Our New Addition--Kaycee

We would like to introduce the newest member of the Ellis family. She arrived yesterday--a few days earlier than the kids expected. They named her Kaycee--which is yes--the girlie form of KC. She had a good first night--I was only up at 2:30 and then at 6 am. I tried to put her back in the kennel for another 1/2 hour but that wasn't her plan. She continues to look for her brothers and sisters as she is adventuring around. She was so excited this morning--but found out it was just Ken's black socks. She doesn't like to be alone and gets lost if she ventures to far... Needless to say--I am not getting much done today!!

Cancun Surprise!!!

This summer Ken and I, with the help of Ryan and Amy Kalis, pulled off one of our best surprises ever. We surprised Chris and Christine Stigall in Cancun. Chris had asked us to come to Cancun and surprise Christine for their 10th anniversary. We "very sadly" told Chris there was no way we could pull this off with Ken starting a new job and us moving the week after they were going. We "very excitedly" called the Kalis' and said we were "in" but didn't want to surprise just Christine--we would surprise them both. So, with several months to wait, and lots of "so sad we are not going" we anxiously strategically planned our arrivals.

Ken and I were scheduled to arrive 1 and 1/2 hours before the KC folks. We had it all planned--it was going to be perfect. Well--as we know--plans don't always work out. Ryan and Amy missed their flights--way long story there and way good reason for them to want to get loaded when they arrived. So, Ken and I started "Plan B". We decided that we were going to be spies and secret agents--hiding behind tall plants and peaking around pillars. They finally arrived. Over a few cocktails--Ken and I decided we were going to send them a bottle of wine--with a note saying we hope they enjoyed the wine and the week--wish we could share it with you...... Then on page 2 we wrote--If you want to share it--come in the hallway."
So we knocked on the door and hid the the corridor. We had to knock twice cuz no one answered??? So I ran up, pounded on the door and ran away again. This time they answered. We couldn't see them but could hear them reading our note and then we heard Christine...SHUT UP...SHUT UP...THEY ARE NOT HERE. Ken and I quietly came out of our hiding spot and came up to them for hugs and tears. It was one of the most memorable parts of our trip. We so wished that Amy and Ryan could have been a part of this.
So we shared the bottle of wine and anxiously awaited Ryan and Amy's arrival. The first night was actually quite relaxing. It was good to just be together. But needless to say, we hit the beaches the next morning and every morning after that. We spent a big part of our first day on the beaches and in the ocean. There is nothing like sand in your toes or wherever else it goes!! Our evenings were spent dining with our great friends. The food was fantastic. The resort had a wonderful array of restaurants to choose from. Each night brought a different ethnicity. The evenings usually started out quiet and with a few glasses of wine, a little bourbon, and whatever else, it became a little more interesting. Well along the way, Ken declared himself the conductor. Most days he did a good job, but there was one day in particular that we didn't follow the tracks as he expected. I remember at about 3:00 in the afternoon he looked at me and said..."Oh honey, my cars have all fallen off the tracks." And boy did we ever. Ken and I ended up going to dinner alone that night. The Stigalls and Kalis' were in bed by 7. We went to pick them up and Amy and Ryan were in the fetal position in towels and Chris and Christine decided it just wasn't a good idea to go. Now--Ken and I went to dinner, but we were also in bed by 9:15. Here is just a peak at the fun we had!!!
We had a wonderful week. Our sighting of sea turtles was amazing--despite the crazy security guard. The weather turned out great--despite the hurricanes going through. Ryan and Amy, Chris and Christine... Thank you for inviting us. It is a trip to remember!!!

Our Two Faces of Jordyn

As most of you know, Jordyn has been dancing since she has been 3 yrs. old. I will never forget the little pink dress with her hat. At 3, it didn't matter what she did, she was absolutely adorable. Well, much to my sadness, Jordyn decided that this would be her last year of dance. So, (for now at least) here is one last look at our dancer Jordyn...

When this decision was made, I told her she would need to find something else to do, She was not going to just tag along to all of Jake's events. So...here is the new face of Jordyn this fall...she is a ferocious flag football player. She is having a blast. The first game was this past Saturday--it was pouring rain all morning. We actually had her excited to get all muddy. I will say that I was happy the rain stopped for game time. Who would have thought that Jordyn would be the Ellis football player???

Jeff and Vickie's February Visit to Merton

Jeff and Vickie arrived to Wisconsin in style--a bright sunny day in February--not too cold and not snowing. We had decided to give them everything Wisconsin is known for in one stop. Ken picked them up from the airport, I picked up the kids from school, and we headed down to Lake Front Brewery in downtown Milwaukee. We first ate some wonderful fish and had a welcoming beverage.-. This fish was fantastic!!! We then went on a brewery tour. The adults had little samples along the way and the kids had root beer. And how else do you end a brewery tour but by singing the song from Laverne & Shirley.(The kids didn't quite get this but oh well--someday they will understand) We then headed back upstairs to a great band playing...yes....polka music. We danced for a while and decided we better head back home--we did have 2 vehicles that had to be driven.

