Temple Celebration

Ellie's Preschool Graduation

Spring is FUN!

Grandma & Papa's next door neighbors have horses and a bunch of kids.
Ellie loves to play there when we visit Brigham City.
They always let her ride the horses...this time bareback!

Spring means it's time for hiking and climbing.
Here is our first outing of the year!

We love to be outside!
Here is a little video of Ellie's 1st climb of the year.
She was AWESOME!

Easter

We had a really fun Easter!
Ellie got to color eggs with all her Runolfson cousins.
Grandma and Grandpa got a dozen eggs per kid...needless to say, there were plenty of eggs!

Here are Ellie and Ryan Easter morning.
They are happy with their baskets, but had the most fun playing with the grass.

The annual Packer Easter Egg Hunt.
The cousins had fun.
So did Grandma & Papa!

Ellie collected enough candy for the whole family.

Ryan wasn't after the candy.
He just likes the click-click of the eggs.

5 Year Olds are Funny!

I really can't believe that my little girl is 5!

Time really flies way too fast...at least when you are an adult.
Ellie is growing up way too fast for me. She starts kindergarten this year.
A couple of funny things she has done lately...

We have been helping my sister Amy move into her new house and spend a lot of time over there. Ellie has been great at entertaining herself, her brother, her cousin, and other people that happen to be there. One day we sent her out to entertain cousin Aiden in his little car. Michelle showed her how to push him around in it and we even blocked the stairs off so there would be no accidents. This is how it started off...

After a few minutes we went back to check on them and found this...

Apparently, she wanted a turn to ride too. And, of course, Aiden was happy to help.

She loves to hop in Ryan's crib with him. He loves it too!
His favorite place to be in hanging out in Ellie's room.

Last weekend we spent at my parents and Ellie was helping with some yard work. Amy told Ellie and Alysa that they would earn a penny for every stick they picked up out of the yard...There were a lot of sticks. When it was time to get paid, Amy went to give Ellie 2 one dollar bills. She got sad and sulky. When I asked what was wrong, she wouldn't tell me. A few minutes later, Amy came over laughing. She said she found out what was wrong with Ellie. Ellie told her, "I don't like dollars with 1's on them!" Can you believe this child?


Here is another shot of my flexible kid.
He is so bendy that he can go right from sitting like this on to his stomach doing the chinese splits. He can do the side splits too.

What have I been doing?

Here are a few fun projects that I have been working on lately...

OK, I know I went a little overboard, but they are so cute.
Now Ellie is all outfitted for summer.
My friend, Nichole, showed me how to make these cute skirts.
Yes, they are easy or I wouldn't be making them.

So eight skirts is probably a few too many!( There are a couple missing from the photo)
Thanks Helen for the fabric!
Now Ellie can wear a skirt everyday just like she always asks to do.

My sister Michelle is so cute and crafty.
She finds cute things for us to make.
This Easter wreath was so easy and Ellie even helped make the whole thing.
It was a fun family project.

Michelle also made these cute wall hangings for her living room, so I copied.
Here are mine...easy, made with scrapbook paper.
Love them!

I adapted them to go in Ellie's room too!
They turned out great!

So there you have it! I have been keeping myself busy with random projects.
Of course, my kids take up most of my time, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

A couple of cute photos!

Just a couple of cute things I wanted to add...

Aunt Amy just got back from Hawaii and brought this little outfit for Ryan.
Well, it didn't look so little before we put it on. I thought it looked HUGE!
I guess when you have a huge baby, you need huge clothes.
I just think he looks adorable.

One night at dinner, Ellie decided to fill her own plate.
Can you tell what my girl likes to eat?

Girls Weekend...and a couple of CUTE boys!

My friend has an awesome cabin up at Bear Lake and we decided to take a girls trip.
We did have a couple of boys tag along, but it was out of necessity. Nursing moms!
Anyway, we just went up and relaxed...if you call crafts relaxing.
We sewed, scrapbooked, crafted, etc. the entire time we were there.
Really, it was a blast to hang out with the girls for a couple of days.
By the time we got home, we were definitely ready to see our families again.

