Ugly Sweater Party

You have all heard of them, I'm sure. A Christmas "Ugly Sweater Party." Rick and I searched high and low, and finally found these gems in his parents basement. Carolyn purchased these in Ireland (how authentic!) for family pictures, and was willing to lend them to us for the evening. She was even kind enough to send me with the original family portrait. Wasn't Rickey cute even then?!

Here are the gentlemen- trying to look as Classy as possible. Rickey's turtleneck takes me back to the early 90's! We had to borrow that wardrobe piece as well.

We had a good time with our friends- the best part is seeing what everyone comes up with.
Hope your Holiday parties were classy as well.

A Very Thankful Thanksgiving

Bear Lake

We spent this Thanksgiving at the Bear Lake Family Cabin- with food, fun, friends and family. Here's a list of a few of the things I am thankful for this Holiday:

1. A Very nice husband who drove both ways in the "Snow Apocolyps Storm of the Year." He is a great driver, and a great husband to hang out with all the family and cousins all weekends.

2. Very good food! So what if the turkey wasn't cooking all day when we thought the roaster was plugged in? Good thing we had a back-up cooked (Jenny!), and we could let this giant beast take it's sweet time. When that golden bird emerged from the oven at 9pm- we were hungry and ready for round two. Way to dig in Dylan!

3. Being 20 below at the cabin gave us the opportunity to stay indoors. Thus number three I am thankful for "good old fashioned fun." You know... things we used to do when we were kids.

Like build a house of cards,

Nap in the middle of the day (notice I chose to show Rick-

pictures of me sleeping aren't pretty),

Eat even when we don't feel hungry,

Bench press the skinny teenagers so we feel like we worked off some of the day's calories.

And a well-planned gingerbread house making contest. Only at the cabin can you turn this into an entire morning affair, including: announcing team captains, drafting team members, drawing plans, strategizing, hiding, whispering, planning, stealing items, and creating. My team won "most cabin like" (pictured above).

Ricks team turned theirs into a "Swedish Hunting Chalet" with Sven out front in the fur hat. Quite funny that a team of all boys would choose pink frosting for their Hunting Chalet. Rick is pointing too, and most proud of the pretzel wood pile he thought to add for his hunters.

We chose a judge that we knew would stand by his decision with gusto- Grandpa! This could become a new tradition. All that participated enjoyed the festivities.

4. I am thankful for a Grandpa that made the Bear Lake Cabin possible and continues to be a great joy in our home.

Why I love teaching Kindergarten

Kindergartners Self Portraits are hilarious! Some are still in the phase where they seem themselves as a head with legs directly under (see top right). Others have arms the size of Goliath (top left). Others think they have the height of Yao Ming (second poster- bottom center). All that matters is that they all draw themselves smiling!

Because it's a brand new school- everything is new and fancy. I ask for 4 computers for my class for kids to use in a center. Sure! Let us bring you 4 brand new flat screen computers in the wrapping. My last schools would laugh at me, promise to look around in the storage closet, and bring me some ancient microwave size beast that booted up in 30 minutes- on a good day. Now that I am a Davis County Tax Payer- I do not grumble when I see the Public School portion on our property tax- it's worth it!

Everything is colorful and bright. You can tell the kindergartners to make their work "colorful, fancy and beautiful," and they all jut giggle. They work so hard that you walk by little boys sticking their tongue out to the side while they work ever so hard on that picture. You can decorate the room bright and colorful and the parents are just as excited about it as their kids.

The furniture barely hits my knees- it makes me feel tall! This picture doesn't do it justice- but these counters and sink are actually about 2 1/2 feet tall.We still get to plan "Dramatic Play Centers" where we incorporate the house. Sometimes they just play house (and yes the little boys play too!), and sometimes we trick-or-treat for glass ABC tiles. Anything to make play educational.

And last, I have really enjoyed the half day schedule. Any child can be cute for 2 1/2 hours. Finally- a job I love and am excited to go to everyday!

Fall and Friends

Thriller!

For Natasha's birthday she wanted to see Thriller, so we went on a double date. The boys enjoyed most of it- they got a little antsy at the end. Rick and I have a few favorites- the Frankenstein Dance is always a hit, and the skeleton with the glow in the dark feet is still entertaining to me. It was fun to get out and celebrate Tosh's "golden birthday." Thanks for the invite!


My good friend Brooke was in the States, visiting from Peru to deliver her baby- the cute little boy with a crazy head of hair that I'm holding. She brought her family over for dinner and to catch up. Her girls are so funny! Kennady picked these pants out all by herself- I love them!

