Top 10 Ways Moms are like Rockstars!!

I felt silly and decided to write the top ten ways moms are like rockstars! So laugh along with me.

10. As soon as they are spotted, they get no peace.

9. They hear their name chanted incessantly on a daily basis.

8. They often deal with loss of voice due to overuse.

7. Often they have the same set of groupies following them around. (I can't get rid of mine, no matter what I do!)

6. Their most adoring fans usually want something from them. ("Mom, I love you so much...can I have the car keys?)

5. Hectic schedules interfere with regular eating habits. ( I am typing this between bites of a sandwich that is actually my breakfast that I am eating at 11am)

4. Some people mistakenly think they have unlimited supplies of money. ("But mom, it's only $20!")

3. They often have get encore requests. ("Mom, I forgot my lunch/homework/important project please bring it to the school.")

2. Their clothing choices are sometimes questioned. ("Are you really going to wear that in public?")

1. Their autographs are in great demand, especially at the most inopportune times. ("Mom, you have to sign my report card/daily behavior sheet/test grade/homework before school in 5 minutes!!")

That was fun! Do you have any you would like to add? Feel free to put them in the comments!

The Wilsons are Still Alive!!

I bet you were wondering if we still lived or not! We are here! But while I was working for Uhaul I didn't really want to be around the computer when I was off, so I didn't blog. Sorry about that. But now that I quit my job, I should have more time for blogging...but don't quote me on that. Time for catching up.

The kids started a new school this year. They attend Oasis Elementary in the Peoria School District. It's nice having them all at one school. It's been working out really well since my Dad and Bonnie live really close to the school. Bonnie picked up the kids for me after school when I was working. She is a real life saver! (Thank you Grandma Bonnie!!) The kids loved going over there to swim after school. They love their new school. Sammi and Noah are both in band for the first time. They both play the trumpet, which makes for a loud house.

Sammi and Jessi both had birthdays in September. Sammi turned 13 and Jessi turned 10. We had big party at home with family and some of their friends.

Skipping to Halloween. The kids got to dress up as their favorite characters at school. Noah dressed like James Bond, Kassi dressed like the Little Mermaid in her wedding dress. Noah got real upset when he realized he looked like Kassi's groom!!

Sammi dressed up as 50's girl in a poodle skirt. Jessi was a vampiress with special vampire dentures. We had to make a special mold for her teeth so they would fit. They looked quite realistic.

These are pictures I took this morning to show their new haircuts that I did yesterday. Sammi and Jessi wanted more grown up hair styles

After I styled Jessi's hair this morning she thought she looked like Alice Cullen from "Twilight"

Kassi thought her bangs look alot like her favorite princess Sleeping Beauty. Whatever makes them happy right?

20-Yr old LDS woman answers questions at harvard

Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

I really enjoyed her answers! Hey Jason, I think she's single!! LOL!

Going Native

Noah recieved his Arrow of Light for Cub Scouts last night. He really enjoyed the ceremony. They had someone dressed up like an Indian with the head dress and everything. They gave him the award and an arrow that had been painted with markings that represent all the awards and badges that he earned in cub scouts. I was really proud of him.

Then today, I took the kids to the Heard Museum West in Surprise. It's a smaller version then the regular Heard Museum, but once we got a tour guide it was really cool. It's a museum dedicated to Native American artifacts and art. We learned lots of cool things about their basket and rug patterns. One thing I learned today was that Navajo women weave the rugs and always make sure to purposely make one mistake in each rug. This is because they believe only a god can make a perfect rug and they don't want people to think they are a god. So I decided from this point on, I'm not going to be perfect anymore. I don't want anyone thinking I'm a god or anything. So any mistakes I make from now on are on purpose!! (Think that will fly? Well a girl can try!)

Wilson Family Reunion

We had such a great time last weekend at the Wilson Family Reunion. This year is was in Flagstaff, AZ. The kids got to play with their cousins and some woodland creatures like these catapillars. The woods were their playground for the weekend and they never stopped finding new experiences. The kids built forts and had pinecone fights, and played soccer, baseball, and they even walked a tight rope and repelled up and down a tree (thanks to uncle Mike).

