Happy Father's Day 2009!

*Sigh* I am so far behind on blogging, I wonder if I should post at all. If someone would like to take my kids for a week while I lock the doors and turn off the phone, I think I could get caught up! (After girls' camp is over, of course). Anyway! I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to Barry, my dad, his dad, his granddad, and all of the other wonderful men and our progenitors on the other side of the veil.

I took these photos today to give to the kids' grandpas. I still have to photoshop the one for Barry, since Tessa was done with the photo session before we could hold up his sign.

Did you see how cute my Tessie (that's what she calls herself, we normally call her Tessa) looks in piggytails? Too bad I can never get her to wear anything in her hair for long. We are working on it. Oh, and there are Trentonisms everyday, I just don't remember to write them all down. A few minutes ago he asked if when he turned 8 if his dad could get a job flying people around with parachutes, because he really wants to ride in a parachute. Hmm...I guess we'll have to see about that one. And Kira, well she gets along with her brother much better when she only sees him for a couple of hours each day. One of these days well convince her that even if she is smarter than the rest of us, she doesn't get to be the boss until she has her own house.

I hope you all had a great Father's Day! 1 week 'til Girls Camp. Wish me luck (a prayer or two wouldn't hurt, either)!

When did she get to be so grown up?

Happy Birthday, Kira-bug!  I'm so proud of you!

Hope You Had a Happy Easter

Why is it that with all of the pictures we took today, our goofy one turns out the best?

Hope you had a nice Easter. We did.

It was a good day in primary for Trenton. Two Trentonisms reported by two different teachers.

1. They were talking about the resurrection in sharing time and the teacher talked about how sometimes our loved ones die. Trenton piped up with "My Grandma Nielson was 101 years old, and she had a breakdown and died!"

Explanation: I believe that in an effort to comfort his serious grieving about Grandma's death,

I think I told him something to the effect of that when people get old their bodies start to get worn out and break down, and it becomes difficult for them to do a lot of things they used to do. That's all I can figure.

2. In his class they were talking about the Word of Wisdom. Trenton's teacher reported back that he said, "There is a guy in my Dad's office that drinks coffee, but he is respectful of my dad when he smokes."

Explanation: He knows that it is the other guy who smokes and keeps a respectful distance from his dad when he does it, but the way he said it, made it sound a lot like his Dad is the one doing the smoking. This on top of last week's revelations about all of his dad's girlfriends. One might just think Barry is leading a double life.

Trentonisms--It's been a while...(UPDATED)

I know you've been dying to hear what is coming out of this handsome guy's mouth, lately. The truth is, I haven't been doing a great job of remembering to write down his gems, lately. I think it is because they are getting longer as he gets older, and my brain is getting worse at remembering things as I get older. There were some good ones this week, so I jotted them down. I know I'm missing at least one funny he said that I just can't remember. But here are the most recent Trentonisms (that have been recorded), for your reading enjoyment:

• (to me, his mother) "I know sometimes you think you're right, but you're really wrong. But I love you anyway."
• One day we heard him talking about a "cosmological critical mess" and asked if he was referring to his bedroom (I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be a critical mass, and he heard it on Planet Heroes, but I like his version better).
• After listening to the story of Joseph (of Egypt) he said "Mom, are you thinking what I'm thinking? If the robbers come to our house we could get them and throw them in a big gigantic hole!"

and my current favorite:

• We had to pick up Barry from work, since his car was in the shop. As we pulled into the parking lot, Trenton was excited to recognize the office building. "We're at Dad's work!" He exclaimed. And pointing at a woman getting into her car, "Look! There's one of Dad's girlfriends!" Trying to park and not laugh too hard at the same time I reply, "One of Dad's girlfriends???" Trenton says, "Yeah! Dad has LOTS of girlfriends!" Oh, really, now?

Trenton has had a fever the last couple of days, and gets to go get a couple of cavities filled on Monday, so say a little prayer for him, if you get the chance.

UPDATE: (4/6/09)
The dentist appointment went well and I think Trenton enjoyed our "date" today. He is resting now. I have to post one more Trentonism--not so much because it is funny, but because I need to have it documented for the future.

T: When I am a teenager, I will never, ever, ever to anything bad!
Me: Oh really?
T: Yeah. If you ask me to do something, I will do it.
Me: That's great!
T: Deal?
Me: DEAL!

When do you think I'll have to dig up this post to show him?

A little bit of begging

I entered this cake I made for St. Patrick's Day in a contest on Gourmet Mom's blog. The voting ends in a couple of hours and I would really like to win the $100 prize package from cookware.com. At one point I was within one vote of winning, but the opposition is launching a strong resurgence. If you haven't yet, will you go to http://www.gourmetmomonthego.com/ and vote for Kendra's Lucky Leprechaun Cake? I'll love you forever, and maybe even bake you something, someday!

