Due to popular demand & upset family & friends I have decided to make a quick post since we haven't made a post since November. We had a lovely Christmas & will blog more about it later. We recently got a new computer with a 22inch screen!!! (The size does make a difference) Because of the new computer we haven't downloaded our pictures & haven't been able to blog. We love you all

I've Caught the Spirit!-- too early.

It's November 22nd and I have been listening to Christmas music for two days! I had to confess. It feels good to have this off my conscience. Why do I feel this is necessary? Well, I have judged, given dirty/disapproving looks, and even name called those who can't wait until the day after Thanksgiving to begin the Christmas season. These days Christmas begins in July and I have always felt the need to defend Thanksgiving- giving it it's due share of attention. It seems to me that people get so excited about Halloween and then Christmas that they skip over one of the best Holidays! Does anyone else feel this way? I had a weak moment- I promise I will now put my Wintersong CD (Sarah McLauglin-so good!) away for another five days and give my attention to being grateful. I'll start with a few:
1. Taylor- I had to wait a l-o-n-g time to find you and it's been worth every day!
2. Family- I'm so grateful to have a family who loves me and who has supported me in every dream and adventure. Now I get to add the Nelsons and with twice the love and support- how can I go wrong.
3. Paint Class- A new outlet for all my homemaking instincts. It's been so fun to make cute crafts for my home.
4. Quick Cooking Magazines- I love trying new dessert recipes and the last few months have been packed with em. Good thing I'm training for a 1/2 marathon and Taylor's training for the Biggest Loser- we both win!
5. Health- I've seen a lot of death lately (rough days in the ICU) and I'm glad my family and I are healthy.
I hope you take a few minutes to think of what you are grateful for- Happy Thanksgiving!

Tag... we're it!

My good friend Kaley tagged us a few days ago. The rules: post the fourth picture in your fourth picture folder. Taylor and I couldn't wait the whole year to eat the wedding cake we were storing in our freezer. Each time one of us opened the freezer it would call to us. We didn't even make it 6 months! This is us eating the last piece- delicious!!! If you want to play along- I tag you!

Halloween 2008

We had a few friends over on Halloween to enjoy some treats and socialize. It was fun to see everyone dressed up. We also had around 20-30 trick or treaters- and while our candy was no comparison to the neighbor's passing out bags of cereal- we enjoyed!

Chelsea Handler... Deep Inside Hollywood and her nugget Chuy. Chelsea has become one of our favorite late night shows and her sideman Chuy delivers a good punchline. If you watch the show you understand- if not, consider starting.

Miss Utah 1985 and Joe- very clever. We'll remember these for future use.

Ashley and Tyson. Cutest dairy cow in town- hope you guys had fun in Austin.

The Moss gang. Love the poodle skirts and rebel vibe. Thanks for bringing the Russian tea. Love that stuff!

Dog the Bounty Hunter and Beth. My jaw hit the floor when these two walked in. So funny!

Can you say Troop Beverly Hills!! Shelly Long get out the way! As in the girl scout law- Heather is trying to make the world a better place! Thanks for all your hard work and for your delicious cookies!!!

Nick was going to make an appearance as Cher, but unfortunately it will be next year!

We hope you all had a great holiday!

Happy Birthday!

October is a big month for the girls in my family. Birthdays almost every week. So since I was unable to celebrate with any of them I'm sending them love through the blog world. Today is Kelsey's 14th! I can't believe what a lovely young lady she's becoming. I hope it had something to do with my example to her- all those dance lessons in Grandma's family room and 'let me tell you a little story' sessions. I remember how she was such a cute little baby with the brightest blue eyes. She would steal all the attention at my volleyball/softball games. Now, I can't wait to see her in action at her own volleyball game stuffing the ball in someone's face!

Here's to you Kelsey-Love you! Happy Day!

PS- I don't want these cuties to think I've forgotten about them and their recent birthdays either. Vanessa turned five on October 15th. She is our mischevious one who loves candy! We had so much fun babysitting her a few weeks back. Thank heavens for the Wii. Love you babe!

