Christmas 2014

Cooking Wars: Dad/Camryn vs. Mom/Lauren, Judges: Johnny and Samantha
D/C: bruschetta, cinnamon rolls, brownies with ice cream
K/L: buttermilk pancakes with homemade syrup and chocolate pancakes, red velvet oreo cookies
 Dad and Camryn looking for ingredients for 3 hours :)
12 days of Christmas
Sub for Santa
The play Rudolf
Going to 3 movies: Annie, Into the Woods, Big Hero 6
Bowling and Laser Tag on Christmas Eve
Lunch date with dad, Lauren and Reese
Visiting the 50th floor of dad's building
Christmas Eve at our house with the Caine's, the Ficklin's and Chuck Konan
"the ball"
Lunch with the Pollei's at the World Market
Community Center for Christmas Eve: Kormann's and Bowers, ice skating, balloon drop
Lighting of Nisswa for Thanksgiving with uncle Rich
puzzle of Times Square
The Hillyard's on Christmas day
Lauren moving her room into the loft
2 scoops and Famous Dave's
piano recital at the old folk's home
Watching Les Miserables
Making and delivering homemade oreos
Binge watching Lost (mom and dad)
Favorite gift: Camryn and Lauren: i pod touch, Samantha: doll with a rain coat and make-up
Johnny: checkers, robe, and magnatiles

Best of Summer 2014!

The Continental Divide
Leadville, CO
The alpine slide
ziplining down the mountain (Camryn)
Camryn and Lauren's new invented dance move
The Maughan talent show in Snow Mass
horseback riding
boating, tubing, and jet skiing in Deer Creek, UT
boating and tubing at Lake Minnetonka with the Beus'
Visiting the Woodley's new house
Waking up at 7 and going to the hot tub and pool table in snow mass with the cousins
Shopping on main street in Park City with Sarah Stone
Back to school shopping at the new Forever 21 in Maple Grove
Watching the orange magician in Aspen, Colorado
The ghost town in Aspen, CO
Starting the no junk bet and Johnny and Porter failing every day
Annie Baird's wedding dinner and reception
Dance try-outs and getting asked to join a new team
The Marriot Mountainside resort with movies, smoothies, cotton candy, popcorn, kids room, swimming pool and 5 hot tubs
Family nights and breakfast in grandma and grandpa's room
Sleep overs with cousins
Going to the state fair--fighting crowds!
Seeing Kathryn
Going swiming in Salt Lake at the country club, at Mark's work's pool, at Mary's pool with our cousins
Sleeping at the cabin with grandma and Nana and the cousins
Catching butterflies at the cabin
Hikes with grandma
Mom and Lauren getting lost on the way home from Stuart Falls (2 hours) and having to call for help from Sundance horse stables
Cooking camp and Photography camp for Camryn and Lauren
Girl Scout Camp for Camryn and Lauren
Johnny did football camp and basketball camp
Going to the zoo in Utah with grandma and cousins
Going to the MN zoo with dad's work and learning about bears and making bear popsicles
 Driving to Colorado and Utah and Driving home--staying in North Platte, NE at the Marriott
Going up the tram in Snow Mass
The beautiful, huge pool in Snow Mass
Aerobics classes at the fitness center in snow mass (Kristy and Meghan)
Eating Pizza in Snow Mass and in Leadville at the outdoor backyard
Eating Swig sugar cookies!!! (mom)
Hiking to the Y at BYU with the Stones
Visiting BYU and eating lunch in the Cougar Eat and ice cream at the Creamery
Dad leading family runs and bike rides
Samantha and Camryn getting new bikes
Johnny catching frogs and making frog obstacle courses
Pokeman cards! (Johnny)
Johnny's footlong corn dog at the MN State Fair
Camryn getting bangs :)
Johnny playing outside for hours and hours with all the neighbor boys
The butterfly farm at the state fair and seeing the baby animals
Going to the arboretum with the Caines and Lees and Colton :)
Swimming at their neighborhood pool
Swimming at the community Center with the Camargos
The ice bucket challenge!
BYU chocolate milk and cookies and cream milk
The rodeo in Aspen
Michael's work (free food!)
Sleep overs with grandpa Stone (Johnny's rodeo with gpa)
Charades at the cabin
Dying hair with cool aid!
Family pictures with Maughans and Stones
TWINS/YANKEES game on July 4th!
Fireworks at the Lees
Johnny's big fall off the log at the cabin on the 24th of July
Visiting the floats for the 24th of July in Utah
Rachael's new electric wheelchair
Maple Grove days!  The parade, the fireworks, the fun run--Johnny collecting as much candy as possible!
Bonfires with the neighbors

