she had hair down to the middle of her back. She was the kid of woman who doted on her children. "Paul, dear," she would ask, "what would you like for breakfast?" Then proceed on to the next. "Clarence, darling, what would you like?" She had six children. That will never happen in my home. With cereal, maybe, but with a breakfast made from scratch? No way. She was a collector. A serious collector. The kind that Oprah or Clean House would love to have on their shows. Pathways from one room to the next and every room filled to capacity. Clutter gives me anxiety. I love to get rid of piles of "things." I think I developed this because of her. We share the love to shop, but she only influenced my need to clean from her obsession with "collecting". Although we differ here, there is a great pleasure I have from knowing she was so eccentric in this way. The stories I continue to hear about her always amaze me. She died when I was in the 6th grade, and I feel that was the time I was just starting to get to know and remember her. I wish I had more time to get to know her, and I know that one day I will.

There is a particular memory I have of her that always makes me laugh. She was staying with us while our parents were out of town, and she was naturally trying to accommodate her grand children in every way. I, however, was much too independent for that. I remember telling her I wanted a drink. She said she would get me a glass, but I refused, and told her I would get it myself. I remember her face as she turned around and saw me standing on the counter. I did it on purpose. I always knew she was a worrier, and it always made me laugh when I got a rise out of this mild mannered woman. "Oh darling! Please get down! That is so dangerous. Please let Grandma get it for you." By then I had gotten the needed cup and was safe on the ground. This is where the story turns. Now, Grandma is the one smiling down at me as she watches me worry over my own children. This is what I inherited from her. I am a worrier.
I never thought I would be this way just because I was the one who was tempting others to worry. Even my cousin Stacey has had good laughs at my expense over my worrying natrue. I find myself struggling with the little milestones my children make or soon hope to make. For example, Spencer was talking about learning how to ride his bike without training wheels, and all I could think about was him forgetting how to use his breaks and zooming down the driveway right into the street. My heart stops every time I think about it. He wants a skateboard too. I keep telling him they are too dangerous. Now I can't even consider it after hearing about TC Rogers. How do I do it?
Well, a couple days ago I let him go to the "swamp" by our house with a buddy and his big brother. It is a little stream with reeds. They had nets and were going to do who knows what, boy stuff I guess. I couldn't resist driving by to make sure everything was OK. Of course everything was fine, and I am sure this little outing made our little guy the happiest kid in the world. Still, I struggle.
I know that worrying comes along with having children. How do you let go? How do you let them grow up? I once bought a children's first aid book so I could be prepared if anything happened. I had to shut the book after the first few pages because I was nauseous. I don't know if I will ever get over it. Like I said, it is in my nature. Either way, it is something that connects me to this amazing woman.

"The Swamp"The young Norma. So beautiful.

We can't forget Oli! I wov hu!

OH. MY. GOSH.

I really should be posting about Spencer's graduation from pre school, but that will come later. I have been a bit down since our boy David Archuleta didn't take home the big prize Wednesday night. I know he will get a contract and he will make millions, but we just wanted to see him win! Well, I am officially recovered. LOOK AT THIS AMAZING TALENT!!! They are both unbelievable. The second clip is my absolute favorite. I could watch this guy for hours on end! Make sure you watch until after the judges speak. He does another somin' somin'.

Jessalyn Hillier Richards 1919-2008

I am a little late in posting this, but I have really wanted to, and I felt it was necessary. Blogging is my journal. We recently celebrated the life of Jesselyn Richards but better know as Grandma Richards who passed away on May 2, 2008. She was an amazing woman with an amazing history. All the stories I have ever heard were of her hard work, refined manners, and dedication to her family. One of Grandma's favorite things to do was to just sit and watch her great grandchildren play (all 56 of them). I loved hearing her quiet laughs when she saw them do something silly or even naughty. We were so blessed to have her in our lives and to have our two children get to know her. She was always so patient when they would come to visit. As soon as they would get to her room they would pull out every toy they could find, and kleenex, and pictures...the list goes on. There was always a treat to be shared and a laugh to be had as they, or Spencer rather, asked her silly questions. We are also so grateful for Kevin's mom, Sheryl, for her love and dedication in taking such great care of her all these years. She leaves behind an amazing legacy, which is evident it the way all seven of her children lead their lives. She will be greatly missed. We love you Grandma.

Isn't this a beautiful picture? I love these old timey shots. Gorgeous.