love affair...w/ my front yard

I love to work in the yard and make things look pretty and well landscaped. The shrubs to the left are 'pieris japonicas' and give lovely white blossoms in the srping, they will get about three times their current size. Aaron laid new sod last weekend, helping to add shape and more play space for the girlies.



This rounded rock edging around the tree idea is what I have always seen my dad do in his yard. It gives the tree a finished look and then you can plant little sun spots in the built up dirt.





There is Aaron's almost finished roman cobblestone walkway- he's still got to cement the stones in front that help create the step up.



We have this interesting triangle of space that used to have overgrown shrubbery- we took it out and put these black flagstones down with mint and flower spreaders to fill in the negative space.





This is the west side of the house. I am currently working to create a little bistro table area within the rose bushes and impatiens...



Both sides of our house need walkways to lead to the backyard gates, so far I have figured out this alternating patten of square and rectangle for the west side walkway, and then of course I'll plant the spreaders after it's all in.



Treebeard.



Here in Washington, Blackberries grow wild and actually are considered a bother to homeowners. And we have a huge 10ft bush of them creating a barrier between the neighbor's house and ours- so we thought we aught to just go with it and so we put in these arches to help shape them into a curve over the sidewalk. My girlfriend Bronwyn promises to teach me to make blackberry jam in late, late summer when the berries are best!

june 28, 1997

Saturday marked eleven years of marriage for me and Aaron! It always creeps up on us- it was Wednesday when he asked me if I realized what day Saturday was...it didn't take me long but he gets the prize because he remembered before I did! Oh my sweet husband. Since the day I knew I would marry him I have considered myself incredibly lucky to have found someone so wonderful to love. I have to pat myself on the back though- yes, I am the one who pursued him! I said hello first, I called him first and I asked him to dance at the New Year's Eve party. What can I say? I saw what I wanted and I went and got it. And it has been very satisfying and rewarding to share a life with this man. Not perfect- but who really wants perfect- it can be predictable and boring...and with Aaron I find myself continually amazed and lifted up and loved beyond my deserving-(sometimes!) Oh- how I love him. Love. Love. Love.

audrey's buns

Before Christmas, my sweet visiting teacher, Audrey Stokes, invited me to her house to teach me how to make hot rolls. I have since been practicing at getting mine as soft and tasty as hers. Up here all the ladies use organic everything for cooking and it has rubbed off a bit on me. So these buns are made with organic milk, eggs, sugar, butter, salt and whole wheat ground from a wheat grinder! (I have yet to get my own, but I can't wait because you can taste the difference). So, seven months later, I can confidently say that I make a pretty good dinner roll! Thank you Audrey!

Recipe for Audrey's Sweet, Hot Buns (hee hee- I'm terrible)

Scald 2 cups milk
Add: 1 square butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
Cool
Add: 1/2 cup warm water (that has had 2 tblsp yeast dissolved in it)
2 beaten eggs
6-7 cups flour, 1 cup @ a time

Section out into rolls and place in baking pan, let rise in warm area for 45-60 minutes. Bake @ 375 for 8-10 minutes.

scott dyer nelson

Twenty years ago today my littlest brother, Scotty, was born in Lodi, California! I was 12 when he was born and I got to help a lot with that cute little toe-headed baby. Some really cool things about Scott are the following:

-he plays multiple instruments; trumpet, guitar, drums, piano
-he writes lyrics and composes music for his band, Pyracantha
-he is currently attending college in Stockton and is active in the singles ward there
-his mission plans are soon coming (my parents will have two missionaries out at once- 'yike$')
-Scott has always been such a sweet brother, I love him very much.

Happy Birthday Scott! I hope you get to eat somewhere good and get some tight music, have your favorite dessert and we'll be seeing you next week!

three little 'alices'

On Saturday night Myka, Haily and their sweet friend Aislyn Frances got dressed up for a lovely performance of Alice in Wonderland put on by the dance program of Metro Parks and students of SOTA (Tacoma's School of the Arts). It was held at Stadium High School in downtown Tacoma (the building used to be a fancy hotel like, 90 yrs ago and was also used in the movie 10 Things I Hate About You). The girls were mesmerized by all the characters, dancing and music- they sat through the whole thing without any problems- yeehoo! After the show, Alice came out to visit and take a pic with them. Then we dashed off to get ice cream for a proper ending to an enchanting evening!

