Race for the Cure

Madalyn and I will be joining the Race for the Cure this Sunday in honor of Bonnie Ream. I know that many of you were close to her as well, and we would love to have you join us. If you don't have the time or energy please take a moment to remember her for the amazing person that she was and how she changed us.

We're walking with the ML&R team and if you'd like to walk or donate, go to www.komenaustin.org then on the left side of the page is a “donation” bar. Click on that bar. On the next page, click on the “Support a Race for the Cure Team”, then search for a team. Our team is ML & R.

10 Year Anniversary

No pics for this one, but Jeff and I celebrated the 10 year anniversary of our first date yesterday. Where did the time go? I know that Kara and Marjorie will appreciate the memory of me being so nervous at the PPA Lyceum knowing that we had a date right after it was over. Ah, the good old days. It's been an amazing 10 years and it just makes me think: We may not have it all together, but together we have it all. :)

Our Little Girl is Growing Up

What else can I say? Ouch.

NKOTB2

The group picture as promised. Jessie was also kind enough to include a picture of Jordan blowing her a kiss at the end of the concert. :) NKOTB 4EVA!

NKOTB

Okay, go ahead and laugh if you want, but the girls went to San Antonio to see New Kids on the Block in concert at the AT&T center. IT WAS AWESOME!! They sang everything from their old albums and all of the songs from their new CD, the Block. We met for dinner at Camino Ranch and enjoyed some cheap margaritas and bought bootleg t-shirts from a guy at the traffic light. The show was great and we had way too much fun. My camera batteries died early, but Jessie has a group pic that I'll have to post later. Jordan with his shirt off, Joey's dance solo and their overall hotness were the best parts of the show. They closed with Hangin' Tough and Step by Step and it was so loud in that place that you wouldn't have known that 20,000 30-year olds still had it in them. We do! Still hangin' tough - Holly Bea

Showstopper

Dance Unlimited Girls & Madalyn with Geo

Tap class

Madalyn and I attended the Showstopper Dance Convention in Dallas on October 11 & 12 at the Grapevine Convention Center and Great Wolf Lodge. I hadn't ever been to anything like that before and it was definitely a learning experience for both of us. Madalyn took tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, ballet, pom pom, and song and dance classes for 16 hours over 2 days. Some highlights were learning Hip Hop from Geo. He was part of the Iconic dance crew on the first season of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew. She learned tap from an ex-Rockette and jazz from one Britney's backup dancers. I got to take makeup classes from one of the makeup artists for Young and the Restless and sit on plastic chiars or the floor until I was almost crippled from the back pain. :) Grapevine is a really pretty town and I would love to go and stay at the Great Wolf Lodge- it has an indoor waterpark, arcade, and wizard scavenger hunt. We stayed in Burleson so the boys would be entertained while we were at the convention, but Madalyn is pressing to go to Great Wolf for her birthday. We'll see.

Cheetah Girls Concert

Madalyn
Fabulous Daughters
Fuego - my favorite song!
Fabulous moms

There were 6 fabulous mothers that took their even more fabulous daughters to the Cheetah Girls concert on October 8. The Cheetah Girls kicked off their 'One World' world tour at the Erwin Center in Austin, TX and we got to be there to see it. We enjoyed dinner at Louie's 106 and then cotton candy at the show for dessert. Sabrina, Keily, and Adrienne did an amazing job singing and getting through all of those costume changes. Heavens- it's crazy how many times they changed. Which was evidenced by in the finale Sabrina's skirt got stepped on and ripped off. At least she had on leggings! But the other two could hardly stop laughing when it happened. It was very nice to see them seem very real and that they were enjoying themselves. Almost as much as we were. :)

Ella's 3rd Birthday

Bristol and Ella going for a ride

Argh, Matey!

Ella and Addison

Presents everywhere!!


We started Ella's birthday celebration at Gattitown on Wednesday night. I'm hopeful that they won't end up on a motorcycle like that in the future! Then on Saturday, after Fire Fest we went to Ella's for her birthday party. Everyone had a great time and the funniest part was some of the older boys not wanting to eat the Princess cupcakes. Silly boys, the cupcake tastes the same! He he.

Fire Fest

Next on the list was Fire Fest where the Darlings Dance Team performed, and Bristol and Ella had their dancing debut. The Team did a great job and Ella and Bristol were precious. The Wheels on the Bus is something every kid should know. :)The boys also enjoyed getting to see the car show.

BVES Dedication Ceremony

Brownies and Daisies

Madalyn, Natalie, and Delaney adding red to the flag for Bravery True

Leading the Pledge of Allegience


Saturday was was a marathon day. We started with Beck's soccer game and then headed over to Blanco Vista for the Dedication of the school. Madalyn's Girl Scout troop, along with another troop of Daisies, performed a Flag Ceremony. The girls were SO CUTE and Madalyn spoke really well. She also got bumped up to hold the flag because she was tall enough not to let it touch the ground. He he. Being tall is a good thing every now and again.

Clint Black at the Meyerson

On September 29, I got the pay off of my birthday present from Jeff which was a night away- On a week night! My parents were kind enough to hold down the fort for us to sneak away to Dallas for the Clint Black concert. The road trip was fun, the hotel was great and we had a swanky dinner at Dakota's steakhouse downtown. Funny thing was that the bartender had worked with Jeff at Chili's and remembered him so he totally hooked us up. Small world. To the concert though. The picture of Clint is a little blurry, but the acoustics at the Meyerson Symphony Center was unreal. It was just him on the stage with his band singing. No dancers, no pyro-technics, just him singing and it was AMAZING. The high points were definitely when he sang 'our song' which is Like the Rain and then when he performed Something That We Do. It was a fabulous present and Jeff has reclaimed his status as the best gift giver. Ever. Hands down.

