Turner Times

A Day at the Zoo!

2012-01-14T17:23:00.008-07:00

I had a day off on Friday, so I took Ellie out for a day at the zoo.

First stop, breakfast at Ellie's favorite!

I texted papa all day with pictures, so he didn't feel so left out.

It was a bit chilly, but really pretty nice, especially considering its January!

Plus, no crowds!

The train ride wasn't running, so we went on the carousel twice. Ellie really wanted to ride the giraffe, and we got to on our 2nd ride.

Fun day out in the sunshine, and lots of walking, ends up with one tired kiddo!

Some updating . . .(pics are out of order, sorry!)

2011-12-22T16:41:00.022-07:00

December 2011

Happy Holidays!

We have yet to see Santa this year, and not for lack of trying!!! I promise I will get Santa pic's in November next year!! We have seen Santa's reindeer taking a break though. Grandpa Turner came to see us just last night, and Rodney Roo (our Elf on the Shelf) is keeping close tabs on Ellie. Although this year has been a very rough one, we are blessed to be healthy and happy to be with family. Hopes for a wonderful New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011

Nope, this isn't Thanksgiving dinner, but this was the only picture I got from that time, and I stole this one from Cameron's blog! Cameron, Matt and Chase came for a visit for Thanksgiving this year. It was so fun to see them, and especially hang out with the little Chase guy! We had a yummy dinner at my mom and dads house, and it was just nice to relax and enjoy some family time. Plus we found out we can do one mean came of Hoopla in under a minute, pretty amazing!

November 30, 2011

Happy Birthday Grammy Jean

For Grammy Jean's Birthday we wrote notes on balloons, and Ellie tied one with a note from all of us too. We went out in our backyard and let the balloons go. Ellie hoped that Jesus would make sure that Grammy Jean got them. Happy Birthday!

October 2011

At the Pumpkin Patch with papa

Finding the perfect pumpkin

Aaaarrrgggh Matey...give me some candy!

Pumpkins her papa carved.

Ellie's pumpkin she picked out at the pumpkin patch.

Feedin' a goat at the pumpkin patch.

Corn maze at the pumpkin patch.

November 2011

Ellie and Princess Amerah

Princess Amerah making sure Princess Ellie had a very special day!

Doin' some Prince and Princess dancing!

Princess decorations and favors that Grammy Nosack made for Ellie.

Ellie was so excited to get mail for her birthday from Grandpa Turner, and Grandpa Hodges. Here is a picture of her after she opened gifts from her "grandmas" from Grammy Jean's work. It was so nice of them to think of Ellie for her birthday!!!!

Ellie had her last day of soccer on her 4th Birthday. This is her holding her soccer trophy and wearing her birthday button. After the game, we went home to get ready for her Princess Amerah Birthday party with her friends.

Ellie spent most of her time chasing boys during the soccer games. She was the only girl on her team, and there was always at least one boy willing to be chased, or do some chasing too!

This was taken back in September, but I think it goes with this time, and some of these Holiday pictures anyway!

Hope you enjoyed our little update, hopefully next year I won't get so far behind!

Getting Way Behind

2011-12-07T19:25:00.002-07:00

So, every weekend I plan on updating this blog. Yet for one reason or another it doesn't happen. Some of the things I have pics for and want to remember and blog about are:

indoor soccer

4th birthday party

Ellie's surrogate grandmas

visits from family

Halloween

Birthday balloons

Thanksgiving

Christmas

We are doing fine, just not finding the time to sit down and get pics from my phone. Brian ordered me a battery for my camera, so I should start blogging more because it is so much easier to use.

If you are reading this, post back to me your Christmas wish!

Small Update - Old Pics - Short Video

2011-10-04T20:13:00.008-06:00

Swimming September 2011

Swimming is over for now. She isn't quite a swimmer yet, but she is having fun. She was in Pre-Level 1, and has graduated to Pre-Level 2, yet I may sign her up for this same class again.

Mommy and Ellie

2009

Love these chubby legs! I remember I was worried they would always

have those funny rolls!

After swimming class

Grammy Jean & Ellie

July 2009

Indoor soccer is next. I know she didn't really get into soccer too much last spring, but her soccer shoes still fit! Anyway, I still think its fun to get her out and doing something.

We are planning a birthday party for her next month, one where she gets to invite some friends over. Planning on having Princess Amerah come to entertain the little ones. I don't feel like I could do it! Ellie met Princess Amerah at story time at the library, she was even picked to participate in the story. I think it will be a fun time. Wish me luck. I hate stressing about stuff like having people over for fun, but I still do.

Ellie Meeting Princess Amerah - 2010

I just loved seeing the difference between these first swimming classes and her last one. Sweet memories of her chubby legs. So glad Grammy Jean got to see her swim and play around in the water. She loved her pool at Grammy's house too, then Rio took it over!

Swimmin' Ellie

2011-09-10T16:42:00.005-06:00

We finally signed up for swimming lessons again this year. No more "Mommy and Me" classes though, Ellie is going solo now. I was scared, but the new Rec. Center has a great pool with a large shallow area. Ellie did great. Her teacher is patient and there were only 2 other kiddos there today. The shower was even Ellie sized too. The only problem was she didn't want to leave.

An Interview With Ellie

2011-08-28T11:09:00.022-06:00

I thought it would be fun to do an interview with Ellie. When I first called her in I asked her if I could ask her some questions, she was in the play room watching t.v. and said "Sure." I think she thought that was the only question because she never came to talk to me. This may take a few tries! (Took 3 different sessions to complete!)

What is your favorite movie?

Uh, I like the Dragon Land, but I don't want it yet. What kind of movie? Any kind? On your computer, are we going to watch one outside? I like Sponge Bob, is that a movie, yeah, I saw that on Papa's computer, did you know that mama? Can I draw on this? (she wanted to type on the keyboard as she sat on my lap while I was typing her answers)

What is your favorite song?

I like scary witch with a scary dinosaur that will dance with it. I like that song.

me - Where did you hear that song?

From Jesus, in a letter.

Who is your favorite person?

My favorite person Allison.

me - Who is Allison? (She does have a cousin Allison)

My friend is Allison, we watch the movie together. (not really sure if she is talking about her cousin)

(I went back to this question on our last interview session)
My favorite person is you mommy. (oooooh I like this answer!)

What is your favorite food?

Uh, I like... My favorite food is cereal, I mean popcorn. Popcorn at the movies, I like popcorn at the movies. Do you know you like popcorn, (me - hmm hmm) I want that.

What is your favorite toy?

My favorite toy is, my favorite toy is my bunny.

me - Which bunny?

The one with the poka dox.

What is your favorite thing to do?

My favorite thing is to play all night, and no going to bed!

What is something mommy always says to you?

No, no. No you can't have a candy. Mama why do you always say I can't have a candy?

me - I don't know

Mama can I have a candy?

me - Maybe later.

My new candies?

me - Sure. (I have no idea what her new candies are)

(She then left to go get them and never came back!)

How old is your mama?

Hmmm, you are this too many (holds up five fingers) like papa.

What is your mama's job?

Your job is to work mama. You work at school.

What is your papa's job?

My papa's job is to work.

What is something papa always says to you?

NO! He says no Mama. He says no.

How old is your papa?

He is this too many. (holds up five fingers)

What is your favorite thing about papa?

My favorite thing is about best I love him.

What is your favorite thing about mama?

(She is looking out the window when I ask her this) Mama I'm watching.

After a minute - me - Are you ready?

For what?

Another question

Not yet, I'm still watching.

(Went back to this question in our last interview session)

Cuz I love you.

How are you and mommy the same?

