The Dodge Ram

Our poor little Expedition. When Jon went to the salvage yard to get our TV out he said he felt sad just leaving it there.

WELCOME 2009

I can't say as though I am sad to see 2008 end. It has been a tough year and I am glad that we have a fresh start. The last half of the year was tough and the last few months have brought on some very difficult trials. I am a firm believer that from trials come blessings and that is definitely the case for our family.

I have had some personal challenges and losses which have tested me more than I have ever been tested. As a family we lost some friends that meant a lot to us. I guess from these experiences I have learned that the only people you can really trust are your family. Although it was painful we needed a reminder that family comes first. This has proved to be a great blessing to us.

We also received countless blessing this fall when Jon lost his job. He technically was never without work because he has a lot of skills he can rely on and thankfully his family put him to work. We received so much support from both of our families it was quite humbling. We owe a lot of thanks to a lot of people. Although it was mentally and physically trying it ended up being a great blessing because the job he found is much better. From this we learned to be more mindful of others that may be in need of help.

In December the kids and I were involved in a head on car accident with a Dodge Ram that was going to fast for the conditions. Both cars were totalled and we were all very lucky. I had just picked the kids up from school and we were off to tumbling for Ally and than batting practice for Jake. Jake was sitting in the front. Luke was behind my seat and Ally was in the far back seat. All 3 kids were eating the snacks I had brought them. Jake was eating a nacho cheese and salsa Lunchable which went all over everything. I mention this because if you ask Luke about the accident all he talks about is the cheese all over the car and if we were going to clean it up. As far as injuries, Jake and I were banged up. He had burns on his face from the airbag and they xrayed his lungs because he was having chest pain. The drivers side pretty much collapsed from the impact and I was pinned in my seat. My right leg and knee have some issues. The window shattered and so I found glass in my head for days after the crash. All things considered we were being watched over. About 2 minutes before it happened I told Ally to put on her seat belt on the correct way since she always puts the front strap behind her. I also made sure Luke had not slipped out of the top part of his car seat like he always does. As a result the two little ones did not get any injuries. As you can tell from the pictures above that we could have been seriously hurt. One lady who witnessed the whole accident was crying when I talked to her because she was sure that someone had been killed. We were definitely blessed that day.

After that our brand new expensive gate blew off and Jon lost a hub cap. We were all really sick for 2 weeks straight right before Christmas. It was a non-stop trip to the doctor without insurance. Some of these may seem like little things but when they are all added together you start to think you are cursed. I didnt even dare leave the house. That was how we ended our year. So we are definetely stronger from the year 2008 but never want to relive it. We will take the lessons we learned from our trials and APPLY them. Welcome 2009!!

If I Were the President..................

Ally is not really good at giving me her papers from school. When I want to know what is coming up or important I go look in her garbage can. Well, this is what I found this morning while cleaning.

"If I Were the President" by Ally Nelson

"I would give money to cheiredy. And the countrys that don't have a lot of money. And make people prawed for who I am and what I do for all....the people in the country. Because I don't like people who don't like me so I will work as hard as I can I promise!! I will. I won't let people hate me because I love all people I don't care what color they are. "

It's funny because this is Ally to a T. She is accepting of everyone. It doesn't matter how they treat her or what they look like she loves them just the same. One of her greatest qualities is her unconditional love for everyone. She is a huge example to me.

Meet BatHulk.........My Little Superhero

With Jake it was always the Power Rangers(for 5 years in a row). Luke on the other hand is a superhero boy. He changes between Batman, Superman, Hulk and Spiderman depending on the day. Most days like the picture above it is a combo deal.

The Big 8 for Ally

Ally and her best friend Kennedy decided to combine parties this year since their birthdays are a week apart and they have a lot of the same friends. We decided to do a party at the house because there were so many friends they wanted to invite. It was than decided to do a swimming party. Jon had an idea to make an adult size slip and slide. He bought and a hundred foot long piece of bisqueen and put it down the hill in our backyard. The girls chose a Hannah Montana theme and we did little gift bags. Ally also had to have a pinata. Of course the weather this year has been unseasonally cold and that day was no different so the slipe and slide did not last very long at all.

So much going on...........

