Playgroup

So we started a little playgroup for the little girls Claire's age who live right by us... its once a week and we take turns having at our houses from 9-12. It was at my house today and I just loved watching Claire interact with her little friends and start to add that to her identity. She usually just loves to play with Ella and her friends and its fun to she her get her own little group. And these little girls and just the cutest and so easy to have around... Ari, Gwen, Lia and Claire... they are going to be a fun group. Can't wait to watch them grow up! What a bunch of princesses!

A daY in tHe liFe of eLLa

So...my sweet little 4 year old is just growing up so fast and I wanted to be able to remember what her little daily routine was at this age so I thought I should take some pictures and write down her schedule and the things she loves to do...
Ella is usually up no later than 7:30 am everyday and I am lucky enough to get a giant hug the minute she wakes up. Every morning we start the day off with chocolate milk... its her fix for the day:) Followed by either hanging out and watching some TV or getting ready for school. She goes the the Newcastle School MWF mornings from 8:45- 11:45 with Miss Jeri and is a star student. Loves being there and playing with her friends. She loves showing Claire and I all her pictures and school work when she gets in the car. And when her daddy can take or pick her up she feels extra special!

Ella is an excellent bed maker. She has perfected this skill and enjoys helping me out during the day with cleaning her room.

She is really good at entertaining herself, she has a great imagination... any given day she will have out her Polys and Pet Shop spread all over the counter, she loves to paint, color and do puzzles, play in the doll house or cabin or be outside in the sandbox.



Lunch time is usually easy... loves yogurt, nuggets, shape sandwiches, turkey and mustard, fruit... not too picky of an eater. And After lunch when Claire goes down for a map she usually has a bit of quiet time which consists of a movie and a snack in a cup on the couch. Right now Tinkerbell movies are the favs.
Wednesdays are busy days for her... after school we are going to start going to horse riding lessons from 12-1... which I just know she is going to love!! And then she takes a little dance class at the The Vibe with 5 of her little friends... its the cutest thing ever. These girls are darling and have a great time together... There is Ella, Brooke, Kennedy, Lucy, Rachael, and Ellie. She loves going to dance.

She is a great big sister... Claire follows her everywhere and wants to do everything with her and Ella is 95% of the time happy to have her. They play babies, and house and she always lets Claire play with her and her friends.. They are great friends and the sweetest of sisters. Everyday they are together...

She is such a social butterfly... friends friends friends. Everyday she is constantly asking to play with friends. Lucky for us she has a bunch of darling friends to choose from...Brooke and Dane, little Mason and big Claire, Grace and Kennedy, Lucy, and Rachael. She can not get enough of playing with friends!



Nights are usually pretty chill with just playing at home, eating dinner, hanging out playing with Mason and daddy. Bedtime is between 8-8:30 which includes lots of snuggles and talking and stories. She has her 2 blankies and her bunny to love and hug all night along with some fancy nightlights... yes she is spoiled! As far as staying asleep goes that can be tricky... most nights she is up at some point trying to get in bed with us... UUUGGGHHH. Bed she won't be little forever and I am trying to cherish all the extra loves I can.
So there you have it... some highlight of a day in the life of my Ella.... a happy, sweet, sassy, friendly, creative, darling little soul that I just cannot get enough of!

