During one of Ella's midnight trips to the potty last week she looked into my eyes and glazily told me, "You're a good Mommy." Things like this just make everything worth it to me.
Yesterday on our way to church she was looking at a princess coloring book and was asking me (driving) "Guess what princess this is mom?" I of course couldn't really look while driving, so I'd shout out a random princess knowing I had a 1 out of 6 chance of getting it right. The cute thing was that when I'd get one correct she'd say stuff like, "Way to go mom!" "You're right mom!" "That's right! You're so smart mommy!" When I'd get one wrong, she'd say incouraging things like, "try again mom, you can do it!" "guess again, it starts with 'Cinders'" or she'd start singing the princesses theme song... -It melted my heart to hear her say the same things back to me that I say to her when I have her guess or repeat answers back to me. Children really learn what you teach and I always hope I am a positive influence for good in your life Ella. We try our best to raise you right, and really want the best for you.
I was watching a movie with my friend Julie last week where this dad was raising 3 girls (two teenagers) all by himself and how they didn't see eye to eye on anything and thought their dad didn't know anything, and couldn't relate to them. It just made me not want you to grow up. Well, not really; I love seeing you experience new things and to watch you grow, but I just remember being 15 and thinking that my mom didn't know what is was like to be my age. Perspective is such a weird entity... The older I get the more I realize how right my mom was about everything, and how I wish I could tell you exactly how to live your life and how to be happy. I guess that's not the way it works though. We are all meant to experience life for ourselves and make our own mistakes. But please remember sweet daughter that there are 2 ways to learn: 1) you can learn from other people's mistakes, or you can 2) learn the hard way, -from your own experiences. I hope you take all the knowledge you can from others around you and realize that I do in fact remember what it was like to be a teenager, to be so infactuated with boys, and think that I had all the answers. I hope we can always be on the same team and that you will always be able to come to me with any question, no matter how embarassing it may be. I will always love and support you and be on your side and my hope is that through this you will be able through our guidance, to make your own right decisions. I love you little girl, and am so proud of all you are and your potential to be. Maybe reading this from me, written as a hip young mom of 28 will make you realize that I remember being your age and can relate to you and understand all the pressures and trials teenagers face and can continue to be your friend and confidant. We are always here for you. Love, Mom
Monday, April 28, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
The Things They Say
This pic is us at Bubble-Fest 2008. It was really fun, but Ella woke up really early and was a little bit of a pill the whole time. Cried a lot. I couldn't WAIT to get home and put her down for a nap. I think this pictures says it all, this is as close to a smile as we got that day. It's funny how she can be so cute, and then SUCH a PAIN sometimes. Makes me really appreciate and treasure the good days.
Yesterday, after watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Ella said to me: "Mom, you are Mickey Mouse, and I am Minnie Okay?" (Okay). "But who is Daddy, Mom?" (I don't know, maybe Goofy?) "Yes! Daddy's Goofy 'cause his shoes are sooooo smelly!!"
-Brandon didn't believe me when I told him this, but I swear, I'm not makin' it up! -And for the record, his shoes don't smell. I think on the TV show Goofy's shoes are smelly, but I don't know why she put the two together. She's just a funny kid!
Yesterday, after watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Ella said to me: "Mom, you are Mickey Mouse, and I am Minnie Okay?" (Okay). "But who is Daddy, Mom?" (I don't know, maybe Goofy?) "Yes! Daddy's Goofy 'cause his shoes are sooooo smelly!!"
-Brandon didn't believe me when I told him this, but I swear, I'm not makin' it up! -And for the record, his shoes don't smell. I think on the TV show Goofy's shoes are smelly, but I don't know why she put the two together. She's just a funny kid!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Mommy Sleepless in Seattle
OK- That's just a line. I'm actually sleeping pretty well during my annual Partner Trip to Seattle for work. Being away may have it's benefits -I've had lots of free time in the evenings to blog blog blog, bubble baths, uninterrupted sleep; but no matter how I spin it, I really miss Ella and Brandon, feel guilty being away from them, and having Brandon do double Ella duty. (I think he said she was up peeing about 4 times last night...)
