Ella's First Day of Preschool

Ella started preschool this last week, and for the special occasion she got a new haircut and a new back to school outfit. She was very excited but also a little shy once she got there. I think the main reason for her upset is because her name tag and cubby said "Isabella" on it and she wanted the name tag and cubby that said "Ella" on it (another little girl in the class). I guess she has not grasped the fact that there might be someone else with her name. Anyway next year I will make sure we register her as Ella to avoid any further upset.

One Chapter Closes...

My youngest sister got married this last weekend and and I have to say that our family feels like we have moved on to the next chapter of our life. It really makes me feel pretty old actually, but I am excited to see our family grow!

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful reception. My sister looked gorgeous and more importantly very happy.

Ella was the flower girl and she took her role very seriously.

She also thought that it was actually her wedding day!

My sister looked so beautiful and I loved her dress.

The flower girl and ring bearer waiting to walk down the aisle.

Ella was so shy with everyone watching, she tried to cover her face with her flowers.

Mckinley and Gian had a ring ceremony for those who could not be in the temple.

Ella and her cousin dancing to the music, they loved this and did not want to go home.

I think the girls thought McKinley was a princess and Ella later said, "auntie Kinny looked so different, I was shy".

Hunter missing his shirt because he crushed a blackberry in his hand.

The first dance.

My favorite picture!

State Fair

It has been a long time since I have been to the fair, but the one thing I learned is no matter where you are they all feel the same. There were the same rides, games, and food from my childhood memories. It is definitely something you have to do, but I am glad it only comes around once a year too (think sensory and wallet overload).

Mike trying to win an animal for Ella (which he did for the bargain price of about $25)

Standing in line for the best ride ever: The Tilt-o-whirl

Ella showing off her prizes

This is the ride Ella desperately wanted to go on and it only cost us 6 tickets ($1 a ticket)

Another great ride (note the absence of Mike who can't tolerate any spinning rides)

I took Ella on this little swing and thought I was going to slide right out

Classic!

You can't go to the fair without indulging in all of the treats (I am pretty sure Mike has cotton candy in his hair)

We also indulged in our own treats: Fried twinkies and fried oreo's. This is something that you have to try at least once in your life, but once you do, you will never feel the need to eat any of this again. I think it was pure curiosity that made us try these over the top treats.

Should I Worry?

Tonight for family home evening Mike and I decided we should review some of the important lessons before Ella goes back to school. One thing we thought was really important to go over was "stranger awareness". We went over things like who she can go home with, who she is allowed to get in a car with, and what to do if she was ever in this kind of situation. Here is our conversation:

Me: Ella, what do you say if someone tells you to come in their car?

Ella: No, then I find my teacher.

Me: Good job Ella, you are really getting this down...

Ella (as she cuts me off): But if they say please then I can say okay sure.

Um... NO!

(We are still working on this little life lesson)

Summer Wrap Up

Even though I thought I did a pretty good job keeping the blog updated this summer, I still missed some fun pictures and events, so here they are:

Drive-In:

We took the kids to the drive in one night and that was really fun. We watched Up and ate pizza and candy in the back of the truck. We brought a big blow up mattress and laid it down in the back of the truck bed. We also made sure that there were lots of blankets in the back as well. Ella thought it was so fun to watch a movie outside in her P.J.'s. The best part was when Hunter got too tired to finish the movie we just tucked him into his car seat and he went right to bed.

The Park:

We spent a lot of time at parks this summer whether it was playing, BBQ's, or just hanging out.

Dairy Farm Family Day:

The dairy that delivers our milk has an annual family day at the farm that the kids just loved. They had clowns, petting zoos, free ice cream cones, and many more activities.

Yellowstone Hot Pools:

While we were in yellowstone on one of our day trips we found these natural hot springs that run into the cool river and make basically a natural hot tub. It is one of my favorite spots and apparently a lot of other people agree (it was pretty crowded).

2 Weeks In California

We finished off our summer with a two week trip to California and the kids loved it. It was great because while we were there we celebrated our 6th anniversary and Mike's birthday.

While we were in California we went to the Exploratorium in San Francisco, which is this really cool hands on museum where you can see how things work. Ella and Hunter loved playing in the water and with the bubbles.

We did a lot of swimming on this trip. Every day we were in the pool and the kids could not get enough, except that Hunter was a little freaked out at first and it took him a couple of days to loosen up. He was so freaked out the first day that he cried for about 20 minutes and then fell asleep in the spa.

We also spent a lot of time at the park. It was a great park with sand, slides, and a cute little boy named Drew who Ella loved to play with while we were there.

On the last day my dad took us to Pier 39 to see the sea lions. I forgot how fun it is there! We saw the sea lions of course and then Ella and my dad went on the carousel. We had a nice dinner and we went to the arcade, where a very nice guy gave us about 600 tickets and then my dad won another 600. The irony is that 1200 tickets only got us a small purse, a slinky, and some stickers.

The best part of the day for Ella was when my dad let her pick out an oyster to see what kind of pearl was inside and then she got to make that pearl into a necklace. At that point Ella was pretty sure she was a princess and was finally being treated accordingly.

It was a great trip and a great way to finish off our summer!