Johnson News

Huge Holiday Post

2012-01-09T13:29:00.003-06:00

We stayed at home and hosted Thanksgiving this year.

Samuel had his holiday concert and then we went to Arizona for Christmas!

Daniel is prepping the bird.

The recipe online said that turkeys cook in half the time when you brine them.

I didn't believe it and kept it cooking. Poor Turkey was a little charred, but still tasted good!

We invited the Elders and some good friends over. There was soo much food! Thanks to Katie for the delicious pie too!

(I used paper and plastic-ware this year, was totally worth it.)

We ate Thanksgiving dinner over and over for about a week.

I love leftovers, but after a week, we were ready to be done. :)

Relaxing after dinner, waiting for pie.

This is our version of an advent calendar to start Christmas off right.

The kids loved it.

Samuel got the tree out and was excited to decorate.

Sophie tried to eat some of the ornaments.

This is the fun we had at Samuel's Holiday Concert.

We sit way up in the rafters so the noise from the kids won't bother anyone.

We had a great time listening, singing along and dancing a little to the music.

Our efforts at a group picture.

Sophie checking out the program

Ethan is growing up so fast.

Ethan always asks for stories and Daniel is so patient and is great at coming up with fun stuff on a moment's notice. He's telling him a story while the next band comes on.

Sneaky face

Samuel and his friend from band

Samuel up close!

Here's the church christmas party with Santa.

Ethan was too shy to ask Santa for what he wanted. I told him I would go with him, but when I looked up Santa was leaving. So Ethan and I ran after him, hand in hand, and caught him just before he left. Ethan whispered what he wanted for Christmas, and that he was a good boy most of the time. Mission completed.

I remember running around the gym at church parties when I was young,

and it's fun to see my own kids running around with their friends.

Sophie loves playing chase

Christmas at Grandma's

Nap #1

I really envy people who can sleep anywhere.

Ethan did great with the activity bag I prepared.

I'm loving Pinterest's ideas.

Daniel took over driving in the wee hours of the morning when I just couldn't stay awake,

and got us safely to grandma's house.

He's such a stud.

Nap #2.

We used the hat to block out the passing car lights.

Worked like a charm.

He finally conked out!

Next time we are bringing more blankets in the car.

Samuel was so desperate he stole Sophie's, which used to be Ethan's.

We arrived!!

Ethan playing golf with Papa.

Nap #3

It finally caught up with him after a few hours of playing.

Daniel brought him inside, but Ethan didn't even wake up.

Christmas morning!

We opened our stockings and one present before church.

Zebra!!

Still a little groggy.

We got home from church and opened presents right away.

Ethan helping Sophie

His face is red from jumping up and down right before the picture.

"It's what I always wanted!!"

I put together Sophie's tricycle.

Daniel had to take a picture cuz I got so into it.

Sophie loved it.

It makes noises and flashes lights.

After presents we went to Grandma Marjie's house to talk to Uncle Nathan on Skype.

Hi Uncle Nathan!

Ethan showed him his Christmas present.

Ethan asked over and over again for more "Arnold Piggie stories," which are Papa Ed's specialty,

and papa happily obliged.

We played lots of games at grandma's house.

On our way to the Zoo!!

They had camels to ride!

And lots of statues to climb on.

We had lunch

If samuel was a turtle he'd look like this.

Ethan rubbed his bum after this pictures from all the bumps.

Samuel made a new friend.

These Elephant statues were life-sized!

Samuel climbed all the way on top!

Aunt Kris came over that night.

Sophie got a stroller and crib for her baby for Christmas, and loved playing with them!

Thanks Grandma!

Singing with Grandma

We all sang carols together.

At the Park!!

Swinging with Papa - she makes awesome faces!

Big guy in a little slide

Ethan loves playing in the sand.

Papa Ed and Sophie

She loved the park! "Squeeeeel!"

Watching the other kids playing

"Let me out!"

Going down the slide.

"weeeeeeee"

Walking home

With all the fun, we had some down-time too.

Thanks to my friend Dani for the christmas book. It was a lot of fun!

We played Settlers of Catan a bunch of times after the little ones went to bed.

Loved it!

Ethan got his first Legos set for Christmas.

I wasn't sure if he was old enough to get into them, but I was wrong.

When the house was too quiet I would go looking for him and find him like this.

Thanks grandma!!

Lot's of building.

We got ready to play tennis with Papa

Eating Sushi with Papa

Gingerbread trains!

Sophie's first time. It was a lot like Ethan's first time, she basically just ate the candy.

She got really scared of the sticky green frosting.

She tried to give it back to Daniel.

One of the finished products.

Kisses goodnight.

wrestling with Papa

Tickle monster!

