Ro Mottan Sam

Translation: Friends of Sam

Recently, Sam has had the opportunity to translate at the MTC a few times for Marshallese Elders who are there. He is so thrilled to use his Marshallese, but I think it makes him even happier to see his friends. Because the islands are so small, he pretty much knows (or knows of) each Elder that comes here. Each time he comes home from translating, Sam is just beaming as he tells me about his latest encounter with his friends.

One Sunday we finally remembered for Sam to take the camera. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw the picture...

How good looking is that group??? Sam said they do create quite the spectacle as the three of them walk around the MTC (Sam always in the middle) speaking Marshallese. Love it.

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend, I just wished I would've documented it with better pictures!

Between the two session of General Conference on Saturday, Sam and I had a couple of friends over for a brunch. I made the delicious Nielsen ebelskivers...

And Sammy took care of the bacon and eggs...
The brunch was a huge success! Yes, I was proud of myself because the ebelskivers turned out perfect on my first solo attempt! We even had a request to make this conference brunch a tradition, I think it just may become that!

Once the afternoon session was done, Sammy and I drove up to Salt Lake so he could attend the Priesthood session while I entertained myself with some shopping :) We then met up with G for a yummy dinner at Texas Roadhous. We were surprised and excited when we arrived at G's house and saw she had a whole set-up ready for dying Easter eggs! It was a lot of fun. Thanks G!
Sam and I were able to attend the Sunday afternoon session at the Conference Center. It was great as always! I wasn't able to get a picture there because SOMEONE was being a picture-party-pooper. Oh well.

And finally, we made it back to our home and had Curtis and Candace over for a delicious Easter dinner. I was excited to pass out the treats for dessert....

Hope you all had a Hoppy Easter!

Don't Go!

I have some major blog updating to do.

First item of business....Courtney Suzanne Lisonbee.
A couple weeks ago we had dinner with a bunch in honor of this hot lady. She had to gather all of her friends together so we could say goodbye before she become SISTER LISONBEE for the next 18 months.
Courtney will be entering the MTC on April 28th and will be serving in the Manchester, New Hampshire Mission!

I cannot believe it was a year ago this month that we put on our lovely blue caps and gowns to receive our diplomas!
Courtney and I met when we were both doing a semester at BYU-Hawaii. When we got back to BYU in Provo, we discovered we had a few classes together and later became, well, obsessed with each other. After graduation we even had the same job. I just couldn't get enough of my dear friend...
This wild woman will surely be missed! I'm just glad we were smart enough to get the family portrait done so we can hang it on the family room wall while she is away.
GOOD LUCK COURTNEY! I KNOW YOU WILL BE THE MOST WONDERFUL AMAZINGLY AWESOME SISTER MISH IN NEW HAMPSHIRE!!!

Really though, she will be. I have no doubt.

Family Fun

Last week my brother Chris came in to town with his girls Jenny, Kate, and Macy. It was sooo fun to see them. Friday night we got to babysit the Princess Kate and we had a blast. And yes, I documented the whole night.

Kate was dropped off at the Nielsen apartment and she immediately had a "Show and Tell" of everything that was inside of her Dora backpack. We read princess books, talked about princesses, and chased Sammy. After a while we all decided it was time for some dinner so we packed little Katiebug into the car...

And made it to the Pizza Pie Cafe! It is a new pizza buffet that has had a lot of hype around Provo, so we thought it'd be fun to try out with the little one in tow.
This little chatter box thoroughly enjoyed her food and kept us entertained.
Yup, this is how she decided to eat her dessert pizza. She opted to just eat the oreo piece "because it has sprinkles on it".
Kate loved Uncle Sam.
Once we made it back home again, I took this video of Kate. I have to inform you that she wanted one of the candies in the dish before dinner, but I said she needed to wait till after dinner. (That's why she keeps looking at the dish and says she wants to "eat") hahah

Uncle Curtis and Aunt Candace stopped by later to join in the fun. We even watched The Little Mermaid!

Favorite Kate Quotes of the night:

Kate:" Where'd your water go?"

Me: "Sam took it to go get more for me!"

Kate: "Oh. Well, if you're waiting you can have some of mine!"

Me: "I'm fine. Thank you though. That was very nice of you to share"

Kate: "I know. Because I'm a princess, and princesses share"

Kate (looking at an overweight woman at a table next to us, LOUDLY says...): "Look! That woman has a biiig belly!"

