The final post...

Well this has been a great way to keep up on the adventures that Ellie and I have shared in this chapter of our life. I guess we could call this chapter. Ellie and her Homeless Dad earn a Master's Degree. :)

However, as this chapter of our life comes to a close, another one starts, and with that this will be the last post in this blog. From now on the adventures of our new family will be posted on our new blog.

The last couple of years have been crazy to say the least. I know I couldn't have survived without Ellie in my life, but I also know there are a million other people that both of us are thankful for - the Dunns, the Tolentinos, the Haslams, the Hanamaikais, and the rest of my Saugus 2nd Ward family. We are also thankful to the Fenns, my CSUF family, Kim, Tom and Lois and their family, and of course my immediate family. Ellie and I couldn't have survived without you and there is no way in this world I would have been able to earn my Master's Degree and be in a position to go on to start a PhD program. So thanks all around. Ellie and I love each and every one of you.

Playground

Where do I start. I could start off with the fact that according to Nicole and Tyler I pretty much suck as a cook. Granted they didn't say that, but it is obvious I just don't live up the cooking prowess of Ben and Kristi. Thankfully Ellie doesn't feel that way. Anyway, on to the fun portions of today...

The kids played outside for most of the day, because it was a gorgeous day in the Pacific Northwest. The day actually ended with us at the playground, and I thought I should take a ton of pictures. Here are just a few.

The day actually ended with the kids falling asleep on the floor while watch Despicable Me. TGIF!!!

TGTIF

Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday! This has been a great week, but it is safe to say that I am a wee bit tired. I honestly don't know how people do this. Ellie normally keeps me busy enough, but having three more makes me want to hibernate for six months. Of course if I do that, then I will miss my graduation, wedding, honeymoon, Zach's wedding, the move to Oregon, summer fun, cooking and anything else that sounds fun. Anyway...

Yesterday was a pretty nice day, so I let the kids play in the front yard while I ran on the treadmill. Then we drove into Portland for lunch, before we took Nicole to school. Once Tyler and Nicole got home, we had white chicken chili for dinner, and then the kids played outside for about an hour, before we they got ready for bed. All in all, it was most excellent day. The weekend is upon us, which should be even more fun!

 What was the theme of Day 4? I have no idea. In the morning it was let's see how long it takes the girls to clean-up their room. The answer... a million years unless an adult helps. Seriously... how can it be so hard to clean-up a room. Granted I have different priorities than the girls, but still...

The other big thing that happened today was the fact that Noah's Ark was spotted in the bathroom around the time the girls were taking a bath. I was a little, shall we say, perplexed at the whole thing. Consequently there are no pictures of the incident. So I guess it is my word against theirs. Thankfully they aren't smart enough to realize that, and they would probably fess up to it, if asked.

As for other enjoyable things, we had leftovers for dinner. Ellie and I partook of the chicken picatta, while the rest of the gang had rice sans curry and pizza. Honestly I don't get Ellie's cousin's eating habits, but maybe it is Ellie that is a wee bit unique. Whatever the case, I am extremely grateful for her willingness to eat anything, even if she likes to partake in mass quantities.

Finally, I wanted to mention the Playstation Move. That thing is a lot of fun. Before the flood occurred, all of the kids played with it, and it was a blast. I am a champ at saving baby ducks with a fan. Until tomorrow...

How did the fireplace get started?

So Day 3 was pretty uneventful. Okay... that really isn't the case. The morning started off innocently enough. We all got up, the kids ate breakfast, Tyler went to school, and I decided to get my run in on the treadmill. The girls were having playing and they knew where I was at. So I ran while watching the latest episode of House. I came back into the house and went to the kitchen to have my post-exercise chocolate milk, when to my surprise, I saw this.

Notice that the door is open. I quickly learned that the fireplace in this house can be turned on and off with a light switch. So I went and in talked to the girls and told them to never do that again. We will see how well that works.

Anyway, the rest of the day went smoothly enough. I took Nicole to school, Tyler to karate and ate wonderful food (grilled proscuitto and havarti sandwich for lunch and curry chicken in cream sauce for dinner). Meanwhile Tori spent most of the afternoon and evening with her Grandma Lisa.

3 down, 5 to go!

Capers Anyone???

So today was the first day where we had a schedule to follow, and we managed to get it down pretty well. Tyler only walked out of the door two minutes late, but I think he was able to catch up to his friend that he walks to school with so that is great.

