Kyah & Cams

End of January!

2012-01-29T20:24:00.000-06:00

We started off the week with a day off! I promised the girls I would take them to a movie on Monday since there was no school. We went to see, "We Bought A Zoo", and Cams finally got to bring a friend a long. We had fun, even if Cams slept for a portion of the movie. Thanks for coming with us Bella.

Everyday when the girls go out to wait for the bus, Izzy likes to watch them through the window. Then when the bus pulls away she cries at the door:(

The girls have tried to make due with what little snow we have had. That means sliding down a really small hill in the front yard!

Sunday we went down Boyd park for some ice skating. The girls had fun, and I must say it is a workout for the legs:)

Just looking at the next picture, I can't believe how close in size the girls have gotten. No wonder we are constantly asked if they are twins.

In the past week we have been a little under the weather with colds and coughs. Thanks to aunt Carolyn for the extra help, we appreciate it!

Well that ends the week, can you believe it is almost February??? Before we know it we will be enjoying 80 degree weather...right?! I can't wait!

Until next week...have a good one!

♥The Lokkens♥

Lazy Days!

2012-01-22T20:30:00.000-06:00

Cold days means lots of laziness at the Lokken house. We have not left the house when unnecessary and even the dog hates to go outside.

Makyah had another Birthday party to attend on Saturday, so we had to venture out.

She went swimming at a hotel...

(Happy Birthday Aalayah)

and we took Cams out for some fun. However, she has had such a horrible cough this week she was so tired she fell asleep on the way...and not in a comfortable position!

We went to Action City again! (Her choice)

We played games...

and of course, rode the race cars!

Saturday night and Sunday brought more lazy days.

We made lots of crafts. Makyah came up with this one on her own, with some scrap cardboard, duct tape and ribbon.

(I wonder where they get their love of recycling into crafts?!)

We ended the weekend with dinner and G&G Bergs. Hopefully the weather warms up and we get some energy to be productive.
Have a great week!

♥The Lokkens♥

My Brown Eye Girls!

2012-01-15T21:24:00.000-06:00

It's a new year and I finally got a new camera, YEAH! So I took a few pictures of the kids just playing around. I have a lot to learn about the camera, but from the first few pictures I have learned "Wow" these two girls have beautiful brown eyes!

Cambree turned 6 1/2 this week...where does time go? I told her she was not allowed to turn 7:(

Izzy continues to warm our heart and fit in well with the family.

How can you not fall in ♥ with this?

On Saturday Paisley came over to play.

We painted valentine picture frames...

and played squinkies!

On Wednesday Grandpa Dick turned the big, 70! We celebrated with family on Sunday, and of course he made a wish...I hope it comes true!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Dick!

Sunday Makyah had yet another Birthday party to go to at Skate America.

Happy Birthday Jaime!

This weekend we spent the cold indoors putting a puzzle together as a family. We bought the puzzle back when Borders went out of business, just waiting for the perfect weekend. It took us a while, but we had lots of fun hanging out together.

Here is the final product, 750 pieces!

Well that's the week in a flash. Stay tuned for lots of practice pictures with our new camera, and to keep up on all the happenings with the Lokkens!

Have a great week!

Catch up on...Birthdays, Christmas, New Years & Dance!

2012-01-08T22:10:00.001-06:00

Yes we are a little behind on our posts, but finally here is a quick catch up...

Christmas was very special for the Lokken's this year. On Christmas Eve while we were at church, Santa dropped off an early present he could not take with him on his sleigh...

her name is , "Izzy".

She is a white Maltese that fits in great with our family.

Cambree could not stop saying, "this is the best present ever" all night.

The rest of the evening we celebrated with Cal's side of the family and of course got to open some great presents!

Matching PJ's!

On Christmas morning we woke up to new surprises, that started with a note from Santa and stockings!

After presents, we were all tuckered out and needed a quick nap while watching the Christmas parade on TV.

In the afternoon we went over to G & G Berg's for more Christmas celebrations with my side of the family.

(That meant more presents:)

It was a great day and we feel very blessed for what we have, what we got and family to share it with!

On Wednesday we celebrated Makyah's Birthday with her friends at Chaos Water Park!

9 girls + swimming + presents + ice cream = a tired mom!

Happy 9th Birthday Baby Girl, we ♥ you!

On Thursday Makyah performed dance at the UWEC holiday classic half time.

So did cousin Paisley!

Fun to watch as always!

On Saturday we celebrated Miss Paisley's 4th Birthday (Christmas is her real B-day).

The theme ...dance ...of course!

Happy Birthday Paisley, we ♥ you!

Saturday night we had a few friends over to celebrate the New Year...of course the kids had the most fun!

Happy 2012!

This past weekend (Jan.7th) Makyah had her 2nd Dance Competition in Freedom WI.

We traveled Friday and spend the night in a hotel with a friends and had a fun day watching dance on Saturday!

Makyah's team took a 4th and 5th place. The competition was much harder but the girls did great!

Pom Routine

Hip Hop Routine

It was a fun weekend with friends and great to have some girl time with Makyah!

Cams stayed home with dad and went to a movie with Paisley! Just what she preferred!

Of course she had lots of snugly time with Izzy too!

Well that about catches up up. We are looking forward to a great year in 2012!

Check in again next week, where we promise to be back on track!

♥ The Lokkens ♥

Hollywood!

2011-12-26T20:54:00.001-06:00

I know it has been a while since the last post and I should be posting Christmas, but I have not posted about our trip to California yet, so first things first! Christmas and New Years will come next weekend:)

So we went out to California (Hollywood) to visit Cal's brother Luke who lives out there. We had fun and went to both Disneyland and Universal Studios. We also went to Santa Monica Pier and of course down to Hollywood Boulevard. We took Grandpa Dick with us as well, and overall had a good time.

What I learned...

It is easier to go on vacation with just our immediate family.

It gets cold in California and we froze (It may have been warmer here one day)!

Disneyland is a complete let down when you have already been to Disney World (less magical)!

Everything in California is more expensive.

There is a LOT of homeless people in LA and I felt lucky for what I have.

Makyah DOES NOT like to be surprised! (We celebrated her B-day there).

I would NEVER want to deal with their traffic everyday!

It is ALWAYS good to hang out with Uncle Luke!

Here are lots (68) of pictures! Enjoy!

♥ The Lokkens

On the plane.

Finally at the Disneyland Hotel!

Our tower, that Grandpa Dick could never find:)

The coolest headboard that shot fireworks and played, "When you wish upon a star"'

Yes swimming despite the cold. (It was heated)

Downtown Disney...

Goofy's "goofy" tree!

Eating at Goofy's Kitchen with all the characters!

Chip even got dad during one of their dancing numbers:)

Makyah's special B-day cupcake! (No this is not when we made her cry it was the next dinner surprise:(

The castle looks so small here!

Lots of 3D rides!

Tea Cups!

Riding roller coasters with Uncle Luke!

Cams and I being our own toy story characters in a box!

Christmas Mickey!

It's a small world, one of our favorites and it was all decked out for Christmas!

All of us riding Space Mountain

Makyah in the sliding ferris wheel. I wish I could have gotten her face when the carts started to slide! It was pure FEAR.

Makyah took a few self portraits!

It's a bugs life!

Waiting for the parade!

The holiday parade!

It ended with Santa!

The sliding ferris wheel and roller coaster that went upside down inside the sun. Cams loved it!

The best show at California Adventure was ,"World of Color"!

Makyah the driver and...

Cambree!

Toon Town. Goofy's Camper!

Pluto's Bed!

Running into Goofy.

Makyah thought it was so cool to see studio 365!

On to LA to a new hotel with a dip in the hot tub!

Universal City Walk. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe!

Santa Monica Pier!

