A Rainy, Rainy Bunny Day

Happy Tuesday, Everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend and survived the crazy rain. I sure hope the Easter Bunny knows how to swim!

Our Easter tradition since Brianna was born has been to spend time with the S family eating good food, visiting, and having an egg hunt. When Tia and I were planning things this year, we actually debated about whether to even have a hunt or not now that the kids are getting older. I think Brianna and Brenson were around 10 years old when they stopped doing the egg hunt. However, we decided we weren't quite ready to quit it altogether, so we modified it a bit instead :-).

This year, Mom and Dad were out of town, so it was just us and the S family. They invited us to their house on Saturday for brunch and visiting. Brunch was delicious and really hit the spot! We had bacon, sausage, eggs, cinnamon rolls, french toast, biscuits and gravy, morning potatoes, fruit, and our icebox strawberry cheesecake for dessert. I wish I had gotten a photo of the food spread because it was amazing!

It poured rain most of the morning and afternoon, so Tia and I were very thankful we planned the "egg hunt" the way we did. We decided this year that I would put together four gift bags, and we would hide four eggs. Each girl could find one egg, and they would exchange their egg for the gift bag that matched the color of their egg. It worked out really well, and the girls enjoyed the change in routine! 

Caroline, Brecklyn, Brooke, and Sadie

BFF - SBBC!

The hunt for the eggs was chaotic, as was the tearing into the gift bags. But they loved it!

Each gift bag contained a diary set, a chocolate bunny, an egg of Skittles, a flower Lego set, and a plush Squishmallow (the Lego set and Squishmallow were different in each bag). It was definitely better than 50 eggs full of little trinkets for the age the girls are now!

For the rest of the afternoon, the adults visited, the younger girls played, and the big kids watched TV. It was so low-key and nice! We headed home around 4:00pm for a relaxing evening (Bri and Bren went to an indoor football game with friends that evening, so it was quiet at home with only two kiddos). 

The next morning (Sunday, April 20th), we slept in a little more than we should have and ended up running out of time for photos and Easter baskets before church services. After church services, we drove to our favorite Mexican restaurant in the craziest downpour that made me want to just go home and snuggle under a blanket and relax. Instead, we enjoyed our lunch out and went home to do photos and Easter baskets. 

Brecklyn 💓

Brooke 💜

Brenson 💙

Brianna 💜

Our family . . . no worse for the crazy weather!

So very blessed 💖

After photos, it's always time for Easter baskets!

Brooke and Brecklyn with their new dolls

Brenson and his fishing pliers

Brianna with new sunglasses and new bluelight glasses

All the kids got a t-shirt for an upcoming trip!

Love my babies so much!

I haven't really decided yet, but this may be our last year to do Easter baskets. Each of the kids have a hunting basket and a basket they get full of goodies on Easter, and this year the hunting baskets didn't even come out of the attic. While it makes me sad if I think about it too hard, we are moving into a new season as the kids get older. I loved having littles, but the season we are moving in to is really, really good, too. Regardless of if this is our last year for baskets or not, I'm just over here trying to soak up all the blessing of this season of life. People say it all the time, but time really does go fast, and I find myself missing these moments before they're even gone. Sigh. What a blessing this beautiful life is!

Brooke and Brecklyn are Ten Years Old!

Somehow, my baby twinbies are now TEN years old! Somehow, I no longer have any children with a single digit age. Somehow, my heart is more full than I even knew was possible!

Brecklyn and Brooke - TEN years old!

My Brookie girl is as spunky as ever. She is outgoing, loud, and always ready to do, well, just about anything. She works hard and plays hard. 

Brooke's other smile she's recently been trying out in photos.

My little Brecklyn Sarah is small but mighty. She is feisty but often reserved and cautious. She is passionate and tends to be a perfectionist with big feelings. Music really speaks to her. 

Twinbies 💗💜

Brooke and Brecklyn's birthday was on a Monday this year and began with their first track & field practice of the 2025 season. Chris, Bri, and Bren were already at their earlier practice when the girls got up, so no special breakfast this year. They were excited to see how we decorated their door!

It was a gorgeous morning . . . perfect weather for a morning workout and run! Once we got back home from practice, we had the girls open their one gift. They only had one because we had updated their bedroom for their birthday this year (I'll post about that soon). 

I love that my kids are always happy, no matter if they have one gift or ten gifts to open. 

Their gift was the next piece in their Precious Moments Birthday Train. I still can't believe they're 10!

Once we finished with gifts and a few photos, the kids and I packed a lunch and headed to the zoo. It was the perfect day for a zoo outing, which is crazy because today is cold and rainy. One of the tigers at our zoo had five cubs in August. We saw the cubs when they were really small, and the girls had been asking to go back and see them again. I am so thankful we could make that happen for their birthday!

Brooke, Brecklyn

The cubs did not disappoint! The first time we saw them, they were all just sitting together (which was neat). We went back to their exhibit twice and were able to see them running, playing, and wrestling with each other. SO adorable!

Brecklyn loved seeing the cubs, but her favorite was the Red Panda!

