*Christmas Festivities*

Bryce and I were able to go to Blanding to celebrate Christmas with the Nielson's this year! We got to see LOTS of family and participate in all the family activities!

* * *

We had our Nielson Christmas party up at my Grandma & Grandpa's house this year. It was a full house and fun to see that much family all in one place.:)

My grandpa wasn't feeling so well the night of the party but was up and as chipper as always on Christmas Day! He sure is a "tough old bird", according to his oncologist.:) He amazes me!

My mom's brother was able to spend Christmas with us this year which was cool. I hadn't seen him in like 7 years and upon seeing me when he arrived said, "You're all grown up." I thought that was cute but I think he meant to say "grown out".:)


This may be the only picture to date that anyone has of my grandpa Larry smiling. It took a big kiss on the cheek from his favorite granddaughter but it worked like a charm.

These are the sports studs of the family.:)

Generra plays softball for the College of Southern Idaho and is an amazing pitcher and Nache just helped the San Juan Broncos take state in football, which was awesome!

Tenli absolutely LOVES her aunt Brittany! When we're in the same house and I leave to another room she'll find me minutes later and say "Aunt Bitny, you forgot me!" How cute is that??

And this my friends, is 4 generations of Nielson boys all with the same middle name Joseph. What a handsome group!
* * *
Jett & Tenli came over Christmas Eve to open their oodles and oodles of presents so that we could all participate in the absolute joy children exude on Christmas.

This kid lives & breaths animals and hunting.:)

Tenli & her loot.

Jett & his loot.
* * *

I think the "adults" finally rolled out of bed around 9:30 AM Christmas morning. Bryce and I awoke to hear my mom begging my dad to "Ho,Ho,Ho!" at our bedroom door. . . . . . .which he did. Bryce thought it was funny. . . . .and it totally took me back to my childhood.

Ahhhhh, the new phone. The LG Envy 3. Now I can text till my heart's content.:)

Bryce thought it was weird that my mom gave us a PINK baby blanket for Christmas when we still don't know the sex of the baby. And my mom made me tell him that I'm the one who picked it out.:) It was just so much cuter than the blue one, I explained.:)

This is the gift that keeps on giving. . . . . laughs that is.:)

This pillow case was made for my mom by a sweet young girl that she just adores.

Well if you look closely it reads: (reminder: my mom's name is Laura)

L-oyal
A-wesome

U-nderstanding

R-ear

A-mazing

* We're not quite sure if she meant Rare or Real. You can imagine the laughs this one got Christmas morning. . . . . Christmas afternoon. . . . and Christmas night.:)

*The Loot*

Bryce HATES this kind of picture but it's amazing what you can talk your husband into when you're carrying his child.:)

We like to call it "using the pregnancy card".

I think it's starting to get worn out.:)

Of coarse, this is our FAVORITE gift of all!

We're just sooooo excited!!
* * *
Blanding was covered in snow when we arrived for Christmas so we couldn't pass up the chance to go tubing/sledding!

Here's Bryce trying to break his neck.:) Don't worry. . . .he didn't. He got a little nervous and jumped off the sled before it got farther than a couple feet down the hill.

Jett is a tubing fool! He went up and down that hill all by himself about 50 times in 2 hours and loved every minute of it until he got brave and decided to go down the one with a jump. His parting words were "I hit my boon. I think I'm done." So cute!

Thank You Mom & Dad for all the hard work and time you put into making Christmas fun & special for us all!

We love you!!

All I Want For Christmas. . . .

Our Christmas list this year is a little different than most- -

you won't find anything on it that can be bought at Walmart, Best Buy, the closest mall or even the Internet. The one thing that is on our Christmas list in big bold letters that has remained on the list, and every other list for that matter, for the last few years is one of those things that Santa cannot make at his toy shop.

With the help of a very intelligent & wonderful fertility specialist and a HUGE blessing from our Heavenly Father, Bryce and I will have the merriest Christmas of all!
*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

That's right! We're PREGNANT!

And we've never been so excited!!! We feel so blessed!!

* * *

I'm 10 weeks now and just had my 2nd ultrasound today. I heard the most amazing sound- - It was my beautiful little baby's heart beat going 169 beats/minute! And it was already waving at mom & dad.:) So cute! It still seems so surreal!

