Trick or Treat and Thanksgiving 2009

Hello Everyone, I apologize for my lack of updates..... but here goes. October and November were fairly uneventful months other than the usual (work, school, church). Halloween was rainy but we did trick or treat to a few houses. Ella dressed up as Lilo from the Disney movie Lilo and Stitch. Our dear friend Susy Havas gave Ella the Lilo outfit. Susy's daughter, Jiselle, wore it when she was little. Ella had Halloween parties at preschool and at her dance class (photos below). Since the kids didn't have school on Election Day, we all tagged along with Paul on a business trip to Huntsville, Alabama (3 hr. drive from Atlanta) for the day. While Paul was in a meeting, Evan and his friend Wes went to the US Space & Rocket Center and Ella and I visited the Children's Museum. It was a really fun day for all!! Thanksgiving was spent with the Veith family at their beautiful cabin in north Georgia. We are very grateful and appreciative for our wonderful friends!!

Ella enjoying her cupcake at the party

Halloween Party at Preschool

Trick or Treating at Dance Imagination

Ella in her pilgrim outfit at Thanksgiving

September 2009 Update: Disney World

Time flies when your having fun..... almost two months since I've posted. In the month of September, the Atlanta area has been overrun with an enormous amount of rain. Many of the nearby lakes, rivers and creeks have flooded and caused schools, restaurants, shops etc. to close due to the destruction. Thankfully, we did not endure any damage. Since Evan had a fall break from school the end of September, we planned a trip to Disney World. On Monday, September 21st, we left the rain and headed to Orlando to visit Mickey Mouse!! We stayed on Disney property at the Kidani Village in Animal Kindgdom. We spent our week at Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. Thanks to Paul's scheduling in advance, we had our week pretty much organized: dinner with Mickey and friends, dinner with Cinderella in the castle and celebrated Halloween festivities. While we were at Disney, we were able to plan a few outings with our friends (Ritchie Family, Stricklin Family and Veith Family) since they were all vacationing their too. Prior to leaving Orlando, we spent the last day with the Havas family. In summary, we had a fabulous but exhausting week. Oh, I almost forget.... the "bad news" is that half way through the trip we lost our camera(somewhere in chinatown at Epcot)but the "good news" is we filed a report and by the end of our trip someone found it and turned it into lost and found - YES - there are honest/kind people in this world!!! Below are some photos to highlight our vacation:

Enjoying the pool at hotel

Halloween at Disney with Ritchie's & Stricklin's

Ella in Minnie's house at her kitchen table - she just loved the kitchen....

Heading to dinner with Cinderella

Dinner with Cinderella in her castle

Dinner with Mickey and Friends

August 2009 Update: School has Started for Evan & Ella......

Hello all - I (Laura) have taken the reigns on updating the blog (Paul says - finally!!) so be patient with me as I learn/experiment with this.... The updates going forward will be focused on the "family" not specific to just Ella but didn't want to change the site name. So, here we go.... Evan entered 10th grade on Monday, August 3rd. I still can't believe that we have a 10th grader. This year will be a considerable challenge for him verses last year as he has six core classes and the most difficult for him so far is chemistry. Ella started three year old preschool on Thursday, August 13th at Child's Play which is located at our church. She attends preschool on Tuesdays and Thursday from 9:00 to 1:00 p.m. and just loves it. She told me that her favorite part about school is the crafts - I'm so glad since I am NOT creative. Actually, I'm really glad to have my refrigerator filled with her work because it makes her so proud!! On Sunday, August 23rd, Ella and I went to see "Dora Live" at the Fox Theatre. She really liked it but did say that she was a little afraid of swiper - too cute. We also endured a family loss of Norma Schwartz-Kapit (Paul's deceased grandfather's wife) passed away at the age of 91 due to heart failure. We will miss her lively spirit and selfless love!! As we finish with August and begin September, we planned a last minute trip to visit the McFee family over the Labor Day weekend. They were visiting family in Knoxville, TN so we jumped at the opportunity to visit them. Maya and Ella made an instant connection even though they hadn't seen each other since the beginning of April. The swam in the hotel pool together and tried to play "babies & mommies" (Ella plays this with Addison ALL the time) with Maya..... she wasn't really interested?!?! Jill and I were laughing at how different the girls are. The next day we all went to the Knoxville Zoo. It was a gorgeous day for the zoo. Ella's favorite part was the butterfly greenhouse and the zebras (which is her favorite animal). We were so thankful to enjoy a wonderful day with our "forever friends" the McFee's. So, now that I am in charge of the blog, you all need to comment and let me know what you think and I will accept criticism if necessary. See you in September!!

Ella's First Day of Preschool - Big Girl!

Addison & Ella having lunch and tea (water) with Ella's play tea set happy girls!!

Addison & Ella dressing up - look at these princesses!

Maya & Ella brushing the goats

Merry-go-round on zebra

Maya & Ella in front of the turtle - yes it is real!!!

Girls on red panda

Pretty girl with her favorite animal.... zebra

Look at the butterfly on Ella's hand

All done at the zoo - sweet little girls!

Maya & Ella playing with pom poms in hotel - silly girls....

A Busy July 2009

As I write this on July 25, its already been a full month for Ella. Beginning on July 4th, we see her attending the annual Woodstock parade; only the start of an extended weekend featuring her Grandma and Grandpa visiting from NY and including a picnic at the Ritchie's and a trip to Savannah and Tybee Island, Ga - two places we'll be back to soon. In Savannah the 3 generations of boys took a ghost tour and all of us a trolley tour of a very historical city. We also ventured out to Tybee and loved the closest beach to Atlanta (4+ hours). Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for making the trip. Then pause 10 days or so and Ella's mom turned 40. So another long week started with a surprise visit from Laura's best friend, Dawn, followed by a return trip to Minnesota with Dawn to visit the Morton's and friends back home for Laura. (author''s note: Ella - do not let mom brainwash you about moving back to Minnesota!). Ella really enjoyed playing with Preston and Whitney (who also turned 7 on this trip). We're not even finished with July yet, but its been a wonderful month. Here are some pictures....

Summer Starts - June 2009

Ella enjoyed her June of 2009 with a stay at home month that included her first camp experiences (VBS at Good Shepherd and Dance Camp at Dance Imagination). She also attended Sascha Mackey's first birthday party and mom keeps her busy at Fox Tales story time hours. The blog wouldnt be complete if we also didnt show all of Ella's (imaginary) friends at a picnic and her baby that she sleeps with every night getting her tooth pulled (just like Ella recently did - both front teeth missing due to a fall in our house).

Ella - I'm Three!

Ella turned 3 years old this past month, on April 25th, and celebrated with her friends and family - her friends at her birthday party at the Lazar's followed up with a family picnic the following day. Also during the month, she played with Addison at the park and got "just a little" dirty (that outfit, Ella, didn't make it), learned how to play horseshoes, attended her first baseball game and last but not least, performed onstage for 2 "oh so cute" dance numbers with her Dance Imagination class! Pictures below, of course.