excursion

(to watch this video, go to the bottom of this page to pause the music)

tuesday at the zoo

we woke up to the sun, pouring into our windows. blue skies, warm temperatures - the perfect day for a zoo outing! i invited my new friend, brianne (and her children), to come along. it took us a while to get going, but we were finally on our way and having a fun time.

jenna is wearing a swimsuit underneath, i assure you.
(there was an "accident" on the way to the zoo)

jessica rests in a fun little chair, at the kid zone

scooba dress-ups, near the petting zoo

with james, everywhere we go, it's all about the map.

jessica, jenna and james...in the mouth of a shark!

a very giddy jenna poses with her big sis, jessica

sunday afternoon

the only downside on sunday was jim having to work, unable to attend church with us. however, when we turned into our cul de sac after church was over, his supra came into view and we all got really excited! he was allowed to come home early. it was so nice to have him home with us. he did have to do some work for amazon, but at least he was physically present! i was extremely camera happy on sunday, as you can see here - candid jim, totally caught off guard. he's super cute, in "nerd" mode...

with jim home, jessica and i were able to spend some quality time together. jenna was napping, james had crashed on the couch, and we were free to roam about the great outdoors! ah, i love sundays like this...

we first walked to the side of the house to check out our roses and strawberries. we were happy to see the strawberries growing nicely. they sure looked tasty! we decided to pick the best-looking one and share it. jessica, being the sweetheart that she is, shared her half of the strawberry with jim. it was DELECTABLE (i teach the kids a new word each week - "delectable" was last week's word)...

we had a nice little walk around our cul de sac. it was a gorgeous, sunny day and so pleasant to be out walking with my first-born. since life is so busy, we have become more realistic about our alone time. recently, we started talking about "grabbing moments" with one another. so now(aside from our occasional "mommy-daughter dates"), we grab moments together, like taking a sunday walk. here she is, dancing along with her shadow...

after PERAMBULATING (this week's word) about our neighborhood, we headed home. we were greeted at the front door by a silly-acting jim. funny, he kinda resembles his t-shirt...

jenna woke up from her nap shortly after we returned home and immediately wanted "daddy time!!" they are so cute together, with their little conversations and silly play.

aaaand, the perfect end to a perfect sunday - sunday dinner! it was simple, yet...DELECTABLE!

stinky princess

jenna is my sassy little sweet pea - and we love her grandly.

she turned two at the end of march and is finally talking up a storm. as i type this, she is stuffing "little people" toys into my shirt. my back is beginning to resemble that of the gruffalo (one of our favorite children's books).

not surprisingly, her vocabulary and snuggliness has greatly increased ever since i stopped doing childcare. after two years, she suddenly has her mommy back - 100%. she is my savior, who - without even realizing it - brought me so much comfort during the saddest time in my life. today, she is such a hilarious ball of silly sunshine. i love her dearly.

a moment ago, she crawled onto my lap, generously licked her hand and smeared it all over my arm. "LOTION, mom!!" she exclaimed with sheer delight.

what a ham.

another hit!

every now and then i get brave and try something new for dinner, not knowing how it's going to turn out. sometimes my creation turns out "blah," and other times it's incredibly delicious! well, tonight i was looking around the kitchen, trying to decide on what to make for dinner. it was a busy day with the kids (errands, water play outside, arts & crafts) and i hadn't planned anything. i ended up throwing some different things together, after deciding they'd compliment one another nicely. the results....YUM. i didn't measure anything, so fix it to your satisfaction.

you'll need:

• 1.5 pounds of sirloin steak (mine said "beef petite sirloin steak")
• 1 pound frozen stir fry veggies (mine had broccoli, sugar snap peas, green beans, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, onion and red peppers)
• extra virgin olive oil
• steak seasoning
• newman's balsamic vinagrette
• jack cheese
• 2 vine-ripened tomatoes

heat olive oil (about 3 tbsp.) and balsamic vinagrette (about 1/2 cup) together in large stir fry pan, medium-high heat. cook the strips of steak for a few minutes on each side (mine were sliced in thin, long strips). as you cook the meat, sprinkle generously with steak seasoning (i used mccormick's "grill mates" montreal steak seasoning). transfer meat to a plate and keep warm in oven at 200 degrees. add frozen stir fry veggies to the oil/vinagrette mixture. follow directions on stir fry bag (or stir constantly on medium heat for 5-7 minutes). remove meat from oven - dice and mix into the cooked stir fry. dice two tomatoes and shred about two cups of jack cheese - add to meat/stir fry and mix. put heat on low and allow tomatoes to warm and cheese to melt completely. i served this with mashed potatoes and warmed peaches sprinkled with cinnamon. this is the most divine meal!!! enjoy!