Dr.Whitten(fertility specialist) says the baby looks/sounds healthy and released me from his care over to my obstetrician.

Words cannot express how thankful, excited & blessed we feel!

S-N-O-W

I know everyone else in the Western United States is getting dumped with snow this week but it really is a rare occasion that we get snow in Lovelock. I was actually really excited to see it snowing!! I just said to Bryce the other day "I wonder if we're going to get any snow in Lovelock this winter?" And sure enough two days later I was snuggled up on the couch on a Sunday afternoon watching Christmas movies "with" my snoring husband when I look out the window and see SNOW! It was a perfect "Christmas season moment".:) Boy has it been COLD though! Ok so not as cold as lets say......Omaha but we've turned into wimps since being away for the 2nd winter and 6 degrees is cold!!!!

It was snowing again when I woke up this morning and it hasn't stopped yet!! I didn't think Nevada got this much snow! What's going on?? I know that Lovelock wasn't expecting this much snow either because I don't think we even have snow plows! I'm serious! The roads are horrible and they stay that way for days!

I'm really not complaining about the snow just yet. I'm enjoying it for now. But give it a couple weeks and I'll be wishing it was spring.:)

It's Your Birthday!!

I just wanted to wish my OLDer brother a Happy Birthday!!

I've lost track of how many years old he is.:) He still looks great though doesn't he?

So here's a Happy Birthday shout-out to my handsome, hardworking, perfectionist, funny, intelligent, and a great dad- - OLDer brother!

Love Ya!

New Moon x 2

Let me just start out by saying that I realize I may be a little obsessed and a little dorky.:)

- - -

I just happened to see New Moon two nights in a row. I went to the Thursday midnight showing with some friends and then I went Friday night with a couple co-workers. And it was just as good the second time around. Bryce was out of town so it was a good excuse to just hang out with the girls and drool over a 17 year old.:)
Let me clear something up- - I have always been an Edward fan while reading the books but when it comes to the movies I'm Team Jacob all the way. Robert Pattinson just doesn't really do anything for me and seriously. . . . . skinny & pale with a hairy chest or tan & smooth with an 8-pack?! That's a given!!

I thought the movie was awesome! The acting was 100% better and it followed the true story line much better than Twilight did. There were some funny lines in it that I wasn't expecting and the wolves were freakin' scary. I give it 5 stars!!

What did you think of the movie?

We LOVE visitors!!

. . . . . especially when they are as great as Mom & Dad Nielson!

They made the long 11 hour trip to Lovelock last Thursday and spent the whole weekend with us.

GOSH, it was so good to have them here!

* * *

On Saturday while my dad and Bryce went Chukar hunting my mom and I went on our semi-annual shopping trip in Reno!! It's usually a two or three day event but we managed to get nearly all of it done in one day. And YES.....we did stop to eat.....twice.;)

Once the shopping is done our favorite thing to do is come home & set-up all of our purchases on the bed and look at everything we got.:)

What can I say......we love to shop!!

* * *

It was so good to spend some time with my parents! Watching movies, eating out, eating in, shopping, hunting, laughing & playing Mexican train. . . . . . it was a great weekend!

Thanks MOM & DAD for coming to see us! We love you!

Happy Halloween!

So Halloween has come and gone and again I'm late posting pictures.

Oh well huh....better late than never.:)
- - -

This year the Young Women decided to organize and put together the ward Halloween party which means the Young Women's presidency were thrown into it as well and that includes me. Bryce and I aren't huge on dressing up for Halloween but I told Bryce that we HAD to this year because it would be fun!!! Right??

- - -

Introducing. . . . Ellie Mae & her husband the "Gamer".

Bryce wasn't too fond of the costume I dreamed up but he made the best of it.:)

Actually, he ROCKED IT!:)

There were some great costumes and all in all it was a fun night. A lot of work though!
Here are some of the cute costumes we saw that night:

Some of my young women- The blind ref., Sleeping beauty & the CSI agent.

Alice in Wonderland & the Cheshire cat. So cute!

Arrrgggghhh! Pirates!

