Mark and I had a lot of fun this week in San Diego. We stayed at "The Lodge at Torrey Pines". It was really beautiful. We went on a lot of fun walks, ate a ton of great food and Mark golfed while I went to the Spa. It was very relaxing. We also took a couple of scenic drives up and down the coast. What a great place to live. I think our favorite thing to do was walk around the Torrey Pines State Reserve. There were several neat trails and a lot of greenery. We loved learning about the Torrey Pines themselves and took some great pictures. We had breakfast on the deck and had fun watching football. We loooooove San Diego!!!!!!!!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've been on the blog. Britt and I just finished a great trip to Seattle and Victoria BC. It was fun, but cold. We did a lot of walking and we went to Pike's Fish Market a few times. The highlight was the little French Bakery with Chocolate Almond Croissants. We split two of them and had to restrain ourselves the third day. We spent one day driving to UW and exploring University Village. We found Moleskin Planners which we had been on a mission to find. Then we drove out to the Williams where we were treated to the best dinner of Thai Wraps, grilled Salmon, Chicken, asparagus and a mango bowl for dessert. Fun Fun.
We flew, drove, monorailed, clippered, and flew in a float plane. Butchart Gardens in Victoria was a blast eventhough Britt wasn't too excited in the beginning. It was really pretty. We had High Tea at the Empress Hotel and were a little sticker shocked at the cost. But it was a lot of fun. We sat at a little table for two by the front windows and ate Cucumber Sandwiches, and a lot of cute pasteries. We had caffiene free Berry Berry Tea and laughed while I continuously dropped sugar cubes on the table. (Just couldn't hold on with the baby tonges). It was a fun trip!!! I loved it Britt.

Wow---Home from the Alaskan Cruise! It was amazing. There really is no way to describe the beauty you see there. Between the glaciers, the wildlife, the landscapes, and open ocean. I don't think I have seen so many neat things since the last Europe trip. I will put up a couple of my favorites. This first photo is of the edge of the Juneau ice field. I took this from the floatplane we were on. These ice fields go for miles and miles. The color is fantastic.!!!!!!!!  We had two formal nights on the cruise, I was extremely seasick for the first one. We also dressed up on the last night. It was a lot of fun. The food was fantastic, and the company the best. From left to right--Mom, Me, Ruth, Amy, Dolores, Joan. Don't we look great!

Cruising to Alaska--Bear Country

Well, It's Saturday July 26th. I am on board the Amsterdam or A-dam as they call it. I will definitely get Ad a mug here.... We are traveling at a pretty good rate. The food is awesome, I have already had Salmon twice. Yesterday when we arrived we were greeted by Mark, Ruth, Peter, and Tim. They took us to a great place called McCormicks and Schmicks for lunch. I ate steamed clams, fish chowder and a beet salad. We also walked around Pikes Market for a while. It was a lot of fun. We arrived on the boat. Had a lifeboat drill which was Mandatory. Joan and Amy missed it and we have had a lot of fun with that. They had to make it up this morning.

I have had some great walks around the ship and it is windy and cool. I really enjoyed it. Hopefully I can upload a couple of pictures.

Family Stuff

We have had some fun things happen with the families this summer. BethAnn Broadhead and Chandler Turley were married on June 13th, it was a nice wedding. Their sealing was at the Salt Lake Temple and the reception was at Heritage Gardens. Meg took a lot of photos for them and some great ones of the family. It was a nice day!

We also had a ton of fun on the 4th of July. We spent a few days up at Midway, Utah. Ou

r place is in a community called Valais. Our address is 33 West Village Circle. It is lots of fun up there.

Anyway, we watched the fireworks which were shot off Memorial Hill. They were

great. We ate at Snake Creek Grill on Saturday night. Oh course eating the yummy Oreo, Ganache, Banana Cream pie. Yum!!!!

The Ellingson Family Reunion was this month. The activities were golf, swimming, farmer's market, quilting, BBQ, and then a great Talent show on Sunday!! Mom made Banana Cream pie which was delicious, especially the next day when she made me my own personal one with real crust! Thanks Mom!!!

Summer Quilting

 This summer I finally made the wall quilt I wanted for the house. Oops, it's too little, oh well, I will have to make another one. It is a great pattern from one of my favorite companies called Maple Island Quilts. I found these patterns at the City Quilter in New York. I visit that shop every time we go to New York. It is so much fun. This particular pattern is called "Piqued". I have made a couple of other quilts by this company. Very nice!!! 

Another fun quilting experience for me was going to the Shop Hop with my Quilt Group friends. We we

nt out to Pine Needles at Gardner Village, and then to Quilts Etc. and Piper's. It was so much fun. We ended up at the Dodo for lunch, so pretty much a perfect day for me.

 My friend group got together and tied two quilts for the humanitarian center. They are darling and I hope will provide comfort and warmth for someone who needs it. We had a fun time tying the quilts and then one of my favorite things is turning the edges.  The finished quilts are adorable and it was a fun activity to do with my friends. 

For You Britt

   Hi there! Wow it's been a while. I really didn't realize how long it's been. Anyway, Britt keeps asking when I will update. It's funny because I always feel like not a lot is happening, but a lot is.

   First of all, Mark and I took a little "get-a-way" trip to San Diego in June. It was tons of fun. We visited the Reeses new place and then spent a couple of hours at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Of course this was the home of the 2008 U.S. Open. One of the most amazing tournaments ever!!!!! We ended up with clothing for everyone in the family, and we also thought about the twins a lot since the last time we were there the boys golfed that course. Anyway, San Diego is a lot of fun! Mark and I had a blast, we saw a Padres game and went to our favorite restaurants. Sammy's and Roy's, just to name a couple. We had fun morning walks and shared breakfast at the Edgewater Grill on the harbor. It was a great couple of days.