Don't Talk, Just Kiss

Cuteness

My boys recently got home from youth conference. They had an amazing time and I loved the car ride home with five teenage boys. It was so fantastic to hear all the things they loved about their experience. Tyler's friend who isn't a member of our church but went to the conference said he is going to read the Book of Mormon now. He even got up during testimony meeting and told everyone how the things he had learned and felt had really touched him.
Both of my boys bore their testimonies as well and Allias cried during his.
Tyler and Allias both told me that they really enjoyed the testimony of another boy in our ward Oran Rose. As Tyler was explaining to me how much it affected him he said, "He had me at families are forever."

I have updates/pictures etc- hopefully I will get to them tomorrow.

Top Ten

Last night's show was mediocre to me. I liked the two group dances and Ade and Janette doing that hip hop routine. I also LOVED Ade's solo. I voted for Kayla and Ade- I would have voted for Janette as well (her solo was smokin!) but I watched it late and by the time she did her solo it was too late to vote. I think that the girls are all better dancers then the boys. If I were to predict who is leaving I would say Randi and Jason- even though I think Jason danced really well in the group dance and with his partner- his solo was kind of boring. I really don't like Randi or Evan but according to dial idol they are getting the majority of the votes. Not sure what the appeal is. I will be bummed if Kayla goes home.

Owen Daniel Nelson

He is here!!!! Brittney had him this morning at 10:18. Her labor was all of about two hours!

I put a slide show on the family blog. Enjoy!

Chivalry

I locked my keys in my van at the gas station today. I put them in my purse and then grabbed my debit card and ran inside to buy a coke. My purse was still in the car. Once I realized what I had done I called Travis to come and rescue me. We don't have a spare key for our van but I figured he would be better equipped to figure out how to break in. The guy working at the gas station told me he had a friend who he could call to come and help me. I told him my husband was on his way but I would let him know if we needed his help. As I was sitting and waiting on the curb a man pulled up beside me and asked if I had locked myself out. I talked to him for a few minutes explaining that I didn't have a spare and that my husband was on his way. He asked how far away he was and I told him it would be about 25 minutes. He told me he had a slim jim at home and would run home and get it. I told him that would be great but I didn't want to take up up his time but he insisted that he only lived a few minutes away and would be right back. About ten minutes later two guys in a truck pulled up next to me and asked me if I was locked out. I told them that I was and that someone had offered to run home and get a slim jim to help me and that my husband was also on his way. They told me the slim jim wouldn't work and that one of them had a lock out kit and only lived a few minutes away that he would run and get it. He was back in a matter of minutes. Right when he pulled up another guy pulled up with a lock out kit. They had me back into my car in a matter of seconds. As I was pulling out of the parking lot the slim jim guy pulled in. I felt kind of bad but was very happy to have had so many nice people trying to help me.
I told Travis that I had five guys offering to help me break into my car. He asked me if I was wearing daisy dukes. I told him I hadn't showered- hair was piled up on top of my head (I had been home cleaning all day) and that I was wearing knee length shorts and a baggy t-shirt with a flag on it.
He then asked me if it was the rebel flag.

SYTYCD

This was my favorite week on SYTYCD so far this season. I thought everyone danced really really well. Brandon and Janette were INSANE!!! That Wade Robson routine was UH MAZING! Wade is seriously a GENIOUS! I LOVE him!!! I still don't really care for Brandon much personality wise but boy he can dance. The addiction dance that Kupono and Kayla did made me cry and I thought Melissa and Ade were fantastic and they look so beautiful together when they dance. Ade is one of my favorites for sure. I am confused at how many people seem to be voting for Evan and Randi. I don't care for either of them and I don't think Evan is all that great of a dancer.
I ended up watching the competition and results shows back to back since I didn't have time Wednesday night to watch. I pretty much figured Caitlin would be the girl leaving and that Evan or Jason would be the guy. I was surprised to see Philip and Jeanine in the bottom three again and totally shocked that Melisaa and Ade were there even though his waltz wasn't fantastic. The solos were simply brilliant. Ade- all I can say is WOW! I had a feeling if Philip went home before top ten that they would ask him to join them on the tour. He is just so good at what he does- and hey its all about money- which he will bring to the tour. Allias is going to be totally bummed when he gets back from scout camp and realizes Philip is no longer on the show.
I am excited to see the new partnerships next week and what this top ten can do!
Just in case you missed it- here is Brandon and Janette doing a Wade Robson jazz routine. I have watched it like ten times- it is that good!!!

