100th Day of School

Yesterday the boys got to dress up like they were 100 year old men for the 100th day of school.  I know some moms dread days like that.  The extra effort to dress their kids up is just one more thing on the never ending list of things to do.  I get that mentality, but I actually look forward to dressing my kiddos up more than most.  So Sunday night we did a test run of their clothes and make-up so they'd be all set for Monday morning.  I think they pull off that "old" look pretty well.  We laughed and laughed and they came home saying their teachers were cracking up all day too.  Tanner even wrote a song about angry grandpas and convinced a bunch of his friends to dance and sing to it at school.  That boy kills me!

The Beginning of an Era...

Today was our first, ever, Pinewood Derby.  Tanner turned 8 and joined the Cub Scouts just after the Pinewood Derby last year, so even though he's been in for nearly a year now, this was his first big chance to try his hand at making, and racing, a car.  He actually did most of the work at the Church with his troop, but Dean helped him do a few things here at home to get it all geared up and ready to race.  Dean and I did our best to put our over-controlling, OCD parenting aside and let him do it on his own as much as he could.  He really stepped it up and did an awesome job.  He raced great and came in 3rd place out of the Wolves Pack.  He also won the award for "Most Realistic Racer."  He was a little bummed about placing 3rd because you had to be 1st or 2nd to go on to the Mall Show next Saturday, but he was so gracious and told all his friends what a great job they did and was a great sport.  I was really proud.  And Grandma and Grandpa and Janna even came to help cheer him on.  Way to go Tanner!  Here's to MANY more years of Pinewood Derby's in our future.
(disclaimer: I didn't realize that the lens was slimed up until after the event, (I wonder who could have possibly caused that!?) so most of the pictures are blurry and out of focus.  I'm trying not to be too upset about.  There's always next year right!)

Our Favorite Things

Last week I helped put on a "Favorite Things Party" for our Ward Relief Society.  Coming off of the holiday bustle we knew we wanted a pretty low-key relaxing night to just have fun as sisters.  Our Ward has grown by leaps and bounds over the past couple of years so there are lots of new people who don't know everyone yet and lots of the older crowd who have yet to meet the new folks.  We thought this little party would be a fun way for everyone to get to know everyone better.  I put together these invitations to explain the plans for our night...

Each lady was supposed to bring a simple thing that was less than $5 that they love and some yummy food to share.  As they all arrived we gave them a number and assigned them a seat to mix things up a bit and encourage everyone to mingle a little more.  I'm always nervous how that will turn out, but everyone seemed to be ok with it and chatted the night away.  Just to make sure they had plenty to talk about each table had a list of fun "Favorites" questions in case they needed a little extra help keeping the conversation going.  We started the night off with a great little message from Shelley Stanley about some twins that were struggling after birth until they were put in an incubator together.  She tied this in to how much of an influence we can have on each other as sisters.  And then we dove right in to the gift exchange.  Everyone got to introduce themselves and explain what they brought and why they love it, and then the gift went to who ever's number was drawn after that.  I brought a Valentine's banner and heart candy dish full of peanut m&m's from the Target dollar spot, because 1. I love being festive 2. I love crafting (you had to assemble the banner) 3. I love chocolate/nut combos 4. I love the Target Dollar Spot!  I managed to squeeze in four loves in one little $5 gift!  After everyone had a turn we chowed down on appetizers and desserts and called it a night. 

And after cleaning up we snuck away to Eat 'N' Park with a few of the clean up crew and talked the night away until 2:45am!  It made for an early wake up call the next morning, but man is it great to get a little "Me" time and connect with awesome women once in a while.

Lately

Life's been kinda normal as we've entered the new year.  We're just doing the regular day-to-day things, but I never like missing out on the little stuff when bigger things aren't going on, so here's a bit of a phone dump of the little things lately...

 Bridger's at a really fun age where he's starting to understand what's going on a lot more.  He was thrilled to join in on family scripture study the other day.

Two weekends ago Dean was gone on a scout camp-out for most of the weekend, so those of us at home cuddled up and read lots of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.  Of course Braddock and Bridger didn't last much longer than it took to snap these pictures, but Tanner and Landon beg me to keep reading when it's time to stop.  I'm loving how much they love it.

