The Lins Lair

2012-01-14T17:05:00.002-06:00

Another year has passed with us hardly realizing it. We are so grateful for no major injuries or trips to the ER this year. I didn't think that was even possible!

Early December, Grace celebrated her 3rd birthday in My Little Pony style. Along with playing with ponies, she loves hauling all her favorite stuffed animals around in a cardboard box. Really, that's all we should have bought her for her Christmas present. She loves animals and when she sees one, an audible "aaaaawwwe!" is heard followed up by her sticking her face in the poor creatures face with all sorts of adoration. However, she still remains competitive with her brother ("I beat ya!") and loves to be "Flash girl" super hero when she's playing with him.

Josiah, of course, still loves playing superheros. I came downstairs the other day to find him zooming around the house with his trusty superdog trailing behind him. He loves preschool and has discovered his artistic skills while there.

Christmas was celebrated in Minnesota and Wisconsin this year. Mandi, my sister, bravely conquered traveling via airplane with three little ones to visit family with Ryan (her husband) coming in a few days later. Our kids were so thrilled to have thier beloved Texan cousins up to visit for a week dispite all the illness that prevailed. I came down with strep throat so I got out of a lot of cooking! ;)

I couldn't help adding this picture in, notice the coordinating scratched faces on both kids. Grace smashed in to the stairway and Josiah was scratched by Grace a few days later.

Last weekend we celebrated Wyatt's first birthday. He has really grown up in the past two weeks where he tries to do everything Grace and Josiah do. He gets in the middle of all thier projects and talks up a storm to them. We are so blessed to have this sweet little guy in our lives!

This past week we went to the RAD (Reptile Amphibian Discovery) Zoo in Owatonna. We got to pet and feed all sorts of animals and Josiah got to put the snake on his shoulders. A definite must do for all of you with little ones.

God Bless, The Lins

October 2011

2011-09-29T23:09:00.000-05:00

Alas, it's been way too long since I've posted but I am posting nonetheless. I pat myself on the back as I have managed to squeeze in at least one post within a year's time. No one warned me how crazy life is with three children under the age of 5.

Since the last past, ahem, 8 months ago, Wyatt has managed to grow into quite the little cruiser. We used to call him "quiet Wyatt" but he's grown into "riot Wyatt" as I anticipated based off my past experience with Lins children 1 and 2. He zooms all over the place, no obstacle to big for him to tackle. He is my little sunshine and only to a mother would his happy growling warm her heart for the rest of the day. He has a ferocious appetite for food but still no teeth!

Josiah started Creation Kids, his preschool, this past month. No problem leaving the nest and hit the ground running. It's a mixed blessing he's so ready to go but we love the program. It feels more like an educational play date than preschool. Just don't ask him to wear Spongebob Squarepants underwear...

Grace is almost three already! She constantly wants to be reassured she's a "big gool (girl)". She loves animals, stuffed or alive. She is still pulling her dare devil stunts and I can't believe we have managed to not make a visit to the ER for over a year with her.

With a little coaxing, Ryan and I made a trip to Hay Creek for a trail ride in August with the horses. Ryan does a great job with the horses regardless of the fact he's not a regular rider. Mac, our younger horse, is finally settling down a bit and I think Ryan prefers to ride him verses our mare, Molly..

This summer, we made a trip with my folks to Tennessee for a week. We had a great time in Knoxville and even hiked a bit in the Smokies. With very low expectations with young kids, we were surprised how kid friendly the area was. Ryan and my dad even got to ride the tail of the dragon in my dad's car.

We also made a trip to Dubuque to celebrate Ryan's parent's 40th anniversary. All I can say is wow! They've managed to navigate through life together with so many trials and to this day be happily married and still in love. Ryan and I feel blessed to have these role models!

Couldn't help but to slip this last pic in. Isn't Wyatt just a doll? Can't you see the Don McKenzie resemblance???

Welcome Baby Wyatt!

2011-01-11T16:54:00.004-06:00

We are pleased to share that our newest Lins member has arrived! Wyatt Caleb Lins appeared on the scene on his due date, January 7th at 10:35pm. He weighed in at 7 pounds 4 ounces and 19 inches long. He and Katie both got through the whole event without any complications, a huge blessing! So far, he doesn't seem as "intense" as his brother was at this age so we'll see if that changes. His siblings seem to be excited to have a little brother but Josiah was a little disappointed we didn't name him Shukka.

Other than that big news, the kids are loving all the snow we've been getting and take any chance they can get to go outside to play on the snow hills, plow snow with their toys and they even still use their swingset when its 15 degrees outside. Josiah's favorite thing to do outside is to turn the snow yellow and Grace loves making snow angels. Ahhh, don't you remember playing outside in the snow until your fingers couldn't move anymore or you had to go inside for dinner? Love it!

I couldn't help but to insert this picture, Josiah and Grace got Super Why costumes for Christmas. Everyday is dress up day!

Hope this new year is treating you all well and God bless.

2010 Fall Update

2010-10-17T20:51:00.006-05:00

Happy Fall Friends and Family!

We hope you all are enjoying the fun autumn brings with the influx of asian beetles, raking leaves and winterizing your home. Ok, there is a lot of fun things to enjoy this time of the season, especially with a toddler and a preschooler in the house. It gives you permission to do the kind of childish activities you loved to do as a kid....and perhaps enjoy it more than your kids! Anybody else know what I'm talking about?

Now that Josiah FINALLY figured out how to pedal his tricycle this summer (he recieved as a gift from aunt Tracy for his one year birthday!), he thinks it necessary to gear up appropriately for his excursions. At least if he inherits his Papa's track record on cycle accidents, his eyes, head and torso will be adequately protected.

This September, it was a family affair running in the annual WI Cow Chip Festival 5k/10K Run.

