Missing Miss Ellie

She's been gone only a couple of hours, but our house already seems quiet and there are little reminders all over of our little miss: a pink sippie-cup here, a girlie sock there. As we drove away from the airport Will started crying and said, "Where Ellie? Where Ellie?" He'd gotten used to the backseat tug-of-war they've been playing all week while riding around together. We are missing you Miss Ellie!!

One more day to go...

Dear Sister,
I know by now you are missing Ellie desperately. For the first time this week, I think she missed you, too! This morning she was just a bit melancholy as she wandered around the house. She even looked at me and asked in a questioning voice, "Mama?" Don't worry, we distracted her with a day of fun. After dropping Alex of at school, the three of us headed to the mall for the SuperKids Club. We met Sommer and Kate there, and Ellie had a ball! There was singing and dancing and storytelling and a dog named Dewbie, who Will immediately fell in love with and harassed during the entire program. Ellie was a gem, and it's a good thing because I was so busy chasing Will I would not have been able to deal with anything else! I was literally sweating when it was over. We headed to Caroline's house where we had a little cousin's get-together; we ate lunch and played on the tramp with all of the littlest cousins. It was hot today, at least 95 degrees, so by the time we made it home everybody crashed. All of the kids were thrilled to be having pasta night, and when it was all over I think we used half of a container of parmesan cheese. They were all tucked in by 7pm, and I'm headed that direction as well. Your emails about room service, mornings by the pool, tennis matches and beach time sound heavenly- I'm so glad you've had such a great time. Soak it up while you can, sis! See you tomorrow!

Love, Christie

Another great day!

Eillie and Will eating grilled salmon and vegetable couscous for dinner.

Highlights of the day: having 2 out of 3 dressed (Alex insisted on staying in his camo-jammies) and checked into the gym childcare by 8 am, a playdate with cousin Catherine who joined us for a trip to the neighborhood park, chowing down on pizza, hot dogs and lemonade at Costco, both babies napping for over 2 hours at the exact same time, more time at the "bigger park" (as Alex calls it), and the best part of the day- on our way to Target, I had all three of them singing "woo-hoo, woo-hoo" right along with Gwen Stephani who was belting out Sweet Escape. Such a great day.

The party rages on...

Here's Ellie, having another great day in sunny Arizona. Doesn't she look happy? Today's activities included tagging along on Alex's school field-trip to the Riparian Reserve, feeding the ducks, playing with massive amounts of bubbles, joining in the squirt-bottle water fight, and of course, some time at the park. The kiddos were all tucked in bed before 7pm. And I'm heading towards the biggest bowl of Blue Bell Cookies and Cream ever. Goodnight.

My little gang

Dear Sister (and Brandon),
Today was a great day, and I really must tell you, Ellie loves it here! She fits right it and basically ran with the pack all day long. We started the day off by sleeping in until 8am (isn't that a record for Ellie??) We were dressed and at the gym by 9am, and I was able to run 3.5 miles before the babysitter came to get me to tell me "my little girl needed me." She was happy when I rescued her, but wasn't even crying so I'm not sure why they came to get me. Then we went the grocery store, where she was very helpful and had a great time sampling the goods. Next stop was picking up Alex from playgroup. We stopped off at the park on the way home where Ellie particularly enjoyed driving the cars. Finally, we were home and we had a great lunch (dino nuggets and oranges) and then straight to bed for afternoon naps. Once everyone was good and rested, we headed out on some quick errands and then spent the rest of the afternoon at the park. Since everyone was behaving so incredibly well, we stopped off and picked up some Dora popsicles that all 3 kiddos devoured after cleaning their plates of the fajitas I made for dinner (she loved the red peppers). After a big bubble bath, we loaded everyone up into the strollers, and had a relaxing walk to finish the day. Now Ellie is fast asleep in her bed. So STOP WORRYING, and enjoy Mexico! We've got you covered here. Miss Ellie may not ever want to go home!
Love, Christie
ps- She only called me Mommy 3 times today.

Oh yes, she has arrived!

Meet Ellie Rowley-Curtis. She joined us from Seattle on Friday and will be staying for the week while her parents enjoy a week of fun in Can Cun. Is that how you spell it.... Can Cun? She adds a lot of life to our already crazy household and we are very much looking forward to the week we have with her. She is pictured above eating the flour that we were using this morning to make cinnamon rolls.... what a funny kid. She fits right in around here.