Finally.... Washington D.C.

Washington D.C.

This summer the Nehmer family went to Washington D.C. We had a great time seeing the sites, eating non-stop, and learning a little more about the history of our country and the nation's capitol. I haven't been able to share these until now because they have been trapped on Rick's Macbook that took an accidental tumble from the Ford pickup. Oops! Glad to have retrieved the pictures.

Thanks Dad for taking us on a great trip. We had an awesome time, and I felt more educated after returning home. If only I returned to a bed as nice as that one there!

I must start out with this one so that you get the full affect of the blazing sun, 100 degrees with 100 percent humidity every day. I have never felt a heat like this. Kelsey has had enough of it in this picture- her face says it all!

Iwo Jima Memorial. We went to a live Military concert here one night that was very cool.

You could spend days here. We did a few hours and didn't see nearly everything that is available. So many sights, so little time.

Carter had to find a way to keep himself entertained after a few hours in each museum. He kept saying- take a picture of me!

Ford Theatre, where President Lincoln was assassinated. It's amazing that they let you get so close in this museum. This was one of my favorites, just because of the history here. They still use it as a live playhouse to this day. I did learn that he didn't actually die here- he was carried across the street to someone's house, laid in their bed, and died there the next morning. You can also tour that house.

Changing of the guards. I have a new respect for these soldiers. I thought I was dying of heat- they stand out there in their wool suits for an hour at a time, keeping exact time as they march back and forth. This is more precise than the Bingham's Minerettes!

Lincoln Memorial at nighttime. It looks so awesome when it's lit up, if only my camera did it justice!

"Segs in the City" tour. Possibly the highlight of the trip! These are so fun, and worth every penny to rent for an hour tour. You instantly feel just like Paul Blart in Mall cop. Only Kelsey would be able to actually push the seg to it's limit, flip it over, skid across memorial way in the gravel, scrape up her legs, and deactivate the segway scooter. I couldn't get it to stop this emergency beeping! Our tour guide was still chatting away, continuing on, completely unaware that every tourist in D.C. had stopped to see the best crash ever. Kelsey's pride was pretty hurt, but our guide made her feel better by saying "You are the only one to actually put the helmet to use! Now I know why we make everyone wear them!" Did Bill Nehmer opt to purchase the damage insurance? Nope!

The segway tour stopped at all the major monuments- a great way to see the city in an hour.

Mount Vernon- a recommendation by a friend that turned out to be very worthwhile. It's amazing how nice this house is for it's time period. It sits up on a beautiful hill overlooking the river. They let you tour the entire house, but no pictures inside.

Museum of Natural History- Carter's favorite.

Sunday Brunch at an outdoor Cafe, with cooling misters, that's why we're all smiling!

Hunting Season is Upon Us

Rick is having a great hunting season. He drew a once in a lifetime mountain goat tag, archery deer, and archery elk tag. He accompanied friends on their guided Bull Elk hunts, his brother's antelope hunt, and a first timer ATF buddy on a deer hunt. This has meant a lot of time away, and I have to say- when it comes to the amount of complaining, I think this is my best hunting season ever too! I've stayed busy, called friends, shopped, and tried to keep the complaints to a minimum.

The man who stared at goats

The man who killed a record book Pope and Young goat.

Soon the official measurement will be in, and we will know where he will be placed in the Pope and Young Record Book. Rick's once in a lifetime goat hunt turned out great for him.

One of the bulls from the Guided Elk Hunt. I especially liked this hunt because they had all the wives up for a dinner at a beautiful cabin the last night- good grub!

Rick's archery deer hunt this year. I liked that this hunt started and ended in one day- Opening Day find.

Bridge's muzzleloader deer this year. What good buds to pack each other's deer out. I love the fall colors in this one.

This is his Hooded Merganzor from last season, finally back from the taxidermist. He's excited to put it on his new desk that's coming soon. (Story of the free desk coming later..)

Impromptu Family Pictures

My mom got this crazy idea on Saturday morning to make us all do family pictures. Just what Rick wanted to do on his birthday. We didn't have matching clothes, we were dressed for the beach, some of us were still in bed (Jared!), but mom prevailed. And I must say, these "come-as-you-are" pictures turned out pretty cute. I give credit to the talented photographer (Lindsay Driggs), and our spunky mother who ran around and found everyone something to wear. What a cute family I have: