Pictures to go with Jessica's Post

Updates!

One of our friend's wards was going disco skating, they invited us so we got to roller skate for free! So our night started out in the 70's.

Kirsten, me, Hayley, Eliza, Jane, Ashley

Zoe, Kaitlin, me, Ashley. These are the beautiful girls I'm going to be rooming with next year in Liberty Square Apartments!

I can't wait! I just love them!

me, Nick, Kaitlin

After the 70's decade we moved on to the 80's for a dance party.

Ashley, me, Kaitlin

Unfortunately the dance wasn't all that great so we decided to go to "Spark", a lounge that serves non alcoholic drinks where you can dress up and have fun. But.....we didn't realize it cost money to get in so...we went to the dollar theatre. Everyone was sick of changing so we went in our formal wear. Nick asked if he could get a discount from the dollar priced ticket since he was dressed up. They didn't go for it.

?, Taylor, Kaitlin, Me, Nick, Dallin, Jane

We've made it a goal to go do baptisms at the temple every Thursday night. It's been great so far, it's really neat to be able to do this with such great friends. We're planning on doing baptisms when we go to Arizona this weekend at the Mesa Temple. One of our friends is about to go on a mission so he'll be able to baptize us.

Dallin, Me, Taylor, Kaitlin

A few weeks ago a group of us went to a FREE Dashboard Confessional concert. None of the big group pictures turned out so this is only part of the group that went.

Nick, me, Jessica, James.

We drove up to Ogden to be with Eric when he got his mission call (Hermosillo Mexico). He went to BYU last semester, we miss him! This is almost all of our BYU family, missing just a couple people.

Back Row, L to R: Dallin, Preston, Nyal, Taylor, Jordan, Jane, Hayley, Eliza, Connor,

Front Row, L to R: Zach, Zoe, me, Eric, Ashley, Kirsten

And finally, a picture of me and my wonderful, amazing, beautiful roomate Kat.

My friends and I are looking forward to a roadtrip this week over the three day weekend. I can't wait for them to meet my family, and I can't wait to see my family! It's going to be a great trip.

Say Cheese!

So here are some out-takes from our attempt at a Christmas card picture.  I just grabbed a few-and not any of the incredibly awful ones with strange expressions, closed eyes...

One of these at the fountain almost made the cut, but I was outvoted.

Jessica loved this picture, because she said it described all of our personalities. I can't remember all of it, but basically-Jeffrey is the star/center of attention. She's not jealous. ha ha. She'll need to comment and remind me what everyone's expressions say about our family dynamics.

The great thing about digital photography...

...you can take 100's of shots to gaurantee at least a handful of good ones to choose from.

The downfall of digital photography...

....you take 100's of shots!

And here are the fearless photographers, Adam and Rebekah! Actually Adam, took our family piture last year, too. So nice to have them close by!

Study, study, study!!!

Look at that building! I know she's in there somewhere. Every time we talk to her, her friends are out playing and she's being a good girl and prepping for her exams! Ha ha. 


 Truthfully, it sounds like Jess is managing to keep a good balance. We're so proud of her.

(The Harold B. Lee Library)

What a gorgeous library! Who wouldn't want to spend the best years of their life there? 

Good luck tomorrow, sweetheart!

(The HGB Testing Center)

PS This place doesn't look at all scary... Don't be deceived.

Today I want to remember....

• coming home... and feeling like it was home, because it was where my family was 
• getting a package from my grown-up daughter and feeling like a kid when I saw the letter with my name on it
• cleaning the kitchen with my other daughter and realizing she is well on her way to being an adult, too 
• eating cookies Brandon and Jeffrey made by themselves 
• having Taylor hold still long enough for a real hug 
• singing, “This is the night we’ve waited for” with kids that are singing it along with me even though they’ve probably grown out of it a long time ago, and wondering how long we can keep it up. Wondering if they’ll sing it with their own children. 

A good day.

Go Cougars!

I haven't seen a BYU football game in a LONG time. This weekend was an exception. Mark and I were on a date at a pizza place and the game was on. We caught the last quarter. It was so much fun! The best part was coming home and talking to Jessica-right in the thick of the celebrations at the Wilkinson Center. She said people were going nuts. I remember sitting in the end zone of cougar stadium back in 1990 at the BYU v #1 Miami game and rushing onto the field when BYU won the game. Now Jessica is having some of those types of memories of her own. Awesome!

Our baby is all grown up!

