Runolfson Family

Annie is here!

2010-02-17T11:11:00.000-08:00

Annie is here! She came Feb 8 at 3:39 pm.
Weighed in at 7 lbs 4 ozs ( the same as Ellie) and 20 3/4 inches long.
She seems perfectly perfect!

Ellie is so excited to have a little sister!

Here she is in her hospital hat.
They give you cute ones at University!

Proud Daddy!

Right after she was born.
I still have pain on my face.

Ryan loving his baby.
I so happy, but he mostly ignores her now.

Just thought I would post a few photos. I haven't posted in forever, but this is important stuff!

Temple Celebration

2009-06-29T13:44:00.001-07:00

Ellie's Preschool Graduation

2009-06-29T13:41:00.001-07:00

Spring is FUN!

2009-05-14T14:53:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-14T14:02:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-04-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-03-20T11:42:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-20T11:31:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-03-08T20:54:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-02-19T14:55:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-12T10:17:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-01-19T11:50:00.000-08:00

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!

Another BIG post...

2008-12-03T08:57:00.000-08:00

We got some family photos taken with Jud's family.
Here are a couple of cute ones of the kids.
Our family shot is on the blog header. They turned out really cute.

I hope they always remember how much they love each other!

My "Little Ellie" isn't so little anymore!

We also took some photos to remember exactly how chunky this boy is.
These were taken on Thanksgiving. It is amazing that all he has not even eaten food yet.
He weighed 22 lbs. 12 ozs. the day before Thanksgiving.
Off the charts in weight and head size, and 95% in height.

Look at the size of those thighs!
I can't complain though. He is taking all the weight off of me.
I haven't been this thin in 10 years.
Thanks Buddy!

My parents new next door neighbors have horses and are all rodeo kids.
They all ride and rope...even the 4 year old. It was amazing!
They invited Ellie over to ride with them.
Ryan even got in on the action for a second.

Ellie is really into horses lately.
It was really great for her to get to ride.

We had the CompHealth Christmas Party, and it was soooo fun!
Ellie got to see Mrs. Santa...

and Santa!

Here we all are!
It is funny that we all work together!
Amy is now VP, Michelle and I work from home, and Lisa works there too!
She & Ryan couldn't make it to the party.

We really had a great time.
Ellie has been talking about it non-stop!
We danced, ate, played RockBand, made crafts, saw Santa, made S'mores...

Preschool

2008-11-03T10:12:00.000-08:00

Here is Ellie's preschool Halloween parade. They did little poems and songs. Really cute! She is the spider, and her friend Rylee is the little cheerleader next to her!

Out of Control October!

2008-11-03T06:55:00.000-08:00

We had a fun filled October.
Here are some highlights, not even in order because I can't be bothered with that.
We went to the Cornbelly's corn maze for Ashley's bday party.
Ellie had a blast! It is so much fun,and we have tons of photos.
In an effort not to bore you, I only posted a few.

In the big rocking chair!

This is Ryan at the ward Trunk or Treat.
He almost didn't fit in the bear outfit.
I had him weighed on Friday (Halloween) and he was 20 lbs 12 ozs.

A trip to Gardener Village with Aiden, Brandon, Kenna, and Jake.

Ellie and brother and witch!

Ellie started school, and being the great mother I am, here are the photos...a month later.
She goes to Silverpups preschool at Riverton high.
She loves it!

First day, just playin' PlayDough!

Ellie and Kenna at the Trunk-or-Treat!
You'll notice that Ellie could never decide what to be for Halloween.
She wore 5 different costumes for different events.
The upside...they were all ones she already had!

Ellie and Rylee!

Another trip to Gardener Village.
This time with Kenna, McKayla, Jake and Jaden!

Ellie and Rylee in their preschool Halloween parade.
The were adorable! I will post a video!

Ryan & Aiden were twinners.
Just by chance actually, but they look way cute!
Can you tell that Ryan outweighs his 11 month old cousin?

Trick-or-treating at COmpHealth.
Amy & Lisa's work.

Halloween night at Parkinson's house.
Ellie, McKayla, Jaden, & Rylee.

Our group photo.
Jud and I tried to dress up, but we weren't very successful.
The costumes are actually the ones I made for the Sound of Music sing-a-long we went to.
You know, when they make clothes out of the curtains.
There are 4 more outfits that my sisters and their dates wore.
We tried to turn them into Hansel and Gretel.
Nichole called us TweedleDee and TweedleDum.
Guess who she thought was "DUM"?

