Linn Family Adventures

"I Love You Medium"

2012-01-26T14:23:00.000-07:00

We have had some super nice days again recently, and the girls have enjoyed soaking up some sunshine.

Hailey taught Delaney how to use the nun-chuck on the Wii.

Sophie got in on the action, too.

And some more awesome forts were constructed.

This one was my favorite. I could lie down inside while the kids climbed all over me. Cozy.

My poor Soph-a-loaf has been sick for the past two days, running a high fever and feeling horrible. We have pretty much just cuddled on the couch and read books, and felt bad for her. I think it is a combo of a cold and teething, and she is miserable. I hope tomorrow brings a happier day for her! She is such a sweetie pie, and just snuggles and rubs my collarbone to comfort herself. It's awfully cute.

Delaney told me the other day that she "loved Daddy the most, but she loves me medium". Haha. At least I get medium. :)

Deployed.

2012-01-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

This is my brother(in-law) Chris.

With Hannah, back in 2007.

I really can't remember when we actually met. I think it was around junior high. We became better friends around the time we were 16 or 17 during our brief career stints at Walmart when he was "Chris in Pets" and I was "Nicole in Customer service" and then "Pharmacy". We used to hang out and roller blade in the parking lot after work. Haha. Good times.

My sister Dawn met him around this time - she was 14ish?, and fell madly in love at first sight. It took a few years for her to get a little older and for Chris to notice her. Last summer marked their 10th wedding anniversary. Pretty amazing, right?

All of us sisters, husbands, children...2006.

Chris and I have been through a LOT of crazy stuff together, stuff I won't put on this blog so my mom won't have a heart attack and no one gets incriminated. :) I will just say that I will never hear "Mel Tillis" without thinking of Chris, and every time I drive down Beverly Ave., I think of the little house that is no longer there, where he once broke my nose. He is the master of homemade chili and french toast, can do a spot-on Dwight Yoakam imitation. He introduced me to punk music back in the day, and we went to lots of fun concerts where I learned how to mosh and appreciate Bad Religion. He chased me around with a camera when I was pregnant with Hailey when I refused to have my picture taken so I would have pictures later when I was sane. I can't help but laugh a lot while I type this. He is such an awesome guy.

Cullen and Chris at Sarah's wedding in 2007.

With Ava, 2011.

French toast chef, Christmas 2010.

Anyway, Chris has grown up into a very nice, mature adult who is a totally supportive husband to my sister, wonderful dad to their one-year old daughter, Ava, and fun, teasing uncle when the kids get to see him. Hailey tells all kinds of stories of the teasing she has endured over the years, and I really hope that we get to live close to Chris and Dawn again eventually so that Delaney and Soph get the same abuse. :) He is smart and kind and funny, and I am so glad that he decided to keep my little sister and be a part of our crazy family.

Sophie liked him. That's a feat

Chris is an officer in the Army National Guard, and was recently deployed to Afghanistan. *sigh*

Not only is he all of the above things, but he is brave and loyal to our country and believes in the cause he is there working for.

If you are a friend, or family, or would just like to be supportive of a soldier, he would love to get mail - letters, cards, whatever. He really likes hot sauce, and I think it would be really cool if we could send him a collection of the hottest, most interesting hot sauces that you could find, wherever you live, or if you are traveling and see something that looks good. He also needs a good coffee cup. He has a Keurig, so K-cups are always a good idea. They are a little low on entertainment, so I am sure that books and magazines, maybe newspapers too, are appreciated. He doesn't have a huge sweet tooth, but snacks are always good, as well as things like razors, toothbrushes, batteries, etc.

These websites have some great ideas of items that soldiers appreciate:
http://www.give2thetroops.org/pdf/COMPLETELISTOFITEMSTODONATEGTTT.pdf

http://www.teachspace.org/soldiersangels/mentees/shipping.html

So, who wants to help me make sure that he gets lots of mail and packages and things to make him feel a little closer to his friends and family, and show him that we appreciate him for his service?

His mailing address is:

Christopher Elliott
C/1-125IN
FOB Kunduz
APO AE 09368

Mail takes about 7-10days to arrive from the states, then another few
days(up to a week) to get from the FOB to the area that he is in.

If you want to send him something, but don't have time to mail it, just email me and I would be happy to take care of it for you. He has limited internet, and might have a moment to check our blog every now and then, so if you want to leave him a comment here, I am sure he would appreciate that too. Our family has sent him a few little things for now, and will be getting a nice, big package together for him in the next month or so. I would love to include things from friends and family, so just contact me and we will make it happen.

Thank you so much. I love Chris and Dawn and Ava so much, and I know that our support will mean a lot to all of them.

Her Boot Camp

2012-01-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Last year, Hailey attended Kids' Boot Camp at SHIFT with Anna Shuffler for a few months. Delaney and I would watch and Delaney would BEG to participate. She was only 2 1/2 at the time, but she would try to do all of their exercises beside me, and ran a half-mile with the big kids a few times.

We have been trying out a few activities this year to see what kinds of things she likes to do...she is in gymnastics right now, and did dance for a few months. I asked her if she would like to continue with dance when it begins again in a few weeks, and she wasn't really interested. I asked her about swimming lessons, and she was a little intrigued, then said, "MOM!! I WANT TO DO BOOT CAMP!!!!!" She was totally serious and excited and dying for me to find out if she is old enough now, and it turns out that she is.

This was last Thursday, and she literally counted down to when she could go to her first class on Monday. She sang about it, she talked about it, she told Hailey about 15 times. Finally, Monday arrived, and to Boot Camp we went.

It was everything she had dreamed of. They played flag tag, ran like crazies, used these balance things and swam from sharks, played "Don't touch the Ground" and jogged a 1/2 mile. She kept up with the other kids just fine, and even started to get a little competitive during tag. It was super cute to watch and she got a really good workout.

I tried to get some good pictures, but they were all blurry from the kids moving so fast! I ended up with a few from the "Don't touch the Ground" game...

After it was over, she was so proud of herself. "This is MY class now, Mom, not Hailey's. It's MY boot camp." She has class again today, and can't wait.

Sorry!

2012-01-16T13:25:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to come up with activities that all of us can do together at home, and this weekend was full of Game Nights. We played Blokus on Saturday. Delaney does fairly well against Cullen, Hailey and me, and we all had fun. On Sunday night, we played Sorry. That was a good time, too, since it really isn't based on any skill and we all had a good chance of winning. Sophie is a pretty good girl while we play...she usually just roams around, plays with toys and occasionally asks for a snack.

Sophie getting into a little trouble while we weren't looking...

Hailey looking mischievous...

Delaney's face when she got sent back to start...

Cullen spent part of the day putting up some new lighting alternatives in our living room. Sophie decided to visit him and play Chicken with some items that were likely to drop on her head. Being the attentive mother I am, I decided that it would be much better to get it on video than remove her from the potentially dangerous area. :)

12 Months

2012-01-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

Alright, it's really 13 months, and I am a little late. That's what a December baby gets their entire life, so she should probably get used to it now. :)

Soph had her 12 month well-baby check yesterday. She is 29 inches long, and 18.9 pounds. Apparently, my former chunky monkey is now in the 5-10th weight percentile and it was suggested that we increase her caloric intake. I think we could say that for just about everyone around here...haha. So, yay for butter and cream cheese, right?

She has been full of hugs and kisses lately.

Loving on Daddy before a run...

"Muaaah" for Delaney...

Morning cuddles for Hailey...

And this is her "cheese" face.

"Ceeeeeeee"

*love*

Take a Look...

2012-01-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

at what Sophie and I are doing over at our school blog. :D

Learning Some New Skills

2012-01-09T06:21:00.000-07:00

Now that Sophie is an official Walker, she has been getting into all sorts of new and wonderful trouble. Cullen bought Delaney a little princess flashlight when they were at Home Depot last week, and she has been finding many dark places to use it. Sophie decided it was her turn, stole it, and headed for the bathroom. Too bad she isn't tall enough to reach the light switch. :)

Sophie has been interested in puzzles lately, i.e. interested in stealing Delaney's floor puzzle pieces, so I pulled out a few easy ones.

She is actually pretty good about putting the pieces in the right places. Smarty pants.

She also looooooooves her Tigger that Aunt Carol gave her. She gives it hugs and kisses all the time.

Delaney learned how to navigate Ebay this weekend.

She watched me use it throughout the Christmas season, and asked if she could look for some princess dresses.

I gave her a few tips and made sure I was signed out.. She can read "Buy it Now", you know, so I have to be careful. :) She had a blast looking at dress up clothes for awhile.

It's good to learn to window shop at an early age, right?

Sleepwalker

2012-01-07T13:54:00.001-07:00

When I was a kid, I would sleepwalk fairly often. My parents said that I would walk to the living room, have short conversations with them and then return to bed. I never remembered any of it.

I just finished reading The Hunger Games Trilogy, which was GREAT. (except, confession, I didn't really like the ending. But don't let that stop you from reading them. They really were fantastic). When I am deep into a book, I sometimes have wickedly vivid dreams about the story, and the dreams that came with this series were crazy. I have moved onto a new book now, and the dreams have subsided. Or so I thought.

Last night, however, I was having a dream about being trapped in one of the parts of the game, and hearing sounds that I HAD to go check out. I woke Cullen up, and told him that he needed to come with me. We slowly walked to the living room and I sort-of checked the perimeter and told him we were okay and could go back to bed. I must have thought that I was Katniss and he was Peeta. Ha. I vaguely remember being out of bed and dreaming and realizing when I woke up later that I had been dreaming pretty vividly. At least my husband is a good sport about my night-craziness.

I bet he is glad that it doesn't happen often, though. :D

I have actually slept for a whole 8 hours at night for the first time in about 5 months every night this week, as this little angel has decided that she will sleep all night for me.

Thank you sooooo much, Sophie. Mommy will be a much nicer person to know now.

This is an extra wonderful occurrence, since the past few weeks had been the WORST EVER, with Sophie waking up completely inconsolable, and many nights were spent ~~holding her as she writhed around for hours and screamed if I put her down~~ sleeping with her on the floor in the office or on the couch, thus turning me into a zombie whose nice filter wasn't always on. Sorry, family.

Maybe we will ALL stay in our beds tonight. :)

Sister Visits!!

2012-01-05T13:25:00.001-07:00

This last week has been a whirlwind of family, family, family!

Grandma made a surprise visit.(She's the one in the goat demon mask. Haha.)

Dawn and Ava and Hannah were all in town for the holidays. The five of us sisters hung out for five days and it was WONDERFUL. I miss my far away sisters so much, and it was awesome to have them all around me.

Ava and Sophie were instant besties. Ava taught Soph how to walk for real in about two days, and Sophie taught Ava how to tease. Oops.

Delaney taught Ava how to climb on EVERYTHING.

We had our traditional family Christmas breakfast on New Years' Day this year. Dawn took over the french toast making with a little help from Hailey and Delaney, since Chris is deployed right now.

