A visit from the Jensens

We had a visit from our friends the Jensens last weekend. They made the long drive from Portland to see us - and we are so happy they did! Seth and Don made it to Pullman for the last home game of the season, while Jenn, Aayla, Ella and I hung out at home. Jenn is one of my best friends in the whole world and we don't get to see each other often enough....it was so great to get together for even just a little while. It's amazing to see our girls play together! Really wish we lived closer so it could happen more than once a year....:( They got along so well - Aayla was such a patient girl to put up with our sometimes bossy 2 year old. And as an added bonus (or should I say scare?), we got a couple inches of snow on Sunday morning so Aayla got to play in that for a bit before heading home. Ella wasn't having any of it - couldn't even get her coat on to go outside. So she sat in her highchair with a pancake....watching everyone play out the window!

Thanks Don, Jenn and Aayla for coming all the way to Spokane to see us! It was a great weekend! Hope to see you in the spring!

sharing some tea

Ella LOVED Jenn (but then again, who wouldn't? :) )

1 of 2,056 stories Jenn read over the weekend

FRIENDS

watching a little football

snow angel

DRUMROLL PLEASE......

We are happy to say that we are expecting a new baby in early June 2010! So far, the pregnancy has been great.....no morning sickness or other symptoms to complain about, so I feel very lucky! We'll keep you posted over the next few months!

New Toys!

Ella has the best grandparents in the world! In the last 2 days she has received new gifts from both sets of grandparents. Tim and Margaret in Rapid City sent her Christmas gift a little early.....a cool mini-kitchen! Seth and I got it put together on Wednesday night (we won't talk about how long that took) and showed it to her the next night...she is still loving it! Jim and Sharon brought her a new truck. Being the little girl that she is, we don't have many rough and tough toys like that around, so now Ella can get her hands dirty with the best of them! Thank you Grandmas and Grandpas for everything you do for us!

SNOW!

We got our first real snowfall last weekend. It was the best kind..... not enough to really make getting around any trouble, but enough to make it white outside. We had company over the weekend. Gabe, Michelle and Clint came into town for a Coug game, so while they went to Pullman with Kristen and Zac, Ella and I went out to play in the snow. She liked it I think. Poor babies - we bundle them up so much they can't move (at least I do)....their mittens make it hard to really pick up much snow to check it out. Ella ate a little bit - it was clean - I think she was surprised by how cold it was! Anyway.....thought I'd share a few pics from her playing out in the yard, and a couple others from the weekend. Now that another weekend is here, it's about time! Oh, and we made pumpkin waffles this week. YUM!

Isaac's 2nd Birthday

My friend Lynn's little boy, Isaac, turned 2 this week. Ella and I headed over for his party over this past weekend. Thanks for putting us up Lynn and Tim, and for putting up with us! :) We had a great time and were glad we could be there to help celebrate!

The birthday boy

Elmo cake

the spread - a ton of food

Besided partying, and prepping for the party, we did get a chance to head into Seattle for a visit to the Aquarium. I think Ella and Isaac really got a kick out of it, although I'm not sure it was because of the sealife or because they ran around like crazy people inside. A trip to Red Robin afterward and then we headed up to Aunt Nancy's new store. She's opening a shop called Bella Bridesmaid - a boutique that will carry bridesmaid dresses. They are set to open next month, but she's currently working on getting her new space remodeled. She and Gabe were at the store working on a few things, so Lynn, Isaac, Ella and I stopped by to say hi. What a cute part of town - technically Belltown I think. And I think the shop will be so cute - can't wait to see it when it's finished and open!

Loving the jellyfish!

Awww! Holding hands....for about 2 seconds.

First Haircut

Ella has now had her first (professional) haircut. I wasn't sure what to think at first, but it's growning on me. The fact that she can see, and we can see her gorgeous eyes is a plus for sure! Ella was a champ. Kids Cuts has the whole place set up to make the process as painless as possible. TV, cute chairs, toys. It wasn't until the last couple snips where she started to fidget.

Ella in the hot seat

a shot after the cut

another "after" shot....don't worry, the curls are still intact, you just can't see them at this angle.

Pear Jam

My Mom, otherwise known as Sharon, used to can anything and everything when we were kids. One of the things I remember the most was pear jam. Yum! She helped me make some last week, and it turned out just like I remember it. Thanks Mom!!

Trick or Treat

Whew, it's November already! We had a great Halloween. Zac & Kristen came over....we watched the Coug game (that was not the fun part of the evening), and did a little trick or treating with Ella. I can't say that she totally understood the whole concept, but I think she did enjoy people giving her things and walking around outside in her costume. The day before we'd gone to Seth's office for indoor trick or treating too, so she got a little warm up there.