Happy Birthday, Ellie!

Ellie Belly turned 3 today! I do realize at some point I'll have to stop calling her that, but for now, she doesn't mind...

She got books, puzzles, a tiny set of furniture for a very tiny doll, clothes, a doll carrier/backpack, and this awesome orange seat thing-a-ma-jig that looks like it could be an excellent prop on "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" Thank you, both sets of Grandparents, for making it a fun-filled present time!


While I had wrapped up some new pants for Carver (I know, what a gyp!), I had forgotten to wrap up anything for Laura, who was very confused and slightly angry at the whole process. Fortunately, Ellie was too busy thinking about dolls to worry about her new books, and Laura was easily pacified!


As usual, if you get a kid a cool present, they spend the next half-hour playing with the bubble wrap:

And if you have a really cool present, it will come in a box with huge air-filled packing bags that make a big bang when jumped on!


All of this was before dinner. For dinner, Ellie had picked her favorite restaurant, Chipotle. So we took 3 very wound up and hungry kids into a restaurant :) After dinner, we came home and had cake, the perfect wind-down before bed:

Ellie was really cute as she sang "Happy Birthday" to herself:


All in all, we had a great day! Happy bithday, Ellie!

Laundry With Ellie

Don't worry--it's clean!

Montana Trip, Concluded

We had a wonderful vacation. It was great to spend 5 straight weeks together. We are very thankful to our Lord, who has provided David with internet teaching positions for the past 4 years, and know that we would not have been able to do this kind of an extended trip without that provision! We are thankful to our families, who fed and housed us and put up with bratty, and sometimes sweet, children. We're thankful to our friends, who conveniently moved to locations where we could crash with them on the drive there and back. Praise God for the blessings that He showers us with!

I have one sweet story to conclude with:
While we were gone, some friends stayed in our house. They were finishing up the process of building their own house, their lease was up where they were renting, but their house wasn't finished yet. The timing worked out perfectly, and they were able to stay in ours. When we decided to go home one day early after Carver broke his arm, we surprised them by calling from Terre Haute and telling them we were only an hour and a half away. When we pulled into the cul-de-sac, we were greeted by a huge welcoming and cleaning party. My friend was there with her 4 kids, she cleaning and they playing, and her sister and brother-in-law, and our senior pastor (who happens to be her dad), all of them scrubbing the house, inside and out. I walked into the kitchen to find Pastor Bayly up to his elbows in comet. We were thrilled to come home to friends, to be reminded of what we had missed on vacation, and humbled by those who were serving us! Thank you, Lord, for our church family!

The Denver Children's Museum

I find it hard to believe that we took no pictures of all the time in the car, but apparently that is the case. As on the way to Montana, we stopped in Denver and spent a full day with the Franciscos. We were able to go to church with them, which was wonderful. It's great to worship with old friends. In the afternoon, we visited the Children's Museum, and the kids all had a great time. I have to admit, I prefer Bloomington's WonderLab, but I think that's just my preference for the things I know!

Independence Rock

I'm nearing the end of our travel reporting. I think I only have a few post's worth of pictures left. It's only taken me 5 weeks or so--that's not too bad :)

We took two days to get from Spokane to Denver, stopping to spend the night in Billings. We got to eat one last time at MacKenzie River Pizza (thanks for the recommendation, Katie!), our new favorite Montana restaurant, with the possible exception of Lindy's in Seeley Lake. The second day of driving was primarily Wyoming, which we think is beautiful. We took about a two-hour detour to go check out Independence Rock, which is pretty much out in the middle of nowhere. I can't imagine being a pioneer crossing that rocky prairie in a wagon.



The rock is meant to be climbed, though maybe not with a baby and a toddler. Nevertheless, we all made it to the top, though I had a few paranoid "mom" moments as were climbing the side.



Back down on solid ground, the kids did some cute posing for pictures:


We had climbed up the front of the rock and climbed back down the back of it, so we had to walk around the rest of the rock to make it back to the car.

David and Carver decided that they wanted to climb up one more time to get back to the front, but the girls and I stayed down where I could count on my next step being level. We met them at the front, and Ellie climbed up a little to meet them.


Reunited at the bottom, the big kids tried to help Laura navigate some of the rocky footing:


Here's Laura, playing with the water pump back at the car, looking super cute right before I realized that she had dropped the my keys somewhere in the grass.


And our last driving-away look at the area (the actual Independence Rock isn't in this shot, but off to the left).

Last Spokane pictures...

This was out last night in Spokane. It was my birthday, but we celebrated my bother's (who is 3 days later) and David's as well. It was a fun evening with lots of feasting and fun! Here's Grandpa Bray, teaching Ellie a very important life lesson: how to open a wine bottle :)

Violin Lessons with Grandma Bray

Grandma Bray obligingly gave the kids string lessons whenver they asked for it. I think Carver liked the novelty of the violin, but Ellie was much better at it in general (sorry, Carver!). It was just the right size for her, and she like being able to manipulate the strings and bow with her little fingers. I think if Grandma lived next door, Ellie might get somewhere, but for now, we'll have to settle for twice-yearly (or so) lessons.

Appleacres

David took a few hours off this morning and went apple picking with us. We went to a place about 1/2 hour south of here, just outside a little town named Bedford. Here are the kids picking:




And here are the kids eating (and sleeping!) on the way home:


Unfortunately, it has thrown a wrench in the rest of our school day, but hey, it's only fall once a year, right?

Caramel Apples!

Our moms group at church made caramel apples as the craft today. The kids loved it! The big kids were all done eating by the time I got the camera out, but Laura munched on hers for a long time.

Long Lake Dam

Playing at Grandma Bray's

Uncle Dan was well loved by everybody and generally viewed as a punching bag. Ellie particularly found a friend in Uncle Dan, though. It took a few days for her to warm up, but he was persistent, and by the end of the trip, they were best friends.



Little Laura found a rocking chair that was just her size, and amazingly hard to tip over. Here she is, having just climbed up and turned around, just about to sit down in it.
L

The Christ Church Ball

My parent's church hosts a ball every summer. It's not ballroom dancing, but something closer to country line dancing. This year, my sister BJ was in charge of organizing it, which was a task that I'm not sure she enjoyed. But she did a great job with it, and the event was a success! Here is the very opening dance, which we were too late to participate in. If I remember correctly, it's called the Grand March, and would've been great for the kids. Everybody in the church was able to participate. Can you find Grandpa Bray in the middle of the picture?



David and I attempt to remember things we learned in our social dance class in college:


Carver watches the festivities. He had claimed a dance with Mom, but we didn't realize that the dances got progressively harder. I owe him one at the next dance (which hopefully happens sometime before his wedding :)


And Ellie crashes at the end of the evening: