I feel like I have barely spent time with Ellie or anyone for that matter as my days all run together anymore. There are so many things to capture that I am going to try to make up for it now.
Okay..school ending. Ellie had an awesome end of year program, a first desire for a career, a talent show, an excellent report card, and a fun last day of school.
The end of year program in May was a western theme, Ellie had two lines in their drama - "It was home to the likes of Jessie James and Billie the Kid" and "Sometimes a villain just needs a hero to show him what's right." They also sang fun songs like "Back in the Saddle Again" - "Grandma's Feather Bed" and "Happy Trails." All of the kids did some awesome square dancing.
I am always impressed with the programs at Challenger, they are fun and show off the children's skills from the year.
As part of the program they each got to display their short stories from the Young Author program they participated in. Ellie got 4th place and wrote a fun short story titled "A month that lost her name." One day during the period of writing these stories Ellie came home and said she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. It was the first expression of any interest in a career. I am sure her dad was in tears when he heard that -tears of joy because that is his passion too.
On June 9th, the Kindergarten class had a talent show. The talents were awesome - singing, magic, gymnastics, hula-hoops, and a bunch more. Ellie played Hickory Dickory Dock on the piano and I'll try to load the video below, but in case it doesn't load, she was incredible. It was such a fun talent show, almost everyone in the class participated and they were a very talented bunch.
Ellie had a perfect report card her last term and was also presented with a Certificate of Achievement in Academics at their school assembly. On her standard performance test she ranked in the 93% in the nation! All the kids also received school year books, which are a great keepsake for them. I couldn't be more proud of my super smart kindergartner!
The last day of school was June 10th and the teacher asked me to come help with field day. I was so excited to be able to go and help. They had hours of games and activities set up and I helped shuffle the kids from one location to the next. The kids were so excited and Ellie was awesome in the relay type games..she really got into it and focused on the task. It was fun to see the difference in all of the kids - some were really into it and others were just hanging out with their minds elsewhere. The dynamic of the entire class was so fun especially during the boy vs. girl games. Ellie had really great friends this year, had excellent teachers that she loved and was sad to leave and had amazing results academically. I couldn't ask for a better school year!
Next topic..summer began. Summer for Ellie has been packed with swimming lessons, play dates, trips to Build-a-Bear to get summer outfits, a trip to Utah lake, visits from cousin Mason, a trip to Kolob for a day, Strawberry days rodeo and parade, a visit from Mickey, a trip to Lake Powell over the 4th of July, camping in Fairview for our family reunion over the 24th of July, many days playing outside, smores, fireworks and lots of wedding planning...but that is the next topic.
Ellie took level 2 swimming lessons in early June. Ellie can swim but she doesn't have a lot of courage to do so. I hoped enrolling her in lessons would give her just that and little by little I think it helped. She is still not a "fish" but will jump into the pool alone and is brave enough to navigate around a little. As a parent, I am actually thankful for her caution.
We've been to Build-a-Bear two times this summer because of course our animals needed summer outfits. We picked up a cute swimsuit, a beach ball and bag, a tea-party hat, some sunglasses and a beach towel. We don't use all of the stuff we have for the bears, but we sure have fun each time we go.
We haven't been boating as often as Kevin likes...but we did have a fun Saturday trip to Utah lake on June 5th. We took a couple of friends and I was so surprised that Ellie was not the scared one on the three man tube. Usually Ellie is quite cautious about the tube, but this year the other girl was a little scared and Ellie was just having the time of her life. She wanted to speed up a few times and kept saying how awesome it was and how much fun she was having. Kevin and Ellie tried their luck at fishing...had a bite, but no luck getting the fish out of the water. I think they were just too surprised something actually bit!
June 11th-13th cousin Mason came with her dad for a weekend visit. He ran the Provo marathon and we played. On Friday my mom took the girls to buy new dress-ups and they wore them the entire day. People at some of the stores they went to commented on how beautiful they were and they felt beautiful and special all day. They also did a fun craft project with grandma that took a lot of the afternoon. On Saturday we took a quick (yet long) day trip to Kolob for a family wedding. Mason and Ellie were so good in the car. The scenery was beautiful and it's always fun to see family. On Sunday Mason had to go home, but it was a fun weekend and we love spending time with Mason.
