Eli and more Eli

Aaron, Lindsay and Eli came down to spend the weekend with us. It was so much fun! Eli was so excited to come down as the guys were all heading to Bing Canyon for the Father and Son's campout. Eli was over the moon about sleeping in a tent. I was asleep when they arrived and was awakened by Eli telling me all about how they were going camping and he was going to sleep in a tent! He insisted that I get up and show him the tent. We had to go look at all of Grandpa's tents and figure out which one might be the one!

With the boys gone, Lindsay and I headed to the fabric store with visions of ruffles and bows and all things frilly! With the coming addition of baby Mila to our family, we need to be prepared with lots of bows and brain squeezers!!

Saturday morning, Lindsay and I went in search of the Holy Grail of yard sales. You know the one with the little girl clothes in mint condition reasonably priced!! Eureka! We actually found it and we both spent our wads! Mila is going to be styling!!

Saturday afternoon, Eli helped Luke mow the lawn and then we headed to Walla Walla for a wedding.

Eli was so excited to ride there in Grandpa's "monster truck" and didn't even mind being strapped in his car seat!

Today after church, Eli and I were blowing bubbles and he was entertaining everyone with his running and tumbling prowess!

His 'mile a minute' talking style and the thoughtful way he looks at any given situation coupled with his limitless energy was like a blast from the past! In my minds eye I could see his tow headed father at that age tirelessly investigating everything around him and giving me a full report while romping around with his brother. Oh, those were the days!

We loved every minute of the weekend with Aaron and his family! We feel so blessed to live close enough to see them often!!

What?

So, we got home from Church and I decide to check my e-mail really quick. I saw that there was an e-mail from Luke's Sunday School teacher. It was this picture. I called Luke in for an explaination and apparently, he wanted Bro. Larsen to take this picture of him and send it to me to see what I would do. Luke is so goofy sometimes!

Sunday Walk

It took me an entire week, but I am finally posting about the wonderful walk Scott, Fitz and I took last Sunday evening.

It was a beautiful evening. The air was cool but not chilling, and clear; so clear that we could see all the way down the hill in brilliant detail. The sky was bright at first as it was nearing the lowering of the sun, the fluffy clouds hovering as they awaited the coming dusk.

We walked together on the sidewalk. Fitzwiliam straining at the leash as is his custom. Scott tugging his head aside as he dug in his nails, trying to exert his dominance and take control of our route.

We headed up the hill to make the circut around the Temple, our breath quickening with the strain of the incline and the beauty of the night and the neighborhood.

I couldn't stop myself from digging my phone out of my pocket. (You have to take your phone with you on a walk, don't you know?!?) and clicking a few pictures of the wonders of the walk.
The pictures below are in order. They show our progression around the loop. I hope that you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed the magical evening stroll.

Flowers were everywhere. As early it is in Spring, these were already flowing out into the sidewalk.

I don't know why, but the beauty of these flowering boughs against the darkening sky tugged at my heartstrings.

This one is pretty dark, but as we crested the hill and made the turn, the sky was the most amazing mixture of colors and different textures of clouds.

This was our first view of the Temple. It is just down the hill from the last picture. I'm not quite sure why that last one is so dark.

The Temple sits regally looking out over the valley. Moroni holding his trump at ready!

We got to the bottom of the hill and made our 3rd turn and walked along the road in front of the Temple. Can you see Fitz's nose and his tongue hanging out? That's what he does when we walk. Aren't the flowering trees spectacular?

Next to the Temple sits our Church building. The grass is so green already and I just love the flowering trees here too!

Scott and Fitz are making the last turn back into the neighborhood. Behind them is the darkening sky of Kennewick.At the very end of this street is our house. Can you see Luke's Explorer parked on the street at the side?

We had a wonderful walk and felt fresh and rejuvenated! Thank you for joining us!!

Happy Birthday Fitz

Four years ago on Memorial Day, Scott brought home a little black ball of fur. He didn't ask. He had been working in Seward for a week or two and when he came home in the wee hours of the night. He laid the little furball on the bed next to me and I was awakened by a cold nose sniffing my face. Needless to say that I was surprised. We had not even talked about getting a dog.

Having a dog in Alaska is quite a commitment. It is so cold that the little thing would need to be able to come in to the house and would basically need to become a member of the family. I just wasn't sure that I was ready for that kind of commitment. I have never been a great dog lover and I knew that the lion share of the training and caring for the dog would fall on me. Scott would say it was "his" dog, but I would be the one taking on the job of training him. This was all running through my mind as the little thing snuggled into the crook of my neck and settled down for a nap.

