The Neel Family

Food for thought

2011-01-16T14:24:00.000-08:00

"we women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. we have
to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is
comfortable for us. we have to develop the maturity to stop trying
to prove something. we have to learn to be content with what we
are."

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Jude Patrick Payne

2010-12-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

Jude Patrick Payne

Born December 19, 2010

12:40 p.m.

6 pounds 9 ounces

20 inches long

Perfect!!!

This is what's it's all about

2010-12-14T12:25:00.000-08:00

Loss

2010-10-01T12:11:00.000-07:00

Loss is hard. It is hard on the one who loses. It is hard for the one's who love the one who has lost. It is hard to know what to say to someone who has lost. Most times you want to take away the pain of the loss from that person. The worst thing in the world, especially as a parent, is to watch your child hurt. To not be able to take away the pain that they are feeling from their loss. Erica and Albert have suffered a tremendous loss. They have had a miscarriage. My heart breaks for them. My heart breaks because of all the things I can do as a mother to protect my child I can't take away this pain and loss. Please go to albertanderica.blogspot.com to read how amazing my daughter is. I love her!!

Do You See It?

2010-08-31T17:51:00.000-07:00

Do you see the new pregnancy ticker that is up there? That's right -- Erica and Albert are expecting again. Didn't they just have Ruby you are asking? Well, yes they did. Did they get pregnant on purpose? Well, yes they did. Were we so totally excited that we wet our pants? Well, yes we are and yes I did. (Not really but that's because I was sitting down. But I'm sure I would have if I was standing up.)

Baby Holmstrom is expected to arrive in late April or early May. We can't wait!!

Grandbaby Number 3 Is On The Way!!!

2010-08-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! We are so excited. Grandbaby number 3 is coming April/May of 2011. I won't tell you who the proud parents are just yet. I need to give them the honor of announcing it. (Hint: It's not Amber and Erik because they are currently pregnant and due in January 2011 and I have not heard of someone being able to have two pregnancies going on at the same time.) Stay tuned!!!

It's a BOY!!

2010-08-12T21:19:00.001-07:00

Come January 2011 we will be welcoming a grandson. We are so excited!!

Boy or Girl??

2010-08-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

Amber and Erik went and had their ultrasound today that we have all been waiting for. This was THE ultrasound--the one that would let us know if we were having a grandson or granddaughter. I can't spill the beans just yet. That wouldn't be fair if I posted something before they did. Check back soon because as soon as they say so, I will shout to the whole world what our new grandbaby is going to be.

Something for all Dads

2010-07-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

Aubrey's Graduation (Long Overdue)

2010-07-26T21:43:00.000-07:00

Our last Jackrabbit.

Aubrey with her graduation cake. I made her wear the puffy tiara. Believe me she was not happy. She is such a good sport.

Aubrey had such a good group of friends. These are just some of them. I'm not even going to try and name them all.

Aubrey's best guy friend, Ryan "Fletcher" Fisher, aka "Fletch". Fletch is not part of his name. I just always thought his last name was Fletcher, not Fisher. So we nicknamed him Fletch.

These girls have been best friends FOREVER.

Emily, Morgan, Aubrey, Audrey, Sarah, Ashley & Jodi.

Aubrey's best friend, Audrey.

All our kids at Baccalaurette.

Our girls have all graduated from Mesa High.

Erica 2006, Ashley 2005, Aubrey 2010 and Amber 2008.

Proud parents. No more kids in high school. Yeah!!!!

My parents with Aubrey. Grammy and Papa.

Seminary graduation. Sorry, this is the only picture we got.

All the graduates sitting on the field.

Aubrey just chillin' waiting for graduation to start.

Aubrey with her cousin, Chris. (He plays baseball and football for McClintock. The scouts are already looking at him for baseball. Just you wait and see, he will be in the major leagues someday).

Once again, all our Jackrabbits.

Aubrey and her daddy.

A behind the scenes look. They were posing for so many pictures with friends.

WOOHOO!!! Aubrey and Audrey. (Audrey can never get off the ground, haha.)

Leaving the field forever hand in hand with her best friends.

Looking forward to her future and excited about the many adventures she will have.