Strawberry days was also in June. On the 18th Ellie and I went to one of the events, Huck Finn Days, but it was packed full of people so we saw the pets on display and then Ellie ran into Isabel and got in line with her to ride the ponies.
Kevin's dad, Mickey, came to visit around this time so we took him to the PG Rodeo on the 18th, where we had him try the famous strawberries and cream. Ellie had her usual two servings and really wanted a third. She packed a bag of important stuff for a rodeo. Lotion, hand sanitizer, a notebook, lip gloss, and body spray. She made sure we all used the hand sanitizer before eating and she for sure smelled better than the bulls!
On the 19th Ellie's dance group was in the parade so we took Mickey out to the streets for a fun hometown parade. It was actually better than I expected. Ellie had the parade wave down and was super cute.
That weekend was also father's day..so we ended it with a trip to my dad's grave to place some flowers. Ellie really enjoys going there. I really wish Ellie could have known him...they would be so cute together.
Over the 4th of July we (along with Jed and Grandma) took Ellie to Lake Powell for the first time. There were two other little girls there with our group and she was non-stop happy from the time we got there until the time we had to leave...early...which she was not happy about. It was a beautiful weekend, but the wind picked up at night so on our last night there we decided to leave early rather than spend another night in the wind and sand.
We all showered before we left and made the trip home fun. We stopped in at a rock store and picked out rocks, stopped for Mexican food (because that is the way we celebrate America on the 4th) and got everyone to play games along the way. Kevin fell asleep on the ride and when his head would bob Ellie would just crack up. She leaned over to me and said, "I think Kevin just bobbed." My mom and Jed were also talking about Jed eating better and for some reason diabetes. Ellie said something about Jed and that he would have "Jedibetes" and so now we have a new favorite word. I love trips with my family.
The last big trip we've taken this summer was a trip up the mountain in Fairview for our Heath family reunion over the 24th of July. Ellie LOVES to camp. I overheard her telling a friend that she camps a lot (I guess a couple of times a year is a lot for a kid) and that she loves it. Levi's family drove from California and we all drove up the canyon to camp along with many of our other Heath family members. It was our year to be in charge so I ran the horseshoe tournament and together as a family we organized and ran a carnival for all of the kids. We had a clown toss, a dart throw, a duck pond, balloon animals, face painting, three-legged races, and a tug-a-war. We had camp fire songs and my mom had a posse of dancers. Everyone has so much fun and the entire weekend was fun and dirty. The only sad part was if you remember, last year at this same reunion Ellie was stung by a bee. This year a bee got stuck in her shirt and stung her three times. It was the saddest thing ever. She cried her face paint away so we had it done a second time, applied a few band-aids and carried on with the weekend. She recovered pretty fast, but those darn bees better stay away next year!
We did fireworks for the 24th a few nights later at my mom's house. Mason and Ellie kept asking when the rockets were coming (which never did) and we all enjoyed the "sparktacular" event. Ellie told grandma the next day, "Grandma, those fireworks were just fantastic."
Of course the summer also has had day camp each Monday for Ellie at Thanksgiving Point, endless play dates with Isabel and Savannah, a Bee's game, picnics, smores, and many days playing outside to name just a few. Summer is always a success with us. I will be sad when school starts again.
Final topic today...I got engaged. As if it hadn't already been a busy summer - I spent three work weeks in Idaho while Kevin planned his secret engagement. One weekend home he made arrangements for Ellie and surprise flew me to San Francisco and proposed on Muir Beach.
It was strange news for Ellie, I am not sure she knew exactly how to feel. I think at first she was scared and maybe a little nervous. When I first told her she just wanted to call cousin Mason to tell her. When I got home from San Francisco we had a good cry and then a really positive talk and we are both excited about the change. I gave her a necklace with hearts attached with her own little diamond and pearl - to let her know our hearts are always connected and she is as close to my heart as anyone else.
We decided to get married six weeks later before school started for Ellie, so for the past four weeks we have been running around, including a trip to San Diego, planning our perfect wedding. Ellie has been involved and helping with invitations and of course picking out her dress. She is my maid of honor and is in charge of the flower girls. We picked out dresses for them (Mason and Faith) and then Ellie wanted to make sure she could have a dress, a crown, gloves, and shoes. They all have matching shoes. She now has all but the gloves which I think we will skip. It took a few visits to the store, about 20 dress try-ons and a few picture texts to cousin Mason to get the right dress, but she has the perfect one and will be so beautiful in it!
