Blah, Blah, Blog

Lately I've been just kinda blah, and just haven't felt like blogging, sorry. So, I'm blogging today out of obligation, so I can get this stuff down for my own journaling purposes. So, I'm sorry about the lack of creativity and fun. :)

We had a great Thanksgiving and loved spending time with our families! My assignment for dinner this year was a pie (only one) and mashed potatoes. What, do they not trust my cooking skills? I don't blame them too much! Me and my sisters got together for our annual night before Thanksgiving pie making extravaganza. It always gets funner and funner the later it gets. My one pie took two trips to Sara's house so we could avoid the overcrowded grocery store, one trip to the overcrowded grocery store, and of course a late night trip to QT, and until 1:00 am to get done.

I'm really not that much shorter than my sisters, really.

Kirk whipped up some dressing for Thanksgiving dinner too, just because he wanted to try out one he had seen on the Food Network. He definitely should be the chef in our house. It was delicious!

We ate dinner at the Nielson's, and let the cousins all run and play outside while we ate and ate and ate. It was a beautiful day, and probably one of the first years I didn't stress about kids not getting their naps or not eating enough and such. It was great!

My brother, Chris and his wife Beth and cutie daughter Sophia came in from SLC, so we partied it up Jones style too! (Jones style includes: staying up way too late the first night talking and laughing, then being kinda cranky the next day because we're so tired, but continuing to have to hang out and party and of course eating and eating all the time.)

We all tried to get Sophie to like us best, but she was pretty leery of all us adult weirdos. My girls thought she was so cute and fun, and she ended up liking them best, I think because they weren't trying too hard to gain her favor.

Chris and Sophia

We put up all our Christmas stuff on Saturday after Thanksgiving. Our Christmas tree stand broke last year, and Kirk the handyman fixed a new one, but then had to use some of the 2x4's when he installed the doggie door a few weeks ago, so he fixed the stand again. As soon as we put the tree all together and put it in, the fixed stand broke, so he went off to Home Depot to get stuff to make a new stand. The new stand turned out to be quite a project, but it ended up working great. But a few hours after getting it all decorated and in the new stand, the lights all went out. After being super ticked about it, Kirk figured out that it just blew a fuse (maybe because he tried to plug all 5 strands into one plug), and changed out the fuses so our Christmas tree is up and working - for now. Just remind me to get a new tree, maybe even a pre-lit one, after Christmas when they all go on sale!

Lizzie and Brynn have been my re-decorators since we put up all our Christmas stuff. Our tree has about a million balls in the lower front area, and this nativity has been rearranged so that everybody has a good view of baby Jesus. I thought it was kinda cute.

Noelle's class and grade have been learning about Greek mythology for the past several weeks. I kinda don't know why they need to learn about this, and especially for so long, but that's cool. They did a fun Greek Olympic event thing. Here is Noelle after she jumped a whopping 32 inches at the standing long jump.

Then she totally rocked it at the "chariot" races, coming in first out of all the girls. Then they made her race three more times in a row for championships, and it burned out all her leg muscles, so she came in last. Dang.


Last Sunday we had the annual Nielson Bingo night where Marlene has a huge bingo night for all the grand kids, where they get super cool prizes when they win bingo. This year the coveted prize? A super loud fog horn blower thing. Not annoying - I promise.

It wouldn't be a true Nielson event without Kirk and his brothers having some kind of a contest - usually involving food or running into things. Here they are all eating a whole packet of the super sour lucas(?) salt stuff.

And the aftermath. I think Kent (far right) is blowing a powder smoke ring in Kade's face.

Fun times!