Seasons of Change

The seasons are changing and that means changes here, too. Braden said good-bye to the Stover's Gentlemen's Club and his freshman year. He boxed up, packed up and then unloaded at home. He had a great first year at BYU and made some great friends.









While I was in Provo to bring him home, Joe graduated from BYU with his BS in Exercise Science. It was really neat to watch him walk and earn Magna Cum Laude distinction.





That started a whirlwind weekend for our family. After graduation, Darci, Joe, Braden and I headed home to Washington. They watched Kolby play soccer and Melissa play softball.
















Then on Saturday night, we joined Brett in the temple when Braden recieved his endowments. It was beyond wonderful to have Braden, Darci and Joe in the temple with Brett and I. Talk about "joy in your posterity!" Darci was able to renew her driver's licence and her car license tabs so they could return legally to begin her spring term at BYU. I only get to enjoy Braden being home for a short while, and I will relish every day of it~

Viva La Mexico!

We have been anxiously waiting for Braden's mission call to arrive. He has had friends receive theirs, but his availability date to go was later. Finally, on Sunday February 28, the papers were sent to Salt Lake City. He began counting the approximately 10 days for them to arrive back in Provo with a mission assigment. During those 10 days, we signed up for Skype, a video conferencing channel on the internet so we could watch him open the papers. There will be many events take place in his life, especially over the next two years. I just couldn't watch this awesome moment happen on my laptop! So Brett and I secretly went down to Utah to watch him open it on Wednesday night. Tuesday night as we were traveling through Salt Lake, Braden called and said he was probably going to take a test Wednesday afternoon. I told him that might mess up his dinner plans with us...he was a little confused and then I said we were in Sandy and would be in Provo that night. "That's so cool!" He was surprised and happy to share it with us in person. Unfortunately, the mail from SLC didn't come all day Wednesday. Braden kept checking, but no calls came, and about 30 were expected. We had planned on going back home on Thursday, but since we had come 10 hours, we decided to stay for another day, hoping the envelope would come. Thursday morning it came and the Cannon center called Braden. He picked it up and kept it with him all day, not opening it until 9 p.m. He set up the computer so everyone at home could watch. "Elder Nelson, You are herby called to serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Mexico Mexico City East Mission. It is anticipated that you will serve for a period of 24 months. You should report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday, July 21, 2010. You will prepare to preach the gospel in the Spanish language."

Braden's hand was shaking a little as he read the letter. A huge cheer went up from the 45-50 kids gathered around, and Darci and Joe started cheering in Spanish. So exciting and so happy for him! There were 3 other calls opened in Stover hall that night, and many others throughout BYU.
As soon as we were in WiFi range, we started researching and reading about Mexico City and the eastern part of the city and beyond. The more I read, the more I worry, but the more excited for Braden we get also. He wanted to learn a language, and Spanish is a very good one to know. He will make a wonderful missionary and we will enjoy learning and growing with him. The hardest part for me is that I won't get texts from him or hear his voice while he walks home from school. I have to remind myself that it is the Lord's turn to teach and watch over him. And he couldn't be in better hands!

Finally Found the Beach

When we were married, we said we wanted to go to Hawaii on our tenth anniversary. We thought by then we might have saved enough to go. Our tenth anniversary came and went, but life was busy and kids were young. Well, almost 23 years later, we finally found the beaches of Hawaii! Brett was excited to go back to where he went to school for a semester: BYU-Hawaii, and I wanted to go do the one thing I didn't do when I went briefly to Hawaii as a teenager: see Pearl Harbor. It was everything we hoped it would be: warm, relaxing, inspiring and fun! We found beaches to relax on, Luaus to marvel at, whales entertaining us off the shore, and time together.