Cuz we're all girls. You're a girl, I'm a girl.

me - What else.

Papa's a boy.

How are you and mama different?

Hmmmmmm, cuz, girls are the same when mamas are the same when we're girls.

How are you and papa the same?

I'm not a boy! Hmmmm, I'm not a boy.

me - But are you the same in any way?

Uh-huh

How are you and papa different?

We're not different. Hmmmm cuz different things, I'm a girl and he's a boy, and that's how it is. Mama, that's how it is.

How do you know that mommy and daddy love you?

Cuz I do good things. They love me cuz I'm the best. That's right.

me - How do you know we love you?

I don't know. Cuz, I know that you love me. (good enough for me! I love you Ellie!!!)

Promise

2011-08-24T18:38:00.003-06:00

I have been thinking about stopping updating my blog, but after many people told me not to, I decided not to. Soooo, here I am not exactly updating my blog, cuz I only have a few minutes before I have to bathe Ellie, and get stuff ready for tomorrow, but I am putting out a promise out there in Bloggy Land. I promise to update my blog soon (I almost put this weekend, but wouldn't want to feel guilty if I didn't get to it!)

Also, I would like you to post if you read this, so I know that people actually look at this!

Relay For Life 2011

2011-07-03T15:59:00.007-06:00

Last month we went to Chico to join Team Turner raise money for cancer research. My Chico mom had a booth selling pies. Our team shirts advertised "Jean's Pie Shop" - Come try our ColonoscoPies! It was a big hit, and Jean won an award for the Most Creative Booth! She also came in 3rd for fund raising! That is up against companies too...way to go Team Turner!!!

About to leave for the Relay

Some of Team Turner

Kick off the Relay

Survivors lap - Ellie wanted to tag along with Grammy Jean

Ellie loves her Grammy!

Chase, Grandpa, Ellie and Great Grandpa Jack!

Just hanging out with the family

Disneyland April 2011

2011-06-18T21:21:00.004-06:00

On our way to Disneyland. Since I already had the other 2 pictures, we had to continue the tradition.

We had just entered the park and finally got to meet Chase! He is one of the cutest babies ever!

Ellie loves the movie Cars

Grandpa with Chase, and Grammy Jean with Ellie in a Bugs Life.

Tower of Terror. My favorite ride to hate!

Cam, Matt and Jen

Snow White with her poisonous apple and Ellie with Sully.

Family Pics, minus me!

Fun time, can't wait to go again.

Disney Game Show

2011-05-30T08:25:00.005-06:00

In Tomorrowland we spent some time exploring Innoventions. They have some fun things in there, that we just found by accident, like this Game Show. Ellie was playing on the stage when they kicked her off and instead invited us to play their Game.

Ellie and Grammy were one team, and they kicked some butt!

(They only were asked 3 questions)

Poor, Some Guy, he had no idea what he was getting into!

Ellie kept leaving to look around, but she was an integral part to their winning.

The Winning Point.

Fun Times!

2011 - Spring Soccer

2011-05-24T22:57:00.001-06:00

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Go Tigers!

2011-04-02T16:52:00.004-06:00

Ellie had her soccer orientation today. We met the coach, and her other teammates. There are 7 on her team, with one other little girl. I think most of them are 4, so Ellie is the youngest. They got to choose their team name, the Tigers. One boy wanted to be the dolphins, and would only cheer for the dolphins. Ellie wanted to be the butterflies, or the ladybugs. I think the coach liked the ladybugs, but only Ellie voted for it! After they got their uniforms, go #4, they got to do a few warm-ups. Ellie was much more interested in picking up any pine cones that she found, but she seemed to have fun.

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Afterwards we went and got her shin guards, and the cutest cleats, and her own soccer ball to practice with. We need to practice not touching the ball with our hands. At least the coaches son did it too!

Four Generations

2011-03-26T18:29:00.004-06:00

Looking through some old photos, I was reminded of some new ones. Here is a four generation picture of me, my mom, my Grandma Parkin, and my Great-Grandma Maxwell. This was taken in 1983.

Fast Forward to 2010, 27 years later! Me, my mom, my Grandma Parkin, and my wonderful daughter, Ellie.

Ellie and her Grammy Parkin

Ellie and her Grammy

Ellie and her mama

December 2010

Disney on Ice 2011

2011-03-13T14:26:00.011-06:00

My mom surprised me and Ellie with tickets to see Disney on Ice with her. Ellie spent Friday night with Grammy and Grampy, so we could go out for our anniversary. Then she spent the next day with Grammy at the bookstore and later had more fun with a marshmallow roast that night. Today, me, grammy and Ellie rode Trax downtown to watch Disney on Ice. It was a fun show. We got to see all of the Princess's and the gang from Toy Story too. Ellie loved wearing her own Snow White outfit, and even got a hug from another little girl also wearing the Snow White dress. The little girl said Snow White was her favorite and she had even changed her name to Snow White!

Mickey

This was on the way. She loved looking out the windows on the train.

Beauty & the Beast

Snow White & Prince Charming

Princess Tiana & Prince Naveen

Ellie Cash

2011-03-06T09:51:00.002-07:00

Ellie singing along to Johnny Cash. We were driving on our way to go see Rango, which ended up being sold out. We went to Gnomeo & Juliet instead. Fun family night.

Bly-Bly Fun

2011-02-14T19:15:00.005-07:00

I know it has been awhile since I posted, but this will still be short!

(not sure why this is underlining everything)

Brian's mom came for a weekend visit. So much fun! We ate a bunch, and hung out at home letting Ellie show Grammy Jean all her toys! Her Auntie Cameron and Uncle Matt had sent her an Elefun toy. Out of its trunk it blew out paper butterflies for everyone to catch. Ellie had fun with it, even though she has a hard time actually catching a "bly-bly".

Wish we didn't live so far from our Chico and Fresno families. At least its only California though!

Random Princess Pics

2011-01-08T11:04:00.002-07:00

Ellie LOVES dressing up in her princess outfits.

This is Pumpkin being carried around in her Barbie tent!

She loved her "lipstick" she got in her Christmas stocking. Hmmm somehow it disappeared.

She is completely naked underneath this sparkly tutu...she posed just right!

Christmas Cruise 2010

2011-01-02T10:23:00.003-07:00

I know I'm posting this a bit late, but I still wanted to share our cruise pictures. Yup, we went on a cruise, yup it was in Utah, and yup it was outside, and yup it was pretty cold too! It was fun though. There is a place that takes these small riverboat rides up the Provo River.

Reminding us why we celebrate Christmas.

Santa was riding the river too, in a canoe! He had lost his reindeer, and he wondered if we could help keep a lookout for them.

Ellie thought the whole thing was fun.

Seriously looking for reindeer.

Looking at all the lights

Before we went on our ride. It was cold, but it had started raining and luckily it stopped before our ride. It ended up being not too cold, considering it was the middle of December. Afterwards we got some hot chocolate and Ellie got a chocolate covered marshmallow....yum!

Christmas Eve 2010

2010-12-27T15:38:00.008-07:00

Christmas Eve Party at my parents house

Welcome Baby Icelynn to our Family!

We love you already!

Here Comes Santa Claus!

Ho Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to All!

And to All a Good Night!

Funny toy top that the grandkids got from Santa!

Christmas Time

2010-12-27T14:40:00.003-07:00

Here are a few random pics from Christmas morning at the Turner house.

First Christmas for Hocus Pocus and Pumpkin Pie!

Pumpkin sitting on Ellie's new tutu

Opening up her Christmas stocking, Hocus wants to investigate.

Grammy & Grampy came by to watch Ellie open her Christmas presents.

Let's play Dr. Turner!

