My sweet Ella Grace is 12 years old! The last preteen year! Although to be honest it has felt like she's been a teenager for the 6 months or so. Partly because she's so tall and partly because she's got the attitude of a teenager! :)
Last year for her birthday she stocked up on all things doll related. She got quite the haul with the money she had saved up.
When it came time to get Ella's birthday pictures at JCPenny's, I thought it would be fun to take her out to Olive Garden afterwards. It was our first time getting to eat out since the start of the pandemic. It was so nice to sit in a restaurant and have hot food. Ella and I love the breadsticks!
Ella got her braces on in Dec 2019. She's done so well with them and has only complained minimally. She's already halfway through the process. In fact we are going to start talking to my dentist about getting her caps to cover her peg laterals.
After working all day at our church's Easter Adventure, Ella and I went out for some girl fun. We got manicures and pedicures. It was fun to do something girly right before Easter Sunday. It was really expensive though....almost $100 and that was with a Groupon. Last year I actually decided to buy some Nail Dashes from my cousin Mel. She had started selling them a couple months before. Now instead of paying $100 it costs Ella and I about $13 to get our nails done and we can do them at home whenever we want. I actually loved them so much I signed up to sell them so I could get discounts on what I buy.
These sweet girls have just grown up before our very eyes! They are turning into such lovely ladies!
Don't count Ella out of the yucky squirmy stuff just yet though. She's fine picking up critters!
Ella is such a cute fashionista. She's always wanting some article of clothing because she sees someone on a show wearing it and she thinks she'll like it. Enter the shortalls...she just HAD to have them. I think she wore them twice and that was it. They have since been passed onto Caitlynn! I think they looked adorable, but Ella is super picky with how clothes fit and feel. She just didn't like the way they fit around the waist. She has absolutely hates any type of ruffles or pleats.
When Michael was working on the infamous stump in the backyard, Ella wanted to try her hand at chopping at it. She quickly realized it was a lot harder than she thought it would be so she started chopping at the stumps that were already rotting away.
Ella has had to do a few Science experiments. She really loved doing the one that was all about matter. She had to run around the house and yard and find small things to add to her board and then label them. It was fun to use some of the little containers I had saved from our Hello Fresh meals to hold the liquids she wanted to use.
At the beginning of the year I asked Ella if she needed a new bike. Ga-Ga wanted to get her one for her birthday. Ella was sure her bike would fit her for one more year though. She really wanted Ga-Ga to buy her the schoolhouse for her dolls instead. So that's what Ga-Ga did. Unfortunately, Ella's bike really did get too small for her. So I did what any loving parent would do...I turned it into a learning experience! :) I bought her the bike, but now she's in debt and she's been working to pay it off ever since. She's down to her last $35 so she's made good progress and she hasn't complained about having to work it off. In fact she's actually asked to do specific jobs in order to lower her debt more quickly. I'm quite proud of her!
Because of Covid the stores bike sections had pretty slim pickings. We finally decided to ask an employee at Wal-Mart if they had any bikes in the back since the whole bike section was empty. Turns out they had bikes, but they were so short on employees they hadn't had time to actually build them. I told them I didn't care. I would just build it myself. I'm telling you...I LOVE to put things together, but that bike tested my patience and I still didn't do something correctly so Michael had to fix it later. Thankfully it's a really cool looking bike and Ella loves it!
Ella with our cute Charlie boy or as Owen calls him our FFM...Furry Family Member!
Ella's first year of homeschooling through Lighthouse Christian Academy was definitely a learning curve. She did amazing! Because of the difficulties in her classroom at public school it was basically like she didn't have any schooling her 3rd grade year. She was still struggling with her reading a lot. After that first year she's doing so much better. She still has some ground to make up though. This year Ella has rocked it! Her spelling and reading have come leaps and bounds. She's now willingly reading chapter books!
To celebrate the end of the school year and Jack's 13th birthday we took the kids camping at Oasis. This was first time the campground had had their pool open since Covid. Unfortunately I think they got the chemicals a little messed up. All my kids faces ended up peeling really bad. This was me trying to get a pictures of Ella's red, peeling face. She wasn't too happy about it!