Check Out This Site

2010-07-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

Erica has a new site called rubymaeflowers.blogspot.com where she is selling her headband creations. They are way cute!! Head on over and check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Change to the Baby Ticker

2010-05-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

If you noticed the baby ticker from the other day it has changed quite dramatically. At first we figured that Amber was about 8 weeks along. We were so wrong. (Erik knew it all along. He kept telling us that we were wrong.) Amber went to the doctor and since she wasn't quite sure when it could have happened, they sent her for an ultrasound. It turns out she is only a little over 4 weeks. Way different than the 8 weeks that we thought. Oh well. Her due date is January 15, 2011. That will make Baby Payne and Ruby right at a year apart. I can't wait!!!

Mother's Day

2010-05-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

For Mother's Day this year my kids REALLY surprised me. They had pictures taken by our family photographer (Jessica Mackey at urbanangelphotography.com) and they turned out great. Ashley then took some of the pictures and had them put into a really nice leather bound book. I was so shocked and of course, I cried. Here are some of the pictures they had taken.

I love how Ruby is screaming in this one.

My crazy kids. I love them all!! Thanks so much for the wonderful Mother's Day.

New Ticker/New Grandbaby

2010-05-09T13:30:00.000-07:00

Did you notice the new ticker underneath our family photo? That's right. We are going to be grandparents again. Amber and Erik announced this past week that they are pregnant. At first I did not believe them. Erik has been "crying wolf" for awhile now. It wasn't until I looked at Amber and saw that she was crying that I believed it. We are so excited!! They are really excited too. They have names picked out already. I can't wait to find out the sex.

Update on Rubes

2010-04-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

Our little Ruby is now 2 1/2 months. She is growing so fast. She smiles a lot now and her personality is starting to show. She loves to sleep this way with her arms up under her head. Here she is just kicking back cooling.

Here she is responding to Grandpa. He can always get her to talk to him and laugh.
This is her Easter dress. Once again she is talking and laughing with Grandpa.

Ruby we love you so much!!

Aubrey's Senior Pics

2010-04-06T14:44:00.001-07:00

Here is a sneak peek of Aubrey's Senior pictures that were taken last Saturday by our own personal family photographer Jessica Mackey. Haha. She's not really our personal photographer but she might as well be since she's done so many photo shoots of our family at different times. Check out her blog at urbanangelphotography.blogspot.com to see her amazing work (and some of the other photo shoots that she has done for us).

Aubrey, you are so beautiful and take such wonderful pictures. Yes, I am biased!

Happy Birthday Erik!!

2010-03-25T18:33:00.001-07:00

So this is lame but my pics are on my laptop and my laptop is not working right now. I wanted to post some pics of my crazy son-in-law but I can't because my laptop is not working. Following me? So this is a lame call out to wish my first son-in-law, Erik David Payne, a Happy Birthday. I promise the first thing I will do when my laptop gets fixed is post some pics of him. We love you, Erik.

P.S. Erik is the one in our family picture on the far left. See his hair? Now you know why I think he's crazy. I'm just glad that he didn't also have his moustache at that same time.

Some wedding pictures

2010-03-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures that one of Nick's aunts took at the wedding. I was so crazy that day, I didn't even take my camera. Here are her colors. I love the purple and green. This was one of the Bridesmaids bouquets.

Here are her sisters as Bridesmaids. Left to right: Ashley McCarville (her sister-in-law with the SAME name), Amber, Erica and Aubrey. Aubrey was her Maid of Honor. Erica hates standing in between Amber and Aubrey. Look at the difference in height. She's even wearing heels.

My handsome Patrick walking her down the aisle. She looks so nervous.

Patrick giving her one last kiss before he hands her over to Nick. ( He's behind the tree. haha)

The beautiful bride!!

The happy couple. Nick and Ashley McCarville

She looked gorgeous. It was a beautiful day. More pictures (the professional ones) in a few weeks. Also, I will post pictures of our backyard decorated for the reception. It turned out amazing.

What's Up???

2010-02-24T08:25:00.000-08:00

So if you've noticed on the side of my blog there is a count down thingy for Ashley's wedding. It reads that today there is 2 weeks and 2 days left until the "Big Day". I need at least 2 months and 2 days until the "Big Day".

