NELSON FAMILY NEWSLETTER 2013
Bill/Rick & Christine. We hope this letter finds you well. We have had a great year (busy!),
much of it on the road traveling to see missionaries, friends and family (8 children and 27 grandchildren). We have attended the marriages of a number of our missionaries. It is always pure joy to be with them. We will have all the family home for Christmas—45 around the Christmas tree. We are really excited. Bill/Rick loves retired life. We are teaching the Missionary Preparation class in our Church and loving it. It makes us feel connected.
Ryan & Sarah (Navy Blue T-shirts). Live in Salt Lake with their four kids (ages 4 to 11). The family has had a great year. Sarah ran the Boston Marathon. She finished before the bombs went off. She is still trying to get Ryan to take his car to a real carwash instead of leaving it out in rain storms for free washes. Ryan did break down, however, and bought her a new car.
Tommy (age 6). Decided to try out Todd’s epi-pen (Todd is allergic to bee stings) by giving himself a shot in the stomach (what better place??). Todd told Ryan and Sarah that that would be impossible because he would have had to unlock the trigger, etc. etc. A little voice from Ryan’s lap quietly replied—”I did that.”
Brooke & Dan (Red T-shirts). Live in Minnesota with their five kids, ages 3 to 15. Kids keep them running, especially Elli who is busy year-round playing soccer. Dan still works for 3-M and Brooke hasgained an increased love of carpools. Their move to the suburbs has been great for the kids, but Brooke and Dan still miss their St. Paul city-living experience.
Sammy (age 4). Brooke’s repeated admonitions to Sammy… “Sammy—you have to quit doing that, PERIOD! Sammy finally replied, “Mom, quit saying period. You make me feel like a sentence.”
Erin & Sverre (Light blue T-shirts). Live in Denver with their six kids, (ages 4 months to 12 years). A big year for Erin and Sverre. Within 2½ weeks (a) one broken jaw and countless stitches (Tait—8 years), (b) three days later another visit to the emergency room--a slash in the forehead from running into the piano (Jane-4 years), (c) the birth of a 9 pound, 14 ounce baby boy, Max (lucky Erin was induced early). Grandma was called out to help babysit. Will (2 years) continues to call her “Grandpa” because he can’t pronounce “Grandma,” and (d) to top it off, Abby (12 years) had to call her parents and remind them that it was their anniversary. Both had forgotten.
Kristen & Mick (Grey T-shirts). Live in Bountiful, Utah with their 5 children (ages 2 to 13). Mick and Kristen were able to run the Boston Marathon together this year. Kristen earned it. Mick won a contest for a free entry into the marathon 3 weeks before the race. They (along with Sarah) finished just 10 minutes before the bombs went off. We went along to support them. We were headed toward the finish line and had fortunately just turned a corner out of harms way when we heard the explosions—a day we won’t forget.
Liesel (age 2). Perhaps our bravest granddaughter. At one year old went off a five story waterslide in her mother’s arms (Kristen didn’t have anyone to leave her with). She never made a peep—Liesel that is.
Todd & Rachel (Turquoise T-shirts). Live in Salt Lake with their two kids (ages 4 and 6). Their third child, Lizzie, passed away last year. Their most exciting news is that they are expecting a baby girl in February! Rachel and Lauren have the same due date. They have been living with us for about a year, but recently bought a home in Salt Lake.
Drewby (as in Drew, age 4). Had a confrontation with one of his little friends. He was relaying his frustration to his mother…“I am just going to dig a grave, put him in it, and send him to Heaven.”
Audrey. “Kindergarten is boring. All we do is sit there and learn.”
Lauren & Mike (Brown T Shirts). Still living in San Diego. Mike works in commercial banking and Lauren is still involved with an organization that provides humanitarian care to villagers in Guatemala. The big news is that they are expecting a baby girl in February!! Liam (2 years) is still as cute as ever. Although he is just learning to talk, he knows how to access pictures, videos, and games on Lauren’s I-phone. He is also very much into trucks. He sat looking out the window for over an hour at a giant moving van across the street. Lauren took him over to see it.He slowly walked around the van, bent over, and kissed every wheel on the truck.
Jeff & Rachel (Green T shirts). Proud parents of new baby, Miles, who began crawling at 6½ months! They are living in Los Angeles. Jeff is finishing his MBA at UCLA. Rachel’s big accomplishment was that she ran the St. George marathon and finished (without realizing it) one half hour faster than the year before. She qualified for the Boston!
Scott & Mandy (Blue T-shirts). Big news for them is they had their second baby—Owen. Annie, almost 2,is their first. They are living in Houston. Scott got a job at Ernst and Young, the same company Bill/Rick worked for when he and Christine were first married . Mandy tutors a few students each week—in math,
chemistry and physics!?
AUTO UPDATE
Awesome Auto Experience #1. On their way back home from Utah, Erin and Sverre’s van died. The tow truck arrived, loaded the entire van (children and luggage included) on the back (is that legal??), and headed home to Colorado. Three hours and $700 later they arrived safe and sound. Sverre didn’t think the experience was all that much fun. However, the kids thought it was AWESOME!
Awesome Auto Experience #2. Erin, “sneaking” down to the local service station for gas on her mustard yellow Vespa, loaded with her three little kids, helmets and all, was stopped by a policeman who insisted, gas or no gas, she return home immediately. She did. She drove the scooter and the three kids rode home in the back of the police car. The kids (again) thought it was AWESOME! So did Erin--no ticket.
Freeway Fire. On their way to Red Fish Lake (see photo) for the annual family vacation, one of the axle hubs on the boat trailer of the Nelson’s 20 year old ski boat (the barge) caught fire, complete with billowing smoke and leaping flames. Christine, thinking incredibly quickly, put the fire out by squirting it with the family’s vacation supply of water bottles. Incredibly, due to the help of some very kind people, they were able to get the trailer towed to a repair shop, get it fixed, and only be three hours late to Red Fish Lake. On a Saturday! It confirmed our faith in the goodness of people.
Mexico Mishap. Todd and Rachel got a call the night before they were to leave for Mexico from the owner of the vacation condo. Bad News/Good News. A bus had run into the condo. According to the owner, the outside didn’t look too good, but the inside was great! How is it that the Nelsons were so lucky to be in a condo that got hit by a bus!??!
Fender Bender. One fender bender—brand new family Durango. Kristen punched it when the light turned green. The car in front of her didn’t. The other car’s trailer hitch drilled a hole right through the Durango’s license plate, grill, and radiator ($3,000 later). Not surprisingly, the other car emerged unscathed.
We want to thank you all for your on-going love and support. Someone asked Rachel how she was doing. She said fine, because she could feel the strength of everybody’s prayers. Cute Drewby prays every night that “Lizzie can feel our heart.” We can certainly feel your hearts.
We are especially grateful for Jesus Christ and His Atonement. We know that He will always be by our side. He is our only true hope and will sustain us though all our difficulties.
We love you all.
The Nelsons
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