Busy October!!!

WARNING: This post is long with lots of picture but all of it happened in less than a 2 week period and if I didn't lump it all together, I would have never caught up.

In October, we had family come visit. Not just 1 or people like normal. This time Annie and Brian with their kids plus my parents and Grandma Bonnie all came out over fall break. Ellie was unbelievably excited for them to be coming.

One day, we went and hung out downtown. Annie's family actually made it to the US Mint tour. We missed it but still had fun looking through all the souvenirs. Within walking distance is the City and County Building as well as the Capitol Building. We decided to walk around inside the Capitol building.



Sitting on the steps of the Capitol.

The gold marker on the steps is one of the two newer indicators of the real "One Mile above Sea Level". Technology has changed the measurement twice since the original words were written.

Inside, the colors, architecture, and design were gorgeous. Completely different than what I was expecting having been inside Utah's State Capitol. Of course the kids just wanted to hurry and see everything.



Monkey Ellie climbed onto a bench and then into the molding all by herself.

We actually walked all the way to the top of the building to the dome. It was really fun to see things from a different perspective and learn about the history of Denver and the building. Ellie wasn't really into the building other than trying to jump up and down skinny stairs or wandering outside the protective tape to keep people inside the dome and not on the ledge.

Ellie loved having this fan blow into her face.

We continued walking around on the 16th Street Mall but mostly so we could go see the Big Blue Bear and a few other markers. After all this, we headed to the Museum of Nature and Science. We had so much fun. The current, visiting Dinosaur exhibit is so great. The life-like roaring dinosaur unnerved Ellie slightly but I think she was intrigued. They even took these fun pictures as you were leaving the exhibit. Loved it.

The next day we headed up the mountains to Georgetown and Idaho Springs. There was window shopping, playing with trains and dinner. 

Engine in Idaho Springs



Old water wheel decorated for Halloween.

Saturday we took of early for Colorado Springs to see Air Force Academy and to explore Cave of the Winds. The cave was really cool and they showed you all the fun formations, explained who the cave was discovered, and showed you how people used to enter the cave a long time ago.

We had such a fun time with them. It's always hard when family has to head back home and everyone has to return to regular life; working, studying, hanging out at home, etc. 

A few days later some friends, the Stephens, came over so we could carve pumpkins. 

Ellie loves sticking her hands inside to pull out the guts.

After helping with the yucky parts, Ellie and her friend Elena painted small pumpkins instead. They loved it.

Ellie actually wanted to sleep in the "dress" she was wearing that night.  

Our finished projects. Can you tell which one is Jake's?

At the end of that week, we had an impromptu trip home to Utah. Jake's grandpa had passed away.  Earlier in the year, his grandpa was diagnosed with cancer but had undergone surgery and chemo. Things looked good. At a check-up, they found the cancer had come back but had spread to vital parts.  They gave him around 6 months. A few days later, the nurse came in to check on grandpa and everything looked fine and an hour after that he was gone.

Friday, we jumped in the car after classes and drove home. Our only hold up was a semi that had been blown off the freeway near Walcott, WY. Passage was blocked for 30-45 minutes as they cleared the road. The next morning, we were again in the car heading to Bluebell for the funeral. It was a good service. Grandkids were encouraged to share their memories of Grandpa. After packing our sack lunches, provided by the wonderful Relief Society there, we again were driving. This time to Price for the burial. The graveside service was short but beautiful. Grandpa was a veteran so the local unit came by for a 21-shot salute and to present Grandma with her flag.



A beautiful coffin for a wonderful man.

Of course, family chatter and kids play after all the seriousness is over. 

Ellie and daddy having fun.

Ellie had to explore with the older kids and found one of her favorite things, dandelion puffs. She likes to blow them. This is such a cute picture. Can someone with photo editing capabilities volunteer to remove the boogers off her face? It was a little chilly, ok. 

 Sunday was a relaxing day, mostly. The kids decided they wanted to "help" Grandpa Steve with the leaves in his yard so the raked some and played some.

 Even Ellie and Becca tried to help.

 The big kids even got involved a little.

 In order to make the pile bigger, they found a wheel barrow to cart leaves from on side of the house to the other. Ellie only liked riding in it when the leaves weren't there.

After a nice family dinner and spending time with the Watterson's, we had to head home on Monday, which was also Halloween. (That's a lot of driving, if your keeping track).

The drive home was slightly more eventful than the drive to Utah.

