Dirt, Big Trucks, and More Dirt

On September 12th, the kids and I headed to an event that only comes along every other year--Dozer Days. This event is actually a huge fundraiser for my school disticts Education Foundation. A local quarry basically opens up their doors (or sand piles) brings in every possible piece of large equipment possible and lets families enjoy playing on their dirt, rocks and equipment. It was our first time going and I can tell you that the 2 hours we spent was not near enough time. It was great to see so many families having fun together. As you can see, the kids had an absolute blast. We came home covered in dirt and loving it.

Hopefully Not Too Late

We recently got tired of saying, "We need to do our landscaping." We also had a light in the tunnel which allowed us to actually have time to work on it. So, we put the kids to work with shovels, pails, tractor and trailers, and lots of dirt and mulch. I think we are pretty happy with how it turned out. We will just have to wait til spring to see if they make it through our winter. We will keep our fingers crossed.
So we went from this...
To This...

Like I said--hopefully these plants will make it through the bitter Wisconsin winter. Now we are continuing to water and water and water. Grow little flowers grow.

1st Day of School

Again--a little at a time.

I always hate the first day of school--not because I don't like my job, but because I do not get to see our own kids off on their first days. This year was even a little more painful because our baby started 4K. He was so excited to go on the bus, until he realized that Jake and Jordyn would not be getting on with him. Jackson takes the bus from the sitter's in the morning and then goes back to her house when school is over for lunch and a nap. He is loving school--I am still struggling with my baby moving into the next phase. It makes me sad!!! Jake is in 6th grade and Jordyn is in 4th. Both are also doing well. Jake and Jordyn get to school about the same time as Jackson so Jordyn goes and sees him before walking over to her school. Every morning Jackson whispers to Jordyn--"Come see me, OK."
Ken and I are very proud of all of them.

A little at a time I guess

I have continued my pattern--one day on, 30 off. Not a good pattern and it certainly does not keep anyone up to date on the Ellis gang. And as you know, the further behind you get, the harder it is to get started. So...I decided to catch up a little at a time. This may mean, just a few lines, or a few pictures or a combination of the two. The results remain to be seen. Here is the first attempt.
For any of you that know me really well, you know that I LOVE black olives. When I was young, I would put them on my fingers and act like a witch. Now, when I am in silly mood, I still may put them on my fingers (and yes sometimes I am a witch) I am happy to say that our children are carrying on the tradition. Well, Jackson created a new twist to this tradition by using raspberries.