"Had wooden teeth, chased Moby Dick . . . That's Captain Ahab dude."

Bill and Ted didn't know their historical figures and thanks to the Public School System neither do my children. Instead of studying the presidents on President's day our Schools take the week off. So we headed South to Eugene to party with cousins and grandparents. The weather was terrific and the kids played outside every day which is a miracle in February in the Northwest. Despite all the fresh air we still got the stomach flu and woke up the morning we were supposed to drive home with fresh barf in two of the girls hair.


That's not a salad, it's the family barf bucket
So we stayed an extra day and everyone at my parents house graciously put up with us while we convalesced. We had had fun, birthday parties, feeding the horse, and A LOT of talking with the grownups while the kids shredded Grandma's basement or tormented each other in various ways. Family close by truly is a blessing.

Thankfully the other half of the family was spared the flu until after we had hosted our Six Young Men for stake youth conference but the minute they were out the door Bam!, no Emeril it's not a tasty side dish, its vomit. Joe, Betsy and Tess missed Church Sunday and it's Monday and I have a lot of sheets and towels to wash.

The young men were terrific though and we are always glad for the opportunity to work with the Youth. Every time we think, "That was our best group ever" but they just get better and better. These guys were all 16 or older and very considerate and funny. They had to be staying in our tiny house and chillaxin' with our tiny kids. They did however eat us out of house and home and an entire week's grocery budget was spent in a few days. Countless pizzas, gallons of milk, juice, soda, bags of chips, three dozen eggs and two pounds of bacon later we are now having to refill the fridge. It was well worth it to see the great people coming up. They brought a great spirit to the house and we will miss them.


We rounded out the Week off with a quick trip to the zoo and by seeing High School Musical 3. Yes, the kids, Me and even Joe, in spite of himself, loved it. Troy and Gabriella TLA!

Valentimes . . .

If I told you you had a good body, would you hold it against me? . . . .

Thanks for taking the leap, Happy Late Valentines Day, Romeo.

Ice Cream Dreams

So the kids and I finished reading the Book of Moromon for the first time from start to finish. We read before school in the morning which means Summer scripture study is EXTREMELY hard to do. Yes we have started and re-started many times and my kids know First Nephi really well but Today we finished the whole thing! There was an ice cream party attached to meeting this goal and it has coincided nicely with Betsy being in charge of the snack for Family Home Evening tonight.

Speaking of Betsy, this is her latest thing; She refuses to wear a diaper without Underpants over the top. Hmmmm, I wonder if she wants to be like her big sisters. . . In this picture she is sporting a pair of Tess's sleeping beauty undees. The only time she's happier is when she is nude.

Go Science!

Gunner participated in his first ever science fair and did great. He of course, chose to research shark teeth and even tested the sharpness of various kinds of shark teeth by cutting oranges with them. Nice work lil' science buddy.

Major Pain

So we re-painted the front room and after the paint dried we moved all the book cases and cabinets back against the wall. To save time we decided not to empty them, instead we grabbed really low on them and slid them inch by inch. Well on our china cabinet we were even so lazy we didn't take the 15 pound vase off the top. We slid it almost all the way back and on the last little push I heard the vase start to oscillate. I thought, "We better stop and take that off." Before I knew it I saw the vase on the ground but I didn't hear it hit. Then I looked over and saw Samantha looking cross-eyed. I thought, "There is no way that vase hit her on the head! What are we in a lame 3 stooges movie?" Sure enough she grabbed her head and blood was everywhere. When she saw that she fell to the floor faint. I grabbed a towel and held it to her head. Then helped her to the couch. I took the picture so she could decide whether she wanted to brave the ineptitude of the ER.

I think that wisely we just cleaned it up in the shower and then hydrogen peroxided the heck out of it. I stayed home the next day to observe her and make sure she didn't faint and to keep her off her feet. She told me with all the money she saved she is going to Disneyland. I have good insurance so it'll take a few more vases to the head.
So, I didn't realize Joe had updated the blog until I started getting calls the next morning asking how I was. I'm fine, it happened a week ago and I'm sorry about the disgusting picture you all have to see. But I do have a good excuse now for always being so forgetful :)

Sworn In

I finally paid all my dues and took an online class on how to not get too stressed out as a lawyer. I then had to set up a time to stand before a Superior court judge and take the oath of attorney. I called the court and found out that, that day I could stand before the honorable Judge Erlick and take the oath. So I called home and told Samantha the news and she said she would rather get it done today then wait till next week. So I had them meet me at work at 12:30 to get into the city by 1:30. Well, I am waiting around and wondering what is going on and Samantha screeches up to the parking lot and I can tell she is at the end of her rope. I say you have the papers right. The papers the judge is supposed to sign and send into the Bar Association? She had my camera and my suit but no papers. Well it turns out she forgot the papers so she went home from gymnastics to get them and still didn't have them. So I say they probably have them at the court. (They did but, strike one) So we go, running late. The court house has no parking so we drive around looking for parking. Now we are really late so I jump out and run into the court house. At the entrance is a huge line for metal detectors. I am thinking there is no way we are going to make it. So I go up to the 10th floor and sit all by myself in Judge Erlicks court. Finally the bailiff comes out and says a new judge is doing the oaths on the second floor. So I run down to the 2nd and I am thinking how will Samantha know where to go. Well luckily she entered the building on the back side which is second floor instead of first and I could see her in line and check to see when the Judge comes in. Samantha gets through security with all the kids and luckily the judge is 15 minutes late. So I say wait out side and I will get you when the judge comes in. Samantha is steamed and says I am going to the bathroom (long ways away). I go in and sit down and almost immediately the Bailiff comes out and says all rise for the honorable Judge Kallas. I am thinking Oh no!
The first thing the judge says even before she sits down is, we are all in for a treat today (court room is full of people for other motions) we are going to swear in two attorneys. Joe Ellsworth please approach the bench. I am looking out the door, nothing. Finally I just say may I go out and find my wife and kids they went to the bathroom. Her cheerful demeanor quickly changed to annoyance. I was not addressing her as Your Honor, I was holding up a court full of people and she was already late. So I ran out the door looked up and down the halls and then ran back in and said lets start with out them. Half way through, they came in and the judge called them to the front to stand by me. After we finished the oath the Judge said congratulations and the court erupted into applause. I think they all felt my stress and where happy to have it over.

