Three Generations

This week was a crazy one.  Crazy but really eye opening.  Overall a really really good week.  My second oldest nephew went into the MTC (Missionary Training Center) on Wednesday and I am so very pleased with his decision to share his testimony of Jesus Christ.  In just a few weeks my oldest nephew will join him.  I can hardly believe they are that old but I am so happy for them both!

Because of their decisions to serve we were all able to attend the Temple together this last Tuesday.  wow, if ever I have wanted to take a picture in the temple it was Tuesday afternoon.  I did not take a physical picture but I spent quite a long time making a mental picture.  I know this sounds cheesy but it was the most beautiful thing I think I've ever seen.  My two nephews sat together on a couch with smiles on their faces.  Just to their right was my mom, surrounded by my older brother and his wife, my oldest sister and her husband, and my "little" brother and his pregnant wife (so excited about the new baby).  Their faces so happy and peaceful. I sat next to my dad and we both, with tears in our eyes, tried to absorbed the scene before us.  Three generations of my family together, all dressed in white.  I know it maybe sounds simple and unimpressive but it made a huge impression on me.

It impressed upon my heart that my family is eternal.  That although marriage isn't always easy it is worth it.  I knew all of this but to be honest it's been a long time since I've spent any time really thinking about it.  I am so grateful to my parents for sticking it out 40+ years and to my grandparents before them.  So grateful they taught me that some things are bigger than ourselves and our immediate wants.  I am so grateful for the temple.  For knowledge that my family will be my family forever and that the experience I had last Tuesday can be one of many many more.  I love my family.  Each one of them, although they are not perfect, has been an example to me.  I have learned so much from each of them and they have made me who I am today. 

Sometimes You Are Such A Girl

Men are always complaining that we women expect them to read our minds.  But I just need to say that men do the same thing!  Let me give you an example.  Today is my dad's birthday.  He sat around the house all day and did nothing.  That was his present to himself.  His only homework for the day was to pick where he wanted to eat dinner.  My mom and I went to education week at BYU and when we got home this is what transpired:

mom:  So, where would you like to go eat for your birthday dinner??
Dad:  Oh, I don't know.  Anywhere is fine.
Mom: okay then we are going to Costa Vida since it's close and easy.

Dad puts his shoes on and everyone gets in the car.  When we pull up to Costa Vida this is the conversation that took place:

Dad: have you ever eaten here before?
mom: no but Lori said it was good.
Dad: well I really wanted breakfast.
Mom:  why didn't you say that when I asked you?
Dad: because you had your mind set on this place already. (in his best pouting voice)

Seriously dad?  You had all day to think about it.  When asked you said you didn't know.  We go somewhere and NOW you have a sudden craving for breakfast?!?!  I just need to say that sometimes men are more like women than they take credit for.  Games like this are stupid...I think both genders should just say what they want instead of making the other jump through hoops to figure it out.  I do have to admit that tonight the role reversal was pretty funny. 

Well Put

My mom is the best. seriously, she makes me laugh all the time. This morning I was waiting to go to work and I had crawled into my dad's side of the bed and was just chatting with my mom. we were talking about dating and the type of guys I usually date and she says to me, "There aren't very many great guys out there. And the really good guys are taken by paraplegics and girls with no arms". Wow mom. Really? I died laughing.

Then tonight she went with me to the grocery store. Normally I just park where ever, I'm not super into parking way close. I don't mind walking. But my mom is having a knee replacement in about a week and I didn't want her to have to walk far so I was trying to find a good spot. I spotted a car about to pull out of their spot and so I sat and waited. Then the conversation went like this:

Me: "gees, why are they taking so long to pull out"
Mom: "well, what's wrong with the spot right next to them?"
Me: "oh. Nothing. I guess it is just as close"

She just has a fantastic way of saying things. So matter of fact. It makes me smile!