4th of July

We didn't get home Friday night until around midnight and then had to be back up bright and early to put out flags for boy scouts and head over to the Whitleys for the 4th of July breakfast.

Here is Kailyn heading down to the festivities. She was still sleepy but totally adorable!

We had a lot of fun!!!

Tyler got in on a little badmitton!

We hung out with all of our great friends!

Brother Rentz made a water balloon launcher and the kids shot if off over and over again.

Then they just started throwing water balloons at each other. Eventually they just sprayed each other down with the hose. Here is Marcus Juarez looking for a victim.

I always get a little choked up during the flag ceremony.

The Scouts singing The Star Spangled Banner

the audience- I think I might be the only one not dressed in patriotic colors- I wore those Friday night.

Tyler looking innocent. LOL

Kailyn looking wayyy tooo pretty!

Kailyn ended up in the pool with Camden and Kaylee and then spent the night. Allias went to Brad and Brittney's to babysit Lily and so Travis, Tyler and I bought steaks and went to the Campos' to grill and hangout. We always have such a great time with them. They are seriously like family. Maria calls me her sister from another mister! Love that girl!!!! I keep forgetting to take pictures when we hang out though!

Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful 4th. I am so grateful to those who put their life on the line everyday to ensure all the amazing freedoms we have in this country.
I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who inspired the founding fathers of this country.

We sang My Country 'Tis of Thee on Sunday in church and the last line of the song really touched me. "Our fathers' God, to thee, author of liberty, to thee we sing; long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light; protect us by thy might, great God, our King."

Heavenly Father is the author of our liberty- in so many ways- and freedom is holy. It is my prayer that this land will long be protected and upheld by the hand of God and that the people and government of this country will turn back to Him and realize that only He can provide true freedom. There are sooooo many freedoms to be grateful for. This video mentions a few but the list could go on and on.

3rd of July

Keeping to tradition we headed to Lake Benson to listen to the NC Symphony and watch the Fireworks on the 3rd of July. The kids and I got to the park when the gates opened at five. We spread out our blankets and a few chairs. Travis, Brad, Brittney and Lily were going to meet us- along with the Rentz, Juarez and Satterwhite families. A couple of the girls from the Garner ward came over to talk to me and decided to move over near us along with their families and several of their friends. Denise and I talked a few times while I was waiting and she informed me that the Sobas and Christisen families were on their way and would be joining us, then I got a text message from my friend Dianna saying she and her family and Kory and her daughters CJ and Rylee were coming too. I had set up a small perimeter of flip flops, blankets, chair bags, fans and whatever else I could think of but at this point I decided I needed to make it much larger. On the way into the park Dianna ran into the Judds and the Howells and so they came along and then the Antleys and Evans also happened upon us. It was really fantastic. There were about 75 of us by the time it was all said and done. I wish I would have thought to get a group picture. Love my ward family!!!!
Here we are enjoying our picnic dinner- this was right before the masses arrived.
By the time everyone was there you really couldn't see the grass.

This is the only picture we got of Tyler he covered up his face every time he saw the camera.

Kailyn and Lily reading together

and playing balland dancing

Allias and a group 8th/9th graders playing cards (you can't really see him in this picture but I promise he is there)

My BFF Denise and I!

Travis and I took turns holding baby Rylee.

Allias and his friends Aleesa and Aleesha

Cutie K

Brittney and Lily! There is a huge group of girls between 8 and 12 in our ward.

They are named Kayla, Kailyn, Camden, Carly, Katie, Kelly, Cassidy, Kaylee, Katie, Courtney, Ashley, Lexi, Audrey, Emily, Erin and Megan.
This is Kailyn and Kaylee.

Can't have the 3rd of July at Lake Benson without GLOW STICKS!

Lily LOVED the fireworks!
And she kept the teenagers totally entertained!
Love this picture of her watching the show!

