Utah

We were able to drive down to Utah to visit Dave's family. As always, we had lots of fun and did lots. We went to a petting zoo, regular zoo, fishing at the hatchery, the planetarium, a water park, and had lots of fun playing with cousins. We saw most of his family, we ended up not being at to see one of his brothers. We were also able to have a family party with most of Dave's family on Tanner's birthday, we had some yummy cake and sang to him. 

We had a few memorable moments driving 10 hours there and back. On the way there Ella had some major gas, we had to air out the car at least hourly. Luckily she eventually starting giving us warning, she thought it was pretty funny though. On the drive back Tanner was taking a nap, he woke up in the middle of it and starting giggling and said a few funny things for a minute or so and went back to sleep. It was so random and gave me and Dave a good laugh. 

 Emmy and Ella taking a carriage ride at the petting zoo.

 Grandma has some good dress up clothes, Tanner seemed to enjoy them..

 Planetarium.

 Fishing at the hatchery, the kids love it.

 At the water park I just watched, I love this picture of Tanner. Ella was splashing them. 

 Dave sister decided to do a Alice in Wonderland party just for fun. The made hats, did pillowcase races, ate yummy cupcakes, and had a treasure hunt to find the white rabbit. It was so cute and fun. 

Dance Recital

Ella had her last dance recital and finally got to wear her very expensive outfit that we waited MONTHS for.  She did a great job and will miss dance but mom needs a break, especially with a new baby coming. We need to simplify our lives a bit, I also have not been impressed with the studio so if she does take dance again we will be going somewhere else. I think she looks pretty stinkin cute in her outfit though. I didn't take any pictures of her at the recital because they asked us to not take pictures and so I didn't bring my camera. 

He is THREE

I can't believe my baby boy is three, and lets just say he is definitely three. He has become very independent and wants to everything himself. He really is a sweet little boy, who gets mad but is always willing to say sorry and give kisses and hugs to help correct the problem. Its funny because he has become the bully in nursery, he used to be the kid that got his toys taken and I think one day he decided he was tired of it. It looked much more appealing to take the toys then have them taken. We are working on it. We love Tanner and love having him in our family. 

For his birthday we celebrated it early with my parents before we left to Utah. He was so excited to open his presents and have a helicopter cake, he has been talking about it for weeks. We had a family get together in Utah on his birthday too and we had cheesecake and a delicious chocolate mouse cake that was divine. 

Little Graduate

Ella's preschool had a little graduation for the end of the year. I know its a little ridiculous but it was pretty much the most adorable thing to watch. The kids sat up on stage and sang several songs. Ella's preschool teacher handed them their certificate but before the kids received their certificate they spelled their first and last name. Ella was the very last one called up and she did great. Ella's teacher, Miss Molly, is probably the best preschool teacher a kid could have. She loves what she does and I loved knowing that she loved Ella. I know Ella will miss her.

A cute little story about that. A few weeks ago Ella's Elementary school had an open house where the new kindergarteners could tour the school and meet the teachers. The next day I found Ella in tears, when I asked her what was wrong she told me that if she went to kindergarten that she wouldn't see Miss Molly anymore and that she would miss her so much. 

Another funny story that I was told about preschool. There is a little boy that has seemed to like Ella for a while. I found out that they were outside playing the other day and he was putting his arm around Ella and he also sneaked in a little kiss on Ella's cheek. Later I asked Ella what she thought of this boy kissing her, she told me that it was okay because it wasn't sloppy. Yeah, I think we might be in trouble. 

On the program there was a section with what each child said they wanted to be when they grew up. Ella said, "a school teacher, because I really like school." We'll see if she continues to feel that way about a school teacher and school.

We did a little photo shoot before the graduation. 

5:00 am

5:00 am is the time we all woke up to drive an hour to see a bunch of hot air balloons take off into the air. Walla Walla has a Hot Air Balloon Festival every year and we finally made it there this year. It was a lot of fun, the kids were so excited to see the hot air balloons. There was also lots of yummy food, booths, fun stuff for kids, car show, and crafts for kids to do. We did end up leaving by about noon though. The kids were done and both slept the whole way home. 

 Ella was so excited but kept telling us that she just wanted to watch and not ride in a hot air balloon.

 5:00 wake up is starting to kick in.

 There was a mini hot air balloon that we let our kids get on. It took them up 20 ft and then let them down. Tanner was so excited until he realized that it kept going up and up. Each ticket got two rides, Tanner didn't take his second ride. 

Survival

It is a good thing that Tanner is such a cute little boy. You know it was a rough day when you feel that it is an accomplishment that you didn't beat your son at the end of the day. Lets just say he hasn't been getting enough sleep.

Miss Ella Bella

A little update on our sweet little lady.

-She loves to help with almost anything. She gets pretty upset if her brother doesn't accept her help.
-She thinks everybody is her good friend and will talk to anybody. A trait she did not get from her mother.
-She has started to really learn to read, she has a Tangled reading book and can almost read the whole thing on her own.
-Loves her new room and bedding. If someone comes to the door she either tells them I'm having a baby girl or that she got a new room with new bedding. Who knew that new bedding could make this girl so happy.
-She gets excited about anything, which I love about her. She loves life and is excited to try new things.
-Loves to do crafts. If I don't plan a craft for her then she will make up her own. She draws, cuts, and colors everyday.
-Loves fried eggs, she has one for breakfast almost every morning and sometimes asks for one for lunch.
-Also loves black olives, she would eat a whole can if I'd let her.
-The girl loves 80's music. Her favorite is by Belinda Carlisle, Heaven is a Place on Earth. It is usually blasting in her bedroom at least once a day.
-Hates bugs and sometimes won't go outside because there are too many bugs.
-Shes already kind of a clean freak, shes always telling me if someones car is dirty or if ours is dirty. The other day Dave took the kids to the circus and the kids could ride an elephant for free but Ella refused because they were stinky and dirty.
-She can't wait to meet her baby sister. She kisses my tummy daily and is always talking about her. She wants her here for her birthday party, we'll see about that.
-She wants to listen to church music as she going to sleep because she says it helps her not have bad dreams.