We then decided to let off a little steam at the Pacific science center.
Scottie and Tess both got chosen to play Wheel and Deal, which has trivia about "Lucy" the missing link found in Ethiopia. Well the bid deal is that she was 4 million years old and "bipedal"
So we got all the things that prove she was bipedal drilled into our head and then got quizzed on them in a game show. After the outing Tess was peeing on the toilet and said, "Mom, I am not doing a bipedal I am doing a one-pedal on this potty." Pretty smart and funny.

Here is a token Betsy shot. Being her normal happy self.

Wow, I saw that day ALOT differently, it's a good thing Joe wrote the post because mine would have included SEVERAL swear words. The funnest part was I hadn't actually forgotten the papers they were just under his seat!

Deck the Palms?

In a whimsical moment of foolhardiness we decided to drive from the top of the United States to the bottom to visit Joe's Dad in Yuma for Christmas. We woke up on the 21st of December to so much arctic wind and snow that church was cancelled. In our brilliant thought process we decided church being cancelled due to weather is a as good a reason as any to pack up and be gone on a 23 hour trip within 4 hours of making the decision to go in the first place. So we spent a gruelling and at times terrifying eight, count 'em EIGHT hours getting from Seattle to Salem on packed ice and snow. Forget fireman or President of the United States or the man who cures cancer, I now want my son to grow up to be a Plow Operator. Those blessed men! Apparently Portland doesn't have any.
We arrived late to my parents for some Smith/Perona hospitality that was comfy and delicious. The next day we made it a bit further south since apparently only the northwest is experiencing winter this year and stayed in a place called Santa Nella. Someone asked me if it was a "Day's Inn" type vacation. (Days Inn, the place where the disgruntled employee who shot his coworkers holed up until the cops got him or where Diane Downs tried to hide out during her flight to Mexico.) Yes, that night it truly was a "Days Inn" vacation and so we never made that mistake again. We either stayed with family or In a motel that would nicely accommodate a family of six. We spent the days leading up to Christmas eating citrus and enjoying grandpa Ellsworth's 72 degree back yard, and the weeks after it cleaning and decorating for Joe's brother Pat's sealing in the Mesa Temple. The kids LOVED! playing with so many cousins. After opening all their presents I started packing them up because we had to move to a motel once everyone else started arriving and they weren't even missed. There were some days I wouldn't see Gunner unless he needed food or to ask if he and Ti could borrow a knife. (Yes to the food, no to joint-knife usage by the cousins.) All my kids need is dirt, space and friends and Yuma was loaded with all three. Gunner did manage to fall into the ditch covering himself head to toe with mud and Scottie was bitten by a horse proving some supervision was required but both of those things occurred on Joe's watch.

This was the best of the Cousin Photo Shoot

This was the Worst of it.

At one point someone told the kids to scream. Tess was troubled by this. . .

deeply troubled.

and apparently she wasn't the only one.

The sealing was terrific, it was so nice to have the family together in the temple. And it was made so much better by Joe's good friends the Bodines flying us in his personal plane from Yuma to Mesa and watching our kids so they didn't have to make the trip! The drive back wasn't nearly as harrowing and we had a great time staying at my sister-in-law's parent's home in the Bay area. Joe and I eyed the place closely and are thinking seriously about Law firms in San Fransisco. We got back exhausted and I only yesterday got the bags unpacked but it was a great adventure and a good way to spend lots of time with just our little family.
The Newliest Weds

All the Female cousins wanted their picture taken with the "Princess"


mmmmmm. Chocolate fountain!

Uncle Cody cut a rug with Tess proving to be a terrific addition to the family and putting himself into serious contention for favorite uncle. Eat that Ted, you candy pimp!

Betsy even got down

This shot is something of a miracle. Jarom and I both have serious problems keeping our eyes open in pictures and after numerous tries we finally got a good one.

8-10 year old boys, Sunday Clothes, chocolate . . . This cannot end well



Whoa! That is a ton of lights. People must have spent days doing that . . . ;)

Favorite Moments:

• Becky's Enchilada's.


• Meeting Patricia, the newest sister in law and her parents.


• swimming


• Unlimited grapefruit


• THE WEATHER


• shopping after Christmas with Lisa


• Date night with Joe


• Cousins, cousins, cousins
I smell a dirt clod fight. The stick was recently inducted into the toy hall of fame. You can see why.


• the breakfast at the Clarion my kids couldn't get enough of the unlimited juice


• High school Musical C.D.s. Santa gave the girls these and after 20+ hours of it those songs are permanently stuck in my head.


• watching the girls dance at the reception
  

Things we forgot to pack:

• swimming suits


• a camera


• half of the presents


• snacks for the drive


• pillows


• enough underwear


• Scottie's toothbrush


• our Stockings


• sandals for Betsy and Scottie

and still the trip was pretty good!