5.13.2011 Bush Gardens

When talking with mom and dad about what they wanted to do when they came for a visit, they said they wanted to go to Bush Gardens, so on Friday we packed up our stuff (everything but the kitchen sink...) and went! Eli & Leah were ready for a day of fun!
Edgar was able to take the day off of work-he was the one taking the picture :) Ryan also joined us a little later.

Eli giving the gorilla a kiss.

Happy to be at an amusement park :)

Eli riding a hippo...

Ben getting eaten by a hippo...

Grandma & Aunt Jenny taking a little break.

Carly was so nice to ride a bunch of rides with Eli. She was the only one short enough to ride with him. She's the perfect height for Bush Gardens-short enough to ride the kid rides, tall enough to ride the big rides.

Riding the carousel with Eli

Leah LOVED playing in the water. She stayed in the water for a very long time just laughing and playing.

Happy girl!

After lunch we stayed in the Sesame Street area while everyone else went to ride the big rides. Some day we'll be riding the 'big rides' with our kids, I'm sure :) But for now we're happy to chill out on the kiddie rides. At least they don't make me black out like the big ones do...(though I DID get completely dizzy on the carousel)

Eli riding some rides with Edgar. It was so fun watching him ride rides this time. Last time we went he seemed to be afraid of most of the rides. Not this time! He had a blast.

We also caught the Sesame Street show. He was amazed! He LOVED seeing his 'pals' (He doesn't really watch Sesame Street very often, but has several books with those characters.)

He got to meet Elmo, but Elmo was in a room where they take your picture and you have to buy it-you can't just shoot a picture of your kid with Elmo with your own camera. It was very fun to watch him meet Elmo though even if I don't have a picture to show. He gave him a big hug and a kiss.

He also met Big Bird,

Abby, and Cookie Monster. I think he was pretty excited to meet Cookie Monster :)

Giving Abby a kiss

and Cookie Monster a hug.

We also went to a 4-D show which was pretty neat...until water sprayed out and sprayed Leah straight in the face. She SCREAMED and wouldn't calm down...so I left with her. I think everyone else enjoyed it though (especially Ben and Carly who were SO excited that it was a pirate movie and not a Sesame Street show...which is what we thought it was going to be.) We also hung out in the Jungala area and ate ice cream while Ben & Carly ran around playing.

After walking around and enjoying the day, we ended the day by watching a show in the AIR CONDITIONED auditorium (it got VERY hot). The show was amazing. The things these acrobats could do was unbelievable (and at points, a little freaky quite frankly...).

We headed for Ryan & Jennifer's house for dinner and hung out for a while. I think we were all pretty tired, though, so we didn't stay very late. We had a big day planned the next day!

5.12.11 Dad & Mom's visit...day 1

Everyone is
happy

when Grandma

comes to

town (and Grandpa too :) )

5.10.11-Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Party

It occurred to me a few weeks ago that Eli is 2 1/2. I can't believe it. It is so incredibly crazy how fast time flies. I decided it would be fun to celebrate the occasion, so I had some friends over. Eli is completely obsessed with the book 'Chicka Chicka Boom Boom' so I thought we'd have a party with that as the theme. I made some cupcakes. (The trees were made out of royal icing. Looked really cute...however, when royal icing sits in buttercream icing for more than a few hours, it tends to 'melt'. It was cute for the party, though)
I made a coconut tree for Eli and got some letters. Eli played with it for a while...and still plays with it. Pretty sure the tree will be there until we re-do the family room.

Eli took all of the letters down and lined them up on the floor. Then he sorted them by color. He's so funny.

We had a very nice party...which I failed to actually take any pictures of. It ended up being 10 little boys, which was fun...and a little loud :)

I DO think celebrating half-birthdays is fun...we might have to make a habit of it :)

Mother's Day

Thought I'd share a few of my favorite pictures from Mother's Day. I never got my head together enough to take a picture of me and my kids...or a picture of mom with her grand kids...kind of annoyed that I forgot that. Next year, I suppose. Mom and Dad came over to our house for lunch.
Leilani came over with Isaac. (No picture of her either.)

