I Didn't Do It....

So we usually always go to mom and dad's for dinner on Sunday evening. Tonight Carter went missing. This is what he was working on. He was even trying to fix the clog. That's our little boy!! He always keeps us on our toes.

Getting to Know Nels and Andrea

How long have you been together? Jan. 9th will be 9 years(that was our first date). We dated 5 months and engaged for 2. We were married Aug. 11, 1999.
How old is he? 31 (old man) I am 27
Who eats more? Nels, except when it comes to chocolate
Who said I love you first? Nels-he keeps telling me he was way more in-tune with the spirit than I was.
Who is taller? Nels
Who sings better? Nels, I only lip-sync
Who is smarter? I think Nels is pretty darn smart. We can't play Cranium against each other any more because he knows everything and it makes me mad.
Who does the laundry? me, all the time (the only load he did was when he threw in a black sock with my favorite kahkis, he has been banned ever since. He does help me put it away though.
Who does the dishes? both of us
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? looking at the bed Nels does
Who pays the bills? Me- he brings home the check and I have no problem spending it
Who mows the lawn? ME-ok fine, me 75% Nels 25%
Who cooks dinner? Me, when Nels cooks its take out
Who drives when you are together? Usually Nels
Who is more stubborn? Me, Nels is pretty mild
Who kissed who first? Nels kissed me first
Who asked who out? Nels- Amanda, his cousin introduced us
Who proposed? Nels, after our wedding was already in planning mode
Who is more sensitive? Me
Who has more friends? about the same
Who has more siblings? Nels, he has 6 and I have 5
Who wears the pants in the family? Totally me :)

Happy Birthday Chad!

Here is a little something from the girls and I. We might just take our show on the road.

Nothing tooo exciting....

Until Wednesday at 1:00 everything was going
just fine. I was babysitting my little nephew Kasen for Amanda and was doing a little laundry and cleaning. At 1:00 our nurse from down at the Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake called and informed me they had had a cancellation for surgery and that if we could get down there they could get Macee in. So I called Nels and after a fast and furious packing job, with a few clothes drying on the back seat of the car we were on the road 2 hours later. We pulled into my Grandma and Grandpa Griffin's house just before midnight. Grandma fed Macee mac-n-cheese and toast because she had to fast starting at midnight. So Thurs. morning we are getting on the freeway and we hear a little
crunching in the backseat. Macee was eating
crackers by her car seat from the night before!!
We made her spit them out (long story short they almost cancelled her surgery because of that). Anyways while waiting for her surgery at
1:45 Macee got her own little nurse to come and
make snow men, dolls, and play with all the
doctors stuff. I was very impressed with how
friendly and helpful all of the nurses were. Her
surgery went really good. But waking up out of the anesthesia was not such a fun time for her.
She was telling all of the nurses to "go away" and to "get out of my face". She was not a very happy camper and if you know our little Macee, she tells it how it is and will let you know exactly what is
up. We had to stay over night with her and she was
not too impressed with our sleeping arrangement. The room was "too small" and it looked like a "baby room". Keep in mind she was super mad at this point and was hating everything about the whole deal (which I do not blame her)!
After a very sleepless night, she demanded us to
leave at 5 AM and to get out of there in her wagon. So we left to make her happy (I was
sure ready to leave also). Nels threw up when
we got back to Grandma's. I think it was a
combo of all of the nerves and lack of sleep
to the point of exhaustion.
That afternoon Macee started to run a fever of 104 degrees, so we were back to the ER.
Everything was ok with her 3-4 inch incision
so they thought she had just caught a bug.
We went back to grandma's and thankfully
her fever broke during the night. We came
home yesterday and it was so nice to get some
sleep in our own bed!

Macee is doing great and has to be in her
splint for 2 weeks and not put any weight
on it for at least 2 weeks and possibly 6.
I am not sure how we are going to do with
that. We have a follow up with our doctor
here in Billings in 2 weeks and he will
either cast it or keep her in the
walking boot. Then we are back off to Salt
Lake Jan. 8th. I am so glad this is over
and have felt very blessed to have
her leg fixed. I pray that we don't ever
have to do it again! We are so grateful for
Amanda and her taking such good care of
Carter and Annie! She is a Lifesaver!! Thanks
everyone for all of your support, prayers, and
love!!! We have such a great family!! Also,
thanks mom and dad for coming down with us!!!

Happy Birthday Lacee!!!

Happy Birthday Lacee!!! We love you!! Have a great Thanksgiving! I hope you didn't paint all day! Take some time and relax and take a nice bath in that jetted tub!! We love ya!!

