A Room for Two Little Mermaids

A couple weeks ago Mama started talking about repainting and redecorating my room.  I was so excited, I couldn't wait to see what she had planned, but Mama after a few weeks Mama just was NOT making any progress.  Or so I thought.....

This morning Mama and Daddy told me that they had finished painting and decorating my room and asked if I wanted to see it.  I was really confused because I slept in my room last night, and it looked mostly normal this morning when I woke up (there were a few signs and some other things missing, but it was certainly the same color.

Well, Mama told me and Ellen to head downstairs, but when I turned the corner to go to my room Mama told me that I was going the wrong direction and pointed towards the office.  When I opened the door I sure was surprised!!

The FIRST thing I noticed was my new bed, I got Bunk Beds!!!!  And Ellen's pet was on the bottom bunk, that could only mean one thing...Not only did I get a new room, but Ellen did too!!  We get to share a room and I couldn't be more excited!

There are so many fun things decorating our new room.  I have been BEGGING for one of these fancy lights that I had seen at the mall.  Mama and Daddy picked a plain white one, but I sure was surprised when Daddy showed me that it has a color changing light bulb inside!

Mama found these cute little shelves, and she found me my very own Dinglehopper!

Below the cute shelves is a reading corner with some really fun pillow beds.  I thought it was really odd that, not once, but twice, we went to Target and got 5 pillows!  That is a LOT of pillows.  It didn't take long for me to realize what we needed them for.  Mama also hung my string art up, I am really proud of that project.

 Once I climbed up into my bed I saw this beautiful dream catcher that Mama made for me.  She really is tricky, she had me help pick out some of the ribbon, and I didn't have a clue what she was going to use it for.

Mama took some stuff from our old room, and Ellen and I got to help paint new letters to hang on the wall.

When I was 3 Mama made my hand print to put on my wall...

So she decided that Ellen needed a hand print to put on the wall too.

Mama also made us this really fun mirror.  It has bubbles on it so it looks like we are under the water!  It also has some tiny starfish on it too!

 In another corner Mama made some jellyfish and another bible verse sign.  Ellen and I love how squiggly they are!

 Mama says that I normally don't give a very big reaction when I am excited, but this time, I did NOT disappoint.  I couldn't stop smiling and everywhere I looked there was something new to look at, I was so exicted!

Ellen is pretty excited to be sharing a room too, and she loves her bottom bunk.

Mama and Daddy didn't have much for plans today so we had plenty of time to play in our new room.  This is what it looked like when we walked in the door...

But it didn't look like that for long...

And in the end, it was a disaster!  But we sure had a great time.

I heard Mama and Daddy say that they aren't sure how bedtime is going to work, I don't see what could possibly go wrong!

Have a Great Night!
Linden

Teddy Bear Parade 2017

Every year the first graders at Lincoln Elementary hold a Teddy Bear Parade, and this year, I got to be in it!!  I remember watching it last year as a kindergartener, and it was amazing to see all of the fun floats.

My teacher announced that it was coming up, and I immediately wanted to start working on it!!  Mama wasn't quite so eager, turns out we had to buy supplies and make a plan before we could start.  She also wouldn't let me stay up way past my bedtime to get it done...doesn't she know how important it is to get your homework done early?!?

I decided to make a Mermaid Boat themed float, because I love Mermaids, and I love boats!

The Mermaid Tail I made for Elly Bear was my favorite part.  Mama helped me make a pattern, but I cut it out and sewed it together.  I also made her shell top.

I named my boat the SS Coral Reef because my mermaid name is Cora.  I also added a prop to the back, and a Bimini to make my boat extra great. 

Mama and I had a ton of fun putting it together.  Mama made sure that I did everything that I could, but she wouldn't let me use the glue gun (which I was not happy about).

On the day of the parade the weather was beautiful, and Mama and Daddy were both able to leave work to come see me.  It was so much fun having all of the other kids cheering for us and getting to show off my hard work.

Have a great night!
Linden

Is it Tuesday?

Hey everybody!  Ellen here!

Guess what!?!  I started Gymnastics!!  

The past few years I have gotten to watch Linden at gymnastics, and we have a lot of fun playing it at home, but this is the first time that I have gotten to take a class myself!

I can't decide what my favorite part was, I really like the beam, but I also liked the bars, and floor was definitely awesome!