Daniel and I officially adopted Samuel in October, 2011 and we were planning on getting sealed in the San Antonio temple in March. But we saw an opportunity to do it while we were in Arizona in order to have more family at the sealing. So we called our wonderful bishop who made a few calls for us and we were able to be sealed on Saturday morning, December 31, 2011.

Daniel and the kids played Who's Who on the drive there.

Sunrise as we were driving.

So excited!

While we were in Arizona we met some wonderful people, the Edwards family. They were able to come to the temple for the sealing, along with Grandma and Papa Ed, Aunt Kris and Grandma Marjie. I'm really glad we did it in Mesa because the temple there has more facilities to help the kids. They have a youth room with toys and things to keep them occupied. It went very smoothly.

Ethan is our stubborn child and wouldn't stay still for the pictures.

I'm hoping it's just a phase.

Grandma and Sophie outside the temple.

Anyone who knows me, knows I really like fireworks. The sparkly lights and making things explode, it's just fun. So we went out back to celebrate the new year.

Sophie was a little scared but other than that we all had a great time!

She's a cuddler

One of my favorites.

Sophie LOVED playing the piano with Aunt Kris.

Clapping afterwards.

She was so content and played very nicely.

I think we might have another pianist in the family. :)

Aunt Kris brought her bells and we played Christmas songs.

First day of driving back home.

Second day of driving home, after staying at a hotel in Las Cruces, where Samuel left his duffle bag with all his clothes in it. We have called them and hopefully they will send it back to us like they said they would.

Ice Cream stop.

About ready to crash towards the end of the evening.

We got home around 10pm and it took a few days to recover, but we LOVE going to Grandma's house!

Ethan was asking to go back almost as soon as we left. :)

Daniel and I also celebrated our 5 year anniversary while we were in Arizona. We put the kids to bed then went to dinner at Fogo de Chao, (after helping an old lady put her groceries in her car across the parking lot at Walgreens), then we got some anniversary gifts - two pairs of Chaco's, and finished the night off with a late movie.

It feels like a big mile-stone for me to be married for 5 years. My family moved around a bit during my younger years, from Alaska to Montana, to Idaho, and back to Alaska, and then when I reached middle school it seemed like my life was divided into short segments of time:

3 years of middle school

4 years of high school

took me 5 years to complete college

Now that I've passed that 5 year mark in my marriage, it feels like what it should be, a life-long and eternal commitment, not just another segment of my life to complete. I'm so thrilled that I get to spend eternity with Daniel. We've reached 5 years and we still love each other, we still appreciate each other and love to be together. I love that he is my husband and the father of my children.

Our lives are still divided into segments:

this spring Daniel will finish his Master's in Elec. Engineering, and then we will hopefully begin 4 years of his PhD.

Within that 4-year time, Samuel will graduate high school and return home from his mission

I would like to do a Master's program part time within that 4 years as well.

And when that is complete we will be able to settle someplace more permanently, with good schools for the little ones, maybe buy a house with cash, Daniel will be done with school, and Samuel will be an adult and into college life.

Our long-term dream is to buy a bed and breakfast in Alaska and be there in the summers to run it as a family. Then we'll come back to the lower-48 each fall when Daniel will teach, and the kids will get back into school. That's our dream.

We'll see how it goes. Here's to another 5 years!!

Prince Ethan and Princess Sophia

2011-11-22T14:19:00.000-06:00

They got some crowns!

Ethan makes lots of silly faces these days

Princess Squishy Cheeks

Prince Crazy Face

Sophie saw us working on the car last week and she wanted to work too

She was at it for a while

We went to the park!

Ethan found some new friends

We ran around in the neighboring field too

It's hard living in the city sometimes.

As I child I would roam free and I came really close to nature as a result.

I worry about my kids not having that opportunity.

My Sophie girl

She's starting to climb.

My cutie.

Our Halloween

2011-11-21T13:50:00.000-06:00

Daniel was Frankenstein.

The night before the costume contest at work he asked me if I had any ideas.

We were able to come up with it all at home with stuff we had around.

The head piece was two milk carton bottoms put together with black duct tape.

We looked up a face paint recipe and made it our selves,

and we stuffed his suit. You can see from the clock that we finished at around 2am.

The next morning we put him all together again,

and Ethan woke up to Frankenstein Daddy

Then he drove to work, he said a lot of people were checking him out. :)

There were two contests in his building, one for his company, and one for the whole building.

He had a great time and they voted him the winner of both.

Last year he didn't dress up cuz Sophie was only a month old and everyone was disappointed.

I'm glad we are able to keep the tradition going.

Getting everyone ready to go to the ward trunk or treat

Ethan couldn't wear his mask so we made some more homemade face paint

I spiked Ethan's hair too.