Nostalgic

Have you ever felt so close to someone you've never even met? It probably sounds crazy but it happens to me quite frequently. I have been reading my grandma's personal history- which I should have read years ago. She passed away in 2003 but I was too busy being into myself to take the time to think about connecting to my family. I got about 2 pages into it and started crying...which is NOT something new and different for me. What is interesting is the part I started crying about. My grandma was talking about her parents, about her mother specifically and from her description and from pictures I've seen, I just know we would have been kindred spirits. I can look at her face and tell you where I got so many of my personality traits. Which sounds crazy since she died in 1942. But I think personalities are genetic. My brothers have very similar personalities/mannerisms and they didn't really ever live together. Or maybe its not genetics at all. Maybe she and I were just really great friends in the pre-existance and spent lots of time together. I see so much of myself in this woman who I've never met. As I read about her, brief as the description was, I felt a deep loss. I am grateful to her for her for who she was...for pressing forward through hard times. I wish I could talk to her right now...I know I have to wait, but I can tell you that at the very least, the first 1000 yrs of my eternity will be spent in deep discussion with the incredible people who have made my life possible.

Now what coach?

I think my niece has become my muse. She has inspired my last several posts, I do have other ideas but they are much more time intensive. So I've opted for quantity right now and not necessarily quality. Tonight we were on facebook and she was showing me pictures of all her crushes. And she has a lot! Anyway, she friend requested one of them- the "super corner" boy from her seminary class . He accepted, and then popped up a chat box. She gasps and says, "Oh my gosh, he's chatting with me. what do I say?" It was hilarious. I had to coach her through the whole conversation...it went something like this:

"what do I say?"
"how about- what's up"
"oh ok. good. ...Now what?"
"I don't know ask him anything. what do you want to know"
"I don't know. ahhh" bites her nails and chews on lip
"ok, ask what his favorite movie is"
"oh that's a good one!"

... this type of thing went on for probably 20 minutes. But the funny thing was- I was totally like her at 15. I couldn't talk to boys at all...they were scary. Just nice to look at during class and think about all day long- but if one ever even looked at me I freaked out. Sadly I did not have "the coolest aunt in the world" to coach me :) It took me forever to become un-awkward around boys..and lets be honest, I'm not sure I've totally gotten over it all the way. But, I think with my help, she may make it through her teenage years much smoother than I did- I mean I got my first credit card before I got my first kiss. Not that that's a horrible thing, but I'm going to get my niece dating BEFORE she's 18! We just have to teach her how to talk to people she doesn't know....especially if they are male.

Pageant winners

Well last night was the Miss/Ms/Mrs. Utah US Continental pageant. My sister and my niece both entered. And BOTH won!!! They looked beautiful....also I did their hair and make up! I had a great canvas to work with and their confidence showed!!! My parents with their beautiful daughter and granddaughter.

Me and Shelby after the crowning.

Group shot...Taylor had to get his pretty face in the background. So much fun! Me and Taylor were the loudest cheering section in the room!!! we may have annoyed a few people in our enthusiasm.

The reigning 2010 royalty with the new 2011 winners. The Mrs. didn't quite make it into the shot- I think she was still adjusting to the news.

Congratulations Ladies!!! you were awesome!!

Happiness all around

What is my favorite part about the Magic Kingdom?? I could never pick just one thing. I absolutely LOVE Disneyland. The rides, the Churros, the characters, being with family (my sister and two brothers came this time), the weather, the way too expensive souvenirs (but really can you put a price on happy Disney things??) and just the feeling you get being in a place where everyone is smiling 98% of the time. how can you not love that?! Every time I go I learn something vital to making the next trip even better...such as: if you ride woody just before world of color the line is SUPER short.

Now, world of color....AMAZING! I may or may not have cried. It was incredible I would totally recommend it to anyone. My niece Karra was over stimulated from all the excitement of the day and would not sleep- and who can blame her- Disney magic all around. I was holding her during world of color and the scene playing was Aladdin's "a whole new world". Karra loves singing and I love Disney songs. So naturally-I started singing to her. She slowly moved in closer and closer so she could hear me....

And then.......

She fell asleep on my head. I'm not mad in this picture I am just trying to balance dead weight on my head while not laughing at the whole situation. So stinking cute. I can honestly say this is the first time anyone has used my head as a pillow. Glad I could be of service.

This handsome dude is the proud papa of sleeping beauty. My studly brother. So fun to have him and Emily with us this time around. As you know if you've been to Disneyland recently, Indiana Jones is always one of the longest lines- so that is always the ride I manage to take pictures on. Anyway he's a goofball and I loved having them with us!!

The Kids! In front of Monsters Inc. I look so short- I'm not sure if my nieces are just tall or if the door is just dwarfing me- either way I'm not totally sure I'm comfortable with it.

