To clear things up...

Apparently more people read my blog than I was aware of.  I've have multiple e-mails asking if Tim and I were expecting.  The answer is NO!  I mentioned on a post that we would be having 2 new babies in the family next year and I failed to say who the HAPPY parents-to-be were.  My cousin Courtney and her husband Bret are expecting at the end of the year and my brother Dustin and sis-in-law Lindsay are expecting in May. 
SORRY FOR ALL THE CONFUSION, but thanks for reading!  : )

Montauk

It's October (almost over) and that means one thing to my family...FISHING!  We go to Montauk State Park near Salem, MO.  every year during the first weekend of October.  There is an annual trout derby that we have participated in for years!  We rent a big cabin so we can all stay together.  This year there were 21 of us total.  We were missing one family of 6 and 2 of another family.  

Next year we'll add two more babies.  

Ellen was very excited to fish this year.  She was just coming off a good showing at Grandpa's farm, but this trip she didn't fare so well.  At least she looked good in her boots!

The kiddos (and Lindsay) came down to check out the action on the river. 

Front: Lindsay, Kate, Sophia

Back: McKenzie, Tucker, Ellen

Ellen and Tim giving the "special bait" a try.  It wasn't so special. 

It looks like Dustin's got a fish in the background of the second picture.

 

Sophia was taking notes for next year. 

Nice boots Soph!  (Thanks Nana?)

Tim came in for a break and this is where he landed.  He was there for longer than he expected.  Getting up at 5:30 A.M. to stand at the river from 6:00- 7:00 makes one TIRED!

Baby Lilly!  The new kid on the block.  : )

Ellen was making bracelets and necklaces for everyone.  It was just one of the many "keep her busy" activities of the weekend.

Cousins Kate and Sophia getting in one last hug!

The Garber Gang

The Marshall Family:

McKenzie, Molly & Lilly, Ryan, and Tucker

The Jenkerson crew

Rhianna & Sophia, Tim, Lindsay & Kate, Dustin, Ellen, Ken, and Delayn

Grandpa Lindell and Grandma Ruth Ann with all the great grandkids.  (Missing Brandon- he was fishing)

Like I said earlier, we'll be adding two to this picture next year! 

Everybody Runs!

Running!  That's the new word around our house.  I've been training for a 5k that's coming up at the end of October and Ellen has heard us talking about running a lot lately.  Tim was going out for a run the other day and Ellen asked if she could go.  Tim told her he was going to run for a long time so maybe she could go with him another time.  Well, to make a long story short, she convinced him that she could run from the driveway to the end of the street with him.  I think it was a little more than what she expected because she told Tim that her breathing was hurting in her chest!  : )  I hear ya girl.  It happens to me all the time!

On your mark...get set...GO!

And they're off

On the way back...can't you just see it in her face...it may not be all it's cracked up to be

She really loved every minute of it.  So much so that they kept running past the driveway and down to the stop sign.

That didn't settle too well with you know who!  I couldn't hold her any longer...she took off after them.

I guess we need to find a family friendly race where we can all compete!

New toy

We recently got a "new-to-us" swing set!  We had been wanting to get one during the summer for the girls to play on and never got around to it.  We've had it up for almost a month now and we are out playing on it several times a week. 

Tim putting the swing set together. 

The finished project...minus Sophia's baby swing.

Ellen and Sophia trying out the glider for the first time.

Ellen wanted to give the monkey bars a try...

...with a little help from dad : )

The girls have really enjoyed playing outside.  The weather has been great too!

It's nice that they can ride the glider together. 

Sophia climbs right up the ladder to the slide like she know what she's doing.  I still need to stand behind her because she's had a few slips and would have taken a hard fall if we hadn't been behind her.  Ellen has already been down the slide on her tummy and backwards and loves every minute of it.  Now if we could only get her to learn how to pump her legs on the swing! 

Fancy Nancy Tea Party

A couple of weekends ago the public library hosted a "Fancy Nancy Tea Party."  If you're not familiar with Fancy Nancy she is a girl who loves all things fancy.  Fancy clothes, fancy words, fancy foods.  If it's fancy, she loves it.  Nancy reminds me of my own little Ellen.  If it sparkles she will ooh and ahh over it for hours. 

Well, I knew I couldn't get away with missing the party and I knew Ellen would LOVE getting dressed up and going.  So here are the pictures from the extravagant event. (as Fancy Nancy would say, "that's a fancy

word for fancy")

The outfit was picked out ALL BY HERSELF!  When Tim saw her for the first time he said, "WHOA!"  I looked at him and said, "Do you think it's too much?"  He just smiled because he knew better than to ask her to take something off. 

A better view of the whole ensemble.  (Fancy Nancy would say, "That's a fancy word for outfit")

They did some singing and made paper crowns to wear.

Ms Mallory read a couple Fancy Nancy stories and a book about shoes.

Ms Mallory took individual pictures of the girls to put in these cute tea pot photo frames that they made.

The girls had sugar cookies in the shape of hands for a snack.  They pretended to give them manicures.

Ellen's cookies had their nails painted, a ring, and bracelets added.  It was such a cute idea!

Of course it was delicious!

Thanks Ms Mallory for a wonderful afternoon!