I won't post pictures of the dresses now and I'm not sure I'll post again before the wedding. Yet after the wedding I will post so I can share pictures of how beautiful the day that is special for us was as we add Kevin to our little family.
On June 9th, the Kindergarten class had a talent show. The talents were awesome - singing, magic, gymnastics, hula-hoops, and a bunch more. Ellie played Hickory Dickory Dock on the piano and I'll try to load the video below, but in case it doesn't load, she was incredible. It was such a fun talent show, almost everyone in the class participated and they were a very talented bunch.
Ellie had a perfect report card her last term and was also presented with a Certificate of Achievement in Academics at their school assembly. On her standard performance test she ranked in the 93% in the nation! All the kids also received school year books, which are a great keepsake for them. I couldn't be more proud of my super smart kindergartner!
The last day of school was June 10th and the teacher asked me to come help with field day. I was so excited to be able to go and help. They had hours of games and activities set up and I helped shuffle the kids from one location to the next. The kids were so excited and Ellie was awesome in the relay type games..she really got into it and focused on the task. It was fun to see the difference in all of the kids - some were really into it and others were just hanging out with their minds elsewhere. The dynamic of the entire class was so fun especially during the boy vs. girl games. Ellie had really great friends this year, had excellent teachers that she loved and was sad to leave and had amazing results academically. I couldn't ask for a better school year!
Next topic..summer began. Summer for Ellie has been packed with swimming lessons, play dates, trips to Build-a-Bear to get summer outfits, a trip to Utah lake, visits from cousin Mason, a trip to Kolob for a day, Strawberry days rodeo and parade, a visit from Mickey, a trip to Lake Powell over the 4th of July, camping in Fairview for our family reunion over the 24th of July, many days playing outside, smores, fireworks and lots of wedding planning...but that is the next topic.
Ellie took level 2 swimming lessons in early June. Ellie can swim but she doesn't have a lot of courage to do so. I hoped enrolling her in lessons would give her just that and little by little I think it helped. She is still not a "fish" but will jump into the pool alone and is brave enough to navigate around a little. As a parent, I am actually thankful for her caution.
We've been to Build-a-Bear two times this summer because of course our animals needed summer outfits. We picked up a cute swimsuit, a beach ball and bag, a tea-party hat, some sunglasses and a beach towel. We don't use all of the stuff we have for the bears, but we sure have fun each time we go.
We haven't been boating as often as Kevin likes...but we did have a fun Saturday trip to Utah lake on June 5th. We took a couple of friends and I was so surprised that Ellie was not the scared one on the three man tube. Usually Ellie is quite cautious about the tube, but this year the other girl was a little scared and Ellie was just having the time of her life. She wanted to speed up a few times and kept saying how awesome it was and how much fun she was having. Kevin and Ellie tried their luck at fishing...had a bite, but no luck getting the fish out of the water. I think they were just too surprised something actually bit!
June 11th-13th cousin Mason came with her dad for a weekend visit. He ran the Provo marathon and we played. On Friday my mom took the girls to buy new dress-ups and they wore them the entire day. People at some of the stores they went to commented on how beautiful they were and they felt beautiful and special all day. They also did a fun craft project with grandma that took a lot of the afternoon. On Saturday we took a quick (yet long) day trip to Kolob for a family wedding. Mason and Ellie were so good in the car. The scenery was beautiful and it's always fun to see family. On Sunday Mason had to go home, but it was a fun weekend and we love spending time with Mason.
Strawberry days was also in June. On the 18th Ellie and I went to one of the events, Huck Finn Days, but it was packed full of people so we saw the pets on display and then Ellie ran into Isabel and got in line with her to ride the ponies.
Kevin's dad, Mickey, came to visit around this time so we took him to the PG Rodeo on the 18th, where we had him try the famous strawberries and cream. Ellie had her usual two servings and really wanted a third. She packed a bag of important stuff for a rodeo. Lotion, hand sanitizer, a notebook, lip gloss, and body spray. She made sure we all used the hand sanitizer before eating and she for sure smelled better than the bulls!
On the 19th Ellie's dance group was in the parade so we took Mickey out to the streets for a fun hometown parade. It was actually better than I expected. Ellie had the parade wave down and was super cute.
That weekend was also father's day..so we ended it with a trip to my dad's grave to place some flowers. Ellie really enjoys going there. I really wish Ellie could have known him...they would be so cute together.
