4th of July pics

I just realized, I am not very good at taking pictures on the holidays. So here are a few of Ella enjoying her time at the family BBQ.

She knows the word for Pepsi... It is my mothers fault

Cute as a button

One crazy summer

I keep telling myself I need to get better at doing this whole blog thing. Then things come up and it just spaces my mind. Especially this month so far. It has been a roller coaster. Brennan got home from the month at sea. He has some pretty crazy stories. He also came back with an incredible tan. It was so good to see him. As many of you know it was a long month. We are so glad to have him back. Especially Ella.

A few days before Brennan got home, Ella came down with something. She had a fever of about 102, and would not let me leave her. I held he constantly for about 3 days. I wasn't too worried, but when the fever didn't go down after 3 days, I knew something was wrong. We (brennan had gotten home) took her to the KidsCare and it turns out the she might have had Foot and mouth, and an ear infection. So, antibiotics, here we come. After a day or two she was back to normal. To make the story better, 8 days later she got this red bumpy rash all over her body. Another trip to the pediatrician, she had a reaction to the antibiotics. Wow, poor little Ella had quite a month.

Right after Brennan got home, his Grandmother got very sick. She has been in the hospital. She has had a roller-coaster ride herself. Brennan is so lucky to have such an incredible family. His mother's family is smaller and they are extremely close. They have taken such good care of her. His grandmother would not have made it through this time if it wasn't for her children, grandchildren, friends, and great-grandchildren. If anything were to happen to me, I would love for Brennan's family to take care of me! 5 star care literally around the clock

We had a great 4th of july as well. We were able to spend a day boating, eating, and watching the fire works. It was a lot of fun to watch Ella watch the fireworks. She loved them and just kept saying "Wow". The 4th of July fell right in the middle of all this action. Like I said, it has been one crazy summer.

P.S. Pictures to come...

Kids say the darndest things.

Brennan has only been gone for a week and a half.  Wow, it has been the longest week and a half of my life.  I have been trying to think of anything to blog about but, since it has been non-stop raining, and Ella and I have not done much outside of the house,  I decided I would blog about what she has started to say.  I am truly amazed how quickly she is starting to pick up on words.  It is like all of a sudden "BOOM" she hits a certain age and she starts say everything, "mummy, dad, cheese, kitty, Blitz, Hi Grandma, lamby, Wher are ewe" etc. etc. 

 But I have to tell you my new favorite thing she says.  Ella and I have been spending a lot of time with my parents. Hmm... I wonder why... and sometimes I run down stairs to grab something and Ella (who has become extremely klingy) starts crying.  Well, one day my mom was telling her to to say "Mommy, Where are you?" and Ella would repeat.  The she would say "Cat, where are you?" and Ella would repeat.  So, Ella has figured out that I respond to Cat.  So, now when she wants to get my attention she proceeds to say, " Mummy.... mummy cat.... mummy cat.... cat... mummy..."  It is hard to respond to her with a straight face! I love being a mom.

These are a few random pictures of Ella since Brennan has been gone:

Ella strolling around a picture of "Dad"

What is up with the squinty eyes?

The Adventures of a Filmmaker

If any of you are not aware, about a month ago Brennan got a new job with a production company called Fischer Productions.  Needless to say, I once again have my fun loving husband back.  It's just that the last year was a little hard for him in regards to his job.  Anyways, Brennan has really enjoyed the last month. He is doing what he loves most, filmmaking and editing.  

Here's a little history on Fischer Productions: during the last year, the company approach National Geographic about a Great White Shark show they had begun to shoot.  Well, National Geographic and Discovery got in a bidding war for the show.  National Geographic got the bid(a lot of money...later) 

To make the story more interesting, Brennan called me yesterday and told me that he was going on the boat to the middle of the Pacific to continue shooting some footage.  They are headed out to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to a spot called SOFA (an Acronym for something).  The show is focusing on Great whites and finding out information about them that no one knows. It will be incredible!  So, if you have the National Geographic channel, you will want to see this show.  And if you don't, you'll want to get it.

So, Brennan will be gone for 1 month... Yes, I said 1 month.  He leaves June 7 and gets back on July 2.  We will not have any way to communicate with him.  So, Ella and I are very excited and sad at the same time.  

So, if anyone does anything fun... Please call Ella and me

 because we will be bored out of our minds...

Here is the promo. ENJOY!

I realized...

...I never put Easter pictures on the blog. Oh well, Happy Easter

...1 month later.

 

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Yes, it is true, Ella and I went to visit the Obamas... no, not really.  We went to visit cute Maryann, Taylor, Hailey, and Dain.  Maryann and I have been bestfriends since the 2nd grade when she moved in across the street.  To make a long story short, Maryann and I decided on my Birthday that I needed to come and see her.  A week later, I received an email showing me incredible deals for one way airfares.  I couldn't let this pass by.  So, on a whim, I bought a ticket for Washington D.C.  Ella and I were headed to see the wonderful Hansen family.  Brennan had to stay and work... or he would have come.

Maryann and I had such a fun time.  We saw many fun things and stayed very busy with the 3 girls.  It was a site to see 2 adult women and 3 tiny girls jammed in the back of Maryann's 4Runner.  I think Ella had quite an interesting time getting used to 2 new "sisters." She had her good moments and her not so great moments.  Overall, we both had a really great time.

Having 3 kids under the age of 3, we were able to see a lot of Washington D.C., but not everything.  Here are some pictures, see if you can figure out where we are: 

Thank you, Hansen family! I loved being there with you and getting my "personal tour" of Washington D.C.  You were so kind to let us stay with you, eat your food, and take up all your gas looking for parking.  

Just call me a Slacker

Chinaman's Hat

Matt showing his skills at Sharks Cove

Sick waves at Pipeline... seriously, there were pros there.

Brennan was is heaven. This is his Mecca.

Hawaiian Temple that is being reconstructed.

Mark Eubank and his wife were the Temple Couple.

Hole in the Rock...

I know, it has been a long time since my last post. I guess I just feel like I don't have anything fun to talk about. But, I will update all of you on what has been happening as of late. At the beginning of March Brennan, Matt, Julie(Brennan's film partner and girlfriend), and I went to Oahu, Hawaii for 9 days. We went because Brennan and Matt's documentary film "Manowce" won an award at the Honolulu International Film Festival(there is a link to their website on the blog, if your curious). I am so proud of these 2, they have worked so hard the last couple of years trying to get it into festivals and letting people know about it. Finally, someone recognized their efforts and hopefully this will open some doors. Anyways, the festival was the first 3 days and we all decided to stay 6 more days and enjoy lovely Oahu. It was so much fun to be back there again. I hadn't been back since studying at BYU Hawaii a few years back, during which I made life long friends. For those of you that were there with me, the North Shore brought back many fond memories. It seems almost like a dream.

Okay, back to the trip... we decided that it was probably a better idea to not take Ella on the trip with us. Even though she would have loved it. We were going with 2 people that weren't use to a 1 year old and just thinking of packing for her... overwhelming. So, she stayed with my parents, my sisters, and my mother-in-law. Thank you to them for allowing Brennan and I to have a relaxing vacation and not have to worry about her. That doesn't mean we didn't miss her like crazy because, we did. Anyways, the trip was fabulous and it is nice to have a tan in March.

Diamondhead and Waikiki

"Da Country Club"