A fun first for Josiah....his first camping trip with Dad. A mere 100 yards from the house but he slept like a rock the whole night in the tent, despite our nearby train that goes past a half dozen times in the night. We knew he was so excited to "camp" because he wouldn't stop talking and was complimenting everyone and everything. Note to Mari, he still LOVES the bear hat you made him!

With all the pumpkins from our garden we were blessed with this year, we spent a morning at Nonnie's house decorating pumpkins. Very abstract pieces thus far in my childrens art career but we'll see that develop a bit more.

Earlier this month, our family flew out to the east coast for a wedding and catch up with some friends. Josiah was the ringbearer and both kids managed pretty well considering they didn't get thier regular 3 hour afternoon naps. Ryan and I decided we'll take Rochester traffic anyday over DC traffic, yuck! You do, however, realize how much you miss your distant friends when you get a chance to personally reconnect with them for a weekend.

Mandi, my sister, and her two kiddos made their way up from Texas one last time before she adds child number 3 to their crew. The cousins love eachother so much, it's fun to see them play together like they see eachother everyday. Josiah was heartbroken all the next day after they left.

Grace is our little animal lover and I love to see her treat our dog so kindly! Maybe that will translate into taking good care of her parents when we get older. She is completely obsessed with backpacks so I made good use of this and she now carries her diapers, wipes, etc. She also is really getting into the "princess" phase. Despite my efforts to downplay the whole princess thing, she is drawn to it's magical powers and believes she can sing like Ariel. She's a tough little cookie as you can imagine with a brother like Josiah but still follows him everywhere.

God bless and have a great fall!

Summer 2010 Update

2010-08-08T14:59:00.013-05:00

We'd love to share with you a few pics and an update on what's happening at the Lins Zoo....

Like everyone else, we've been so busy with summer festivities we haven't even realized summer is almost to a close. We are adding to to the circus here with one more child. I am due January 7th with baby number 3. Josiah is certain it's a boy and comes up with the craziest made up names. Scary enough, we find it's so hard picking out boys names that we may just use one of them.

Grace took a dive off the play set four weeks ago and ended up in a full leg cast. She was pretty challenging to deal with for the first five days....until she figured out how to hobble around with it. Oddly, she started to enjoy trotting along to the rhythm of the cast tapping on our hard wood floors. She got her cast off on Thursday and we're trying very hard to keep her from getting too wild so we don't undo what's been healing.

My sister and her kiddos made a trip up from San Antonio to visit us for three weeks. We had a great time and some good adventures despite the fact we had a herd of babies, toddlers and preschoolers along for the ride. We went raspberry picking, fishing, hiking, riding, up to cities to the Mall of America and the Children's museum to name a few. Josiah is smitten with his older cousin Faith and even is willing to dress up in a prince tux to have tea with your highness.

Josiah and Faith in the "secret garden". Too precious, I couldn't help myself!

Josiah and Ava embracing as two birds of a feather at the Childrens Museum in Minneapolis.

The sisters, cousins and Nana at the Mall of America.

A couple weekends ago we got to help Ryan's sister and husband move to the beautiful land of Minnesota. We all went up to "help" them move in. Although Josiah spent a good portion of his time as the bubble wrap super hero. Real safe, I know.

We spent some time in Osh Kosh visiting some friends and going the the Fly In Show. We had a great time. Grace enjoyed singing from our friend's raised patio in the backyard. I think she was rehearsing for the next American Idol.

One of the fun things to see was Steve Saint's flying car he invented. It was created to save lives in the Amazon. He let Josiah jump in the drivers seat to check it out closer.

Checking out the war birds with our friend, Adrian. Josiah is hiding behind my leg. I guess he's camera shy now.

A random event at the show, but fun. Josiah's first ride on a mechanical bronco.... we did convince Ryan to hop on as well. They sped it up a bit more for him.

We went to the Berne Swissfest this past weekend and got to see all sorts of crazy events. I am certain it has sparked some inspiration of more "creative" games at home. One of the events was the stone throwing contest. Josiah thought he'd show up the other young strong Swiss by hurling the 75 pound rock further than all. He didn't move it at all from this pose.....

Have a great rest of the summer!

2010-04-13T21:43:00.008-05:00

I am sure we're all a bit giddy from the sunshine and warmth we've been experiencing these past couple weeks. Even though it seems like it's been a loooong winter, it's hard to believe summer is almost upon us. Obviously, I've missed a few months blogging. Here's the latest blog update I've been able to muster, thanks to my Texas Rose's prodding.
Ryan had a work trip to Puerto Rico in February and I was able to tag along with him so he wasn't lonely. Tough job, I know. We ditched the kids with my folks and I think they had as much fun as we did.

We celebrated Easter down in Branson with the McKenzie side of the family. The cousins has so much fun, they didn't want it to end. We were able to make it to the sights and sounds theatre to watch Noah, the Musical. There were live animals and a 360 degree stage. The kids sat still and watched the whole 2 hours of it! We celebrated Easter with a Texas pinata and discovered Grace is a natural at hitting stuff with a big stick.

Josiah turned the big 3 this month and we celebrated this past weekend with a small party Lightening McQueen style. He seems to have a liking to the Disney movie Cars, and anything to do with Cars so it only seemed appropriate.

Grace has been fine tuning her spring horse riding skills. After watching trick riding at the Dixie Stampede in Branson, she is now ready to perform the suicide drag. Seriously, she is our little dare devil. We can't let her out of our site for a second. During Josiah's party, she decided to take a little swim in our pond and my mom had to dive in to grab her!

Josiah is well on his way to wearing big boy undies....we got a ways to go.

We are getting 25 chicks in a few days so stay tuned for more pics. Have a great spring!

