Tonight is the night! Ella is having a friend sleep over. She is super excited. I am not sure how she is going to survive till 4 this afternoon. She has big plans...manicures and pedicures thanks to mom and a make beleive Italian restuarant for dinner. Now if only the cleaning fairies would come and make the house presentable.

This first week back to school flew by....I am hoping it is a sign of how the next 2 quarters are going to go. Class went really smoothly. I think I have finally figured out a routine for third grade. It has been a hard time adjusting to this new grade level. Thank god for Kerry, otherwise I am not sure I would have made it!

Cake decorating started back up again. It is a nice way to spend a few hours, but I miss being at home with the family. By the time I get home Bean is already in bed and I am exhausted. The extra cash is nice!

SOOOOOOOOOO, it is a new year. I have decided this little blog is going to be my resolution. It will be nice to be able to look back and see what the year has been like. It will also give my family and friends an opportunity to catch up and stay up to date with all of the comings and goings of the Williams family...and there can be a lot.

Where has the year gone? I had such good intentions of keeping this blog up so that our family and friends knew what was gone on with the Williams family. I was not very good about this and we had a ton of stuff happen this year. We went to Seattle and I ran a half marathon (my best time ever), Ella started 1st grade (and is reading at a 3rd grade level), I moved from 5th grade to 3rd grade, and I passed my National Board certification! It has been a busy year.

SUCCESS!

How do you spell SUCCESS....2 bottle of wine (thanks to Christina I now have a wine I will actually drink), a new pair of Jessica Simpson shoes (snake skin print on SALE $20, I could not resist), and an adorable green dress (one of the many purchases from Target). After my weekend plans suddenly changed, Kevin decided he needed to cheer me up. So I made reservations at Angenlinas for dinner on Friday (my absolute favorite place to eat), scheduled a pedicure on Saturday (I now have light blue toes with flowers thanks to Ella Bean), and headed to Bullhead today to do some shopping. So even though I did not get to spend the weekend with my girlfriends in Phoenix, it worked out ok.

4th of July Weekend!

Fireworks and Family Fun!

We were lucky enough to spend the 4th with friends (thanks Gary and Kelly for hosting a party). We had lots of good food, pool time, and fireworks.

Sunday was suppose to be a HOT day, so we decided to head up to the Grand Canyon. We stopped off at Bedrock (Valle, AZ) before getting up to the big hole in the ground.

Ella's first reaction after seeing the canyone was "Wow! This is really pretty!" I was so glad that she liked it after making her sit in the car for 3+ hours.

We headed down to Flagstaff for some dinner and a bed. I was amazed at how different Flagstaff was from the last time I was there. Then I remembered that it has been almost 10 years. Monday we woke up and headed down to Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon. The 30 mile drive took us almost 2 hours because we kept stopping to hike and look at the sights.

Back up the hill and to Lowell Observatory. I loved it, Ella and Kevin got a little bored with all the talking. It was pretty cool to see the telescopes and the camera used to discover Pluto.

Our final stop was the Black Bean, which was as good as I remember it being from my college days. A good weekend out of the 110+ heat!

Seattle Summer Vacation

This past week we headed up to Seattle for some cool weather, a half marathon, and a summer vacation. Nate's family lives up in Seattle so we were able to stay at their condo on the beach instead of a hotel. The view was amazing and having our own kitchen was great also.

We headed to the aquarium and Pike's Place the first day there.

Ella loved the aquarium and Amy hated it. Hey she does not like fish, so this was not the best "touristy" type of thing for her.

Pike's Place was an adventure! There were so many people and great things to look at and taste. We had fresh baked scones, cherries, cheese kurds (YUMMY!), and meatballs. It would have been easy to have had at least a half a dozen other treats, but we resisted. Nate and Dad picked up some fresh seafood from the famous guys who throw fish. It was a mad house around their spot at the market. Everyone wants to see them throw the fish.

Nate and I ran the Seattle Rock and Roll half marathon on Saturday. It was a beautiful course (5 miles of it was around Lake Washington) and AWESOME weather. I saw a bald eagle and found 2 pennies. I finished in 2:14:25 (my personel best) and Nate finished in 2:50 (which was better than my 1st half marathon). After the race we headed to Crab Pot for lunch....so much great food.

Then back to the condo and low tide to find treasures!

We hit the Underground Tour of Seattle and the Space Needle on Sunday.

We had a great time. Kevin and I are looking forward to planning another vacation soon.

Summer fun!

Donkeys and Fry Bread...two things that don't seem to have much in common unless you are in Oatman, Arizona.

A few weeks ago Kevin and I decided to take Ella up to see the donkeys. She had fun feeding and petting the donkeys. I was a little scared...I did not know that they would head butt you trying to get more carrots.

Yummy Fry Bread, something that neither Kevin or Ella had ever tried before.

Our next weekend trip will be up to the Grand Canyon and Sedona. Can't wait for some cool weather!