Monday, June 29, 2009

Old Settler's

Last Friday night we went to Columbia City for the big fair and parade. We always meet Brad's family down there to watch the parade, and run into my family too. We also run into a lot of old friends that we don't usually see throughout the year. It was a perfect night for it. This is the first year Ella can really start to enjoy things like this, and she had a blast! It helped that her cousins were there with her, who love to keep her entertained. :) Her favorite thing seemed to be the horses, which was no surprise. Here she is peeking over everyone to get a good look at them. We were seated right across the street from the merry-go-round, so she got to see the "horsies" all evening. We were going to take her on a ride, but had forgotten about it until she had gotten too tired to really enjoy it anymore. She also somehow got 1 sucker and carried it around with her the whole night. She had no idea it was candy (Thank God) and was happy just to hold it.
I also ran into a bunch of people that I honestly hadn't seen since we graduated, so it was really nice to spend some time with them and show off our kids! :) It was a great evening. After that, home to bed and off to Michigan in the AM, but that's for the next post....

WIGgedy Whack!

My sister owns a hair salon, and while we were there last week, my neice found a wig and put it on Ella. It was the funniest thing to see her with a big thick head of hair! She was working it! :)

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Father's Day

We were on the go all day, but it was a good day! Ella and I each got Brad a card, Ella's had a dark chocolate candy bar and mine had a gift certificate for Best Buy. That's the way to his heart, food and music and/or movies! After church, we went to a fundraising lunch for the Lion's club, which Brad's dad is part of. It has pretty much became a tradition since we've been together. Brad's brother and his family was there also. After that, we surprised my dad with a visit and spent a couple of hours with him. I made him and Brad's dad some blueberry muffins, the way to their heart is also through food! ha
We then made our way to my grandparents out on the lake and did some swimming! It was a pretty warm day, so it was nice to cool off. I got some pictures of Ella at the lake, she's definitely not afraid of the water AT All! I think that's a good thing, but we have to really watch her!



Ella definitely had a good day, and really slept well that night!!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Recent pics.

It's finally starting to feel like summer!! I've been waiting on this for awhile, so we've spent a lot of time out and about and not much time in on the computer blogging. :) So, I'll catch you up quickly on the happenings with some recent pics.

This one just cracks me up! Turtles are one of Ella's favorite animals, but I don't think she's ever seen one this big!


Ella has never been a hat or sunglasses wearer since she's been old enough to tear them off. I have the cutest hats for her, but it's just a waste of my energy to even try. The other night after her bath she reached for one, and then refused to take it off! She must've worn it for an hour or two....and since then hasn't minded them much. Kids are strange!! Change their minds out of nowhere. Too funny.


One evening last week I was watering the flowers with Ella's "help". She basically takes her watering can and shakes it up and down with both hands and gets it all over her and the rocks and doesn't really hit the flowers. But, hey, she tries! It was pretty warm out, and somehow that led to her pouring it on her head, and then that led to me pouring my watering can on her head. Next thing I know, she's naked in the front yard with me following her around pouring water on her and she's loving it! It was too funny. I think the kid's trying to tell me she'd like a sprinkler.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Wiener Nationals 2009

A part of Germanfest every year is the Wiener National competition. Dachshunds are invited to sign up and participate in 1 on 1 races. It's done like the NCAA bracket, and the winner advances on. The last two years it has seemed to have grown in popularity and there have been two whole brackets of 64 dogs each! They have it at Headwaters Park and it's so funny to see all of the wiener dogs of all shapes and sizes running around there. We have a blast and now Ella is really enjoying it too. Cocoa actually won a race this year and made it into the second round, but didn't get much further after that. :( Some of those dogs are a lot faster than you'd think they'd be! Cocoa had quite the support group this year...our neighbors were there as well as Brad's sister and her kids. Everyone had a blast!

Ella was dressed for the occasion and cheesing for the camera!



















Here's Ella and her cousin Addie waiting patiently for the races to begin!
















Brad's nephew Austin has always helped us out with the race, he does a good job!



