Anyway, we had a great October. I will try to be better at posting, but you know me!

Tagged

2008-10-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

I got tagged by Michelle to post the 4th photo from the 4th folder on my computer. Here it is...

OK, so really that is the 5th folder, #4 was empty!
Now I tag 4 more people...Whit, Nichole, Jamielyn, & Kym!

Twilight!!!

2008-10-23T08:38:00.000-07:00

I am excited for the movie to come out. I took the quiz to see which character I am most like. This is who I turned out to be.

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Utah Jazz!

2008-10-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Ryan went to his first Jazz game this week.
He was really GOOD!
He loved watching everything going on around him.
It didn't hurt that our friends gave us 12th row seats!
Thanks Dan & Sybil! We had a blast.
Jud even liked it too!

They played the Suns, and even thought they lost we had a good time.
Jud says it's OK, it was just preseason!

Ellie didn't get to come to the game, but here is a shot of her the day before the game.
She siad that the Jazz headband and wristbands (yes, they are around her ankles)
protect her at the park. I guess it worked!

In honor of the game here are a couple shots of Ryan all Jazzed UP!
Thanks Whitney! I love the photos!

A photo from SYTYCD Tour!

2008-09-29T11:17:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the sisters after the SYTYCD Tour.
Thanks to Amy for our COOL SHIRTS!
We had a great time...4ever!

Tribute to a GREAT Husband!

2008-09-24T13:54:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to brag about my awesome husband.

He is always thinking of others in everything he does and always considerate of me!

First, he stayed home with the kids while I went to Cats with my sisters.
It was so much fun. Who ever would have thought that I would like a musical about CATS!
I saw it in high school and came back again, of course, due to the fact that it has great dancing!
It was a fun girls night out!

Then, on Saturday he stayed home and kept the kids while I went to the BYU football game.
Shout out to the COUGARS! They are awesome!
We had fun at the game, while Jud was getting everything ready for Ryan's blessing on Sunday!
He even managed to go get his hair cut with both kids tagging along because
he knew I wanted him to.
What a MAN!

On Sunday the blessing was awesome!
It is so nice to have a great husband and the blessing he gave Ryan was so nice!
I might add he looked really good in his suit and new tie with his new haircut, too!
Ryan looked super cute in the blessing outfit that Jud wore when he was blessed.
Ryan almost looked like he was going to pop out of it.
(Side note: I had him weighed again on Monday and he was 17 lbs. 6 ozs.)

With Grandpa Al!
With Uncle Don.
With Grandma & Papa!

Last night we went to the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE tour.
It was soooo fun!
It was well the money and the tickets weren't cheap.
Mom, Dad, Amy, Michelle, Lisa, Jud & I went.
What a great husband who enjoys the things I like!

I must tell you that I liked Joshua from the beginning.
He was my pick to win right from tryouts...I am brilliant!
The whole show was fun and entertaining.

Shout out to Mark!
His weirdness grew on me.
He may be my new favorite.
My sister Ang says that he should be the one playing Edward in Twilight, and

she is right! He would be perfect!

Anyway, I had a great week and thought I would report on something I did instead of just what my kids are up to. and let everyone know what I already do...
JUD IS AWESOME!

Labor Day & Peach Days

2008-09-10T14:52:00.000-07:00

We spent Labor Day at Hogle Zoo...Ryan's first time to the zoo!
We had tons of fun, even Daddy got to come along.
This is the best family shot we could get, Ellie is not a fan of photos!

Here she is posing with her favorite zoo exhibit.
She could care less about anything else at the zoo, just take her to the snakes!

Papa was trying to get in trouble with me by feeding my not yet 2 month baby an Oreo.
Good thing Grandma was there to stop him.

There is a new baby giraffe at Hogle Zoo.
Ryan & I got our photo with Mom & Baby giraffe.

Next was Peach Days...my favorite!
We had a BLAST!!!
Ellie & I rode the fire truck in the kid parade.

Here's everyone sitting at the big parade!
Ellie collected quite a bit a candy and then we took off to ride the rides at the carnival.

Ellie has NO FEAR!
She will do anything, and since there are no height requirements at the fair...
she rode the Starship 2000 with Dad, Josh, & Trish.
She told me it was AWESOME!

Here are mom and brother.
We didn't get to ride any rides, but had fun anyway!

We can't wait for next year!

