Betsy does the Ballpit and lives to tell the tale

It has been a good week. It was "presidents vacation." I dunno, I was still feeling pretty rested from "Winter vacation" six weeks ago but when the school district gets the vacation bug we all have to get on board. We did have some fun though; Each morning we started the day by the kids and I begging Joe to take the day off or shouting So. Cal, So. Cal., So. Cal, but since Joe assured us there would be very little to celebrate and no Disneyland tickets if he lost his job we would calm down and go on with the day until he got home again. The weather was terrific so the kids got in their daily allotment of Vitamin D on the trampoline or just tormenting our overly indulgent elderly neighbors.

We did got to the Science center, where I forgot to take the camera (see Amanda's Blog for pics.) Between my friend and I we had nine children and We got some really nice stares. At one point I found myself watching all the girls in the kids play area. After telling Hannah and Jennifer to go check on Tess and Ella while nursing Betsy and reading a story to Addie and Scottie I saw one metro-chic mom stand up and move to the opposite side of the play area casting an icy stare my way. I always get a laugh out of those situations. The Science center is a terrific place and my kids always have a good time partly because we are members and would NEVER stay more than 2 hours. It is just too overwhelming for anyone under the age of 40.

We got in all the usual Karate and Gymnastics lessons and finished off the week having done no homework, quiet reading or cleaning. The house and kids look just like a World Vision commercial where the narrator implores you to donate just 57 cents to feed a child for a week. We are bedraggled and a mess but have had a lot of fun.

We also squeezed in a family movie at the $2 movie theater(Even the cheap thrills here are expensive!) and saw Enchanted and then got lost on the way home and ended up at Dash state Park/Beach. Another place where I didn't have a camera Scottie spent most of her time looking for "treasures" which we now have several bags of stinking up the van. Joe and Gunner raced a lot and I watched Tess get wetter and wetter and finally gave up and just turned the heat up high in the van.

So as far as the pictures go, the kids have been begging me to get out that blasted ball-Pit for weeks. It is a small death trap with the wires poking out of the netting and so many balls flying around someone always gets a knee in the nose. (In fact it was Gunner who got Joe's knee to the back of the head but after the blinding light at the end of the tunnel faded he was ready for another go.) I resisted as long as I could but they finally prevailed and you can see that the only way to make a small death trap even funner is to put it on an even bigger death trap and get Dad up there for a double bounce!(Joe's idea 100%) This time I had to take some pre E.R. pictures. . .

Chills and Spills!

We have been wanting to get to some REAL snow all winter and today, in honor of the Presidents, we made it up the pass. It was beautiful weather and sunny so Joe went in early and came home early enough to grab the sleds and head up the mountain. We got to the "snow park" ( I put that in quotes because it was just a snowy road that had a mild incline.) around 3PM and the beaut part is that at that time everyone was leaving! Being totally unprepared we did have to lug the stroller up the hill so Betsy, who really was too tiny to have any fun, could have a place to watch the festivities. As you can see, she felt distressed by our poor style choice as far as her outfit went, I think it used to be mine back in '78. Anywho, We had a terrific time. I was surprised that I was a little terrified to try some of the steeper side hills. I think it's being a mom. I never would have hesitated in my single days but I think I am actually beginning to believe some of the mindless drivel I am constantly throwing at the kids, "Be Careful!" "Stay on the path!" "Bail out if you get to close to a tree!" You can see it didn't help much as I managed to end up in the same tree well three times!

Lemon snowcones by Tess

Those eyes freak me out. Are they lookin right at me?!

The famous snowball maker.

Another one bites the dust!

Highlights:

• Tess having to go to the bathroom the minute we got well out of range of the bathrooms. (We did leave a little yellow snow.)


• Betsy's snow suit; Tiger? Rabbit? Pink Yeti? Imaginary friend?
  
• The snowball Maker, creates perfectly round snow balls with a scoop, Thanks Target!


• Joe going Ansel Adams and providing some lovely pics.


• Scottie and Gunner being totally self sufficient the whole time and loving it.
  
• Arriving late enough we didn't have to pay the $10 park fee.


• No one getting hurt!!!

After we got home, we peeled off our wet clothes and did a quick FHE, really quick, as in read the back of a Gospel Art Kit Picture, and ended FHE the way all FHE's inevitably do . . . fighting.

