Neilsen Family Website

A very busy month.  We had the Tree of Memories lighting.  At church, we had a Royal Celebration for the children instead of the traditional Christmas program.  Emily was a helper this year.  She borrowed a gown from a friend and fit in wonderful with the Medieval theme.  Sydney was a participant and had a great evening preparing for the arrival of the King :)  We also had the adult Christmas party at a local country club.  Drinks, dinner and a good time with lots of laughter were had by all. 

And then the weather started!  We had the 1st blizzard of the season which gave us 3 snow days and a foot of snow!  Then it was out to California for Christmas, while we were out there, Omaha had another blizzard on Christmas Day!  Luckily we had a good friend clear our driveway so we were able to get home.  Christmas was very nice and warm in California with all of the Neilsens.  After our return, and the 1st day back to school, guess what?  Another blizzard!  This time only 6 inches of snow, but it came with horrible winds, which made frigid windchills and gave us another 3 days off!  So here we are, getting back into routine and getting ready for Emily’s birthday celebration!

At school for me, even though conference night was long, I had a very good turn out. All of the parents I needed to speak with attended except for one.

Sydney’s conference went well. She is a happy in school and trys very hard. She is struggling a bit with reading both in English and Spanish so is now qualified to receive some Title 1 help to improve her skills.

Emily’s conference went very well also. She has all A’s an B’s with a 3.67 gpa! We also discovered that her science teacher is a member of Beautiful Savior! So, she has even more connections now. She loves King Science and it has been a blessing of a move for her.

Emily was a traditional witch and Sydney was a candy corn witch. The weather was very nice this year, very similar to last year. We started the afternoon with pumpkin carving, then had the neighborhood parade down the street. Ate sloppy joes with the neighborhood and then began the adventure for candy! Sydney lasted for about an hour and half while Emily wanted to keep going. After a bit we decided to be done so we could go to the Papio-LaVista Special Olympics party that we are invited to every year. We got there just in time to wrap Sydney up as a mummy and for the girls to win some prizes. We had a fabulous time and now are finding friends to give all the extra candy too!

I had an unexpected vacation last week. Sydney had the flu. It was never formally diagnosed as H1N1 due to lack of kits available to test, but the seasonal flu had not hit the area yet. So through process of elimination, it was most likely H1N1, especially with the symptoms. It started Saturday night with vomitting and a temp. The temp would go up and down and we ended up in the doctors office on Wednesday when it was back up to 103.8. Since it is a virus, nothing really to do but monitor her temp, lots of rest and fluids. The temp finally broke Thursday afternoon and she was able to go back to school on Friday, but boy was she tired when she got home! She continued to rest and recover over the weekend and she is back to her happy little self.

Here we are…I think we are up to date. School is in full swing. Sydney is still in Dual language at Crestridge and enjoying her teachers Mrs Riha and Mrs. Hegarty this year. Emily is loving middle school. Her homeroom teacher, Mr. Compton, used to be my principal when I was at Cross Lutheran…what a small world! I think she is really thriving on switching for classes. She in now involved in soccer club and guitar club afterschool 3 days a week. When she doesnt have clubs, she comes home and stays by herself for about an hour until I get home. I am back to just teaching resource, no longer doing the Read Right program, which upsets me a bit as I really enjoyed the program and saw lots of progress with my students. But luckily, I have a small room/office this year which is nice. I am starting a very long bible study this month and am excited to see what God has to show me! Michael is very happy at Cox and we are happy with our cable bill!

Our really big news is we bought a new car! Michael’s 95 subaru legacy was dying a slow death. We crunched numbers, had savings still that we didnt have to touch over the summer luckily, and went car shopping. Michael had done a ton of research and had decided between a new legacy or a honda civic. We test drove both and would have bought the legacy if it had been any other color but RED (which is what he had–he wanted something different). So off to the honda dealer we went. We were very disappointed that Michael didnt “fit” in the civic. There went our plans…but the sales guy asked Michael to look at the Fit. Michael said it was ugly, but he would look at it to make the guy happy. Michael got in and it felt great. We test drove the little blue car and he liked the sportyness to it and then he said “lets talk numbers!” With a sticker price of about 19,000, it was less than we had budgeted for and a good buy all the way around.

August started out very busy. Last spring, Emily had been chosen through a lottery system to attend King Science Middle School. I had put her name in for fun and she was chosen, so we had to discuss if this was really a good fit. Her best friend, the principal’s daughter, is also attending. But Emily really wanted to switch school because King Science has a terrific math and science program. So the 1st week of August was an all day back to school camp at King Science. It was a good decision for her.

