Blink and You'll Miss It

Somehow, without my realizing it, this:

became this:

Still Alive!

Oh my blogger friends! If you are reading this, thanks for keeping my blog on your horizons, especially since I have neglected it for so longs To be fair, it's been an incredibly busy four months--even for me, where busy is my normal state of life. Here's a quick recap:

• I went back to work in the after-school program at the local Waldorf school.
• I started directing a church youth musical play, (that I also wrote). This meant managing a group of 40 youth, ranging in age from 12-17, as well as overseeing all of the aspects of creating a play--scenery, costumes, music, etc. We only had about 6 weeks to put on this play AND it was a competition with 9 other church youth groups.
• I went back to teaching music at a local preschool (the ELC). Combined with my Korean tutoring, I'm working between 25-30 hrs a week.
• I sang the National Anthem at the Sick Town Derby Dames September bout.
• In October, I did some subbing at the ELC, and started shadowing the Kindergarten teacher in preparation for taking over her class in November. For two weeks, I worked about 50 hrs a week while still having play practices and mom stuff and roller derby stuff.
• H turned 12 at the beginning of October.
• Our play (Roadshow, for those that know the lingo) was performed twice in one day, on October 23.
• I took over the Kindergarten class at the ELC the first week of November. I gave notice at Waldorf mid-October (I'm still on the substitute list there) because I couldn't keep up with it all.
• We found out at theRoadshow awards ceremony for the that not only did our little musical play win Best Script, Best Set/Scenery, Best Presentation, and Best Director awards, we also won the Grand Champion award! J shared the Best Actress award with another girl in our stake (a stake is a unit of organization for our church) but two other youth in our play won Best Vocalist (male and female) awards. I was very proud of the youth and how hard they worked.
• December rolled in with it's many concerts. Given that we have two children in band, one in choir, and the fact that I'm not only teaching music at the ELC but also our church choir director, it's really not a surprise that from the 12th of December to the 19th of December our family was involved in 7 concerts. I also sang/directed at a Christmas Eve service.
• Joel and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary on December 12th. (yay us!)
• My daughter J turned 16 in the first week of December.
• J joined the high school swim team.
• I started attending regular roller derby practices the second week of August and LOVE IT! I'm still not very good (I literally started with NO skating skills and had to completely learn how to skate), but I keep trying. I don't know if I'll be participating in a bout (or even a scrimmage) any time soon, but I'm definitely keeping up with this. My goal right now is to be better each time I put on skates than the last time I put on skates. I'm on the newbie team (Team Skabies) for the local Albany-Corvallis league, the Sick Town Derby Dames. I do have a derby name picked out, but am going to keep that to myself for a bit.

So that's it in a nutshell. We are still reasonably healthy and very very blessed. All in all, 2010 was a pretty successful year for the Nelson family, and we are looking forward to the challenges and joys of 2011.

Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

The Summer of Go

The family approaching the Flag Walk at Mt. Rushmore

We have been a family on the go this summer. School got out on June 17th. J. left for EFY (a church youth camp) on June 21st. I left for my yearly scrapooking girls retreat on June 25th. Joy came hom on the 26th. I cam home on the 27th, late. Then the whole family packed up and left for our Midwest Migration (we counted--we drove through all or part of 10 states, going from Oregon to Illinois and back again). We saw family in LaGrande, Oregon, then Yellowstone for the 4th of July, then South Dakota where we saw Mt. Rushmore, Deadwood, the Crazy Horse monument, and the Mammoth Site, as well as some of the sets used in the movie "Dances with Wolves." From there, we hit the Winter Quarters visitor's center, and then went to my parent's house in Lee's Summit, Missouri. We spent about 4 days there, mostly hanging out with my family. It was especially cool that my sister drove up from Texas, almost making it a family reunion (only my brother and his kids were missing). Two of my sisters were working on the crew for the Kansas City Roller Warriors, so Joel and I were able to enjoy a bout (they had free tickets) and I LOVED it (more on that later). After we left Missouri, we headed to Nauvoo, Illinois for the Nelson Family Reunion. That was a super-cool experience that I would encourage any and all to go to. Our family especially enjoyed the pageant. It's hard to put it into words. I have ancestors that were in the city of Nauvoo before the members of the church left to head west in 1846, as does Joel, so there is a lot of history there for us. I took a TON of pictures that will be on my flickr site (if they aren't already--I've been so busy I honestly can't remember if I've put them there or not yet). We returned home late-late-late on July 19, with Girls Camp beginning on July 20th (and lasting a week). Then Cub Camp (where H. helped out as a "red shirt" for three days) was the next week, with 11 year-old day camp on Friday the 30th. After that, we started our annual Back Yard Play rehearsals. Joel and H went to Scout camp the next week, beginning August 2nd. C. had eye surgery on August 3rd, and ever since then, we've been having daily 2hr Back Yard Play practices (I'm acting as the Vocal Director this year). I also taught a series of science classes at the ELC's summer program (I'll switch back to music in the fall).

