What Have You Done?
What have you done? (Bold the things you have)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept overnight on a train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden a gondola in Switzerland
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagra Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen Amish country
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason - though there's always a reason!
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House - from afar, but not a formal tour
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. One cavity or less

Snow Day!

I know that for some of you snow is a daily occurance during the winter. But not here. They cancelled church today for fear that people would get hurt trying to make it in. Now, it's not that much snow, but considering it only snows once a year if we're lucky, that means nobody has any practice. SCARY! So we enjoyed our snow day and tromped through the forest and fields and had snowball fights. Ella is very persistent, if not accurate when it comes to snowball wars!

Trails and fields

One of the best things about our new apartment is the trails and fields around us. Ella and I try to go for daily "hikes" around us and enjoy the nature. It's quite nice! The other super cool thing about our apartment is Cory's daily 5 minute walk to work and now he gets to come home for lunch every day!

*Now that we're settled, hopefully I'll keep up with the blog better!

We finally moved!

It's official. We sold our house and now we're all moved. It was a long couple of weeks, but it's all done. I drove by the old house yesterday and saw the new guy moving in. A very weird feeling to see someone else in your house. Our apartment is small, but efficient ... and most importantly: TEMPORARY! It's serving it's purpose, which is good! Cory really enjoys his 5 minute walk to work! And we love having him home for lunch everyday! Wilsonville is a lot different than Keizer. It has a lot of things we'll enjoy, but is missing a lot of others. Because we're so close Wilsonville depends on Portland for a lot of things. Like affordable grocery stores, and things like that. But we'll get used to it! Ella and I are both feeling a little home sick and we have a good case of cabin fever ... but we're working on it! We're just happy it's all over and done with! Now we can settle in and wait for the new baby girl in 4 short months!

We're having a GIRL!

It's another girl for the Nielsens! Cory will be sooooo outnumbered! I was SO SURE this time that it was a boy ... I asked the ultrasound tech to check again to make sure. I was totally shocked ... and completely excited! Ella is THRILLED! When I told her it was a girl, she said "I was begging for a girl!" And she just can't wait! She's giving us name suggestions ... and one of our favorites is actually one of her suggestions. Go figure! Anyway ... another girl! More pink and purple!

Ella turned 5!

Can you believe it? Our girl is 5 ... going on 16 most days. She wanted a Sleep Over Party, so that's what we did. And we all survived! She had a great time! She's growing soooooo fast!

It's a baby!

This is our "official post" ... we are pregnant! Or I am, I guess! We heard the heartbeat today, so now we can make it official! We're seriously excited, since it's been a long 3 years in the making! The baby is due March 15th ... and I just can't wait! Ella is quite thrilled and is pulling for a baby girl. Although just today she seemed to finally accept the idea that it might be a boy. She has been giving us girl name suggestions. They are as follows: Chloe, Zoe, Vinny (yes for a girl!), Maya, and Aleeya (or something like that). We go in for an ultrasound in a couple weeks, and I can't wait to see the young one! Anyway ... just wanted to share the GOOD news! Love you all! Julie

Family Bowling

Ella went bowling for the first time. It was almost depressing how cute she looked in her bowling shoes! Each time she'd roll the ball down the lane (an average of 2.5 mph) she did this awesome "Go me" dance. She was just as supportive of Mom and Dad too!

Soccer!

We had our friends Josie, Noah and Jonah come over and play soccer. The kids sure had a good time, even if there were a few injuries!

Dress up

This is Ella's latest dress up outfit. Before we took the picture she also had a black "fur" 1/2 jacket on. It was very "classy!"

Mud Dance

This is Ella's "Mud Dance" ... enjoy! (Hopefully it works!)

MUD is awesome!

Today Ella played with some friends, in theory it was supposed to be a swim party, but it turned into a mud party. And it was so funny! They pretended they were Mud Monsters. When it was all over and they were cleaning up, Ella said "This sure is the greatest day in my entire life!" Oh to be a kid!

Camping at the Coast

We had a great weekend at the coast camping and playing in the sand with some friends of ours. Enjoy!

Ella graduated from preschool!

Here are Ella's graduation pictures. Her teacher, Mrs A and with her best friend, Shayla!

Missing tooth

For those of you who don't know, I had to have a tooth removed because it was infected. For just a few days, this picture will be up and then I'm taking it right back down. So you have to look quick. Here's me ... minus my tooth. :(

Preschool Teddy Bear Picnic

Ella's preschool went to the local Iris Gardens for a picnic with the garden's teddy bear. The following pics are just priceless ... mostly because 4 yr olds are AWESOME!

Cory's birthday

Cory has had another birthday! He's almost an old man! haha! Here are a couple pics, too bad I made the cake. It's not that pretty.

Pics of Ella Bella

Here are pics of our growing girl. I'll get more up soon after I figure out how to do this! haha!

We're blogging

So I'm following the trend and I've created a spot for everyone to check up on our family. Hopefully it works and you all enjoy it!