Pearson "Day Spa"

After many years of using the famous back rubber up in Fairfield. Nels and I decided to invest in one of our own. Carter has sure enjoyed this new toy also. Whenever we pull it out, he lays down on the floor waiting for his turn. He has also learned how to turn it on by himself. He turns it on and either sticks it in his mouth and tries to talk, or he watches it bounce all over the floor. I especially enjoy it, I let Nels watch sports center and I get back rubs (I got that idea from Aunt Robbin).

Old McDonald's Farm (or Zoo)

It was such a nice day on Saturday, we decided to

go to the zoo and pack a picnic. As you can see, Nels had just as much fun as the kids. We had a great time, but the best part of all was the Tiger "Prince" and playing on the playground. Then we all came home and took naps. Atleast Nels, Carter, and I.

Who Dialed 911!!!!

So tonight we were just hanging out and getting the kids ready for bed. When the doorbell rang and there was a police officer standing on the porch. He said we had an open line on with the 911 dispatch. He pointed to the phone on the floor and said I bet that is the one. So I picked up the phone and sure enough it had been on for 25 minutes with a 911 dispatch lady on the other end. I am sure she heard all the kids running around and us telling them to clean up and brush teeth (at least we weren't yelling, I don't think). So I apologized to her and the officer just laughed and left. At least he had a sense of humor about it. After he left we were like darn it, we should have taken a picture with him and blogged it.

Anyways, my vote for Christmas is drawing families and making a gift basket for them. I am good with a $20 limit. What do you all think...

Trunk or Treat, Haircuts, and a little Bling

Little Carter after 17 months finally needed his first haricut. I don't think I would have trusted anyone but Aunt Marjie to cut it. She used to cut my hair as a little girl and she has given all of our kids thier first haircuts. We love her!! Thanks Marjie!!







Ok, I know this looks pathetic, but Macee calls this her bling on her boot. It did have more flowers and butterflies on it, but the girls have been picking it off and wearing them as ear rings. The pink fabric thing didn't go over so well, mostly because I didn't even try. I think most of you have heard that we head down to Salt Lake on Nov. 6th to meet with the doctor that will do her surgery. It is on the right foot this time!!

Trunk or Treat was friday night for our ward. We had a Supergirl, a Witch, and a little Scarecrow. Since we did trunk or treat do you think that gets us out of trick or treating?

Andrea's Quirky Quirks

1. I am a clean freak. My sisters and sister-in-laws leave messes around and make bets on how long it will take me to start cleaning it up. They call me Cinderella. P.S. My house is not always clean contrary to popular belief.
2. My dream is to have a few acres with a sweet horse barn and arena. I want to have a horse for each member of our family. I want our kids to have animals to take care of and I want to make them clean stalls like I had too. :) (Nels will have a Kawasaki horse)
3. My right eye squints whenever I smile really big, whether I want it to or not. I think that it make me look like a dork in pictures, but Nels tells me it looks cute.
4. The most annoying sound in the world is listening to muffled TV noises coming through the wall. For example, my room was right below my parents growing up. I would pre-set there volume and bang on the ceiling when they would turn it up. I would tell them that I couldn't get up for seminary if they wouldn't let me sleep. (Annie has strangely inherited this same quirk).
5. I used to feed my horse Doc Oreo ice cream and spend hours out in the barn cleaning and rearranging things. I was kind of a loner, I liked to hang out by myself. I just sold Doc 2 years ago when I got pregnant with Carter, he was my childhood horse.
6. The only time I have ever had stitches is when I was trying to be tough and was kicked in the forehead by a calf when we were branding.

I tag Amy Barlow, Krista P., Emilee A, Lisa Hanson, Michelle Smith, and Amanda Smith (Chelsie, you have already been tagged so get on it!) Now you all have to write 6 quirky things about you and then tag 6 more people.

Christmas!!!

Ok, Pearson Family I was just thinking that Christmas is getting closer and was wondering who was going to do the drawing. Or, I really like the idea of what Krista's family does with giving everyone a scrapbook page. We did it last year with my family and it was really fun. What do you all think...

I'm IT!

Six random facts about Nels:
1) I am a notary of the public for the state of Montana
2) I chew my ice cream and it drives Andrea crazy.
3) Misti and I both like to leave a little bite of food on our plates when eat. (weird, huh)
4) I clean my running & basketball shoes more than I clean my church shoes. (2 bottles of shoe cleaner a month Andrea said.)
5) The highlight of my college career was creating a business plan, entering it in a contest, and winning $5,000 for 1st place.
6) I have only missed emailing Mckay on his mission 1 week when we were in Fairfield and the computer was not working.

