Celebrating EK

Ella Kate planned out her birthday activities to include all of her favorite things. We started our day with donuts before hitting the pool.

There was a lot of this...

And this graceful move.

Having Daddy and Haley around always makes for more fun at the pool!

This one has officially become a water baby! She loves to swim all over the place now!

The kids enjoyed a Happy Meal picnic at the pool and then played some more. When we were sufficiently exhausted, we loaded up to go get some ice cream. (No worries, we were parked in the parking lot when this pic was snapped!)

We then went home so the little two could nap. We all got cleaned up and met up with my parents and Haley and Robert at Newk's for dinner. Our celebration continued at the park. EK made and decorated her own cupcakes for everyone to enjoy.

She's just the sweetest 7 year old!

We did some playing for a little bit before having to call it a night. 

EK deemed the day "the best day ever except it was just too short!"  I'm glad she had fun!

Everything can be used as a fire pole...

Seriously....everything....

Just hanging with the big boys!

It's always good to have some of our people around and we had a big time getting to celebrate the birthday girl together.  

Happy Birthday, EK! We are pretty big fans of yours and we think you are awesome!

Happy Birthday, Ella Kate!

Ella Kate has been counting down the days until today for months!!!! She is finally 7 and she is pleased as punch! She has scheduled our day down to the minute with all of her favorite things! So, some things about the birthday girl....she LOVES to read! She sleeps with around 10 books in her pillow case so some are always near by. She has read nearly 70 books already this summer! She can not get enough and I am so thankful that she is so eager to read. Her favorite books currently all have to do with the Titanic. She loves learning all the history! She is still very much my crafting queen. Just this week, she used her sewing machine to make new curtains for her doll house and a couple of new pillows as well. She enjoys drawing but especially loves creating a masterpiece out of random items she finds around the house or in our craft closet. She is a sassy little diva and likes to carry her purse packed to the brim with her necessities. She loves jewelry and lip gloss. Thank goodness she still loves to rock her big bows!!!!  She has her very first wiggly tooth. Bless her heart. Her friends have been losing teeth for years now but she got the Jones genes when it comes to teeth and will have to get a ton pulled before braces because they just don't come out on their own. Hopefully she will have a little snaggly tooth smile by the first day of second grade!  She has a heart of gold and is so compassionate and caring. A mother of a new student who came into her class mid year made it a point to let us know how much she appreciate Ella Kate for going out of her way to be kind and include her son. She kept going on and on about how EK made him feel included and welcomed and how she was such a sweet friend. That makes me one happy mama!  EK is a very sensitive girl that feels things deeply. She gets her feelings hurt very easily so we have spent a good deal of time working through emotions. I think it has helped her become more caring and a better friend since she wants to treat others like she wants them to treat her. She has learned so much over the last year. Academically, she has soared. Personally, she has made great strides as well. She has learned some tough lessons this year through situations where her friends have said unkind or hurtful things. She is learning that the words of others do not define her and her worth can only be found in Jesus. All this to say, we are so very proud of the little lady our big girl is becoming and it is truly a gift to get to watch her grow and mature each day. We have no doubt the Lord has big things in store for this girl!

Here is the birthday girl's interview...

1) What is your name:  Ella Kate Nelson

2) What is your nickname:  Sissy

3) What makes you happy:  dancing, tennis, and being with family

4) Where do you like to go: museums and school

5) What is your favorite food: happy meal at McDonald's

6) What is your least favorite food: broccoli

7) What is your favorite animal: dolphin

8) What is your favorite Bible story: when Jesus died for our sins

9) What is your favorite TV show: Cupcake Wars and Fixer Upper

10) What are you really good at doing: reading and dancing

11) What is your favorite movie:  any of the Barbie movies

12) What is your favorite color: pink, purple and turquoise 

13) What is your favorite song: One Thing a Remains

14) Who is your best friend: Sienna and Ella

15) What do you like to do with Mama: sew

16) What do you like to do with Daddy: spend time with him whenever I can

17) What do you like to do with Walker: play fire station and Cupcake Wars

18) What do you like to do with Emma: read to her

19) What is your favorite sport: tennis

20) What is your favorite book: Rainbow Magic Fairy series, Magic Treehouse series