Her talking doll house, this is the one she asked Santa for.

Pretty new sweater to go with a new dress.

Ellie's new 'monkey pack pack'

Seeing Santa at Grammy & Grampy's on Christmas Eve!

Visit to Santa

2010-12-22T15:24:00.005-07:00

Ellie was so excited to see Santa this year. She talks about him all the time, and everything about Christmas fascinates her. As we were waiting in line she was telling the little girls behind us what she was going to ask Santa for, which I didn't even know. When we got up to the front, I took her hand and started walking, she let go and ran back towards my mom. I picked her up and took her over to Santa. She talked to him, but was not about to let go of me.

Santa - What would you like me to bring you?

Ellie - (in almost a whisper) A big 'ol dollhouse.

But she wouldn't sit on his lap or have anything to do with letting go of me. So, we left and went and had some lunch at the food court. That's where I got the phone call that my in-laws weren't on the train on their way to our house, but instead on their way to Fresno to meet Cameron at the hospital. Cameron had found out that she was going to have a C-section and baby Chase was on his way!

After lunch Ellie said she wanted to see Santa again, I thought we could walk by but I wasn't standing in line again just to walk away. When we got there she said she wanted to sit with him, and me. Then she saw a little girl on his lap and said she would sit with her, then the next little girl she said she wanted to sit with. Since the line was so short, we tried again, and this was the best we got!

FYI - Baby Chase Matson was born 12/20/10 6 lbs. 8 oz. and 20 inches I only have seen one picture sent by phone, but he looks pretty cute! Also, my niece had her baby, Icelynn Dawn 12/18/10 7 lbs. 3 oz. and 19 inches, and she is beautiful as well!

ABC's

2010-11-27T15:55:00.002-07:00

Ellie singing her letter song. This was the day after her 3rd birthday.

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Thanksgiving Point

2010-11-27T15:12:00.007-07:00

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My mom, dad, Brian and Ellie spent the evening seeing life as an early America. We had pilgrims serving us, and we got to see some animals in between courses. We saw a baby goat, a turkey, and a cow. There was also a small story being performed on stage. It was if we were part of the first Thanksgiving. Although we didn't have a fork, we ended up getting pretty stuffed. Here is a list of what was offered

Apple Cider - Yummy

Assorted Whole Mixed Nuts - with no nutcracker...later in the night we figured out they weren't just decorations!

Cheate Bread with Butter - so good

Mixed Greens Salad with Oil & Vinegar - hard to eat without a fork!

Corn Pudding - skipped this one, but heard it was good

Stewed Pumpkins - didn't even know what this was, but I skipped it anyway

Roast Pork - yummy

Turkey - soo good

Mixed Berry Cobbler - d-licious!

Warm Goats Milk - me, Ellie, and my mom tried - pretty good actually

Raw Oysters - mom was the only one who tried this

More Birthday!

2010-11-27T11:54:00.002-07:00

Singing

2010-11-25T11:27:00.004-07:00

We had a birthday party for Ellie at my parents house. I had the camera on close-up when I videoed the Happy Birthday singing, then I missed the blowing out of the candles. The 2nd video is a reenactment of the blowing out of the candles, (real actors were not used). She did not understand why she had to blow them out again, and they didn't blow out quit as easily as the first time, but it was funny!

Happy Birthday Ellie Bellie!

2010-11-19T21:42:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday Sweet Ellie!

Ellie got to have a special Ellie pancake breakfast with grammy for her 3rd birthday! Lucky girl. Here she is with her new Toy Story jammies that she picked out herself.

Then grammy bought her some balloons to play with at the bookstore. After 2 had accidentally popped my mom told me she broke down in tears saying, "Now it's not my birthday anymore." Took a bit to convince her it still was her birthday, but she was happy once again.

Her little ribbon said, Birthday Girl. After Brian picked her up, they went to IHop for lunch, Ellie loves her some pancakes! Then later we went out for dinner, and there she got a big bowl of ice cream with chocolate topping! Yum! She still has a few more gifts and a family party at grammy and grampy's on Sunday. It will be a fun Ellie Birthday Weekend!

I love you sweet girl. Thank you for being my daughter.

Makin' Cookies!

2010-11-07T16:12:00.014-07:00

These pictures are a bit overdue, but I wanted to post them anyway. This is the first time I made cookies with Ellie. I was so excited, I had a cute jack-o-lantern cookie cutter, I found a recipe online called, "the best sugar cookies you'll ever make" and we got started.

By the time we were done, we had quite a mess! But I guess that's all part of the fun...ha ha. Anyway, it said to chill the dough, for at least an hour. We ended up waiting until after dinner to make the cookies, so it was a couple of hours later. It was a mess!!!! The dough was sticky, hard to roll out cookie dough that sticks to everything, your hands, the counter, the rolling pin. I had flour everywhere! The flour would work, for about a second. I shaped my own pumpkins a couple of ghosts and a witch too. It was still difficult just to get one cookie right, and I gave up after about 6 cookies, then Brian did a few too. Brian suggested that maybe it needed to be chilled overnight. So we tried doing that. .

The Next Day

Still was a sticky mess! But I noticed some that he had done the night before looked like fingers, so I tried doing some of those, much easier than anything else. They turned out weird, but tasted o.k. We then delivered them to my parents for a small Halloween treat. I want to try making cookies again, any suggestions?

First Snow

2010-10-28T14:50:00.012-06:00

Last Friday, me and my mom and Ellie, went for a weekend trip with my Chico mom and sister in law and some of my Chico mom's favorite women. We all met up in a mountain house that was huge and had Gorgeous scenery. It was so nice to get to know these women better. Most of them I had met before, but had never spent too much time with. Me and my mom felt very comfortable right away. It was such a fun trip, we're planning on making it an annual girls weekend! Next year baby Chase will be there though! Unfortunately I didn't take even one picture. It was a fun time. Then we went back to Chico and hung out a bit more with my Chico mom and dad and then headed back to SL on Monday.

Ellie was excited to hear that we had snow waiting for us when we got home. She was very excited to build a snowman with me. But, when we got home, there was no snow, but it did start snowing again that night. The next morning the first thing she asked was if we could go outside and build a snowman. There was very little snow however, and by the time we had eaten breakfast and gotten dressed the only snow left was in the shade. She did go out for a bit anyway and play, she just didn't understand why we couldn't build a snowman!

No snowman building today, sorry El.

Later in the day she helped me clean up the house. I thought it was so cute that she cleaned her little potty. She doesn't use it anymore, but we still have them out, just in case she doesn't feel like using the big potty.

Loving Fall

2010-10-17T18:41:00.004-06:00

I hate seeing summer go, but it is always nice to fall into winter slowly. I love fall when it comes without snow and gradually changes the world. I love the changing colors, the cooler nights, and I especially love Halloween and all the fun that comes with it. Yesterday we went in search of some pumpkins. The first patch we went to was so crowded, there was even a mile long line to get into to pay for your pumpkin. Ellie was so excited though, but they would only take cash/check, so we had to leave to get money. On the way to that pumpkin patch, we had passed another farm that only had a couple a dozen people there, so we headed back to that one. We found 3 great pumpkins, and got some cute pictures of Ellie too. She was enjoying the dirt more than the pumpkins, and got a bit dirty. I told her she could pick out a pumpkin for herself, but she had to be able to carry it. We were going to just get a small one for her, but as we were heading to go pay she stopped and ran for her pumpkin. She found the one she was looking for, and said, "Look, I can hold this one!" It was still a bit heavy, but she did it.

