hulse

hulse

Monday, February 11, 2013

christmas highlights, even though it's february!

afton's dreams finally came true!
an iphone!
now she can call, text, email, play games, watch netflix, etc etc etc etc etc.
she finally belongs to the "everyone else has a phone!" category.
ryan received a fun toy that doesn't work...a stirling engine.
you might need to look it up online to figure out what it is.
it was new to me.
but then again, most things are!
ella and mckenna were outfitted with all things necessary for gymnastics.
even crutches!
you know, in case mckenna were to make an unfortunate dismount.
perhaps my favorite gift was a trip to nordstrom.
it's extra special to go to nordstrom because the closest one to us in in cleveland.  (3 hours away)
it was a lovely and peaceful and expensive shopping trip!
 
we were able to spend christmas in st louis with ryan's parents.
we had a wonderful time relaxing with them and enjoying them all to our selves!
and then the cousins came...
and we had fun, fun, fun!

Sunday, January 27, 2013

the time i turned 39

 this is my last year of the 30's.
that's my dad with me in the picture above.
my parents and ryan's parents were here for ella's baptism,
so we celebrated my birthday a day early.
i loved having them here to spoil me!
39 years.
they have been filled with so much love.
there have been hard times, but i remember the love the most.
growing up with two amazing sisters.
parents who survived having me as their first daughter.
family.
friends.
mission companions.
ryan.  the love of my life.
new family.
two beautiful daughters.
incredible opportunities to see, grow, understand, feel.
i am a blessed girl.
 

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

buffalo botanical gardens

my friend, ruth, invited some girls to join her at the botanical gardens for the
annual poinsettia show.
i hadn't been to the gardens before, and quickly realized...
i had been missing out!
the building is beautiful,
it's warm inside,
and they have all kinds of different shows throughout the year.
the plant "lady" below was a remainder of the succulents show.
she was completely covered with succulents during the show.
she was still looking gorgeous a few months later.
beautiful poinsettias everywhere!
such lovely friends.
our children all attended the same elementary school at one point.
i'm lucky to have such darling friends!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

golf dome

we hang out at the driving range a lot more than we used to.
probably because aftie AND NOW elle are taking lessons.
ella loves to try new sports!
afton told ella
"ella, you are going to wear me out with all of your sports!"
we wanted to show gg our newfound skills. 
he's a guy that can appreciate a nice drive.
who needs spikes? 
black high heel boots work just fine for our girl.
we all had at least one good smack.
such satisfaction when that big, fat club head connects with the ball.
ella's got her golf face on.
very serious.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

ella's special day

our sweet ella-bella chose dec 8th to be baptized! 
being baptized is sort of a big deal.
when you are baptized you become a member of
the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints.
you promise to keep heavenly father's commandments.
ella is so loved!
marmee & gg flew all the way from idaho for the special day.
grandpa flew from london (he was traveling for work) and grandma flew from st. louis just for ella.
the gruwells came from erie, pennsylvania.  friends from school and friends from church also came to show their love for ella.
grandpa gave a little talk about being baptized. 
then ryan baptized ella. 
then gg gave a little talk about the holy ghost.
ryan confirmed her a member of the church and gave her the special gift of the holy ghost.
ella sang a beautiful song about the holy ghost.
 
then we invited everyone to come over to our house and celebrate!
it was a great day that we will always remember!

Monday, January 14, 2013

Ella turns 8!

our little bug had an important birthday this year!
#8!!!!!
we celebrated with dinner and a yummy chocolate cake with chocolate frosting
("not the kind of frosting you make, mom...the kind from the can")
she received lots of fun presents, including this big, fluffy, soft bean bag chair!
she had a wild and crazy friend party, too!
in fact, it was so crazy i didn't even take one picture!
it was supposed to be a lovely, little spa party...with facial masks, hand scrubs, etc.
however, i knew it had taken a turn for the worse when i walked into the kitchen and saw one girl precariously posed, on one leg, on a dining room chair.  her other leg was stomping on the table, like it had a mind of its own!
that's when i decided to call the cops.
the girls had a great time (obviously) and ella still has gifts in her closet that have yet to be opened.
yolo...
(you only live once!)
 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

oh my goodness! oh my goodness!

oh my goodness!  oh my goodness!
remember the orphan in the movie/play Annie, who always says that line?
well, those are the words that come to mind when i think of our recent trip to arizona.
we had a wonderful trip filled with sunshine, which is important for us buffalo gals!
 ella, aftie and i flew to phoenix by ourselves.  ryan came from shanghai where he had been for a few days prior, looking at a lab or something.
 one of the first and most important items on our to-do list...
hit the pool!!!
i told the girls they could swim every single day if they wanted to.
and i'm pretty sure they did!
there is always lots of game-playing at grammy's house.
 here's grammy, ella, uncle brent and ashton playing a game outside.
in november!
 we all ran/walked the mesa turkey trot.
uncle kurt was the super star of the day for running the 10k!
it was fun for us 2-milers to wait and cheer him on at the finish line.
 ryan made his famous rolls.
the little sweeties helped roll them out.
teags, peri and elle.
 carving the bird is for manly men.
 dad took his three beee-utiful daughters for a golf date.
there's megan trying to figure out how the golf cart works.  hee, hee.
we all had at least one good drive and putt.
kara had the "shot of the day"
when she hit the roof of a house and the ball bounced into the front yard. 
that one made us laugh.
it was a fun time to spend with our cute dad!
 one night we all went to see a production of annie.
the kids LOVED it!
especially the treats at intermission.
 breakfast at ihop.
a person can only stand so much turkey, right?
 the kids had a ball playing cards with grammy and uncle joel!
i wonder how many card games that table has seen over the years?
there's always a serious game of pinochle going on with all the uncles and gram.
 auntie kara took the little girls on a crazy fun golf cart adventure.
they loved it and couldn't stop talking about it!
 the little girls also showed us their talents and creativity by performing a song with actions that they made up themselves.
it took a lot of time practicing in the bathroom before they were ready.
they were soooooo darling!!
 this grammy-girl is just about the most wonderful lady in the world!
she was so loving and patient with a bunch of crazies taking over her house!
and isn't kara ALMOST as beautiful as her oldest sister?
 oh!
and here's mr. excitement, waiting for his thanksgiving dinner.
i've never been so entertained by disney channel theme song renditions in my life.
hey jess-ay!!
 there was plenty of time to relax and enjoy the warm air.
this little man only decided to like me when he discovered my iphone.
i was a little bothered about it, but he made it up to me with a snuggle.
such a sweetie!
aftie, tay and cali-girl.
they had sleepovers every single night!
this vacation was filled with precious cousin time.
since we all live so far away from one another it's important to make the most of the time we have when we are together. 
the kids all did a great job loving each other and playing together and making memories.
thanks mom and dad for a great trip!!!!
we love you grammy,
auntie teresa & uncle kurt,
uncle brent and auntie shelia,
uncle joel, lael, and ziah,
gg and marmee,
uncle cam, auntie meg, tay, ashton and peri,
auntie kara, cali and teags!!!!
oh and i can't forget how wonderful it was to see my dear friend, christina joy!
it's been a long time since the days of our lounge singing act.
i've missed you liz...
like a bridge over troubled waters.