45 minutes later - Ellie is asleep.

Oh, my children.

I am laying in the hallway between my two kids bedrooms writing this. Ellie is going through this phase where she insists on going to bed with a bottle. I say "no", she cries, and cries, and cries, and so on.

As she cries; Ethan stays awake - not used to having to fall asleep to the sound of a screaming baby.

So here I lay on the floor going back and forth from room to room trying to use my mind powers to get Ellie to stop crying and together Ethan to magically drift off to sleep.

It's not working - just in case you were wondering.

Jacob and I went and saw the new Harry Potter yesterday. We went to the 3:45 show. Not just because it was much less busy then but because that's when Grandma was available! It was good. I don't think I have ever seen a movie that fully lived up to the book - but it was good. I defintely will not be letting Ethan see it any time soon. A little too dark for him.

Jacob is getting so excited for his trip to Whistler on the 27th. Him and Phillip even have a date on Sunday to go over the details. Though I am excited for him, I am not so excited to be home by myself with two children for a while week. I'll have to buy me something pretty to help keep my sanity!

So if any of you are nearby and bored at the end of the month - think of me!

I can print!...I think.

I just wanted to let everyone out there know how mad I am at my printer. Somehow back in October of last year the software for the printer got removed from our computer. I couldn't find the CD and our computer was having a meltdown when I tried to download the software from HP.com. So being pregnant and ornery, I promptly gave up and have being using on older, not nearly as nice printer that my mom was going to get ride of. Finally last night after 2 hours of searching I found our nice all-in-one printer cables so I could try again.

I get online and it won't recognize the device. After five hours of on-line chat session with three different hp help support people my printer finally works! I can print! No more going to my mom's house when ever Ethan runs out of Mickey Mouse coloring pages! I pick my document to print and wait ever so patiently as a plain white page comes out my beautiful printer...that has no ink.

Hurry over to http://simplychicstitches.com and register as a member so that you can be automatically entered in our competition to win a free tote!

We are going to be at the Ogden Craft Show on

Saturday, July 25 from 10-8

so come and check us out.

It is at the Ogden Marriot. We will have all of product there but we will also be doing

custom vinyl orders there. You can order at the show and then take it home with you! No waiting or shipping!

So much!

Ellie is 6 months old...well back on June 12 anyway!

She is such a little sweetheart that I can barely stand it! She weighed in at a skinny 14 lb. 15 oz. and 27 inches tall. That makes her tall and skinny! She is still wearing 0-3 month clothes - which is sometimes nice because then I don't have to buy her new ones for a while!

I love her cute little rosy cheeks. I have to try really hard to resist pinching them all day long. She is the cutest girl i know!

I love these bows too - they have a color to go with every outfit you could possibly imagine.

Ethan's new favorite thing to do is help me feed Ellie. I have to watch him very carefully when she is eating her rice puffs. If I turn around for one second, Ethan has shoved 10 in her mouth and her little cheeks are full!

Ellie really doesn't mind Ethan feeding her until her shoves the spoon too far into her mouth. Then Mama takes over. Ethan makes an absolute mess but it is fun for the both of them. Ellie laughs at her big brother all the time and it is the sweetest sound.

Grandma Great and Papa Pow came up on their way through to Yellowstone. The stayed for the 4th and then went on their way. While they were here we took them fishing in Wellsville. It is so pretty there and is the perfect place for Ethan to go fishing. There are toys nearby when he gets tired of fishing. There is shade for me and Ellie. And we always catch something while we are there!

Ethan has started to ask to go fishing these days. We have been going once a week lately and he is still not tired of it. He likes to eat the fish too. He hasn't seen Jacob gut them yet but he does know that he is eating fish for dinner!

He loves his little "Cars" pole that we bought for him. He reels them in right and left on that little 1 1/2 foot pole. He is very proud of himself and always has to carry them around in the fishing net for a while.

We tie the fish to a pole where we fish and as soon as we catch one he spends to the rest of the day pulling the fish out of the water to see it. Poor fish!

Ellie enjoys fishing too! We bring a blanket and her toys and she watches all the fun go down. She loves it outside and we have to do everything in our power to keep her from eating the grass!

The 4th was so much fun with two little kids! Ethan loved seeing all his family and especially his great grandparents that we don't get to see too often. Him and Papa Pow became very good friends while they were here.

Ethan spent most of the holidays trying to ride his bike. He is still trying to learn how to use the pedals but we are working on it. We plan to buy him a "big boy" bike for Christmas or his birthday with some training wheels. For now Mama's old tricycle from the olden days will have to do!

And does that face say mischievous or what!


Ellie was very patriotic in her summer dress. She loved being passed around and adored by anyone who would hold her!

Grandma Youngberg bought some fireworks to add to our collection. These were some things where you pull on the string and a bunch of confetti would pop out everywhere. He loved them and would yell "POW!" as he pulled on the string.

Next we lit some that shot a parachuter up in the air. I swear that parachute went 30 feet in the air. They were so loud and he would just sit with Auntie Melissa and laugh and laugh.

