Tag - Guess I'm it!

Tagged by Stephanie....
so I have to post some info on myself.

Here's how it works...
1. You have to post these rules before you complete the "middle name" facts.
2. Players must list one fact (that is somehow relevant to their life) for each letter of their middle name. Those who don’t have a middle name should use the middle name they would have liked to have had.
3. Once tagged, write a blog post containing middle name game facts.
4. At the end of the blog post, tag one person for each letter of the middle name. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog for rules.

D - Decisive, which I am NOT. Honestly, I will stand in the candy isle for 20 minutes trying to decide between 3 different candy bars. Most times I will buy them all, lol. I also have a hard time deciding what to wear in the morning so most days I don't get out of my pajamas ;) Ok, so that's a lame excuse, right?

I - Intelligent. I think I'm intelligent, I always did well in school. However these days I kind of feel like my brain has gone to mush. Talking in a high pitched voice and saying words like Wawa & poop have ruined me. I am a master at toddler talk though & that definitely takes intelligence.

A - Athletic. I've always considered myself athletic (when I'm not carrying around an extra 50 lbs & an extra person inside of me) In high school I swam on the swim team & qualified for the state swim meet in the 100 breast stroke! I also cheerleaded grades 8-11 & danced my Sr. year. I took gymnastics & dance most of my younger years and even did pointe' for 4 years. I still enjoy being active and love to exercise and sweat. Makes me feel like I've accomplished much :)

N - Nurturing. This is one I didn't realize that I had until I was a mom. It's one thing to be around children & to have one of your own. I didn't realize how easy it would be to cuddle, comfort & laugh at Chandler. I think Marshall has also made me a more nurturing person as I have watched what a wonderful, great dad he is. He's extremely considerate and always doing something for others. I hope this nurturing will grow even more as we expand our family.

E - Eating - I HAD to do eat for this one. I love to eat. But mostly - I love candy :) I have to have candy or ice cream around the house or I think I will go crazy. I love anything sweet & it loves me. I've been on an orange juice kick lately and I can't seem to get enough. I had borderline gestational diabetes with Chandler so I'm sure drinking a whole pitcher of orange juice a day isn't going to help me. I also love potatoes and a good steak with A-1! Food.....food - I could go on for hours!

Ok - AVRY, JERALEE, LIA, CAMILLE, SHANNON & LAURA.....you're IT!!

Bear Lake

Yet another family reunion - this one was Marshall's mom's family. We drove down on Saturday the 18th and only spent about 4 hours there, but it was a lot of fun. They had rented 3 wave runners & a boat. Chandler loved the wave runners and had a fun time riding with dad. I rode on one by myself which was fun, but most of the time I hung around the food table and ate. (Can't get much better than that, lol!) It was a cooler day, but as long as the sun was out, it didn't get too cold. I like that the water is so shallow for a ways out, makes me less nervous about Chandler going in over his head. This boy has NO fear. He'll wander out really deep if you aren't watching him closely and do it over and over again. We also celebrated Danielle (Marshall's sister) & Daniel's (Marshall's cousin) birthdays. Although we spent 6-7 hours in the car that day, it was worth it to go down.

Lewis Family Reunion

One reunion that we attend each year is my grandma's family reunion - the Lewis side. This year our family was in charge of it and my mom chose the location as Island Park. We were at the Sawtelle resort. Other than sharing a huge community room with about 20 beds, it was really fun. The theme was 007 - James Bond. We had bond trivia on Friday night, Bond activities Saturday afternoon, & an auction w/poker chips on Saturday night. It was followed by a brunch on Sunday morning. The food was delicious, my mom put a lot of thought into that. Other than tag teaming Chandler, it was a fun relaxing reunion.

Marsh & Maeli reading books to Chandler, he'd had enough!

The Auction

It's a.............

BOY!!!

