This Is Not A Test...

In case you were wondering if the Nels fell off the face of the earth, we haven't. At least not yet—but we do have a bit of news.


So there it is. We are moving to Bentonville, AR this summer for Kyle's new job. Woohoo! We're really excited for all the "natural" things to do and see. Now begins the house hunt...Tally-ho!

Want Some Candy Little Girl?

I wonder who decides what should be recorded onto those motion-sensor electronic Halloween candy bowls with the hand that moves and shockingly touches yours as you innocently try to reach in for some sweets?

At any rate, Kyle was a Webkinz (those pricey collectible stuffed animals that also have a life in the kid-haven internet game Webkinz) and I was a hotdog. We decided to go to Kyle's school Halloween party about 2 hours beforehand and had to rush off to find a costume...kid's section always wins. Notice—they don't really fit well, but the price was right. Kyle is wearing flippers, not shown but very convincing. My costume was perfect because I was able to cut little slits into my "buns" to make a handy little pocket for my camera!



We never get tricker-treaters because our condos have a security door that you have to ring to get into, but Kyle says he'd give a kid $20 if one ever got to our door! Don't get any ideas kids...its the last time we'll be living here! Opportunity: over.

{What's Your Cookie Personality?} -A Sweet Giveaway!

Tomorrow, Sept 30th, is the last day to enter the "What's Your Cookie Personality? - A Sweet Giveaway!" and win a box of gourmet cookies from Heidi's Heavenly Cookies! All you have to do is leave a comment with your:

Name
City, State
Your cookie personality
Why that particular cookie reflects who you are
How you are going to use the box of gourmet cookies

{Your information will not be sold to anyone. promise.}

Winner(s) receive a free box of cookies and will be featured on their site.

So, what have you got to loose? Take the Cookie Personality Test to win a box of deliciousness! :)

Good Luck to everyone! Free gourmet cookies, yum!

Shout Out To: Sensibly Styled!

My friend Natalie started this great website called Sensibly Styled. They post the greatest modest and cute clothes DAILY! Its such a fun blog and totally helpful for so many of us that are constantly trying to find something to wear that fits right, looks great, and isn't something that makes me feel like I'm showing off what my momma gave me.

Check them out here: www.sensiblystyled.com

Go Natalie! :D

3 Years of Wedded Bliss

Happy 3rd Anniversary to Us! This is a pic of Kyle stepping on my dress accidently as we're walking out of the Portland Temple...I'm trying to keep a smiling face on as I am propelled backwards.


We had guests over on our anniversary {July 1st} so we couldn't really go out and celebrate, nor did we tell them it was our anniversary as to not make them feel bad. We celebrated on 4th of July instead. Bravo.

Kyle, thanks for being the best husband and friend a girl could ask for!

Remember Fruit Stripe Gum?

I could go for some of that right now, especially since that's where Kyle is right now: at his new internship for the summer...Wrigley/Mars! We will never want for gum or candy (especially my favorite: Snickers and 5 Gum!) Currently, we are in Chicago for the summer and right now I'm looking out my enormous window at a gorgeous unobstructed view of the city and Lake Michigan: stunning. I think we're really going to LOVE Chicago. Kyle says we get to go to their fashion week too! Whoopee!

It's been a while since we've posted any life events on here...we're a little behind so please excuse us. So, here's the collection of events from the past month:

Kickin It Old School

We got free tickets to Roller Derby! It was hilarious. All the teams for this game were girls and basically they wear little burlesque outfits and booty shorts and roller skate around a track and try to push each other down and to pass the blockers from what we saw...the crowd was equally as interesting to watch as the game. Plenty of Mohawks and the like. Priceless. We were munching on healthy snacks: celery. Here's a little preview:




Trail Racing...Alone

We signed up for a 8K trail race that only allowed for 200 participants in Barrington, IL. It was really fun, but the best part was the prize for the winner: a sliced stump of wood with engraving on it. LOL! I was dying when I saw the winner's face! Usually you get money...guess that was a little dissapointing for them.


Denver Delicacies

Last week we drove 16 hours to visit Kyle's grandparents and aunt and uncle in Denver. We had a great time and a well deserved break for Kyle after finishing finals!

