Oh, alright...I'll update the blog!

We are alive and well. Have you missed us? There are many, many excuses all of which are really good, but I'll go with the one that makes me seem at least a little bit hip and cool-- Jonathan and I got iphones a few months ago and I am NEVER on the home computer anymore. Seriously, that silly little phone is life-changing and I for one am a huge fan. Anywhoooo...We are smack-dab in the middle of a really good summer, but I thought I better backtrack a bit to get you all caught up.

In May Ashley, Jonathan, and I enjoyed Field Day at our school. We also enjoyed some redneckish activities in the back yard before the neighborhood pool was warm enough to swim in. And last, but certainly not least, we ended the month having family pictures taken by my friend Charly Stagg. She lives and works in College Station but she made a special trip to Dallas to photograph a few families that live up here. I am a huge fan of hers also and she did an amazing job! The new photo for the header of our blog is one of the many good ones of Ashley and Trevor together. I'll post soem others when I get a chance.






In June we said goodbye to yet another school year. This is the first year in a loooong time that I will be returning to the same school/grade level/classroom when school starts again in August so I am very excited. I seriously did not know what to do with myself on the last day of school since I did not need to pack up and move. I literaly walked out the door with a small bag of things to work on this summer and Fred the Frog-- the miraculous, long-living amphibian left over from my class' study of frogs in mid May. Ashley performed in her 4th dance recital. Actually, she danced in her 4th, 5th, and 6th recitals-- there were 3 separate shows this year and the Dancing Diva performed in all 3 and did a fabulous job. She is such a great dancer and performer! We spent the rest of the month doing lots of swimming, baseball watching, and just hanging out. And, we ended the month with Jonathan and I celebrating our 9 year wedding anniversary!









July is off to a fantastic start. We had a star-spangled 4th-- despite all the rain the fireworks went on as scheduled so the Ellis peeps were happy. We are currently having our bathroom floors redone and are preparing for a busy weekend ahead. My cousin Payton is getting married this weekend and Ashley is the flower girl, so stay tuned for pictures from what promises to be a fun-filled event. And, we leave the very next day for our annual road trip out to see my dad and family in GA and the Carolinas! Soooo, see you in a few weeks! I pledge to update promptly when we return. Maybe.

Birthday Boy!

He


Is THREE!!!



I can't believe that Trevor is 3 years old! Oh my goodness, where has the time gone? He is such a sweet heart~ ALL boy, but so sweet and loving and HILARIOUS! He keeps us laughing 24/7. Those BIG brown eyes are very expressive and are the windows to his personality. He is happy all of the time! He is a snuggler and loves to "get your sugar"! I might be jinxing myself here, but we really don't have any behavior problems with him. He's pretty easy going and doesn't get ruffled very often at all. He didn't go through the terrible two's, so maybe this will be his year to challenge us-- Hopefully not. He is obsessed with sports of all sorts but basketball is his first love (imagine that) and he is showing early signs of having quite a bit of athletic ability, which makes his daddy proud. He's super smart and his memory is just as amazing as his sister's, which baffles me daily. He is our BoBo Boy and we love him dearly!

Here's how we celebrated the big day: I decided to have his party at a park by our house. Almost all of the parties we have been to this year have been at a gymnastics place or a bounce house place and I wanted to do something different. Plus, Trevor LOVES to play outside, so...the park. Now, I am not naive about Texas weather. I knew that there was a chance that it would rain on the day of the party. But we just went with it and hoped for the best. Last week the forcast called for rain, but the weather people could not agree on how much rain or when it would hit. I seriously had everyone I know on their knees in prayer for NO RAIN! Well, God listens and provides for those who are faithful :) and the rain held off until AFTER the party! Woo Hoo! Trevor had a great time with about 14 of his closest friends and is still talking about his birthday. He totally "got it" this year which made it so fun for Jonathan, Ashley and me. Of course Nonna came to town and brought Aunt Biddie for the festivities. It was a great weekend! Happy Birthday Trevor!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful weekend! Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy!

Peek-A-Boo!

Sorting is her favorite passtime!

Silly Boy, Beautiful Girl!

Happy Easter!

Super Sweet Sixteen!

SIC 'EM BEARS! Baylor Basketball made it to the Sweet 16 (and now the Elite 8!) and we just HAD to be a part of this historical event! We drove to Bryan late Thursday night and stayed with my mom. On Friday, we left the kids with her and rode down to Houston with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. We arrived several hours before the game (we were VERY eager and excited)and happened upon a tailgate party at the Pappasitos right across from Reliant Stadium. This tailgate party was awesome! The entire restaurant, patio, and makeshift parking lot patio were filled with Baylor fans all decked out in green and gold. There was sunshine, a DJ, and lots of drinking (yes, we Baptists know how to have a good time too!) and was a great way to start the night. Then we drove over, parked and walked in to a sea of green and gold inside Reliant Stadium. Baylor fans had obviously come from far and wide to show their support and school spirit and it was incredible. This is HUGE for Baylor and, lets face it, may never happen again, so the energy in that arena was amazing! The game started, and a few hours and slam dunks later, the Bears are headed to the Elite 8!


Now, you may remember from this post that Jonathan is a mega Duke fan. I'm sure you also know that Duke played in the 2nd game of the double header at Reliant just after Baylor's victory. This is Jonathan before the tip-off of the BU game: And this is Jonathan before the tip-off of the Duke game: Yes, he changed his shirt and yes, he cheered for Duke as loudly as he cheered for Baylor.

