Justin & Laura

In mid-August, we made our first of several trips home for Colin's cousin Justin's wedding. We had a great weekend with everyone home, and it was an absolutely beautiful beach event. Colin and I made a night of it staying at the historic Nahma Inn (thanks Mom & Dad for taking the kids)! A fun time had by all =)

It was a beautiful day!



Russ, Diane, and Justin making their way up the sandy aisle



Our crew at the wedding



Justin and Laura Pomeroy



Wellyn, Sue, and the boys



Ashley and Caroline - the next couple on deck to say 'I do!'



Colin and I



Sisters-in-law



Corinna, Phil, Clara, and Oscar - we hadn't seen them in a very long time! It was great to catch up =)



Huggin' up to the bar at the Nahma Inn =)



Our lodging for the night...supposedly we were in the haunted room, but the night was completely ghost-free!

Parks!

I have really enjoyed most of my Fridays off this summer. The kids and I have had lots of fun with friends, and some fun park time too. A few weeks ago, we visited a new park and had a picnic which they both thought was great!

Playing on the fun new stuff











Silly picnic!





We visited a local festival earlier in the month too. There were lots of things for the kids to do, but they definitely loved this train ride and face painting the best! Emmit really enjoyed sitting in the "BIG firetrucks"!

Toot toot!



Emmit is always very serious when it comes to driving things!



Driving the firetruck





On another Friday, we drove up to Green Bay to hit Bay Beach with Auntie Sara. This was the first time we'd been there, and it was fun (despite the LONG lines!) Emmit didn't get to go on the train (we attempted to stand in line 3 times, and gave up as it was not moving very fast), but they still had fun riding and then at McDonalds for lunch after.

Emmit's not so sure about this merry-go-round



Ellie's having fun!



Now we're both having fun!



Boat ride!





Ellie and I on the helicopter



And last but not least, we went to the fair recently too! We went with my Mom and Grandma so imagine the 5 of us moving at the pace of Emmit - who insisted on walking and my Grandma - who is almost 88 years old =) I hadn't been to the fair in FOREVER (since high school) so it was a bit nostalgic to go back. The kids liked it except for the long lines of course. Ellie was not having the long lines at all! Emmit loved petting the goats and just seeing all the animals in general. He would have been totally content with that. Ellie's FAVORITE thing again was getting her face painted. We also went on rides, viewed a few side shows, got animal balloons, and ate plenty of treats. After a picnic in the park, we left with salt water taffy, an elephant ear, and cotton candy. I would say it was a successful fair visit =)

Ellie was SO excited to get this unicorn painted on her face. She was throwing temper tantrums waiting in line for rides, but then proceeded to stand in line for almost a half hour for this.



Emmit and Grandma shared a snow cone while we were waiting for Ellie to get her face painted =)



Emmit and I on the merry-go-round



Ellie on the flying saucer. These were all the pictures I took...with Emmit insisting on walking and people everywhere, it was pretty much impossible!

Ellie Ruth - 3 1/2 Years Old!

Ellie is 3 1/2 years old now, and the best word I can use to describe her is SASSY! She is very witty in her comments and picks up on things so quickly now. She loves telling knock knock jokes and being the 'goofinator' with Daddy. She sings song lyrics with the best of 'em (to the point now where we probably need to be more careful with what songs she's listening to!) She loves the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga. Ellie can be a drama queen when she does not get her way, loves to manipulate her little brother, and at the same time can say the sweetest things that melt your heart. "I don't like that" or "Don't tell me!" may be some of her favorite phrases =)

She loves having her hair played with in the evening while watching a show before bedtime, but hates having her hair fixed in the morning, and often ends up with 'crazy hair' by the end of the day. Ellie's favorite shows are still Max & Ruby and Wow Wow Wubbzy, but she's taken a liking to some older kid shows like Scooby Doo and Phineus & Ferb too. Ellie loves her family, visiting her Grandmas & Grandpas, Aunt, Uncles, and cousins are at the top of her list of favorite things to do. She loves having picnics outside, playing in the sprinklers, riding her bike, and playing with friends. She's very excited to be a princess TWICE this fall for her upcoming Auntie and Uncle's weddings!

She insists on picking out her own clothes, and has gone through multiple clothes phases. First it was pants w/o buttons (came along with potty training), then it was nothing but dresses. Now we are on to shorts WITH pockets, so she has about 5 pairs of shorts that she rotates between. I am wondering what the fall fad will be so I can make sure I don't waste money on clothes she WON'T wear! Ellie can write her name and a lot of her letters. She loves to color and draw too. She still loves to read stories and continues to amaze me with memorizing some of her favorite books. She likes to correct us on words if we say something wrong in her books =) She's our little smarty pants, sassy pants, and we love her so much!

Ellie loves to do things with Emmit - she's usually taking care of him in some fashion. Putting band-aids on his boo-boos, giving him a snack, getting him water, or just 'helping' him in some way. He just goes along with whatever she says for the most part.



A cheesy smile - she's been doing this more and more with pictures lately. This or squinting her eyes shut when she smiles.



Princess!



All smiles outside with a snack, this looks like Skittles or M&Ms...Ellie loves candy! Ellie certainly has a sweet tooth like her Mama =)



Sassy girl







Watching shows with Emmit...this is rare that they're just sitting, but it's moments like this that are so sweet to just watch them together.



Our little princess - all ready to be a flower girl (twice)!

Funny Conversation

Emmit: "Mama! Da-vas!"
Mama: ?
Emmit: "Da-vas!"
Mama: ?
Emmit: "Mama! Da-vas!"
Mama: (To Colin) "Do you know what he's saying?"
Daddy: (To Emmit) "Da-vas?"
Emmit: "No, da-vas!"
Daddy: "Da-vas?"
Emmit: "No, DA-VAS!"
Mama: "Ellie, do you know what Emmit's saying?"
Ellie: (Slightly annoyed) "Guys, he's saying carwash"
Mama: "Oh, Emmit did you go in the carwash today?"
Emmit: "Uh huh! Da-vas!"