Congratulations! (a rare post by Aaron)

On June 22nd 2008 a wonderful thing happened. It was three years in the making and at 10:45 am Pacific time Our bishop, Bishop Hilton, placed the final signature necessary to complete Marianne's Young Womenhood Recognition. Frankly I am amazed at how much effort is required to achieve this award. It's the "Eagle Scout" of YW (for those males out there reading this.) There are 67 pages to read and act on. The requirements include:

1. Live the standards in the For the Strength of Youth booklet.


2. Complete six Value Experiences and one Value Project for each of the seven values.


3. Keep a personal journal.


4. Record your testimony of the Savior Jesus Christ.

Marianne is the type of person who fulfilled all the requirements out of love for the young women she served regardless of whether or not there was an award. She always invites the young women over to visit whenever they need help or just want to hang out. She tries to put herself in other's shoes to gain perspective. I had the pleasure (cough, cough...) to teach a Sunday School class with all the young women and I know they adore Marianne and they feel like she was one of the "girls". Always stylish and pretty (I guess those things are important to young women, go figure.) Always helping the yw think about their future plans (education, friendships, values, etc).

I just wanted to do a post in honor of all the hard work that went into completing the Young Womenhood Recognition for leaders. Here's to all the women who earned this recognition. Cheers!!!

blogging & narcissism

About a year ago I came across a blog by a young woman in Utah who called her own blog and everyone else's 'severely narcissistic'. I have thought about that and I do see what she is saying, we all post about ourselves and how great our lives are and what is happening to us. It's like- 'look at me! I am important because this, this and this!' - which does demonstrate a type of self admiration...

On the other hand, one of the very main reasons that I (and I am sure others) started blogging is so that my parents and relatives can easily see pictures of our girls and read what is happening in our lives - they don't live by us and miss the girls terribly. Not to mention the ease blogging affords me to keep in touch with friends across the country.

So, yes, blogs can be narcissistic in a sense, I do have great fun posting about my girls and then reading lovely comments that stroke my idealistic ego- that's quite natural isn't it? But blogging, to me, is not narcissistic at the core because it is more a way of sharing and being connected to others. I believe it is in Greek mythology where we learn the story of Narcissus- the young man who could not share love or connect with anyone but his own reflection in the water, ultimately leading to his lonely demise. So there you go!

seattle trip for tech

Michael and I had technical rehearsal for our dance film and so we drove up to the Capitol Hill area of Seattle (it's the 'artsy' area Michael says). This is the CHAC building, where Walrus Performance Productions resides and where our film was shown last weekend and again this coming weekend.



(above the theater doorway)



(25 ft. from the doorway)



At the door is this mural, very fitting, as live performance does happen inside the CHAC.



Right next door to the CHAC building is the restaurant 'Crave' with these cute little outdoor chairs and tables. I think Aaron and I will try it this weekend after the show...

2 miles north

If you were to drive about two miles north from our house you would run straight into the north end Tacoma waterfront. And you would have a blast on a sunny day on the beach, just like we did this weekend!

school talent show

Myka entered her elementary school's talent show with her kid sister, Haily, and-you guessed it- they did a dance. They chose their own song, Madonna's 'Ray of Light' and they helped with choreography. It was a lovely evening with a couple of piano solos, but the majority of the numbers were singing solos- kind of like American Idol. Aaron and I had a great time watching our little redheads perform- they jumped up on the stage without hesitation and skipped, jumped, leaped and twirled just like they had practiced. Bravo!

jon eric nelson

This is my Dad. I believe this picture was taken in 1975 by my mom when they were newlyweds finishing degrees at BYU. My Dad has always been tall and slender with great taste in music and art. He learned how to play the guitar as a preteen and has been playing ever since. Each of his sons, in turn, have become quite accomplished guitarists. Currently, he works as a senior phychologist at Kaiser Permanente in Stockton, CA and as a stake high councilman in the LDS church there.