Jessica sent us this text after the first day of school:

Who can find Jessica? This is from my crazy/hilarious/psycho/weird/awesome biology teacher.

love you

Jess

Begin forwarded message:

From: Riley Nelson

Date: September 1, 2009 9:20:55 PM MDT

To:

Subject: first day of class:

Hello my friends: You probably noticed that the University Photographers were in our classroom yesterday for the first day of class. They put a slide show together of campus yesterday that included many images from our time together. Check out the website here.

When you see your bright shiny face in the photos, share it with your mother. She probably still loves you.
Dr. Nelson

He's so smart! I do still love her! And it was so incredible to see her in that environment and picture all of the incredible things she will be doing. Just imagine what she has ahead of her! Right about now I'd like to give Dr. Nelson a great big thank-you hug.

Some people asked for a hint. Check the lower left side of the screen and think red. In a couple days, I'll post the picture.

UPDATE: here's the picture, just in case you missed it :)

First Week of College

I am having so much fun! The week started off as a "bad week at EFY". We were put into Y groups. Our group was not very friendly, the guys wouldn't talk to us. So we ended up not going to much except for the devotionals. We hung out with some boys that Jane and Ashley knew from EFY and their roomates. They are a lot of fun! We had a dance last night that was a blast...and I don't even like to dance! Then we went to Denny's. I got rammed in the chest yesterday and knocked over playing football. It literally knocked the wind out of me and I couldn't breath. It was really scary. Then it hurt to laugh or cough all day, I feel better now though so that's good. My roomate is great! We haven't hung out much but hopefully that will change. We were starting to get worried this week when we hadn't met many people and we all started to look forward to church. Let me just say...I love my ward!!! There are over 150 of us and everyone is so different: a guy that grew up in england, identical twin brothers, guys that chose to come to BYU over playing football and water polo in college, recent converts, multiple people from Arizona (the two guys i sat between at church were from gilbert/mesa), a girl that went to Granite Bay High School, people that have amazing testimones, people that are still learning about the church, 86 gorgeous girls(seriously, those guys are lucky. there are some beautiful girls in my ward...and on top of that there are more girls than guys), a kind, funny Bishop, a sweet Relief Society Specialist...and I'm sure I'm going to learn so much more about everyone! Tonight we get our FHE groups, Tuesday are interviews, and Wednesday we have our ward social. Ashley, Jane, and I couldn't stop talking about how great our ward is and how we couldn't be happier. I can only imagine it will get better. It's worth the huge hill we have to climb, two stories of stairs, and hot sun (for now) to go to church. I felt the spirit so much. Another thing I'm excited for are the devotionals, we went to one on Thursday and it was incredible. I'm so excited. I'm nervous for class tomorrow, especially because I had to rearrange my schedule, but I'm excited to meet people! I miss my family so much, but I know this is where I need to be right now.

Denny's...very fun group.

Ashley and I headed to a reception and Jane and Eliza going to a farewell party for a girl that is headed to Israel

my cute bed

at the dollar theatre..did I mention we went twice this week?

my desk

Oh! I also was able to see/spend some time with Chris Hamilton, James Mackie, and Elder Cook( i cant remember his first name!) It was so great to see them and I can't wait to see everyone else from the mission! I wasn't able to go to Cam's bonfire last night or to Jacobie's place for dinner tonight but hopefully I'll see everyone soon!

Where in the world is Jessica?

Congratulations!

It's official! Jessica was accepted to BYU Provo. We're so proud of her. She's not only a great student, but an incredible person. She will do well there. And what will we do at home without her? Well, we're not thinking about that. We're focusing on the positive, and there's a lot to be positive about. BYU is a great school. Mark and I have great memories of our time there. I miss those mountains! We're excited for her opportunity. She's already looked at potential classes and teachers. This feels like it's happening so fast. Can my baby really be going to college? It's not that it makes me feel old. I'm OK with that. But I'm starting to feel...I don't know...that mother bear instinct maybe? Over protective? Last week in Sunday school they asked me to describe how it felt to have Jessica leaving for college. I think they wanted me to say that I was ready for her to leave and happy for her to have the opportunity....(They were comparing it to how our Heavenly Father felt about us when He created the earth and sent us here to learn and grow.) ...I started to cry. I certainly feel those things, but I just hope... I don't know how to finish that sentence. I know it's something she needs to do, and we've tried to raise our children to be independent, self-sufficient and all the rest, but now that the time is coming for her to fly the nest, I don't know if I'm ready. Can't I just keep her home one more year?