Lorie had asked me to take pictures of the twins so we decided what better backdrop then the woods. This was just one of my favorites.

The reunion consisted of Mike's Grandma Wilson and her children and their children and grandchildren. About 50+ people showed up and Mike really enjoyed seeing his cousins, some he hadn't seen in many years.

Kassi enjoyed the woods, we did have to tell her she couldnt' wash her hands everytime they had a little dirt on them!

Mike convinced a big group of us to go explore the lava caves in Flagstaff. I thought it was a really easy little hike so I invited alot of the kids to go. We had about 10 children with two as young as three years old.


Below is the entrance to the cave, it was about 60 degrees in there.

The first part of the cave was the most grueling, it went almast straight down, I did alot of scooting from one rock to another on my bum!

The kids didn't have as much problems with it as I did, it wasn't long before there was just a few of us at the back of the pack and most of them were adults!


Scott and Jared had a great idea with the headlamps. It was the only time I ever wished for one of those!

Here's a picture of us inside the cave we had a pretty good sized group and really enjoyed ourselves.

I Get Paid to Write!...Sort of...

I get paid to write! Well technically I get paid to answer phone calls from my home computer for Uhaul. But in between calls I can write...therefore I get paid to do it. So that counts, right? No? Fine then. I also get paid to read books, edit my friend's manuscripts, edit photos on photoshop, check my emails, update my blog, and answer the handwritten notes waved frantically in front of me through the window. It did take me a while to get out my laptop and realize that I get online with it while I work, so that's why the long gap in blog posts. By the time I finish an 8-10 hour shift of the computer I didn't want to get back on.

So since I last wrote, Jessi's tonsil surgery went well. She is doing better at night, no more gasping for air, at least as long as we keep the cat away. Kassi and Noah had a great trip to CA to visit Grammy and Grandpa Costello. They got to go to the beach a couple of times and even went to the Santa Monica Pier. Grandpa Costello's niece, Isabella got to come and play with Kassi for a couple of days. They are the same age and loved getting together.

Sammi went to Girl's Camp for the first time this summer. She had a great time and really enjoyed herself. Just be sure to ask her about the snake that "almost" bit her. I have a feeling it was a lot further away then she thought!! LOL! Now Sammi and Jessi are in Colorado with thier Grandma and Grandpa Wilson and they won't be back until the beginning of August.

We went to the Wilson Family Reunion this past weekend in Flagstaff, AZ. Mike got to see some of his cousin and aunts and uncles. We had a really great time. I will be posting pictures of it soon, but the pictures are on the other computer and I have to wait until after work to access the internet on it. So be sure to yell at me if I don't post them soon!! LOL!

Sammi Updates

Sammi is growing up so fast. She loves attending youth activities at the church. She was just called as the Beehive class president. That means she helps plan the activities for the 12 and 13 yr. old girls. One of her favorite things to do is babysit for her twin cousins, Ali and Spencer. She likes school and continues to try really hard at everything she does. A drawing of hers was recently in a contest at school. It didn't win, but her and I agree it's one of the best she's ever done. To see it, click here. She is looking forward to going to girl's camp this summer and going to Colorado with Grandma and Grandpa Wilson and her sister Jessi. She is growing up so fast. I know I already said that, but I still can't believe that she's twelve. She is very helpful at home and can always make me laugh! Plus she's my favorite babysitter!!

Noah Updates

Noah turned 11 years old this March. He is definately my favorite son! Isn't he so cute? I can't believe how much he is growing up. Recently his school had a poetry reading night and Noah wrote his own poem:

The Life of a Plant

Once there was a plant,
He really liked to chant.
There was too much pollution,
It was after the constitution.

He really wanted to speak,
But all there was was a squeak.
It really was so rude,
It was like they were pulling some attitude.

All he was was a plant,
And they really wouldn't hear his chant.





His school has a link where you can view your child's artwork. To see some of his favorite artworks click here.
He has been working hard in the scouting program too. He earned his Weblos badge and Scouting badge. He also earned the Arrow of Light. He continues to work on badges and hopes to earn 56 in the next 3 or 4 years.