The bears were some of Karra's first character and boy did she love them. We almost didn't get any pictures because she wouldn't face forward. All she wanted to do was touch the bears! And can you blame her- I mean they are pretty awesome!

All in all my trip was pretty amazing. My feet were dead as usual after a Disneyland trip- Miles of walking and I had a serious lack of sleep but it was totally worth it!! As I stood on Disney main street I was more sure than ever that some day I have to work for Disney. Either as a performer or when I have my MBA- who wouldn't want to work in the happiest place on earth- a place where people are usually genuinely happy to be there and totally OK spending their money. Man Walt- you were one smart guy and I admire your vision and ability to make dreams come true.

Where have I been??

I really stink at blogging. But let me tell you why. On Monday (of last week) I worked all day. Then Tuesday morning I got my hair done, then I caught a shuttle to the SLC airport. I had a connecting flight through Vegas and once I got to my new gate found out that all of the airlines computers were down and they had to hand write everything. Which meant that my flight to orange county was delayed by an hour. Great. I flew to John Wayne airport, grabbed another shuttle and finally got to my brother's hotel. The next two days I partied in Disneyland- my very favorite place to go. Then Friday at 4:30 am (pacific time) my shuttle picked me up and I caught a 7am flight back to SLC. I managed and hour nap before I got up showered and headed over to pick up my friend Dan and headed down to BYU. Once there I registered for my voice competition and waited. They were behind schedule by 30 min so we waited in the hall. Finally we went in, Dan played and I sang- "now that I've seen her" from miss Saigon and "gimme Gimme" from thoroughly modern Millie. I drove Dan home and waited to hear the results from my voice teacher. He called me about an hour later to tell me I placed first in my division. Which meant it was off to bed. I woke up the next morning, picked up Dan again and headed back down to BYU. I sang just one song in the final round, Gimme Gimme. I won first place! woohoo. Then by the time I got home I was totally sick with the flu- but not the quick 24 hr kind. I spent the next 4 days in bed and then went to work for the next three which leads to today in which I had a hair and make up appointment to prep my sister and my niece for the US continental Pageant. Ok that's where I've been. and my next successive posts will be pictures and greater detail about the things I've just discussed...except for the sick part. I probably won't post pictures about that. :)

Day 3- My parents

These are my parents. Some of you know them, some of you don't. They are pretty great. They have worked their whole lives to raise six children and that is no easy task- but as far as I'm concerned they have been pretty successful teachers. My parents have shaped and molded us into the people we are today. How did they do it- they taught us correct principles and let us govern ourselves. Smart parents. My parents also are really great at encouraging us to achieve our goals and to work hard for what we want....

This is my mom. She doesn't like her picture taken but I don't know why because I think she is gorgeous! My mom is hilarious- she has a crazy language that comes out when she's stressed and she would probably be so mad if she knew I put that on here but we all love it! My mom has an amazing testimony of the gospel and taught me to love and serve the Lord. My mom is the social one of my parents and she loves to talk- especially to her family. My mom can't ever sit down, she always has to be doing something for someone- she gets that from her mom. My mom is always supportive and gives the best back tickles. She is pretty cool.

This is my dad. He is a handsome guy. My dad is the hardest worker EVER. He has owned his own businesses and even worked for the secret service when my parents first married. He is a jack of all trades and excels at everything he tries. From my dad I learned how to work hard and do my very best. My dad is super intelligent and an inventor and makes the most amazing things. He teaches himself new skills and does an amazing job at anything he puts his mind to. Education is very important to my dad and so he encouraged us all to try hard and finish our education. Also he gives the BEST head rubs ever. My dad is pretty amazing.

Find what's missing

so...how do you find something that can't be found? I haven't any idea. All my life I have had a love for family and I've known all my life that my family history is something I need to do. To be honest though I was pretty content just studying what had already been found. Kudos to someone along the line because my dad's family history is pretty far back- I think to the early 1600s. And one side of my mom's is done pretty far back as well. HOWEVER- My dear grandfather on my mom's side was the first person in his family to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so no temple work has been done. To make things even harder- the record only goes back about 3 generations (2 if we are counting only accurate documentation). Unfortunately my grandpa's family is from Dyers burg Tennessee and once upon a time the courthouse containing all the birth, death, and marriage records burned to the ground. So although many have looked for answers several generations have been unable to move beyond my great great grandfather.
Deep down I know that I need to find this line. I have put it off for years because I was in school or the relief society president, or some other worthy time consuming thing- But I can't put it off forever and I feel like now is the time to start working on it...but the problem is I don't even know where to begin. All the websites with records cost money, which wouldn't be a big deal if I knew they were going to help me. I am not complaining- I didn't really expect it to be easy. After all, if it had been easy my grandmother or my sister would have found all the answers by now. That doesn't keep me from getting frustrated though- I just hope that if I'm willing I get a little inspiration to help me find what so far cannot be found- A name.