The Gubler House

Although funerals aren't inherently fun times, Grandma's funeral turned out to be a family reunion of sorts, and we had a great time being with my family. This was the first time in around 7 years that all of my siblings have been together.

What made it extra neat is that we were able to rent this historic home in St. George where we could stay together. That would have been cool enough. But how neat is this:

After being at the home for a while, we decided to check out the historic plaque on the front and saw that it was built by Heinrich Gubler, who was Grandma's Grandpa, or our Great Great Grandpa. It helped us feel near to our heritage, and close to each other.

The kids mostly enjoyed all the fun things they could do with their cousins in the carriage house, and the pool area (still pretty cold, but the jacuzzi was a big hit!)

Thanks, everyone, for making our whirlwind trip to Utah so memorable! Can't wait for our next reunion!

Ruth Gubler Nielson (1907-2009)

My Grandma passed away the day before Valentine's Day. I was actually at Trenton's class party when my mom called me on my cell phone to tell me the news. It was mostly expected, except part of me thought she might just live on forever. Up until recent years, I firmly believed that she was stronger and healthier than I was.

She was 101 years old, and probably could have fought on to live a few more years, if there had been much reason to keep fighting. She was an incredibly hard-working woman, who left behind a posterity that included 101 great grandchildren.

Barry couldn’t get out of work for the funeral, so the kids and I made arrangements to caravan to Southern Utah for the funeral with some of my Arizona cousins. Of 39 (?) grandchildren, all but one of those living were in attendance. In my family, all eight siblings were together for the first time in something like 7 years. Although it took a lot of effort to get our little family there, it was great to be with my family and extended family and celebrate the amazing posterity of my grandma.

My Trenton was the most mournful mourner at the funeral. He was very sad that he wouldn’t get to see Grandma Nielson again on this earth. “I loved Grandma Nielson, I didn’t want her to die.” He said over and over. I took turns with my brothers (thanks, guys!) trying to comfort him and remind him of the power of the resurrection, but when the funeral director asked if anyone needed to say their final goodbye’s before the casket was closed, Trenton was the first to walk up to the casket and take a very serious moment of silence. I’ll never forget the sight of him walking back to me, hands in his pockets and head hung down after he had said good bye to his great grandma for the last time on this earth. He has such a tender heart!

I think it would be ungrateful to complain about 101 years. Grandma lived on her own for most of those years, at least until she was around 95. My only regret...no one ever called Willard Scott.

During the funeral I wrestled a sleep-deprived, Tessa. The grandchildren sang “How Great Thou Art” and I lead the great-grandchildren (who had to remain in the congregation, because there were too many to fit in the choir seats) in “I am a Child of God.”

I took the following pictures at the graveside service, and luncheon. If any of my family wants me to email them photos that are the right size for printing (i.e. 4x6), let me know.

My cousins and brother paying their last respects as pallbearers.

Lovely floral arrangement on the powder blue casket, that I'm sure Grandma completely approved of. Blue was always her favorite color!

My mom, her sisters, and Aunt Ardella looking on.

My dad dedicated the grave.

My fussy, fussy girl, giving Uncle Guy a bad time.

The Hansen family at the luncheon. I had to include both shots because of cropping and goofy faces. We are in age order if you start with my brother, Deren (next to my dad) then to my sister, Serena (next to my mom) and alternate sides to the ends. Clearly not all of the spouses and children could make it, but it was great to be together with our original family, if just for a short time.

And for fun, I decided to make a few of these pictures black and white for a more timeless feel:

Happy Love Day!

These images were the treat toppers for the valentine that the kids gave to their friends at school. We thought we would share the love (minus the Hershey's kisses) with you all! Hope you are feeling loved this Valentines Day!

Tessa--photogenic and 15 (months)

(Please look at all of the photos in this post and vote for your favorite in the comments. Thank you!)

#1


Every time I stare into Tessa's amazing blue eyes, I melt a little. She is sweetness and fun rolled into one and learning so many new things each day. She's 15 months now, so I think it's about time she started helping to earn her keep around here. :-) First, I think she would make a lovely Picture Princess for Shabby Baby, and who wouldn't love to have a full wardrobe of girls and little girls dresses from this cute store? I think she would be especially cute in this dress.




(I might look cute in that dress, too if it came in my size. :-)) So I am submitting her for that.