Jessi Updates

Jessi has been loving school this year. She even wrote the most creative story for school. Here's the summary she wrote for her back cover:

Lilly was a girl looking for excitement but some doors are locked for a reason. Lilly was wondering the house and found a door that was locked. What was it? Will she find the key? Will she end up with the same fate as the others? What will she do? Will an old journal help her? Will she ever know what is in that mystic door?

Doesn't it sound awesome? I think I'll have her write all the summaries for my books from now on!

Starting the first week of April, Jessi began waking up at night gasping for air. The first time it happened I didn't know whether or not to take her to the hospital, but after we got her standing up she was fine. It was really strange. The dr. thought that it could have been asthma attack brought on by a sinus infection so we tried an inhaler and antibotics, a week later when that still wasn't working, we tried a nebulizer, she's on two different allergy medications, we tried upping the dose of one of them. Point and case, nothing worked. She went to see an ear, nose, and throat dr last week. I told him all that has been going on and after looking in her nose and throat he said her problems were caused by swollen adnoids, tonsils, and some ridges in her nose. So she will be having surgery in about two weeks to have her tonsils and adnoids removed, he will also be carterizing the ridges in her nose as well. We are hoping this works because for the past 6 weeks I haven't slept through the night and I pray everyday that she will wake up in the morning. It's been really scary and it has given me a chance to realize how much she means to me. She holds a very special place in my heart and in our family. She is so creative and imaginative. Her thinking is so outside of the box that she never ceases to amaze me. I don't ever want to do without her!

Kassi Updates

Kassi turned 6 years old in April! I can't believe my baby is 6! She is getting so big! She will be in first grade next year. This year in kindergarten she is learning so much. She likes her class and loves it when I come to any of the family BBQ's her school has during lunch time. She had a program at school recently where she sang lots of songs including one called "Three Little Muffins" ask her to sing it for you, it's way cute.

She still loves dressing up and was my most willing model for my photography class. She loves playing with friends and watching movies. She is learning to read and loving it. I love watching her grow up!

Family Craziness

Wow! It's definately time for me to play catch up! Life has been really crazy! I'm going to catch you up on what Mike and I have been up to lately then add posts about each kid later this week. The good news is that I have lots of pictures for my posts (just for you Keyth. I know how annoyed you get when there are only words and no pictures! LOL!)

Mike has been working on trying to find work for his guys in the cabling department. He actually had to let two guys go recently and that was really hard for him to do. In this economy nobody wants to make someone jobless. He's also been working with his young men from church. He works with the boys that are 16-18 yrs old. They also work on scouting too. They keep him fairly busy. He has also been helping an older member in our ward with a remodeling project while trying to finish our remodeling project at home. Back in December we closed in our back patio to make another room. He basically just put up a wall at that point, but now it's time to finish up with more drywall, electrical, texturizing, and painting. Oh, and he has one week to finish this. It will be my computer room and I will be needing it really soon.




I have been pretty busy with school lately as most of you have surmised. I have also been in charge of a few activities at church including a kind of spa day that we put on for the women. We learned exercise tips, healthy cooking recipes, makeup and skin care, stress relieving techniques, homemade beauty product recipes, and how to cut and style our own hair. I actually taught the last class. I think it went ok. It was alot of fun and I was really glad to be involved. My writing has been on the back burner lately. I think it has been nice to take a break from it and give me time before I go back to the story. I did write a short story for a contest that I entered recently but I won't know anything until like Oct. or Nov.




This past Friday night, I graduated from Glendale Community College with a two year Associates in Arts degree. I started this path 16 years ago in 1993. I stopped in 1995 as children began to bless my life. I started again in 2008 and finished the 17 credits I needed to graduate. It was nice to accomplish this goal. Now that I have it though, I'm not sure what to do with it. I will not be continuing on to a university at this point in my life, but it's nice to know that the option is there for me if I want it. I will be starting training for a new job tomorrow, though. I will be taking sales and reservation calls for Uhaul. The best part about this job is that after the week of training I will be working from my computer at home. (Thus the reason Mike only has one week to finish my computer room.) The only bad thing is that I can't take any vacation or time off for the first three months. That means no summer trips. Though the kids won't be neglected they have grandparents willing to make sure their summers are fun!

