Tennis - October

Awww So Cute

Birthday Week

Enjoy!

4th of July Weekend

This last week Zoe had the opportunity to attend Camp Chetek for a week of fun filled camping fun.  

Sadie went also.  The two of them had a great time being cabin mates and it sounds like they had a fabulous time.

It was a walk down memory lane for Carrie and I when we dropped them off since the same camp had been a favorite place of ours twenty some years ago.  Alot was the same but even more had changes.

I find it amazing that Zoe had this chance to experience something that I loved doing when I was a kid.

Then came Fourth of July weekend.

It started off by picking Zoe and Sadie up at camp bright and early Saturday morning.

Then it was off to the Hustad's for their annual picnic and firework show - the kids have a great time every year and always look forward to it.

Sunday morning we headed down to the cabin along with Carrie's family and Grandma and Grandpa Coleman.  We had a picnic lunch followed by our 1st Annual Family Float down the river!

It was a rocky start with both Corbin and Emily not wanting to participate but in the end everyone was calm and had a great time.  It was a beautiful day on the river.

After the float we had a picnic dinner and then JJ and Jake took the kiddo's home and Carrie and I stayed overnight at the cabin with mom and dad for an extra day at the cabin and another more relaxing float down the river!

Here is this weeks vlog!

A Week of Lacrosse

Week of June 20 - 26, 2016

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We've had another busy, busy week - - I thought that summertime was all about relaxation - - not much of that around here lately it's just go-go-go!

With Playground Pals every day for eight hours, two practices, two games and a tournament Zoe has had a very busy week and so has her driver.

Here's this weeks vlog - - - 

Hayward 2016

The family spent another wonderful week at the KOA in Hayward, WI.

A week just never seems to be enough!

ATV'ing, kayaking, swimming, campfire sitting, games, volleyball and so much more.

The week is always jam packed with fun and relaxation!

And of course I have a video to share because once again I was horrible at taking photos!

LA Trip - Sarah's Wedding

Lacrosse Begins

The family and I have had another busy week. . . 

How is it that the day's seem to be flying by faster than ever - - can't seem to catch my breath or get caught up.

We are now at less than three weeks out from the end of school and I have to admit I'm freaking out a little bit just looking at the calendar.

Zoe's activities for the summer has us jumping around to multiple places all summer long!

 - - - 

This past week with JJ in Seattle for work I sort of thought it would be a slow week, but boy was I mistaken.

Shopping, gardening, projects, Lacrosse, sewing - - it all kept me on my toes!

Here is this weeks Vlog - - -

Shelby Girl

Shelby has a new favorite spot.

With the warmer weather and opened windows, Shelby's favorite new spot to hang out is at the end of my bed.

She patiently awaits walkers with dogs to stroll past on the walking trail next to our house.

Her new spot makes guarantee's she won't miss a single walker.

Upon making visual contact, hysterical barking ensues until said walker has long passed her range of sight.

Apparently it's great fun since it's an everyday . . . all day event!

A Sweet Sixteen!

This past week we celebrated Jasmine's Sixteenth Birthday!

Hardly seems possible at all yet here we are!

She didn't want a party or to go crazy so we kept it just family but I decorated the dinning room with pink and white streamers and added My Little Pony paper plates for our meal and dessert.

I also decorated her room with more streamers in the doorway and hanging from her light fixture.  Plus I threw a ton of balloons into her room!

It was all sort of a jock since she can't stand the color pink!  

All in all it was a good birthday for her and now, finally, she is talking about getting her drivers license.

It was such a delight to share such a special day with the kiddo like Jasmine.  She is so sweet and spunky it's hard not to want to hang out with her.  I've enjoyed seeing her become more opinionated and passionate about things this past year.  She it truly growing into an amazing human being.

Strong, confident and beautiful!

Here is this weeks vlog . . . 

Springtime Chores

Spring is finally here, allergy's are making themselves know and the summer long task of mowing has officially begun.

The End of Volleyball Season!

This past Saturday Zoe had her finally Volleyball Tournament of the season.

It's sort of sad to see it end, but at the same time I will be nice to have some of our time back.

For a week or two at least - - Lacrosse season starts soon.

Weekly Vlog - - 

Finally Spring!!