But look at that beautiful valley! I know there are so many great things waiting for her, how could I ever think of holding her back? One of our returned missionaries came back to Arizona for a visit. He was helping his sister get settled at ASU. It was amazing to see how protective he was of her. That's when I realized, what I needed for a little peace of mind...I'm going to recruit some 'big brothers' to keep an eye on Jessica. Fortunately for us, we have several to choose from! All of our former assistants will be in Provo (except one that's living a little farther north), plus there are several other returned elders and sisters that will be there. I won't have to worry about her, and I know she'll write and call all the time so we won't be lonely for her...right Jess? We have just a few more months with our family all home together...I'm planning on making the most of it. Love you, Jessica. Congratulations!

Good Friends

Lucky remembered me! (And he wasn't even wearing Jacob's suit.) Cam & Chris (former elders Soane & Hamilton) came down to Mesa with their buddy Ryan. One of their investigators was getting baptized. They arrived early, early Saturday morning and left late, late Saturday night.
Chris gave us (Brandon) a Frisbee for Christmas. But this wasn't just any Frisbee, it was their team Frisbee from BYU. They played for awhile-just so Brandon could have another chance to show him how it's done. But then Brandon introduced a new game that Jessica gave him for his birthday. It's kind of like Simon Says and Turbo Twist combined. Each player gets a colored band and scans it into the ball. Depending on what game you choose, the ball calls out where to toss the ball. A perfect game for Chris....

...since he's color blind.

But Brandon's plan to beat him at something failed again since Chris' photographic memory trumped being color blind.

It was fun to take a few minutes and catch up with Cam and Chris. Ryan was a good moderator. I wish they'd had a camera in the car with them. Chris glanced at google maps and 'memorized' the way down-so no else was allowed to drive. To help him stay awake, they sang the whole 10 hour trip down, but Cam would only wake up occasionally to sing snatches of songs and then crash back to oblivion. (Am I getting any of that right?) They drove all night, and we served....pizza. I don't think there were any complaints.

At least Jeffrey was entertained.

This is just about the only chance the kids have of beating the elders at anything....and I'm not sure they were successful.

And no visit is complete until the s'mores. (Guys-Sorry we wimped out and didn't build the fire outside. But you know how it is; Arizona is just sooo cold.) Gotta love Utah-hope you're having fun!

Taylor is awesome. Last night, he and his friends (Chad, Adam & Kyle) got dressed up and went out with different missionaries. They came back to our house and lifted weights, built a fire and stayed up for who knows how long. In the morning, they met back up with the missionaries at 5:30 (a.m., yes a.m.) to lift weights. Then they came back to our house while the missionaries had their study time. They made up a huge bowl of pancake batter and started making pancakes for everyone in the house. They ended up with this monster. Later, when I was getting ready to leave, I walked down the hall and heard them in Taylor's room studying their scriptures to get ready

to go back out with the missionaries. What a way to spend your Saturday! Taylor, Jessica and Amanda met Mark and I in Mesa for a missionary meeting. Elder David Bednar and Elder Snow were in town for leadership training and asked to meet with a group of our missionaries. One of my favorite parts of the day was going to the grocery store with Amanda while she told me the impressions and aha moments she had during the meeting.

Jessica came home and did a different kind of dressing up. Her friend Lizzie came over and did her hair and make-up. (We love Lizzie!) Jessica got on her most formal dress (she and Lizzie went looking for something warmer without spending a fortune, but couldn't find anything) and waited. The plan was, well Jessica didn't know the plan. Her friend Walker asked her out and told her to dress up. He came in a tux.

They met another couple and drove down to the new light rail station that just opened in Mesa. They rode up and down the light rail in their 'formal' attire, dined at McDonald's, had dessert at a crazy little sandwich shop that specializes in cookies and ice cream with every possible combination of the two (I gotta go there!), and had a great time puzzling everyone around them. It sounded really silly and like a lot of fun. I'll let her post more if she wants. I wish they had pictures all together, but I was allowed to ask.

Jeffrey helped her pass the time, and then of course I got out my camera and she was patient for at least one or two pictures. Jeffrey isn't pleased there's a picture of him kissing his sister on the blog but I need a record of how sweet he is to his big sister. He's a good little brother.

Yes, this is the same picture. I was trying to fiddle with the photo editor a little bit, except I didn't get past the quick fix menus. A digital photography class is on my wish list for the future. Anybody up for a class in, oh, say 2 years? Maybe Janea will just come down and teach me what to do.

beautiful