Sydney’s orthodontic work came to a stopping point, when she got her expander out. But not without incident, as the day before she had her two eye teeth pulled to make room for her adult teeth. Her face filled out and widened and she no longer has the “baby face ” Now she just has a semi permanent retainer in so the teeth and jaw do not shift back.

That weekend we had a fun time at a baseball game sponsored by church with Big Daddy Weave in concert afterwards.

Then it was off to school for me as I needed to set up a classroom. I was moved again in the building and consequently had a lot of unpacking to do.

Emily continued her fitness challenge. As a family, we participated in Step Out and Serve again. This year we went to a house of a gal who has 7 adopted special needs children and helped her move. I ended up just watching the younger kids, so the rest of the team could paint and clean. It worked out quite nicely.

And the girls started school on the 17th. It was quite a challenge for me this year, as I put Emily on a bus for the very first time. Like years past, we took pictures and then the bus came. Luckily the bus driver was very nice and reminded me to take a few while she was getting on the bus, because I was having a very difficult time with the whole transition. It was harder on me than sending her off to kindergarten. What a big baby I am, crying that my 5th grader is going off to middle school!

Back in the spring, Michael’s parents decided they were coming out here this summer instead of taking the girls back to California. They suggested that Michael and I take a vacation and they would take care of the girls. We thought this was a fabulous idea…so we talked with Brian and Parvoneh about going out there as Michael has never been to the capitol! Now with the events of late May (Michael being laid off), we discussed if this was still a good idea. We decided to not change plans. We had already purchased the airline tickets (1 was actually “free” from a change in last years Disney trip). We would be staying with family, so no hotel. All we were looking at was food, which we could be very frugal with. So off to DC we went…

We arrived on Tuesday, July 21st in the late evening. We had dinner out with Brian and Parvoneh and settled in their apartment.

Wednesday: Our first day to do sight seeing. Brian dropped us off at the Metro stop and our walking begain. We vistied the Eastern Market and then walked over to the Library of Congress. From there we went into the Supreme Court and walked around the outside of the Capital building. We ended the day at Union Station and took the metro to a bus route that dropped us off across the street from the apartment.

Thursday: Through a teacher at school (Angie), I had arranged for Congressman Lee Terry to meet us at the White House and let us in for a tour! We had to be at the gate at 7:45AM! Holy cow…it was an early morning. But now, we can say we have been in the White House! We toured the Blue, Red, Green, East and Formal Dining Rooms. We decided to take one of the city tours, called the Ducks. It was a lot of fun. We now know a ton of useless knowledge and little known facts. It was nice to sit for a while instead of walking. We had lunch at Union Station and then it began to rain. We had to run to the Capital building for our tour. We were cold and wet, but finished out our day.

Friday: Brian took the day off and joined us. We started “The Mall.” All of the monuments were amazing. We started at Washington, then saw WWI. Down a bit was the Korean and Lincoln. Next was Vietnam. I was able to find a soldier whose last name was Freese. I made a rubbing of it…it was a very emotional experience. Then we wandered up to George Washington University for a nice sit down lunch. We continued after lunch with Einstein, the front of the White House, Hard Rock cafe (for a shot glass), Ford’s Theatre, the outside of the FBI building, The National Archives (the Constitution and Bill of Rights) and ended up walking through a garden at the Smithsonian Castle. For dinner we went to a restaurant recommended to us from Dr Rudy. We dropped his name at Whitlows on Wilson and ended up with a free round of drinks!

Saturday: Both Brian and Parvoneh joined us and we ventured over to Great Falls. It was very beautiful. Then we went to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum at Dullas airport, where the mock shuttle and SR71 were on display.

Sunday: Back down to the Mall to hit the museums. We started at the National History museum for the Hope Diamond, Rexy and Easter Island statue (Dumb Dumb). We then went to Air& Space for the Wright Flyer and Amelia Earhart’s jacket. We finished up at American History seeing the Star Spangled Banner, Dorothys ruby slippers and Lincolns top hat. In the evening we got all dressed up and saw a hilarious “who done it” show at the Kennedy Center after a lovely dinner at the Lebanese Taverna. We had the best dessert (bread pudding) at an Irish Pub and a round of drinks.

