Family Photos....

My friend Jenni was nice enough to take some photos of us around campus during the fall.

Cute Lauren, 4 years old and so full of life and love. She's really into stuffed animals now and has so many on her bed there's hardly any room for her to sleep, but she refuses to take them off!

Camryn and Lauren: sisters, best friends, so unique and fun in their own ways. Camryn is very into school now (kindergarten). She loves to learn and when she has to miss school for some reason or another, she makes up her own homework for her to do. :) She's at Catholic school and enjoys going to "mask" on Thursdays.

Johnny. Fills us all with joy. He is so laid-back and loving and so much fun. He loves his little trains, cars and trucks and loves to line them all up and make noises as he moves them around on the kitchen floor.

We're so enjoying our last year here in Boston. Trying to take advantage of our time in the beautiful North East. We're grateful for the gift of family and the way it constantly forces us to stretch and grow and change to meet ever-changing needs.

Quotable Lauren: October 7, 2008

Walking in from the car....

Lauren: Mom, were you scared when you were getting married to Greg? (she called him Greg!)

Mom: No, I was excited.

Lauren: Why did you marry Greg? (again!)

Mom: because I loved him so much.

Lauren: Why did you love him?

Mom: because he's funny and nice and I loved being with him, etc...

Lauren: I don't want to be a grown up.

Mom: Well, that's okay. You don't have to be one for a long time.

Lauren: Well, when I'm a grown up, I don't want to get married.

Mom: really?

Lauren: Yeah, I want to be an ice cream trucker

Mom: a what?

Lauren: An ice cream trucker. You know, you get to pass out the ice cream to all the kids.

Mom: okay. :)

I love you mom and dad!

Just had to thank my mom and dad for driving me down, paying for everything, cheering in the pouring rain and driving me back! It was so fun to be with them. I love you!! AND a HUGE thanks to Greg for watching the kids for 3 days--(especially because one of them was sick!!!)

St. George Marathon---Before!

Waiting at the starting line in the dark and the rain! Jenni's brother Ryan Moats, Jenni, Kristy, and my friend Lilian Hough.
Sisterhood of the traveling running shoes! Marilee Moe, Jenni Woodley, Kristy, Sara Kimball, Lilian Hough! Go Women! Everyone did awesome!
My awesome older brother, Peter, the brain surgeon. He just did an iron man. This was nothing! :)
Waiting for the gun! Here we go!

After!

My brother Peter and I at the end! It was still raining! and we were glad to be done!
Peter's friend Scott, Peter, Kristy, Meghan and her twin sister Elizabeth. We did it!

Ben and Jerry's Factory and Sharon, Vermont

Free Samples! Yum!

Joseph Smith's birthplace in Sharon, Vermont. It's so beautiful and peaceful there!

Road Trip to Vermont!

We went up for Greg's section retreat. The kids liked feeding the horses!
Vermont is so beautiful!
We visited the Cabot cheese tasting factory...Yum Yum!

Uncle Rich! We love company!

Uncle Rich came to visit and we went to Lexington and Concord. It was the weekend Hurricane Ike hit Houston (where he lives) so it was good timing for him to be in Boston. He had no power or water at his house for awhile.

Cute Camryn and Lauren. Notice Camryn's missing tooth!

Kimball Farm

Uncle Rich came to town and we went to Kimball Farm to try their delicious homemade ice cream. It lived up to its reputation. It was sooo good!

Camryn and Lauren with their friend Annie eating their ice cream

I'm Sorry Camryn...I didn't berember doing it!

Lauren "accidently?" erased all the pictures in Camryn's camera. Camryn was devastated and really angry at Lauren. The cutest thing was Lauren's reaction. She honestly felt so sad that she had done it and kept saying, "Mom, I berember (erasing them)" Then she went to Camryn (without being told) and hugged her and said she was sorry. (above picture!)
Camryn forgave her.
Best friends again! Whew! They are such cute little friends. They do fight a lot, but they also really love each other and are very good to each other too.
Just had to add this picture of Johnny. You can never have too much of him!

Lauren's First Day of Pre-School!

Cute little Lauren on her first day of preschool! She goes Monday, Wednesday, Friday with lots of friends and loves it!

First Hair Cuts

Johnny got his first hair cut about a month ago. He sat so still. The lady kept saying she'd never had anyone his age sit so still. I think he liked it!

First Buzz!
Then we decided to get the girls' hair cut to even out the job that mom had done. :)

Camryn's First Day of Kindergarten!

I can't believe this day finally came! Camryn was so cute this morning. She's been saying the sweetest prayers all week that she would make friends and not be scared at Kindergarten, etc. This morning she got up and put on her uniform and when I dropped her off, there were no parking spaces, so I had to drive around for awhile. I asked her if she wanted to come with me or go in with the school "lady" first. She said, "I want to go in now!" and walked right in the school without me! I went and found her later and took her to her class. She walked right in and found her desk. Her teacher was so nice and the kids all looked really cute. I had to fight back tears the whole way home!

Minneapolis, Minnesota...home for the summer :)

Finally a new post after 4 months!! This is what we've been up to :) (if anyone cares :) We're living in Minneapolis for the summer. We really like it. It's a beautiful part of the country with tons of lakes, running and biking trails, parks, and really nice people. Here are my cute, crazy kids! They may not always like me, but they seem to really love each other!

On Our Way to Minneapolis

First we stopped in Palmyra. We were at the Hill Cumorah, when Camryn started smelling the flowers and Lauren suddenly and inexplicably took her shirt off. :)
Then we stopped at the Sacred Grove. Camryn had been asking to go "where Joseph Smith prayed" ever since she first learned about it. It was beautiful.
Next stop was Niagara Falls. We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. It was such a beautiful day...there was even a rainbow over the falls.
Next we stopped at South Bend, Indiana to see the Notre Dame campus. The kids were so good in the car. We had a really fun time on our road trip. It was fun to spend so much time together and the drive was so beautiful the whole way.

Last Day at Little Folks Preschool in Cambridge

Camryn and Lauren also went to Little Folks Fellowship Nursery School 3 mornings a week. They loved it. This was their last day before we headed to Minneapolis!

Johnny Turns One!!!

Happy Birthday Johnny! I can't believe Johnny is one! This year has flown by! I feel like I love him more every day, if that's possible. Things I love about Johnny: he loves to cuddle and give kisses, when he hears the word dance or music--he starts bopping his body up and down. He's so good natured and he loves to laugh. He mostly just played with his cake and threw it on the floor. But his sister's sure enjoyed the cake!