Afterwards we went to one of our favorite Mexican Restaurants in Magna, then drove downtown to get some cool city views. We ended up at a cool park that neither one of us had ever been to, Ensign Peak Nature Park. It was gorgeous! We went for a small hike up the hill and felt like we could see the entire valley.

Wheeler Farm - Better Late.....

2010-10-01T23:18:00.002-06:00

I started this post a long time ago, but kept getting errors when I tried to add pictures. At least I'm finally adding some new stuff, even if it is a month old!

We spent Labor Day relaxing and playing around at Wheeler Farm. After lunch we went to the farm and fed the ducks, looked around at all the other animals, then went on a hayride. Nice family time. Wish the cold would stay away and everyday could be as nice.

Herriman Fire

2010-09-20T17:40:00.008-06:00

Just a few videos Brian took while waiting and watching the fire last night.

Dad's B-day Party

2010-08-29T18:22:00.004-06:00

Wheeler Farm

2010-08-14T17:26:00.006-06:00

Last Thursday Ellie and I met up with our friends, Tara, Zane and Zayden and we all went to Wheeler Farm for a visit. Ellie was very excited for the visit, the first thing she said to me after she woke up, "I just wanna go see Zame's house."

Zane and Ellie loved running around, petting the animals, and playing in the dirt (at least Ellie did) and just making each other laugh. Zayden was pretty content just sitting in his stroller.

Lottsa Summer Fun

2010-08-09T15:44:00.013-06:00

Ellie had a fun time making a heart card for her Papa. She also had lots of fun coloring all over herself! At least it washed off very easily.

Last Saturday we tried going to Boondocks, but it was closed for some company party. Made me mad, but we ended up going to the Children's Discovery Garden it wasn't too hot and hardly anyone else was there. After walking around for a bit through the park we all splashed around at Noah's Ark. Ellie also got to make a small craft. Nice without all the crowds of $2 Tuesdays that I had gone to before.

Because Boondocks was closed on Saturday, they gave us a coupon for a buy one-get one free outside activity. Ellie and I went back today to enjoy the Bumper Boats. Because she isn't tall enough for any of the other outside activities, we did it twice. The first time nobody squirted us, but the 2nd time we got chased and squirted by several boys. Ellie was in charge of the squirting, I think she got them back! Ellie also wore herself out in the Kiddie Cove.

Ice Cone Treats

2010-08-01T15:02:00.004-06:00

We had a fun ice cream treat yesterday at the Marble Slab Creamery. We brought in food for the Utah Food Bank and got some free ice cream, a visit with Santa Claus, and a hug from Mickey Mouse! It was hot, and we were all a bit sticky afterwards, but it was nice to have a bit of Christmas in July!

Happy 3rd of July

2010-07-29T15:36:00.008-06:00

Ellie and I spent the 3rd of July celebrating the 4th of July. We went with my parents to dinner, and afterwards, a neighborhood carnival, and that night we watched a great firework show. It was a fun time.

Playin' at the park

Day & Night

Playing with Grammy!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-28T16:33:00.004-06:00

Ellie and Daddy having sparkler fun, or bire-works as Ellie says! (YIKES! Be careful!!)

I know its a bit late, but no worries cuz I only took one picture on the 4th of July. Me and Ellie went to hang out with my parents on the 3rd and watched a big firework show at the park, along with a very crowded fair. It was fun though, I'll put those pics up later. Brian was at a friends watching fights so he missed out. On the 4th we went over to my parents for a family BBQ and street fireworks. For the 4th, it was quite chilly. Ellie was running through the sprinklers until she started getting blue lips. Then we all bundled up in sweatshirts and blankets on my parents front lawn to watch some street fireworks....thanks Brad & Damien! One strange thing - a frog joined our party, very weird!

Summer is Flyin' By

2010-07-27T23:08:00.005-06:00

I thought with time off of work that I would keep my blog up, but I haven't. I have pictures from the 4th of July, and me and Ellie's trip to California. I didn't even get any pictures of the 24th, and only these few from when Brian's parents came to visit. I will hopefully post more this week, but I wanted to post these pics of Ellie and her Gram, and their art project. They made a ladybug paper mache. Ellie loved painting it, and loves to wear her new ladybug hat!

She had lots of fun with Gram and Grandpa. We went to Boondocks, story time at the library, had lots of fun with Play-Doh, watch a backyard movie, plenty of running around and splashing in the backyard,and they also went to see, "Pecible Me" We ended with a fabulous rib BBQ at my parents on the 24th and backyard fireworks, Fun times!

After the paper mache dried, they popped the balloon, cut it in half and started painting!

Thanks Gram for finishing off our creation - I love my Lady-bug!

New Friends

2010-07-03T13:55:00.005-06:00

We went to a little neighborhood parade this morning. Kids from the ward decorated bikes and wagons and since Ellie isn't quite big enough to ride her little princess bike far, we decided just to be spectators. Ellie was one of the only kids not in the parade and lots of candy was tossed her way. It was short, but fun, and maybe next year Ellie will be in the little parade. The parade ended at our little neighborhood park, where some fruit and pastries were served.

Later Ellie met one of our neighbors, Max, he is 4, and they are just about the same size. Ellie and Max have been together for the last little while, playing, holding hands, riding bikes, and bouncing in Max's bounce house. They were so cute together. I did have to pull Ellie away to eat lunch and have nap time, which she certainly wasn't too happy about. Brian said after we left another neighbor girl came over to chat with Max. This was the conversation he heard:

"I was just playing with Ellie, do you know her?"

"Nope."

"She lives across the street. She is my best friend in the whole wide world!"

"More than me?"

"Yes, more than anyone, ever!"

Princess Amerah

2010-07-01T16:09:00.013-06:00

Last Tuesday Ellie and I headed over to the West Jordan Library for a special story time with Princess Amerah. Ellie had a great time, and I found out not only is my kiddo a ham, she can be a meanie too! We started out in the back of the crowd of Princess's and Ellie worked her way up to the front. She saw a little girl with a wand and decided it was her turn to play with it. I had to go up to the front too and stop her from being a bully! Then after Princess Amerah asked for a couple volunteers, Ellie decided it was her turn for that too. She did get picked to come up and throw a golden ball at the Prince. She got to wear a pink curly wig, and even though she wanted the blue one, she did a good job and she looked so cute in her wig! Later she even sat still and wasn't so mean to the other little princesses. I hope she continues to be an outgoing little girl, but I don't want her to end up being a bully too!

We loved seeing Princess Amerah, she was so sweet and good with all of the kids, even when Ellie was being a bit difficult. What a fun experience, maybe we should get her for Ellie's Birthday.

Today we went on a little adventure on TRAX. First we stopped off to visit Grammy at her bookstore, then we kept heading north to find some lunch. Ended up eating at IHOP. Ellie was excited about eating 'cancakes for lunch especially the one with a funny face.

Fun times with mommy!

Fun in the Sun!

2010-06-29T09:27:00.002-06:00

Instead of going to the Herriman Carnival we played in our kiddie pool at home. When I first got the pool out, I went to the side of the house to get the hose. I was going to put the hose in the water and while it filled up go inside to get Ellie in her swimsuit. Funny thing though, as I was getting the hose ready she was getting ready to take a bath. When I turned back to put the hose in the pool, Ellie was there in the backyard completely naked! She said, "Ready to take baff!"

Herriman Parade

2010-06-28T15:28:00.005-06:00

Saturday we met up with Todd, Jodie and family to watch the Herriman Parade. Ellie loved it. She loved being around Mia and gathering up all the candy that was thrown. Afterwards we meant to go to the carnival, but Brian's allergies were getting to him, and instead I went with him to pick up work shirts. By then it was lunch time, then nap time, and I didn't feel like going to the carnival without Brian. Instead I took out our little plastic pool and played with Ellie. Later we met up with Todd and Mia and watched fireworks. It was a fun time.