I'll have more pictures later. Mostly, I just didn't want you to think I'd forgotten how to blog.

250 Steps...

...and it was drizzly and gray and we ended up with wet hair by the time we were done, but it was worth every step.

A Division of Labor

Big Trees State Park, California, 2006

Disneyland, 2005

Summer is here, and that usually means summer traveling.

My husband and I, in our nearly 18 years of marriage have settled into distinct roles as we travel. I should add that a big part of what I take on in my role comes from living with and being close to my grandmother--who, as much as I love her, I have to admit was a little paranoid about the oddest things. This has affected how I prepare for a trip. I simply can't help it. I'm much more stressed if I DON'T do these things.

My Jobs when we travel:

• wash all of the laundry in the house and coordinate wardrobes so that no matter what my boys put on, I know that they won't look like ragged children
• create packing lists for the children and then double-check their suitcases
• If we are traveling by car (and we usually are) I plan and pack food for meals and snacks, and I make sure everyone has a water bottle. I work to have "real food," not junk food. This also means I do all of the shopping for said food.
• Help each child pack a car bag, with books, games, etc., to keep them occupied. This includes shopping for new things because new thinks catch their interest better. I also make sure everyone has working headphones.
• Pack a technology bag for everything else--laptop, charger, cellphone charger, headphones, etc. Make sure we have any videocameras and/or tripods. Make sure the cameras are ready to go.
• Pack a first-aid kit that will allow us to do anything except minor surgery. Pack any medicines the kids could need (mostly 'cause it never fails that someone will get sick in some way while we are gone and I hate buying the same medicines I already have at home, usually in bulk)
• Pack sunscreen and insect repellant
• Look over our destination and make sure we've checked out fun things for the kids to do online ahead of time so we can be prepared.
• Clean the house as much as possible so we don't come home to a dirty house.
• Make arrangements for the dog to be cared for.
• Make arrangements for the fish to be cared for.
• Stop the mail.
• Make sure the bills get paid. (this just means checking in with my husband--he keeps our bills paid, I'm just his reminder.)
• Make sure the kids have packed their toothbrushes and hairbrushes.
• Pack a vacation essentials kit with shampoo, laundry products, kleenex, hand soap, etc.
• Pack my clothes, taking extra care not to forget underwear or my swimsuit (as I have done in the past.)
• Make sure the kids have packed their swim bags. Make sure everyone has a towel and goggles.
• Make sure we have some kind of blanket for sitting on the ground, just in case
• Pack a car kit for each section of the car in readiness for anyone's car sickness. Our kits include ziploc bags (to catch the obvious) and hand sanitizer, because a little dab of alcohol on the base of the nose can stave off nausea for about 45 minutes. Usually long enough for the car sickness to pass without any excitement.
• Make sure we have any necessary phone numbers.
• Make sure we have car chargers for at least one phone.
• Make sure that there are car blankets in the car for each child (and me)
• Pack videos and books on tape to listen to. Make sure we have good music selections that everyone likes.
• Try to think of any possible contingency and have a plan in place for dealing with that contingency. (I kid you not--it's kind of a sickness I inherited from my paranoid grandmother...)

Joel's Jobs

• use priceline or something else to get us cheap hotels
• pay the bills
• make sure the car is at peak performance--change the oil, change the tires, fill up the windshield washing spray
• choose our route
• pack his own bag (with the clean pile of clothes I've left for him)
• Drive

I don't really mind that my list is so much longer than his. Like I've said, I can't help it. Plus he does 90% of the driving (he gets car sick) so I think in the end, our roles are pretty even. Plus, I like it that my husband appreciates all of my efforts and makes sure to tell me. That's nice to hear! Our division of labor might not work for everyone, but it works for us--and isn't that one of the things marriage is all about? One of my favorite definitions of a good partner in life was to choose someone who's "rocks fit your holes," meaning that the rocks in your partner's head fit the holes in your head. I feel like I have that with my husband.

Yellowstone National Park, 2008

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some things I need to do...

Thursday-- A Week in the Life

Homework waiting to be worked on in the morning

the breakfast of champions?

baking frozen cookie dough balls for lunches

Looking in the fridge for breakfast

Pouting because he wants cookies for breakfast and I won't let him.

all ready for school!

walking to the bus stop

driving the daughter to school (she went late)

going to lunch w/my cute hubby!

Happy mail from my mom.