Autism Walk in Tucson

Steve, Anne, Caroline, Paul, boys, Nana, Judd, Ash, Lindsay
The REAL Team Ashton: Helen, Lindsay, Ashton, Cannon and Judd
Alex and Alan: these two are such a pair.

Alan's oldest brother, Judd, lives in Tucson with his wife Helen and their 3 kiddos. Ashton, the middle child, is autistic, and Helen and Judd are very involved in the Tuscon chapter of the Autism Society of America. Helen helped to organize what will now be the annual Autism Walk for the ASA. Out of 400 participants, 65 were walking in support of Ashton and were thus members of Team Ashton. We were proud members ourselves, and had a great day with the family celebrating Ashton and the amazing kid that he is. He is adored by many people who want nothing but great things for him, which was evident today as we all participated in the walk in his honor. We love this family and are in awe of the support they give Ashton. We feel so lucky to be related to such amazing people.

Alex's Job

I recently discovered that Alex is old enough to do a job that actually helps me out!! He is a master at unloading the silverware from the dishwasher, a job I hate, and am happy to pass along to him, which in turn allows him to earn privileges such as watching a Diego video during his afternoon "down-time." It's a win-win.

Happy Easter!

This picture pretty much sums up what life with Will is like.



Cannon, Alex, Grace, Sam, Will, Anne, Lindsey, at Kate with their baskets full of eggs from the cousin Easter egg hunt.

We had a great Easter with Alan's entire family...every last memeber was there. Caroline (Alan's sister) hosted since today was also baby Brooke's blessing day. We all went to church together and then had a great meal at the Brenchley's, followed by an Easter egg hunt! The boys loved it and will hopefully come down from the sugar high soon.

Baby Boy Turns 2

I love this pictures, because my 2 year-old looks so cute with frosting on his face. But what's up with his almost 4-year old brother in the backround? He has just as much frosting on his face!!

I can't believe my baby is two. This week has been crazy so in order to try to contain some of that, we held off on celebrating Will until this weekend. His birthday was Wednesday, but in the Curtis Family, we believe in celebrating birthdays when it is convienient, and not neccesarily on the actual anniversary of birth. This makes perfect sense to us, and fits our lifestyle. **Please don't argue with us about this. Just accept it and move on. Thanks.** We had a great day today that started out with a soccer game, followed by a primary activity at the temple, some swimming in Scottsdale, and a pizza party for our boy. I think the child loves cupcakes more than anything in the world, and so cupcakes he had on his day of glory. (Sometimes when he wakes up in the morning I'll ask him if we he would like some breakfast. He often responds "Cupcake?" in his sweet little I-just-woke-up-voice. Love this kid.) It's a bit sad for me to watch him grow-up. New goal: slow down and enjoy my children. I need for time to just slow-down.

Spring trip to Utah/Idaho

**These pictures are all out of order, and I can't figure out how to fix it- oh well. **

At the top of Park City mountain.

Nate, mom, Brandon, Debbie, Christie, Alan

Gathered around my Grandparents kitchen table with cousins.
On the "Green Swing"- there isn't a more peaceful place on earth. I love that farm!
Will at the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point.
Alex swimming with Grandma in Kamas. Everyone had so much fun!
Everyone gathered at my Grandmother's birthday party. You will find Alex on the front row with, oh yes, his finger up his nose. That's my boy. At least he was willing to be photographed. That is not a small accomplishment.

On the way to Twin Falls- our regular stop at Maddox's Drive-in. Nothing can beat their Oreo shake. I think my dad was hungry for some American food after being in Guatemala for so long!
Most of my family gathered in Twin for lunch.
My sweet Grandmother- Elizabeth Jackson.
Having snacks with cousins at the party. The boys LOVE being around their cousins!
Shooting hoops with Uncle Nate- who always steps in to help me when Alan isn't around.

So the parents made their way home from Guatemala for General Conference and the family, of course, gathered during their visit! The boys and I went for 10 days and it wasn't long enough. There are few things I love more than escaping my daily life every few months, and an escape this was! When we go off the plane the family was already loaded up and ready to head to Twin Falls, Idaho for my grandmother Jackson's 90th birthday celebration. After spending the weekend in Twin, we went back to Utah and spent the next week in Park City. My organized mom had the week planned with fun outings and had even booked babysitters so the adults could spend some time without the kiddos! Alan flew up for the ski day and stayed the weekend to go to conference. It was a great trip and we came home exhausted and so sad that it's over.