Disneyland

so before all the graduation festivities, we made a trip down to celebrate the oldest grandchild in our family,
demi's,
sweet 16!

she got a 1967 Mustang that I don't have a single picture of.
but she was surprised.

then I talked my mom and BOTH sisters into going down to Disneyland with us.
you see I was very strategic about my trip.
we had to go before beckam turned 3 while he was still FREE, which meant before Jan.
but also before the baby, which meant before Oct.
and before the schools let out for summer, before it got too stinkin HOT and before I was too stinkin pregnant to enjoy it,
which meant we had to go in May and since I had already traveled 3/4 of the way there...it was PERFECT!
And they were all game.
It was an AWESOME day. The kids were perfect and had so much fun.
Everyone but Beckam and I could go on all the rides this year. Jaden's favorite: "Water" Mountain (aka Splash Mountain) and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Beckam was such a good sport and waited so patiently for the big kids to get off the rides we couldn't go on. He napped when he was tired and since Mimi was with us, ate every time he thought about being hungry.
I've had so much fun hanging out with my mom lately.
she's such a great sport and so much fun!
jaden LOVED being with all of these cousins. I did get chosen to ride ONE ride with him but only because he HAD to go with an adult.

spending the day with my sisters was such a treat!

this is the ONE I got chosen to ride on with him:disneyland is even better than when I was a kid. it's so streamlined now. the longest wait we had was 30 min. and we only did that 4 times, which is a lot these days but the crowd wasn't big enough for the fast track pass lines to be open.it was so sweet to see beckam's reaction when he saw Micky and Minnie in the parade.
the picture doesn't even capture how mesmerized he was and how magical the scene was.
this is the tired crowd after a long day.

Disneyland is so magical but I've come to realize that it may only be that way for those of us that experienced the magic as kids. it's even better to watch your kids enjoy it.
everyone was so tolerant of my anal-retentive nature in managing and organizing our day.
and we made it onto to everything we wanted.
I always want to buy the 2-day pass for disneyland but after a full day of it, I'm always glad I don't have to go back again the next day.
we returned home from that trip on a Tues. and then family started arriving on thurs. for the graduation celebration and stayed until sunday. interestingly, while laying in his bed sunday night, jaden told his dad he never wanted to go back to disneyland again "because it's so freaky." he changed his mind on monday. it was such a surprise because he never acted the least bit scared or apprehensive the whole day we were there and never said anything about a ride being scary. apparently, the two he really didn't like were indiana jones and the haunted house. of course, "pirates" always causes those mixed emotions--doesn't it?
love it/hate it kind of relationship.

P.S.
I love you disneyland and jaden and I have talked about coming once more this summer, just the two of us to check out your newest attractions opening this summer: the new nemo submarine ride, tom sawyer's island as a pirates lair, tarzan's tree house and to do the jedi training, which we didn't make it to. jaden's confident that he'd take on darth vader and darth mal. so maybe we'll see you again soon. just maybe.

Happy Birthdays

Did you know TODAY is a very special day?! Today, the 24th Day of May are the birth days of two of my most VERY favorite people in the world! One was born in the year 1924 and the other in 1978.

I present them to you now:
The amazing Micah K. Nilsson
and the Lovely Doris J. Smith

Then three years ago in the year 2004, another little soul entered this world on this very same day--my niece Britney. There is NO doubt that today is reserved for extremely special individuals!

here HE is at a young 28--a year ago today

does he look any older?
(Jaden says, "Who is that guy?")

he's requested the same cake this year--
a DIVINE-modified-box-cake recipe
(involving both sour cream and chocolate pudding)
courtesy of Terri Maughan!

wishing you ALL a very happy and special
birthday!

Thoughts on the Esquire

It's emotional for me to even allow my thoughts to contemplate the last three years and the magnitude of what's been accomplished.

Completing law school has something to do with it but this man's ability to remain the most devoted, dedicated, attentive, helpful, understanding, sympathetic, loving, caring, spectacular, amazing, honest, responsible husband and father in the process is really what it's all about!
I honestly and truly have NO idea how he does it. It seems impossible that someone could excel in every area of their life like Micah does--but he does it...over and over and over. His family is always his first priority and his wife most especially. It is the greatest gift any wife/mother could ask for!
The one thing I can think of that was sacrificed was being in the top 10% of his class. If you know Micah, you know that is a HUGE sacrifice (although he wasn't very far behind,11-15%). But I know if you ask him, he'd say it was well worth it.
I am so overwhelmed with appreciation and gratitude for this man that I married and who my children have the privilege to call daddy! He really is my HERO.
Thank You Micah for making what, in the beginning, seemed like such a hurdle--an experience I'll look back on with many fond memories and happiness! You are an AMAZING man!
I LOVE you!