Cutest little Lady Bug!

Zombie.....I think.:)

And this is the cutest Circus family EVER! Love it!

So Happy Halloween y'all!!!

Love, Ellie Mae

Fall is Delicious :)

What is it about fall that makes me want to bake?

Fall simply reminds me of delicious foods like pumpkin spice bread, Halloween cookies, homemade soups, apple cider.........the list goes on and on.

This is also the time of year that I cuss the size of my counter space in my small apartment kitchen!!! Ahhhhh!!

I decided to make sugar cookies for a potluck we had at work last week. They turned out yuuuuuuummmy! I got lots of compliments on them, which made me feel better about spending 5 hours of my time baking, frosting, and decorating them.:)

* * *

So here's to fall, delicious food and gaining 5 lbs. of winter insulation around the mid-section.:)

Cute New Stuff!!

Scentsy introduced a new catalog last month just in time for the holidays and let me tell you..........they have some SUPER cute new stuff, not to mention lots of delicious Fall/Winter scents! Some of the new warmers include: Mid-size warmers (for those smaller spaces), Design It Yourself warmers and LOTS of cute new plug-in warmers!

* * *

Check out October's warmer of month- Plymouth!

SO CUTE!!

* * *
For you college sports fans they've created this new line of warmers! Makes for a fun gift too!
And. . . . . (drum roll please). . . . .


The 2009 Holiday Collection!!

Plug-ins & Full-size warmers!! These will be available November 1st!

* * *

For a better look at these NEW warmers and all the NEW stuff in the Fall/Winter catalog go to my NEW revamped website: www.scentsy.com/bshields.

Happy Scentsy Shopping!!:)

Could it be??

Call it whatever you want you want- Flu, Swine flu, H1N1, all I know is that I'm sick and I don't have time for it! I had to call in sick for work tonight, the dishes are piling up, as is the laundry, and it takes all I have just to get off this couch!

Those of you that get sick and have kiddos to take care of.....I don't know how you do it!

* * *

I just have to share this picture with all of you. . . . .

And NO it's not a picture of me.

We have this picture up at the nurses station at work. The caption under it reads "If you look anything like this. . . . . you might have the swine flu.":)
It's so ugly but sooooo funny.:)
* * *
Well, my head & neck now hurt from holding them up to write this post so that's all for now. I hope I get better real soon!

The "Tail" of Jack of Cat- -

Once upon a time there was a fat black cat who loved to chase flies, moths and any other insect that happened to sneak into the apartment.

One evening, while trying to swat a fly, Jack the cat jumped up on the window seal; which was exactly what he always does except this time. . . . . . .

. . . . .he happened to dip his little black tail into some very melted wax.

Not the sharpest tool in the shed.:)

Because of his inability to communicate with humans, his mommy didn't find out about this mishap until the next morning. Of course by that time it was hard as a rock!! What did his mommy do you ask?. . . . . She googled it!. . . . obviously.

Note: baby oil DOES NOT get wax out of pet hair, it just makes their tail greasy!:) And good luck trying to make a cat sit still while you try to rub wax out of their tail.
* * *
There is no happy ending to this little story. It's been 8 days and Jack the cat still has wax in his tail.:)
Eventually he'll lick it all off I guess.

Dental Procedures Suck!!!

Am I the biggest wimp in the world or do most people HATE dental procedures as much as I do??
* * *

I finally got dental insurance and decided I'd better go to the dentist since it'd been over a year since I'd gone. The last time I'd gone to the dentist I had to have a crown put on and it was literally the WORST experience of my life!!! I thought to myself..... if I ever have to have this done again just knock me out and wake me up in a month when the pain is gone and I can chew food again.:)

So anyway, I found this good dentist in Reno and went in for a "New patient consult". They did x-rays and a cleaning and that was that. Well. . . . after the dentist reviewed my x-rays he told me that 1) I need a filling on one of my back molars and 2) I NEED A ROOT CANAL!!!!

* * *

So I went in last week for my filling and it's been so long since I had to have one that I'd forgotten that you actually have to have shots just for a filling! It's a good thing I wasn't expecting it because I would have had so much anxiety just for a stupid filling!