Finally it seems like we have some spring like weather that may stick around for more than one day.

I started off the week exploring a new walking trail with Carrie which we were both excited to find and eager to return to.

I started a new quilting project that is taking up all of my free time but I'm loving every second of it.

Volleyball and the Lacrosse are still going strong for Zoe, although I think the double activities two nights a week are starting to wear her down a bit.

The big excitement for the week was our long time friend Matt, came to stay a couple days with us.  He is currently living in Scotland with his wife who is in school over there.  It was awesome to see him again after at least two years.

And finally on Saturday, mom and dad came to visit to help us deal with the massive tree in our backyard that we wanted to remove.  Dad did an amazing job cutting it down.  We worked on it a good four hours - - cutting it all up and moving the brush out of the way, it was difficult work but with so many helpers the load was much lighter.

Our backyard now looks so much different!

Enjoy this weeks Vlog . . . 

Last Power League Weekend

Another busy week in the Savage Johnson household!

Lots of project being worked on, activities to shuttle kiddos to and from and even a day off from school!

Plus one last snow storm to get through (fingers crossed that it's the last one).

Don't forget to enjoy this weeks Vlog!

Volleyball Tournament

This past week has been a busy one.

I started on a project to revamp the family room starting with a new wall color which I was able to get done during the first couple days of the week. 

Zoe has had volleyball practice as normal and also a tournament on Sunday.

With this week April Fool's Day also arrived.  My morning started out with my sink sprayer being compromised my some cheeky monkey in my house!  Lucky for me that was the extent of the pranks this year other then my yearly call from my father-in-law, Jake who tries to trick my EVERY YEAR!

The most exciting thing of the week for Zoe was being able to stay at a hotel overnight.  Because her tournament was about an hour away and it just so happened to be in the same town as a fabulous outlet mall we decided to travel up a day ahead.  We had so much fun together shopping, hanging out in the hotel room and going out to dinner.

Bright and early Sunday morning Zoe had to be warming up for her first match by 8 am.  The contained four matches in pool play, and one game in bracket play.  We were finally done for the day about 6 in the evening.

Zoe's team did very well even though they had to play some much older and more experienced teams.  They received a ranking of third in pool play but lost their first match in bracket play that finished their day.

Don't forget to watch this weeks Vlog also . . . 

Easter Sunday and weekly Vlog

This past week it was once again time to celebrate Easter!

I had a very lovely day.  The best Easter I think in quite some time.  The girls were all in fun, happy moods and everyone was a little on the silly side which makes for a good day!

It was really fun to see how much Corbin was enjoying all the activities.  He was so happy, talkative and animated the whole day.

This weeks Vlog is below, fair warning . . . it's a long one this week!

Road Trip Time with my Brother and Sister

This past week I had the awesome opportunity to take a road trip with both Carrie and Andy.

We traveled to Los Angles so that I could attend a wedding shower for my sister-in-law, Sarah.

What an experience!

Driving, chatting, or just staring out the window watching the landscape fly by . . . it was time well spent with my two favorite people.

We traveled in Carrie's RV which turned out to be a very comfortable way to travel.  We made great time on the road even though a few days we had to fight some very strong winds.

Being able to pull over for a couple hours of sleep each night alongside eighteen wheelers in either wayside stations or a random gas station along the way was an new and unusual experience for all of us!

In Los Angles we found a KOA to stay at and use as a home base with the camper.  Renting a car to brave the LA traffic turned out to be a very good idea indeed.

After meeting up with Sarah and other family members on Friday night for dinner on Saturday I met Sarah at the Los Angles Flower Market so we could work on idea's for wedding flowers.  

Never in my life have I seen so many flowers in one space.

It was amazing!

On Sunday, we loaded up the RV once again and head out of LA for a short day trip to Las Vegas.  We found a spot to park the RV overnight in the Circus, Circus RV park and then we were off to explore Vegas and watch the Badgers play in their Sweet 16 game (which they won in amazing fashion!)

Monday morning had us heading out of Las Vegas towards the Hoover Dam.  A sight none of us had seen before that turned out to be very cool.