Girl Trip Day One

My mom called me a few months ago to tell me she would be in Florida for a Pediatric Nursing Convention at the end of June. She asked me if I would be willing to drive down there and see her. I love road trips and haven't seen her for a year so I was totally willing and totally excited. We decided we wanted it to be a girls only trip and we were all really looking forward to some quality girly time. My mom is such an amazing person and I am sooooo lucky to have her. She paid for everything- gas, food, attractions. The only thing I had to do was show up. My brothers and step-dad pitched in too and the trip really was soooo memorable and Kailyn and I are sooooo grateful! Kailyn and I got on the road around 11am and had a totally uneventful ride down. I listened to Eragon on CD and she watched High School Musical 3 and Prince Caspian. We stopped often and just took our time getting down there. When we were almost there I got a call from my mom saying her plane was broke down and she didn't know if she would make it to Florida that night. I was very sad but still hoped they would get her there late that night or early the next morning. Kailyn and I checked into the hotel and waited to hear something. My mom finally called and said that she had only gotten as far as Salt Lake and that the only flight they had available was the following day in the late morning which would put her arrival time at around 4:30 PM. It was a pretty depressing night but Kailyn and I tried to make the best of it. We wandered around the hotel and then decided to go out for Chinese food. I found a restaurant on my GPS and called them to make sure they were open then we headed out. 20 minutes later we were in a gated community of mansions with no Chinese place in sight!! We laughed and headed back toward the hotel. We saw a Papa John's on the way and ordered a pizza that we ate in the car. Back at the hotel we fell asleep wishing Grandma Becky was with us.

(One side of our beautiful room)

(Lake Buena Vista- the view from our deck)

(Mickey Mouse shaped pool- also a view from our deck)

Girl Trip Day Two

Kailyn and I woke up kind of melancholy since my mom was still stuck in Utah. We were totally bummed to be losing a whole day to spend time with her especially since it was supposed to be her free day. We ate cold pizza for breakfast and then headed down to the pool. They had a cute little slide, two pools and a hottub. There were also hammocks down by the lake. We thought we were going to be able to swim in the lake but it was closed. After we were done at the pool we decided to head over to the mall to use the free wifi at Panera Bread and get some dinner. The mall was about 30 minutes from our hotel. We got there and I realized I had left my wallet in the bag I had taken down to the pool. I had $1.89 in my purse so Kailyn and I shared a coke at Chick-fil-A and headed back to the hotel. My mom arrived around 5 PM and we were soooooo excited to see her. We got her stuff situated and ate dinner together at a little cafe in the hotel (we ended up eating most of our meals there). We decided to head to Seaworld to buy our tickets and wander around a little bit. As soon as we got inside the park a huge thunderstorm hit and we got soaking wet but we loved it. We had the whole park to ourselves for about an hour. We had stashed our purses and cameras in a locker so they wouldn't get wet but I wish I had a few pictures of the sharks. The exhibit was pretty intense.

We got some late night food at Wendy's and then headed back to the hotel. We stayed up late into the night talking and planning. I didn't get much sleep anyway because Kailyn slept sideways and kept kicking me off the bed. I really should have put her on the pull out couch!

Girl Trip Day Three

Since we lost a day we really tried to make up for it by cramming as much into each day as we possibly could. Day three was by far our craziest busiest day. We woke up and my mom brought breakfast up to our room. We ate and then mom headed to class and we headed to Aquatica the water park at Seaworld. We had such a great time. The weather was perfect and the slides were super fun. I got a little sun burnt on my shoulders but nothing terrible. Kailyn's favorite slide was one where you lay or your stomach on a blue mat and slide down head first. You start out in a dark tunnel and after you come out you drop straight down. We did this one at least three times. By the time we left I figured I had climbed at least sixty flights of stairs but it was totally worth it! When we were leaving we got to see the dolphins being fed which was an added bonus to our terrific day.

Once we got back to the hotel my mom was done and waiting for us. We showered and changed and went to the Millenia Mall for some SHOPPING! I love hanging out with my mom at the mall. She has great taste and loves to spend time searching and trying on clothes. Kailyn and I both ended up with lots of new things. Thanks Grandma!!!!!

Kailyn changed into something new in the bathroom before we left the mall. She loves this outfit because it is soooo comfy!

After we left the mall we headed for Magic Kindgom.

They were having special extended hours for guests of the Disney hotels. We watched the electric lights parade and took a million pictures of the castle. My mom had never been to Disney World before and she was like an adorable kid. We rode It's A Small World, The Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain and drove the Race Cars. We also went into the Lilo and Stitch ride. My mom doesn't really like drops so Kailyn and I went on Splash Mountain by ourselves.

Kailyn got to see Chip and Dale and Goofy Mickey and Minnie and Donald were around someplace but K was more interested in going on rides then hanging out with the characters this time.
We left Disney at 2 AM and finally crashed into our beds around 4!!! What a DAY!!!