So...we get back into the metropolis of Merton, hang with the kids for a bit and then head uptown for a little Bogie's Karaoke night. We could not do the "walk of shame" because after all it was February. What a night it was. As you can see--good fun was had by all.


After that worldwind of a Friday, we had a great relaxing weekend and enjoyed the quiet time we had together--what we wouldn't give to have them in our neighborhood again!! Love you both and thanks for coming. We hope to see you soon.

Winter Fun

As we headed into February, the pond became the place for the kids to hang-out. Ice skating and hockey became the pass the time of choice. When we took the Christmas lights down, we decided it would be fun to put them up around the ice skating rink. The hours the kids spent on the ice were incredible. There were no major injuries and that is even more incredible considering sharp blades, hockey sticks, pucks and lots of kids. There were kids vs. adult hockey games, skates vs. boots and whatever other combination the kids came up with. It is great to see kids out exercising without even knowing it. As they skated, layers were often shed and food was needed to refuel. Ken was often called upon to drill holes so they could go ice fishing--considering he had 2 knee surgeries the kids knew ice skating wasn't really an option. Who knew a silly old pond could be so much fun!!

A New Chapter

This Wednesday marked a new chapter in my life. I will give you a preface on how this chapter developed. About 6 months before our chaos began, I said to Ken, "For the first time in my career, I feel like both of us working is detrimental to our family." Our valuable family time was spent playing catch up. We were not enjoying our kids they way we should--Don't get me wrong--we loved the baseball and basketball, the dance and everything we were running to. But that was the problem--we were always running and we were not able to enjoy the little family time we had.

So, when Ken accepted the job with Oshkosh Corporation, we decided to make some changes in our lives. I am going to stay home to try to make everyone's lives a little less stressful, make sure the kids are adjusting ok, and continue to get our house in order. Our house looks fairly put together on the surface, but please don't open too many closets or go in the basement.

As I start this new phase, it take some time for me to adjust as well. I will hopefully have time for exercising a little and keeping you up to date on Ellis lives. My last post was in February and soooooo much has happened. Thank you for your patience--It is good to be back.

The New Furball

We have added a new member to the Ellis house. Jordyn did researched and has wanted a critter for quite some time. After listening to her constant chatter, we decided that it was time to take her seriously and begin to think about getting her something that she really wanted. She spends so much time going to Jake's events and she is wonderful with Jackson--she really needed something just for her. The house also seemed a little empty.

So last Wednesday we went to just look. I really had no intention of buying one until March. Well, we got there, and there were 3 of them. One of them was a bit older and 2 were about 8 weeks. She held them both fell in love with them. But, like I said, I had no intention of buying one and we left them there. Well, that is all she talked about the rest of the night. She woke up the next morning saying, "They were so cute Mom.." and she was so right. So during the day on Thursday I called Ken and got the plan in motion. I called Petco and asked if any were left, and the one she really like was the only one left. I asked them to put him on hold and we would said that we would be there that night.

So, we went to Jake's hoops came and then...we were going shopping to find me some jeans. I knew I could get her shop. The shops I wanted to go to just happened to be right by Petco. As hoped and expected she asked, "Mom can we go see the guinea pigs, Please." I said, "Fine, but I don't want to see any tears when we leave." Heartless I know.

We got there and the lady I talked to on the phone happened to be there and played along wonderfully. Jordyn held him and said, "Oh Mom. He is so cute. I wish I could bring him home." And I had to string her along just a bit more and said, "Jor you know what we agreed on." Then she said, "Mom can we come back next week to see if he is still here?" I had to stop it. I said, " I don't think we will need to do that." There was this long pause and she asks, "What do you mean, Mom?" I responded with, "If you already have one, we probably don't need to come back."

The look on her face was priceless and I have tears just typing it. The tears welled up in her eyes and she said, "I can take him home?" It honestly probably has been one of my most favorite moments with my daughter.

For thinking a guinea pig would be boring, the boys have been quite excited to have him home, too. Jake has even agreed to be his sitter while Jor is at dance on Mondays. They get up early in the morning to play with him and are really enjoying him. I think I even saw Ken laying on the floor with him today. It has only been a week, but things are going well and I think Brownie is pretty happy in his new home. I know Jordyn is happy and that makes me smile.

I'm Back.....

So as I was logging on I said to Jordyn, "I don't think I have done a blog since mid November." Then I open it up and see it was October 9th. For goodness sake--thank you for sticking with me and continuing to see if we are alive. We are and are all doing well. We had a wonderful holiday season and are diving into 2010 busy as ever.