And we all had a fantastic time eating and opening presents. I think the (two) boys were having a little bit of female overload with 11 girls in the house, and they snuck across the street to play Halo for a little while. :)

It was crazy. And super fun.

We all got together AGAIN that evening to celebrate New Years'...lots of food and fun and games, a little alcohol (alright, some of us had more than others, haha), and a LOT of laughing. We played a few different games, but our total fave was Dicecapades. (Thanks, Senas!)

Dawn and Ava left on Tuesday, and I thought that I might die, then Hannah left today, and although she didn't stay at our house with us, we still feel all sad and lonely. We are surviving though, and working on New Years-y things like cleaning and organizing, going outside for a little while every day like Brandi, getting out of the house more in general, and getting back to our normal school schedule. We will miss you guys a bunch, though! I am so very thankful that Megan moved back home, and Sarah lives right across the street!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T06:01:00.001-07:00

Christmas was fun this year.

We all enjoyed our stockings...

Santa brought books, clothes, barbies and some other toys this year.

Cullen got me a necklace which I LOVE beyond words. It is three little plates with the kids' names on them. I haven't been able to take a good picture of it, but when I do, I will post it, because the necklace is lovely.

We most of the holiday at home this year, which is a huge change. Usually we spend the day traveling from home to home, but this year I decided to make Christmas dinner at our house.

It was fun...Sarah, Hannah and I split the cooking duties, and Sarah's family, Hannah and Megan joined us for dinner. The kids had a great time playing with all of the couch cushions. Maybe I should donate all the toys and just use cushions and pillows and blankets for entertainment from now on. :)

Dinner was okay, but HOLY COW. I really, really appreciate all of the work that my parents put into the big family meals that we have. It takes a lot of time, food and work to put it all together, and we decided ours was about a 6 on a scale of 1-10, which isn't bad for our first attempt, but my dad's meals are always a 10+. Also, my parents always use their nice dishes that might even be hand washed, which multiplies the work substantially. I used paper plates and although I like to tease my mom about being so formal, I have to say that it does make a difference, and a nice one. So, Mom and Dad, thanks for always having us over, and not letting us clean up. I understand even more now why you almost need a vacation after a holiday!

Also, it always seems like the days that I SHOULD have the camera out all day, it disappears and we end up with no pictures at all. :(

Hailey's birthday was the 26th, and now she is 12!!! Yay, no more 11! Haha... Her birthday was a quiet this year with gifts throughout the day, Glee Karaoke with Aunt Sarah, her choice of dinner (pancakes, eggs & bacon) and a visit to her Nana's where she hung out with her aunts & Nana & Papa. Delaney got really sick on Christmas night and all day on the 26th, so it limited our celebrating a bit, but Hails still had a fun day.

This week will continue to be busy, with my sister Dawn in town now with my niece, Ava, and we are all looking forward to our family breakfast/gift exchange on Saturday.

On a sad note, my grandma passed away yesterday. She deserves her own special post, though, so I will save any more comments about that until then.

Merry Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T10:00:00.000-07:00

It just wouldn't be Christmas without a little ElfYourself. :)

And there's more where that came from...:)

Star Performers

2011-12-23T13:47:00.000-07:00

Delaney had her very first dance recital last Saturday. I LOVED her costume.

She was great. She didn't get nervous or shy, and danced her little heart out. She really loved the bowing part at the end.

I set the camera on the video setting and pushed the record button. Apparently, that setting doesn't work on the camera, or I don't know how to use it, because this is what I ended up with.

It's not a video? Yeah. *Sob*

Thankfully, her dance teachers recorded the whole recital, and are going to get me a copy after the holidays.

Delaney enjoyed the rest of the show with her Nana and Aunt Hannah.

Sophie gave her lots of hugs and kisses post-show.

It was so cute, and all of the kids did a great job. It is so fun seeing your baby perform for the first time, and her daddy especially enjoyed it.

On Tuesday night, Hailey was Prancer in the KAOL Middle School performance of "Broadway Santa".

I had to leave the little girls home with Cullen because Delaney has been sick all week & Sophie's nose had started to run. Delaney was so sad to miss her sister's show. Hailey and the cast did a great job.

Yesterday, Hailey entered the Middle School's talent show. Sophie and I went to watch as Hailey and about 11 other kids performed their various talents for the school. Hailey sang "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera. I was so proud of her...that is not an easy song to sing, and she did it without background music and sounded great. She won 3rd place!

For your viewing/listening pleasure....

Christmas Picture

2011-12-21T15:12:00.001-07:00

Each year, I attempt to take a picture of the kids for a holiday e-card. The first year featured Delaney crying in almost all of the pictures while sweet Hailey kept her smile for me. Last year, Sophie had just been born, and the kids all wore their Christmas pajamas. It was a sweet picture. :)

I figured this year would be exciting with Delaney, who never stops moving, and Sophie who loves the camera, but doesn't love stationary activities. Hailey is my constant...she will sit still, smile and try to contain the monsters.

And Oh. WOW. They did not let me down...haha.

I really couldn't choose which pictures to share on the blog, so here is a slideshow to try to let you share in the madness that was our picture taking session. :D

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

Personalize your own digital greeting

Fort-tastic

2011-12-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

We were a little tired of the usual activities about a week ago, and I remembered my little sisters talking about how Sarah used to build them amazing forts with all of the couch cushions and pillows and blankets. I decided to give it a try.

It was a lot of fun. Cullen got involved after watching me attempt some engineering feats, and our forts improved a whole bunch! Since then, just about every evening after dinner, Delaney says, "it's FORT TIME!!!!!" or trying to sound non-chalant, "do you think we should build a fort tonight?"

We didn't get any pictures of the first few, but here are some of the recent ones...

Tonight, I tried something new and different....

And Delaney said, "Daddy, can you make me a REAL fort?" Haha.

So he did, and it was pretty awesome.

Sophie was a little afraid to go inside of them at first, but now she climbs all over the couches and tonight she was chasing Delaney through it again and again.

We have been getting lots of big boxes from our favorite UPS man, and I decided that this one looked perfect for playing with.

So first we made a roof and a door.

Then added an archway.

And a rectangle window.

Then a side window.

Then a little circle window for the front.

And a side door with a doorbell.

As custom home buyers usually are, my little client had many specifications and was quite picky, but I feel good about my contracting job. I had two fairly happy customers who took their flashlights inside the house and played quite nicely.

So, if you are looking for Christmas presents for us, I think some big boxes, cushions and blankets should do the trick. :)

The Birthday Party

2011-12-12T13:48:00.003-07:00

We had Sophie's birthday party on Sunday.

She enjoyed hanging out with friends...

And family...

She wasn't super into opening presents at first,

And at one point ran away...:)

But once everything was out of its package, she was pretty excited.

She enjoyed the cake.

It was pretty yummy.

It was a fun day, and we really appreciate everyone who came to share it with us!

P.S. On my previous post, I mentioned that Sophie can say about 10 words. My data-loving husband made fun of me and didn't believe me, since I didn't list them all. So here's the list: cute, moo, meow, kitty, mama, dad, more, night-night, milk, hello, bye bye, and Nana. Twelve, really. So there. :)

I also forgot to mention that the birthday girl cut FOUR teeth on top last week, so now she has six!

Twelve Months

2011-12-10T20:43:00.000-07:00

My dearest baby Sophie turned one yesterday.

I spent a zillion hours in the kitchen today making her birthday cake for her party tomorrow, and that is a whole blog post in itself.

She did get to eat her very first cupcake yesterday, and appeared to think it was delicious!

She has been practicing blowing out her candles for about a week now, and only needed just a teeny bit of help from her big sisters.

She can say about 10 words now, including "cuuuuuuute" when she sees something she likes, and will meow and moo when given the appropriate animal prompts. :)

She is doing the one-handed walk all over the place now, holding on just a little bit, and getting a little more balance each day. She has learned how to climb onto baskets and chair, and then onto the couch, which is her new favorite playground.

She is an absolute crazy woman in the bathtub. I usually get soaked while she jumps and splashes and uses the side of the tub as a water slide. I wish I could get a picture of THAT. Haha.

I can't believe how much she has grown and changed, and how very quickly the past year has gone by, from my little chunky baby to the big girl she is now.

We love you, Sophie-girl. You are so wonderful, and funny, and happy, and you always have a big hug for your Mama. We are all so blessed to have you in our family.

Upcoming Events

2011-12-08T09:58:00.000-07:00

December is a busy, busy month for the Linn family, so I thought I would just make you all a list so you can mark your calendars and join in the fun. :)

This little love muffin has a birthday soon.

Or tomorrow. I keep telling her to STOP. GROWING. but she isn't listening and will be one year old in just a few short little hours.

We are having a birthday party for her on Sunday, December 11 at 11am and we hope to see lots of you, our good friends and family, there! I've had a few people ask about gifts...please know that just having you stop by and kiss the birthday girl is plenty.

This dancing princess has a dance recital next weekend.

It is on Saturday, December 17 @ 5pm, at the LDS church on Rutherford. (So, Hannah, drive fast, and you can make it!) It should be pretty adorable. Delaney hasn't ever performed on a stage before, so we shall find out if it brings out her inner star, or if she will be the kid who just stands there terrified...haha.

This drama queen is performing in Broadway Santa on December 20 at 6pm, at KAOL Middle School.

There is no chance that she will just stand still, so come enjoy the show! :)

Hailey's 12th birthday is on the 26th, Dawn and Ava will arrive on the 28th, and our family Christmas breakfast/gift exchange is on the 31st.

Whew! And then we will all rest and gear up for 2012!

Daddy Day Care

2011-12-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, Hailey and I took a little trip to Las Vegas to do a little shopping. Cullen kept the babies, and as usual, they had quite the time. :)

Delaney got a little workout in.

Sophie accessorized.

Delaney took a nap in Hailey's bed. Somehow, Dad's warning of "go to sleep and don't touch anything" is translated a little differently than Mom's. Haha.

Cullen is such a good dad...they played, they visited Great-Grandpa, and they even made a trip to Home Depot, Delaney's favorite place in the whole wide world, and will probably be Sophie's soon, too, once she is old enough to use the hammer!

Hailey and I came home to a clean house, happy kids and reasonably sane husband. I sure love that guy.

Big Girls...

2011-12-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

The girls wrote letters to Santa this week. Hailey wrote one to show Delaney how it is done.

Then Delaney wrote her own.

Dear Santa,

May I please have a boy and girl barbies, and fairy slippers?

Hailey attended her first school dance and had a great time.

Only a few more weeks and age eleven will be long gone.

Delaney got creative with the hair styling.

Sophie loves playing with her babies a little more every day.

She also got THREE teeth this week, her two top front teeth, and one on top to the left. OUCH.

We are getting ready to celebrate Sophie's BIG DAY, the girls with a birthday count down, and me with big fat tears, since my baby-baby is getting all grown up on me. At least I will get some cake out of the deal. *sob*

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

We spent our Thanksgiving holiday weekend in New Mexico with Cullen's mom and brother and family. That is a looooong drive. Our kiddos did amazingly well both there and back. I brought two bags worth of toys, and Delaney's favorite thing to do turned out to be singing to her music. Sophie was happy as long as there was a steady supply of snacks with an occasional nap or Polly Pocket thrown in. :)

Delaney and Avery were immediate best friends once again. They spent almost every waking moment together, playing Barbies or dress-up and lots of other games.