Life has been so crazy lately I have barely had time to breathe let alone blog. Well okay I have never been very good at keeping up with my blog. The way I look at it a little is better than none at all. The funny thing is everytime there is an event I always take a lot of good pictures with my blog in mind. I am going to get the big events on here like Ally's birthday and baptism and our trip to Omaha. There were so many things right in a row I will start with the big ones so that I can atleast get the most important pictures up. The biggest reason I would like to get my blog updated is so that my sister-n-law Julie will put me back on her blog list. LOL!!

Will it ever end...................

So I never realized growing up how much laundry my mom must have done----until lately. I have been giving it a lot of thought. My thought being.......will it ever end. I feel like all I do is laundry and I still hear......."Are my _______ clean????" Between baseball uniforms, tumbling clothes, work clothes it NEVER ends. I could do a couple loads a day and never be caught up. The putting away is the worst part. The messy drawers that I straighten everytime I put clothes away. Aargh!! This picture is what prompted this entry. I found this on the side of my bed. It was put there by Jake. It is a big pile of dirty socks.

Our trip to St. George was so fun!! My favorite part was a toss up between the baseball games and the SUN. The weather was so nice I did not want to come home. Luckily we get to go back in 3 weeks. YEA!! We did a lot of swimming since that is really all the kids want to do anyway. The second the baseball games are over all you hear is "Can we go swimming, can we go swimming?" We always stay at the Holiday Inn and the have an awesome indoor/outdoor pool so you can swim anytime of day.

Bound for warmer weather.......

I forgot to mention that we are heading to St. George this weekend for a baseball tournament. I will not forget to mention the forecast.................

Mostly Clear. Highs around 60

After the winter we have had here 60 degrees will seem like 90. Can't wait. Baseball season starting up. YEA!!

Big Brother 9

The first winter season of Big Brother premiered tonight thanks to the writers strike. It is usually just a summer reality treat!! So excited!! I have given up most of my tv shows but I always make time for this one. Cheesy as it is I love it!!

Black Eyes

Luke is a bit of a ruffian. He is not a mean spirited toddler he is just rough. He woke up yesterday with a black eye that I am not even sure how he got it. This got me thinking about how many black eyes we have had in our family in the last month or so. All but a couple a result of Luke.

As I was sleeping I was very abruptly woken up by a flying Buzz Lightyear space vehicle that hit me right in the eye. Black Eye #1

Ally was hit by a flying Lightning McQueen car. Black Eye #2

Ally was hit by a second Lightning McQueen car. Black Eye #3

Jake was hit in the eye with a football at school. Black Eye #4

Luke jumped from the top of my stairs to the bottom and landed on his face. Cutting his lip and nose. The landing looked like a crime scene. The result...... Black Eye #5

I believe that Luke may have gotten clobbered(well deserved) by his girlfriend Mariyah.
Black Eye #6

Needless to say at our house if Luke has a car in his hand you better be on your toes.

Proud Mom of The Student of the Month

Jake came home from school the other day and handed me an invitation to come to his school. I had been invited to come to the Student of the Month Luncheon where Jake would be honored. He was very excited since they only choose one student from each class per month. So the day arrived and I had invited my mom to come with me because her and Jake are very close and I knew that it would mean a lot to him if she was there. We were all sitting at the table before anything had started and the principal came up to me and my mom and started raving about Jake. Some of her exact comments were.....
"If we could clone a student to fill a whole school it would be one exactly like Jake."
"You son is the so responsible, respectful and hardworking."
She made up some scenario about recess where if there were a bunch of kids out at recess throwing snowballs Jake would be the one trying to stop it from happening but in a way where they would respect what he was saying instead of making fun of him.
She said he was always more than willing to help other students or teachers.
This went on for literally a full 5 minutes, in fact she was saying such incredible things I looked over at my mom and she was crying. It was a really proud moment for me and also quite a shocking one and of course I will tell you why.....

I know that Jake is a very good student and always has been because that is evident in his grades. What I always wonder about is his citizenship because at home Jake can at times be a little difficult. He is a lot like his mother in a lot of ways. I have always done a very good job at spoiling him. He does not like to hear the word NO. He also thinks that anything that goes wrong is anyones fault but his own. Dont get me wrong he is the most caring, most responsible, cleanest and funniest little man you will ever meet. I love him more than I can express but I have always worried a little bit about the respecting your elder thing. So, what I am starting to learn is that there is a HOME Jake and a SCHOOL or ANYWHERE ELSE Jake. I guess I taught him something good somewhere along the line because atleast he acts appropriately outside of our house right??