The bird man let us hold on to the birds!

The only picture we were all in!

Dipping our feet into the COLD ocean!

Hollywood Boulevard!

The city at night from up at the Planetarium!

Universal Studios on Makyah's Birthday!

The "Who"ville Christmas tree with real snow!

The grinch!

The Lorax!

Saying goodbye to Uncle Luke! We had fun and we will miss you!

On our way home!

Wishes come true!

2011-12-11T22:17:00.001-06:00

The Christmas spirit is in the air, and for the Lokkens it came in the form of a Christmas sing at Sam Davey. Makyah and Cambree had a sing together so it was extra special to attend!

Cambree sang, " All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth", which fit her perfectly!

She also had an instrument part and played the triangle!

Ding!

Makyah had a dance performance in the 3rd grade portion.

Ta Da!

It was super fun to watch and lots of family joined us...they did an awesome job!

On Sunday we celebrated Makyah's 9th Birthday early with all the cousins!

Makyah has grown into such a beautiful and bright young lady...I can not believe she is going to be 9 years old!

Lots of fun gifts... a mini Makyah American Girl Doll...

movies and books...

gift cards...

and the much anticipated I-pad...that she paid most of;)

We sang, "Happy Birthday"...

and made wishes!

Wishes do of course come true, because later in the evening, the girls got a call from Minnie & Goofy to tell us they were waiting to see us at Disneyland! We are off to California in a day to see Uncle Luke and catch the Christmas Camaraderie at Disneyland.

We are so excited!

Our next post will probably be a few weeks away...but your not going to want to miss it!

Stay Tuned!

♥ The Lokkens♥

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

2011-12-04T20:08:00.001-06:00

A busy work once again, and an even busier one ahead, so I will keep this short and sweet...the pictures are worth 1,000 words!

Cal started his new job a few weeks ago...and it has been a rough start. Although he took the job mainly to work no nights, or weekend, that has not been the case so far. He has been working 12 hours/6 days a week. We miss him at night and I have had to start cooking again:( I have realized that I could be a single mom...but I definitely would not want to be!

He did spend extra time with the girl at night...I think he misses us too!

Friday was a Holiday Make and Take at work, so the girls tagged along since school was out!

On Saturday Makyah had her very first dance competition in Menomonie. It was an all day event, so Cams stayed home and hung out with Grandma. (They had lots of fun shopping, baking and sitting in the hot tub.)

Makyah's team performed only once and did their pom routine. It was great and Makyah had great showmanship! She is getting way too big!

Brook, Paisley and Aunt Carolyn came over to watch!

Makyah's team took 3rd place! Go Danze Kraze!

We both loved every bit of it!

On the way home it started to snow, and Sunday we got the most beautiful day ever!

After walking around outside, I realized how hard it would be to move away from this view!

The kids could not get enough of the snow and went out to play 4 different times!

A car stopped to take a few pictures of the river, and yelled wow you guys truly live in a winter wonderland. Today...yes we do!

Mini Snow Girl!

Making snow wishes...

and snow angels. (On the deck table that is!)

Wow...what a beautiful day in Wisconsin.

Have a good week!

♥ The Lokkens♥

Happy Thanksgiving...Let's Deck The Halls!

2011-11-27T20:40:00.000-06:00

The end of November is here, and so is Thanksgiving. It was a great short work week. On Wednesday the girls and I went to the opening of The Muppet Movie. It was fun to have some GIRL time!

On Thanksgiving day, we started the morning by watching the parade, and then we headed over to G & G Berg's for lunch and the Packer game.

The girls and Cal also hit the hot tub!

For dinner, we ate again, with Carolyn, John, Grandpa Dick and Seth. The girls opened their annual Christmas ornaments. We ended the night with a family game of trivial pursuit!

We are thankful for each other, it was a great Thanksgiving with family!

On Friday instead of shopping we went out to Pleasant Valley to get the tree and see the Mr & Mrs!

We checked to see how tall we had got this year...

found the perfect tree...

and played on the play set!

We didn't forget the hot chocolate and popcorn before we left!

When we got home, we let the tree stand as long as the girls would let us...then we decorated!

(With great form, of course.)

The final product!

The outside lights are finally on too!

Let the Christmas fun begin!

Hope you had as much fun as we did!

Happy Thanksgiving!

♥ The Lokkens

It's beggining to feel a lot like...

2011-11-20T22:00:00.000-06:00

Does it feel like the holidays are coming? With a little snow on the ground and Christmas music on the radio...It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...well a little anyways, we have to get through Thanksgiving first!

The week flew by...literally, it was windy and cold. On Saturday we went over to Cal's cousins and made some Lefse. Of course they didn't let me do much...well ok, I made one piece. However the girls were pros and made a good portion of the batch.

They rolled...

cooked, and flipped!

There was even some snuggle time with Daddy!

Grandpa Dick joined in the fun as well. I have to say, it was the best lefse I have ever had! Thanks Rachel!

As we were leaving lefse making, it started to snow. As soon as we got home the girls headed outside while Cal put up the Christmas light. You will have to wait until we turn them on to see them!

Cambree even managed a snow angel!

The girls came in and cozied up in PJ's and both managed to squeeze onto the little Dora couch we have.

Awww, I hope they like each other this much forever!

On Sunday we decided to make homemade salt dough ornaments.
We rolled and cut them out...

Baked and painted them! Then we wrapped them up to give away!

Stay tuned family, guess what your getting!

The final products!

See, it really is starting to feel like Christmas! Have a great Thanksgiving week!

♥ The Lokkens

Loving November!

2011-11-13T21:19:00.000-06:00

Well it is the middle of November and the weather is still great. We had a busy week like usual and it is only going to get busier! Cambree continues to spend lots of her time in her PJ's and playing with her "guys". This week the squishy animals were getting run over left and right by the crazy gorilla in the pink convertible, so the dump truck came along to pick them all up and dispose of them. Same fun...new story.

Ok, so we did get a little snow this week, but it lasted only hours. The girls quickly got ready on Thursday morning so they could go play in the snow before the bus came.

On Friday Cambree lost another tooth! It happened at school lunch. The tooth fairy made another visit and now all she wants for Christmas are her two "bottom" teeth!

Friday 11-11-11, Stuart and Jill finally got married! YEAH and congrats, we can't wait for the big party next summer!

We had a celebration dinner at the Livery and rode the horses too!

On Sunday it was cousin Payton's 2nd Birthday. It was "Dora" style and lots of fun to hang out and celebrate with the family! Happy Birthday Payton!

Well it is a week closer to Christmas and to our vacation to see Uncle Luke. Until next week... have a good one!

♥ The Lokkens♥

A Special Halloween!

2011-11-06T21:42:00.000-06:00

Halloween with Stich and a fortune teller was lots of fun, it all started with the Sam Davey Halloween parade!

Cambree with her teacher!

After school we went over to Craig and Brooks to have an orange supper and head out for trick or treating. Cambree was in no mood to take time for pictures.

The whole gang!

Deciding what houses to stop at... It was a bit weird to start when it was so light outside.

Daddy and Uncle Seth came along for the fun!

It was finally starting to get dark, just about the time the kids were getting tired. We stopped to take a break by the Halloween Pac Man.

A couple of weeks ago, Cambree got this fortune teller toy from a happy meal. She asked it if she would loose her first tooth on Halloween... and it said, YES! What do you know... when we got back to the house, it wiggled loose, and out it came! She was sooooo excited, and then she almost lost it down the heat vent (another story). The good news is, she found it and got 5 dollars right away from Grandma!

What do you know...she got 5 more dollars from the tooth fairy. A very memorable Halloween for this little girl!

Makyah finally got her retakes back and her eyes were open.

Here is their school pics 11/12 school year.