Ella helping Ga-Ga out with dishes while camping. Ella has become a really good help in the kitchen. She doesn't help out on a regular basis, but when she does offer it's really nice to have the help.
While we were camping the kids went to the little gift shop and bought some fun stuff. Caitlynn and Ella both bought coloring books. They actually ended up switching books with each other. Whenever friends come over Ella is always asking if she can't print pictures so they can color.
This is my favorite pictures of Michael and Ella. Ella looks so cute in her trucker hat!
Ella showing off her skills on the Ninja Warrior course we put up in the backyard.
During that awful heat wave last year we had the Kuch Kids over for a sleepover. The kids ended up sleep outside in the tent and had a great time. Ella loves to have sleepovers with her friends! This year the boys are going to sleep in the tent when we camp that way Ella can sleep in the trailer bed with Zeke instead of at the dinette bed. She's not too happy about it, but I want to have my table up all the time so she'll just have to deal with the change.
Ella really enjoys doing craft projects. She has so many kits in her room for things like bracelets, keychains, candle making and so on.
Ella is still attends Kids Church on Sundays. Every Sunday is a theme...this particular Sunday was a Cowboy/Cowgirl day. Ella and Caitlynn looked so cute! She is technically old enough to go to Youth Group, but I decided I didn't want her to go. Not only does she need more sleep, but she also is a bit on the younger size in regards to the things she likes. She tends to play with kids that are younger than her too. I'm all for her waiting to grow up as long as she can!
Ella would love it if she could have a horse! My friend Melinda has a horse and she said we could come ride her one day. Her name is Sedona. We were planning on taking Horseback riding lessons, but then I decided to put the kids in Taekwondo instead. They are all able to be in the same class together and it counts towards Owen's PE credits for school. Also the church where the kids do Taekwondo at is in Kent, while Melinda's house is out in Black Diamond. It just ended up being a better fit for us.
Ella's favorite color is Turquoise as you can see by her dress and shoes. Ga-Ga always buys the kids their new shoes for the upcoming school year and Ella has had Ga-Ga buy these same shoes twice!
Last summer we had VBS at our church for the first time ever! It was amazing....exhausting as a helper, but amazing! The first group Ella was with was not a good fit at all. She didn't have anyone her own age in that group. Thankfully Mr. Scott noticed that Ella wasn't her usual happy self so the very next day she got to switch groups. She ended up being with her friend Emily and Emily's friend Riley. Those 3 girls had the best time. Riley is making that fake sad face because she wants Ella's snack. Ella can't have dye so she couldn't have the Rice Krispie treats that had been turned black to look like coal....our theme was a train theme. So instead of coal they just made Ella normal Rice Krispie treats and called them diamonds. Who wouldn't want diamonds!
My sweet girl...even though her eyes are closed I love this picture! I'm so glad God decided I needed a girl!
Even though we had finished school in June we had to wait for the kids grades to be officially posted before we could throw away all their PACEs they completed that school year. Ella did a ton of work in one year....it was actually well over 1 years worth of work!
Camping and coloring with friends are some of the best memories. That and the awesome rope swing that was at this campground! The kids still talk about this campground because of that swing!
Ella loves her Charlie boy and one day he chose her to sleep with. She was over the moon about it!
Cute 5th grade girl! Like I said earlier she has been doing so well this year. Her reading has exploded. In fact I highly doubt we'll ever use the hours we have left over with her tutor at Varsity Tutors. There just isn't a need for it. Plus they still weren't doing in-person tutoring the last time I checked.
Going on a few hikes prior to our road trip last year was the best thing I could have done. It really helped the kids to know what to expect and it helped me to know what I needed to do in order to get the kids prepared for the trip. Which I promise I will blog about in full some time soon. Anyway....one of the big things was working on attitudes. This girly just loves to be in control and in the lead. She also doesn't like to let her brothers win or be in front. Thankfully we worked those issues out pretty quickly!
Speaking of vacation...Ella did great...all our kids did really! They are such good road trippers.
This sweet girl has legs for days. She's only a few inches away from being as tall as me. She can already fit into my shoes and in fact she actually has slightly bigger feet than me already.
Here's the staged photo vs. the reality photo while on our hike in Arches National Park. Ella was pretty hot and tired by this point.
