Happy Spring!

April Fools! (said Mother Nature, as we looked out the window this morning). Boo.

Pull-Ups! (Not the potty training variety)

Last night, Fox and I had a great "date night" at home that incorporated things we both wanted to do. For my part of the "date", we ate some yummy chocolate cake and caught up on season 2 of Chuck (thank you, library, for ordering it for me!). If you haven't seen Chuck, you should check it out! It's a quirky, action/romance show that I love love love!

For Fox's part of the date, we did push-ups. Yuck. Whose idea of fun is that? I actually got really angry about it after he did 50 and I sort of did 4. Push-ups are not on my list of things to do. Pull-ups, however, are on my list of things to do. I have a huge fear of falling off a cliff while hiking and hanging on to the ledge by my fingers. I will fall to my death, since I won't be able to pull myself up. Of course, there is that whole "emergency rush of adrenaline kicks in to give you superstrength to save your life" possibility, but I don't want to bet on that.

So, we decided that we are going to do this pull-ups challenge. Hooray! And I'm sharing it with you to do it, too, if you want---or to just bug me about it. We started it this morning. Even Cash did an assisted pull-up! I did 5 negative pull-ups. Yes, negative. That is how skilled I am. So, the goal is to do 20 in 8 weeks, but if I can do two, I will be so happy. And I get to cross something off of my life list!!

Kangaroo Zoo

When we were down in Pleasant Grove, we took the kids to Kangaroo Zoo, which is a huge warehouse full of inflatable bounce houses and slides. The kids loved it, but I think my youngest child (ahem, Fox) had the best time. All that running and sliding wiped them out!

Chillin' with the aunty and uncle in P.G.:

The BIG slide:

Fox and Cash after the big slide:

Me to Fox : "Why don't you take Coco down the slide with you?" And then I see this:


She loved it!

More Birthday Pics

Blogger is finally letting me upload some pictures! So here are a few more from Cash's birthday:
The Robot Cake! Yes, it is covered in all sorts of candy. I (and probably Fox, Dave, and Amber, who helped) learned my lesson about cakes that are too much trouble than they are worth! This one was so sweet that we each had one piece and then threw the rest out!

Blowing out the candles:

Cash was so happy to have his Grandpa Rick with him on his birthday!



Cash got some really cool presents--here is his "surgeon outfit" from Dave and Amber--so cute!

(this picture came out weird, though)

Cash is 3!

Okay, after a week of naptimes spent trying to upload pictures on to Blogger, this is all that would load! So, I thought I would at least tell you about Cash's birthday, even if the pics weren't working.

Cash had a blast! How could he not--he was with his favorite people in the world, my little bro David and his wife Amber! We went down to their very dangerous and not-babyproofed house (Rusty knife outside! Exposed wires! Power tools! Stairs!) and went to Kangaroo Zoo, which is a fun warehouse full of bouncy slides. The next day, we went to Pirate Island, which is a pirate-themed restaurant. All of the waiters speak like pirates. There is a fake pirate ship that shoots cannons and a huge arcade. A very big hit with the kids! After that, we rushed to cousin Violet's baptism in Springville and then back to Dave and Amber's for some robot cake. Pictures (hopefully!) to follow...someday.

P.S. Dave and Amber, we love you and love teasing you about your dangerous house. Although our kids passed the ultimate challenge and made it through the weekend alive!

Thank you to everyone who sent Cash well wishes on his special day!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is almost over! We had a good one here! This week, the weather has actually been in the 40s occasionally, so that was so nice. We actually got out of the house quite a bit. And Fox and I had a date on Friday--hooray! Our friends Elizabeth and Gabe babysat while we went to eat at the Indian Oven and had yummy coconut kurma. It was so delicious (and not Scobby-Dooby--pee-yucky as Cash likes to say).

Cash and I picked out a mailbox at the craft store and brought it home to decorate. This little project kept him busy for an hour! He was so happy!

Opening his Robot-stickered (no girly hearts here!) mailbox to find his Valentines this morning (Don't worry, Mom--there was only one piece of candy in there!):

I found this cute idea for krispy-cones online. Cash and I whipped these up with a sour cherry ball on top and then took him to his neighborhood buddies:

Testing it out--yummy!

And of course, what's a blog post without a picture of my little ankle biter (yep, she's at the cat-tail-pulling, pinching, bite-for-fun stage!):


*I just noticed Cash is wearing the same shirt in these pictures, even though the first picture is from earlier this week. He wants to wear his santa pajama top every single day! Don't worry, we wash it often. But, should I be discouraging this? This is the first time Cash has ever been picky about clothing!

Some Recent Faves

Nothing too new here in the Ellis household. We are getting over colds and having the wonderful time of transitioning Cosette down to 1 nap a day. Since we have been home so much, I thought I would share a few things that have made the days a little bit more cheery (I will not be including Cash's newfound obsession with Scooby Doo. I got him a video from the library. He loves it, but I don't. Shaggy is so annoying and now Cash asks to sleep with the door open, since he gets scared. Ugh..)

Read:

Once I Ate A Pie is the "true" confessions of thirteen different dogs. It is hilarious, especially if you do different voices for the dogs. For example, Mr. Beefy, a pug, confesses that he likes to go eat tubs of butter in the basement in private. Just a really cute book--I think Fox and I might have enjoyed it more than the kids!

Listen:

I love this album. I usually put on music while I'm cooking to keep everyone happy, and this CD does the trick. It is mellow and also dance-worthy. There is a reggae ABC that Cash loves. Just a really good CD. We love it!

Snack:

Okay, if you know me, you know I can't resist candy advertising when new flavors/editions come out! It can be called "Chicken Noodle Soup Kit Kats", and I will be all over that. I just love the novelty. The Dark Reeses have been out for a while, but we just recently tried them. They are so much better than the regular ones (especially if you have left some in your pocket all day, and they are a little melty). But they still can't beat this wonderful homemade recipe, of which I always seem to have the ingredients conveniently on hand. Yum!

Websites:
Okay, I just wanted to share this: RunPee.com is a website that lets you look up a movie and then shows you when the best time would be to go pee, so that you don't miss any good parts. Hilarious and helpful! It also tells you what you missed after you went to the bathroom, and you can download the app onto your iPhone.

Awkward Family Photos is also great for a laugh!

Enjoy!