3 Girls and a Guy

Family, Fun, Food=HOLIDAY MADNESS!!!!

The Bass Family came for 10 days. Thanksgiving through the first week of December. As usual we were busy and the days were full. One day we entertained the kids by going to Toy Story III. A couple of them have not seen it, and neither had G&G Robison. Adri said it was a baby show back when it came out and she loved it. My dad even came. My mom cried and cried after. She was so touched by the kid and his toys. It also made her sad by remembering her own children when they were young. It was fun for all the grandkids to see Grammie crying. I think they will always remember it. Of course they ate tons of popcorn.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, all the girls went to Gardner Village. Baby Kate was home sleeping. We ran into Alli and I's favorite lady in the whole world. OUR PIANO TEACHER, JILL DUKE. She made such an impact on our lives. Jill and I would talk about boys and teenage issues. I took piano from her until I was sixteen. I love this lady. She has a special place in my heart. Alli and I also babysat her kids. We got to see a few of the girls all grown up. We talked for 30 minutes while Grammie walked around with the kiddos. What a treat!!!

Taking pics of the cute sayings is not acceptable, but I didn't find out until it was done. I loved these sayings. So appropriate for a girls outing.

We've never visited the elves. It was freezing, but we managed to smile. Alli and Alex have twinner hats. Thanks to me!!! It's always been tradition to visit the Witches, but the Elves are just as cute. The great thing about the elves was it was not CROWDED!!!

More cute elves. A couple of the empty boutique houses were made into Elf houses. We took a couple pics through the windows.

Alex and I had fun kissing the elves and drinking their hot cocoa. Grammie took everyone home to drink hot chocolate and eat nachos. What a fun afternoon. Very festive. I think it's a new tradition and it was free.


The third times a charm. It was Alli's bday on Thanksgiving, so I took her and my mom to lunch. We ate and then we sat around and talked with no kids. We barely have been out to lunch without the kids and to have three times in one year was a miracle. These are two great women in my lives. They are great examples to me of what a woman should be and represent.

Monday night our family barely made it to Temple Square with the rest of the Robisons. I made it work. I had to pull a lot of strings, but it was important for us to be with our family and make memories. Temple Square was beautiful. Alli, Matthew, G & G Robison, and my family were all there. It was freezing. Maybe 10 degrees, but we had a good time and walked fast. We also ventured across the street to the new Deseret Book. It's huge and has lots of yummy baked goods. Make sure you take your wallet for a treat.

It's so important to walk around temples and be by temples and make them apart of our lives and our children's lives. It helps our young kids know the importance of the temple. Adri and Kaden did not want a pic. This is typical from my younger two. Makes me sad, but we managed with some tears. Fun night to walk around with family.

Last week, Kade lost his first tooth. He has been talking about losing teeth for awhile. I came home from running a kid somewhere and he told me his tooth was loose. Alex had accidentally knocked him in the mouth. I don't know if his tooth was lose before. He asked me questions for the next hour. His friend ate a string cheese and lost a tooth, so he tried that. It didn't work. He asked if it would hurt. After he wiggled it and ate dinner, it came out. He was so excited. He called his dad and Alex. He took it to school the next day and to Grammie's house. He was super excited about the $2.00 the tooth fairy left along with the tooth. My baby has yet passed another step in growing up. He lost his FIRST tooth. Bitter Sweet for me.

Aunt Alli actually got to see my girls dance for once!!!! My girls impressed me. They have such confidence on the stage and I love their stage presence. Abby amazes me each time I see her perform. From this shy girl, to a performer. It melts Renn and I's heart and makes it almost worth it that dance is our lives. My girls had the biggest crowd there to see them ever. G Nelson and G Robison came.

Alex danced twice. She performed her Nutcracker dance which was over six minutes long. It was beautiful. Ballet is so beautiful to watch at this age. They can really do it. She also got to dance one of her competition pieces, SUNGLASSES. Alex shined and smiled up there like she was in Heaven. If Alex would only talk less and work as hard as Abby, she would be a PRO. Haha. Alli thought Alex had grown up a lot. She is becoming a little lady.

Moving Abby back to AED was such a hard decision. Not only did Abby cry, but I struggled. She has adapted and is loving it. She loves her team and has made some cute dance friends. She was front and center the whole dance. Her smile and stage presence was amazing. She works so hard and it sure pays off.

This dance thing is super hard on a family. Their schedules are opposite and we have a hard time being together as a family. I often times question if this is the road we should have allowed our girls to travel. We didn't understand what we were getting into, and now it seems too late. How could I pull my girls from something they love so much. I tell them all the time that they can quit whenever they want to. They never complain and they will never quit. I know it. We try our hardest to make family time. I guess this is a family event forever. I hope Kaden doesn't mind. After a recital like this, it makes me feel better about the crazy life we live.

