Its simple moments, like watching Ellie being silly and dancing with Uncle James, that makes you smile and warms your heart. You can tell that Ellie is very fond of her Uncle James and I think it goes the other way as well. So cute.
Tag: Random Moments
A Saturday Morning…
Just a quiet Saturday morning with our beautiful girls…
Couldn’t love those faces any more than I already do. 🙂
A Quick Trip to Washington… A Day with Grandma and Grandpa
Our one full day with my parents was pretty tame and very relaxing. We had breakfast at the hotel and then took off for a little more exploring. Most of the day was spent at Manito Park. The day before Abby had seen the entrance to Duncan Gardens which looked like a scene from Alice in Wonderland. So Grandma and Grandpa took her over to the “Alice Garden” to explore. After hours of exploring and lunch at the park, Abby headed to the play ground for a bit more play time. There she made another friend, this time a little boy. The two of them played until it was time to leave. From here we all took a bit of a drive together while Abby napped in the car.
As the day started to wind down we headed back to the hotel. Abby played hard and desperately needed a bath, so we cleaned her up and then headed to dinner. For our last night together we headed to the Spaghetti Factory, a Taylor family favorite since I was a very young kid. We haven’t been there in quite some time, so it was a yummy treat!
Unwilling to throw in the towel, we went back to the hotel for just a bit and then hopped back into the car, ready for another adventure. We made our way out of Spokane and away from the city lights to watch the Perseid meteor shower. Driving out to complete darkness would have been too much and too far with Abby in the car but the spot we found was perfect. We saw hundreds of “shooting stars”, more then I think I have ever seen. Both my dad and Shaun tried to capture pictures of the meteors but to no avail. Still, we saw a lot with our own eyes and enjoyed some special time together. Abby even pointed out a few to us!
But soon, Abby was bored, the temperature was dropping and it was getting late. We finally threw in the towel, headed back to our rooms and settled in for the night. Our day wasn’t overly busy but the time spent together was so nice. Abby really enjoyed some one on one time with Grandpa and Grandma and she had the chance to see a lot. Its a quick trip but one we were enjoying a lot.
A Quick Trip to Washington… The Big Surprise!
When I say a quick trip to Washington, I mean quick! There and back again in 5 days but it was a blast. The destinations were a surprise to me. All Shaun would tell me is that we were hitting the road to get away for a bit. I didn’t find out until the day we left as to where we were going and the only reason he told me was because I needed to plan accordingly. Our itinerary was as follows:
- Wednesday August 8th: Home to Redding, California
- Thursday August 9th: Redding, California to Spokane, Washington
- Friday August 10th and Saturday August 11th: Spokane, Washington
- Sunday August 12th: Spokane, Washington to Seattle, Washington
- Monday August 13th: Seattle, Washington to Redding, California
- Tuesday August 14th: Redding California to Home
OK, I know that sounds nuts but the Wharton Family loves their road trips! I also know some of you might be asking why Spokane and not just Seattle for the whole trip because of our previous time spent living there. Well, Shaun also surprised me with MY PARENTS! They can easily make the drive from Bozeman to Spokane and spend a short weekend with us. Adding the 4 hours to Seattle would have made it a bit too difficult to do in three days. So, we met in Spokane and enjoyed the time we had with one another.
As a last minute decision, Shaun also decided to leave Ellie here at home and Abby came with us. Ellie is still little enough that the long hours in the car are difficult. Abby is our little road warrior and can handle the trip with grace now that she is a bit older. Dont worry we didn’t leave Ellie alone! She actually spent the time with Grandpa, Nana and Aunt Brittany. This was their first chance to watch one of the girls for more then just the weekend and I have a feeling they enjoyed it. We certainly missed Ellie and it didn’t quite feel like a vacation without her there but after all the experiences we had, it was good that she wasn’t.
What experiences you ask? Well stay tuned for pictures and stories from our crazy trip!
First Color Photo from Curiosity
Today JPL/NASA posted the first color photo from the Mars surface. I know you can see all of these things on your own, but it has me in awe. To think that we have the ability to see such clear pictures and in color too, from a planet over 150 million miles away is very impressive. Curiosity is also capable of creating 3-D images. Can’t wait to see those when the time comes!
Curiosity Lands On Mars
Tonight we took some time away from the Olympics to watch yet another remarkable moment in our history and the exploration of space. The anticipated landing of Curiosity on to the surface of Mars had a lot of people holding their breaths especially the men and women at JPL who put in countless hours of work to make this possible. So when the news came over the headsets that Curiosity had landed, you couldn’t help but feel just as excited. To see it land and then moments later start receiving pictures is incredible. Yet another step forward in space exploration and if all goes as planned the ability to learn even more about the red planet. What an exciting moment and I am so glad we were able to see it! Here is the video footage from JPL’s control room as well as a few of the first photo’s from Curiosity. You can also follow and check for updates of pictures and footage on the JPL/NASA website by clicking here.