Micah Nilsson, Esquire

Receiving a Juris Doctor degree was more fun than . . . well, it was a lot of fun. (I was going to make a pun on receiving so many leis, but I'll refrain).Staying true to Hawaiian tradition,
each family member presented me with a lei, which was totally unexpected and a nice surprise!

It was really great having so much family here!

Some of those who couldn't make it sent well-wishes by way of
cookie bouquets and congratulatory cell phone photos.

Beckam (Evan and Raia) got to stay home and play with Hannah (our babysitter)--we didn't think they'd appreciate the excitement of the commencement ceremony

(although it truly was an amazing ceremony-very entertaining talks).

When I got home, Beckam ran to me at first, but upon getting closer he wasn't so sure about my getup . . . and took off.

The post-party featuring the panini bar and fondue fountain was awesome!
(Lolly thought ahead and had separate fondue pots: one for adults and one for kids--after the first stick hit the ground and was immediately picked up and reused, we were grateful for that forethought).

Don't call me with your legal problems yet, I still have to pass the bar
(and it's likely I never took that class)

Happy Mother's Day!

It's a BOY!

Number three!!!

Who's really surprised considering those Nilsson genes. We are all very excited - with a little disappointment. Jaden's response was: "Ah Shucks!" He is so great with little kids and babies and little girls in particular. He was really hoping for a little sister this time. And of course, Daddy wants his little girl.

My mom's response is that this just means we're definitely having more kids (she mentioned perhaps two girls still coming), but I'm not sure we'll follow her example of trying. After she had a boy, a girl, then FOUR more boys I think we just might learn from our predecessors on this one. But it is much too early to know . . .

I told Lolly that I really wanted to walk my daughter down the aisle when she gets married; then Lolly reminded me that if they are sealed in the temple right off I wouldn't really get to do that anyway - that made me feel a little better.

I can't express how much I love my boys and how excited I am to have another. I also can't express how much I love my wife and am grateful to her. She rocks! That is one of the reasons that Jaden and I started a tradition of singing her a Mother's Day song every year. I'm not sure how this real song goes - we found in the Children's Songbook and just adapted it. You really need to hear Jaden singing it - but since he and Beckam are down south with their mother today (they are heading to Disneyland tomorrow) I'm attempting to post it on here for her. Cut the quality some slack as it was literally a one-take with a crude program.

"The Movie Actors"

--The Band

They're officially "Nilsson's."
They set up their band in the living room (being naked isn't necessarily a qualifying factor).
In high school, the Nilsson boys had the master bedroom in their home.
Bikes hung from the ceiling, a drum set was set up in the corner complete with amps and electric guitars. Us girls would show up to watch "band practice." After we were married, Adam, Micah's eldest brother, would clear out the dining room and set up his music studio.

I was going to put up a movie clip of "The Movie Actors" band practice tonight but it just sounds like racket. (did I just say that? I sound like the mom of a teenage band member).

Lyrics included:
"we will, we will rock you, sock you, hit you, drop you.
we will shake you, bake you, lalalala shake you."

"all my girlfriends, oh all my girlfriend are all lovely. can't stand it, oh no-siree,
all my heroes have been in jail don't know what to do." (part of a line from camp 3's "zion"--Adam's band)

"I don't know what I am to do, but I know, the person loves me, and if you're wondering who, that person is, it would be my grandfather."

"Who is the mother of me and Joseph? Mommies are the best, in the world, you should hug them everyday, they are so beautiful in your heart, they can't go away."

"daddies are the very best, they love you so much. and you should always be a righteous boy."

beckam sang back-up vocals.

the songs always ended in "yeah" with thumbs up.

we're off for the weekend. check back to see if we have any luck with our "preliminary" ultrasound....

Blogging Funk

I think this is normal. I've seen it before.

I'm in a blogging funk.

I hope it doesn't last long because I really enjoy blogging.

and I really enjoy YOUR blog updates.
and I'm sorry that I haven't been keeping up on my end.

wish me luck. I want to come back.

here is a little photo journal for now.

