Olivia is 3!!!

Happy Birthday to Olivia Chaya Nilsen. She is 3 today. Initially, since her daddy would be gone, we were just going to pretend her birthday is next week. However, a relative unintentionally brought the whole birthday thing up to her... so we had a little celebration. It was fun and she loved it. I am lousy (seriously lousy) at surprises, so Olivia helped me with all the planning and executing of this momentous event. Yes, we are celebrating again next week when daddy is here.

This is the wonderful "ladybug" creation. We used everything from gum and rolo's, to chives for the decoration. The inside was a beautiful, brilliant blue. Delicious!

Evalyn getting in on the cake eating with Aunti Lilly. She handled the fork very well.



Grandma O. had a great time with Olivia. They both were divvying up the cake before the candles were even blown.



Her birthday tutu that mommy and Aunti Lilly made.



This was great! Have you ever heard of "spaghetti dogs"? So much fun. I got the idea from a great blog called plumpudding (check out a link here on our site) and they are hilarious. Evalyn and Olivia went to town stuffing the spaghetti through the hot dogs. My family thinks we're crazy but they were such good sports about Olivia's birthday dinner.

My mom made Olivia this beautiful blue dress and this cute little church bag. My mom and dad stuffed the church bag with books, chapstick, snacks, doodlepads, colored pencils, and other quiet activities just for church. It was a great reminder to me about how special home-created gifts are. Olivia loved the gifts. They were made with love, took thought and time, and just reminded me that you don't have to rush to the store and try to find the best and brightest toy to make a great gift. I just need to get creative...

Happy Mother's Day

We are in Idaho for two weeks while Jacob is working in California. The whole single-parent thing wears off really, really fast. The hardest is when Olivia curls up in my lap and just says quietly, "I really miss my daddy." However, we are onto the final week. My family has been great in putting up with us and the chaos we bring. The past few days have been really beautiful. We came home from church today and discovered that my Grandmother's lawn was flooded (the head-gate was left open). The fam made the most of it and brought the ducks and the girls over to play. It was followed up with a barbecue and falling asleep on the lawn. Life is good.


My mother and Grandmother enjoying the barbecue in honor of them!

I love the dirty bottom here. She sat in the water to be able to play with the ducks better.

Olivia had a fantastic time in the water. Personally, I thought it was freezing, but she loved it!

Yes. We are alive.

Bwah..haa..ha...
We are alive. Actually, it is just barely because chaos attacked me from all sides:
1. My cell phone decided to stop working. This is one of my life-lines to the outside world.
2. Our computer died. This is one of my other life-lines.
3. Both (yes, we can only get 2) of the radio stations could not be picked up on the radio.
4. It started to snow all over the beautiful green grass and forced us to seek shelter inside...forever.

So, you may all be thoroughly impressed that there are still 4 residents of the Nilsen Household.

Today, (joy of joys!) our new computer arrived and I am so very ridiculously grateful to my brilliant father who got it all set up and and takes so good care of us. Even though I should be sleeping right now, I am posting some random fun pictures and loving the feel of my fingers on the keyboard. Enjoy! I will be back tomorrow during my daughters' naptime so that I can neglect all the cleaning and cooking in order to be able to get up to date on my friends and family.



ok... not posting any random pictures because I cannot figure out what is wrong with my camera. Who is to complain- I have a computer and two radio stations. I know humanity is still out there....

Evalyn Scout is 1!

Evalyn Scout is 1 year old. Now, this was a little bit confusing for her because she wasn't aware of proper birthday etiquette and traditions. However, I will translate her thoughts in alignment with each picture so that we all can see what is going on in her head.

Not really sure what it means, but I love "birthdays"!

I never get to lick icing off the beaters, I hope it is my birthday tomorrow too.

Bwaaah!! Where is my beater full of icing?! I hate birthdays!

Oh. Bless my heart, I do believe that this is edible. And, it has icing on it!

"Happy Birthday" to me...

No forks allowed!

This was awesome. We had a family dinner where the only rule was "no utensils allowed". I had the brilliant idea of spaghetti and jello. It was fun, but we did start to feel a little bad about how hard of time Evalyn was having as she tried to get some jello on her tray!

One of those days...

It seriously was one of those days. You know, the days where 5 o'clock comes around and you are still wearing your bathrobe over your clothes, the house is a disaster (and it looked beautiful this morning when you first woke up), you have no idea what to prepare for dinner, and you wrack your brain trying to figure out what you actually did today. You know, one of those days.

I've spent most of today throwing up. Olivia and I did paint- and then spend just as much time washing up all the paint. We also went biking- and then had hot chocolate afterwards because it did snow today. Yet, sometimes I look around and it seems that everyone around me is leading a bigger, grander life than I am. It feels like I don't have much to show for who I want to be and who I am.

Last night, I was trying to teach Olivia (she will be 3 years old in May) about Easter. She was asking all sorts of questions about the Savior's crucifixion and resurrection. I summed it all up by telling her that we needed to be like Jesus. She looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I want to be like you and Jesus."

Definitely a 'melt-my-heart' moment.

My girls are my life now. My family is my focus. I may not be where I thought I would be when I started planning out my life oh-so-long-ago (those of you who've known me the longest are nodding your heads), but this is where I am now. And even though it is 8:48 p.m. and I am still wearing my bathrobe over my clothes, it is ok. My husband adores me (heaven only knows why...seriously!) and my daughters think I am the best cook, coolest dancer, fastest runner, most creative, amazing singer, fantastic reader, funnest and lovingest and besterestest mother ever! And you know what? To them, I absolutely am.

March Forth!

It has been awhile and life is not really that busy, just crazy as it always is when I'm at home with 2 crazy girls. However, it is "March Forth!" today and to celebrate, I am posting a new blog.

Evalyn will be 1 year old this Saturday and that has come as a real shocker to me: She is not that old yet! She understands more than I give her credit for. Yesterday, I was trying to take care of twenty things at once, and somewhat facetiously asked her to "go find her taggy blankie for me". She waddled (still working on the steadiness of walking) back in a few minutes and handed me her taggy blankie. Now, I've begun 'testing' her to make sure it is not all in my head. It is hilarious how well she can follow directions like 'go find sister', 'hand me that book', or 'play the piano'. I just assume that Olivia is the only one old enough to understand things and it is amazing how fast Evalyn is growing as well. She thinks she is pretty darn cool with her walking- still unsteady, but growing more and more confident every day. Right now she has taken off her socks and is trying to fit cheerios in between her toes. I love to just watch her.

Olivia is an awesome big sister. Evalyn loves to get up at the crack of dawn and she and Olivia share a room. Evalyn will stand up in her crib and just start yelling to wake up the rest of the house. This morning we find Olivia throwing in stuffed animals, books, and even crackers (she climbed up onto the counter in the kitchen to get them) into Evalyn's crib in hopes of getting her to go back to sleep! Sometimes she would love for Evalyn to be smaller- Olivia still tries to hold her "baby style" and that doesn't work out so well. And even though they can drive each other absolutely crazy, Olivia is Evalyn's biggest advocate and defender; and Evalyn is Olivia's biggest fan. I love it.

Of course, their daddy thinks they are both angelic and amazing and advanced in every way. Because they have him fooled so well (they are both always so smiley when daddy comes home from work) and he doesn't care one bit, I am dedicating this page to my favorite girls and my favorite man. They are incredible. Even when I want to lock myself in my room with a "Calvin and Hobbes" and some chocolate ice cream with the threat of "I don't want anyone to come through that door for at least 30 minutes!"... I still love to hear them laughing and playing and loving life together.