Visitin' the Dentist!

2010-06-18T14:55:00.004-06:00

Ellie had her first dentist visit yesterday. I know she likes brushing her teeth, but I wasn't sure how she would be having a stranger check her teeth. She did awesome! The hygienist said sometimes she can take x-rays, and sometimes the little ones won't have anything to do with it, Ellie did great. She let her put the heavy bib on, with a big smiley face, and bit down on the film while she got her x-rays taken. Then she let her clean her teeth while she watched Alvin and The Chipmunks on the ceiling screen. The dentist came in and counted her teeth, she must have had enough because he didn't say anything about it. He said her teeth looked great and we were doing a good job.

Afterwards, she got a spinning Cinderella toothbrush and the hygienist made her a flower balloon! The Kids Dental Barn was so kid friendly, it made going to the dentist fun for her and she loves using her new toothbrush too.

Congratulations Banana!

2010-06-06T16:58:00.005-06:00

My niece, Reanna, just graduated high school. We celebrated at her dads place with a BBQ.

Reanna, Allison, and Teresa

My FAVORITE Nieces ever!!!

Ellie and Ally

Ellie playing with Wyatt's toys, loves being on the phone!

Scott, Teresa, and Reanna

Ellie and her cousins.

Congratulations Reanna. May your future be filled with happiness!

We Love YOU!

Relay for Life

2010-05-15T14:36:00.007-06:00

Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back!

Turner Team T-Shirts

May Day - May Day

Get Your Colonoscopy

It May be Your Life Saver!

Kids had so much fun running and running and running

and running!

This was before the wind blew the canopy down!

It was a beautiful day, just a bit windy.

Ellie had a blast!

Survivors lap

YAY Mom!

Go Team Turner!

I didn't get too many pictures, but I wanted to finally post what I did have. We had so much fun going to Chico to join in on the Relay for Life this year. It was great seeing Chico Mom and Dad, Cameron and Matt, Grandpa Jack, Cousin Beverley and friends too. There were sad moments, but there were also happy tears too!

13912 1/2

2010-04-26T20:16:00.004-06:00

We finally got a table for our patio, we've been meaning to get one for a few years now. We had breakfast outside Saturday morning, and Brian grilled us up some steaks tonight. YUMMY! Sure is nice to have a backyard to play in now.

Every girl needs her own house

Papa is helping her with some home improvements

Don't 'cha just love those big boxes?!?

Black N White

2010-04-25T18:16:00.004-06:00

My mom sent me an e-mail the other day, and since I haven't updated the blog in awhile I thought I'd post it to share.

Yesterday morning during breakfast there were several magpies in our backyard. Ellie got very excited about the "penguins".....I tried to tell her they were not penguins but they were magpies. She looked at me with that scowl and down turned eyebrows that she does and said...."No grammy....penguins!" So guess what? We have penguins in our yard! Aren't we lucky?

Easter Post to Come

2010-04-12T19:32:00.003-06:00

I have some cute Easter pics and other fun stuff, but no time right now to post it. I will post some and promise more to come this week.

Easter Egg hunt at my parents Easter Sunday

Dying Easter eggs

Getting ready for the Easter Eggstreme at Thanksgiving Point the Saturday before Easter

I finally took Ellie to Chuck-E-Cheese. I wasn't too impressed, but she had fun.

Spring(?) Break Fun!

2010-04-02T14:30:00.010-06:00

Because the weather was like this, instead of sunny and warm, we went in our backyard and had some winter type fun!

Ellie cried when we went in for some hot chocolate and to play inside, she didn't want to leave the snowman. I got some play-doh out and convinced her she could make an inside snowman instead. Then she had me make a snowman house, and a house for her pink frog, and for the little martian she had won at Boondocks.

Boondock Fun

2010-03-31T23:15:00.002-06:00

Since the weather looks like this, we haven't been able to get outside to play. I've been wanting to go to the zoo, or go play at the park, but its a little too cold and wet for that, so we've been doing inside stuff. Maybe if there is more snow tomorrow we'll go sledding!

Today we tried Story Time at the Herriman library. No real bunnies or baby chicks, but we got to hear stories from Beatrix Potter and then Ellie got to color a picture of a bunny and we made a lunch sack bunny too!

After lunch and a nap we headed off to Boondocks for the first time. My students convinced me that there would be something for Ellie to do. They have a huge play area for the little ones, Kiddie Cove. Mommy had to go up and rescue her on the slide, twice, she just didn't have long enough legs to get up to the slide and sit down. A few more attempts and I think she would have figured it out, but rather than hear her cry in a small panic, I went up to rescue her. After she finally got down again it took awhile to convince her to try it again. She finally did go back, and just avoided the slide part of it and she had a great time climbing all over the place!

We played a few games, and Ellie won a bunch of tickets. With her tickets she got a small sucker, a small dinosaur, a tiny pink frog, and a martian parachuting guy. It was a fun place!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Spring Break

2010-03-30T14:30:00.009-06:00

Brian and I just returned from our long weekend in Vegas. Didn't win any money, but came home with money we were willing to loose...so that counts for something, right? Plus we had a good time. Ate lots, walked lots, and laughed lots.

Ellie had so much fun with Grammy & Grampy. She worked at the Book Shack all day Saturday with Grammy and cousin Teresa came to hang out too. Then they all went to the aquarium on Sunday and got to see the new penguins. Sounds like they had a fun time.

Today, me and Ellie went to story time at the library. That was the first time we had done that, think we'll go again too. They had songs and dancing, and we heard a few bunny and Easter egg stories. Ellie danced around with two other little girls, most of the kids there were just babies, but she loved it. Then they even got to pet a real bunny rabbit and some baby chicks too! Afterwards we played and read in the kids area at the library and checked out some Max and Ruby (pictured below) books to celebrate Easter week...which I just realized yesterday was this weekend!

So fun getting to spend time with Ellie, can't wait until summer!!!

Cute ones...and the weirdest one I've ever posted!

2010-03-16T20:59:00.005-06:00

Brian and I celebrated our ten year anniversary last week. I got to spend most of it at work, with my regular day then parent teacher conferences that night. Brian sent me these beautiful roses, and a bit later in the day I received these beautiful pink flowers from my mother in law. It was nice to have these flowers to look at through the day to give me a smile. I have a great husband and a wonderful family from him.

Last Sunday me, my mom, and Ellie went to see the World of Fantasy by Disney on ice. We saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald Duck, characters from Cars, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and Tinker Bell. At first Ellie was so mesmerized she didn't say much, then she got the biggest grin and loved getting dressed up and seeing all there was to see. I think her favorite thing though was when Grammy bought her a Tinker Bell light up toy. She loved just watching it spin and spin with all the lights in the dark. I got a few pictures before my camera went dead, but later I'll post a few more my mom got.

Ellie in her Snow White Dress - Thanks Karen!

Getting ready for the show to start!

We rode trax downtown, made the day seem more like a trip...it was fun. Until the way home we waited an extra 20 minutes, then got delayed again by a traffic accident that blocked the trax going the other direction, then to top it off (sorry mom) we missed our stop! Still it was a fun mommy/daughter day!

This is the strangest picture I've ever posted, but we are all very excited here at the Turner house! We've had this potty for a few weeks now, not really trying to potty train her though, just getting her used to it. I plan on spending more time with it during the summer when I'm off work. She has sat on it a few times, and after 2 seconds says, "I'm done" with nothing, not even a drip. Tonight, after her bath she said she was stinky and I asked her if she needed to go to the potty, and she said, "yes" and ran to her potty. Again, after 2 seconds she said she was done, and this time there was a drip! We made a huge deal about it, and then she did it again, much more than a drop...then she peed 2 more times! Very exciting stuff!!!