 For FHE last week we had a lesson about trying to find ways to help and serve others and make each other happy.  Just when I think nothing I say ever gets through I had these two kindness come my way that following week.  Tanner left me a sweet note on his message board in his room.  And the next morning Landon enlisted Tanner's help to make me breakfast in bed before school.  Now if we can just remember to keep up kind behavior on a regular basis.  Baby steps!

This weekend Dean and I got to sneak away for the day to go to the Columbus Temple with the youth of our ward.  We ended up with so many youth that we actually took up two sessions.  It was a great day and so nice to be in the temple.  Thanks to Mom and Dad for taking the boys all day.  They raved about the great time they had.

Two Weeks Later

After two short weeks of cranking Tanner's expander we've seen some major change and he's done with that part of the process.  Now he'll keep wearing it long enough for the soft tissue that was stretched to heal, and then he'll get braces on the teeth to move them into place.  Looks like there will be plenty of room for his teeth to grow in now.

Family Photos

It's definitely a rare and special occasion to have the entire family together, so we couldn't pass up the chance to grab a family photo.  It was FREEZING outside so Janna opted out, but with Dean's mad photoshop skills we got everyone in there.  Sure grateful to be a part of this great group of people.

Brace Face

As of today we officially have a kid with braces.  Tanner has been prepping for a couple months now for an expander for his top teeth.  He's had molds made, x-rays done, two different rounds of spacers put in, and finally today was the day to have it all installed.  For the next two weeks we'll be turning a key in his expander morning and night to spread his palate.  This should free up room for his teeth to come in properly and then they'll put braces on to straighten them all out.  So far he's been a champ, and other than talking a bit funny and struggling to swallow with that big contraption in there, he's done fine.  Here's hoping he's not too sore in the morning.
BEFORE:

 AFTER:

So long hair...

For one of my New Years Resolutions I decided to cut my hair and donate it.  (Which reminds me I need still need to mail that ponytail in!)  On Monday all our family headed back to their various homes, so we got to work putting away all our Christmas decorations and I gave all the boys haircuts.  Then I was itching to cut mine too and we had just enough time before heading over to celebrate Janna's birthday.  So after checking to make sure it was long enough to donate, I put it in a ponytail and had Dean snip off 10 inches of hair.  I evened out the ends and stacked it a bit in the back and now I'm sporting a whole new do!  And so far I'm loving it.  It's been a fun change and I'm glad I could help others out as well.

New Year's Eve 2016

2016 had it's ups and downs.  One of the greatest blessings we saw this year was Dean getting on some medication that has leveled out his anxiety and depression better than anything else in the past.  My what a difference it has made in our family.  Tanner seems to have grown by leaps and bounds since moving up to the 4th grade.  And Bridger changed from a baby to a toddler running wild around the house.  Braddock is quickly mastering his ABC's and just might be ready for Kindergarten this year after all.  And Landon has done fantastic in school and always keeps us laughing.  We look forward to a new year of learning and growth.

By New Years Eve Grant and Rachel had already headed back home, but we partied all night with the rest of the family.  We made all the boys take naps earlier in the day, and as a result, they all did great staying up late.  Bridger was really cute when I tried to put him to bed at around 9pm.  He was just ready to party all night long and had me in stitches in the back room as he smooshed his face on the sides of the pack-n-play.  We feasted on Mom's wings and homemade pizza all night and squeezed in a game of "Rage" before the clock struck midnight.

 Bridger woke up just in time to celebrate at midnight!  But he was slightly sleepy and confused about the whole thing.

Family Time

We're having a hard time being back to regular life after two weeks of non-stop family time.  We played hard, ate tons, and didn't sleep near enough.  Ha!  It sure was wonderful having the entire Nelson gang in town.  Some of the highlights....

• watching everyone play "Speak Out"
• putting on performances with cousins
• staying up till all hours of the night chatting
• spending the day at the Church playing volleyball and board games
• watching everyone's faces as we played "Bean Boozled"
• dominating at the local Escape Room
• seeing "Moana" at the theater with all the cousins
• family movie nights
• eating, eating, and more eating
• nightly family devotionals where we learned all sorts of things about each other
• fitting in a traditional game of "Rage" before midnight on NYE
• target shooting in the backyard
• just being together