Under Construction!

Our basement, that is! We are having a bedroom built for Jake, and are remodeling the family room/kitchen down there. We are all so excited! Jake especially, he can't wait to have a "bulldogs room"! We are having it built by Jim, who is Shelly (one of my best friends) dad. Shelly's daughter's name is Grace...so Ellie has been standing at the gate to the steps that lead downstairs and yelling "Hi Dacey's Papa"...(yeah she calls Grace "Dace")and probably driving poor Jim nuts!!! Things are rather loud around here while he's working. We have the new carpet ordered, the paint color all picked out, the bedding for Jake's room bought. Just need to get some furniture for the family room! Then when it is all done we can keep the kids toys downstairs and they will have their own room to go hang out in and watch movies & play video games in. YAY!!!! We've been waiting to do this for a while now, and it's so exciting to see it coming together! I will be sure to post pictures once the project is completed! Nothing else new to report really. The kids are loving all this snow and ice we've been getting. We were out sledding on the driveway last night and had a blast!!!
In other news, LifeSong (our church) closed on the new building in Walnut Hills yesterday!!! So exciting!

Great Wolf Lodge!

What a fun weekend! We took the kids, plus our nephew Aiden, to the Great Wolf Lodge for a few days. We had a blast! Aiden coming along was his birthday gift from us. The kids had 3 days of fun in the water, and it was a nice break from every day life. Took tons of pics as usual... here are just some of them!

I'll Be....

Ok, so I am feelin' all mushy and romantic at the moment....so I was off on You Tube searching for the song "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain. That song is ours- the song Eric and I first danced to our 2nd date in the dining room of his parents home (which is now our dining room!) and we've been dancing to it ever since. I found a great video of it- the quality isn't the best, but something about it being live gets me. I had to share it! I'll be back later to post pics and stories from our vacation last weekend!!!

Randomness!

Gotta love a little rambling...
No new photos to share today, but some Ellie-isms along with a general update on everyone!

So anyone who knows Ellie knows that her speech is a little....off, lol. She has trouble pronouncing some sounds, like T, S, & R. Yesterday she was getting dressed in the morning, and wanted to wear an undershirt under her dress. She was so excited and said "My Wank Wop, Mommy! Id a Wank Wop"!!! (note: that translates to Tank Top, and Id translates to It's) So I reached out to help her put it on, while laughing. She gave me the most stubborn look and said "No Mommy, I my wank wop by my WELF"!!!! Yes, she wanted to do it all by her welf- er, Self. So cute. I laughed all day long and probably annoyed her beyond belief when I repeatedly asked her throughout the day what she was wearing under her dress.

Now to updates. Well, Jake is good. Bummed to be back in school, he loved Christmas break. Not that he doesn't do good in school- he's an excellent student, but it seems 4th grade came along with the "school stinks" attitude I was hoping would take a few more years to develop. He's excited that construction begins on his bedroom soon- we're having a room built within the big open room in our basement for him, and the other half will be the kids "playroom"....AKA the family room. He gets new bedding and such at the completion of the construction, and he'll soon have a Dalton Bulldogs room. The kid is THRILLED!
Ashlyn is a busy bee lately. She has baton lessons on Mondays, Gymnastics on Tuesdays, and now Piano lessons on Thursday. Tonight is her first piano lesson! She can't wait, and has been begging for about 6 months to start lessons! I told myself I wouldn't become one of "those" moms who pushes her kid into every possible activity available and shuttling them to and from practices nonstop...and it's not that bad, I promise!
Ellie is her usual silly self- talking a LOT more these days, although we chuckle at half of what comes out of her mouth. Her personality is emerging quickly, and she is one independant little Miss!

Eric is good but so busy! Lots of drama and such at the office- so much so that he spent Tuesday this week in court (and they won, as they knew they would!!!) because of his IT company being uncooperative and in breech of contract, to say the least! Long story I won't get into. But aside from all that, he's good. So am I....nothing new to report. Just the usual busyness of running a home with 3 kids! Not taking too many pictures lately because I prefer natural light OUTSIDE- not having that these days!!! I am dying for spring to get here so I can get snapping again!!!!!!
Ok, enough about us- I know you're really here to hear about the kids anyway! (wink wink!)

Christmas with the Wrights!

We had a fun time visiting with the Wrights and celebrating over the weekend! Here are some photos to show you what we did!

We played Apples to Apples- I love this game! I think we set a record for the longest turn in the history of Apples to Apples during this game!


Ashlyn had fun creating art:


We made fun of John, who was caught on camera making faces. I title this one "my name is john and I am a bengals fan"....


Ellie is trying to follow in Daddy & Kevin's footsteps and lifting weights:


Eric was rather disappointed the Cavs game wasn't on TV, so he kept checking updates on his Blackberry:


Eric posing with his "first love":


Ashlyn & Abby in their matching hats from Aunt Lori & Uncle John:


Isaac following in my footsteps of photography- someday he will be my second shooter! Please excuse his shirt- I begged him to change. Poor kid was led astray. Such a tragedy.


All I can say is that as this kid's mother, I am gonna be beating the ladies off with a stick before I know it!!!


Two of my favorite people on the planet- Lori & John. See, he doesn't always look like a COMPLETE goofball!!!! (notice I said complete- he constantly is in a state of goofballed-ness!!!!) Aren't they adorable?!?!?



My girl and me: I love my Lori. She is just the best!


Family Love! Lori & Ellie, Missy & Ellie, Eric & Lori, Ellie with Lori & John:





And we discovered an awesome new game called Blokus! It is so fun and we are buying it ASAP!

Christmas Morning, Arnold Christmas, and Happy New Year!!!

I am playing catch up here with the photos! It's been a busy couple weeks, yet so much fun! Here are the pictures to show what we've been up to lately....

Christmas Morning, at home. The kids had a blast opening their gifts and were so thankful and appreciative of everything they got. It was a great day!

Jake & Ashlyn had priceless looks on their faces when they saw what was under the Christmas tree!


Ashlyn was so excited to get Mia, her American Girl doll


Chef Ellie, all ready to go "cook" with her play food in her new Chef gear!


Jake opening a present


Ashlyn playing on one of her favorite gifts- a keyboard from her Grandparents. She can't wait to take lessons!


Ellie opening presents


Sleepy girl- too much excitement!


Ashlyn & Ellie playing together on the keyboard


Jake looking handsome as always



Then came Saturday- our Christmas with the Arnold side of the family. There were quite a few cute photos that we got that day, but here is my very favorite- Ellie and her Great Grandma Arnold giving kisses:


Eric's cousins came to town for a visit earlier in the week, and the kids had fun playing with their cousins. Ellie was quite taken with Max & Josh, the "big boys". She is still talking about them! It was cute:


Jake and Ash had fun while we waited for them to get there- they had tickle wars!





Which brings us to..... Happy New Year! I can not believe 2009 is here. This year, Jake will turn 10. 10!! My baby boy will be a decade old. I will turn 30. UGH. Lets skip June 26 this year,
shall we? Ellie turns 3, Ash turns 8 (yikes!), we will celebrate our 11th anniversary.... it will be an eventful year!
To ring it in, we had a party here last night. We had some friends over and we played games, ate a lot of food, and had a great time! Here are some shots from the evening:
Eric and I being kinda snuggly


Laura & Kevin looksing oh-so-adorable:


Shelly & Mark:



Shelly & I:


The 3 Amigos! Eric, Shelly, & Trish


There were others at the party, but somehow they escaped my camera last night!
May your 2009 bbe filled with love, blessings, and peace!!!