On Saturday we decided to take a road trip for something to do. We headed up to Rice Lake to go to Bargain Bills and eat lunch. Not a lot of bargains, but some great fun family time!

Makyah had 3rd grade state testing Friday and will have again on Monday and Tuesday. We made a treat for all the kids to eat during testing! Trail mix with pretzels, chocolate chips, marshmallows, cheerios and Trix cereal. (Makyah's choice!)

Cambree is our little artist, and this weekend she was in overload. She made a drawing of Stitch and Lelo at Christmas. Stitch is playing Santa.

She also colored and colored and colored and colored all weekend after picking up a Sponge Bob poster pack at Bargain Bills. 8 posters in all, and she put a lot of heart and sole into them!

Well the weekend came to a close and so did the Halloween decorations. We did get a picture of the frosting haunted house before we threw it away. It was a very special Halloween, and we can't wait until next year!

Have a great week!

♥ The Lokkens♥

1 day left!

2011-10-30T23:24:00.000-05:00

So October comes to an end, and so does the decent weather. It was cold and rainy all week, and I don't like it one bit. The week flew by however and on Friday I had an impromptu shopping trip with old friends. We went to the Mall of America on Friday and closed it down. I did not buy a lot, but between the 5 of us, we had a car full. It was great to laugh and reminisce with the girls from the hood!

The girls received early treats from Aunt Carolyn and Uncle John for Halloween...I thought on Halloween you just got candy?!

The girls put together their annual gingerbread haunted house with daddy and had lots of fun. However, I forgot to take a final picture...maybe next week!

After lots of frosting we headed outside in the rain to take some Christmas card photos. We played around with a fun idea for our card this year. It is super fun, but you will have to wait!

Well that wraps up the week, short and sweet, but lots of fun to be had tomorrow night...we can't wait!

Have a good week, stay tuned!

♥ The Lokkens

We are so lucky!

2011-10-23T22:15:00.000-05:00

Halloween is almost here, and I can't wait...so Cambree will stop talking about it! I can't blame her however, I love it too! This weekend we finally got to carve their pumpkins. We chose the Monster Inc stars...Sully & Mike! The girls carved their small pumpkins all by themselves. It was a fun family event that took us 2 hours!

Sully

Mike

Earlier in the week was fun too! We had parent teacher conferences and found out all the bad things the girls do at school! Ok so nothing bad and tons of good!

Makyah's teacher reports she is a great student. She excels in Reading and although does well, does not have as much confidence in Math. Her favorite thing at school is learning cursive. She is a very kind and helpful friend , and knows when to step in to help other. She has lots of friends and is well liked and of course always follows the rules! She still tends to memorize random numbers, dates and names! She is just like her dad, and I am in awe of them both. What more can we ask for! Her teacher also asked us what goal we have for Makyah and I really could not think of one, except maybe a little more confidence in herself. I hope her school career is always going to be this easy;)

Cambree's teacher reports that she is a great student and beginning reader and is still very quiet. However, she did say that she has been raising her hand more often. She never gets in trouble, and will not even tattle on others. She likes reading, is so-so about writing and math and loves art, gym, music and lunch! We are really happy that she seems to enjoy school this year. Cambree can't say enough good things about her teacher and has worked all her friendship problems out. Howev,er she still thinks everyone is good (even though they are mean) This week she asked me if, "friendships ever dies". I mean where does this girl get this stuff. Last week she wanted to know what body part god made first on the first person he created. This girl thinks way to much just like her mother. You have to love her:) She was also nominated by her teacher this week for the "splash award". This means a teacher saw her doing something kind. I asked her what it was, and she said, "Mom I do everything that is kind". Again, what more can I ask for.

I feel blessed, we are soooo lucky... we must be doing something right!

Until next week...have a good one!

♥ The Lokkens♥

Better get started!

2011-10-17T08:20:00.001-05:00

A fast week, with few pictures:( October is half way over and the weather has become cooler this week. We have almost no leaves left on the trees with all the wind, and that means we better get our roof done soon because it looks like we live in the ghetto! We did get some planning done this week however, and it looks like we are going to go visit Uncle Luke in Hollywood in December over Makyah's Birthday. The plane tickets are purchased and the Christmas shopping has begun...well soon anyways, so we can finish before we go! We are so excited!

On Tuesday night we had a PJ Fall Party at work. The girls and Paisley came and we watched a movie, made a snack and a craft. Cambree would not give up a chance to go somewhere in her PJ's!

Carolyn took the girls to buy a new outfit this week. Makyah is so grown up and is definitely into fashion. She couldn't wait to wear her new outfit to school. Cambree however chose PJ's instead as her style con sits of trying to convince me to wear a hat everyday, so she doesn't have to brush her hair! AHHHHH!

On Saturday Makyah had dance, BOOT camp at Danze Kraze, so Cams and I cleaned the house. On Sunday we got to watch the Berg Bunch. Cal came with us, and good thing! Trying to cook lunch with all 6 kids would have been trying, all alone! We had lots of fun and the kids were all good...of course!

Makyah was a big help, like always. She rocked and snuggled with Madden, and he loved every bit of it!

Well that sums up the week. The girls are off on Monday for conferences, and we get to go see how naughty they have been at school...well ok ... how "smart' they are!

Turn up the heat, and stay tuned!

Have a great week!

♥ The Lokkens

We hope it never ends!

2011-10-09T22:02:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful Fall, if this is why we had to wait so long for summer, it has been worth it. The girls spent a lot of time outside this week. Cambree loves to scoop and rake fall leaves, after all the wind we have had, she has had plenty to choose from!

Yes our dock is still in...it wouldn't be if I could take it out myself!

Cambree found a giant branch and spent a good half hour playing in the water.

Makyah chose to watch instead!

I tried to get the girls to cooperate to get a few fall pictures, and let's just say...I didn't get a lot of help from someone!

On Saturday it was "open house" at Cal's work, the sand plant in Menomonie.

The girls and I decided to drive over and check it out.

Here they are watching the wash plant.

We got to ride the bus through the plant.

Here is where dad works, in this tiny little lab, where he loads sand from the computer and takes test samples.

It was a fun day at the sand plant, as they had a lot of fun things for the kids.

They had inflatables...

mining for gems, fossils and shark teeth...

lots of soft sand to dig in...

and to bury ourselves in.

We decorated hard hats, got safety glasses and food. It was fun to see where daddy works.

Cams and Kyah played in the leaves again on Saturday night!

We even rode, "Betty" and roller skated until dark because it was so nice out.

So fall...so good! We hope this never ends.

Have a great week!

♥ The Lokkens♥

F is for...

2011-10-02T21:43:00.002-05:00

Can you believe it is October already? Fall is in full swing, and so is football. I think I had my fair share this weekend. Not that I don't like a good football game, but there is more to TV life like reality shows and stuff...right.

Kyah & Cams started their annual fundraiser at school this week. This year frogs are the incentive. They both have two each, and Cambree even won the mystery frog drawing on Friday when I went to have lunch with her at school. It was the lucky all-American frog that was picked and the prize... a sling shot frog that ribbits, wow has that been fun all weekend.

We spent much of the week and weekend, switching out the summer clothes and doing laundry. It was a big job, but now we are ready for cooler weather. I hope fall sticks around for awhile and winter takes it's time.

On Sunday we played a little family football at G & G Bergs.

We had the throw...

the receiver...

the tackle...

the defense...

and of course more tackling.

Oh yeah and the blitz from Craig...right into my camera!

For the past few weeks at work, we have worked on some fitness/health challenges. I have been trying to find more ways to exercise, so Sunday night we had a "flashlight" walk. The girls thought it was fun and we all got some fresh air and exercise. This kind of exercise I can handle!

