Brielle 3-year-old Interview and Stats

My name is: Brielle (aka Ellie, Biscuit, Bo-bellie)
I'm: 3-years-old
Things I love:

-Dancing

-Music (especially 'It's a Small World' and 'Yo-Ho-Yo' from Disney's Pirates ride)

-Playing Hungry Hippos

-Trains

-Eating (likes fruit especially oranges, veggies paticularly brocolli and corn on the cob, doesn't really like meat, loves chocolate)

-Reading Books

-Painting

-Swimming

Favorite book: Still loves I Spy Books, other favorite books rotate depending on what we have from the library for the week. Today's choices are 101 Dalmations, The Very Cranky Bear, and Bear Shadow
Pet Peeve: When Ethan takes my toys
Catch Phrase: 'Farkle'=Freckle, 'I think, what are you doin', '.....how does that sound? Does that sound like a good plan Mama?' (I usually haven't heard the entire plan and am not sure what I'm agreeing to.)
Height: 39 1/4 inches
Weight: 33.2 pounds
Words: If I know you I'll talk your ear off, if you're a stranger, don't even try to get me to say a single word.

Sleeping: Night-about 11 hours (8pm-7am), Nap 2-2.5 hours (1pm-3pm)

Movement: Running, Jumping, Climbing on top of counters and bookshelves where I shouldn't be, learning to peddle the tricycle

Going the Distance

I didn't even know I had the desire to run a Marathon. I thought a half would still be a great accomplishment and wouldn't be so torturous on my body. But then on a whim I signed up for the St. George marathon. My name was drawn out of a hat in the lottery that 11,000 other people entered to subject themselves to the same torture of running 26.2 miles. Since I signed up I realized that this really is something that I would like to do. Now is a good time in my life to do it, so...the training begins. Working around James' schedule to watch kids, or sometimes taking the kids with me and running while trying to keep them occupied. Fitting runs in around work, church responsibilities, home responsibilities...life in general. Mile upon mile of pavement under my feet. It is going to be a fun 5 months! Race day is October 2nd.

Happy 3rd Birthday to Brielle!

Brielle (Ellie, Bo-bellie, Biscuit) turned 3 on May 4th (international Star Wars day!). We had TWO great days of celebration for her. She is such a great addition to our family and we love her so much. We a looking forward to what the next year has in store for her and for us.

Megan baked Ellie a chocolate cake as this was exactly what she had asked for. Well, actually she asked for a "twalk-quite" cake, but we think we got the idea. Meg decided to let her help decorate the cake with M&Ms, with which Ellie had no problem.

On Monday the 3rd, we had a family party at James' parent's house. The kids had a grand time playing with their boats in the spa. They both slept great that night. Megan said "Well they had no problem going down for bed tonight after spending 2 hours in the spa." I told Megan that I look forward to a time in my life when I can say the same thing about myself. :)

Ellie received many great presents from friends and family. She is a very lucky girl!

On her actual birthday, Brielle went to the Build-a Bear factory to get a plush toy. She spent a good deal of time there picking out just the right puppy. After inspecting it she was asked what the puppy's name would be. Fluffy Ear. She calls it like she sees it.

To round out her birthday we had a simple little family dinner out on the balcony of our place. It was nice to just get to sit around and talk to her about what her day was like and what she liked best. Ethan enjoyed smearing cake and ice cream all over the place. Meg and I just enjoyed being parents.

Horse Head in the Bed

Here is a little mofia-esque picture for you. Brielle decided she wanted to sleep with her play horse on a pole toys. She was having some trouble going to sleep and kept tossing and turning. She eventually found a comfortable spot and the position was just right to capture this shot. Really a sight to see. My sister just could not resist taking a picture to preserve this moment.

New Car Smell

About a month ago on a trip to Morro Bay our 1997 Astro van's fuel pump went out. To get it back up and running would cost just a little less than what the van was worth so we decided to just sell it and get something new. We have been saving for a few years as we knew this day would be coming, but it is always scary taking such a huge part of your savings out of the bank. We were very fortunate to have family close that let us borrow a vehicle while we looked. It allowed us to wait for just the right car at the right price.

We bought a 2007 V6 Ford Fusion SE as a certified pre-owned vehicle. It is a great car and best of all James fits nicely into it. James took it up to Lake Arrowhead for a City of Hope retreat and it got a little dusty, so we took the chance tonight to show the kids how to wash a car. They loved it!

I am thinking that Ethan is going to want to wash the car everyday. He loved splashing and throwing bubbles all over the place.

Here is Megan with the kids and a clean car.

The kids were very proud of all the "hard" work they put into getting the car all cleaned up.

Here is a quick clip of the kids working on getting the car and themselves all wet. Note that Ethan tries to take a bite out of the pot. Crazy kid!

So Cal Ragnar 2010

The second annual Ragnar Relay in support of the Ferguson Education Fund was run this past weekend. The race was a little over 200 miles (from Ventura to Dana Point). 12 runners stepped up to the challenge and did a fantastic job. Here are just a few pics from the event. There is a map below if you want to take a look. The yellow pins are the exchange points with the blue pins being where one half of the team switched to the next half.

View Ragnar 2010 in a larger map

These are the runners from the first 6 legs. They started at about 8am Friday morning. The race would finish (after running through the night) roughly 32 hours later.

Ed and Helen Ferguson with great granddaughter Brielle hang out with Nemo (the team mascot) who was used as the "baton" to pass from one runner to the next.

Of course Ethan could not get enough Nemo time. Any chance he got, he was with that fish. Megan Warnick was a huge help as she was in charge of all the snacks for runners as well as watching the 4 little kids.

Megan is receiving Nemo as she comes to the end of one of her legs. She (and all the runners) did a great job of training in the months leading up to the race, and it showed as they kept running with minimal/no sleep anywhere from 12 to 20 miles.

Megan and her sister Nikki pose here with Nemo as they rest a little between their respective race legs.

On Meg's last leg of the race (8.8 miles) she passed Nemo to Gavin and Brielle who were thrilled to be able to "help" out with the race.

Meg's sister and brother-in-law came from Utah to run in the race. Here are Ashlie and Nathan at the finish line. They look pretty good considering what they had just gone through!

The team crossed the finish line on the beach at Dana Point just about 5pm on Saturday. Really a great accomplishment for an equally great cause.

Wilderness Day 2010

The Vulcan Mining company denied access to their property for Duarte's Wilderness Day. This caused quite a stir. It was arranged for Mom (mayor) and Congresswoman Judy Chu to fly up Fish Canyon so that Judy could see the desctruction that was occuring as well as view the future site that Vulcan wishes to ruin. This is a picture of us in front of the LA Country Fire Dept. helicopter. It was the highlight for the kids.

Kevin (a firefighter and paramedic) showed us all the tools they use in rescues.

Here, Congresswoman Judy Chu and Mom talk about what they saw after flying up to see Fish Canyon.

Here is a shot of Fish Canyon Falls taken from the helicopter. That is more water than I ever remember flowing over the falls.

Here is a quick video of the helicopter landing at Encanto Park in Duarte. The mountain seen to the right will be lowered by 600 feet if the mining proposition is passed by the Azusa City Council. You can see Mom waving as the aircraft touches down.