Patience is a virtue

Ok my family is awesome. Especially my parents. For those of you who don't know, I LOVE to bake yummy delicious treats...and I do it a lot on Sunday. 1. because I am home 2. because I have time and 3. because there are people around to eat it. But most of the things I make are pretty involved and usually need to cool before I frost them or do the second step or whatever. However, my dad is not patient when it comes to delicious things. He is usually standing next to me when I take whatever it is out of the oven and immediately starts bugging me to cut into it. Usually my response is something like this, "Dad, its not finished. It still has to cool and be frosted" well- this was his response to waiting...if it had to cool before he could eat it- he was just going to help it along. I suppose patience is something we are still working on at our house...

All Alone with our thoughts

I went to education week this last week at BYU and so many good things happened its not even funny...but the first thing I'm going to mention is I learned something about myself from watching other people. I learned how grateful I am for my years at college because they taught me more than just political science and ballroom dance. They taught me that I can be alone and hold my head up. There is no law that says "if you are alone you must look down" There is no shame in being alone with your thoughts. My parents were at education week but I went my own way- I like to go alone because then you have the freedom to choose any class you like and you can think about the message of the class without being interrupted by someone's chatter. As I sat alone in the classroom watching these women filter in, so many of them just looked a little frantic and uncomfortable. If they were alone, they were searching for someone else, or they were on their phone- as if to tell the world that even though they were physically alone they had friends. So many people are uncomfortable being alone and that makes me sad. I LOVE being alone sometimes. I spent a week on campus with my own thoughts and no one to distract me and I am so grateful that I am confident enough in myself to have had that opportunity. Thank you Mom and Dad for sending me away to college where I knew no one!! Its OK to be alone sometimes, enjoy it!

A child's Perspective

My mom was watching my 3 yr old nephew yesterday and this Disneyland add was on the table. My sister and her family are going to Disneyland next month so my mom pointed to the picture and said, "Brandon, what is this?" He looked at the picture for just a few seconds and very matter of factly responded, "That's Lori" I love that kid. As a side note, he was with us when we did my snow white photo shoot.

Happy Easter!

Could Easter have been any better?? Seriously, Easter is great in and of itself but because it was also conference Sunday I got to spend the whole day with my family! Spending a Sunday with my family has only happened about 2 times in the last year and a half and because of Easter there was even more family to be surrounded by! My brother, his wife Leslie and their five kids were visiting from California. Also joining the fun with my sister and her two kids, and my little brother, his wife Emily, and their new-ish baby Karra. So So much fun!! And to top it all off one of my very best friends from Idaho came down to see me!! Seriously- best Easter ever!! I hope everyone had an amazing Easter and enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed mine!!

"I just haven't met you yet"

Last night my brother Dave, his wife Leslie, my mom, my niece, and I went to see Michael Buble at the E center in west valley Utah. first let me say, we were in traffic for almost an hour...there is one entrance into the parking lot and no traffic cops..whose bright idea was that?? plus it was snowing so no one wanted to walk the mile to get in. so after struggling to get into the venue we reached our seats and my feet were immediately glued to the floor. And I do mean literally glued to the floor. I have never felt a stickier floor anywhere!! The longer your feet were stationary the harder it was to lift them...That being said. The opening act- naturally 7 was actually really fun. They are an all male acapella group...normally I don't care for acapella groups but these guys were really entertaining and fun to watch. Then Michael himself came out...his opening was definitely an attention grabber. His live band was incredible. In case you are wondering...he sounds just a great live as on his CD and for the type of music he sings his concert was really entertaining. He was funny and definitely performs to his crowd. The only thing I was disappointed with was his occasional slip of inappropriate language...other than that the show was well worth the money. Plus my niece is crazy about him so it was entertaining just to sit next to her and feel her excitement at being at her first concert. So fun!!