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| Mars surface and one of Curiosity’s wheels. |
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| This image was captured by the Mars Orbitor as Curiosity began its dissent to the Mars surface. |
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| Curiosities shadow on the Mars surface |
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| High Resolution pictures from Curiosity on the Mars surface. Just incredible! |
When A Girl Needs Her Beauty Rest…
… Any location is perfectly acceptable!
Friends That Are Meant to Be…
I have been meaning to post something about this since February, but life became busy and I was finding it hard to just keep up with the blog posts I did have. However this was something special that I didn’t want to be over looked. Erika discovered this in February and sent me a text while we were away in San Francisco. I remember getting the text, seeing the picture and completely freaking out. It was so strange but an obvious sign of things to come and what was meant to be. Sorry to be so vague. I had planned on writing about it myself, but Erika put it to words on her blog and did an amazing job. So instead of writing about it on this blog, please click here and enjoy Erika’s wonderful post. It makes me laugh and smile every time I read it! Hope you enjoy!
This is How Jack Rolls…
I would just like to preface this by saying that Jack is an indoor dog. Despite having loads of energy, loving walks and being an 85 pound lab mix who should love all things outdoors, he would rather be inside then out. Most days if he is out longer then an hour, he is scratching at the back door wanting in. To sum it all up, our dog thinks he is a cat. A pampered, indoor loving cat.
So when I saw this, all I could think to myself was “Jack, what are you doing?” He is lounging like the pampered pooch he is in the girls pink plastic pool. But its EMPTY! Not a drop of water in sight! Just a 80 pound lab, the hot sun and pink plastic that I know heats up faster then the tiles. I think this was his way to get pity from us and let him in.That or this is just how Jack rolls.
Ellie Can Handle It On Her Own…
After Abby’s haircut we promised the girls we would take them to the mall playground. I dont generally like going there because its always so busy and full of rude little children and their equally rude parents, but a promise is a promise. After playing for a bit Abby made a friend, whom she said was named Rapunzel but I am thinking has a different name. This little girl wasn’t too fond of Ellie hanging out with them and started to tell her to go away. Typical girls and to me its obvious she has siblings as well.
This little girl started to get a little aggressive with Ellie and just as I started to intervene Ellie took charge. Ellie followed her around with her little finger out, pointing at her. She then started speaking to her in a loud voice, not yelling but firm. It was mostly gibberish but you could tell that Ellie meant business. This went on for a good two or three minutes, Ellie waving her finger at the little girl telling her what for in her own little language. Shaun and I laughed hysterically. Whatever she said worked because finally the little girl gave in and let Ellie play with them. From that point on they played happily for a good half hour before it was time to go. Its really good to know that Ellie can handle it on her own and be so cute while doing so!
My Very Own "Person of Wal-Mart"…
The other night we ran out of baby wipes and diapers. Not wanting to wake up the next morning without these all important items we made a quick run to Wal-Mart. I usually shop at Target as opposed to Wal-Mart but it was late and I didn’t want to travel far. The following did actually happen to me and its reason #8882 I try to avoid shopping at Wal-Mart…
After grabbing diapers, I head over to look for the wipes I generally prefer to use for Ellie. As I am standing there a woman walks up to me and asks which brand is best. I tell her my opinion based on the age of my child and that’s where the fun began. She starts telling me that she doesn’t have children of her own so she isn’t familiar with whats out there. I thought, ok maybe she is going to be babysitting for someone or, like many women, prefer baby wipes to remove make up. From that point she proceeds to tell me that she is having surgery on the arm she generally uses and wont be able to move it for about six weeks. I thought to myself, “well that sucks, OK…. where is this going?” That’s when alarm bells start to sound and before I can leave she the tells me that because she cannot use her arm she needs to learn to wipe with the other hand and it might get messy. HEY OH! It took about a millisecond to register what this meant and that’s when I decided to scram. I smiled, wished her the best of luck, grabbed a random package of wipes and got my fanny out of there.
Now I have my very only “Person of Wal-Mart” story and yes, I plan to submit it to the website. For those of you not familiar with the People of Wal-Mart, click here and take a look. It will make you laugh, cry, cringe and run from the room screaming and wanting to burn your eyes out. Enjoy!
Pet Store
This morning while laying in bed, enjoying some morning cartoons Abby very casually asked me this:
“Mommy, which pet store did Ellie come from?”
Hmmmm… it took a lot of restraint to not laugh uncontrollably at this one. Interesting observations and thoughts Abby!
The Wharton Adventures 