Ryan "The Tank" Runolfson

2008-09-10T14:39:00.000-07:00

Well, yesterday I took Ryan to the dr. for a weight check.
I just had to know how big is is now.
You will not believe it!
He weighed 16 lbs 4 ozs, almost double his birth weight at two months old!
His weight is not the 90th or 95th %...no it is off the charts!
This is the good part, his cousin Aiden (who is almost exactly 7 mos older) weighs
17 lbs 8 ozs, only 1 lb 45 ozs more than my not so little baby!
I measured him at 25 1/2 inches, which for your info, is also off the charts for a 2 month old.
I guess he preparing for his future as a linebacker!

Tribute to Peaches

2008-08-31T07:44:00.001-07:00

I am so excited for Peach Days coming up this weekend!
I am peach lover and a huge fan of Peach Days!
We go up every year to Brigham to celebrate...I think I have only missed on year
and that was while I was on my mission.

My parents neighbor and my old sunday school teacher has a big peach orchard.
He always saves peaches for me...THANKS GEORGE!
I just ate some of his peaches and they are the BEST!

It seems I have transferred my love of peaches to my daughter.
A few days ago I cut some peaches for us to snack on and she kept saying more
until we had eaten 5 peaches in one sitting.
We can't wait for Peach Days!

By the way, we are huge fans of the Canadian Harmony variety.
The Canadians did something right I guess!

Report on August

2008-08-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

We did a lot of fun things in August even though it takes us a
long time to get going and get out the door.
I am not used to this 2 kid thing!
We are lucky to have the three of us ready by noon! Sad, huh?

We did venture out to Thanksgiving Point with some friends.
The kids had a great time petting the animals, riding the wagon, and
playing in the water by Noah's Ark.

Ellie, Ashley, McKayla, Jaden, & Rylee

I also wanted to show you just how fast my baby is growing.
At church he is bigger than the three month old babies, and he is only 7 wks.
Here is a nice shot of his back fat.

Here is Ryan with his Uncle Ryan.
Can you read the shirt?
It says "If you think I'm cute, you should see my uncle!"

Our ward hosted a Daddy-Daughter Date.
Ellie was so excited to get dressed up for the 70's theme and go...
but not as excited as Jud was, obviously.

Some of the other fathers kept their kids away from Jud!

Here is Ryan trying out some of the dress ups too!

We took a fun trip to the park with Lisa, Michelle, and Aiden.
Here are the kids swinging.

Ryan had his first swing on a big swing with sissy's help!
Aiden is a big boy now and can swing himself.

Here is an adorable shot of my boy.
Is he the cutest or what?

Photoshoot

2008-08-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

My friend Whitney did a little photoshoot with my cute kids! She did an awesome job and was way more patient than a studio would have been. Thanks Whit!
Here is some of her work!

A busy month...

2008-08-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

We had a busy, but GREAT July!
Having a new baby at home is so great, but challenging.
Ryan is growing up so fast, and Ellie seems so much older now that we have a baby in the house.
Our little family feels more like a family with 4!
Ryan has been a good baby except for about the last week when we found out that he is allergic to my milk.
No worries, you know me and my alternative medicine.
We took him in for accupuncture and ZD treated him.
He should be better by 7pm tonight!
I can't wait...it breaks my heart to see him fussy!
Getting up at night is hard, but worth it!
Here are some photos of Ryan in this last month.
He is already getting cheeks!

Ellie really has been a lifesaver for me this month.
She is almost always willing to run and grab a diaper or burp cloth for me.
We have not had too many issues with her being jealous.
Just a few times she wants me to take care of her FIRST!
She has had a ton of fun this month.
A couple of trips to Shady, a few nights at Grandma & Papa's house (when Jud went to scout camp), a baseball game, a new brother to play with and love, and lots more fun!
Here is the proof!

One more funny thing that I finally got on video.
Kind of hard to hear, but very worth it!

Just a few more photos...

2008-07-14T09:56:00.001-07:00

Daddy is soooo proud!
Here is his Jazz fan!

Aunt Michelle can't believe babies are so tiny!
Hers has gotten big.

Uncle Jared & Ryan.

Ellie & brother wearing their matching shirts.
Grandpa Runolfson got them.
Hers says "I am the big sister"
& his says "I am the little brother".

Grandpa R & Ryan.

Grandma R & Ryan.

Daddy's Little Boy!

Papa holding his newest grandchild.

Grandma loving baby Ryan!

Ryan Packer Runolfson is here!

2008-07-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

Ryan was born July 8, 2008

at 11:15 am.

He weighed 8 lbs 3 ozs

and was 20.5 inches long!

Here he is!