I wish that I had taken more pictures! They were adorable and my camera was never near.

Sophie made herself right at home.

She enjoyed hanging out with Zoe.

And Grandma...

We saw Gail's beautiful jewelry store, where the girls completely enjoyed running around and under all of the cases, and playing "Jewelry Salesperson".

Delaney watched some football with Todd, and afterward asked, "What WAS that movie??" Haha.

We really enjoyed our time there.

Paaaartty!!!!

2011-11-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

You're Invited!

Don't you just love the eyes on this bird?

Miss Owl would love to see you at Sophie's first birthday party, as would the little birthday girl.

See you there!

Packin' Up

2011-11-22T16:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Grandma,

I am ready to come see you!!!

Love,

Soph

Mini Minnie

2011-11-21T20:59:00.000-07:00

We've been having lots of random fun lately.

Like dressing Sophie up in the Minnie Mouse costume.

Wearing boxes on our heads.

Playing Cinderella-Polly Pocket-farm animal Adventure.

Sophie has learned how to say "please" in sign language, and "night-night", with her hand cradled against her head while she says it. Too cute. We have been working on animal sounds, and she will "moo" and "bock" on occasion.

We are getting ready for Thanksgiving, so we will probably be MIA for a little while here. Hope everyone has a wonderful Turkey Day!

Somebody...

2011-11-15T13:22:00.001-07:00

took her first step!

Sophie was standing between Hailey and I on Sunday night, and took a little pivot step. We didn't quite count is as an authentic step, but THEN...

(She played Peekaboo with me all around the kitchen table this morning...)

She took one more, away from me.

Totally unrelated to blog story, but you can't have a post without pictures, right?

Unless both Cullen and I see or hear whatever the new thing is, we figure it is a fluke,

But this morning, she took one step to Cullen!

Way to go, Sophie-girl!

Fun Times

2011-11-14T13:34:00.001-07:00

We have had lots of fun over the last few days.

Sophie took some extra interest in the Aquadoodle and drew on it for a long, long time.

Apparently the pens are pretty tasty.

She also rearranged the kitchen while Delaney played on the computer.

I took the liberty of showing her where to find Cullen's belly button. :D

She thought it was amazing, and wanted to play peekaboo with it for awhile. He is such a good sport.

Hailey and Sophie had some sister time, in between Hailey's Big Room Clean out and Rearrange of 2011.

Delaney and her daddy played with dirt outside for awhile.

She planted a "leaf garden".

We also had a couple of family Wii tournaments. I took some funny pictures of all of us flapping like birds for the Wii Fit game, but sadly, they all turned out pretty blurry. It was a lot of fun, though. Cullen was the ultimate champion for the soccer game & hula hoop, Hailey won the obstacle course, and Delaney won the snowball game. :)

Sophie was just cute the whole time, so she got a prize for that.

I have to include these pics, because they show how nicely her hair is finally growing!

We are looking for suggestions for good family games on the Wii...it's such a nice way to hang out together. We typically like board games, but they are difficult to play with Sophie continually trying to steal the pieces! If anyone has played a game that they enjoyed a bunch, and would be a good family game, please leave a comment for me! Thanks!

Eleven Months

2011-11-09T18:46:00.001-07:00

My soft, cuddly baby is *sob* eleven months old today. This is it. The last month of babyhood. I am so sad.

Until she looks at me like this, and then I look forward to seeing exactly how her unique little personality will unfold...

She is now about 27 1/2" long, and weighs 18.5 pounds. She has mostly just been lengthening out over the past few months, and her Buddha-belly is no more.

She has recently learned how to blow kisses, and say "NO!". (Thank you, Delaney. That's an excellent addition to the vocabulary. We are currently working on using nice words to express ourselves more appropriately, like, "Please don't do that, Sophie", or "Here, Sophie, take this instead." Haha. I love siblings.)

She gave me her first legitimate dirty look the other day when I took something out of her hand. It was awesome.

What?? Me?

She is fiercely independent and hates to have help with anything, especially eating. She definitely has a stubborn streak. I have no idea where that came from. (Totally Cullen. Not me at all.)

We have an owl light in the girls' room, and she LOVES to say "hello" to the owls. She gets so excited to see her owl friends, and I MUST get a video of it soon so you can enjoy it, too.

She remains a lovey-dovey little sweet, and I don't mind when she wakes up during the night at all. It means that we get to sneak some extra snuggle time into our day. I am trying to soak it all up now, before she grows up and is too busy chasing butterflies and her big sisters to slow down for some Mama-love.

Sicko

2011-11-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

Cullen and I have been sick for the last 3 days or so...the sore throat/cough/runny/stuffed up nose/feeling terrible yuck that Kingman is famous for. We have both had it a little bit since sometime last week, but it decided to really get nasty this week. Sophie started to get it, but has been better. Laney just has a runny nose, and Hailey seems okay so far. He and I have been taking shifts napping, resting and watching the kids today. We are pretty pitiful. We have eaten almost all of the soup in the house and used almost all of the tissues. Hopefully one, or both of us if we are lucky, will be better tomorrow and the house can be clean and the family can be well fed again.

In the meantime, Dr. Delaney made sure that we were going to be okay. My blood pressure was alright, but she didn't like the sound of my breathing.

Isn't her nurse cute?

Cullen was not doing "very great" and needed a shot. She told him to be brave, and that it wouldn't be that bad.

Then we all went back to bed.

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T21:00:00.002-07:00

I am posting tonight, since I am sure that my far away sisters are waiting on some pictures...:)

I made dinner for us and some friends of ours.

Skeletons...

Swamp creatures...with my little vampire friend, Gabrielle, helping me!

Jack-o-lanterns quesadillas...

Mummies...

Then, trick-or-treating with a Roman princess, Snow White, and a ladybug.

Holden the zombie, and the above mentioned vampire.

Sophie was such a good little ladybug. She rode in the stroller and hardly made a peep, and didn't even try to take off her hat.

She had the same serious look all night long. Haha.

We found some cousins along the way, Amarys the bumblebee and Bella the ladybug.

Delaney hopped on the stroller after about 30 minutes...she was ready to dig through her candy and get to eating. Hailey probably could have canvassed the neighborhood all night. Instead, she passed out candy for an hour after we returned home, which was lovely.

I love Halloween! :D

I forgot to post this video a few weeks ago. We have a Halloween skeleton that makes its yearly appearance, and Delaney begged us to get him out and bring him in the house. Mayhem soon ensued...

Hope everyone had an awesome holiday!

Birthday Boy

2011-10-30T08:09:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was my dear husband's birthday. We had a little celebration for him on Friday night with his favorite food, Sloppy Joes, and an ice cream cake (which I forgot to take a picture of), our friends and some games.

I found a cute little project for us to make Cullen on Pinterest, but somehow we had absolutely no time this week. It involved shadows, and we didn't get home before the sun had set too much to make it work any day that Hailey was home too. Cullen usually gets home around 5pm most days, so on Friday I planned to pick Hailey up at 4pm, hurry home, do our project and hide everything before Cullen got home.

At 2:30pm, I heard the garage door open. He came home from work a little early, of course, on the one day that I was hoping he would run a little late....haha. Then, it was a little windy, and then Delaney decided to get a big attitude while I was trying to direct her.

We ended up with this...

It's not the best picture, but it is Hailey, Sophie and Delaney's shadows with a "Love you" sign...There was a "we" involved too, but we ran out of hands. :) I especially love Delaney's little hand on her hip as she grumpily stood where/how I told her. Turkey.

Cullen always has a meeting from about 6am - 7:30 or 8am on Saturdays, so the girls started making cards for him around 6:45am....and then at about 7:10am, we heard the garage door! Their sweet dad came home early so he could spend more time with us on his birthday. It was a mad scramble to get all of their supplies to a different room before he came into the house!

We made him breakfast, gave him his cards and presents and spent the day mostly relaxing and hanging out with some friends, then watching movies in the evening (with his new wireless headphones that I bought him to block all of the girl-noise out while he is trying to watch a movie :) ).

I hope you enjoyed your day, Honey. We love you so much, and feel lucky to have you every day. I mean, seriously, how many guys would choose to play dolls with their little girls on their birthday, instead of taking the chance to get out of the house and do some boy stuff? You are the best and most wonderful. Happy Birthday!

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-27T13:30:00.000-07:00

We carved our beautiful pumpkins on Tuesday night...

Taste test, anyone?

Sophie thought we were crazy.

Delaney didn't want to touch the guts at first...

Soph was a pretty good sport.

Delaney drew her own pumpkin face. He was crying "because he was so cute."

Carving time!

Hailey free-handed hers based on a dragon pumpkin template.

And carved the whole thing all by herself...a first!

Happy Almost Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-26T20:42:00.000-07:00

We took a little trip to the Pumpkin Patch on Sunday.

I love pumpkins. There is just something about them that makes me happy.

Even the warty looking ones that Cullen won't let me buy.

The sun was not being our friend for picture taking.

But you get what you get...

And you don't throw a fit.

Right?

My kids are still pretty cute, even when they won't look at the camera and are going blind from uv rays blasting them...

We all had to pose in the Farmer frame...

I think Cullen definitely makes the best farmer. Soph is a pretty close second.

I'll post our pumpkin carving tomorrow!

Block Party

2011-10-24T15:09:00.000-07:00

Sophie is following in the morning tradition of her big sister, giving me a 5:30am wake up call most mornings. I try to drag myself out of bed and shower before she wakes up so Delaney and I can do some school during Soph's morning nap. It's so tough to get up that early on the weekends, though. I love my warm, comfy bed. On the other hand, if the babies let me get some sleep, I might miss out on some of these lovey moments...

Those girls sure love their daddy. Delaney always asks Cullen to play dolls with her, and he is so sweet and obliges, even though I know he really doesn't enjoy dolls a whole lot. :) He makes the story lines interesting though...like werewolves breaking in and eating everyone, etc...haha. When I first started teaching, I bought a bunch of wooden blocks off ebay for my classroom. When I moved to preschool, I left them at my mom's for all the granddaughters to play with. Since our house is so devoid of anything close to a boy's toy, I asked my mom if she would mind if I took the blocks to my house.

Since then, the living room has looked like this...

And the playroom looks like this...

Cullen has been teaching Delaney to build all sorts of things, which Sophie happily knocks down.

I think I should buy this kid a pegboard for her birthday.

Delaney and I made some brownies. I taught her all the ingredients, and told her I would give her a "test" when we were finished and I had put everything away. If she could still tell me all six, she could lick the spoon/bowl.

Guess who got 100%? You can remember anything with a little chocolate motivation.

Stand-Up Girl

2011-10-20T13:26:00.001-07:00

My Sophs has been working very hard learning lots of new things lately.