We stayed in Waikiki for 5 days. We didn't really spend much time in the busy area, but enjoyed walking around at night when everyone seems to be doing the same thing. We learned quickly the highways and roads around the Island. Even after accidentally getting stuck in China Town, we found neat things to see. The statue of King Hamehameha and the ground of the state capitol were fun to walk around. There was a "Year of the Tiger" Cub day camp going on and we saw a pack from an LDS stake there as well as a Chinese Dragon leading a parade. Then we headed for the famous Waikiki beach to people watch. There were guys riding a thin body board along the surf and catamarans coming and going as the sun went down.
On our first full day, we went to Pearl Harbor in the morning. There are so many stories told there! It has a quiet peace about it. What an amazing history Pearl Harbor has. After looking at displays, se watched a short film about the history of Pearl Harbor and the December 7, 1941 attack. We rode a boat out to the USS Arizona Memorial where the ship and it 1100+ soldiers lie at the bottom of the harbor. As we got to the Memorial, my camera unfortunately decided to quit working. I had to stop taking photos and just enjoy the peace and spirit of the surroundings. It was very peaceful, and sad at the same time. There is a place over the sunken ship that oil still (60+ years later) surfaces. They call it "tears". People threw flowers in the water and left leis at the names of those lost there.
We left Pearl Harbor and drove up above Honolulu to look over the city and ocean, all the way to Diamond Head. It was a stunning view. From there we could see the Punchbowl. It is a war memorial to all those who have fought in wars but whose remains are known only to God. It is surrounded by a cemetary for veterans. There were panels and diagrams of each of the major conflicts: WW1, WW2, Korean Conflict, Vietnam War. It was amazing to learn the details of the great battles and events that swung the tide of each war.







Brett wanted to go up to the North Shore of Oahu and watch the surfers. The tide was high and they were out in force. We sat on Sunset beach and watched as they waited and then rode as long as they could the huge waves. Whiloe we were watching, I noticed further out two spouts of water occasionally going into the air: whales! It was really addicting to watch for them, not knowing when they might surface again. Brett saw a fin go up and over and I saw a tail and a complete breach out of the water! We found throughout our trip, if we looked over at the ocean for very long, we could find whales passing through!
We walked around the temple in Laiae, and the school. It hasn't changed too much from when Brett was there as far as he could tell. Of course we had to eat some shrimp from a shrimp truck (all we have at home are taco trucks, but same kind of thing) and the best they say is Giovannis Shrimp truck. It was slathered in garlic and butter. Probably not great for the heart, but really good!

Then it was on to Halaewa and some Matsomoto's shave ice. That hadn't changed much either! Just a little store with a line up of people to get shave ice served on top of beans (yuck) of ice cream. Raspberry, Strawberry, Sour lemonade!
We spent a day at the Polynesian Cultural Center and thoroughly enjoyed the culture, beauty and humor of it all. We ate at the Luau, including trying poi, and really enjoyed the evening show: Ha the Breath of Life. The dancers were so professional and the story was compelling. It included all the different dances of the islands and unique costumes for each.
We also walked around the temple which is under renovation and closed. But the visitors center was open and had recently been remodeled and updated. I really liked Laie and there was a lookout that we walked out to where the waves just pounded in. The sound of the waves hurling themselves against the rocks was awesome.











On Oahu, we found a new development at Ko Olina that was really beautiful. The developers had made 4 lagoons and surrounded them with sand and a grassy area. Right next to the cars, there was grass and palm tree, overlooking a calm swimming area with water sooo clear. We actually went there twice while on Oahu because it was the ideal beach to sit and relax. We saw several wedding parties taking pictures on this area of beach.
The wildlife was abundant on both islands, where we watched not only whales, but huge turtles and seals play.