I think that Scott was reading my mind as he stood there with a goofy look on his face. I could see how excited he was to have a dog. (He WAS adorable.) Scott let me name him. I think that he thought that if I named him, I would become attached to him. I named him, Fitzwilliam Darcy, after Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. (Little did I know how well the name suited him. We took him to the dog park last week and he towered over every other dog and his attitude was so superior to the other dogs that they were almost beneath his notice.)

Everyone loved Fitzy! I had no idea what to do with him as I had never house trained a dog. I took him to the vet and he gave me some amazing advise which I followed to the letter. It worked and before long he was trained. At first I had to carry him down and up the deck stairs as he was too small to navigate the stairs by himself, but before long he was big enough to do it.

We had many memorable moments with Fitz as he grew and learned. Puppy classes, dish towel battles, teething on deck posts and other moments come to mind. Scott and the kids taught him many fun tricks and the neighbor kids and Ward kids loved to come by and watch him perform. Scott will still put him through the paces for anyone who comes over and Fitz will do most anything for a treat.

Now, Fitzwilliam is 4 years old. He has grown so much; we think he is about 125 lbs. He is a good dog and is truly one of the family. With only Luke here, he has helped to fill the lonely hours here in Washington . He is my companion during the day and on walks around the neighborhood, but as soon as Scott drives in, I am forgotten.

I wanted to have a cake and a party for Fitz's birthday, but Luke thought it was kind of silly. Who would we ask anyway? (Scott wanted to have a party for my birthday last year and could not think of who to invite.) Instead of a party we took him for a walk along the Columbia river and Scott wore him out tossing sticks into the water for him to fetch. It is one of his favorite pastimes! I tried to take a video on my phone and after a few tries while I figured out how to do it, I finally got one. So enjoy this video of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy Ekstrom's birthday fun!!
.

Family picture

December is tricky for our family. Scott and I were married on December 1st and Scott, 5 of our 7 children, 2 grandson's and one of our Daughter in laws all celebrate birthdays. (Six of them in one week!) Two of my sisters and my mother were also born in December; not to forget Christmas and New Years Eve. It is just one mad whirl!!

Well, this year all of the kids planned to come to Washington to spend some time together so I decided to schedule family pictures. With everyone's schedule, we had one day that we could do the pictures.

I was so lucky to find Kelli Christofferson at Kelli Lynn Photos. She is a wonderful person and an extremely talented photographer! We took a road trip to Prosser and she did the photo shoot at a coffee shop there. She was great! She even made US look good!

So, here's our family picture. Enjoy!!

Zuster Ekstrom

The day finally arrived. We took Hilary to the MTC. It was a wonderful day full of mixed emotions and tears. It was our 4th trip to the MTC to drop off our children so we had a pretty good idea of what to expect, but there is something about leaving your daughter that is so tender and choice.

I spent the week before with Hilary. We spent just about every minute together. Wow, my daughter is pretty awesome! I will cherish those days! She asked a million questions and it was interesting the things that she wanted to know about me and my life when I was her age and before Scott and I were married. It amazes me to think that I was married and about to become a mother when I was her age. I planned to go on a mission and had my 2 year plan going pretty well when Scotty swooped in and totally swept me off my feet. I wouldn't trade the last 30 years for anything, but a little piece of me has always regretted not serving a mission. I have come to realize that I may not have actually served myself, but I have contributed my 3 sons and now my precious daughter to the work. I am excited to serve vicariously through Hilary's letters and experiences!

I posted a few pictures of us at the MTC. Scott was in charge of pictures and for some reason he didn't take too many. The one of Hilary and Luke is my favorite. It is good to see him so excited for Hilary and I love to hear him talk about when he serves his mission.

For those of you who don't know, Hilary has been called to serve in the Belgium, Brussels / Netherlands mission. She will be learning dutch in the MTC.

For more pictures and weekly updates on her mission, check out Hilary's blog. I plan to update it on Sundays and hopefully it will be a fun documentation of her experience.

Oh My!

I have been so busy getting Hilary ready for the MTC that I neglected to post this awesome picture of me. A couple of weeks ago the chorus had our show. It was called "Extra Extra! Sing all about it!" and it featured a news boy sitting at a news stand and different chorus members would buy a paper and comment on the different sections. Of course we had something to sing about each section as well. It was a cute show and was lots of fun. Scott had the camera but somehow neglected to take any pictures during the show. She took this one of me in the hall after the show.