Christmas Vacation

Christmas vacation turned out to be looooong.....I forgot what it was like to have Ella home all day, everyday for 2 weeks. Between her and Olivia, they wore me down!

Thankfully we were lucky to have Ella's cousin Jack over for a day to play. I could see after only an hour or two that staying in the house all day was not going to be an option. I thought they would keep each other company but it was more like they came to me and said they were bored! What?! Go play with all the toys downstairs you silly children!

My sister in law Crystal must have known better, having 3 children of her own, she brought over Jack's snow gear thinking we might play outside. That we did! I sent Olivia up to my Mom's and camera in hand....off we went to the hill up the street.

Besides Ella barely making it up the hill with the sled at times, it was actually more fun than I expected since I am not a snowy winter kind of gal! Jack and Ella teamed up to get the sleds up the hill. Jack was at the top and Ella would push the sled as high as she could until Jack could grab it and pull it up. At that point, Ella only had to worry about getting herself up the hill! Clever little people I tell ya, and great teamwork!

If you like, take a gander at my Hipstaprint a day project.

A Tiny Bit of 4th of July

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe 4th of July! We went up to the cabin over the weekend. It was wicked warm and humid so I didn't spend much time outside with Olivia. Her and I actually stayed only one night while Keith and Ella stayed 2 nights. I gave Olivia to my mom for the night and got to sleep my little heart out! Fireworks? Who cares when you can sleep?!! :0) Ella came home completely covered in bug bites and exhausted, but had a wonderful time. I'm hoping she sleeps in tomorrow....*Fingers crossed*....but not so likely. These are the few pictures I got of Olivia outside and one of Ella and her cousin Jack.





Its so wonderful the relationship Ella has with Jack. She has a little "boy"friend in the neighborhood that she plays with (remember the kiss?!), but when he doesn't want to do something or gets bored, he will roll his eyes and just go home. With Jack, they both accept each others eccentricities and help each other out. They have been together since babies (they are only 10 weeks apart) and they just accept each other for who they are. I absolutely love to see them together.

BSM - Cousinly Fun

For more Best Shot Monday images, head over to Tracey's.

Best Shot Monday

Jack and Ella were eating lunch together the other day and for some unexplained, strange, 3 year old reason, they both put thier heads under the table.



For more BSM images, head over to Tracey's.

First Playdate with Brianna

We went to my sister in law, Crystal, the other day for a play date with Ella's cousins. Ive mentioned before that Crystal finally got the girl on her third child. Jack and Everett are both big brothers now. Brianna is so sweet and has the best blue eyes and so much hair.

Here's a few pics of Bria and ofcourse, Ella, Jack and Everett.

Rounding Out Our Holiday

Last Saturday, we had our big family Christmas with Keith's extended side of the family. We went to his Aunt and Uncle's house and his Uncle made an ice skating rink in their back yard. They did this last year too and I was excited to see Ella get out there now that she is a year older and not as scared of everything! :o)

Once she realized that it was ice and not snow she did pretty good. She fell a few times and cried, but we just picked her back up and off she went. The big kids were playing hockey. Jack and Ella picked up some sticks and played a game themselves. Even little Everett got into the swing of it (although he really just sat there and held the stick). The kids ate snow, slid around on their hands and knees and had a gay ole' time.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY BLOGGY FRIENDS!

First Sleepover

Last Friday, Ella had her first sleepover at her house. She has slept over at the grandparents house many time, but we have never had anyone sleep over at our house before.

We kept my nephews, Jack and Everett so that my sister in law and her husband could go to the hospital early Saturday morning and get induced. We had pizza for dinner, played legos and watched movies. Jack and Ella even slept in a tent in her room. They were so excited. When we put them to bed around 8:45pm, they whispered to each other for the next hour and half. It was so cute to hear it on the monitor. When we would go in and tell them to go to sleep, they said they were just telling each other stories. The funny thing is, they stayed in the tent the whole time. I totally thought they would get out, turn the light on and play in her room. We finally gave up and figured they would fall asleep eventually. They did.

Everett is a human garbage disposal and so damn cute. If he hears a bag of something opening, its like his ears perk up and he follows the sound. Need him to follow you to go do something....give the boy food. While he was eating his pizza, I said to him, "Is Everett hungry?" He throws his head back and rolls it (think Stevie Wonder) and in this little tiny voice with his mouth open wide and smiling says, "Yessssssss!" I wish I could have gotten that on video. It was soooo cute.


Jack and Ella got to pick a movie to watch before bed. They both agreed on Shrek 2. Ella kept trying to cuddle up to Jack. She's such a girl. Jack inched away so many times that within 15 minutes he was sitting on the arm of the couch. He's such a boy.

Cousins are the Best

I post alot of pictures on my blog of Ella's cousins Jack and Everett. If I haven't mentioned it before, Jack was born 10 weeks before Ella and Everett is 1 1/2 years old. Ella loves them both dearly and is the closest thing she has to a sibling. Ella was conceived through IVF and though we would like to have another baby, and still plan on it at this point, it is very expensive and we are not sure if it will be financially feasible.

I moved to Minnesota about 17 years ago, so all of my family lives out of state (except for my parents). I am lucky that we are close to Keith's sisters because when I see Ella with her cousins it gives me so much joy. Toddlers having fun together anytime are wonderful to see, but to know that she has a closeness and a bond to them like she may not have with a sibling of her own is comforting.

My sister in law Crystal, is due in November with their first girl. I cant wait to see how Ella bonds with her. Thank you for being in our lives, Jack and Everett. Your Aunty Joey loves you wicked!


All 3 of them love to go on the 4 wheelers with anyone who is willing to give them a ride.

Best Shot Monday

I am joining Tracy's BSM for the first time this week.

This was taken at the beach the other day, along with the pics from the previous post. Its one of those shots that I didnt realize I had until after I looked at the pictures on my computer. After my nephew Jack gets out of the water and he is cold, he just crawls into the sand like a little lizard and sits there on his belly. It is so funny. See it here. This was the moment he got up. Since I didnt now I caught it, thats why I am calling it my Best Shot.



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