Released!

I was released yesterday as primary music leader in my ward.  I've had that calling for about 4 years, so it is going to be weird not being the chorister anymore.  I loved singing with the kids.  They were fun and easy to teach.  I am definitely going to miss it.--I've been a little teary thinking about yesterday being my last Sunday in primary.  I got to work with some great primary leaders and teachers, and I'll miss those relationships too.  Not that I'm going anywhere.  I'll just get to enjoy Sunday School and Relief Society with the rest of the grownups that I need to get to know better.  It kind of came at a weird time, 2 weeks after Summer School and my play were over.  I was already kind of unsure of what to do with all of my free time.  Now I have even less responsibility.  Well, anyway, we have a fabulous new family in our ward and their mom is going to be the new primary music leader as well as the ward organist.  She will do a fabulous job and is very lucky to get to work with our primary kids.  I don't know if I'll be given another calling soon, or if I'll just get to enjoy being stress free for a while.

Okay, enough about that.  Here are some pictures from when mom visited right before the play:

 

 

This is an open invitation to all of my relatives: please come visit me if you get a chance!  We have plenty of room, and I'd love to have company.  While you are here you should see The Little Mermaid and Grease at Tuacahn--a really great professional outdoor theatre venue in St. George.  Mom, Grandma, Janell, Nicole, and my family loved The Little Mermaid!  Very cool show!  And, as always, there is a ton to do in Las Vegas if you want! 

As for my travel plans, right now I'm hoping to come to Utah at the beginning of August to go to the zoo and other museums and attractions that Ellie might enjoy.  I'm excited about that, but I should really get started on planning the trip. 

Aaaah. Downtime.

Okay, so other than spending a couple of hours a day working to finish an online technology class, doing a few household chores, and getting caught up on bills and paperwork, I've actually had some downtime this last week.  I read the last Harry Potter book again so that I'll be ready to watch the final movie this weekend.  It feels nice to only have a few things on the daily agenda, and the biggest item is playing with Ellie!

We've tried to go to lots of different parks early in the mornings (when it still a bearable 90 degrees). Ellie loves to try out different slides! She's only face-planted once and she was ready to get right back up and try it again. She asks me to take her to the park by saying wheee! and making a sliding motion with her arm. She even asked right after getting her immunization shots the other day! She just learned how to say "go" a couple of days ago, and says it at the top of the slide. Pretty cute.

She really is trying out a lot of new words.  I'm excited to hear her start to talk. My favorite new word is "Wow!" which she says with lots of enthusiasm.  So far these are the words she says spontaneously: mama, dada, more, tickle tickle, dog, meow, moo, neigh neigh, cheese, duck, yeah, no, ee-i-ee-i-oh, wow, hi, E (the letter), 2, 9, go, bok bok (chicken sound), baa baa.  (I know I'm forgetting a few...)  She can point to the correct number if you say a number between 1 & 10.  She knows at least 70 signs beyond her spoken words.  It is fun to figure out what she is trying to say, although Dave has a harder time than I do.  She loves making the signs of animals.  I am excited to take her to the zoo this summer so she can see some of her favorites in real life.

She is 22 lbs and 10 oz, and is still pretty small for her age, but she is growing! She is starting to be a pretty good eater. She likes to feed herself, and isn't interested in the sweet potatoes that used to be her dietary staple.

I took her to McDonald's to play on the indoor playground for the first time this week. She liked the toddler slide, and had fun going up into the big kids area, but I had to go up with her, and it is definitely too small for me up at the top. I'll have to wait till Brianna can help her before she goes up there again.

Okay, so most of this is for me to remember. I hope I didn't bore any family members that might be reading. Here are some pictures for you.

Ellie playing with her little cousin Libby on July 4th.

Ta-da!

A bath? Outside? Can it get any better than this?

Time for a haircut?

Getting my new dress all dirty on this filthy grill. Yuck!

Stick a fork in me...

I'm done!

The play turned out great! It was so much fun watching each performance. I wish we were able to videotape it.

Ellie came to the Saturday matinee with her dad and sisters, and watched the whole thing without making a sound. She loves the Oompa Loompas! She used to imitate their arm movements, but I can't get her to do it anymore. Anyway, I still have to clean, organize, store, and return costumes, but I am feeling great about my summer break.

I've been taking some technology classes for teachers, and one of the classes had us create a slideshow of personal pictures using a website called animoto.com. I just finished my project, so I thought I'd post it here.

Click below:

Ellie Sue

I can't believe it is July already!

 I am finished teaching summer school, and after this weekend, will be finished with Willy Wonka Jr.  Our opening night was great, and I'm looking forward to the next three performances.  It is nice to see hard work finally pay off.

So, Ellie is 19 months old now. I'm looking forward to being able to spend lots more time with her this summer.  She had fun showing off for our visitors this past weekend.  Mom, Grandma, Janell, and Nicole came to see a dress rehearsal of our show (which didn't go so well) as well as The Little Mermaid at Tuacahn (which was amazing).  I only got a couple of pictures, so I hope Mom will send me some that she took.

I wish I could be at Cami and Shauna's baby shower this weekend, and Austin's baptism. I'll be thinking about you guys!