About 20 miles west of Laramie, WY on I-80, I did something I never wanted to experience again. I am not sure what exactly happened. I have a very patchy memory of the event. I know we rolled and I have been told that the car rolled 4 times. I know several kind people stopped to help us.

We were taken from the crash site to a hospital in Laramie by ambulance. There we were assessed. Ellie, miraculously, was not hurt at all. She never complained about anything hurting and acts like herself (other than she was so happy and kind to the ER doctor but I imagine that was so Jake and I wouldn't have to worry about her). Jake was also released from that hospital. He left with a strained wrist, bruised lungs, some sort of rib problems, a bruised spleen, and quite a few bumps/scratches to the "money maker" (aka his face), including a broken nose. His Halloween picture looks totally realistic. :)

I, on the other hand, was cared for slightly differently. Being 16 weeks pregnant, I was immediately placed on bed rest. The doctors thought they saw slightly placental tears but there hasn't been any bleeding, cramping or anything and the heart rate looks fine and the baby was moving. No worries there. I also had some bruised lungs and an awesome seat belt "floor burn" on my shoulder and collar bone. The biggest problem was the partial collapsed lung. The ER wasn't set up to handle problems like that so I was flown to a trauma center here in Denver while Jake and Ellie waited for a wonderful friend/angel to come and pick them up.

Luckily, the trauma hospital was able to re-inflate my lung without putting in a chest tub and I was released from there after only a day and a half. Through this whole thing, our families and ward families have done so much to care for us and help us out. There were a few sisters at the Denver hospital within 20 minutes of my arrival. Jake's parents arrived at the hospital before Jake did.

Long story short, we are all ok. Our physical injuries are healing and we are feeling more blessed and watched out for more than ever. Someone was protecting us. We are so grateful for loving friends and family and all they do to help us. More importantly, we are grateful to the Lord for saving our lives and keeping every member of our family safe.

P.S. That's another Halloween Ellie really hasn't been able to go trick or treating. One day, I promise baby. I will make sure of that.

Ellie's funny sayings...

Just a quick post to let you know that we are still alive...and for those of you who have heard what we have been through in the past 2 weeks, this is a miracle. More on this later.
Ellie is talking more and more and most days says the funniest things. Usually when Jake gets home from work or school, she will try to tell him what she saw on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that morning. I end up translating half of it because some words aren't that great and her sentence structure is terrible. "Boo-boo chicken in basket. Donald, bob-boo chicken basket. funny"
Our hardest task lately has been trying to buy Ellie some new shoes, specifically ones more for winter (aka not flop-flops or sandals). When we suggest trying on shoes Ellie would say, "No shoes. I have shoes. No shoes. I have white shoes." Then a 2-year old fit would ensue.
At dinner the other night, I was trying to help Ellie eat her dinner. She had some noodles on her plate so to convince her I really would eat them, not just pretend to, I put a bite in my mouth. Next I hear, "No mommy. Spit it. Spit it" She even put her hand under my mouth. Once I opened my mouth and showed her I ate them, she simply said ok.

Recently I asked Ellie why she was so cute and she replied, "Mommy cute." So Jake asks, "Is daddy cute?" To which Ellie stated, "No, Ellie cute."

Ha ha. Kids.

My favorite saying lately has been, "Mommy, I cuddle you." Of course, with family visiting lately this has also been "daddy", "grandma", "poppy", etc.

Ellie's birthday present

Have you ever felt bad about gifts you gave your kids because it was something you wanted them to have more than they wanted or they were right there when you bought it so they knew about it before opening the gift? I kind of felt this way with Ellie because she was with me for all her gifts but one. That one gift was more for showing grandma's and grandpa's our surprise. 

One of Ellie's presents had the ultrasound pictures in it.

So when she opened the gift, she would pull out the pictures. Then someone would ask what it was (because sometimes its hard to see via Skype) and she would answer, "It's the baby."

Of course, she had known before (although I don't think she really understand what a baby entails, yet) as Jake had been trying to teach her to tell people there is a baby in mommy's tummy. She would then point and say there was one in her's as well.

I'm hoping this book from the library helps but I am pretty sure she may not fully understand until the baby actually comes home.

Answers to the typical questions - the estimated due date is April 23rd, I am 15 weeks along, yes we plan on finding out the sex sometime during fall finals week, no the estimated due date is a few days before classes let out for a week and a half of readings day before spring finals. I think that about covers it.

