Summerfest: August Edition

Well here we are, halfway through October, and I'm finally getting to August. I was hoping not to have to do a catch up on September, but it'll be done, I'm determined. We started off August by FINALLY getting our pictures hung up. My mom and Tanja came over and spent most of the day figuring everything out with me, bless them. It was a lot trickier than I thought it would be to hang the same things in a new house. I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out.

Ellie has started to actually play with her toys as they are meant. All of her princesses are a family and they spend their days going in and out of the front doors of their castle or dancing the night away. It's pretty fun to watch her grow and develop, especially with her very eclectic fashion choices.

We had quite a few rainy days in August. Ellie was so very worried about getting wet so we made sure to have umbrellas on hand and we spent countless car rides singing "it's raining, it's pouring" and "rain, rain, go away".

We spent as many days as possible at the pools and splash pads before they closed for the season. That's always the saddest thing about summer coming to an end. Ellie Bean loves the water, as long as she stays warm. She hates being cold as much as she loves the water.

We were finally able to settle on a name for baby brother, for the most part. We both had our moments of doubt, but ended up agreeing on Fitzgerald Dean Ruesch. Just for records, our other contenders were Ezra, Liam, or Wells. Picking his name ended up being much more challenging than I thought. We both loved these names, we just couldn't decide. We lucked out and I think Fitz fits him perfectly. We loved seeing his face for the first time, such a sweetheart.

There really was endless playing for this girl. I was dead set on getting every bit of fun and activity for her because I knew the few weeks after Fitz came would be tough ones for her. One of her favorite things is that dang bubble wrap from our move so every few days we'd pull out a new piece for her. She was in heaven.

When I first got pregnant I kept telling myself that Ellie would keep growing up and getting easier. She would of course be so much easier by the time the baby got her. Well, all through August she continued to keep me on my toes. She ended up in the bath fully clothes several times, and each time she was pleased as punch with herself. She loves watching her bath animals and putting them on a "boat" and of course splashing a majority of the bath water onto the floor.

We spent a lot of time with Brooklyn and Kendall. Ellie just loves them. Her world revolves around them and she asks to play with Brookie and Keni on the daily. Her and Keni were digging the chalk art this summer.

We kept up on the hobo dinners and even added in some banana boats a couple times. They're soooo good and if you haven't tried them, you must! Fall is still perfect evening fire weather. Take your banana and peel back a section of the peel. Scoop out the banana halfway down. Fill with chocolate (I love Hugs), mini marshmallows, and caramel syrup...or really any other sugary treat you can think of. Then fold back the peel and wrap in tin foil. Keep over heat for 10-15 minutes until everything gets hot and melty. Heaven.

We had a fun outing with Ellie's little buddy Holden. We decided to try out the Museum of Natural Curiosity on one of the cheap days. It was of course a zoo, so we didn't last too long. I'm not a fan of crowds and Ellie wasn't a fan of being told to not run away. We took a break and feasted on McDoubles and then found THE BEST splash pad. It was more of a river and the kids had a blast. Please please please Davis county, we need one!

Along with making sure Ellie had the best summer ever, I was also dead set on getting all of my painting projects done. At the beginning of the month I was able to paint all of my shutters blue, except for the tall ones. So, they sat there for 3 weeks, just being brown. Lucky for me, my sweet brother Cale and his friend Maddie were willing to come and paint them for me. The blue made a huge difference. Once they were all done I would just drive by my house anytime I was out just to admire them. I'm so lame.



I also got Ellie's room painted and put together. I feel bad that her room was the last to come together, but sometimes that's just how it goes. She loved it. We decided that night to transitioned her into her big girl bed. Her daddy spent the first night with her. While we've had several bumps in the road, she's done really well and can be considered officially transitioned.

We visited the Davis County fair and rode some ridiculously overpriced rides...

...and fed some ridiculously cute goats. Ellie about died. She kept saying "yook mom, kissed me!" Also, it was ridiculously hot. Being pregnant and hot, not so pretty.

I went through the normal crazy emotions of feeling so guilty that Ellie's days as a single child were numbered. I know nothing is better than a sibling, but I also knew it would be so hard for her to understand in the beginning. I loved the one on one time that we had the last few weeks and I'll cherish them forever. She's my little lady friend and I'm think thankful that she's mine forever.

My littlest brother Cale got his eagle just days before he turned 18. We're so proud of him and how hard he worked. We loved hearing my grandpa speak as well. I love watching him and Ellie together. We were hoping Cale would have gotten his mission call that night, but he got it the next week and we're so excited (and saaaaaad!) to send him to Vina Del Mar in Chile on December 1st. He's going to do a wonderful job!

This is a random story, but Ellie discovered her love of corn on the cob this summer. She had the hardest time remembering the name of it. Every time she'd make it through a cob she'd promptly ask for "more nana". She was on point with the color.

Another little moment, I love dressing this girl up, especially on Sundays. She's always the most cooperative on Sundays as well, probably because she knows nursery with friends is coming. This is one of my favorite outfits of hers this summer. Those shoes!

We also made sure to get some good family time in as a family of 3. We spent a day at the zoo and Ellie loved showing her daddy around. Her favorite were, and still are, the elephants. We also made a quick trip down to Fairview. It was so nice to get away from it all, especially cell phones and internet.

August, you lived up to your reputation and were deliciously fun. However, I gladly kissed your pretty face goodbye because September = BABY!