I have learned so much from my dad, he really is quite a teacher in that he teaches by example. He is thoughtful, funny, a good listener and he loves my mom. In fact, many, many times growing up, and to this day, my dad will come in the room, put his arms around my mom and say to us, 'Kids, have I ever told you that I love your mom?', and we say, 'Yes, Dad' and he says, ' because I do I love her!' and then he hugs and kisses her until she tells him to, 'Eric! Stop it!'.

Dad you are a wonderful father to me, Ryan, Jeff and Scott! Thank you and Happy Father's Day!- marianne

jeff's mission call!

My little brother, Jeff, got his mission call today! He is going to be serving an LDS mission in the Alberta-Calgary Mission! It is a 'spanish speaking' mission which means he will learn Spanish in the MTC. This is the little brother who when my mom brought him home from the hospital, I was seven, and I thought he was made just for me! I have such fond memories of helping take care of him as a baby. And now he is 24, 6'3, and going on a mission! (sniffle-sniffle) We love you Jeffery Carlyle Nelson! We hope you'll be OK without a guitar constantly attached to you for two years! Good luck getting ready for all that is ahead of you!

e.p.i.c. festival

The E.P.I.C. flyer. E.P.I.C. stands for 'Evenings Produced In Collaboration'. The festival runs 12 nights in June with over 100 performers in a groundbreaking Seattle festival. Among the artists showing dance pieces are Michael and myself under our dance film production collaborative, 'MG & MH ARTS' (below). For more info: walrusperformance.org



We are debuting our dance film 'Incongruent-Atrabilious' with dancers Kelly Zeiler and Caitlin Shea. The film is quite abstract, yet you can still derive a story from the images, movement and sound. I am very excited to sit in the theater and watch the show! It is going to be a busy but fun weekend! (stills from the film below)





We filmed at Dickman Mill Park on the Tacoma waterfront. The ruins of the old logging mill helped add a melancholy and interesting atmosphere to the film...

designs by myka

The other day Myka asked me how to draw a shoe, and so I drew her a sideview pic of one of Aaron's Pumas...then about one hour later she had drawn, colored and cut out her own line of fashion sneakers! Then she wanted me and Haily to come shopping at her shoe store...what a creative girl! (she also did her own make-up within that one hour, as you can see)

last day of preschool!

This is Myka and two good friends from her preschool where they are peer models for austisic preschoolers. Friday was their last day together! Myka has had a good experience learning at school academically and socially.



These two cute boys will be with Myka next year in Kindergarten and first grade...yikes! My tiny girl who I remember bringing home from the hospital like, yesterday! She's growing up! Too fast!



I made a splash w/ b-day cupcakes for Myka- she has a summer birthday, but Miss Tara said we should still celebrate. I dipped the cone cupcakes in melted white chocolate before frosting them...they were pretty good!



There is a shot of Myka's dynamo teacher, Miss Tara. She really is something else. We couldn't have possibly had a better start in Myka's formal schooling experience than with Miss Tara!



And guess who gets to be in Miss Tara's class next fall! Miss Haily! She is already quite accustom to Miss Tara and many of the children, we visit often; every other Friday I do a little movement experience for the class
and so Haily has been able to participate and interact with everyone. It looks like things will go very smoothly.

handmade summer dresses

My girlfriend Bronwyn surprised Myka and Aislyn (her daughter) with matching summer dresses last week! Each dress has a delicate blue or orange flower print with a corresponding gingham collar-so very darling and quite well made I may add...

Aislyn's Mom has made a number of classic articles of clothing for her kids. Each Sunday at church, Aislyn has a beautiful heirloom quiality dress on. And lucky me- Bronwyn said she'd held me cut out and put together a summer dress for Haily...I am going to order the fabric today!









Cole (in red above) is my friend Sara's son and he is good buddys with Bronwyn's second oldest, Townsend (below in the stripes). As I was taking pics of the girls in Bronwyn's yard I was bribing them with promises of a 'tiny treat'. Well, Townsend and Cole caught on quickly and offered to pose for some shots too, if they could also get a 'tiny treat'. 'Yes of course', I said, and so after we took pictures we all waked to the corner store and picked out little candy prizes. Fun!