I also loved getting to play with new friends, and my coaches Macy and Kate are super fun too.

We decided to hit the local ice cream shop after.  I really love ice cream, but I don't actually like eating it that much.  My favorite part is getting to eat the cone.  Yum Yum!

Is it Tuesday yet?  I can't wait to go back!
Ellen

Skiing in Summer

When Mama told me that I could go skiing in the summer I thought she was just teasing me.  Little did I know, you can ski on water!!

I tried it once last year and didn't have any luck, but this year I was determined that I was going to get it.  We started out trying the same way we did it last year with Daddy sitting on a tube with me.  After a few tries we decided to try it the old way.  Daddy got in the water to help me get my skis lined up and then I yelled, "HIT IT!!"   And just like that, I was out of the water!

A couple weeks later my good friend Anna decided she wanted to try it.  She was amazing and tried it until she figured it out.

She was SO PROUD of herself, and we were all so proud of her!

 Nothing is better than having lake friends!

Have a great night!
Linden

Hanging Out with Friends

 The best part of back to school is getting to see all my friends that I didn't get to see over the summer.  Mama surprised me and told me that we were going to have a girls night with one of my friends.  Hanley and I have known each other for a VERY long time, since even before I can remember.  Our Mamas met in baby class, setup our first playdate, and we were friends ever since. 

Our Mamas surprised us and we met up at the bowling alley!

 We had a great time bowling and hanging out.  I don't remember who the winner was, but it didn't matter because we were having so much fun.

After bowling we ordered burgers and played games while we waited for our food to come.

There is nothing better than hanging out with our friends!

Have a great night!
Linden

Chasing Butterflies

We have been on a fun adventure this summer, we have taken to raising butterflies!

It started back in July when Mama found a lady in town who sells Monarch Chrysalises.  We got some pokey butterflies, but in the end all three came out on the same day while we were at the lake.

We all loved getting to hold them and set them free...

and we loved getting to see how beautiful they are up close.

Fast forward a few weeks, and Mama found some monarch eggs.  So far we haven't been too successful in raising them to maturity, but we are getting better and I have a great feeling about our last two!

Did you know that you can buy Painted Lady caterpillars on Amazon?  We were much more successful with those guys, but they weren't nearly as fun because we didn't have to do anything to feed them, and they really weren't that cute.  The worst part was that the chrysalises wiggle!!  Mama did NOT like that.

Meanwhile, outside, our fall flowering plants are blooming and the Painted Lady butterflies are LOVING those.  We got home from school the other day and there were DOZENS of butterflies on our flowers.  

Mama agreed to let me catch some and put them in our butterfly net if I could.  What she didn't know was that I was going to talk Daddy into helping me and he got home just in time.  We caught 8 butterflies!  Kitten REALLY loved playing with them, though I don't think they liked it much so we moved them away from him.

At the end of the night Mama insisted that we release them back outside where they belong.  I knew she was right, but I really wanted to keep them as pets.

Say a prayer for our last 2 monarchs.  We are trying really hard to help the monarchs out, I hope we can release these two so they can enjoy their migration down to Mexico.
Linden

Back to School - 2017

After 3 long months, school is back in session, and I couldn't be more excited!

Wednesday was meet the teacher day, and it was great.  I love getting to drop off all of my brand new school supplies, and I am so excited to have my own locker!

I was pretty nervous about meeting my teacher, Mrs. Schroepfner, because I hadn't heard of her before.  The minute I met her I knew that it was going to be a great year.  

The next morning was the big day.  I love the first day because Mama always curls my hair.  I ask for curls all the time, and we usually don't have time, but she always makes time on the first day.  After I got ready we had to take our annual pictures in front of the house.  A picture with my sign (it was only 47 degrees, brrr!)

A selfie with Mama...

And of course, Ellen wanted in on the action.  She was pretty bummed that she didn't get to go to first grade too.

Another first day tradition is getting breakfast at KwikTrip.  I wasn't thrilled that Ellen got to join us this year, but we had a great time and all enjoyed our doughnuts.

And lastly, a picture in front of the school sign.  If we compared to last year you would be amazed at how tall I have gotten.

The only complaint that I had about the first day was that it went by way too fast.  I can't wait for all of the fun things that are in store!
Linden