Off to School

Hey Everybody! Ellen Here!

I have had a fantastic week!  I have been counting down the days until school started, and it finally happened!

Back to school fun started with Meet the Bus Driver day!  I was super excited about it, until it was time to actually meet the bus driver and then I changed my mind.

Luckily I have a great big sister and she talked me through it and showed me what to do.  Owatonna has a preschool bus route so I get to hang out with Gretchen before and after school, and I get picked up at her front door so I don't have to stand outside and get cold.  Linden is a tad bit jealous.

A few days later I got to meet my teacher and see my classroom.  I was so excited to learn that I got my own cubby, and I thought it was so silly that I could fit in it!

Once I got in my classroom there was so much to explore, I even had a stick with my name on it!  No clue what I am going to do with that, but I thought it was pretty silly.

After we checked out my classroom I really wanted to check out the playground, and it didn't disappoint!

Slides, swings, and monkey bars!  It was great!  I have been working on the monkey bars and I can't wait to master these ones.

The night before school started Mama surprised me with my own special blanket with my name on it.  We have rest time at school and I can't wait to snuggle with my new blankies.

That night I was so excited I could hardly stand it!!

The morning school started was awesome!!

Mama said that I looked so grown up and I got to wear my new school clothes.

After first day pictures Mama and Daddy surprised me with a trip to get doughnuts!

And then we were off to school! 

I felt like such a big girl walking down the hall, I even remembered the way to my classroom all by myself.

My teacher's name is Mrs. Jennifer.  A lot of Mama's friends know her and said that she is the best.  I was a little nervous and didn't want Mama to leave, but once she was gone I had a great day and couldn't wait to go back.

The next day Linden started school. 

Evidently pictures on the front step are a tradition.

Aren't we so cute?!?

Mama and Daddy brought Linden out for doughnuts too - I was okay missing it because it meant that I got to ride the bus to school instead of riding with Mama and Daddy (and they didn't tell me it was an option).

I can't believe Linden is already a 2nd grader, and next year we will be at the same school!

Linden was so excited to be back with her friends.  She has a group of awesome girls and that makes going to school even more fun.

Off to bed!
Ellen

Lego-Mania!

Hey Everybody!  Ellen here! 

This summer the Science Museum had a really fun exhibit where we got to learn about buildings by using legos!  We all LOVE legos so I knew it was going to be amazing.

Mama and Linden found an area where they got to turn legos into a top!  Linden learned that you can mix colors by putting primary color legs next to each other and then spinning it!  After a while of building Linden and Mama decided they wanted to see how big they could make their top and have it still work.

That's when things began getting out of control!  Mama and Linden did a great job of building it out so that it stayed level, and the lady helping at the station said it was the biggest functional top she had ever seen.  They even worked hard to try and keep the colors even.  Unfortunately, the bigger it got the harder it was to keep it together, and all of a sudden it broke!!!  

Our finished top was several inches wider than the picture below, but Mama and Linden picked it up and the whole thing fell apart!

On the other side of the room, Daddy and I worked to build the tallest structure!  It was so tall that I had to stand on the table in order to keep putting legos on (Daddy told me it was Okay).

We didn't quite make it to the tallest structure in the building, they had some pretty amazing replicas of buildings from around the world, but I still got to display my building on the display table.

We had so much fun building we barely had time to play with anything else at the Science Museum, but that was okay because we had a blast!

Have a great day!
Ellen

SCFF 2018

Hey Everybody!!  Ellen here!

I decided I better update everybody on the fair this year because Linden is so busy with her friends and I just don't think it will get done.

As usual, it was another great year.  Once again, we got the mega ride bands which meant that we got to go to the fair and ride rides as much as we want.  I have made it my tradition that the big slide is the first ride I go on so of course that is where we started!

As soon as we were done with that Linden wanted to head to the big rides with Daddy, so Mama and Maren and I went over and found some rides for me to do.

I really love going on the rides, but there is so much more to the fair that I think Linden misses out on.

If Linden had her way she would spend the entire week on the big rides, but occasionally Mama and Daddy make her come hang out so we can all be together.  Luckily there are some little rides that she likes so we can have fun together.

But it doesn't take long before she is begging to head back to the big ones.  One of her favorites this year was Pharaoh's Fury.

There are a couple of the big kid rides that I can go on.  The musical express is really fast and the music is so loud!

One of our favorite things about the fair is that all of our friends are there and we get plenty of time to hang out.

I swear every line we got in Linden found a friend, she sure knows a LOT of people!

Friends are what makes the fair so much fun.

 Once again, while Linden was off hanging out with her friends, Mama and Maren got to watch me ride.  I don't mind going on rides by myself, I don't have to worry about where Linden wants to sit, I don't have to stand in line and listen to her chat with her friends, and I get to pick any ride I want!