I am the biggest procrastinator. Out of my girls Ashley has had the longest engagement. So I should be way ahead of the game in getting everything done for her wedding, right? Nooooooo. I did better having two weddings 8 weeks apart than I have done having 10 months to prepare for this one. I am still sewing bridesmaids dresses that could have been done last year before Christmas. (Remind me never to sew bridesmaids dresses again. I don't care how much the dresses cost. Not having to sew them is totally worth it!!!) I haven't bought any of the food yet. Haven't even figured out how much to buy. And once I figure all that out I get to start cooking. Yippee!! (note sarcasm here)

Oh well, as they say, everything will come together in the end. All I know is that Aubrey is going to have the easiest wedding reception because after 19 months straight of planning and doing weddings, I am darn tired. For her wedding, EVERYTHING will be done by someone else.

(Yeah, right!!)

Well, hello there...

2010-02-04T08:11:00.001-08:00

I received this on my phone from Erica the other day.

I could just eat her up.

What can I say....

2010-02-01T20:03:00.001-08:00

She is perfect.

She is beautiful.

She is such a blessing.

She is my grandbaby Ruby Mae!!

My Little Ruby Booby

2010-01-29T08:54:00.001-08:00

I just can not get enough of her. The feelings that I have for her are undescribable. Everyone has told me that being a Grandma is the best and I totally agree.

(P.S. I probably need to find a new nickname for her. Any suggestions???)

Announcing.....Ruby Mae Holmstrom

2010-01-27T12:15:00.001-08:00

Erica did a great job.

Ruby Mae Holmstrom

Born: January 27, 2010

12:40 a.m.

8 pounds 19 inches

This little girl has already stolen my heart.

Today is the day

2010-01-26T13:18:00.000-08:00

Ruby is coming! Erica went to the dr today and because she is showing signs of preeclampsia he sent her to the hospital to be induced. She wasn't too happy about that because she didn't want to have to do the whole induction thing but it will be better for Ruby to be out than in. Especially when she gets to meet all the people here who are anxiously awaiting her arrival.

Stay tuned.....

Thoughts of Randomness.....

2010-01-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

First thought: I don't blog enough. I CONSTANTLY think that I need to update my blog. I even take pictures with the intention to put them on my blog. (I finally learned how to do that by myself and don't have to pester Erica or Amber to help me. Yeah!!)

Second thought: There is so much I want/need to do and not enough time in the day. Between wedding, grandbaby, home fixing up-ing (is that a word?) cleaning, wanting to quilt, needing to quilt, there is just not enough time in my day.

Third thought: Goals. I want to make some goals. I'm afraid to make goals. I've never been a big goal setter and I need to change that. I've always wanted to make goals. The problem is that when I do set goals (not very often) I usually fail because of "Second Thought." I start out the day with great intentions and then something else comes up and that goal gets put aside. It probably doesn't help that the goal is usually something that I want to accomplish for me and the "thing" that comes up is usually something for someone else. Does that happen to you? Are you constantly being put on the back burner by yourself? Sucks, huh?

Fourth thought: Do I really want to make 4 bridesmaids dresses for Ashley's wedding in March? What was I thinking? One of the bridesmaids is pregnant with TWINS. I can't make Erica's yet until she has Ms. Ruby (that's my new name for Ruby. I had a different one but Erica refuses to allow me to say it in public. Call me if you want to know what it is. haha) Oh, back to the dresses. Four dresses, what was I thinking???

Fifth thought: Why didn't we just have this reception somewhere else. I would rather write a several thousand dollar check than put up with all this painting, hammering, cement pouring, endless amounts of trips to Home Depot (we have our own parking spot now), but Pat is tired of giving other people his hard earned cash and wants to give it to himself. Selfish man. Not really. Our home is looking amazing.

Sixth thought: Do you know how hard it is for a 17 year old girl to decide on a color of purple. Aubrey decided that she wanted to redo her bedroom. There is one hang up. Purple. She can't find the right purple that she wants. We started out with one shade and quickly decided that it wasn't right. It's still on the wall because we have to paint Kilz over it and start over. Neither her nor I have any energy left to do that. (Back to Second Thought).

Seventh thought: If I wasn't dealing with all of this, then what would I be doing? Hmm.....

Good People In This World

2009-12-10T07:14:00.000-08:00

This time of year is CRAZY!! You know it is. We all feel it. A years worth of gratitude stuffed into two months. At least that's what I feel. A years worth of showing your love for others stuffed into two months. I don't think of feeling grateful in May or even October. The grateful bug hits at the beginning of November and travels through December. Then in January I am so exhausted from feeling grateful that I don't think of it until November again. Stupid huh?