THAT trip to san fransisco
this is where I spotted jaden as we were standing in line for the trolley ride.
he was trying to get a better look at the pirate ship.

don't miss the golden gate there in the background.
beckam on his "hog"he finally figured out pedaling

we told the boys they could wait outside on the stairs for us to leave for church
(before I realized their hair hadn't been combed)
when micah looked out the window, this is what he saw
jaden told beckam to lay down on his lap again, like he was before, so daddy could take a picture
I just LOVE these boys!!
we are so lucky. they are so much fun.
I can't believe my "baby" is so big.
nobody ever believes he's only recently turned 2.
he also talks like a 5 year old:
"I already told you that," "okayyyy,"
"no, YOU [do such and such]," "is this dangerous?" (although our 5 year old never asked that question)

today, I heard beckam crying while at the playground. I found him at the base of the stairs with his "hog" tipped over. I asked him if he had ridden down the stairs and he said yes. when I told micah, he said, "no way, that doesn't sound like something he would do." he was right. when beckam reenacted the accident he was actually trying to ride UP the stairs and flipped backwards or perhaps sideways.

oh and in other news, I was just reminded that I felt the baby moving yesterday and more today.
I'm nearly 18 weeks so it's probably been happening for awhile and I didn't realize it.
only 3 weeks until G day (aka ultrasound, gender day--if it'll cooperate).

have I told you about our exciting excursions lately?

it started with that eventful trip to the bay. we were lucky enough to have jenny come stay with us for a few days over her spring break and we decided to go visit erin while she was here. we arrived friday, late afternoon. during our visit, we walked the streets of china town, saw a fortune cookie factory that was incredibly interesting, toured HM, saw cannons being fired aboard a pirate ship, rode a trolley--jaden even got to hold on to a pole on the outside for one leg of the trip, ate at the rain forest cafe and had our first taste of ethiopian cuisine.
oh yeah and whilst awaiting the arrival of the check at said authentic eatery, a lady comes running to our table asking if we drive an acura suv to only then inform us that it had just been broken into and whatever was attached to our windshield stolen. that would be our portable gps. we always considered its portability a bonus, hum. so saturday, what was supposed to be 45 min. turned into most of the afternoon being spent at the glass shop. of course we had to leave saturday evening because a certain furry somethin' would be arriving in the morning to hide the easter eggs. and we left beckam's stroller at home. oh, and on our way back to erin's house on friday evening our car started making this strange knocking noise. and I'll just stop there.

after a good nights sleep and the morning festivities, including creamed eggs on toast, I got the courage back to pack up again for our road trip to arizona. "our" being me and the boys (just the little ones). we were a little curious about that knocking noise considering the hundreds of miles I'd be covering in the next couple of days so micah set out to access the situation. what he found--oh, two of our lug nuts loose enough to turn with his hand. coincidence? I say NO. had it not been for our lug nut locks, I think we may have been missing more than our gps (micah's not convinced).

I'm happy to report our trip to arizona was perfectly smooth and only eventful by way of visiting with old friends and family (including my 93? year old great, great aunt) and fun kid activities. I have to give a shout out to my incredible boys, who I'd wager are the best 2 and 5 year old road trippers ever. we were on the road for 13 hours each way (broken down to 4 hrs. one day and 9 the next) and there was never a complaint heard or a whine uttered--AMAZING! yes, I realize that will ALL change in 6 months but that's precisely why I did it now. I also have to admit that the only dvd watching was during beckam's one nap (each way), which was a welcome and much deserved reward.

so we've just been recovering lately and trying to get back into the groove. I was in bed by 9:30 the first few days, which really cut into my blogging time--I had no idea how exhausted I was. I think we're back now.

Miriam Lovell Photography

we just returned from a HELL-a-tious (is that a word?) trip to san fransisco. I can't post about it yet because it's all too fresh in my mind that I'm afraid you wouldn't hear any of the positive things about it and there were a few--all I want to do is whine about the series of unfortunate events.

so instead I would LOVE to tell you about the package we found upon our arrival home and how much it brightened my spirits.

our cousin miriam (or minna as she's more commonly known to us) has recently launched a line of photo cards. she is so creative and has cards for any occasion.
and she just sent me my very own box. I am so thrilled! they are beautiful!
I didn't realize that it was an actual photo attached to the card.

this is just one of many photos available at
miriamlovell.com
go there now and see for yourself.
I think my very favorites are Places.
but you must see them all.
right here (click.on.here).

