Spring Break

Spring break is next week!  I think that I'm more excited than my kids.  No homework.  No waking up way too early in the morning.  (I am not a morning person!!!)  No lunches to make.  No making sure my kids are dressed appropriately for the day.  It's pajamas all day long! 

We'll have to get dressed part of the time because we're heading out this Saturday to visit family in Utah.  It won't be a super busy visit.  We'll hang out with my Grandma Donna.  I love my Grandma.  She is one of the most loving people I know.  She still has board games, puzzles and coloring books that used to be my Dad's.  She's a bit of a hoarder but so are most kids of the Depression.  But it's worked in my favor.  My children love playing with the older toys just as much as I did when I was their age.  She has a game from the 60's, Husker Du, that is my favorite game! 

We'll stay with my Dad and step-Mom.  My Dad is the best Popa.  He gets down on his hands and knees to play with them and makes sure to give each of them his attention.  He doesn't spoil them except when it comes to licorice.  He always has Red Vines licorice.  He manages to go through a whole bag of the family mix when we're there.  He has been known to try and sneak my kids a piece when they are as young as 9 months.  He says that he has to teach them what good licorice tastes like. 

We plan on visiting the Museum of Ancient Life while we're there.  They have the world's largest display of mounted dinosaurs.  The best part is that you get to touch them.  They want you to touch the fossils.  My children love dinosaurs and to be able to touch real dinosaur bones is amazing to them.  It's amazing to me too.  Most places you only get to look.  Needless to say, this is a very kid-friendly museum and we're super excited to visit.

We also have to stop by JC Penney.  Sweet Cheeks starts kindergarten this fall.  She registered last week and is so very excited.  She's already requested a striped backpack.  Do you know how hard it is to find a striped backpack?  There are no striped backpacks up here so I went to the internet and found one down in Utah.  So we are going make a quick visit to the store to pick it up.  The things we do for our children......

And amidst all of this fun, I might be lucky enough to go on a date with my husband.

But don't worry, we'll be back in time to indulge in our "all day pajama fest" by Wednesday!  Yay for lazy days!!!



************************************************Update*****************************************************

We had SO much fun.  The Museum of Ancient life was amazing!  It's not too big that you're walking non-stop but it's packed with so much interactive stuff.  Not only did we get to touch some of the fossils,

My almost 2 year old comparing his foot with a Brachiosaurus foot.

but they got to dig up buried fossils in a sand pit. 

 My soon to be 7 year old gently brushing away sand to get to the elusive dinosaur bones.

My 8 year old blowing the sand out the dinosaurs eye socket.

It was perfect.  We will most definitely be going again.  We also got to spend some quality time with family.  And I finally convinced my Grandma to go to the doctor about an open wound on her foot that's been there since November.  I've tried to convince her that she needed to see a doctor about it but she kept delaying.  This time I made the appointment and even drove her there.  

All in all, it was a good trip.  Sadly, school has started back up and I no longer get to sleep in.   

Ella

© Ella's Place

Jamba Juice

Have you ever had something that you needed to do but kept putting it off?  And because you have been putting it off, you start to avoid it because of the guilt that is building up inside of you? 

Well, that's me.  Right now.  And I'm sorry.  I planned on writing last week.  I planned on writing on Monday and pretty much ever day after.  I feel horribly guilty.  Will you forgive me?

To make it up to you, I thought I'd introduce you to another member of our family.

I'm pretty sure our dog is related to Houdini.  He has amazing skills when it comes to escaping not only his dog run but our yard that has a 6 foot high wood fence.  But that's not all.  I think his neck is double jointed because he can take name tags off all by himself.  His name tag disposing talent is expensive so he's now the proud new owner of a chip.  I'm pretty sure he won't be able to lose it.  (I couldn't watch when the doctor put it in.  It was one of those big hollow needles.)

Although our dog acts like Houdini, his name is Jamba.  Yes, he was named after the smoothie shop, Jamba Juice.  Our children were young when he joined our family and couldn't say many words but they all could say Jamba.  They love smoothies.  So I'm pretty sure that you can guess his nickname.  Yup.  We ofter refer to him as "the Juice" when we're not talking to him.

Jamba is the friendliest dog you'll ever meet.  I don't think he's met an enemy in his life.  Everyone is his friend.  He won't bite but he may lick you to death.  And he loves to cuddle; with me.  My husband finds it very frustrating.  We'll all be outside and Jamba will refuse to run and play.  All he wants to do is cuddle. 

Jamba also loves zucchini and carrots.  He enjoys long walks.  And is currently single.  If you know of any cute girl dogs out here in Idaho let me know.  We'll set them up on a date. 

Ella


© Ella's Place

Bits and Pieces

1.  When you watch an old western movie, there's almost always a stand off on the main road that goes through town.  As they face off about 50 paces away from each other you usually see a tumble weed blowing across the road somewhere.  That tumble weed blowing across the dusty road is iconic for the old Wild West.  I'm here to tell you that it still happens.  Not the standoff, but the tumble weed blowing across the road.  In fact, the other day I had 8 tumble weed blow across the road in front of me in just 10 minutes.  Everytime it happens I smile. 

2.  My baby gained 1 lb. in 2 weeks!!!  This might not sound very exciting but it is.  He only gained 1/2 lb.  from his 4 month doctor visit to his 6 month visit.  I was worried.  

3.  Sweet Cheeks sandwich of the day grosses me out.  She made a ketchup sandwich with dill pickles and a slice of ham.  Yuck!  Ketchup and ham do NOT belong together.   And what's up with a ketchup sandwich?  I like ketchup but not that much.

4.  Can I just say that I really dislike changing insurance companies.  It frustrates me!

5.  My baby is sitting up all on his own now. 

6.  Many times I have caught my baby sitting up just checking out everything and then he sees his toes.  I'm not sure if he thinks they're extra thumbs but as soon as he spies his toes, he leans down and starts eating them.  It's so cute! 

7.  Have I mentioned that I LOVE coconut?  Well, my husband just realized that my favorite candy is the Brach's neapolitan coconut sundaes.  I now have a steady supply.  This is a bad thing. 

8.  I needed to run into the library for a few minutes and decided that my kids would be okay just hanging out in the car for such a short time period.  I was wrong.  I came back to find my 1 year old jumping in the driver's seat, blood splattered all over my daughter and lots of yelling.  My oldest son had decided to punch his sister and gave her a bloody nose.  Don't feel too bad for her because she gets a bloody nose if you accidentally bump her nose.  She has a lot bloody noses.  They were yelling not because her nose was bleeding but because they couldn't find a towel to staunch the blood flow.  She was holding an empty gum packages underneath her nose to catch  everything.  And my 1 year old had moved to the front seat in order to avoid the madness that was happening in the backseat.  With all of this craziness happening, they woke up the baby.  It was quite funny.

9.  My 1 year old can walk better in high heels than my 23 year old sister. 

10.  Sweet Cheeks gets to register for kindergarten this month.  She's so excited!!!  I asked what kind of back pack she wants and she said...."Striped!"  Where do you find striped back packs?

Ella


© Ella's Place