2009-11-05T22:34:00.005-06:00

Happy November Friends and Family,
In my attempt to get in at least one more post before the end of the year, I will fill you in to what's happening in the Lins Lair. Amazingly, there are no new babies on the way, job changes or moves to another state. In fact, I finally made the commitment to switch my Ames cell phone number to a local number, gasp! It was difficult, I must admit. But it had to be done.
Our family took a road trip down to Texas last month to see my sister and her family. Now Josiah knows how far Texas is from Minnesota! She just had her second baby, Zachary, and they moved to a new home in San Antonio shortly before he arrived! The kids had a blast together on Faith's new swingset in their backyard and cooking in Faith's kitchen. I overheard Josiah telling Faith as he was playing in her kitchen "okay Faith, I'm gonna make you some lunch but then you have to take your nap!" I wonder where he's heard that before?

We had a great garden this year. My sister, Sara, and I collaborated our efforts (quite ambitously I might add) and did one BIG garden. We'll do it again next year but maybe downsize just a tad. ;)

For a birthday party on Halloween, Josiah was a fierce pirate and Grace was the most charming little stinker I've ever seen.
We entered Porter in the pet contest during Mantorville's Fall Festival to get some more miles out of his Leopard costume I made him years ago. To our surprise, he won it! Must have had a few sympathy votes in there.

For all who have kids and live close to Byron, go to Tweite's Pumpkin Patch in October for their fall festivities. So much fun for the kids! They have huge slides, piles of tires to climb up, drums made out of plastic barrels squeezed in round bale feeders, tractor rides, a kiddie town and so much more. Our MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) group went with the kids and despite the really cold temperature, they had a great time.

Although Josiah's still my little boy, he's growing up so fast. He has figured out the art of kissing up by telling me I'm "his best friend ever" when ever he wants some thing. His bear hugs are the best, complete with a "grrrrr".

Grace started walking a little over a month ago. So much for the laid back child! Once she figured out how to crawl, it was all over. She follows Josiah every where even though she get plowed over or "accidently" pushed over every five minutes. When she does something she's not suppose to be doing and I tell her no sternly, she'll break down and cry like you've just broke her heart. I can't help not laughing.

Josiah helped "Opa" (Ryan's dad) last weekend on the combine. He was so excited to ride in it he fell asleep. He really did love it, I just think he was a bit overwhelmed, then exhausted!

No promises but I'll try to generate another post before the end of the year. Thanks for filling us in on your lives and have a great Thanksgiving!

2009-06-07T22:01:00.012-05:00

Another couple months have passed since our last post so I figured it was time to get caught up on our blogging....

With the help of some very dedicated family members (a.k.a. Mark and Don), we built a swingset for the kids. Josiah has found a love of tools in the meantime. Grace seemed to enjoy just supervising the whole project.

My sister Mandi and her daughter Faith came to visit us mid April and we had lots of fun. We went up to pick them up from the airport and as evidenced by the picture, Josiah and Faith were slightly happy to see eachother.

One of the highlights of thier visit was going to Como Zoo and Arboritum. Very neat to vist and free!

A few pictures from our visit to Wisconsin a few weeks ago. Even after "helping" dad and Opa rake hay for an hour, Josiah still wasn't ready to be done with his tractor ride.

Ryan hosted a Brazilian coworker this past week. His position is the same as Ryan's, just in South America. We were able to learn a lot about Brazil and he got a few homecooked American meals, like hamburgers and rice krispie bars.
While our visitor was here, we took trip to La Crosse for some pizza via plane. Ryan's summer help also happens to be a very good pilot who offered to give us a ride. How could we turn a plane ride to go get some pizza? We got to fly right over our house, up to Lake City and down the Mississippi. Josiah LOVED it and both of the kids were fantastic the whole ride there and back. Ryan got to fly the plane on the way back (with a little help from our pilot). He may have found a very expensive hobby to delve into.

That's all for now. Hope to get to see some of you this summer if life allows! God Bless.

Josiah turns 2!

2009-04-07T16:10:00.008-05:00

Josiah turned two on Sunday! He's already declared his independence by the foods he'd prefer to eat, wanting to go up and down stairs by himself, and saying no to pretty much anything we ask of him. We celebrated his birthday in Wisconsin with Ryan's parents and had a great time. Even with all the great presents he got, I think his favorite part of the trip was riding in one of Opa's tractors. When Ryan opened up the door of the tractor cab for me to take a picture of them, he frantically said "no, no, no" thinking I was going to take him out!

Grace will be 4 months next week and a very happy baby. When she smiles, her eyes completely light up. You can't not smile when she does! Josiah totally keeps her entertained, when she's up, she's always watching him....most likely for her own protection.

On the other hand, most of the time Josiah is very affectionate with her. He loves to kiss her and help give (or cram) the pacifier in her mouth.

We've already got Jojo earning his keep at Papa's office....he handles the difficult customers that call.

I've begun Mac's training as he is a two year old now as well. Hopefully Ryan and I can hit some trails on horseback this summer!

2009-02-22T16:16:00.004-06:00

Happy February All!

Aren't you all happy that spring will be here soon???? Okay, you lucky folks with nicer weather year round aren't probably as appreciative as us northerners holed up in our houses all winter. Anyway, we've weren't totally holed up this past month. We made a trip to Wisconsin to visit the newest addition to the Lins side, Sansa Elizabeth Lins. She's so darling!!!! We're excited to finally have her here and she's blessed to have Clay and Trista as parents. Below is the first photo shoot (of many to come I'm sure) of Grace and Sansa. I couldn't help but to pick these bows up at the mall for the girls. So Texas, don't you think Mandi????!

We also got to take a ride on the North Freedom train while we were there. Duane went with us and Josiah had a blast...as you can see from the picture! Josiah has never sat so well than this 1 hour train ride.
We're getting settled into our new home. I got my dad to put his talent to good use in Grace's soon to be bedroom and Grace over saw the job.

Speaking of Grace, she is getting so fun. She is becoming more and more attentive each day. She started smiling and cooing last month. She's just starting to giggle now so I hope I can attach a clip of her laughing with my next posting.