Well that sums up the week...Fall, Football, Fundraising, Family, Frogs and Flashlight Fun!

Have a great week, stay tuned!

♥ The Lokkens♥

Hugs!

2011-09-25T22:52:00.000-05:00

Well not a lot of pictures from the Lokken house this week.

The girls have been busy back to school and with piano starting this week, Mondays are now crazy as it is the same day Makyah has dance.

Cambree has been into her creativity lately and has been drawing lots of picture. This picture of stich she made for Carolyn.

Kind of dreary and rainy weather in the mornings have made it very hard to get up and moving. However, the girls stilllove to go out early to the bus stop, rain or shine. I think they had fun with their umbrellas...well maybe Cambree didn't!

On Friday night we got to spend time with friends, and the local charity event, "Dancing with the Eau Claire Stars". Our good friend Amie was participating and with her partner Ryan took 2nd runner up! Way to go Am, it was lots of fun to watch!

The girls hung out with Brook and the kids and had lots of fun as well! Thanks again Brookie!

Cal and I got to spend lots of time together this weekend, just what we needed...lots of romance and hugs...ok well at least I got lots of hugs!

On Saturday we had a wedding to go to and it was super fun to hang out with my sister in laws. I had a cold all weekend and talking loud at the reception, I had no voice when we came home. I'm sure Cal enjoyed the silent car ride;)

Congrats Ryan & Kari, it was a beautiful wedding.

Well we are back to practicing the piano. The girls are amazing with how fast they learn. Cal still continues to help them as I have no music training...oh how I wish I did.

Well that sums up the week at the Lokkens. Fall is coming fast and we hope to enjoy it before the dreaded "w" word arrives! Have a great week! ♥ The Lokkens♥

Fall Organizing

2011-09-18T20:52:00.000-05:00

A full week of school and work in a new location and cool weather. Fall definitely is here and that means organization at the Lokken house. The girls spend much of their free time and play with lots of their toys on our screened in porch. However we must find a home for everything that lives out there all summer (like toys) before winter comes. So we did some organizing, purging and cleaning to adjust. I spent the entire day Saturday going through things downstairs under the stairs where we have some storage. I found notes that I had saved from the 5th grade and lots of newspaper clippings and softball trophies. We did manage to make some room to bring in the toys and even created a little nook under the stair that the girls have claimed.

Cams found some Halloween teeth, or she forgot to brush her teeth for the past year, i'm not sure which!

On Sunday we got back to eat at G&G Bergs. It has been a while and we really have missed it!

We also decided to bring out the Halloween decorations...I mean might as well, it feels like Halloween.

The ghost even got to visit the nook under the stairs.

Oh yeah and we had some time to snuggle with daddy too!

During our clean, I found a troll doll that Cal gave me when we were dating. Cambree instantly yelled, "It's an Orphan, can I keep it mom?" I laughed remembering that a troll doll was called an orphan on one of the Toy Story movies. I said she could keep it, and she played with it along with all the rest of her characters.

Cambree is just like the boy on Toy Story. She plays with all of her characters in any setting. Here the orphan is chasing the smurfs out of the princess house while they are riding in the High School Musical, Sharpay Evans golf cart! Yep they are all special to her....just like she is to us!

Have a great week!

♥ The Lokkens

A Brite Spot On A Dark Day!

2011-09-11T20:35:00.001-05:00

Well it was a full week of school...well kind of 4 days felt like a full week. Cambree was super excited to already be invited to a Birthday Party. On Saturday she went bowling to celebrate her friend Mikayla's 7th Birthday. She told me she had been waiting a long time to be invited to a Birthday. She also made sure to let me know that she did not want me to stay and I was to just just drop her off. When I picked her up she was all smiles and told me she wished I had been 5 minutes late;) I guess that means she had fun!

On Saturday night we had a bonfire with friends. The girls were no where to be seen the entire time, playing with all the kids. Oh wait... they came out to roast smores!

YUM!

It was a great night to hang out by the water, and Cal and I were talking that it had been since the 4th of July since we really enjoyed the deck:( It is always fun to hang with the Gallaghers, Grants, Fritz's and Winters!

September 11th 2011, yes 10 years after the tragic NY incident that took so many innocent lives. We spent the morning glued to the TV. I felt like I was reliving the entire thing all over. Makyah was very interested and I think she grew up a little right before my eyes, as I told her all about terrorists. It was refreshing to see the beautiful memorial and the honoring of the victims. Cal and I visited the towers on our honeymoon in 1999. I could not find the picture of us on top of the tower, but found this one of the skyline of the city when life was a little simpler.

On a brighter note, it was my Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary. The family came over and we celebrated with supper on the deck.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad, you have been such great role models and I hope to someday celebrate my own 40th Anniversary.

We ♥ you!

Well on to a new busy week. Have a good one! ♥ The Lokkens

School Begins...Summer Ends with REAL camping!

2011-09-06T07:43:00.001-05:00

Well Summer is really over and school started. Looking back at the first days of school, I can't believe the girls are getting so big.

On Thursday it was, "sign in " day at Sam Davey, where we went to visit the classroom and meet the teachers.

Cambree's first grade teacher is Mrs. Buchholtz.

She was so excited because she gets to sit by the class turtle, "Tuck". We also went on a classroom hunt and found her locker.

Makyah's 3rd grade teacher is Mrs. Woletz. She was excited to have her as she also had her for Kindergarten.

Her locker is labeled by her number for the year, which is 11.

Cambree even ran into a friend, Bella.

I take this picture on the bench every year...I guess it was really sunny!

On Friday, it was the REAL first day of school and I took the girls to school with a neighbor friend, Miera.

1st grade here I come!

3rd grade is going to be a breeze!

On Friday right after school we headed down to the Dells for a weekend of camping at Jellystone. Cal always says it isn't real camping because the campground has so much to do. However, sleeping in a tent while it is cold, wet and rainy for 3 days, is totally REAL camping.

On Saturday morning it was so wet when we woke up we went to the Paul Bunnon pancake house for breakfast. Since it was to be the nicest day, we went to Mt. Olympus water park. Sun was kind of out, but...water COLD!

Of course we hung out with the bears and ...

did plenty of mini golfing.

Cambree even managed to get another hole in one.

We spent time warming up by the campfire with Daddy.

Makyah got a feather put in her hair.

Cambree got a Yogi tattoo.

We went on the glow-stick "hey" ride. Cambree insisted on wearing her PJ's and rain boots...I mean, why not!

On Sunday we went to Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.

The secret passage way!

We stopped for ice cream!

Spent LOTS of time in the hot tub!

Went on more "hey" rides!

The girls did not fight the entire weekend and were really good sisters sharing and playing. How did I get so lucky to get these great kids! Makyah even made Cams breakfast one morning so when she got up it was ready and waiting!

Goodbye Jellystone!

On Monday before leaving town, we went to Knuckleheads for a day of rides and games.

Overall we had a great time! It could have been a little warmer and dryer, but it was great to spend time as a family to celebrate the end of summer! How dare anyone say it wasn't REAL camping.

Have a great week!

♥The Lokkens♥

Work & Fun! Fun & Work!

2011-08-29T07:31:00.000-05:00

What an exhausting week, as we were packing, stacking and moving...well the Family Resource Center that is. FRC is moving locations to the mall, and my did we have a lot of stuff. Some fun was to be had however, on Friday we hit Action City with the girls.

On Saturday we went to the Festival in the Pines, at Carson Park with Grandma, Brook and the whole kid gang. We even saw Lighting McQueen and Tow Mater!

Cambree helped the little ones see the animals!

Of course she had time to love them up herself, I mean all this girl wants in life is a puppy!

Grandma did buy the girls a puppy, but the non peeing kind on a string!