For the rest of the morning, the girls played until it was time to take Nicole to school. Then Ellie walked with Nicole, Tori and me to the school that is right by the house. Tori and Ellie had fun holding hands while chasing Baxter around the field. Once we got back to the house, Tori, Ellie and I went into Portland to try and find an Oregon sweatshirt for me. Why... because I will be going to school there in the fall to get my PhD. However, that is another story for another day. Anyway, we found my sweatshirt, but Ellie and I couldn't find anything we liked to give to other members of the family.

We got back to the house, I ran on the treadmill, while the girls watched cartoons. Then we had to take Nicole to karate. Ellie and I got back to the house and started to make dinner when I realized we were missing a couple of things. So I got all of the kids and we drove to the grocery store to grab those things, before heading back to karate to pick up Nicole.

Once we got home, I started making dinner and Grandma Lisa surprised the kids by showing up. Ellie couldn't understand how Grandma Lisa knew her name. Apparently, only people directly related are allowed to know her name. Anyway, I finished making dinner, which was chicken picatta and we ate. I learned that Ellie loves it (okay I already knew this), but that Tyler doesn't like the lemon on the chicken. When it comes to lemons he only likes lemonade, and his mom apparently makes better garlic bread. Nicole and Tori didn't want to try it, but they finally did. Nicole said she liked it, and then I had all the kids try a caper (FYI Ben and Kristi- I didn't force them). Ellie enjoyed  them, which I knew she would, but the others didn't like them. From that moment forward, Nicole decided she didn't like the chicken after all. Oh well, their loss and Ellie will have some good leftovers for the next day or two.


To end the night the kids cleaned up the house and played Wii for a few minutes. Then they went to bed, I did some research, watched some television before crashing for the night.

Day 1 in Rainy, no Sunny, no Rainy, No Sunny... Vancouver, WA

It's official... I am crazy, but I am also still alive! I survived the first 24 hours of watching Ellie and her three cousins by myself. Ben and Kristi asked me what they could get me for watching their kids. After one day I am thinking they could get me a saucier, a saucepot, or pasta press. Do you think I like to cook? But I digress...

Ben and Kristi left yesterday morning without even saying goodbye. I was up... kind of, so what was up with that? Not too long after they left, I was surrounded by 4 kids and a dog (aka Baxter). So we all had breakfast, and because I don't feel up to the challenge of taking 4 kids to church by myself, I just let the kids play for most of the morning. After cleaning up, we played Wii for awhile. My favorite game was Just Dance 2 (consequently the song "Walk Like An Egyptian" has been in my head for nearly 24 hours, but the kids are big-time fans of Wii Party.

Next up was a lunch of leftover pasta alfredo, before the kids watched Tangled, while I tried to relax. At the completion of said movie, I thought it would be best if we got out of the house, so we drove across the river and watched the planes land at the airport. We did that for about 30 minutes, before coming back home where we had homemade pizza for dinner. Then everyone bathed, we played a little bit of Wii, and then it was bedtime! What does that mean? We all survived. It was a lot of fun, and yes I was a little worn out at the end of it, but that what having 4 kids does to a person... right?

Ellie's Spring Program

Well Ellie's Spring Program has come and gone. Just like her Winter Program, I was worried I wasn't going to be able to make it. However, due to some fortunate circumstances I was able to attend her program, and I will be in town for my graduation which Ellie will get to go. Yes... I love to torture 4-year olds, but that is obvious with all the driving I have put her through.

Anyway, the program was loads of fun, as it always is. Ellie didn't have a speaking part last time, but she certainly had a fun time dancing and singing. She is just like Kim in that they can both hear a song once or twice and know most, if not all, of the words. This is a trait I do not possess, even if I have heard the song a bazillion times. I have decided there are two things that Ellie loves about the program. First is the snacks that are provided (i.e. juice and cookies), and that she can run around with friends. Her best friend is this cute little blond girl named Annie. I love watching the two of them run around together.  Hopefully they can go to kindergarten together next year.

The second thing she loves about the program is that she knows that she gets to spend time with Mom and Dad at the same.

So after the program, Ellie and I had a ton of things to do before we went to the airport and flew to Portland, where we will be staying for the next 12 days. It will be me, Ellie, and her cousins for most of it (There will most definitely be updates about that insanity). We went to school so I could get my thesis bound, did some Mother's Day shopping, some post office stuff, ate lunch, visit Tom and Lois, go to Knott's Berry Farm, have Chipotle for dinner, before flying to Portland.