Brandon called me today with the cutest conversation he and Ella had:
Ella: "Dad? When does my mommy come home?"
Dad: "Tomorrow Ella, that's Thursday. Can you say Thursday?"
Ella: (Dancing all over the house and sing songing:)"Tomorrow! Tomorrow, my Mommy is coming back tomorrow!! I'm so excited for my Mommy!!"
Dad: "What city is mommy in Ella?"
Ella: "Mommy's in Seattle, can you say Seattle Dad?"
As much as it pains me to be away, I am so grateful and more appreciative of all I have when I return -All Brandon does for me, how sweet Ella is, and how glad I have them both in my life. I miss you guys and you are amazing to me.
Love,
Mom
Brandon called me today with the cutest conversation he and Ella had:
Ella: "Dad? When does my mommy come home?"
Dad: "Tomorrow Ella, that's Thursday. Can you say Thursday?"
Ella: (Dancing all over the house and sing songing:)"Tomorrow! Tomorrow, my Mommy is coming back tomorrow!! I'm so excited for my Mommy!!"
Dad: "What city is mommy in Ella?"
Ella: "Mommy's in Seattle, can you say Seattle Dad?"
As much as it pains me to be away, I am so grateful and more appreciative of all I have when I return -All Brandon does for me, how sweet Ella is, and how glad I have them both in my life. I miss you guys and you are amazing to me.
Love,
Mom
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Things They Say
Ella has been to Disneyland 4 or more time, but this last trip, the Peter Pan ride really left an impression on her. She has been pretending that she is Wendy, Brandon is Peter Pan, and I am Tinkerbell (of course I'd be Tinkerbell right! -As I was obsessed with her in High School! -Thanks Ella!!)
Yesterday she was running all over the backyard singing "You can fly, you can fly, you can flyyyyyyyy!" and then she cracked me up!
She said, "mom, you have to think of a wonderful thought to fly -I'm going to think about Carousels!" -And off she went flying around yard.
Here's a pic of her "in flight." How cute that her happy thought is of riding the Carousel. Some of the most simple things bring the greatest joy.
Here's Ella by one of our Orange trees. Last Saturday we picked one to see if they were sweet enough yet, and they were PERFECT! One of the best oranges I'd ever tasted! -But most home grown things are. :)
Yesterday she was running all over the backyard singing "You can fly, you can fly, you can flyyyyyyyy!" and then she cracked me up!
She said, "mom, you have to think of a wonderful thought to fly -I'm going to think about Carousels!" -And off she went flying around yard.
Here's a pic of her "in flight." How cute that her happy thought is of riding the Carousel. Some of the most simple things bring the greatest joy.
Here's Ella by one of our Orange trees. Last Saturday we picked one to see if they were sweet enough yet, and they were PERFECT! One of the best oranges I'd ever tasted! -But most home grown things are. :)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
The Other Blog...
The New & Improved www.westcoastwalkers.blogspot.com
OK, so you can read the whole story if you feel like it, but the short of it is I'm going to start posting most all of our family stuff to: www.westcoastwalkers.blogspot.com -This is the name I originally wanted when I joined the blogging world, and come to find out, Brandon Walker was the one who had it, so I thought while I was only a month into posting, I'd make the transition now.
Check it out sometime!
Sara
Here's the real story...
In January 2007, Brandon being the on the ball boy he is decides to start a blog for our family. He even picked a really cool easy to rememeber name for our blog: http://www.westcoastwalkers.blogspot.com/ Well, the only thing he didn't do is tell me about it. And being as "tech savy" as I am, and having lived in a blogless world for so long had no idea what I was missing out on, and was intimadated by all my friends and their blogs. I really didn't even know what a blog was (perhaps something to blow your nose on?) -let alone how to start one of my own.
