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.

A Jackson Funny

So this morning I am driving to work and needed to drop off Jackson. He starts telling me that they went on a hike yesterday and they saw bees. So it goes like this---Mom we saw a whole bunch of bees. Ms. Dawn said they were making honey. They were up in the tree. We saw um fly into the oven. ????? So I asked him, "What were they doing?" He responded as serious as could be, "You know mom, the oven up in the tree--that is were they have to go to cook the honey. Kids are too cute!! "

Balloons in the Hood

Surprise--here I am again and it is only a few days. So we were coming home from running some errands and are almost home. Jordyn busts out laughing and says "There is something you don't see all the time!" I had no idea what she was talking about. So I turn to the left and see this balloon in our neighbors back yard.
So we watch for a while to figure out what was happening. We find out that they basically skimmed the tops of the trees and for some reason couldn't get enough energy to get back up and had to land. So they walked it out to the road which is quite funny to watch. They then deflated it and took it home. Like Jordyn said--you don't see this all the time.

Cabo--So Much Fun

Well I finally am posting--This one will be fairly brief since the pictures will speak for themselves. Our trip to Cabo San Lucas was absolutely fabulous. We met up with Jeff and Vickie in Phoenix and then caught up with Dwight and Phyllis in Cabo. From the minute we got there until it was time to leave, I had a smile on my face--except when we did a shot of tequila. We all were basically together the entire trip and very few "moments" were needed. It was great to have my husband to myself and just have fun without the stresses of everyday life. Thank you Jeff and Vickie and Dwight and Phyllis for making this such a fabulous trip. Friends--priceless!!!!

That being said--it was great to get back home to our kids and family. They truly are our treasures.
A special thank you to Ken's mom, my parents and the Clementi family--without them Ken and I would not have been able to go on this trip and relax. We knew our treasures were in good hands on "their vacation."