Another Great Day With Family :)

I swear I had the greatest weekend.  Having family so spread out absolutely, for lack of a better word, sucks, and this entire weekend was filled with family from all over!  Yesterday, we spent the day with Dave's mom, sister, and our nephew Jonathan.  Ellie was such a great sport and did so well for being trucked all over the place!  She partied hard and napped like a pro when she needed to!  We spent a while at Dave's mom's house playing with Jonathan in the backyard and then took a ride over to the nearby park, which just so happens to have a train AND a carousel.  To Jonathan's dismay, the train was closed, but he was satisfied with the carousel.  I was a little weary of it because I get so motion sick, but I decided it was important to go on my baby girl's first carousel ride with her whether I got sick or not!  It was a success.  Although I was a little nauseous towards the end of the ride, Ellie had a blast and we have some great video and pictures to prove it!  She also had her first ride on a slide.  What a big day for the girl!





Here are some pictures from the day:

   Jonathan riding his truck!

Daddy and Ellie on the slide!

Jonathan and Uncle Dave about to slide!

Riding the elephant :)

She's getting so big!

So cute!

Riding Mr. Camel!

"I'm so over this, mommy."

This ride is so fun!

Such a big girl riding the carousel!

Love that hat :)

:)

Getting ready to ride the carousel!

Jonathan was loving the bouncy seat!

Jealous?

"C'mon boy!"

Could this picture be any more cute?

I'm feeling a little sad today.  I think it's because the weekend was so GREAT and reality hit again this morning when I had to leave her.  Four more days and I get to spend another fun-filled weekend with my amazing family.  Can't wait...

Congratulations Grad!

Dave graduated high school in '95 and immediately started working at Hechinger, a hardware store in Silver Spring.  A few years later, he started work at The Home Depot, where he just recently put in almost 10 years of service!  Almost two years ago, Dave decided that he wanted to do something different with his life, so he applied for work with the park police through the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning Commission.  He went through quite the screening process!  A written test, several interviews, background checks, voice stress tests, several physical, stress, and mental wellness exams led to Dave being chosen as one of two candidates to be offered a job as a Maryland Park Police Officer.  Upon acceptance of his offer, Dave began the 116th session of the Prince George's County Police Academy.  Eight hard months of physical and mental training later, Dave is about to graduate from his program.  I am so proud of how hard Dave has worked.  He values his new role so much, and is going to set such a great example for his daughter.  He's appears to be very well respected by all of his instructors and did all of it amazingly well, PLUS had a newborn right in the middle of it all!  I'm not sure how he was able to keep it cool through it all! 

Today, we had a party at Uncle Wayne's house to celebrate Dave's big accomplishment!  Here are some pictures from the day:

Mmm...S'more brownies!

Dawn and Chrissy

Don, Gail, and Kathy

Buddies :)

Sisters!

Becky and Roberto!

My buddy :)

Man, he's getting heavy!

Janet and Jeff

John and Wayne

Ellie and the girls!

Chris spent the entire afternoon in this position...he must have been thrilled to be there...

Cousins :)

Montana Grizz, Trees, and Pink Balloons

What a week it has been.  Seeing my mom makes me appreciate family so much more.  I can't wait until she and Keith make their way back to the East Coast, so that they can be a part of our, as well as Ellie's everyday lives.  Although I try to keep them up to date as much as I can with lots of phone calls, emails, and pictures, there is only so much that I can do from 2,500 miles away.  Having my beautiful daughter by my side each day makes me miss my own mom that much more.  Keith hasn't seen his granddaughter since she was about a week old, which is sad for me to think about.  Mom left this morning, and I am already anticipating our upcoming trip to Montana in July.  Hopefully the next 3 months go by quickly.  After that trip, we've got 5 months to wait before seeing them again at Christmastime.  After that, I'm hoping that plans to move back this way start stirring about.  We'll see.

On a lighter note, I am also mourning the loss of my mom's amazing camera.  You'll be missed!  Here are our final shots of the week:

Sportin' my Montana Grizz outfit!

Go Grizzlies!

I love Nanny and Nanny loves me :)

Outside on my pretty new blanket!

What a precious smile!

So sweet...

Flying!!

I LOVE being outside!

Hi Mom!

Lovin' the smiles!

Flyin' in the trees!

Weeee!

Heyyyy there!

Perfect picture of our boy :)

Another great one!

Another one for the books!

Sweet kisses :)

I'm so strong!

Well, hello there!

Arrrggg...You're still taking pictures?

My new pink balloon!

Catch!

So serious!

All in all, I had a great week.  It was great seeing my mom with her granddaughter.  She is one loved little girl, and surely knows that her grandparents love her, even if they are so far away...