Eye doctor--regular checkup. Only one eye dialated.

something pretty spotted on the way home. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm weird for stopping my car to take pictures of their flowers. I don't care.

...gets you pretty far. YouThespian rehearsal (after a trip to Costco and a 45 min sewing session to bust out a costume for "Interplanet Janet.)

"I'm just a Bill" (and daughter J is in the purple shirt and hat forming part of the capital rotunda)

Conjunction Junction, What's your Function?

Lovely Lady Libery and her great American Melting Pot

Elbow Room--up on the Moon!

"Mars is Red..and Jupiter's Big" (this is the start of the costume I sewed today)

Interjections!

Nelson Family Reunion 2009

Just the Grandchildren (and a few GREAT grandchildren!)
The entire family! (hubby is one of 9 children--this is his immediate family)

And a good time was had by all....

At the beach...first trip for the 40/40 list

How gorgeous is that sky? Seriously! (all pictures taken with my cell phone). That is the windscreen I made, a la Martha Stewart. This was so much fun we are going back on Friday with the whole family, instead of just me and the boys. Plus C wants to see this again:

She's gorgeous, I tell you!

Another One for Mom (and Dad)

Taken this Saturday, at the NAMS Jazz Festival. J. is playing the tenor sax at the beginning at the end of this piece. Enjoy! I know I was so proud I thought I'd burst and it took all of my self-control not to jump up and shout, "That's MY GIRL!"

We lost our kitty yesterday...

We found her under Joel's car. He'd just refilled his anti-freeze on Saturday, so we think she may have licked the drips. We'll never know for sure. She was a very, very sweet kitty. Great mouser too. I figure she was about 8 years old. She was born in my closet. I gave her a love and a pet when I put her out at 5am, and we found her about 1:30.

I am SICK! Send any good wishes/vibes/prayers my way. I've been getting up to work, and then going back to bed for the rest of the day. I also need a crack seamstress who can make my daughter's dress for her first church youth dance tonight. Any takers? It's an easy pattern!

Anyway, just keep us in your thoughts. The kids were pretty upset about the kitty. Even Joel, who wasn't the cat's biggest fan, will miss her mousing skills.

Backyard Plays

For the last two weeks my kids have been involved in another Mom's backyard play. It's something she's done for the last four years. She organizes, produces, directs, etc. an abridged version of a musical. This is the first year we've participated. They are doing "Newsies." This show is based on the newspaper boys strike of the late 1800's. It's been fun for my kids so far. I should mention that this friend of mine was also the Cub Camp Director for our Boy Scout District, and is in charge of the children's worship organization at church. She is always doing something, and usually does it beautifully! I'm glad my kids could have this opportunity. I love theater, and this is a good way to pass that bug on to them. All I've had to do is help gather their costumes, sew a few newsie bags, and make their hats! (well, and get them to rehearsal from 1-4 each day the past few weeks). Today is their first performance. Of course I will take pictures. I'm really looking forward to it!

I'll share some more later this week!

My Momma's Gone

(picture taken at H's pinewood derby. One regret I have is that I didn't get my parents to sit for a better picture.)

Today, early this morning (at "o-dark thirty" as my Dad would say) my parents embarked on their move BACK to the Kansas City Missouri area. They were here by me for just over a year. I'm kinda sad to let them go. At the same time, I know that they loved living in that area when they lived there before (they are moving back to the same suburb even) and I'm really proud of my Dad. He works for Comcast selling commercial internet services and such. He's pretty good at it. So good that Comcast wanted him to come to the KC area to start up the same kind of sales there. It'll be a good thing overall, but today, I'm kinda sad that my Mom is gone, and that we didn't have enough time to do all the things we talked about doing when they moved here last May. I don't really have regrets about much--we did a lot while we could. We just ran out of time.

Maybe we'll go to Missouri for Christmas.

Back from Yellowstone!

I have A LOT to share--what a wonderful week! Aside from lovely visits with the Nelson Family in Utah, (where I literally ran into Creating Keepsake's Scrapbooker of the Year Elizabeth Kartchner) and seeing the beauties of Mt. Timpanogos and having fun at Seven Peaks Water Park.

Yellowstone was AMAZING! We saw a pack of wolves, several bears, many, many bison and elk, a pack of coyotes, two wolves fighting with a grizzly over a bison carcass, a pair of nesting bald eagles, walked around MANY geysers, got sprayed by Old Faithful (it was windy) twice (saw it blow 4 times), and generally fell in love with the whole experience. Although I'm probably never going to tent camp there. I just don't want to be THAT close to my wildlife!

All my pics are on the lap top, so I'll be posting later. Just wanted you to know that we made it home in one piece!