Bathroom Fix

Some of you may remember us complaining about a leaky faucet in our tub.... Well we are finally having it fixed permanently! Since it was going to require going in behind the tile we decided to go ahead and update the tile in the shower, and get new faucets too. On Saturday Zac and Kristen came over to help with the demo - thank you!!! Jack, our contractor is here today and the next couple days to fix the plumbing and to set new tile. Can't wait to see the end result!

Thank You, Aayla!

Ella received a package in the mail on Wednesday and she wants to say thank you to the sender. Aayla Jensen sent her the Little Einstein dolls, and let me tell you, she couldn't be more excited, or more in love with these dollies! As I post, she's running around the house saying, "Annie, Annie, Annie"..... her fave aparently. But she's getting the other names down too!

THANK YOU, AAYLA (AND JENN)! YOU ARE SO SWEET! LOVE YOU GUYS!

Summer Fun

Ella and I were downtown yesterday and noticed a splash pad at the park. We weren't prepared for it, but I was curious to see what she'd think. She LOVED it!

Birthday Boy

You all remember JJ from past posts on the blog right? He's the little guy I used to take care of before the end of the school year rolled around. Well he's turned 1 already, and Jason and Chrissy (his dad and mom) invited us out to their place for his birthday party last Saturday. It was such a great get-together! Lots of people, all who love JJ to death, great food and cake and of course watching JJ open his gifts. Chrissy and Jason - you threw a great party!

Happy Birthday, JJ!

JJ had a lot of fun opening gifts - of course

we held her back as long as we could - Ella had to "help"

bring on the cake!


I think Ella had missed Chrissy....she wanted to be around her all day.

Words, words, & more words

I may have to put a stop to the word count and list soon.... Ella seems to spit out any word (or try to) that we ask her to these days. She doesn't remember all of them though, so here's a list of some of the things she's saying recently:

here go (when she hands you something)
papa
Oli
Ella
Mommy (instead of just mama)
Beanie (for Serena Beana)
cat
stroller
walk
up
teddy (as in bear)
puppy
push
blankie
happy

The rundown on our trip

I'm trying to figure out how to do a brief summary of a 3 week trip.... Let's just say this - we had a great time visiting family and friends and are so glad we did it the way we did. All of us traveled to Rapid City and stayed with Tim & Margaret, where we got to catch up with Ollie and Maia too. I love it when we all get together! After Michael & Cristina's wedding, Seth headed home to work for a week while Ella and I stayed on in Rapid, getting spoiled by Tim and Margaret...otherwise known as Papa and Papa (Ella hasn't managed to say Grandma yet). We hung out by the pool, went to 3 different lakes, played at Storybook Island, went out to eat - a lot, and overall got to take it easy and have a lot of fun.

After hanging out in Rapid City for a week or so, Tim, Margaret, Ella and I got in the car and headed to Minneapolis, where Seth met up with us. Seth's brother Oliver has a wonderful apartment in a really cool area of town, and we were able to stay with him a couple nights while he showed us around. From Minneapolis, we headed to St. Cloud, and more specifically, Bowlus MN for our friend Dan's wedding. After one last night in Minneapolis, we headed home. Thanks to Tim, Margaret, Ollie, and various hotels for the hospitality! Some of the pics below will help give you an idea of what we were up to....

Arriving at Storybook Island - Seth, Ella, Margaret and Maia

Dancing onstage after one of the plays put on at Storybook Island

Ella and the McKinstry Men

I love this picture! Ella loved posing for this one with her Auntie Maia!!

Motorcycles take over Rapid City in early August because of the Rally in Sturgis, SD.

Tim & Margaret have a brand new home in Rapid - it's gorgeous! Ella loved it, especially running up and down the driveway.

Grandpa/Ella/Grandma at the beach at Angistora

Walking in the sand at Sheridan Lake

Building (and destroying) sand castles

Friends Bianca and Ryan flew to Rapid for Michael's wedding. So much fun to see them and show them around a bit.

Uncle Oliver with Ella in the sculpture park in Minneapolis

Anyone watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives? This was a recommendation in Minneapolis and it was a hit with all of us - yum!

Dan and Ann after the I Do's

Groomsmen - Seth/Michael/Lon and Ian

Seth and Ollie

Home Again

We are all home - Seth, Ella, Serena and I. Hooray! Don't get us wrong - we had a fabulous time in the midwest, but it's nice to be back on the home turf. Thanks to the McKinstry's for everything!! Watch in the next couple days for pictures from the trip.