Cowgirl Ella

Ella has returned from her first trip to South Dakota. In true cowboy fashion, we rented a Toyota Prius to drive out there. Ella was a good little passenger and was happy to stretch when we stopped at Pizza Ranch for dinner. We stayed at a new hunting lodge in Highmore which was like staying in a new hotel. It was very nicely done. The cows mooing in the back was a little different from most hotels.

Saturday we spent most of the day at Phil and Ginge's farm/ranch. Ella was a great little girl considering she didn't really get to nap. She enjoyed visiting with everyone and was even content while mom and dad went 4-wheeling in a cow pasture.

The low-light of Saturday is while on a walk outside between rooms, Ella got pooped on by a bird - right on her face. It came out of nowhere and hit her smack on the cheek, nose and upper lip. Loran wiped most of it off with his fingers and I was laughing too hard to be of much assistance! It was pretty funny, especially the look on Ella's face. Ella has also started to talk - a lot. She's very vocal, loud and animated, waving her hands and pounding her fists. She's very opinionated. Too bad we don't know what exactly she's opinionated about.

Ella was great in the car on the way home and did a lot of talking while we were eating lunch at Perkins. It was hilarious. She only got fussy the last hour in the car and when I sat in the back seat with her, she was very entertaining. We were all happy to get home and stretch out after 7.5 hours in the Prius - which got 50 mpg.

Today Ella had a surprise. Her Great Grandma and Grandpa Straight brought over a playhouse they purchased at a garage sale. It's never been outside and looks like it's brand new! You would never know that it was several years old and used. It looks like it's straight out of the box. There's a little kitchen inside and a cordless phone! It has a little door to open and close and windows with shutters.

Today was also the first step beyond rice cereal. Ella's first food was sweet potatoes this morning. She loved them. I couldn't put them in her mouth fast enough. When we finished, there were orange splatters all over though, including her forehead!