Jessica turned 10 on October 7th. The girl who's not afraid to do her own thing. We share being the third child and dealing with older sisters. Enough said. She's beautiful. I'm warning her dad now to keep an eye on the boys! Love ya Jess.

THE JODE!!!!!

Taylor here. This is my first post to my blog and I am so excited. I know people have been waiting for months for this post. This post is dedicated to my mother. For those of you that don't know her this picture explains it all. My mother is one of the most amazing women and is probably the nicest person you will ever meet. I am going to write down a few memories of my mother and I hope that you will comment on your favorite memory of The Jode too. Here we go Josephine!!!

• I remember the Jode giving me tabasco sauce and hitting me with a wooden spoon as a child to discipline me.
• I remember the Jode making a fruit or veggie tray for me and my friends whenever we came over.
• I remember pushing the Jode through Disney World for days in her wheelchair while she had a bad leg. Heroic!
• I remember my mother cooking wonderful meals for the fam. Shepherds Pie was my favorite.
• I remember my mother wearing her pretty glasses and telling me that she was livid in high school whenever I was one or two minutes late after curfew. (Only one or two)
• I remember swimming with The Jode & Ronny, a cute dolphin, while on a family cruise.
• I remember going to the beach in Cancun with my mother and Aunt Linda. We looked great. I was in a bright yellow outfit while my mom was in lime green with a lovely green hat. Linda was wearing a purple outfit. Let's just say we looked colorful even though we were the whitest people on the beach.
• I remember my mother being caring as she picked me up from Magic Waters as I waited with the authorities.

We love you Jode. Feel free to post your favorite memories of the Jode. Luv u!!!

Alpine Loop

Taylor and I spent a recent afternoon enjoying nature and a little fresh air in the mountains. We drove the Alpine Loop- one of my favorite things. It was still pretty green but beautiful.
Here are a few pictures:

SYTYCD

We LOVE the television show So You Think You Can Dance?! So naturally when the tour came to town a couple weeks ago we had to be in attendance. Taylor and I had a great time with Heather and Susie. All our favorite dances were performed. My favorite was danced to the Garden by Mirah. My camera took horrible shots so I won't disrespect the performances with posting them. I will do better- steal them from Heather's blog. Thanks girl. She has great shots and video on her blog if you decide you need more. Enjoy!

Birthday Celebration

It's been another year and we're celebrating birthdays in the Nelson home. Taylor's birthday is the 15th and mine follows close behind on the 21st. So we followed tradition and celebrated with friends for dinner at Rumbi and then an evening of talent and beauty at the Miss Murray Pageant. Taylor waits all year for this event! Here are a few pics to document the fun had by all. Kacey and Joe- regulars at the celebration
Happy Birthday Taylor! You are all invited to join the Nelson RockBand. Should be good times.

The friends were very generous! We made out like bandits! Clothes, gift certificates, candy, cash, jewelry and a fabulous purse! Thank you Leslie, Joe and Stella, Heather, Suzie, Bret, Kim and Kylie, Kristina, Caitlin, Nick, Paige, Ryan, Rob, Natalie, and Kjirsten.
This program will replace the one that's been hanging on our fridge since last year. Heidi had a great year but now it's time for a new Miss Murray to reign.
Taylor was ready to catch every bit of talent and beauty. I will never forget how disappointed he was that the girls 'actually had talent' this year.
Joe, Les, Heather and Bret waiting anxiously to see if they picked the winner. In a surprise ending the one girl we all thought would never win ran away with the crown.
Here's to a great 28 and 30!

A New Hobby

While Taylor did some birthday golfing Monday morning I went to paint class with Jody. It was so fun! Not bad for my first piece I think. It looks so cute on our front door. I never thought I'd gush so much over a home decoration but I've been feeling the itch of domestication for a while now without an outlet. I already have a cute set of Christmas trees picked out for next week. Thanks for the invite Jode and thanks to the ladies in class for making me feel welcome. I think I've found a new hobby.

New York!

Taylor, Lady Liberty, and I posed for a shot as we enjoyed a ride on the Staten Island Ferry. I think Liberty outshined us. The picture doesn't do her justice.