Sunday was the big move and I had to pick up the moving truck. The girls would have stayed and lived inside of it if I would have let them....WAIT....maybe this is the solution to our house not having enough room?

Well that wraps up the weekend. Only 4 more days of summer for these kiddos! However we have a big camping trip planned for next weekend, stay tuned! Have a good week!

♥ The Lokkens♥

Enjoying what is left of summer!

2011-08-22T07:40:00.000-05:00

What a beautiful week, and to think that summer will be gone before you know it:( It started out perfectly...on Monday I took the day off and the girls and I did a little school shopping. Makyah was way into it of course, and Cambree was a little into it, of course! They both managed to pick out a few outfits and shoes. Actually shoes was the easiest partf or Cambree to pick out...too bad I wouldn't buy the boys plastic "Cars" tennis shoes! At the mall on the way out, we stopped in the photo booth to take this picture...

On Wednesday night Makyah slept over at a friends, so we invited Cambree's friend Bella for a play date all day on Thursday. She had to come early when her parents when to work, and she stayed until 4:30! They got along great and they had so much fun!

Thanks Carolyn for entertaining and feeding them!

On Friday afternoon we were called for a play date at Rays's Beach with the Grants & the Gallaghers. It was a beautiful, but windy day and super fun to hang in the sun with friends!

Making sand castles on the beach.

Hanging out on the pontoon.

Or in Cambree's case...barley hanging on to the pontoon:)

Saturday morning Makyah wanted to do a little fashion show with her new school clothes. Cambree said she would do one later...maybe next week, but...probably not;)

She even got a few colored strips for her hair. This girls is growing up way to fast, and she loves to shop, way too much!

On Saturday afternoon we went to Stuart and Jill's campsite on Lake Holcome and stayed overnight in the camper.

We had smores, of course...

and hung out by the fire.

Seeping in the bunks is always fun!

Thanks for having us Stuart and Jill!

On the way home, we stopped by Irvine park to walk through the animals.

Sunday was also Auntie Brook's 30th Birthday. We did not get to see her because she celebrated with her mom. Hope you had a great birthday Brook!

Well that sums up the week. We are soaking in every last bit of summer we can, because....

school starts in a week in a half! AHHHHHHH!

Have a great week!

♥ The Lokkens

Family Vacay...Yep the whole family!

2011-08-15T09:59:00.000-05:00

What a great week! The whole entire Berg/Lokken clan went down to Sheyboygan to enjoy a family get away! Yes there was laughs, tears, swimming, tailgating, eating, very little sleeping, screaming and even flip flop throwing! (Craig got locked out of the condo and with all the kid commotion, we did not hear him until he threw his flip flops at the windows) We had lots of fun! We started out at Blue Harbor and made our way home by stopping through green bay and visiting the stadium! This post has little words, but the pictures say it all! My camera was not on the best setting and it was very windy by the water, but we captured what we could! Enjoy...

Swimming in the water park.

Playing on the beach...

sand in our toes and looking for shells...

Blue Harbor lobby...

Walking all the way out on the narrow pier...

playing mini golf with the cousins...

Cams & Kyah both got a hole in one...

trying to get everyone to cooperate for group pictures...

enjoying the view...

swimming again...and again...

and again in the lake with the waves.

Finally a good group shot!

On to Green Bay!

Tailgating for lunch...

cousins group shot...

even Everleigh enjoyed tailgating...

going on a stadium tour...

oh yeah...this is what happened right before the above shot:)

Sitting in the box seats...

looking at the beautiful field...

running out the tunnel...ok walking!

Down on the field.

The whole Fam!

Shouting the Green Bay chant..."Go Pack Go" and listening to our echo!

Gram & Gramps on our way out!

Cams love to copy statues!

It was fun and...

Finally heading home!

It was a fun & tiring weekend...one we won't forget! Thanks Gram & Grandpa, lets do it again soon!

Have a good week!

Love, The Lokkens

One month left!

2011-08-07T22:26:00.001-05:00

Who says summer is almost over? We have an entire month left right! This week on the days that were not raining, the girls were back outside. Makyah even suffered a major head bonk on the driveway...she was down for a day and then right back at it (thank goodness).

The week was busy as ever at work, with a weekend class and working National Night Out On Crime. But it is all down hill from here, and I intend to enjoy the rest of the summer.

Cambree finally got to play with her gazillion bubble maker she got for her birthday from Troy & Lisa. It was lots of fun and she enjoyed it.

She also did a little roller skating. Put Cams in front of the camera, and she has all kinds of moves! I could definitely see roller derby in this girls future!

Makyah got to snag a little time with Cams moped while she was skating.

Ok, we all know Cambree is very creative and likes to have fun, but she is really into being a dog. She told me she wishes she could be a dog so she could feel what it is like to wag a tail. She also loves to act like a dog in the truck and put her head out the window...yes tongue and all. I wonder...is this normal;)

Sunday we finally got some time together as a family, so we loaded up the bikes and went down to ride on the bike trail. We stopped for lunch at Burrachos like usual.

Cams & Cal...like father,like daughter!

I thought it was funny after looking at their choice of outfits for a bike ride...you can totally read their personalities!

We took a pit stop at Carson Park for a little fun.

Well that ends the week. We are super excited to have a short week ahead as we are heading to Sheboygan to Blue Harbor on Friday with the whole Berg bunch! We can't wait! Have a good week!

♥ The Lokkens ♥

Reuniting with oldies but goodies!

2011-07-31T21:30:00.000-05:00

A post a little different than the rest...I didn't take ANY pictures of the kids this week! I was soooo busy at work, we had our annual fundraiser Wednesday night and I worked late on Tuesday.

Grandma & Grandpa Berg had the girls all weekend because it was my 20th class reunion. Can you believe it? I did do a little shopping to try and make myself look 20 years younger....but I guess the stores were fresh out of that! However, I think the rest of my class missed out as well;) I had a great time both Friday and Saturday reminiscing and catching up with old friend. It was a little disappointing that a lot of people did not show up (yes you know who you are) but had fun with those who did. Unfortunately a sick classmate died the day of the reunion. It was announced at dinner and was a sad, but I am sure she was watching from above. The weekend was long, but fun and I definitely can not handle 2 nights out in a row like I did 20 years ago! Here is a few pictures from Friday and Saturday. I think even Cal had fun, after all he slept until noon today while I cleaned the house. (Who's reunion was it anyways?) Well we can do it all over again next year for his 20 year!

Have a great week!

Love, The Lokkens

Photo Booth Fun...

We like it HOT!

2011-07-24T22:21:00.001-05:00

Heat, heat, heat...we here at the Lokken house love it! Well that is until a quick wind storm came Tuesday night and knocked down a tree that knocked down a power line that knocked out the power for 12 hours! Well we survived with everything closed up. The next morning, still no power so instead of watching cartoons the girls watched traffic out the front door!

The tree was still laying in the road the next morning too, even after they sawed, and sawed and sawed all NIGHT long.

On Thursday we finally finished the 2nd round of swimming lessons!

Yeah so happy to be done for the year!

Cambree and Makyah are both very strong swimmers and amaze me with their swimming bravery and skills! They both love to swim so much. We are very proud of them!

On Friday afternoon the girls got out the kool-aid stand and set it up at the end of the driveway. They had one biker stop who paid a $1 for a cup and them, Mom, Dad, Kyah and Cams all took turns buying a cup for a quarter each. That made $2 total profit...well kind of:) At least they had fun!

On Saturday we went to Cal's company picnic in Menomonie in Wakanda Park.

(Cambree took a shot of herself!)

They had 3 giant inflatables for the kids, and all sorts of school supplies they could pick from.

We had a team scavenger hunt where we had to find things in the park and take a picture.

Here Cambree is at one of the objects.