Ryan & Uncle Ryan!

Ryan & Uncle Josh!
Ryan, Mom, & Ellie!

Ryan & MOM!

Ryan with Aunt Lisa!
Ryan and Aunt Amy!

We had more visitors on our first day.
Grandma & Papa Packer, Grandma & Grandpa R, Michelle, Aiden, & Jared.
There will be more photos to come!

El Pollo Loco

2008-07-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

Opening Day at El Pollo was CRAZY!!!
We had some great food,
talked to the owner who is a friend of my Dad's from California,
& got some photos with the chicken.

A June Update!

2008-07-01T17:43:00.001-07:00

This may be the last post before our new addition comes along.
I am scheduled to be induced on the 8th if he doesn't come before then.

Here is a recap of our June!

Ellie had some fun with her NEW paints.
She doesn't have much paint left.
She doesn't know whether to smile or be scared of getting in trouble!

Ellie had her first swimming lessons.
She took with her friends Rocco, Mackenna, & Jacob.
The teacher was super strict (all the parents were scared of her) but very effective!
Ellie learned a lot!

We spent a day with Grandma & Papa!
We had so much fun!
They took us on the new FrontRunner train to downtown SLC.
We played at the Gateway all day!
The cousins had fun in the fountain!

Another fun day, we spent at Wheeler Farm.
There are lots of good photo spots there.

I have a couple more things to post, but we will see if they get done before or after the boy is born! We are way excited to have another boy in the family!

Funny things!

2008-06-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

Because I pretty well use this as my journal, I need to record a couple of funny things that Ellie has said to us.
4 year olds are hilarious!

We were driving home from the Dr. a few days ago and Jud was whistling.
Apparently, Ellie didn't like it because she said, "Cut it out, Dad!"
Jud continued to whistle, and instead of getting upset, Ellie said, "Can I sing you guys a song?"
I told her she could.
She started singing, "Shut up and drive, drive, drive..."

Another good one...

While we were in St. George with my family, we were all sitting around eating breakfast.
Ellie says to my sister-in-law, "Trish, can I have a word with you?"
What kind of 4-yr-old talks like that?

That's all for now, but I wanted to get them recorded before I forget!

St George May 08

2008-06-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in St George!
Here is our proof!
We stayed in an awesome house and did a lot of swimming and hiking.

Who said TV is bad?

2008-05-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

This is funny...I had to share it!
This morning Ellie went in to go potty and tooted on the toilet.
I said, "Did you have a little toot?"
She said, "It was diminuendo...that means really quiet."
Thanks Little Einstein!

President Packer

2008-05-12T08:21:00.000-07:00

My dad is a Stake President up in Brigham City. Last weekend was his Stake Conference and President Boyd K. Packer came to preside. He is my Dad's uncle. Naturally my entire family went up to be supportive and visit. It was a great conference! After the conference we got the chance to visit with Pres. Packer for a few minutes as a family and get some photos taken. Ours turned out great! Better than expected! He usually doesn't smile for photos, but we got lucky! Take a look!

Tulip Festival

2008-04-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

We went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point this week.
There were not a lot of tulips, but it was still pretty in the gardens.
It was a great day too!
Grandma, Papa, Michelle, Aiden, Mom , & Ellie all had fun and got some good exercise.

Ellie even posed for a few photos, which is not like her.
She does not like to get her picture taken.

Video of Ellie's Climb!

2008-04-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

First Climb of the Year!

2008-04-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

For FHE we went up to Dogwood for our first climb of the season!
Ellie was fearless...as always!
She climbed clear to the top, almost leaving Jud in the dust!
Then she asked to climb again.
Thisis the year I guess I invest in climbing shoes for her!

Everyone got to climb and have fun!
Well, Aiden & I had fun at the bottom watching everyone else climb.

Ellie's Tumbling Class

2008-04-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Here is some video from Ellie's first tumbling class!

Ultrasound #5

2008-04-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here are the photos from our latest ultrasound!

Fun with Friends

2008-04-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

We spent a fun day at Classic Fun Center with Rocco, Dominic, & Ashley! They have skating, bike riding, bouncy toys, jungle jims, and all kinds of fun games. We had a great day!

Easter Morning

2008-03-28T14:01:00.000-07:00

Here is Ellie Easter morning coming to see what the Easter Bunny brought.

2008-03-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

Here is Ellie breaking a confetti egg on (as she says) her dad's bald head!

Easter at Grandma & Papa's House

2008-03-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter at Grandma & Papa's house!
Ellie & Aiden went for photos with the Easter Bunny!

