TWELVE LONG YEARS!

Ever since I first met Chris, 13 years ago, he has told me of his most beloved, most favorite drink Frescolita! Even the way he says Frescolita , is like he's talking about a long lost girl friend or something. Well imagine the scene when a couple of weeks ago we met the parents of one of Linden's classmates...who just happen to be from Venezuela....and who just happened to know of a latin market just 20 minutes away from us that sells Frescolita. Well, he didn't weep with joy, but I think he may have squeeled with joy!!! Needless to say, we were there the next day, and Chris bought a FLAT of Frescolita (48 cans, I think). His joy was complete when he also found his favorite Malta - Malta Polar. As for Frescolita....tastes like Cream Soda, LOL :-) Chris is perhaps most proud of Linden who LOVES Malta, just as much as he does!

HALLOWEEN - WHAT A HOOT!

We had a great time celebrating Halloween this year. Linden was super excited to put up our Halloween decorations, and help her dad carve the pumpkins. She had a great schedule of events too. Trunk or Treat at Church, a School Party and Parade, and then the big night itself. A couple of days before Trick or Treating, Linden told me to be sure to call and get a "group" to go trick or treating with, because it would be alot more fun! So the night fell with the best weather ever, and the kids had a great time going out together...Josh was Mario, Brooke was Princess Peach, Mary was SuperGirl, and of course the Queen Cleopatra!

The Mother Goose Olympics

I'm just going to go ahead and say it....I'm sure I'll be saying it again before the end of the school year....here it is.....Linden has the BEST kindergarten teacher EVER! There now I've said it!

I was a parent volunteer for the Mother Goose Olympics. There were a bunch of "Olympic" events, all themed around a Mother Goose rhyme, and after completing each event the kids got to add a star to their gold medal. The Olympics started off with the athletes marching into the library for the Opening Ceremonies, and then passing the Olympic Torch, and being awarded their Gold medals by their teachers. And then it was every team for themselves, we were off to compete. I thought they were all great, but I loved the "Jack jumped over the candlestick" event, where the kids really did have to hop over candlesticks, and the kids loved the "Humpty Dumpty had a great fall" where they got to roll down a little slide. We had a great team of Linden, Sarah, Sean, and Michael, and the kids all had a great time together. Kudo's to Mrs. Blank for such an enthusiastic curriculum for Kindergarten!

A Day at the Cider Mill with Grace

A couple of weeks ago we were at the park with Linden, and she met a little girl named Grace. They had a really great time playing with each other, and so as we left her dad asked if we'd like to exchange phone numbers so the girls could play together again. Our first planned outing was a Michigan Must, the annual trip to the Cider Mill. Linden and Grace had a lot of fun with the amusement activities (inflatable slides and bouncers), especially the inverted bungee jumping. We also went on a hay ride, picked some awesome apples, had cider and donuts, and after MUCH careful consideration Linden and Grace each picked out their very own pumpkin from the pumpkin patch. It was a great day!

Quite the Artist

Linden loves her Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Blank. One day, after seeing a pretty notepad my mom had given me with a peacock on it, Linden asked me to draw a peacock for her. I drew the peacock and she did the rest. On the back she colored a big pink heart. When it was done she told me that it was for her teacher Mrs. Blank. I thought she did such a great job that I took a picture of it. I think she may have some of my Grandma Rudd's artistic talents. In fact I've told her that "I think that she has a real talent for coloring" so often now, that she is now saying herself, "well Mommy you know that coloring is my talent!" Kids are so funny.

GREAT Company - Auntie Andrea, Uncle Murray and Brennie!!!

We were really lucky to have Linden's GREAT Aunt Andrea, and GREAT Uncle Murray come and visit for a couple of days on their way to visit the Civil War history sites in the Eastern US states. Linden especially loved Brennie, my Aunt's lovable Irish Setter, and their cool house on wheels (ie. motor home)! Oh and Auntie and Uncle weren't too bad either :-) Linden's highlight was being in charge of walking Brennie, and when Brennie came in with Auntie and went up to her room to LICK her awake for breakfast the morning they were leaving, and of course her ride as first mate in the front passenger seat of the motor home. We had a great visit, and it's always fun to see how much Linden enjoys having company.

Tour of the Promised Land - Primary Activity

When I told Linden about the Primary Activity and that she could go dressed as her favorite scripture character, she immediately said, "I want to be Mary!" So the day came, and we found our pillowcase head dress, and one of mom's nightshirts and she looked so cute. Just as I was rushing her out the door, she said, "I need a baby Jesus, Mommy!" In the mad dash that ensued, we found another pillowcase for the swaddling clothes, and at long last a naked baby for the Baby Jesus. We arrived, and Linden was the only Mary that had remembered Baby Jesus. And for the purists out there, don't worry, I did explain to the Primary president, that Yes, we do know Jesus was not Black, it was just the only naked baby we could locate on short notice amongst Linden's toys!!!!

First School Field Trip

Linden's first Kindergarten field trip was to Upland Hills Farm. I'm pretty sure the best part for Linden was the fact that to get to the Farm, we got to ride a school bus. Linden has been begging to ride on a school bus for the last 3+ years. We see them ALL the time, and everytime she sees one, she will ask "when will I get to ride on one of those?" Of course, knowing that we are walkers (ie. too close to the school for the city to deem us needing the school bus for transportation), I didn't have the heart to tell her it could be a LONG time. Needless to say, finding out that her first field trip would include a school bus was VERY exciting! So here are a few great pics from the outing. Oh yes, and one more thing. On the way to the farm, we sat in the very first row, and on the way back, we sat in the very back row, so we've done it all now!!!!

