The Nolden Family

We had a very quiet but wonderful Christmas this year.  We spent it at home and didn’t have any family visiting.  We were sad that Cody and Whitney weren’t able to be with us this year…but they were able to have a lot of fun in Houston with Whitney’s parents.

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas:

The Tree on Christmas Eve...

We actually got to sleep in until 7:30...then we got busy opening presents...

Donovan and Megan

Megan got the Ukulele she was hoping for!

Megan (16), Liz (18), PJ (13), and Mikayla (front - 14) - and Sophie (the dog)

Ashley (11), Donovan (10), Megan (16) and Liz (18)

PJ

Mikayla

Megan, Liz & PJ

Liz and PJ

Ashley - and Auggie (Aunt Sandi's dog was visiting for Christmas)

Frank got a book he had been wanting...

Megan (16), Liz (18) & PJ (14)

Ashley (11) & Don (10)

Mikayla (14)

Frank

Ashley is in 6th grade and decided at the beginning of the school year to join the band and learn to play the alto sax.  Their very first concert was in December.  I was very pleasantly surprised when I heard them all play together…I thought they sounded really good.

The 6th Grade Band getting ready to perform.

That's Ashley in the center. Just to her left is our church friend, Dante.

Ashley loves her band teacher.

Well…it only took 2 1/2 years…and Senior Pictures are already taken…but Liz finally got her braces OFF! We really think it could’ve taken a LOT LESS time…and we don’t really trust our orthodontist…but that’s another story for another day. Except that I will say…he told her, “Oh, it will be in Spring!” But then it turned into Summer and then into Fall and then…well…it finally happened in December. He kept leading us on (for a year) and it was emotionally straining for Liz. FYI…he’s in Stockbridge…I won’t say his name here…but I wouldn’t recommend him.

PJ just found out his braces will come off in less than a year’s time (different orthodontist)…at the end of January. That was just salt on the wound.

But she looks beautimus!!

This is the day Liz got her braces ON...back when she was 15 and we still lived in Las Vegas. We were just about to walk into the Orthodontist's office.

This is Liz just as we walked out of the orthodonist's office and she had just gotten the braces put on...the pain handn't started yet.

Fast forward to Liz at 18 and we are just about to walk into the ortho office to get those things taken OFF!!

Liz sitting apprehensively in the chair.

That's one set of her braces already cut off.

The assistant taking them off...it was actually pretty painful and there was quite a bit of bleeding. Is that normal? It has been a LONG time since I had braces (for 9 months!)...I don't remember that part.

Ahhhhh....a beautiful girl with a beautiful smile!

...in the car as we were driving away...her gums were a bit swollen still...but she was pretty happy with the results.

We spent Thanksgiving 2010 at our house with Frank’s siblings and their families…the weather was beautiful and we had a great time!

I did a poor job of getting photos at the actual Thanksgiving Dinner...so not everyone is shown here...but I made up for it later. (LtoR: Lynn, Marc, Liz, Marc Anthony, & Frank)

LtoR: Larry, Mikayla, Megan & PJ

Marc - making sure he got in some Thankgiving football...

Liz had Alycia over to do some tie-dying...Marc Anthony and Mikayla got in on the action too...

That's a great picture of the trees...and if you look in the far bottom, right corner...you can see PJ riding his scooter...the weather was so nice!

We had our traditional Thanksgiving Fire in the backyard...

Liz

Mikayla, Hannah & Megan roasting marshmallows

Seth and Uncle Frank

Mikayla and Hannah

Donovan...that IS his happy look

Liz and Marc Anthony

Jesse

This is the most awesome picture of Larry. It was dark outside at this point...so as I was taking the pictures I really didn't have a good view of my subjects. When I looked at the photo, I realized that a leaf had fallen off of the tree above us with perfect timing!

Frank & Liz

Siblings: Sandi and Frank

Megan and PJ

Hannah, Marc Anthony & Sandi

Donovan, Seth, Frank and PJ

Liz and Marc Anthony (again)

One of the best parts of Thanksgiving was that the younger kids were VERY occupied with their outdoor adventures. They created this "fort" out in the forest and worked on it the entire weekend. They all worked TOGETHER too...which was great. It was exactly what we envisioned when we bought this property...we were hoping the kids could have adventures in the forest and be creative like we used to do when we were kids.