Kauai is a much slower and relaxed island than Oahu. It is known as the Garden Island and it really is lush. Steep cliffs on one side and beaches on the other, there was a lot to explore on Kauai. Waimea Canyon is the Grand Canyon of the Pacific, complete with red dirt and waterfalls. Our condo overlooked the beach and the garden area swimming pool water fall. We walked down the street about a mile to see Sprouting Horn blow hole, where the water from the ocean comes up from under the rocks and shoots about 25-30 feet consistently. We drove up the island to the North shore and the little area of Waimea. Along the way we saw the gorgeous coastline that included Princeville resort. It was begun by Russians and sits atop a cliff overlooking the ocean. We also saw this amazing lighthouse, Kauelea. From atop of it we watched more whales, turtles and a Hawaiian monk seal on the beach below. We traveled inland and found many one lane bridges where you waited until it was clear to go across! The valleys on Kauai are so green, there seems to be a mist hanging over them all the time. There are valleys we overlooked that were a patchwork of Taro fields.
We found the beach from the TV show Lost on Oahu, and on Kauai we found the beach from the pilot episode from Gilligans Island! Brett recognized it right away! They told us that it was just announced that Pirates of the Caribbean would be filming in Kauai this summer. I can see why movies like that and Jurassic Park are filmed there: it is so green and seems pre-historic. I couldn't stop taking pictures of all the flowers, sunsets and waves!
Our last night on the islands, we ate at a really beautiful restaurant, outside next to a pool of water with torches for light. What a perfect way to end a perfect vacation!

A Blog a Year?

O.K., so I admit it: this I am slow to catch on to this blogging thing. But Darci and Melissa inspire me to keep on trying! Random blogs are better than no blogs!
What a way to kick off a new year! Darci married Joe Hill on December 29th and it was a very sweet day! It was a wonderful couple of months of hoping, planning, and dreaming. The results were truly amazing. Joe and Darci are great to be around, they are so in love! They are also very organized and knew just how they wanted their day to be, which made it all pretty easy. That and ALOT of help from great friends!
One very special day about a week before the wedding, Darci went through the temple. Joe flew in the night before, after being stuck in a snowstorm in Utah for awhile. One of the really neat things was that at the same time Darci was going through, Braden, Cameron and Kolby were doing baptisms for the dead. Brett and I had our whole family (except Melissa, who isn't old enough yet) in the same temple at the same time! I think this is what they meant when they said, "Joy in your posterity"! It wasn't so long ago that even having a temple nearby was just a dream. We are so thankful to have the Columbia River Temple just a few blocks away.
Darci and Joe left on their honeymoon, I took the kids on a promised ski day (they were pretty long-suffering through all the wedding planning), and then Braden left for school. It wasn't too hard to let them leave, because we were back in Utah a week later for an Open House at Joe's family's ward. Such great people! So easy to love.
But then sadness set in as we left Utah and Braden, Darci and Joe behind. They had things to do, books to study and an apartment to set up!
Now back in Washington, we have books to read, cars to drive (Cameron got his license in the midst of all this craziness) and soccer games to play.....

Guess what Ashley and I did another lemonade stand and I already have 72$ in my bank account. The Bagley's got several more lazer guns so at least once a week Parker invites me, Kolby, Spencer Hammond, his sister Sam and his brother Zack. And we have a lazer tag showdown.I have an eemail account! I got it about last March. It is mnelson413@gmail.com!~Melissa

SUMMER

Hey everyone! It's SUMMER! The summer of 2009! Braden is getting his braces off in exactly a week! School is out and summer is here. Except for the only problem is... We have summer jobs like watering the plants etc. And Darci is not home. I guess that's because of her job and Joe. I've been trying to save up some money for the Seattle field trip in fifth grade so last Friday Ashley Hammond and I went to the corner of Lambert and Jubilee and did a lemonade/cookie stand. We got several customers including Sis Hammond, My mom, Braden, Josh, Paige, and Sammy Amparan.~Melissa

Tender Mercies 12/26

Home Sweet Home
Four wheel drive
Hotel interests
Being with our kids...all of them
True meaning of Christmas

Sunny Christmas for the Nelsons!

