Posts

Showing posts from December, 2007
The Groneman's wedding pictures are now available. Happy New Year!
Raymond E. Feist Magician: Apprentice just showed up in my mailbox. No explanation other than the fact it came from www.MonarchBooksUSA.com Anyone have a clue and or want to claim responsibility? http://tinyurl.com/2t636f
Buff has some good pictures over <---- there.
More pictures of Katie & Bret t added to the picasa album starting with this picture.
Due to the insurmountable clamoring to reveal the correct answers of the Groneman anagrams posted last month, we felt it necessary to succomb to these requests. Here are the hidden messages behind our innocent names: 10. Groneman dad Garden Nomad 9. Groneman mom Mormon Mange 8. Lone pear HS Loner Phase 7. Brettisha Groneman Something aberrant 6. Kiera F Nelson Forsaken Line 5. Brigham Dastrup Burst Diaphragm (possible cause of death???) 4. Cambrie A Nelson Sociable Manner 3. Kim L Groneman Mongrel Makin' 2. Chad S Groneman Grandma Chosen (some may disagree) 1. Malesa Weber Males Beware
Image
Like the Nelsons, the Dastrups also had a great Christmas. Jacob figured out the whole unwrapping thing and really got into it. He was very excited about his toys, and would fight his Dad to get them back when Dad was trying to free them from the packaging. Benjamin got a Spiderman bike from Grandma and Grandpa, so he had a great Christmas, too. Here are a few pictures, and if you have the desire to see more, feel free to go to the link on the left.
E rica and I are back! And guess what? 14 Days since we were married! And she's still with me! Okay, okay. So... I want to know why the Nelsons make us go to their blog to get the good stuff. I'm used to making my rounds to the photos & videos. But now they have a blog and think they can just stick the goods there. I formally protest this and plea that they might come to their senses and post all the good stuff on picasa or youtube, depending on the media. For those of you who haven't seen, there's an awesome video of Kiera & D'Anthony losing their VL. As for my part, expect the Wedding Day Photos to appear on Picasa later this week.
Words of wisdom from Dad: In cold weather you should keep your gas tank as full as possible (for example fill up when it's half empty instead of waiting until it's near empty). The reason is that in cold weather, water vapor condenses on the inside of the gas tank not covered with gas, especially if the temperature varies from warm to cold, etc. Water is heavier than gas so once it condenses it goes to the bottom of the tank and is sucked into the engine. You may not even notice, but you may notice sputtering or even stalling and hard starting. The more full you keep your tank, the less surface area the vapor has to condense on. There ya go......isn't your life enriched now?
Image
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRETSKER! You don't have to worry about growing as old as some of these old folks around here. Still a few years until you hit your 30's.
For those of you who have not received the official word yet, Katie's and My wedding is going to be Saturday July 12, 2008 . Nelson's, we'll be sharing anniversaries then I guess. It's not perfect for everyone's schedule unfortunately, but there was no way to make that happen. But hey, it's on a Saturday. And if you can't make it, I'll personally mail you a piece of ice cream and cheesecake. You'll never want to eat it by the time it arrives, but...
Image
Image
Here it is, the blog you have all been waiting for: The Nelson's Christmas summary . I couldn't help but put alot of pictures on the blog. Call me a blog hog if you want. PS I would recommend checking out our picasa pictures. There are some fun ones! Buff was nice enought to stay with the sleeping babies while steve and I went out to eat for his birthday. She was also nice enought to make the cookies for santa. She slept in the living room (the room with the fireplace) I know she was just trying to get a good look at santa. But apparently she was sound asleep when he came. This was our first Nelson Christmas. It was different to be on a santa end of things and it was also different to have to spend a half hour changing diapers and feeding babies before we could go have Christmas. But it was fun nevertheless.
<----- Look at that countdown timer folks! We're now under 200 days! (Darn leap year anyway.)