I am going to tag Josh, Kyle T, Chase, Cody W, Kevin Smith, and Luke N (I will see if I can get some more of the guys blogging). Now you have to post 6 random facts about yourselves and then tag 6 other people.

GGGOOOOOOAAAALLLLLLL!!!!

Hey Everyone-

I hope you all enjoyed the bedtime song from u-tube. This is my sister-in-law Ashley's favorite bedtime song. They emailed it to us awhile back and I thought we would share.

This week went really well with Macee's procedure on her leg. The doctor went in and drained the cyst and gave her the cortisone shot. They sent the fluid in for some testing and we go in for a follow up on Thursday. I think everything is going to be just fine. (P.S. I hope none of you noticed that I put the boot on her left foot in the picture and her hurt foot is really on the right. Way to go Mom, I know!) It will be all of my fault if she breaks it. The doctor will ask how it happened and I will have to tell him I am retarded!!!

Annie had her last soccer game yesterday. She did really good. She really hustles and goes after the ball. She was on a team with a bunch of girls from her school and primary class so she had a really good time. We tried to download a little film of her off of the video camera, but we couldn't get it to work. If anyone knows how let us know.

Here is the Shark Attack!!!
(Annie's team was the Sharks)

P.S. Charles and Janis, thanks so much for coming up a day early to stay with Annie and Carter. We appreciate it so much. We love ya and had a good time visiting with you!!

A Huge Blessing!!

I think everyone has heard about Macee having a bone cyst in her lower tibia on her right leg. We had x-rays done last Thursday and found the cyst. Then we had an MRI on Friday and they determined that there wasn't any cancer. Thank Goodness!! The cyst is about the size of her whole Tibia bone with a little wall of bone on one side. We are shocked she hasn't broken her leg yet! We went into see the pediatric orthopedic surgeon this morning and got some great news. Her cyst is a unicameral cyst which means it is filled with fluid and not blood. He also said that we probably don't need to do a bone graft like we thought. He is going to go in on Wednesday
morning and drain some of the fluid out and give her a cortisone shot. He thinks that the bone will be able to heal and grow in by itself. Let me tell ya, HUGE Relief!! She has to wear a boot for 6 weeks, then we will go back in for more x-rays to make sure the bone is healing.

I just want to thank everyone for their prayer and fasts. Our prayers were sure answered!! We feel so blessed to have so much support and love from our families. I get choked up and have a hard time talking when I think about what everyone has done for us. Thank you all!! We will keep you posted on the surgery and recovery.

Annie and Adria are taking great care of Macee and
Macee is catching on quick on how to milk things all
she can. We went and got some stickers to put on her
boot and some pretty pink stretchy fabric. I don't know
how well that will turn out since I am an awesome sewer
and all!

Our Beautiful Babies!!

Our little Annie Kay is 6 years old and started 1st grade this year. She loves school and has a really great teacher that she totally adores. She is really starting to take off in her reading and is even excited to do her homework. We were a little worried about her desire to learn last year, but she has really picked things up and is even reading to Macee. I am so proud of her and how far she has come. She also enjoys soccer and chasing the boys at recess. Hopefully the boys will start having cooties here soon, or we might have some problems :). She is doing good in soccer, and wants to maybe try karate after soccer season is over. She has a sweet sensative spirit, but can be rowdy also. She is a great big sister and a huge helper to her mom. This is Annie on the first day of school in her favorite Hannah Montana shirt. We seem to have all of the Hannah Montana songs memorized and thats all they want to jam to in the car.

Macee is 4 and has started pre-school with Robbin. She really likes school and is like a little spong, absorbing all she can. She has a mind of her own and keeps us on our toes. She has been known to be a little sassy at times and can talk her way out of pretty much anything. Sometimes I don't know what to do with her. She loves to play with cousins and hang out with Annie. Actually tonight her cousins are spending the night because Chelsie just had their 3rd baby today. It's a little boy 6lbs 15 oz (both mom and baby are doing good). She is in love with Hannah Montana just as much as Annie. I want to put them both in a lip-sync contest.
Like father like son. I bet you can't guess who this little boy's daddy is!
Carter is almost 17 months and let me tell you boys and girls are totally different! He has already conquered opening doors and sneaking out down the road, climbing on the desk and playing on the compter, and my centerpiece on the table had to go becuase he kept throwing it off. He is super busy and never stops. Last week he had a fever for a few days and it's sad to say but it was almost nice because he finally slowed down and snuggled with me. He is starting to say a few words like thank you, hi, bye, uh-oh, ball, and ba-ba. He calls Nels and I both mamma and Annie and Macee both Macee. He has a good arm on him, we know he is done eating when he starts launching his food across the kitchen (unfortunately he has also shown off this skill in sacrament meeting with his toys hitting unsuspecting church goers). This is the kids at the pictograph caves. We missed you Chase and Krista!!