Ahh! A beautiful sunny blue sky, kids playing in the white sandy beaches. Cabo San Lucas. No, not really. The sunny blue sky but the white sandy beach was really 8 inches of snow in Richland! And that is where we spent Christmas 2008.
The "Sweet Story to tell" as Braden puts it began Sunday morning when there was a snowstorm in Richland. Church was cancelled and we thought we were getting an early start on our trip to Portland. We were to fly out Sunday night to San Diego and get on a cruise to Mexico Monday with Brett's parents, sister, and brother and family. We had planned this trip for several months and were really looking forward to some time as a family without the stress of meal planning, etc. The we thought we could get out of the Tri-Cities and into Portland where it usually was just rain. About partway to The Dalles, Oregon, we got a voice message that our flight had been cancelled. The message didn't say we were changed to another flight, just cancelled. Then the road was closed on the Oregon side to Portland. We found a bridge to the Washington side and continued, albeit at a slower pace, toward Portland. The snow just kept coming down and as we came to the outskirts of Vancouver, two police cars closed the road behind us. No going back now! But we weren't planning on going back for another week, after some sun and fun!
We got to the airport 2 hours before the originally scheduled flight and 6 1/2 hours after leaving Richland. While some of us waited in the "no waiting zone", Brett and Jack went into the airport to see what could be arranged. There was still 20 hours before the cruise left San Diego. The Portland airport was all but shut down. Very few flights were leaving and nothing that all 13, or even some of us, could get on to get to California. So we got a hotel in Vancouver for the night and set to work on the internet and phones to try to find a flight that would get us into San Diego by 1:30. The options were few. We decided to get up early (most of us were sleeping in our clothes anyway because we didn't want to repack and shuffle the luggage) and head to the airport to see what could be done.
After a restless night and a quick Holiday Inn Express breakfast, we headed down the snowy roads back to the airport. Yes, it was STILL snowing. Again, we waited in the departure and arrival lanes while Brett and Jack went in to wait in lines. The lines were so long, that by the time they would have gotten to the front to talk to someone, it would be too late to make it to San Diego on time. There were hardly any flights leaving Portland and Brett's sister Judy was not able to get her plane out oof Spokand with it's connecting flight through Seattle. We were dead in the snow.
So onto the deserted Portland streets we went. There was an IKEA and a shopping mall nearby and we thought we could pass some time there waiting for the roads back home to open. Unfortunately, they didn't open for another hour and it was questionable whether any employees would be able to make it into work. The radio reports said the in the Metro Portland area you should have chains on if you were going anywhere. Our two vehicles (Kevin's family and Jack and Valerie, and our family) both had four wheel drive and fairly new tires on. There was about 3-4 inches of packed snow with 1 inch of ice underneath it on the freeways. The side roads were much worse: they are not used to this kind of snowfall in Portland. We headed for where the freeway home was closed to find a hotel and wait it out. We ended up in Gresham at a full-service Holiday Inn. Kevin's car got stuck twice in a Safeway parking lot that we were going to get directions. We had a hard time getting back out on the street and made an illegal left turn and ran some stop lights just because we were afraid to stop. (Not great example to our eager young drivers, especially Cameron!)
When we got to the hotel, the restaurant was not open due to no employees to man it. The staff was really nice, however and found a banquet room for us to use to play cards, visit, or whatever. There was a pool and the girls had fun swimming. We had brought our swimsuits, after all!
We cooled our heels most of the day, reading, playing games or napping. Just like we would have on the cruise! The only difference being the steady falling snow, the 20 degree temperature and lack of food.
We found a pizza place where two courageous employees had braved the storm and had nothing to do but cook pizzas for stranded travelers. We dined in high style! The food and company was great!
The next morning we (Brett's family) traveled back to Vancouver (to get a forgotten back pack in the first hotel). Then we traveled on the Washington state side of the river until Hood River where we crossed over into Oregon and finished traveling home. Again, it took us about 6 hours to make a 3 1/2 hour trip. Kevin's family and parents traveled on the Oregon side, but only ended up 1/2 hour ahead of us due to the crazy number of trucks back on the roads again.