A couple of things about the farm, first of all a hay ride never gets old! And secondly, Linden got a great kick out of the little billy goat that lived on a little deck and bridge in the rafters of the barn roof, look carefully and you will see him in one of the pics. Also, the little girl with Linden is Brooke from Linden's class. She was our buddy for the day!

My latest Creative Project

We have an upcoming Holiday Workshop at Church, and I am part of the organizing committee. One of our jobs as the committee is to suggest projects that we think would be good for our group of women to do. One of my suggestions was this family tree, which I found a pattern for online. So of course I was volunteered to be the guinea pig to make it and see if the project was "doable". Here is my finished result. I think it turned out really good, but it did take a little more time than I thought, so I suspect it may end up on the workshop cutting room floor. But hey, I got my tree made!

Toe-tally Cute

The other morning Linden came running up, fell to the ground, and shoved her foot in my face. As you can see, she had drawn a happy face on each toe. Now that's when you know you have a happy child, when she's smiling from her head to her toes! It was Toe Cute!!!!

1st Day of Kindergarten

The long-awaited day has finally arrived, and our little Linden has now embarked on her public school career. It all started when we received a letter in the mail that Linden would have Mrs. Blank as her teacher. When she heard that news, she was so excited that she was literally jumping up and down on our bed, and yelling and screaming. It was so funny. She was really excited because our neighbor Lydia had Mrs. Blank last year, and so we knew that she is a really great teacher. On the first day, I'd picked out a super-cute outfit for Linden to wear....but as a true sign she is growing up, Linden didn't want to wear Mommy's super cute choice. She wanted to wear the $5 horse t-shirt Mommy bought her. So what's a Mommy to do....well you'll see by the pictures who won that battle! Ultimately, I decided it was her first day, not mine, and Linden should wear what she thought was super cute on her first day, not what I thought was super cute.
Time to let the little one FLY....Mommy and Linden as we left to take Linden for her first day.

Linden is excited to have her good friend and our neighbor Josh in her class. Here they are ready to take on the world of Kindergarten. Ordinarily a little girl might look to her boy friend for a little protection out on the playground, but something tells me that Linden is going to be watching out for Josh! Crossing the threshold from pre-schooler to Kindergartner....no turning back now!

Linden and Josh entering the hall for the first time as two of the newest Hamlin Hawks.

The coveted Mrs. Blank and Linden on the first day of class.

Sea World - July 23, 24, 25, and 26 of 2008

While my mom and I worked our CoolMedID booth, Linden and Chris escaped to Sea World. My mom and I were able to get over a couple of times after our day at the Exhibit Hall, and we spent Saturday there as well, before starting our drive north. It was awesome, of course Shamu was a favorite, but the Dolphin show was awesome too! We loved it. The only problem is deciding on what pictures to share here...there are too many to choose from.

As you enter the park, you can get your very own souvenir picture with the star of Sea World, Shamu of course. Added Bonus - there's nothing like getting your picture taken next to a Killer Whale to make you look skinny!

The gentle Manatees of Florida....the cows of the water.

From gentle to deadly, a tunnel through the swarms of Sea World sharks.

A great nature shot of a sea horse disguised as a plant in one of the habitats.

Linden's favorite part of the whole trip was riding all the RollerCoasters. This is the Journey to Atlantis rollercoaster that Chris and Linden went on twice, as you can see it ended with a splash!

And this is the Cracken, the rollercoaster Linden was begging to go on. Thankfully she was about 3 inches shy of the height restriction. I fear that on our next trip to an amusement park, there will be no stopping her!

Linden and Chris got to feed the Dolphins...it was really cool because they are close enough to touch. Of course as soon as your fish is gone, they are onto the next adoring tourist hanging a fish out for them, so you have to be quick!

We loved the Shamu shows. There are two, and we saw both. Believe is the daytime show, and then at night they do Rock with Shamu which in addition to Shamu, features great rock music and an awesome light show. Prior to the start of the shows, they pan in on the audience and feature people up on the jumbotron. At Rock with Shamu, the camera man zoomed in on Linden, and so everyone got to see her dancing away! It was awesome, seeing her large as life on a 30 foot tall screen!

The highlight of the Shamu Shows, is sitting in the Soak Zone and getting splashed! Linden was very upset that even though we were in the Soak Zone we didn't get wet at the daytime show Believe. Fortunately, at the Rock With Shamu show we did get wet....and I got soaked! The water looks so beautiful and blue, who knew that the water would be fishy salt water....YUCK.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a surfboard....oh no, it's just a girl surfing on a killer whale!

I'm the king of the world!

After the show, you can go to an observation spot and watch the whales swimming up close. The baby whale is a real flirt. He loves playing with the spectators.

Pucker Up Baby! He loved me...what can I say!

The Mommy and Baby playing in the back of the pool.

The Seals, Walruses and Otters had their own show too. Here is Seymore steering the Pirate Ship.

The Dolphin and Whale Show was awesome too. It was part Dolphins/Whales, part exotic birds (see if you can see the blue parrot - hint: he's in two of the pictures), and part Cirque Du Soleil with high tower divers, aerialists, and dancers. It was awesome.

Ride'em Cowboy!!!

The dolphins wave goodbye to us.....Goodbye SeaWorld....You Rock!