fishy freeze pops

i've had this recipe for years - before i even had any children! today, i finally made them. what a fun summer treat - and so fun for children to help with!

you'll need:

• 13 oz. blue gelatin
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 cup white grape juice
• snack size ziploc bags
• a variety of gummy sea creatures

directions:

dissolve gelatin and sugar in boiling water. let the mixture sit for 2 minutes, then add white grape juice. for each pop, pour syrup into ziploc bag until half-full. place the bags upright and chill until partially solidified.

press gummy sea creatures into the gelatin, seal them up and place in the freezer.

to eat, slice the short side of the bag and push the frozen pop out one bite at a time. enjoy!

celebrate summer!!

we've had a really fun day today, celebrating the coming of summer! in addition to our three, we had jasmine over, plus cousins, josh and alexis!

after playing outside for a while, it was time to eat! the kids loved having chicken nuggets, grapes, "gogurt" and sunny delight for lunch.

the perfect day for....water balloons!!

james picked the magic number, so he got to throw the first water balloon of the season!

"oh nooo you DIDN'T!!!" james prepares to wage a water balloon war...

jenna - happy to be completely soaked!

wedding / honeymoon

lots of people have been asking to see pictures from the wedding, so i thought i'd post some for your viewing pleasure. i wish i could post more, but there are hundreds! thank you, stephanie, for coming all the way from cali to capture our special day! a HUGE thanks to shar for putting this whole thing together. we are so thankful to everyone who helped make this not only possible, but memorable and beautiful.

first look

mr. and mrs. james alma conner!!

sweet jenna and me

my best friend, shallyn and me - she is AMAZING.

me with my beautiful children

on the dance floor with jessica and james

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as for the honeymoon....

...PERFECT.

i made a pie...

...from scratch!! i have been meaning to make a pie for years now (about thirty). i think i waited so long because i was intimidated by it. well, you know what?? IT'S EASY. i'm going to make pies from scratch more often! i think my family would like that - everyone thought the cherry pie was delish!

i took a photo of the pie before it went into the oven. not sure why i didn't take an "after" photo - it would have been more appealing. ah, well. here it is!!

show and tell

i got tagged! it took me a while to get around to doing this, partly because of being so busy and partly because i was obsessing over my blog's appearance. i finally gave up. anyway, thanks for the tag, tina! now, i am stepping outside of my comfort zone by NOT cleaning anything for this show and tell. yep, that's right, folks - this is REALITY!!! i received the tag and immediately took pictures, as is (course, it has taken me a week or so to post this).

1. kitchen sink
ah, yes...there are those dried flowers that i keep meaning to throw out. i don't know if it's because i am busy, lazy, or unsure of when i will get real flowers again? the window needs a few squirts of windex, but i sure love the view. i enjoy watching and hearing the kids play in our backyard while i do dishes or make dinner. it's difficult to see, but jessica's pumpkin plant is sitting on top of the red dish. we're going to plant it in our vegetable garden soon. there are rarely any dishes to be seen here - i can't stand the clutter. a clean sink is a happy ellen.

2. refrigerator
i am always taking stuff off this fridge, in an attempt to de-clutter it. it's futile. one day i will have a shiny, pretty fridge with nothing on it! see those letters? jenna is obsessed with the alphabet. she loves to join me in the kitchen and "do ABC's" while i prep meals or clean.

3. toilet
i decided to snap the kids' bathroom because it is more exciting. this is where james finally decided to get potty trained and now jenna is starting to train. we just bought her a dora potty seat and everything - yes, very thrilling. but oh, the amounts of pee i have cleaned off every surface of this bathroom from all the potty training. i keep those cleaning wipes nearby! i have plans to paint this room blue, like the stripes in the shower curtain. i want a surfing/beachy theme.

4. laundry

first off - i am checking my vent ASAP. thanks for the fire safety tip, tina! so...here are my lovely washer and dryer. looks like we've got some dirty kitchen towels and placemats waiting to be washed. on the dryer are james' shoes that were involved in an accident (if ya know what i mean) and a package of wipes. the laundry area is near the sliding doors to the backyard. i like to have wipes handy because, well...i've needed them from time to time for one reason or another. i'd like a laundry room someday...or at least some doors to cover these babies up. i'm one of those people that likes to "hide" things - which is why i have armoires to cover up my downstairs computer and tv. just looks nicer that way...