Image
It snowed more last night! Oh boy oh boy. Last night I helped Darin Simons (neighbor) take his two bikes and his little battery powered ATV over to his house. Santa used our house as a storage depot. This morning I got up early and hopped on my ATV and plowed the walk both sides of the neighborhood as well as my own driveway. I love snow! It's still dark and our Christmas lights are twinkling outside in the snow. I love you all! MERRY CHRISTMAS! | (9:30 am update) Oh! Oh! I got some new snow boots and two shirts and a DVD of a movie I've never heard of! I got some sugar free candy and pudding and a kid picture calendar that's up to date with Erica and Katie on it! Oh boy oh boy oh boy!.
Image
HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVO! May the day be merry and bri...er...wait...wrong holiday. May your day be full of fun and joy and don't study overtime. BUT KEEP THE GOAL IN MIND!!!!!
View it while it's hot: EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE FROM CHAD AND ERICA'S HONEYMOON IN MEXICO! (They didn't know we came along and brought our video camera-- be prepared to be shocked!) Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard . Try JibJab Sendables !
So being 30 is painful, but my birthday itself was good. Benjamin apparently put a lot of thought into my birthday present. According to Brigham, they had a conversation that went something like this: Benjamin: "We've got to think of something great for Mommy's present!" Brigham: "What do you think she would like?" Benjamin: "Well, I know she really loves two things-- me and her Roomba... but she already has those. Hmmm... she likes to brush her teeth... maybe we could get her a toothbrush!" His great plans were foiled however when I went to the dentist two days before my birthday and got a new toothbrush there. To celebrate my birthday we went out to Wendy's for lunch (because what better way to celebrate a special occasion than with a kid's meal?), and Jacob was hilarious. I was walking him around while Brigham ordered the food, and he kept zeroing in on people who had fries. He would walk me right over to them and would NOT be t
Image
H E Y B E N J A M I N ! Santa is getting his sleigh packed and is almost ready to go! Oh boy...I'm so excited!!!! You can see what is happening at the North Pole right now, play some games with the elves and reindeer, and when he is in flight you can track his progress HERE . Oh boy oh boy oh boy!~
Image
THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!!
Some pictures for ya . Didn't use a flash at the reception so most of those are a bit blurry. Ohwell....I'm looking forward to seeing others' pictures. Oh yea...and I caught the jungle body rot yesterday...but feeling much better today.
Image
CHRISTA!!!! Happy 1st anniversary of your 29th birthday!!!! How does it feel to be as old as your pa? Ya doin' anything special today? Oh...and HAPPY WINTER everyone! And here's a good joke for you: While attending a Marriage Seminar dealing with communication, Tom and his wife Grace listened to the instructor, "It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other." He addressed the man, "Can you describe your wife's favorite flower?" Tom leaned over, touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "It's Pillsbury, isn't it? The rest of the story gets rather ugly, so I'll stop right here.
Image
Tragedy strikes in the Nelson kitchen: So, it would be easy to try to blame my problems on the 2 sick babies who were at my feet and clinging to my legs (well, periodically), but in actuality there is nobody to blame but myself. I made some orange rolls which I planned on giving to neighbors/ Friends with some oranges. I was ever so upset when I realized that I burnt half of them. "oh well" I thought, "at least I have about 12 that are not burnt". But no-- I discovered soon after pulling them out of the oven that I had forgot a vital ingredient: salt. Ooops 2 little teaspoons of salt make a major difference in taste. Then to top it all off, I cooked my very first turkey today (16 lbs) and overcooked it so it's a bit nasty to eat. Now THAT was an expensive mistake. AAARRRRGGGG !!!! PS , I still ended up giving some orange rolls to 2 of my good friends. I figured that they would like me even of the rolls were not that hot. PPS don't forget to ch
So, suggestions anyone? BJ has had a pill stuck in her throat now for about 20 hours...getting increasingly more obnoxious. What isn't obvious that she might use to dislodge it?
