Ellie Goes To The Circus

Ringling Brothers came to the United Center and an amazing time was had by all. Ellie absolutely loved it!

She loved the elephants and the tigers and the music. The adults were particularly amazed by the family of 7 who rode their motorcycles around the inside of a very tiny globe.

Ellie requested to have her face painted like a clown. She was such a big girl and sat still in the chair while the lady put the makeup on and loved getting to wear the clown costume and the wig.



The girl had so much fun that she has had us read her the program before bedtime and naptime every day since. We will definitely be going back the next time the circus is in town!

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving Day 2008 started with an 8k run and ended with us going to bed immediately following Ellie's bedtime at 8pm because we'd eaten too much.

I think this was our 4th Turkey Trot in Lincoln Park and we couldn't have asked for a better day from a weather perspective. It was sunny and mild (if you see 40's as mild). They had record numbers come out for the run which was great for the Chicago Food Depository collecting donations and canned good. Not so great if you're a participant. The organizers weren't quite prepared to handle that many people. The race started 20 minutes late and was a jumble of people for most of the race. But Eric, Todd, Beata, Jane and I made it through the run. I wouldn't say we broke any speed records but 5 miles is still a good distance to go to burn some calories before stuffing your face the rest of the day. Ellie and Elsa unfortunately did not get to run in their junior dash due to the junior dash starting before we finished the adult version of the race (another organizational blunder). This was particularly upsetting for Miss Ellie but she eventually got over it.

Mike and Jane

The Weiss Family

We then packed up the family (including Lucy of course) and headed out to Grammy and Grampy Arnquist's house in Western Springs. We had a relaxing day of visiting, eating, and playing the Scene It version of battle of the sexes. The ladies won and the guys were of course gracious losers (if gracious means saying all the guys questions were hard and the girls questions were easy).

Miss Ellie slept through most of the afternoon but woke up in time for dinner. She didn't eat much of the turkey dinner but was a HUGE fan of Aunt Jane's delicious pumpkin cheesecake. Yum! My camera battery ran out before Ellie woke up from her nap so pics are limited this year from the Thanksgiving feast. I'll make sure to charge up for Christmas.

Ellie's First Trip To The Movies - 11/9/08

Just a quick post - Ellie has been to the movies!

The Arnquist's and the Weiss's decided Ellie and Elsa were ready for their first trip to the movies and Madagascar 2 was the perfect choice.

I think the girls had a good time. It helped that they knew the characters from the first Madagascar.

Of course it may have also been the large vats of buttered popcorn and giant lemonade. Surprisingly, Ellie only needed one potty break.

Ellie likes to move it, move it. Elsa likes to move it, move it.

Lake Geneva for Great Grammy Arnquist's Birthday

We packed up the family and headed up to Lake Geneva (really Fontana) for Great Grandma Arnquist's birthday celebration. Look how much fun everyone had in the car.

At least driving there didn't make Ellie carsick. Of course, the drive home was a different story. No pictures of that, thankfully.

Grammy and Grampy made a fantastic dinner and the cake was delicious.
We had a great time hanging out with everyone and playing Catch Phrase. That game can get a little crazy after a glass of wine or two.

Ellie had fun looking at possibile flower girl dresses with Aunt Jane.
She's very excited about the pretty dress but mostly that she will not have to wear socks. It's the little things that make us happy.

Trick or Treating 2008

We had perfect weather in Chicago for trick or treating. It was sunny and unusually warm (note I'm actually wearing short sleeves at the end of October). Ellie had practiced her SuperGirl moves and we were ready for some serious candy hunting this year. Last year Ellie got the idea of Trick or Treating but it lost it's luster after a few houses. This year was a whole new ballgame.

We went trick or treating with our neighbors and we have never seen the kids all act in unison. They were up and down those stairs as a team as fast as their little feet could take them.

Ellie knew what she was after and many times tried to go back for seconds. Eric was just as into the whole thing, repeatedly telling Ellie to go for the orange ones. He was getting as many Reeses Peanut Butter cups as he could get.

Lucy didn't get to go trick or treating with us this year. She was freaked out by our neighbor Joe's costume and wouldn't stop barking at him. There's always next year for her.

Big hugs to the UG Crew for a fantastic Halloween! Supergirl had a fabulous time. Hope you enjoy this little video of the fun we had. Sorry about how loud my voice is. That microphone was a little to close to my mouth :-)