Josiah has been a champ with this transition into brotherhood. He's learned to share us and help out with getting stuff for baby. The first week in February, Ryan had a work trip to San Antonio and took Josiah along with him since my sister and her family live down there. Check out the link Tucker Town on our blog for the whole story, my sister documented it well! He had a great time with his cousin Faith. I was showing him different facial expressions the other day and this is Josiah's attempt at a frown face. Gotta love the kid!

2009-01-12T19:46:00.004-06:00

How in the world do people manage with 2+ kids????

Seriously, we have a whole new respect for both sets of parents, who have managed to raise 3 somewhat normal kids of thier own. I feel like I have spent a great deal of my waking moments changing diapers, cleaning up food/spit up off faces and doing laundry. Ryan has been a trooper. Before and after work, he's helping out right alongside of me!
Last month, our family attended five family Christmas gatherings between Minnesota and Wisconsin. Needless to say, we're happy to see the holidays over and get settled into our new home.
Grace is growing fast and has already endured a mild cold. Josiah is starting to figure out Grace is a permanent fixture in our family and seems to be handling it allright....so far. He loves to kiss her, and point/poke at her eyes and know where she is at all times. It's unreal how many words he has started saying this past month and counting in his own specaial order is a favorite past time -"one, two, five, nine". He's got four more years before he has to figure it out!

Ryan is liking having an at home office. He's been able to turn one of the rooms in our basement into his office "cave". A great setup as he can hang all the pictures he loves (and I, not so fond of).

Hope all of you have had a great Christmas. Lots of you have started blogs recently, thanks for sending them our way!

Amazing Grace!

2008-12-17T16:41:00.005-06:00

She is here. Introducing Grace McKenzie Lins, weighing in at 6 lb 9 oz and measuring 19 1/2 inches long. She was born at 3:49 AM on December 17. Kate and Grace are recovering and doing very well. They both did great! Below pics are of Kate and I right after Grace was delivered, Nana with Grace, Grace on the scale, Kate about 4 hours before she went into labor, and lastly, not to be forgotten, Josiah in our double coveralls.

I am STILL pregnant!

2008-12-15T15:15:00.004-06:00

Happy December Friends and Family!

We hope you all are doing well this Christmas Season. Hard to believe this but I have a little time to sit down and post and update since I AM STILL PREGNANT! Yep, the girl just isn't quite ready to come out yet even though I was due on Wednesday. It's funny how well I have adjusted to becoming pregnant up until the day after my due date. We count our blessings though, the pregnancy has gone very well, we have had a chance to get moved into our new home and actually unpack!

I couldn't help but post the "cooked" Thanksgiving turkey that my dear uncle Lewain so lovingly charred for us. He swore it was a little on the lean side to begin with and it tasted a bit like jerky...a new twist to a holiday staple.

We were able to move in right after closing on the 1st of the month. In fact, the moving van was waiting for us at our new place as we signed the paperwork....good thing everything went allright. Highlight for the kids was the packing paper. Who needs expensive toys!

In true Minnesota form, we bundled up to go see the Canada Pacific Holiday Train in 10 degree weather in Rochester. Josiah has been majorly into trains lately so this was a huge hit, it could've been 10 degrees colder and still been out there for hours!

We got about 4-5 dozen batches of Christmas cookies made with the help of my mom, Sara and our friend Deb.

Ryan got his work utility tractor in last week. Again, a very cold night, but even after 20 minutes of riding around with Ryan, Josiah cried for another 20 because I made him come in. What is with boys and big equipment?????!
My mom and I took Josiah to the Old Fashioned Christmas in downtown Kasson this past weekend. I learned Josiah would rather admire the reindeer than spend a few minutes with the jolly St Nick. My mom had to hold him down to take a picture with him!The house is pretty much unpacked and ready for family member number 4 (or 7 counting the four legged animals). Ryan and his dad were able to get some fence up the day of closing before the ground froze for the horses. They are here and getting settled in. Thank the good Lord for tank heaters!

There's our update and we'll get some pictures posted as soon as our girl decides to "Grace" us with her presence! May you remember the most precious gift we all have received from our Lord and Savior this Christmas and share it with our children!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2008-11-15T18:04:00.010-06:00

Big News first...We found a house in Minnesota and we're closing December 1st! It's located between Kasson and Rochester and Ryan will most likely be able to lease the land behind the house to do his research. The acreage already has a barn for the horses (whew!) but we need to get some fence up as soon as we get there. We're looking forward to getting settled in and hopefully the baby can wait to make her appearance for at least a couple more weeks.

Katie's sister, Sara, and her daughter, Ava, came down to Ames to help out with Josiah while we got a lot of things in order.

Josiah and Ava have equally high energy levels, it was nice to have them wear each other out!
Josiah was a monkey for Halloween. He especially liked his tail and making monkey noises. I took him downtown with our Mothers Of Preschoolers group to trick or treat. He figured out the drill pretty quick and in no time was pushing himself to the front of the line at each shop. He learned how to stand "patiently" in line that day!

I've been working with our yearling gelding, Mac, all summer to get him ready to ride next year. He's been fun to work with and he'll make a great riding horse. Poor Molly,our mare, will have to step out of retirement for Ryan and I to get a few rides in this coming summer!

Josiah has taken a liking to cowboy boots...no coaching from his mother, seriously. I think it's just in his blood! We have to laugh at him when he puts them on, his walk is a cross between a husky boy waddle and a bossy girl strut.
Josiah got his 18 month pictures done this past month. It was a challenge to get him to stand still for even a moment to shoot a picture. I've included some of them below. Once we put his dad's shoes on his feet, he was hamming it up, we couldn't get him away from the camera. Cheeeese!

That's all the news for now. I am anticipating it may be awhile before I can post somthing again because of the move and the baby due December 10th. For those who blog or email updates, we love to read them so keep them coming! In the meantime, have a great Thanksgiving!

