First Field Trip

Ella had her first school field trip a few weeks ago! One thing that I am excited about her new school is that starting with the Pre-K class, they get to go on field trips.

They went to a strawberry farm nearby to pick strawberries. She was looking forward to the strawberry picking, but even more excited that she was going to get to ride on a school bus to get to the farm.

She told me all about the bus ride and who she got to sit with, and how the best part was when they went over the railroad tracks. Of course, aside from the fun of the bus ride, they managed to pick some strawberries once they got to their actual destination :)

I would've liked to have gone but had a few work calls that would've been hard to rearrange, so I trusted that she was in good hands with her teachers, and would have a good time with her buddies. She had a great time and here are a few pictures that her teachers took -







Empty strawberry bucket after her after-school strawberry snack :)




First field trip success!

Sold!

Tuesday afternoon was the closing for the sale of our house - hooray!! We had a bunch of showings within the first few weeks it was on the market and got an offer on St. Patrick's Day (good day for the luck of the Irish). The buyers wanted a 30-day close so it went from being listed to being sold within 2 months.

We worked so hard to get it ready, and so it was really rewarding to sell it quickly. I was nervous about it being for sale with me so far away not to be able to check on it before showings, so I was really hoping we'd get an offer before we moved. Which didn't happen, but we got it two days after we moved, pretty close :).

It is such a relief to have sold it and since we are in our apartment lease for the next four months, we have plenty of time to really get to know the area and find our next home. There are so many different towns and neighborhoods to consider so I'm glad we can take our time and do our research.

On a related note - Mom & Glenn are selling their house near ours since we've moved. They put it up for sale on a Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago. That Sunday morning, I got a text from Molly, the Marketing Lead on my team, asking me what my parents' address was, because they had gone to see a townhouse in the neighborhood out that morning, seen an chair with "Ella" embrodiered on it, and figured it had to be theirs.

I had known she was house hunting and had referred her to the neighborhood to check out a different house that I know the owners of, and they have put a ton of work into it, so I thought it'd be worth checking out. I mentioned that my parents were selling theirs as well but that it was a townhouse, and I thought they were only considering single-family homes.

Anyway, Molly said they really liked it and that it was their second choice at that point, and I of course didn't want to pressure her, or give my opinion about it either way, but then a few days later she told me that they had been back to see it again, it was now their first choice, and were going to make an offer on it!

Everything worked out, and they are closing in mid-May. So, not only am I so happy for Mom & Glenn that they were able to sell their house in one week, they sold it to someone on my team, and who I am so happy for her to have the house because it has so many great memories and I love knowing that it's going to her. It's her first house and I know they'll love it there.

I know that there are coincidences and that many times things 'just happen' - but to me, these two events really show me that this is indeed the plan that God has for all of us, that he's holding us all in His hands, and paving the way for our future. It's been a very twisty turny road, and I am very grateful for any confirmation that we're on the right path.

Easter

This Easter was our first holiday where it was just the 3 of us in a long time, it's definitely been a few years. Ella asked no less than three times "who's coming here for Easter?" and wasn't thrilled with my answer :). But, we made it special and had a really nice day.

As soon as she woke up, she wanted to start looking for eggs. She ran to the window and was excited to see there were a few eggs outside and she got on her shoes so we could head outside. On the way, she found another one in the family room, and was excited to find her Easter basket!









New apron for my little "chef-in-training"


She had seen some eggs outside her bedroom window so we went to investigate and she found a few more



We had to save the rest of our egg hunt for later so that we could get ready for church. Here is the little lady looking adorable in her Easter dress from Grammy -






On our way to church


The church service was great, fantastic music, and a great message to reinforce the real meaning of Easter. There was a puppet show and butterfly release for the kids program, and Ella was really happy about the butterflies.

We went out to lunch after church to a Cajun seafood restaurant with outdoor seating. We had tried to go before but it was too crowded, but we managed to get there right when they opened on Easter. The food was great and it was so nice to sit outside.



We even tried fried alligator, Ella impressed us by trying a bite


And the best part, Ella had room to be free and have fun


After lunch Steve 'discovered' a field full of easter eggs at the park across the street from our apartment complex, so we had our own egg hunt













And we ended the afternoon with some time at the pool. So, a really nice Easter day all around!

Easter Eggs

We dyed Easter eggs the day before Easter. Ella was a pro this year and was very excited to get to work!









Very proud of her egg




Ella does this adorable thing where she puts her hand up to her mouth like she's telling a secret. I think it is so charming and Steve caught it in this picture, so I had to include it. She does the same thing where she puts her hand up to her ear and she'll say "what?" when she can't hear us and wants us to repeat ourselves.


Steve and I dyed several of them, Ella of course was the master decorator and re-colored all of ours. She had me laughing so hard. No matter what color we had done ours, writing, stickers, whatever - she took every one and put in the purple dye. So - they all ended up looking pretty similar :)


The finished products - check out those not-so-multicolored beauties :)

Easter Egg Hunt at School

Ella's school had an Easter Egg Hunt and Ice Cream Party last week the day before Good Friday. Her school has a Facebook page and posts pics of the kids, so I grabbed a few of Ella having fun on egg hunt day.

It was really nice to see her having a good time in the pictures since I wasn't there (kids-only event!)

Kemah Take 2

This past Sunday, we went to church nearby that we're trying out. I went the Sunday before by myself, so I could check out the kids area first, and thought it looked Ella-worthy and liked everything else, and so the three of us went on Sunday morning. Ella liked the Children's Church and Steve and I like several other things about it so far, so we will go a few more times and then decide if we want to keep going or check out somewhere else.

Anyway, after church Steve took Ella to the boardwalk for a second chance at the rides since she didn't get to go on any the first time. They had a great afternoon and Ella got her fill of the rides :)

A few pics that Steve took of their afternoon -

I Can Read

Ella has a book called "I Can Read" and she knows the sight words in it and has memorized the rest of it, and really enjoys it because she is "reading" the whole thing.

Here's a video I took of her reading it last month, just so cute!