We had the Annual Easter Egg Hunt!
All the cousins came, except Kirsten and Dalton in Maryland!
We missed them a lot!

We even got to have an adult hunt where Papa hid money!
The adults were probably more excited than the kids!
Papa is a good hider!

We colored eggs, and Amy brought bug clothes for our eggs.
Aren't they CUTE?

We had Easter morning before we went to church.
We even got a smile out of Aiden!

Ellie loves Pet Shops!
She even asked the Easter Bunny to bring her a Pet Shop Clubhouse.
He listened!

We had a great Easter, and everyone was worn out!
Thanks Grandma & Papa!
We love you!

Tagged!

2008-03-25T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I got tagged. Since all I ever do is post photos, this is probably good for me to do. I will actually have to think about something to write, and since I am using this as my journal/family history I better write something!

Ten things about me!

1-I am scared of the dark. Childish, I know, but I never got over it.

2-I can't stand to clean the bathroom! If any of you have been to my house, it is apparent. It is Jud's job and doesn't get done as often as it should.

3-I like to watch golf on TV. Of all the sports my husband watches, I prefer golf. It is not his favorite, but he will watch any sport. I also like to go golfing, but haven't been in a long time.

4-I love Will Smith! I love the music, the movies, the man!

This is hard..I'm only at #5!

5-I like to make movies on my computer using photos and video clips. I have done wedding videos for friends and family, videos of Ellie, etc. It is a fun pastime, but takes a lot of time! I got an awesome program for Christmas to help me out. It is probably the most expensive present I have ever gotten (besides my wedding ring). Thanks to Rick, I got it cheap!

6-I am very nervous to have a little BOY! What do you do with a boy? I hope he is as mellow as Ellie was when she was little!

7-Favorite foods: crab, creme brulee, icecream, really any dessert, Mexican food
Foods I don't like: mushrooms, raisins, walnuts, cooked peas and carrots

8-I actually like to cook! I didn't think I would really like it, but I do. I'm not great at it, but I am learning.

9-I work from home 2-3 hrs a day. I feel guilty for not playing with Ellie during that time, so I get up early and work before she wakes up.

10-One of goals in life is to own a dance studio. I used to think I could teach, but now I know I would have to hire it out. I am too out of practice. It would still be fun!

OK, not the best things, but they will do. It is really hard to come up with 10 things about yourself. If it were 10 things about Ellie, it would be easy!

Forgot one thing...

2008-03-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

Being the great mother that I am, I forgot to post Ellie's 4th birthday.
Here is the proof that we actually did celebrate!
She is totally in to the Littlest Pet Shop, so that was the theme of her party.
We had a great time!

A few more things from Feb

2008-03-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Michelle's baby boy, Aiden, was blessed on Feb. 24, 2008.
He looked so handsome and was a very good boy during the blessing.

We got some family photos taken after the wedding.
They never seem to stay up-to-date for long.
These will be out-dated in July when my new boy comes along.

February was CRAZY!!!

2008-03-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

We had a crazy, but great Feb!
Ang's family came from Maryland,
Lisa & Ryan got married (hooray!),
and Aiden was blessed.
Not to mention all the other fun stuff we did.
Here is the run down!

Lisa & Ryan got married on the 23rd. It was a great day!
Here is the proof!

Here are some of the fun things we did with our cousins!
Aiden's first day at the zoo!

A trip to Discovery Gateway with Dalton!

Playing at the park, Grandma & Grandpa's house, & walking the dog!

There are more photos to come.
I can only upload so many at a time!

It's A Boy!

2008-02-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

I got a surprise ultrasound at the dr's office yesterday (2-8).
My dr decided to just do the ultrasound so I wouldn't have to come back another day.
Jud wasn't there with me, but Ellie was.
She loved to see the baby on the tv.
Here is the cute profile shot!

His right arm!

His right hand.

His left foot.

Here is the proof that we are getting a boy.
Ellie was NOT happy!
Dr. Branch said, "It is a boy".
Ellie said, "no, it's a girl."
Dr. Branch said, "it's a boy!"
Ellie said, "NO, it's a girl!, I DON'T WANT A BROTHER!"
Dr. Branch said, "I'll let you handle this."

Ellie has started to adjust to the idea, but only if we tell her she can have a brother and a sister. The boy just comes first. We'll see what happens. She's still got time to adjust!

