Merry Day After Christmas

My kids opened one present each at my house and then we loaded up the car and spent the rest of the morning at Abby and Abba's (Grandma and Grandpa). They were up at 6:40 and I wasn't too happy since Tyler went in and woke up the girls. We had them wait in their room for 20 minutes while we slowly got out of bed. They were beyond excited as they squealed in the room. I could hear Tyler telling the girls that I was putting the final touches on Christmas. I told them not to get too excited since most of the gifts were at Abby's house. They all said it was the best day of their lives. I got the three girls skates and they only take them off to sleep!





My nephew, Elias, is the one in green. The rest of the mob is mine. What a party we gad.

10 years!

Tyler has been my buddy since he was born in Alabama while Marshall was working all day and going to night school. We have spent so many years having fun together and I can hardly believe that he turned 10 yesterday. He is such a great person to be around. He is always the life of the party and kind to everyone. I am a proud mom.

Grandma gave him this mini racer and he is having the time of his life (and so am I). It goes about 10 mph and he feels like that is fast. He is feeling the freedom. Tyler asked me if it feels like that to drive a car. I said far from it! His toy is much better!

Dressed in White

The Nickel family before the baptism. Hannah was so excited to wear sponge curlers to bed the night before. Her hair is so straight and she loved to have "princess hair" for the day.



Hannah felt like she was in heaven with all of the happy, positive things around her. Her grandpa happens to be our bishop so he was able to interview her for baptism and that was sweet. He said that she knew all of the answers, which pleased me! Tyler, her big brother, gave a short talk that was wonderful. He is such a great speaker and so comfortable in front of a crowd. Her grandma, Alexis, also spoke and shared a great testimony.

I am so proud of my sweet Hannah!

Hannah Banana is Eight!

Hannah woke up today with a huge smile on her face. She is not a morning person, but when it is a special day she can't help but wake up happy. Dad was already gone to work, but left a sweet letter for her on the kitchen table. She loved her berries and cream for breakfast. I also made waffles, but only Tyler and Samantha wanted them.



After Hannah opened her presents and it was almost time to leave for school Tyler pulled her in his room for his "gift" to her. He had the radio on and did a crazy dance for her. He is turning 10 this month and even though it wasn't much, I was glad he thought about her, even if it was just planned 1 minute before!

Hannah's baptism is this Sunday and she can't wait. I will post pictures that night, hopefully.

BOOO!

Tyler woke up this morning at a quarter to seven and said that it was the longest night of his life. They were all so excited to get dressed up this morning for school. We have fun activities planned all day. This is such a fun holiday for these guys. Enjoy the festivities!

Fall Carnival

My kids are so happy and just loving this time of year. Tonight we went to the fall carnival at their school. Hannah won a huge oreo cake at the cake walk and they all attacked it when we got home. They played a ton of games and came home with a bunch of prizes. We attemted to make a mummy costume for Tyler, but he ended up throwing the TP in the garbage before getting in the car. Hannah was Hannah Montana (of course), Sara was a bride and Emily was Dorathy. Spencer came along again as Darth Vadar.

Giddy-up!

It is that special time of year that I love so much. We spent last Friday at the Puyallup Fair and loved it of course! It was 86 degrees and perfectly sunny. That doesn't happen too often so we took advantage of the great weather. The kids went to school for two hours before I picked them up and they just love it when the office calls to dismiss them. They love to be the envy of the classroom. I wish the first picture was of me, but it is my sister in law, Candice. :) I have never looked that good.

Let the fun begin!

We woke up late this morning, but they still got to school on time. We just had a little extra stress. The kids are beyond excited for their first day. The car was so quiet on the way home and it was nice and peaceful to chat with Emily. We will have a fun time together while the older kids are gone learning.