Samuel was at a game that day and couldn't make it

The candy we brought didn't last very long

Frankenstein

Sophie getting into her candy

Samuel didn't start on his costume till Halloween day

And he decided to be a the shufflin robot from Party Rock song

Walkin the neighborhood

A lot of teenagers recognized what Samuel was

The little kids just thought he was a robot

It was fun to walk around as a family

Sophie was in her skeleton jammies

Ethan did most of the knocking this year, last year he was too shy

"Look what I got!"

Samuel

2011-11-21T08:44:00.001-06:00

Samuel has always liked cooking,(see here)

I can't believe how different he looks, he's growing up!

This particular day he wanted to make French Onion Soup

He even made the bread from scratch.

It was delicious!

Adoption

2011-11-20T16:58:00.000-06:00

These pictures are so casual, even though it's a big day in our lives.

It's the day we officially adopted a teenager!

We were on the phone with a judge in Alaska...

The judge told us to raise our right hand

we looked kinda silly so Samuel took a picture

Daniel took off work

We all celebrated at Samuel's favorite restaurant, HuHot

And some Marble Slab!

We love having Samuel with us

I can't imagine our lives without him.

New Bike

2011-11-20T12:01:00.000-06:00

So I ran over Ethan's tricycle with the car the other day.

I guess every parent has that one experience that forever causes them to check behind the car before they pull out of the driveway. I've officially had mine.

Ethan loved that thing so we went and got him a new, big-boy bike.

He couldn't wait to put it together the next morning...

So we all got up early to try it out

It's a little harder to get going, but he loved it.

Showing it off to Daddy and Baby Sophie

Saturdays

2011-11-20T11:55:00.000-06:00

Saturdays are special days,

it's the day that Daddy is home from work!

With Daniel taking Masters' classes and working full-time the kids don't see him as much during the week.

Sundays are usually a day of service for us,

So we like to devote Saturdays to Family Fun

Samuel was on a camp out this weekend so we decided to do "little kid" stuff.

We had lunch at Jim's

Sophie was having a great day, lots of smiles.

Fun fact: Both Ethan and Daniel are left-handed, so whenever we go out to eat they sit on my left so we don't bump elbows.

There have been a few date nights when Daniel and I have forgotten and we end up moving cuz it's hard to eat when you're constantly in each others' way.

It makes it fun to sit in conference cuz we can hold hands and both take notes at the same time. :)

Sophie's laugh

Walking to the Zoo

Kid in-door play area

Sophie carried this fake bread around the whole time, trying to eat it.

I thought it best to sanitize it before and after she had it.

Ethan at the register

Sophie runs away from us to play and pretty much like clockwork will come running back to us,

slam into our chests for a hug, sit for a while,

then get up and run away again.

Watching the kids play

On the train!

Sophie's first time, Ethan was there to help her through

Back seat for us

We went through the tunnel where all the kids scream.

Ethan loves it,

Sophie got freaked out and sat in the back with us.

She can hold her own!

2011-11-19T10:42:00.000-06:00

If anyone has seen my son you know he is not a light-weight.

He's tall, he's big, and he's not afraid to get physical.

Most smaller kids shy away from him, much less take him on full force,

but not Sophie

That girl can take him down!

"grrrrrrrr"

September Fun

2011-11-19T10:35:00.000-06:00

My Sophie and me the morning of my birthday.

Happy 29th to me.

People say she looks a lot like me

In September I started teaching Ethan a bit of preschool with his friend from church.

They are going through the alphabet and have learned how to write their names.

I drove up to Abilene to take my sister out to dinner for her birthday.

My cousin came up from Laredo

Here is her son Ryan whose birthday is close to Sophia's

I don't know what Sophie is up to here, but she couldn't keep her hands off him.

I don't blame her, he's a cutie. :)

Cousin playtime

Ryan came up for surgery and was a little drowsy when we had cupcakes

Sophie's all over it

frosting face :)

My Ethan

2011-09-19T01:12:00.001-05:00

Ethan has been growing up so fast. He's 3 1/2 but is wearing size 6/7 clothes.

We got him a new big boy bed with a slide on it.

He loves Super Hero Squad and pretends to be a different character every day

He knows his ABC's and numbers 1-10

He plays PBSkids.org and Nickjr

He's fully potty trained now

He can dress himself except for shirts frustrate him sometimes

so he'd rather just be naked

He tries to sneak things but when you ask him what he's doing he'll tell you

He loves to play in the mud and ride his tricycle

He used to have nightmares but I put pictures of Christ and church stories up on his wall by his bed and now he uses the flashlight at night to look at the pictures and feel better.

He doesn't take naps anymore but every now and then he comes and sits on my lap and wants to cuddle

I cherish every time he wants to hug and be close

And he still uses his pink blankie. :)

Love you my son

I didn't want to let him go

But eventually my arm fell asleep and I put him in bed.