October News

2008-10-15T20:54:00.006-05:00

Fall is finally here! It's been over 6 years since Ryan and I have lived in the midwest and experienced a "real" fall season. I didn't realize how much I missed the refreshing crispness in the air accompanied by the beautiful fall colors.
The end of August, we had our dear friends, the Affeldts, visit from Madras, Oregon. I think Ryan has thoughts of leaving it all behind and moving back over that way everytime he talks to someone from Oregon! The family of five made it to the midwest via roadtrip and camped along the way... you guys are so adventurous! We used to watch their two oldest while we still lived in Oregon, it made us realize how quickly kids grow up. I was happy to feed the horse sickness to Abigail by giving them a ride around the pasture on Molly...the girl ate it up!

Ryan and I celebrated FIVE YEARS of marital bliss (wink, wink) August 30th. Bonnie, Ryan's mom, came all the way to watch the rock eater -aka Josiah-so that we could enjoy an evening together...alone...without any crying, dirty diapers, interrupted eating. Ahhhh, we almost forgot what that's like. We finally got the barn done beginning of September. The horses were very grateful!In September, the Pierstorf family from Wisconsin came and stayed with us for a few days. They have a son 20 days younger than Josiah so it was fun to have a little guy the same age around. We payed a visit to a local orchard where they had all sorts of fun stuff for the kids, young and old, to do. Josiah's personal favorite was the corn pool. It was this huge enclosure full of corn three feet deep. I was vacumming corn up off the carpet for a week after that! We also, of course, ate at Hickory Park, a safe place to bring loud children. The kids enjoyed thier Scooper Hero ice cream in unison.

The end of September Josiah and I made a trip to San Antonio to visit the Tucker family (Katie's sister and her family) for a week. I can always depend on Mandi to show us a great time while we were there. We went to Sea World, the San Antonio Zoo, the dead zoo (Pro Bass Shop), a beloved train ride, lots of park visits, swimming, pumpkin painting and good food. Ryan, Mandi's husband, was so gracious as to take on both kids one night for us girls to get away...He was the one to suggest the idea. Ryan, you are the MAN! I couldn't help but to include the picture of Josiah and Faith watching the Wizard of Oz together. Notice the pink shoes, for some reason, the kid just loved wearing them. Maybe it was peer pressure.

Ryan and I were able to make it to the River Falls Homecoming Football game. Ryan played football there in college so this team is near and dear to his heart. We were able to visit with a few of the coaches and fortunately, they won the game against Stevens Point! We were also able to visit my two friends while up there, Pam and Britt. It was so fun to be back!

Lastly, our big news if you haven't heard already. As God will have it, he doesn't want us to get too comfortable in our new location. We will be moving to Minnesota in the next few months! Ryan has been pursued and offered a Research and Developement Scientist position with Syngenta's Crop division and he has taken it. Ryan held this position when we were in Delaware and loved it. We now have the blessing of being close to family and Ryan enjoying his job. He will work from home so we'll get to see a lot more of him. Who knows where Baby Lins #2 will be born!
We're enjoying all the new blog updates our friends are sending our way. Keep them coming!

Summer Quarter Update, part 3

2008-09-02T15:19:00.008-05:00

Last part of our summer quarter update...

I think I totally missed half of August. It seems like it was gone in two weeks. I guess that's what happens when you have good weather! More help from family on the barn..is it done yet already?! Sorry, but the answer to that is nope.

We made it to the Iowa State Fair mid August and ate lots of greasy foods which I've been mysteriously craving. They had a fantastic learning center where you could watch different farm animals give birth. Being the Animal Science major, I at least saw the beauty in it! They also had a Hands on Farm for the kiddos where you rode tractors, collected eggs from the chicken coop, milked a cow, planted a garden and a bunch of other stuff related to farm work. A bit skewed from reality on the farm but close enough for the kids to get it!

We did our extended Lins family vacation this month in Door County, Wisconsin. I recommend this area to anyone looking for a relaxing vacation. Tracy, Ryan's sister, found a great house on the bay of Lake Michigan for us to stay. I think Ryan's siblings all got a taste of what it's like having an "active" toddler around. Josiah loved the water, especially riding on the raft with Opa and Oma. Katie got attacked by a crawfish attempting to catch it to show Josiah. We also checked out a winery up there (can you believe we had the guts to bring a toddler with?) and listened to a band. Josiah thoroughly enjoyed dancing to the music.

Stay tuned, we'll have a September update (perhaps completed in December) but there will be some more news for you all!

Summer Quarter Update, part 2

2008-09-02T14:40:00.007-05:00

Then July came along....
I can pretty much say almost all our weekends were consumed by building the horse barn! But we had some great help from family. Thank God for family! Katie's parents, her sister and her family, Katie's Aunt Paulette and Uncle Lewain and cousin Shanon and her girls all came down for a long weekend over the fourth of July. Amidst all the hard work, we managed to have fun too. Okay, so mostly the girls had some fun but we're so grateful for all the time and effort they so generously gave. Shanon even taught Josiah how to eat ice cream from a cone (I know, hard to believe I hadn't yet served him up ice cream that way). Paulette and Lewain have made it down with my parents to help out several times since then. We are so thankful for all your help you guys!

Ryan's parents made it out to help many times as well. As much as Duane has said he's no carpenter, he really was an asset!

The whole extended family McKenzie clan had a vacation together in Wisconsin Dells also in July. We stayed at Chula Vista Resort in a 3 bedroom condo. It worked out wonderfully as it had it's very own indoor outdoor waterpark with lots to do for kids of all ages. We celebrated the parent's 35th Anniversary Carribean style at Marleys while we were there. We got some tickets to the Tommy Bartlett Water, Air and Stage show - minus the water since Lake Delton is gone. Josiah discovered snow cones there, another messy fun time. Speaking of new discoveries for Josiah, one of his noteworthy accomplishments is peeing off a balcony 6 stories up. Ryan couldn't have been any more proud.