We have never seen so much snow fall so quickly where people are not used to it. We just watched it with amazement. The situation was so surreal, odd, unbelieveable we didn't know what to think! Our goals for this trip were to spend some time together and not have to do much cooking or catering. Mission accomplished in a way we would never have imagined! Our kids were pleasant under the circumstances, and we laughed alot together. We watched a DVD on our laptap one night and Darci caught up to where we were as a family on a season of "24" while we drove.

We are so grateful to our kids for their patience, to our family for their love and kindness and to our Heavenly Father for his safe guidance.
We have had a GREAT Christmas and are so happy we are all home, safe and sound!

I am going to BURST!

Okay, so I changed my mind, I decided to give my baby hat to Sis. Graves for Joshua.
I am so excited I can't hold it in. I am going to Juggle in front of my whole school, AND I am going to perform at our school's Christmas sing-along. AND I am going to sing at the church Christmas party, AND I get to have one of my best friends Kelsey over on Friday. AND I get to watch ELF on Friday too. AND I get to go to Circus club on Friday. AND I am going to get Smithar dollars for doing a fire drill. Eric cut his chin open, and Caleb sprained his ankle. ~Melissa

Tender Mercies 12/3

*Kids who give FHE lessons to fulfill Duty to God, Achievement Day requirements
*Christmas lights in the dark of Winter
*Talented people who play the piano and are willing to share
*Braden can eat small soft foods as long as he doesn't bite down
*A mom who taught me to sew
*Dark Chocolate pnut M & Ms (o.k., not a tender mercy but really good anyway!)

-Peggy

I finished my baby hat!

Today I finished a baby hat that I was making for one of the Pratt twins. I am going to make another one for the other twin. The hats are white and VERY VERY thick. The yarn I used is kind of silky.~Melissa

No School

Today I don't have school! I am going to read a lot today. I just got to the point in tennis shoes among the nephites #3 were Doug Bowman was laying on the floor of his house with two holes in his stomach, and Jim got in his car, there was a gun on the seat and police are arresting him.~Melissa

This last week's Tender Mercies:

Friends who care

Prayer

Brothers who fast

Kids who get themselves off to school on their own

Modern technology and drugs

Kind doctors and nurses

Megan birthday party

Today was Megan's birthday party! It was a great one. She was very surprised when Dad came in with a pair of stilts just for her! We went swimming at the Holiday Inn and Gram and Gramp were there and guess what? So was Aunt Janet. I played with Megan all day today and before the party we made shrinky dinks. They are pieces of paper that you have to trace a picture on to and put it into the oven, then it shrinks and crumples up and gets straitened out and it is really tall. I made a bunch of ones that are perfect for a charm bracelet. I went to Megan and Ashley's conferences at the school. I saw Kelsey (my friend a school) on the hill. And after Megans party we went to DQ to get a gift card for a girl that Kolby is going to a movie with for her birthday party. and we got a free cone, mom bought a cup of onion rings and I saw Austin! So I saw both the people that sit at my table at school.(Kelsey and Austin)-Melissa

Braden has survived! The long anticipated surgery has been accomplished! Braden went into KGH (Kennewick General Hospital) at 6 am Thursday morning to have "orthonagstic" surgery. He began this long road in 4th grade when normal orthodontics would not correct his overbite. Dr. Crawford did the surgery and said everything was very successful. Braden went into surgery at 7:30 am, and we got to see him in the recovery room 3 hours later at about 11:00. He was really groggy. His face wasn't very swollen, and I was so happy to see him o.k. There were lots of wires and cords attached to him as they checked on his vitals. He was put into the ICU unit of the hospital because they are remodeling and that was where they had room. This was very nice, he had a private room and his own nurse. The nurses were really good and took great care of him. Of course, they enjoyed having a 17 year old as opposed to a 70 year old! His mouth is rubber banded shut to teach his jaw where to close. He also had a morphine pump that he could push every 7 minutes. It was a game to him: if it beeped at him, he lost and couldn't have more medicine, and if it didn't beep, he won more medicine! He dozed in and out most of the day. We fed him water with a syringe. Because he had an IV in, we weren't worried about hydration. In the afternoon, some friends from school came by to visit. Casey Hare, Eric Turner, Merilee Strong, and Mindy Strong brought him some pudding and a Snowboarding magazine (which Dr. Crawford pointed out was a definite NO-NO). The heart monitor spiked when girls walked into the room! There was also a canine visitor. A beautiful brindle boxer and his handler were visiting patients. Cameron, Kolby and Melissa came with Brett to see him around dinner. Braden likes the visitors.