A Trip to the Zoo!

What could be better than a trip to the zoo?
A free trip to the zoo!
Hogle Zoo had an appreciation day to thank people for voting to give money to the zoo.
Of course we went and called Grandma & Papa, and Michelle & Aiden to join us.
It was a perfect day for the zoo. It was cool enough that the animals were all very active.
We had soooo much fun. The kids even rode the carousel and I wore my "zoo shirt".

My baby is 8 mos old!

Here is to my baby!
He is growing up so fast I thought I ought to record some things about him,
so I will always remember!

Something cute and something questionable!

Ellie uses her bins for more than holding toys.
Here, they are for sitting in, but she also uses them as cakes for decorating.
I don't watch too much Ace of Cakes or Challenge on the Food Network!

Pretty flexible for a big guy, huh?

I told my family about this, and everyone in Relief Society experienced it.
He is not used to solid foods yet, and this is him trying to get it out!
This is the questionable part!

Ellie learned this really cute song at preschool.
My mom said her dad used to sing it to her when she was little.
The lighting and sound are bad, but it is adorable!

Bear Lake, Baths, Baby Teeth & Birthdays

We had a BLAST up at Bear lake with some of our friends!
The kids only stopped playing to sleep and eat, and that was not without a few threats!
We played Wii, and found some hidden talents & a few weaknesses!

Can you believe I post these photos...sorry Ryan!
I have to have some sort of proof that you really are this big!
27 lbs and counting!

He did get his first tooth, which was a total surprise to me.
Ellie didn't have any teeth until 12 mos, so I wasn't expecting it.
My mom said he must be teething, I opened his mouth and there it was!
He got his first tooth without me even realizing it!
I tried to get photos, but it is really hard to see a tooth that small!

Ellie had a great birthday this year!
She celebrated with both sides of the family and had a friend party!
Her party was at Classic Fun Center and the kids had FUN!

I cannot believe that I am the Mom of a 5 year old!
Kindergarten here we come!
She got her vaccines yesterday and that did not go smoothly!
She really had to be held down and cried bloody murder when she got stuck.
I'd say that it was the worst experience with shots we have ever had, but now we are DONE!

Tons of FUN!

We did a lot of fun things in December.
Here is a quick recap.
We took the kids to Temple Square to see the lights.
Ellie was so excited to go to the temple.
She wanted to touch it, and was thrilled when she got to walk right up to the door.
It was really fun for her.
Ryan was good as always, and looked a bit like the kid from "A Christmas Story".
That's what I get for having a 25 lb six month old baby!

Ellie also had her first real dance recital.
She loves her dance class, but really didn't like the costume.
It was itchy, and she never stopped itching...not even on stage during her performance.
She looks really cute though!

Ang, Matt, Kirsten and Dalton came from Maryland for Christmas.
Last year, Ellie and Dalton had issues, but this year they were great friends.
They played in the snow, played Wii, and even got to have a sleepover.
Here is a good moment when they were playing a game on the iTouch.
They are better with technology than I am!

We had our annual reenactment of the Christmas Story.
Ellie got to be Mary, and Ryan was the youngest (not the smallest), so he got to be Baby Jesus.
Mary did not hold her baby, he is over 1/2 her weight.

Here are all the cousins on Christmas Eve.
They all got new jammies.
Of course, Ellie has to wear a nightgown, so you can't see her new jammies.

Our family on Christmas morning...early, before showers!

I'd say it was Ryan's favorite present, but he doesn't know the difference.
It was my favorite present he got!
It is the truth with this kid!

Daddy built a snow cave for Ellie to play in.
Even thought it was freezing cold, they stayed out for hours!
I love having a husband that will do that while I stay in the warm house.
I did venture out to take photos.

We had a great December and I have tons more photos to upload to my computer.
I will update again soon...I hope!