3 of my greatests Loves

                                                                     My Kids
I'm so grateful that my children have been able to spend time with nana and get to know her.  What a blessing to not only know your grandparents, but also your great grandparents!  Although we don't get to spend as much time with family as I would like to, they all love nana so much and love to spend time with her and at "nana's house" which is what Samantha calls the cabin. :)

                                                                 THE CABIN
My childhood is filled with wonderful memories of being up at the cabin with family, aunts, uncles, and lots of cousins and of course my grandparents.  It brings me so much joy to see my children loving and experiencing the cabin like I did.  This year before we went to Utah, Johnny said, "Mom, I have to go to the cabin!  I'm homesick for the cabin!" 

                                                                MY GRANDMA :)

                                         I've been so blessed to have my grandma in my life for 38 years now.  I   love her with all my heart and I look up to her in countless ways.  She's has always been one of my dearest friends.  She always makes me feel loved and special--as she does with everyone else too.  She is no respecter of persons, she is genuinely interested in everyone she meets.  She's never met anyone who isn't thought of as a friend.  She is 87 and still loves to explore new places, learn about new things, reads all the time, exercises regularly, and is interested in all of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  My childhood is filled with memories of being with my grandma and LOVING it.  I remember her always humming, teaching us how to speak correctly :), having us over for sleep overs and making sure we ate fruit, taking me shopping on my birthday, out to lunch or breakfast when she felt I needed a little extra care or attention.  Always believing in me and my potential.  Thinking much more highly of me than I thought of myself--but making me want to live up to what she thought I was.  I named my first daughter after her.  I pray we can all be more like her.  I love you grandma.    

Best of Summer 2013

Best of Summer 2013

Water fight with our neighbors in North Carolina

Going to Disneyland

Soarin' over California

Going to grandma and grandpa's house

Going to Nana's cabin and sleeping over

Johnny: getting 11 things at the dollar store

Watermelon football in Nags Head where mom scored 3 touchdowns :)

boogy boarding in the ocean

attempting to surf in North Carolina

Going to Willow Falls in Wisconsin and playing in the waterfalls

Going to Nelson's ice cream after for a "kiddie" cone

Going to the beach in Minnetonka and eating Ben and Jerry's after

Going to the rope swing at Long Lake

It's a small world at Disneyland

Maughan Family talent show--the girls did a hip hop dance, mom recited a poem

Trying to catch the ball uncle Mark hit on the beach.

Running in North Carolina and California

Swimming in North Carolina, at Lifetime, at the Caine's pool

Samantha floating for hours in her life jacket

Uncle Rich and Matthew surfing

Uncle Rick's old man dive

Driving down the strip in Las Vegas

Going to the zoo with Kathryn Creer in SLC

We did not enjoy the traffic from CA to Las Vegas :)

Samantha playing with Biff and Hannah

Girl sleepover every night in N.C. with Camryn, Lauren, Sarah, and Rebekah

Lemonade stands with Mira and the police stopping by the buy some

Camp fire in Oxnard with smores

Daddy/daughter campout

Fireworks in North Carolina

Mommy and Johnny date night to Potbelly and the Planes movie

Catching crabs on the beach

Staying in the hotel with grandma, grandpa, and Porter and Claire, and Uncle Mike in Las Vegas