21) What do you want to be when you grow up: a teacher

22) What was the best thing to happen to you when you were 6: Mrs. Wilson

23) What is your favorite thing about school: library and art

24) What are you excited about 2nd grade: getting to know my new teacher and seeing friends

25) What are you afraid of: tornadoes

26) What makes you mad: Walker, most of the time

27) Where do you want to go to college: MSU

28) If you had one wish, what would it be: that all the orphans around the world would be safe and find 

      families

29) If you had a million dollars, what would you do: buy clothes for orphans and other people and other 

      things that they need so I could help them 

30) If there was anything you ever wanted, what would it be: for people to know and follow Jesus and 

      for the people that don't know Him to one day believe 

Happy Birthday, Ella Kate! We love you and we are so thankful for you!!!

Kids With Character

Ella Kate enjoyed camp at church for a couple of weeks in June. I love that our church offers these opportunities to invest in the lives of kids as well as teach them skills in lots of different areas. With cheer, basketball, dance, musical theater and soccer camps available, there was something for everyone. The leaders taught a bible study each day and the teenagers were able to pour into all the kids.  Here are a few snaps from dance camp a couple of weeks ago. We were able to watch a performance to showcase all they learned on the last day of camp. 

Kety from Ballet Magnifcat was the lead instructor and we so appreciate her willingness to serve our kids. She is precious!

Sweet Julianna was EK's Bible school leader and EK has been her shadow ever since. 

Bud and Sis supporting big sister!

G and Haley joined in on the fun as well. 

Emma wanted so badly to dance with her sister!  It won't be long until she is out there as well!

It was a good time with my people!  I know I have said it many times before on here, but EK is filled with so much joy when she dances and we love watching her do what she loves!

Weekend with the Grandparents

Ella Kate participated in cheer camp last week at our church. She had the best time tumbling, stunting, cheering, etc.

The group put on a pep rally on Thursday. Mom, Dad and Haley were there for all the excitement. They sent me tons of videos since I had to miss it.  EK did a fabulous job and was so proud!

On their way out of the church, they happened upon a fire truck which obviously meant she had to take a picture for her brother!

At lunch that day, EKs day was made when she ran in to her teacher Mrs. Wilson. She has missed her so terribly this summer!

EK spent a couple of nights with my parents and a couple of nights with Haley. The whole crew met up for lunch before going to see Finding Dory. They said it was such a precious movie. 

EK worked on some crafting. 

They worked on a giant puzzle and went to the park as well. Needless to say, EK loved her time with Kay Kay, G and Haley!

Months ago, our school participated in a book bag drive to send to children in Africa. EK and one of her friends partnered up to fill a book bag for a little girl. We were thrilled to receive a picture last week of the little girl who was given our bag!  So very special to see her sweet smile and so very incredible to have a picture of her precious face as we pray for her.

Walker and Emma hung out in Columbus while we were away. They made approximately 4,697 trips to various fire stations around town. The firemen are so kind to my kids and are always willing to play. 

This trip, Walker was able to try on the real firemen's masks. This was a very big deal for him and he has not stopped talking about it.

All day, every day, he dreams about and talks about becoming a fire fighter!

Even firemen need their blankets sometimes!

Little Emma likes going to the fire station, but I think she would rather just pick some flowers to decorate the dining room for Nana. 

Swimming, swinging, and pretending to drive all are things Emma enjoys!

All three kiddos loved their time with grandparents! Some children may have even cried when having to leave with their parents. We are so thankful for grandparents that are willing to keep our wild crew so we could have some time away together. 

Adventures in Boston

J and I just returned from the most fabulous little getaway to Boston.  We had talked about taking a trip for our 10 year anniversary which was last December, but with Haley's wedding the same weekend as our anniversary, we knew that it would just not be feasible. So, I had this idea months ago to surprise J with a trip to Boston to see the Red Sox play at Fenway Park. He grew up a Red Sox fan but had never had the chance to go see them play. So, I checked the schedule and found the weekend that the Mariners would be in town so that we would not only get to see the Red Sox, but would also be able to see our friend Seth play. I texted Seth's wife about the possibility of getting tickets through the team and the rest is history! I obviously had to fill J in on the plan a while back because hello youth ministry summer scheduling, but he was thrilled at the notion!