Summer Quarter Update...

2008-08-30T08:53:00.007-05:00

Like all summers, this one seems to fly by....

June was kicked off with A LOT of crazy weather. Rain, rain and more torrential rains completely messed up our plans to get started on the horse barn so it was delayed until July. Father's day was spent in Wisconsin with the Lins side. We were able to attend St. Lukes Polka Sunday. The entire service is polka music and they have a festival following with a polka band (which Josiah loved), moon bouncers for the kids, ice cream and, of course, bingo.

Our dear Delaware friend, Sami, came for a week visit before her summer classes started up. I had to laugh when we greeted her at the airport as she was wearing a sweatshirt and jeans....it was 80 degrees in Iowa that day. Apparently, she was under the impression, and also warned from other Easterners, that it's cold in the Midwest. We had a great, but short, time. She was amazed at the Spam Museum in Austin, discovered frozen custard at Culvers (which we of course had to frequent more than once), rode Molly, swam and toured ISU, which turned out to be very educational..another great Iowa tourist destination. Josiah missed his friend as soon as we dropped her off at the airport.

Ryan's parents came to help out with the barn the last weekend in June but again, rained out. But they did manage to help finish fencing in our south pasture and assembling our surry from our wedding, so glad to have it together. Since we couldn't do much, we ended up relaxing and made a visit to Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines.

Is it warm yet???

2008-05-28T16:19:00.008-05:00

Happy May to all!

I have to pat myself on the back as I've managed to finish another blog for two consecutive months! Let's see how successful I am in June....

Okay, here's the rundown in the Lins Lair:

Josiah's new tricks include climbing on top of overturned baskets and cheering, selecting and eating bread only products and leaving the rest for Porter to eat, latching onto Ryan in the morning when it's time to go to work and crawling up on the lawn tractor if it's anywhere in sight. Crazy fun how big he's getting!

Early May, Josiah and I, got a chance to head down to the famous Tulip Festival in Pella, Iowa with Mari Moses. For all of you, namely, my Minnesota family members, who don't think there is nothing to do in Iowa, I beg to differ! A trip to this event is sure to put a smile on your face. They had an amazing parade, complete with a Tulip Queen and street scrubbers all done up in Dutch fashion. There's a tractor rodeo and lots of scrumptous Dutch food. You're welcome to join us next year as I think this will be an annual event for our family.

Ryan's mom and his Grandpa and Grandma Sorg made it down early May as well. Josiah ate up all the attention. He went through withdrawl for a few days after they left. They got to see Ryan's set up and went to Reiman Gardens in Ames...see, another great Iowa attraction. The gardens have a butterfly atrium in one of the wings. Grandpa John, had a harder time than Josiah to not grab at the butterflies!

This past weekend, Josiah got pawned off on my parents in Minnesota and we headed to Lake Latowana in Missouri with Adrian and Mari Moses. We had a great time in normal adult conversation, Ryan got to water ski and we were able to go to the city market in Kansas City for some great food and shopping. According to my parents, Josiah had a great time as well. He got to help Papa wash the car, go to a party and Oxbow Zoo.

Our new place isn't horse friendly yet and we've mentioned doing a barn raising. Gather up your hammers, drills and energy because we finally have a weekend picked out. June 20th through the 22nd will be our official date to go at it. We've ordered our building so there's no turning back...much to Ryan's dismay! If you think you'd like to volunteer even a few hours, we'll take it. I am looking forward to having the horses back at our place. Mac is almost as tall as Molly now and he's getting the teenager know-it-all attitude to go with it. I am very happy however, he has got a great temperment and makes a good fit for our family. Molly may disagree as she seems to spend 50% of her time telling him to buzz off.

Ryan has been putting in very long hours this past month as they had 87 trials to plant in three different states. He told me just two months ago how ready he was to get out in the field and plant...I think he's had his fill! My pregnancy is going great, I am at 12 weeks today.

For those of you who have blog spots, keep them coming as we like to catch up on your happenings!

April Showers

2008-04-23T10:31:00.010-05:00

Happy April to all!
Another three months have managed to slip past me without getting a new post out. I would like to blame it on moving, having an overly active child and being gone almost every weekend but the fact is, I just haven't made time to do it so my apologies! I am going to condense three months into a digestable amount so if you want any more details, you'll just have to call us!
Ryan's dad, Duane, decided this was the year to get out of the dairy business since his herdsman was leaving. So in February, we made the short trip (4 1/2 hours is short now compared to 17 hours!) to Wisconsin to help out at his auction where he liquidated his entire herd! He also sold all of his feed and some equipment. A big change for a guy used to getting up in the wee hours of the morning and putting in a lot of hours. He is still going to be busy crop farming and hauling with his semi but he'll have more time to spend with his wife, kids and grand kid. Yeah!

Josiah started walking in Febrauary and hasn't stopped. Both sets of grandparents aren't surprised as both of us were early walkers, lucky us. Day by day, he gets more independent...I want my baby back!
In March, we moved the horses from Katie's aunt's place in Austin, Minnesota to a place in Ames. We are hoping to get them over here by the end of the summer once we have a barn and some fence up. We are also having to get a horse pasture established so hopefully the weather will cooperate...we won't hold our breath on that.
Mandi, my sister, and her daughter, Faith, came up from San Antonio for three weeks and we got to spend some good, quality time together. We spent a night at a hotel with a toddler pool. Josiah's confidence was temporarily squashed when he realized he couldn't get himself upright when he fell down in the water, unlike his bathtub. After clinging for life for about 10 minutes, he got over it and got busy splashing and yelling at everyone.

Josiah turned one this month!!!! We can't believe this little guy is walking, talking and showing off. God is good, he's been a healthy kid so far, we count our blessings. Josiah got to celebrate his big day in Minnesota with his older cousin Faith, she turns two this month. We did a safari theme with zebra striped and lion faced cupcakes... I am sure this ambition will wear off in a few years.