All in all, it was a busy, but fun day. We shall see if I am saying that in a week.

Vegas and the Drive Home

The last two days of the trip were spent mostly driving. We woke-up Thursday morning, ate breakfast, went running, and then jumped into the car to drive to Vegas, where we spent the night. I had promised Ellie that the next time she and I were in Vegas that we would spend the night in the castle aka the Excalibur. So we drove the 3+ hours to Vegas, stopping at the outlet malls on the way.

Once we got there, and got checked into our room, and then went to the Mirage to have dinner at CPK. Dinner was great, but the service was even better. The bartender spotted us waiting in line and he told us we could eat the bar. He was crazy fast with everything and so we were in and out of there in less than 45 minutes. After that we went to the Bellagio so we could show the girls the fountains, and walk around. Ellie was not excited when we waited for the fountains, but her eyes lit up, once they started. So I think she was happy we saw them. After we finished walking around the Bellagio, we went back to our hotel, where we tried to explain the reason that gambling is not a good thing, and went to bed.

The next morning we woke-up, grabbed breakfast (Krispy Kreme for the girls and Starbucks for the adults), and drove back to Orem. The drive went well, and we were home by 3:30. The week went by extremely fast, but we had a lot of fun, and I am glad the four of us were able to spend the week together. It is safe to say that Ellie and I will be able combine with Michelle and Aeryn quite well, which is a great thing.

On that note, this blog will be ending in the next few weeks, and I think Michelle and I will be starting a new blog about our new family. However, that won't be happening for a little while, so there will be a few more adventures that Ellie and I share together, including a potential Lord of the Flies situtation when she and I go up to Portland for a week, while I watch Ben and Kristi's kids and dog. Seriously, I don't know what I was thinking- 4 kids under the age of 7 and a dog versus me. That right there, probably deserves its own blog.

The 2 best things of Orange County...

Okay, so we may not have done the 2 best things in Orange County, but we definitely did two very fun things. The morning started off with the four of us going to get breakfast. Then we headed off to CSU-Fullerton so we could buy discount passes for Knott's Berry Farm. I had a couple things to do, so I ran off and did them while the three girls wandered around campus. Apparently while I was gone, Ellie and Aeryn tried to break a computer that we almost had to paid for. Once we averted disaster it was off to Knott's Berry Farm for a couple hours. I found it very enjoyable since I didn't have to contort my body to get into some of the smaller rides, due to the fact Aeryn could go on the rides with Ellie. Anyway we stayed there until lunchtime before heading back to the hotel, because I had to run back up to school.


Once I got back from school, the four of us dressed in our Angels gear and drove to the Big A. The Angels won the game 4-3. That was nice. Unfortunately it took 12 innings and we only stayed for 9. If it had just been me and Michelle, I imagine we would have stayed for the full thing, but the girls had been out in the sun all day, and they were tired. Plus they were very anxious to get the surprise we had promised them. So we finished the night off at Baskin Robbins. Needless to say, we are all very tired, but it was a fantastic day. I can't believe we are starting the drive back to Utah tomorrow. The trip has been a lot of fun, but it has gone by way too fast. However, the exciting thing is I have Ellie girl for the next several weeks, so that is great!

The last 3 days...

 So the last three days have been awesome, but what else would one expect? Ellie and I are together, not to mention the fact that Michelle and Aeryn are with us, and the fact that we have spent most of the last three days with the Tolentinos. Life would have to be awesome...

Sunday was spent at church, and then hanging outside while waiting for grilled hamburgers for Sunday dinner (I am so excited that grilling season is upon us). Then I played with Ellie, Aeryn and Tyler and showed them how to play some basketball. They learned how to shoot a bank shot, proper form of a jump shot, and the old give-and-go. Coach Carson would be so proud of me.