Momma and her birthday girls!

The flamingos are always a must-see for us!

Zoo days are SO easy now compared to what they were just a few years ago. Love my crew of big kids!

We had to pick the weird creature's nose . . . because of course!

In the rainforest, Brenson had a neat, up-close encounter with an iguana. He could have easily reached out and touched it!

I have so many photos of the kids on this wagon, but I'm sad that it no longer says "Tulsa Zoo" on it. They used to all fit on the bench together!

After several good hours at the zoo, we went to Grampy and G-Jo's house for ice cream and gifts. The girls were so happy to spend a small part of their birthday with their grandparents.

For their birthday dinner, the girls had requested meatloaf, mashed potatoes, gravy, cream corn, salad, and rolls. I was pretty tuckered out from the zoo, but thankfully the hubs had started dinner already when we got home. They thoroughly enjoyed their birthday meal!

This year the girls decided to follow in Bren's footsteps and have ice cream sandwiches and fudge bars for their birthday dessert. 

Once we got dinner all cleaned up, Chris decided to make fruit roll-ups with the girls. It's a good thing this was his project because I was worn out, haha! They loved doing a little cooking with Daddy.

Daddy and Brooke

Daddy, Brecklyn, and Brooke

I can't tell you how many times Brooke said, "This is the perfect day," or Brecklyn said, "Thank you so much for taking us to the zoo today!" It truly was a wonderful day to spend together. We are grateful beyond words for this day - ten years ago - when these little ladies came into the world and blessed our lives in a HUGE way! Happy birthday, Brooke and Brecklyn! We love you so much!

Bunnies and Eggs!

What a great and relaxing Easter weekend we just had! Somehow - after years of any kind of "holiday" being absolutely exhausting - I still have trouble believing we can add extra activities and non-routine happenings to our schedule and it still be relaxing. But that is exactly what happened this past weekend!

Our tradition is to spend Easter weekend with the Swearingens, Earls, and my parents. Last year, we hosted an evening glow hunt, and it was a BIG hit with the kids. We decided to do the same this year (minus the small fire on the back patio, haha)! 

Everyone came over on the evening of Friday, April 7th. We ate dinner together, then *patiently* waited for it to get dark enough outside to do the egg hunt. The older kids were not interested in hunting this year, which was very bittersweet. I mean, I knew this day was coming, but it feels different when it's actually here! To keep the little girls occupied during the wait (which felt so very loooong to them), we did a little photo shoot.

Cutest little girls around!

💜💗

Brecklyn, Sadie, Brooke, and Caroline

Love them so!

Finally, the sky started to get darker (and more colorful), and it was almost time!

Bren didn't care about the egg hunt . . . he was just ready to play some glow frisbee!

And they're off . . . find those eggs!

Caroline

Brooke

Brecklyn

Brecklyn

Brooke

Brecklyn, Grampy, G-Jo, Lisa, and Chloe

While the little girls were still hunting eggs, the dads and big kids got the frisbee game started.

Chloe, Ross, Brooke

The sky was just gorgeous . . . such a nice evening!

All the loot!

The big kids also wanted to have a fire, so we got that going, too. I love these type of evenings!

The next morning (Saturday, April 8th), we slept in, cleaned up the house from the night before, then decided to dye eggs. I'm not sure how many more years the kids will be interested in this activity, but I always enjoy it. 

Brecklyn and Brooke

Brooke

Brecks

Brianna and Bren

Bri and Bren

All the smiles make my heart full. These are the times I will always cherish!

The Coloring Crew!

💙💙💙

Saturday afternoon, we had the best time just being home, soaking in the beautiful outdoors, working our garden, and fishing. It was truly so wonderful. It was exactly the reprieve we needed in the middle of this hectic time of year!

Preparing the garden

We borrowed this tiller from our neighbor, and Bren wanted to use it. I couldn't believe he could control the thing, but he did a great job. He's just growing up so much. 

After gardening, Chris drove the kids down to the pond to do some fishing. I loved that they all jumped in the back of the truck for the ride!

Enjoying the beautiful weather and some fishing!

On Sunday, we got all ready for church early so we had time for photos and Easter baskets. 

The Nelson Family, 2023

💜

Brianna

Brenson

Brooke

Brecklyn

Baskets of goodies all ready to go!

I love when the kids first come out and see their baskets. The smiles are priceless!

Brooke was so happy with her dog-in-a-purse!

Brecklyn was thrilled with her fox-in-a-purse!

The boy loves playing cards, and this is a fun variety!

Crazy girl . . . must be related to CrazyNel, haha!

Dots Pretzels make this girl happy!

💗

I made these shirts for our upcoming vacation . . . we are excited to wear them!

All the kids were thanking me for their gifts . . . I adore this photo!

I remember the very first Easter after the twins were born. It was a very stressful day, and I'm pretty sure I cried like six times. While I loved having babies and all the blessings of that stage of life, this stage of life is amazing, too. I adore the ages the kids are right now, and I am just so thankful for weekends like this one!