Makyah taking a break looking at the next object on the list.

Cambree manipulating her dad into carrying her because she was tired!

(Whats new?)

Then we got to go swim at the Wakanda Pool and make sand art!

Kyah going down the slide!

Relaxing in the sun.

Thanks Fairmont Minerals we had a fun day!

On Sunday we drove over to Woodbury to celebrate cousin Cody's 4th Birthday.

Spiderman was the theme!

Everyone even got a ride on his cool john deer.

Happy 4th Birthday Cody!

Well we are off to another busy week! Let the hot days continue!

Love, The Lokkens

Fair time!

2011-07-18T08:01:00.001-05:00

Well the Lokkens are continuing to have a fun summer. Cambree too is now officially 6 as of Monday. My baby girl was born 6 years ago at 7:05pm. She weighed 9 pounds 4 ounces and was 21 inches long. All I remember is she came, "FAST". We are so lucky to have her in our lives:)

For her Birthday on Monday I took the day off and we started with...

Birthday toast.

Followed by a day at the Fairfax pool. Her choice of supper...

one more small gift,

and of course a cupcake to end the day:)

Carolyn took the girls for a treat and Cambree's obsession for the week was... Knuffle bunny!

The girls also started a new session of swimming lessons. One week down, one to go!

On Friday, it was a rainy day so the girls and I went to Chaos water park with the Gallaghers. It was a great day and for the first hour there were less than 10 people swimming.

On Saturday, Cal had to work and the girls and I hung around home. I went outside to see what they were up to and I could hear them but I couldn't see them..only to find they were...

in the tree! Hmm I didn't know dad aloud them to do that!

Saturday night we went to a double 40th birthday party and the girls stayed over night with Paisley at G & G Bergs. They had fun and so did we, it was nice to see old friends and catch up!

On Sunday as crazy as it sounds, we went to Valley Fair. 95 degrees and sunny! Good thing they had a water park because that is where we spent most of our time!

The girl rode all the rides and Cambree was just tall enough to ride the adult roller coasters as well. It really was a great day to go, we didn't wait for more than 5 minutes to get on the rides, and the kids rides we walked up to and got right on!

Cambree driving the old fashion cars!

KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE WHEEL!

Thank goodness she is only 6 and not 16!

It was a perfect ending to a perfect week! Hello hot, we love summer's in Wisconsin!

Have a great week! Love, The Lokkens

6 Years Young!

2011-07-11T09:02:00.000-05:00

Well T-ball has been over for 2 weeks, but we finally got our pictures. How can you look any cuter with a pink glove. Future MVP!

Cambree's first session of swimming lessons ended on Thursday. She was way too advanced for the class but because of only being 5, she had to be in the Dolphin class. Of course she passed and she still loved swimming everyday. She did so well that she gets to skip to levels of the red cross 6 years and up classes. What does this mean...starting today (the day she turns 6) she will be in level 3 red cross with...Makyah! Makyah handled it well, and they will both be starting together tonight! At least we can get 2 done at one time:)

Her certificate!

Makyah also had her last day of Golf on Friday. She really enjoyed it and of course loved getting her free Princeton ball at the end.

Grandpa has had his boat at our dock since the 4th of July, and Friday afternoon we finally got to take it out for some tubing!

Ready, set...

GO!

We even stopped at the island for some fun in the sand, or should I say "goose poop"!

On Sunday Ms. Everleigh Calla was baptized. Man was it hot in the church with 5 kids climbing all over us, but of course it was worth it!

The Lokkens snuck in a family picture, which we seem to do at every baptism. Good thing we have had a lot of them;)

Last but not least, Cambree Faye turns 6 years old today! I can not believe she is another year older, where does time go? She has brought us so much joy and laughter! The things we love about her, is she is...

funny, smart, creative, cute, silly and always keeps us on our toes.

Happy Birthday my Cambree, we couldn't imagine life without you!

Have a great week! Love, The Lokkens

Boating, Swimming and Celebrations...Oh My!

2011-07-05T18:05:00.000-05:00

The summer is half over, and the Lokkens are staying as busy as ever. This week Cambree started her first session of swimming lessons. She loves going and as soon as I get home, she is already asking when they start.

This is her nervous look...I think she new I was watching:)

On Friday we had a "play date" with the Grants, which turned into beach, boat and getting home at 9pm! It was lots of fun and refreshing on such a hot day. It definitely felt like summer had arrived!

Cal joined us after work to hang with Charlie! The boys did a good job watching the boat;)

On Saturday we were on the go again and headed up to Lake Holcomb to stay overnight with friends at their camper. The girls were happy to be swimming all day again!

Jumping off the the raft!

Cambree helped Stuart drive the boat as well!

The girls stayed in the camper in the bunk beds, they were sooooo excited and Makyah said we defiantly need to get one!

Thanks Jill and Stuart we had lots of fun!

On Monday we celebrated both Cambree's Birthday (which is on the 11th) and the 4th of July with family and friends.

The day started out with the neighborhood bike parade. Cousins Payton and Cody joined us for a few laps!

Grandpa brought his boat down and everyone practiced their fishing cast. Only one tree was caught!

The pontoon parade started at noon and all the kids went down to wave and watch. Makyah even caught a candy toss!

Cambree opened gifts and got lots of good stuff!

Sponge bob was her choice of a theme!

She got a special gift from us...a new electric scooter! It was so much fun and I even meet the weight requirements:)

Here she comes cruising in...and yes she has PJ's on...she is strange but we love her for it!

Baby Everleigh woke up for a few minutes during the day.

At dusk we got out the sparklers and fireworks.

Cambree got a prime seat sitting on Uncle Seth!

I love Cambree's face when the loud fireworks went off!

Happy 4th of July from the Lokkens!

The one that didn't get away!

2011-06-27T07:30:00.000-05:00

I can not believe we are already towards the end of June. We have been busy as usual. Grandpa Dick usually comes over for dinner several times a week, I found this picture on Cambree's camera and thought it was cute. She also had pictures of shows on the TV and every toy she owns...delete:)

Well the movie, "Cars 2" came out on Friday, and the girls could not wait to see it, so after Cal got home we caught the matinee! It was cute, I think I liked it more than Cambree. It was themed kind of like a James Bond type movie. The movie theatre had painted windows, so we snapped a few photos outside...

Cambree also had a few self portraits on her camera of both her and Makyah. I thought these 2 were actually kind of cute...

The first picture they look like twins:)

On Friday Cambree played her last game of T-ball. She had a great season and seemed to enjoy it more and more as it went along. Her last game she actually made two outs. Here she is with her new medal..."Future MVP"! Next year she will play coach pitch!

On Saturday morning mom and I took the girls and Paisley down to the farmers market. Cambree though it was so boring and told me the only reason she came was because Paisley came...then she saw the donut stand:)

Enjoying cookies and donuts down by the river!

On Saturday afternoon we headed over to Hudson to celebrate a friends 40th Birthday. The girls had so much fun on the jumping obstacle course and ride on toys. They only checked in with us twice...once to eat and the other to have cake. Makyah hung with the older girls and was actually mad when we left at 10pm because she wanted to stay!

Happy Birthday EJ!

On Sunday the girls and Cal went fishing with Grandpa. It was Makyah's second time and Cambree's first time fishing. They were so excited to go! Paisley joined them along with the Swan grand kids, Riley and Camden.

Makyah told me she caught two big fish. This is the picture I found...wow she was right, they were huge;)

Cambree's was just as big!

The best one of all, was the one below with the whole crew...the one that didn't get away;)

After fishing they went down to Carson Park for a train ride.

The twins joined them!

Thanks Grandpa!

It was a great end to a great weekend...I even think it might be warming up! Keep your fingers crossed! Have a great week! Love, The Lokkens

Births, Birthdays & Celebrating Dads!