Men (&Women) at Work

Drea and I have been hard at work on our basement. It has been a work in progress over the past 9 months, maybe we will be done in another 9. Drea and I have done all of the framing and sheet rocking. We did hire the electrical, fireplace, and plumbing done by the professionals. I do really enjoy working on the basement when I leave to work and after I return home the work has been done and all we have to do is write a check. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen too often. The sheet rocking has gone pretty well for the most part, it is much more challenging than framing (that is my opinion). Chad is probably getting sick of me calling him about every other day and asking him how to do stuff or if someone else will be able to fix what I messed up. It has been very rewarding working on the basement though, it is just fun to see that we can actually build something. Well, enjoy the little tour and tell me what you think.

Our first Prom!

Hey everyone!! Nels and I just got back from CHICAGO!!! We went to the National Auto Auction Association Conference. We had an awesome time, Nels had to go to a few meetings during the day, but mostly we got to hang out. On Thursday we went and walked the magnificent mile (shopping stores and found Pearson Street), had lunch at a hole in the wall hot dog place where Nels totally fell in love with his yummy hot dog. Personally, if you saw how these yummy hot dogs were made it would make you think twice. We also went to the top of the John Hancock Building and they made us wash the windows. (not really, but it was a cool photo op). That night we had a member reception which was in the Conrad Suite (the top of the Hilton Towers Hotel where we were staying). It was beautiful!! The view on the balcony was looking out over Lake Michigan (Krista I now understand why they call it the beach because it truly is) was incredible. After that there was a Ford Reception where we bailed early and went to the Broadway Play "Wicked." Yes, I know what you are thinking by the title, but it was awesome. It is about how the wicked witches on the "Wizard of Oz" came to be. If anyone has the chance to go, I highly recommend it.

Friday, Nels had a morning meeting. Then we walked over to the (ginormous) Field Museum. I know I am saying the everything was incredible, but this museum you probably would have to spend a week there to see everything. We had a Chrysler Luncheon that afternoon where the Mayor of Chicago came and the guy that the movie "Catch Me if You Can" was based off of. He had a very inspiring message on why not to do what he did. It was pretty neat to hear about his life. That afternoon we walked over to the Navy Pier and rode a 150 ft. high Ferris wheel. Friday night was the big formal reception. We got to get all dressed up (I even wore heels which is a huge feat for me). This reception was super boring, they gave out awards and we just heard a bunch of blah for over an hour. The food was good though:) and we were in the ball room where they filmed the last part of "The Fugitive". Then this morning we had to get up at 3:30 a.m. and head home.

The best part of the trip was getting to hang out with Nels, we had such a good time and I will post some pictures.

Why not, everyone else is doing it!

Well, I figured everyone else is doing this blog thing, so we might as well give it a try. I told Andrea she would be in charge of doing the blog and she just laughed so this could be really short lived. It is fun seeing what everyone else is doing, just a little glimpse into everyone's lives. We are up here in Billings, MT and getting further away from everybody. At least Em & Kelly are still in Laurel, but they are moving towards Park City (way out in the boonies). Chase & Krista in Cleveland, Chad & Misti in Atascadero (is that right?), Luke & Lacee on their way to Borger, TX. Mckay in the Philippines. At least Tate is still in good ol' Fairfield, we know Mom and Dad aren't going anywhere too soon. Annie has started the 1st grade and is playing soccer, Macee started preschool and is Annie's biggest fan. In fact Annie is Macee's "teacher", she helps Macee learn her letters and sounds. Carter is 16 months old and climbing on top of and getting into everything. We love all of them and they have all been great blessings in our lives. Andrea keeps the house of chaos in order at all times, between running to school, soccer practice, young women at church, and everything else I couldn't ask for anything else. As for me, I just try to keep busy at work. Andrea's family is up here in Billings, I call my father-in-law (Spencer) boss, stake president, and whatever else he tells me to call him (ha ha). I also work with Jeannie at the auto auction, so it is family time all the time. John & Ashley are doing great in Seattle, Ben & Lauraleah are in Billings along with Jake & Chelsie. Amanda & Kyle are in Louisville (pronounced Looooville for all you westerners) and Joey is keeping busy between hunting and the detail shop. Well, I think I have reached my yearly quota on the blog so we'll see if I can come up with anything else later down the road.