Oh my goodness! If that face doesn't say how much he loved them,

then I don't know what does!



Him and Grandpa Great had a good time watching more parachutes on the other side of the house too. I don't know how looks like they are having more fun?

the fireworks were so fun. I was worried that Ellie would be scared but she played there and kicked at them all night long. I put cotton balls in her ears hoping that would help.



I love the 4th of July. It has always been my favorite holiday and it is just getting more and more fun as our little family grows.

Air Show

Yesterday, Saturday, Myself, my Mom, Ethan, Ellie, and an ATK intern, Alan, went to the Hill Air Force Base Air Show in Clearfield. But before that we took the frontrunner from Ogden to Salt Lake so that we could walk around the Gateway.

Ethan loved the train and for the previous three days before that was all he could talk about. He loved every minute and just couldn't get enough of anything train.

This is my Mom with cute little Ellie girl. I made her the bow and shoes the night before. I couldn't sleep so I figured if I was going to be up I may as well be doing something!

I like her white shorts. I call them hot pants

Here is me and my cute girl. If you notice her shirt is different in this picture. Oh, it's a good story. Half way on our train ride Ellie was sitting on my Mom's lap and totally loaded her drawers. So what does Grandma do? Hand her over to Mom of course!! Nobody else was on our train car and our next stop wasn't for another 20 minutes so I decided that if I was really careful I could try and change her on the floor or train. I didn't want to do it on the seats - just in case!

So I get everything out and ready to change her and when I go to lay her down on the diaper mat - the mess is all up her back! Not only is it all up her back but it is all over my shirt too. Great! Because, of course, being the prepared Mom that I am I actually brough Ellie two changes of clothes. I even brought a change of clothes for Ethan. But not for me! So I hurried and changed Ellie and let my Mom get her dressed while I took a diaper wipe and tried to clean off my shirt as best as possible.

I wore the baby carrier most of the day to help hide my shirt.

The kids were good to sit in the stroller for most of the time untill Ethan realized he could actually go up and touch the planes. Then he didn't want to sit in the stroller at all. He cried untill we took him out and leashed him with his monkey backpack.





I love this picture of my little girl. She looks so cute and funny and goofy all at the same time. She loved watching all of the peopole and kids run around and play and goof off. The only thing she didn't like was the loud noise from the planes and the monster trucks when they reved thier engines.





Ethan got to sit in this plane and he loved it. I couldn't get a picture of him in the plane because I was trying to keep him from crawling over it. He cried when I tried to take him out.

He kept saying "copter, copter" and then "out, out". He had a great time seeing all the planes. He couldn't point and say plane fast enough before there was another he wanted to go look at.

Now there's a cute couple!

Here is me and Ethan with Miss Dolly. Ethan kept pointing to her and saying "pretty!"

It was really funny.

Once the main event of the "Thunderbirds" started Ethan was so excited! He would move his finger back and forth really fast and say "puchew" - because that is noise that planes make. And then he would look at Grandma and say really loudly - "planes - fast, fast fast!!"

They were really fast. It was really hard for me to take video and picture because I keep losing them in my view finder. I think I got a couple of good ones though.

They really did some amazing things and when they would do something like straight up Ethan would just laugh and clap.


Sometimes there would be just one, three, four, five, or six. I can't believe how they just seem to float and glide up there but they are so stinking heavy and huge. It is amazing!

When we got home Ethan just crashed on my bed wathcing Montsters Inc. He was so tired that he was just a little blob. We had bought him this little toy plane at the air show and he didn't let go of it at all that day. Not even when he was too tired to move. He still had that plane in his hand. I went in to check on him and asked how he was doing. He said "tired mama, sleepy". It was so adorable. He had a really fun day but we were all glad it was over.


Here he is five minutes later. I was worried we would have to take it to church today but somehow we were able to get out the door without it.

Plane in hand. Out like a light.

Ellie wasn't much different from Ethan once we got home but I did get some cute

smiles out of her before she went to bed. It's a cute picture but I didn't realize she had

spit-up on her lip/chin!

Our day wore her out too. She is such a little sweet heart. I love seeing her when she is asleep. She is just so peaceful that I want to pick her up and kiss her cute little apple cheeks. But I won't - I know better than that!

We don't have much going on this week. Just the usual day to day things we do. We got tickets for Ethan and me to go to the summer movie matines with a friend of mine and her little boy briggs who is really close to Ethan's age. I haven't taken him to a movie yet because I don't want to pay $11 and only get to see 5 minutes of the show. These tickets are .50 each, they are cartoons, and the whole theatre will be full of other kids. I thought this would be a good time to take him to his first movie.

Jacob is going to Whistler, Canada the end of July we are trying to save most of our money so we can pay cash for his trip. He got his passport in the mail the other day, the hotel is booked, and the lift tickets are purchased. I think he is getting excited.

Sam and I are still working our website, http://simplychicstitches.com/. Help us by getting the word out!

