NIELSON'S NUTHOUSE: December 2011

Nielson's Nuthouse
2011 Christmas Letter

Possible Themes for our family in 2011—Change, Fun, Crazy, Old, New, Old, Old. Aren’t we all just getting old? There has been a lot of change for our family this year. The state of Oregon doesn’t want their students to be able have any skills when they graduate from high school and so we decided we best be moving on. We moved to Tooele, UT. Tooele is off I-80 west of Salt Lake City about 25 minutes or so. It is on the west side of the Oquirrah Mountains. It is about 35,000 in size and a great place to be. It has been a great change for our family. Our kids have a lot of new friends and love our ward. We do miss family and friends in Oregon. We also love being able to be closer to other family members that we haven’t lived close to before. Change is good.

Lyle--is now teaching 6 keyboarding classes in Junior High. He has taught 12 years in high school and this a big change. School kids are fun but with no DECA, Tennis, student store, or 5 different classes to prepare for he has a lot of time to be with the kids. On Fridays he leaves school at 3:05 and walks home with the three youngest from school. He also turned the big 40 this year. For his birthday we went with two other couples and went to Salt Lake City out to lunch, to the Salt Lake Temple, and then to Leatherby’s for Ice Cream Sundaes. We then watched the BYU football game and the movie Thor at our new friends the Robinsons. It was my best birthday ever.

Cherise--is a little lost with all of the kids in school. She had planned on working but Tooele only has half day Kindergarten so what job can you do for 2 ½ hours? She is doing front end merchandising but it is only about 6 hours a month. She is hoping to get on at the school as an aide. She reads a lot! She loves our new ward and played on the Women’s volleyball team and is starting to practice with the basketball team. Its good for laughs if nothing else.

Jackson—is now 16 (a Junior in high school) and got his Driver’s License. He is getting old and also attending the third different high school in as many years. He loves being able to drive and Mom loves being able to send him on little errands. He played JV football this year. He finished his Eagle Scout project right before we moved and is working on getting it all in here.

Jacob--is almost 15. He is a Freshman in high school. He is enjoying high school. He also played football this year. He is just about ready to start working on his Eagle Scout project. He is hoping to be ready to do it during Spring Break. He got straight A’s last term and is an avid reader.

Rayah--is now in Junior High and 12 years old. She loves Young Women’s and being one of the older kids. She has made some great friends here and is loving the intra-mural sports program. She is playing basketball and wishes the Junior High had a team. Her lowest score in any of her classes currently is 95.8% and was very mad at one of her teacher’s for giving her a B on an assignment. She likes that her dad is at the school with her if she needs him.

Rylee--is 10 years old and in 4th grade. She is also playing basketball. She loves stickers and art. She loves Activity Days at church and has adjusted well to this move. She loves helping her little brother and sister.

Jensen--is 8! He is so excited to get baptized in January. He is a little helper. He is also playing basketball. He is very good at math and is loving his new school and friends. He can’t wait for Cub Scouts.

Rorie--is 6 and in Kindergarten. She loves school and every day asks many times when she can go. She is reading and loves learning. She is a lover and makes sure all know that they are loved every day.

We hope all of you have had a wonderful year full of many blessings. Please keep updated on us with our family blog: nielsonsnuthouse.blogspot.com. Cherise isn’t great at keeping us caught up but that is what New Year’s resolutions are for right? We love you all and think of you often. Please keep in touch.
Lyle- nielnut@yahoo.com
Cherise- nielanut@yahoo.com