Brad and Austin teased her with bacon to get her to RUN!


And, she's OFF! It was definitely a fun day, something we look forward to every year!


Getting Jiggy with it

Ok, so I have to share this video. It just cracks me up every time I watch it and I hope you get some enjoyment out of it too! We went to Friday Night Live at Jefferson Pointe again the other night and Ella was definitely in her element! If you're ever having a bad day, I think this will help! Enjoy!

Monday, June 8, 2009

The Grillmaster

Brad and I have been grilling out a lot since the weather's warmed up. We both love all the things you can do and it doesn't hurt that the kitchen doesn't get as messy. :) This was our dinner as it was cooking tonight, and it tasted as yummy as it looked!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Couldn't be so lucky....

Well, that didn't last long! Just a day and a half later the sand was discovered. Ella was trying to get to the neighbor's sandbox, so we let her in on the secret. Man, was she excited! She's really been enjoying it and most nights we have to strip her down before letting her back in the house. I see lots more laundry in my future! Well, maybe Brad does, since he's doing it more than I lately. ;) Oh, to be that happy again with the simple things! On Friday nights throughout the summer, Jefferson Pointe mall has a "Friday Night Live" concert that's free to the public. Different local bands take turns playing. This last Friday was the first one of the year, and we headed down to spend a few hours. We first started going 2 summers ago when Ella was about 5-6 wks old. She had just started her colicky stage (yuck!) and the beat of the music soothed her and it was good for me to get out for a bit! Last year she enjoyed it also, and was boogying (is that a word?) while still having to hold on to the stroller. Now, onto this year.....she is definitely fully mobile! Ella just LOVES to dance, or "shake her bacon" as we like to call it, and she did her fair share! I got a few pics toward the end, I forgot all about taking some til then!
Next time we'll have to take a ball for her to play with, too...she kept trying to steal all the other kids'! We were running after her quite a bit.
Saturday night Ella and I were invited to our neighbors 6 yr old's dance recital. I decided to take her with me because I figured if she could sit through a HS graduation and a choir concert, this would be a piece of cake! AND...I was right! She absolutely loved it!! Dancing on laps the whole time, totally infatuated with the dancers, bright lights, and sequins. It was really cute, I wish I could've had some pics of her! Brad and I are pretty certain we see a few dance recitals in our future. :)

After church today, (and Ella's MUCH-needed 3 hour nap), we drove out to the farm. Brad and I have been doing quite a bit of landscaping around the house, and needed (wanted) a sizable rock for the front of the house, and they have plenty out in the fields. Of course we had to stop and see the pigs for Ella before heading out.

I'm definitely not a farm-girl because I can't stand the smell! ugh....doesn't seem to bother Ella though, and it's nostalgia for Brad. Poor guy! ha It didn't take long out in the field for us to settle on a rock. Ella wasn't quite sure about the uneven surface and was holding onto us pretty good!
All in all, it was a good weekend, and I still have two more days before I'm back to work. Yay!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Week in review

What is it with kids and balls?? Or maybe, it's just my kid and balls? She loves anything remotely round-shaped and wants to play with it. We have a hard time just getting through the produce section at the grocery store! lol We went to Target the other day and you can't miss the big red balls at the entrance to the store. Ella was so excited to see such a big ball, so of course we had to let her play on them for a few minutes. Man, can't get anything done quickly with a toddler! :)
Her other big obsession lately is smelling all the flowers, mostly because we've recently planted quite a few. She is constantly smelling them outside! I got some cute pics of her the other day. Ella likes everyone else to smell them too....

And last, but not least, we finally got a sandbox for her, thanks to a hand-me-down from Brad's brother! Though....she doesn't quite know that's what it is yet! ha I had said I didn't want a sandbox so I'm trying to hold off for as long as I can.... when she first saw it with the lid on, she thought it was just a climbing toy. So, we haven't shown her any different yet! :) She's happy as can be just getting up on it and sliding down. It won't be long, I know, but until then, I'll enjoy the clean feet, hands, and clothes!!