sUnNY SpOtS

OK... So I promised myself a little while back that I would try to see, recognise and be grateful for the sunny spots in my life when it seemed like I was in the middle of a storm... so here I am wanting to share and write down my blessings...
-A couple of weeks ago my mother-in-law encouraged me and got me all set up to take some landscape design classes this fall down at Thanksgiving Point with Larry Saggers. I have wanted to do landscape design for a while now but just hadn't had the confidence in myself. So I am taking some classes on bed designing and different kinds of flowers and hope to be up and running in the spring. I would love to be able to be creative in the gardens and create beautiful landscapes. I am loving the classes!
- Fall is around the corner...you can smell it in the mornings when the air is chilly and you can see the leaves starting to change in the mountains! Bring on the jeans, boots, colors, smells, pumpkin bars, soups, football, sweaters, new fall TV show premieres, caramel apples, and all the goodness that comes from fall. Its my favorite!!!!
- Speaking of a change of seasons... the new Tinkerbell movie came out this week! Ella and I were very excited to watch, and it did not disappoint! IT was darling! I love feeling like there is a little magic in the air! And seeing Ella's face light up when she can feel it! YEP... I totally believe in fairies.
- I have a really sweet husband! The other day he came home with a surprise for me... I lost my eye pillow a few weeks ago and have had trouble getting to sleep since so he came home with a new eye pillow and a neck roll that you can heat up or chill! Sweetest gift ever!!!
- We went out with Mike and Regan last weekend... Love to go out with them... so comfortable and fun! Lucky to have such great friends!
-I know have an IPhone!!! my old phone broke so Ryan gave me his IPhone and bought himself the new one! I am loving it! Never thought a phone could be so fun!
-Ella says the cutest prayers ever!!!She is so thoughtful, sweet and includes everything that is dear to her! Love listening to her prayers. I am sure she has a direct line to God! How could she not:)
-Purple seems to be my color this year.. I have bought more purple clothes for my girls this year than ever before! They look pretty cute!

Mason just got home from school... better wrap it up! Heres to more sunny spots amoungest the clouds!

The Love of horses continues....

So Ella had her first horse show of the year... and of course it was a BIG deal! we went that week to pick out a new outfit, because she had grown out of just about everything, and she had so much fun picking out new boots (which had to be pink) and the shiniest shirt she could find. It had to sparkle... and in her mind it still didn't sparkle enough, guess you can never have enough bLiNg in her mind:) She got to ride Tess this time which was a first for her and she just ate it up. walking around the arena she was all smiles and waves the entire time! She totally treasure the trophy and and ribbon she "won" and can't wait to do it again! I think I am in trouble with this one... I am sure we will be entering horse world soon.She can't wait to start riding.... which couldn't make her Nana and Aunt Ally any happier!

Hot Stuff

So this morning Mason was feeling pretty cool when he left for school. This was one of his favorite outfits he got for back to school; rock n roll jeans, a black motorcycle shirt and a (fake) black leather jacket, and this morning he was fInAlLy able to wear it! The bomber jacket is just about his favorite thing right now!!! So we just had to take a picture this morning to tribute his "coolness"