Speaking of family...I would like to thank all of my family that got to come to my graduation. It meant alot to me to see (and hear!!!) you all there. Thanks to all the family that sent cards and called me even thought they couldn't come. I love my supportive family! You are all so great!

My sister Tiffany is in AZ indefinately at the moment. She is staying in Gilbert (about 45mins away) helping Keyth's Grandma through her health problems. She has been able to come out and visit us on the weekends and it's been nice to see her and Annabella. A special thanks to my in-laws who let her borrow their extra vehicle so she can travel to our side of town to visit. (BTW they are selling that vehicle, it's a GMC Jimmy and really nice. They are selling it for a very good price. Let me know if any of you are interested!!)

Thanks to everyone for waiting so patiently for my next blog posts!! I know they have been few and far between!

Photography Class Final Project

Ok, I've been swamped with school this semester. Photography and English Lit are not easy classes. My photography class was especially intense! We had two or three assignments going at the same time with thirty to fifty pictures due for each assignment. For our final assignment we had to pick a theme and make a cd with fifty pictures and print up at least 5 8X10's and mat them. My topic was "Many Different Personalities Make up a Family". My goal was to show each child's personality and illustrate the relationship of Mike and I. Then to show what our family was like as a whole. Some of the ones I printed are not my favorites, but since art is completely subjective I printed my teacher's favorites. To see my 50+ other pictures CLICK HERE. Check them out soon. Once I graduate I will no longer have the webspace. The ones I printed are below:

Kassi
plus Jessi

plus Noah

plus Sammi

plus Mike and I

equals One Crazy Family!!

Be sure to look at the others and tell me what numbers are your favorites!! I will be printing some up for family and friends soon.

Contests!!

Ok, so I'm not clever enough to do my own freebies but my friend Jenni is! She has two contests going on right now. She lives in England and finds some really cool antiques. She is giving away an antique book here and a pair of antique gloves that were hand tatted in the 1930's here. Be sure to check them both out and leave a comment for your chance to win. Mention my name in the comment and I get an extra entry!! WAHOO! So be sure to help a girl out!

Save the Paper

We had a birthday party for Kassi and Noah this weekend. I was folding up the gift bags and tissue paper, when I fondly heard my grandma's voice in my head saying, "Be sure to save the paper." I smiled as I folded each piece of tissue paper into nice neat squares and placed them into my gift wrapping box that I keep under my bed. In the slow economic times we are experiencing, I anticipate that I will be using more and more of my grandparents' tips for cutting corners. Those margarine containers are looking like the thrifty way to replace my dwindling rubbermaid containers. I recently tried my hand at canning jam and found myself telling the kids to save the jars and rings (man, those things are expensive.) because I can reuse them. These are all things I've seen my grandmother do to save money. Now it's time to use those tips and pass them on to my own children. I saw an Oprah about 10 yrs ago where someone said that whatever financial obligations you have, you will pass on to your children. For instance, if you pay for cable your children will feel it's a necessity. Ok, so I do have satelite. This is a case of do as I say, not as I do!! LOL! But it is giving me a moment to reflect on what we spend money on that I don't think my kids need. Another thing I have learned in all my years of wisdom ;) is that you can save time or money, but very seldom both at the same time. It's very much a juggling act to see what is more important, and every case is different. For instance, when I tell people I use coupons to save money, they say they don't have time for it. But my problem is that I don't have the money to save the time. On the other hand, I do pay for a website that tells me what coupons to use, where, and when to use them. This costs me a little bit of money to save time that is worth it to me. So as threats of the flu in Mexico get closer to restricting our trade and making our recession even worse than it already is, it's time for all of us to reevaluate our spending and where we can cut corners and be more thrifty like our grandparents. If anyone has any tried and true tips from generations past, please share them!! Thanks!

Temple photo gallery

Hi everyone! I've been soo busy lately. Especially with my photography class. I have an assignment this week to make panaramic pictures. I made a gallery out of the ones I did of the Mesa temple. Please check this out.  Tell me which one you like the best: night time, day time, day and night merged, day and night pasted together.  I can only pick one to print up.  Which one do you think it should be??  Thanks!  I promise to post more of my photos later.  

