Best of Maui 2010!

I had to post a few pictures from our amazing time in Maui!

BROTHERS!!!!

This is a montage of the video I took during our AMAZING whale watch! Sorry there are four different videos. I tried to post it in one video, but the file was too big. Just a couple things before you watch:

1. Yes, they were that close!

2. Sorry for the rocking. Water is not a solid surface and I'm not a very skilled photog!

3. Enjoy!!!!!

Mahalo, Maui!!!!!

My New Venture

I know, I know it has been a while! Just a couple highlights from the months I've missed:

Nathan ran a MARATHON!!!!!! I'm so insanely proud of him! Nathan and Steve ran the White Rock Marathon at the start of December. I tagged along and ran the half. It was such a fun day and such an amazing accomplishment for my amazing husband and brother-in-law.

We spent a glorious week in Maui between Christmas and New Years! Nathan's brothers, Matt and Steve, joined us as we relaxed, ate, and enjoyed each other's company. It was an incredible trip and I'm so happy that Matt and Steve shared it with us!

Ok, so now on to the purpose of this post! For a while I have been trying to find a way to make a difference in this great big world of ours. I have inquired about volunteering, but there aren't many available times because the great people of this city are so philanthropic. I have heard stories about that lack of food in our food pantries and I wanted to help, but couldn't afford to buy food on a regular basis to help stock the pantries. Then I had an idea: why not use my couponing hobby to help stock the shelves?!? In that moment, Coupons With a Cause was born! Check it out!

http://couponswithacause.blogspot.com/

Life Update

Wow, life moves quickly! How is it already October? Here is an update from the Nelson's:

Nathan accepted a new position at GMAC at the start of September. He has moved from the Loan Modification Department to Short Sales. This is a good move for him, as things were starting to change for the worse in his old department. It has been a tough transition due to the fact that he is learning all new software and procedures, but it is the best move for him in the long run!

I started teaching at Lamplighter in mid-August. I did not know it was possible to be this in love with a school! Lamplighter is such an amazing and special place and I am loving every minute of it. Teaching Pre-K has been a bit of an adjustment, but the kids are so wonderful that it makes it all worth it. I have already been sick twice, but I'll come out of the first couple years of teaching with one heck of an immune system!

Our prayers have been answered on two different fronts this month! Nathan's brother, Steve, returned safely from Afghanistan a couple weeks ago. We will forever be grateful for the sacrifice he has made on behalf of our country. Nathan is looking forward to visiting him in Nashville later this month for some quality brother bonding time! We also learned today that my grandfather's cancer is officially in remission!! He goes back for another scan in about 3 months to make sure things are still going well, but this is amazing news for our family! We have definitely been reminded this month how good God is!

The training for the White Rock Marathon/Half Marathon continues! I will be running 10 miles this Saturday and we will run the DRC Half Marathon on November 7 as part of our training. Who knew that I would run an actual half marathon in training for a half marathon! Nathan has been sidelined for a couple of weeks with a foot injury. I'm pretty sure he has a stress fracture, but he's too stubborn to actually go to the doctor. His plan is to sit out until the soreness dissipates and just "wing it" in the marathon if he has to! Holy cow, I married a tough man!

My best friend and the maid of honor from our wedding got engaged a couple weekends ago!! We're so insanely excited for Margarett and Kris!! Let the wedding planning begin! First up, dress shopping this weekend!!

Other than that, not much else is going on! We'll be heading to North Carolina the weekend before Thanksgiving for a good friends' wedding and then it's off to Bakersfield to spend the holiday with the Nelson clan! Hopefully there will be an update following that trip if not sooner!

Happy Birthday Pup!!!

Today is Bella's 2nd birthday!! It's so hard to believe that she's already 2! Nathan told me that I have to stop calling her pup because she's an adult now, but she'll always be pup to me! We have had so much fun getting to know our little monkey over the last couple years and she has brought so much joy into our lives!! If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting the little monster, she is quite entertaining and has the best personality you could hope for in a dog. She is loving, zany, fun, and she never fails to make us laugh with all of the mischief she creates and the crazy situations she tends to get entangled in. We love our little pup so much!! Happy Birthday Boo Boo!!!

Dressed in her Sharky outfit that

Grandma & Grandpa brought her

from Maui!