Anyway, I was soooo very proud of him for receiving that award and I know he deserved it. He truly is an example to me and the older he gets the more proud I am. Love you buddy!!!

Funny Luke Story

There are just few things that I wanted to document so that i will remember them.

The first one is the funniest thing that Luke said and did on Sunday when we were getting ready for church. I am not sure how he knew that is where we were getting ready to go but as I was standing there doing my hair he came running in the bathroom and he had gotten one of his button down church shirts on over his pajamas and his church shoes and he said "I am ready!!" Two things struck me: One was that he knew were all getting ready for church, and two that he knew those were his "church" items.

Then about an hour later I laid him on my bed to remove the pajamas out from under the church clothes he had put on I couldnt get him to lay his head down. He was on his back but it looked like he was attempting to do a crunch.
I said, "Luke lay down."
This was his reply, "You messing yup my hair"
I gotta say for a two year old to even be worried about what his hair looks like was quite shocking and even more hilarious. I have always spiked up both of my boys hair from pretty much the time they come out so I am starting to wonder if I am making them this way because his big brother is and always has been the same way about his hair. Something to think about.

Merry Christmas!!

Well it has been another crazy holiday season. Before I know it we will be starting the new year and looking forward to spring. I love Christmas and the spirit it brings. I love Christmas because of what it represents. I love that it gives you a reason to get together with all your loved ones. Some of them you only see at Christmas time. I love Christmas because I love buying presents for people. I love it because we get to listen to Christmas music. I love Christmas because of all the yummy treats that people bring me. I love Christmas because of all the opportunities there are to give. I love Christmas because I love to shop.(to a certain extent) I love Christmas because my kids love it. And most of all I love it when the madness is over!!

OH Ally!!

So the other day we return from some errands and I started getting Luke out of the car and Ally starts saying that she is stuck in her seatbelt. I kind of brushed it off because she can sometimes make up drama to get attention. In fact, I was encouraging Luke to make fun of her by saying, "DUH ALLY"(which I later felt bad for). So, after I get Luke out I walk around the car to help her out just so I don't have to hear about it anymore. When I get there I realize she is really starting to get upset. As I check out the situation I realize that she is really stuck. The seatbelt is unbuckled and somehow she had gotten it wrapped around her waist. The problem was that the seat belt had locked where I couldn't get it to release. At this point she is having a hard time breathing and she is saying she feels like she is going to throw up. So, as I am having flashes in my head of calling the fire department she is really starting to freak out. I think Luke started to sense something was really wrong and he starts to get upset. The next thing I try and do is to lift her up trying to get her closer to the top of the seatbelt thinking it would release. It didn't instead it cinched the belt tighter around her waste. Fearing she was gonna pass out or have internal injuries I left her hanging there and ran into my house desperately trying to find some scissors which I have a hard time finding because coincidentally Ally has every pair up hidden in her room. So I get a pair of scissors and cut the freaking seatbelt. I must say it was a little bit scary. So, as I look back at it now that she is okay I have to think to myself what was she doing in the first place. This is the story of Ally's life. We are constantly saying Oh Ally!!

In fact tonight we went to a wedding reception and as she takes off across the room to get some more food from the buffet she completely falls on her face. You could tell she had hurt herself but the humiliation overcame the pain and continued on her way as though nothing had happened. This was followed by her older brother dumping his ranch dressing all down the side of her new dress. It is like that movie "Pure Luck" with Martin Short.

She is like our Goofy. I have to share one more Ally story. She is in a tumbling class a couple times a week. The last 5 minutes of each class they get to choose their favorite skill and show everyone in the class. The less quirky children chose a cartwheel, backbend or something of that nature. Well, Ally gets up in front of the class and wraps her whole arm around the back of her head and takes her fingers and puts them over her face and pulls her nose up like a pig. This was her favorite skill that she had learned in tumbling class. MONEY WELL SPENT!!

This just a sample of my Ally stories. The reason they crack me up so much is that whenever I tell my mom about something new that she has done I always get the same response: "You were the same way when you were little." I love that!! A little me. She is such a cute quirky little thing and I wouldn't change a thing about her.

