Autumn Activities

We have "kicked off" this Autumn season with lots of fun activities. Here are some of the highlights.

Here is Ella cheering at the Oregon vs. Boise State football game. Everyone thought that she was the cutest girl out there, even the camera! She got a spotlight on the Jumbo-Tron!

In case you are wondering, we were cheering for Boise State, but Ella had to have her picture with "Donald Duck."

Family home evening. Ella and Landon are being creative with their art projects.

Ella is very creative, here she is again displaying her left brain talents. We all had a great time while Grandma and Grandpa Winter were here for a visit.

Ella is also very goofy.

She can be a little lady if she tries.

I know I may be a little biased, but I think I have one beautiful daughter.

We hope everyone is having a wonderful Autumn!

The Top Button

For those of you that don't already know, we are expecting a baby in March! Yes, Ella will finally get to be a big sister. I have been cautious to not announce our good news too early, but people are beginning to talk. :) I am currently 17+ weeks and I have reached the point where I can no longer button/snap my pants . . . sigh . . . it's time to break out the elastic waist bands! We are all thrilled with having a new member in our family, and Ella is acting as if she knew it was coming all along. Today she was playing with her baby doll bottle and decided to feed "mommy's baby." She lifted up my shirt and fed my belly the bottle, I giggled to myself. I think I would have laughed a little harder, but it just so happened that she was doing all of this while we were sitting in a mandatory hospital-wide meeting. Oh, the fun begins!

The rest of the Summer

Now that Summer is officially over, I need to update everyone of a few of the remaining highlights from our families adventures this year.

Ella had her second year of swimming lessons, and she did great! She was in the toddlers class, so I wasn't in the water with her. The progress she made this year was amazing; her favorite thing to do by the end of the class was to swim under water. She is a fish after my own heart.

Ella loved to splash and play with her class.
My little swimmer waiting for her turn.
Ella's favorite life guard, Emily Wiest

We also loved being out doors this summer. We take walks every night, and love to explore new trails in the trees that surround our neighborhood. Landon took this picture one evening from our patio; this is truly God's country.

Our close friends, the Bjorkman's, moved to Minnesota at the end of the summer. We have many memories with them and look forward to visiting them!

Time to make some jam! When you live in an area where berries grow wild on the side of the road, you have to take advantage of them! We picked blueberries, blackberries and raspberries this summer. The jam will be delicious during the rainy months ahead.

Family Reunion - Take 2

July 11th and 12th marked the Winter Family Reunion this year. It was a fun-filled weekend of all kinds of activities.

Of course there was the all necessary meal times.

But we quickly proceed to more important activities like swimming! The water provided all of us of great entertainment: a water slide, diving board, and rope swing. James definitely got the award for best form on the diving board (I'm sorry that I ran out of room to post that picture however).

Ping pong matches - they're getting ready for the Olympics!

And what's a family reunion without a little guitar hero?!

Tina provided the children with fabric paints so that everyone could personalize their shirts.

And then, there were the cute kids that kept us on our toes.

We had a fabulous time, and I think we all look forward to next year!

Summer-time Fun

This summer has been jam packed with fun things; Ella has definitely opened many new doors of entertainment for us.

Here, Ella is playing with two of her best friends, Abby and Savannah Bjorkman, at the beach during the Fourth of July weekend. The weather was just slightly less than perfect this year, but the girls still dug into their fun!

Even Jocey found her little spot of enjoyment.
Who can resist this face?!

Another fun activity that we have enjoyed was a day trip to the Enchanted Forrest. Ella's Aunt Tino was still visiting with us when we made this trip. Christine described this place well when she said that this is probably what Disneyland was like when it first opened.

Here, Ella is checking out the Seven Dwarfs Cottage as Snow White is cleaning up while the dwarfs are at work at the mine. We also visited the mine, Ella described it as, "Scary!" And for a two year old, it was a bit dark and erie, I have to admit.

Ella loves and misses her Tino.

Back in the Saddle Again

I apologize to all you faithful bloggers for my delinquency. But I am proud to say that we are back on line again!

Better Together

For our family vacation this year we teamed up with my sister and her family and rented a home in Bend, Oregon for a week. The landscape was stunning, the weather was perfect, and the memories are priceless. There were so many moments from this vacation that I wanted to share with all of you that I found it easiest to put them all to music.