Thanksgiving in Portland

Jordan and his mom at Cannon Beach

Marcie and Ella on Mt. Hood

For Thanksgiving this year we went to visit Jordan's parents in Oregon/Washington. We went up on Tuesday and left on Monday so we got to spend some good time with family. Marcie and her boyfriend Jeff were also there. We spent lots of time eating, sleeping, and shopping. We also went up to Mt. Hood and visited the ski resort and ate lunch at the lodge. It was beautiful and FREEZING! We also spent some time in Cannon Beach. The weather was rainy so we didn't walk on the beach but did a little shopping in the cute town. Ella of course got a new wardrobe because she is sooo spoiled and we enjoyed relaxing in their beautiful home surrounded by green trees. We look forward to visiting again for New Years.

Ella's 1st Gymnastics Class

Ella and Daddy in the foam pit

This fall, we enrolled Ella into her first gymnastics class at Precision Gymnastics. It's a mommy and me class she started when she was 18 months and I know she might seem sooo young to be in gymnastics but it has made her grow in a lot of areas. Her physical developmental skills have improved by balancing on the balance beam, climbing a ladder, and jumping on a trampoline. She loves doing somersaults (with help from her mom) and log rolls. Her coordination skills have improved along with her confidence. This girl thinks she can do whatever any big kid can do. She is more confident at the park and doesn't like when I try to spot her when she starts climbing. She make me nervous but so far she hasn't fallen.

Ella loves going to gymnastics! At the end of her class, she always gets a stamp and a sticker. That is probably her favorite part. When we walk in, she always says, "sticker!". She LOVES stickers! We are so proud of her accomplishments. This last week Jordan didn't have class so he came to watch us and take pictures. He was impressed at how much Ella could do. His favorite part was the giant foam pit. Ella loved jumping to him. The class is ending in 2 weeks and we hope to continue enrolling for another session this winter.

Maylan's 50's Birthday Party

Ella with her 50's dude cousin, Brandon.

Last Sunday, my niece Maylan celebrated her 8th birthday and had her party the day before at Mel's Drive In (a 50's place). It was the cutest party. First of all, Wendy made every single girl invited to the party a poodle skirt. 17 girls were invited! The girls got to wear their skirts, play 50's theme games, and eat hamburgers, french fries, and milkshakes. They had a blast! What was great about it, was the whole party took place at the restaurant and there was no mess at home. That is my kind of party!

More Trick or Treat Time!

For actual Halloween night, we went to Ryan and Wendy's along with my parents and some other people in their ward. We started off the night by ordering pizza and hanging out waiting for it to get dark. Ella was very anxious to get out there. She made the connection that wearing her poodle skirt and carrying her pumpkin gets her candy. There were about 1o kids in our group and Ella thought she was "hot stuff" walking with the big kids. She went to every single door they did and would never let go of her pumpkin. It got pretty full and heavy and you can tell it was heavy for her to carry but she would not let it go if her life depended on it. After trick-or-treating, we were supposed to sit by an fire pit, but it was still so warm outside, there was no need to use it. Ella had a great time trick-or-treating and spending time with her cousins and friends. She now knows what candy is and sure likes it!

YES ON PROP 8!!!

Jordan and I have been very active recently in the Yes on 8 campaign in CA. It's something that we feel very strongly about. We have encountered a lot of enthusiasm and support for Proposition 8 as we've surveyed people on the phone and talked with people on the street regarding their position. For us, it's imperative that marriage retain its traditional definition. Our only disappointment through our avid support of Proposition 8 is that some opponents misconceive the amendment as some kind of hate initiative. This notion is just not true. We love people, regardless of sexual orientation. Nevertheless, domestic partnerships and civil unions already provide non-heterosexual couples all rights associated with civil marriage. So why extend the definition of marriage to include anyone other than 1 man and 1 woman? Allowing non-heterosexual couples to be married threatens the very nature of marriage and societal values. Schools WILL be required to teach homosexual relationships on the same plane as heterosexual ones. Kids will be exposed to this at an early age, as the recent history of Massachusetts has shown. Further, the very idea of religious freedom, upon which this country was founded, may be compromised when religious organizations refuse to hold marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples. These are only a couple of the possible repercussions that worry us should Prop 8 not pass. That's why we ask Californians to

Vote Yes on Proposition 8

this November. Again, this is NOT about hate, it IS about protecting the sanctity of marriage for ourselves and our children. That is why it's important that we maintain the traditional definition of marriage to be one between a man and a woman. More information regarding Proposition 8 can be found at www. protectmarriage.com.

Twick or Tweet

For Halloween this year, our family decided to be part of the 50's. My wonderful sister in law, Wendy, made the cutest poodle skirts for us to wear. Our first Halloween event this year was our ward trunk-or-treat. It was a Halloween party followed by trick or treating in the parking lot. People would decorate their cars and kids would trick or treat car to car. Ella loved the concept of trick or treating. She loved going car to car saying "twick or tweet". It was soo cute. After we finished going to all the cars, she insisted on going again. She would walk to anyone who had a bag of candy and say "twick or tweet". She was soo fascinated with all the candy and would take breaks by plopping in the middle of the crowds and looking at her candy in amazement. When we got home she ate a lollipop and that was the last of her candy that she knows of. The rest is for mommy and daddy.