She can stand by herself for 5-7 seconds at a time now. She had been pulling herself up, then letting go, but as of yesterday, she is doing the on her knees-to-standing trick. Woo hoo!

She has grown tired of waiting on me at meal times and has decided that it is finger food, or feeding herself. She has practiced with the spoon a lot and is getting much better at actually getting food to her mouth, rather than on her cheeks and nose. ;)

She loves the Magnadoodle. She likes to draw on it for a few minutes at a time, then drag it around to a new spot, and draw something new.

She has learned to say "book" ("boo-") and has a few that she especially likes. She always turns to the same two pages in the "Animals" book - they both have a dog and a cat. She will roar with Delaney when we look at the lions and tigers and bears page.

She can also say "all done" in sign language, and can sign and say "more". She says, "dada", "mama", "hi", and seems like she tries to say her sister's names, although they haven't come out clearly yet.

She loves music and all of the musical Leapfrog abc toys on the fridge. The other day she had all 3 singing to her at once while she danced. It was great.

Hailey brought home her first quarter report card. She got mostly A's and a couple of B's. Good job, Hails. Middle school is rough...lots of work, and not a lot of time to play. She is a good big sister, and tries to get ready early in the mornings so she will have a little bit of time to play with the little girls before the homework starts pouring in.

In Delaney-land, we got some big news today! She got promoted to the Preschool class at gymnastics. We are so proud of her. She is pretty happy, too - no more Mom following her around and getting in her way. I explained to her that she would have a real class now, and a coach to listen to, and that I would just watch instead of come with her. She said, "I think you should just drop me off, Mom, not stay." And so it begins...haha.

And finally, a story about me. :)

My parents gave me a food processor for my birthday (waaaay back in February). I have looked at it a zillion times, but I was kind of afraid to use it. It looked big, and complicated, and messy.

Cullen has been doing Crossfit for a few months, and I am trying to find ways to lower the carbs in our evening meals to support his efforts. Yesterday, I was making Shepherd's Pie, and substituting cauliflower for the potatoes to see how it would taste. I decided to brave it and use the food processor, since it would be a ton easier. Annndddd...

Oh. My. Gosh.

I am so in love with this thing. It's like when you give a guy your number and he takes 3 months to finally call you and then you fall madly in love and wonder why on earth it took so long for you to find each other. I may try to find ways to use it every day. So, thanks, Mom and Dad. Sorry it took me almost 9 months to appreciate it.

P.S. The cauliflower was amazing. You could hardly tell that it wasn't potatoes, and even the kids and Cullen liked it.

Tucson Trip

2011-10-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

On Friday morning, the kids and I packed up and drove forever to Tucson to see Aunt Hannah. They were all very wonderful little travelers, which made me happy. I was a little worried because Delaney is usually good, but if she gets cranky, it's no fun. Sophie is usually kind of rotten in the car...she gets very unhappy very quickly if we are driving for too long (aka more than 10 minutes). I planned around naptimes and food times, and all went well.

We got all settled at the hotel, picked up Hannah and walked to Pei Wei. Yum! The girls tried to teach Hannah how to use chopsticks, but it was a lot like Hannah trying to teach me how to crochet - not exactly happening. :)

The next day, we went to the Tucson Children's Museum. It was kind of difficult to find. I had printed out a map at home, and we were doing our best, but downtown Tucson is complicated to navigate and we were feeling a little frustrated. We finally found it, then had to find parking, which was another challenge. Just before we found the museum, Hannah made a comment about her GPS and how it would've been helpful. I said, "Yeah, I almost asked you to bring it, but I figured we would be okay." Then she said something to the effect of she had it with her in her bag. THE WHOLE TIME. AND DIDN'T OFFER IT TO ME!! For some reason, she thought that I had said that I wanted to get there without the GPS to help me. I don't know what I must have said to indicate that. Hahaa....but alas, we did find the place. Even without the GPS THAT WAS 2 FEET FROM ME THE WHOLE TIME. Thanks, Han. :D

This was Delaney's almost favorite room - the submarine room. She really like all the gauges and even kicked a bigger boy out of the way so she could get to them...haha.

The art room...

Even Sophie found something to do...

Playing in the firetruck - her FAVORITE...

Sophie was nice to Hannah for about 30 seconds. :)

Firefighter Delaney.

Hailey showing Delaney how to use the microscope and magnifying glass...

Checking out their insides...This display was super cool, because that morning, Delaney had randomly asked me if she could go get an x-ray so she could see what was inside of her. She got to see it in 3-D instead.

Life-size Operation!

I took my baby to the pediatrician while we were there...

Playing house...

We did lots of other little things, and hung out in our room a bunch and played games.

We all felt about like this by the time we went home...

As I was moving the pictures from my camera to the computer, I found THESE...

Apparently, the girls got a little bored while I made a quick trip into Target before the museum...Haha..

We had a lot of fun, and we hope Hannah did too!

10 Months

2011-10-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

My Soph-a-saurus turned 10 months on Sunday.

We spent some time at Metcalfe Park after an unsuccessful attempt at finding a hiking trail that a friend recommended to us. (As is turns out, we were so close to finding it. Like 10 more feet practically.)

It turned out to be a great day for the park.

They look so alike to me in this picture.

Delaney ran around like a wild woman as usual. I tried to get some good pictures, but like the last photo shoot at the park, they were all action shots.

Sophie took her time, investigating everything within arms' reach.

She now moves at lightning speed. She has only grown about 1/4" since last month, and weighs the same. She eats everything in sight, though, so it must be to fuel her turbo engine. She will try just about anything. Her current favorites are black beans, avocados, cheerios, string cheese, and ham & turkey slices. She tried some pb & j tonight, and loved it, which is good, because that is like its own food group around this house.

She has taken to pushing everything that moves around the house...chairs, her learning table, the high chair...

She decided pushing from the back wasn't quite fast enough, so she changed her approach.

When she gets stuck, she wails as if her heart has been broken into 15 pieces. She is just a little bit dramatic.

She loves the outdoors. Cullen set her free the other day when I was out doing errands, letting her crawl and explore the backyard with less intervention than I would have. It was the best idea...Now I let her go, too, and she has so much fun. She only eats a few rocks here and there. :)

She likes pretending to paint her toenails.

She loves her big sisters and tries to get into every activity that Delaney does, and drives her crazy. When Hailey walks into the room, I hardly exist - Sophie wrestles to get out of my arms and into Hails'. She continues to be my kissy-lovey-huggy sweet girl. She has this great laugh, a mischievous "HA-ha", clearly plotting something. Funny little stinker, and I love her so.

Craft Crazy

2011-10-09T21:09:00.001-07:00

Something about October makes me want to get all crafty. I don't know if it is the lovely weather, or the pumpkins, or the gingerbread spice tea that has appeared in stores (and I plan to buy ALL of so I don't run out until next October), or possibly that fall colors are my absolute favorites, but I have had so many ideas that I have wanted to try out. I have also become addicted to Pinterest, which is genius, and has a zillion other great ideas, and inspires me to MAKE SOMETHING.

So we did.

First, I made these cute little pumpkins.

If anyone knows where to find raffia in this town, please let me know. Driving all the way to Bullhead or Havasu for it seemed excessive, but if I keep snagging little bits out of the Safeway pumpkin bins, I think they are going to get suspicious. Not that I have ever done that.

Delaney and Sophie did a little bit of fall art. Delaney drew a brown tree trunk and branches, then she made some fingerprint leaves. If you look closely at the trunk, you will see that she also included a hole in the tree for an owl, and then drew an owl to live in it. I love it.

Sophs made a big orange pumpkin. She needed a little help to keep her hands on the paper and out of her mouth, but it was a pretty great first painting.

My kids all have a thing about orange...

I made some letters to spell "Fall". It was inspired by this and this, and I am pretty pleased with my result.

I may have to move them around on the wall some more and get it just right. This is how the whole thing looks for now.

Finally, we made some milk jug ghosts. Delaney drew the faces herself, and let me help color. (Are you starting to understand why I love Pinterest so much? So many creative crafts out there!)

Sophie was pretty helpful, too.

I couldn't get a very good picture once it got dark...my flash and I were having issues, but once we put the lights inside them, they were SO CUTE. Here is a blurry shot anyway.

I am hoping to save milk jugs until Halloween (Hailey gets dibs on the next few since she wasn't home this weekend) and line our steps with ghosties for trick-or-treaters. Fun!

I think we will spend this next week baking pumpin-y things. I love October. <3

All Sorts of Silliness...

2011-10-05T13:27:00.000-07:00

Sophie really loves Peekaboo, and played with Hailey for awhile the other morning.

I love Delaney's little request of "May I be in the picture too?" As if she doesn't usually jump in to the middle under normal circumstances.

Delaney found several uses for our dining table placemats yesterday morning.

Did you know it can be a "bad man mask"?

A bonnet?

A shawl?

An airplane?

A whistle?

And directly after that, it became a telescope, but I wasn't quick enough with the camera. You can see all of the fun that we have with her other placemat over here.

Sophie practiced being cute all day.

She's becoming quite professional at it.

I don't know whether she is planning her future coup against my parenting methods, or laughing at me for thinking a book can help me make her behave in the future. :)

This weather is keeping us happy, and my house smells like butterscotch cookies, thanks to my new fall candle. We broke out the long sleeves this morning, and Soph loves the zipper on her jacket. Thanks for coming, Fall. We've missed you.

First Place!

2011-10-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Sophie proved herself worthy of the Linn name this morning.

I took her to the bathroom with me so I could start getting ready for the day. I gave her a bottle of vitamins to entertain herself with while I brushed my teeth, checking the safety cap to make sure it was on tight before I handed it to her.

Ha. As if a safety cap is any deterrent for a child of Cullen.

Two minutes later, I heard her laugh, "HaHAAA", and sure enough, the cap was on the floor.

Not a big surprise around here.

She also cut her second tooth, and has been saying, "Whooooaaa!" when she gets excited about something. :)

It's been a pretty fun-filled weekend so far.

Cullen ran in the Race to Remember yesterday.

Sophie helped him get ready.

The race began at 7am and we determined that it would take longer for me to get everyone ready, take them to the finish line to meet Cullen, and get back home than it would take for him to run the whole race. Haha. The kids and I stayed home instead, and made some pumpkin pancakes to celebrate the beginning of October.

Hailey took her first solo run at the griddle.

She did a wonderful job.

They were quite delicious.

Sophie really likes to eat the pumpkin puree all by itself.

I let her practice with a spoon for the first time.

Once she figured out the correct orientation, she rocked.

MMMMMmmmmm....

Cullen came home from the race with a first place medal for his division!

Way to go, honey. You are awesome.

We went to Home Depot for Kids' Day. Delaney made a helicopter.

She loves it so much. I tried to take a picture of her with the finished product, but she wouldn't stop flying it.

It was also Customer Appreciation Day at Home Depot, so we checked out some booths, pet some puppies, and explored an ambulance. Delaney gets super shy with the emergency people...she went in the ambulance because Hailey went with her, but she wouldn't even look at the firemen.