Weekly swaps with the Camargos

Girl Scout camp for Camryn and Lauren

Dad's car accident :(

Bjorkman kid camp

Making the hip hop dance competition team

The Maughan grandkid Olympics--Camryn won so many things they had to stop giving her prizes :)

Going to Monster University with the Caines

Outdoor Mary Poppins movie with Mira's family

Shopping in N.C. on a rainy day

Family Pictures

Going to Home Depot with dad and building things out of wood

Reading "A Wrinkle in Time" together at night

Sleepovers in California with the kids telling each other stories at night

Games at night with the adults in California

Morning donuts from uncle Dave

Chick Fil A coming to Maple Grove---block party

Hiking to Cecret Lake with grandma and Kathryn Creer

Going to the cabin with grandma and nana

Lauren's Quick Turn Around

Last night Lauren woke me up at 3:00 a.m. saying her stomach hurt "so bad!" I asked her if she felt like she was going to throw up...she said no. It felt like sharp pains that wouldn't go away. I made her a bed by me and told her to tell me if it got worse. A little while later she insisted that she had to go to the hospital. I started thinking it must be bad if she's asking to go to the hospital. Was it appendicitis? I had no idea, but she said she'd never felt like that before and had to go. So, at 3:40 I woke up Greg and told him he had to take Lauren to the hospital. She was in tons of pain, etc. I had to stay with Camryn who just had surgery a week ago.

Anyway, Greg said he was driving Lauren to the hospital and she was moaning in the back seat. Then after a few minutes she started talking, "Dad! Look at all the people out! Look McDonald's is open! Look at all the people at Walmart!" A minute later, Lauren broke out in song. :)!!! At that point Greg asked "Lauren--are you feeling better honey?" Lauren, "yeah, it doesn't hurt so much now." Greg parked in the parking lot at urgent care and they decided to wait for 5 minutes to see how she felt. After 5 minutes Lauren said she was fine and they came home. :)
She slept through the rest of the night and woke up chipper for school.

Quotable Johnny

Johnny: Mom! It took a really long time for me to decide which girl to marry!

Mom: Oh? Who did you decide on?

Johnny: Millie!

Mom: Oh, I like Millie. That's a good choice.

Johnny: But mom! All the girls think they get to choose who to marry, but really the boys get to choose!

Mom: Well, it's best if you choose each other.

Johnny: WHy?

Mom: so that you both want to be together.

Johnny: Well, Addie needs to pick someone else, because she wants to marry Josh and he doesn't want to marry her! She needs to looks for someone else!

The worries of 4 year olds! :)

From Minneapolis to Mazatlan Mexico

In March, our good friends, the Gardners, invited us to go to Mazatlan with them for Spring Break. It was pretty hard to leave Minneapolis at this time of year to go to Mexico, but we did it anyway.....
Oh Heaven!!! It was amazing. Just to feel the warm sun again and feel your whole body unthaw, and to remember there really are warm places in the world! Once we got there, we never wanted to leave!
The kids spent hours and hours playing on the beach. We also had bonfires on the beach at night and roasted marshmallows...great memories!
Camryn and Lauren dancing on the beach
Lauren strikes a pose!
Samantha's hair was so curly there. I loved it!
We rented a 4 wheeler (I should say, Greg rented a 4 wheeler--his favorite thing! :) for an hour one day. It was so much fun to ride it up and down the beach.
Johnny is actually driving the golf cart all by himself. The Gardner's house is right next to a beautiful golf course.
A four wheeler and a golf cart in the same day----what a treat for a little boy!
There were beautiful sunsets every night.

Camryn is our boogy boarder and body surfer. She runs right into the water and spends hours in it every day. She's our little fish.
And little Sammy--she was just happy to be outside, exploring the world on her unsteady little feet!