Now, let me explain something. When you purchase tickets for the NCAA tournament games, your tickets are good for ALL of the games that weekend. I'm sure you are thinking "Wow! How awesome for the Ellis'! They have tickets to watch Baylor AND Duke play in the Sweet 16, and Baylor AND Duke play EACH OTHER in the Elite 8! How fantastic!" Well folks... irony can be a real bitch. The irony this time is that yes, we do have tickets to watch Baylor vs Duke in the Elite 8 but CAN NOT GO to the game. The banquet to honor the Mighty Mustang Misfits is scheduled for Sunday evening and obviously the Head Coach (and his loudly protesting wife) must be in attendance. So, our coveted tickets are now in the hands of some redneck who clearly does not appreciate the greatness of the experience like we would have. Oh well. We will just fling our green and gold from afar. :) And at least Jonathan won't have to decide which shirt to wear to the game!

I'm still sorry I didn't wear my silky green halter top or my strapless Baylor t-shirt dress like the college girls (lots of confirmation at that game that I am OLD). But we had an absolute blast and will be cheering on the Bears (men and women-- how cool is that?!?!) for the rest of their basketball journey! SIC 'EM!!


And now for a message from future BU pointguard:


And some more pics for your viewing pleasure:

Well, basketball season has ended for the Mighty Misfit Mustangs, but we have definitley not been lacking in excitement around here. Ashley was the "Top Banana" (star student) for her class this past week and also got to go on a field trip to the Dallas World Aquarium. I was able to take the day off and go as a chaperone, aka "regular mom" as Ashley referred to it. We had a blast!

Ashley and her special helper with her "Top Banana" poster!


Ashley and her BFF waiting to go in the aquarium.


Glad there was lots of glass between me and this "fishy"...


As for what Trevor's been up to-- Mischief in general seems to be his specialty. Here are a few recent examples:

Getting in to sister's accessories. He had on a few bracelts also!


Pinching sister at just the right time-- check out the look on his face!


And last, but certainly not least, autographing the playroom floor.


The conversation went like this:
Me: Who wrote this giant T on the floor?
Trevor: ME! (with a huge smile on his facae)
Me: We do not write on the carpet. I am so sad.
Trevor: You not sad mom, you happy!
Me: No, I am very sad. What do you say to mommy?
Trevor: SURPRISE!!!

Fantastic. :)

Is it summer yet?

Heck, we'd even settle for spring at our house. We are NOT fans of cold, dreary, wet winter weather. The sun has tempted us a few days this week but we are back to gray skies again today. So, what to do on a cloudy, lazy day? Update the blog!

Nothing really extroardinary to report, so I'll start with basketball. The Creekview Mustangs are playoff bound again this year! They placed 2nd in their district, but it has been a roller coaster season. Here's a picture of the scoreboard after we beat the undefeated Berkner Rams in double over time! We were the only team to beat them in district play!


Ashley had her first science project a few weeks ago. She made a saltmap landform. Woo Hoo! It just doesn't get much more exciting than this! Actually it does. In addition to her regualr dance and gymnastics she is now taking a musical theater class. Are you surprised?

The picture below pretty much sums up Trevor these days. He is hilarious and is becoming more independent, just like his sister. His new phrases this week are "maybe so" and "Don't say that mom. Say _____." and "No thanks. I'm busy." Such a stinker.

And, here is a bonus pic from Valentines Day. Cutest little cupids ever!

2010?!?!

I can not believe it is 2010. Where have the last 10 years gone? I was going to share some decade highlights with you, but am having some serious trouble scanning old pictures (I am very frustrated with technology right now-- whole other post) so I will settle on giving a recap of Christmas and New Year's. Woo Hoo!

We had a wonderful Christmas and the kids LOVED the snow! We had to change our Christmas Eve plans-- we were supposed to drive to Sherman to see Jonathan's cousins, but decided we would rather be safe than sorry. So after a nice Christmas Eve lunch at Jonathan's brother's house we went to church and then came home, made reindeer food and got ready for Santa.

And let's just say Santa did NOT dissappoint! Trevor recieved a new, taller basketball goal (which he has already mastered! The kid can shoot!) and Ashley got the piano keyboard she asked for. Thank you, Santa, for these extra large items that have taken over my home. Much appreciation.

Anyway, after the madness of ALL the Santa loot and the 4,000 other presents that somehow landed under our tree (cuz we sure did need some more stuff), we took a break to go play in the snow. There was a snowball fight, snow angels, and a snowman~ what a fun bonus to have snow on Christmas! We spent the rest of the break just hanging out, and enjoying being together. Coach Ellis even took a few days off!

My mom was here for the full two weeks and my kids LOVE their Nonna. And I LOVE how she helps me! She even braved a sleepover with Ashley and her friend on New Year's Eve as Jonathan and I went out with friends! Go Nonna! Every year she gets the kids party hats and noise makers, pizza and a fun dessert so they can have their own party. Such a fun grandmother! She's still trying to recover...

School started back as promised (yippeeee!!) and now we are already getting an extra day off because of the freezing temperatures and "ice". Thus a very bold confirmation that I am a warm weather and flip-flops kind of girl!

Here are some pics from our wonderful holiday! Hope yours was fabulous too! And I promise this is the last year for matching Christmas plaid pajamas!


Christmas Eve at Uncle Scott and Aunt Jamie's House

The Cutest Momma's Boy!

Reindeer Food!

Hope Rudolph likes this stuff!

Thanks Santa!













Happy New Year!