End of 2011

It's the last day of the 2011. I suppose I could follow up on our wonderful end of the year!

Ella took a dance class this fall and we were able to watch her on her last day of class

She also took part in her first Sunday School program. Although she new all the songs and her line, it was a bit scary for her up there with all of those people watching!

And of course, can't forget decorating our Christmas tree this year!

And our Christmas party with the family. Eden and Ella were dressed for the occasion in green and red!

Ella is 4 and Fabulous!

Ella turned 4 and had a wonderful birthday!

For our family, she had a Froggy 4 Birthday party!

More Fall Fun!

We enjoyed more fall fun at a farm!

We crawled and Ella walked through a hay maze with flashlights.

Hay ride with bunnies!

Picked our pumpkins....

and carved our pumpkins!

The cutest little penguin you've ever seen! Thanks for making the outfit, Nana!

Pumpkinfest Weekend

We enjoyed a fun Pumpkinfest weekend and gorgeous weather!

Although we thought the rabbits might win, the chicks won "favorite" at the critter barn according to Ella.

"Face painting" turned into "arm painting" and a beautiful rainbow arm it was!

Ella ran 100 yards on a beautiful Saturday morning! Nice running Ella!

Mommy attempted to run too, and had wonderful support cheering me on! (and Nana & Papa)

Mackinaw 2011

We enjoyed a weekend in Mackinaw with my sister and her family.
We brought the bikes and rode around the island. Even the little ones made it. They traded off between the bike and the trailer.

BFF's!

Turned out to be a beautiful day!

On the way home we stopped at Hartwick Pines. They are very large trees.
Ella shows how to be a big tree:)

Very nice weekend!

Up in the air

So I can't say that I've conquered my fear of flying, but it certainly helped!
It only took 3 pilots with over 4,000 combined hours of flight time to get me in the plane:)

It was beautiful!

This and That

A little of this and a little of that...

Ella had her first day of 3-school!! Of course she had her princess back pack!



Our wonderful friend Trisha who has been watching Ella since she was 6 weeks old! Thank You Trisha!



Enjoying one of the last warm days at the beach and in Lake Michigan. What an adorable little surfer girl :) Thumbs up dude :)


This is what Ella called a 'sand'which.

August Camping

We had a wonderful camping weekend in August. The weather was amazing!! Thanks to wonderful friends, we were able to camp in a pop-up!

Go Kart ride!! We beat Peter - Hehehe :)

We also took a dune ride and stopped at Lake Michigan. The vehicle had a flat tire, so we were able to climb a dune while we waited.


After the ride, Peter and Ella took a quick dip in the waves, then we ran up and down the dune.


Ella made a train with the camping chairs to eat her breakfast - banana and chocolate milk.

Ella made a lot of different things with the wood. This creation is titled "New York". Good thing Peter and I can cut wood on 90 degree angles, or this would be titled "Falling New York".

Our last adventure of the weekend was Michigan's Adventure. Thanks to our wonderful friends, Peter Ella and I had a fantastic day at the park. When we asked Ella what her favorite thing was, she said she couldn't pick just one because they were all so fun!

Friday Fun!

Ella and I enjoyed a beautiful day together. We stopped to see the animals and picked peaches!

I think the chicks were her favorite!

Feeding the chickens!

She did a wonderful job picking peaches and enjoyed the tractor ride as well!

I really cherish these moments with her. Her joy spills out of her and it is contagious!

Stanley Camp 2011

Peter and I took Ella to camp for the first time! She seemed to have a lot of fun. Here are some of the moments caught on camera.

We stopped for a picture in the huge red chair along Highway 17.

Ella assumes her position on the pontoon boat upon our arrival to the lake!

Peter and Ella did some swimming by Ross and Jan's cabin.

There they found a froggy friend.

Ella went fishing with her new kids pole. She was the first one to catch fish. Not 1 but 2 lake trout! We were wondering if her kids pole would make it as we helped her reel it in!

The other fun activity was jumping off the dock over and over, fearlessly! It was great to see the absolute joy each time she lunged off the edge!

We also had to take a kayak ride to see the lily pads.

She thought she might take another shot at catching another fish. No fish this time.

Our final stop at the landing.

We did see a moose with her calf swim across the lake as well. An amazing site! Ella seemed to enjoy the experience, as every trip to camp is an adventure. And Peter and I were equally as thrilled to have Ella with us for this trip. She did amazing in every way, even the out-house and the long car trip home! Its a great time to spend with family as well as Peter's sister and family were there along with his dad. Good times! We are blessed!