Linden's big news this year at the fair was that she got to ride the Ring of Fire for the first time, and she LOVED it!!  She loved it so much she went on it over and over again!  Mama only rides rides one day and she agreed to ride Ring of Fire with Linden, she said it wasn't bad, but it wasn't her favorite.

My favorite was getting to go on rides with Linden, but without any parents.  I sure am getting big!!

Of course, it wouldn't be fair week without eating Fair Food!!  The first night we went Mama brought baby food for Maren, she was NOT impressed.  She REALLY wanted Linden's corndog and was so happy when Mama let her take a few bites.  My favorite was the cotton candy and taffy!

2018 brought another great fair week.  It was so much fun getting to spend so much time with family and friends before school starts.

Speaking of family, Auntie Megan has continued her tradition of coming down to visit during fair week.  I can't believe we all fit in the Ferris wheel together!  Mackenzie was so brave this year and rode so many rides with me and Linden (that is, when Linden was actually hanging out with us).

Fair week is always a whirl wind.  Maren struggled to keep up with me and Linden.  

Fair week also means a LOT of baths, which I think was the highlight of the fair for Maren.  These days she LOVES getting to splash in the sink/tub and make a big mess.

I gotta get rested up, school is starting soon and I can't wait,
Ellen

Another Weekend at the Lake

Hey Everybody!  Ellen Here!

We had another great weekend at the lake, Maren is finally getting big enough to enjoy it and that makes it even more fun!

This weekend we spent a lot of time on the boat.

Between tubing, skiing, and evening cruises we spent a lot of time on the water.

Of course, that didn't keep us from enjoying the beach too.  Maren especially loved the Woosh and splashing in the water.

And I got to take Maren for a paddleboard ride!

You may be wondering where Linden was this weekend...She was here, but lately she spends all of her time at the lake playing with Hannah and Anna so we don't see very much of her, and when we do all we hear about is when she gets to go back and see them again.

Another weekend in the books, this week is fair week and then I get to go to school!
Ellen

Nanas!!!!

Sweet Maren has started to really like table food so tonight Mama gave her a banana!

At first she was a bit skeptical and didn't know what to do with it, especially since she doesn't like baby food bananas...

But once she took a bite...

She was hooked!  Makes sense, bananas are amazing! 

It is always fun getting to watch her try new things, I can't wait to see what is next!

Linden

Happy 4th!

Hey Everybody!! Ellen Here!

4th of July is one of my favorite times of the year!  The sun is warm, the days are long, and we get to spend a long weekend at the lake!

4th of July also means that I get to spend a couple days at Wee Pals because Gretchen usually goes on vacation for the week.  Wee Pals has a 4th of July parade every year and it is a TON of fun.  This year we made shakers, and cute hats, and I got to wear my Red, White, and Blue dress.  Too bad Maren decided to sleep through the parade.

I love my Red, White, and Blue dress, so I asked Mama to take my picture, which I usually am not too excited to slow down and do.

At the lake I have a LOT of important things to do, like play in the sand, fill buckets with water, ride around on the paddle boats, and drive the speed boat!

Linden can usually be found behind the speed boat (on a tube or skis) but not the morning of the 4th, that time is spent with the neighbors working on the boat parade.  This year they did a synchronized swimming theme and they won 1st place!!

Of course, I am not the only one with a 4th of July outfit.  Aren't we cute?

I never like night to come because it means that it is time to go to bed, but the 4th of July is special and we get to stay up SUPER late for the fireworks.  Mama used to make me go to bed and then she would wake me up for the fireworks, but this year I got to stay up and go with Daddy on the boat (Mama met us and got on the boat with Maren too).

Gotta love the obligatory selfie with Mama!!

The fireworks at the lake are just amazing, Linden's face says it all!

The week was spent tubing, and skiing, and tubing, and skiing.  Every year the same families stay at the lake so we have gotten to know them really well.  I love that we have made some great friends and get to see them every year.

I think everybody tried skiing this year, even me!  Although I used the ski trainer.

Well, except Maren, but she did get to spend a lot of time on the boat.  She doesn't love her life jacket yet so it was a bit of a struggle, but I am certain she still had a great time.

4th of July also means lots of time with family, including my cousins Mackenzie and Maverick!  I love getting to play with them as much as I can.

It was a great weekend with awesome weather, time with family and friends, and lots of memories.
Ellen

Hiking in Owatonna

Hey Everybody!!  Ellen Here!

The other weekend we decided to take a walk on the newly paved trail through Owatonna.  I REALLY like to collect things so Mama brought grocery bags for us to store all of our treasures in. 

I really like this new trail, there are lots of bridges to cross.

And for some reason Mama always wants to take pictures of us when we are on bridges.

Linden came up with a great idea to use a stick to help carry our bags, we sometimes fight a lot but she is a really great big sister and always helps me out when I really need it.

It was a lot of fun getting to hang out together,
Ellen