Back by popular demand, more of Eleanor's photos

I recorded the music for the slide show. The song came to me in a dream. In my dream there was a big social event of some kind. Someone was up on a stage singing this song. If I told you any more, you'd think the song was weirder than it already is.

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Sarah's Shower

These are a couple of photo's from my friend Sarah's bridal shower. (Sorry Emry, I wanted to go to your baby shower, but I couldn't make it. I need to get your address because I have a gift I want to send you! :) It was so much fun to see old friends, chat, and eat some very fancy food! We had crab. Talk about fancy! Sarah's fiancee's Aunt threw the shower. This aunt also happens to be my Mom's neighbor, so that made it an easy walk. I'm so excited that she's gettin' hitched!

Family Reunion

Sorry that I have been so out of it. I know you just pine away when I don't post.........LOL! I've just been enjoying reading about your lives and then my time after that gets claimed by numerous other activities around here, and so I will be posting many short posts.

This is Eleanor playing in the sand. She gets it from Nate, just like her affinity for cold hot dogs.

Just wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know that we are still alive and well. We are coming home today. I am excited to post some pics that we took while visiting family but I have to wait until we get home, as our usb cable is located there.



In the meantime here is a picture of some cookies:

Just thought that you all should know that Chips Ahoy cookies (as pictured above) are very delicious. Especially when one is starving and needs to eat a real lunch instead of cookies. They are also quite good as an after-lunch snack. Why hasn't anyone shared this vital information with me before??

And now I must leave you, as I have no idea what my children are doing, or have been doing for the last 20 min.

For Meridy

Meridy is a great mother. She's very devoted, and selfless. Mothers are amazing that way. I'm glad our kids have someone like Meridy to bring them up.

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Iron Man Syndrome

Today my friends, my best friend Nathan (it's a good thing he is my friend or he would be in big trouble :), is being quite provoking. He's reverting back to one of those pratical joke prankster seven year olds.

It all started when he decided to start brandishing a Iron Man temporary tatoo. Yes, my friends, I told him not to do it. But now the the Iron Man tatoo will hold him in its power until it washes away. Nathan just informed me that it does not wash off in the shower. (Yes, do pitty me.) It lasts about a week......

How could Nathan ever be provoking you ask? Well he's been poking me. That doesn't sound too bad on the surface. But as many of you know, I jump about five feet in the air every time I am poked in the side. Don't believe me? Well don't try it. It is a very involuntary I assure you. And it becomes quite trying after awhile. One can not accomplish anything when one is often jumping or twitching.

Also, he had been deliberately putting ice cream on my nose. What are you talking about, you ask? Let me start from the beginning. We often eat ice cream. When I am busy doing something like reading or crafting, Nate feeds me the ice cream. (Okay, okay, you caught us. We share spoons. We're married.) Well on accident once he got me in the nose. Ever since then, he started doing it deliberately. Then he started feeding me empty spoonfuls. (Nathan just told me that he got me in the nose on purpose the first time!!!!)

I let you know if Nathan's condition worsens......

"There is no Such Thing as a Free Lunch."

Well there is in Ellie's world. Often, when we go play outside Ellie likes to go over to one of her favorite spots. It has a little hill of rocks on one side. (William insists on climbing it if Ellie does. I try to drag him away and he walks right back to it every time. It's cute, but it makes me nervous.) On the other side is one of those sea foam green boxes (above ground) covering some telecommunications equipment, cables, or something. The sea foam green thingy is like the checkout counter for her "store". She likes to be the "store guy", as she puts it. Her merchandise is usually made up of rocks and sometimes pine cones, imagined to be various things, usually food items. The most interesting thing about this store is that usually these food items are passed out for free. I even offer to pay. "Do you want any money?" "No." And so I thank her and proceed to "eat" my rocks. Ellie has even given me a thousand dollars before. That time the rock she gave me was bigger. She gave it to me almost apologetically. As if to say, "Here, have a thousand dollars mommy, sorry I couldn't give you any food. All I have to give is a thousand dollars." I am reminded of those old Virgin River Casino commercials, telling the good public that they should come on down because "...they give away money!" Right. The good public should not waste their money on the casino in hope to get the money that they "give away". The good public should come see Ellie. Too bad it's not real. She likes me to be the store guy now sometimes and I tried to ruin her innocence by teaching her that my food required a true purchase (all in pretend of course). I thought I had indeed ruined her innocence, but she has offered me a thousand dollars since, on more than one occasion. I accept them most heartily. I mean really, who could resist a thousand dollar offer from such a sweet and deserving little girl?

Also, on a slightly different subject, Ellie watched that part of Enchanted today, with her friend Meika, when Giselle sings, "How does she know that you love her?" So while Nate was taking his test tonight, Ellie was outside with her arms spread wide, running around, singing, "How do I know?" I was running, trying to keep up with her, holding a 2o or so pound baby, a book I was trying to read, Ellie's shoes, and a dress-up necklace that she had discarded. I don't know why I tell people that I haven't been exercising lately. That was quite the work out. And speaking of work outs, don't you all agree, that pushing around a shopping cart with a 3 year old child and 2 gallons milk included, can count as exercise?? When Ellie and I go shopping, I often feel that I have accomplished something to the benefit of my health.

Outdoor Adventures (with your hosts Ellie and William)

So Ellie, William, and I have been enjoying the great outdoors. The above is a video of Will sporting his new shoes. Thanks Deborah, they are really fun! You should watch it. It is funny.

I took Ellie and William to the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. It was for really for Ellie and her joy school group. (It's really great. If you happen to be in town, you should go. Ellie enjoyed herself emmensely. She kept wanting to talk to the fish, which meant that she wanted to listen to the tour guide-in-an-electronic-stick tell her about the fish. She informed us on the way home that jellyfish are NOT really fish. I think she learned a lot more than I did.) They passed out these hats as pictured above. Ellie loves hers. She thinks it is her crown. As we walked down the path near our front door, Ellie was shouting, "I am the Queen!", interspersed with, "I am the King." She's a little confused about that. I try to tell her that girls are queens, but sometimes she forgets. But hey, that's what childhood is for, right? Pretend. For now she can be anything she wants to be. I was suprised that William wore his hat for as long as he did.

Later, after obtaining Ellie's Halloween trick-or-treating pumpkin that she plays with all year long, we went back outside. I was talking to my friend, Sheri, on the phone. I didn't notice until after the conversation was over that Ellie had filled the pumkin with rocks from the landscaping from all over our condo community. I hope that there are not hidden cameras on the premisis.

Rising to the Top

Just thought that you would all like to know that I, Meridy, made bread in a bread machine that wasn't incredibly heavy and dense. I actually made bread that rose!!! It is so exhilerating to do something that you thought was imposible to do. I am so glad that I didn't let Zach have my bread machine (sorry Zach). I made cinamon rolls yesterday using the dough cycle of my bread machine. Yum! Yet another world of possiblities opens.

Ellie's Photography

Ellie took a bunch of pictures on our way home from Utah last time. I thought that they were pretty good. This is the world from the view of a three year old in the backseat.

If you look close this is a picture of William sleeping

Who is taking this picture you ask? Why it is Ellie! Notice that Nate and I are not holding the camera. When Ellie takes a picture you often have to bend your head so that your face will be in it. That's is why Nate is bending his head.