Ellie has her six month check-up next Tuesday. It looks like she has been gaining weight and I know that she is doing better with her acid reflux. I just hope she is doind well enough that we can take her off her medicine. Though the medicine is expensive - it is totally worth it to have a happy girl. I will gladly keep paying for it if she needs it. She is doing really well with her solid foods and is eating puffs (Ethan is eating the puffs too when he can get his hands on them).

I know that it has been forever since my last post but we have been so busy moving that I haven't had a chance to do anything on here.

We are finally getting there. We only a few dozen boxes left to unpack! We have so much stuff it is unbelievable.

I haven't taken any good pictures of our house yet because I haven't had a chance to clean it really well yet. I'll get there but it might be a while before they are up. I did however have to put up a picture of little Ellie girl's room. I love her new canopy and I think it's awesome!



You'll have to disregard the pajamas slung over the side of the crib!

On Monday, when Jacob got home from work, the yard work commenced. Ethan loves to be outside and do everything his Daddy does. We have a little lawn mower for Ethan but it's just not the same as his Daddy's. He wanted so much to help that Jacob finally caved and let him help with the big boy mower. Ethan would chase him around untill he could finally catch up with Jacob and then it was the cutest thing ever!

We also edged our front yard around our walk way. There was so much dirt to clean we had to enlist Ethan's help. He was actually really good sweeping the dirt and grass into the dust pan. But when it came to putting it in the garbage he was too short. He would try and get the dust pan up in the garbage but instead the pan would end up straight up and down and all the dirt would come right back down on his head. At the end ot the day he had dirt down his shirt, pants, and diaper! A bath followed.

Ellie enjoyed the outdoors as well. She loves her big brother and kept laughing at him every time he tried to put dirt in the garbage can. She is so cute and is getting so big it makes me sad. She started solid foods a couple weeks ago and is doing better and keeping her food down. She is still on her medicine to help with the acid reflux. We took her off of it a couple of weeks ago but it didn't go well. She is a much happier baby with it and it is worth the price! She loved being outside and I love her floppy hat!

Yesterday we took Ethan on his first official fishing trip. We went over to Wellsville Park. It was really nice and warm and there were alot of people there. Ethan was really excited. All the way over he kept saying "bishin poe!" That's how he says Fishing Pole. We bought him a pole for Christmas and this was his first chance to use it. He was so cute watching his Daddy cast and putting a worm on the end!

There were ducks in the water and kept pointing to them and saying "Ducks! Quack, Quack!" and then once the ducks were out of sight he would say "Ducks - home?" They always came back and then we would hear "Ducks! Quack, Quack!" all over again.

Wellsville is really pretty and the weather could not have been better for us to go fishing. There was a little baseball game going on behind and at times it was hard to keep Ethan from running over into the field. He kept wanting Jacob to go play with him!

Ellie thoroughly enjoyed our outing as well. We brough a blanket so that me and her could hang out in the shade behind the boys. She liked watching the birds and all the other poeple move around. She would laugh at Ethan every time he said quack, quack! She is so cute and I love how bright blue her eyes are. These pictures dont' do them justice because they are super bright!

She is drooling so much now that she is starting to get her top two teeth in. But hey - it's better than spit-up right? Her hair is also coming in blonde now behind the brown. She is going to be just like Ethan was - super white blonde hair!

This picture shows Ethan's favorite part of fishing. The Fritos. I would hide the bag and then he would sneak around and find it. I would find him with a fist full and a mouth full every time I turned around.

Eventually they did catch a fish. Jacob would tell Ethan they had a fish and to come hep him reel it in. Instead of coming to help he would just look around with this look like "you said we had a fish but I don't see it?!" look. We finally got him over there so that he could help. Jacob would man the reel and Ethan just shook the pole back and forth really fast. That was how he was helping!

It took about 10 shots to get a good picture of him holding his fish. He couldn't stop staring at it and saying "bishie". When we finally did get him to look up the fish would flop around and Ethan would start screaming and run away. He DID NOT like it when the fishing flopped around! I really like this picture though. He is so stinking cute!


They caught one more fish after this one and then we went home. The fish didn't start biting till just after eight and by the time we got packed up and drove home we didn't get home untill nine. We didn't Ethan stay up to his fish. The whole way home he was asking if his fishies were "ok" so weren't quite sure he was ready to see Jacob gut them and then cook them out on the grill! So Grandpa and Grandma Barker came over last night to help eat the fish. He lvoed fishing and we are definitely going to have to take him again.

Samantha and I are still working hard on our website. We are getting there and have nearly 30 items posted up for sale. Make sure visit the site at http://simplychicstitches.com. We do special orders and Samantha does some amazing vinyl so make sure that you check it out.

Jacob is getting ready for his big trip in the end of July. Him and his brother, Phillip, are going to Whisler, Canada to go mountain biking. I have been hearing for years that we should move to Whister but I think that is as close as Jacob is going to get. I hope he has a lot of fun. With the new border laws he had to get a passport and everything. Who would have thought going to Canada would be that much work??