Soccer!

After a long and snowy Spring it is finally time for soccer to start!!  

This year is super fun, Daddy is one of my coaches, and I got to be number 8 which is the same number that my Cousin Tyler wore!!

We have a really fun team this year, and Daddy and Coach Linda are teaching us a lot of new moves.

I think my favorite position to play is goalie, but I like that Linda and Daddy are teaching us about offense and defense too.

I love that I have a lot of friends on my team, but it is also fun getting to play against my friends too.  This is my best friend Avery, we both agreed before the game that no matter who won we would still be best friends.

We have a couple more weeks left due to the snow delaying the start of the season.  I can't wait for practice tomorrow night!
Linden

Will the Snow Ever End?

Here we are, April 17th, and we are sledding.  Listen, I love sledding just as much as everyone else, but this is getting crazy!!!

The best part was that it is so warm out that we didn't have to be all bundled up, we could be outside and enjoy it!

Here's hoping that this snow melts soon and we can enjoy the spring!
Linden

A Trip to Mankato

Did you know that Mama had another birthday?  She likes to say that her birthday is the most important day of the year, but I know better, Jesus's birthday is the most important day of the year...and no, that does not make Mama's birthday the second most important day of the year (though she always tries to convince me of that when we have this conversation...and we have this conversation a LOT!) 

None the less, this year Mama's birthday was on Easter Sunday so we headed to Mankato on Saturday to hang out and do some shopping.  When we got to the mall we learned that one of the stores was having an Easter event so we headed over.  There was a pretty girl dressed up as Belle...

Their hair salon was doing hair and hair chalk....

And their makeup counter was doing face paint!  Aren't we cute bunnies?

Because it was Mama's birthday we got to do a bunch of fun things.  Mama and Daddy wanted to upgrade their phones so while Daddy was working with the store to get everything setup Mama let me and Ellen ride on the animals!

Ellen picked the cow, and I picked the lion.  We wanted to go all over the place, but it was REALLY busy so we just stuck in one area so we didn't accidentally run into anything (I knew what I was doing, but Ellen was a crazy driver!!)

The most exciting part of the day was when Mama asked Ellen if she wanted to get her ears pierced and Ellen said Yes!!!  Mama was pretty surprised because Ellen had never wanted to do it, but she changed her mind and was such a big girl. 

The girl who did it was really nice and Ellen kept calling her, "the nice lady", like, "The nice lady told me that I can't take out my earrings until Daddy's birthday."  Right away after she got it done she was NOT happy that it hurt, but she was so excited and proud to have pretties in her ears just like me and Mama.  She was also happy that she got to hug their special bear and pick out a sucker.

Of course, no trip to Mankato would be complete without a ride on the carousel.  Ellen wanted to ride the rabbit because she had a bunny nose on.

The cat is always my favorite.

As usual, Maren hung out with Mama and was as cute as can be. 

I think Mama had a pretty good birthday eve!
Linden

Camping Adventure

We came home from school the other day and Mama said that she had a fun idea...we were going to camp, inside!!  I wasn't really sure what to expect, but Mama had a plan so I knew it was going to be great!

We started out having a picnic on the floor, corn dogs and green beans!! 

After supper Daddy helped us pitch the tent.  Bella and Kitten love tents so they made themselves comfortable as soon as it was setup!

Of course, camping wouldn't be complete without playing some games.  I really love to make up new games and Daddy is really good at playing them.

Next it was craft time.  I don't know how marshmallows and toothpicks are a camping craft, but we sure had a great time building all sorts of silly things!

And then there were s'mores!!!!!!!  We didn't have a real campfire, so I am not sure how Mama made these, but they were delicious!  I can't wait until we can build a real campfire and do some roasting.

Speaking of campfires, Mama even made sure we had one of those!  We had to search around the house to find the paper logs, and then I helped Mama build it, we even used a flashlight to make it look like it was glowing.

For bedtime I got to read Curious George Goes Camping to Ellen using our flashlights!  Reading with a flashlight makes reading even more fun.

We sure had a great time, and even got to sleep in the tent overnight.

Hopefully soon we will get to go camping outside for real!
Linden

Ski Bunnies

From Easter Bunnies to Ski Bunnies!!

