Ellie’s Birthday

Ellie turned 4 this year. Whew, Four! Already. Such a strange age she has so much independence in so many ways but I still see my “wee one” in between those burst of growing up.  All the “No! I want to do its” and then the “Mommy I can’t I need your help” mixed into one little girl. If I took a snapshot of my little girl right now I think I would find quiet a few of these contradictions. She is fancy. She loves all things princess, dressing up, fixing her hair, all that. She is very particular about what she wears and most of the time it has to be a dress but on the flip side of that she loves bugs, rolly-pollies are her bug of choice these days, but anything that crawls and creeps has her interest. She and Owen have been catching flies at our back door lately trapping them in my Tupperware. We had a couple of pet caterpillars off of a tree in our yard for a day or two and when I picked her up from school one day last week she had a moth in her pocket she had found during outside time.  She is full of heart and is genuinely concerned when someone is sad or hurt, but can turn on her brother and push him away with her foot to his face. She has a reserved shy side to her, but can make friends easily and accepts everyone. She is 4 now and we are so in love with this “wee one”.

She had a good Birthday we traveled up to my parents a few days prior to have a little party with them and the cousins. Mom and Dad had just barely moved Great Grandpa in so we kept it low key and mellow. Ellie was excited to see Grandma and Grandpa and play with her cousins that’s all she really needed. Grandma surprised her with a beautiful princess dress.

A few days later on her actual birthday we invited Ellie’s best friend Zak over for an all day play date. Our neighbor had given us a bounce house. It has been passed through the neighborhood for a few years and isn’t the bounce house it once was but it held enough air for Zak and Ellie to go crazy in. Ellie wore her princess dress and insisted Zak wear Gary’s birthday crown and I fashioned him a little gold sash. They were very cute little royalty for a day.

I took Ellie to get her hair cut in the morning. On the way home she said “Mommy it’s like Zak and I are getting married”. “Oh! hold your horses” I replied. She watched her aunt Sarah get her hair done one beautiful morning in July and then Aunt Sarah got married so that is what she was equating it to and it was so entirely sweet I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. See what I mean about being so independent and yet so innocent still. I love it.

Revisiting the Big Blue

Last weekend we took the kids on an overnight camp out to Bear Lake. Bear Lake is an hour drive from where I grew up. It is a beautiful lake with a rich blue hue. I was flooded with nostalgia when we finally had it in our sites. I spent quite a few summer days there playing on the beach, wading in the waters, and sizzling my skin. We were lucky to grab a camp site on the East side. It was a busy weekend. All be it a little bit of a grungy campsite and people all around I was happy to be there and to share it with my family.

Ellie played "Coffe Shop" for a while

Best Beach Bubble Session Ever

NY Heat Wave

We took a two week trip back to see the Marcoccia’s. It was a great trip with lots of quality family time. We were able to finally meet baby Griffin for the first time. We also were able to enjoy Sarah and Will’s wedding. Plus we threw in a little bit of the Grassroots Festival and Farmland. We experienced an east coast heat wave while we were there. It was brain melting hot. Hot like I have never experienced sticky humidity with relentless high temperatures. I kept thinking it would break in the evenings and cool down but oh no relentless I tell you. Thank goodness for Bada and Papa’s pool.  I think Ellie’s feet were about to become webbed and some gills were going to form. She loved it in there and begged anyone who was willing to take a dip with her. I think aunt Jill spent 4 straight hours with her after the wedding events. Owen enjoyed the pool too it took him a little while to get used to it but he warmed up.  Ellie quickly got to know the new chickens at Bada and Papa’s and helped them get nice and plump along with the fish in the pond and the ducks that visit.

Bada and Papa have an electric toy race car that Ellie loved driving around. I think Owen was a little envious. Bada and I caught them taking a ride in it together one day.

Next up are the pictures I took at Farmland. We visited this sweet little farm when we were out last October and Ellie loved it. She fell in love with Sonny the Pony so we had to back and see how he was doing. Owen was a little overwhelmed by all the animals…

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Weekending with the Spiro’s

Jodi and KC invited us up to the family cabin in Swan Valley Id over 4th of July weekend. The cabin is just across the dam on the Palisade reservoir. It was beautiful up there. Perfect mild weather, with a little thunder storm to top it off the second night. Owen was a bit of a challenge as he was just getting over a mystery illness where he had a fever for 4 days with no other symptoms. He was out of his comfort zone and in a new place. He didn’t sleep well the first night. He eventually snapped out of it after a few naps and cuddles and “get to know you” with Jodi and KC. I think the boy has inherited some separation anxiety from Chip 😉 Ellie and Jodi enjoyed swimming in the reservoir despite the log/stick jams and such. Jodi and KC are so great with our kids. Ellie told Jodi she was her “big best friend” at one point and made her read Good Night Moon and put her to bed each night. Gary and I enjoyed the peacefulness of a cabin in the woods and the company of our friends. It was a beautiful weekend.

Grandma McKenney’s Summer Carnival Extravaganza

My Mom threw a summer party for the “local” Grandkids before she left for another adventure with the Frandsen crew in Germany. She put on a Carnival themed party complete with games, a sweet shop, and corn dogs. The kids had a blast and were very excited. I think they enjoyed every minute of it. Coleman summed it up when asked what his favorite part of the party was he exclaimed, “All of it!” Unfortunately the batteries in my camera died so I didn’t get too many pics but here are a few that I love…