It's that Time of Year Again!

Back to school!

Isobel, Ian and I have enjoyed the beautiful weather so far this year and have taken our bikes to school almost every day! The kids are happy so far at school. Ellie misses her siblings all day though and calls for them all over the house. She has learned how to say school(cool).

Vegas

N9ne(nine)the delicious steak house we went to with work.

In front of our hotel, the Bellagio. Wow, we've got fountains.

They personalized out 4th desert plate at L'Atalier!

Mike and I were able to sneak away to Vegas for the last weekend before school stared. Lynette was great enough to watch Isobel and (still breastfeeding) Ellie and Ian had a blast with his cousin at my mom's house. So with the children taken care of... It was so much fun to get away just Mike and I! We went to see Penn and Teller. It was pretty cool. At one point, Penn threw a foil ball into the audience and Mike caught it! We also went to "O". The cirque du soleil show. It was actually really cool(did you hear that Kacy?)! The stage was a pool and people exited stage down! They went under the water and disappeared! Also very cool, Mike and I celebrated our 11th anniversary at L'Atalier de Joel Robuchon an amazing experience. We did the tasting menu. I didn't understand the lingo on the menu and ended up eating muscles(amazingly seasoned-the sous chef took about 10 minutes sprinkling herbs and spices evenly over it), squid(chewy), clams(tasted like the smell of Monterey), and foie gras(actually I enjoyed the smooth and rich texture of the duck liver. It was in a ravioli and the foie gras burst out into your mouth and it was amazing). And last, but not least, the last night I tried my hand at Craps and won $500.00! Lucky! The table guy happened to be helping me too. That might have had something to do with it :) .

Things I've Found in Ellie's Nose

*blanket fuzz

*toilet paper

*paper napkin

*macaroni noodle

*tuna fish

-and this is just this week! I'm sure glad I saved the booger-sucker( I think the proper term is bulb syringe) from her birth!!!

It's been WAY too long!!!

SUMMER TIME FUN!!!

We got to go to Mrs. Mullikin's cabin in Greagle (Grey-Eagle). It was her amazing, 4 year long, do-it-yourself project! The place was beautiful. We had such a nice time there. The kids got to do a scavenger hunt and we ate a billion s'mores! Mrs. Mullikin was a very welcoming hostess.


Churro came to play:

Kacy and her crew came to visit! They were here for nearly a month. We love being with them. Florida is too far away! We'll just have to come and visit you in a few days! Mike, Ellie and I are flying to Orlando on Saturday! We can't seem to stay away from them for too long!



All the cousins played and played:





Edmond turned 2!:




We stayed 'till closing at the "Creek Park":



Molly got a new Guide Dog puppy to train. Here is Trevino!:



The kids enjoyed their Swim Lessons:




We splashed in the water at Spoto park:

We took a weekend and went to Monterey. We went to the aquarium, and the cool Dennis the Mennis park:

The jet tub in the bedroom at our hotel!!!

Cool train you can climb on.

I have found time for myself and crocheted a new iPhone purse (a little larger than the first one. You can never have TOO big of a purse. It is still a little small):


And Ellie is still chubby and cute!:

I nominate this picture that Mike took as the "Latest Cutest picture of Ellie".

Baby Ellie

Just wanted to share my latest cute pictures of Ellie:

Quail!

Check out Isobel's class project that we are managing:

http://www.polarbearclass2009.blogspot.com

We have 16 baby quail at home during the spring break! It's fun but a lot of work too.

Sardines

I finished my latest project. Here is the can of sardines.




Ellie loves to put them into and out of the can.



They were fun to make. Ian wants me to make him a sardine but with circle eyes! He doesn't like the dead eyes.

DucK Days in Davis

On Saturday the family piled on in the car and drove just a few miles and had a "nice" time at the Yolo Wildlife Area. It's the large, flat area to the side of the freeway (50 or is it 80?) that is usually flooded. Well, it was a beautiful area. We got to see lots of ducks. We unfortunately didn't get ANY pictures of them. We saw Shovelers that had wierd shovel shaped bills. And cinnamon colored guys and other ones that weren't actually ducks but Coots. They were cute. The kids got to make bird boxes. They could choose a cute little blue jay box to build or a huge honkin' duck box to lug home. Guess which one they both chose! Guess what? We get to find a nice tree and nail a wooden box to it 8 feet from the ground this week. Isobel insists that a Wood duck is going to make a home of her box. She would just love baby ducks to be born in her box and to have the momma abandon them so she can take care of the orphans.

Ellie enjoyed the ride in her backpack. (Thanks Julie -and Jonah too!)

The children got fish in a barrel.


I also got in on the action too. A fish got our bait and another spit our hook out. That's O.K. we didn't really want to take him home anyway. He smells. Ha. So there.

Introducing Totoro crochet guy

I picked my hook back up as per Ian's request and stitched him up a Totoro. I am working on a can of sardines next. Don't ask why.

Eleanor Valentine is One

Ellie had a fun birthday. She had a pancake breakfast in the morning, A little nap, and then family came over for a party.

Ellie was a bit timid with her cake at first, but eventually decided "It was good" and was covered from head to toe in frosting in no time!

We love you so much Ellie. I can't imagine our lives without you. You bring joy to all of us!