Fast forward one year to January 2008: one day it happened, I thought, I'll give myself an hour and see if I can figure out this world of blogging that I yearn to be part of. I even thought of a really cool name for my future blog: http://www.westcoastwalkers.blogspot.com/ !! I could hardly believe it when creating a new gmail account (necessary for blogging) that westcoastwalkers@gmail.com wasn't taken!! What luck, I was on my way to starting my blog, and finally being almost as cool as all my friends.
-So I was shocked when I was informed that I couldn't have the URL I wanted as some other creative person had snagged it before me!
I settled for http://www.myellabelle.blogspot.com/ in honor of our little Ella Belle, and thought that my second choice was just as good as the main reason for starting the blog was to show pictures of the little princess to friends and family out of the area! So in less than an hour (I can't believe how easy it was!) came the birth of my first blog.
I've been blogging for about a month now, and it occurred to me that maybe I should check out the blog of the other "West Coast Walkers" -the ones who had stolen my name!
OK, this is where it gets really funny as I realize that my Brandon was the culprit, and I can have my #1 name after all! For a year, our blog has sat, without anyone to post things to it.
But that, my friends, is all about to change...
I'm still going to keep Ella's blog -maybe she can have the same experience I had when she gets older and wants a blog name, but all the good names are taken! And in the meantime, the West Coast Walker's blog will rise again.
We are the West Coast Walkers. All alone on the West Coast, not a relative in the same state, let along zip code! Our family is all in Utah, and yet somehow we ended up in So Cal, and are loving it.
Growing up in the Red Rock Country of Kanab Utah, I remember hearing: "Once you've lived in Kane County, the red dirt flows in your veins." -I think there is something similar that happens when living near the Ocean. Once you've been conditioned to beautiful weather year round, and being able to go to the beach in January -yes I said January! A part of you never wants to leave. The warm sand and Ocean waves flow through your veins. We miss our family and friends back home, but there is nothing like an Ocean sunset and at this moment I can't imagine leaving!
Besides, if we did move back, who would you stay with when you visited Southern California? :)
OK, so you can read the whole story if you feel like it, but the short of it is I'm going to start posting most all of our family stuff to: www.westcoastwalkers.blogspot.com -This is the name I originally wanted when I joined the blogging world, and come to find out, Brandon Walker was the one who had it, so I thought while I was only a month into posting, I'd make the transition now.
Check it out sometime!
Sara
Here's the real story...
In January 2007, Brandon being the on the ball boy he is decides to start a blog for our family. He even picked a really cool easy to rememeber name for our blog: http://www.westcoastwalkers.blogspot.com/ Well, the only thing he didn't do is tell me about it. And being as "tech savy" as I am, and having lived in a blogless world for so long had no idea what I was missing out on, and was intimadated by all my friends and their blogs. I really didn't even know what a blog was (perhaps something to blow your nose on?) -let alone how to start one of my own.
Fast forward one year to January 2008: one day it happened, I thought, I'll give myself an hour and see if I can figure out this world of blogging that I yearn to be part of. I even thought of a really cool name for my future blog: http://www.westcoastwalkers.blogspot.com/ !! I could hardly believe it when creating a new gmail account (necessary for blogging) that westcoastwalkers@gmail.com wasn't taken!! What luck, I was on my way to starting my blog, and finally being almost as cool as all my friends.
-So I was shocked when I was informed that I couldn't have the URL I wanted as some other creative person had snagged it before me!
I settled for http://www.myellabelle.blogspot.com/ in honor of our little Ella Belle, and thought that my second choice was just as good as the main reason for starting the blog was to show pictures of the little princess to friends and family out of the area! So in less than an hour (I can't believe how easy it was!) came the birth of my first blog.
I've been blogging for about a month now, and it occurred to me that maybe I should check out the blog of the other "West Coast Walkers" -the ones who had stolen my name!
OK, this is where it gets really funny as I realize that my Brandon was the culprit, and I can have my #1 name after all! For a year, our blog has sat, without anyone to post things to it.
But that, my friends, is all about to change...