Here's his Halloween costume, complete with built-in muscles

He's been sleeping in it every night since we got it.

I think it's going to be a big hit

Marching Season

2011-09-19T00:59:00.001-05:00

Samuel is in his Sophomore year and is loving it.

The band teacher asked him to play the tenor sax this year,

so he now plays clarinet, saxophone and is working on the piano.

Clark High School football games

This is Samuel's life every weekend till November

Getting ready to take the field

Their show is called Nautilus and the marching is very intricate

and the music is dramatic, think big sound

He's in there somewhere

In the stands

With his friends

He's the third saxophone from the left

Standing in the middle, getting last minute instructions

He's on the right cheering for the team

Such a stud! We are so proud of him.

Sophie's Birthday

2011-09-19T00:32:00.002-05:00

Just woke up, so happy

Samuel had a leadership meeting at the stake center,

so we went to visit the temple while we waited for him.

My cuties.

I can't believe they're mine.

Squishing together

Playing in the backyard

Homemade Thor hammer and shield

Doing Sophie's hair

Birthday Girl

Just a family party.

Thanks for the gifts you sent Grandma Marcia!

waiting for her gifts

Ethan helping her un-wrap

Princess dolls and a little purse

Ethan picked out this little baby doll for her and it's her favorite.

She carries it with her everywhere and gives it kisses.

Dolls from Grandma Marcia

Cupcake time!

Vanilla with Cherry frosting and sprinkles

Yummy!

Happy Girl!

After all the sugar she crashed and slept for hours.

Then we met up with a photographer friend who offered to do her birthday photos.

This is the family picture we are going to use for Samuel's adoption coming up next month.

What a blessing you are to me

Already you are standing on your own

With each step you grow older

You are beautiful

You are strong

My birthday girl.

She's Walking!

2011-09-19T00:01:00.002-05:00

Sophie started walking while holding on to things at 10 months.

After much practice she was walking freestyle by her 11 month mark.

Getting some good practice in

She would get stuck when she came to a wall or obstacle.

She would just stand there like this waiting for someone to come and turn her around.

Ethan showing her how it's done

She loved the mobility

And there she goes!

Now we can barely keep up with her. :)

Day at the Beach

2011-09-18T23:50:00.000-05:00

One Saturday I felt the urge to go to the beach.

We hadn't been in over a year and I wanted to go before school started.

We all piled in the car and drove three hours to Mustang Island.

It was Sophie's first time.

Here she is eating some sand. :)

Samuel was without his electronics so was a little bored,

but boredom is the building blocks of ingenuity and creativity.

That's how it was when I was a kid.

Needless to say he had to use his imagination and self-entertain.

Such a good break from the electronic age we live in!

Ethan and I playing in the waves

Lots of sand castles!

Ethan probably swallowed gallons of salt water

The waves were crashing

Ethan liked getting knocked down by them,

but about gave me a heart attack every time he went down.

But we survived, with sand covering everything and sunburns we would feel for weeks!

Totally worth it.

Seeing Mom, and Heidi's Wedding

2011-09-18T23:37:00.002-05:00

My best friend, Heidi, got married this summer so I flew up to Utah to stay with my mom for a bit and bring her to the wedding with me.

Here's my mom's place, such a cute apartment.

At the time she was still a missionary in SLC but has since been released and is now serving a Service Mission in the same area.

I went to lunch with my mom and some of her friends from her mission.

They were hilarious ladies. :)

My mom is so cute!

Everything about her is so wonderful to me.

She's so genuine and wholesome.

We had a lot of fun together, I miss her a lot.

Waiting for "the tracks"

She lives a block away from this

We went walking at sunset, it was beautiful

We had a lot to get ready for Heidi's bridal shower

The gorgeous bride

The Shower was at Heidi's grandma's house, in the back yard.

Getting some "fun" gifts :)

The next morning we did hair and nails

At the wedding we saw old friends.

This is Casey, an old roommate, and her husband Peter.

Waiting for Heidi to come out of the temple after the sealing

Casey, Tiffany (and baby), and me. Apt 206!

Heidi and Ian arriving at the Luncheon

The first to eat, they were so hungry.

My mom and I had lots of long talks,

between running around getting things ready for the shower and wedding.

In high school I wasn't the most understanding daughter.

I'm happy to say I was never one of those girls that talked bad about their mother. I never screamed at her, called her names, or was disrespectful to her.

I was the debator. I challenged her alot and was relentless in testing her boundaries. She stuck to her guns and when I left home I started to understand how amazing and great she was.

She's such a strong lady.

Twenty years living in the Alaskan wilderness, the only white lady for hundreds of miles and a virtual single parent taking care of 4 kids.