We arrived into town on Thursday, dropped our bags at the hotel and immediately hit the streets to start taking in all that Boston had to offer!  We started with the Freedom Trail and followed along all those amazing historical sites like Faneuil Hall, The North Church, Paul Revere's house and so on. 

We explored all over the North End of Boston and it quickly became our favorite place in the city! It was so amazing to stroll the streets and literally be walking through history! The harbor is beautiful, the architecture is incredible and the food is outstanding!!! And how about that green space in the middle of the city??? A giant highway used to be going through there until several years ago when they took on "the big dig" and moved that giant highway under ground. In the picture below, a group of people met for yoga in the park. J and I chose to sit on a bench nearby and people watch...and we may have eaten a yummy pastry while all those people exercised....vacation, y'all!

Some of our food stops in the North End included Regina's Pizzeria which we actually returned to for a second night because it was seriously that good and we also enjoyed Union Oyster House.  Union Oyster House is actually the oldest restaurant in America. It opened as a restaurant in 1826 but the building was there for at least 100 years before that! The interior looks much the same as it did so many years ago. I have NO idea how they pass any code inspections!

We also visited the Cheers restaurant. They built a replica of the TV set to serve as the restaurant in Quincy Market because the place that was used as the facade on the show looks absolutely nothing like the set on the inside. It was fun to sit on the patio and see all the hustle and bustle passing by us. 

Our most favorite stop in the North End was Modern Pastry. Lots of guide books suggested a different bakery that was down the street, but our waitress at Regina's suggested Modern and oh my goodness, she was so right!!! Listen to locals!!!  We went on our first day and then had to go back another day because it was ridiculously good!  J's favorite was the hostess cupcake and I loved the cannoli (which they fill right in front of you with a variety of fillings and toppings) 

We did some serious exploring and became pros at the public transportation!  Our hotel was a block  from the subway and bus station so it made for super easy access for us to get around town. We took a bus to check out Harvard Square. I feel smarter after walking around there...well maybe not so much.

We ate at a pretty famous spot in the Harvard area.  It was not my favorite but others swear by it.  Poor J, I made him take lots of food pictures and I even made him pose with a fire truck to send Walker a picture!

We spent a day in Boston 8 years ago and did a bus tour then, so we wanted to do something different this time as far as tours go. We took the recommendation of several people and went on a Duck Boat. I enjoyed getting to see the city from the Charles River as well as on land as we checked out all the historical sites. Our guide drove the boat with his feet for a while when we were on the river. Interesting fellow. 

The most anticipated part of our whole adventure was getting to experience Fenway Park. Wow! It is truly a special place. I kept saying that it was just so cute. I'm sure the hope of all baseball park designers is for people to say their stadiums are "cute," but it really is adorable!

As cute and vintage as these seats may be....they are FAR from comfortable!!! However, it was surely worth the discomfort to get to take in a couple games behind home plate!

Most awkward selfie ever, but we had to document all the angles!

The 7th inning stretch and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" were pretty awesome, but hearing "Sweet Caroline" belted out by all these folks in the 8th was my favorite! The fans also were ridiculous every time David Ortiz came to bat since this is his last year. In this picture, he had just hit a home run so it was insane!  I also loved the giant flag on the Green Monster for the National Anthem on Saturday!

Our friend Seth had quite the day on Saturday and went 3 for 3. It was so much fun to get to see him do his thing and it was so good to get to visit with him for a few minutes after the game!! 

The Smiths are some of my favorite people on the planet. They love the Lord, their family and their friends fiercely. I'm so thankful for their big hearts and their genuine care and concern for others. I have so much to learn from them!  They are amazing parents to the most precious children and I am so grateful that their big girl and my big girl have each other as best friends!  I could not ask for anyone better! Love this family so much! Sweet Lindsay, we missed you but our family is counting down the days until y'all are back in MS!

J and I could not have had a better time away. It was so wonderful to get to spend some time just hanging out together but we could not have done it without both sets of grandparents keeping the kids. We are so thankful for their willingness to help out so we could go. Thank y'all!! My next post will be the highlights of what all they got in to while we were gone. Needless to say, they were busy!!!