I am so very grateful for everything I have ---family, job, home, husband, children, church, etc, etc. etc.---but this morning I realized that I should be grateful for strangers too. Now this thought came to me as I went into my morning pit stop before work, QT. This isn't any QT. This is MY QT. My Lindsay and Baseline QT. In this chilly weather I have to go to QT before work every morning to indulge in their fabulous hot chocolate. They have the best hot chocolate known to man. You can add extra flavors that make it.....whoa, getting off track. Sorry. Back to being grateful. So anyway, when I enter my QT every morning the door is always held open for me by some stranger. Woman, man, child. Every day is different. Not only is my door held open for me but there is usually a thank you and a you're welcome with a smile. These people don't have to smile at me. They don't even have to hold the door for me. BUT THEY DO! That small gesture of kindness really brightens my day. There is still kindness in the world at my QT. For this I am grateful.

Erik Look-A-Like

2009-12-03T08:44:00.001-08:00

This reminds me of somebody I know. He happens to be married to my Amber.

Do you see the resemblance?

Under Construction

2009-11-30T12:20:00.001-08:00

I'm making some changes to my blog (nothing too drastic. Just me trying to figure out the background. haha). I'm also going to be uploading pictures that we had taken this weekend by my husband "the photographer". Give the man a camera and a tripod and he can actually do some pretty good things. Check back tomorrow. See you then!!!

New Post

2009-11-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

Okay. So Erica was teasing me last night about my previous posts. I said that I should quit blogging because I don't keep up with it regularly, I don't know how to upload pics and I really don't have anything exciting to say. So before I give it up completely, I'm going to ramble for a few lines here and just tell you what's been going on. Just follow the bullet points.

* Sew. Sew. Sew. If you need to come and see me I will most likely be in my sewing room. I have a ton of projects that I am working on. Well, that was before I BROKE my sewing machine last Thursday. Now I am actually having withdrawals. It wakes me up at night. I have been working on baby quilts for my sister in law and Erica and another quilt for a special nephew. Also some amazing Christmas presents. So now I am...

* Stressed. Stressed. Stressed. The quilt for my nephew has to be done by December 6th for our family party. We celebrate all of the monthly birthdays at a family dinner on the first Sunday of the month. Anywho, I need to have this quilt done by then. It is my most challenging quilt so far. So please pray that my sewing machine gets fixed sooner than the two week time frame they gave me. So in the mean time I will be...

* Sewing. Sewing. Sewing. I am going to pull out my old machine (and hope it still works) to try and start/finish some of these projects.

So basically that is my life. I sew. I think it is a stress reliever for me. Patrick thinks I stress about sewing but actually I don't. Creating something calms me. Even though while I am creating it I am stressing about it. He's probably right about my stresses. Dang!! He's always right.

Still here

2009-10-28T09:34:00.001-07:00

Still here. Just super busy. A new post should be coming but I won't promise anything. haha

Pity Party??

2009-10-19T21:59:00.000-07:00

I am down and I don't know why.
I might be sad but I'm not sure.
I don't want to do anything but stay home.
I want to quilt baby quilts and read Harry Potter #7.
In my pajamas.
I get this way sometimes and it makes me crazy.
Not really feeling much of anything.
But at the same time worried and stressed and
overwhelmed about everything.
My husband is very patient and loving
when I get in these moods.
I love my husband. Even though
he thinks I'm crazy (not in a bad way).
That would make me more sad.

I am trying to feel better.
I am going to read Pres. Uchtdorf's
talk: The Infinite Power of Hope.
Then go to bed where my husband
will hold me and tell me that all will
be okay.

I do have other children. Promise

2009-09-10T14:23:00.001-07:00

So after the long hellacious blog, I realized that all I do is blog about Aubrey. Sometimes I throw Erica in there, you know it's because she's the slow cooker for our new granddaughter. So I have decided that I need to introduce you to all the other wonderful girls I have in my life. So stay tuned for that post to come. I promise it won't take forever.....just a couple of days.

One Hellacious Blog

2009-09-08T21:12:00.001-07:00

If you are reading this I will start out by telling you that I am sorry for what is ahead. I have the hardest time keeping up with my blog. For one, I can't do it by myself. Either Erica or Amber always has to help me. I am very computer stupid. I try. I really do. But I usually end up getting mad and saying a few choice words that Patrick would rather have me not say. So read ahead for my update. I can't promise when the next time I will update will be. Just know that it will probably be a long one then also. Oh well.