Yesterday was spent doing a few little errands. However, the day started with us going to the a stretch of the hundreds of miles of interconnected walkways that are in Santa Clarita. Michelle went running and the girls and I walked, as I had already been running. We made dinner for our gracious guests last night, so we had to go buy the food for said dinner. This meant a trip to Trader Joes. We also had lunch at Chipotle where Ellie destroyed her kid's meal. She is clearly a Davis from the way she eats. Then we went bowling and had an absolute blast. It must be mentioned that I bowled a personal best of 174! Anyway, Michelle and I want to take the girls to a place in Provo that is a little more kid friendly, so they could have more fun. However they had a lot of fun, so I can't complain. Anyway, we came home and we all went swimming in the frigid cold that is the Tolentino's pool. However, Ellie loved it until she realized she was freezing. Thankfully that took a good 30 minutes. Ellie also managed to slip and get a goose egg on her head, which has gone away for the most part. The evening ended with Ellie helped me make dinner for a little while, eating dinner and the kids falling asleep to a movie.

Finally, today was more fun. While I am thinking about it. I have to mention the fact that there have been 5 children in the house. Four of these children have been getting up around 6:00 in the morning. This wouldn't be that big of a deal except for two things - 1) I have been sleeping on the couch in the family room; and 2) They are crazy loud. Anyway, after we all woke-up, Michelle and I packed things, got the girls ready and then we jumped into the car to go to Hermosa Beach. On the way we stopped at the outlet malls and got a few things. However the most important thing were the Angels t-shirts for Ellie and Michelle. Then we went to the beach and stayed there for a couple hours with Michelle's cousin Melissa and her two boys. Aeryn and Ellie didn't get into the water at first, because it was very cold. However, all of the sudden they warmed up to it (pun intended), and they ran into and away from the waves. This continued for about an hour, before the hypothermia set in. So we walked back to the car and I changed Ellie out of her swimsuit. While doing this I realized about half of the beach ended up in her swimming suit. No wonder she didn't want to walk. It must have been incredibly uncomfortable. So we got in the car, dealt with nasty rush hour traffic on the 91, and ended up in Anaheim Hills where we are staying for the next two nights.

This little vacation is going by far too quickly, but it has been a lot of fun. Thankfully Ellie will be coming to Utah with me for the next couple of weeks, so I can't really complain. Tomorrow is Knott's Berry Farm and the Angels game (The Rally Monkeys will be in full effect). Thursday is Vegas and Friday is the drive home. Pictures will be posted at some point, so I apologize in advance for that.

Back together at last!!!

 It is Spring Break for Ellie. Not only that, it is Spring Break for Michelle and Aeryn as well. So Michelle and I made the decision to spend our Spring Break in lovely Southern California. This decision was confirmed to us, when we woke up Friday morning to a cold, windy, snowy morning. Seriously... it is April. Shouldn't the snow be gone? Apparently not. Anyway... Michelle, Aeryn and I picked up Ellie yesterday afternoon from Kim's house and the four have since taken over the house of my good friends Mike and Jaimee. The picture of the sign was made by their son Tyler. All three of the girls are staying in his room. From now until Tuesday morning there will be 4 adults and 5 kids in their house. Needless to say it is not a quiet place.

The only events that happened after we got Ellie was to get everyone ready to go to a wedding reception and then we had a game night with some more great friends (Royce, Kristin, Ryan and Megan), while the kids watched a movie. The wedding reception was great because Ellie had a blast dancing with Aeryn and Kaylee. I think the three of them were the most popular people at the reception. :)

All in all, it was a great night, and a great way to start off 21 days o' fun with Ellie.

I'm a slacker...

So it has been a few days since I last wrote in this thing. Let's just chalk it up to the fact that Ellie and I have been keeping quite busy these days. So we are going to update the last several days in list form...

Friday

• Go-karts and miniature golf at Trafalga
• Took Grandma Debbi and Papa Jim to the airport
• Ate real Belgian waffles at Bruges
• Ate pizza with Michelle and Aeryn
• Fell asleep watching Cinderella

Saturday

• Waffles for breakfast
• My basketball game
• Lunch at Carls Junior
• Watching the BYU-TCU game (JIMMER!!!)
• Miniature golf at Trafalga

Sunday

• Church
• Curry for dinner
• Making chocolate chip cookies
• Toy Story 3
• Aeryn losing her tooth in the middle of the night, and then losing her tooth in the middle of the night again

Monday

• Krispy Kreme
• Shopping at the mall
• Grocery shopping
• Hanging at Michelle and Aeryn's
• Leftovers for dinner

Tuesday

• Burger King for breakfast
• Laidback morning watching cartoons
• Aeryn and Ellie playing for the afternoon while Michelle and I went to the temple
• Sausage, biscuits and gravy for dinner
• Ellie and I picking up Grandma Debbi and Papa Jim from the airport