Bedtime Stories

2010-03-08T20:28:00.003-07:00

Last night after Ellie was put to bed we heard her just chatting away. It was cute listening to her jabber. After she was asleep I went to check on her before I went to bed. Seems like she was reading to her "audience" before she fell off to La La Land. I hope everyone enjoyed the story!

Pwhensess n-the Fwog

2010-02-28T19:47:00.005-07:00

Hematoma Update - Her forehead is looking much better.

It's much smaller, but a bit more colorful.

Ellie's first movie at the movie theater was Princess and the Frog. She loved it. I've been looking for some Princess Tiana jammies, but so far they are either the wrong size, or too summery. I did find a cute tee though.

Thought I should put some normal dressed Ellie up.

More Princess Ellie

2010-02-27T15:16:00.005-07:00

The first thing she said to me this morning was, "I want this off." I thought she meant she wanted to be changed, but she wanted her jammies off and wanted to start playing dress up. She was quite upset when I told her we needed to eat breakfast first. After breakfast and cleaning the kitchen up, and playing a bit downstairs, she was quite excited when I asked her if she wanted to go upstairs to take a bath. First she she made sure she got to play dress-up.

This was this morning's look. . .

This lovely ensemble consists of 3 skirts, 3 tops, and 2 tutu's. And of course the look would not be complete without the lovely tiara (which is on backwards and you can't see it) and the fabulous jelly shoes.

She looks like a crazy bag lady stripper!

Owey!

2010-02-25T20:32:00.004-07:00

Hmmmm....let's see, its only February and we have now been to see the Dr. for 3 different Ellie owey's this year already!!! Well, one was Dec. 31, so we barely can even count that one. That was when she threw up over and over one night, which she has NEVER done...hardly ever threw up at all, much less over and over. Then a few weeks ago she had a bad cold that just got worse, coughing, runny nose, fever, and I finally just took her in because she was just miserable. Turned out it was just a bad cold but she did have an ear infection, which I would have never known about. Now tonight, she fell, as she often has, and ended up with a HUGE bump. I panicked, called my mommy, and Brian, both said make sure she is acting normal, not throwing up, her eyes seem normal, etc. Just a bump, she's a kid, it happens. Well, the bump kept getting bigger, and bigger...and so instead of worrying about it all night we took her in. Turns out she has a large hematoma (quite a goose egg) The hospital is already one of her favorite places she loves to point out, now tonight she didn't want to leave and cried that she wanted the Dr. as we drove away. My poor baby! I'm not trying to be one of those parents that freaks out every time things aren't normal...but that's the way it looks like I am!!

Hard to capture how big and scary looking this bump is, but luckily she seems to be ok. She seemed more upset when the Tinkerbell sticker the Dr. gave her got stuck in her hair after she put it on her owey.

Princess El

2010-02-20T15:31:00.003-07:00

For Ellie's birthday our friend Crystal bought her a treasure chest full of Disney Princess outfits to dress up in. She already had a few dress up items, and these all became instant favorites! She often is found having taken off her clothes and in one of her "dwesses," although she never gets it quite right. Even though the skirts are usually used as tops, and the shirts are put on backwards and upside down, she still looks pretty cute. Here is her creation from this morning.

Game Face

2010-02-14T07:30:00.003-07:00

I took this picture of Els right before we left to go to a Superbowl party. This was the only picture that I took that night, it was a fun time though. I have no idea who was playing or who won, but the food was plenty and yummmmy!

Cracks me up every time I look at it!

Ellie Sleddin'

2010-01-31T00:48:00.001-07:00

Our backyard is perfect for a little sledding. Ellie had so much fun. When I was cold and ready to go in, she cried and only was ok with going in with the promise of hot chocolate.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Sledding

2010-01-17T17:13:00.001-07:00

Pics to come!

Christmas Morning

2010-01-09T15:51:00.003-07:00

Ellie has figured out that she loves presents, and she loves Christmas! It was so much fun to see her eyes light up whenever she would see a picture of Santa Claus, a reindeer, a snowman, all the pretty lights, and especially any presents. She was definitely a spoiled little girl this year. Presents from us, all her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, and of course Santa. She was a pretty good little girl this year, so I guess she earned it. The only hard part was when she cried when I started putting Christmas away. She did kiss the tree as it was going in the box and said, "bah-bye".

The night before New Year's Eve she was very sick, so we didn't celebrate the New Year until a few days later, yet not one picture was taken. All in all it was a wonderful holiday season, glad we got to spend time with Brian's parents and get together with my family too. Happy New Year to you all, and may the year bring much happiness!

Christmas Eve

2010-01-02T17:21:00.006-07:00

Our family tradition, since us kids have grown up, is to spend Christmas Eve at my parents house. We have a nice dinner, and Santa Claus comes to pass out presents to all the grand kids. Then we play a white elephant game to pass out gifts to the rest of us. Its always a fun time. (I know I didn't get pictures of everyone, so if you had your camera, and you want to share, please send them my way!)

This year Ellie was far more into the whole present thing. Having her birthday in November she was confused why she couldn't open all the presents like she did before. She thought all of them were hers and she should be able to open any present whenever she wanted. Mostly she was pretty good about it, I just left all the presents in my closet until Christmas morning. She was also very much into Santa. She was so excited to see him at the mall, until we went up to sit on his lap, then, "he skered me!" She loves seeing the picture of her on his lap though. Then when Santa came to see us at my parents house she could barely look at him. She did sit on his lap, but not very willingly. She was still very excited about it after he left though! (thanks so much Steve, love you for doing that!!!)

Here Comes Santa Claus!

2010-01-01T19:12:00.001-07:00

Christmas Eve at my parents house.

The Face

2009-12-30T22:50:00.002-07:00

Ellie started pulling a face, we just call it the face. She isn't mad when she is doing it, we just say, "Gimme the face" and this is what she does, then laughs. Its so funny, especially when she is having such a hard time not smiling!

Christmas morning Brian got a few more Turners pulling "The Face!"

Merry Christmas

2009-12-22T17:12:00.000-07:00

Short Updates. . .

2009-12-08T22:06:00.009-07:00

We went to Chico for Thanksgiving, yet I didn't get any pictures of Thanksgiving, or of all of our family! I did get just 2 pics of Ellie (of course!) One of her getting her birthday cake while we sang to her, and one of her taking a bite of fruit from the fruit basket Uncle Larry and Mary gave to Mom and Dad. She would just take a bite, then pick up another one and take another bite. Little stinker!

~~~~~~~

A few Fridays ago, when Ellie and Papa were together, she undressed herself and picked out her own clothes to redress herself. Papa fixed the pants, they were inside out, like the undershirt she has on, which was also backwards. She is her own 'lil Punky Brewster!

~~~~~~

Lately Ellie has started to undress herself, which is fine, except she has started taking off her jammies when she should be sleeping. At first she would do it, then cry, so we would find out, and dress her back again. Once she even tried dressing herself once she was naked and ended up putting her legs in the arm holes...funniest thing ever! Now though, she just undresses and falls asleep, and we don't figure it out until we check on her. So, we've started putting a safety pin in her jammies, but we forget and so far every time we've forgotten we've found. . .

Naked El!

Short Updates. . .

2009-12-08T21:59:00.003-07:00

Cheat Post!

2009-12-03T20:08:00.001-07:00

Ellie havin' a little snack!