2011-06-19T23:51:00.000-05:00

Well it was official kick off to Summer this week at the Lokkens. Aunt Carolyn started coming to watch the girls. It is so nice to just be able to get up and go to work without dressing and feeding the girls. We are very lucky to have her. The week already brought fun adventures as the girls hit all the museums and the pool! Monday was also my Grandma Marian's Birthday! Happy 92nd Birthday Gram, we love you!

Cambree has been asking the funniest things this week. Asking about how babies get in and out, wondering who invented clothes and why we can't all just be naked all the time, and wants to know why they put "pital" in the word hospital?! That's our Cambree, you gotta love her!

Game fun at the Paul Bunyan Museum!

Fun playing outside too. Here they are posing by this big purple flowering bush in the backyard!

On Friday morning we got a call from Uncle Craig, that Brook was in labor, so we waited... and waited... and waited. Meanwhile Makyah had her first day of Golf at Princeton.

Friday night Brook did finally have their baby via emergency c-section. You know the Bergs, they can be stubborn! So the next morning before going to visit...Cambree had a t-ball game we had to attend. Cal was at an all day golf tournament, so it was just the Lokken girls. Cambree's team was missing lots of kids (there was only 5 playing) so she got a lot of hitting action!

And then we finally got to meet her...Everleigh Calla Berg. She was perfect!

The girls were both eager to see and hold her...

and so was I!

Auntie Brook looked great as always! Congrats Bergs, your house just got a whole lot busier!

When Cal was gone at the tournament, the girls and I decided to make him a guitar birthday cake. They also blew up balloons and tuned off all the lights to surprise him when he got home. We celebrated a little early...but oh-well! Cambree could not believe that I knew how to bake a cake, and she kept asking me if Cal knew if I could bake or not! I guess these girls do not see me cook enough. (I mean Betty Crocker taught me everything I know:)

Surprise! Happy 37th Birthday Cal!

Ok...so it was a short stemmed guitar!

We celebrated Father's Day on Sunday by going to Breakfast at Perkins! (Yes everyone else had the same idea!) The girls had made a few things in school that they also gave Cal.

On Sunday the neighbor told us that a snapping turtle was laying eggs in his yard, so of course we had to go and check it out. I guess in 80 days we will look to see if the babies hatched!

Summer weather brings more swimming at our house. The girls blew up their new air mats and had lots of fun trying them out!

The view from the deck...this is the life!

Well that sums up the week. We are so excited to have a bigger family with the new addition. We are also thankful for the dads in our lives. To my Dad Mike, you are the best role model a girl could have. To Cal's Dad Dick, we enjoy having you over for dinner. To our Caleb, how did we get so lucky... you are the best dad ever! We love you all! Love, The Lokkens

Sleeping With The Bears...Again!

2011-06-14T07:32:00.000-05:00

Remember the first day of school? It is hard to believe that I now have a 1st grader and a 3rd grader...where did my babies go? School ended on Thursday and the girls were so excited! The picture below was from the first day. Visit both of their pages by clicking their tabs at the top of this page. We added all kinds of pictures that their teachers took this year, and some special memory books that the girls made!

Since school was out why not go camping? Um maybe because it was cold and rainy, no that doesn't stop the Lokkens, so we were off to Jellystone to camp with friends!

Setting up camp before it rained!

Playing with the bears.

Makyah could not wait to get her hair braided again! This time she didn't even cry!

We went camping with friends this year and it was so fun for the kids. The Gallaghers and Winters came along for the fun. The kids even swam, despite the cold. Oh yeah but they also had a hot tub!

Cambree and Reese in the hot tub.

Cal and Kyah are hot tubbing it too!

Not Steve and Jerry they are spectators.

Playing on the water park side.

Reese and Cambree wandering what is wrong with the water!

Since it was cool, on Saturday we went in town to Knuckleheads arcade for a few hours. The kids had fun, we warmed up and had a bite to eat.

When we got back we did a little mini golfing with the Ranger.

We also took a glow "Hey" ride around the park, and yelled, "Hey" to all the campers. This is the way this ride works because there is no real hay!

Playing in the tent!

Saying goodbye to the bears. Cambree agreed with Boo Boo, Jellystone is number 1!

On Sunday we packed up and stopped in town to swim a bit at Mt. Olympus because we had some free tickets. Notice there is not any photos because we were not there long! It may have been sunny but it wasn't warm, so we swim in the indoor water park and then headed to the outlet mall on the way home.

Sunday was also Cal and my 12th anniversary! Since we dated for an additional 8, we have been together 20 years! It is hard to believe that we have been together over half of our lives. He takes such good care of me and the kids, I am so very lucky! I ♥ U Caleb! ( I also added some pictures under our tab at the top, looking back over 20 years!)

It was a great weekend and super fun to hang with friends. On Friday when I was sitting by the fire with an umbrella and a space heater on my lap, I wasn't so sure it would be fun, but how can you not when you are with friends and sleeping with the bears!

Have a great week, don't forget to visit our pages before you leave!

Love, The Lokkens

Just One More Day!

2011-06-13T07:10:00.000-05:00

Yes we have a lot to say, but with school ending and just coming back from camping, not enough time! We need one more day to upload are bazillion pictures! Check back tomorrow! Below is a sneak peak!

Love, The Lokkens

Yep I'm Getting Closer to the Top!

2011-06-06T07:39:00.000-05:00

What a great week with great weather! The Lokkens could definitely get use to this! The week brought T-ball and more swimming. Cambree has been swimming every night in the river, even when it wasn't warm enough. I think she wishes she was a fish.

Makyah joined her a few times, but she is smart enough to stay out when it is cool out!

Cambree has been practicing her "cannon balls" as she calls them, and she always has to have her nose plugged!

This week at school Cambree went to Beaver Creek for a field trip. She said her favorite part was holding the snake. Why does this not surprise me! On Friday night we went to a co-workers daughters graduation party. Congrats Carly! On Saturday it was my birthday:( Not as fun as they use to be, I mean that hill is looking pretty close! However I still feel 28 (well except when I cross my legs for too long, and can't walk when I get up)! In the morning Cambree had another T-ball game and then we headed over to Lake Holcombe to spend the day with Jill and Stuart at their Campground. We hung out on the boat...

and did some swimming, of course!

We saw this eagle and huge nest on the boat trip!

They had an old school playground that the girls loved! They had never been on a see saw before.

They also had this old mary-go-round that you held onto while 2 people could pump in by pushing and pulling. We all got on it while Cal and Stuart pumped and we got it going pretty fast. We all almost puked! Here is a picture while we were spinning!

Here is the guys try to pump with a drink in hand.

Back at the campground we roasted some giant marshmallows. It was a great day to relax and spend my birthday with family and friends!

On Sunday we had supper at G & G Bergs. The kids ran through the sprinkler!

I also finally got a birthday cake! Thanks Mom!

Well it was a great week with a perfect end. Only 4 more days of school for the girls, they can hardly wait. Next weekend we are off camping...Summer here we come! Have a great week! Love, The Lokkens

Let Summer Begin!

2011-05-30T21:53:00.000-05:00

As the days went by this week, it felt more and more like Summer was really coming after all! We enjoyed the long weekend by biking all the way to Grandma & Grandpa Bergs. It is about 4 miles from our house, however their is a HUGE hill to go up:( We made it with a short pit stop at St. Olafs Park. On Friday, Sunday and Monday, Cal was helping Grandpa Mike put in a sprinkler system, and as things go for us, it took longer than expected! (Yep still not done.)

Swinging at the park!

Taking a water break!

Climbing the monkey bars.

Back on the bikes!

Cambree was playing with the camera, and took her own self portrait!