I don't have any pics to upload at this time. I guess I could put a picture of Jimmer on the blog, but that would be more appropriate since Ellie and I are going to the BYU-Colorado State game tomorrow. Of course there could be a picture of Krispy Kreme, but we have one of those from the previous entry. Whatever goes in, I just know that I am currently up to date with regards to my blog. :)

Krispy Kreme, Pajama Party and Waffles

Today was a pretty simple day. We went to Krispy Kreme in the morning with Grandma Debbi. Ellie then went to Chuck E Cheese with her, while I stayed and napped... I mean worked on my thesis. Then we went to Saratoga Springs for the rest of the day.

Michelle is having one of those crazy days... where she won't get be home between the hours of 7:00 am and 8:30 pm. To help out Ellie, and I came over and hung out with Aeryn. Shortly after we got here, Aeryn and Ellie got to go to a pajama party at the church, where they helped put together school kits for an orphanage. After that was over, I picked the two of them up, helped Aeryn with her homework, while Ellie helped me with making dinner - our weekly dinner of waffles. Now the two girls are ending the day by watching an episode of Backyardigans.

All in all, a wonderful day, especially if you don't take into account Ellie choosing to play the Wii over tending to certain physiological functions that occur on a regular basis. :) Bedtime is looming, and we shall see what tomorrow brings.

Tuesdays with Ellie

Today was a most relaxing day. We woke-up, did flashcards, ate breakfast, went to the mall, took a nap and then went over to Michelle and Aeryn's for the rest of the day. Aeryn and Ellie had a blast playing Wii, while I totally destroyed Michelle's kitchen. Actually I destroyed it on Sunday, and today I was just putting it back together, and by destroy I mean totally cluttered the place up. I should have taken pictures, but I didn't. Anyway...


Our exciting Tuesday evening consisted of going to Costco to load up on the necessities, such as chicken, pork, chips, eggs, butter and flour, and 4 polish dogs for dinner. We dropped the stuff off at Michelle's, and then the four of us had Family Home Evening. For those people, who may actually read this blog, and aren't Mormon. Family Home Evening, or FHE as it is commonly referred to, is a night set aside to do family stuff. Generally speaking, Monday is the night this happens, but last night was Valentine's. Anyway, generally there will be some sort of spiritual lesson, some sort of activity and most importantly refreshments. Tonight we kind of combined the activity and lesson, we talked about why temples are important and then drove to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, where we wandered around the grounds for a few minutes, before stopping at In-N-Out for shakes. All in all it was a very windy, but very nice evening.

Valentine's Day 2011

Happy Valentine's Day. At least I hope everyone had a happy day yesterday. I think Ellie and I had a great day. Ellie was able to spend a few hours with her grandma, because she didn't have to go to work. Of course they called her in while she was playing with Ellie and I was running Valentine's Day related errands. So I got back to Orem asap, and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon with Ellie. She helped me finish my errands, then we had lunch before heading over to Trafalga to go miniature golfing with our Pass of All Passes (Sidenote - For those of you that live in Utah County, for $40 we got an annual pass that allows us to go to both Trafalgas, Seven Peaks, and Orem Owlz and Flash games for free). Anyway we played two rounds of miniature golf - one inside with the black lights and one outside where it was 60 degrees, before heading back home.

Once we got home, we went for a nice 5 mile run. It was the first time I have run with Ellie in quite some time, but it was a lot of fun. I am so glad I invested some money in a nice baby jogger. It makes all the difference.

After our 5-miler, Ellie watched Finding Nemo while I made dinner. Aeryn and Michelle came over and Grandma and Grandpa watched the girls while Michelle and I had a lovely Valentine's Dinner. They came back, and we all had chocolate torte, and Michelle and I gave the girls their gifts for the day - stuffed animals and accessories from Build-A-Bear. Life is complete. :)

Suffice it to say, today was a great day!

Sunday Dinner

Today was just a typical Sunday. Okay, not really, but a guy can hope, can't he? After Ellie and Aeryn's sleepover, we headed back to Orem, where I had a quick meeting for church. Unfortunately Grandma was working and Grandpa had meetings of his own, which meant Ellie had to join me for my meeting. She did pretty good considering she is 4, and the meeting only lasted 10 minutes, so she wasn't too disruptive. After the meeting we headed back home, ate lunch, and then went to church.