Protecting my thumb after my surgery.

Getting into character for our
Christmas card picture.

The Big 2-8

Happy Birthday to the most amazing husband in the whole entire world!! I feel so blessed to have married such a funny, entertaining, caring, loyal, quirky, generous, and kind man. He is my best friend and an overall incredible human being! Happy Birthday, Baby!! I love you!!

We would also like to take this moment to thank those who have fought and continue to fight to preserve our freedom. We know some pretty amazing people who have given of themselves so selflessly to provide us with the lives to which we are accustomed. Specifically, Nathan's two brothers. We thank you both for your service and love you with all of our hearts!! May God bless those that are overseas and our incredible country!

Yeah, so its been a while...

Since the last time I blogged, this happened:

Then we went on a honeymoon as seen here:

I was a long-term sub in the school where I did my student teaching. I have a picture with my kiddos, but can't post it for obvious reasons!

I slashed my thumb cooking. I managed to sever the artery and nerve. Surgery fixed it and feeling is slowly returning. Naturally, Nathan took away my kitchen priviledges.

Tony and Ashley surprised us with Vampire Weekend tickets for my birthday!

Nathan surprised me with an evening at Medieval Times for my birthday!

We briefly became vegetarians. Nathan for about 2 and a half weeks and I made it a little over a month!

We headed to Provo for Loral's graduation!

We celebrated Mother's Day. We love, love, LOVE our moms!!!

We watched my bro COMPLETE a half-ironman in Disneyworld!

We decided to tackle White Rock! I will be running the half-marathon and Nathan will be running the full! I still contend that I was peer-pressured into agreeing.

We ran a 5k. Nathan finished 1st in his age group and got a nifty little trophy and I...well I finished :)

I started cooking again!

I got a job!!! I will be teaching preschool at The Lamplighter School. It is an absolutely amazing school and a truly special place to be a kid. I should know, I went there! Here are a couple pictures from my old Lamplighter days.

We planned a trip to Maui! We will be going over Christmas and New Years with Steve and Beth and Matt and Adrianne. Words cannot express how ridiculously giddy and excited we are about this trip!!

Rachel and my mom (both absolutely amazing!) helped me update our front landscaping.

We ran another 5k. Nathan finished 2nd in his age group behind Tony. I, once again, finished!

We celebrated Father's Day. We also love, love, LOVE our dads!!!

Ch-ch-ch-changes!!!

I know it has been a while since we last blogged! Things have been kind of crazy and exciting on our end the last couple months. Here's a brief synopsis of all the fun things we've been doing!

December: I completed my student teaching the first week in December and graduated with my masters mid-month. It was a really fun day and I love all of my family (and future family members) that were there to support me!

All 5 of the Nelson siblings were in town for Christmas this year! It was so wonderful to have everyone together. I feel so insanely blessed to be marrying into such an incredible, loving, and supportive family. I am so excited that, come February 13, I will officially have 3 incredible women to call sisters! The Nelson men (plus a Hansen) are just as magnificent! I couldn't help but smile being in the presence of all these amazing people I will soon call my family. Nathan and I also enjoyed meeting and spending time with Steve's fiance, Beth. She is beautiful in every way and it was fun to see how unbelievably happy she makes Steve!

New Year's Eve: Nathan and I started looking for a house in December. On New Year's Eve we found the one!! We made an offer on the house 2 days later and it was accepted!! I have not mentioned it to this point because there is so much that has to go right in order to buy a house that I thought I would jinx it. Not anymore...

January 27: Today, we closed on our first home! The (soon-to-be) Nelsons are moving to Cactus Lane!! It is the absolute perfect house for Nathan and I! It is just northeast of White Rock Lake. For those of you not in Dallas, White Rock Lake is one of the prettiest places in the city with dog parks, walking and biking trails. We love, love, LOVE the house and could not be happier with our decision! I'm sure we will be posting pictures in the coming weeks. Well, maybe after a certain special day that is rapidly approaching. Which brings me to...

...We're getting married in 17 days! We've been so tied up with house stuff that it has really snuck up on us. It seems so unreal to me right now that I will be marrying my best friend in a little over 3 weeks! We can't wait to celebrate the start of our lives together with all of our family and friends. We love you all and can't wait to see everyone in February!!