The Big Announcement

2009-09-08T21:04:00.001-07:00

Drumroll please..........

The unveiling of the sex of the grandbaby.............

Here we go.............
It's a GIRL!!!!!

We are so excited. We know all about girls.

Asked to Homecoming

2009-09-08T20:50:00.001-07:00

So this picture is totally stupid. It is the right way on the computer thingy where the pics are stored but when I uploaded it it turned sideways. Sorry but you are going to have to look sideways to see it. Anyway, this is Aubrey getting asked to Homecoming. Can you figure it out?

YoPlus+English Muffins+wood+B+A+Delights.

R+U+Redi+ToGo

(You plus Inglish (Alex Inglish) would be a delight. Are you ready to go?)

I thought it was so cute.

As we were walking out the door to go to church.

Aubs telling Amber all about it. Yeah, I know. My girls sit on the table and counter tops.

Newport Beach Again

2009-09-08T20:05:00.000-07:00

We needed another Newport fix. So we loaded up the kids (minus Ash and Nick) and added Pat's parents and nephew and headed to Cali. Here we are having a BBQ on the beach in Huntington. Roasted hot dogs and smores. YUM!!

Albert roasting and Erica feeding him. Life couldn't get any better.

Aubs and Patrick just chilling and enjoying the beach.

Pat's parents Ron and Deanna. Sorry Mom and Dad. I took your picture with your mouths full.

Three of my girls. Amber, Aubrey and Erica.

Our family (minus Ashley)

Patrick, Amber, Aubrey, Erica, and Karson

Breakfast the next morning. Yummy Cap'n Crunch.

Dad Neel and nephew Steven on the balcony.

Patrick being silly

Our day at the beach

Don't ask me what they are doing. I guess boys will be boys?!?

Sandcastle making

Random guy. We all loved the fro.

Some guy on the beach making an awesome sandcastle.

One of our favorite things to do at the beach. Nap.

Dad Neel was constantly eating.

This is our absolute favorite thing to do in Newport. Bike riding. Here's the whole gang with their bikes that we rented from May and Patrick's (not my Patrick) Bike Rental Place. I highly suggest doing this.

Here we all are on Balboa Island eating the famous, wonderful, amazing Balboa Bars. You know how I feel about these bars.

Mom and Dad Neel

Aubs

Amber and Erik

Albert and Erica. Love the floppy hat.

Aubrey and Steven on Newport Pier.

The whole gang on Newport Pier. Minus Patrick who's taking the picture.

Aubrey's First Day of College

2009-09-08T19:55:00.000-07:00

Another last first with Aubs. I am driving my other girls crazy. They tell me all the time that I never took pictures of them doing these things like Aubs first day of college at MCC. They just don't understand what mothers go through when their youngest child does things for the last first time. My words to them: GET OVER IT. They will someday understand and when they do they will call me crying and tell me that they don't hold grudges against me anymore for not making a big deal out of their first days of college. I will patiently wait for that day to come. Doesn't she look cute?? (P.S. On a side note. On Erica's first day of college at ASU we got into a little argument and apparently (according to Erica) I was very upset and threw her Razor scooter down the driveway. She cried all the way to school)

Aubs and her peeps car pooling to MCC on their first day of college. Peeps=Jodi, Ashley and Morgan.

18 Week Baby Bump

2009-09-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

Erica at 18 weeks. Doesn't she look so much better? The sickness has passed and the only thing she has now is being tired all the time. She has the pregnancy glow! (I love the blue shirt against the green wall)

Todd and Daisy

2009-09-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

This is Tod/Todd. He is our Bassett Hound. We all love him although nobody will admit it except for Ashley. Erica bought him when he was a puppy and named him Tod. Ashley took over (stole) him and now claims him as hers. She also changed his name to Todd. BIG debate in our family. Anyway, I think he's cute. I love the way he lounges around.Another photo shot of Tod/Todd with Daisy, our Daschund, hiding in the background. This is his favorite position. Gotta love it!

Update Coming Soon

2009-09-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

......I promise!!!

Wedding Preparations

2009-08-17T22:49:00.000-07:00

Okay so no one could ever say that Ashley is a procrastinator. Her wedding is over 6 months away and she has been so busy making decorations. She is such a crafty person. Here she is modeling her almost finished card holder. Way to go!!