At the gate with Linda and Smitty on my first US Open day. The weather was hot but not unbearable.

Taylor and his girl.

I can't remember who was playing in this match but it was good times watching from our shaded seats.

We cut the first day of tennis short to enjoy watching a recording of the Late Show with David Letterman. The guest list included Olympian Shawn Johnson, Tracy Morgan and Solange. Letterman is my favorite late night host so this was a special treat for me.

Times Square after seeing Avenue Q. We were also able to see Mary Poppins. Loved them both!

Linda and Smitty at the Yankee game. The Yankees lost and I learned that New York fans are very fickle. A-Rod is the hero with cheers and honor until he strikes out and then he's an overpaid jerk. Never seen that before.

Prepping the field during the YMCA. We had great seats! Plus our friends Johnny and Kaley were there so it was fun to see them too.

Enjoying the views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty.

Smitty's favorite photo-op spot. The globe from the 1964 World Fair in the background.

We had a fabulous dinner in Little Italy. We were famished after purse shopping on Canal. Those purse vendors had us climbing flights of stairs into vacant buildings for only the best faux. Gucci, Dooney, Coach, we got 'em all!

Here are a few more random pics:

Taylor and I recently spent a long weekend in New York City with Linda and Smitty. It's been an annual event for the Smiths to hit the US Open for years but this was my first and it was great! Not only did we see great tennis, we went to a Yankees/Red Sox game, saw the Naked Cowgirl in Times Square, hit a few broadway shows and ate Black and White cookies!! Don't forget the great shopping at H&M and Macys. Linda and Smitty really took good care of us. I Love New York!!

Addition to the Nelson Family!

First comes love... then comes marriage.... then comes the baby SUV in the garage!
Not quite how we used to sing it when I was younger but exciting nonetheless. This past weekend we made our first big purchase as co-owners of a Ford Escape. It's pretty! Taylor has known the Protege would not make it through another winter with us- pause for tears- so we did some research and decided the Escape was for us. After a grueling three and a half hours at the dealership we brought our baby home. Now begins the struggle of sharing!

Crystal Hot Springs

We recently spent a night under the stars at Crystal Hot Springs in Honeyville, Utah. We tried out our new tent which was a good home for one night. However it may need to be upgraded sooner than later- neither one of us could lay completely straight in it.

Kristina was the only person brave enough to get into the pool. Looks like nice water but you can't see the bugs, sludge and ick floating around in it. To this day she is still disease free- wonder woman!

Taylor's favorite memory of Crystal Hot Springs is getting his family's van stuck in the mud while off-roading. This is another, fishing for crawdads. So we spent some time dangling our tin foil dinners into the creek below camp. No success. (Sorry for the PG-13 pic)

Adam and Kristina at camp with their mansion of a tent behind them. We had a great time with the Pulsiphers.

Taylor provided some entertainment with glo-sticks. Who knew even adults could find hours of enjoyment with them. They were still glowing the next morning!

Last week the Nelson men went face to face in a beard growing contest. Taylor was not the winner. In fact he bowed out a few days early shaving off all but his mustache. It was kind of cute at first and fun to see the looks he received- but now he won't get rid of it!

I'm not sure if he looks more like he's in protective custody, the guy from

Reno 911 or just some guy you

might see on 'To Catch a Predator'. Shave it or keep it....What do you think?

Love the Sun!

We recently returned from a Nelson family vacation (my first!) to Newport Beach and it was good times! We did it all- Disneyland, the beach, the Newport Temple, H&M and Knottsberry Farm. We also spent a great Sunday with Bev and Craig and some of their family. My memories- burying Seth and Tanner in the sand at the beach, Taylor and I being lazy sleeping in for as long as possible, the PinkBerry craze, swallowing at least 2 gallons of the ocean body boarding with Erin, cookie dough before bed nightly, and being the Great Dalmuti... or scum is probably more like it. Here are just a few pictures- I've realized I haven't been as good at taking pics on vacation as I used to. I'll work on that because these don't show how much fun we had. Thanks Bz and Jode! We had a fabulous time.