Bay Area Fun

Ella and Grammy Scott

Auntie Val and Jordan

Marjie and Marcie

Hanging out with Josh and Sara and the Yogurt Shack

Grandma Jean, Jordan, and Ella

Last week, we made a little trip up to the Bay Area to visit family and pick up some things. Ella and I flew up on Monday and Jordan drove up on Thursday. Jordan's grandma, Grandma Jean, had just been put into the an assisted living home and was moving out of her house. The sweet and kind grandma she is, gave us some of her belongings, including a car and the Scott family genealogy. Jordan's parents also met us there from Washington and gave us some furniture. We scored! Now our house actually looks furnished and feels more like a home. After our trip, we looked at the many boxes of genealogy we received and are soo excited to learn more about Jordan's family history. Grandma Jean is an amazing person who loves her family deeply. We are so blessed we get to have the family history and hope to keep up with the amazing work she has put into this.
While we were there, we were able to visit with family and see a few friends we haven't seen in a while. We love the Bay Area. Every time Jordan and I go up there, we always say "we hope someday we can live here". Beside the fact that you can't find a house for under a half a million dollars, you can't beat the beautiful weather and the friends and family. Maybe that will happen. You never know.

Jumping Jacks!!!

Ella and I went to a place called Jumping Jacks for Hannah Foate's Birthday. This place was soo cool. It was a giant warehouse with lots of bounce houses in it. Ella loved jumping on them. She had no fear of going through the obstacles and sliding down the slides. She even slid down all by herself. When we got home she was exhasted from all the fun.

Where have we been?

Okay, I know it has been a long time since I made a post. Lots of things have been going on. First of all, we moved in August to a new apartment. Several days after that, we went to the Bay Area for a week, Jordan started his second year of law school, we have had family in town, and we didn't have Internet so I couldn't post anything. Excuses, Excuses, NO MORE Excuses! Things have settled down and we finally got Internet about a week ago allowing me to blog again.

As for our family, Jordan started school again. It is going sooo much better than last year. He actually has time to spend with his family. Ella and I love it. He enjoys his classes and loves to study law. He had been working hard but also has time to relax and spend time with his family.

I have been busy taking care of a now 20 month old who is full of lots of energy. I have picked up a hobby of running every morning with 2 girls from our ward. They have kids also, so the 3 of us run pushing jogging strollers. It is quite the workout. I keep myself busy by also tutoring my niece Maylan in math 2 times a week and watching my cousin Paige 2 times a week.

Ella is Ella. She is as busy as can be. She is at such a fun age. Her personality shines. We got rid of the pacifier at 18 months (she gets it at bed time)and since then, She talks,and talks, and talks. She can say sentences of 3-4 words but most of the time she just babbles and then you recognize a few words in between them. It amazes me how much she learns each day. I feel like I will tell her a word once and she remembers it. She has an interest of using the potty and goes in it about once a day and she can say the letters of the alphabet(after repeating them from me). She is getting sooo big. She had developed an interest for Elmo and watches Elmo's world all the time (no more Baby Einstein). I am soo blessed that I get to be with her everyday of her life and see her accomplishments. I'm sad to see her grow up but look forward to watching her learn and progress. We love her!

Yummy! Fountain Water!

A few days ago, Ella and I got together with some girls from Jordan's Law school. Reilly, Camilla, and I met at Victoria Gardens (shopping mall) to hang out an let the kids play. Reilly has a little girl named Zoie who is a few weeks older than Ella. While we did a little bit of shopping, we let the kids play in the fountains. Ella is going through a hard time with teething. She is cutting her 2 year old molars which seems to be very painful. She bites on EVERYTHING! Well, while we were at the fountains, Ella kept eating the water. Although it looked hilarious,I felt bad for her because she was helping her with the pain. I tried to not let her drink the water but I did just to take one quick picture. We had lots of fun and hope to do it again soon.

Pee Pee in the Potty!

I know it my be a little early but Ella has shown interest in the potty. I started putting her on the potty right before her bath and she started going. I would reward her with a sucker if she went. she likes having a sucker in the bath so she continues to go in the potty. She has also gone a few time throughout the day but not all the time. We are so pround of her accomplishments and love her soo much. Hopefully she will be potty trained before she is 2! She still has 4 1/2 months.

Farewell to Elder Montgomery

Last weekend, we went down to San Diego to attend my cousin Michael's farewell. He is serving in the Tucson, Arizona Mission. We stayed in a hotel down there along with Ryan and Wendy and my parents. While we were there, Jordan went to see the Aircraft Carrier Museum while my mom and I went shopping at the San Diego Swap meet(O.C. swap meet is way better). We had a fun relaxing weekend. On Sunday we went to Michael's farewell at church followed by a get together brunch at his house. We are sooo proud of Michael and his decision to serve the Lord. We know he will be a great missionary.

Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day weekend, We had our friends Matt, Mari, and Taylor Larson come visit us. They got to visit our new apartment. We are trying to convince them to move up by us. Hopefully Matt will get into Western Dental School so they can. While they were here, we went to the Orange County Swap Meet, swimming, Tio's Mexican Restaurant, and church. We love having them come and visit. We all get along so well. We hope we see them soon.

Our Family Pictures

We finally got some family pictures done. We did through my friend in Corona. She is amazing and actually got some really good picture of Ella. I highly recommend her if you need any pictures taken. Her website is rachelkirkphotography.com