Fort Walton Beach, Florida Oct 13-21

Elli carryng her toys to the beach.

Beautiful sunset down on the pier.

I really liked this picture of our feet. Elli was not happy about being "placed" for this picture, but thankfully it was of her foot prints and not her sour face.

A king sized bed all to herself and she loved it!!! "I sleep in my big, big girl bed. Want to go to the beach?" (How we woke up each day:)

Elli making a castle with daddy.

Brent's caption for this, "Are we on vacation yet?" We were so excited to finally be there that we changed our clothes immediately and ran out to the beach. What a fun way to spend our days.

The Pumkpin Barn Take II

On Oct 12, we went for the Brown family annual tradition to the Pumpkin Barn. We got a family picture again, and Elli got to ride a horse. She LOVED it. She also really liked feeding the horse some peppermints. Such a fun day with great weather!

Care Group fun at Youngs

We all met at Youngs for fun, pumpkins, dinner, and of course chasing kids who are soon to outnumber adults:)

Great Grammy and Grampy's house

Grammy gave Elli one of her favorite flowers from her birthday bouquet, a yellow rose.

Elli hugging Grampy as we were getting ready to leave.

We went to visit my grammy and grampy on Thursday. Elli wanted to sing "Happy Birthday" to Grammy. (not just because she sings it to anyone who will listen, but also because Grammy just turned 83!) Pictures were a little rough because Elli didn't want them to hold her, so she chose to sit in the chair. We made their day exciting though as we came, we spilled milk, we spread cracker crumbs about, and then we left! We love you Grammy and Grampy.

"I ride my bike."

Elli loves to "ride" her bike. She gets on, I push a few steps, then she gets off. She likes to ring the bell and push her babies too. She still doesn't get that you are supposed to push with your legs and make the pedals go. She is cute though isn't she? This bike was a garage sale purchase many times over then given to Elli by our neighbors. A perfect first bike for a girl who doesn't know how to ride:)

Pumpkin Patch

Elli petting "Coconut the friendly horse". She loves animals and tried to pet all of them. (pigs, horses, cows, donkey, llama, ducks, peacocks, and even the stray cats)

Smile guys.

We go to the pumpkin patch every year as a family. (We went with just the three of us last weekend, but the rest of my immediate family will be going again on Sunday, so check back for more pics:) The Pumpkin Barn has lots of pumpkins, photo ops, and animals. When you put that with a little girl who loves all three, it makes for a great ime!

Elli-isms

While Elli was eating breakfast, Fergi was running around as fast as she could go. Elli says with a big, out loud laugh, "Fergi, you crappin me up."

I was explainging to Elli that God gave us the Bible. In a very confused and upset voice, she said adamantly, "that's not God's Bible, that's mommy's."

Elli was desparately trying to get Fergi to 'wave' to her for a treat. Fergi was rolling, sitting, laying down, praying, dancing, crawling, etc, but not waving. Exasperated Elli says, "Mommy, I need a little help in here."

When Elli enters a room or gets 'found' while playing hide-n-seek, she often cries out, "here my are." (instead of here I am!)

Elli was describing to her Gonga, (grandma), our relationships. She said to Gonga, "You a precious one and mommy is a sweetheart." This statement followed my mom's clarification that Elli was her granddaughter and Iwas her daughter. Apparently, Gonga was not totally correct:)

We love this girl. Keep us laughing Elli!

Young's Again

Elli riding the cans again. She was so excited to give the lady her ticket all by herself and go for a big ride. She is such a serious little girl though. This is her returning from the trip. Brent waved to her and she smiled and took her hand off the wheel to wave. She got really scared though and put her super serious face back on and re-gripped the wheel like nothing else:)

What is a trip to Young's without ice cream cones! We saw the goats as always, sheep, El Pacas, and angora rabbits. They are having a Wool Gathering so we got to see all kinds of neat things today. Elli really loves the animlas and also enjoyed watching people spin yarn and shear sheep. What a great day!

Big Girl Bed

" I help. I essited" (I'm excited.)

"Daddy, new pincess sheets for my big girl bed."

Elli couldn't wait to sleep in it. We have been talking about getting a big girl bed all week and she told everyone she was getting it on Saturday. Here she is testing it out. As I write this blog post though, she is currently in her bed, "napping." I have heard her read to her babies, jump on the bed, and now she is singing to her stuffed animals. We'll see how tonight goes.