Delaney painted the helicopter green once we got back home. It's great.

Later in the day, she asked Cullen to play a game with her. He told her to go pick one out, and she went to the game shelf in the garage. A few minutes later, I heard "Help!" from the garage. It was Delaney, holding the big Stratego box. I said, "Seriously? I'm not even smart enough to play that game."

But Cullen, being the wonderful dad that he is, didn't mock her or make her choose something different. He helped her set it all up, explained it to her, and then they played for about a minute.

Concentrating on all of the instructions...

He suggested that they try Blokus , one of our favorite games, and taught her how to play that instead. She caught on pretty quickly, and towards the end of their game even found a move that Cullen hadn't seen. I love how Cullen takes the time to teach our kids things that at first thought/glance we might assume that they aren't old enough to do, and the way our kids usually rise to the challenge and surprise us. Those are definitely some of my favorite moments of parenthood.

We finished our Saturday with friends and games and lots of laughter. How I love the weekends!

Stand Up Comic

2011-09-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

Delaney made up her very first original joke last night. She has been telling jokes for awhile, but this one was all her own...

Delaney: Knock, Knock!
Dad: Who's there?
Delaney: Potato.
Dad: Potato who?
Delaney: I love you!

We cracked up, so she told it about 10 times. It was still funny. I love it when littles are experimenting with humor. Hailey's first joke was something like, "What did the horse say to the horse?" "What's up, Cow?" The jokes never make any sense, but you laugh pretty hard anyway. :D

And speaking of laughter, no one can make you laugh quite like a big sister can...

"Sleepover Day"

2011-09-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

As Hailey tried to leave for school today, she was attacked by little monsters who clung to her like leeches.

AKA her sisters. :)

She is well-loved around here. Sophie ditches me for Hailey about 75% of the time, and Delaney would play with her all day if she could.

Sweet girls.

I borrowed a cute little book called Sleep-Over Mousefrom the library to go with the slightly longer Ira Sleeps Overthat we read for school. Delaney loves them both and we have read them about 500 times since Saturday. She decided that she should be Sleepover Mouse this morning and asked me to set up her tent. We haven't had it out since the end of July, and the two months have made an AMAZING difference in Sophie's ability to play in it.

We put the sleeping bag and glow worms and flashlights and any number of stuffed pets inside.

Delaney pretended to sleep.

Sophie went wild.

It was really funny and they played together quite nicely.

I think I only heard Delaney "Monster Growl" at Sophs once.

We read books inside and they played for a loooong time. Delaney and I actually forgot to go to the playroom and have our regular school time once Sophie took a nap, and all of a sudden I realized it was almost time to get Sophie up and head to gymnastics. That's alright, though. It was just Drama Day, right? :D

P.S. Delaney is supposed to be napping in her room right now. She just tiptoed to the bathroom with a blanket over her head, trying to be all quiet and sneaky...haha.

At Least My Family Loves Me...

2011-09-28T15:24:00.001-07:00

On Sunday, I had a rather Alexander-y day.

I tried to bury myself in crafting, and made this little sign for our doorbell...

And Delaney and I put a fall wreath together.

I went to the grocery store by myself, which is usually one of my most favorite activities. I am a nerd. I love the produce section best of all, next to the wine and cheese section. :)

This trip, however, found me frustrated and disillusioned by all of the random meanness in the world. When I am in public, I am not weird and overly friendly like some people (you know the type I am talking about), but if someone happens to make eye contact with me, I smile. I really don't understand what makes a person glare back, and why some strangers even go out of their way to be complicated and rude and nasty. It's disconcerting. It also makes for a disappointing attempt to cheer myself up.

I bought cute little squash and pumpkins. At least they smile back at me.

I was not in a happy state of mind when I returned home.

While I was at the store, Cullen and the girls whipped up some ABSOLUTELY AMAZING white chocolate chip chocolate cookies.

These things are phenomenal. I think I am a pretty good baker, but these really put my cookies to shame.

So that helped.

As did this most adorable little face.

Mischief maker.

I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful, sweet, cute family to come home to when the rest of the world disenchants.

First of All....

2011-09-24T20:55:00.001-07:00

on the list of "Things You Never Imagine You Will Say As A Parent"...

"Delaney, please don't put your sister on a leash!"

Delaney, Sophie and Cullen had been playing with the links all afternoon. Delaney was helping to keep Sophs busy while I finished making lotion and making some dinner for us, and I wasn't watching them too closely. I was only hearing happy sounds, so I figured all was well. Cullen went to get the girls from the playroom for dinner, and Delaney had a link leash around her waist and was walking her. Ahhhh, the joys of big sisterhood....

We had an awfully busy week, hence my poor amount of blogging. I didn't take very many pictures either...It seems like I read about a zillion books, did a million errands and a lot of silliness went on. It's kind of a blur.

Sophie helped me while I attempted to read The Dinosaur Alphabet Book to Delaney...

I became addicted to crafting blogs while Iwas looking for some Christmas projects. In fact, I need some help on a craft that I found...I need bottles. As in condiment bottles, preferably emptied of their prior contents. I know that you have been putting off cleaning out your fridge for awhile now, so this is your perfect opportunity. Look through your refrigerator door, find all of those bottles that expired in 2008, rinse them out and call me. Your fridge has more room, I get to do my craft, and I get to visit you. Everyone wins! :) Seriously, though, if anyone has bottles for me, let me know! I need a bunch! I would link to the blog that has the idea for my gifts, but I don't want to spoil anyone's gift. It is SO CUTE. If you are crafty and really must see it, just leave me a comment and I would be happy to email it to you.

Cullen has been taking Hailey and Delaney on a run/bike ride for the last few weeks, and he talked me into running with him this morning. Sophie did really well in the jogging stroller, and I ran 3 miles or so and didn't die. So that was good. :) It was actually really fun, and I might have to practice during the week so I can keep up next Saturday and not limp around like a wienie for the rest of the day.

Now, I will sit by my sweetie while he watches "Mystery Men", and read some more crafting blogs. I may have a problem...

How to Have an Awesome Sunday for Under $35

2011-09-19T14:41:00.001-07:00

aka...we went to the fair and on a date.

What? On less than $35? We must be the most frugal couple ever. Either that, or it just doesn't take much to entertain us. :)

We took the kids to the fair on Sunday morning, but warned them ahead of time that we were just looking at exhibits, not riding the rides. I really hate the fair. It's so dirty, people are gross, lots of cigarette smoke, crowded, stinky...shall I go on? Call me a snob...I avoid it at all costs. HOWEVER, it seems like something the kids would like, and I heard that Sunday morning is not a terrible time to go, so I sucked it up and off we went.

It was actually a lot of fun. There were a bunch of really cool handmade stuff, photos, art, food, etc. It made me want to make sure I get it in gear next year and have Hailey & Delaney enter some stuff, because they are both really creative and artsy, and it would be nice for them to get some ribbons for it. I bet Sophie will even fingerpaint by next year!

We saw some miniature ponies that you could ride for $5, and asked Delaney if she would like to ride. She shook her head no and said, "Daddy, why do they look trapped?" She was pretty worried about their welfare. Sweet girl.

Next was the petting zoo area, which was mostly goats, with a few sheep, a pony and a pot-bellied pig. I am kind of a sucker for the petting zoo, even though I know it is probably the grossest part of the whole fair...There was this little baby goat who took a liking to us. It was soooo cute, and both little girls pet him.

He followed us around after that, even though we didn't have any food. Sophie REALLY liked him, and while I was paying attention to Delaney, she was trying her hardest to pet the goat with her foot.

Cullen said she was wriggling and stretching with all her might to touch him...haha.

We visited the stables to see bunnies, chickens, geese, pigs, mice, etc. Delaney and Hailey were a little daunted by the smell....ah, the fair smell, mmmmm...so we didn't last long in there.

Finally, we HAD to stop by the shaved ice booth and the lemonade booth.

Those are the best lemons ever.

We headed home, washed our hands 50 times, had lunch and rested. Once the kids were ready for some more fun, Cullen and I dropped them off with my parents and headed out for a date.

We don't get away from the kiddos very often, and Sophie generally is not a fan of being left behind, not to mention refuses to take a bottle, so it can be difficult to find something to do in the middle of the afternoon within the time frame we have. This time, we packed up some snacks, some drinks, Blokus, a blanket, some books, and headed to the Hualapais. We know, we are super nerds.

It was gorgeous.

It was so relaxing and wonderful. It was quiet and comfortable; the spot we found was perfect.

We played our game,

and I actually won for once, so that was an extra bonus. :)

We ate our snacks and talked, read our books and took silly pictures.

I got to spend time with just Cullen, didn't have to share him with anyone else, and had a perfect time. I'm so lucky to have a husband who considers all this a great date, too.

Park Day

2011-09-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday arrived. Cullen worked for awhile in the early morning hours, then came home and invited Hailey and Delaney out for a run/bike ride to Centennial Park. Soph was napping, so I stayed home and enjoyed a quiet house, but I was really dying to be outside...it's been SO nice.

When they returned home, we grabbed some water and snacks and headed up to Crestwood Park, so Sophie and I could get our fill of sunshine too.

Hailey was quite the sweet big sister, taking Sophie down the slides with her.

I got a little hot, so I found some shade in a tunnel. Everyone else thought that looked like a nice spot, too.

Sophie liked the abacus.

And the grass.

Delaney liked her daddy.

Hailey liked the bars.

Dear 85 degree weather...you can stay as long as you want. I will love you every day. <3

Comedienne

2011-09-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

My Soph is becoming quite the trickster and ham these days. She has started doing this fake laugh, a little "haha" or "heh heh" until we all start laughing for real. I have to get it on video...it is soooo funny.

She has developed an aversion to getting dressed, or rather a great enjoyment of stealing the clothes that I am attempting to put on her and crawling away as fast as she can to hide them in some other part of the house.

No leggings for me, Mom!

I am OUTTA here...

She is pretty quick.

And sneaky.

Laughing at me chasing her the whole time...

Sophie has also participated in some pretend play with her sisters lately, or as Delaney calls it, "MOM SHE IS TAKING MY TOYS AND MESSING UP MY STUFF AGAIN!!!"

Haha.

I am gradually teaching Delaney to share and Sophie not to destroy. They played with some water and the play mixer and made cake the other day.

They really played very nicely.

Until Sophie spilled the cake all over her not-so-excited sister.

But they both survived to make some more cake.

When Hailey got home from school, she played ponies with Delaney and helped Sophie play too.

It was a grand time.

No ponies or sisters were harmed in the writing of this blog. :)

Favorite Weather Week!!

2011-09-15T13:19:00.000-07:00

I love our Arizona weather.

We can have big grey ominous clouds...

And blue skies side by side.

We have sunny, sunny play-outside days for months,

and then wake up to one whole day of dark and stormy and grey...

Just right for a rain jacket and rain boots that are usually just unnecessary accessories for silly girls...

Puddles just dying to be jumped in...

