Eugene Day 2

Our hotel isn't too far from the track, so we walked the two miles along the river trail to get to the meet today. It was raining so we bought umbrellas, but unfortunately we had to check them at the gate. Of course once we got into the stands, it started pouring down rain. We were not sitting in the covered seats because when watching the steeplechase, the best seats are by the water jump. Trust me, it was well worth sitting in the rain! Plus, we were able to find some awesome ponchos ;-)

Congrats to Billy for making it into the finals! We are super proud of you!!

We're in Eugene-- Olympic trial prelims tomorrow!!

We made it to Eugene today! Summer is flying by as usual, but this year that's maybe not such a bad thing. We are enjoying all of the extra time with family and friends, but we are anxiously awaiting our next chapter.

We arrived in Eugene late afternoon, and met up with Billy, Alisa, and the kiddos in the hotel. The girls were full of energy after being trapped in the car for 2 days, and ridiculously excited to see Bella and Noah, so we took them for a walk. They enjoyed being able to run around. Hailee and Bella are already inseparable. Bill went out to dinner with Billy and the team, while I did a Wal-mart run with Charlee, Hailee, and Bella. Our room has a kitchenette, so we won't have to eat out everyday! Much cheaper and very convenient with kids! Bella and Hailee wanted their nails painted so that was how I spent my night, followed by ice cream, and then Hailee headed upstairs to sleep over with Bella.

Billy races steeple prelims tomorrow. We are so incredibly proud and excited for him. This would be a good spot to say good luck Billy, but luck just doesn't seem like the right word. Instead we'll say may your hard work, dedication, passion, and heart carry you through. We love you and are looking forward to watching you do your thing on the track tomorrow. In your dad's words, "Give 'em what they came for, and show 'em what you came for."

Father's Day 2012

Father's Day 2012

 2 BBQs and lots of fun family time!

Colt & Sydney

Hailee absolutely adores her sis-in-law Sydney

Syd & the girls

Father's day BBQ @ Colt's

Bill w/ Colt & Danielle 

Hailee & her "sister-sister" 

the girls, Syd, Lindsey, @ Aeslyn

Syd, Lindsey, their dad, & grandpa

Father's day BBQ @ my brother's 

Hailee getting ready to ride the mini bike

Hailee & her cousin Dacia 

my sis Cathy and I 

Charlee riding the go cart w/ her Aunt Cathy

Getting caught up..

Here are some pictures I've been meaning to upload!


Some of the girls and I went and stayed in a cabin at Sylvan Lake before leaving Colorado.  It is so beautiful up there!  Becky put it all together but then got sick.  She brought us up a yummy breakfast the next morning though.  I have AMAZING friends!!

Deb & I

Becky & I after breakfast

I

Drinks & the mountains.. what could be better? ;-)

Our cabin, Sylvan Lake trip 2012 (perhaps annual trip?)

 The night before I left was Carol's retirement party.  She is such an amazing person and teacher.  I am so incredibly happy for you Carol!

Leaving Colorado...

Our sweet, sweet girl on the way to Cali

Amman Apartment Pictures!

Yay!!  We got pictures of our actual apartment in Amman today.  It's a furnished apartment, so the furniture stays.  It's a 3 bedroom apartment in Abdoun.  There are 3 other staff members in the building. I'm told it's a nice area within walking distance to shops and the shopping mall.  We love it and are so excited to make it ours!

We have lots of fun pictures from Father's day and the weekend (and parties before leaving Eagle).  We will try to get them all uploaded soon.  We are having such a great time visiting family!!  Off to Oregon at the end of the week to watch Billy run Olympic trials.  

California Lovin'!

"How do you like being in California, Hailee?"
"I like it a lot, I just don't like the weather."
Well, that pretty much sums it up for all of us. We are all having a great time, but boy is it hot! The forecast for Father's Day is 106! Getting us ready for the Middle East I guess!
We're staying with Colt and Sydney, and are really enjoying their company. Lots of laughs and the summer has only just begun!
Our first few days have been packed with visits with family and friends, but we love it! We wouldn't have it any other way, after all, that is why we are here. :-) Hailee spent the week going to vacation bible school with Sydney's nephew Damien. She loved it!
I had to return my Mac laptop when I left GCMS (boo), and blogging on the ipad app is not fun. We will hopefully have a new laptop by the end of next week, and I promise to get some better pics (and posts) uploaded then. For now, enjoy the pictures below from my phone.
Since I started this post with a quote from Hailee, I'll end it with a quote from Hailee. This one goes out to all of our Colorado peeps. We were almost to Bakersfield, and Charlee was throwing a fit. I was trying to calm her down, and told her that we are almost home. Hailee responds, "Mom, home is Colorado. We just drove like a thousand miles, so we are nowhere close to home." What can I say? Our baby is a Colorado girl at heart <3

Day 1 Travels

This post will be short and sweet since I'm blogging in a hotel from my phone (so forgive any typos)! We left our home in Colorado this morning, on our way to sunny California. It was much harder than I had anticipated saying goodbye to friends/family, but we are very excited to see our California friends and family. For what seems like the first time ever, the Nelson family has nothing but time, so we are in no rush. We stopped for the night in Mesquite, NV. We enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner at the casino/hotel and let the girls release some energy in the arcade. We should be in CA tomorrow afternoon.