The Weekend of Water

The Canada Day long weekend could probably be summed up in one word...WATER! We had so much fun in Lethbridge (minus the throwing up boy on Deerfoot Tr in Calgary on the way there)! Isaac got to visit and play with lots of aunts, uncles and cousins! While everyone else in the Ellingson family slept in the house, Mark, Isaac and I toughed it out in our tent in the backyard! (We also had to try out our new sleeping bags before our YW/YM camps the next week.)

In the morning after all the family arrived, we headed out to the Kimball River near Cardston for some rafting. The water was pretty high and flowing fast, but most of us thought it would be ok. It quickly turned out NOT SO OK. The babies were safe, sitting in the middle with life jackets held tightly by their mommas, but some of the older ones were scared. It was when an aunt went overboard, and was pulled back in by a niece five years younger that we decided to send the little kids packing (with some adults of course). Ironically, after that, there was basically no more rapids and it only took about 20 min to get to the end. Ha ha. I'm not sure if that ordeal beats the time we went exactly a year ago and got out of the river at 8:30pm in the pitch black.

That evening we relaxed with the nieces and nephews in the backyard pool and watched the fireworks. Mark has so much fun rough housing with his nephews! The next day we went water-skiing. Everyone had their chance to show off and even try for the first time! (Except for me. Poo, poo.) All in all, it was a great weekened and an awesome excuse to break in my new maternity bathing suit! (Baby's due in November, btw.) Here are a couple pictures we took of our adventures:

So this wasn't from the long wknd, but its related to water?
We found the perfect rain suit for Isaac! He had fun dancing in it when
he tried it on for the first time.  

The family ready for their rafting trip!

Everyone who braved the waters in the 10 man raft!

Chillin' in the pool!

Isaac at the lake. No he didn't water-ski, but he sure had
fun throwing rocks!

The Animal Avoider

So Isaac is getting USED to animals. Several months ago we were at a house with a cat. It was just sitting there, probably just looking at Isaac and he FREAKED OUT! He was so terrified! So we thought we'd better get him acclimatized to animals. We walk up to kitties and puppies when we see them. He's pretty good now, but as soon as they start making any moves towards him, he slowly steps away. I thought it would be fun to take him to a petting zoo at a neighborhood party in Edmonton. I went in with him into the pen and he followed all the animals and tried to pet them. Once they started getting a little friendly he did his usual back away slowly. He's come a long way from screaming bloody murder, and we're happy about that!

This bunny was not too wild for him.

This miniature pony, however, was eating just a little
too ferociously for Isaac

The Baker with the Belly

Day off + clean house = Baking day! I tried out 2 recipes, Apple spice muffins and a new whole wheat bread recipe from a friend in my ward. I bought a stake cookbook several months ago and haven't really looked in it. The bread recipe was in it and so I thought I'd peruse the rest of the recipes to find something for apples. I found a spiced apple muffin recipe that even asked for whole wheat flour. Next time I'll fill the cups a little more with batter.

Of course I had to show off my growing belly. Betcha didn't know I was pregnant! It looks pretty good under a stylish apron doesn't it?

For dinner I had to make a great soup to have with our fresh bread. I found a SUPER easy Vegetable Chowder - boiled H20 and veggies, added some white sauce and get this - a can of creamed corn. It was super good to! It'll probably be my go-to soup recipe from now on! Well, happy baking/cooking to y'all!

The Giveaway

If you know me at all, you know that I can't resist a giveaway...or sales, or coupons. If I lived in the US I would probably devote a lot of time to coupon-ing and hunting for sales. Well there's this giveaway that I can't resist for a FABULOUS clothing company...did I mention they look vintage and are...MODEST! Darling, dresses, and skirts you just can't wait until Sunday to wear! Check it out!

