Aloha & Mahalo

At what can only be called "the last minute" - our family decided to go to Hawaii for Spring Break. Thanks to Erv's very dedicated and determined secretary, Susan, an opening was found through our timeshare on Oahu, and off we went....at MIDNIGHT, which was the only flight we could find that could accomodate all 7 of us.

It was fine until we had to find a place to sleep during our 5 hour layover in San Francisco. We found a very secluded hallway and lots of bare floor and experienced the life of the homeless for a brief and very pitiful moment in time. Good thing our children are such good sports and that we were only one of several various people and families that were in the same predicament we were.

Fortunately Paige and Hayley brought blankets...Nina actually slept like a rock and didn't want to wake up when it was time to go.

It was a bit of a wait after we woke up and got down to the gates. Our plane was delayed for an hour and it seemed, after the long night, that we were never going to get there.

Thus, the happy smiles when we reached our hotel and actually had BEDS to sleep in.....
Aren't our kids cute? Even when they're being cheesy?
Dad sure thinks so...

Our resort, Ko Olina Beach Club, is on Oahu and is very beautiful, very family oriented. We took a walk our first night here along the beach and had lots of fun taking pictures and enjoyed our first sunset which is always one of the best parts of each day. Climbing trees like monkeys was our first indication that the kids' energy was back. Nothing short of seeing a really "hot" movie star could have made the evening any more wonderful when, what do you know??.....

We did! Gerard Butler. Gerard "The Phantom-"300"-PS I LOVE YOU" Butler.

Walked right past us wearing a light blue golf shirt and jeans and sipping his water bottle. The 3 girls were ahead of Erv, me, and the youngest ones so we got to watch their reaction - and his. He was walking the opposite direction of us and passed them on their left after making brief eye contact and it took me just a second to recognize who he was. Then he passed us and I just waited for the girls to turn around - which they all did - with the most awe-struck, flushed and breathless faces you can imagine. Followed by vigorous fanning of their faces and near-swooning and hushed squeeling and a vow to never leave the hotel room again, "EVER", this entire trip without looking gorgeous.

Nina didn't really understand all the fuss. While the girls couldn't get over how "gorgeous" he was and quit fighting over whose eyes he actually made contact with and Rex wouldn't stop gleefully yelling, "We just saw a MOVIE STAR!!", Nina just shrugged and sighed and very seriously said, "well...I'm not so 'relieved' about movie stars. I just don't care about them more than real people.' Whereupon, she asked me every 30 seceonds for the rest of the night if 'he' really was a 'real movie star.' My, oh my, what a stir one milli-second of "star sighting" can make!

So - we'd made it here. And Day One was finally over. With very real and new appreciation for our fine accomodations, we crawled into our beds and blissfully slept safe and sound.

STELLAR STUDENTS

Students at MJ Christensen are recognized for any academic and attendance achievements they have made in each trimester. Yesterday, Rex and Nina both received awards....

Rex loves his teacher, Mrs. Kip, who "hired" them to be her "Professional Students" in her class at the beginning of the school year and his career is booming!!

Rex earned Straight A's for the second trimester in a row! So did some of his close friends, Bryce and Sam, who got to stand next to him on the stage. And the principal, Mrs. Gerali-Schwartz, signed his report card with a personal note.

Nina got a new teacher after just a couple of weeks as a 2nd Grader - Mrs. Vincent - and she loves her. Mrs. Vincent sings all the time and loves to tell stories, just like Nina's mom, so that makes her feel right at home!

Nina received the Superior Musician Award from the music teacher, Mr. Kuda. She LOVES her music class!

WE love our MJ Kids - the last 2 out of all 7 Nelsons who have attended there since it's grand opening day. Keep up the great tradition, you two!

Just in case...

This is a better way to watch the video below. Just copy and paste this link into your address window and wait a few seconds for it to download. It's faster and you can watch it play more smoothly. Sorry it's such a big file, but I thought as long as I had it, I would share......it takes about 30 seconds to load. 'K....have fun.

http://www.mydeo.com/videodownload.asp?YID=120&CID=171037

ROADSHOW VIDEO

Our stake decided to do roadshows for our youth conference this year. Yes, a massive undertaking to be sure. And one that I found myself taking charge of. Our stake called me to be the Stake Specialist and my ward asked me to head ours, so it has pretty much been my every waking and sleeping thought since New Years. The theme - Steadfast and Immovable As the Stars. I know- you're right. Stars aren't steadfast. But, that's what the Youth leadership chose simply because I think it sounded nice.

Though mine and Hayley's original idea of a take-off on Beauty and the Beast was ultimately rejected because no one in our ward Youth is a song-and-dance type, we eventually ended up doing it anyway in video form and used the ideas of other youth in video form as well and made our skit be an Academy Awards show where we "cut" to the final segment and award of the night - Best Film. We played "trailors" for the 3nominees and then, when ours won, all the cast members flooded on stage dressed in evening gowns, etc. (after entering with the paparazzi and red-carpet treatment and sitting on the front row), started their acceptance speech and were cut-off by the orchestra music - curtains close.

At least, that's what was supposed to happen. With all the resident technical glitches, it began and ended minus the music and the lights that were to show our "stars" coming in and a few other minor things, but it was that way for everyone. I won't get started on my ire over the absence of a promised technical rehearsal (rrrr....). I think I just have done too much theater.


Ah well, it's over. And it was fun. And it was a great learning experience and a great discovery for the youth of our ward who found out that they actually like each other and they like singing and they like acting and they like performing. We got kids out to participate that haven't come regularly for many, many months. Mission accomplished.

Okay - it's a little rough. The lyrics came first and very quickly - the easy part for me. The Film? Yikes.... My first-ever attempt at videography. I filmed about 30 pieces of film and edited as best I could and took all the kids to a recording studio to put together the sound track. A great experience though it almost killed me (it took me a couple of weeks to figure out what I was doing wrong with the download that wasn't allowing me to view anything I'd downloaded off of a video card or put on the cd with a dvd player - HUGE learning curve...argh). But, it came together in the knick of time.

Anyway, Colin and friends, move over. There's a new Belle in town (Hayley was the voice of Belle - another non-singer was the face). Enjoy.....