My Adams Family

Last night I had the work ladies over for food, drinks, games, and lots of talking (nothing that could have been said or done on an elementary school campus, thats for sure)! Our dearest mentor, Dr. Diana Carry, was in town for another professional inservice so we had our traditional ladies night at my house this time. It was lots of fun! In this pic: (clockwise) Me, Jenn, Diana, Lori, Gloria, Fae, and Julie...love you ladies!

Funny Pic...

I just think this picture of Ella and Hurley tells it all. She tortures this cat and he lets her. Hurley would bite anybody else that tried this but he is so passive around Ella. Just cracks us up!

Help me!!!

Quick trip to Flag...

We took a quick (24 hours) trip to Flagstaff this weekend to visit Adam, Katelyn, and Kona and to play in the snow. This was a first for Ella so we weren't sure if she would love it or hate it (we were guessing "hate it") and she LOVED it. The snow was quite icy but there was plenty for her to play in just outside Adam's place. It took awhile but she also warmed up to Kona (the puppy) and then couldn't stay away from her. Although it was quick, we had a lot of fun and enjoyed our visit. We definitely need to do it more often.

We were shocked she kept her hat and gloves on.

Ella and Daddy making a snowman (Ella's ONLY reason for playing in the snow)

She loved her snowman!

Soon enough Kona will be a lot bigger than this snowman.

I love you so much, I just want to SQUEEZE you!

The closest thing to a cousin!

I guess for now this is the closest thing to a niece (and a cousin for Ella) that I will have anytime soon. Adam and Katelyn got a puppy last week. Her name is Kona and she is a lab/rottweiler mix. How they think they will take care of this dog between their two apartments is beyond me, but they are so excited! I am excited for them....just a few steps closer to marriage...hopefully! No pressure Adam :) We definitely need to go up and visit the newest member of our family!

Introducing:

Kona McClure-Rosencrans

6 weeks old

about 4lbs. or so

Christmas Week

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone! We had a great week of celebrating Christmas. My bro, Adam and his girlfriend, Katelyn, were in town for 5 whole days (the longest he has been home in 8 years). It was great having them around. Ella loved playing with them and still expects to wake them up every morning. She asks for them everday...Adam and Katelyn come back! We'll definitely have to go up to Flag to play in the snow sometime soon.

Anyways, here are some pics from the week. My dad built Ella a sandbox in our backyard as her Christmas gift. Even though it was quite chilly out all week, we managed to play for a little while. Last Tuesday, we had a day of baking. Grandma, Amanda, Mom, Katelyn, and I spent most of the day baking all sorts of cookies...fun! Christmas Eve day we went up to the Mantle's and that night we were at my mom's. Unfortunately, I have no pics from Christmas morning (way to capture those moments). We got a lot on video but I didn't get out the camera. Hopefully my mom did and I will get those from her soon. Ella was very hesitant to open presents at first and spent the first 15 minutes hiding in her playroom until we all started without her and she eventually came out and opened her gazillion presents throughout the rest of the day. It was funny though, whenever we asked her if Santa came to her house she would say, "No, Dora and Boots came!" I guess watching the Dora "Santa" episode on On Demand too many times kind of distorted her view on Santa (they bring him the presents in the show). We even attempted to see Santa this year and all we got was "no, Ella's scared". Didn't even know she knew what scared meant. I was not about to tramatize the girl and we did not sit on Santa's lap (I was the same way as a kid). So that explains my lack of pictures....

Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas as much as we did!

taking pictures with her Elmo camera

playing with Uncle Adam in her new sandbox

baking away

(my cousin Amanda, me, and Katelyn)

Mom, Katelyn, and me

(my Aunt Joann made us all fun beanies so I decided to wear mine all day, thanks Aunt Jo)

SMILE!

Don't Smile!

All dressed up for Christmas Eve!

Katelyn, Ella, and Adam

(yes, that is the burliest beard you have ever seen - Flagstaff has really gotten to him))

I love my Uncle Adam!

Family Photoshoot

We had another fantastic photoshoot with Lindsey (http://www.dreamlenzphotography.com/)... but we have realized that Ella is just not that photogenic at 2. She knows when the camera is around and doesn't want much to do with it. Lindsey definitely did the best she could with what she had. My mom, Wayne (stepdad), and Travis' parents joined us in the hopes that they could get some good pics with Ella as well but no such luck. I hate to say it but the best pics are the ones without her in them (am I horrible or what?). Hopefully one day she will want to have her picture taken. We shot these photos down at the Mesa Arts Center - what a gorgeous place, so many bright colors and fun plants. The brick wall photos were taken next to the Old Brick House Furniture store in downtown Mesa (at least I think that is what it is called). So anyways, enjoy! You'll be seeing these again on the Christmas card.

Girls Gone Wild anyone???

Jumping!

Wayne and Mom

Greg and Mary

Me and my mom (thought this pic was cool)

Father and Son

This was the best we got of her.

such awesome colors

she wasn't making it easy for us

so we just let her go

LOVE this picture!

stubborn little girl

the boys with their princess

as soon as she Ella saw the camera, her shirt went up...oh my!

Busy Week!

**Lots of photo opportunities the last couple of days...actually starting off with a couple weekends ago...we headed over to Bass Pro Shop to check it out for the first time (it's nothing like the one in Springfield, MO) but we thought Ella would like all the "stuffed" animals. It turned out all she cared about were the fish - I guess living things are more intriguing for her.
**Papa Mac (my dad) came over last Sunday to take Ella to the park. She was so excited!
**This past weekend our friends Ragan and Dan came over with their son Rydan (who some might know was born three days before Ella and we shared a wall at the hospital). They hadn't seen eachother in a while and they sure had missed eachother. They are the perfect pair...so much alike but also so different in many ways...Rydan is a good 3 inches taller than Ella and much more agile but they had their own special conversations and just cracked eachother up the entire night.
**Sunday we were over at my in-laws who live up in North Scottsdale and we spotted a bobcat in their front yard....you never know what you will come across at the Mantle Desert Zoo. It was pretty amazing seeing this creature roam around the front yard. It just made me realize how we have just invaded their space and they don't even realize it.
**Tuesday we had off of school so we all (teachers and stay-at-home moms) had a play date at Jenn's. It is always fun to get together with the ladies. Our brood just gets bigger every time we meet. Too bad we didn't get a group picture this time but I got a couple of the kiddos playing out back.

Enjoy!

She could have done this all day

CHEEEEEESE!

All ready for the park!

Ella and Papa Mac

Ella and Rydan

Hugs (come on Ella, give him some)

"Oh my, he is gonna kiss me"

We found them like this is the playroom

Just roaming through the yard

This is what we saw out the kitchen window

Playing on the swings

More of Rydan and Ella

Coen, Rydan, Lauren, and Ella