April Fools Fun

Our family takes April Fool's Day pretty seriously. I'm glad they do, it is an important and distinguished holiday.

In a nutshell:

My dad and sister tried to trick me into believing that he was dating a 29 year old woman that was very appreciative of my dad's financial generosity. Amy did a GREAT job of being believably concerned about it. I actually didn't realize she was in on it - I thought my dad was just trying to trick us both.

As payback, I called my mom (serving a mission in South Africa) and then conference called my sister. I kept quite so my sister only thought she was talking to my mom. My sister didn't pick up the first call, so my mom left a message detailing how there was some risk of military action in South Africa and all the missionaries were being removed as a precaution. My mom and her companion were able to either come to a state-side temple or come home. My sister was pretty quick in calling the prank - but she was most surprised that I was in on it.

That was just the beginning.

Once Amy was a part of it, and now that we had my mom's message on the machine. We called all of our siblings and our dad to further perpetuate this April First Fun. We didn't get a hold of two brothers (probably wisely screening their calls) and our sister-in-law answered by saying: "whatever it is we don't believe it." Indeed she didn't buy it - although she did say it was a great attempt after hearing the message from my mom.

The brother I did get a hold of was quite convinced - although he brilliantly inserted his own little lie to quickly flush out whether it was a prank. After a few conversations about it (and without having heard the tape yet) he said that he had told his cousin who told his dad who was calling the Church office because he was so concerned. Nice job Myron. Way to flush out the prank.

My dad was equally suspicious at first, but upon hearing the tape he fell for it hook, line, and sinker. This was most rewarding considering my dad's history of pranks (see below). The best part was when he was looking for the news on the web and I told him I'd found some information on it at www.aprlfls.com - gradually adding more vowels until it was abundantly clear that he had been April FOOLED.

Notable Past Pranks:

My dad made a tape with a delayed start. On the tape was the sound of broken glass and the sounds of someone breaking into the house. When he and my mom went to bed he started the tape and turned the volume up. Not too long later my mom hears the sound of breaking glass and excitedly tries to get my dad to go downstairs because someone's breaking in. My dad cowered under the covers and refused to go down. My mom got so mad at this "chicken" behavior and finally went down on her own - after pounding on my dad as subtle coercion to take care of things - which was unsuccessful.
Lolly would kill me if I tried something like this.

While on her mission, my sister wrote a letter telling us that she was being transfered from New York Spanish speaking to the Salt Lake City Temple Visitor's Center. Before my mom even finished the letter (in which the April Fool's disclaimer was subtly expressed) she called the Bishop and others, very sad about the transfer. This is one of the reasons why this years Payback was so enjoyable.


While at Ricks College, some friends and I switched the living room and dining room furniture between two apartments (and much of their kitchenware) while they were sleeping. We also tied the doorhandles shut in a dorm hall (with facing doorhandles) and lined up all the vacuum cleaners from the entire building in their hall and turned them on.

While on my mission, I sent my zone on an early morning wild-goose hunt walking from chapel to chapel only to find another note saying the meeting got changed to another location. The end result was, of course, no meeting but what was hopefully a motivating activity/lesson (not the prank, the banana splits).

Once we called my mom on her way from California to Salt Lake for General Conference and told her that conference was canceled due to a terrorist threat.

Oh so many more . . . . Like my sister said: We're going to have to assign different days to celebrate this dignified holiday. Then we'd have to keep track of which days were allowable prank days from the different people. This would spice things up even more.

it's official

we have booked our campsite for

Limekiln State Park in Big Sur.
we'll stay the night thursday, august 16
and leave on saturday the 18th.

unless they'll let us stay one more night.
we'll be living in monterey by then,
which is only an hour away
so we can hang out there sat. night.

our space accommodates 8,
which will cover our family and
the jeromy and carrie dyer family.
this is our 2nd limekiln camping trip together
and it was our turn to book.

spaces are extremely limited.

so family (and friends),
if you're game,
book your reservation NOW.

click on the Limekiln link above
and then on "reservations & fees."
ours is a tent space only.
but reservations are not site specific.

we discovered this hidden treasure during our first year of marriage while living in san luis obispo. I randomly selected this campground from all others along the 90 mile Big Sur coastline and surprised micah for his birthday. the campsites are under the redwoods along a beautiful creek while others overlook the ocean. the creek flows all the way down to the ocean and up to a beautiful waterfall. after 5 years, it was so interesting to see how much the fall had changed. much of the pool had been filled from landslides and the amount of water falling was much less.
still amazing and beautiful!

