Good Year 2011!!

2011----Quite Eventful!

JANUARY 2011: My cute hilarious papa turned 70 and we had a family party for him at his favorite place in the world.....SIZZLER! He keeps us all laughing. My brothers and I enjoy telling each other "the latest thing Rog did or said." For example, last night I took him and my mom to the movie in SLC and when it the bill came to $26 bucks for 3 movie tickets Rog said "Holy &$%## that much for a movie!" He doesn't care that people are around he says what is exactly on his mind and it is pretty dang funny!

FEBRUARY 2011: I want on a Western Caribbean Cruise and it was absolutely amazing! I went with my good friend Cami Slade. I didn't know the 2 boys we would be going with, but by the end of the trip we were the best of friends! It was so fun, relaxing, and WARM! I of course had to take off one week of school, but it was worth it, and I hate to admit it, I didn't think about school once!

MARCH 2011: I found out that I got into Weber State's Master's of Communications Program and I was excited to be furthering my education in a field that I had always loved.

APRIL 2011: My parents, and nephew (Tanner) and I went to D.C. for spring break! My friend Brian, that I met on the cruise, lived in D.C. and he talked it up enough that we decided to visit. It was soooo fun! My nephew Tanner, who literally lives in the sticks was our lifesaver on the metro system, we were impressed with his sense of direction!

MAY 2011: I found out I would be a bit busier at my school. I was appointed Department Head of the Social Studies Department. I Started my master's program and I really enjoy the people in my co-hort.

JUNE 2011: Yay!!! School is out for the summer! I ran the Ragnar with friends and really enjoyed it! Oh, and for a school project I made a brochure for my brother's company NSUPPS.com. He is still buffer than ever and is preparing to try and break his deadlift record in 2012...go Brady!

JULY 2011: My big 26th birthday! My close friends went on a St. George trip and had a blast!

AUGUST 2011: I got back to my roots and went to a derby in Heber with a bunch of friends....good times. The bad part, because not everything is perfect in a year right, I landed in ER. I woke up one morning at 4 a.m. with sharp pains in my stomach. I started throwing up profusely (gross I know) and I couldn't leave my bathroom, luckily I had grabbed my phone and of all people---I call my parent's who live 2 hours away, but it was so comforting to talk to them. They rushed up here, took me to the hospital, and from there they gave me an IV so I didn't get dehydrated. They ran all sorts of tests, and really could find the reasoning why I was in pain and throwing up. They narrowed it to 3 things---My celiacs disease acting up, a stomach virus, food poisoning. Anyway, I was sick for a week, and my parents took me to E town and took care of me....I don't know what I would do without them!

SEPTEMBER 2011: The school year is going great....it's my 4th year of teaching and my 7th graders are the best group I have EVER taught (knock on wood:))

OCTOBER 2011: Juggling teaching with going to school full time is pretty crazy but my friends help me by keeping my social life going a bit too...very busy time!

NOVEMBER 2011: On the 2nd of November my 7th niece is born to my brother Brady and his wife Jane. Halle is the big sister, and they named my beautiful new niece Harper. I adore her and could hold her all day long if she let me!

DECEMBER 2011: My awesome research partner and I finished our big--long research paper where we studied the impact of school announcements in my middle school. Christmas parties, shopping, packing.....yay for Christmas and New Years!

I am lucky to have an amazing family and great friends! I still love running, beading, and watching football. I love my job and the people I work with. I still have places I want to travel to so hopefully I can visit somewhere fun in 2012, if there is a beach I will always be happy!

May everyone have an even better year during 2012..Happy New Year!!

New Baby in the family!!

Harper Elizabeth Nielson....11/2/2011

So I just don't think there is anything more precious than a new baby in the family!! Harper Elizabeth Nielson is my newest niece and she weighed 5 lbs. and 13 ounces...just a cute little thing! Her mama was happy that she only had to push 5 minutes versus 7 hours for her first.
I went to the hospital after my class and held her for a few hours. Harper was so sweet and just slept the entire time. Her skin is so soft and smooth and I could literally hold her all day! I love little girls and it will be so fun to have this new addition to our family!
Congrats Jane & Brady!