We also celebrated his one year in Wisconsin with Ryan's side and we had a great time. Oma made a huge brunch spread with a lime green cake with sprinkles, Opa helped Josiah get messy (er) eating his cake.

Josiah also got a great birthday present from us...a sibling! Yes, we are expecting again in December. It seems my goal is to have a child every year. Not totally expected but completely thankful.

I also started watching a four month old three days out of the week. Good practice for Josiah. Hopefully it won't get too crazy around here. We'll see how Josiah handles this "adjustment".

Ryan is really busy right now with new job since they are getting ready for planting season. He's had not much time for fun so I hope we can make up for it this summer!

Thank you so much to all who have visited here in Ames and we look forward to more visitors.

God Bless,

Ryan, Katie, Josiah and Baby Lins

Welcome 2008!

2008-01-31T10:16:00.000-06:00

Greetings in 2008 Friends and Family~

We are so happy to be able to update you from our new home in Ames, Iowa! Despite the fact we moved to a place where it's 20 degrees colder for most of the year, we are so excited about our new move. We're only 2 1/2 hours away from Katie's parents and 4 1/2 hours away from Ryan's parents. Close enough to visit more often but far enough that they have to call before they come. Just kidding you guys!

A brief overview of what has happened with us over the past couple months....

December 3rd, we took off from our home, which is still up for sale, in Delaware. A caravan of 4 adults (Ryan's parents came to help and haul), an 8 month old, a dog and two horses. It was a very sad goodbye that morning with our neighbors and dear friends, Joe and Pat Ford. Praise the Lord, the weather was cooperative the whole way with the exception of a little snow storm in the mountains of Pennsylvania. Everyone faired the trip well, including the horses to our surprise. They quickly adapted to the colder weather and are now big furballs! We were able to spend some good quality time with family over Christmas and Josiah got his first haircut. The haircut was essential and he was beginning to sport a mullet!

One last shot before we head for the Wisconsin slopes to go sledding on a car hood.

Josiah has gotten the hang of this opening presents task.

Nana couldn't resist getting the grandbabies matching sleepers.

Ames is a great place to live with lots to do. Our new home is in a rural subdivision at the end of the cul de sac. We have a little over 2 acres so yes, we will be having a barn/fence raising later this spring/early summer! Stay tuned for more details on that. Ryan thinks he's in heaven because there's absolutely NOTHING that needs to be fixed, tweaked, insulated, caulked or waterproofed on this home! Even though the house was built in 2000, there aren't even any nail holes or scratches anywhere in the house. In fact, Ryan and his dad, Duane, had to put up blinds in the bedrooms and bathrooms the weekend after we got there so we didn't give our neighbors any bad first impressions! ;) We still have a bedroom dedicated for guests so please give us a call next time you're in the area and we can put you up for a small fee.

Ryan is enjoying his new position with Syngenta, as a Marketing Research Agronomist/Site Leader. He gets to work directly with farmers, which is what he has been wanting to do more of. We do however, miss all of our dear friends we have made back in Delaware and of course...Ryan misses his big gray company truck he had back with his old job!

A last activity with our church's youth group..a highway cleanup!

A last gathering with the Whalens(they owned the farm where Ryan did research in Maryland).

Josiah is growing like crazy. He waves hello and bye, which looks more like he's shifting gears on a motorcycle than waving.... wonder where that came from??? He is cruising and on his way to walking very soon. This will also serve as Katie's new exercise program!

That's all for now, please keep us all posted with your happenings as well, we love to hear from you all!

Black Friday

2007-11-23T15:43:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving has already come and gone!!! We hope you all had a great, safe Thanksgiving with your loved ones. Instead of getting trampled on Black Friday or putting up Christmas decor, I decided to update our blog for you all.

We put our house up for sale last week so we'll see who wants to buy a house right before Christmas :). We had to do some last minute projects beforehand so we had the pleasure of Bonnie, Ryan's mom, come to help out watching Josiah.

A trip to Iowa was made to find a new lair for the Lins pack. We were not finding a lot in the way of acreages but the Lord was good and we found just the home for us. We made an offer and it was accepted (much to our surprise!). Our closing is January 11th so we will be staying with my (Katie's) parents in Minnesota in the meantime. Nana and Papa will have had thier full share of the little monster by then. Here's a picture of our new home. Be warned friends and family, there may be a call for a "barn raising" in the spring as the new pad has no horse housing yet.

Being so close to Minnesota while we were there, we spent a Sunday up there to see our new addition to the Lohse family. All cousins were together and I think Josiah is begining to feel a little out numbered so hurry up you guys on the Lins side, you seem to be our only hope of getting a boy in the mix!

We all (yes, even the horses) will be moving Monday, December 3rd back to the midwest so we hope to see some of you midwesterners here in the near future.

Josiah surprised us last week with his new talent, crawling! I think it's a survival tactic for Christmas....to get away from toy hoarding cousins and smoochy women.

Lastly, Ryan turns 30 (!!!) this Monday, November 26th so please make sure you give him a hard time about how old he is. He seems to remind me frequently of this fact.

We hope you all are enjoying your long weekend and don't forget to scroll down the page for some more new pictures!

Finally, A New Post!!!

2007-10-11T09:28:00.000-05:00

LOTS of changes have happened since our last post in June! We will fill you in on the big events to not bore you with the small details....

Ryan's sister, Tracy, got married to her love, Jesse Win, mid September. We were able to drive out to Wisconsin to celebrate the big event and Josiah even got to wear a tuxedo curtesy of Opa and Oma Lins, thanks Grandparents! The wedding was beautiful and the bride even more so!

Josiah started sitting up all by himself the last day we were in Wisconsin. We're begining to realize how fast babies grow up.

