Ella's 6th Birthday!!!

It's unbelievable to me that our sweet Ella is now a SIX-year-old!! Each year, I grow more amazed by her: her intelligence, her heart, her wit.....the list goes on and on. She is truly one special little girl, and she has made these past 6 years so incredibly sweet!! 

Though her official birthday wasn't until Monday (3-30), we started celebrating a little early on Friday night. Nora went over to her pal, Lucy's, house for the afternoon, so Ella and I had our own little "date-night." We started at Your Fired Creations to paint some pottery.....one of Ella's FAVORITE things!!

 Ella picked out a little dog to paint - it reminded her of Henry :) 

 All finished!!

 Meanwhile, I painted us a groovy little "N" to put in our garden. :) 

 We celebrated the rest of the weekend with a lot of Mexican food, frozen yogurt, and hiking through the woods. But FINALLY, her big day rolled around!! I've never seen her so excited to see a Monday!! As soon as we walked through the Beulah doors, Senora Edwards greeted her with a birthday crown and a goody bag :) 

 She was also the little star of morning-assembly. Mr. Bell gave her a birthday pencil.....

 ....and she got to lead the pledge of allegiance for the entire school :) 

 Daddy came to have lunch with the girls for "Dining with Dad." Perfect timing!!

 Cupcakes for everyone!!

 Right after lunch, Daddy checked them out of school for a little shopping and ice cream!

 We all met up for dinner at TOKYO - Ella's choice!! :)

 Love those dimples :) 

 CHOPSTICKS!! 

 The aftermath....they stayed in that position for an hour...

 The birthday princess!!

 She got to pick out her own "rainbow cake" - it was DELICIOUS!!! 

Ella has one more special request for this coming weekend (stay tuned)!!

Happy birthday, my sweet, sweet baby!! 

Ella - I am completely in awe of you. To say that you are special is a severe understatement. You are extraordinary, yet humble. I wish all people could see the world through your eyes.

"Look at the stars, see how they shine for you. And all the things you do."

I love you so very much, E-Bobs!! Happy 6th Birthday, my precious love!!

Cochran Mill Nature Center

These past few weeks, we've been plagued with gross weather and sickness. Ella and Claira had strep, Nora had the flu, Daddy and I have had a couple of rounds with a stomach bug, and I developed the shingles. Ugh!! SO, when we woke up last Sunday morning and no one had a fever AND the sun was shining, we knew it was time to get out of the house!!! :) We rolled out of bed, ate breakfast, and headed out the the Cochran Mill Nature Center :)

Feels good to be fever-free!!

Checking out the baby alligators:

Watching the snakes:

Clairy was NOT a fan of the serpents:

Ella was not a fan, either.....look at that face....her Daddy's child :)

Clairy WAS a fan of the turtles, however, and kept playing with the turtle shells:

Nora was fascinated by the large turtle that had a cold. She watched and talked with the animal specialist as she treated him. She said, "Mommy, did you know that turtles can blow snot rockets just like people?!?!" Um, gross. But no, I did not know that!! 

The girls really liked this lizard (it changed colors - so cool!), so the sweet lady invited the girls back to "pet" the lizard after she treated the snotty turtle :)

So, we headed out on a nature walk to give Snotty Turtle time to have his treatment :)

Bumps on a log :)

Feeding the fish :)

This little turtle ran all the fish off - he was "HANGRY!!"

"Oh, no!! All my fish food is gone!!" Well, Claira, let's not dump it all out at once and throw it at the turtle!! :)

She got over her fit when daddy made her "fly." SUPERGIRL!!

Just the sweetest little family ever. I'm blessed with so much sweetness:

Nora was born to perform....and photo-bomb!!!

Heading back in to pet the color-changing lizard!! So neat!!

I'll leave you with a family-selfie that are very few and far between :)

Cheers to fever-free days of love and lizards!!!