Funny Conversations

Me: "Ella, what did you learn in school today?"

Ella: "Um...... SHARING GERMS! If you have germs, GET RID OF THEM!"

Ella Bella Turns 4

 I can't believe our little sweetie, Ella, is 4!!

She had a very busy weekend celebrating! We started Sunday morning with candles on her cinnamon roll singing to her and she opened her presents from us. Jada came over, one of her most favorite people ever, and we took off for town! We did a little shopping, and Ella got her ears pierced!! After that, we rewarded her bravery with a ride on a merry-go-round in the mall. We finished the night painting pictures, watching a movie, and eating pizza. The next day, we spent the day in Clear Lake on Gpa Tom's boat!! Tuesday, she took purple cupcakes to school to celebrate again, where she was serenaded by her class. :)

Wild wild wild weekend!

I know, I'm slacking at my blog updates!!! August has been a lot of CRAZY! Mostly good crazy. :)

This past weekend was absolutely awesome and jam packed with fun stuff! Friday, we enjoyed a night of Denver Days festivities and euchre/pepper. Here is Ella with her rainbow face paint; she had a blast on the rides!

 Saturday morning, we snuck in a trip down the road to what will be our only parade we'll see this summer! We specifically went to the parade to see our very good friends in the parade displaying their church float. Turns out, they bailed on the parade!

Well, technically they didn't "bail." They were off having this beautiful little baby, Amelia. Welcome to the world, sweet little Amelia!!! She was born right on her due date. We met her on Sunday and she really is perfect.

 After the parade, we met up for a Gustafson family reunion taking place in Jesup. Great to see family we haven't seen in a while! Especially Gma Bev and Gpa Chuck who reside in Las Vegas.

Mid-reunion, the girls attended their friend Evelyn's 5th birthday party where they swam and played and ate great food! This is a cute photo taken by Lindsay of the swimming adventure. What seems like not very long ago, Lindsay and I were this age playing together. :)

From there, Ella headed to Gma and Gpa Cozarts for an outdoor movie with her cousin Jada. The night was full of fun, treats, and staying up late. :) I purposely packed along the parade candy since I knew my mom would keep them up late. She was really grateful for that. :) Erin and I returned to the reunion for more food, drinks, and laughs.

The next morning, Ella didn't want to go home after a trip on the lawn mower with Grandpa to go look for caterpillars.

 

 Bright and early on Monday, Ella started her first day of preschool. It went really well, and she was really excited about her new gig. After a hard nap on the touch (with Erin poking at her the whole time), we took her out for pizza and ice cream to hear all about her day! Unfortunately, Erin was sick so the celebration was pretty short lived.

Uh oh

Even with a tomato squished in between her fingers, there is nothing more sweet and innocent than my concerned little citizen saying "Uh oh"and handing me her sloppy creation.

Weekend Away

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating a very special birthday in the family. We went to Iowa State Fair and the Omaha zoo! It was a blast and the kids did great considering we were going non-stop. What is better than family, fun and PERFECT weather? I can't decide what part was my favorite... the animals...the food.... the swimming.... the funny moments.... the disastrous moments... :)

Three little farmers!

 Ella got a good dose of stinky pigs this weekend, and she loved every bit of it :)

Sweet little cowgirls (and perhaps accessories for our pig party coming up!)

Off roadin it

Just wondering....

Ella: "Mom, when will I grow big? I eat my dinner every night really good."

Mommy's little helpers

I bribed the girls all night to help me do some cleaning. They weren't interested at all until the vacuums came out. :)

Erin - Vocab Update

Favorite thing Erin says: "Up! Up!" (when she wants to climb onto your lap or climb up the steps. 

Newest thing Erin says: "Cack. Cack." (Quack Quack)

Erin - 14 months

I wish I could put Erin in a bottle and stop her from aging. Right now, she is in that sweet spot right in between squishy, affectionate infant and fun, giggly  toddler totting around everywhere. She doesn't talk back, she really tries to make us laugh, and she doesn't require a huge amount of work.

Two of my favorite things she does right now:

1) When she's standing in her crib, refusing to lay down, we'll say "Go ni-nite" and point to her mattress. She'll immediately belly flop onto her mattress with her head to the side and pretend to sleep. Hilarious!

2) She'll hum "nuh uh" (no) to EVERYTHING that she knows is naughty. And the more we say "nuh uh," the more she repeats it. SO CUTE.

Derek's Birthday

Happy 28th Birthday to Derek!

He stretched the celebration out over 3 days. On Thursday, he took monster bars to work, took his family to the Goat for supper (wings), and opened his gift (a tool).

He and I decided a couple weeks ago that we would take Friday (the 26th) off together. The girls went to the sitters and we got quite a bit done around the house. We then went to Waterloo to begin looking at purchases for our bathroom project. It was a little strange not including the girls in our day off, but I must admit it was nice shopping at an adult's pace and having uninterrupted conversations as we made our plans.

Tomorrow, we are hosting a group of friends and family over here for a meal and fire. Can't wait to see everyone!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

Happy 35th Birthday, Everett's Service!

The girls had a blast on Saturday visiting Elkader, strolling in the parade, and celebrating Derek's grandma's business of 35 years!

No Shirt, No Problem

The girls taking after their daddy and opting to go shirtless.

Take me out to the ball game

It's starting to feel like summer. It's unbearably hot. The bugs are everywhere. And life is busy! We've been enjoying a lot of time on our deck, attending grill-outs, parades, and catching the last of Jada's softball season. Coming up: camping this weekend! At this rate, it'll be September when we start constructing our bathroom. :)

Tonight, we actually took the girls to the Waverly pool. Ella had a blast, she is getting better in the water all the time. Erin did great, as well, but got pretty tired. She laid her head on my shoulder for most of it as I waded across the pool several times.She might be feeling a little ill, she woke up with a fever around midnight.  Hence why I'm blogging at 3:30am. (And had to order something online.)

My niece, Jada

Missy & Erin

Jada, an awesome pitcher!

Like a Boss

Me (at the end of my rope): "Ella! Stop being so bossy! You're not the mom, you're the kid. Do you take care of the kids? Do you cook? Do you do all the laundry!"

Ella: "I help you fold clothes sometimes!!!!"

Dancing Peanut

Our little Dancing Peanut at 6am!