It isn't often that we still have lots of snow and cold weather on April 7th, so Mama decided that we needed to take advantage of it and go skiing!  Luckily Auntie Wendy and Auntie Missy were able to watch Maren so both Mama and Daddy could hit the slopes with us.

We had to start out on the little carpet to make sure that we remembered what we were doing, but it didn't take long before we were on the big slope!

Mama asked Auntie Wendy if she could watch Maren for an hour or two thinking that we wouldn't last long, but the weather was amazing and we were having so much fun that Mama asked if we could stay out longer!

The best surprise of the day was when my best friend Hannah showed up!!!

Mama said that Hannah and I could go off and take a couple runs on our own.  Turns out, Ellen was NOT okay with that!  She was not happy and wanted to go find us as soon as possible.  Meanwhile, Hannah and I were off and she was teaching me how to race!!!  Not only did she take me on my first Blue Square run, but she also took me through the racing gates.  I may have fallen half way down, but even the best fall.

After a few runs we caught back up with Mama, Daddy, and Ellen.  Ellen was happy to be skiing with us, but she was insistent that she needed to go on the big hill with Hannah too.

One of the many reasons I love Hannah is that she is so kind and nice to everyone.  Not only did she take Ellen up the big hill, but she also took both of us on the chair lift!  I can do the chairlift by myself, but Ellen is so little so somebody has to pick her up in order to get on an off.

It was a pretty great day.  Maren had fun with her Aunties, and we all had a great time enjoying the great outdoors!

We had so much fun that we didn't last long on the way home before we both crashed.

Have a great night!
Linden

Sweet Bunny

Hey Everybody!  Ellen Here!

Have you seen how cute my baby sister Maren is?  I am pretty sure she is the cutest baby alive, and when you add bunny ears she gets even cuter! 

Don't you agree?!?  After Mama was done taking pictures of Maren Kitten decided he wanted to get in on the action and climbed into Mama's basket so she snapped a couple pictures of him too.

Have a great weekend!
Ellen

Maren Josephine ~ Child of God

A few weeks ago on Palm Sunday Maren was baptized and welcomed into the family of God.  It was a super fun weekend full of lots of family, and a special time to celebrate Maren.

Palm Sunday is a fun day at church because we get to parade around and wave palms!  It was extra fun having my cousin Mackenzie there with us.

Maren was a very good girl during her baptism, she cried a little bit because she was tired. 

My favorite part of baptism at our church is when all of the kids come up front and welcome the new baby into the church family by singing Let them Come, which talks about Jesus telling the people to let the children come to him because he has time for everyone.

I especially loved that we got to wear our Easter dresses, I love having a reason to dress up and look extra pretty.  

I also love having a reason to eat cake!!  Not only did Mama get a regular cake for Maren's baptism, she also made a Kransakake to celebrate.  Kransakake is a Norwegian celebration cake and EVERYBODY in my family loves when there is a reason to make it!

Maren's baptism gown was a very special gown.  My Great Grandma Ruth (My mom's, mom's, mom) got it for Grandma Nancy over 50 years ago.  Since then Auntie Wendy, Auntie Heidi, Mama, Cousin Tyler, Myself, Ellen, and Maren have all worn it for our baptisms.  In addition, Mama was given a special blanket that was given to her cousin from Grandma Ruth.  Mama loves all of the tradition and that everything was passed down.

It was such a special day,
Linden

I Feel Lucky to Know You!

About a year ago I learned that my Cousin Tyler was going to graduate high school and head off to college in Colorado.  My Cousin Tyler is a pretty great guy and I have missed him every day since he left.  In March we had an assignment at school to write about someone we are lucky to know, and of course I picked my Cousin Tyler.

"Tyler, you are the best cousin.  You make me laugh.  You fill my heart when it is empty. I like spending time with you.  I like going fishing with you."

I really wanted to send it in the mail to him, little did I know that the day after we sent it he got on an airplane to come see me!!  (At least, I'm pretty sure that was the only reason he decided to come home...)  I was so excited when I came in from recess and he and Auntie Wendy were sitting there waiting to have lunch with me!!!

It was a pretty great day for everyone, it was also Tyler's first time getting to meet Maren!  

Maren was so excited to meet her cousin, she agreed, we are pretty lucky to know him!

It was a pretty great surprise!
 Linden