L to R: Jesse, Ashley, Seth & Donovan

Mikayla craves running now. She likes to run 5K's...and luckily, Uncle Marc and Aunt Lynn enjoy them too. So the three of them ran in the "Sixth Annual Aubrae Gunderson Memorial Scholarship 5K Walk and Run" over the Thanksgiving weekend. I supported them by taking pictures and videos :-). This is right before the race began.

...and the race is on...

This is our group waiting for the awards to be handed out.

Megan is 16!!!! No! Now we have two teenagers in the house that can drive AND date! That’s very scary!

But Megan is a beautiful teenager inside and outside…AND she tends to make really good and wise decisions…so maybe we will be ok .

Megan got to pick something cool to do for her 16th birthday. What’s cool to Megan is History. So she and I spent a Saturday in Atlanta visiting the Atlanta History Center and the Michael C. Carlos Museum (at Emory University). The latter museum has art collections that include objects from ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Near East, and the ancient Americas.

During our day we also got to have lunch at The Cheesecake Factory…a favorite for most of us. The day ended with the traditional pizza/cake family party.

This is Megan in front of the Swan House on the large property at the Atlanta History Center. We took a tour of the home. This was taken from the AHC website: "Traditionally known as one of the most recognized and photographed landmarks in Atlanta, Swan House is an elegant, classically styled mansion built in 1928 for the Edward H. Inman family, heirs to a cotton brokerage fortune. The mansion, designed by famed Atlanta architect Philip Trammell Shutze, provides a glimpse into the lifestyle of this Atlanta family during the 1920s and 1930s. "Audio and guided tours of Swan House allow visitors to explore the many rooms of this beautifully restored historic home including the foyer, breakfast room and hall, library, living room, dining room, kitchen, butler's pantry, Mrs. Inman's bedroom and bathroom, grandchildren's bedroom, guest bedroom, and Mr. Inman's bedroom. "Additionally, a stroll around the Swan House grounds provides many breathtaking views complete with gardens and fountains."

This is Megan entering the Tullie Smith Farm at the ATL History Museum. From their website: "A plantation-plain house built in the 1840s by the Robert Smith family, Tullie Smith Farm is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally located east of Atlanta, outside the city limits, the house survived the near-total destruction of Atlanta in 1864. "Tullie Smith House is surrounded by a separate open-hearth kitchen, blacksmith shop, smokehouse, double corncrib, pioneer log cabin, and barn, as well as traditional vegetable, herb, and flower gardens. Costumed interpreters lead tours of the house and perform activities typical of nineteenth century rural Georgia during special programming."

This is Megan at The Cheesecake Factory - pre meal.

This is Megan at The Cheesecake Factory when she got her birthday suprise from the serving crew.

This is Megan at the Cheesecake Factory - post meal (they feed you A LOT there!)

Megan with her birthday cake...

The traditional mirror decorations...

Lighting of the candles...

Megan opening presents (and Ashley in the background)

Donovan and Liz...

Mikayla and Megan

 

Here’s a bunch of stuff that happened in the Fall of 2010:

Ahhh....the beauty of fast food. That is one handsome boy!

Mikayla loves to go to our Church dances...this is her and her friend, Janna, at a Fall Dance.

This is a group of our youth at a recent church/stake dance. You can see Megan and Mikayla in there (on the right).

This has got to be super lucky...right??? This is the odometer on the "Burb" (that's Suburban to the rest of you).

That's Cody on the far Left...he was participating in an event for the BYU Marketing Association.

We were able to go to the beach at St. Simons Island (GA) in early October. This is Ashley finding treasures on the beach.

Frank

Megan

PJ

Megan with her JV Volleyball Team

Megan

We made a SUPER quick trip to Las Vegas in October...in one day and out the next. We flew there to attend our nieces wedding at the LDS Las Vegas Temple. We got a killer deal at a hotel just off the strip (Planet Hollywood Towers). This is the view from our room...you can see the Eiffel Tower (the small one).

