Winter Wonderland

We have had an absolutely magical Christmas. First we had Christmas here in Seattle with Grandma J which included presents and a dinner of fried chicken. Then we had Christmas in Denver with Grandma and Papi (and Jes, Jeff, and Kendra). The Christmas eve program was especially memorable - the first performance on the mandolins for my parents. This weekend Granpa is coming from Missouri and we get to do it again. Here are some pictures of the fun so far...

An Annual Report

2009 was an exciting year for the Ellis Family. Mostly because we got to see Jessica so much. Here is our report...

Zachary turned three. He loves to ride his bike, play soccer and volleyball, and crash cars and trucks. He spent most of the year wearing Adidas athletic shorts (no matter the temperature). He is a very good big brother to our new baby Tyler.

Tyler is now four months old and he is a very smiley, happy baby. He is very big for his age (98% on height and weight). And that's about all he does.

Brian completed his first year at Ernst and Young. He still likes to play basketball, football, and golf and he is slowly setting up a fabulous home entertainment system.

Shannon enjoys coaching more than ever, even though she missed half of the season on maternity leave.

We bought our first home! It's really pretty!

We are blessed to have Janette (Brian's mom) living with us for the next year. She will take care of the children when Shannon is working. She also brought with her two cats: Jake and Little Gray. The cats love Zach - most of the time.

We took fantastic trips to Hawaii, Wenatchee, and the Tulip Festival of Skagit County. I love my family. The days can be long, but the year seemed to go by so quickly. Thank you to all of our friends and family that helped so much through all of the excitement - especially when we got our new house and baby on the same day.

A few favorites from the year...

Movie - Hangover (Zach also really likes Cars and A Very Monkey Christmas)

Songs - Just Breathe by Pearl Jam, Home by Jack Johnson, Fireflies by Owl City, and best of all is Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliet

Book - Shantaram

Vegetable - the wonderful red pepper

That's my quick summary. More pictures will be up after Christmas. Happy Holidays to everyone!

Christmas Preparations

The tree is up, the treats are ready, we are counting down!

"Before the big day gets here there's so much to get done. I think you're going to find out getting there is half the fun. Are you ready for Christmas day to come? Sing it with me. Or if you're a monkey hum."

Celebrate

I'm a little behind on holidays so here is a review of Halloween...












and Thanksgiving (this is not thanksgiving dinner. We had hot dogs another time)


















I love you my family! Thank you for making the sacrifice to come!