Best year.

Hard to believe sweet Benson has been with us for one year!
Best year of my life so far.
It wasn't the best year because life has been perfect.
(In fact, if I'm being honest, lots of things about this year have been really difficult!)
It was the best year because I got to spend it with this little man and his two siblings.
I'm so blessed to have three healthy kids.

The fact that they are this cute is just a bonus.

While I'm on the subject of blessings - that man holding Benson.

BEST. DAD. EVER.

(and I'm a sucker for that dimple in his cheek . . . just sayin)

Happy birthday little Benson.
We love you and your sweet personality.

neglected

Yes the blog is.

I know i've been bad about posting.

I heard through the grapevine that Uncle Chance is patiently awaiting new pictures of the monkeys.

I will be taking some 6-month pics of Benson this weekend, so I promise I'll post some soon!

I have been really busy.

For those who didn't know, Synergy Dental Group is moving!

They are building a new location just one mile from where they are at now, and it's going to be great for the practice!!

Such a great move for their growing practice - great for the staff and the patients.

They should move in in 5-6 weeks!

Construction of the new office is well under way, and decorating that is taking some serious time!

It's gonna look great, but just finding the perfect chair here for the waiting room took two days, and that's just one detail!

The paint colors, the pictures, the rug, the kids area, the list goes on!

Dave's new office isn't the only thing under construction, we are doing a little remodel on ourhouse and adding a playroom & big closet and that should start next week!

I can't wait!

In other news, I ran the Ragnar Del Sol relay race this past weekend.

You might remember this post from last year's race.

So glad I wasn't pregnant and running it this year!

The girls and I had a blast, but I probably should have paid attention to the fact that my first 8.3 mile leg (see below) was pretty much all uphill . . . remind me again why I volunteered to be runner 1? Oh, and 8.3 somehow read 8.6 miles on my garmin!

I almost died when the Garmin hit 8.3 and I wasn't even seeing the exchange point yet!

Oh well, I survived, right?!?

It made my second 7-mile leg that was flat as a pancake seem like a walk in the park! And my third leg was a hilly 3.5 miler at 5:00am Saturday, but I was running knowing that I was almost done, so it seemed easy!

Ragnar races are crazy, but so fun, I know I'll do it every year!

Here is a shot of my team: "Babes with Babes" at the finish line...

We got third in our division, which was surprising, because we were really just out to have a good time!

Way to go you fast little ladies!

More to come, I promise.

Remember - good things come to those who wait.

El Tour

A shout out to my amazing husband for doing the 109-mile Tour De Tucson a couple of weeks ago and finishing with gold honors, despite his calf cramping up at mile 90!

There is an endodontic group that Dave rode for, hence the cool Superstition Springs Endo shirt - here he is pre-race . . .

Mimi and Papa came with us to Tucson, and watched the kiddos so I was able to go see the start of the race.

It was really neat.

8600+ bikers lined up is a sight to see!

The finish was fun to watch too!

The professional riders were amazing.

And, here is a worn out Dave post race.

We are grateful that he stayed safe.

He had a bad wreck occur right in front of him - glad he avoided that, and hope the other riders are ok!

Way to go Daddy.

We love you!

RCKC Visit

We headed up to Utah to visit Rob & Corinne for a week.

It was so nice to escape the heat and enjoy their awesome yard, fun fireworks, and beautiful mountains!

We left on a Friday afternoon, stayed the night in Vegas and got to R&C's house on Saturday afternoon. Just in time for a fun 4th of July BBQ and fireworks.

The kids were having a blast getting their wiggles out in R&C's backyard after the long car ride!

Cannon enjoyed the watermelon . . . can you tell?

We did fireworks in R&C's cul-de-sac and the kids were in heaven.

Cannon was a little crazy because he didn't quite understand that he couldn't hold/touch every firework . . .

Uncle Rob lighting snakes for the kids.

Cannon in the "glow-wear" uncle JR brought for the kids.

On the 4th, we headed up to the mountains after church to enjoy a hot dog roast and the cool air!

The kids were having a blast throwing rocks and going on short hikes.

A shot of the four cousins.

RCKC family.

We did fireworks in the cul-de-sac again on Monday the 5th.

We spent the week enjoying the Utah weather.

Dave flew home and worked Tuesday-Thursday.

I didn't get out my camera much, but here is one phone shot of Cannon at the Draper Aquarium.

And . . . the highlight of the trip for Dave . . . his Harley ride!

Rob organized a Harley ride from Salt Lake to Jackson Hole for 17 guys.

I was a little scared about the ride through the curvy mountain roads on a rented harley that he wasn't familiar with, but I was really glad that he ended up going because he had a blast!

They drove up to Jackson Hole on Friday and stayed the night in Jackson Hole and headed back a different route on Saturday.

Dave was in heaven.