Renaissance Festival

Hi all, it's been awhile since I updated. For our anniversary, Mike and I went to the Renaissance Festival. Most of you know that my book starts with a girl who attends the festival, so I really needed to go for research. It was very beneficial and is helping me A TON on my latest rewrite. I took pictures of everything, so that I won't forget what they looked like. I especially took pictures of the costumes people were wearing. Enjoy some of my pics.

I had to take pictures of the bleachers and jousting area too. I loved going to the dress shops. I was so ecstatic when I found the very dress that I described in my book. It was red velvet that parted at the skirt revealing a shimmering gold triangle of material. So of course I had to try it on. It didn't fit me, but it was fun to wear either way.

Noah's Poem

Noah wrote a poem about the creations of God for a religious emblem he's earning for cub scouts. He showed me the poem then said..."You're not going to put this on the blog are you?" At first I said no, but then I noticed the giddy smile on his face. "Wait? Do you want me to put it on the blog?" "Nooooo" Then he stopped for minute..."Ok I do." LOLOL! So here it is, I think he's excited to see what everyone thinks!

Jesus' Creations
Tom and Bonny the cow
Heard some type of meow
They thought it was a cat
So they looked under the mat
And what do you know, it was a cat
The cat was teaching
The cat was preaching
The cow thought it was swell
He was teaching about Jesus' creations the lesson went well
Jesus made the earth he made us too
He probably said, "That will do"
Then here came us
Because he had trust in us.

Happy Anniversary to My Wonderful Hubby!

You know you've been married 14 years when the alarm goes off at 5am, and your husband, not awake at all, mumbles "Happy Anniversary". I also have him trained to say "I love you" in his sleep as well. See he usually gets to snoring and instead of kicking him like I used to do...I just say "I love you honey" he stops snoring, says "I love you" and rolls over on his side (a survival technique to ensure that I don't try to continue talking to him!)

Anyways, we began talking this morning about how long we've been married. Please take the following conversation in the loving, playful manner it was meant (because that's the theme of our marriage!)

Me: Wow, I can't believe it's been 14 years.

Mike: I know especially after our first fight when I found out you don't do housework.

Me: Hey! (punch to the arm) Is that the only thing you can think about on our 14th anniversary...that I don't do housework?

Mike: No, I'm just saying it was our first fight and we survived it.

Me: Is that what we're doing, just surviving through the fights?

Mike: No...I'm just...I mean (finally exasperated he pulls me into a hug) I'm just saying, don't start doing housework now, it might throw off our groove!

LOLOL! How can I not love that man?!! I love you honey! Thanks for finally getting up the courage to ask me to marry you!

Science Project Time Again!

It's that time of the year again when our house becomes over run by homework...SCIENCE PROJECTS! Though Jessi doesn't do science projects in 3rd grade, she had a detailed report due on Cheetahs complete with pictures.

Sammi is a girl, and I know they say that diamonds are a girl's best friend, but I will have to disagree for Sammi's sake. PHONES are what she cares about. So her project was on how a phone works. Good thing for her that telephones run in the family! Her grandpa Wilson provided her with some antique phones that she could open up and learn the parts and how they worked. She really enjoyed looking at the guts of a telepone. I even got to test my photoshop knowledge and doctored a picture for her to make it easier to label the parts.

Now on to Noah's project...he is such a boy! And so is his dad! I mentioned last year about my friend Jenni James' son doing a trebuchet for his science project. (That's where I went wrong!) From that point on it was all the boy could think about. I mean, what boy can resist the idea of a giant sling catapulting objects into the air by means of a counter weight. So I did the motherly thing and told him to look it up on the internet. I was quite happy when I saw a table top version, and I thought, hey this could be good. I of course forgot the husband factor. His thoughts were "table top, schmable top! We can make one ten feet tall!" They did!! It was too big to take to school for the faire so they made a table top one too. But not before they saw how many things they could launch from the big one. (That's a can of coke at the top of the sling's arch right before it begins it's zenith into our cul-de-sac making it's demise as it explodes with a bang to Noah's satisfaction.) It was a father-son project that only those of their sex could truly appreciate. Don't worry guys, I'm sure they will find some way to work the trebuchet into their next paintballing trip! I will be no where near that one!

