july lake

Hey Everybody!  Ellen Here, taking another turn at blogging.

I LOVE summer at the lake!  We get to be outside, play in the grass, and hang out with great friends!  We are so lucky to have such great friends at the lake, and this weekend, they shared their watermelon!

I LOVE watermelon, it is amazing!

Not only do they share watermelon, they also share their little boat.  Daddy calls it a jetski, but I call it my little boat.

We did all sorts of fun things on the lake.  Mama took me paddle boarding (not my favorite...)

and she took me kayaking (CERTAINLY not my favorite!!!)

And then she took me for a stroller ride...why can't I stay awake!?!

Another great weekend at the lake,

Ellen

Let's Go to the Lake

Hey everybody! Ellen here!!  Happy 4th of July!

One year ago, I was right here, in this exact same place, but instead of having a great time, I was laying around and snuggling with Mama (though, that was pretty great too)!!

Not this year!  This year, I had a great time, and so did Sissy!  Daddy and Sissy took me tubing, and we spent plenty of time playing in the sand.

I love getting to hang-out on the boat, but I am not much for playing in the water.

Of course, it wasn't all fun and games, there was work to do too.  Sissy and I got to help Grandma Carolyn clean, and then we helped Papa Tim pick up sticks!

Of course, no holiday would be complete without coordinated outfits.  I REALLY like hats, it was my favorite part.

Though, I also liked the fancy nails that Auntie Naomi got me...at least I liked them for a minute, but then I wanted them OFF!!!!!!

 
 Sissy also had a fancy hat, but she liked her pretty dress much more.

As usual, Jake and Bella were not impressed.

All this playing takes a lot out of a girl.  I sure am glad that Mama likes to walk, because I much prefer to take a nap in the stroller than in a boring crib.

It was a good thing I got a nap in, because Mama decided to let me go out late and watch the fireworks.  Grandma decided that we needed cookies so I helped make those first.

 4th of July can't be beat in Alexandria, getting to watch the fireworks on the lake is just the best.

And we have a new tradition of eating Smores before going to bed!  Why make a great night end early????

Have a great night!
Ellen

Make a Splash

Sunday Funday was another hit!  This morning we went out to run some errands and on the way home Mama stopped at the park so we could play!  The park near our house has this really fun swing that both Ellen and I can use at the same time!!  

After the park we went home, ate lunch and took naps because Mama said we were going to have a busy afternoon.  One of my friends had her birthday party this afternoon, she has a pool in her back yard so we all had a great time swimming and hanging out with friends.

After that, we headed to the Medford pool for a pool party with my preschool class!!!  I haven't seen most of my preschool friends for a few weeks so it was a ton of fun getting to see them again and catch up!  

The Medford pool was really great, the shallow end was really shallow so we all could play without our life jackets on.  The other great thing was the diving board!!  I had never done the diving board, in fact, nobody in my class had.  I was the first to give it a try...

and it was GREAT!!!!!!  Once I went off a lot of my friends lined up to give it a try too.

Even Ellen wanted to try, but she couldn't climb up there with her puddle jumper on and Mama said that if she couldn't climb up then she couldn't do it.  She was pretty happy in the shallow end so it was ok.

After we got home from the pool Mama said it was bath time, hadn't I been in water long enough?!?

Back to Gretchen's tomorrow,
Linden

Where Did You Eat Breakfast Today?

Hey Everybody!!  Ellen Here!  

Today is Saturday, and as usual we were busy.  This morning Daddy and Linden went to urgent care because Linden has another ear infection.  Mama and I headed to the Farmer's Market to see all of the great things.  Mama and I made luminaries for Relay for Life in memory of Papa Bob.  Other than that, Mama didn't let me buy anything, even though there were LOTS of places selling clothes and beds and chairs for all of my babies.

When Daddy and Linden were done we got to head off on a bus to have Breakfast on a Farm!  

Breakfast was really good, we had pancakes and sausage, but it turns out that there was SO many other fun things to do!  We had a great great time on the tractor ride...