Happy Birthday Ellie

2009-11-21T16:25:00.018-07:00

Ellie had her 2nd birthday this week. Lot's of celebrating has been going on. Last Sunday we went to my parents to have a family birthday dinner. She was very spoiled! She got a unicorn stick horse, pom-poms, a very cute outfit, a cool Princess ride, some play dishes and food, coloring book, crayons, a Nemo key remote, and I made cupcakes. After Uncle Steve and Auntie Sue (Soups) built her Princess ride (THANK YOU!!!!) the kids had fun with it, and Ally liked pushing Ellie around on her new ride. It was a fun time.

A few days later she got a surprise birthday gift from her Grandpa Hodges, who she hasn't even met yet! He got her the cutest little dolly, some cute hoodies, jeans, hat and gloves. He also sent some pictures of where he is living and some of him too. I haven't seen him since I graduated high school, so that was cool. We would love to go visit him some day, so Brian and Ellie can meet him and we can see Georgia.

For her Birthday on Thursday, her Gram called her and left a singing telegram from her and her preschool kids. So cute! Her Auntie Cameron called and left a message too. Thanks! We get to see our Chico family for Thanksgiving so we are very excited about that. She also got a kitchen set from mommy and papa, and papa got her a new video, "Up", some Sponge Bob (bum-bum) sweatbands, a cool, green sock monkey, and a balloon. She also got a new doggy stuffed animal from Sasheen, who came with a name, Rocky. Sasheen has babysat Ellie a few times and she has a tiny doggy named Rocky. Ellie sometimes says, "Sheen, Rocky go?" Like, where is Rocky, when am I going to see Sasheen again?" First thing this morning when she saw the doggy, she said, "I wanna Rocky." Then she wanted to play kitchen. She loves it. Plus she got some more play food for it too.

Lucky Girl!

Halloween Fun

2009-11-07T16:29:00.003-07:00

This video is dark, but little Nemo is still a cutie!

Photo and video at www.OneTrueMedia.com

More Halloween pictures below!

Halloween Night

2009-11-07T15:42:00.002-07:00

Grammy and Grandpy came over to join us for some trick and treating. Ellie was so cute in her little Nemo outfit, and it kept her pretty warm too. She was so tickled that people kept giving her candy! A few houses she thought were, "scawy" but she usually was brave enough to go get the "can-ey" anyway. After awhile Papa and Grandpy headed for home, while the girls stayed out a bit longer. When we got to our street Ellie was done and just wanted to be carried, until we got to the next house then she wanted down.

After the trick or treating we got home, passed out a bit of candy, and headed for dinner with Grammy and Grandpy. At Chili's, Ellie got a coupon for a free dinner as a treat! It was a fun Halloween night.

VOTE For Ellie!!!

2009-11-02T19:39:00.003-07:00

Please go to this site:

http://www.kosy.com/pages/disney_on_ice/

and vote for Ellie, #215!

I love Fall!

2009-11-01T00:10:00.000-06:00

Pumpkin Time!

2009-10-31T14:48:00.005-06:00

Last night we carved our pumpkins. Ellie did a most of the face work, and Brian did most of the carving. I cleaned two of them out, one was given to us already cleaned out! I also carved the little one, and even roasted pumpkin seeds. Then we went outside to do a candlelit pumpkin preview. I think Ellie had fun, after we blew out the candles and started going back inside, she said, "I want again." She didn't quite understand that we had to wait one more night.

Before we went inside, we saw a deer in the street, tried getting a picture but it was too dark. Later that night, that same deer must have had a hankering for a midnight snack. One of our pumpkin lids is gone, and one is munched on, and another pumpkin face has been munched on too. I wasn't sure if deer ate pumpkins, otherwise we would have brought them inside last night. Oh well, hope it was tasty!

Fun Times!

2009-10-31T11:41:00.002-06:00

Choppin' Broccoli.....or zucchini

2009-10-31T01:08:00.002-06:00

Ellie is starting to be a little bit of a helper. Its either that, or she just loves being under foot, and constantly in the way! Gram had the cutest apron for her, and then she put her to work chopping the zucchini for dinner. She mostly liked stabbing the zucchini, so eventually I took over, but it was cute while it lasted!

Playin' in the sand

2009-10-28T16:51:00.007-06:00

Ellie's Gram and Grandpa bought her a sand turtle, and she been able to play in it a few times while we've been here. At first she wasn't so sure about it. She hesitated, even when Grandpa went in it to show her how. After a few minutes though, she had a lot of fun. They brought her out lots of fun stuff to play in the sand with. She even had a Ronald McDonald ready for Halloween, dressed as Frankenstein!

I was off to Paradise to watch a movie, so later that night she took me out to show her sand turtle. She really wasn't happy when I told her it was time to go inside for a bath though.

Chico Ellie

2009-10-27T13:22:00.004-06:00

Fun in the leaves!

Ellie and I are having fun visiting Brian's mom and dad in Chico. Jean hasn't been feeling great, but I think Ellie is a bit of some good medicine. Cameron and Matt came too, on Saturday, and stayed the night. We got to go to lunch with Grandpa Great too. It has been fun just hanging out and letting them have some Ellie time.

Putting Ellie to work!

Having fun with Mango!

Halloween Preview

2009-10-26T22:08:00.003-06:00

I don't post here much but I wanted to share some of the pictures of Ellie in her costume. I hope you girls are having fun in Chico, love you.

Pumpkins

2009-10-17T22:42:00.008-06:00

Last Saturday, Ellie and I, hung out with Allison and Max at a Pumpkin patch. The kids had fun, runnin' around, playin' in dirt, pickin' out pumpkins, goin' through the maze, and playin' on tractors. It was a great fall day.

First Haircut

2009-10-10T22:39:00.003-06:00

O.K., the title is a little lie, I've given Ellie a bang trim a few times, so this wasn't her first haircut. But, last Saturday we took her to Cookie Cutters and she got more than just her bangs trimmed. The place was so cute, with little cars for them to sit in, Ellie went right to the little pink car without us even telling her to. Her hairdresser, Teresa, did a great job, and Ellie had fun watching a Princess Barbie DVD, she even gave Ellie a cute little up-do, a balloon, and a lolly-pop. Wish getting my haircut was as much fun!

Turner Theater

2009-10-04T21:47:00.003-06:00

For the past four weeks we've been enjoying movie nights in our backyard, putting our projector to work on the back of our house. We did it once before, sometime in July, before we had a nice yard. We watched Twilight, while Brian's parents were visiting, and we invited my parents too. It was fun, we had popcorn, drinks and candy. Nobody could lay down because we only had dirt, rocks and weeds in our yard, but we did provide some chairs. More than half way through the movie, it started to drizzle, so movie night was moved inside.

Since then, the Turner Theater has had their Grand Re-Opening, and we have been enjoying our nice comfy yard. The first weekend I actually took some pictures that I never put up on the blog. I've been super busy with this new job. (Hopefully I'll get better at managing my time)

Movie Night - Austin Powers
September 11, 2009

Man - They sure do grow up fast!

2009-09-12T15:04:00.005-06:00

Driving already!!

This morning on our way to swimming class, I went in the garage, put the bags in the car, and then remembered I needed my purse. I had left the passenger door opened, and was gone just a minute, and this is where she got to! How did she crawl over all those bags without getting stuck, or hurt?

Ol' Mother Hubbard went to her cupboard and found a naked el-bell.

Outside Fun Time!

New Barbie Bike

She can't really figure it out yet...but she loves putting stuff in the seat cubby hole.

Dinosaur Museum

2009-09-07T16:59:00.003-06:00

Before I started back to work I took Ellie to Thanksgiving Point to visit the Dinosaur Museum. Fun time, although I think she'll enjoy it more when she is a little older. The water play area was too big for her to play in without me holding her. She still had fun playing in the wet sand, and of course she loved eating it too!

