firsts

the 1st nelson sister missionary!! Sister Nelson is in the MTC!! It was soo hard to say good-bye, and I still have to remind myself I can't just pick up the phone to call her... I miss her like crazy, but I'm so proud of her! I realize that although I need my sister, there are people in Germany and Austria who need the gospel and frankly what a cute little spiritual messenger she makes!!

my 1st time cutting my hair shorter then my shoulders! I'm loving it!! :) Chelsey did an amazing job as usually... thanks Chels! :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Bob... the tortoise

For graduation, our friends Crissa and Jeremy gave Shawn a tortoise!! Definitely the most unusual gift... but they have 2 and Shawn had mentioned before that he has always be interested in tortoises! So here is our first family pet. He is named Bob because when Ory first say him he kept saying Bob and Bop (at least that's what it translated to for us!) At first Orin was cautious, but now we have to watch him closely because he loves to crawl after Bob and attack him!!! Luckily I was able to snap some picture of the two of them together... I was showing Bob off to the neighborhood kids and they were all getting Orin's attention... one thing Ory likes better than Bob is to show off!!! :)

catching up

Seriously, I feel like I just did a post but it's been a month!!! Time is just flying by!! One month ago, Ory started crawling... it's fun to see him "exploring" and he loves it. He discovered people food (especially during Jenna's b-day... he loved the b-day cake!!!) and he tends to scream for food whenever he sees someone eating! (Reminds me of his Uncle Matt who always claims, "I like food too much!") He's getting to have quite a personality, he loves me crawling after him, laughs when I tell him no!, is really ticklish, and is climbing and trying to get into everything... we're still working on baby proofing, good thing he's mostly at Melina's!!

Shawn graduated! I'm so proud of him. I wasn't expecting to get emotional, but when I first saw him walking out in his cap and gown I was fighting back tears. It's been a long three years, but looking back it's gone quick and I'm so proud of all Shawn has accomplished!! I just feel so blessed to have such a wonderful husband!! :)

I'm counting down the days until school is out for summer... 14 days!! It couldn't come soon enough, these 4th graders are tough and so mean to each other! So between that and photography I'm keeping busy and so is Nia with all my housework I don't get to!! :) hehehe!! Here's some pictures from the past month!!! (Encinitas, Cincinnati, Provo, Graduation, 9 month photos)

Congrats!!

Shawn finished his last day of law school yesterday!!! I'm so proud of him for how hard he's worked the past 3 years!! I love you babe!!
(this is a picture of him on the first day of law school... cute huh!! :)

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Happy Birthday to my mom, my advisor, my psychiatrist, my cheerleader, my organizer, my scrapbooker, my listener, my friend! Thanks mom for all the "roles" you play in my life! I feel so blessed to have a mother who has always put her children first. I love you!!

Hawaii

Finally our update on Hawaii... we loved it!! Everything was perfect. As soon as we got in the rental car, we turned on the radio to hear IZ singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"... I can't believe Ben and Lynn get to live like that daily!!! I think Shawn said it best, "we came, we saw, we ate everything" or something like that. Here are some highlights:
1. The food (especially the macadamia nut sauce pancakes... the review claims it so good you could like it off a homeless man... that's pretty much true!!)
2. The beaches... especially Lanikai- it's so amazing... fine white sand, clear water to snorkel!!!
3. The sights, I think Shawn liked seeing Pearl Harbor and I enjoyed my return to the PPC (Polynesian cultural center... and this time I wasn't there to seat and scrape plates:)
4. The stay... Ben and Lynn's place was great, they were amazing hosts and tour guides!
5. The beauty... what can I say it's paradise!!
I'm already dying to go back... thanks Ben and Lynn!! :)