Valentines Day

We had a fun Valentines day dinner. I didn't have late class, so Samantha got a little party together. I will take credit for the flowers that got her in the Valentines spirit. We had heart shaped pizzas and cranberry juice and then for dessert ate all the treats that Scottie and Gunner got from school.

Tres Tristes Tigres

This is a tiger that is typically totally lame and laying in the tall grass. Today they coaxed him out with a blood Popsicle.

Earlier there was an opossum in his cage so he checked out the smell.

The zoo keeper said she could jump around 15 feet in length.

I think Samantha jumped 18 feet.

The Tiger is lulling her into security.

He can jump 15 feet vertical and 40 feet horizontal.

Just missed that chunk of Hamburger.

Nice Catch!!! (both me and the feline)

Tiger; n. 1. Large, asiatic beast of prey having tawny fur with black stripes (felis tigris) fierce and agressive . . . .

Yesterday morning we had a primary quarterly activiy; breakfast with your teachers. Since Joe and I both teach we made it a family affair and it was really fun. On the way home we were all dreading going home to another boring, grey, wet day in Seattle so we pulled in and then promptly backed out of the driveway and headed to the Point Defiance Zoo. It was terrific, we got to feed the Tiger and were sprayed with Walrus spit when he decided to say hello. After the Zoo we were still a little bummed about returning home so we continued on to the new Cabela's in Lacey. Which, the kids remarked is better than the zoo because you can get close to the animals with out getting mauled! It was a long drive home though. The kids even asked if we would eventually wind up at Grandma and Grandpa's house. This whole day was only possible because; 1. Betsy is the best baby in the world. In the last few days we have heard her cry only twice. (A photo of her straight up Jammin' on a muppet casio is below.) 2. Little Caesar invented drive through pepperoni pizza!




The day was a total success and as soon as we got home, I raced back out to get the babysitter. Joe and I went to the Leadership Training broadcast at the church. A favorite part was a story by Sister Beck. She Had asked her dad why they had to sing Love at Home every week for FHE. He looked at her and sternly said, "When you have mastered lesson One , I will teach you lesson two." At the Ellsworth home we will now be adding Love at Home to our FHE routine.

After the broadcast we grabbed a drive-through dessert and arrived home to find the babysitter having to deal with a throwing up Gunner. He is fine now partly because she is a really, REALLY good babysitter! All in all it has been a good week despite the times we have to stare at a lightbulb to remind us it is not really dusk all day long, it only looks that way outside!

P.S. I almost forgot the kids big news. We now have a trampoline! Thank you Wengers! The kids and admittedly, Joe and I are, in Heaven and jumping pretty much every dry moment. Can't wait for the Emergency room and dental bills, Wahoo!


Yes, I did take this from inside the house. Yes, the trampoline is that close to both our fence and window. Yes, it is a death trap. Yes, we have filled up every inch of our postage stamp sized back yard.

What the Heck is a Choyle?

We've been asked a few times what a, "Choyle" is. "As you can probably guess this word comes to our family from the ultimate one-liner king, Gunner. He first said it when he was barely three and woke up one morning with a hankerin' for Choyles. With his limited 3 year old vocab he tried with mounting frustration to describe to us what a Choyle was. In the end we deduced it was round, orange, edible and squishy(something like our blog background.) This led us to beleive it might be a peach but on further questioning we found it also had a little crunch to it so the idea of a partly sogged on Cheeto came to mind, like the ones we would find under our church pew in sacrament. To this day we still aren't sure what Guner wanted the morning of the Choyle but we think it sums up our family philosophy pretty well; a bit hard to understand, but definately delicious. (We won't even tell you about the infamous "floating balls" that used to appear on Gunner's ceiling at night. We think they were pretty much just an after effect of the nitrous he was given for his first dental filling at 5 years old.)
The week has been good, we had a quick visit from the Elmers. We were sad to see them go, especially Attie with her tiny Boston acccent. It's a total novelty for us west coasters to hear them talk. We did TONS of swimming, eating and nail painting and the kids are asking when they can come back.

Wow this is fun driving shotgun in a icecream truck. But...

I think I might do a better job driving!

There we go... Now we are ready for buisness. I am woman hear me roar!