WHY EVEN TRY

So, today was just one of the days when you say to yourself what else can one little person do to make my life just a little bit more chaotic. Luke would be the little person that I speak of. Than on the other hand I have my other little person(I guess she is not soo little anymore) Ally who did everything her little head could think of to help me today. You would think that one would cancel out the other but I can't say that because the way the mind of the two year old works is unmatched.

Since we are leaving town this weekend I have been trying to get caught up on my laundry so we can actually pack clean clothes. So as I was in my closet sorting the 80 loads I need to do Luke decides to open my new box of laundry soap and not only scoop it onto my floor he tries to put some in the machine. He managed to get some of it in the soap drawer both in the soap side and the softener side. He than preceded to pour it all over the baskets of clothes I had sitting there and on top of the machine door. It was everywhere. I think I was only upstairs for like 5 minutes, 10 at the most and last I knew he was in his toy closet. I was almost impressed. So, I continue on with the million things I need to do and when I went back down a little while later to put in another load and at some point the little stink had gone down and pushed the buttons turning off both my washer and dryer. I mean why even try anymore right?? So I lost a whole hour there and even more if you add up the time it took me to clean up all the soap. Anyways, if I made a complete list of everything he did today this would turn into a novel. The highlight came tonight when I went upstairs to get a diaper to change him and when I came back down I could not find him. The silly thing is that I could hear him, it was the weirdest thing. I seriously did not know where he had gone. As if this should have surprised me because of the days events I found him inside my dryer. He had climbed in and shut the door behind him. Back to the amazing way the 2 year old mind works he actually turned on the light inside the dryer before getting inside. And you will want to remember that he got in there while I was getting a diaper so when I opened the door you can imagine what I smelled. I had to leave the door open for a while before I dared put any clean clothes in there.

I would be an ungrateful mom if I did not mention the bright spot in my day.....
Yes there was one!!

The morning started out with Ally trying to take control of the normal morning activities by getting Luke out of bed and putting him in the tub before I had even realized she had done it. She loves to pick out clothes for him and get him dressed. Just like he was a doll. A doll that kicks and screams at you the whole time you are attempting to put the clothes on. She is also bound and determined to figure out the diaper thing. We are not quite there on that. She than preceded to pour him a sippy of juice and get him a bag of cereal. She than tucked him into my bed after wrapping him up in a blanket. Again just like he was a doll. She set his sippy cup and cereal right next to him. Turned on Disney and he was set.

After watching Disney with Luke for about 15 minutes(this is about her limit for holding still) she hopped up and wanted to get her shower over with. So we got her all showered, hair done and clothes on. I than mentioned that her room needed to be cleaned. Ally is my.....how do I say nicely......well lets say that tideness is not that important to her. Jon calls her room a hog hole. Unless you tell her to clean it than she gets right on it and usually the end product is acceptable. She even dragged the vaccuum upstairs and took some wipes and cleaned up some marker on the carpet. WOW this is getting long. I must quickly go over the rest of her chores because I was totally impressed. After her room she had to make a sweep of the house and recover all her belongings and than she did the same with Luke's toys. She was still cleaning when I left for work. She was emptying the dishwasher.

So even though my day seemed really bad now that I have time to sit back and look at all that happened, there was a lot of good too.

The hardest part to starting something is actually getting it started.

Well, after being inspired by all the fun girls(my friends) I play Bunco with here goes. My blog. What to say. I am assuming that you eventually get over the feeling of why am I talking about myself and who could possibly interested in reading what I am writing. I hope so. I think one of the reasons I wanted to start this was to document our life. I am also hoping that having a forum to display pictures might motivate me to be better at taking more pictures. Last but not least I really enjoy reading everyone else's blogs.
Here is a quick intro to our clan. Jon works for the Newspaper Agency Corp and always has some project going on at home. Jake is my oldest. He is 11 going on 21. He is my very responsible and independent first child. Then you have Ally. She is my front toothless 7 yr old who is incapable of holding still. Last but not least we have 2 year old Luke. The one I should have had first when I was younger and had a lot more energy.
Well, with me the hardest part to starting something is actually getting it started. So now that I have made it through my first post it should get easier from here.