I'm proud to say the my daughter is her namesake, Sophia Joyce

Mom took me to the spoken word before going to church, where Elder Oaks happened to be presiding. He shook my hand after sacrament meeting, it was awesome.

Samuel's Summer

2011-09-18T23:02:00.001-05:00

Samuel, our 15 year old nephew, had an awesome summer.

He did Youth Conference, EFY, and a High Adventure hike. All in two months.

Getting his pack ready for high adventure

The young men's group went up to Nevada I think for a 50 mile hike.

He grew up a lot this summer, he had fun with his friends and had some great experiences.

Band camp started the end of July and rolled right into the school year in late August.

He's looking forward to driving and dating next year. :)

"I Loved Her First"

2011-09-18T22:53:00.001-05:00

Squishy Face!

Love those cheeks!

Cutie

When she wants something she goes for it!

Someone gave her a sucker

Beginning to walk at 10 months

Daniel's Transformation

2011-09-18T22:44:00.000-05:00

At the end of June, Daniel heard about a "biggest loser" competition at work. He decided it was time to start trimming down so he signed up. He ended up being the only contestant from the San Antonio office, with other contestants spread out through the country.

Over 3 months he lost 50 lbs!

He did the usual stuff: biking to and from work, and basketball with the guys at lunch, but the biggest difference was in the way he ate. He limited himself to one portion of whatever we were eating for dinner and something simple for breakfast and lunch.

He won the contest and we are so proud of him!

He's so great at teaching and leading by example. Lots of people at his office were inspired and I was inspired too. I started my weight loss journey September 1st and have lost 15 lbs. so far. I weigh in on Thursdays. I plan to reach my goal weight by next summer.

Snuggling

2011-09-18T22:30:00.000-05:00

I love having a little girl!

Father's Day 2011

2011-09-18T22:18:00.001-05:00

This post is a bit late, but there's a funny story behind it. I got up that morning thinking of all the things I wanted to do for Daniel. He's such a wonderful dad! Ethan was sick so we stayed home from church and I used the time to make Daniel's favorite dinner and a very special dessert.

There were decorations, the table was set and my desert was cooling. They got home, we gave gifts and started eating. Out of curiosity I asked who spoke at church. They said one of the youth spoke on gratitude. "Gratitude for fathers?" I asked.

"No, just gratitude," they said.

"They didn't talk about fathers on Father's Day?"

"Guess not," they said smiling.

Apparently I was a WEEK EARLY for Father's Day. And the stinkers didn't call or tell me till after they had gotten the yummy dinner. Ah well. :)

We got Daniel a new watch for Father's Day

Ethan colored him a picture

I made him special chocolate lava cakes.

We Love Buzz

2011-06-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

Ethan and his best friend M like to exchange toys sometimes,

one day M let Ethan borrow BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!

This was a huge deal for Ethan so we took pictures to commemerate

So excited about it!

Such tenderness for a plastic toy. :)

"Take a picture of his face Momma!"

I was in my room and the house was quiet.

I went to the living room to see what was going on.

Imaginative play, I love it

Flying with Buzz

We call these "piggies" and love to tickle them

Needless to say it was a bit dramatic when Buzz had to go back home to M's house.

But we were happy to have him and might be getting one for Christmas!

Sophie's Funny Faces

2011-06-26T09:57:00.000-05:00

Sophie started crawling at 8 months old and is on the move most of the time.

One place she can't move away from the camera is in her high chair!

These are just some pictures to help us remember her expressions at this age.

Happy face: open mouth, kicking legs, flapping arms

She wants to get picked up

Mischevious face, she has something she doesn't usually get to have

Her legs are so chunky! :) They are so squishy!

And I want to remember how small she is in her high chair

She uses the back of her hand to push food into her mouth

Now she's just showing off her teeth, four with two more breaking through

Getting annoyed with the camera.

Made Some Bread

2011-06-26T09:36:00.000-05:00

I got a great recipe from my frien'ds blog:

http://www.trainermomma.com/2010/02/whole-wheat-bread-the-recipe/

So I thought I'd try it out

Just put them in the pans

It's kind of a process, after mixing and slamming it like my friend says to I was a bit tired

But the end result was worth it. Definitely keep it in the oven for the time it says, I took these two out a bit early and they were still a little doughy in the middle. D likes it like that so I just kept them out for him. It was delicious though, I recommend it to anyone.

Life According to Ethan

2011-06-26T03:35:00.001-05:00

Every now and then Ethan will use the camera and go on a little picture spree.

He goes around taking pictures of things that interest him.

Most are out of focus or there's a whole row of shots of the same thing, but there are a few that show his perspective and I like keeping them to remind myself what it's like through his eyes.