For some reason all our crafts are done in the kitchen. Here she is making the most use of the stove. Haha.

Nick has figured out the best place to be. Out of her way! Here he is just chilling watching TV.

Another Last First

2009-08-17T22:27:00.000-07:00

Aubrey going to her first day of school is another last first. It's her first day of school being a senior at Mesa High but it's the last first day of school we will have. I have mixed feelings. Happy for her starting her senior year. Sad for me because this is it. I have no more children to take pictures of on their first day of school. Thanks Aubs for putting up with me.

This is our high school car. A Dodge Neon. We bought it for our kids when Ashley was a senior and Erica was a junior for them to get themselves to school. Basically, I was tired of driving them to school and heaven knows it was sooo uncool to take the bus. Anyways, it's now Aubrey's car. She will inherit it when she graduates. Another one of the perks of being the baby of the family.

This is the first day of school cake. It's purple with yellow sugar. GO JACKRABBITS!! (Although my blood still runs orange and blue.)

Aubrey frosted the cake so we had to take her picture with the cake. Again, (sniffling, sobs) another last first.

14 Weeks

2009-08-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

Erica and Albert just recently had their latest doctor's appointment. It was too bad they were not able to get an ultra sound, but this is her at 14 weeks! For only being three and a half months along I think she looks pretty pregnant! At 14 weeks the baby is the size of a lemon, and my favorite part is that it has started peeing! February can't come fast enough!

Newport Beach...Oh how I love thee

2009-08-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

We LOOOOVE Newport Beach.

We love the sunsets. How the sun just quietly slips down below the ocean.

We love these girls. Aubrey, Morgan Stahley, Audrey Noble and Ashley Shepherd. We love how they asked us to take them to Newport Beach so they could have a girls trip before school starts. They didn't have to ask us twice.

We love the ferry that takes us across to Balboa Island. We (mainly I) LOOOOVE Balboa Island. We always rent bicycles when we go to Newport and ride between Newport and Balboa. We like to feel like Cali natives and somehow riding a bike makes us feel this way.

We love the Balboa Bars. They are the absolute bomb. A big ice cream bar dipped in chocolate and then dipped in your favorite toppings such as crushed oreos, peanuts, almonds, sprinkles and I can't remember them all. So yummy on a hot afternoon.

Take my advise: Only buy Balboa Bars from this place. They are the Kings of the Balboa Bars. Aren't these two so cute.

This placed is exquisite. I want this cottage. I must have this cottage. Honey, pleeeease buy me this cottage. I will never ask for anything again in my whole life (or at least I'll try not to). It has a small price tag of 6 million. Can you believe it? 6 million to live on Balboa. Holy Crap!! I still love this cottage though.

My honey loves the beach. He has fond memories of growing up in Cali and spending all his summers at the beach. It was a saving grace for his mother. With 5 boys I'd spend my time at the beach too. Let them run wild and have fun then take them home to bed.

This is a view from up on the pier looking down on the girls. Notice the flower made out of their flip flops.

I wonder who Aubrey likes?!

The girls looking down on their creation and yelling at anyone who tries to walk through it.

We love Applebees. Dinner at Applebees after a long day on the beach tasted so good.

Okay so we were sitting at our table and I hear a young woman say Karson to someone else sitting a few tables away from us. Well, since I very rarely hear my name shouted out loud in public (unless, of course, it's someone in my family wanting to get my attention -- and this wasn't the case) I naturally looked to see who it was. It turns out that there was this guy waiter that has my name and spells it the same way I do. So naturally I asked him for his name tag. He kindly obliged. YEAH!!

I looooove this man. I love that he takes me to Newport Beach. I love that when I want to go to Balboa Island because that is the only place to get the REAL DEAL Balboa Bars he kindly rides his bike with me to the ferry and over to get them. I love him because when he wants to go to the beach I get to go along too. I love him because he loves me.

WICKED

2009-08-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

I had never seen Wicked. I have always wanted to see Wicked. My wonderful husband knows this (thanks to my telling him last October when I first heard it was coming this summer) and sweetly bought me tickets for my birthday. It was WICKEDLY awesome!! So good, in fact, that when it comes again we are going to take the whole WICKED family. Thanks honey. I had a WICKEDLY good time. Okay enough of the WICKED remarks.

Our Last 17 Year Old

2009-08-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

This is our last 17 year old we will ever have. I am driving her nuts because everything she does I tear up and say "it's my last this and that." It's hard having our baby grow up. This picture was taken a few days before her 17th birthday.