Lehman High Homecoming

Lewey the Lobo and the girls


Seniors Win!

We had the opportunity last week to attend the Lehman High School (new cross-town rival of my alma mater Hays High) Homecoming pep rally. I pick up Lily with Madalyn after school each day and her mother, Katie, was dancing with the teachers for the pep rally. So after school, we grabbed Victoria and headed over to watch the festivities. First thing I want to say is that I MISS HIGH SCHOOL, if I could only do it all over again knowing what I know now. And second, I felt dang old because I didn't approve of anything they wore and some of their behavior made me cringe - ah, 30 hits me at last. :)
The best part was that the cheerleaders had been to the Elementary School earlier in the day for a mini-pep rally there and recognized the girls, so they pulled them out onto the court to judge the Spirit Stick contest in front of about 1,000 people. (Yes! I totally forgot about the spirit stick, no one dropped it, thank you Bring It On.) Lily, Victoria and Madalyn thought they were Rock Stars. It was amazingly loud in there, but rightfully so, and the seniors won. Go Lobo Class of 2009. (WHAT?!?!)

Cody at Thunderhill Raceway

Cody signing the Pop Star magazine

Cody and the kiddoes

Cody and Floyd

On Saturday night we went to Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle to see Cody race. They had a short race ticket and were having a driver meet and greet on the track, so we had to support the family. The kids had a great time, including the driver autographs and getting to sit in the race cars. There was some really exciting racing including Cody finishing second in the Grand stocks- we were all up and screaming. Cody, Bryon and Floyd all finished the race which sometimes is a lot to ask! Beau has been driving some practice laps in the 83 car and they're hoping to have 3 generations of Reeds race in the last one of the season. That will really be something to see.

Beck's Soccer Debut

The kids all lined up

Beck before & during the game


Beck with MiMi and Papa

Beck with Uncle Cody, and his hard earned $5





Well, I hate to brag but isn't that what blogs are for anyway? Beck DOMINATED at his first soccer game this weekend. Let me set the scene- first play they have the two teams lined up facing each other, the coach blows his whistle Beck kicks the ball chases it, kicks it again and scores. Seriously, 30 seconds into the game and he already scored. And we were worried that he wouldn't be ready to play since we'd been focused so much on basketball. He ended up playing most of the game since a lot of the other kids weren't that into it. I'd also just like to say that it's nice to be able to just watch the game and not coach! I actually got to hang out with my parents and my brother and help keep Bristol off the field. Well, he did make it out there once but at least the kids were on the other side of the field.

Labor Day

We were lucky enough to get to spend Labor Day by the pool at Lanette's parents house. The kids had way too much fun hanging out and grilling hot dogs. It was definitley how you should spend an extra day off. :) I love that face that Bristol is making on the see-saw with Beck. It's classic.

Family Reunion 2008

The herd of children

Bristol and Amanda

Aunt Donna's gotten taller!

Beckham cousins - Jack & Olivia

Beck with Kimberly's car


The Bi-Annual Nelson Family Reunion was held on Sunday at Gethsemane Lutheran Church here in Austin. We had a great turnout and it was great to see everyone again. We switched to an every other year reunion, so the kids had really grown! Bristol was an infant at the last one, which is weird to think about. We got to have some GREAT food and catch up on what every one's been up to. This year we also snuck in a Beckham reunion the night before at Fuddruckers and that worked out wonderfully for us. The kids got along great and spent a small fortune on the games. :) My highlight was getting to meet Eli - he's my cousins' Chris and Sarah Crenshaw's son who is two months old and PRECIOUS. The other funny thing was how impressed Beck was our cousin Kimberly's car when we were leaving - look MaMa, it has blue fire!
It's good to have those reminders every now and again about the importance of family.

Blanco vista PTA

I really joined the PTA so that I could be in the paper. Check out the online version of our local paper. Do we look like a trustworthy bunch or what? :)

http://haysfreepress.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=25&ArticleID=34864&TM=82592.37

Other news!

I don't have any pictures, but Madalyn made the 3D Darlings Dance Team with Dance Unlimited. She's on the competitive dance team with her friends Willow, Taylor and Kayla. It should be an exciting year complete with 3 competitions and Nationals next summer in San Antonio. Here comes the make up!

First Day of School

The first day of school is always a big deal, and this year was no different. Madalyn started 3rd grade in the Dual Language program which switched elementary school to Blanco Vista - a brand new school that is absolutely beautiful. Bristol also left Miss Amy's Daycare and switched to The Kid Ranch with Beck. (see Beck's Harvard shirt?) Beck stayed in the same class with the same teacher, but there were kids that left for school and kids that got moved up into his class.
Madalyn is doing great and is Queen Bee, complete with horse bling, silver shoes, and a matching lunchbox for the first day of school. The picture is a bit misleadin because he's smiling, but we left Bristol on the first day screaming and clinging to Beck. He cried all day, didn't each lunch or snack and was so hungry when I picked him up he ate everything in his lunchbox when he got in the car. Yikes! We're a few days in now and he's doing much better, but still a little rough. The main thing we've seen is that Beck has really turned a corner with his maturity and has chilled out a lot. He's being a great big brother and is trying to help Bristol all he can. The biggest thing is that he isn't so self-focused and is actually aware of others and their feelings. We never thought this day would come! Oh happy day!

Addison's First Birthday!

She is so precious and I can't believe she's already one! Nicole and Jimmy threw a great backyard bar-be-que for her and it was fabulous to hang out with all of the friends and family.