From Left to Right-Front Row: Janice (Westphal) Daniels, Brenda (Momerak) Erickson, Brenda (Kjos) Nikunen, Cindy (Nelson) Lyon, Sarah (Bergsted) Sannes, Sharon (Hinderaker) Gunderson. Back Row: Linda (Kjos) Hoffman, Jay Hoffman, Marcus Erickson, Steve Hanke, Paul Sparby.
Hoffman/Ladwig Family (Easter 2008)
Monday, March 17, 2008
AFLBS 20th Reunion
From Left to Right-Front Row: Janice (Westphal) Daniels, Brenda (Momerak) Erickson, Brenda (Kjos) Nikunen, Cindy (Nelson) Lyon, Sarah (Bergsted) Sannes, Sharon (Hinderaker) Gunderson. Back Row: Linda (Kjos) Hoffman, Jay Hoffman, Marcus Erickson, Steve Hanke, Paul Sparby.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
"You might be a Mom if..."
You might be a Mom if...
- You take your toddler with you to the ladies room at Target and while you are sitting on the "throne," she opens the stall door and runs out leaving you exposed to whoever is in the restroom.
- You take your 2 toddlers with you into the dressing room at "Sweet Repeat" (a 2nd hand store) to try on a pair of jeans and besides them crawling out from underneath the door (which is a shower curtain help up with a shower curtain rod), they pull the curtain down, this time exposing you to whole store!
- You are sitting quietly in church with your 4 year old son, trying to enjoy the service. After taking him to the bathroom twice already, he's asking to go again. You tell him that he can wait until church is over and continue to listen to the pastor's sermon. Just then your son finds his loudest voice and yells..."But I've gotta go poop!!!"
- You go down to the hotel lobby with your 8 year old son to by some popcorn from the vending machines for a late night snack when you see a Ms. PacMan machine. Feeling nostalgic, you tell your son that the Ms. PacMan game came out when you were in Jr. High and you remember playing it at the neighborhood video game hang-out. Out of the blue, a man (who was totally flirting) makes a comment to you that, there's no way that could be true because you don't look a day over 25. Just then your loving son pipes up and says..."Huh! She's way older than that! She's 33!"
- You're still wearing shoes you wore in college and your children all have a different pair of shoes for each outfit! (almost)
- You consider taking a shower everyday is a luxury!
- You can diaper and dress a baby, take your toddler potty, kiss a boo-boo, fix dinner, load the dishwasher, do the laundry...all while talking on the phone to your favorite friend without missing a beat!
- You hear a song over the loudspeaker in the store and start singing and dancing to it with your toddler, not realizing that people are watching you and laughing...once you do realize it, you don't really care and keep singing and dancing anyway!
- You finally make an appointment to have a massage with the gift certificate that your husband and children got for you for Mother's Day, 9 months ago. After the massage you are completely relaxed and satisfied, not to mention sleepy. As you're leaving the salon, you quickly glance in the mirror to see if you look o.k. You walk outside and decide that it would be a good idea not to drive the 20 minutes home until you've walked around a little bit to help yourself wake up before you get behind the wheel. So...you walk down the block to the 2nd hand store to do some shopping. After you're done shopping, chatting with the clerk and smiling at people walking by, you return to your vehicle to head home. Looking in the rear view mirror you spot someone looking at you with "raccoon eyes," tossled hair, and on the right side of their face there appears to be a "sleep line." All of a sudden you realize...it's you! Laughter fills the vehicle and you can hardly contain yourself as you realize that you just walked around town and did shopping looking like a drunk zombie...but at least you were relaxed because...who cares! You're a Mom and you deserve to have days like this!!! :)
Monday, February 25, 2008
Lauren's 2nd Birthday Party-A Princess Tea Party!
Photos from top to bottom, left to right: 1)Tea Pot Birthday Cake (2 cute!) 2)Lauren is supposed to blow out her candle now...Hannah think she can help because she's been 2 for four whole months now! 3)Lily likes the ice cream and cake! 4)Lauren & Kim looking at the gift we brought her. (We also brought her some training pants to go along with the gift Mommy & Daddy gave her.) 5)Potty Time!! Yeah! 6)Party Guests...Hannah was not happy, she was playing and didn't want to be interrupted for the photo op. 7)Lily, Sienna Hamland, Lauren & "Happy Hannah."(what a face!) 8)Watcha Get?? Hannah & Sienna watch Lauren open her presents.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Potty Training & Counting
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Christopher's 14th birthday
Photos top to bottom, left to right: 1)Click on this picture to see the framed birthday banner I made for Christopher's b-day. 2)Christopher on his 11th birthday, his 1st birthday celebrated in Wisconsin. The cake was a leftover from our wedding that I decorated to look like a soccer ball. Christopher was big into soccer at the time. 3)Christopher with his prized Terrain Twister. 4)Jay lighting Christopher's candle with the fireplace matches. 5)Christopher pretending to blow out his candle..."Oh well, I guess I'll have to have a girlfriend all year long! Too bad." 6)Christopher checking out his new ipod dock. "Awesome!"
Each birthday I ask the kids what kind of cake they want, and Christopher has been asking for an ice cream cake. This year I found a recipe for an oreo cookie one and made it for him...easy and delicious!
Kjos Family Christmas Gathering
On the 4th, Mom and I took the little girls with us and headed to Brenda's. We arrived shortly after 4 p.m. just before Brenda arrived home from work. That evening we met Brenda's and my good friend Liz Theisen and her 3 girls in Waconia, MN for supper at the neighborhood McDonald's. Shortly after we arrived there, Jay and the 4 older kids (who all left after they got out of school) joined us for supper. We had a wonderful time visiting. It's a shame we don't get to see each other more often.
After sending all the children (9 in all) to bed, Mom, Brenda, Jay and I sat around and visited until late, catching up on everyone's news. What fun we had spending much needed time together before the big dinner party the next day.
On Saturday, we while Brenda and I worked to get things organized for that afternoons gathering, Ian, Christopher, Jeremy, Jessica, Renson, Delaney, Rose, Jay & Hannah went outside to do some sledding. The weather was just perfect for the weekend and kept the kids busy most of the day.
Just as dinner was ready, my sister Karen and her daughter Eda showed up to join the celebrating. It was great to see them since it had been quite awhile since we had been together. Below are some pictures from our party.
Photos from top to bottom, left to right: 1)Brenda, Karen, Linda & Mom. 2)Grandma Kjos with her grandkids in attendance: Back row-Hannah (sitting in Grandma's lap), Ian holding Lily, Jeremy, Christopher. Middle Row-Jessica, Rose, Delaney, Renson. On the floor-Eda holding Samuel & Caleb. 3)Goofing around. 4)Grandma opening her DVD/VHS combo that the siblings went together on for her for Christmas...Hannah has to help her of course! 5)Christopher and Jeremy lounging. 6)Jay and Renson playing Renson's new Battleship game he got from his cousin gift swap while Ian looks on.
Christmas 2007
Photos from top to bottom, left to right: 1)The Hoffman/Ladwig children in front of the tree, 2)Lily & Hannah in their Christmas dresses, 3)Hannah & Lily nose to nose under the tree! 4)Ian with his Nascar throw, 5)Christopher with his ipod touch, 6)Renson with his gifts, 7)Delaney with her gifts, 8)Lily(holding her "Learn along Lily") & Hannah(holding her new books) "resting" in their new nap mats.