Tall Tales

The other day a friend of mine was telling me that she had asked her son what he wanted to be when he grew up. He answered, "A penny."
When I got home that day I decided to ask Ellie the same question...
"Ell, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
"What Mommy?"
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Without skipping a beat... "Taller."

Port Discovery on a rainy day
Today we went downtown to Port Discovery Children's Museum, what better way is there to spend a rainy, rainy Saturday? We didn't know what to expect but we both had a ton of fun!!In the center there is a "up only" rope climbing set up that goes to all three levels, what I wasn't expecting was having to climb up it too to keep up with Ellie.
Next time I am wearing sneakers and bringing quarters to rent a locker!!
Banging on the drum, drum, drum...
Child labor... learning to run the assembly line? Do you really think it too early? Maybe we should wait till she is 4 or get her a step stool.
Playing in the ball pit.
She loved the Water Works exhibit. They thought of everything... they had nylon windbreakers in lots of sizes to keep the kids clothes dry and tons of crocs for their feet... Brilliant!
Going down one of the tunnels from the center climbing structure. FYI... Definately an adventure!!
Learning how to build cars.
Matching people with the products they make.
In the crazy kitchen in the mystery house.
The crazy bathroom in the mystery house.
Worn out and ready to go home!

Free Manicures and PedicuresWell all I can say is that we have to work on "staying in the lines" before she can start charging for her services!

Fall is on the way This is one of Ellie's pictures from school. It is a picture of Schatzie (on the left with the face and black, blue, yellow, and purple stripes) and PD (drawn on the right, the three large circles).

Sidewalk chalk after school.
Playing hopscotch.
1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7... 8... 9... 10!
Talking on the phone.
Ellie, Schatzie, and I on a mini road trip... always an adventure!
Running circles after church.
Cheese!!!

Irvine Nature Center

Sunday, September 14, 2008 Skipping along in the Woodland Garden.
Ellie running ahead of me on the nature trails.
Story time.
Learning about the screech owl.
Learning about the eco-system.
Matching the birds and their calls.
Matching the trees and their leaves.
Flowers and their scents.

Watch Out Lance Armstrong... Silly Ellie playing on the patio.
Ellie on her princess "cooter".
Pedaling, pedaling, gone!

Ellie is still working on pedaling but she realized that it is much easier on a downhill slope like the driveway that on a level surface. She has even figured out how to stop... Check it out!

Early September

Opening Day...

Ravens, 17 vs. Bengals, 10

Julie and I tailgating before the game.
Go Ravens!!
The game.... that place was packed!
The Raven's marching band playing their tribute to Ozzy Osburne... Mama I'm Coming Home. It sounds a lot different when its played by a marching band!!

Way to go Ravens!!

Post game update... The temporary tattoos aren't as temporary as I thought and my nose and shoulders are still rosy! But, Woo Hoo! it sure was fun!!

Take that, Hanna!!

Well, the playgrounds were muddy, Tot Town at the mall was under construction, and we had our fill of cartoons so what else is a girl to do??

Put on our boots and slicker and PLAY!
And no, we didn't get blown away.... well, almost!
Singing in the rain...
Splish, splash!!
And the reward for making it through the storm... An amazing rainbow that crossed over the entire sky!

80's night with The Legwarmers
The Murphy girls all dresses up. I promise I will dress up next time!!!

Labor Day Weekend
Ellie and Nana in the backyard.
Ellie showing Nana all of Nana's flowers.
The mandatory foot washing after walking outside barefoot!
Ellie checking out the living room with Nana and Bill.

Beach Baby.
Burying herself in the sand... I don't know if she had more fun covering herself up or wiggling out!
Having fun in the largest sandbox ever!!
So many things to look at and learn about.

Look, Ellie is a mermaid!
Her new "Barbie"... This one really threw her off. "Barbies aren't boys!"
Swimming with Daddy.
Splashing with Unka Bob.
Oooh! It is almost too cold to get in! Brrr!

Mmmm... the perfect way to end the day. Bomb pops!
Rachel and Ellie playing Polly Pockets.
Rachel, Jenna, and Ellie
Ellie strumming on the guitar.
Julie, Ellie, and Nana

Ellie and Grandpa
Ellie and Grandma
Spinning in the inner tube. This big girl insisted on "I do it by myself!"

"See Mommy, I told you I could do it by myself!"
Cheese!

Note: She is not by herself on a raft in the middle of the pool. If she was I would not have been taking a picture of it, the camera would have been on a chair and I would have been on my way to go get her!
She was hiding behind the big fish!
See my tongue!!
Playing Frisbee with Daddy in the back yard.

Wee! Down the slide!
Ha! Ha! Ha! Look at the next photo to see what she thought was so funny!
Unka Bob falling in the water to catch a Frisbee. This had her going for almost 20 minutes!
Bob, Bill, and Ellie doing "Row you boat"
Rachel and Ellie playing fort.

Row, row, row your boat

Performed by: Nana, Julie, MB, Jenna, Ellie, and Rachel

Directed by: Ellie

Enjoy...