When you get hot you have to improvise. I bought these fun rechargeable fans on Amazon prior to our trip and then Ella used her blanket to block out the sun while we were driving.
While we were at the Grand Canyon the kids had a blast making friends with all the squirrels. They even named them all. The names were always something to do with their behavior...like nappy, skittish, chewy and so forth.
When you spend the whole day hiking on trails you work up an appetite...nothing like having dessert prior to dinner! :)
The Petrified Forrest was definitely a bit disappointing, but I did get this cute pictures of our girl sitting on a petrified log.
Being at Miss Ellen's house was a highlight of our trip. The kids spent hours in the pool!
First time at the movies since the start of the pandemic!
Hands down our favorite time on vacation was at Tree Top Tahoe. The adventure course was amazing! Ella spent most of the time with Michael since she's a sweet Daddy's girl. She even ended up doing one of the Black Diamond runs. Towards the end she joined me a couple runs. It was so epic!
Ella has unique relationships with each of her brothers. Her and Zeke loves to play stuffed animals together. Jack and her get along when they are working towards a common goal. Owen and her are at time where they mainly get on each others nerves right now.
Ella loves to go to the beach and collect shells. When we were at Seaside, Oregon she spent hours running back and forth on the beach finding as many sand dollars as she could.
We were all so happy to see our Charlie boy when we got back from our vacation!
Last year the time finally came for us to pass on the Power Wheels. It's crazy how in my mind I honestly thought that the kids could probably still ride around in them. Oh how I was wrong! They've just gotten so big so fast!
Even though they are all growing up and it can be sad to leave some things behind it's also fun seeing them get bigger and more responsible. It was so fun taking them all to the corn maze and not freaking out when the older boys got separated from us.
It's also fun that the kids can now handle their own pumpkins. All I did was cut the hole at the top and then Ella took over from there.
It was also pretty awesome that she wanted to wear the outfit I wore to church for 80's night. I love that girly!
Teeth are getting straighter!
In preparation for an upcoming basement remodel we had to clear everything out of the basement. The backyard was getting pretty gushy by this point because of all the wet weather. Michael laid down pinewood in hopes that we wouldn't ruin the yard. The kids ended up using it as their scooter course! I love seeing them use their imagination!
When it came time to get family pictures for our Christmas card I tried to have my friend Starr take our pictures. I think we had pictures scheduled 3 times, but the weather would not cooperate at all. It finally got to be too late so I decided to just take our own pictures at the house. I thought it would be fun to use the fireplace brick as the backdrop. Of course I had to have Ella give me a sassy pose....it wouldn't have been right to just have a normal pose!
When the Kuch kids spent the weekend in December we had so much fun. Homemade pizzas, crafts and Christmas movies. The best time! I just love seeing these girls and watching them grow together. This year we actually get to see them once a week. Every Friday we meet up at a church in Federal Way for choir. Christina told me about it last year and we saw her kids at the Christmas choir performance. It was awesome so I asked the kids if they wanted to join...Jack and Ella both decided to join and we've really enjoyed it! Owen and Zeke come with us to choir they just stay out the foyer with the other kids and play games.
Getting to see Scrooge the Musical was so much fun. I was worried that Ella might have a hard time since the show went so late, but she did great. She still requires a lot of sleep. She's usually in bed around 8:30pm, but some nights she'll choose to go to bed as early as 7pm. She hasn't been seen by her Neurologist in almost 2 years. She has an appointment in March to get checked out. I'm not expecting anything unusual to show up, but it's good for Dr. Philips to see her. It still amazes that she's on her original shunt. She truly is a miracle!
Ella is the best when it comes to Christmas gifts. She has the best reactions and she's super thankful!
I got the girls all matching necklaces for Christmas. Ella loves jewelry...she's always coming into my jewelry drawer and seeing what she can have. She has so much more jewelry than I do!
When we had snow between Christmas and New Years we got to break in Jack's new sled. Ella decided to try to snowboard all on her own. She's so adventurous!
Christina also told me about KiwiCo crates. I looked into them and we decided to buy a 1 year subscription for the kids. It has been so amazing for all of them. Ella has loved working on the projects and learning new skills. She's even taken the skills she learned and made addition crafts as well.
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