Once again I have no clue where to start. So, I think we will finish you up on 2009 with a few thoughts and then gradually head into 2010. Unfortunalety we ended 2009 wih 2 loses. On the Tuesday before Christmas, Ken's grandmother passed away. We were all very sad to lose her but her last few months had been very difficult. We hope she has found peace and remember her with a smile on our faces.

We also lost Rahja at the ripe old age of 14. She was Ken and my first attempt at parenting and we all miss her. The house just seems a little empty without her. Every once in a while I think I hear her collar jingling.


We had a wonderful Christmas break with family and friends. I will admit it was a little crazy: Ken and Craig took the kids skiing from the 20-22nd, Ken's grandma's funeral was on the 22nd so to Oshkosh and back home we go. Back to Oshkosh on the 24th for the Ellis Christmas. Then to Green Bay for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning afternoon at my parents. Then back to our house picking up Ken's mom and brother's family for Christmas at our house. Bowling and fun with cousins on the 26th, a Basketball tournament on the 27th, a day of rest on the 28th (actually Ken worked in the basement, I packed and tried to get the house in some kind of order) and then off to KC from the 29th to the 2nd. On Saturday the 2nd, we left KC at 9am and drove to Madison so Jake could play in the last 2 games of his tournament at 6 and 7pm. Then home to dump the stuff in the house and climb into bed. Off to work on Monday. Whew Whew... When is our next vacation. Here are a few clips to show you just how much fun we had... This is our trip home--from KC


Through the break we all played hard. The next few entries will show you how much fun we had. Thanks for checking back in.

Christmas Fun

As we headed into the holiday season, things get so crazy. But not so crazy that we forget how much our family means to us. This year was a tough year. We lost my granny, Ken's grandma and my brother-in-laws grandpa. They were always on our minds--bringing us tears and also laughter as we remembered them. But as we hear the sound of laughter, we are reminded what Christmas is about--love and family. We had lots of that this Christmas. My sister's family made it home despite the winter storm and Ken's brother's family made it home from Kentucky.
Jake was excited to see that he was almost taller than Auntie Angie--if we look really close, I think he might have passed her.
Jordyn was excited to get Wii Fit and Ethan was just happy to hang with Jake.

Jake has always like to cuddle with Grandma and Jackson just wanted to see if Uncle Craig got something for him.

We headed to do WI's favorite passtime on the 26th with Ken's brother's family. The battle between the Ellis'. It was fun to spend time with them. It has been too long.

We then regrouped and headed to Clinton and KC Missouri. Read on my friend :)

Winter fun in Clinton, Missouri

So we are off to spend New Year's in Missouri. Well this year we had to change our route. Some of you may remember that my sister's family moved to Clinton, Missouri. This is about 1 hour and 15 minutes from KC. So we waved as we passed familiar places and headed on down to the Heck family home. But we did have to laugh as we noticed that they had more snow than we did in Wisconsin. The kids had a blast playing in the snow and having a sleep over. Then we were even more excited to play in the new fallen 4 inches of snow in the morning. The snow just hung on the trees and it was perfect snowman building weather. Jake so wanted Uncle Rick to get out the snowblower but he didn't--we all helped shovel and played along the way.



Jake couldn't resist just giving Ethan a little push--and over he went. We all had fun playing the old fashion way.


After a fun 24 hours at my sister's home, we were saying good-bye and heading back up to Kansas City. It wasn't so hard to say good-bye because they would be coming to the big city to bring in the New Year with us.

Friends Just Make You Smile

So on the 30th we were all packed back up and headed North. The kids were so excited to see our friends in Kansas City and I will admit--So was I. I had not seen them since our trip to Cabo and the kids hadn't seen each other since our trip in June. Jordyn needed a Lydia fix!! She had been surrounded by boys since December 26th was on testosterone overload. It seemed that all the kids disappeared the moment we got there. They were inseperable. Jake and Landon hung out and played their new games, Jordyn and Lydia did their girl things, Jackson floated between the two and Elaina was sad because she had to work. The adults went out for dinner that Wednesday night as we had done the year before. What a wonderful evening we had. Several of us got a little crazy--I won't name names. It is great to have friends that even when you don't see each other for 6 months,you can pick right back up and feel right at home.

So it is New Years Eve Day. I head off to have a lunch with my wonderful friend Donna. Time flies and before we know it, our quick lunch is 2 1/2 hours long. There was never a pause in our chat as we filled each other in on our busy lives and enjoyed each others company. I was so in need for a nap that day, but I didn't want to let a moment of our time with friends to go to waste. Jeff and Vickie and Dwight and Phyllis opened their home and welcomed my sister's family this year. Family and friends--it doesn't get any better.

The evening was spent at the Parker home. Jeff and Vickie have always gone to Vickie's sister's house, so they came and started the evening with us and then headed out. Again, the laughter filled the house. Wine bottles were opened, the captain was served, the kids drank fancy drinks and yummy smells filled the air.

(more pics to be added later)