Then it was onward to home back in Minnesota.  The last day of travel we ended up having a long drive in hopes of staying out in-front of a snow storm that was heading towards us.  We arrive home a little before midnight a whole half a day early!

Truth be told I was a little sad it see the trip come to an end, it seemed to go by so quickly but it was nice to be home also.  Shelby girl seemed overly excited to see me and even Jaz and Emily came out of their rooms to say hi despite the late hour.  I think they were happy I was home too!  LOL

And of course I had to make a vlog about the whole event . . . you can check that out below!

11 Years Old

This past week was a busy one.  

With warm, spring like weather and celebrating Zoe's 11th birthday the week flew by!

I can hardly believe that my little baby girl is now eleven years old.

Such a sweet, fun loving girl she has become.

Can't wait to see what this near year has in store for her.

Below is the our weekly family vlog with lots of Birthday Day highlights!

Tootles!

Week Of February 29th

We've made it through another busy week!

Poor little Ms. Zoe found herself with a case of Strep Throat mid week but was recovered enough by the weekend to play some volleyball.

Zoe volleyball team once again had a strong showing during their Power League on Saturday.  Out of three matches they end up winning all three with a total of eight games won.  We are all so proud of the improvement the whole team is showing.

Here's our weekly Vlog . . . Enjoy!

Cabin Time

This past week turned out to be a busy one.  

On Tuesday Emily had a choir concert which was fun to watch.  What a difference a couple of years make!  The songs were so pretty and the whole choir did a wonderful job.  Emily really seemed to enjoy herself.

The of course we had two night of volleyball practice for Zoe this week and then all the other little bits of items that need to be taken care of throughout the week. 

On Friday night Zoe, Emily and I along with Carrie and her kiddos took off to grandma and grandpa's house and the cabin to take advantage of a Saturday with no activities planned.

After a restful night at mom and dad's we all headed to the cabin bright and early Saturday morning.

Can't even remember the last time we were free to spend some time at the cabin, I pretty sure it was sometime before Thanksgiving.  Having some time to relax in the woods was a wonderful experience and we had the most amazing weather.  Sunshine and warm, it was truly a great day.

Here's this weeks vlog featuring Emily's Choir Concert and some ATVing!

Power League #2

This past Sunday Zoe once again had a Power League Day with her Extreme Volleyball Club.

They played four matches and won three of them in two game sets.

It was so fun to see how much they have improved over the past couple weeks and to finally begin experiencing the joy of winning on a more consistent basis.

Zoe once again did an amazing jobs as the unofficial leader on court.  The girls have nicknamed her their "lucky charm" which is sweet.

Zoe serving was SPOT ON!

  I think she is becoming more comfortable with it and is learning to trust her ability more.

She had multiple good runs (limit 3 aces per league rules) and only missed two serves on side-outs.

Another thing she improved on this week that had me very excited to see was her net game.  She attacked the ball more with her setting instead of waiting for the ball to drop to the bumping height, winning quite a few rallies with great ball placement after her sets over the net.

She also had much more success with being able to bump the ball out of the next on those tricky sneaking drop balls which is a difficult skill to learn.  Learning to know when, and how to pop the ball up and out of the net takes time and skill and I was so pleased to see her perfecting this skill and saving a side-out for her team.

The rest of the week was not very vloging worthy, just our same-old, same-old schedule.

As a result I have lots of volleyball footage to share and nothing else!

Volleyball Tournament

This past weekend Zoe had her first tournament experience with her Prior Lake Extreme Volleyball Team.

The tournament was a two day event spread between three locations and the girls played a total of nine matches.  Which means they played 18 games total.  What an experience!  It was new to most of the girls on the team and it was fun to watch them gain confidence as the day went on.  Even though they only won three of their eighteen games the girls were upbeat and determined to do better. 

Zoe had some amazing games.  She is becoming a true leader on the court which her teammates seem to appreciate.  She was continuously trying to rally the girls, offering encouragement and giving her all on the court.  Makes me very proud to watch.

Zoe also had the opportunity to be the team captain for the weekend.  Normally the coach assigns the duty by individual matches, making sure everyone gets a chance to try it out.  For this weekend she had Zoe take over the responsibility for every match.

So proud of my growing volleyball lover.

You can tell it is something she really enjoys and hopes to improve on.