We spent the greater part of the morning sitting on the back porch watching it pour, or sitting by our open windows listening to the sounds.

It was so nice and dark and cozy inside.

I wished that I could have kept Hailey home from school so we could play games and enjoy the weather.

We should have Rain Days in Arizona

so our school-age children can play in the rain!

Instead, we make them go to school and stay inside all day long. Boo.

It's perfect weather for homeschool, though! Makes us want to "play school" all day. :)

We haven't worn socks for months around here,

and Sophie spent half of her morning

trying to figure out what on earth was on her feet and how to get them off!

That same night, Grandma came for a quick visit!

Sophie had not really warmed up to her Grandma in the past,

(You know my anti-social pumpkins. They take forEVER to like you.), but this time she was a little sweeter. When Grandma broke out the dance moves, she won Soph's heart.

Delaney loved spending time with Grandma,

reading books with her and being silly.

Hailey regaled her with middle school tales

and enjoyed Grandma's vocal stylings. :)

We all enjoyed seeing her!

Nine Months

2011-09-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

My little pumpkin pie is 9 months old now. Nine FAST months. She is about 18 pounds and I haven't measured her lately, but her little 12 month jeans are a perfect fit for her baby legs.

She can now get a fork and spoon to her mouth, and picks up food and other small objects like it's always been easy for her.

She is way too curious already, getting into things that she shouldn't, and learning how to open and unscrew and pull far too early. I let her hold my lipstick the other day while we were in the store and she was a little bit cranky. It has a screw-top and I figured it was safe. Until I looked down and she had the cap in one hand and the lipstick in her mouth.

Haha. I stole your bookmark, too, Mom.

I also let her play with a marker while Delaney was coloring. The caps are pretty difficult to remove, so again, safe, right? Until I noticed that Sophie's hands were grey and she was working on coloring her leg.

THEN, she was climbing around the dishwasher while I unloaded it. Fairly uneventful? Until she unscrewed the cap for the rinse agent and took off with it.

This morning, she started opening the cupboards on my dresser. She is SO STRONG! Not to mention the outlet covers that she has been trying to remove for weeks.

Who, ME??

Oh my. I have a feeling that she is going to really keep me on my toes in the next few years.

Sophie is definitely developing an excellent sense of humor already. She loves to tease. She reaches for her dad, smiling and holding out her arms, and as soon as he reaches for her, she turns around quickly and holds on to me. She started teasing her Nana recently, talking to her and waving, leaning forward to go to her arms...then...TRICKED YOU! Back to Mom. :)

She is a little turkey, too. She knows that she is not supposed to play by the stove, and she always tries to sneak over to it while I cook dinner. A few nights ago, I was chopping some food, and she crawled into the kitchen, sat on the mat in front of the stove, made a whole bunch of noise and waved to me when I turned to scold her, a huge naughty grin on her face.

I am far too cute to be as much trouble as she makes it sound like I am.

She is also cuddly and lovey, and gives her big sisters lots of hugs and kisses. She follows them around everywhere, and really hates the occasional door closed in her face while they are doing big girl things.

Sweet matching-pajama-girls...

She always has a smile for me, and is the sweetest natured baby I could ask for. I love you, Soph-a-loaf. I hope the next few months slow waaaaay down, for you are far too close to ONE.

Cookies and Jokes

2011-09-08T12:52:00.000-07:00

The Linn household has been quite enjoyable over the past week.

We made some fun cookies last weekend. I really should have taken more pictures during the making, but my hands were a little messy.

You take half of a fun-size candy bar, put it on a stick, and wrap cookie dough around it. (Hence my purchase, Mom. :D) Decorate, bake, eat.

Super yummy. Delaney and I did most of the decorating, and Hailey helped out with a few, too.

I love recipes like this. They were so pretty.

The weather has been so pretty, too. I got a text from Cullen early in the morning on Monday telling me to go outside so I didn't miss this...

It has been nice enough for the little girls to play outside without melting away.

When did these chunky cheeks appear?

And beautiful enough to take walks in the evening again, which is one of my favorite family adventures.

Delaney is still working on her joke telling. Her latest one is, "Why did the banana go to the dr?"

"Because he wasn't PEELING so well!"

The Princess and the Tiger

2011-09-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

First of all, I would just like to note that I really hate fun size candy bars. They are not "fun". They are just small enough that I think that they look like a great little treat, and I naively eat one, not realizing that it is just a trick. The taste is big enough to fill my mouth with happiness, but small enough that I want another one. So I get another one, thinking, "Oh, these are so small. Two won't hurt." But the sneaky cycle happens again, because there has been a little break between bars, and my mouth is under the mistaken impression that, once again, the taste is small, and maybe it needs just a bit more. Four "fun-size" candy bars later, I just hope to heaven that there aren't any left when I go back to the cupboard to get "just one more little one", because clearly, I have no self control when it comes to miniature chocolates. If it were a whole bar, I would not have any problem steering clear. So, thanks a lot, Hershey company. You have me figured out.

:)

In other news completely unrelated to my choco-holism...

A princess and a tiger paid a visit the other day.

The princess asked for a crown. I am not quite the seamstress that Brandi is, but I did my best.

She took her tiger to tea.

They both behaved quite properly.

The tiger looked like she did question some princess antics from time to time.

You know how princesses get when they are questioned.

So the princess put the tiger in jail.

The end. :)

Jewelry Giveaway!

2011-09-02T06:26:00.000-07:00

I have an Aunt Dina. She lives in Portland, Oregon, which is much too far away, and I rarely get to see her. She is smart, funny, gives wonderful advice, is compassionate & shares herself with everyone around her. She is a great writer, an amazing cook, a gardener, a knitter, and if that wasn't enough, she makes jewelry, too!

She is doing a jewelry giveaway between now and September 5. You should check out her blog, http://ykmt.wordpress.com/, or her Etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/youknitmetogether, or her Facebook page, and enter. The jewelry is super cute, and did I mention that she is amazing? (And I am not just saying that so she will send me jewelry. Haha.)

Brave Girl

2011-09-01T13:24:00.000-07:00

Delaney has had a stuffy nose for MONTHS. It started in May, progressed into a sinus infection and a month of antibiotics in July, then returned to stuffed up, along with some other various symptoms. I don't think that she has taken a breath through her nose for about 4 months. She probably can't taste anything, and sounds like Darth Vader when she is sleeping. She hasn't been feeling terrible, but she also hasn't been herself for awhile. She can be a little difficult to understand, but on her worst congestion days, it is nearly impossible to figure out what she is saying. On one of these days, I became completely frustrated, and made her an appointment to see an allergist.

We went to see Dr. Asokan yesterday. Delaney was a perfect little patient, with the exception of becoming so shy that she barely said two words, and those were a barely audible "thank you". He confirmed that her nose is very inflamed and gave her a nasal spray & antihistamine to use for the next three weeks, and a low dose of steroids for 5 days. Then he said the dreaded words...."Blood work".

Delaney has been very healthy so far, and doesn't remember her last shots, so she was NOT excited about this. We decided to have some lunch first, and talk about it a little bit before we went to the lab. She decided to bring her own band-aid, a Sleeping Beauty one, her favorite nursery rhymes book and some candy to help her survive the unknown. My wonderful sister Megan came over to stay with Sophie, and Delaney and I headed back to the hospital.

After a long wait and about 1000 nursery rhymes, it was Delaney's turn. The tech had her sit on my lap so I could hold her as still as possible. I would guess that they have had some kids really freak out in the lab, because they had all three of their techs in the room to help, just in case.

Delaney was SO BRAVE. They attempted to distract her, but she wouldn't look away and watched the whole thing. She did cry, but it was a reasonable amount of crying. I mean, who likes to have a needle stuck in their arm? They took 3 vials of blood...it's hard to believe that she had any left after all that. She sat very still, didn't try to pull away, and stopped crying about 10 seconds after it was over. They showered her with stickers and lifesavers and kind words. She was such a good girl. She was kind of impressed that her blood was such a dark red.

She proudly wore her band-aid for the rest of the day.

She told her daddy all about it once he got home from work.

I can't wait until we play Doctor next time. She is very thorough, and I imagine I may need a lot of blood work. :)

We will return to the doctor in three weeks, and hopefully be able to solve her allergy mystery and get my girl feeling a little better.

Matching

2011-08-31T13:19:00.002-07:00

I had to buy Sophie some leggings the other day, since her poor little knees are the victims of her constant crawling. While shopping, I came across an outfit that was available in Delaney's size, too. I couldn't help myself. I had to splurge.

Delaney likes it when they dress alike.

And they are stinking cute.

Sophie has been practicing picking up small objects with her pincer fingers. It's one of my favorite skills to watch babies learn. She concentrates soooo hard, and gets really frustrated.

She is getting much better, though, and when the end result is tasty, the frustration is worth the while. :)

Delaney took these pictures...not too bad!

Delaney cheers Sophs on and they snack together. Sweetie pies.

Dress Up!!

2011-08-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

Delaney pulled out the dress up bin the other day. She decided that it was a good day to be Minnie Mouse.

Sophie was pretty interested in all of the stuff, and took everything out of the bin and scattered it all over the floor. One of the items was Delaney's first Halloween costume, an orange tiger.

Delaney, Halloween 2008.

Delaney was about 4 months younger than Sophie is now in these pictures, and considerably smaller, so it makes sense that the costume doesn't quite fit Soph.

She still makes an awesome tiger/rockstar.

Delaney moved our game back into the girls' room. Sophie needed a quick costume switch, into a tutu, so she could be the evil witch! (Or, "evil witz", as Delaney says. I love it. And she says it in her crazy evil witz voice, too.)

Hmmm. I don't know about all this. Maybe I should be the chicken.

The evil witch tried to off Minnie Mouse with a poison apple.

Thankfully, I was there, and knew about the magic spell-breaking hat, and the feathers that would protect her from future poisonings.

But we still had to keep our eyes out for the evil witch. Who knew where she might be lurking. :)

Happy 6th

2011-08-27T06:00:00.003-07:00

Today is Cullen's and my 6th wedding anniversary.

I love him. A lot.

It's really ridiculous that we have 7899873456 pictures of the children, but I literally cannot find a single one taken of the two of us recently. We are going to have to start letting Hailey take the pictures...haha.

The one and only I could find that included both of us. If I ever fall into a bunch of money, we are having professional pictures taken! Seriously!

I told the story of our first date for Cullen's birthday, so I guess it would be appropriate to tell the story of his marriage ~~statement~~ proposal for our anniversary.

During the course of our relationship, we had both figured out pretty quickly that we were absolutely meant for each other forever and always. I mean, really, to find someone who could put up with his idiosyncrasies and ideas and workaholism, and my eccentricities and attitude and Aquarius-ness - a true miracle. And we loved each and every part of one another.

At the same time, although we were completely devoted to each other, neither of us had any plans of getting married. I had already been married once and it left a poor taste in my mouth. Cullen had watched other marriages disintegrate. We were cinched together in our hearts, and didn't feel like we needed the courts to acknowledge it.