5. what the kids are doing
jessica: finishing up her after-school snack

james and jenna: playing "naptime" (right after they just woke from their real naps)

6. favorite room
here i am, piecing three pics together to show you a choppy view of our bedroom. i have to admit, this was taken days after all the other photos because 1) i couldn't decide on my favorite room yet and 2) with the state it was in, i wouldn't have wanted to take a picture of it anyway! we have our grand remodeling plans, of course...but for now, i do love our room. i love it even better when it's free of children's toys, diapers, shoes and clothing!! this, unfortunately, tends to be the dumping grounds for kid stuff. it's just so easy to throw something in, rather than take a few extra seconds to put it away. i love reading in here, especially now that we have that massive chair by the corner window. it's kinda mashed in there, but we like it just the same.

7. my closet
there is so much stuff crammed in here. sadly, i don't even use most of it! i need to go through my clothes again. see the black mass on the left? that's my guitar i never play. i tell you, there is simply not enough time - for anything!


8. favorite shoes
yeahhh, i know i have the world's only neon tan. so there are my new favorite shoes! i do have a favorite pair of snakeskin stillettos...but i never wear them. they just sit in my closet, wishing to be worn. these are my comfy slips ons that go with almost all my spring/summer wear. i did have other beloved brown sandals, but they met their demise at the end of our honeymoon. somehow, i managed to leave them in our hotel room before getting on the plane home. they are probably being worn right now by the hotel maid, consuelita. no, i'm serious - that was her name. when it was clear i would never wear those sandals again, i went on the hunt for new favorites - and here they are!

9. self portrait
still enjoying my new "do" - although i still miss my low maintenance locks. i am sure i'll want to grow my hair out when another baby comes along. people tend to think shorter hair means less time getting ready, but it's actually the complete opposite!


10. dream vacation
honestly, right now i am just wishing my husband and i were back at the chinaberry hill bed and breakfast, where we stayed on our wedding night. what a luxurious, relaxing, fun, wonderful experience. i want to go back.

keri - tag your it!! it's your turn for the show and tell!

update

i have oodles of updates - one of these days i will get around to it. i may not be doing childcare anymore, but we are still very busy. jessica just completed first grade and now we face a whole summer of fun (hopefully). today, we started a list of things we can do this summer. i hope we can all stay busy and happy, all the way 'til school starts in the fall.

and now for some mini updates...

jim (aka, THE jim)

• two more months left in his military deployment
• working part-time at amazon (his civilian job)
• church calling: EQ teacher
• when he's not working, he helps out at home, makes minor repairs and works on keeping our yards beautiful. he does a fantastic job and we really appreciate him!
• enjoys his down time watching sci-fi shows - "taken" and "4400."
• recently had some medical training for the army. i still can't bear to look at what it did to his arm...

ellen

• after two years, no longer doing childcare - woohoo!!! thank you, jim!
• new haircut, with rave reviews :o)
• trying to get back into exercise (darn newlywed pounds!)
• currently reading dr. schlessinger's "stop whining, start living"
• making summer plans
• on church activities committee - currently planning summer BBQ at the beach
• contemplating her next sewing project
• got a free "new" piano for the home - thank you, trish and jim!!
• recently became addicted to the TLC show, "jon and kate plus eight"
• finally went to the seattle art museum - what a fun friday the 13th date!

jessica

• just completed first grade - had a fantastic report card
• making summer plans with mom
• enjoying her best friend, hannah - who lives just down the street (so convenient!)
• all signed up for soccer in the fall
• plans to take piano lessons
• took twelve inches off her hair - donating hair along with mom's
• entering summer reading program
• excited about being invited to a 2nd grader's summer swim party
• loves to dance and sing like a popstar

james

• beginning to write his name
• can spell some words and count to 20
• very helpful and loving
• loves to read - has memorized many of our favorite books
• plans to start joy school in the fall (mommy will teach)
• favorite movies: cars, the incredibles
• loves doing puzzles and coloring
• like jenna, thoroughly enjoyed having a baby in the house for a while

jenna

• beginning to potty train!!
• can sing her ABC's
• talking up a storm
• loves taking care of her babies
• sassy as ever
• favorite movie: finding nemo
• always wants to know when she'll play with jasmine again

there is so much more to say, but that will have to do for now. hopefully i will find time to stay on top of this blog!! i am trying to spend less time on the computer, not more - so we'll see! in the meantime, drop us a comment, ya'll!