Here's the video from this past week with lots of volleyball coverage.  enjoy!

Snow Day

This past week the kiddos were very excited to have their very first snow day of the year.

Sent home early from school the first day and a two hour start the following day.

The stuff of kids dreams!!!

Volleyball Time

This week the kids had Monday off of school to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day so I took the kids to Skateville to do some rollerskating.  It was the first time Zoe had the opportunity to use the rollarskates she received at Christmas.  It seemed the girls had a good time.  Zoe and Sadie staked while Emily and I hung out on the sidelines.

After skating, Emily and I headed out to do some shopping at the mall.  She had been saving up some money to spend so she was excited to find a few things she liked.

On Saturday afternoon Zoe had three matches scheduled with her new volleyball club, Prior Lake Extreme.  Emily came along to keep me company and we all headed over to the volleyball warehouse to watch the games.  Zoe and I were pretty excited.  She has been practicing with the team twice a week for the last month or so but today was the first games she has played with the new team.

The first two matches were a little rough but the girls hung in there and I thought played well and kept their spirits up even though they did not win which I thought was wonderful to see.

In their final match they ended up winning game two, and three which got them very excited indeed.

Zoe also had an opportunity to help officiate the games which is part of the requirements of playing in the league.  The team will play three matches and help officiate a fourth match.  Zoe tried out being a line judge which I think she was a little nervous about but she did a great job for her first attempt.

All in all I was very much impressed with Zoe play for the day.  She was one of two players on her team that played for the most overall minutes.  And the only team member that played every minute of every game for their first two matches.  She was engaged, had a good serve and worked very hard both on her own game and in rallying her teammates.  It was wonderful to watch.  Some of the girls after their wins call her their good luck charm which I think was sweet.

Here's this weeks Vlog including so footage from the games...enjoy!

Sking and Hair-do's

Another eventful week in the Johnson's household.

A few first experiences too!

It started off with Zoe taking a school field trip to Highland Ridge to try sking with her fifth grade class.  An event that all of the girls have done and looked forward to alot.

Zoe had a great time and I just wish I had been there to take a few photos!

The second experience was for Emily.  For Christmas she received a gift certificate to get her hair colored - - something she has wanted to do for a long time.  This Saturday was the day to get it done.

She picked a bright red color to add to the tips of her hair and in her bangs.  It turned out very nice I think even though she was a little disappointing that the color was not as intense as she would have liked.  But we will know better for next time.

Here is this weeks Vlog to enjoy.

Birthday Time Again

Even though I was not feeling the best on my Birthday this year, it was a lovely day.

Being sick on your special day pretty much insures that you have a restful day - - which was awesome!

Zoe made me a birthday cake, I had my favorite pizza for dinner and I received some very thoughtful gifts.

All in all it was a lovely day.

This weeks vlog was a little short but enjoy anyways!

New Year's Week

The week leading up to New Year's Day was one filled with lots of lazy days and naps.

It was awesome!

The whole family was in hibernation mode as we relaxed and recuperated from all of the Christmas activities and festivities.

Here's this weeks Vlog, Enjoy!

Christmas At Grandma and Grandpa's

Christmas Eve Day we headed out to Grandma and Grandpa's house to spend three days together.

Carrie and  here family as well as Andy all arrived on Christmas Day and we had a wonderful time hanging out, playing games, and eating way to much food. 

It was great to see all the kids getting old enough to play games with the adults so we are able to spend even more time together.

It was a delightful few days that flew by way to fast as it always does.

Enjoy this video as well.

Christmas At Home

I think we enjoyed by far the best Christmas ever this year.

In the morning we all played games together for a couple hours followed by a wonderful midday Christmas meal.  Next up was nap time followed by desert and present opening time.

The girls were all very happy with their gifts this year which makes me very happy.

It was a great day to make wonderful memories together.

I filmed a few of our moments together today, enjoy . . . 

T'was the Week Before Christmas

We've had a busy week finishing up school work before the break, baking, and wrapping gifts.  This time of the year is always such a fun time to do things together.  Although, Jasmine has hit that stage where it is more fun to hang out with friends, Emily will still hang out with me a bit and Zoe is all about doing stuff together.

Here's a new video to enjoy!