Early Friday morning, he was taken off the pump and other tubes. He was given Lortab in a liquid form. He got to have some yogurt (with the syringe) and he really liked the chicken broth! Oh, so good! When I left him Thursday night, it was really hard. I knew he was in good hands and that he would be fine, but I still wanted to stay with him and make sure. I also know how yucky it is to be alone in the hospital through the night. It is very lonely. He said he watched ESPN a little, slept a little, and laid there.

At 1:00, Dr. Crawford came by and checked him out. He said he could go home and gave him some prescriptions. He also said he would continue to swell. It is hard to believe he could swell more. He didn't swell at first. We could even still see his dimples! (Much to my relief!) But sure enough, he has continued to swell. He is also bruising where he is swollen. Dr. Crawford said that some people are bruisers, and evidently he is. He is now home and playing host to visitors. We are so relieved that the surgery went well and he is doing so great! We love him!

Although this is me playing soccer, I just had my first 7th grade basketball game. I scored 6 points, grabbed 3 rebounds and had several assists. Mom says, "Kolby is just an athletic animal!" I played point guard most of the game, but was wing for about 2 minutes. We beat Chief Jo, 27-13. Only half of my team played in the game. My team is split into two teams of about 9 and those two groups switch off playing every other game.

P.S. Darci- I am pretty sure I have a bunch of grammatical errors and such, so please don't waste your time editing them!

-Kolby

I can do the stilts!

I can do the stilts! Guess what that means. It means I can do the stilts! Today I went to circus club. I got some juggling balls (like normal) and I started juggling them. But when I got over to Megan and Allison, Allison had stilts in her hand! Allison was doing the stilts(although she took two steps and then fell)! Megan asked if she could try them after Allie and she said yes. And I got to go after Megan! When I tried, it was like my legs were spaghetti. But after a while I got used to it. The second time I tried, I got two steps in instead of one. On Megan's second try, She had it mastered! On my third try, I had it mastered too! It took Allison a few times to get the short ones mastered. By the time she could do the shortest ones, I could do the highest ones. I got my pictures today!-Melissa

Braden successfully ended his High School XC career at a Banquet Thursday night. He was honored for being a team captain and won the Most Inspirational award which was voted on by his teammates. He also won the Bomber of the Meet at the Nike Pre-National Meet in Portland, Oregon earlier in the season. I thought he should have won every award possible for all the sacrifices he made to run, but I'm just his mom. His best 5k time was 17:28 or something ridiculous like that. He now is looking forward to winter conditioning and preparing for the spring track season. He wants to run (and he is very good at) the 800 and 400. Oh, and he has to have jaw surgery first and recover from it. That is scheduled next week (Nov. 20th). We will have an early Turkey Day on Sunday for him. Back to XC, I loved watching him run, and was really proud of how hard (that cannot be emphasized enough) he worked. He was a great example of dedication (did I mean obsession?) to everyone. Maybe he will run a marathon someday and I can watch him then. For now, I look forward to track season, too. Mom

Hello from Provo everyone! I played with the blog and had some fun with making it cute. Mom will appreciate it at least. ( : I'm exhausted after a long day though so I'm off to bed. Good luck with school and work and housekeeping and sports and seminary and everything else that all of you do! Love you all.
- Darci

Kolby has homework so he cannot post anything right now! He made this blog for Mom but now she is on her own (SCARY!).