I also have been wanting to submit a picture of her for Regis and Kelly's Beautiful Baby Search. Yes, I know they probably already have a million submissions, but I do think those eyes are spectacular, and I wouldn't be sad to win a trip to New York, or even better, a $125,000 college scholarship for her. The trouble is that every time I try and take her picture, she has food on her face or runs away, or something. The pictures in this blog are the ones I am considering submitting (asap)...so help me out and VOTE for the one that you think shows off her cuteness the best:

#1 (First photo at the top of this post)--All about the eyes!

OR
#2
Cute smile--Messy face

#3

Oh, the hair in the eyes and the dirty face, but still sweet.

#4

Clean at last, but how do we feel about bathtub photos?

#5

OK. Probably won't send this one since the hair is everywhere. She had just come down the slide (a new trick she has mastered) and had crazy static hair. I thought it was too funny (yet, still cute!)

And I'm not sending this one either, but I thought it was a cool photo from cousin Jackson's birthday party. I like the yellow and the purple. Notice the wet leg. I consider it quite an accomplishment that only that much of her body made it into the lake right by our ramada. It was her main objective through out the party.

I'll have to see if I can remember all of her words and signs, and do another post about how big she is getting. We love her tons and she does a great job of keeping us on our toes!

Don't forget to vote...please and thank you!

Today's Trentonisms

"Mom, when I'm like 98 and a half, I can play paintball!"

****
T: Do Moms and Dads have school?
Me: Some do.
T: Do Moms and Dads have home school?
Me: Well, I guess we are always learning things at home.
T: And do you have home school by our "home teachers"?

(I'll add some pictures to this post tonight!)

Chillingly Wicked

Do you recognize this icy queen? She looks pretty frightening, doesn't she? Kira and Trenton had the opportunity of posing for this talented photographer in their Halloween costumes, for a fairy tale series she is working on. I finally got a glimpse of this picture she took of Kira here, and here. I'm still hoping to see some of Trenton in his knight costume. This is just the initial phase of the series. I can't wait to see what she comes up with. She'd like to put these pictures in a book or calendar. Go here for more of her magical pictures.

A Years Supply---of Toys?

So I made what was supposed to be a quick stop (ha,ha!) at Target, to look at prizes for my Blogoversary Party Party today (What's that? Glad you asked. Go here to find out!), when I found a friend with a shopping cart full of toys. It turns out that a good chunk of their toys are 75% off right now. So I followed her lead and came home with all kinds of toys and games that I'm hoping will give us birthday presents for the whole year (maybe longer). Is this considered emergency preparedness?

Joy In the Journey

I posted about our family's theme for 2009, JOY IN THE JOURNEY on my other blog. Hence some of the elements of the blog redesign. Does your family have a theme, motto, or word for 2009?

Kira's Big Heart & Short Hair

Some time back, Kira and I discussed growing her hair out and donating it to Locks of Love. Then when it started getting really long, I really started liking it. We said that someday she would do it, but hadn't talked about it in sometime. When she was in Prescott staying with her Grandma, after the holidays, for some reason they started talking about it, and she decided she wanted to do it to surprise me!

Then everyone got sick, so when they rejoined us for New Years' she still had long hair, and immediately told me that on Friday, she and Grandma were going shopping BY THEMSELVES--or in other words with out me!

Well, instead of shopping they went to Lolly Locks, where Kira had her hair cut and donated. Fortunately Aunt Mikelle went along with my camera and took lots of pictures, and since I wasn't there, I'm going to have to let the pictures tell most of the story.

Jackson's hair was too short to get cut, but he had a great time, anyway!

I'm told her braid was a good 14 inches long!

Look at her fun hairdo!

Kira is joining the ranks of the other generous children on the wall behind her--each of which donated their hair to Locks of Love.

And here she is after surprising everyone at church on Sunday.

I loved that long hair, but the short do is awfully cute on her, too!

I probably don't say it enough, but my Kira really has a big heart! Her 6th birthday she agreed to ask all of her friends to bring presents to give to children at the Children's Hospital, instead of to her. She is growing up into such a neat young lady, and I am very proud of her!

Putting the "Happy" in the Holidays

We had a great trip to Utah and a fun time in Prescott on the way back. And I'm sure I'll have lots of "happy family" pictures to share soon, but this photo made me laugh out loud, so I thought I would share it right away. I was attempting to get a family photo the Sunday before Christmas. The girls are actually wearing dresses that I made (I know, *gasp*!). It took several tries before I could get much cooperation. This picture pretty much says it all. Yes, I caught Kira mid-eyeroll--annoyed with her father, who is apparently a big goof! Trenton is distracted, as usual, and I think I should have a contest to see who has the best caption for what Tessa is thinking. My vote would be something like, "Did I really choose to come to this family?"

We hope your Christmas was as "happy" as ours!