Daddy putting Sophie in her car seat for church on sunday

Capturing Daddy too!

Baby Sister is probably wondering what he's doing

He likes to take pictures of Sophie

He really likes tunnels and bridges, here is an overpass on the way to church

Here's another day, walking around the house

Daddy's close-up

Sophie's close-up

Ethan really loves watermelon

Here's the garage with all his toys

His lego tower

He loves his sister

Kipper is a favorite

And a morning picture of Momma! :)

It's fun to see what's important to him, and I'm glad I made the list!

Sometimes I wish I could give a camera to a Samuel

and send him out into the world to see how he see's things. :)

May The Force Be With You

2011-06-26T03:09:00.001-05:00

Papa Ed and Grandma Marcia went to Disneyland last year and got Ethan some Star Wars costumes. We thought we'd bust em out before Ethan got too big to fit them

Ethan loves Darth Vader now

Samuel tried on the Obi-wan costume, it even has a little side rat tail braid to clip to his hair

It even comes with light sabers and a little box in the vader mask that makes the breathing sounds.

Aside from the messy desk, this is D working on school stuff and wearing a child's robe while having a light saber fight with Vader.

He is the KING of multi-tasking.

He got soo into it

I went to check on him during his nap and along with him in his pink blanket

(yes his blankie is pink!)

this is what I found

At first I thought he was just pretending...

...but no, he's totally asleep and sleeping with a mask on.

Thanks Grandma and Papa!

Samuel's Show

2011-06-26T02:04:00.001-05:00

Samuel had his end of the year concert, it was very good.

Sophie loved the music

She was captivated each time the music started

There he is in the front row!

Going back to the band hall

With his friend Z, they look so great in their tuxs

Go Samuel!

Park Friends

2011-06-26T01:43:00.000-05:00

For the past 6 months Ethan and M have been best friends. When they first met they weren't sure about each other, I think there was some pushing involved, but M's mom and I started doing playdates twice a week and Ethan gained a best friend!

Unfortunately M and his family moved last week and it's been a hard week without them.

We love you guys!

They are so happy to get together at the park!

M's pretty mommy and baby brother

Sophie - binkie face

Eating lunch

The rest of the time they ran and chased and were too fast to take pictures of. ;)

Sleeping Baby

2011-06-26T01:18:00.001-05:00

This might seem rediculous to some, but I love to watch my babies sleep.

They are so peaceful and cute!

Sophie using the same crib Ethan used and Daniel too!

Thanks Papa Ed and Grandma Marcia!

She's so cuddly

Look at those cheeks! Love it!

She's a tummy sleeper, just like her Momma!

Oh, she woke up!

Here she comes!

Hey Mom!

I love you baby

Company Picnic

2011-06-26T01:00:00.000-05:00

We have a company picnic every year and this year it was near the zoo! Even though it was earlier this year it was still super hot.

Ethan really likes bridges

D and Sophie at 7 months

We decorated bags for the pinata

We had lots of food, then waited for the pinata

Funny faces!

This is her smile, just a big open mouth, then she kicks her legs really fast and flaps her arms.

We drank a lot of water that day!

Samuel washing all that brisket down!

I'm still trying to decide who she looks like more, D or I?

I love this man!

Ethan is second in line and very excited!

Here he goes! Down here in south Texas we have a lot of pinatas, so this is Ethan's 10 or 12th pinata that he's hit and he's only 3. He's going to be a pro!

All tuckered out, opening up a sucker.

We love the park

2011-06-26T00:38:00.003-05:00

It's getting hot here already and we go to the park in the mornings or evenings.

Here we are at one of the parks we go to after D got home from work.

Sophie is so excited to be at the park!

Huge sandbox to play in

We had to take her out of the sandbox cuz she started to eat the sand!

What cuties!

This is my way of making sure the binkie doesn't fall down and get dirty. :)

Swings are her favorite!

I love his smile!

He's almost too big to fit in the baby swings but wants to be with "baby sister"

Going down the slide together!

Easter

2011-06-26T00:12:00.000-05:00

Easter was pretty low key this year, we had a big party at our house for all our friends earlier in the week. Then we had a big family hunt on Saturday.

Ethan and I got a little carried away with the painting!

Here's Samuel assessing the front yard getting ready to find some eggs!

Ethan LOVES Easter!

Samuel getting some of the harder one's Daniel hid.

Basket is Full!

Sohpie got one too! I'm so excited for next year when she can have her own basket and Ethan can show her how to gather them and open them up!

He loves finding them!

We filled his eggs with different things but all he wanted this year were the jelly beans, he gave away everything else!

Papa & Grandma for a whole WEEK!

2011-04-17T23:28:00.004-05:00

Papa Ed and Grandma Marcia came into town for a whole week!

