The Summer of Ella

As our Summer comes to a close, it is amazing to reflect on all the things our girls have done and accomplished. Here are a few snapshots of the things Ella has done.

Ella has been able to sing her ABC's since she was 18 months old. She has been able to recognize letters since she was 3 and now can independently write several of them. Most importantly, she can write her name.

Ella has mastered several physical activities as well. The Summer began with a new two-wheel scooter and instant mastery.

The balance she mastered on the scooter gave her the courage to allow her dad to remove the training wheels from her bicycle. And within moments, she was riding independently.

One of Ella's closest friends learned to do the monkey bars last year at school. From the time she first watched Lauren scale those bars, it has been her goal to do the same. By the time Summer began, she had mastered the activity.

Our Ella has always loved to swing. We have spent many hours at the park swinging. Up until this Summer, either Landon or I had to stand there to push her. Now that she is an independent swinger, she earned a new play structure - one complete with monkey bars.

This is Ella's 4th summer of swimming lessons, and all of her hard work (and love for physical activity) in the water paid off. She can now swim independently! She does, however, need to grow a few more inches because she still can't touch the bottom of the pool; even in the shallow 3 feet end of the pool.

We are so proud of all the things Ella has learned to do. It is obvious that she has high expectations for herself, but she also is courageous and persistent. I love watching her grow.

We Are A Happy Family

I have been having fun with some new photoshop software, and I thought I would share a few of my favorite photos from this summer.

The Peanut Gallery

These are some of the most important people in the world to me. They are the people I share many wonderful memories with. They are my family. My father began calling us The Peanut Gallery because of the commentary we, my siblings and I, gave life. Whether it was while we were traveling in the family van, sitting at the dinner table, or gathered to read scriptures; we heckled our way through childhood.

We're Doing it Again

This is a sign that my family is becoming all together too familiar with.

A year ago, Landon and I decided that it was time to sell our first house. It was our home for 5 1/2 years. Many wonderful memories were made in this house. But the time was right, and we took the plunge. It sold relatively quickly and were unsuccessful in finding another house to buy, so . . .

. . . we moved into an apartment style townhouse. For all of you that have lived in an apartment with small children, you know how difficult that can be. We never planned on this place being a long-term place of residence, so when we found . . .

. . . this house for rent, it seemed that everything was falling into place. This house is in the same neighborhood as our first home, so our children would be able to stay close to their friends and we would remain in our ward. Because it was a rental, it gave us flexibility in finding our next home to buy. However, the owners of the house, made other plans.

The owners of the house we are currently in have also decided that it is time to sell. So, here I am - again - showing a house. This time, it isn't even mine. Fortunately - or unfortunately, depending upon how you look at it - we only have 6 weeks to endure this, because at that point, our lease is being terminated. Wish us luck.

A Wise Friend

Addi is a self-taught body artist.

Fortunately, I received some great words of wisdom from a childhood friend shortly after Ella was born. Her only words of advice in parenting were "buy washable crayons." I took that to mean not only crayons but markers as well. Even though Ella has never been one to stray far from her actual art project (i.e. she colors only where she should), we have continued to buy washable. Our little Addi-Bear marches to a different drummer, however. The first thing she does when she gets a hold of a pen, is to begin writing on herself - her legs, hands, arms, etc. We have washed several walls and floors after her creativity.

Thank you Nicki for the wise counsel.

Get Out There!

Ella and Addi are loving the water this summer. Any time we can get them into a pool or lake is pure delight. Ella has found that she can swim without her life-jacket. These "kiddie pools" are perfect for her.

The second half of this weekend get-away was spent on Clear Lake. We rented a rowboat for a few hours and set out for adventure. Landon was very excited to share with his daughter the sport of fishing. Unfortunately the only thing that was caught and released was some lake grass.

Yes, we had a life-jacket for Addi, but she looked much like the Michelin Man when she was wearing it. She didn't like the fact that she couldn't move, so we took it off and were extremely cautious moving about the boat.

This picture is to illustrate to you why the lake is named Clear Lake. It is amazingly clear. If I were to learn to scuba dive, this would be one place on my list! The lake is up to 80 feet deep and crystal clear. The picture below is of a tree that existed on the valley floor prior to the lakes formation (3000 years ago - I always wonder how they come up with such dates . . . ). Now the tree is preserved in the cold water on the lake's floor. Notice how beautifully blue the water is; I highly recommend this vacation spot!

And finally, a shot of what surrounded the lake; this is why I love living in Oregon. We have everything from high mountain views to the ocean's coast-line just a short drive from our home.

Gone MIA

I apologize for being MIA for so long. Spring was a very busy time for us this year, and my blogging time was cut to a minimum . . . actually, I suppose it was cut all together. I would really have liked to chronologically updated you all, but that will be a fantastic feat in it's self. So, I am going to start with what is going on right now, and periodically, I'll get to things of the past. So, be sure to check old posts too!

As you all know, we love being outdoors. This year, Landon decided that we needed to diversify our activities, however. So, he bought two kyaks! We have taken them out on their maiden voyage, and the girls love them! Yes, one of the girls sits on our laps, and we all hit the water together. For all you cautious parents, don't fret, we will not be taking the girls on any rapid waters (i.e. the Salmon River).

We recently hiked Mary's Peak. I carried Addi in the backpack - Landon wanted to, but we forgot the Excedrin, and I would rather carry Addi than have Landon battle a headache for an evening - and Ella hiked right next to her Daddy. The weather was perfect. It was an enjoyable 70 degrees at the peak and absolutely no wind. The views were spectacular. The hike down was even more spectacular, because Addi was determined to make it all on her own. Yes, Addi hiked down all by herself. All Daddy did, was hold her hand.