June - September 2011

I am behind on my blog again so I figure that the easiest way to catch up will be with some highlights from each month. So here goes!

June:

Baby girl has just been growing and growing. She loves to dress up and goes from wearing Grandpa Risenmay's hat to trying on mommy's shoes. She loves to brush her hair and look in the mirror. While she is brushing she will things like "cuuute" or "pretty". We are loving the high self-esteem.

Elisabeth is a busy busy girl and it can sometimes get her into trouble. If mom turns her back for a minute she can tear the kitchen apart in no time.

But seriously... who can resist this face:

July:
For the 4th of July we introduced Elisabeth to the famous East Millcreek Parade.
We had a great holiday at Grandma Jane's and loved seeing all the cousins!

Isn't Uncle Dan great with all the kiddos???
During the end of July and beginning of August we had a few family reunions. We saw the Risenmay family for a week and then went straight to the Fagergren family reunion at Reid Ranch.This is a shot from the Risenmay reunion:

August:

In August Dan and I celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary! Dan surprised me with a little trip.... to France! Oui oui!
It was amazing and we took over 500 pictures. Mainly we took that many pictures because there were so many amazing sights.... but the fact that it was the only activity that didn't cost an arm and a leg probably played into our over-exuberance as well.
We had so much fun visiting the Louvre, Versailles, Rouen, Notre Dame.... a lot of places. It may sound cliche but my favorite was the day we spent at the Eiffel Tower. It was the most beautiful day and we had so much fun. I would love to go back again... soon!

We also had a great garden this year thanks to a huge water bill :) We enjoyed fresh spinach, green beans, beets, onions, strawberries, raspberries, corn, canteloupe, watermelon, peas, a few tomatoes, and brocolli. Plus we have about 12 good size pumpkins ready to go for October.
Dan and Elisabeth spent Saturdays together harvesting the crops and then I spent the rest of the week figuring out what to do with all the produce... lets just say that I am getting pretty good with a pressure cooker!
Our peach tree did awesome this year. It is so fun to can peaches from your own tree!

September:
It was family picture time! Our cute neighbor took some pictures of us down by the Boise River. I will put up a few of our photos here because we had some grandparents requesting to see the latest and greatest.






Ok done for now!

What we have been up to...

Here is a quick update of what we have been doing in 2011:

Ellie and I took a trip to Zoo Boise with the Hanson family.
Ellie hangs out with these kids so much I think she thinks she is their sister.
She does look a lot like Sarah.... but she is my baby I promise.

Loving the zoo!

The giraffe or "gi-gi" is Ellie's favorite animal... after kitties.

We have also enjoyed the spring weather around Eagle.
Ellie and the cousins and I went on a picnic by the lake.
We love feeding the ducks and enjoying beautiful Boise.

Emmy and Andrew took turn pulling the wagon to the lake
while Sarah and Savvy rode their bikes.
Once we got there we had a great picnic.


And of course one of the MOST important events of the spring....
Ellie turned one!!

As you can see she loved her personal ladybug cake.

We had a great time celebrating with family and friends and Elisabeth had a great time opening lots of presents.

A VERY spoiled little girl!

We have been spending a lot of time getting our yard in order
and here Ellie is enjoying the flowers outdoors while
Daddy builds Mommy some new flower beds.

Our Memorial Day weekend was spent in Twin Falls and Pocatello.

Ellie modeled her new cherry dress
that Aunt Robin made for her.
How lucky to have such a talented Auntie!!

Then of course we spent some time with new baby Zander.
Brit and Kyle have a darling new baby boy and we loved
spending some time snuggling this cutie.

After Zander time it was off to the hotel pool so
Ellie could swim with "Bamp Pa"

As for what Elisabeth is up to now.... Well lets just say that she is hard to keep up with.
She loves to play the emptying game and yesterday I found her emptying out my wallet.
I guess you are never too young to want mom's money.





Well those are some of the fun adventures we have been on lately. On a more serious side I wanted to share that our sweet Elisabeth gave us a scare a few weeks ago when she experienced some febrile seizures. She has been doing great lately and we are so GRATEFUL for her health and happiness. Nothing is as scary as taking your little baby to the hospital. We are still doing some tests and hope that all will continue to be well with our precious girl. We love her so much and appreciate all the prayers that have gone out on her behalf!

Our Mazatlan Christmas

Yes, I do know that it is now March but better late than never!

We had a great Mexican Christmas with the Hunzeker family. Ellie was just getting over her first ear infection so the flight out was a bit rough at times. Once we got into Mexico she perked right up and we had a lot of firsts!

Elisabeth experienced sand for the first time:




And of course after a few minutes the sun hat was ripped off and her mouth was full of sand. We spent a lot of time trying to keep that sand out of her mouth! And out of her eyes, and her nose, and her ears... we had to plaster her in sunscreen every time we went out and the sand loved to stick ALL over. Lots of fun!

Some other firsts:
First time sitting under an umbrella tree on the beach with Grandma



First time exploring the beach and feeling the waves with Grandpa

First time eating Mexican cuisine... and apparently she liked it!

And it was the first time meeting Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Call!

It was great to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa. Ellie especially loved Grandma's dangly earrings. We also got to see cousin Natalie and it was fun for the girls to play together.

There was a lot to do on the beach and we spent quite a bit of time playing beach volleyball. Here you can see Dan executing a great spike. Ellie and I were up on the grass cheering him on!

After a long day of swimming I liked to lounge out on the balcony with a delicious pineapple smoothie and my kindle. It's a rough life.


Here is the Hunzeker family on Christmas morning:

Our little family after a great Christmas breakfast.
I guess the breakfast wasn't that great for little Ellie.

We had a wonderful time swimming,

enjoying beautiful sunsets















and relaxing.

It was a great family vacation!

So I was trying to get a video of Ellie dancing because she is starting to get some great moves. Then she did something new... a few unassisted steps! Pretty exciting. Hope you don't mind the French music blaring away.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here are some of the Christmas Card failures. Gotta love that girl. Pictures from our Mazatlan Christmas will be up soon!