Frank on the strip. This was taken at about midnight Vegas time...which would be about 3 am Georgia time. We didn't have much time so we just slept very little while we were there. :-) When we went back we took a red eye flight. It took me several days to get back into "normal" mode. We flew into Atlanta the next morning at 5am. Frank had to drive me home and get back to the airport for an 8am flight to DC. Whew! What a trip!

Frank in front of the Bellagio..

Shayne in front of the Bellagio...one of our favorite places in Vegas is the water show at the Bellagio.

We also love the atrium inside the Bellagio.

Our room was really cool. This is a picture of the TV. You could do everything from the TV...lift the blinds, turn on the lights, call for roomservice. It was cool, but very, very slow! They need a network adjustment.

This is the beautiful Amy...it was her wedding day.

A major plus was that Cody and Whitney, the newlyweds, drove down from Utah and we were able to spend a few hours together.

Amy & Brett

Amy & Brett

The Browne siblings...

Amy, Lisa & Christie

Another Teenager in the house. He’s been acting like one for a while…so I guess it’s not all THAT tragic. But STILL!

PJ wanted to go bowling for his birthday…so we took his friends Tahmeed and Nefi.  Then we came home for the traditional family dinner and cake/ice cream.  Only PJ likes to do things a little non-traditionally…so we had donuts instead.  His favorite part, I think, was going to Dunkin’ Donuts and picking them out.

L to R: Tahmeed, PJ & Nefi

PJ is soooo lanky! He was 5'10' on his 13th birthday.

Tahmeed

Nefi

Those yummy donuts!!

Getting ready to blow out the candles on the DONUTS!!

Pwwwwww!

 

 

Nefi and Tahmeed looking on...

PJ: "Woohoo...there's nothing I like more than a crisp bill!"

"I can do some damage with this!"

 

Liz and Don

Mikayla (helping me videotape), Megan and Ashley

PJ is a shoe freak!

This is 360 Razor Scooter...PJ loved it...

Spirit Week is always one of the highlights of the school year.  This year we have 3 High Schoolers.  The best part of Spirit Week for Liz is that she gets to play Powder Puff Football.

Pajama Day: Mikayla, Liz & Megan

Liz on...what was it...Hippie Day?

Liz & Mikayla on Kiddie Day

It was Liz's 18th birthday and she wanted to be sure no one forgot! :-)

Mikayla & Liz on NERD DAY!

Liz played Powder Puff Football again this year...she is tough out there!

 

That's Liz closest to the camera.

Liz

 

 

 

Liz is on the far right.

Liz paying attention to the play...

Liz my lineman...

After the game Liz went out to eat with her friends (that's Morgan).

We decided to celebrate Liz’s 18th Birthday a few days early so that her Dad could be there (he was flying off to Detroit for the week). We were feeding the Missionaries that night, so they got to join in on the fun…plus Liz’s two friends, Alycia and Morgan were able to be there. The hour long drive (round trip) to Costco was worth it for the cake…it was YUMMY!!

Liz and her cake and presents...

The yummy Costco cake! Perfect design for Liz!

Liz blowing out the candles...

PJ actually bought her something cool!

 

New Scriptures with her name engraved on them (a Quad).

Frank, Alycia, Morgan and Elder Del la Mare.

Elders Crosby & Carter and Frank...

Alycia, Morgan, Donovan, Megan, and Elder Del la Mare...

Morgan and Megan

Mikayla...she was taking the pictures so I could video tape everything...

Elder Smith used to play the Sax...he is helping Ashley with hers. Ashley practiced the birthday song and played it for Liz as part of her present.

Megan, "I think it's moving..."

Liz with her friends, Alycia and Morgan

You KNOW Liz loves Firemen...right!? So a highlight of her birthday was that we had a visit to a Fire Station for Mutual (church)...

Liz loving the fire truck!

The girls and the firemen...

Here are the most recent updates to the Blog:

1.   2010 Nolden Christmas Letter

2.  Mikayla – Cross Country, Fall 2010

3.  Donovan – Baseball, Fall 2010

4.   Megan – Volleyball, Fall 2010

5.   Liz in “Hairspray” Musical

6.  Halloween 2010!!!

7.  2nd Annual “Missionary Pumpkin Carving Contest”

8.  2010 Teacher Appreciation Dinner