We were so excited to have them!

Papa goes to a lot of conferences and always picks up little toys for the kids

This toucan didn't last long with Sophie's new teeth,

But she really liked it while she had it!

Papa read to Ethan almost every night

They have a great time together

Sophie is 7 months old now

We love her so much

One night we found a baby possum in our back yard

I had never seen a real one before and

Daniel asked me "What kind of backyard animals we have in Alaska?"

"Moose, or Bear" I said. :)

AT THE PARK

Grandma planned a picnic at a park so we could hang out with one of her old friends

Ethan had a great time

He showed off all his skills for Grandma

He decided to sit in the middle after trying

to push it with the big kids and fell down

Learning hopskotch

Loves the swings

Sophie loves them too!

It was hot that day

Drank lots of water

Papa started cooking dinner

Samuel playing soccor

Grandma and her friend

Ethan helping with the grill

"Mom, I'm hungry. Can I please eat something?"

My kids. :)

After dinner it started to cool off a bit and

Sophie fell asleep in the swing

TICKLE MAN!

Tickle Man vs. Ethan

Ethan fights back

But Tickle Man is trickey

I think Ethan gets caught on purpose sometimes. :)

Tickle Man turns into Gentle Papa with Sophie

She sees Samuel

She loves the attention

Papa loves giving it to her

MORGAN'S WONDERLAND!

Sophie is excited to ride the jeep!

Ethan and Papa coming around the bend

Johnson boys at the water table

Ethan looking for fish

Playing with the water gun

It was cooler by the water

We tried to catch some fish

but it took too long for a toddler's attention span. :)

The slides and play areas were fun!

Everyone climbed around

They go to play with a green screen

Daniel had on a green shirt and almost disappeared completely

They had some play horses to ride!

Everyone took turns

Go Ethan Go!

Grandma and Sophie playing with images projected on the floor

This is Ethan's pouty face

He wanted to go on the carousel one more time

I'm a sucker for the pouty face

So they went

He rode all by himself!

THE WEDDING!!

Grandma got Ethan a new suit!

He ran around most of the time, good thing it was outside!

Samuel so handsome in his suit

What a cute couple!!

Ethan had an accident and had to change clothes

Here he is all worn out from a long day

Here we are heading out just minutes before Ethan has a huge meltdown

He cried all the way to the car and zonked out on our way back to San Antonio

Thank you so much for coming Papa and Grandma!

We love you!

To the Zoo!

2011-04-17T22:14:00.000-05:00

This is our first trip back to the Zoo since before Sopie was born

We missed it!

First we get some gas

What a gentleman, pumping my gas for me. :)

Driving downtown

We get to the Zoo and check our map

Sophie is having a great time

On our way to the Tiny Tot area

We really like this little beach area

Lots of things to climb on

The water is perfect, it was getting hot

Sophie fell asleep, it was her nap time

Ethan zonked out as soon as he got in his car seat

What a fun day!

Happy Birthday Samuel!

2011-04-17T21:36:00.001-05:00

We like to do small family parties
They are fun and make great memories

Happy 15th Birthday Samuel!

He's really excited to get his permit soon

Lighting the cake!

He got some of his favorite foods,

some things he needed for school, and Cool stuff for his iTouch

And a present from his mom!

Ethan dug right into the cake!

He didn't even need a fork :)

Family Trip: Denton and Fort Worth

2011-04-17T21:00:00.003-05:00

We took a drive up to Denton, about 5 hours north of us to see where Daniel went to high school at UT in a dual credit program there. We got to see his host family, the Turners, and they were soo much fun!

Ethan in the car waiting to go to the Turners

Sis. Turner holding Sophie

Ethan LOVED! the Turner's back yard!

They invited us over for a family party

We felt at home

Ethan got a wheel barrow ride

Bro. Turner's poor back. :)

The whole family!!!

Reading stories before bed time in the hotel room

On our way home we went through

Fort Worth!

Had some yummy brisket at Riskey's

That's a balloon horse on Ethan's head

They had a resident clown making them for the diners

Ethan rode a few of these

They were all over the place

The Long Horns waiting to jaunt through town

They are huge!

Each of them has a name

Ethan got tired of his hat

Every afternoon these dozen long horns are driven down the street for everyone to see

It's done to re-live the great cattle drives of the American West

They were huge!

Horse Long Horn

The cow is bigger!!

Ethan got to talk to one of the cowboys and meet his horse.

We recommend it to anyone! Forth worth was a lot of fun!

Playin' Outside

2011-04-17T18:46:00.004-05:00

One of our favorite parts of the day is in the afternoon or evening when I know Daniel will be home soon. I take the little ones outside to play "I spy with my little eye..." until D pulls up. Then we play a bit in the yard. Since it's one of my favorites I thought I'd capture it.

playing tag for a while

Here's my three year old, growing so fast!