Monday: With Brian and Parvoneh, we went to the zoo to see the Pandas! They were so adorable and up close. We had planned on hearing the organ practice at the National Cathedral, but it didnt play due to a funeral. We still enjoyed the building. After lunch we took the Metro over to the Pentagon to see the 9/11 memorial. We were very quiet at the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington. JFK’s eternal flame was thought provoking. We hiked over to Iwo Jima and ended our evening back at the Irish Pub for dinner. It was a great night, as some local Irish musicans came in for a jam session, even a set of bagpipes!

Tuesday: Before we left, Michael and I went down to the Botanical Gardens and the Art Museum to see the only DaVinci in the western hemispere. Then it was to the airport and back to reality.

Sydney may have found her sport. She did fantastic during her two week swim camp. Emily still enjoys it and did a great job also, but it was awesome to see Sydney “grow” so much in her swimming skills.

Emily started a fitness challenge through Girl Scouts. She had a great time and was excited to participate with a friend from her troop. She also did another camp at UNO, which again she loved. This one was all about learning to play games that require strategy. Now she just has to teach me how to play chess!

In late June, Michael had interviewed with a company down in Lincoln. All had gone well, and they had made a preliminary offer. We were looking at cars to replace his old one and crunching numbers. Something happened and the offer was pulled. It was very disheartening. But then we received the best anniversary present ever. After the Lincoln fiasco, Michael began the job search again and sent a resume to Cox Communications. One thing led to another, 2 interview later, and on our anniversary they ask him to do a drug screen and come get his new phone! The offer wasnt made official until after we got back from DC and his 1st day was on Aug 2! Praise God that we it was only 2 months on my little teachers salary!

With Michael home during the day, life was a bit different this summer. I had camps all lined up for the kids (luckily already paid for). Emily had a science camp at UNO, which she loved and couldnt stop talking about. She got to study astronomy and go to the big planetarium daily! I think science is her thing. Then I signed up to be a substitute for summer school, figured we could use the extra money. After playing phone tag with the gal in charge, there was a position that was actually never filled at Ashland Park Robbins in a handicapped room. I jumped at the chance even though it was only 9 days left. So that left Michael to take Sydney to and from summer school and Emily to and from VBS at another Lutheran church! Sydney made a new friend at summer school and Emily enjoyed visiting a different church. I finally got to “relax” a bit and play mom taxi to take the girls to and from Beautiful Saviors VBS. The church was transformed into the bayou as the theme this year was “Crocodile Dock.” It is so neat to see so many little people excited about God!

Happy 7th Birthday Sydney! What an exciting day…she got to take a friend to the Rose’s production of High School Musical! We had front row seats and the kids were in heaven again when several members of the cast winked and smiled at them. She also got to have friends over for pooltime and pizza! She was very happy with her new American Girl doll and accessories.

What a roller coaster month! As part of a grant, the teachers have been allowed to go to a professional development conference. I decided to go to Seattle for the ReadRight conference, the new reading program I was trained and certified in. We had tried to arrange it so that Michael could come with me, but those plans did not work out. So out to Seattle I went by myself, on the school’s dollar! I stayed at the DoubleTree Airport, which was very lovely. The 1st night, I went to dinner, by myself, to an amazing seafood restaurant called Salty’s. I watched a sea lion play in the harbor while I ate! I attended a bit of the conference on Thursday and also went down to Pike’s Place! I rode the bus for the very 1st time and didnt get lost! Public transportation is quite the experience. On Friday, I went back down to Pike’s Place and purchased some tuna and crab to take home as luggage on the plane. I had lunch at Pikes Place Bar and Grill, which supports Special Olympics! I had the most amazing clam chowder…yummy. For dinner, I had contacted Alice, one of Parvoneh’s bridesmaids that we had become friends with. We met up for dinner and had a fun evening catching up. Saturday we finished the conference and flew back home. It was nice to get away all by myself for a change and Michael and the girls survived without me

The next Monday was another special day for Emily. She received her Bronze award with her troop for Girl Scouts. Throughout the year, they had been doing various activities for charity which led to the earning of the award. I was very proud of her for all of her hard work. Later that week, was my annual “trip” down to Creighton University for Special Olympics Summer games. Games was uneventful this year as far at the athletes go, but home life was turned upside down when Michael called me on Friday while I was out at Golf and informed me he had just been laid off!!! Uugh, the economy downturn had hit Medical Solutions and he was last hired and middle management, so therefore 1st to go! The company did a 25% reduction in force across the board. So it was back to the job hunt he went. We were very distressed as this was now the 2nd time he had been laid off. We were thinking…what next? career change?? Severance was minimal since he hadnt been with the company for a full year yet. Lord, please help us through the summer!