Swimming Like a Fish

You have all read about the fun that Mom and Sissy had at the Zoo sleeping with the fish. Did you ever wonder where was Ellen? What was she doing? Was she having fun?

Well... I was having fun! Dad and I went to the water park and played on the water slide!

 I really enjoyed playing on the slide and there were plenty of friends to play with at the water park.

 We got hungry and so we had food delivered to the pool and we ate during the pool break, so I didn't have to miss any pool time fun.

 After dinner I found a kickboard and thought it would make the slide more fun, and it did!

 I can't wait for the summer for some more pool time!

Sleepin' with the Fishes

We had the most amazing weekend ever!!  Mama's birthday was last week and for her present I got her a sleepover at the Minnesota Zoo in Discovery Bay.  Ellen was too little she she got to stay home with Daddy which meant mom and I got to hang-out, just the two of us!

Before heading to the zoo Mama and I decided to do some shopping and spend some time at Chuckie Cheese!  Mama and I got really lucky and won a ton of tickets.

Once we got to the zoo we had so much fun.  We decided to sleep by the jellyfish tank because I thought they would make a beautiful night light.  I was mostly right, but the tank was really bright, luckily the zoo keeper turned it off at bedtime.

Enough about the sleeping part.  Our zoo keeper, Max, was a ton of fun and taught us all sorts of great things.  We got to go behind the scenes and see where they keep all of the food, and how they feed each of the animals.  Did you know that turtles know their shapes and colors?  They each have a target that is a certain shape and color and when they touch it with their beak they get food!

We learned about a bunch of different underwater animals.  This was a cold water star fish.  He couldn't be outside of his tank for very long because he doesn't like being warm.  Did you know that star fish have 5 eyes!?!

It was really fun getting to be there after the zoo was closed. Most of the time the touch tanks are really hard to get close to because there are so many people.  The sharks were really active and fun to reach in and touch.  Our zoo keeper suggested that we not sleep by the shark touch tank because every night they have a party and splash around.

My favorite part was getting to go above the big fish tank and look in.  There are so many fish and it was really neat to see.  Mama was not so sure about me getting so close, but Zoo Keeper Max said it was safe as long as we were laying on our tummies.

We had a great time, though Mama said they kept her up too late (bedtime was 10:00!!)

Easter Egg-stravaganza!

Today was another girl's day, and I could certainly get used to these!  Today, we went to Rochester and went to Auntie Heidi's church for an Easter Egg-stravaganza!

My favorite part of Easter is getting to wear my Easter dress, and I LOVE that Ellen and I get to have matching dresses.

Auntie Heidi's church was really great.  We got to start the morning with pancakes and sausage, and then got to go hunt for eggs.    They also had a funny guy who did juggling and all sorts of crazy tricks.

His craziest trick was climbing to the top of a ladder, balancing a spinning ball on his forehead, and juggling 5 rings!  It was amazing!

We also got to listen to a really nice lady tell the Easter story.  She used Easter Eggs with different items inside to help tell the story.  The best part is that we also got to make a set of Easter eggs so we can tell the story at home too.

After a great morning Ellen and I went to Heidi's house to play while Mama went for a run.  Auntie took us to Color Me Mine to paint, I can't wait until we get our stuff back so we can show everybody!

Linden

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