I'm glad he got to go and glad he got to spend some time with his brother!

Twice they ran into herds of sheep crossing the road and had to wait for them to clear the road.

Dave is on the bike on the right.

Here is a gorgeous view of the Teton mountains.

Dave is on the far right.

A picture of a mountain lake that they rode past.

So beautiful!

Dave and Rob are dreaming up a couples trip where we would ride on the back of the bike.

Not sure if I'm up for that.

We'll see . . .

So glad we got to come visit you R&C.

Thanks for the great visit!

Can't wait to see you again in two weeks!

Daddy

We scored.

We have the perfect Dad for us.

We love you.

We are excited to make you a Daddy of three!

We have the perfect Papa, and Poppy for us too!

Happy day.

even at the end of the day

He's still the best daddy ever.
After going in early for a patient who didn't want to have to miss work.
After dealing with people all day.
After biking 20 miles to and from work.

Seriously.

I don't even deal with half of what he does all day, and by 6:15 pm (when the video was taken) I'm not winning any "best mom" awards.

Not that I was going to win any of those awards anyway.

p.s. - Lily is instructing him to be a phantom. She learned all about phantom's, witches, and scary people from her cousin Kyson.

p.p.s. - While it looks like Cannon was practicing his "come hither" modeling poses, he is actually trying to show Daddy his diego band-aid.

my boys

Oh how handsome these two looked this morning.

(even though Cannon wouldn't smile for the camera)

I love Sundays.

I love my family.

And, on an unrelated note, I wonder if I'm having a boy or girl?

I find out in three weeks.

I'm not hoping for either one in particular, I'm just curious!

My Valentine's

My funny valentine . . .

My other funny valentine . . .

My favorite, funny, forever, valentine . . .

Hope your day was wonderful!

10 x 3 = OLD

We're old.

It's true.

We're both in our thirties now.

Really, Dave's closer to 40 than 30.

At least he can finally pass for 30.

(if we're talking looks . . . maturity-wise . . . that's another issue)

Happy birthday to Dave . . . a few days late.

Happy birthday to me, a few hours early.

If you are looking for a great dental office . . .

*picture by Kristi Ellingson Photography

Aren't they a good looking bunch?
I've been busy working with our web designers to get the website up for Dave's office.
We just got all of the individual headshots back along with this great picture of the entire group!
There were lots of pictures to choose from but everyone felt like this one showed the energy of the office.

If you need a dental office, you know where to go!

I'll post the website once it's ready, but it'll be a few months before it's "live"!

C.R.A.Z.Y. with a captial "C"

Last week (well the last couple of months really) have been crazy. Our poor kids have been continuously sick with ear infections, sinus infections, and much more.

Last week alone we had two visits to the pediatrician and even a visit from the paramedics! Thanks to family and friends for your concern and willingness to help! Here's to a healthier week this week.

As for the picture, it's just a snapshot I took last night of my Dave. We were outside in the backyard enjoying the weather.

I am so grateful for him and for his calm demeanor. I really needed it last week during all of the craziness. We sure LOVE you Daddy!

Could we all just be healthy around here?

At least Dave is home today. He is SO helpful.

I love him.

Tagged: my lovely husband

• How long have you been together? 5 years in May. 1 year dating, and 4 years married in June.
  
• Who said I love you first? Well, does texting count? Dave did, and it was the funniest thing ever, because he was a CLOSED book most of the time when we were dating, so it came out of left field when he said it! I had no clue that he felt that way and I was so shocked I didn't even say it back . . . until the next time we talked.
  
• Who is smarter? Depends on the topic.
  
• Who does the housework? Mostly me, but Dave works on all the projects around the house like cleaning the garage, yardwork, hanging pictures, etc.
  
• Who sleeps on the right? Me. Why is this question always included in these kind of things? Is there something special about sleeping on the right side?
  
• Who pays the bills? For sure, I do.
• Who cooks dinner? I do-"ish". I'm getting better at making it more often though!
  
• Who drives when you are together? Mostly Dave, but sometimes me.
  
• Who is more stubborn? Definitely me.
  
• Who kissed who first? Dave did, THREE months after we started dating. It was kind of a funny kiss, a REALLY short "peck". But I was on cloud nine afterward nontheless.
  
• Who asked out who first? Dave did, but I had someone call him and give him my phone number.
  
• Who proposed? Dave. It was adorable.
  
• Who has more siblings? He does, 4 brothers and 1 sister. I have 2 brothers.
  
• Who wears the pants? We're pretty equal. But, my pants are probably quite a bit more expensive than his.

Thanks for the tag Courtney! I love writing about my husband. I tag anyone who has a hankering to talk about their hubby!

Happy Birthday

Tender Dave!