Well the procedure itself wasn't so bad..... I guess, but the entire left side of my face was numb for like 4 hours afterwards! Gosh, I hate that!!!! I was so worried that I was going to bite my tongue! You could have mistaken me for a stroke victim. . . .seriously! What a miserable experience but I know that it's going to be NOTHING compared to the dreaded root canal! I have not scheduled it yet and I don't plan to until next year!!! It will take me that long to mentally prepare for it.:)

California Dreamin'

I just got home from the best vacation EVER!!!

Just imagine- warm weather, a beach house, riding bikes on the beach, walking down the beach at night &. . . . . David Cook !!

It just doesn't get much better than that!!!

* * *

My husband has told me that I've been on a perpetual vacation this summer which I don't disagree with but can't help but enjoy.:) So I'm very glad to have ended my summer vacations with this one! It was awesome!!!!!

* * *

I was in Oceanside, California, with my mom and her friend Francis for 4 days which was not nearly enough time at the beach.:) It might just be my favorite place EVER!

We rented bikes and rode around everywhere! I felt like a kid but it was awesome! Oceanside is the coolest little beach town and the weather was great!


This is our little beach house. It's two separate apartments- one top and one bottom apartment, which was ours. We could hear the ocean at night while laying in bed!

And there's always time for a pedicure right?

We picked colors to match our outfits for. . . . . .

. . . . . . . the David Cook Concert!!!

This was actually our original reason for going to California.:)

You all know what huge nerdy American Idol fans my mom and I are and one of our favorite all time American Idols was David Cook!

We've been wanting to go to one of his concerts and this was the closest one we could get to.

If only he knew the sacrifices of his fans!:)

Let me just start with the concert details by telling you that it was in a small theater in downtown San Diego. I was standing in line to buy my David Cook concert tour t-shirt (I realize how dorky this all sounds but it's me, so take it or leave it.:)) when I heard this lady say that David Cook just walked right in front of her car in the parking garage headed to his bus! I'm thinking "shut up" & "where's my mom?" & "Where's this bus?" So I complete my purchase, find my mom and drag her out to the side of the building where what do ya know, there's a huge bus parked near the curb with about 20 or so fans standing there with pen and paper in hand. So I hear this guy say that they watched David walk in there but he hasn't come out yet. The concert wasn't going to start for another half hour so I said "Mom, we're staying here until we can see David Cook walk off that bus!"

At one point this guy walks off the bus with these 3 girls and we ask the girls "So is David in there?" because by this time its like 7:45 PM and the concert was supposed to start at 7:30. And the girl turns to all of us with this snotty look and says "No, he's not." So about 1/2 the fans that were standing there believed her and left to go back inside. Those of us that were faithful and knew that he had to still be in there stayed and waited.

Well, about 10 minutes later the bus door opens up and off steps David Cook! It was AWESOME!!

I can't quite describe how exciting it was so you'll just have to try to imagine it.:)

So. . . . . on with the concert. There really wasn't a bad seat in the house because it was such a small venue! David said that it was the only show they were playing that didn't have a opener which meant that he had more time with us. He called it "An evening with David Cook" and then laughed about how cheesy that sounded.

It seriously was so cool because of how small and personal it seemed. He would talk between songs and just say funny stuff. People in the crowd kept screaming things at him and he would answer them with "I love you too" or "What was that?"

Here's David just chillin' :)

Tell me he's not just looking right at me in this picture!!

We were in the front row of the balcony and the lights shined on us a lot so I'm totally convinced that he saw me. I'm serious!!:)
I took SOOOO many pictures it's ridiculous! I think I could make a movie with still shots.:)

It was the BEST CONCERT EVER and I get excited just talking about it! AWESOME!!!!

* * *

We had 2 more days on the beach following the concert and we did a lot of

. . . . lounging, reading. . . . . .

. . . . & hanging out by the water.

(this picture replaces one of me in my swimsuit because lets face it, the birds looked waaay better.)

Thanks again Mom for the awesome vacation! It will go down in the history books as one of the best!

* * *

Actually, we loved it sooooo much we're taking the whole family and going back for Christmas!

Oh I'm counting the days!!:)