Ike takes our tree

Dad and Brent cutting it up with a chain saw. Poor tree.

We tried to save our tree but as you can see, it was being ripped up by the roots! The wind pulled the stakes right out of the ground as well. We are thankful for not losing power though and for the opportunity to have a slumber party with our friends:)

Go Bengals

Thank you Aunt Leah fro Elli's new Bengals outfit. She was so excited to see them on TV that she said, "Mommy, Bengals on TV. Get my dress!" We cheered them on despite the awful score. Go Bengals Go!

Papa's Boat Races

The team boat racing well but coming in second by a hair!

We went to Rocky Fork Lake last Saturday to watch Papa's boat race. Papa doesn't race but works with a team that races hydroplane boats. It was a good day and Elli did well. We didn't go to the pits with the rest of the family though. Uncle Matt, Elli and I stayed back to watch the races from the cool shade by the side of the lake.

I got it!

Elli went to the lake with us last Saturday to watch her Papa's boat race. We had a great time. On the way home, she was sitting next to her aunt Heather and picking her nose. I told her to stop and she said, "I don't want to stop." We kept trying to get her to quit, but she was picking away! Finally she yelled, "I got it!" She was so proud to show that she was able to extract the boogie that was giving her so much trouble. Thank you Aunt Heather for rescuing the boogie from her finger and putting it in the proper place, your napkin:)

God is Amazing

This summer, Elli has been interested in how things grow. We talked about how you start with a seed, water it, give it some sunshine and then it grows, grows, grows. After this discussion, with hand gestures, I asked Elli, "isn't God amazing?" So now, she will say to me, "Mommy, I want God is amazing." That means she wants to do the charade of something growing. At the end she always says, "God is amazing." Isn't He?

Papa's corn

Dad looking for some good ears.

Elli, "Papa, I'm stuck here. I need a little help." Elli was ready to help Papa find some corn on his land by Cesar's Creek. It was a little muddy, hot, and buggy, but Elli seemed to enjoy looking for corn. We got about 12 ears but aren't sure what kind it is. We'll know better tonight:) Dad lets a farmer farm his land to keep it from growing into a weed field. We just wanted to taste the produce.

Elli's Aunts

Aunt Jenna Labor Day Wekeend at the fountain at The Greene.

Aunt Megan on a visit after church one evening.

Aunt Heather at a Dragon's Game.

At Aunt Leah's neighborhood pool for a fun visit.

Elli really enjoys all of her aunts, especially when they have presents, which is surprisingly often:) I really love her Aunts too. Thank you for all you do for Elli and for loving her!

PS Aunt Lana, we miss you and cannot wait to see you in a couple of months!

For the Clewetts

We thought you'd enjoy seeing Elli all decked out, or can you see her? The camo does the job:) The baby doll adds a nice touch doesn't it?

Jonah

I was telling Elli the story of Jonah yesteray. She was very interested and listening well, but kept saying "no mommy" throughout the story as if I were telling it wrong. Finally I got to the part where the whale spits Jonah out on the beach and Elli says, "and then Jonah go tubing?" I love it!!!!

By myself

Elli's first ride of any kind all by herself.

She didn't need help with the goats this time. She loves them.

We went to Young's last weekend for some ice cream and fun with goats. Elli ran right up to them, squatted on her knees and said, "Hi goats," in the cutest little voice. She then fed them and pet them using this adorable little voice like she was talking to a baby. Then she left her ice cream not even finished to hop on a ride. She insisted she go by herself. The lady driving the tractor took a look at her and said, "not all them are excited but I'll watch her!" I guess she doesn't know that is Elli's face excited or not:) I cried and video taped the ride along with another mom. Both our girls had a great time. Elli said, "I go bumpy, bumpy, bumpy on a ride and ring a bell."

"Where's the hiking?"

We took Elli to John Bryan for some hiking and a picnic lunch. She asked "where's the hiking?" before we got there. She must have thought she was gettting a present or something:) She took her butterfly net and we got some pretty butterflies in it. She didn't want to get too close though because she said it was "too scary."

Olympics

Elli counting to 4, preparing for her dive.

All the kids cheering because they just won the race.

Andrew showing the girls how to put a horse through the obstacles.

We had the Raymond kids, Andrew, Lily and Caroline over one morning and decided to host the olympic games. We had a running race, a horse race, the balance beam, water balloon shotput, floor exercises, diving, long jump, soccer, and the marathon. The kids had a great time and we all were worn out by the end. Baby Caroline (8months) sat and smiled us all on to victory!