NELSON FAMILY CHRISTMAS PARTY 2010!! Renn and Kade left me this whole weekend. They went Elk hunting in Roosevelt and missed some Christmas parties. He didn't mind at all, and the girls and I had fun. I missed my boys though. My mom planned the Nelson party while Alli was in town. I think she sees some of my cousins as much as I do. My mom and dad were a hoot. I laughed so hard. They were cheesy as can be, but entertaining too. They dressed up as Santa and Mrs. Santa Claus to MC the talent show. They were actors in college and it sure came out again. They acted out I saw Grammie kissing Santa Claus while the Robison grandchildren sang. The kids did a fab job and so did G and G Robison.

It was another proud Mommy moment. I had two in one week. Alex and Abby wanted to do a tumbling routine for the talent show. Adri was suppose to be their little Rudolph, but she would not do it. So Emma volunteered. She is a little natural on stage. They put this tumbling/dance routine together in two hours right before the party. I was instructing Alex on what she should wear, and she said she already had that planned. She then said great minds think a like. I said, "You must be my daughter." Then Alex said "UNFORTUNATELY." How rude. I know she loves me despite her comment. They did their routine to Rudolph and they wore antlers. Super cute and super fun to watch. Many people commented again on how much Alex has grown up. My cousin Jill said she had tons of muscle on her legs. They loved Abby's smile. Emma was awesome for not having a lot of tumbling in her past. These moments making me want to continue to be a mother when life gets hard.

I love, love, love seeing my cousins. I love my Nelsons. We had lasagna for dinner and cookies and ice cream for dessert. Grammie set up a craft table for the kids and we sat around and ate and talked. I love my cousin Jill a ton too. I could talk all day and catch up with all my cousins. Chuck's family did not come, but almost everyone else did.

All of this would not be possible without my G&G Nelson. I sure loves these two. They are both in their eighties and get around pretty good for two old folgies. I lived by them for quite a few years and they are a big part of my life. They came to most Sunday dinners growing up and they still do. My little bro Matthew dressed up as Santa and surprised the kids. My kids knew, but I don't know about the other Nelson cousins. It was a fun night. Some people talked to their hand, but we are all cousins and we understand. Thanks for the laughs Nelsons.

What a crazy Holiday weekend. Friday night Nelsons and Saturday night Ward party. No better way to jump start December than do it all in the first week. Renn and Kade were still gone. The girls and I went to the ward party. Adri and Abby were angels and sang in the choir during the nativity. We visited with neighbors and ate yummy food. Santa visited also.

I got to babysit my three week old nephew, Kixten, for a few hours that Saturday. He came with us to the party. Everyone wanted to see this baby including my girls. I barely got to hold him. My girls fought over him like crazy. He is super cute and I loved it. Roxy came out with her fam to see the lights and do some fun things with her kids. They tried to visit Santa at the mall and he had to go to lunch. Her kids cried. When she came to pick up Kixten at our Ward party, Santa was hiding outside and her kids got to visit with him. It was so awesome that their Christmas wishes were answered at our Ward party. They were so happy and he gave them a candy cane.

Saturday afternoon the girls and I went to Rio for lunch. We wanted to see Tangled but our afternoon got away with us. Heather stopped by and Roxy dropped off her baby. My girls proposed a late movie after the ward party. I was up for it since the boys were driving home and not expected until late. The movie was awesome. Abby went to the show right before us. She said she wanted to sit by herself with her friends. Haha. She acts like a teenager already. Alex, Adri, and Irelynd went with me and they all sat by me. I loved, loved, loved this movie. We all loved it. My new favorite princess movie.

After the movie, Jordan called me to see if Renn was home. Renn had left earlier than he told me. From the theater I started calling his cell and our house. No one would answer. Jordan started calling too. After 15 minutes, we began to panic a little. The kids were in the arcade and I was getting scared. I told them we had to go fast. On the way home Renn finally answered the phone. He was in bed and too lazy to get up. I called Jordy and Heather had already started looking up crash reports. Thanks a lot Renn for getting us all excited about nothing. I'm glad they were home safe. I love my boys even though they like to leave me a lot for hunting who knows what in Roosevelt. Stay home with me for once.

If this week is a sign for how the rest of December is going to be, I'm in for it. Holiday Madness is upon us. Enjoy it while it lasts. Happy Holidays Everyone!!! I love you all.