Now, it's time for me to get back to my mountain of homework that has been at a complete standstill for the last two weeks!!

"Abinidi"

I have gotten to know some writers via the internet. It's been a really fun experience. One day I was at my Mother-in-Law's house when I saw this book, "Abinidi" by H.B. Moore. I was real excited to say that I had been to that author's blog and had really wanted to read that book. My MIL had read it and really enjoyed it, so she let me borrow it. I loved the book, so of course I had to tell the author!! She is so nice and even agreed to let me interview her for the Mormon mommy writer blog I belong to. So be sure to go to www.mormonmommywriters.blogspot.com to see the interview. Here's a summary of the book.

Raquel has a secret. As the daughter of one of King Noah’s priests, she enjoys a luxurious life and the admiration of powerful men. But her heart belongs to a commoner, a man with no earthly wealth but rich heavenly gifts. When King Noah demands that Raquel join his harem, she flees the only life she has known and marries her secret love. His name is Abinadi.
The couple finds abundant joy in their community of believers and in their firstborn son. But when the Lord calls Abinadi as His prophet, their faith is tested to the outermost limits. Abinadi’s commitment to the Lord requires them both to give their all—even unto death. Yet if Alma, the newest priest in King Noah’s court, chooses to overcome his troubled past and cleave unto the truth, their sacrifice may yield rich fruit.
With vivid detail and poignant emotion, this historical novel pulls readers into a fiery tale of love, courage, and faith that is difficult to put down and impossible to forget.

So go right on out and get this book! You won't regret it!

Silly Names & My Photo Web Gallery

1.YOUR REAL NAME:
Nikki Rae Wilson
2.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME:(mother and fathers middle names)
Elizabeth Wayne
3.NASCAR NAME:(first name of your mother's dad, father's dad)
Wayne Phillip
4.STAR WARS NAME:(the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name)
Wilne (is it just me or does that sound bad?)
5.DETECTIVE NAME:(favorite color, favorite animal)
Blue Unicorn
6.SOAP OPERA NAME:(middle name, town where you were born)
Rae Goleta
7.SUPERHERO NAME:(2nd fav color, fav drink, add "THE" to the beginning)
The Red Apple juice (LOL)
8.FLY NAME:(first 2 letters of 1st name, last 2 letters of your last name)
Niwi (huh???)
9.STREET NAME:(fav ice cream flavor, fav cookie)
Cookie Dough Chocolate Chip
10.SKANK NAME:(1st pet's name, street you grew up on)
Brandy Calle Hohokam, Callas, Cheryl, 69th Dr. (seriously, pick a street, cuz I've lived on alot of them growing up)
11.GANGSTA NAME:(first 3 letters of first name plus 'izzle')
Nikizzle
12.YOUR GOTH NAME:(black, and the name of one of your pets)
Black Spike (lol)
13. STRIPPER NAME:(name of your fav perfume/cologne, fav candy)
Lucky You Snickers

So do any of these sound like my pen name yet??? LOL! Maybe Black Spike?!

Ok, well this semester at school I'm taking a photography class. Here is a link to my photo web gallery. It was for a color assignment, analogous means colors close together on the the color wheel, complimentary means colors on the oppisite side from each other on the color wheel, and muted just means soft non descript colors.
http:/web.gccaz.edu/~nrwilson
Check it out and tell me what you think! Thanks!

Payback for Tiffany

This is the picture that Tiffany would have you see, the one of a happy family with very happy child!

These are the pictures that came BEFORE the forced happy picture above!

See the plastered smiles on the parent's faces?

This one you must blow up! Click on it twice...look at Bella's face, then look at Tiff's face! Like mother like daughter. Can you just picture the fights those two have???

Yes, Annabella is spitting in this picture! Nice picture Tiff!!! Click on this one too, you will see Tiff sticking out her tongue!!


That's right Tiff! When all else fails, stick your chest out and show off the boobies!!