February 2015

Okay, sadly I don't have much to report on February.  It was a month full of normal days doing normal things, which was the best part of February.  We took the boys on a lot of adventure walks, had some family parties and celebrated Valentine's Day.

Adventure Walks

We are lucky to live by so many horse trails.  They lead from our community to my parents community and there are so many different routes to choose from.  It's become one of our favorite things to let the boys run around in the horse trails, finding sticks and rocks.  We take our time and by the end of the walk, the morning is gone and the boys are worn out.  We also feed two horses along our way, Harley and Brandi.  The boys don't always like to feed them because they drool...the horses that is.  But you know me, I can't help myself, horse drool or not.  On one of our walks, Scott found a rope swing.  It is a little worn out so Scott is going to fix it up so the neighborhood kids can use it again.  I'll post pics once that is done.

James with his joy school friends on an adventure walk!

Family Parties
Stan, Monika, Chloe, Brett, Connor, Isabelle, and Ian came for a visit in February.  It was great to finally meet Brett and to celebrate the February birthdays.  We had parties planned all weekend except the boys got sick and we had to miss out on some of them.  Alas, life with kids.  But we had a great time seeing the family, and as always, we wish they lived here!

You Rock!

Valentine's Day
We didn't too much to celebrate Valentine's Day this year because we had a family party planned for that night.  We got the boys Star Wars boxes of chocolates and Valentine's crafts were made.  Other than that, it was kind of like a normal day.  But Scott and I have been so lucky lately because Tess babysits for us almost every Saturday night.  So we have been able to put date nights back on the weekly schedule.  It has been so nice! 

Celebrated Valentine's morning by getting donuts and yes, going for a walk on the horse trail.

Mi Ani taught me how to make french macaroons which were a delicious Valentine treat!

So that's it.  Just like February, this post is short and sweet.

January 2015

The start of the new year is always good and this January was no exception.  One of my best friends, Meridith, was married on January 2nd.  Such a happy day!  We celebrated James' 4th birthday, my baby is really growing up. And lots of readings of "James the Brave".  For a long month, it went really quickly and 2015 is off to an amazing start.

Meridith Sebra and Brandon Slade Get Married!

The two of them were married in the Los Angeles temple and it was an incredible experience to be there.  Meridith looked so beautiful and happy and it was a true testament that the Lord knows what He is doing.  It was always such a mystery that Meridith was single.  She is beautiful, accomplished, fun and a caretaker.  It turns out she really was just waiting for the right person and she found him.  I am so incredibly happy for her.  After the sealing, Scott and I went to dinner with friends and then went to the reception and Smog Shop.  So fun to see so many friends that I had not seen in awhile.  We always have such a good time when we are together.  Basically it was a great night celebrating a person we all love so much!

James turns 4!!!!

We celebrated James' birthday at Disneyland....again.  This is turning out to be a tradition, a very expensive tradition!  James discovered Star Tours this trip and could not get enough.  His obsession to all things star wars definitely heightened after our Disneyland trip.  James is in what I like to call his "robot phase".  He acts like a robot, thinks like a robot and talks about robots, robots, robots!

Foster had a great time at Disneyland too.  The highlight for him was the parade and the lollipops.  My kids have become very predictable but as different as can be.  It's so much fun to see their relationship grow as Foster gets older and James becomes more of a "big brother".  These two really love each other and I'm so lucky to be their mom.

At the end of the night, we bought James a chocolate cupcake, sang Happy Birthday and headed home.  It was a great way to celebrate our little James.  He has grown up so much this past year.  As he gets older he gets so much more comfortable with social situations and is thriving in joy school.  He even likes going to sunbeams and gets up and sings with the rest of his class.  He says the prayer every  night at dinner and loves having family night.  What he loves the most is being home with his family, watching a movie and eating popcorn.

Here are some stats on James:
His best buddies: Hudson, Anna, Leah and Berkley
Favorite food: chocolate milk, he loves anything chocolate
Favorite show:  Rescue Bots, Anything superhero
Favorite toy:  transformers and robots
My favorite quote by James:  He asked if he could get an Iron Man toy and I replied that we had to wait until a special occasion.  He thought about it for a minute and said "where do humans buy these toys?"  I reminded him that he is indeed a human and not a robot.  Something I've had to remind him of a couple of times!

Here are some great pics of James from last year:

 

"James the Brave"

This month I committed to reading "James the Brave" to schools around the county.  It has been so fun to see the kid's reactions to the book firsthand.  I've also been able to donate a book to each school.  I love the idea that all of those school libraries will have a copy of "James the Brave"!  I was even able to donate a book to Painted Rock Elementary, my old school and the school the boys will attend one day.  Selling 1,000 book takes a lot of work but I am really loving it.  It's been a chance for me to step out of my comfort zone and try something new.  Always a good thing!  

December 2014

December, as always was packed full of fun for the Olsons. This year, to make the month extra special, we threw in a "James the Brave" launch party. So between the party and covering all of our annual traditions, it was a BUSY month!

"James the Brave" Launch Party

A lot of time and energy went into planning this party. Sometimes I think it took longer to plan this party than write the book! No seriously. But it was an amazing day and the support I felt was incredible. We had cookies and milk, crafts for the kids and I did a reading. Of course I cried during my reading. I knew I would not be able to keep it together. It was a very surreal moment, reading my book to people I love so much. I felt pretty overwhelmed with gratitude for the gift of being able to persue a dream. The cheese ends here, I promise. Maybe.

Signing Books for my peeps

"James the Brave" Decor

Cookie and Candy Table

Crafts Underway

I made Scott in charge of the craft table and he fulfilled his post with dignity and precision.

