Happy 5th Birthday Eleanor!

Our little princess turned five today.

I keep saying that five seems really old to me, maybe she should only be three?! Our big girl is in Kindergarten all day now, and loving every minute of it. She has reinvented herself at school as Ella. I'm OK with that name.... when I can remember to refer to her as Ella! Luckily I was granted permission to call her Eleanor at home. She is riding a big kid bike, learning to read and write, has loads of girlfriends at school, and thinks a couple of the boys in her class are cute. I am definitely not ready for that!

As usual, she had some unique gift requests this year; she wanted "something Tinkerbell", a Barbie "head", something fancy, and a goldfish. This last request she directed at her Uncle Paul and Aunt Kaili, who live in LA. And resulted in a long, long conversation about why you cannot send aquatic animals via the US Postal system. She is still a little bitter about that.

The "Something Fancy" Gift

"I am FIVE!"

She was too fast for me this year. All five candles were out before the camera was ready.
Wonder what she wished for?

By request, one mermaid cake. Phew! This one took me an entire day to make. My fingers are still stained red and teal, they may never be quite right again. Sadly Ariel looks like she has had some poorly done cosmetic work: botched nose job, collagen injected into her lips, an over waxed and now half missing left eyebrow, and the same dermatologist/skin bleaching as Michael Jackson. Not exactly like the picture on the Wilton cake pan!

But Ellie loved it anyway and that's what matters.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!
We love you
xoxo

Mommy, Daddy, Nick, and William

It's a beautiful day in Colorado

I was running some errands this morning and came upon the most beautiful field full of sunflowers. What a glorious sight! Thankfully I had my camera in the car to capture the moment.

You never know what awaits around that next corner.
Some days you just get lucky.


This is for you Paul; sorry you had to work on such a beautiful day. Miss you!

First Day of School!

Eleanor on her first day of Kindergarten!
Such a big girl, we are so proud of you!

Nick is now a second grader.
It's going to be a great year!

We were so lucky to have Holly in town on the first day of school! She was such a huge help, I loved having her here to give us a hand. After pick up time at school we headed up to Estes to celebrate with ice cream and to show Holly some mountains. I think she liked them?

Good job to my two elementary school kids! And thank you for coming to visit Holly! We loved having you here and you are welcome anytime. Bring Anna, Jake, Luke, and Mike with you next time!

Our Day At the Zoo

We decided to spend our last Friday before school started exploring the Denver Zoo. We have never made it all the way through in one trip as it is a rather large park. But we did pretty well this time, probably due mostly to the fact that William slept in the stroller for the second half.

Eleanor climbing a tree.

Nick ready to pounce.

Peacock

The third seal.

A four humped camel?!

How did they get in that enclosure!

Will's usual activity on our zoo trips.

Yum! Ice cream!

Nick sculpted his into an "opposable thumb". (I wasn't sure what look he was going for, so I had to ask.)

Stopping to smell the roses.

At the primate exhibit.

All three are fascinated.

On the zoo train. Will's favorite part.

Monkeys island.

Will consulting the map.

It was a wonderful day! Everyone behaved beautifully for me. Fortunate, as the three kids to one adult ratio in a public place has potential for disaster. So glad we were able to have one last hurrah before the beginning of school.

Eleanor's Cheerleading Finale!

Elle Belle has been taking cheerleading classes all summer and today she had her final class and the opportunity to show off for her family. She did great! Remembered all the words to the cheers, all the moves, was the leader for her group, and was also the loudest kiddo in the class. Sometimes not having an "inside voice" does pay off! Her teacher, Miss Kendra, loved Eleanor's bubbly personality and endless enthusiasm. So do we! Good job honey!

(Trying to post a video, but Blogger is being cranky.....)

Just had to share my big "score"!
I was walking through Home Goods in search of a soap dispenser; when what did I see on a clearance rack?

Two of these Spode serving pieces.

I know how much they cost full price as I drool over them in the Williams Sonoma Catalog each fall. And sure enough, they still had their WS price tags on:

Guess how much they were at Home Goods?

Yep. $18 each. Score!!
Woo hoo!

I went on a William hunt the other day as it was suspiciously quiet upstairs. Here is what I found. Will all snuggled into our bed, clutching a handful of Nick's toys. Nick was outside playing with a friend, and William had seized the opportunity to get his hands on contraband. "I have all Nicky's Gons!" he told me with this huge grin on his little face. (Gon is toddler speak for Bakugan). It's a good thing he's so cute!

WATER FIGHT!!

I sent the kids outside to play while I did some laundry. Armed with bubbles, new sand box toys, and lightsabers; I assumed that they would stay out of trouble long enough for me to finish folding. Wrong. Eleanor (why do all stories start with our daughter?) armed with the garden hose blasted both boys, the dog, the house, the trash cans and a cooler that I had washed earlier and placed in the sun to dry; and our deck.

They had loads of fun as you can see.

Meanwhile, I am left with one wet and smelly dog; a pile of soaking wet, grass filled kids clothing; wet and grassy trash cans; and a couple of soggy rooms in our home as windows were open when they started spraying.

Isn't it time for school to start again?

Poor Will didn't want to get wet. He stood on the deck yelling at the kids "stop it"!