A couple weeks later, Ryan entered his first triathlon. He had to swim 1/4 mile, bike 13 miles, and run 3 1/2 miles! He enjoyed it so much, he is looking forward to doing another one next year.

This past Tuesday, October 8th, Katie became a proud Aunt and Ryan and proud Uncle again! Mark and Sara Lohse had thier first child, a beautiful little girl. Praise the Lord for this successful childbirth! Avalon Rose Lohse was born at 8:37am, 6 pounds 15 ounces and 20 inches long!!! Looks like Josiah is becoming outnumbered with all the girl cousins.

Josiah is over 6 MONTHS OLD already!!! We are having so much fun with him. It seems like he's doing something new everyday and it's funny what a big deal we think it is! He started on solids almost a month ago. His favorite food is peaches and could care less for the blander things like oatmeal, beans and carrots. He loves his Porter Dog. We're not quite sure if Porter feels the same yet.

It amazes us how flexible this kid is, he loves to suck on his toes! No crawling yet but we're sure it's around the corner and he loves for us to hold onto his fingers so he can walk around the house.

Lastly, a big life change announcement for the Lins Clan..... Ryan just accepted a new position within his company, Syngenta, a few days ago in Ames, Iowa! It was a promotion for him and it's very close to both our families. His official start date is December 17th! We will miss our friends and church family here in Delaware very much. It's amazing how close we became with all of them in just a few short years. Stay tuned for more details on this developement.

Hope all is well with you all and God Bless!

2007-06-18T11:15:00.001-05:00

Memorial Day weekend was spent with Aunt Tracy up in Hoboken, NJ. Josiah got his first bus ride while we were there when we rode into NYC for the day. He did pretty good and enjoyed Central Park. However, I think he was a little disappointed we didn't take him to a broadway show. Porter even got to come and hang out with us. Thanks Tracy for accomodating the whole Lins clan for three days!

Shortly after, Ryan's mom, Bonnie (AKA "Oma") flew out to visit for almost a week to spoil her first grandchild. We had a great time while she was here and she even had Josiah starting to swing his legs over to roll over (with a little help from grandma of course!).

Aunt Sara and Mark (AKA Aunt Sweetie and Uncle Creepy), headed over next. Just like last year, we drug them all over the place while they were here....we took them to the National Arboretum, the harness races, Rehobeth Beach and the Air Mobility Center (Air Force Museum) just to name a few! Mark must have been a pilot in his previous life because he knew more about airplanes than the average bear. Sara was a saint (or a slave driver), she reorganized all my plants around the pool and did a great job!

Father's day was a success. We got Ryan out to Brandywine Creek State Park and went hiking for the day. Porter, however, had the best day of all as he discovered he actually loves swimming! We couldn't get him out of the water for an hour! Josiah also took a little dip in the water as well but wasn't quite up for swimming just yet.

2007-05-25T08:15:00.000-05:00

Another month already gone! It's hard to believe spring is almost over. We can't believe how fast both Josiah and "Mac" have already grown. Josiah now weighs just over 10 pounds and as you can see, Mac is really bulking up (unfortunately, we don't have a scale that is big enough to weigh him.)
Some fun developements with Josiah, he is now smiling when he sees his parents and when pretty girls coo over him. He also is holding his head up a lot by himself. Ryan seems to think he already is predisposed to being a Packer fan, as he was very joyful when we put on the Packer sleeper that his Aunt Tracy got him. Sorry Minnesota family, we'll just have to wait and see what happens when he's big enough to fit into his Viking outfits!
A very dear friend ours, Caryl Loquai, passed away almost a month ago. Katie and Josiah flew back to Minnesota for the funeral and Josiah flew like a pro. It was a very difficult to say good bye to such an unforgettable person but we're so blessed to have had him as a friend.
Last weekend we picked strawberries at Fifer Orchards and listened to some good bluegrass music, our first real outting as a family. This Memorial weekend we're looking forward to visiting Ryan's sister in Hoboken, NJ, just outside of NYC.
Stay tuned for more updates!

Another boy!

2007-04-29T21:09:00.000-05:00

Well, we had another new arrival on the Lins Ranch! Our horse, Molly, delivered a lil' colt on the 19th. Of course it all went down at 2:00 AM! Not a lot of sleep to be had around here lately. We have been calling him Mac.

Josiah is doing very well...he is gaining weight like a champ and always lets us know when it's meal time. He looking more and more like a little boy everyday. Kate is adjusting to full time motherhood, as her mentor (Darla) departed over a week ago. There has been some bumps in the road, but Kate has been a wonderful mom.

We have had several visiters from Texas and Minnesota the last few weeks. Mandi (Kate's sister) and Faith (our niece) stayed with us for a week. We even had the pleasure of celebrating Faith's 1 year birthday with a luau. Don (Kate's dad aka Pappa) and Ryan (our bother-in-law) were also able to visit. We had a great time.

As for me (Ryan), I have been enjoying fatherhood, even though the long days in the field get a little tough with limited sleep. However, all the corn for my experiments was planted last week and the Lord even helped out with about a half an inch of rain.

That's the news from the Delaware Lins's. Hope all is well with you!

Meet Josiah Daniel Lins

2007-04-10T20:24:00.000-05:00

Josiah was born on April 5, 2007 at Kent General Hospital in Dover, Delaware. He was 6 lbs 14 oz and 19 inches long. Kate went into labor on her due date (the 4th) and Josiah was born the next day at 11:30 AM. Kate is recovering well from the delivery and Josiah has already become an eating machine. Here are some pictures of the little guy. Enjoy!

Welcome to the Lins Lair!

2007-03-30T08:20:00.000-05:00

Greetings from Delaware,
We hope you all are able to check out this blog spot every once in awhile to verify we're still alive and well. Though many of you are far but dear to our hearts, we thought this is a good way to stay in touch with you all.
Stay tuned, baby Lins to come with a D day of April 4th.
God Bless,
Ryan and Katie