MSB turns 41!

This guy turned the big 41 this year...which is a complete reverse of the picture shown here of Mark when he was 14.  What a difference, right?  (Side note...do you not see sooooo much of Maryn is this picture?!?)

 I think this made him pretty happy.

But, I also think this made him happier.  Breakfast in bed made by his daughter.  Now that's feeling the love on your birthday! 

Happy Birthday Mark!!

Christmas Break and the New Year

One of the things we did over our Christmas break was take a trip down to Ann Arbor to the Children's Museum.  It had been years since we'd been, and I knew it would interest the older 2 and the younger 1 (and maybe even Mom and Dad)!  Anyway, it was a fun day for all of us to get outta town and see some new stuff!  We always love any excuse to go to Ann Arbor.

We also stopped in at Grandma and Grandpa's to help them set up a bedroom for cousin Andrew to come and stay with them while he worked at an internship downtown.  This included a trip to IKEA (yay!), and some fun decorating, so win-win.

No trip would be complete without some Griswold time and this visit included a yummy trip to 5 Guys Burgers and Fries, and that particular day they were featuring fresh cut IDAHO fries straight outta Rigby!  Weird coincidence!!

After we got back to Midland, we were invited for some New Year's fun with some local friends.  Maryn had already been invited to a friend's house for the night, and unfortunately I was sick on NYE '15, so I had to sit it out.  Quite the bummer for me, as I have literally been sick 5 times now since Sept. 1.  Ugh!  I really hope this doesn't forebode bad things for 2015!!

In addition to this, for one of our FHE's in January, we set some resolutions and goals for the new year.  We took some time to reflect on the past year too, which is always fun. 

Mark's Faves from '14:
-Peninsula Lighthouse
-PhD
-Traverse City
-Suzy's food
-The Interestings (book)
-Looper and Dune (movies)

Goal for '15:
-Be a better teacher
-stop mindlessly consuming candy
-would like to see a movie at the Ideal movie theater, IMAX, and go to Beaver Island

Suzy's Faves from '14:
-Sister's Reunion to CO.
-Lost 25 lbs.
-Dow Gardens/Dow House
-Famous Dave's Feast for 2
-Hunger Games, Hobbit, and Into the Woods

Goal for '15:
-achieve better balance in life (spiritual, social, health, etc.)
-make friends
-stop worrying so much
-would like to see Mackinac Island, lose a little more weight, read the 4 Gospels, be less intimidated

Maryn's Faves from '14:
-14th birthday
-family vacation to Traverse City
-being the Beehive prez
-trips to the library, Dow gardens, and the field by our house
-Mom's Mac-n-Ham
-Fruits Basket and Anya's Ghost (Books)
-Guardians of the Galaxy (movie)

Goals for '15:
-Less computer time
-Read scriptures daily
-Wash my face
-want to try indoor gardening
-would like to go to Birch Run and Mackinaw Island
-improve my grades and be more organized and focused

Avery's Faves from '14:
-finishing 6th grade and Northeast Middle School
-4.0 GPA
-made the basketball team at Jefferson
-Gone with the Wind (book)
-Big Hero 6 (movie)

Goals for '15:
-maintain 4.0
-personal progress
-want to learn to play the guitar
-get taller!
-win head to head (school competition for theater and english)
-Girl's Camp 2015!

Parker's Faves from '14:
-Hands on museum in Mount Pleasant (with the Beehive, the Japanese garden, and the rocket launch)
-Field trip to the Apple Barn with preschool class
-Rings-n-meatballs (favorite lunch)
-playing outside on the trampoline
-Tikki Tikki Tembo (book)
-How to Train Your Dragon 2 (movie)

Goals for '15:
-Going to the Import store at the mall
-playdates with Lucas
-blueberry picking
-Sherry and Sir's house (Illinois friends)