The Nelson Narrative

Olivia's dance recital is coming up this Saturday so this week is the crazy week.  It started with picture day last Saturday.  First she had a dress rehearsal from 10-12 and then photo sessions scattered throughout the day (one for each of the 3 classes she's in).  The first photo session was at 12:30, then another at 1:30 between which I ran out and grabbed her a sandwich from Jersey Mike's because there wasn't enough time for her to leave since she had to change costumes and what-not, then she had a break until the last one at 4:15.  This one was longer, an hour, because it was Dance Troupe, which is the group that does a big production every year.  This year is Beauty and the Beast. Here was/is our schedule for this week: Monday - nothing.  Instead Paul and I were able to go out to dinner in celebration of our 13th wedding anniversary. Tuesday - Rehearsal for Beauty from 4-6 (normally not home from school until 4 but Paul is home early enough he wa...

We had a fun Easter weekend.  On Saturday morning we went to our neighborhood's annual potluck/egg hunt at the park just up the street.  Well, Kayley didn't go because she was at a sleepover but the rest of us did. The older kids receiving their instructions The food table The older kids' eggs are hidden in the woods to make it harder--the rest are just all over the grass fields.   Then today we to church and then up to my brother and sister-in-law's place in Mount Vernon, about an hour and a half away.  We had a nice dinner and then another egg hunt. 5 out of the 6 kids, plus Kona They love slime so I found this for their Easter baskets.  It smelled awful but had these cute little tiny chicks inside.  One of these years I'll manage to get a nice picture of all 4 of us.  I'll probably have to resort to bribery.

The girls turned 11 on February 28th. They wanted to have separate parties this year.  They're tired of having to share a birthday and it's become increasingly difficult for them to agree on what to do. Olivia wanted to have 3 or 4 friends spend the night and make slime.  Easy.  4 friends came for pizza and slime making, but only 3 spent the night. Kayley wanted to take 3 friends to the Cheesecake Factory in Seattle and then to Wings Over Washington (similar to Soarin' Around the World (formerly Soarin' Over California) at Disneyland).  Paul had to stay home with Olivia (who, of course, wasn't invited) so I took them by myself. The Harbor Steps, on the way down to the waterfront The famous Gum Wall Fun times had by all!

We took the girls to Disneyland 5 years ago this May when they were 6.  I'd been wanting to take them back for several years now and we finally went over the mid-winter break. We flew down on a Saturday and the next day we went to Universal Studios, figuring Sunday would be the best day to drive up there with traffic and all.  They loved the new(ish) Harry Potter land (or whatever it's called) but everyone except Olivia agreed that the Mummy ride was the best! Had to try the Butterbeer at Harry Potter land (or whatever it's called) Monday we went to Knott's Berry Farm.  Paul had never been, nor the girls of course, and I hadn't been there since 1987.  I couldn't believe all the cool roller coasters they have now!  It is a coaster-lover's dream.  And we rode them ALL, most of 'em twice, except Montezooma's Revenge which was closed. Hangtime.  Coolest. Ride. EVER! Tuesday we finally went to Disneyland. We...

First, we got about 10 inches of snow on Superbowl Sunday.  School was closed that Monday and Tuesday and they had a 2-hour late start on Wednesday.  Then last Friday it started snowing again and didn't stop until Monday and then snowed some more off and on until yesterday.  I think we got about two feet this 2nd time.  School has been closed ALL week, this being the 6th total day so far and tomorrow will be the likely 7th. I've been working from home all week which has been difficult with them being home all day and running in and out and having friends over and what-not.  I finally decided to just take today off and actually spend some time with them.  Plus I could really use a day to get caught up on some household stuff and projects and I need to start packing for our upcoming trip to Disneyland/Universal Studios/Knott's Berry Farm. Neighbor girl was helping us shovel our driveway

I just turned 50.  Half a century.  Ugh.  We decided to use this occasion to go to Vegas where we would also be able to meet my half sister for the first time (still working on that blog post, but a little over a year ago I found out I have a half sister I never knew about).  It started out with 3, maybe 4 couples going (including us) and then a few singles got added, and then some of the husbands dropped out and a few of the couples so when all was said and done it ended up being 4 girls and Paul!  He was a trooper, though, and totally didn't mind and had a great time regardless.  We would have made it a girls' trip but he really wanted to meet my sister, too. My birthday was January 24th, but we went over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend to take advantage of the extra day.  We flew down on Friday, and one of our friends was on an earlier flight and waiting for us at the airport.  We went together to rent a car (since Paul and I would...