Ellie coloring

We have a fun little set up for Ellie's room right now. She has a little Ellie-size table. Sometimes we will be busy with our own things and then all of a sudden wonder, "Where is Ellie?" We've caught her a few times at her table coloring. We also catch her reading library books on her bed and going through her dresser changing clothes. It's fun to watch her grow up and enjoy tasks on her own.

Putt Putt Golf

 After our time at Storybook Land, we had lunch out. Then we went Putt Putt Golfing.
Ellie mostly carried her ball, set it down a few inches from the hole, and tried to hit it in. This was good practice for playing croquet in Grandma's yard which we did later.
 

Storybook Land

The only place that has been consistent throughout my whole life is my grandma's house in South Dakota. No matter where we moved as a family, each year we spent some time at Grandma's house. And, because Storybook Land is only half an hour away from Grandma's house, we also spent time at Storybook Land each year.
For Labor Day weekend this year, our family, my brother and his wife, and my dad all met at Grandma's house. We had a WONDERFUL weekend together as a family. One of the most exciting things, though, was getting to take Ellie to Storybook Land. It's so fun to share things from my childhood with Ellie.

Just a note... after uploading these pictures, I realize that it looks like it was basically Uncle Matthew and Ellie's trip to Storybook Land while being followed around by me, the photographer. In reality, though, we all went. :)

Ellie and Matthew walking along the yellow brick road as you enter the park.

As we were walking in, Matt and I were talking about things we remembered from our visits to the park as children. We both mentioned the lion water fountain. Sure enough, it's still there, even though the park has tons of new things.

I think Ellie was a bit timid at first, but then she got the idea.

 Ellie and Matthew on the carousel.

Ellie and Matthew on the balloon ride.

Ellie and Matthew riding pretend horses. :) hahaha.

 Matthew and Ellie at the petting zoo.

And finally proof that at least I was there with Matthew and Ellie. :)

MN State Fair

One of the things I was really hoping to be able to do this Summer was go to the MN State Fair. On the day after it opened, we made it a reality. :)
There were a million wonderful experiences. Finding a parking space was not one of them, even though we went early and did the park and ride option. Eating cheese curds, letting Ellie look at all of the animals, riding on the ferris wheel, watching Ellie do a free craft, going up the space needle, and watching Ellie in one of those blown up jumping contraptions were wonderful, though.

Painting

When Ellie's Aunt Susie came to visit, she bought a little kit to paint a sleigh. One day while i was taking a nap, Franklin took it out for Ellie, and she went to town! Unfortunately, this was not washable paint. We learned two things. 1. Ellie loves to paint. 2. We will use washable paint from now on.


After the sled dried, Franklin helped Ellie assemble the pieces, and she uses it to drag her little stuffed kitty cats around.

A Trip to the Local Zoo

We don't live in a very large town here in the States. I'm amazed that such a little town can have such a wonderful zoo with such a great variety of animals. We've taken Ellie twice so far, and she just loves it! She learns a ton from it, too. Today we went to the library for a story time all about moose, and my little Ellie wowed the socks off me when she was the one to answer what a moose was and that she had seen it at the zoo. I was thinking she wouldn't know what it was! So, yay for our local zoo! Here are some of the pictures from our first trip to the zoo. The pictures are not in any order.


Ellie with the donkey in the "petting zoo" part of the zoo.

Ellie and I posing across from a cage of crazy monkeys.

A buffalo

A family picture

A kangaroo. Even though we have seen kangaroos in Australia, I still think it's pretty wonderful that our little zoo has them, too.

An otter.

A large tortoise.

Black swans that will bite you if you get too close.

Ellie, the kangaroo

 Ellie and one of the zebras

After re-reading this post, I realized that I didn't post pictures of some of the larger animals. Ellie also saw tigers, bears, an eagle, llamas, moose, baboons, and other animals I can't think of right now. Seriously, it's an impressive zoo.

Family Barbecue

One of the greatest things about being in the States right now is that my brother and his wife and the baby they are expecting in November only live a couple hours away. So, the weekend after Franklin arrived, they were able to drive down to spend some time with us... and get to know their niece that they hadn't seen since she was 2 months old.


While the guys were outside barbecuing, we ladies relaxed inside. Ellie, as you can see, didn't feel confined to either indoors or outdoors.


Ellie also found out she loves dandelions and blowing the seeds off of them. I'm sure this will be greatly appreciated next Spring. Her daddy was willing to help her find the biggest ones for her to play with.