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.

She never stops

Even shen she sleeps she is moving around. Our little girl has turned into a very active girl. This is a picture I took of her after she had been sleeping for a little while, sounding restless.

We had a lot of fun at Bible School as well. She loved the singing and dancing and by the last night was doing all the motions and singing the words. We often have to put the DVD in sing and dance to the songs at home now too. I loved being part of the activities at VBS doing the games for the preschool kids. They had a blast. Elli can still remember the stories and the fact that she can FEAR NOT because Jesus is with her.

Heather's Graduaton

The long awaited graduation. Heather was so excited as were the rest of us. You can see it on her face. In the picture above, Elli is making another face. It is a monkey face. We had to pass the time some how:) Sadly, mom was very sick and missed the ceremony, but felt well enough to come to Heather's house for the open house party. It was a great day and Heather is very excited to be done with school for the time.

Strawberries with Friends

We just couldn't let those strawberries sit in the field, so we went again to get some more. They were once again delicious and this time we went with friends. Elli and Caroline had fun chasing each other and eating the berries. Poor little Catherine though was not so happy because she couldn't get down and play. We had a good morning.

H is for Horse

Since we were learning about the letter H, I decided to let Elli see some horses. When I called Shannon Stables and told them I was teaching Elli at home and we were learning about the letter h, she said to bring Elli over. She let Elli brush the horses hair, watch her clean the horses hooves, and told her about feeding them hay. Elli also got to pet a baby horse and then even ride one! What a fun day! We really enjoyed the horses.

Heather's Birthday

For Heather's birthday we went to Thai 9 for dinner. Yummy! Elli ran right into Gary's arms. We all had great food then headed to mom and dad's for presents and cake. Gary had an idea to wrap different sized cutting boards and then pretend we all got her one. She was trying to be thankful but we knew she wanted more:) Mom finally gave in and got the real presents. It was fun. Mom made cupcakes and we had ice cream. It was a great night celebrating Heather's birthday.