Day in the Sun

I went to the beach on Friday with Serena, Dorinda, and Erika.  We went to Carlsbad with all the kids.  As you can see we had a great time.  

Sophia and Madison discovered boogie boarding for the first time really.  Every time we've gone to the beach before this the pretty much just played in the sand.  But since their friends were there to show them how it's done, they learned to boogie board.  They had a blast.

Sophia especially took to it right away.  When She saw little Maddie could do it she ran right out to give it a try.  She spent most of the afternoon on a board.

The younger kids did a lot of playing in the sand and just having a plain old good time.

We brought this little tent thing.  Sadie and Tara sat inside it most of the time like it was their little house.  They were very excited to get a couple sodas, that were just their size.

The beach we were at was great.  It was pretty shallow so it was safe for the kids and let us keep a much better eye on them while they were out.

Madison didn't do quite as much boarding as some of the other kids but she spent alot of time with Kelly in the sand.  But towards the end of the day she started going out with the other kids in the water.

Home from Montana...Now What!

So I'm home from my "Summer Vacation"  Now what am I going to do?  I guess it's time to get back to all my projects.  But since we bought the car we have to watch where our money goes a little better.  Which means I need to watch.  Jer doesn't really go shopping that much.  Anyways I need to get back to Sadie's quilt.  Just before I left, I laid the quilt top on Her bed to see how it would fit.  It was too short, so I quickly sewed another row.  Then the day before I left I laid it on the bed again.  Guess what?  It's too narrow.  So now I need to sew five more squares.  It's taking forever.  So I guess my goal is to get five squares done by Monday.  Then for binding and backing.  I want to finish up Sadie's room so I can get to work on my gazebo.  It'll be a cool outdoor hangout.  I'm hoping to be able to knit and read out there and hang when we have friends over.  But with short funds I'll have to come up with a creative way to fix it up.  Well I hoping to get the Quilt done by the time school starts, then it's gazebo time.

Sadie's Make Over

The girls got up this morning and were playing with makeup.  Madison and Sophia decided to give Sadie a make over.  They did her hair...

And even painted her finger nails and toe nails.  She was so proud.  They dressed her in an old easter dress of Madison's.  She had her pretty pink purse and for some reason a winter scarf?  It is August in San Diego.  But who doesn't need to accessorize with a scarf!

I just love those big blue eyes and that dimple!

The Baby has arrived

After a very long wait...It has arrived!

We are the very proud parents of a brand new Mini Cooper.  I just love it.  It's so speedy, and shiny.  Some may say it's impractical to have a car that the entire family can't fit into.  Not me I say humbug... look how cute it is.  Plus I can fit it into our garage, yea!  On our drive homefrom Montana yesterday Jeremy couldn't wait to pick it up, so we drove straight through 17 1/2 hours and picked it up this morning.  I love it.  Jeremy even bought me a little silver bulldog keychain, what a sweetie.

Ellis' Day SIx - Blow Up the Front Yard Day

Fourth of July

After getting all the food squared away for the barbecue. We all decided to to take a long ATV ride out on the property and over to the river. Maddy O, Sophia and Erika drove in the Rhino.

We saw a moose, through the trees not far away from where we were riding. We had never seen a moose out on the property before. Jeremy said it must have been a female, because the males already have antlers in velvet this time of year.

Everybody had fun sloshing through the slews and mud. Madison got the chance to ride her new 125 on the trail for the first time. She got in a couple of hairy situations, but she made it through. Without any tears or complaining. In fact I think she had a great time.

The Smits at the Bitteroot River

The Ellis' at the Bitteroot River

Ellis' Day Six - Blow up the Front Yard Day (part 2)

Fourth of July (Part 2)

After we got back from our ATV ride. Guests started arriving. Some of my parents friends brought some horses out to the barbecue. The girls got to ride them around the property. They really enjoyed themselves.

After the Davis' and I led the girls around the property. The girls got to paint Peanut. I didn't even know you could do that but apparently you can. Maddie O, Madison, Sophia, and Sadie all painted the horse using watercolors. It looked pretty neat.

After the horses were trailered out we got to shoot the shotguns. I did pretty well this time with the 20 gauge. Jeremy and most of the guys shot the 12 gauge. But it has too much kick for me. My dad got a really neat clay pigeon thrower for Christmas this year, but we hadn't had the occasion to use it yet.

Erika and Kam also took a turn with the 20 gauge. I don't think either of them were expecting such a kick. It's always a little jarring the first time you shoot a shotgun. But they were good sports about it.

Kam and some of the boys threw some horse shoes.

...And Erika and I wore some really sexy earmuffs!

Julie and John even came out for all the festivities.

There was way too much food. It was downright comical how much food there was. I think we will still have leftovers in a week. My mom was serving some seriously giant pieces of cake.

Of course there were fireworks. Jim and Jeremy were in charge of setting them off and put on a great show. There were tons and everyone seemed to love them. We couldn't get any great pictures but the fireworks were awesome. The good ones this year were the Baby Boomer, the Crazy Cowboy and the Blooming Cactus. It was so great to finally watch the fireworks from my parents new front porch. It was an amazing day.

Ellis' Day Five - Relax A Bit Day

Having a bit of a lazy today in Montana. We all got up late, we stayed up late last night, then didn't do anything too exciting most of the day. The boys did go to the Indian Reservation to pick up the fire works for the festivities tomorrow. As usual they got a ton of fireworks. It should make for a great show.

Jim and Jeremy spent some time showing Kam how to shoot the BB gun. He's been having the time of his life on this trip. It's a boys paradise out here.

Jim and I had a bit of an archery contest. I was, of course, a crack shot.

With the suction cup tipped arrows, that is.

We all (Julie & John, Mom & Dad, the Smits, and The Ellis') went out to the Stock Farm for dinner tonight. We had an excellent time and even better tasting food. The kids even learned to fold their napkins Paca Bates style.

Erika even tried something new! Wild boar quesadilla. She loved it. There are very few times I've come out of there unhappy. The head chef, Toby, is really amazing.

We ended the evening with some warm up fire works to get the kids excited about tomorrow. Followed by some wii boxing and many cocktails. A fun time was had by all. Julie really enjoyed the wii, especially the sports game.

I know I've put a ton of pictures of me on the blog these last few days, but I never have pictures of myself. Especially while doing anything, because I'm the only one who takes pictures. So with the shutterbug Erika around I thought I could take advantage of it and actually post some pictures of me for a change. Even if I look terrible!