HaPpy Birthday Kelsie

My adorable niece Kelsie Joy is moving up into the double digits today. We love you gorgeous girl.

Also, a happy birthday shout out to cousins Loren and Michelle. Love you too guys. We miss you.

Another fabulous trip to the beach.

This was our first trip of the summer but our last trip with our buddy Jake. They leave Tuesday for Northern California.

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit from Kevin’s sister Camile and the girls. I’m only going to post half a million photos of Mia and Macy. I hope that’s OK ;-) I love my nieces to pieces.

This post won’t require much narrative. The photos speak for themselves.




Macy













Mia









Gavin















Jake














My super tan man…..WHATEVER!



As head of the household, he wears many hats.



Sudoku for me....just doesn't add up.



Odds and ends…. Love the curls.

HaPpy Birthday Dawn

This is my gorgeous cousin Dawn, and though we didn't spend many holidays together growing up I do have many fond memories of her as a little girl and a young lady (of course you still are young Dawn).

We Nelsons have a hereditary condition called...hu-morous - corny-itis and it can be quite serious (how's that for a contradiction?).

In a nut shell, it is the inability to prevent corny humor from spilling out of our mouths during social gatherings or even during a serious moment when a little humor could lighten the situation. (My Dad Lee was the king).

I saw the first signs of HCI in Dawn at our sweet old auntie Bertha's 90th birthday party when during our soulful rendition of the happy birthday song, her voice above all others rang out..." Happy BERTHA-DAY auntie BER-THAAAAAA, Happy BERTHA-DAY tooooo youuuuuu". Of course we all laughed since we too suffered from this strange affliction.

I'm proud to say that through many years of therapy as a mother, her condition has advanced to rival such greats as Erma Bombeck and Barbara Johnson. If you've ever read her blog you know exactly what I mean.

Here's hoping that you have a SUPER day Dawn. We're proud of you. You come from good stalk.

Editor's note: the closing statement was unpreventable.

Thinking about my dad…

 

 It’s hard to believe that my dad has been gone for 18 years. So many of my memories of him are as clear as if they happened yesterday. Let me tell you just a little bit about what a great man he was. He was a quiet man, but when he did speak what he said was either profoundly wise, hilariously funny or he wanted to talk about you. He was extremely humble. He would graciously accept a compliment but almost always try to give the credit to someone else. He proudly served his country through several tours in Europe as well as all over this country. He was a sergeant in the Army Air Force, the 236th. And at the time of his honorable discharge, he had earned over 5 medals. He was the king of puns. You couldn’t out “corny” him if you tried. He was a fabulous cook. He would collect the best recipes from around the world and modify them to be even more spectacular than the original. He had a great connection with nature and the outdoors, a love that both of my parents thankfully passed down to me. I grew up camping and hiking with my family and my dad’s unique observations of nature always fascinated me. He loved to laugh and did so often, though quietly. His sneeze however, could be heard through several zip codes. He was the most forgiving man I’ve ever known and when he loved, he loved deeply and unconditionally. I’m thankful that though I only had my dad for 30 short years, I have a lifetime of treasured memories and life-lessons that I hope to pass on to my son. On that note, here are a few shots of our Father’s day with the new generation of dads. It was great spending the day with my husband's family. Also, I wanted to give a little shout out to the dads on my side of the family. The Nelson boys and Dave, the Krug boys and Mikey V... You guys are AWESOME! I know that someday, Gavin will want to share with others the many fantastic qualities that his dad possesses...... He’s a gentle giant, loving and kind, the kind of dad who attends every award’s ceremony and teacher conference. Yes he throws a ball now and then but he also takes the time to show an interest in Gavin’s life. He’s always anxious to hear about his day and even though he may be dead tired upon arriving home, he seems to musters up enough energy for a bike or scooter ride through the neighborhood. I’m proud to have married such an amazing man and stand out dad (having an amazing dad himself I'm sure had a lot to do with it. We're missing Gavino today too). 

     My beautiful sis-in-law  Baby number three, arriving soon.