We also got the dock in this weekend! Yeah, now to get the boat running!

We picked out our flowers and planted them right away! That evening the river was in picture perfect condition!

Cal did most of the work of course, because he is so picky that he gets the tape measure out!

We planted our very first garden! It is not huge but the girls were pretty excited to do it. They have checked every day to see if anything is growing yet! We planted strawberries, tomatoes, carrots, green onions, cucumbers, beans and radishes! Deer, deer, stay away!

The girls also put a few left over beans in pots and told me they had mini gardens. They mixed seeds, so it will be interesting if something grows!

On Sunday night Cambree convinced us to go see the new Pirates movie at the drive in theatre! I wasn't sure if the movie was right for the girls, but we all ended up enjoying it and it was fun to wind down after a busy day. All I have to say is the mermaids are weired!

Relaxing with daddy!

Mommy too!

Cambree insisted on this picture!

On Monday we celebrated Memorial Day by first going to the parade!

It was fun for the whole family!

Our yearly picture!

Getting candy, the best part of course! It is funny because we save the candy and the girls forget about if by the time we get home and we end up throwing it. It sure is fun to chase out into the street for though!

Cousin Love!

It was a HOT day and I loved it! The girls of course thought they would try out the river! BRRRRRR, it is still a bit cold! That doesn't stop Cambree though, she had to be pulled out to thaw, or she would stay in all day!

We also had family over for supper!

Smores for dessert over the grill!

What a perfect day with great food, family and the best reason of all...SUMMER! We can't wait for more! Have a great week! Love, The Lokkens

Having a "Ball"!

2011-05-22T21:17:00.000-05:00

Finally the rain has stopped and T-ball has begun! Cambree now looks forward to her games since she has gotten passed worrying that she will do something wrong! She had some great hits and it is fun to sit and watch the kids learn the rules of t-ball. She has had a lot of fans too with... Brookie, Craig, Carolyn, Grandpa Dick, Grandma Bonnie, Grandpa Mike, Madden, Hudson, Paisley, Makyah and Mom watching! Thanks everyone for coming to her games, she loves the attention!

Yes I posted a lot of pictures of her, but she hasn't had the spotlight lately, so here is her turn...

The hit...

the run...

getting to first base in the nick of time...

and coming into home! Every time she crosses home plate, she stands to wait for her coach to give her a high five!

Watch the video clip to see her hit in action!

Playing the field (pitcher has to wear a helmet, since all the balls only go about that far:)

How can you get much cuter then this;)

Makyah watching from the stands while she weaves dandelions for her hair!

Shaking hands after the game!

That was fun mom!

Cal has been helping out coaching and enjoying it as much as Cambree!

So tired on the way home she zonks right out!

On Wednesday the girls were allowed to wear a hat at school if they brought a dollar for a sick 5th grader who is going through Chemo. The money Sam Davey collected was a surprise for his family who has been traveling a lot to the cities!

Makyah went stylish, while Cams went sporty (of course)!

Get well Mason!

Cambree also tie-dyed a t-shirt at school on Wednesday and then wore her creation to school on Friday! She was very excited to tell me she used only her favorite colors (blue, green and purple) while most kids picked all the colors!

Makyah has been Ms Popular lately getting invited to lots of B-day parties. Saturday she had 2 parties at the same place, so she just popped into both at Skate America

Happy Birthday Emma!

Happy Birthday Jessie!

Saturday afternoon while the beautiful sun was out Cal helped Grandpa Dick do some brush burning and the girls were fooling around jumping of the deck! What a beautiful day! We celebrated with Pizza Del Ray with Grandpa outside!

On Sunday Makyah had one more birthday party at the Chippewa Falls Renaissance Festival. They were to dress up like fairies in order to attend. They got to be in a parade, visited fairies, watched a joust, played games, and learned all about the trolls, kings ,queens and everything in between in the medieval days!

Happy Birthday Dara, it was a fun party!

Sunday evening we ate at G&G Bergs and it was a perfect ending to a great weekend! Thanks for checking in! Have a great week!

Love, The Lokkens

"Thats a Wrap"

2011-05-15T22:46:00.001-05:00

What a crazy week! Between practices for piano, dance, t-ball, working concessions, setting up thrift sale T-ball games, pictures, runnng the thrift sale, taking down the thrift sale and Makyah's dance finale, I can't believe we survived! We did though, and all the hard work paid off. Thursday and Friday we had our annual thrift sale at the Bergs. We had soooo much stuff and soooo many people came that if felt like I ran a marathon! However it was very successful and I can already see a vacation in the future from all the profit...or maybe paying off bills:(

Here are a few pics of the start of the sale!

Cambree did not know how many things of hers were actually in the sale...but how could you hide all of these animals from her? I guess she jumped in to say her goodbyes!

Makyah had her big dance finale for Danze Kraze on Saturday, and she did so good! She was even chosen to perform a duet with a friend. I was a very proud mom to see how far she has come and her love for dancing and performing! It is so much fun to live your childhood all over through your children.

Here they are waiting for their turn!

Here they are performing in dress rehearsal! They did great, especially for the fact that they only had a few weeks to make the routine! (Thanks for your help Brookie)

She also performed with her team in pom...

and funk! (My favorite!)

Lots of friends and family came to watch, like her friends Shelby and Kate, and her Cousin Paisley, Aunt Brookie and Carolyn and Grandma Bonnie! Thanks for coming, it meant a lot to Makyah!

Her sister managed to see her last dance along with Dad, since T-ball ended up getting cancelled!

Her duet partner, Allyson!

Her dance teacher, Alicia!

Cambree has started T-ball. I have yet to see a game, as I had to work concessions the first game! Here she is in her new outfit! Looking this cute, she is bound to be a star!

Well that ended our weekend. Thrift sale and dance a wrap...lots more T-ball to come! Stay tunned and have a great week! Love, The Lokkens

A Mother's Joy!

2011-05-08T21:33:00.002-05:00

It was a week of celebrating. Celebrating Spring..I think, Celebrating Teachers, and Celebrating Moms!

It was Teacher's appreciation week and the girls and I put together fun things for their teachers. We sent s'more kits, movie kits, and survival kits. We really appreciate all the hard work and great teaching that we have experienced this year at Sam Davey! Thanks Mrs. Finder and Mrs. Dummer!

Friday night Makyah had a sleepover. Cal, Cambree and I cleaned out the garage to get rid of more junk for the thrift sale! Cambree, unknown to us, set up a stand at the end of driveway with some rocks. Next thing I know I hear her talking to someone and go to find out a lady stopped in her car to buy a rock from her stand. She paid Cambree one dollar for a dirty rock! It was so cute, and Cambree said," wow I have never had anyone give me a dollar for a rock before!" Little does she know she probably never will again!

On Saturday and hour after getting home Makyah was off to play at another friends house. Cambree was feeling a little down so we called Paisley to come over and play. Cambree had it in her mind that she wanted to do the slip and slide (I mean it was a heat wave,right?) Paisley wasn't dumb she barely went in, but cold doesn't stop Cams, she went in, and in , and in again!

On Saturday night we had a bon-fire with friends. Thanks Gallaghers for having us over! It really does feel like spring!

The adults had fun.

The kids had a lot of fun too!

Sunday was Mothers Day! How grateful I am to be the mother to these two beautiful, kind and caring girls!
I got flowers...

fun notes...

home made cards with coupons in them...

and a "mom" magnet!

Sunday dinner we had the whole family over for mothers day. Thanks Cal for cooking!

My Family...I love you mom and grandma!

Cal's Aunt... who is like a mother to us! We love you Carolyn!

It was a great end to a great week! Thank god for family, good food, friends and SPRING weather! Have a great week! Love, The Lokkens