Ella Ballerina

Recently, Ella started a beginning Tap/Ballet class at a local dance studio in town. She goes once a week for one hour, and she LOVES every minute of it! Her favorite parts of the class are doing leaps and dancing with "Magic" wands. Her class just started preparing for their end of the year recital, and they are doing a tap routine to the song "Almost There" from Princess and the Frog. I only wish Avery would take an interest in potty training so that I could put her in a class too! Hopefully soon! She wants to be a ballerina just like her big sister!

My two little ballerinas!

Ella & her friends!

My Ballerina

(And yes, that is a huge hole in her tights. It started out as a little snag when we were driving to Ballet, but once we got out of the car this is how it looked. I promise...we CAN afford a new pair of tights for her!!)

Yee, Haw!

For the last few weeks in Ella's preschool, they have been working on a unit about Cowboys and Farms. Monday was special day because our good friend, Miss Laura, came to preschool and brought a few visitors with her...horses!! Here are a few pictures from our fun morning:

Here's our happy group of Preschoolers with Miss Laura and Jet!

Logan, the cutest little cowboy! All decked out in his western wear!

All the horses wanted to do was nibble on the yummy grass!!

Ella wasn't so sure she wanted to pet him. She kept telling me that it looked like he had

a runny nose!!

My little cowgirl & Miss Laura

After we had a chance to meet the horses and learn some interesting facts about them, Miss Stacey let each of the kids make their very own butter. She had baby food jars filled with cream, and she had the kids shake the jars until they turned into butter (which Ella thought was really fun to do). And last but not least, we pretended to milk a cow using latex gloves filled with water. The kids had lots of fun squirting each other with the "udders"! Thanks Miss Laura & Miss Stacey for such a fun morning!

Happy Birthday, Kailey!

Monday, February 1st, was my little sister Kailey's 19th birthday! She's the baby in the family, and it's hard to believe that she's so grown up!! Ella, Avery, and I went shopping and bought Kailey a SEWING MACHINE (I know...I'm an awesome sister)! I think it was probably the only present that was a complete surprise to her...and I know she was excited to get it! For dinner, she chose to eat at Bob's Big Boy, so we drove (way too far) to Norco to meet my family and celebrate Kailey's big 1-9 . Everyone ordered their usual Big Boy Combination (salad, burger and fries), and we sang "Happy Birthday", ate cake, and watched her open her presents. I am so lucky to have Kailey as my baby sister! She's one of my best friends, and is the best Aunt in the whole world! I love you, Kailey! Happy Birthday!!!

Gymnastics

Yesterday, I took Ella & Avery to one of their new favorite places. The Gymnastics center in Moreno Valley. You pay $4.00 for each child (no charge for mommy), and for an hour you have free time on all of the equipment. Ella and Avery both love to swing on the bars and rings, jump on the trampolines, and go down the slides. Ella braved the tall balance beam, and she made it all the way across without any help from mommy! She was so proud of herself (and I was too)! Little Miss Avery loved going on the swings. She always wants to go higher, and has a hard time getting off so that the other kids can have a turn! It was such a fun morning that we might start going once a week!

Meet the Simpsons...Part 1

Meet Ella. She is 4 and 1/2 (and don't you forget it). She will be a big 5 year old in May. It's simply mind boggling to believe that my baby is going to be 5, and that she'll be starting Kindergarten! Oh, how the time flies! Right now she is in an AMAZING Co-Op Preschool with 6 other children. We absolutely love it! She has a little (well, it's actually not so little) crush on one little boy in her Preschool. He also happens to be in her Church class, which makes Sunday's a little bit more fun! His name is Kyle, and she thinks he is the most amazing person in the world (right next to her favorite Auntie Kailey)! And let me tell you, that's some pretty high status in the world of Ella! She's a wonderful big sister, storyteller, and has a huge imagination (I'm pretty sure she gets that from her Grandma Johnson)! I am so grateful for all of the help she is to me. She loves to fold laundry and help me clean the house. She's the first person to remind us to say the prayer for each meal, and right before we go to bed. She also has a habit of being the "eye opening police" during prayer (I'm sure lots of you have one of those at home too). Heaven forbid Avery should open her eyes! If she does, we all know about it. Unfortunately it's usually in the middle of the prayer. We're still working on our timing! One of my favorite times of the day is when I'm putting her to bed. We say her prayers, sing a few songs, and tell each other stories. I love to hear all of the things that she comes up with! She's such a special girl, and I am so grateful for the happiness she brings to our family!

Starting Over

Welcome to our *NEW* family blog!! I (Emily) originally started one about a year ago, but I was terrible at updating it! So much has happened in the last 12 months, and I wish I would have taken more opportunities to write about the changes that our family has been through. Especially with Carlos (the handsome stud below) in the Army, and away from us for the next 6 months, I hope this blog can be a way for him to see all of the exciting, funny, and even strange things that happen while he is gone. We love you Daddy!