(a few of you will know Dave's nickname . . . It was coined by a friend of mine when we were dating, and stuck like GLUE!) He turned 34 last Thursday (isn't he aging beautifully?), and it was a fun birthday for both of us. We flew to Seattle for the night (thanks Assurant Employee Benefits). It was the first time we've been away from little miss Lily overnight - thank you to the Strobot/Updike family for watching her for us. While we missed her TERRIBLY we had a blast. It was refreshing to laugh like silly teenagers on the airplane, enjoy our cool downtown Seattle hotel, and reminisce about our days in Seattle. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any of our old Seattle friends as we were there less than 24 hours, as much of the time was spent at the Assurant Christmas party, so we missed seeing everyone!

A few wonderful things about Dave:

• patience - especially during this pregnancy, could I be any more emotional??
• sweetness - anyone who has ever met Dave would probably describe him as sweet a.k.a "tender dave".
• he's very handy - this is both a blessing and curse, he can literally 'DO' anything around the house, so we have to help him budget his time for what projects he should actually 'DO' and what ones we should PAY someone to do.
• HANDSOME - just look at him.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my Dave. Thank you for loving me back, and for being such a great Daddy, Lily adores you, in case you haven't noticed! (hence the waking up each morning and saying, "daddy" over and over until we go in there).

back from the desert

It's been too long since my last post, and a lot has happened. Dave's Grandma Call died, and we went to Mesa for the funeral last week. We had a wonderful time with family, just as Grandma Call would have wanted. Her funeral service was beautiful. She had her children, and all their families there - a total of 112 posterity! Pretty amazing, considering she was told never to have children, and advised during her first pregnancy to have an abortion. She went forward with faith during that first pregnancy, and ended up with seven wonderful children, all of whom adore her. She was a diligent writer, and left behind 21 journals, recording her life. They chose to read from those journals during her funeral, and it was perfect! We'll miss Grandma Call, but she died with a wonderful testimony, and was excited to be with her sweetheart again. Grandpa Call died over 17 years ago, and although she continued to live a positive and productive life, she missed him every day. In the funeral they talked of her desire to walk hand in hand with him again. So, while we'll miss our Grandma Call, we're happy she is with her Nolan again.

We got the chance to look at houses when we were in the valley and it made us VERY excited, to say the least, about getting back to the desert. We've enjoyed Seattle, but we're feeling ready to move on - we can't wait to own a home, and actually have a yard.

In other news, Dave is official, he passed the Western Regional Board Exam, and got his acceptance card, he applied for his dental license today, and should be able to practice in just a week or two!!

Our three year anniversary came and went last month too! It's hard to believe it's been three years, in some ways it seems like it's been forever, yet I remember our wedding day like it was yesterday. We went to the temple on our anniversary and did sealings, enjoyed dinner at a great restaurant called Salty's (right on the water in Seattle, with a spectacular view of downtown), and ended our night with cupcakes and a movie!


And finally, in Lily news - our daughter can officially say the following words: Ball, Baby, Mama, Apple, Hello, Uh-Oh, No (we love hearing that one), Bye-bye and Papa. Here is a little video of "hello", can you tell she's her mother's daughter? She already loves the cell phone.

Proud wife

Graduation has finally come! Last week my adorable hubby walked across the stage and was presented as:

Dr. David Ellingson

Lily (even though she doesn't know it yet) and I are VERY proud.

He's worked so hard the last four years. Not only has he been a great husband, student and father, but has found time to be first counselor in the bishopric of our ward, and an apartment manager. To top it off he got what many of his faculty said was the most prestigious award given each year! It's called the Dennis P. Duskin Senior Insprirational Award. It's the only award voted on by the class. The classmates nominate and then vote on one person to receive the award based on integrity, character, and personality! I definitely think Dave deserved it, and was so proud to know that his classmates respected him so much.


The only disappointment of the day was that our precious little Lily came down with the nasty croup, and couldn't go to graduation. She did get to spend a few hours in her daddy's arms that day though, since that was the only way she would sleep.


Lastly, we were so blessed that Dave's Mom, Dad, and brother J.R. were able to come and join us for the celebration. It was nice of them to make the trip. Many others wanted to come including my parents, brothers, Dave's brother's and sister, etc., but we encouraged them to come at another time when things weren't so crazy. Now we're justing waiting for the national board exam to start. It's next Wednesday - Friday, best of luck Dave!

WAY TO GO DAVID!! We love you.

Relaxation.

Ever since we moved into our new apartment, with it's amazing views of Seattle, Dave has been talking about getting a chaise lounge. Originally, he wanted to find a couch with a chaise at the end of it, and I nixed that idea. But, his hopes never died, and last weekend, his new chaise lounge was delivered. I'm not sure if I'm as good at relaxing on it as Dave is, but he's certainly been taking the time, to teach me a thing or two. It's easy to lay there, the view is mesmerizing. Oddly enough, there is something soothing about watching traffic move . . .