Happy boy! Practicing for his driver's license.

Our kids and the neighbor kids

Joshua's favorite part of baseball, what he can get with a treat ticket

Memorial Day and beyond

We spent part of Memorial Day at the zoo . . . always a treat when Bryan is with us as usually it is just the kiddos and me.


Afterwards ,we grabbed a bite and there was this man doing balloon animals . . . definitely a treat!

This picture was not staged . . .a very typical sight in the afternoon! Lots of play time with the neighbors!

Tyler's new favorite perch!

Last week, my friend Hyla from college made a trip to KS . . . so much fun to reconnect. We hadn't seen each other since we moved here.



We realized after she left that we didn't' get any pics with just her and me . .. grrrr.


Right before Joshua's first piano lesson . . . yep, we're going to give it a try. I now understand why it was always hard for my mom to be consistent teaching me lessons!

All three kids on the bed

Summer begins, pool and zoo

Tyler's walking . . . sort of!

My biggest mother's day gift???? Tyler finally taking lots of steps in a row . . . but ONLY if someone is right behind me or he will promptly set his bottom down! Not because he falls, but because he doesn't like to walk without someone right there! He's getting braver, but still prefers to use walls, chairs, etc. Hey, I'll always remember when his first steps were!

This was J's bike day at his preschool . . . it was really fun to watch!

They had a pretend city, and he was giving his "money" to the gas station!

Last Wed. was our Awards night for AWANA. Bryan evolved into the Cubbie song guru throughout the year . . . so they did several of his "new and improved" songs using Bible verses.

There's Joshua . . . the one with the tallest hands! I always forget how much taller he is until I see him in a group context!

Our new adventure of the summer . . . Joshua playing baseball! I wouldn't exactly say that he is loving it, but maybe over the course of the summer he will learn to love it????? Maybe????

Diggin' in the dirt . . . perhaps the most enjoyable part for him . . .

Spring pics

Joshua's preschool class went on a field trip . . . here they are! He's still the tallest!

The peacock . . . it was really cool, I must admit!
This turkey was HUGE!

I took this on the way to AWANA Wed. night . . . yes, he is sleeping. I knew it was probably going to be a long night!

Thursday night popcorn and movie night (Daddy has rehearsal!).

Joshua's card from Kindergarten round-up! The "B" is due to another kid being named Joshua Nelson. Go figure!

I think I can, I think I can . . .For whatever reason, Tyler is FIXATED with the mouse!

Last Friday, we went on a picnic as a fam . . . lots of fun!

Anywhere there is water, it is a bonus!

"Mom, this sun it was too bright!"

Kayla and Mommy

Joshua's photography skills at work!

And this would be the newest addition of our family . .. Paco. A caterpillar, and hopefully (Lord, please do not let it die) a butterfly!

This and That

Well, the biggest news from the Nelson's . . . is that Joshua learned how to ride his bike without training wheels last night! Bryan took the wheels off on Sun. night, it rained most of Monday, and Mon. evening he suprised us all when he started off on his own! I think Bryan was the most excited . . . he was the designated "runner behind the bike!"



There are SOO many kids on this street -- so fun to see them all together! It was neat to hear the two other boys who just recently learned to ride cheering Joshua on! They were giving him hints along the way, too!
I promised Joshua when the weather got warmer he could do this silly string from Uncle Ryan -- and sure enough, the first "warm" day we had, he remembered about my promise!

This is the best I've done so far at capturing Tyler's "distinctive" toothy grin! His "fang" teeth came in before his front ones . . . quite the sight right now!


This is Tyler's favorite "perch!" The buttons on the CD player are quite the attraction right now!

Definitely enjoying the warmer weather!

Two things to note: This is actually Joshua's bike before the training wheels came off -- she was delighted that she was big enough, and we were shocked he allowed her to ride it! Secondly, she rounded up this bag of goodies on her own and announced that she was "going to Target!" You go, girl!

Not sure what exercises Tyler was trying to do!

Happy 1st Birthday, Tyler!

Wow, how is he already 1 year old???? We celebrated on Easter evening (yes, it was a crazy day!) and had a fun evening together as a family! Bryan's parents were in town, so that made it extra special.


OK, so the cake TOTALLY flopped -- it was supposed to be a #1 with blocks that spelled his name . . . but oh well, it still tasted fine.

Both sets of grandparents

This was his reaction to the gifts . . . just kept crawling far away from them!

Happy Birthday, bud! We love you!

Easter 2010

Grandpa Varner called last week when he was out doing errands wondering if the kids could meet him to view some of the chicks -- so we packed everyone up . . . and here they are! I must say that I was perfectly content to hold Tyler and watch from afar . . . I am just NOT an animal lover!


Grandma and Grandpa visited this past weekend, and Grandma oversaw the egg -dying process!

Gettin' ready to find some eggs!

Tyler wasn't real sure what to think of everything!

And, like most Easters, I have NO pictures of Easter morning -- when we celebrate the Risen Savior! It seems like with our family, getting pictures always falls by the wayside because of Bryan's responsibilities with church. We just breathe a sigh of relief when Sun AM is over! G/G Nelson were a HUGE help as I played on Sunday and they got everyone ready for church! Thanks!

Hope everyone had a Happy Easter . . . what a special time to pause and reflect on all that Christ has done for us!