Nevertheless....

We were in New Orleans in June 2005 with Ron and Susan, and another couple (who sadly, divorced about a year later). It was the best vacation...so much fun, great food, etc. We were at a REALLY LOUD restaurant one night. It was famous for its food and family atmosphere, so there were a lot of big families and lots of kids. You could barely hear yourself think, but the food was outstanding.

All of a sudden, Cullen looked at me and said, "I'm going to marry you."

We had talked about it a little bit, so I wasn't surprised, and just said, "Okay."

"No," he said, "I mean, like, soon. I am going to marry you soon."

I just laughed at him. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. When do you want to?"

I thought he was joking around. I said, "Well, since you can't remember anything, how about on our one year anniversary, August 27. Then you will only have to remember one date."

"Sounds good." Then he yelled to the rest of the people we were with, since they couldn't hear us anyway, "Hey, you guys. We are getting married on August 27."

So, there you go, the story of how Cullen told me I was going to get married to him. If you know me well, you know that I hate people telling me what to do. He's the only one who can still get away with it. :)

Next holiday...the great adventure of how we got married.

Check out

2011-08-25T13:35:00.001-07:00

Our SPIDER ADVENTURE!! over here...

Hot Stuff

2011-08-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

Sophie is definitely beginning to express her opinions and show preferences for certain things lately. She also thinks that she is pretty cool. I love her smile...so BIG.

The other night, I was cleaning out the pool, and Hailey and Delaney were splashing around in the water as I drained it. Sophie was on the grass, and kept shrieking like a banshee. I assumed it was because no one was playing with her, but after some guess work, figured out that she REALLY wanted to play in the pool too, but knows the rocks are not fun to crawl over to get to the pool.

She had so much fun.

She splashed and crawled and got completely soaked.

It was great.

I made some fruit pops with strawberries and peaches, and shared mine with Soph. She took it out of my hands after about 30 seconds...no sharing for her!

She would get a little brain freeze every now and then. It was pretty entertaining.

For the most part, though, she thoroughly enjoyed her treat.

What a Princess face.

Morning Visitor

2011-08-22T20:51:00.000-07:00

A little friend appeared outside the other day.

Delaney and Cullen are both very considerate of most living creatures, and this one was no exception.

She took the little worm and "gave him a new home that he will like".

She was heartbroken later in the day when he had traveled away, but watches for him every morning.

Tales of Getting Older

2011-08-20T10:52:00.000-07:00

Today we are going semi-Robert Munsch style.

Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She acted out movies, and played pretend games and sat on her mother's lap and held her mother's hand.

Age 5

This little girl grew older, and grew sweeter and even more kind-hearted. She loved animals and her Polly Pockets. Even though she was growing older, she would still snuggle and hold her mother's hand.

She grew up and went to Kindergarten. She loved it when her mom would come and work in her classroom. Even then, she would sit on her mother's lap and hold her hand.

First day of Kindergarten

This little girl grew and grew, and eventually made it to 3rd grade. She attended a bigger school and became more independent. Yet, she still loved her mom to walk her to class and would hold her mom's hand. She said, "Mom, I will still hold your hand even when I am in High School."

The little girl grew and grew some more. She grew big enough to move on to Middle School. She grew out of her childrens' sized clothes and into grown up sizes. Her feet grew bigger than her mother's. Still, though, she loved to snuggle, and would hold her mother's hand.

On the first day of 6th grade, her mother and sisters walked with her to the bus stop. About half of the way there, this big girl said, "Mom, I think I will take it from here." and walked the rest of the way by herself, while her little sister watched her from the stop sign a block away.

Wearing my shirt...

She woke herself up in the mornings, she made her own lunch, and she did her homework and chores without reminders. One day, her mother thought that the girl was not paying attention and would surely miss the bus or forget her lunch. But the girl was so responsible, and at the right moment, gave her mom a kiss and said, "Well, I better go. Have a good day, Mom."

And the mom was sad and proud and happy all at the same time.

Even though the little girl was getting so grown up, she would still come home from school and give her mom a big hug, and want to snuggle, and she would still hold her hand. Just maybe not all the way to the bus stop. :)

Ironkid 2011

2011-08-15T21:21:00.001-07:00

Delaney participated in her very first triathlon on Sunday morning. Anna Shuffler organizes it, and it was awesome. Delaney swam 25 yards with Cullen, did two loops around the parking lot on her bike, and ran two loops around a track with me. She had so much fun, and it was nice to see how many kids participated and had a great time.

We met her buddy Gavin at the Wellness Center. They were tough and ready to compete!

While we were all standing around talking, I noticed Delaney edging closer and closer to Gavin, then leaned over to give him a sneaky little kiss! I am blaming the Disney princess movies for this behavior...We will have to keep an eye on her. :)

Cullen suited up for the swim.

Delaney swam with her Daddy...

She got a little distracted while watching and cheering her friends on...

But still finished very nicely.

Then it was off to the bike track...

The uphill part was tough, but she persevered.

And finally, heading to run two loops...

She started slowing down towards the end. She is super competitive though, so I told her that I was going to beat her to the balloons at the finish line, and she took off with lightning speed and beat me there.

I love her arm pushing me out of her way...haha.

So proud of her.

And she was proud of herself, too.

She played in the jump house for awhile after the race, and Hailey got a good workout helping all of the little kids climb up the ladder inside of the house.

Triathlons are exhausting!

We were all so proud of Delaney for her awesome performance! Congratulations to our family's first tri-athlete! :D

To Flagstaff We Shall Go...

2011-08-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a little trip this weekend. We had been planning to go to Flagstaff for the weekend with our Sena friends and do some family stuff, then take a little break from the kids, but our babysitters cancelled on us, which changed our plans a bit. Instead, we got up super early on Saturday and drove up to Sunset Crater/Wupatki to do some hiking.

It was a really nice day, overcast and not too hot.

The ruins were just as cool as ever.

This area was part of a multi-level house. Cullen was holding Delaney up as high as he could and I could barely see her from the room below.

I love the history of these places. It just amazes me what the Hopi people were able to build and create by hand.

The kids hiked all around.

Delaney wanted to be an independent woman as usual.

But did spend a little bit of time with her mama.

Sophie enjoyed her ride and her time with her daddy.

It must be comfy in there.

Cullen had a GREAT time with me, three of his own girls, plus one more girl friend. Poor guy. Estrogen overload. He held up pretty well.

We rewarded him with a lunch visit to Oregano's, quite possibly his favorite restaurant of all time. We had some amazingly delicious deep dish stuffed pizza and a pizookie.....oooooohhhh it was wonderful.

Then we visited Thorpe Park. The kids played on the swings for a loooong time.

Sophie and I hung out on the grass and enjoyed watching the world go by.

It was a lovely Saturday. I love taking trips with my family. :)

8 Months

2011-08-10T06:37:00.002-07:00

Sadly, as of yesterday, my baby-pie is already 2/3 of the way through her first year of life. She is now full-fledged, all fours crawling EVERYwhere. She loves shoes...they are very tasty, she says, so we have to make sure we are good picker-uppers and put all of ours where they belong, rather than on the floor in the kitchen where we like to take them off. I have gotten in trouble more than once already when one of the girls finds Sophie chewing on my flip-flops. :)

Sophie also loves the trash can and the recycling box...

I think she knows that I do not approve of this.

She made a complete circle around the girls' bedroom last night, stopping here and there to play with whatever she found on the floor, then move on to the next amazing spot. I think she is really proud of her new independence.

She is beginning to take a true interest in all of the toys around here. She likes this little dog a lot.

She loves the shape sorter, and will dump it out and play with the shapes for a long time. She enjoys the xylophone a lot, and watches Delaney play her keyboard very closely, then crawls over to it and touches it carefully.

We typically keep Sophie entertained in the living room, and keep most of the smaller toys in the playroom. She made her way into the playroom the other day and found her toy heaven.

She really likes the kitchen area.

Delaney is learning how to share her toys with Sophie. She has been pretty good about it, but now Sophie is choosing what she wants to play with, rather than Delaney bringing her items she is willing to part with, so it's been a little rough around here. I am glad to see that Sophie already stands her ground to keep her toys. It will be funny to watch how this evolves as they get older.

Sophs is pulling herself up on much of the furniture around the house.

She is learning that just letting go probably isn't her best option. :)

She continues to be a little mama's-girl. As long as I am within the same room/house, she is a happy girl, but she gets a little grumpy should I dare to leave her with someone else for a little while.

And she is definitely working on her mischief-making skills.

Hailey was reading Delaney a book here...I love Sophie's body/face as she crawls all around her big sisters.

Happy 8 months, baby girl.

Hiking Day

2011-08-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

We have kind of been sitting around the house a lot lately. We call it "relaxing", but really we are probably just lazy and unmotivated to leave our home. Saturday came, and we didn't have any big plans. Cullen took Delaney to Home Depot to build a pencil box. She painted it once they got home. I cleaned up a little. Not a lot of excitement going on at the Linn residence.

Then, Cullen said, "let's go to the Hualapais!"

So we did.

Cullen used the new-to-us traveler-carrier backpack that I snagged on Ebay for $34. Once Sophie was safely strapped in, we could see the top of her head and her legs...haha...

She seemed to like it a lot.

She even took a little nap in it.

Our little hiker was very independent as usual.

She wanted to walk ahead of us, or with her daddy.

Apparently, I hold her back.

She is pretty tough.

And fast.

My favorite moments were watching Cullen and Delaney walk holding hands, with Sophie singing to them from the pack.

We took a few family pictures.

My girl is crazy.

Sophie was very in love with her daddy all day.

During this pose, Sophie couldn't take her eyes off Cullen. He would set the camera timer, run back to us, and as soon as he stood with us, her face would turn.

We tried putting him in a different spot. At least you can see the side of her face.

It was a beautiful day, and we were so glad we went.

Sand Storm

2011-08-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

I drained the water from our pool the other night and created quite the river in our back yard. Cullen and Delaney made and attempted to float some paper boats. When that got old, Delaney decided to paint the petunias.

I went inside with Sophie for awhile. I returned to the back to check on Delaney and found her immersed in mud and water, taking a mud bath. Oh. My. It was a mess.

Cullen promised to clean her up.

And holy moly, did she ever need it.

She had a great time, though. She loves mud.

The next evening, Delaney and Hailey were playing together. I opened the back door at one point and found both of them covered in mud.

I had a little freak out moment of the "oh my gosh, which of you thought it was a good idea to cover yourselves in mud you just had a bath dont you dare come in the house" variety. They both looked crushed. (Way to go, Mom. Kill the moment of mud filled joy.) I immediately apologized and told them to enjoy themselves...I just wasn't expecting to find them that way, and it was alright, and to have fun.

I told them to look extra mischievous for this picture. You will notice that Delaney hardly had to change her face at all. :)

On Tuesday morning, we had the Hopper family over for a playdate. Gavin and Delaney were playing really well, and Valerie and I hardly had to supervise at all. The two of them went outside, while the mamas stayed inside with the babies. We would peek out the window every now and then, and all looked well.