Party Pictures

September 8, 2008

2 years has gone by so fast, I swear the more kids you get the faster time goes. HaPPy BirTHDaY CLaiRe! Really babe, the last two years of our lives have been filled with chaos and some hardship and Heavenly Father gave you to us just at the right time knowing that we would need a bright star shinning in our house and giving us joy beyond belief! You really do shine so brightly, you know just how to fill up a room! Your presence is always felt and you bring an energy and sweetness everywhere you go. Goodness girl... you've got so many sides to you! You are really athletic, you bounce when you run and are really fast, you love to kick balls and play and wrestle, you are just a little muscle. You are really girly... I think this side comes from watching your big sister. You LOVE Ella to pieces and follow her everywhere; whatever Ella is doing you are doing. You love playing babies and playing polys with her, you love blasting music in Ella's room and dancing and singing, you love to play in the playhouse and sand together, you love to wear her shoes, you love to play with her and her friends. In fact, we joke a lot about you just skipped being 2 and jumped right to 3. Whatever Ella is doing you think you should be able to do, from pushing your own shopping cart at the store, to feeding yourself, you talk (and sass) up a storm, you constantly tell me, "I do it mom" or "I help you" (which means let me do it myself). You wanna be just like your big sister, and really you chose a great girl to look up to! You are also a bit shy and unsure of new surroundings and people. You will quickly nestle your head in the bend of my neck when someone or thing new is approaching. It can take you a little bit to warm up to new things and even extended family sometimes. You really don't like crowds or chaos at all, they totally overwhelm you. rooms with lots of people (parties), play lands, parks with lots of kids, pools with lots of kids, really anything where lots of noise and people are involved you tend to shy away and take some time to relax and participate. You LOVE your daddy... you have turned into quite the daddy's girl! Whenever he is around you are glued to him; teasing, laughing, playing and wrestling, snuggling. When he gets home from work, the second you hear the garage door open you run just about as fast as you can to the door to greet him! You Love Mas! you just have this special way of looking at him... its almost like you are in awe of him and really look up to him. He loves carrying you around on his back and wrestling with you! You love being outside playing and riding you little bike, you love your binkie and blankies (you cart them around everywhere and CANNOT sleep with out them), you go to bed so great without any complaining and sleep all night!!!! You are wanting your naps to start to go away, you aren't sleeping quite as long as you used to but are still willing to try. You cant get enough of Max and Ruby... you would watch it all day everyday; Backyardigans and Mickey Mouse are runner ups. You love it when I sing our "doo dee doo dee dododo do doo." lullaby to you, in fact you sing it to all your baby dolls. You weigh 31.5 lbs and are 36 inches tall which means you are big for you age and a very healthy and strong active, smart girl. Your language skills are above most 2 year olds and you love to learn. Such a smartie pants! You love Tinkerbell, chips, chocolate milk, yogurt, bananas, bugs (you will touch all bugs, you are the only one of our kids who likes bugs), puppies, horses (as long as you don't have to sit on them or feed them:), sour candy, you love the song, Boom Boom Pow, playing kitchen, jumping on you zebra, playing games on the iPhone, you definitely know how to through a fit, hates being the center of attention, and spinning! You are stubborn, independent, loving, obedient, fun, sweet, shy, happy, sassy, love to be my helper, compassionate, and truly unique and one of a kind.
You have a great purpose here on this earth and I know you came at a time when strong women will be needed. The light in your eyes and soul is great and you have a way of drawing people to you. Your stubbornness will help you choose and commit to doing whats right in life. and I know you will be so happy if you continue to follow your instincts and listen to what is taught to you. We are so blessed to have you as a part of this family! Being your mom is humbling and truly an honor. I LOVE you! Thank you for letting me be your mommy and giving me so much love in return! Happy Birthday! I am so excited to see your life unfold! Its going to be so fabulous!!!

Labor Day weekend

It was a full and busy weekend for us this year... Mason did have a bye from football this weekend but we still managed to fill up the time. Friday night Mason had his first birthday sleepover... Saturday Ryan and I went to the BYU vs Washington game, which was really fun. I haven't been to a game in a long time. Ryan would love to have season tickets one day. We, of course, drove the Bronco. He put the doors on that day so I wouldn't be so worried... it was a beautiful night and perfect driving conditions. It was fun! Sunday we went up to the cabin, which is always the highlight for me! And the big deal this weekend was... rUnNiNG WaTeR in the SinKS!!!! We can really just flip the faucet on for running water!!!!! No more lugging big jugs down to the well to get our water for the weekend!!!!! HOOOOORAY!!! Thanks mom and dad for all the hard work, time and money spent to make our visits there more comfortable!!!




Monday Ryan took Mason golfing with his dad and brother down at Thanksgiving Point of which they had a great time!!! and then later that night we went to the Lunds for a party with Ryan's extended family!! I used to get overwhelmed by everyone sometimes but now its always really fun. My kids have 2nd cousins to play with and everyone is always so kind and fun! It was a good night!!

Forts

Any given Sunday... or Saturday when the kids are just able to play together with no where to go there will aLwAyS end up being a fort wither in Ells room or downstairs in the family room. Of course Mason takes charge of the building and then is a nervous wreck when his sisters attempt to crawl in and break it! But they lOvE dragging out every blanket and pillow they can find and building a fort! LOVE IT!!!