Jud is very excited to get a boy, and is now full force into finding a name.
We'll see how that goes. We have a hard time agreeing on names.
Ellie wants Danny, because it is the name of the boy on My Little Pony.

Looks like I can use those hand-me-downs from Michelle & Whitney!

Look what Wii did at Whit's

2008-01-24T11:42:00.000-08:00

We had a day of fun playing Wii at Whitney's house.
Ellie picked up on it fast...I was shocked and excited.
She and Rocco bowled and boxed.
I don't think she knows what boxing is, but had fun wiggling the controllers around.
Check her out!

We had the most fun with "Dancing with the Stars".
It was hilarious, but we finally, kin of caught on.
Whitney was the best and had to show us all what we were doing.

The videos look a lot better with music behind them.
We thought we were awesome, but then I watch these and wonder!

No...wii didn't play for 3 hrs!

Deb and I even tried out boxing...that was a mistake for me!
Deb killed me. I couldn't figure out what I was doing.
Boxing is quite a workout!

January

2008-01-22T19:38:00.000-08:00

I was trying to get some photos of Ellie, because I have been a slacker lately.
We had a little bit of a hard time getting her to cooperate.
This is about the best I could do...she doesn't love the camera!

Daddy went to a Jazz game with my family and got wristbands and a headband for Ellie.
When we got home after the game, Ellie was asleep in the car.
Jud couldn't help but take a photo before I got her ready for bed.
He was soooo proud!

Ellie is really good at entertaining herself.
She will play in her room while I have a nap-part of being pregnant!
This is what she came up with one night.
It is her "rug dress". I guess you play with what you've got!

Children's Museum

2008-01-22T19:25:00.000-08:00

OK! For anyone who looks at Whitney's blog, you will know that I stole these photos from her. I haven't taken many lately and I needed to update my blog. Last week, I had to take my sis to the dr, so Whit and Deb took Ellie to the Children's Museum with them. She had the best time. Here is the proof!

Christmas 2007

2007-12-28T10:06:00.001-08:00

Ellie was soooo excited to be Mary this year in our annual Christmas Nativity.
Mike was Joseph, and little Aiden got be our baby Jesus. He was even wrapped in swaddling clothes. This is a Packer tradition, and everyone gets to participate. It is really fun, and helps us remember the meaning of Christmas!

Here Ellie is with her cousins Abby, & Hannah at the Runolfson Christmas Party.
They all got new pj's from Grandma Great.
It is fun to have cousins the same age!

Ellie got to see Santa 3 times this year.
Here she is with him at our ward Christmas party.She always told Santa that she wanted a Pet Shop Dr.

Ellie loved opening presents! She even helped me with mine!
She was very thankful for everything she got.
She would thank us over and over and tell us how much she loved every gift she got.

Here she is with her gifts from Santa.
She rushed past everything else and found her Pet Shop Dr.
She asked for it almost every day for three months.
It's a good thing Santa found one, or Ellie would have been upset.

I have noticed that there are only photos of Ellie on this blog.
Really, I am always the one taking the pictures, so you never see me.
I will try to remedy that and get some photos of all of us posted.

Happy Birthday Aiden!

2007-12-04T15:25:00.001-08:00

Aiden Michael Barneck has joined the family!
He came December 3, 2007 at 10:47 pm.
He is 7 lbs 2 ozs and 18.5 inches long.
Here is Michelle, the proud mother.

Grandma is so thrilled to have another grandbaby!

Papa loves to have another boy in the family!

Aunt Jenni and Ellie are the most excited of all!
Ellie can't stop telling us how cute Aiden is.
She is thrilled to have a cousin and thinks he is perfect!

Lots to Be Thankful For

2007-11-30T07:33:00.000-08:00

Ellie had to go to see the pediatric cardiologist for her heart murmur. She got a little wrried during the EKG, but was very brave! The dr said she has an innocent murmur and it is nothing to worry about. We went to see him the day before Thanksgiving and that gave us something great to be thankful for!

Here is Ellie in her recent visit to Santa! I'd say it was much more successful than in years past when she decided she didn't really like Santa that much. This year she is determined to get herself a Pet Shop Dr. She asks everyday if Santa is watching her.

Ellie went with her friends to see Santa at the mall. Here are the kids with their antlers.

Ellie got all dressed up for a friend's birthday party and she looked so cute!
She wanted to be Snow White with a red headband with a bow on the top with her hair down and curly at the bottom. She was very specific!

I thought this was a cute photo! Every night when dad tucks Ellie in to bed they have make-up stories. They both were their crowns and she is Princess Ellie and he is King Jud. She LOVES his stories!