I'm still going to keep Ella's blog -maybe she can have the same experience I had when she gets older and wants a blog name, but all the good names are taken! And in the meantime, the West Coast Walker's blog will rise again.
We are the West Coast Walkers. All alone on the West Coast, not a relative in the same state, let along zip code! Our family is all in Utah, and yet somehow we ended up in So Cal, and are loving it.
Growing up in the Red Rock Country of Kanab Utah, I remember hearing: "Once you've lived in Kane County, the red dirt flows in your veins." -I think there is something similar that happens when living near the Ocean. Once you've been conditioned to beautiful weather year round, and being able to go to the beach in January -yes I said January! A part of you never wants to leave. The warm sand and Ocean waves flow through your veins. We miss our family and friends back home, but there is nothing like an Ocean sunset and at this moment I can't imagine leaving!
Besides, if we did move back, who would you stay with when you visited Southern California? :)
Friday, February 22, 2008
The Newest Walker!
Here's Ella's newest cousin Baby Reagan. Reagan was born in December, and is absolutely adorable! We had so much fun seeing her smile while we were in Utah over Valentine's Day. -This one takes a second to load, but is totally worth it...
Thursday, February 21, 2008
She's pointing to her Mommy!
We went to the San Diego Wild Animal Park for President's Day. Ella loves the Zoo, and especially the carousel. I think we rode it about 6 times, and I would have gone again, but Daddy was getting sick of going round and round (Barf). Not me, I'm with Ella and could twirl forever.
It was so fun to watch Ella on the ride and see her looking for me, and it couldn't have been more perfect timing for me to capture this moment of Ella finding her Mommy. (I know I'm an excellent photographer...Ha!) love this picture of Ella.
Whether we are in a school play, playing sports, or simply riding the carousel, we want the people we love to see us and experience part of our joy with them. Fortunately for us, Ella shares these special moments with us everyday, and I crave every minute of it. I love that such a simple thing like going round and round can bring such happiness to her.
It was so fun to watch Ella on the ride and see her looking for me, and it couldn't have been more perfect timing for me to capture this moment of Ella finding her Mommy. (I know I'm an excellent photographer...Ha!) love this picture of Ella.
Whether we are in a school play, playing sports, or simply riding the carousel, we want the people we love to see us and experience part of our joy with them. Fortunately for us, Ella shares these special moments with us everyday, and I crave every minute of it. I love that such a simple thing like going round and round can bring such happiness to her.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Crazy Vreeken Kids over Christmas
I'm the oldest of 7 kids, and we don't all get to be together that often, so over Christmas I relished every moment I had with my siblings. Being the oldest I have always felt a little disconnected as I "left just as they were getting interesting..." (-To quote Papa and Indiana Jones!!)
Christmas Eve we wanted to take some pictures for our brother Luke who is on his mission to Argentina, and what can I say, we got a little crazy! I couldn't pick my favorites as each one brings up a vivid memory of the "poses" we struck. Let's see, there was "Magnum" and "Cold Steel" "Fish Face" "Something Smells" -just to name a few.
Oh, and then Mark had to go and bite my arm -mind you this is when I was in the middle of the 3rd Twlight series book, Ellipse, so I was rather sensitive of Mark pulling an "Edward Cullen" move on my arm! There, I'm so excited. Edward Cullen's name has finally graced my blog....
Well, most of you won't understand these pictures, but for those of you: Mom, Amie, James, Mark, Chelsea, & Kevin who were there and shared this Freakin' Vreeken moment -This one's for you....
Christmas Eve we wanted to take some pictures for our brother Luke who is on his mission to Argentina, and what can I say, we got a little crazy! I couldn't pick my favorites as each one brings up a vivid memory of the "poses" we struck. Let's see, there was "Magnum" and "Cold Steel" "Fish Face" "Something Smells" -just to name a few.
Oh, and then Mark had to go and bite my arm -mind you this is when I was in the middle of the 3rd Twlight series book, Ellipse, so I was rather sensitive of Mark pulling an "Edward Cullen" move on my arm! There, I'm so excited. Edward Cullen's name has finally graced my blog....
