Happy New Year!

Well, 2008 was a great year! It is hard to believe that it has come to an end and we only have 10 hours left in the year. Tonight the Johnson family will be hanging out at home with the kids. I'm sure there will be a Disney movie playing and toys everywhere!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 2008! Enjoy New Year's Eve and be safe!

Andrea

A Good Christmas Day - 2008

Holly winding down after a busy Christmas day

Myles making Aliens with one of his new toys - it was fun!

Holly being silly in her new sunglasses and purse

Myles making Star Wars noises as he plays with his lego's

Erik putting together one of the lego sets that Santa brought

Holly playing with her new kitchen - she seems to like it!

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Merry Christmas again to everyone! We hope that it was filled with blessings and love! Our day was a good one. Santa's alarm clock went off at 5:00 am so that he could get the gifts under the tree before Myles woke up. He then was planning to jingle the sleigh bells at 6:05 am, but at 6:03 am Myles woke up and opened his door. Erik and I were in bed and heard him say (in that excited little kid voice) *GASP* "He Came!!" It was so cute that I had to bite my lip so I didn't laugh. Myles came into our room and told me I had to get up and see the gifts that Santa left for them. So we all got up and I woke Holly up as well. The kids enjoyed opening up Santa's special presents. Myles again got some star wars legos (Daddy is re-thinking this theme....), a camera, and a remote control car. Holly was happy with her Kitchen, pots & pans, and a doll. Yeah for Santa! We then played with our new toys for a few hours before going over to my parents house. We got there at 9:45 am, and Patrick & Nicole arrived shortly after us. Pete and Erica were already there, along with my Parents. What a large family we have become! It was very hard for Myles to take turns opening gifts, but we made it through. Thanks everyone for the great gifts you gave to me and my family!!!! It was so nice to then hang out with everyone! Holly napped and Myles was watching one of his new Christmas movies. So things were quite mellow (just what I was hoping for!). After being there for the day, we got home about 5:00 pm. Just enough time to play with toys again! Myles wanted to make some aliens with this Martian Matter gift that Holly gave him. It was really kinda fun! Then it was back to Star Wars lego's.

The kids are in bed sleeping now (yeah!) and Erik and I are watching a movie. I'm sure we will get to bed early since the day started quite early for us... I mean for Santa.....

Take care, and I promise to get our Holiday Letter out for the new year (I'm a bit behind this year!!!!!!!!!)

Love,

Andrea

Christmas Eve with the kids

Myles in his new Star Wars PJ's

Holly in her Christmas dress and playing with her new dolly stroller

Myles holding his favorite gift - star wars lego's

Erik had to put the lego's together.... as you can see, he had a ton of fun!

Here is the final product - I don't know what it is called, but it sure looks cool!

Here is a cute video clip of Myles throwing Reindeer food out on the deck

Merry Christmas! Today is Christmas Eve, and it was a pretty good day! Myles was excited all day, which caused him to act up just a little - he says that he was just to excited to behave. Hmmmm..... can Santa bring back that toy??? So after naps (yes - we managed to get both of the kids to nap!) we got ready for Church. Good thing we got there 30 minutes early - church was packed! We managed to find a spot right out side of the sanctuary where there is seating for families with squirrely kids. And boy were our kids squirrely!!! They couldn't sit down, so they played, walked around, and goofed off the whole time. We left right after communion. Oh well - maybe next year.... So off we headed in our sleigh, back to our house. We opened our gifts right away. The kids were excited. Myles loves his Star Wars lego's the best of all his toys. Holly seemed to like her doll stroller the best. We then feasted on Crab legs, green beans, rice, and wine. It was a great meal! We then played with toys, watched some Christmas cartoons, and Erik managed to put together the star wars lego figure. It only took him 90 minutes.... Just before bed time we sprinkled Reindeer food outside and left cookies & milk for Santa. I have a feeling that we may all be up by 5:00 am tomorrow... well, I have some strong coffee ready to go! I'll try to post pictures from Christmas day right away! Merry Christmas everyone!

Love,

Andrea

Date Night

On Saturday, the we went to Mom & Dad's to celebrate Erik's birthday with family. Patrick and his fiance, Nicole, were able to come. So did Erica and Pete. Dad had to work, so we celebrated without him. After the festivities, the kids stayed for a sleep over at Grandma's while Erik and I went off to have a date. Erik picked a Pub in Maple Grove for dinner - the beer and appetizers were good, but the food ended up being bad. But we had a great time hanging out! We even managed to snap these two pictures of us.