Kyle's aunt Sherri and uncle Vint were running the Boulder Boulder 10K race on Memorial Day a few days after we arrived in Denver so we thought it'd be fun to run it too! Our goal has been to run a race everywhere that we visit! What we didn't take into account is the 6,000 ft elevation...we're used to sea level. Besides being pretty hard on the lungs, it was one of the most fun races we've done! People on the sidelines were handing out hot bacon and tator tots to runners. A couple of houses on the streets had slip n' slides and there were a couple groups of belly dancers. Hehe! Of course, there were your typical dressed up runners too. Next race, Kyle and I are going to dress up too...we'll see what we decide to do.

Air Force Academia

On our day trip with Kyle's grandparents to Pike's Peak, we stopped by the U.S. Air Force Academy.

This non-denominational church was totally groovy...inside and out! Not that I'm looking for a new church, but wow, psychedelic!

They always have a row saved for the POWs and those who didn't make it.


This was the plane that Kyle's Grandpa flew over "The Hump" during WWII! He has a pretty cool resume'--in the pilot during WWII, FBI agent, lawyer...seriously, how is this generation supposed to live up to something like that?


Peaking Pike



We drove an hour out of Denver to Pike's Peak, 13,000 ft that you can get up to via a "Cog Train"...though this may be common knowledge, I didn't know what a cog is. For those of you like me, it's like a gear shaped wheel and track...the way a clock gear turns, that's the way it propells itself up the mountain with its "teeth." If you didn't already, now you know.


Waiting for the Cog Train...these magnetic rocks were wonderous!


Look at how cute they are! We had such a blast hanging out with them!

I didn't know there was going to be snow...I'm slightly under-dressed.



Hiking with the Olsens

Near the end of our trip, we went hiking with our friends Natalie and Zach and their cute little hatchling Jane...though I thought they should've named her Mary Kate or Ashley as a tribute to those adorable twins that are so accomplished and role models. LOL, okay not really, but why not?


Thanks Denver, we enjoyed our visit!

I'll be better about posting more frequently so the posts are not so long next time!

http://www.hulu.com/watch/73360/saturday-night-live-lawrence-welk

Shake Your Groove Thang, Please

Last weekend we went to Kyle's MBA Spring Ball. The theme was Bollywood, but I didn't have a sari, not that many other people do either, so a regular semi-formal dress had to do. But it is so difficult to find a dress that covers you to one of these events--more on that later.




I designed all of the advertising materials for the event {save the date, poster, and tickets} and it was a lot of fun--first timer here, but people everyone seemed to like them, so bravo. I'd say drawing the hand with henna on it was the hardest part.

Kyle snapped this pic of me and Heather so quaintly embracing, and I'm totally caught off guard. I had no idea they were going to call me up to the stand...I wasn't even expecting a "shout-out." Hmmm, I think Kyle knew, but he didn't warn me. This may have been the first time he was able to keep a surprise/secret from me. I always know every present he's going to get me--I'm just that good at getting stuff out of him I guess! Hehe.

Kyle won the award of "Best Dressed" and our friends Greg and Heidi Rose were there and Greg won "Mr. Congeniality." Kyle wore his tux he had from proms during high school because he had to go to so many, he just bought one. Not that he wears it for anything--he wore a simple suit to our wedding. He thought it'd be funny to wear a tuxedo to the dance; like on the old show "The State" and the guy walks around town saying "I'm wearing a tuxedo!"...Kyle dies laughing every time.

And that's a wrap. A really fun night. The hardest thing about this night was finding a dress for it, as mentioned above. I had gone shopping EVERYWHERE to find a dress and finally just decided to buy this one and fix it. I hemmed a piece of silk around the hem of the dress and made it look a little more retro! You can't see it, but it turned out pretty swell, if I don't say so myself and it is supposed to be one of the hardest fabrics to work with--go me! ;)

Today's Quote eloquently comes from my little brother Jared when he was about 7:

The Kids: "So Jared, you like [name omitted] don't you? Oooooo!"
Jared: (calmly) "Yeah."
Mom: "No, Jared likes her as a friend. Don't you Jared?"
The Kids: "No, Mom, Jared likes her like "Mushy Gushy!" Don't you Jared!? [lots of laughter]"
Mom: "Now, you guys...Jared likes her as a friend."
Jared: (convincingly and serious) "No Mom...like mushy gushy."

Stay tuned for: "Kickin it Old School"