Once church was over, we made brownies for our dinner we were having that night with Aeryn's grandparents, and then we went and had dinner. Dinner felt like the first night Aeryn and Ellie had been together... a lot of squealing, but they had fun, and I am starting to get used to this squealing thing. Maybe I will just invest in some good earplugs.

After dinner, we went back to Grandma Debbi's where Ellie played with her for a few minutes, before bedtime. She tried to negotiate a later bedtime, but I am trying really hard to keep her on a similar schedule to the one she has in California. So far I feel like I have been fairly successful.

Saturday is a special day...

Saturday started off with me being a wimp. I went outside to get something from my car, and I decided that instead of running outside I would rather suffer on BYU's indoor track. I told Mom of my plan and she said she would bring my jogging stroller and walk with Ellie. I had been planning on running 13 miles until I had gone outside, so I was hoping to get in 7-8 on the track which meant 35-40 laps. Ugh... However I felt even worse when I realized they had closed off part of the track and so I had to run 58 laps to get to my 8 miles. It actually wasn't that bad, but my knees and hips did not like me. Anyway, once our time was over, I ran home, which meant I hit my 13 miles, and Grandma and Ellie went shopping.

Shortly after everyone got home, Michelle and Aeryn showed up. The two girls played, and Micha helped my mom make my birthday cake. Yes, my birthday was on the 4th, but I wanted to wait to have my birthday party, until Ellie-girl was around. For some reason I was wanting a German chocolate cake, so that is what Mom made, and Michelle came up with the idea of putting some chocolate ganache in between the layers. Everything is better with ganache... right?

Once that thing was taken care of, Michelle and I played outside with the girls for awhile, before Michelle and I went and did some shopping- part of which included getting Ellie a teddy bear from Build-A-Bear for Valentine's Day. Then we met up with Zach, Logan, Mom, Dad and the girls at Carrabbas, where we had a lovely dinner. Once dinner was over, we went back to the house and had cake and ice cream. However, Michelle and I both agree that the ganache was a little bit of overload, and next time we may only put it on one or two of the layers instead of all 3.

After the festivities were complete, Aeryn, Ellie, Michelle and I went to Michelle's house, where Aeryn and Ellie had a squeal-fest, I mean sleepover. They were so excited and surprisingly went to sleep pretty quick. Although I wouldn't be surprised if they were still up when I fell asleep on the couch around 10:00ish. All in all it was a great day!

The battery is dead...

Today I picked up Ellie girl. Kim was wonderful enough to drive up to St. George last night, so I could pick up Ellie this afternoon. I got there around 9:00 in the morning, and picked up Ellie around 11:45. We drove back up to Orem, stopped in Saratoga Springs where she met Michelle (my girlfriend) and Aeryn (Michelle's 8 year old daughter) for the first time.

We stayed for a little while, and then it was off to Orem Community Hospital where we could see Grandma Debbi, and get my car back. We also managed to see Zach and Papa Jim. Grandma had to go back to work and so the Ellie and I were off to Saratoga Springs to make curry for dinner. However, Grandma forgot to turn the lights off in the car, and so we had a dead battery. Thankfully we had jumper cables and were able to get the car to work.

So we went back to Michelle and Aeryn's, ate curry, hung out for a little while, before heading to Orem to spend the evening with my family. For some reason it was a lot quieter when Ellie was at Grandma's house than when she was with Aeryn. I haven't heard so much squealing in a long time. I have a feeling that I am going to hear a lot more.

Going Back to Cali, Cali, Cali. I'm Going Back to Cali...

So we are back in beautiful Southern California and I can't wait to run on the beach tomorrow. When we left Orem this morning it was 8 degrees, and somewhere around Fillmore it was -8. That kind of cold sucks. Anyway, Ellie and I left at 6:00 AM MST and drove the 640 miles to Brea, where we ate McDonalds, visited campus where Ellie played on a vibration plate, and visited Tom and Lois.

The drive was quite uneventful, except a herd of deer was getting ready to cross the freeway in front of us just north of Beaver, and there was a long detour through the streets of North Las Vegas. Other than that, things were pretty nice. Ellie wore headphones and watched Phineas and Ferb, while I rocked out to all sorts of stuff - The Cure, The Cranberries, Jock Rock, Aerosmith, Heart and 1990s Rap.

