The Cincinnati Zoo

Elli and I went to the zoo today as our last trip for summer school. She can even spell it now and recognize the word, zoo. Such a smart girl from all that good teaching this summer. The pictures represent some of our favorite moments. I couldn't put 60 + pictures on here, so enjoy the sampling. Elli walked into my room at 7:00 this morning and climbed into bed. I asked her why she was up so early and she replied, "You told me to get up early to go to the zoo." She was too excited to sleep. The polar bears were our absolute favorite, followed closely by feeding the giraffe, watching the seals, seeing the bird show, and looking at the "cute little kitties":) Of course she had to ride the carousel and get ice cream. It wouldn't be much of a trip without those things. Loved being your teacher little girl and ending with such a perfect day!

Moms and Tots

The kids had fun playing with the water pump. They took turns filling buckets and pumping water all over each other.

Lily, Elli and Merdith loved playing in the caves.

Sherry is trying to get some baby time, but as you can see, the other kids needed Sherry time:)

Moms and Tots from church has been a great thing for me this summer. We went last year, but not as many times. I feel like I got to know some moms better, kids better, and parks in the Dayton area better. This park is Wegerzyn Gardens. It was beautiful. I may never have gotten the chance to go if I hadn't gone with this wonderful group of ladies from church.

Heather's Bridal Shower

Mom, Leah and I had a bridal shower for Heather on Saturday. It was very fun. There were 20 ladies, 2 little girls, and lots of food and presents. Heather got many beautiful gifts and Elli of course wanted to help with all of it. She did help me make this delicious layered cake with strawberry filling. You can see in this picture that she helped me with the icing. She also helped Leah with one of the quiches. She added some pumpkin pie spice, so we decided it didn't need that kind of help. That one went into the garbage. All the helping aside, she was just about as excited as Heather all day long. What a fun day with the ladies. Fun memories.

The Greene County Fair

Elli and Brent went to the fair tonight as I went to Bunco. They had a blast as you can see. They ate dinner, rode lots of rides, watched the horse races, looked at animals, got dessert, and came home exhausted. As you can see in the pictures, Elli rode her first roller coaster, and she even told Brent, "I didn't ride that one yet." "That one" was the ride that takes you up and then you fall. Brave girl. Brent said she kept a face that said, "I'm not so sure about this" but bounced right off and said it was fun. What event is not complete without a milkshake? No event in Elli's eyes, so there is a picture of her drinking a shake and looking at the cows. I am sad I missed out on so much fun,. but glad it was a great memory for Brent and Elli! Love you both:)

Must love dogs

This may be a line Elli uses one day when choosing friends and eventually a mate, because she does love dogs. Elli loves animals in general, but especially dogs. Since it was raining, I asked Elli what she wanted to do. She said, in her little way, "I have an idea. How about we go to the mall and play with dogs. Is that a good idea?" (I love it when she uses this phrasing) So, we went to the mall and played with an adorable little yorkie-poo. Elli is so sweet with these little dogs. She also wanted to take a picture of me:)

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

Extreme Make Over Home Edition came to Beavercreek. We went last night to see the house and all the volunteers. From Thursday to Monday they had demolished a home and rebuilt a newer, bigger one. The outside was almost done nd they were already moving in the furniture. So cool. We also got to see two of the designers. One was Michael and he came right up to the fence to say Hi and wave at Elli. Then, Ed we saw working on a project from a distance. So fun. In these pictures, I cannot figure out why Elli is screaming in front of the bus. She was excited to ride the school bus for the first time.

Oh these stories:)

From the back seat, "Mommy when you leave I will pick my nose. I will wipe it on the window."

"Mommy, I don't know if Fergi is okay or not."
"What's wrong with her, Elli?"
"Well, she isn't talking to me or anything this morning."

Elli saw white streaks in the sky from airplanes. "Mommy, look at those beautiful stripes. But do want to see something better? See? See those lines from the clouds? (Sun rays) They are going to be a rainbow when it is done. Isn't that better?"

