That's so Ellie....

A mess and a half this girl is.....

Garden

Ellie and I have diligently worked on planting a garden (or as close to one as we can) in our back yard. Unfortunately we don't have a lot of space that gets a good mixture of sun and shade - so we are taking our chances and using flower pots. We selected a wide selection of flowers, strawberries, and a cherry tomato plant. Ellie was quite excited to pick out all the plants however less enthused about having to get her hands dirty to plant them. Good help is hard to find :)

Now all that is left to do is water and love them ---- One of them is probably more likely than the other......

Seal

Given that we haven't quite gotten the pool up and going (apparently it is hard to get pool service in the summer?!?!) I got Ellie this little inflatable seal that you hook up to the garden hose and it sprays water up in the air. I was rather skeptical that it would do the trick but she really seems to enjoy it....

The ball that the seal shoots in the air!

And she discovered she can spray her hair with it!

And this seal was under $10 --- I will say it was a great find and an even greater buy!

Again?!?!

I told you Ellie LOVED the Carousel --- So much so....that we are back....again! And this time we brought dada along for the action :)

This girl just can't be denied.

Opening the pool....

Last summer we had such a blast in our pool that we decided to fire it up again for the summer....We were surprised at how grimey it had gotten over the winter.....

After a few hours of attempting to clean it up myself - I gave up.....

 

I think it is time to call in the pro's....

Checkers, anyone?

I love to eat at the cracker barrel....Justin kinda hates it but I kinda love it.....

Following a rare occassion of eating there Ellie wanted to hang out and play with the checkers game....I indulged her and she indulged me with some pics!

Good family fun!

My little longhorn

 

Blue Hair clip

We took Ellie to McDonalds for a Happy Meal and she scored this kickin' Victorious hair clip. It is quite audacious however the girl can pull it off!!

She is too much fun for words!

Dada's graduation!!

It is official --- after many months and 2 loooong years -- Justin has finished his Psych NP program and has graduated from the University of Utah!! This was definitely cause for celebration and so we headed down to SLC for several days (a few strictly business and a few relaxing) to watch Justin get his diploma and make us all so very proud.

Here is Ellie and dada right before the graduation ceremony -- hanging out at the U!

Here is Ellie and dada after the graduation ceremony -- with the flowers she insisted we purchase for him!

Thank you for all of your hard work and for all the sacrifices you made to not only finish your program but to also work, be a great husband and father. Everything you do we know that you do it for our family and to make sure that all of our dreams can come true. You are truly the perfect example for Ellie as to what it takes to work hard, be successful and to pursue dreams. While others may not understand the choices we make or even begin to grasp the sacrifies we make - We know(!) and Ellie will reap the benefits of those choices for the rest of her life. I know that she is so very proud of you and I beam with pride at all that you have accomplished and at the man that you are.

We love you dada!!!