 And we really loved getting to go on the horse drawn wagon ride.

Linden's favorite part was getting to meet all of the dairy princesses.

They had baby pigs that we got to pet.

And we got to take a picture with a baby cow!  it was pretty neat, they took our picture and then they printed it and and made it into a button!

 It was a really hot and windy day, but we made the best of it!

Have a great night!
Ellen

"Just Keep Swimming"

Tonight was a pretty special night.  Mama picked me and Ellen up from daycare just like she does every day, but today she told me that Daddy had a surprise for us.  When we got home we had dinner right away, which was kind of strange, it was only 4:30?  After dinner we loaded into the car and headed out.

We were only in the car a few minutes and we figured out that we were going to the movie theater!!  And to make it even better, we got to see Finding Dory.  It was Ellen's first time at the movie theater and she LOVED it!!!!!

She really liked the "orange fishies" (Nemo and his dad), and of course she liked Dory.  She did a great job, she ate her popcorn and sat nicely almost the whole movie (she got a little wiggly at the end).  I think her favorite character was Hank the Octopus (really, he is a septipus because he lost a tentacle, but Ellen can't say that).

It was a pretty great night, Daddy has the best surprises!
Linden

"Happy Birt-day Day!" Part 3

Hey Everybody!  Ellen Here!

Today is the last part of my birthday blog, on my actual birthday-day we went to the new Crayola Experience at the Mall Of America!!  

It was such a great place, everything was setup just for me!

There were color crayons, and markers, and fun things to do everywhere we looked.

We all got to name our own crayons, Mama and I picked "Electric Ellen" and "Two-riffic Ellen".

I really like getting to hang out with Mama.

Not only was there coloring, but there were fun places to dance...

and twirl!

I really liked playing with the play-doh.

Daddy's favorite thing was the dancing dinosaurs.  We got to color our dinosaurs, and then the lady put on their dancing shoes and they put on a show!!

I also liked getting to splatter crayons on paper.

It made some pretty fun art!

Daddy liked getting to play on the melted crayon wall the best...I wasn't so sure what to think of it.

Linden had a ton of fun at the fashion show.  We got to decorate our models, and then we put the paper on the machine...

and our models came to life!!  It was so much fun getting to see our clothes walking down the runway.

After we were done we had to stop and get a special birthday treat!

And then it was off to home.  Sissy had so much fun that she was asleep within a few minutes of being in the car.

I didn't last much longer...

It was a good thing that we got some rest because when we got home Mama told me to go out on the deck to see my birthday present!  We got a new picnic table!

Turning two sure was great!!
Ellen

"Happy Birt-day Day!" Part 2

Hey Everybody! Ellen Here!

I told you about my great birthday weekend, Mama got some great pictures of everybody hanging out.  Saturday was REALLY cold and rainy, but we made the best of it.

Great Grandma Joan stopped by for a bit.  My good friend Thorin really liked showing her his legos and sitting with her in the golf cart.

Even though it was cold we made the best of it and spent all sorts of time on the lake.

And if we weren't in the lake, we certainly were digging in the sand!

The big kids REALLY liked the trampolines.  Grandma Carolyn and Papa Tim got a new bridge to connect the trampolines.  It was a lot of fun running across it, though Mama didn't like it because she was afraid I would fall in!

We also made sure to get plenty of play time on the swing set.  I think I love to color just as much as I love to Swing!!!

No trip to the lake would be complete without a walk on the trail.  Unfortunately when you have such a fun filled weekend it is REALLY hard to stay awake.  I actually REALLY like sleeping on the trail, the minute Mama and I get back I get to wake up and start playing again!!

 Sissy and her good friend Kaiya got to try having a sleep over again this year.  Last year they tried it and it didn't work so well.  And the first night they tried it this year it didn't go well.  Linden made sure that they practiced plenty on Saturday and all of their practicing paid off, they had their first successful sleepover!!!

I didn't get pictures of all of my friends, we were so busy playing and hanging out, but I am so happy that everybody came!

Have a good night!
Ellen