Nelsonshack

Roxie and Reagan went to the doctor, tonight, because they’ve had symptoms of conjuctivitus (their eyes have been draining) and Reagan’s complained about her ears.

The doctor confirmed an ear infection, so they are being prescribed an antibiotic. So we are on, like, week 5 of someone in the fam being sick.

I woke up, this morning to my wife’s “Happy Birthday”.  I went to work where dozens of well wishes were tossed my way.  I went to lunch at Fiddler’s Elbow, where I was treated to lunch by my friends Jason and Brett.

I came back to work where I was given a cash birthday gift from my company.  My wife jumped online to wish me Happy Birthday, (again.)

Tonight, as a family, we’ll go to Joe Banditos to celebrate.  Wendy is making banana pudding (a favorite of mine).  My twin daughters will wish me a happy birthday when I get home.  Life is good and I’m 35.

Wendy and I visited grandma and met mom, down at Twin Oaks.

Grandma just referred to Roxie and Reagan as “our twins”. Very cool.

Well, it’s that time of year, again. It’s time to work on the 2009 Nelson Newsletter. It’s time to compile one year of family experience and condense it down into a picture and a page or two of carefully constructed words, perfectly capturing the snapshot of our family of 2009. It’s time to be almost done with the newsletter, with only hours to go before this thing goes to print and we leave for California. It’s time for a computer malfunction. It’s time to panic. It’s time to START ALL OVER AGAIN, EVEN THOUGH I’LL NEVER GET THIS THING TO BE JUST AS GREAT AS IT WAS 12 HOURS AGO WHEN I WAS MOMENTS AWAY FROM PUTTING THE FINAL TOUCHES ON WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN MY GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE YEAR- the perfect newsletter. Let me start over, then.

Well, it’s that time of year, again (again). We’ve had a great year, together as a family. I turned 34.

Roxie loves to laugh

I can’t get over it. I never thought of myself as someone who would ever be bothered by getting older. In fact, in my last draft of this newsletter (which I still contend was perfect), I might have even said that aging doesn’t bother me. But I think it does, to some degree. I look in the mirror and see a LOT of gray hair. You, the casual observer probably don’t see it. But you are also not straining in front of the mirror with me as I crane my neck and position the light’s angle so that it reveals an army of up-and-coming replacements for the slowly fading, youthful brown sheen that will soon be “once was”. But that’s why we have Just for Men (“Stay in the Game”).

So we’re all a little older.

In April, mom and dad (Nelson) came out to Utah. Dad, Wendy, Lynn (one of my brother in laws) and I flew out to Nashville for the Country Music Marathon. Wendy was 7 months pregnant, or as we call it- Travel Ready. So she went with us and dealt with everything from motion sickness to, well, being pregnant. This was Wendy’s first real southern experience. We all enjoyed spending time with family that I hadn’t seen in years. We even spent a little time listening to some of the very talented bands that fill the bars in Music City. Nashville is proof that American Idol is a fraud.

In May, Wendy decided that she would put up with “only two more months of this”. Because of the birth(s) of Roxie and Reagan, it seemed that this was a whole new ballgame. Wendy had no idea of what to expect (when she was expecting). She was hoping that things would go well and that we’d have a healthy baby that would only require one diaper at a time.

Lucy is content almost anywhere

In June, Lynn and I ran in the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay, which consisted of 12 runners completing a 200 mile trek across the mountains of Utah. We ran about 20 miles, each. It was easy (if you were Lynn). Wendy and Kristi caravaned with the team as we ran around the clock. When the race was over, we headed back to Provo, because it was Father’s day (also, we were having a baby). Lucy was born, early Sunday morning (on Father’s day, of course). She was healthy, weighing in at 7 pounds, 4 ounces (3,290,000 milligrams). Lucy was born smiling. She hasn’t stopped smiling, since that day. We are looking into it.

In July, Reagan and Roxie turned three years old. They have developed remarkably and continue to amaze us with new knowledge. They began to attend preschool and have above wonderful teachers. In the morning on a school day, a bus comes and stops in front of our house and picks them up. The girls are thrilled to be riding the bus. They talk about it- all the time. Wendy enjoys going to help out in their classes. Interestingly, the girls are in separate classes. This is really the only time that they have to be away from each other. We think that it’s good for them and they seem to really enjoy a moment “alone”.

At the end of July, Wendy took the girls on her annual girl’s trip to Saint George with her sister (and her 5 girls). Roxie and Reagan love swimming in Saint George and spend a lot of time at the pool. The the trip this year lasted an entire 10 days. While they were gone, I got a lot of stuff done at the house and was very productive (and cried myself to sleep, each night).

Also, in July, we celebrated the 4th of July. But you knew that.

In August, Mark (another brother in law) and I worked hard on completing my office. Mark, a general contractor, was impressed with my uncanny ability to walk into a home construction project, size things up and then, with skill, turn things over to Mark. We sheet-rocked, mudded, sanded, and did a whole lot of other verbs to turn it into the stunning room that it now is. Mark still thanks me for my contribution. He’s welcome.

This is one of the few paragraphs that doesn’t start with the word “in” or “at”.

In September, Wendy, Lucy and Kristi (Wendy’s sister) flew to Michigan for a trip down memory lane. Wendy hadn’t been home for 10 years and it was an amazing trip for her (her words). She was able to see the home that she grew up in, visit old friends and go to many places that reminded

Reagan is a sweet girl

her of her childhood. I was really glad that she could finally visit Michigan, because I know it meant a lot to her. Lucy, early in her life impressed Wendy with her ability to just go with the flow. Not a lot of crying or fussing from that girl. She’s a great traveler. Wendy bought a ton of Michigan stuff.

In October, mom and dad (Nelson) came out for the brutal, horrible, impossible Saint George Marathon. No one has ever successfully completed this course, but we try it, anyway- year after miserable year.

In November, we gave thanks.

Nathan and Wendy

Except I knew it was a boy.  I just knew it.  This is the second time I’ve been totally taken aback by news of what my baby’s gender(s) is (are).  This kid already has it out for me.  In the ultrasound, you can clearly see a hand waving, almost mocking me.  “Hey dad, thought I was a boy, huh?  Sucka!!!”  Or something like that.

I’m sure that I will love her even more on the day she’s born.  And I’m sure that I’ll love her even more when she asks for the car keys.  And I’m sure that I’ll love her even more when I’m paying for three girl’s college tuition.  And I’m sure that I’ll love her even more, when she becomes the third time I pay for a wedding.

I gotta have a drink.

. Checking in for an ultrasound, these days, is sort of like getting a boarding pass.

So tomorrow is our doctor’s appointment to discover what we’re having, gender-wise.  For the record, I’m predicting that it’ll be a boy.  That’s all.