A Trip to the Falls

Marshall had the day off on Wednesday so we took advantage of the sun and headed up to Snoqualmie Falls. The kids hadn't ever been there and they loved it. The observation deck was scary for them, but the hike down was worth the view. Once we got to the observation deck below the kids all wanted to climb over the deck down to the river since we could see others doing it. I braved the steep rocks with my baby and we all made it down and back up without any injuries. We could hear some screaming while we were down there and when we reached the top we knew why. Some lady had tried to climb over the gate at the higher observation deck and had fallen to a ridge and needed to be rescued. Every firefighter and rescue worker in the city was there to help this insane person. We didn't wait around for her to be out, but she was there for quite a while. My kids were very worried about her. That just added to the excitement of the day. On the way home we stopped at a road side fruit stand and bought the best nectarines of the season!

Hiking the Y

This summer our family was able to go to Utah for the month of July and we had a blast. Marshall was working at a sports medicine clinic and having a great time while I took the kids to water parks and playing with their cousins. On Pioneer Day we spent the morning hiking up to the Y in Provo then having a big breakfast and Allan's house. We left the little ones with a baby sitter, but Tyler and Hannah were tough enough to make the journey.

Happy Easter

We had a wonderful sunny Easter. The kids went to an Egg hunt yesterday in the rain, but loved every second of it. Tyler found one of the "special" eggs that had a $1 in it. I hope you all enjoyed this special day!

Pinewood Derby Time

We had a great family night at the Pinewood Derby on Wednesday. Tyler and Marshall had so much fun designing the car and they were pumped to race it. They couldn't get the weights to stay on so they looked good so they ended up putting BBs in it. Tyler thought it was cool to have ammo in his car. There were 32 heats and Tyler ended up second overall. Tyler is on the far left in the group picture and is behind Hannah in the first photo. Hannah is with her cousin, spencer by the track. The second picture is Marshall playing Samantha like a guitar. That is what it looks like anyway.

Until next year...

You got me!

Available or single: Very married...almost 12 years now.
Best friend: Marshall and Heather
Cake or pie: um....both
Drink of choice: good old fashion water or fresca
Essential items used daily: lip gloss from brass plum, baby wipes
Favorite color: to wear...black, to see...yellow
Gummy bears or worms: neither, I like starburst though
Hometown: Lacey, WA
Indulgence: A blizzard after going to the Seattle temple. Dairy Queen is awesome.
January or February: February, it is one step closer to sun
Kids and names: Tyler 9, Hannah 7, Sara 4, Emily 3, and Samantha 3 months
Life is incomplete without: Marshall and kids, they make everything worth it
Marriage date: August 11, 1995
Number of siblings: 1) Aaron 2) Allan 3)Kirsten 4) Heather 5)Stephen
Oranges or apples: both
Phobias or fears: A fear of leaking in public (I am currently breastfeeding)
Quote (favorite): "I love you till the numbers end" (Marshall)
Reason to smile: Marshall thinks I am hot, even though he isn't blind.
Season: Summer time. I LOVE the sun and water.
Tag 3 people:
Unkown fact about me: I never cry, okay about once a year
Vegetables you don't like: I think I like them all, canned peas don't sound good though
Worst habit: I eat too much, if I didn't exercise I would be as big as a house.
X-rays: No thanks, but had a few
Your favorite food: I love seafood (salmon) and salads
Zodiac sign: Taurus

yummy oranges

Don't you remember doing this as a kid? Cut up oranges just take me right back to half time on the soccer field. Love them! Oh and the kids are pretty cute too.

Big Sister, Little Sister

Hannah asked to hold Samantha while she watched a movie and they ended up snuggled together for quite a while. I came out to check on them and I couldn't help but snap a picture of this. I am so blessed to have children who love each other...on most days. I guess it is kind of like them against us!

Samantha with her dad

These are two of my favorite people. I realized last night that I haven't taken many pictures of Samantha so here are a couple new ones. The infant stage is quickly passing by and I am sad to see it go. She is such a cute cudley thing. Last night I woke her up after sleeping for 8 hours and going 9 hours without eating! I have never had a baby give me such a good nights sleep.