The trip took 9 hours exactly. We stopped for 50 minutes in Mesquite for food and fuel, and that was it. Our average moving speed was 78.4 mph. Ellie stayed up from the time we left until we got past Vegas and then she slept for about 90 minutes. This was funny, because for the previous 6 hours, she told me that she didn't want to take a nap. Apparently she was tired.

We are getting ready to go to dinner with Kim, which will be nice, except that I won't see Ellie for awhile, which means no adventures with Ellie for awhile.

Random Quotes by Ellie

Ellie says the greatest things. As a result I decided I am going to post some of the things that she has said. Thanks Kim for putting a bunch of these on your facebook page Hope you all enjoy...
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"Mom, I think earthquakes are really ominous and frightening." It's a problem that Ellie knows the proper use of the word 'ominous' but cannot, with any consistency, put her shoes on the right feet.
---
Ellie what do you want for Christmas? 
"Binoculars so that I can clearly see things that are far away"
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Ellie - "How does God make the baby with the mommy if we can't see him?"
Kim - "Magic, kinda"
Ellie - "So once the baby is ready to come out how does it come out. That can't be magic."
Kim - "Out of your bum."
Ellie - "Is that because it has a hole? That is kinda a small hole mom. Doesn't that hurt pretty bad?"
Kim - "Very" 
Ellie - "I just have one more question. Why do babies have daddies if God is the one making them?"
---
Ellie - "Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me..."
---
Ellie at Subway - "Excuse me, I would love to have tomatoes but please don't give me the green ones. I like the ripe red ones instead."
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Ellie whenever I ask her to do something she doesn't want to do - "Daddy... I have an idea..."

Gameday!!!

Unfortunately today is the last Saturday that Ellie and I will get to spend together for awhile. That is so sad. However, we decided to make the most of it. At approximately 8:00 in the morning she came into my room and asked if she could watch Phineas and Ferb on my phone. This is a daily occurrence, but I was running on very little sleep (~ 4 hours), and so I am sure I replied with an incomprehensible "Yrehhssfs."Unfortunately that response didn't prevent her from jumping into bed with me, which prevented me from getting the further rest that I wanted. Eventually she went downstairs and hung out with Grandma, while I got a little bit more sleep.

The highlight of the day was going to the BYU-Air Force game at 1:00. We picked up my cousin Jordan and had a blast. Actually I think Jordan and I had a blast, but a 1:00 basketball game is not ideal for Ellie, because she usually takes a nap around then. She had a lot of fun during the first half, but was clearly tired during the second half. Thankfully she was able to make it through the whole game, which BYU won, before we headed home.

We didn't do a whole lot for the rest of the day. Our evening plans fell through, and to make up for it, we went to the mall and played at the playground, before grabbing some dinner at Taco Bell. I love how much cheaper kid's meals are.

Anyway, we came home, got Ellie ready for bed, and that was our weekend. I am really sad that I have to take Ellie back to SoCal on Tuesday, and not just because of the 9 hour drive. However, it is safe to say Ellie misses Kim and is ready to be with her. So on Tuesday morning we will head out, and meet Kim for dinner. Then I get to spend a couple days in Fullerton doing thesis stuff. Before we go, we still have Sunday, which means church, Wii and football. On Monday, we are going to go out to lunch, miniature golfing and watching the Oregon-Auburn game.

Ellie's Special Day

Well today was designated at Ellie's Special Day. I had been planning on taking her to the BYU Women's Basketball Game tonight, but then Mom gave me a gift card to Iggy's, so I decided to take Ellie to dinner before the game. However, after some thought I decided to make a whole day out of it. I told Ellie of my idea on Tuesday and she couldn't wait. She loved it when I told her that she could do anything that she wanted to do, "as long as it was nice." So how did the day go?

After waking up, and getting ready for the day, we decided we were hungry and so we had to go to Krispy Kreme. Ellie loves watching the doughnut maker and watching the doughnuts go through the waterfall o' glaze at Krispy Kreme. Whenever we go, we get the 2-doughnut kids pack (1 for Ellie and 1 for me), plus the sample glazed doughnut that they gave to each of us. So for four bucks, we got 4 doughnuts, an orange juice, a hat, and some things for Ellie to color. All in all, a most excellent way to start off the day.