Andrea

Birthday cupcakes for the kids

Messy Holly eating a cupcake

By the end she was even messier than these pictures...

This is a super cute video - Holly says cheese to the camera while eating

Tonight was a quiet birthday night for Erik. I brought Jimmy Johns subs home for dinner, and we rented a kid movie. After the movie, Myles helped me get Erik's gift in a birthday bag and we all sang happy birthday to Daddy. Myles was excited to have Daddy open his gift - it was 2 movies (how exciting!). We then all ate giant Christmas cupcakes in celebration. The kids were a mess! So much of a mess that we had to give baths to each one after they finished eating. But it was a nice, relaxing evening.

Happy Birthday Erik

Happy Birthday, to you! Happy birthday, to you! Happy birthday, dear Erik! Happy birthday to you!

Hope that year 33 treats you well! I love you!
~Andrea

Great weekend!

The best purse ever - Thanks Erik!

Holly eating lunch in the skyroom at Macy's

Myles sitting on the edge in one of the Elf displays at Macy's

One of the Elf displays at Macy's

Another neat looking display at Macy's holiday display

Holly, Mommy, and Myles getting ready to head into the Macy's holiday display

Myles in the Macy's store sitting under a Giraffe

This was a really good weekend! On Friday night the neighbors (Justin, Mason & Preston) came over to play after dinner. The kids were good! What was funny was Mason and Preston played with toys, and Myles was totally into watching Wall-e. So they didn't play much together. Holly managed to mix it up a bit and did some of both. Funny. Then on Saturday we went shopping a bit with the kids (Holly and Mommy to Kohls while Myles and Daddy went to Target). We met up for lunch at Noodles - Yum! Then in the evening the Murphy's came over for dinner and playing. Michelle and I worked a bit on her resume, but it really was good, so not much work was needed. The kids did well for the most part. Everyone stayed up late - they went to bed about 8:30 or so. And as a result everyone slept in until almost 7:30 am! Wow! I can't remember the last time that happened! It was wonderful! So today, Sunday, we went to church and Erik had to help out with Sunday school. Sounds like it was fun and filled with crafts and a birthday cake for baby Jesus.

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Right after church we headed to downtown Minneapolis to the Macy's holiday display. It was about Elfs and what they do in a day. Very cute! The kids really liked all the different displays, and so did us adults! :) We also made 3 quick purchases: Erik bought a shirt, Myles got one of those paddles with a ball on a string thing, and I got the best purse EVER! On our way out we ran into a bunch of our relatives! Carol & Joe Stoebner, Jeff & Renee with their kids, and Tamara & Rob with Gia. How fun! They had just gone through the Macy's holiday display and at in the nice resturant at Macy's. We chatted for a bit while the kids ran around. Jeff and Rob took the boys up and down the escalator - they thought it was so much fun! We then came home for naps (or quiet time in Myles's case!) and then played in the afternoon while watching the Vikings game. Erik made a really great dinner, and then soon it was bath time. Now the kids are in bed and I'm watching a Christmas movie. Talk about a great weekend! I sure hope everyone else enjoyed the last 2 days!

Love, Andrea

Our Christmas tree

Erik driving us home in a winter wonder land!

Myles riding home after picking out the tree

Mommy and Holly

Our tree getting a fresh cut

Myles, Erik, and Holly by the tree we selected... see how happy Holly is? :)

Today after church we went to get our Christmas tree! Since it was 13 degrees outside (BRRR!) we decided to go to a local place where they were already cut down. But it was still super cold so we selected our tree very fast and jumped back into the truck. It turned out to be a fairly nice tree once we had it decorated! Here is a picture of Myles by the tree!

Myles looking cute by our decorated tree!

CLC Friends

Michelle, Keely, Jen (and baby!), Lori, Andrea, and Sukay

On Saturday morning I met some old CLC friends for coffee at Caribou. It was super to see everyone and hang out for a while. We had a lot of catching up to do! I can't wait until we do this again!

Love,
Andrea

Hollywood Bath Time!

Tonight was bath night for the kids. Holly had been playing with some of my old sun glasses and wanted to take them in the tub with her. She was so cute that I had to take a picture!