This was at 6 am the morning of her birthday. Her friends surprised her and came and kidnapped her and took her out to breakfast. Notice the Nutter Butters in the right corner. Her favorite cookie of all time.

Here's Aubrey on her birthday with flowers from Ryan. He came and delivered them while she was gone with her friends to breakfast.

Her birthday banner that Ashley made for her.

We got her tickets to see Phantom of the Opera with Patrick. They will have a daddy/daughter date night. They both love Phantom.

Happy Birthday Aubrey!! We love you so much. You bring so much laughter to our home. Your testimony is awesome. You are an amazing daughter.

Steady and Slow. That's the Way to Go!

2009-07-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

So last night, Amber and I almost threw our computer out into the yard and lit it on fire. That thing is so slow!!! She was helping me update my blog by adding pictures to the side of the blog of my kiddos. Nothing ever works for me so it didn't happen. I think she almost cussed at the computer and I was DEFINITELY cussing at it. It was that bad. So anyhow, I was able to add some pictures from my work computer to the side. I do have more children than just Erica and Amber. Ashley and Aubrey don't think so, but I do. I think they feel left out most of the time. Updates coming soon with pictures of them.

Holmstrom Baby Bump

2009-07-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken about 2 weeks ago. Erica is already sporting the baby bump. She is kinda worried about it. If this is what she looks like at 10 weeks, what will she look like in a few months. I tease her and say she's having twins. haha. Mean mom, I know. She thinks it's because she's short and has no torso. There is no where for that baby to go except out! By the way, this week the baby is about the size of a lime. Just thought you'd want to know. She goes into the doctor on August 3rd and she can ask him what he thinks then. She is scheduled for her first ultrasound the first week of September, but maybe he'll do one early. Yeah!

Oh Crap!! Amber Help!!

2009-07-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

So I was trying to add some new stuff to my blog. I was able to add Ashley's wedding countdown ticker. Yeah, I did something by myself. In the process of adding that though, I deleted my cute background page and my Nienie button. Amber where are you? I need your help---again.

Heartbeat

2009-07-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant with my girls it was very exciting to hear their heartbeats for the first time. It gave a purpose to all the time I spent with the "throne". BUT... to hear the heartbeat for the first time of my grandbaby was totally different. I was overcome with emotions that I didn't know I would express. Basically, the tears began to flow. I know, not hard for me. To sit there and see one of my "little" girls with the doctor and him finding the heartbeat and listening to the galloping sound it made was AMAZING!! That's the only word for it. Excuse me, but I now have to go dry my eyes.

Another Update

2009-06-25T09:53:00.000-07:00

This update is that I forgot about the first update that I was supposed to do. Hopefully it will be coming tonight.

Things have been HORRIBLE for my dear Erica. As much as I am so excited about our first grandbaby, I can't stand to see her in so much misery. I was very sick with my pregnancies but I almost wonder if she has me beat. She is doing so bad. It's definitely not her fault. Just the way her body works. She has deep dark circles around her eyes and she has lost close to 20 pounds. She tries to sleep as much as she can because when she sleeps she isn't throwing up. Talking is a chore. She can get about two sentences out and then the throwing up starts. All I ask at this time is for people to pray for her. Pray to give her strength. Pray to help her see that this will be worth it. Thanks.

Update

2009-06-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

This is an update of what's been happening in the last couple of weeks at our house. On June 7th we celebrated (if you could call it that) our 23rd wedding anniversary. When I say celebrated I mean it like this: on Saturday we went to Prescott to see Patrick's sister, Mary, graduate from Prescott college. On Sunday we had a Millican family dinner at our house to celebrate all the birthdays and other happening for the month of June. Since it was at our house that means that we had to cook for everyone. Not a very fun anniversary if you ask me. We had originally planned on going out of town, but that quickly was changed. Oh well. After 23 years I love him soooo much and I know he loves me too so wherever we had to spend it as long as we were together then that's okay with me. (At least that's what I'm trying to convince myself of. San Diego would have been MUCH nicer.)

There is still a lot of puking going on. Erica spent Thursday afternoon in the ER because she had dehydrated from all the throwing up. We went camping (pics to come shortly) on Friday and her and Albert ventured up to join us. She began throwing up on Saturday and by Sunday afternoon was back in the ER. This pregnancy is taking a toll on her. I don't think she's going to have 8 kids like she originally planned. This one may be her only one.

