It's A Girl!

So...we are having a girl! Giff and I were just for sure that we were going to have another boy, so we were pretty shocked when they told us we were having a girl. Her profile looks pretty similar to the way Jaden's looked and her mouth was wide open when they did it. She's a Nielson! I guess we're keeping with the Nielson tradition...boy first, then girl. We'll see for Cody and Kendra. I told Giff, "You know what this means right, we need to go shopping!" I have been totally loving all of the stuff little Sofi has been in. Little doll-face. We're happy parents!!

Family Home Evening

For Family Home Evening this last Monday we decided to do a gingerbread house with Jaden since he had never done one before. We must have been on the same wave length as Cody and Kendra because we saw yours and the pictures were so cute. Jaden kept calling this his "Cupcake" for some reason. He kept saying, "Look at my cupcake, Mom!" I don't know where or why he called it that, but whatever. :)

He was very excited to hold on to the package.

Intensely watching Dad.



He wanted to stop here and just eat all the candy instead of putting it on the house.

Two candies for Jaden...one for the house...two for Jaden...one for the house. He had a major sugar high since he was eating all the candy.

Ta da!!

An Emotional Big 12 Game

December 5th was one of the most frustrating and exhilarating nights I have had in a long time. The weekend started off with a long drive to Dallas Texas with my buddy Mark and my Brother-in-law Jason. We loaded up Saturday morning and took off on our three and half hour drive. Upon arrival to Dallas we had arranged for a family member to drop us off at Jerry's World (The 8th Wonder of the World) for the Game. #3 Texas vs. #22 Nebraska for the big 12 conference championship. As we pulled up to the stadium I felt like this building belonged in Vegas with all the lights and wonderment there. We all loaded up in this massive structure with 80,000 other fans, us sitting in the Nebraska section, of course, seats are cheaper there. As the game started this is when the roller coaster of emotions took off. I know you all were watching the game so you can relate, some what. Nothing is like being right in the action. Thinking we were going to roll over this weak #22 team, we underestimated there #2 rated Knadomikong Suh defense, this man is absolutely nuts, he is not human. Long story short, we all cried when we thought that Colt threw the game away with his mindless last play, but the heavens opened on Jerry's World as the clock still reads :01. And of course we started crying when Hunter Lawrence kicks the game winning field goal. One word "Roller coaster." I love Football, but even more I love Texas football. Hook'em Horns!! The Eyes of Texas are Upon You All!

Mark Allen, Jason Hollingsworth, Gifford Nielson

Hook'em

I want this in my living room, the T.V.

Represent!



8th Wonder of the World

Thanksgiving

"Gramma, wanna play cars?" was music to my ears every time Luke would say it.

Reading books, watching Monsters, Inc. , snacks, quiet time and best of all playing cars with Luke was the best thing ever.

The only thing that rivaled it was when sweet little Sophie would snuggle on my shoulder like she intended to be there for a day or two and then fall asleep.

I feel so blessed that I was able to spend Thanksgiving with Ty, Jenn, Luke and

Sophie. Thank you so much, Ty and Jenn,

for allowing me to share that time with you.

I just wish I could have been with all of my family.

I think that seeing my kids,

any of them, just

once or twice a year is just not enough.

I am so grateful for my wonderful sons, their beautiful wives and the best grandchildren ever.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I love you all so much!

Mom

Halloween Festivities

We had a fun weekend. We started off painting and carving pumpkins with Jaden and Ty on Thursday. Then on Friday we headed to Houston for the weekend. We celebrated Brynlee's 3rd birthday and spent Halloween together. We did the "Diva" party, went to another pumpkin patch, and then came back for a Halloween party and trick or treating. Jaden's chef costume seemed to be a hit with the mustache and goatee Giff put on him. He was all about the candy at each house and was telling everyone, "Thank you. Happy Halloween." We didn't tell him to say Happy Halloween, so I don't know where he got it, but it was pretty funny.

Family Temple Day

My parents have been wanting us all to take a family temple trip. For family home evenings our goals has been to learn how to do the church family history website and to prepare some names we can take to the temple. I have never prepared my own name to take to the temple, so we had a lot to learn. It was really a neat experience because we were able to find a name for Giff and a name for me to take pretty quickly. We were able to take Giff's great, great grandparents on Rick's side and it was just a special day. My parents went and did a session in the morning with Grandma B. and then took all the kids so we could go as couples. We really felt the spirit that day as Herman Gellings and Anna Bushman were read off. We get to go back again and be sealed for them. What a great way to spend my birthday weekend! :) Can't wait to go back to the temple.

Pumpkin Patch Adventure

This last weekend Giff and I took Jaden to his first pumpkin patch experience and he totally enjoyed it. Grandma and Grandpa H. tagged along with his Great Grandma Barrett as well. They had hay rides, painting pumpkins, grilled corn, homeade ice cream, pony rides, a petting zoo, corn mazes, etc. Jaden mostly enjoyed running around like a crazy man through the pumpkins and tunnels. He also enjoyed watching the "bIIIg tractors" as well that pulled us on the hay ride. He wanted to take tons of the little pumpkins home so we kept having to empty our wagon throughout the day. It was really fun and we can't wait to do it again next year!

The Big 30 Cruise

So Jordan and I turned 30 this last week and we wanted to celebrate in style. We did a 4 day Mexcian Baja Cruise and had a blast (after the sea sickness wore off). I recommend motion sick pills for everyone.

This is our favorite shot of the trip. Watching the sun set on the beaches on Ensenada, Mexico.

La Bufadora (a blow hole they call the Buffalo Snort) in Ensenada. Only three in the world.

Boat ride over to Catalina Island.

We loved Catalina Island. It was so beautiful and can't wait to go back. We kayaked a couple of miles up the shore line and loved it! We saw some sea lions jumping by us and brightly colored fish swimming around under us all the way.

I had to recover on the beach from some sea sickness from the cruise ship.

Thanks to everyone who sent us birthday wishes! I'm pretty sure that we won't need to eat for a week! If you've ever been on a cruise you know what I'm talking about.

Hiking

Here are a few shots from some small hikes this summer. We are trying to take advantage of our beautiful surroundings.


This is Grotto Falls

This is Stuart Falls

They had so much fun with Makall, Marcus, and Landon. We love you guys!

Random shots

These silly pictures of the girls show their true colors.

Livi at the Utah County Fair.