Happy 8th Birthday Ella

Here's a little about Ella at 8 years old:

Favorite Friends:  Ginny, Reagan (both live in our neighborhood, Reagan lives behind us.  There are some sparse trees between our houses, and Madeline, Ella and Reagan spent many days this summer with duct tape and stalks that they used to build a shelter in the trees.)

Favorite Activities:   Apple Bobbing(never tried it before, but she is sure she will do it sometime and will love it), baking (her and Madeline recently made their first batch of sugar cookies entirely on their own)

Favorite trip during her 7th year:  Dominican Republic.  She loved going to the sea and finding sea-shells, which we have sitting in our closets.  She loved the buffet choices at the resort.  And of course, she loved spending time with her grandparents

Favorite books:  Rainbow Magic Fairies, Geronimo Stilton, Chronicles of Narnia

Favorite foods:  Mashed Potatoes with gravy and Turkey

Favorite Dessert:  Apple Pie, Cinnamon Rolls (At the dinner table every night, in an effort to encourage our kids to sit for longer than 3 minutes, Ryan asks an open ended question about different things.  One night he asked what makes a house a home, and Ella said, "Smelling cinnamon rolls every day makes a house a home".)

Least Favorite Thing:  Curries (which she must smell because that's what we are having for dinner. Yum.)

Ella has become a pinterest fan.  She scoured websites and pinterest exploring different birthday cake ideas, ranging for wedding cake to cheesecake.  She settled on a  couple of cakes that looked like they would take about 3 weeks on full-time work to complete, and I told her those were beyond my capability.  She finally decided she would be happy with a rainbow cake, which was within my commitment level.  

Ella and her friend Ginny

Ryan's favorite memory of Ella's 7th year:  Watching her crouch down in the sand on the Jacksonville Beach, scouring the sand for sand crabs and seashells.  And, having Ella grab his face between her hands, and say, "Daaaad, are you serious".

Jenn's favorite memory of Ella's 7th year:  Ella triumphantly telling us at the dinner table that she skipped her reading class by jumping out of the line, and hiding in a toilet stall in the bathroom for an hour.  No teachers found out about her escape.  Ryan and I are worried about teen years.

Madeline's favorite memory:  trick or treating on the trailer with Ella's friend Ginny, and neighbors Sawyer and Declan, and getting to go over to the extra neighborhood after canvasing our neighborhood.