Jacob put a new twist on an old trick today. I was getting ready to take the boys to Benjamin's joy school Christmas program (where Benjamin starred as Joseph), and I started by getting Benjamin ready. With only minutes to spare before we needed to go, I went to go put Jacob's shoes on him. I found him sitting in my room with his pants off (old trick), his diaper off (another slighly less-old trick), and woo everywhere (new trick). He had apparently been stepping on it because it was all over his feet and ground into the carpet, but when I came into the room he was happily mashing it around in his hands. Need I tell you that the leading man was late to his first performance? But despite Jacob's attempt at stealing the show, Benjamin was still an Oscar-winning Joseph. I was only slightly distracted by thoughts of mucking out our stable once we returned.
Image
SIGN OF THE TIMES: I realized this morning that this will be the first Christmas morning we have spent without kids since 1976. PARTY!!!!!!
Ok, a big oops on my part:I started taking my Sociology Final online this morning at about 10am. It is a timed test, but open book so I didn't study much. I was about half way through it when Steve came in the room and let me know that the LA county social worker was there to see me. (Background on this social worker: she is really mean and got really mad at me when I had to cancel an appointment with her in order to get Danthony's cast off.) I still had half of the questions left on my final and time was ticking quickly so I asked Steve to take the final for me and I went and entertained her for 20 minutes. I came back when there was 4 minutes left. OOPs. I should have looked at my calander this morning! Good thing Steve was home to help me out! The social worker said that chances are good that Danthony can go straight to live with his Aunt who lives in a studio appartment. She just has to aquire a fridge first (apparently she eats out every meal). So, looks like Danthony'
Image
So I'm pretty new at this whole blogging thing, but I thought I'd give it a try. I've been studying for my final all day, listening to classical music as I'm prone to do. After I listened to everything I had, I suddenly remembered my new Pet Tunes CD. You were right Christa and Brigham, that's pretty good stuff. You all missed out big time on the White Elephant exchange!!! Thanks!
HEY! I actually feel NORMAL today! No Flu effects left---YEAYYYYYYYY! Life is great aint it???!!!! Course, if it was viral, it will probably come back. But I feel good today! And even when I had it, it could not conquer my joy! Can I just say HOW MUCH I LOVED THIS WEEKEND? IT WAS SO WONDERFUL TO HAVE MY FAMILY ALL HERE FOR CHAD AND ERICA'S MARRIAGE! And it was so fun the night of the Christmas party too. My heart is so full of warmth and joy, just remembering it! And even though the nasty little bug put a not so wonderful aspect into it, already that part is nearly forgotten (except that I keep wondering and being concerned over Chad's and Ericas health on their honeymoon). Chad, as soon as you come down from Cloud 999 enough to read this, let us know how you two are doing/did. The whole wedding day was just a great event!! It seems SO WEIRD to me that Christmas is one week from today. It is the same feeling I had after Brett was born Dec 28. When I came home, actuall
Image
FOOTBALL PARTY! Las Vegas Bowl. BYU vs. UCLA Food and fun and mediocre company Saturday December 22nd . Game starts at 6pm . Groneman TV room
Thanks for brightening a few of my days. I just wanted to let all you folks know how much I enjoyed having your around. Chad/Erica, you were excused...you had a good reason for not hanging around....but I enjoyed sharing in your wedding day as well.
Ladies and Gentlemen, . . . Start your anticipatory countdowns. . . 208
Guess what? It's the day you've been waiting for! 0
I've decided that people that think they know everything are extremely annoying to those of us that do.
I need to mimic a post Erica did on her family blog: I wanted to post some info about this week's activities, so we're all on the same page. 1. Schedule: Endowment session (for those available and interested), Mt. Timpanogos temple 4:00 session on Thursday, December 13th. Luncheon (all immediate family, some aunts / uncles are invited, including the kidlets), Friday @ 11:00 am at the Northampton House in AF Sealing: Friday at 3:00 pm (be there at 2:30), Mt. Timpanogos Temple Pictures: immediately after the sealing at the temple, then also at the Alpine Country Club when it gets dark. Reception: Friday from 7-9, Alpine Country Club. 2. Ties. Mom & Dad bought (Chad picked out) cranberry colored ties for all the guys. We'll bring those to Mom and Dad's house on Wednesday night. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to, but it'll be there for you.
