The Nels Clan

Whenever the Nels family gets together, Uncle Al takes a family pic of the whole gang. The Nels family keeps growing as more of the "grand kids" marry and have kiddos of their own.

This first picture was taken in July 2007 at Kevin's grandparents' birthday party.



Here we all are again on Grandma and Grandpa's 69th wedding anniversary (2008).



Look how spry grandpa is. His is 96 in this picture. He and grandma have the same birthday, but grandma is 7 years younger.



I can only hope to have skin that looks this great when I am 96!

Katelyn's 6th Birthday

Katelyn turned 6 years old today...oh, how time flies! Katleyn was very excited about turning 6...unlike last year when she was so worried and nervous about growing up. She had school on her actual birthday, which is a big deal to a little kid. She was thrilled to get a special birthday bear made by her kindergarten teacher, a birthday certificate, and a birthday crown. She took in chocolate chip cookies to share with the class and was also the VIP in her classroom today. Katelyn had been battling a cold and fever all week, but she couldn't miss her special day at school! You'll see the sickness in her little eyes in the pictures, but she was a trooper and still had fun!

We always let Katelyn pick where she wants to go out to eat on her birthday. Last year she chose Burger King...because of the indoor playland. This year, she chose Chick-Fil-a...because of the indoor playland...these are exciting restaurants when you are a little kid. After dinner and some playtime at Chick-Fil-a, we came back to the house for cake, ice cream, and a few presents. Gre and Papoo joined us for dinner and the birthday festivities. Nana and Papa met us back at the house for cake and presents.

For Katelyn's "friends" birthday party, we had a swim party at the Washington Township Rec Center. She invited a mixture of friends that she has know since she was born (Ava, Mitch, Madison, & Molly), preschool friends (Maddie,who were both sick, and Cecilia, who had to leave early because she was not feeling well), and friends from her kindergarten class (Alayna...the BFF, Lindsay R., Lindsey T., Emily, and Miranda). The kids made cute little fish necklaces when they first arrived at the party. After all of the necklaces were made, then we sang "Happy Birthday" and had cake and ice cream. Next, came the presents. After opening all of her presents, Katelyn passed out the goodie bags. The goddie bags were tie-dyed drawstring, canvas bags filled with bubbles, fish-shaped swim goggles, and a beach ball...they were a big hit! The only thing left to do, was swimming! The kids had a blast! The rec center has a gradual depth pool which is great for all levels of swim abilities. They also have a large, circular water slide. The kiddos loved that water slide! Kevin was so great because he stayed in the pool at the bottom of the slide to "catch" the kids in case anyone needed help.

After the kids finished making their craft, Kevin went around and knotted all of the ribbon to put the the finishing touch on the necklaces...what a good daddy!

We have a "family" party planned for Sunday, March 8. The family party is a joint party for both Katelyn and Kennedy. Gre, Papoo, Nana, Papa, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Mindy, Uncle Tom, and Aunt TT have never missed a birthday party. Katelyn is one lucky girl!

Little Gymnast

Check out this invitation that Kennedy received last week... Kennedy and her cousin Reagan were invited to join the "Advanced Preschool" class. It is a class for 3-5 year-olds. Kennedy was about one month shy of her 3rd birthday when she received the invitation, but they said that she is quite advanced and really belongs in the class. The advanced class is for one hour and they spend the entire time on the big equipment. She is going to look so tiny on the high beam and full-sized uneven bars.

I am very proud of my little gymnast!

I "Heart" Valentine's Day

I love Valentine's Day! The funny thing is that I love it from a child's perspective rather than from the lovey-dovey adult perspective. I remember diligently sitting down and writing out my valentine cards for my classmates each year. I would spend so much time picking out just the right one for each of my classmates. Then, that extra large teacher valentine that was always included in the box was the best! I never really enjoyed getting valentines. I would bring them home, dump them out, briefly look through them, and then pitch them. Receiving them never seemed very special or meaningful to me, but I sure loved giving them!

I am re-living my childhood love for Valentine's day through Katelyn and Kennedy. I was a little disappointed during Katelyn's two years of preschool that she didn't want to make homemade valentines. She insisted on store-bought ones. I did buy them for her, remembering how much I loved my store-bought valentines as a little girl, but I was still disappointed. During Katelyn's second year of preschool, we actually had to make a Valentine's box. I was so excited! I did my research and found the cutest idea I could find. Katelyn actually helped a lot with this box, but I was definitely there to supervise.

This year, both Katelyn and Kennedy decided that they wanted to make their valentines...and I couldn't have been happier! Once again, I looked through everything Valentine's Day related until I found just what I wanted. After some tweaking and adding our own unique touches, here is the final product...

The pictures really do not do these cards justice. The pipe cleaner antennae and the glitter paint around the edges are both iridescent, which really added some glitz! Katelyn and Kennedy made red butterflies for the boys in their classes and the girls received pink or purple butterflies. Once again, Katelyn and Kennedy both helped a lot with making these cards. They did all of the assembling themselves (I helped Kennedy). Additionally, Katelyn wrote her own name as well as the name of each of her classmates. I think that Katelyn and Kennedy enjoyed this all-day activity as much as I did!

Total Randomness

I was looking back at some old pictures today and found some diamonds in the ruff. They are pictures that never caught my eye before. But, now that the girls are a little older, I guess I look at the pictures from a different perspective. These are just ordinary pictures, but I love how young the girls are in them. Isn't it funny how you don't even remember your kids looking a certain way until you look back at old pictures?

This was Kennedy's 1st birthday. Look at her hair...light brown and a little curly. She looks SO much like my brother in this picture. I feel like I am looking at one of his baby pictures...striking resemblance!
Also, doesn't she have Drew Barrymore's cute little crooked smile.? Kevin and I noticed it when she was only a couple of days old. Someone even stopped us in public last year and said that she looked like a young Drew Barrymore. I only see it in her smile, but I do see it.

These next two pictures were both taken in January of 2008

This picture is actually a recent one of Katelyn. It really shows her personality...this is so our Kate!
She is full of life, energy, creativity, and craziness...she keeps everyone laughing!