Over the 4th of July we (along with Jed and Grandma) took Ellie to Lake Powell for the first time. There were two other little girls there with our group and she was non-stop happy from the time we got there until the time we had to leave...early...which she was not happy about. It was a beautiful weekend, but the wind picked up at night so on our last night there we decided to leave early rather than spend another night in the wind and sand.
We all showered before we left and made the trip home fun. We stopped in at a rock store and picked out rocks, stopped for Mexican food (because that is the way we celebrate America on the 4th) and got everyone to play games along the way. Kevin fell asleep on the ride and when his head would bob Ellie would just crack up. She leaned over to me and said, "I think Kevin just bobbed." My mom and Jed were also talking about Jed eating better and for some reason diabetes. Ellie said something about Jed and that he would have "Jedibetes" and so now we have a new favorite word. I love trips with my family.
The last big trip we've taken this summer was a trip up the mountain in Fairview for our Heath family reunion over the 24th of July. Ellie LOVES to camp. I overheard her telling a friend that she camps a lot (I guess a couple of times a year is a lot for a kid) and that she loves it. Levi's family drove from California and we all drove up the canyon to camp along with many of our other Heath family members. It was our year to be in charge so I ran the horseshoe tournament and together as a family we organized and ran a carnival for all of the kids. We had a clown toss, a dart throw, a duck pond, balloon animals, face painting, three-legged races, and a tug-a-war. We had camp fire songs and my mom had a posse of dancers. Everyone has so much fun and the entire weekend was fun and dirty. The only sad part was if you remember, last year at this same reunion Ellie was stung by a bee. This year a bee got stuck in her shirt and stung her three times. It was the saddest thing ever. She cried her face paint away so we had it done a second time, applied a few band-aids and carried on with the weekend. She recovered pretty fast, but those darn bees better stay away next year!
We did fireworks for the 24th a few nights later at my mom's house. Mason and Ellie kept asking when the rockets were coming (which never did) and we all enjoyed the "sparktacular" event. Ellie told grandma the next day, "Grandma, those fireworks were just fantastic."
Of course the summer also has had day camp each Monday for Ellie at Thanksgiving Point, endless play dates with Isabel and Savannah, a Bee's game, picnics, smores, and many days playing outside to name just a few. Summer is always a success with us. I will be sad when school starts again.
Final topic today...I got engaged. As if it hadn't already been a busy summer - I spent three work weeks in Idaho while Kevin planned his secret engagement. One weekend home he made arrangements for Ellie and surprise flew me to San Francisco and proposed on Muir Beach.
It was strange news for Ellie, I am not sure she knew exactly how to feel. I think at first she was scared and maybe a little nervous. When I first told her she just wanted to call cousin Mason to tell her. When I got home from San Francisco we had a good cry and then a really positive talk and we are both excited about the change. I gave her a necklace with hearts attached with her own little diamond and pearl - to let her know our hearts are always connected and she is as close to my heart as anyone else.
We decided to get married six weeks later before school started for Ellie, so for the past four weeks we have been running around, including a trip to San Diego, planning our perfect wedding. Ellie has been involved and helping with invitations and of course picking out her dress. She is my maid of honor and is in charge of the flower girls. We picked out dresses for them (Mason and Faith) and then Ellie wanted to make sure she could have a dress, a crown, gloves, and shoes. They all have matching shoes. She now has all but the gloves which I think we will skip. It took a few visits to the store, about 20 dress try-ons and a few picture texts to cousin Mason to get the right dress, but she has the perfect one and will be so beautiful in it!
I won't post pictures of the dresses now and I'm not sure I'll post again before the wedding. Yet after the wedding I will post so I can share pictures of how beautiful the day that is special for us was as we add Kevin to our little family.
3 comments:
I'm so impressed you made the time to post all of this considering you are planning your wedding!! I'm happy for you Brooke. We're still in UT but there's always so much going on when we're here so I don't know if I'll get to see you which makes me sad!
Good luck with everything! I'm glad Ellie is happy!
congrats! so happy for you. and that little girl of yours is amazing!
Ok, so I fully realize I am a cheese ball, but I totally got teary eyed reading this. Mostly at the end when you talked about how Ellie feels about you getting married. You are so thoughtful, and she is such a sweetheart!! So excited for you ALL!!! :D
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