Edgar did capture this series of pictures, though, and I LOVE them.

Leah kisses ;)

This was the only picture I took of my firstborn...playing with his cousin.

It was a really nice afternoon. Always nice to hang out with my family!

Goodbye Toothless Grin!

Leah has a tooth. Just thought you'd like to know.

Thank you cookies

This is a rather terrible pictures of some cookies I just finished this evening. They are a little gift for some very special people. This year there have been several people that have made an impact in Eli's life. The children's leaders at BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) have been unbelievably amazing. If you have children and have the chance to attend BSF you should do it...even if it's just for the children! Eli has learned so much this year. I don't think Edgar and I really thought Eli was 'ready' to learn much about God. We took him to church and prayed with him at night, but really thought that was about all a 2-year old 'needed'. Then I started to go to BSF and I quickly saw that Eli was not only really learning about God, but he was EXCITED about learning about God. We would pull into the parking lot and he would get so excited and say 'Bible Story! Bible Story! Learn about God!!'. It was so cute...and amazing that a 2 year old caught on to what was really going on :) I now will often hear him playing with his toys talking about Jesus. When Edgar and I talked about whether I should go to BSF again next year, Edgar said 'You have to go! Eli NEEDS to be there'. I think because we saw what he was capable of learning at BSF we became more vigilant about teaching him about Jesus. We take time to tell him Bible stories and teach him about Jesus. He LOVES it when I pull out the flanelgraph and tell him stories with that :) We work on his memory verses each week, and while he has yet to actually say one from memory, he's learning. (And a few weeks back when his verse was 'The Sovereign Lord helps me' mommy learned a few things to :) ) I can't even begin to write down what an impact this has made on my son...I don't know that I will ever truly know. I DO know, though, that I will miss going each week this summer. We'll definitely be going back in the fall :)

The other amazing thing is that even in Leah's class they have a Bible story, and they pray over each and every baby in the nursery each week. Just.Beautiful.

I have been tremendously blessed by the study in Isaiah that we have done this year, and am sad that it is coming to a close. Tomorrow is the last 'regular' meeting until next fall. It has been so wonderful to have the accountability of a Bible study group as well as to sit under the incredible teaching of God's word. Sometimes I don't understand why God so richly blesses me and my family with opportunities like attending BSF, but I am incredibly grateful. It has truly been an incredible year.

Seven Months Old!

Yesterday my beautiful little girl turned 7 months old. I took zero pictures of her yesterday, so when, at 12:30, Eli asked to take a nap, I took her outside to snap a few pictures today. (Thanks Aunt Jenny for the beautful dress!!)

She is (obviously) sitting well on her own. It's been fun watching her do and discover new things.

She loves to grab things-especially mommy's hair. She loves to play with people's faces. It's so cute. She has several toys that she likes. She likes little stuffed animals-I think they are easier to hold on to. There is a little dog that she has that she particularly likes. She also laughs really hard at Eli's Skippy JohnJones puppet...I might have to get one for her too ;)

She has been eating like a champ. She's had rice cereal, peas, green beans, and today she got prunes...because she's...well...she needs a little fiber...

I'm enjoying every minute of her beautiful toothless grin. I'm afraid it's going to be gone soon...I think she's got some teeth coming.

She's pretty clingy to mommy right now, and gets brought to me most days when I am teaching my class because she's crying. We get paged most Sunday's too (though today she made it all the way through church in the nursery-yay!)

She LOVES her big brother, and is usually content to just sit and watch him play. It's getting harder to nurse her, because she always wants to see what he is doing :)

She was 18 lb 12 oz at her last appointment (I can't remember if I had already posted that...). She has the most amazing, adorable rolls on her legs (why can't rolls on my legs look that cute?!). She will generally smile back at you if you smile at her. She is such a happy, lovable little girl.

Couldn't ask for more :)