Cat's out of the bag!!! Guess who got the pirated copy of Dad, Mom, Chad, and Erica's litte "SURPRISE" presentation they are going to do for the wedding and family Christmas party!!! Enjoy. Can't wait to see it in person you guys!
I finally got around to putting it on the blog. I'll put some pictures over in picasa too.
Imagine playing with your toys and making neighbors happy at the same time. That's me with my ATV and new snow plow blade! It's been a great snowstorm. Yer mother and I have been really enjoying this. After a great dinner of curry and pickled beans, we took a drive up AF canyon just to see the snow.
CONGRATULATIONS TO CAMBRIE!!! Cambrie ran and finished the 1/2 marathon today!!! She is probably icing down her legs, as I type! Either that or taking care of sick little kids. I am hoping that the little kids are better. ARE YOU ALL PRAYING? Anyway. I think that is quite an accomplishment Cambrie. Anyone take any pictures for you to put on the Blog? In case anyone missed it: We have cranberry color ties for all the guys to wear this friday, so you don't need to do that. 6 days to go! And 4 days till I see my KIDS!!!!
Hey, I think that we need to have all of us pray every day between now and Dec 12 for health for the family. Cambrie still has 2 sick little guys, and if they are still as sick on Dec 12, they likely won't be able to come. And even if they could, I doubt that CK and Brigham would welcome it into their home with it's nausea and diarhearra (and it is altogether PROBABLE that Erica and Chad don't want it on their Honeymoon either:) : We need some Heavenly intervention. Cambrie says the last time Kiera got this, she had it for like 10 days, and she has only had it going like 4 days thus far... You know, Cambrie: I have to wonder...could it be the same Virus that started this problem in the first place, and it just mutated so it came back on you? A true flu bug will do that...
Did you all have a chance to see Mitt Romneys speech? It was good, unfortunately I hear that only 1% of Americans saw it. Its about 20 minutes long and worth watching so here: http://mitt-tv.mittromney.com/?showid=718280 Comments, anyone?
Image
BYU / UTAH GAME . There are definitely details you miss out on if you don't have an HDTV with slow motion playback and freeze frame capabilities. For example:
ONE WEEK!!!! (that's 7 days!!!)
WANTED: Your ideas Erica and I have a bit of a predicament. It's our wedding photos. We didn't realize how dark it would be when we get out of the temple. We'll get out around 4, and only have about 15 minutes of poor lighting before everything will need a flash, if it's a clear sky (probably will need it for those 15 minutes too). We could get up well before the crack of dawn so that Erica could get her hair done, then we could go get pictures taken at 9 AM, but that kind of defeats the purpose of having a later wedding. We could pay the photographer $200 more and have them come to the reception as well, and we could get all the family shots there. Any other ideas?
Erica and I are planning a Temple trip one week from today. Thursday the 13th, 4:00 Endowment Session, Mt. Timpanogos Temple. Anyone who would like to come is invited. It's an invitation, not a summons.
DANTHONY STAYS Looks like you will all get to meet Danthony at Christmas time (and looks like Buff and Dad will have one more to babysit during the wedding). I just got the phone call from the social worker who informed me "They are giving his mom and dad 6 more months to clean up there lives", "So we keep him for 6 more months?" "yes-- although supposedly there is a sister interested in trying to get him, but she still hasn't even been fingerprinted so it's not very promising." I have mixed emotions on the subject. Beings that today was a particularly difficult day, I'm disappointed, but I know that Kiera likes having him around, and I am pretty much adjusted to having the extra child, and I found out that I'm going to continue getting paid as if he was still a "special health care needs" baby although he is not. Anyway, that is the news.