"Mommy, Jesus waked me up today."
"How did he do that?"
"He made the thunder."
I super love her little mind and then the stories that come from it:)

Here in the middle of imagination...

Today Elli and I went to the pool. It was such a wonderful time. I forgot my camera, but I will help you paint the pictures in your mind of our time. Elli's imagination is so fun these days.
Me/ Elli
Tunnel/ Train
Scuttle /Ariel
Customer/ Ice cream scooper
Sherry /Caleb
Rope /Crab
Audience /Ballerina
There are other games we played, but these stick out in my mind. She is just such a fun little girl. I will say though that when we came home, I was the mommy and she was still my little girl. I snuggled her, rocked her, sang a song, then put her in bed. My baby.

The Greene

Is there anything better than playing in the fountains, having your friend with you, and eating blue snow cones? No way! We had the best time today playing and eating. So fun. Elli and her friend Lily were absolutely giddy with excitement. They laughed and played and had so much fun together. What a great day.

Exercising

It is so fun to watch Elli try to exercise. She wanted to do lunges and sit ups. She likes to do all kinds of exercise and tries as often as possible to do it with us! Now a sight to see is her doing jumping jacks. Hilarious!

The pigeon

As we were waiting outside Guiardino's Pizza dowtown Chicago, Elli saw this pigeon who was very curious. She started to walk like a pigeon and chased him around. He eventually flew away and Elli laughed so hard like she had scared him off. Very fun to watch!

Misc

Brent, Elli, myself, and our AIA intern Michelle, dressed up like cows to get a free meal at Chik-fil-A. Brent only got an entre though because he didn't put on his ears!!! We had a lot of fun.

Elli wanted her friend to come over and help her make yogurt popsickles (sp?) since "P is for popsickle. The girls loved making them and making a mess, but were disappointed when they realized they wouldn't eat them for another day! They were cute.

Heather's wedding is quickly approaching, so we spent Thursday putting her invitations together. They turned out great despite the fact that between the three of us, Heather, mom and myself, we don't have a single creative bone:)

Chicago Fourth of July Weekend

Elli is loaded down with her baby, blanket, sword, and backpack leaving the hotel. We had a great weekend. Brent chose a great place to stay and Jenna and Justin were very accomodating with so many people coming to their home for meals, and fun. Love you all.

Sparklers on July 4th waiting for fireworks outside our hotel room. These ended up being better than dowtown's fireworks. Tons of fun.

The throngs of people trying to leave the city at the same time. Craziness! We took the train from Jenna and Justin's house into the city with standing room only, but believe it or not, we left on that same train with almost a whole car to ourselves. Elli was asleep before we even got settled into our seats. When we got to our hotel room, she giggled in her little bed looking over at us and said, "it is fun to sleep with people." ?

The whole gang waiting for the fireworks downtown Chicago. They were good. We had fun. Elli got a great sword that she swung around dangerously the whole time. That is until she started shaking her booty!

Elli loved the statues of these little kids. She talked to them, hugged them, rubbed their faces, and asked if they were doing okay. How sweet she is.

Eating yummy corn at Taste of Chicago. Also, Elli and daddy enjoying the carousel on the Navy Pier. Elli loves to ride these horses!

Young's and Fireworks

We went to Young's last night before going to see fireworks. Elli of course wanted to feed and pet the goats and cows, then get ice cream. All three were accomplished with the company of Brent and I plus my parents. The fireworks were at Springfield Country Club and were great. Elli was in awe as you can see her staring at them. She also enjoyed playing with Papa as they threw their glow sticks back and forth before the firworks started. What a fun night.

We have bushes of black raspberries in our backyard. The last couple of years, Elli has helped pick these berries and she loves to eat them. I also like to turn them into cobblers and crisps and this year is the same. Elli decided she wanted to help make it. Yummy!

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day. We had a great day on Father's Day. Brent was able to relax and enjoy being with us. My dad also had time to relax. What a great day. I am blessed to have two wonderful men in my life. A great husband and father to Elli and a great dad. Thank you God for the blessing of these men in my life.