This and That

Ella Kate had quite a busy social calendar this past week. She celebrated 5 of her friends turning the big 6 and she had a great time at all the celebrations. She LOVED getting to dress up at an American Girl tea party for her sweet friend Ellie James.

And she was thrilled to party with Sienna for Cinderella and ice cream! (I failed at documenting our other party adventures, but they were all fabulous and I'm so thankful for the precious friends that Ella Kate has!)

My Aunt Diane was in town on Monday visiting her grandbaby Hunter. They came by for a quick visit and it was so great to see them! (And yes, Walker is wearing Elmo pajamas in the middle of the day when everyone else is wearing real clothes.  This is an everyday event.  If he is home, he has the Elmo pjs on.)

Our house got "egged" but in a much more pleasant way than was popular when I was in high school. Some sweet friends from church hid eggs in our yard for the kids.  One egg was empty so it would remind us that the tomb was empty. So fun and the kids LOVED it!

Emma officially became a citizen of the US as soon as we landed in Dallas in December but yesterday, she received her certificate of citizenship! Yay!!!! She was obviously pleased.

I can't even deal with the cuteness here. My baby girl is bald no more! Her hair has grown enough for a teeny tiny pony tail and it is about the most precious thing ever!

How is it that it is the first day of April! Time is flying by and we are just hanging on for dear life!!! 

A Hunting We Will Go

Yesterday was the Easter Egg Hunt at our church. After all the rain we have had lately, it was extra fabulous to be outside....even if it was a tad bit chilly!

We saw the Easter Bunny.  Some of my children enjoyed it more than others.

We played games and won some prizes.

It's always wonderful to have my parents with us! Three kids going in three different directions is overwhelming so it is truly fabulous to have so many sets of hands!!!

We listened to the Easter story that was presented.

Then we got in position for the big hunt. Sweet, sweet, little friends ready to collect the goods!

Strategy....double fisting the eggs!

Walker and Emma had their hunt in another area away from the crazy big kids.

Once our buckets were filled to the brim, it was time for snacks and more games.

We ended our time with the jumpies....always a good time.

The kids enjoyed their day and went to bed early because they were so worn out. A win win situation indeed! We still have 3 eggs hunts to go this week....they will be pros for sure by the end of the week!

Sweet Little Bunny

Emma is all set for her first Easter with us.  It has been so sweet to see her in so many of my favorite outfits that Ella Kate wore, but this little dress is extra special.  The bunny smocking came out of J's little Jon Jon from his first Easter and my precious Mamaw Porter made it into this little dress for EK. I LOVE getting to see Emma wearing these treasures!

Bring on Spring!

I know I am not alone in saying this, but the weather lately has been pretty miserable. My crew is beyond ready for some sunshine!!! But, we have been making the most of our time inside and so here is a little glance into a few of our happenings.

The kids wore their green for St. Patty's day. Thank goodness green is not in EKs normal uniform color combo.  Yuck...but those converses...she thinks she is hot snot! 

Emma was tickled to find some flowers at the church. Too bad it was such a muddy, rainy mess that we instead had to admire the little lovelies through the window.

Ella Kate and I had a date on Friday after school. She chose Lost Pizza Co for lunch and then we went to see Cinderella. It was SO great! It was so good in fact that I WILL buy it the day it is released. We both loved it! We grabbed a cone of deliciousness from CFA before heading home. It was so amazing to get to spend some special time with my biggest baby!

Mom sent me a couple of EKs writing assignments that were hanging in the hall. I'm glad she stills wants to live with me when she is grown!  We are going to need someone to take care of us!

Ok.  I can't even deal with these pictures.  This morning in Sunday School, our precious teacher Ms Brenda washed my children's feet. Their lesson was about the last supper and as Walker explained things "Ms Benda was acting like Jesus and I was a dee-cycle." I am so thankful for the picture of love and act of service that was shown to my babies.  Ms Brenda truly is an excellent example of how we should all offer grace and serve others. So thankful for her!

Mom and I went with Ella Kate this afternoon to see the Beauty and the Beast ballet that the dance companies from the studio where she takes put on this weekend. It was really well done and EK was anxious to get in on the pointe shoe action so she could be a part of things as well.  We explained that it would be a bit before she could do that but she would get to dance on the same stage in a couple of months for her recital. That seemed to make her happy enough for now.

Here's to a new week!  We have some exciting events on the calendar over the next few weeks that we are pretty pumped about including 4 birthday parties THIS WEEK and the first of 4 Easter Egg hunts! 

Photo Fun with Friends

I'm fairly certain that these pictures that Kelly snapped this go around are an incredibly accurate depiction of life for our family right now.

I love our crazy little life! Thanks Kelly for playing with us!

Spring Break Shenanigans

The Nelson Crazies have stayed quite busy during our spring break.  

The kids and I enjoyed a fun play date with some sweet friends on Monday. The kids baked cookies, played dress up and giggled a lot. It was a fabulous morning!

Emma is not a great napper. She usually only naps in the car seat while we make the carpool loop, but one afternoon, Emma decided the floor would be the perfect nap spot.

Our friend Robby was the photographer for Frank and Bethany's wedding.  He just posted their wedding album this week and I love this sweet shot that he snagged of these two dancing together. We had been home less than 2 weeks at that point! Seems like forever ago!

We loaded up and went to Columbus for a few days to visit with the Nelsons and see some dear friends.  Not 5 minutes after we walked in the door, the kids were ready to craft. Emma is following in her big sister's footsteps in the crafting department.

J and I were able to escape for a few minutes and went for a walk at the river walk and then we grabbed some lunch.  This lovely selfie is to document our first outing alone in 3 months!

We were able to visit with several of our precious Columbus friends while in town. We went by to see Kelly.  EK asked her if she was going to take their pictures so of course, she did.  I had planned for us to just visit so we needed a quick clothing change. Then, Kelly worked her magic and got some cute pics of my little crew.  I'm going to post them in a separate post.

They are so silly!!

Selfies with Kelly!

The weather was less than stellar but we were able to get in a little bit of baseball on Saturday.

It's always nice to be at Dudy Noble but it is even better to get to hang out with this guy.

We were able to celebrate an early birthday with Nana. Ren surprised her by coming in to town too for a birthday lunch.  So much fun!

EK was excited to sing happy birthday!

Happy birthday Nana!

We had a jammed packed week but I think we are all excited to get back to our routine!