Little Mermaid

2009-09-07T15:36:00.002-06:00

Ellie is so lucky to have so many cousins! Yesterday we went to my sister and brother-in-laws house for a BBQ Birthday celebration for my nephew Wyatt. Happy Birthday Wyatt!!! Ellie went in the pool, for a second, then played in the hot tub with her cousins for awhile longer. When it was time to go home, they let us take the girls old Little Mermaid table and chairs. Ellie had to play with them when we got home, then first thing this morning she dragged them downstairs so we could take them outside.

Thank You Auntie Bonnie & Uncle Brad!

Jen is officially a teacher!

2009-09-01T08:56:00.002-06:00

Congratulations on surviving your first day teaching the 3rd grade! It took a lot of perseverance to get to this point. It would have been easy to quit along the way and there would have been some good excuses, but you did it and I am so proud of you.
This reminds me of my favorite poem and it seems fitting.

Robert Frost (1874–1963).

1. The Road Not Taken


TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Finally!!!

2009-08-29T21:05:00.006-06:00

After many years in our house, finally this past summer we've been trying to get our backyard done, and it got done today! We still need to finish one more side to our fence, get some kind of deck covering, and many plants/trees/flowers/stuff, but other than that it looks great!

May 2009

August 19, 2009
This is how it ended up looking before we fired the first landscaper. Took him over a month to get this far! SO Frustrating!!!! The next guy fixed all the mistakes the other guy made, and still had it finished in two Saturdays!

Today!
Ellie really is happy about the yard, even though she looks pretty upset in that last photo. She was tired of us trying to make her sit still for a cute picture!

Sleepover Saturday

2009-08-18T09:35:00.001-06:00

Ellie had her first slumber party over at Grammy & Grandpy's last Saturday. She has spent the night over there before, but this was a slumber party with all the granddaughters. They spent the night scrapbookin' away. Looks like they had a fun time.
Check out my mom's blog to see the fun!

$2 Tuesday

2009-08-17T09:33:00.004-06:00

Last Tuesday we headed back over to Thanksgiving Point to enjoy Farm Country. Ellie had so much fun feeding the goats, pigs, ducks and getting a big kiss from a cow! We saw bunnies, baby horses, turkeys, llamas, chickens and even went on a hayride. Ellie went home with a toy horse, that she keeps calling a ella (elephant) and her own red cowboy hat. Now she can wear her hat when we do the Giddyup song and dance. The regular price is only $3.50, and Ellie is still free, so I'm hoping we can go back again before next August. It was a fun way to spend a few hours.

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Giddyup!

2009-08-13T14:18:00.003-06:00

This is a little dark, but I think it's cute anyway!

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I hope you'll dance . . .

2009-08-11T14:25:00.003-06:00

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I made this video awhile ago, I just never posted it. This is from Cameron and Matt's wedding, and a moment of dancing at Disneyland. Ellie loves to dance, and I wanted to remember that. It was too dark to get video of her dancing at the wedding, but she had so much fun!

KHS Fan!

2009-08-11T11:45:00.004-06:00

Last night I was looking for a blanket in my cedar chest, and found this old tee. Ellie wanted to take off her shirt and shorts immediately so she could put on mama's tee. When it was time to get into her jammies, she cried and wanted to keep the tee shirt on. So, I let her sleep in my shirt, and just put on some jammy bottoms instead. I didn't think anything about it until I dropped Brian off at work this morning and wanted to stop by the grocery store to pick up a few things. She looked like a poor little girl in her mommy's clothes, with no jammies of her own. I wanted to say, I promise, she does have cute jammies, I don't make her wear my clothes!

Go Cougars!!!

Two $ Tuesdays!

2009-08-09T21:35:00.007-06:00

During the month of August you can enjoy the different locations of Thanksgiving Point for $2, and Ellie is free for a few more months. Last Tuesday, we went and enjoyed an afternoon at the Children's Discovery Garden. I had never been there before, and was amazed at how beautiful it was, especially the waterfall! Ellie loved it all, but she really enjoyed the splash pool. I thought it was only a small splash area, so I hadn't planned on her getting soaked. Luckily though, she was wearing a onesie, so I just took off her overall shorts and let her just get totally wet! Afterwards, we had to go pick Brian up from work, and she looked like a little farmer, wearing her pink overall shorts with no shirt and her farmer tan, and I was pretty wet too. It was a fun time though.

I wonder what we'll do this Tuesday!?!

Funny Story - Update

2009-08-08T13:26:00.005-06:00

Ellie has learned her last name, so I was showing her Papa how she can say her name.

Mama - (whispering in Ellie's ear) Ellie
Ellie - El-lee
Mama - Turner
Ellie - Tun-ur

She said her name a few times then we thought to try out learning her middle names too.

Mama - (whispering in her ears again) Ellie
Ellie - El-lee
Mama - C
Ellie - see
Mama - J
Ellie - Taco

Not sure where she got that from! Guess we'll try learning CJ Marie another time!

(UPDATE - Now when you ask, "What is your name?" She'll say, "El-lee Tun-ur" Without too much help)

Dressin' Up

2009-08-06T22:23:00.006-06:00

Ellie loves playing dress-up, and talking on the phone.
What a girly-girl!

Swimmin' Ellie

2009-07-30T19:43:00.006-06:00

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We've been taking "swimming" lessons for the past 2 weeks, and my mom was able to come watch us on Monday's, and took these pictures for us on our first day. Today was her last day, and she has improved some. She can now jump in, still from a sitting position, but with no help from mama! She'll also go under water. We might sign up for some more classes at another facility, before the end of summer. We've had fun!

Last Monday my mom-in-law got to come see too. We did miss swim class last Tuesday, 'cuz me, Ellie and my mom-in-law had a girls day and went to the Gateway for lunch and a day at Discovery Gateway. It was a fun day, but I didn't bring my camera!

Shoulder Surgery

2009-07-21T21:49:00.004-06:00

We went to the hospital again last night, Brian's legs were very swollen, and the Dr. wanted to check to make sure there weren't any blood clots. Luckily, everything was fine. He is off of his cooler contraption, and took off his special hose yesterday. He goes in Thursday to get the stitches out, and find out about therapy. I am glad I've been home to take care of him, although at first I didn't think I would be able to. It is all much easier now.

Thanks to all of our family and friends that have helped us out with dinners, offers of help and just checking in with us. It is nice to know we have so many people who love us and are willing to help us out if we need it. Thanks!

Ellie's Project

2009-07-19T14:10:00.004-06:00

Today in nursery, Ellie made her first crafty project. I'm not sure how much she actually did of it, but I thought it was cool anyway. It was a picture of Moses, Noah, Adam & Eve. Two pictures were glue together and there was a blue Popsicle stick in the middle.
Before After
On our way home, Ellie turned the project into a mess and became the Blue Monster.

Saturday With No Papa

2009-07-18T22:03:00.011-06:00

I haven't posted any shoulder injury pictures, but I do have some, and maybe I'll get some more and post some soon. Brian has been in a lot of pain, not sleeping much, and just pretty much miserable. Today was better, but he still isn't feeling all that great. So, us girls have been trying to entertain ourselves without Papa.

We've played Dress-Up
Where did my baby girl go???

We went swimming!
She's a fish, just like mommy....look at her go!
(Don't mind the dirt yard, hopefully that is about to change!)

We even ate mommy's favorite - spaghetti!

Although we've had some fun, we would much rather be having fun with Papa!

Zoo Day

2009-07-15T00:09:00.003-06:00