Me: "Kate! Shhh!!!!"

Kate (whispering): "Look! That woman has a biiig belly!"

Oh, what a night!

It was also great to see the rest of this Heyman clan. Poor Macy had a bit of a cold, but she was still a cutie!

Once again, we love seeing family and having visitors! Glad you guys came Chris, Jenny, Kate and Macy!

Dearest Dani

Do you know my friend Dani? If you don't, you should. Today is her birthday. This is her:

She rocks. She is amazing. I can honestly call her one of my most favorite people in this world. This girl is H.I.L.A.R.I.O.U.S. I had already planned out in my head this wonderful birthday post I was going to do in her honor, and I was going to put it together and post it during my lunch hour. Well, the internet line got cut at the office today right when my lunch hour started. Cool. And it never came back the rest of the day. Real cool. Well, my dear friend Nat put together a Dani Bday post and I don't think I could say it all any better. Please check it out here. (By the way, this link takes you to Dani's blog...if you ever find yourself bored, or just with some extra time you are pretty much guaranteed laughs and entertainment by viewing her blog).

Freshman year we realized we made such a great team that we created our own togetherness name...Danison. Got a nice ring to it huh?

Dani was the first friend to know I was engaged. She and Nat came home to the apartment (where Sam had just proposed about 15 minutes earlier), we were just chattin and I was trying my best to act completely normal...then I put my hand on the counter and a little bling caught her attention. She screamed. And then tears followed...

She's one of the best best friends a girl could ever ask for. And she's gorgeous. And she's a whole lot more, but just click the link above to her blog to get it all!

Dani Wanny, I hope you know I love you. GET IT GURL.

Happy

I've been a happy girl lately. Here's why...

1. Baby Hank

Sam and I have a new nephew! Hank was born on Friday weighing in at 8lbs 13 oz with a full head of dark hair. We are so happy and excited for Brooke and Kirk. We can't wait to meet the little guy!

Hank with his big brother, Parker, and sister, Grace. So cute!

2. Girlfriends

Two weeks ago the Cheetahs gathered for lunch and laughs. These girls rock. I miss seeing them everyday since I no longer live with any and I'm not on BYU campus, so I'm always pumped for any of our get-togethers!

3. My mom

Sam and I have been lucky and spoiled with our parents coming to visit lately. Last month both my dad and his mom came in to town, and last week my mom did the same! It was so great to have her here. She came to pick out some new stuff for the condo, so one night we went shopping for a grill. After walking around for awhile Candace, with her prego belly and swollen ankles, and I, with my four inch heels, found these lawn mowers to be quite relaxing.

My mom treated us to yummy dinner every night. These pics were from her last night in town...

Thanks for coming out Mom, and thanks for spoiling us so much! We love you! Come back soon! :)

4. Baked Goods

Last night as we were walking out of our adult session of Stake Conference Sam said to me, "I heard about this new dessert place in Provo that is supposed to be really good, let's go!" How could I say no to that? We went to the quaint little bakery named The Chocolate and picked out some yummy treats that we took home. They were divine.
Milk was a must...

5. Him

He sure knows how to keep me happy!

Hope you're happy as well :)

MVP

A couple weeks ago I was sitting in Relief Society when the binder with the attendance sheet and announcements was passed to me. I saw copies of the Ward Newsletter, so I took one and casually started scanning through it. I soon caught myself fighting the urge to laugh out loud as I read a particular column titled "Building Friendships in Ward Sports" let me share a little with you...

"...The camaraderie on the team is fantastic, the sportsmanship is superb, and it is an all-around good time! There are some amazing guys who play that are great to be around. There is Matt Baker with his strong rebounds, Brandon Loong with his aggressive play under the basket... But the guy to watch is Sam Nielsen. I have never seen anyone play like he does! He dives, rebounds, takes charges, and plays hard the whole game through. If there was someone who deserves the MVP, it would be him. So far this month the west quorum is doing great with 4 wins and only 1 loss. We are all excited and optimistic about the rest of the season."

When I read the article to Sam, he laughed and commented "There's a reason they don't mention me scoring!" Whether he scored a lot of points or not, it was apparent his team loved him. Unfortunately their season is now over. I can't wait to learn what his reputation is for the next ward sport....

Gotta love this boy!