pterodactyl

scott and i are definitely feeling the busy schedule catch up with us now. lately i keep hearing myself say "oops forgot to do that". here i thought staying home would be boring. little elle-belle just keeps rolling with the punches. she had her 4 month appointment on tuesday and got some more shots. (she is in the 95th % for height, the 60th % for weight). our moodiness has been quite effected on this round. she has also developed a "nails on the chalkboard" screech. not quite as fun for scott and i as it apparently is for her. =)

this weekend scott will be flying to oklahoma for a basketball game. then basketball will pause until after christmas break.

we've gotten a little more information recently about our trip to Mali coming up in May. We'll be sending out a New Year's update that should have some of that information on it.

can't wait for christmas break and a trip to kentucky to be with my family!!!

i'm now off to walmart with our shrieking pterodactyl before scott gets home from practise

its 40 degrees and partly cloudy

mouse in the cupboard

this weekend we went 1-1 in basketball. we beat northcentral on friday night and lost to york today. we are about to head out and finish some christmas shopping. while tessa was fixing supper tonight she heard muffled noises coming from the cupboards and thought we had a mouse. while she wasn't paying attention i cleared out our cereal and stowed ellen in the cupboard. it took her a while to notice that ellen was missing and the sounds coming from the cupboard sounded a little like her. pretty funny. she even sat in there for a couple minutes and played. cute, cute, cute.

it's 51 degrees and mostly clear

christmas time

sorry we haven't updated you guys in the last week or so. life has been busy; good, but busy.

you'll notice that we have our tree up and some other lights in the house. pretty festive.

the ellen update is that she can grab things, on purpose. she has grabbed things before, but now you can tell that she see something and reaches out to grab it. particularly noses, lips, and rattles. she has also discovered her feet. she will lay on the floor, grab her feet, and rock back and forth. pretty amusing. other than that she continues to jabber all day long.

the royals are now 5-4 and we have two games this weekend. we'll let you know how they go.

well, that's it for now. we'll try and take some more pictres of ellen in the next couple days and get them up for you.

it's 21 degrees with flurries and a killer north wind

turkey and mashed potatoes

thanksgiving has come and gone now. ellen loved having grandma and grandpa angelo in omaha for the holiday weekend. she took them shopping, to the zoo, had them start a couple puzzles, got them laughing, got them to changer her diaper, and then sent them home this morning.

this was the first exterior wisconsin thanksgiving in angelo history. the turkey still tasted the same.

tomorrow we'll have our christmas tree up and trimmed, some lights on the house, light 101.9 on the radio (nothing but christmas till' christmas), and some eggnog in our glasses (ellen's and mine- tessa doesn't appreciate eggnog). ho, ho, ho.

to all a good night,
34 degrees and drizzling rain

happy thanksgiving

well, the last couple weeks have come and gone now. ellen is three and a half months and might as well have her own talk show. she is cooing and gooing and ooing every second her eyes are open. we love the new phases. the royals basketball team is on a three game winning streak and thanksgiving vacation is upon us. grandpa and grandma angelo are in town and the festivities are upon us.

i won't write much, i need to help grandma with some pies. just wanted to get some new pics out and say a happy thanksgiving to everyone

its 57 and mostly sunny.

Dordt 72 Gu 70

we played another NAIA school last night...Dordt in Sioux Center, Ia. Ellen and I got to ride along with the guys on this little road trip. It was a fun game to watch. We were leading most of the first half. we would have had a 6 point lead at half time but they scored a nice three pointer just before time ran out. So we were leading 46 to 43 at half time. second half our turn-over rate did us in although we were neck and neck most of the way through. our offense was doing an awesome job penetrating their defense so in the last 3 1/2 minutes or so they switched to zone defense (or so I'm told =) and we were unable to pull ahead. we had a chance in the last couple seconds to at least tie the game but they played smart and we couldn't draw the foul before the buzzer. So Dordt won 72 to 70. Scott had a great game...I know he wouldn't want me to tell you how many of those points were his...but I can brag a little and just say that he was amazing as usual.

ellen was great through the whole game. she's just so "go with the flow" takes after her daddy I guess. she just stared at the lights and burped up a steady flow of cheese( no her daddy doesn't really do that) between her newly discovered "gurgle coohs". it's been so long since that first real laugh...but last night we heard it again over and over as she watched the fan at pizza ranch where we stopped to eat. It was so fun to see her think it was so funny.

scott would be disspointed if I didn't include:

its 32 and totally cloudy
over and out

3 months and 1 week

well, ellen is growing like a weed. it seems that every day she is getting bigger, stronger, and more talkative. she is pretty close to being able to sit up on her own and scoots herself around on the ground. not anything close to crawling, but she can spin herslef around in circles. she is on the floor right now talking to "somebody" and playing with her little rattles.

tessa won a free night's stay at a country inn and suites at the big O show. so we spent last night at the hotel, watched indiana jones hunt down the lost arc, and did some swimming. it was great to take a little mini vacation as a family.

its 43 degrees and mostly cloudy.

royals 89, statesmen 90, double OT

the royals came into this afternoons game to face the number 13th ranked team in the nation, NAIA division 1. the statesmen came out to a quick start and built an early 12 point lead over the royals. however the royals clawed back in with four minutes left to go in the first half and took a 4 point lead at half time, 27-23. the first ten minutes of the second half was all grace they took control of the game and built their lead. however, the statesmen wouldn't die, they fought back with seven minutes left in the game and tied it up. from that point neither team led by more than three. in the closing seconds of the game the statesmen missed a layup with the ballgame tied and the royals had a three pointer rim out as the buzzer sounded. the first over time was an even match with the statesmen hitting a desperation bank three at the buzzer to send it into double over time. with just 34 seconds left in the game the royals went to the freethrow line, hit both and took a one point lead. the statesmen drove down the floor, penetrated and were blocked by the royals. however the ball landed in a statesmen players hand and he lofted a shot over the back of the backboard. the gym fell silent as this hail mary shot found the rim and put the statesmen up one with .01 seconds left in the game. a last ditch tip attempt by the royals was unsucessful and the statesmen stole one from the royals. it was a heartbreaker. two last second shots that shouldn't have fallen, did, and the royals felt the agony of defeat. this won't go down as a victory in the books, but the royals were the better team. the royals gained much respect in the league with this game against a ranked opponent in a higher division. you can keep up with the stats over the course of the season at www.graceroyals.com and by clicking on men's basketball.