Soon to come: Millican Family Dinner and Millican Family Camping Trip to Forest Lakes. I say soon to come because I have pics that I want to post for these activities and I don't know how to do it. Ha Ha. Amber is my blog person and she helps me post the pics. We will be doing it tonight. So check back tomorrow. See ya then!

Puke! Puke! Puke!

2009-06-10T09:10:00.000-07:00

In my opinion, to have really beautiful babies you have to puke your guts out for about three to four months. That's what I went through and look at my girls. GORGEOUS!! Erica's baby is going to be just as beautiful! She is six weeks along now and has been quite nauseous for a couple of weeks. Nothing too bad and she could deal with it. Then came Sunday. Then Monday was worse. Tuesday has been HELL! She threw up 18 times Tuesday. Poor thing. She is camped out on my living room floor on her old twin mattress. The doctor prescribed her some medication (suppositories, yuck) that seem to be spreading out her puking episodes to about every three to four hours. Hopefully in the next couple of days we can get this puking under control and she can begin to function again. Through it all, Albert has been wonderful. He sits in the bathroom beside her holding her while she pukes. What a guy!! He's a keeper. As for now, we just sit and wait and hope the medicine kicks in. And I keep dreaming about how beautiful my grandbaby is going to be!!

Erica's 21st Birthday

2009-06-03T22:37:00.000-07:00

Today was Erica Ann's 21st birthday. It's hard to imagine that 21 years has come so quickly. Her favorite store in the whole wide world in Anthropologie. Aubrey and I went and bought her some measuring cups and a funky vase for her big day.

She saw this candy machine at Goodwill about a month ago and fell in love with it. She wanted it for her apartment. Pat fixed it up and we filled it with candy for her. Some sweets for our sweetie!
And finally the best present of all. I'm glad that it came from her hubby, Albert. (Otherwise he would have been in the dog house.) He got her tickets to see Wicked in July. She was so excited.

Happy Birthday Erica Ann!!

Memorial Day Party

2009-06-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

We had a family party for Memorial Day. It was at our house and it was a B.Y.O.M....Bring Your Own Meat. Each family brought their own meat and it was a lot of fun.

Tod even had a relaxing time.

Here is my nephew Colby, he enjoyed the party more than he lets on.

Same with my nephew Steven.

Pat and my brother Cory were in charge of the cooking.
I never get between Pat and his grill.

Cameron enjoyed looking for snails. He is really into bugs right now.

But this was the hit of the party, the good ole' slip-n-slide.

Caden and Erik had a little too much fun.

Kaylin looks so cute in her ladybug towel.

Jordan slippin and a-slidin.

Family parties are the best!

Her Eggo is Prego

2009-05-27T23:21:00.000-07:00

I knew that Erica and Albert would be the first to get pregnant. I just didn't expect it to be 10 weeks after the wedding day. They surprised us by telling Pat "You are too good looking to be a Grandpa" as she handed him her pee stick. From our rough calculations the big day should be sometime in February 2010 (just one month before their year anniversary and Ashley's wedding). I thought this year was crazy with the two weddings that have happened, but now I have another wedding and I'm going to be a Grandma!

Here she is with her sisters who are excited to be Aunts!

...Another Wedding...

2009-05-17T18:37:00.001-07:00

Last night my oldest daughter Ashley got engaged! (Finally). Her and Nick have been dating for almost 5 1/2 years now, and she was dying for the proposal. She knew he had the ring, but had no idea when he was going to pop the question. He took her by surprise when he finally asked her! Their date is tentative, but they are planning on March 2010 right now. Here we go with another wedding... thank goodness my youngest still has another year of high school! I'm sure you will be hearing all about the wedding from now on...Here is a picture of the two of them.

Aubrey Prom

2009-05-03T20:27:00.001-07:00

Last night Aubrey went to her Junior Prom. She looked beautiful! She went with Ryan Grant who looked very sharp as well. Even though she still has one year of high school left, I was very sad to see her so grown up.

They had a great time together, and they looked great too!

Welcome to Our Blog

2009-05-02T17:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Neel family blog. This is our full family (including the dogs, Tod and Daisy), which you will see and hear lots about! I am a blog-stalker, so hopefully I will be as successful updating our own blog--Enjoy!