I've been so crazy busy the last couple of weeks that I haven't been able to be on the blog much. And I don't see things getting much calmer before Christmas, so I thought I'd give a quick Dastrup update. Brigham is working 30 hour shifts every fourth day and wondering why he chose medicine. The rest of us are wondering who the scraggly, bleary-eyed man is who drags himself in to eat every now and then. Benjamin is going through a really adorable phase where he loves me more than everything else. It's great! He tells me at least 20 times a day how much he loves me and prays for his "sweet, sweet, sweet, adorable princess mommy" every time he prays. We'll see if this lasts after Christmas-- maybe he's smarter than I think he is... Jacob is a darling terrorist. He has figured out how to open doors, so nothing electronic is safe anymore. He has decided that he HATES grocery shopping and will scream from the moment you put him in a cart until th
We should be finding out in a matter of hours if Danthony goes or stays. His fate is currently being decided. We have mixed feelings on the subject. Kiera definately likes having him around (for the most part). We had 24 hours of respite care this past friday and i was so excited to have 1 on 1 kiera and mommy time. .....too bad we couldn't enjoy it because Kiera was too busy wandering the house whinning looking for Danthony! She was SO excited to see him the next day. Anyway, I'll update when I find out.
Everyone but Chad and Christa, I need you to do something : 1 - Go to http://www.brainbashers.com/common.asp 2 - Login. (created a user and login if you haven't created a user yet) 3 - In the upper right, click on the YOUR HOME PAGE link 4 - In the top section, click on the EDIT YOUR DETAILS link 5 - Scroll down to the bottom and under the LEAGUES category enter: Groneman Why? This will save poor Brett from having to manually search for each user next month.
Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland: Brett & Katie
Image
This is a "Hill-billy" Well, it made me laugh, so enjoy!
Hey, just so you all know...we are going to buy Cranberry ties that match for all of the males of our family and Erica's so that they match for their great event day. So don't worry about doing that.
Daily Sudoku: HERE Today's sudoku (December 2) VERY HARD level (5) took me 11 minutes 28 seconds...I could have done it faster if I would have had confidence. Who can beat that time (and you only get ONE try)? Use all the tools available to you (auto pencil marks, etc. etc.)
BRIGHAM! STEVE! Hey, there's a box coming to each of you DON'T OPEN THEM . They are your Christmas presents (read the label...if it's from somewhere you don't recognize chances are it's the box I'm having sent or a bomb....either way, not a good idea to open it). Ho Ho Ho! I know what you're getting for Christmas and you'll love it!
Image
WE HAVE A GHOST! And it is a naughty one! Last night I had a Sunday School Party I threw here for my class (because the only girl on my roll that never came, was babtised). We made and ate pizza, and played a bunch of games and then I put on "The Ultimate Gift" DVD. After it was done, the boys were just talking in the Fam Room and I was doing dishes (all of the girls had gone home). Anyway, all of the suddenly there was a horrible noise that came from our bathroom. I went in there to see what in the heck it was, and was shocked to see that our bathroom shower door had exploded into about 2000 pieces and was all over the bathroom (like 6 feet away from the door). Go figure. No one was in there. So, today, Kim had to go and spend another $180.00 for a new set of doors. Luckily, they still made the same one, so he didn't have to install new framing....but it was still a pain in the tush. It exploded into my laundry hamper that was right next to it, so I had to ca
The Brainbashers Breakdown! Introducing this month to our midst, the beautiful and talented Katie Boren! Also, un-introducing Marilyn Groneman! . . . Where'd you go Mom? So I'm pretty proud of myself for getting "Bempty" as the made-up word that rhymes with Empty right. I also think it's interesting that the first four people in our group all got the same worst score in the family on question 10. Cambrie, while everyone else has to get into a boat and row over to the other side of the river, you and I can take the bridge. I prefer our method. Then again, I don't know what Steve is taking? Hovercraft? Airplane? Way to go Brigham. It's almost scary how well he knows how other people think. Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q9 Q10 32 Brigham Dastrup 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 4 49.8654% 174 Brett Groneman 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 4 1 4 11.5328% 180 Chad Groneman