Andrea

Quick Update

Just enough time to type a quick update. On Sunday evening I got sick - yucky sick - laying on the floor infront of the bathroom sick. But it passed (mostly) in a matter of 5 hours and then I got a little sleep through the night. We all thought it was food poisoning.... nope, we were wrong! The whole Johnson family has gotten some version of what I had. Holly threw up only once in the middle of the night on Monday night, but has had loose diapers for the past 2 days. Erik and Myles got sick in the middle of the night on Tuesday. Myles continued to throw up during the day on Wednesday. We have also managed to share this wonderful super virus with many people. Here are the ones that we know of: the little neighbor boy who goes to daycare with my kids, the daycare lady, 2 more kids at daycare, and my Mom. I'm sure there are plenty others who will be struck down by illness in a matter of days due to this horrible virus. I hate the stomach flu. Nothing you can do but let it pass. Ugh. Remember to wash your hands and to stay away from the Northern Suburbs for a while! Have a healthy week everyone!
Love,
Andrea

The next family wedding

My baby brother is engaged and getting married on May 30, 2009! Congrats to Patrick and Nicole!!!!!!!

Holly Dazzel Parade on Saturday Night!

Holly waiting for the Parade to start - she sure doesn't look very excited!

Myles sat on Erik's shoulders for about 45 minutes - what a good Dad!

Mommy & Holly watching the parade!

Holly Dazzel Parade float

Holly Dazzel Parade - Choir float

Holly Dazzel Parade - Ginger Bread House float

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Today was a pretty good day! We were on day 3 together, and decided we needed to get out of the house. In the morning we went to play in the kid area at the Northtown Mall. Myles then got to see Santa and asked him for a long list of toys. It was cute! Then home for naps (Myles is pretty much giving these up and didn't take one today). In the evening we packed up and went into Minneapolis for the Holly Dazzel Parade. It was fun - very packed with people, but fun. We ran into Terry Anderson and her kids on our way there so we ended up hanging out to watch together. The weather was fairly mild - 40 degrees - so with jackets and hats we were fine outside. The parade was probably 30-40 minutes long, and full of fun festival lights. We will

have to do this again next year! Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Andrea

Monday night at Burger King

Holly and Myles crawling through the play place at BK

Holly deciding which way to go!

One wanting to go up, one wanting to go down!

Daddy helping Holly have fun!

Now that it is dark and COLD in the evenings, we are having to get creative with entertainment ideas for the kids. So on Monday evening after dinner at home, we headed over to BK for some yummy strawberry shakes and playtime in their kiddie play place. It was a ton of fun! Holly wanted to do all the "big kid" things, so Erik and I took turns climbing and crawling through all the tubes and passageways with Holly. She was really cute. Myles was into speed, and he would frequently race through the whole thing, zip down the slide and then ask "Mommy! Did you see how fast I was that time?" It was cute! I'm sure we'll go there several times this winter!

Andrea

A few more wedding pictures

What a great looking family!!!

Here is the extended family!

Myles looking so handsome!

What an adorable little girl!!!!!

Sisters - We sure look good!

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The professional pictures are now available! I plan on ordering some, but I figured out how to pull them off the web site and post them in the blog. They have the writting on them by the photography company, but I wanted to share them anyway!

Love,

Andrea

Myles singing in church

The kids have been practicing their Sunday School songs and got a chance to sing in church today! It was really cute - they walked in holding hands and got all lined up to sing. Myles gave us a thumbs up sign - very cute! They were quiet so you may have to turn up the sound to hear them. We are very proud parents!

President-Elect Barack Obama in Chicago

Yes We Can!

President Obama said:

"America, this is our moment. This is our time. Our time to turn the page on the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for this country that we love."

Something amazing has happened....

Erik opening up the Champagne to celebrate!

Mmm... look at that champagne!

I close my eyes, sip the bubbly, and imagine the wonders that will come in the next 4 years!

Happy doesn't even begin to describe the feeling in the Johnson household tonight. Something amazing has happened. The United States of America has elected the first African American man into the highest office in the nation.... President Obama. He will be our 44th elected President. This brings a renewed sense of hope for change and prosperity in the country. As I watch McCain's speech, I am proud of the respect he shows for his opponent, and sincerely hope that it helps to get people behind the newest President. And I was utterly amazed at the profound words spoken by President-Elect Obama during his speech. This is a man that can unify our nation and restore our country's good name. I am proud that Erik and I were able to cast our vote today, and proud to be an American. This is a great country with a bright future! Congratulations Mr. President!

Andrea