An interesting thing happened as well...I was reminded that we as a society need to lighten up sometimes. I noticed during his 3 song encore that hundreds of people were rushing up the stairs to exit the venue before everyone else. As I watch this exodus I say to myself "you people payed good money to see this show and now you are rushing out before the man is even done performing" what a waste...I can't even imagine paying money to see some one's show and then getting up and leaving before they were even done...and for what?? To shave 30 min off your drive home? totally pointless. I stayed in my seat and watched through to the end and guess what...I still got home :)

why the long face??

I just thought this was so funny!! My niece came over this week and I sat her back on my leg ..she wanted to be standing up so she started to make a sad face...and it is so sad!! I almost died when her lip came out and her eyes welled up with tears...so cute!!

My babies growing up...

Since some of my siblings read my blog (I think) i've decided to put up some pics of my new-ish niece Karra (Car-a) for everyone's enjoyment. She is just about two months old now and still super tiny. She has chunked up a bit but now weighs ALMOST what I weighed at birth :) My brother and sister-in-law brought her over on sunday and we had a blast. It is really hard to get a smile...it took a lot of work from all of us to get her to smile...but we finally did it!

How you say it...

I've discovered the very real truth to the statement "what you say is not as important as how you say it"...The last few days I have pretty much been addicted to the Olympics..if I'm not at work I am watching the winter games. I have discovered winter sports I didn't even know existed. One such sport is Ice dancing. I don't know how I missed it in the past, perhaps because I can't remember ever spending any time watching the winter Olympics....I am a HUGE fan of the summer Olympics but I somehow missed out on this other gem. Anyway, so I was watching Ice dancing with my mom last night and I said to her "if I could actually stay up on ice skates I think I would like to do ice dancing" to which she replied, "yeah I'm sure YOU would..its flamboyant" hum...interesting. Her voice inflection was amazing...I wasn't sure if I should take it as an insult or not..haha but its true...I like flashy stuff and I like to perform so I guess she's right but even though what she said was true..I would love it...the way she said it was somewhat insulting! Good thing she's my mom and I think she's funny!!

She's Here!

She is FINALLY here....yep my baby brother is a daddy. crazy weird. At 4:28 pm today my sister in law, Emily, gave birth to a six pound six ounce bundle of joy. Which I must say is the smallest baby ever born from the Neilson blood line...which averages 8 to 9 pounds (Except for Hayden but he was premature so it doesn't count). She makes the 13th grandchild in our family and the 8Th girl...although, we haven't had a girl around in over four years so it was time! She is so cute, even swollen from the trauma of being born and already spoiled, and thanks to my fabulous discount, could be a poster child for baby gap :) After all, I have a title to protect, "favorite aunt". I know Emily's little sister Melissa is going to try and win my spot...and this time she may have the advantage, she is much younger and more hip than I am, but we'll see. I may be getting old but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve. Either way I am ecstatic to have baby Karra in the family and I can tell that my baby brother is absolutely smitten with her already...what a fantastic Christmas present!

Check off the Bucket List

Since I was in High school, maybe longer I've wanted to go to Disneyland for Halloween. So I got time off work because some friends and I were going to go but then all of a sudden no one could go anymore. I still really wanted to go because I knew I would not be getting anymore time off work until sometime after February. I asked around and no one could go, I started to get discouraged and decided maybe I shouldn't go. I had pretty much decided it wasn't going to happen and I was totally depressed. At almost the last minute my sister Shannon decided to ditch her kids and go on a road trip with me to LA. So we booked a cheap hotel and drove to Disneyland. I also happened to have this amazing friend who I've known since I was 14 who drove down and gave us free park hopper passes into Disneyland. So basically all my dreams were coming true...OK not all of them...but it was still pretty amazing.

It was so fun without kids. My sister and I rode all the big kid rides and skipped the lame ones like Winnie the pooh. We dodged the crowds, learned how to be fast pass whores, embarrassed ourselves, and walked until my feet were (and actually almost a month later one still is) literally bruised. It was a little on the crowded side, but since neither of us was there for the first time we only rode what we wanted and as many times as we wanted. The whole trip was pretty much unplanned...just do as you want for three days and then home in record time. It was just what I needed and I checked off a life long goal...Disneyland in October :)