Is it too early to post about Mother’s Day?

(Note: This is my inaugural post in the blogging-world. Micah)

The Little Boy Found, by William Blake (1791)

The little boy lost in the lonely fen,
Led by the wand’ring light,
Began to cry, but God ever nigh,
Appear’d like his father in white.

He kissed the child & by the hand led
And to his mother brought,
Who in sorrow pale, thro’ the lonely dale
Her little boy weeping sought.

(from Songs of Innocence)

I love my mom, my mother-in-law and my grandmothers. But this praise of the highest order is for my dear wife and the mother of our boys.

During dinner tonight Lolly and Jaden had this exchange.

Lolly:

Thanks for eating your dinner so good, Jaden.

Jaden:

You’re welcome.

Thanks for being a mom.

Thanks for having babies.

Thanks for having me.

I was glad that Jaden expressed what very few mothers get to hear. Thanks. Not just for making the dinner. Not just for sacrificing so much for him everyday. Not just for being the kind of mother that would go through the lonely fen looking for her lost child. But thanks for being my mother.

Thanks for deciding to have me. Thanks for giving birth to me. Thanks for staying up with me, feeding me, bathing me, teaching me how to walk, how to talk.

Thanks for always asking about my day after school, even when my responses are somewhat lacking. Thanks for praying with me and teaching me about my Heavenly Father.

Thanks for everything. Basically . . . as summed up by Jaden (and expandable to all mothers):

“Thanks for having me.”

can anyone guess

where you can do this
AND this
all on the same day?!

here's another hint
it was amazingly beautiful
(why is this the 1st time I've ever been I ask you?!!!
it won't be the last.)

what a fabulous weekend with family
for such an exciting cause.
we were celebrating the nuptials of
shane and lauren dyer.
(click above)
she's an incredible girl and we're so happy for them!

here's some more pics of the FUN:
THANK YOU dyers
for including us in this perfect weekend.
so FUN.

The Goods

ONE girl made a whole LOT of people happy todaywith this generous donation.

15 ENORMOUS bags of loot were transported from the hill residence in bakersfield
here to solano park to bless the lives of many.
21 families at last count.
when jaden got home from school and saw the scene he asked his dad,
"did you sell anything yet?"
micah replied, "well, we're not selling it but we've given a lot away."
jaden: "why aren't you selling it? don't you want to make some money?"
micah: "since auntie shelli gave it to us, we're giving it to other people."
--end of discussion--

2 minutes later, jaden returns with these:
and his cash register and announces,
"10 dollars for this side and 12 dollars for that one."
then he waits for a second and wonders why no one is coming.
micah was ever so proud. a boy after his own heart.

there was something for everyone:

shell, we can't THANK YOU enough.
you can't even imagine how grateful everyone was!

YOU are AMAZING!
in my lifetime, I hope you can feel charity at its finest for yourself.
we loved seeing you and your family this weekend.
we LOVE you!

a womb with a view

I know, not a very good one.

but good enough for us to see a 9 1/2 week old baby with a HEARTBEAT.

jaden is REALLY excited and would LOVE a SISTER.
he took this picture with him to school today.

beckam thinks a dog would be nice:
"beckam, do you want a baby brother or sister?"
"no, a DOG."

WE JUST WANTED YOU TO KNOW!

today

jaden comes running in the house upon returning from church after being told to come inside to change clothes to get ready for our picnic and exclaims,
"mom! I started to stay outside to play but then I remembered...EXACTNESS...and I ran right inside."
LOVE THAT BOY!! may he always remember exactness.
AND, in reflecting on his recent field-trip to the library and getting to see behind the scenes of the book return, he said, "that was such a great opportunity."

as beckam is walking out of the house on his way to our picnic with his ovaltine, he says, "I going drink my coffee outside."
you know, since that's a drink of choice in our house--WHAT?! where do they come up with these things?! oh yeah, from my family. he's also been heard from the backseat calling, "I want my starbucks." ever tried their strawberry creams? he knows what's good.