They were playing in the sandbox, and looked to be following all the rules...keeping the sand in the sand box, sharing the toys, etc. Maybe a little too well.

After about 20 minutes or so, Delaney came to the door saying that Gavin wasn't being nice to her and put sand on her. Upon further inspection, we found she was absolutely COVERED in sand and it was stuck to just about every part of her since it was so hot outside and she had been all sweaty. Her scalp was filled with sand...I could hardly see her head! It was not a one-sided sand fight...Gavin was thoroughly sanded as well. They must have been having quite the fun, dumping it all over each other. I hosed Delaney off on the back porch, and let them finish playing. I wish I had taken some pictures, but I was too worried about the amount of sand on my child making its way to my carpet to stop for the camera.

I gave my troublemaker a bath and a serious head-scrubbing after lunch. When we drained the tub, I cracked up....it was covered with a good layer of sand. It was incredible how much she had on her head. Valerie had the same experience with Gavin and said we should sweep it all up and put it back in the sandbox, since between the two of them, they had about half of the sand stuck to them...haha.

At least my floors and couches got vacuumed. I had been putting that off for awhile.

It's been a sandarific week, and now Delaney is under strict instructions to not do anything that will require her to have two or more baths per day. At least for a few days, anyway. :)

Completely unrelated, one night this week, all three girls jumped on Cullen and showered him with love...

And Sophie just keeps getting cuter.

Gymnastagirl

2011-07-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

Delaney started gymnastics class last Thursday!

She LOVED it.

I was a little concerned beforehand, because she needed a lot of convincing to leave her tutu at home, and did not believe me at all that the class was for flips and not for dancing.

The kids did a little warm-up with the coach, then pretty much had free reign of whichever room we were in at the time. Delaney was a little bit shy at first, but then found the trampoline, and the mats, and the cheese mat and the hula hoops, and the bounce house, and .... you get the idea.

She learned how to do a straddle roll to go with the forward roll she could already do. She played on the bars and is really super close to doing the "skin the cat". (Aren't you proud, Hannah??) She was a pretty good listener for her first time.

I have to carry Sophie along with us, and she did pretty well too. She hardly made a sound and just watched her big sister in awe.

I couldn't take any pictures during the class, but here are a few from afterwards. Once we got back home, Delaney wanted to practice all her tricks.

Practicing her "finish"...

Getting ready for...

Straddle roll!

Practicing donkey kicks...

She'll be ready for the Olympics in no time. :)

Sophie-rella

2011-07-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

I have to tell you, sometimes being a mom is a lot of work. These kids are really demanding, and I have a lot of chores. I decided that it was high time to put these babies to work. Delaney was pretty busy watching Go Diego Go!, and Hailey was at the pool, so Sophie took the brunt of my decision.

First on the list was washing the cabinets. I have been putting that off for awhile.

Sophie buckled right down to work, and even smiled about it.

The next chore on the list was sweeping.

At first, she just wanted to play with the bristles, but she figured it out after awhile.

Mopping and vacuuming were chores #3 & #4.

Sophs got a little confused, and tried to mop the living room.

Geez. If you want anything done right, you have to do it yourself.

Chore #5 was make a shopping list and cut coupons. Delaney likes scissors, and her movie was over, so I handed the ads over to her.

Sophie was pretty worn out after doing all of my work, so I let her take a break and read with Hailey.

Tomorrow I'll teach her how to clean the bathrooms. I'll never have to do chores again. :D

Cribbin' It

2011-07-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

I officially moved Sophie into her crib in Delaney's room at the beginning of this week. I have been wanting to do this for awhile, but Soph has started waking up at night, which I previously mentioned, and I was worried about her waking Delaney up as well. The only thing worse that one baby waking me up a bunch of times is two babies awake a bunch of times, right?

On Monday, however, Delaney asked if Sophie could "puh-leeeeease" sleep in her room? So we gave it a try. It has gone very well. Sophie is still waking up, but Delaney sleeps right through it. It's a bit farther for me to walk, but honestly, I pretty much sleep-walk to their room and wake up at some point while feeding Sophie and notice that we are up. Haha.

Yesterday after their naps, I heard some ruckus and laughing in their room. I checked on them and found one little monkey jumping on the bed...and another little monkey cracking up....

Delaney said, "Look Mom, I am making her laugh!"

Crazy cute little sisters.

I think the move is a success.

Working Hard in the Back Yard

2011-07-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

I was feeling a little antsy Saturday morning, and Cullen told me that he and the kids would find something to do, and that I should go entertain myself, preferably out of the house. I really did need a little break, so I did a few things around the house then decided to go to Hastings and look for a new book.

A few weeks ago, Cullen and I were discussing other home projects that I might want him to do, and I suggested that I might want a little bbq pad for our grill so I could use all of the patio space. I checked on the family just before I left, and found them hard at work to make my wish come true.

I went to the bookstore with a few gift cards that we had just received from Ron in the mail. I had lost them at some point during our trip to Florida in March...they must have fallen out of my wallet. I was sad when I realized it months ago, but had assumed that they were long gone and forgot all about them. It was SUCH a nice surprise when Cullen opened the mail and they reappeared! So, thank you, Ron!

Once at Hastings, I completely lost myself in the book aisles. They were playing great music and I finally felt peaceful after being a little on edge for the last few days. (Sophie has started waking up 2-3 times during the night, Delaney has been cranky while she continues to try to get over her sinus infection...it's been a rough few weeks.) There is just something about being in a bookstore that makes the evils of the world disappear, and it was woooonderful. They happened to be having a used book sale, 5 for $25, and an hour later, I had a nice big stack to bring home.

When I returned, I found the family out back. Delaney was helping Cullen, and Hailey was entertaining Sophs.

And in just an hour and a half ...

*don't mind my overgrown, overheated flowers...doesn't it look great?

We played and relaxed for the rest of the day, and barbecued hot dogs for dinner to try out the new grill area. It was perfect.

Thanks, Husband. I appreciate you a billion.

The Uphill Slope...

2011-07-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

to Twelve.

Hailey is officially closer to twelve than eleven now. In 157 days, eleven will be long gone, and I can already begin to tell the difference.

Lately, she has been SO GOOD. Responsible. Self-motivated. It's been lovely. Not to say that she wasn't a great kid, before, but she is ELEVEN. Enough said. :)

She has been doing her chores and taking care of responsibilities without being asked, cajoled or threatened.

She has been playing with her little sisters and entertaining them for long amounts of time.

They love her to pieces.

We have been working on a writing curriculum this summer, and her writing is SO GOOD. I can't wait until she finishes a story she is working on...you will love it.

We have had the nicest summer, and have spent lots of time together. She is old enough to have fun conversations with me about current events and humor and life. I am not looking forward to August 15, when school starts. I will miss her.

She might be ready to go back to school by then...but our house will feel a lot less full during the day!

A Week in the Life of Sophs

2011-07-22T10:59:00.000-07:00

Someone has a few new tricks.

She has taken to sticking out her tongue as much as possible.

She moves from lying down to sitting without a second thought.

She is now getting up on all fours, and crawls for real about half of the time now.

She still loves the camera...

And tries her best to come steal it now. :)

She began clapping this week, but she is a little too quick for a picture.

She decided that just maybe, Grandmas are alright.

She is with her Nana right now, and my sources tell me she is being good there, too.

She is well on her way to being the smartest computer scientist ever.

And she's pretty cute, too.

The Tent

2011-07-21T13:44:00.000-07:00

Cullen and I and the little girls made a trip to Bullhead City on Sunday. I am on the lookout for a new comforter set, but after dragging the family to three different stores (and visiting every bathroom we saw, because that is what 3 year olds do), I was not successful in my mission, but did manage to buy what I thought was a mini inside tent/tunnel for the girls to play in, and a bike helmet for Delaney. Neither of which was on the list, but both were in the clearance aisle, and I am kind of a sucker for a good sale. Alright. Totally a sucker for a good sale.

ANYHOW...we drove home and unpacked our treasures and found that it was just a tent, no tunnel, which would have been disappointing, except the tent is about 4 feet tall and big enough for Cullen and Delaney to get inside of. Wow. A little larger than expected, but it looked like fun.

Sophie and Delaney played inside it for awhile, using it as a passageway between the hall and living room.

The next morning, Cullen was getting ready for work and found Delaney sleeping in it around 6am. Who knows if she moved there in the middle of the night, or in the early morning.

I moved it to her room later in the day and put her sleeping bag inside. She brought some stuffed animals and decided it looked like a good place for her afternoon nap.

At bedtime, she asked if she could sleep in it again. Absolutely! Why not? We made a deal that she could, but if she changed her mind during the night, she would not bother me, but just get into her bed.

About 30 minutes later...

It was really too dark to see in her room, but the flash on the camera is an overachiever.

She is currently napping in it again. I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to sleep in it again tonight. :)

Excuses

2011-07-20T14:20:00.001-07:00

We haven't been very interesting lately, as you can tell from the lack of blogging. Delaney hasn't been feeling so hot...She has been fighting a sinus/ear infection, Hailey was gone for a week and Sophie is too quick these days and I have to chase her instead of take her picture. I know, excuses, excuses...but we have been keeping up with our "school", and I did blog over here, if you want to take a peek. :)

Song Bird

2011-07-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

We really don't watch very many shows around our house...We don't have cable, but we do watch some shows on Netflix and Hulu.com. I got completely sucked in to The Voice while it was on this summer, and the girls and I watched it together every week.

Today, Delaney was in the playroom and decided to play the piano. She was singing along with her tune and it was super cute, but it sounded like she was in a tunnel. She is just getting over a sinus infection, and had been extra sneezy all day, so I thought, "geez, she is REALLY getting congested." I went in the room to check on her, and as it turns out, she sounded like she was in a tunnel because she had set up her toy microphone on the piano so she could sing into it while she played. I think she may have watched a little too much Dia Frampton with me. :)

P.S. We are having some computer hiccups at the moment, and I CAN blog with pictures, but it is more difficult than usual, which in turn lessens my motivation. I promise though, soon I will be back to posting lots of pictures for you, Hannah. :)

According to the Dad...

2011-07-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

Sophie looks just like me when she first wakes up...

Then she looks just like Cullen after about 15 minutes.

Chain Gang

2011-07-12T06:51:00.000-07:00

I took a nap on Sunday. Somehow I fell asleep on the couch with all of the mayhem surrounding me, and didn't hear a thing.

It appears that they were up to no good as usual while I slept.

I remember waking up at one point and just looking around...and seeing Delaney and her puppies chained together.

Silly family. :)

We have been enjoying the lovely weather lately.

The umbrella has finally gotten some actual use, rather than shielding from the pretend rain.

And the playhouse was the perfect place to hide out during the storm.

I wish I had gotten pictures yesterday. Hailey had her boots on during the storm and Delaney was all decked out in rain gear. Perhaps if it rains again today I can talk them in to recreating their adventures.

In the meantime, being 11 really takes it out of you...