Yay for Fall!

So fall is my very favorite season of all, I am pretty sure I have posted this before but I love everything about fall! My favorites are:

1. Football Season (BYU isn't great this year but the Raiders are getting better!)
2. Fall leaves....my friends and I just took a drive up to Snowbird and Alta and the leaves were beautiful!
3. Great Holidays to look forward to!
4. Hot Chocolate
5. Burning Pumpkin Spice Candles
6. Birthday parties-I am not joking when I say 80% of my fam. is born in the fall, and I CAN'T WAIT for my new neice Harper to join our family this next month!
7. Candy corn!!! Love it!
8. Sweater season, jackets, scarves, etc..
9. Crisp weather...not too hot, not too cold.
10. Curriculumn...I love my fall curriculumn it's Native American's & LDS pioneers.

The list can go on and on but I really enjoy fall, there are many things to look for ward to...it's a great change!

Oh, and I am adding an adorable picture of my 2 1/2 year old niece Halle Jae who will be a big sister soon...she is growing right up and I think she looks beautiful in this picture! I love my nieces and nephews they are wonderful!

My randomness

So It is July 19th and I should be working more on my final project for my class, but I figured this would be a good....productive distraction. So I will update my life with pictures because those are much more fun....Well, since I last wrote I ran the Ragnar Relay and as much as I was dreading it, I had fun because my group was awesome!
I have made quite a few trips down to Ephraim and LOVE going up to the mountains. It literally takes like 10 min. to get winding up the mountain in my hometown and I love it, it is sooooo peaceful.
In other random news, the Nielson Farm was happy to get their first crop of hay up before all the rain. Yes, even though the rain has been nice...it can be very costly for farmers so this year my dad and brother were less stressed because their hay was NOT ruined by rain. Whenever it rains I love it, but I always worry a bit during crop seasons, the farmers daughter in me:)
I have tended my cute niece Halle Jae and she keeps me smiling and on my toes!
I went with friends to St. George and we had a great time going to dinner, relaxing, shopping, watching movies, and catching up!
I had a birthday! It was a wonderful birthday, I turned the big 26 and had a great day. My friends and I hit the Ute Stampede Rodeo as we do every year, but the saddest thing happened....a horse broke it's leg and therefore, we all knew they would have to put it down so that was sad to see!
I am finished with my summer class this Monday and I CAN'T WAIT!
I love the summer and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE sleeping in!
Oh......and I HATE the back to school commercials, they at least need to get us through July without them right:)

Summer thus far.....

So I seriously can not believe it is July already! June literally flew by this time, and I really need savor my summer moments before school starts back up!
Here is what I have been up to lately:

1. Been to Ephraim to visit my parents a few times...so relaxing.
2. Been on a few dates...
3. Been swimming.
4. Been working on my Master's program....but I went from 3 to ONE class now so it's much more chill!
5. Been....gettin' a scholarship for school! I was so relieved to get a mini scholarship and save some mula!
6. Been hangin' out with friends and roomies...(I even "dragged State Street" like a teenager last night and it was a blast!
7. Been reading....Started "The Help" and highly suggest it....I love it!
8. Been buying music off of itunes here are a few: Matt Wertz, Blake Shelton, Rihanna, Cranberries....that's right, I have a wide genre.
9. Been playing with my ADORABLE nieces and nephews
10. Been going for runs and walks and even cancelled my gym membership for the summer because I LOVE being outside to work out....Need that Vitamin D right!

Well, no vacations planned because I went during the school year....so I think fondly of my time I spent at the beach in February and longingly wish I could go back to the beach this summer....but--at least I have pictures to reminisce about the beach with:)
Enjoy the summer it goes WAY too fast!