More Halloween

2007-11-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

I got a few more photos of Ellie on halloween from someone at Daddy's work.

She looks so cute, I had to post them!

In action...hopping around the office!

I got a few more photos of Ellie on halloween from someone at Daddy's work.
She looks so cute, I had to post them!

Halloween!!!

2007-11-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

We had a great Halloween! I love that Ellie does not want to be in the popular costume of the year. She did not want to be a Disney Princess like every other 3 year old girl. Oh no! She went for the originality award. She was a kangaroo! Not easy to find the costume, but very cute! She wore it to our ward trunk-or-treat and was soooo cute! The only problem...all covered up, some peole thought she was a boy. I couldn't have that, so I added a little something extra to her costume...a big, pink, girly bow! Then she was sure to tell everyone we met that she had a bow on so people wouldn't think she was a boy.
She had a great time at Daddy's work trick-or-treating. She got to see Dad, Amy and Lisa all in one shot. She also loaded up on candy! She was sure to ask everyone if they had any candy at their desk. She was working it though. She would say trick-or-treat and hop around like a kangaroo saying, "boing, boing, boing". She was the hit of the office!

We spent the evening with family at my brother, Josh's house. Ellie loves to trick-or-treat with her cousins! They have a great time together. Here is the proof...

Even Grandma & Papa got dressed up for the occasion!

Ellie & Alysa! Ellie adores Alysa and loves to do anything with her!
(Notice the bandaid on Ellie's forehead...no injury, she's just back into the whole bandaid thing.)

Here they are after a bath with matching jammies!

Here are all the cousins together. Caleb as Obi-wan (yes, I did have to look up how to spell that), Mike as Dr. Black ( or some other unnamed scary guy who dresses in black and paints his face), Alysa as a beautiful princess, and Ellie as a girl kangaroo. What a group!

Fun Fall

2007-10-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

We have had so much fun in the last few weeks. We have way too many photos to post, and I forgot to take my camera with me to half of the fun things we did. Here is our latest update!

We went to the pumpkin patch with Beth, Adam, Aubrey, & Jacob. The girls had a great time.

They picked out pumpkins...

They got to ride horses...Ellie's horse was Twister and Aubrey's was Fred...They went around a few times and loved it!They ran through the hay maze about 8 times. It was a very fun day.

We went to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point with Deb & Ashly. They had all kinds of carnival games to play. My daughter, the pitcher...

What goes up...

Must come down!And, another pony ride! This time on Elvis.

We had a fun trip to the park with Ellie's friend McKenna!
We all got sunburned because Mom didn't think to put any sunscreen on.

General Conference weekend we spent at Grandma & Papa's. We took a trip up the canyon to see the leaves and take photos. Ellie and Jud crossed the creek and I thought it was a perfect photo op!

My little sis, Lisa, got engaged! She is getting married in Feb to Ryan. We think he is all right...just kidding! We think he is great! Here they are!

Dad ran his marathon up in Logan on September 18. He finished in under 5 hrs, which was his goal for his first marathon! Here he is at the finish line with Ellie, she was sooo proud!

She even helped him stretch out his muscles after his long run.

Here is the crew! Jud, brother-in-law Nathan, sister Kristen, & brother Jason.
They all ran...I took the photos!

We went to the State Fair! Ellie's favorite thing there is "Little Hands on the Farm". She has asked multiple times to go back, but we will have to wait until next year.
She picked some apples...

Gassed up her tractor...

Mom & Ellie are FFA...

She milked a cow...
(which is on my 101 Things to Do Before I Die List, but I want a real cow!)

We celebrated Peach Days in Brigham with our family. Dad, Amy, & Bob ran the 5K.

It was Dad's warmup for the marathon.

Ellie crossed the finish line with Dad!She also got to ride the fire truck in the Kid Parade!We have had so much fun this fall already, and there is a lot more to come. We have Halloween and parties and all kinds of fun things coming our way.

2007-08-23T15:18:00.000-07:00

We had our Packer family reunion up in Huntsville and spent a couple of days at Pineview Resevoir. It was great fun! Besides a bad case of the flu being passed around we all managed to enjoy ourselves. Here are Ellie, Alysa, and I getting ready to be pulled behind the boat. Alysa wanted slower and Ellie wanted faster, but neither of them like the big waves.As part of our reunion we got to go see my little sister, Lisa, in her ballroom concert. Ellie was the hit of the show. During the really quiet part of Lisa's foxtrot, she yelled "HI Lisa!" The entire audience started laughing. Now Ellie is determined to be a ballroom dancer. She has her partner picked out too. Whitney, better buy Rocco some self tanner and some dancin' shoes!