Well, most of you won't understand these pictures, but for those of you: Mom, Amie, James, Mark, Chelsea, & Kevin who were there and shared this Freakin' Vreeken moment -This one's for you....
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Pictures of our new house
We moved into our house in Oceanside the week before Thanksgiving, and I had wanted to put a photo montage of our home together for our family that live out of State so they could see our pad. -We have room, so come on over for a visit!
I absolutely love living in Southern California! Most of these pictures were taken in December! I love that we can be in our backyard year-round and that in the middle of "Winter," we have Oranges on our trees! We have lots of fruit trees in the backyard: Orange, Lemon, Tangerine, & Apple. I'm going to plant some Strawberries and a Herb Garden too.
For those of you who have already been to our house or have seen pictures of it, there's a little surprise at the end of it just for you!
I absolutely love living in Southern California! Most of these pictures were taken in December! I love that we can be in our backyard year-round and that in the middle of "Winter," we have Oranges on our trees! We have lots of fruit trees in the backyard: Orange, Lemon, Tangerine, & Apple. I'm going to plant some Strawberries and a Herb Garden too.
For those of you who have already been to our house or have seen pictures of it, there's a little surprise at the end of it just for you!
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Super Bowl Party 2008!!
Look at all that food!
We had some of our friends come over to our house on Sunday for the Big Game and got out all our fun Football themed stuff.
I made chili, a football "kick off cake" and lime Jello that looked like a football field. We had great food, good friends, and a fun game too. Ella slept through most of the game too, so I actually got to watch some of it!! Here are a few pictures I managed to take before we dug in...
Sisters Audition for American Idol!
My sister Amie and I auditioned for American Idol when they were in San Diego in June 2007. We had such a great time waiting in line together, being part of the crowd, and getting an inside view of the audition process (and unfortunately how unfair it is!!) -No golden tickets for us -we didn't even get to see Randy, Paula, or Simon; but we made some great memories, and took a bunch of great pictures.
Our sign was so cool, one of the pictures AI took of us with our sign was posted as the lead photo on MSN.com leading up to the Season Premier!! It was fun to have friends call saying they saw our picture on the internet. That same photo was picked up in the LA Times the Sunday before the Season started, with our great photo!
So I guess we are famous! -Even if no one but our friends know who we are... :)
Our sign was so cool, one of the pictures AI took of us with our sign was posted as the lead photo on MSN.com leading up to the Season Premier!! It was fun to have friends call saying they saw our picture on the internet. That same photo was picked up in the LA Times the Sunday before the Season started, with our great photo!
So I guess we are famous! -Even if no one but our friends know who we are... :)
4th of July Photo Montage with Brandon's Family
Here's a link to my onetruemedia site where you can view a video slide show of Brandon's family and our trip last 4th of July.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Ella in Blue all ready for Church
Grandma & Grandpa Walker got Ella this darling dress that came complete with petticoat purse and hair bow! As you can see, Ella was so excited, and said to me, "take me to the mirror mommy so I can see how pretty I look." It was funny.
She is quite the charactor, and we love seeing her smile.
Ella Blue!
We Love You!
My Favorite Ella Pic
Here is my favorite picture of Ella in the flower fields near our home. She is a busy girl, so getting her to actually look at the camera and smile all at the same time is quite a challenge! I keep hoping it's a phase she will grow out of, but now that's she's two, I am starting to think it's just her personality. Well, she has cute curls so all those pictures I have of the back of her head are still darling to me!
Birth of the New West Coast Walker's family Blog!!!
OK-
So I wanted to start a blog for Ella so we could show you all the cute things she does all the time in a way that you could view it anytime you wanted and be easy on me, so I guess we'll try it out!
So I wanted to start a blog for Ella so we could show you all the cute things she does all the time in a way that you could view it anytime you wanted and be easy on me, so I guess we'll try it out!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
