Race 3

This was the last race in the series and Ellie was very excited.  As we were waiting for her race to start, we were sitting by one of the fastest girls.  I suggested a challenge to Ellie and her friend of staying close to this girl and also to run faster than the boys in our group.  They agreed to the challenge with a simple change, they only needed to do that for one lap but they still wanted to beat the boys.

Ellie normally starts the races in the middle to the back of the group and usually behind the boys.  This doesn’t directly affect their times since their time doesn’t start until they cross the starting line with the running chips.  I asked if they wanted to start closer to the front with the condition that they had to run the first part so they wouldn’t hold the other kids back.  They agreed and I led them to the front about 5 rows back.  It was good for them to see how prepared and serious the front group kids were. (It even surprised me on how serious that front group was!)

Ellie did great in the race.  While she didn’t beat the boys she did improve her time by 2:31, with a finishing time of 14:08.

Camping

This was our first camping trip since Cooper was born.  We went with one other family and kids had a ton of fun.  Our tents were one sand dune away from a great surf beach.  Ellie caught a wave on a boogie board for the first time and loved it!  

Modeling

Ellie has learned a lot from watching me take pictures.  She come to some of my sessions as an assistant helping me or working with the other children.  She has a good eye and will often tell me where to shoot from or help posing the children.  

Ellie had a chance to be in front of the camera for the recent photo campaign I did for Monster Merino.  She was a trooper and had her picture taken in many outfits and over a longer period of time than the others. 

Ellie's Birthday

Ellie decided to have a Rainbow party this year an invited a group of her closest friends.  Cooper even dressed up in his party shirt.  The two of them waiting patiently for party time and were so excited when the first group of friends arrived.  

I can’t believe she is now 7 years old!  She is interested in so many things and is always happy to learn more.  She is doing well in swimming and getting stronger with each lesson.  While she doesn’t ride her bike, she has been playing hard on her scooter and learn how to navigate the skate park.  Her reading is getting much better and I really think her spelling is already better than mine. 

When I started this blog, I had no idea what to expect or how long I would keep it up.  Writing is one thing that I struggle with and somehow in a little more than 7 years, I have wrote 52,000 words and 143 pages in a word Document to create 823 posts!  I hope that it will continue for many, many more years to come.

Race Two

Ellie was excited for race two.  This one the boys joined her in the race and they are all very competitive.  She ended up not running with her running friend as she wanted to catch the boys.  She improved her time by 16 seconds to finish in 16:39.  Once again, it was hot and she still had plenty of energy after the race.

Water Play – Flash Tests

Ellie was helping test out some new photo techniques and giving my new assistant some real life practice.  She helped pose and show the other two girls what to do while we were busy setting things up.  Actually, Ellie would volunteer anytime if the beach or water was involved.

Skate Park Treat

At the skate park, the ice cream van comes around right before lunch time.  I normally don’t let the kids have an ice cream but this time was different, Ray was there with us.  He is a good friend and a Dad to the friends we were there with.  There hasn’t been a time we have been with him that he has passed up the opportunity to get ice cream if it is around.

We have been trying to go to the skate park at least every other week.  The kids are getting much better.  Cooper still rides his little pink 3 wheeler that he is too big for even though we bring his balance bike each time.  Ellie is riding her scooter very well and can now ride it around the bowl and up on the walls.  The first time there she would barely ride her scooter around the park and didn’t ride in the bowls. 

First Race of the Season

Ellie and I had our first race of the season.  She was very excited and ran with a friend during the race.  The boys that normally run the races with her were not able to make this race.  Her time was 16:55 for 2K, better than last year but she still had plenty of energy after the race.

Climbing Time

Ellie and a friend when to the climbing walls.  This was her friends first time, so Ellie volunteered to show her what to do.  After about 10 minutes both were climbing high. 

Ellie is much stronger now and can pull herself up just with her upper body.  It has been fun to see the progress.  This was my first time climbing there.  I choose a hard wall with Ellie on a hard wall next to me.  It was amazing that she went higher on this one wall than ever before just to try to be even with me.  It was funny though, since the first time being there, I have been encouraging Ellie from the safety of the ground to go higher and higher.  Once I was up there, I realized it was really high up and I am not scared of heights! 

Growing Toys

When Ellie and Cooper’s good friends returned from their Christmas holiday in South Africa they gave both of them little boxes filled with growing safari animals.  Cooper traded Ellie for the blue ones and each time they were surprised by the animal that appeared.

Family Beach Time

The kids had been asking to go to the beach before we left.  We packed up food, towels, sand toys, and headed off to the beach to enjoy a great sunny California day.  We even found a sand crab that spent some quality time in Ellie’s snack box.