Grad School and DC

So this past month has gone by SO fast and I feel like a lot has happened. For Spring Break me, my parents, and my 15 year old nephew went to Washington DC together and we had a great time! I feel like it has been a rat race since I got home so I have not uploaded pix yet but they will be coming.....There was so much history there, I will definitely have to go back because there is no way to get it all in, in 4 days but we sure tried! Probably my favorite thing to see was George Washington's house at Mt. Vernon...it was absolutely beautiful!
Something else that is just beginning is grad school...through Weber State this time. I started grad school through SUU last year and took 2 classes that transferred over to Weber State. I am in the MPC (Masters of Professional Communications) program. I went to a 6 hour presentation on Saturday and go a feel for what I will be doing for the next two years. I know it is going to be A LOT of work...but it should be a great experience, I enjoy learning about communications a lot. There are 26 of us in the program so I am sure by the end of the program, I will know each one of them very well.
Something else really cool, is I took out my endowments in the Manti Temple. I have been wanting to for a while, and I was finally proactive about it. It was a wonderful experience...the temple is beautiful!
I have decided not to work this summer so that when I get done with my grad school classes I can take a full out mental break and just chill....that will be nice to get to that point! In the meantime, 18 DAYS LEFT OF TEACHING!

Cruisin and Springtime....

So it has been a while since I posted! A lot has happened to me....the big thing is I went on a Western Caribbean Cruise! I went with some friends in February, took an entire week off of school and everything but it was very well worth it! We hit the Cayman Islands, Honduras, Cozumel, Mexico, and the Bahamas. We had a blast swimming, snorkeling, and laying out in the sun. We all agreed that Cozumel was our favorite spot because we rented mope-heads and drove the length of the island and it was beautiful! The week went by way too fast...but now that Utah is KIND OF starting to get warmer it's better here. My students are into their 4th quarter so that means school is almost out. And I start up my masters classes again at the beginning of May....only this time I am going through Weber State instead of SUU (Yes, it is my 5th college...I have become the expert transfer student, but I wouldn't recommend the stress to anyone). Anyway, I am looking forward to springtime and being outside more.....can't wait!

Chocolate

SO I HAVE DECIDED CHOCOLATE IS SOMETHING THAT IS NOT JUST A LUXURY IN MY LIFE....IT IS NECESSITY! THOSE THAT KNOW ME WELL KNOW THAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE REESES PEANUT BUTTER CUPS, IT IS DEFINITELY THE BEST CANDY BAR OUT THERE. I HAVE DECIDED THE LOVE OF CHOCOLATE IS AN INHERITED GENE BECAUSE MY MOM LOVES IT AND ALWAYS HAD HER CRAVINGS FOR IT AND I AM THE SAME WAY. MY SISTER-IN-LAW TOLD ME THIS PAST WEEKEND THAT MY LITTLE NIECE KATIE IS ALWAYS FREAKING OUT WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE CHOCOLATE IN THE HOUSE.....YEP, IT'S DIAGNOSED SHE HAS THE CHOCOLATE CRAVING. I AM GETTING BETTER BECAUSE NOW I JUST BUY THE MINIATURE CHOCOLATE CANDIES SO THAT I AM NOT EATING THE BIG CANDY BARS EVERYDAY BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW HOW BAD THAT CAN BE RIGHT:) ANYWAY, I HAD NO IDEA HOW MUCH I LOVED CHOCOLATE UNTIL MY SISTER IN LAW SAID "KATIE IS JUST LIKE YOU AND YOUR MOM...SHE NEEDS HER CHOCOLATE." AND HONESTLY, I DON'T KNOW THE LAST TIME I WENT A DAY WITHOUT CHOCOLATE! IT'S JUST A DANG GOOD THING I UTILIZE MY GYM MEMBERSHIP RIGHT...SO I CAN SOMEWHAT CANCEL IT OUT!