2007-08-23T15:06:00.001-07:00

We took a relly fun trip to the zoo! It was the perfect weather, & Ellie had some of her favorite people with her! Here is Aunt Michelle with her namesake, Ellie Michelle, standing by the cute brown bear.Ellie & Rocco are using the unbrellas to guard themselves from the sprinkles we got. It was great, they cooled it off enough that we weren't toasting and the animals were pretty active.
Ellie got to play with cousin Dalton from Maryland. he was here for almost a month. They seem to have a love/hate relationship, or maybe like brother and sister. She is always excited to have him around!
All of Ellie's cousins were together, which doesn't happen very often. They were very good to act like birds when I asked them to. Caleb is some weird kind of bird!
We had a great time! We miss Ang, Matt, Kirsten, & Dalton now that they have returned home to Maryland. It is one of the highlights of our year when they get to come visit! We love you guys!

2007-08-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

Ellie's friend, Aubrey got some new kittens (Cinderella & Belle). Ellie just loves to play with them. Thanks Beth...now we don't have to get Ellie a pet!Surpirse!!!! Adam & Jud are kitty lovers too!

2007-06-20T08:00:00.001-07:00

Here is her fishing photo. She got a fishing pole for Father's Day so she can fish with Dad now.

Here is her art photo. She loves art and Michelle made her this cute apron for her art class.

2007-06-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

Here is Ellie's ballet photo.

Ellie's Father's Day Photos

2007-06-20T07:44:00.000-07:00

We got Ellie's photos taken for Father's Day. It was about time...I am the worst at taking her to get her picture taken. Anyway, they turned out really cute. We got her taken in outfits representing all her favorite things. Take a look...

Birthdays & Bowling

2007-06-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

I finally uploaded photos from my camera, so I decided it is time to update our blog. Summer is the time for birthdays in our family, and any excuse we have for a party we will use. My youngest sister, Lisa, turned 20.. Not a teenager any more, I guess that make my parents officially old. (Just kidding Mom & Dad)
We took Ellie bowling for her first time and she absolutely loved it. She even did the strike dance when she bowled a strike...no joke! I guess it was with the help of bumpers and a ramp. Her final score was only three less than mine. I don't know if that says she's really good, or I'm really bad. Both I guess.
The pool at our house opened and we went swimming for Michelle's birthday. Ellie is a swimming machine. She could spend hours in the pool. Especially if her cousins are around. She loves to play with her cousin Alysa.
Ellie loves babies, princesses and polly pockets. She comes up with hilarious names for all of her "kids". Her doll is named Sekah, her frog Nepal, her turtle Lauld, and her dog GingerHonkHonk. In fact, Michelle is pregnant and showed Ellie an ultrasound picture and told her it looks like a turtle. Ellie now calls Michelle's baby Lauld, and is convinced she is not having a baby, but a turtle.

Jud is 30

2007-05-24T06:57:00.000-07:00

Well, Jud's birthday was yesterday. He turned 30! He told me he thinks he's growing up now...it's about time! We left Ellie with Amy and went on a date...just the two of us. That was the first in a while. It was fun. We went to dinner and to Spiderman 3. A real, adult movie. I can't remember the last one we saw. Ellie had a great time with her auntie and did not want to go to bed. We all had a fun night.

Jud said he got just what he wanted for for his birthday. A new fishing pole and a fishing license were his favorites. He is planning a fishing trip with Dad this weekend and with Adam next weekend. I hope he catches something good. I love fish!

The new IKEA opeded yesterday in Salt Lake. We are going to head over and check it out today. Hopefully it is not too busy. It should be fun!

It's about time...

2007-05-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

I guess it is about time I caught up with the rest of the world. Tons of friends have blogs, so I finally did it. It seems an easier way to keep in contact with friends, family...

I am just signing Ellie up for swimming lessons and an art class. She is so into painting, drawing, etc. She has been begging for a painting class. We are going to take a little rest from ballet and hip-hop and go a different direction. We'll see how it goes.

Jud is training hard for a marathon in September. He goes running across the street at the park and I push Ellie around in her stroller at a much slower pace. It is so nice out right now it makes for a fun evening.

We are going to plant a garden this week also. Jud loves to garden and I love to eat out of the garden. I can't wait until our plants are in full bloom.