We are so excited to be having another boy! I really thought it was going to be a girl because this pregnancy has been so much different. I was pretty sick until about 17 weeks and still feel nauseated at times. Marshall & Chandler came to the ultrasound. A few minutes into it, I was feeling anxious and wanted to know whether it was a girl or boy. The u/s tech got a great crotch shot and I said, "Now that's a boy!" She laughed and said she was going to ask us if we wanted to know, but we figured it out on our own. We saw his little boy parts a few different times, and there's no mistaking that. It will be great for Chandler to have a little brother to wrestle with and be buddies with. Baby was measuring at 19 weeks, so right on. I'm taking that as a good sign as Chandler measured a week big at his 20 week ultrasound. I'm trying for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) as it was a hard recovery from a c-section. I think that will happen as long as I have a smaller baby. Chan was just too big for me (9 lbs 1 oz & 22 inches long) so I failed to progress. I think it didn't help that I gained 55 lbs, oops! I've only put on 5 lbs so far this time but I packed on the weight in the 3rd trimester with Chandler, so I assume this little guy will be the same
This baby is really active too and I'm feeling a lot of strong movement as the placenta is posterier this time. It was anterior with Chan and I didn't feel this strong of kicking going on at this time.
Now to play the name game. I think boy names are a lot harder than girl names. Marsh and I just have to agree on something, lol. I want something unique, but not weird. I also don't want him to have 5 other kids in his class with the same name growing up. Anyways, there you have it! We're almost halfway done and now we get to look forward to getting REALLY big, having more indigestion and waddling around :)

Army

Specialist Clint Nielson

So I noticed a nice tribute to Clint (my brother) on my sister's (Jeralee) blog. I thought I would do the same as I am extremely proud of Clint and what he has accomplished. Lia posted Sunday on her blog that Clint was leaving for his deployment to Iraq for 15 months. Clint & his family have been stationed in Germany the last 15+ months. Lia and the kids will stay in Germany. It's amazing how much more respect you have for the armed forces when you have a family member out there fighting for our country. I, like Jeralee, am scared for what he will see and do there, and our prayers and thoughts are with him. Clint, we are so proud of you & love you SO MUCH!
Lia - I know it takes a strong wife to do what you are doing and being so supportive of Clint.

The Nielsons: Clint, Aurelia, Nadia (4) & Bianca (11 months)

Miss Idaho Falls

This year I hostessed for Miss Idaho Falls. A program I believe in deeply as I was Miss Idaho Falls 5 years ago now. It paid for my whole sophomore year of college and gave me experiences I never would have had elsewhere. The Miss Idaho Falls pageant is a preliminary to the Miss America pageant. It is the largest scholarship program for women out there. Here's where the points boil down:Interview: 25%, Talent 35%, Evening wear 20%, Lifestyle & Fitness in swimsuit 15%,On stage question 5%. As a hostess, we are each assigned a girl and are expected to be their cheerleader, a person to give advice, shopping buddy, and help them get ready that night. I was a hostess to Allison Kinghorn. She's also from Rigby & graduated with my brother Geoff. She is one of the most down to earth, beautiful, talented girls I have ever met. And boy can this girl sing!! She sang Katherine McPhee's version of "Over the Rainbow" Allison has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard. They had 11 girls competing and the competition was unreal. You would not believe how talented all of these girls are. They gave out $9,000 in scholarship money. Allison won the talent award and was 2nd runner up. I'd love to see her go on to do another pageant and participate in the state pageant. It's amazing to see what happens over the course of five years as I remember vividly my interview, talent & walking across the stage in my swimwear & evening gown. Now I'm sporting my second belly as our family increases to 4 this winter.

Ducks & The Rodeo

This weekend was a lot of fun. Friday, Marshall received free tickets from his work to go to the War Bonnet Rodeo in Idaho Falls. That was nice considering the tickets were $20 a piece and I've actually never been to a rodeo, so it was a first for Chandler & I. Chandler loved the horses & calves for about the first 45 minutes. Then he started getting mad until we bought a funnel cake. He loves sweets, a boy after my own heart. We made it almost to the end and saw the fireworks as we were walking out to the car





Today we went to the Nature Park here in Rexburg and fed the ducks & geese. One particular goose became my friend and would come up and try to eat out of my hand. Chan loved the ducks and would chase them and scream at them.