 Shabby Apple Giveaway



A favorite I found while getting lost in the miriad uniquely
named dresses...this one's West Coast Swing



The RS Dream

 I know that today's St. Patty's Day, and I admit, I'm not wearing green. I think it's the holiday I like the least. Just because I forgot to wear green, that gives people the right to PINCH me! Actually, growing up I was the one to wear green socks, or some random green thing so that if someone were to pinch me I could say "Nice try...I'm wearing this tiny green thing!" I did buy a Shamrock plant. I love those things. I was so sad when they didn't have any last year and jumped on the opportunity when I saw them sold this year. That makes 2 shamrock plants I own. I have one with pink flowers and one with white flowers. I recently found out that the species name is Oxalis Regnelli, so if we ever have a girl named Nellie, that will be her plant!

What I love about March 17, is that it's the birthday of the oldest and largest women's organization in the world, Relief Society! We're celebrating 169 years today! Last month while talking to sisters in my ward, I realized how amazing Relief Society is! It can improve every facet of our lives from homemaking to spirituality. I guess in a way I learned everything in Relief Society because I learned everything from my mother, and she learned everything as a new mother from attending Relief Society meetings.

What really got me thinking of this was sitting down at the piano and playing some of my favorite songs. Most of them are from my Women of Destiny songbook, which has songs that highlight the Relief Society declaration. I've had the dream for a while of organizing a stake fireside where sisters sang these songs and then spoke on the the RS declaration. I think this would really be a perfect way to celebrate the birthday of Relief Society! As I think of the RS declaration, I get the same feelings as when I recite the Young Women's theme. I know that both organizations were divinely inspired of God and teach strong values to women of all ages.

For those of you who didn't know, the following is the Relief Society declaration:

We are beloved spirit daughters of God,
and our lives have meaning, purpose, and direction.
As a worldwide sisterhood, we are united in our devotion
to Jesus Christ, our Savior and Exemplar.
We are women of faith, virtue, vision, and charity who:

Increase our testimonies of Jesus Christ
through prayer and scripture study.

Seek spiritual strength by following the
promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Dedicate ourselves to strengthening
marriages, families, and homes.

Find nobility in motherhood
and joy in womanhood.

Delight in service and good works.

Love life and learning.

Stand for truth and righteousness.

Sustain the priesthood
as the authority of God on earth.

Rejoice in the blessings of the temple,
understand our divine destiny,
and strive for exaltation.

The Future Fix-it Man

I've got a little boy who LOVES tools! He "helps" his daddy with projects and loves to try out/chew his tools. Mark brings his tools inside the house after work and if ever the house is TOO quiet, we usually discover Isaac taking out all of his daddy's tools from his tote. He especially loves zip-ties. He'll bypass all the other screwdrivers/flashlights/wire snippers and pull out the whole pile of zip-ties.

A couple days ago Isaac was playing at Grandma Jana's house while I was doing my taxes and it was so cute to hear him playing with her little plastic tool set (and not have to get upset at him for playing with them). We really need to buy him a plastic tool set, maybe earlier than his birthday!

The cutest thing by far is his little Carhart overalls! We got them from a family at church, they also came with a matching jacket. When Mark and I tile in our bathroom, we dress up Isaac in his Carharts to match his daddy and let him assist, or rather play in the vicinity while preventing him from eating the tile spacers or thinset.

Isaac and Daddy wearing their Carharts.

I'm sure Isaac will become a great assistant when he grows up, until then, we'll just try to keep him out of trouble!

The Ode to Isaac

I love my little boy! It's been over a year and he's grown and developed so much! Could you imagine if we developed at the same rate a baby does for our whole lives? We'd be huge! Here are a couple things I love about my Sir Isaac:

• his huge bright blue eyes
• how he smiles and bounces a little when you say "NO" (well, maybe I don't like it, but it's sure cute)
• he is such a great cuddler!
• his little bum chin
• his never ending curiousity
• he's strong and can climb anything
• how he takes off the heat vents and sticks his legs down
• he's a stair master!
• how he took a while to really start walking because he had to know he could run to get to places fast
• how he makes noises with his tongue
• his puffy face and curly hair after a nap
• his hugs
• how he plays with his or my hair