Happy Birthday Ellie!!!

Ellie, I apologize this is so late. We have had a busy month. I can't believe that you are 2 already. We had such a fun day. In the morning, we chatted via Skype with Grandma Wendy, Poppy DeVon, and Uncle Jeff so we could celebrate a little with them. You opened up some of your presents and said "Happy Birthday".

After dinner that night, we chatted with Grandma Connie and Grandpa Steve so they could sing "Happy Birthday".  You were so excited to blow out the candle that daddy had to light it close to 10 times before the song ended. Again you opened some more presents, ate ice cream, and licked the frosting off your "happy birthday cupcake".


2nd birthday cheeser.

 

And that time it stayed out.

 You have gotten so big in just over a year. You now weigh 25.5 lbs and are 35.5 inches tall, a body like mommy's. You hated being at the doctor's office but love the idea of going.


Ellie at 1.

You fit right in with the family by talking non-stop. Luckily I understand a good portion of it. You have refined your walking skills so decided to move onto climbing and jumping. Sometimes you drive mommy and daddy crazy with all the things you climb up and jump off. You enjoy hanging out with your friends and cousins. One of your favorite things to do is cuddle on the couch with mommy or daddy and watch either Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Sid the Science Kid, or Word World. Recently you have started to watch movies more. You love dancing and take the chance to do so whenever or where ever there is music.

You recently have started to help say prayers at dinner or before going to bed. It's about the only time you whisper. You can identify all the letters of the alphabet (most of the time) and the numbers 1-10. You struggle a little with colors but that is simply because you are silly and love saying "lellow/pink". Somehow without help or influence from your parents, you have decided that pink is your favorite color and you love princesses and Tinkerbell.

Also, you are so independent you have decided to potty train yourself. We as your parents did nothing to start the process but you are doing very well as using the toilet although one day you will learn that you really don't poop snakes or tinkle stars (from the song twinkle, twinkle little star).

We love you so much and are so glad you were born into our family. Even though you are still learning to make right choices and struggle with consequence to bad choices, you always manage to do at least one thing a day that makes mommy laugh. Stay the happy, fun loving girl you are. Remember that you are a princess for the time being, but that one day you can become a queen. You are of royal birth, the daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves you so much. Ellie, we love you too. Happy Birthday, big girl.

Ellie just 1 day old.

Pumpkin Fest

Some friends of ours told us about this Pumpkin Fest they hold at Historic Four Mile Park. Since it was the weekend of General Conference, we decided it would be a fun in between sessions break. The park itself is like "This is the Place" Heritage Park in Utah but on a smaller scale and more geared toward mountain man and traveling pioneer life.

For the festival, they had extra booths and activities set up.



Daddy getting a kiss at the kissing booth.

There were hay and carriage rides around the park.



They had scarecrows to stuff and dress.



Look at all those scarecrow insides.

Of course Ellie just wanted to walk around and touch everything. We allowed her to walk on the hay bails with daddy holding her hand. After falling a few but still making it to the end, we decided it was time to head home. Sadly on the way out, Ellie had this revelation for us.

Translation: I have a poke-y bum. Apparently some hay managed to sneak its way into her diaper. I was surprised at how much during the next diaper change.

Another Trip to Utah (Red Butte Gardens and Hogle Zoo)

Obviously, we aren't much of home bodies. After heading back to Salt Lake, we spent some time around the valley. We helped Annie bottle pear sauce while Ellie and Braden pretend fought until they decided to become friends. Then later that night, we went to Red Butte Gardens. I hadn't been there in years, since I first started college. It is very beautiful and open. The kids loved running from garden spot to garden spot. We had to tell the to stop or slow down several times because we were missing half the flowers. 

Cheesy cousins.

Feeding the fish.

Look at all of them. Watch out for the ducks.

One thing I didn't know is that the Children's Garden has a water part. You can't keep kids who love water out of it. Sadly, this was one of our last stops and it was growing cold and late.


This is how 2 year olds don't play in the water.



The Children's Garden was very cool looking and fun. It kinda reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. You can actually walk into the snake's mouth and wander around under the cover of plants.



This is the flower bed.



A flower paint palette.



This tree created a hut so Macy held school inside.

I had such a good time. Ellie was so cold and wet by the time we were leaving that we just took off her clothes. Luckily dinner was close to Annie's place and she needed to stop by to pick up clothes for Braden so we borrowed some of Braden's clothes for the evening.