Once we were done with Krispy Kreme our next stop was the University Mall. Why? Because it is the most awesome mall ever. Actually that isn't true. I would have to say Fashion Square in Scottsdale or South Coast in Costa Mesa are the best malls, I have been to, but I digress. We went to the mall, because they have a pretty good playground there with a treehouse and dinosaur stuff. However, when we got there, the thing she wanted to play with the most, was a globe that was set in a little bit of water. You can spin the globe and that's about it.  So she played for a little while and then Ellie asked to walk around the mall. I was surprised about this, but walk around the mall we did. We stopped in a game store where she watched a toy roller coaster they were selling, and then we wandered around a Toys R Us Express, before heading back to the car. While walking back to the other end of the mall, where we had parked, Ellie rode of my shoulders and I was feeling a little silly, because I was kind of walking and dancing at the same time. Ellie got a kick out of it, and I am sure there were some people wondering why I was acting like a crazy person, because I have no rhythm at all.

Before heading home for lunch, we took a drive to Bridal Veil Falls to see if the whole waterfall was frozen yet, which it wasn't. Then we watched Despicable Me before eating lunch and taking a nap. Once naptime was over it was game time. First we played a mean game of Sorry, where Ellie beat me again. Then we played some Wii, where I was dominated in the Swordfighting game, but held my own in the bowling game.  By this time it was about 4:45, and I think Ellie was getting a little tired of having me around. So she asked if she could watch Phineas and Ferb for a little while before we headed off to dinner and the basketball game.

The day ended with us bundling up, and going to Iggys for dinner. Ellie loved the gigantic big screen tv and we had a lovely dinner, before heading over to the Marriott Center and watching BYU take on UNLV. Ellie loved the fact we were able to sit so close and that it was a womens game. For the first half of the game she was really into it... screaming BYU at the top of her lungs. It was fantastic and brought a tear to my eye. I have created a BYU fanatic, and couldn't be happier. So we ate popcorn, and watched the game, before heading home and ending the day.

It was a busy day, but an extremely enjoyable day, and one that went by too fast. I hope that we get to have lots more of these kinds of days in the future. Thanks for a great day Ellie, I absolutely loved it, and I love you.

Trip to Park City

Today is Poppa Jim's birthday. He turned... well let's just say the he is old.  :) Anyway, we drove up to Park City with my mom to get his birthday present today. While it was an ugly day in the valleys, it was beautiful day up in Park City. I have no pictures of this, so you will have to take my word for it. Anyway, I told Ellie I would get her a ball at the Nike store if she was really good, which she was. She wanted me to take a picture of her new ball while wearing my bright yellow, Oregon hat. I love the scrunched up face. Anyway... we got what we went for, and had a glorious day celebrating Dad's 57th birthday. Happy Birthday Poppa Jim!

New Sunday School Class

Ellie is 4 years old and what does that mean for church? She is now in the CTR 4 class. In case you are unfamiliar with Mormon vernacular, CTR stands for Choose the Right. Many of us actually wear rings with this little acronym on it.

If this forum, were appropriate I would whine about how much I hate going to church at 12:30, and am longing for church to start at 9:00. However, it isn't, so I won't. Happy Sunday to all!

Ellie and Jimmer

No this post isn't about Ellie and me. It is about Ellie and her favorite BYU basketball player - Jimmer Fredette. Ellie has been to several basketball games with me over the past couple of years. The first one where she was old to go was at Pepperdine University, where BYU beat them easily. We had seats right behind the BYU bench and so I told her who each of the players, including Jimmer. Ever since that night she has recognized Jimmer on tv or at the games. I asked her today, why Jimmer was her favorite player and she said because when he has the basketball he always makes a good basket (Are there bad baskets?)

Anyway... we were able to spend part of the evening at the BYU games where the destroyed Fresno Pacific by nearly 40. Jimmer didn't have a good game, but Ellie didn't know that. I think she was more excited about eating the nachos and popcorn for dinner. However, she can't wait for Wednesday when we are going to the BYU women's game.

Happy 2011!!!

I promised Ellie that if she took a nap and didn't get whiny (or at least too whiny) I would let her stay up for the new year. I told her that when it was midnight we got to make a lot of noise by banging on pots and pans, and that we do "Cheers" while drinking our sparkling cider. So she went down nice and easy for her nap, and then managed to be really good for most of the night so she could ring in the New Year!

Happy 2011 everyone.