Winter Wonderland

Hey Everybody! Ellen Here!  

We have had a pretty fantastic winter this year, and we have been trying our hardest to take advantage of it. 

A couple weeks ago, Mama was able to go up North to see my Cousin Tyler in his final High School Nordic Ski race.  Mama didn't think I would be a very good car companion for the 4.5 hour drive, so she made me stay home, but she said she had a great time!  We are so proud of you Tyler!!!

We had some really warm weather, but we knew that Winter wasn't over.  Last week we got nearly a foot of snow overnight!  (And I am not talking about my foot, it was at least as much as Daddy's foot!)  We couldn't wait to get outside.  Unfortunately, it was so much snow that I got a little stuck.

Sissy wanted to build a snowman.  She needed a little help from Mama, but it turned out pretty great!

Of course, they had to take a Snowman Selfie!

We also did some sledding with our friends.  Sledding is a lot of work, well, not so much for me, but certainly for Daddy.  The park that we went sledding at has a fireplace so we were able to enjoy a nice fire and some hot chocolate!

We couldn't go to a park without playing at the playground...The slides were REALLY fast with all of the snow.

It was such a fun day, but now I am ready for Spring!

Have a great night!

Ellen

New Wheels

Hey Everybody!! Ellen Here!

We have been having some CRAZY good weather here which is why we have been MIA for so long.  When it is above 30 degrees in February, you gotta get outside!

This weekend really set the bar high, it was in the 50's all weekend!  Daddy decided that we couldn't wait any longer, so he pulled the bikes out of the rafters and take them for a spin.  Before we could get going, we had to make a stop at Target to get me a new helmet because I am just a big girl.  I was so excited to show it to all of the neighbors that were out.

I can't wait to get more time in!

Have a great week,
Ellen

Snuggling my Blankies

Hey Everybody!  Ellen Here!

Mama has some pretty crazy rules, but the craziest of them is that blankets must stay in our bedroom.  I love my blankies, I could take them with me every single place I go.  If I could make clothes out of my blankies I would.  But they must stay in my room.

The other day I really wanted to play with my blankets but as usual, Mama said no.  So I came up with a plan.

Sissy got this cute backpack for her American Girl doll for Christmas and I really like it.  Mama realized that I was playing with it more than normal, but she didn't think much of it until bedtime when my blankets were missing from my bed.  Mama asked me where my blankets were, and that is when I showed her where I had stashed them, inside Sissy's backpack.  Mama told Daddy that I was smuggling blankets, I think she meant to say snuggling.  Silly Mama!

Off to bed.  I need to snuggle with my blankets.
Ellen

Girls Day!

For New Year's Eve we decided to head up to the Mall Of America for a girls day!!

We met Auntie Heidi, Auntie Wendy, and Grandma Nancy.  We were headed to the American Girl store, so of course Isabel and Josie came along too.  Auntie Wendy had a coupon for me to get my doll's hair done, it was really fun getting to pick out a new style for her.

 I really love the American Girl Bistro, there is so much PINK!

And it is so fun getting to eat with our dolls at the dinner table.

Ellen really liked getting to play with the little doll cup and plate, she liked it so much that she refused to eat her lunch.

Not me!  I knew there would be dessert at the end if we ate well, and it was delicious!  I got to decorate a big cupcake for me, and a mini cupcake for Isabel.  I let Grandma Nancy help too.  

After lunch was over we headed our separate ways to do some shopping before heading home.

We had a great day, I love getting to hang out with everybody.  Hopefully we can do it again soon!
Linden

Tis' The Season!

Hey Everybody!  We have been pretty busy around here with all of our Christmas Celebrations.

It started out with my church Christmas Program.  It was a pretty special event, all of the kids got to make a decoration and help build the manger scene.  I love getting to see all of the pretty Christmas decorations, and Mama really loves getting to sing all of her favorite Christmas Carols.

Next we had Christmas with Mama's family.  Unfortunately we were having so much fun hanging out that Mama didn't remember to take any pictures  :-(  Either way, it was fun to be with Heidi and Ronnie, Grandma Nancy, and Wendy, Missy and Tyler to celebrate.

 That night Santa surprised us with an early visit!!  He left a note saying that he heard Mama and Daddy say that we would be leaving for Alexandria Christmas Eve night, so he stopped by when he and Rudolph were taking a practice ride.  

This year I asked for an Art Kit, and Ellen asked for a Ball!  We also exchanged family presents and Mama and Daddy told us that we were going on vacation!

We had a great time in Alexandria.  It was so much fun getting to play with our cousin Mackenzie, and see Megan and Tommy, Grandma Carolyn, Papa Tim, and Great Grandma Joan!

The best part was the fresh snow and beautiful weather!  We had a great time sledding, tromping around, and playing with each other.

The best part of playing in the snow is HOT CHOCOLATE!!!!

Mama and Daddy were planning to take me skiing, but the weather didn't work out, so instead we went with Grandma and Papa to the bowling alley.  I don't know why we don't go bowling more often, it is a ton of fun!

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and nothing passes a long car ride better than a nice nap!  (Somebody needs to explain that to Ellen, I have tried, but she won't listen!!)

Happy New Year!

Linden

The Real Cinderella

As usual, I am playing makeup on the blog.  Maybe that should be my New Year Resolution? 

December 4th was a great day, I woke up and there was SNOW!  Mama decided to make snowy waffles with snowballs for breakfast to celebrate (in case you can't tell, there is powdered sugar on my waffle and white chocolate chips for the snowballs).

We had a packed day planned.  After Sunday School Daddy dropped me and Mama off at a friend's house and we headed to the cities to see Cinderella at the Children's Museum.

It was a great show with lots of laughs and fun characters!  And the best part, I got to hang out with one of my best friends, and so did Mama!  My favorite part of the show was the step sisters, they were played by boys!  They were really mean to Cinderella, but she chose to be kind anyways.

When we got back to Owatonna we went to Daddy's work party where we got to sing Christmas songs, eat a yummy meal, and meet Daddy's work friends.  We showed up at just the right time because Santa was just leaving!  It was so fun to see him, and we even got to hear him "Ho Ho Ho!" as he left.  I couldn't figure out where he left sleigh, I'll have to remember to look harder next year.

Have a great night and look forward to some Christmas posts coming soon!
Linden

My The Biggest!

Hey Everybody!  Ellen Here!

There is big news at my house, I got a Big Girl Bed!!  A couple weeks ago we spent a couple nights away from home, when we left home my crib was normal, but when we came back I went into my room and didn't know what to think!  At first I was really worried because I thought my bed was broken, but then Mama told me that I got a Big Girl Bed!

My first night started out pretty good...

But that didn't last very long.

Mama said I have been doing a great job staying in my bed.  She and Daddy got me a fun alarm clock that turns green when I can get up.  The rule is, if the light isn't green "we go BACK to Bed!"

I am VERY particular about how I want my blankies when I lay down to go to bed.  My favorite blankies are the muslin ones, I like to have one flatted out on my mattress (without any wrinkles, of course), and then another one covering me.  Mama started getting two matching pattern blankets out at the same time because otherwise I had a hard time trying to decide which pattern I wanted to lay on.  The past few nights have been colder so Mama has started covering me up with a Grandma Nancy blanket too which is so soft and cozy.  Have I ever mentioned how much I love my blankies???

When I stopped using diapers I knew I was a pretty big girl, but now that I am in a big girl bed it is unacceptable to call me a little girl.  I love it when Mama calls me a big girl, I always respond, "My the biggest!"

Have a great night!
Ellen