The next morning, Ellie and I met Grandma Connie, Cassie and Becca at the zoo.

Feeding the birds.

 I don't know if the girls were more excited to be at the zoo or to be hanging out together. They tried to clean us out of quarters feeding the ducks. 

Becca and Ellie inside an egg.

Then we almost couldn't get them off the play ground to go see the animals. Of course we had to climb on every rock, hang on every rope, and jump on anything we walked past.


Climbing on rocks.

 

Sitting on the Lions.

 I thought we were going to have some drama at the Merry-go-round because if you asked Ellie what animal she wanted to ride, she would say the Elephant. Then when you asked Becca, she responded the same. Unfortunately there was one little boy in front of us in line and guess which animal he wanted to ride on?


Riding the Merry-go-round.

 

Some little monkeys.

Riding the train.

Grandma's Girls.

They have been doing a lot to improve the zoo. I think the new bear/Rocky Mtn exhibit will be super nice. We all had such a great time and the timing worked out just great. We arrived early and just finished up with everything a little after nap time. Yes, Cassie and I were there. We just spent our time behind the cameras.
 

Saw this in the gift shop and who doesn't need Ellie Pooh paper.

Sometimes it's hard living away from family but also I think it makes visiting a lot more fun. Thanks to all our family for such a great time. One of these trips we'll try to make long enough to fit friends in as well.

Another Trip to Utah (down to St George)

As part of the trip to Utah, we traveled down to St. George to enjoy a weekend in the sun. Our first day down there we spent on half of it at Sand Hollow. We love the sun, sand, and water.

Ellie stealing Aunt Stef's chair.

Ellie enjoyed the beach as much as she enjoyed riding the boat.

Do they look like they are having fun?

I don't think those kids had any fun at all. What do you think?

Ellie even tried riding the tube with mommy and Aunt Stef.

I skied twice which made for an extremely sore body.

I think I have only been water skiing once in 3 or 4 years. It felt so good even though I was so stiff.

We all spent some time swimming.

Ellie did ok swimming although she wanted to always have a hold of me.

After plenty of water and sun, we headed home to clean up and head out for dinner and then to watch The Little Mermaid at Tuacahn.

Ready to enjoy the show.

Ellie stayed awake the whole time and sat with either me or my mom for the show. It was such a well done production. They did so many fun things to give the show an under the sea feeling. If you ever have a chance to see this show or any other Disney at Tuacahn, do it.

After a long night sleep from such a busy day, we took off to Zion's. I haven't been there in years. I didn't even know they had gone to the shuttle system and that you can no longer drive through the park.  Our plans were to hike up Emerald Pools.

Ellie and I riding the shuttle to the park.

Please keep your heads, arms and legs inside at all times.

 Ellie fell asleep on the shuttle ride in and slept in the stroller for most of the hike, which was nice because then I didn't have to carry her.  She woke up as we got close to the falls because cold water splashed on her.

The kids playing in the water.

Part of the group continued to the pools, while some of us headed back down; Ellie, Kelsey, Grandma Bonnie, my Uncle Russ, my Aunt Alison, and me.  Kelsey collected acorns the whole road down and then at the end started to leave small piles for the squirrels. 

Ellie didn't want to hike down but I didn't want to carry her the whole way.

 We were able to rest down on a grassy area at the bottom while we waited. We also snacked and played some. Inside a gift shop, Ellie found a stuffed wolf which she proceeded to ride around the store on.

Ellie didn't want to ride on my shoulders either.

 After everyone returned from the hike, we headed back to the small town for dinner and some snacks. We needed to stop at the candy store for candies and then the pie shop for "bumble berry" pie; which is delicious.

Matching Ellie and Poppy.

Ellie thought it would be fun to climb into the stroller basket.

 I forgot to mention that someone thought it would be a great idea to put Ellie, Braden, Macy and Kelsey all in the same car together. As long as we had on a movie, they did just fine. At one point on the ride home, Braden was falling asleep. Since Ellie had taken a nap, she didn't want Braden to sleep so she yelled, "Braden, wake up." That was the end of Braden falling asleep. Luckily they did a good job of keeping each other occupied.

Ellie and Braden on the ride home.

It was a good trip. I am grateful that I have these times to spend with family and that I have a family that loves to do such fun things. Also, thanks to my Aunt and Uncle who let us stay in their house.