The reading, before the tears.

I was so happy to see so many faces that I love!

James and James

Christmas and its many traditions:

We have so many things we like to do in December that the month can become swamped very quickly. What I loved about this year, was that we were able to do all of our traditions and still manage to spend a lot of time at home next to the fire and our Christmas tree. It was absolutely perfect. 

The boys all bundled up on our way to Candy Cane Lane.  I know I'm going to sound like a wimp  but it was freezing! 

I think Scott should aim for something like this in our yard next year!

Gingerbread house decorating.  More of this candy ended up in Foster's mouth than the house.

Isn't this picture just the cutest thing?  I love it.

This was Sunday before Christmas with all of us dressed in our Christmas best.

Scott had two weeks off during Christmas, which was a dream.  We spend one of those days exploring the zoo.

On Christmas Eve, I sent the boys to the park, turned on Christmas music and made more batches of cinnamon rolls than I can remember.  It was heaven.

The goodies Santa left behind.  Foster scored: a dyson vacuum, ugg boots, a tool set, coloring book and lots of treats.  James scored: one darth vader mask, lego superheroes, legos, ugg boots and some serious candy.  

Grandma and Pop Pop Olson sent the boys this racetrack which they stared at for long periods of time.  I felt like it was actually a gift to me.

Christmas night, after spending the day with family, we popped some popcorn and watched The Snowman .   Spoiler alert: it has a sad ending.  James may have cried.  But it's all in the spirit of Christmas right?  It was so nice to end the special day with just our little family.  Makes me shed a tear just thinking about.  Why is Christmas over!!!!

The day after Christmas we headed downtown to the Wyndham (we know a guy) and had an amazing view of the balloon parade on the harbor.  Did I mention we were in the Governor's suite?  We are pretty fancy.  Lots of food and drinks and the best part, the entire family was there.  That doesn't always happen but when it does, it's my favorite.

The new Nielsen Christmas Tradition, a family football game.  I'm not going to lie, I did not excel here.  But watching my brothers get crazy competitive and my mom yelling plays from the sidelines, was pretty priceless.

All in all, I would say this was our best Christmas yet.  It was hard to say goodbye to Christmas and take down all the decorations.  But now that they're put away, we are looking forward to 2015.  If it is anything like 2014 than it is going to be amazing.  Sometimes I can't even put into words how grateful I am for the gifts I've received. It seems impossible to count all of my blessings.  But my greatest blessings I can count.  There are three.  And they are all asleep in this house as I type this post.  And if you're reading this, you're probably one of my blessings too.  

November 2014

November was about three things, promoting "James the Brave", going to Santa Barbara for a full week for Thanksgiving and getting ready for Christmas.  I love November because it is basically a month full of anticipation for wonderful things to come.  And who doesn't love to anticipate wonderful things?  I'm also a huge fan of Thanksgiving and all things turkey, mashed potatoes and homemade rolls.  Oh, and gratitude.  I am grateful for November!

"James the Brave"
The book was a high priority this month and the promotion of it became my focus.  I have been so blessed to have friends that are so willing to help me.  I have done a few giveaways on Instagram with Nena and Co. which has helped to expose the book to so many people.  I even had a woman in South Africa ask how she could purchase the book which was amazing.  It's been a gift to watch my idea become a fully illustrated story that I'm able to share with people.  I have some scheduled readings at schools coming up and a launch party in December.  Selling 1,000 books takes a lot of work but so far it has been tremendously rewarding.

I have so many wonderful friends supporting the book

A remote reading of "James the Brave" to Ms. Haak's class

"James the Brave" displayed in Rashelle Haak's Children's Literature Class

I attended a Blogger Dinner and met amazing women who are doing incredible things

One of the giveaways including "James the Brave"

Thanksgiving in Santa Barbara

We had a great week in Santa Barbara.  Scott was in much need for some time off and the weather handed us a glorious week of temperatures in the 80's.  We went to the beach as much as possible and everyday spent time in the sun.  Horseshoes were played, marathons (or a 5k) were ran and of course, too much food was consumed.  It was perfect.  

Grandma Time!  There is nothing like it.

Pop Pop Time!  There is nothing like.

On Thanksgiving morning we ran a 5K.  I fully intended on walking the entire way but surprised even myself and ran the second half.  Let me repeat, I ran.  One more time, I ran.  It was a Thanksgiving miracle.

The Santa Barbara Zoo is a favorite, I know, so out of character.   We rode the train, and did some sledding Santa Barbara style.  The boys even got their very own Gibbons to tie around their necks.

This beach day was so fun-filled and I wish I could repeat it.  Like tomorrow.  Probably my favorite day from the trip.  

Did I mention we went sailing.  Well we did and it was freaking amazing.

We even snuck in a family photo shoot with our favorite photographer, Christine.  Did I mention that it's pretty wonderful to have a professional photographer in the family?  She really proved herself this time because we had a whole lot of grumpy to deal with during the shoot.  But despite all odds she took some of our best photos yet!  

Getting Ready for Christmas

Not much to share here other than we are so very excited for Christmas and all the upcoming festivities.  We put up all our decorations before we left for Santa Barbara so our house would be Christmas ready when we got home.  Guess what else is Christmas ready?  ME!

Honorable Mentions:

• Foster now says "let's get cozy" and likes to "get cozy" all the time.  I like "getting cozy" with him too!

• The boys are both obsessed with the movie Frozen and watch it constantly.  Note that in the photo with the Christmas tree, Frozen is playing.  It is always playing.  Help me.  
• Scott will be changing jobs in January and will be working back in his old building.  It will mean less stress for him which is wonderful!