Well it's a crazy and busy week here at work. My boss, his wife (the company controller) and family went to Norway on vacation. They left me responsible for the account and their emails while they are gone for 2 weeks. However I managed to find some time to clear a few thoughts. As we approach September I sit planning birthday's again. My dear husband is turning 30! WOW I know... The big 3-0! We are planning a celebration at the Minnesota Twins game vs. The Detroit Tigers. It should be a really great game against a good team. If you are interested in joining the fun please let me know so that I can mark you down in the block of tickets that I have reserved (only 25 tickets available)! Shortly after that we will plan Andrew's birthday as he turns 4. It seems like just yesterday we were putting on the Thomas the Tank Engine party hats and blowing the train whistles for his 3rd now we are onto Spiderman for number 4! I plan on signing the boys up for Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) classes again this fall. They have recently built a new elementary school just down the street from our home and we are all looking forward to the grand opening in November. New Market has really grown and can't believe the city councils plans for the future with parks, schools, small businesses and more. I have talked to the city several times about getting more involved in the city's planning/events and thought that I would enjoy that however the ECFE program asked if I would head up the parent volunteer committee. WHICH I WOULD LOVE TO DO!
I suppose once the birthday parties are done I will have to plan Halloween. Every time I ask Andrew what he wants to be for Halloween it's something different. One day it's Buzz, then Spiderman, then a scarecrow, what next! William just follows in his foot steps that I'm not sure how I would make a "shadow" costume. We had a busy weekend last week with a birthday party for cousin Connor, shopping with my girl friends, dinner at mom's to see Emma Kate (my niece) and sister Paula and Craig to hosting dinner at our house Sunday night for my dad and sister Katie. They went down to visit my grandparents and delivered my grandpa's old riding lawn mower that they no longer needed. Speaking of my grandpa it's hard to talk about and hard to predict when and what is going to happen. He is the only grandpa that I have ever known. When I lived in Milwaukee going to UW-Milwaukee, I was fortunate enough to be close to visit a lot. Grandma was always first to volunteer to take me and Katie to the laundry mat. Grandpa would come along just to play cards while we waited for the clothes to dry. He was the one that taught me how to play 'Kings Corners' and the only one who could whistle or sing about just about anything. The song was always "...I love you my darling my sweetheart..."
These are the memories that I will always cherish. Memories that I hope will never fade. Similar memories that I hope everyone is able to hold in their hearts about their own families. Go forth with today as if there is no tomorrow... You will be a better and happier person as a result - I know I am!!

Here it is Friday again and seems as though the week went through on auto-pilot. My goals for the week were to have a stellar week at work with sales and contacting customers. It wasn't bad however it really seemed to pick up after a little marketing and very little effort. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of redirection and focus. The boys have had a fairly good week. We are planning a busy weekend. We are going to meet cousin Evan at McDonald's for lunch tomorrow as the moms have a little shopping to do. The boys then have a birthday party to attend in the afternoon at Party Bound which will be a good time. Followed by dinner at Grandma Mel's to include a visit from Emma Kate - my niece. Sunday we might be having some friends over that have boys the same ages as ours. The above picture is from last weekend with cousin Evan visiting overnight. As you can see the boys love to get together! Make it a great weekend. Until next time.

Good Monday morning. It was a low-key weekend at the Ellingson House! We drove into Chanhassen Saturday morning to take Morgan to the vet and have the boys see grandpa for a while as I went in for a much needed and deserved pedicure! It was nice, relaxing and a bit too short! I might need to get something additional next time it's good to pamper yourself from time to time. We got home Saturday in time to put the boys down for a quick nap before having cousin Evan (my nephew) over for the evening. He is such a joy to take care of and the boys love to play and interact with their cousin. Sunday was relaxing - after brunch with the family we enjoyed quiet time at home for naps during the rain. I only hope the boys never out grow these nice weekend naps. Somehow I'm not sure that is possible.

Little by little I am adding pictures from our Door County vacation. The above picture was take at PC Junction, inland just a short distance from Fish Creek/Egg Harbor. We had such a great time. I recently had a book made from all the pictures that were taken to have as a keep sake. I guess you can tell that my children are my life as I don't talk much about myself. Friday's here at work always seem a bit more relaxed as everyone is getting ready for the weekend. I have several sale opportunities that I have been working on and hope to have some better new about them next week. GBS has really been a great place to learn and work. I have discovered a lot about my strengths and weaknesses with how independently we are all expected to work. It has really helped me with self motivation and setting my own goals throughout the past year. I enjoy working outside the home much more than I ever thought that I would. Working away from the children during the day is hard at times however it had allowed me to become a much better and well-rounded mother in the evenings and on weekends. Speaking of weekends, we are having my nephew Evan over this Saturday night. It will certainly be a busy house with all 3 boys. We took care of him last Friday as well while his parents celebrated their wedding anniversary and couldn't believe how easy it was! Evan has the best, easy-going personality that spreads quickly into my own boys. Actually William is happier and not as needy when other children are around. Maybe the socialization is what it takes with Will. Well I guess that is all for now. Have a great weekend everyone! ~ Laura

I can tell that the summer is winding down. As the sun was setting last night the boys were easier to get to bed. I was surprised to see that at 9pm I had both boys in bed and they were quiet... However it didn't;t stay that way. Andrew over the past 3 nights gets up and lays on the floor in the hallway then falls asleep. I guess he's like his mother in that it take me very long to settle in for the night, relax and finally fall asleep. William called his Grandma and Grandpa last night and tried so hard to hold a long conversation. It was cute because ever since the nuk has been taken away he has figured out that talking is a good thing and understands that communication is a necessary tool. Such great memories!

Ellingson Family

Most of the summer nights are sent watching the boys run through the sprinklers, jumping in and out of the kiddy pool and on the weekends they are allowed to have the slip-n-slide out and burn a little more energy. I'm not sure what is more fun, watching them splash each other or splash the dog! Both Andrew and William have become best buddies! They have the best imaginations and love to pretend! I recently made them a lemonade stand to play with. They have the best time serving up all kinds of stuff, I can never seem to get enough! More pictures and stories to share soon! ~ Laura

With the busy lifestyle that we all have I thought that I would give you a way to keep tabs on our family and all that we have going on. We had a busy July with recovering from William's 2nd birthday on June 23 and vacation to Door County, WI. August is off and running and Jay's knee surgery went well, I recovered from a Kidney Infection and Ear Infection so no body else in the house is allowed to get sick for a little while. We have been in out house in New Market for just over a year now and LOVE IT! Sorry family delay the moving truck for a long while we are finally STUCK!