Elle is 8!

For your birthday celebration, we went to House of Air with a group of girlfriends- Isla, Taylor, Ayla and Lyndie.  We invited many more, but because it was the end of summer, many were away taking their final vacations and weren't home.  You didn't want to postpone your party, so we made a few changes, loaded up the few that could go and jumped!  After, we met up with everyone's parents at the beach for pizza and cupcakes.  It was a perfect day, and you were thrilled!

We gave you a gymnastics bar so you can now practice at home.

You can go from singing Skip to My Lou to I'm a Sucker for You by the Jonas Brothers in the same moment.  In fact, you are always singing!  You sing in the bath, while drawing, while playing the ukulele, and to Reece's dismay, in the car. You absolutely love music.  You want to fall asleep to music at night and have been asking us to play music from our phones for you. Sometimes we find you asleep in bed with my iPod and your headphones on.

You love to play soccer! You are fast and aggressive, except when the girls are bigger than you.  You tend to get upset and take things personal when the bigger girls push or kick you accidentally.  We are trying to convince you to nudge and push back.  You would love to play for the Cardiff Mustangs.

You are a natural born leader, but you are only eight, so you get frustrated when you can't be in charge or are told what to do.  You pause and clearly struggle with submitting to your task.  You are also persistent and relentless when you want something... or when you're pushing Reece's buttons.  Reece is on to you and has become quite talented in pressing back.  This creates for a lot of fun and a lot of drama for us here at home.  One cure is to send the two of you outside... the other is to your seperate rooms for a breather.

You are messy!  We can easily take a tour around our house and yard, and know exactly where you've been. You are content to leave things out indefinitely.  A typical tour would find paper and markers on the dining room table, Legos in the living room, socks on the hall floor, skates in the yard, your toothbrush on the bathroom counter, and your lunch remains at the bar.

 

Here's your interview at EIGHT:

Nicknames  ElleBelle, Ellers, EllerBellers, BellBell

What is your name?  Elle

How old are you?  8

What is your favorite color?  Turquoise

What is your favorite animal?  Leopard (Why?) Because I’m rude to my brother… (What do you mean?) Because they (leopard siblings) fight with each other.

What is your favorite book?  Super Narwhal

What is your favorite TV show?  Captain Underpants

What is your favorite movie?  Indiana Jones because it’s scary!

What is your favorite song?  Sucker for You by Jonas Brothers

What is your favorite food?  Apples

What is your favorite drink?  Lemonade

What is your favorite snack?  Fat strawberries!

What is your favorite toy?  Making hideouts

Who are your friends?  Audrey, Farrah, HannahJane, Hannah

What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Soccer

What is your favorite restaurant?  In-n-Out

Where do you want to go on vacation? Hawaii – actually I want to go right now!

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A mom, and a vet

What makes you happy?  Sitting at the beach peacefully

What makes you sad?   I don’t want to be rude, but June yelling at me

What did you do on your birthday?  Went to House of Air to jump and then the beach with my friends

Reece is 9!

Reece at NINE!

You love fishing!  Dad took you out to learn with a guide... you didn't catch anything, but had a bunch of nibbles.  That was pretty disappointing, but you had a good time learning!

You've been very patient with your fish tank.  You purchased plants, driftwood and rocks and then waited with it empty (no fish) for two whole weeks.  You listened to the fish expert carefully at the pet store while she checked your water levels, and when she said your water was ready for fish, you jumped with excitement.  You picked out five Neon Tetras, two Balloon Mollies, one Catfish, and one Ghost Shrimp.  Unfortunately, a few of them died after the first week.  You knew this could happen, and you're doing a great job of processing through.

You LOVE to read graphic novels!  You've read Calvin and Hobbes countless times.  So much that the pages are curled and worn.  Mrs. Ann knows you well, and often leaves the newspaper comics in our mailbox for you.

Here's your interview for you NINTH year:

Nicknames  ReecerBoy, Reecer

What is your name?  Reece, obviously

How old are you?  What do you think? 9!

What is your favorite color?  Probably orange

What is your favorite animal?  I have no clue. I literally don’t know what my favorite animal is.

What is your favorite book?  The Wild Robot

What is your favorite game?  Super Mario Odyessy

What is your favorite TV show? I have a lot of favorites… umm…Ellen’s Game of Games

What is your favorite movie?  I don’t have a favorite. I like Cats vs. Dogs.

What is your favorite song?  Song?  Probably a Weezer song… maybe California Snow.

What is your favorite food?  My favorite food is probably donuts. And tacos!

What is your favorite drink?  I like to drink Barqs Rootbeer.

What is your favorite snack?  Cold apple slices

What is your favorite toy?  I don’t know… probably my recorder.

Who are your friends?  Cody and Kai Painter. They’re in my class and are really nice.    And then Max Gosling.

What is your favorite thing to do?  Play tennis at recess

What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Play my recorder

Where is your favorite place to go?  Out of all the places in the world? Hmm, probably Visalia.

What is your favorite restaurant?  Favorite restaurant?  Umm… it’s probably In-n-Out.

Where do you want to go on vacation?  Probably Visalia

What do you want to be when you grow up?  A Marine Biologist

What makes you happy?  A lot of stuff… like probably Max Gosling

What makes you sad?  Hmm.  When my sister bites my pinky.  Literally, mom.

What did you do on your birthday?  Went to In-n-Out and then came home and played outside and on the Switch with Max, Rowan, Quincy, Lincoln, Quinn, Wyatt & Austin.