Norris Lake Trip #2

Elli, "I have an idea. How about ice cream guys?"

Just like old times growing up. We played king of the float. Of course, the one big difference was the little girl in the boat saying, "Don't do that guys. Come on. Hurry up. Get in the boat. AnnaBelle is sad." Anything to get us to stop playing so loudly:)

We took a boat trip to Matt's dad's house about a 1/2 hour away from Gary's place on the lake. Elli got really tired on the way back and told me she wanted to go night night. So she asked me to wrap her in a blanket. How sweet. I actually got to hold her while she slept for 30 mintues!

Elli wanted to help daddy pack. She said everything was "really heavy" and "very hard." She managed to pack her toys, her life vest and her baby's stroller. Brent had already put in his golf clubs. So I am thankful the rest of the necessities made it in. If left up to Brent and Elli, our trip may have turned out a bit differently:)

Fountain and Timid Girl

Elli likes the fountain at The Greene, an outdoor shopping complex. However, she is a little timid at first. She likes to step back and watch the other kids for a while, laughing and squealing along with them even though she is not playing. She does get in though especially when there are friends with her.

Popsicles

Elli is really into popsicles these days. She asks for them almost as much as she asks for gum. What a cuite. Anyway, she has started to take after me in so many ways that she has to be naked to eat them so she doesn't get her clothes dirty. Wait...let me state this in another way. I do not eat popsicles naked but I don't like to get my clothes dirty:) Also, she doesn't understand the whole concept of eating the popsicle and then drinking the juice from the bag so I have to put it in a bowl. Crazy girl. She has had some serious meltdowns over that. The top picture is just for pure laughs!

Panties, Gum, and telephones

Okay, this last week has been a good one. I will get pictures up soon, but here are some cute stories.
Panties-Elli is potty trained. She started with panties on Sunday last week and hasn't looked back!
Gum- Elli now chews gum without swallowing it and even prefers gum to any other snack I can offer most times.
Telephones- While I was taking a shower today, Elli was downstairs watching Elmo. I heard the phone ring but thought they would leave a message. About 5 minutes later, Elli comes upstairs as I was getting out of the shower and says, "mommy, Aunt Heather is talking." That's right. Elli answered the phone and had a 5 minute conversation with her Aunt Heather. Heather then asked Elli to put her mommy on the phone so she came up to find me. What a big girl we have at our house now:)

New Computer

We lost the hard drive on our computer so we had to get a new one. We got a little lax about backing up files. So, if any of you have pitcures of us that you could send by e-mail from Feb-July, we would greatly appreciate it. Leah, I know you have video from Elli's birthday that I need!!!! Maybe you can make a cd for me? I would like to create a computer file of these months for easy use when I make DVDs. Thank you all.

Photographer

Elli loves to take pictures. Here is a self portrait. She also gets so excited to "see Elli" after we take pictures. Hopefully she gets the hang of it one day:)

Fergi at the Vet

We took our little Malteese Fergi to the vet yesterday to get her heart worm medicine. They needed to do a blood test first though since it had been a while. Elli was doing great until she saw the needle in Fergi's led. She then started crying and saying, "That's my doggie." "Fergi no sick." "I hold her." "Stop it." "Nooooooo." I was so sad too because Fergi was shaking like a leaf and Elli was crying very loudly that Fergi had this needle in her leg. I believe this is the first display of emotion from Elli at seeing someone else hurting. Who knows, she may surprise us all and go into medicine! (likely story Lori)

Dayton Dragons

Brent, dad, mom, Leah, Matt all having the time of our lives:) Actually we really did have a fun time. The tickets were free to us from a friend, but the first set of tickets was accidentally thrown away, presumably by me though I have no recollection. Our friend was gracious though and got another set of tickets. Pheww!

Elli wanted to touch all the balls at the entrance to the park. She did a great job during the game with only a few mishaps. 1. She continually bumped the man in front of us. Thankfully he too had kids with him and seemed to understand. 2. She swiped a peanut from the man behind us while I was holding her. He laughed and said that was a first for him too. 3. She dropped her sippy cup on the head of the man in front of us while dancing to the peanut butter jelly song (which I sang at dinner before we left). He seemed to understand since he also had a young one with him. However, that cup was heavy and he may have needed some tylenol on top of all the apologies! Other than that, a great time was had by all:) By the way, the dragons lost by 1.