The Summer of Ella

Ella had a special Summer!

 It was so neat to see her try new things and enjoy new experiences! 

Here is a little overview of Ella's Summer....

She learned to boogie board, and became more comfortable with going out a little more each time. 

On this particular day she pretty much spent from nine in the morning until five at night in the water... boogie boarding! She said it was one of her best days ever!

It's especially fun with friends! Here is Ella with her friend Regan! This is one of my favorite pictures from the Summer! The look of pure joy on these sweet faces! 

Ella with Daddy 

Recently we were at the bay and the kids found a star fish! Ella has always loved learning about marine life. Almost every book she chooses at the book store is about sharks or sea creatures. When we are at the bay, the kids enjoy finding crabs, fish, etc, so this was quite the treat to find a HUGE star fish! We took pictures and then quickly got it back in the water. 

In July, Ella flew to BOSTON Massachusetts! She went with Grandma and Grandpa Hull, her cousins Maddie and Hailey and met up with Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Tyler and their cute littles (who were living there this Summer)!  It was her first time (that she remembers) flying on a Plane and she loved it! Katie had her turn in Boston a few years ago, when she flew out with Bryant for Tyler's Graduation. So, it was really fun for Ella to have this special trip. She was super excited and could not wait to go! 

Ella with her sweet cousins Maddie and Hailey. 

This fun group saw all sorts of sights around Boston! 

Cutest cousins with fun Aunt Lindsay! 

Ella took her camera and snapped lots of great pictures from her trip. Recently, we printed out her pictures and she scrapbooked them...

She had a great experience! She is still talking about Boston and all the fun she had! 

 A huge thank you to Grandma and Grandpa and Tyler and Lindsay for the super fun trip!

We sure missed her while she was gone and were all so happy to have her back!

The day after she got home, it was wedding prep time. Aunt Sandy got married in July and Ella was one of the flower girls! 

 Ella, Katie and Penny were flower girls. Ella walked Cousin Fox down the aisle at the ring exchange. 

This Summer, Ella also learned that she LOVES water slides! We spent a few days at Legoland and one of the days we had fun at the water park there. We got there right when it opened and had the place to ourselves, which meant tons of water slide fun with no lines! (Carter is next to her, he loved it too, even though he was still underwater in this picture)!! 

We really loved Legoland (here we are with Chima before going into the water park)! 

We kept pretty busy this Summer, but we did have a handful of down days where we watched movies and played at home. Ella enjoys having me put braids in her hair at night so then in the morning it looks like this! 

This Summer we hosted "Craft Camp for a Cause" at our house. The money earned from the camp went towards the adoption of Sofi Rose. The kids had a blast having their friends and new friends (that were made at camp) over each morning to do crafts! Ella was a huge help this week and was great to help the younger girls with their crafts! We loved craft camp!! 

For one of the activities at Craft Camp, we had a tin foil fashion show! It was a hoot! Ella said this was her favorite part of Craft camp! 

Carter cracks me up in this picture! The first day was hard for him being the only boy (see first group picture above), but then by the last day, he had totally embraced it and just went with it. He joined in on all the crafts and fun!

Bryant always calls himself the "butterfly whisperer" and I am pretty sure, that gift has been passed down to Ella! Butterflies love this sweet girl! We went to the butterfly garden at the fair and the entire time, Ella had butterflies on her! Then, after we left, another butterfly landed on her head and stayed there for quite a while while she walked around! 

Long Lazy Summer days at the Bay are one of our favorite Summer time activities! 

Ella had a great time at Soccer camp this Summer! It was hosted by the AYSO and taught by soccer players from the UK. 

Ella loved being on the same team as her BFF, Bella. These girls loved their coach Roo! He was so nice and taught them a ton! 

Finding sea shells on one of our beach bon fire nights. 

We went to the aquarium a few times this Summer before our passes expired. 

Ella had her first daddy/daughter date night with the "Activity Day" girls at church! 

Daddy with his girls! It was a country theme (obviously). Katie was still recovering from her hip surgery, but regardless these three had a great time at the dance together! 

Slip n' Slide Fun!

Ella is always making present for people. Here she is wrapping up a present to give to Katie. She is always prepared for Birthdays, and has presents wrapped up weeks before the actual day. 

On Father's Day this year we got together with the entire Hull Family. We spent the day in Redlands with family, where we met baby C for the first time!! 

At the start of the Summer, Ella and Carter had fun at 49er camp at CSULB. They played different sports each day and swam every day as well. Ella loved her coach, Ashley, and had a great time learning new sports!  

Annual Summer backyard campout with friends (bbq, movies in the pool, tents on the grass, donuts for breakfast and endless swimming)!

Sweet sisters. Ella is always so sweet to offer to push Katie. 

We spent a few days in Doheny this Summer and the waves were perfect for learning how to surf. Ella got up on her very first try and rode the wave all the way in! 

So proud of her!

Doheny has a bunch of rocks, but when the waves crash in and then go back out, it makes such a beautiful sound. We seriously loved listening to the rocks. 

After Katie got cleared from her hip surgery to start moving around, it was more of a challenge than she thought it would be. Crawling, moving and even swimming was not like it used to be. She was so weak from the surgery and six week recovery. Our first trip was just days after her recovery was over and when Katie got in the pool she could not swim well. Ella saw that Katie was struggling and offered to put her on her back and swim with her. While they laughed and giggled, I wiped away the tears. I was so grateful for Ella, offering to carry Katie on her own. So blessed by their sweet sisterhood!

Soon after this picture, Katie started to swim a little more on her own and little by little she gained back her strength and is doing great now. It just took time to get back to where she was before the surgery. 

Ella and I went on a few mother/daughter dates this Summer and had a great time! This time we spent the day in Seal Beach getting lunch, walking around the shops and getting Cold Stone! Such a fun day! 

SUPing it up at the Baby Beach

Such a fun afternoon with friends. Sally is always so good to take the kids out on adventures. She and the girls were all over the bay! 

 Bolsa Chica

Big hugs for my Ella girl! 

One night this summer we went to Bolsa Chica for a bon fire. 

After we ate, we went down to the shore where we played and watched dolphins swimming in the ocean. There were a ton swimming by. At one point two of them jumped out of the water and we all screamed. It felt like we were at sea world! 

My sister snapped this of us watching the dolphins and sent it to me. I promise there were dolphins, we just could never get a picture fast enough! 

Enjoying the scenic walk to Shoreline Village one morning. Such a fun day spent with Grandma Nancy, Uncle Scott and Cousin Penny! 

Wednesday Night Summer Concerts at the Pier and dancing with "Aunt" Sally are so much fun!!! 

We spent a weekend in Laguna Beach. It is always a fun tradition to stay in the little beach house each summer. 

We love Laguna Beach so much and the kids especially love the tide pools there. For the past few years our friends have joined us when we stay there, which is an extra treat for the kids since they all play so well together. They spent the days boogie boarding or collecting sea creatures together! So much fun! 

 These two have been friends since they were about four and have such a great friendship! It is fun to see them grow up together and stay such great pals! 

Oh how I love this girl! 

What a fun Summer it has been!