And my cutie, isn't she great!

DADDY'S HOME!!

A Little Catching Up

2010-08-21T10:02:00.004-05:00

It's been a whole year since I blogged!! Ca-razy!

So the reason it's been so long is because I found out shortly after my last post that I was pregnant, and I guess I simplified my life a bit by cutting a few things out.
Seven months after my last post I had a beautiful baby girl.

Sophia Joyce Johnson
Born September 10, 2010
9 lb 3 oz, 21 inches long

Pictures speak better than words, so here you go!

We are looking forward to another fun year, hopefully with a little more sleep. :)

Ethan update

2010-02-21T13:31:00.003-06:00

How many times can a toddler wake up in the night? I was up atleast every hour with poor Mr. Ethan and his sore mouth. We were all up by 6 due to the crying and whining and I was so drained! We didn't make it to the rodeo last night, sorry Katie! I knew it was going to be a doosy so we opted just to stay home and rest up for the long haul. So this morning I put a small flash light up to Ethan's mouth to get a good look and there were dark spots around some of the sores. Freaked me out! So I called the wonderful Call-A-Nurse hotline here in San Antonio and got an RN over at Methodist who said because he's in such pain and the black spots are there we better take him to the ER to make sure everything is okay.

To the ER we went!! Loaded with blankie, train, and Diego to pass the wait with. We found the Children's ER entrance and there was Valet Parking!! Awesome! Being so frightened for your child you don't want to have to deal with parking the car right! So we go right in, quickly get invited back, they were kind and efficient and patient with my crying boy. We saw the doctor who was so playful and kind, gave him a toy to keep and gave us an Rx for some wonderful pain meds that will help him catch up on some sleep over the next couple of nights as we get over the worst of it. I was so relieved when she said that we only have another day or two of this and he should start getting better.

So he's in his crib now and has been asleep for 45 min. straight!! He hasn't done that in days. Love it! I'm not a big fan of drugs, but I'm so grateful he's sleeping and I know he'll feel so much better when he wakes up. He'll be better able to deal with any pain he feels if he's not sooo tired. So we are good, should be back to normal in a few days. Yay!

"Long time no see!"

2010-01-24T16:10:00.018-06:00

My dad would always say that - "Long time no see!" He's such a people person. I know it's been a while, and I wish I were more like some of you wonderfuls out there who blog regularly and share your lives with me. I love reading it, keep it coming! It's definitely an outlet for me to read your blogs.

Part of the issue is that....I'm pregnant! Yay! Due Sept. 15, 2010 and let's be honest, things can get crazy with a pregnant woman around. I know some women who live for being pregnant it seems, they glow and are so poise and peaceful. They look like the epitome of Zen, never getting agitated or stressed. Not me, I'm like a train wreck most of the time. At least for the first trimester - I develop a love/hate relationship with food and this time I'm way more tired than last time. Given! - last time I didn't have Samuel or Ethan so I guess I run around a bit more now. For me the second trimester is the glowing period, then the last couple months I just want to be done.

Ethan also has mouth sores right now, his gums are all swollen and he is just miserable. I have never seen him so uncomfortable, and all the doc said we could do was give him some Tylenol and wait it out. We probably have another 5-7 days before he's over it. Hopefully in the next few he'll be comfortable enough to eat regular foods. Sleeping is a trial each night, but I think D and I have a system going. I'll take the night shift because I'm a lighter sleeper and when awakened in the middle of the night I'm automatically in the "Mom Zone". You know what I'm talking about - It's that zone that makes you do anything and everything to comfort and help your child. It's the I'm-a-size-6-but-I-will-lift-a-car-off-the-ground-if-my-child-is-underneath-it - type of thing. Then D will wake up with him almost completely rested and use his amazing patience to play and coddle Ethan in the morning while I sleep in - taking up the whole bed of course. :)

So in my attempt to apologize and catch up I offer the long-awaited Christmas vacation pictures of our trip to Scottsdale. I'm sorry grandma Marcia, that they are so late in coming. We had such a wonderful time and felt so spoiled! Thanks for all of the love and support!

Here's the boy himself! He did really well on the 14 hr. trip over, especially with this cool tray! We love it, if you are looking for a tray I recommend this one. Durable, practical and easy to install. You might need a car seat with some arm rests, but Ethan's lap is higher than his arm rests on his Britax Marathon and it just rests on his lap - so no big deal.

One of the first games we played was Twister! Brought back fun memories of last year. Samuel is definitely more a contender this year though, he learned from Papa's "push you over" strategy. Ethan knows his colors well enough to play too!

We drove all day on Christmas Eve, then woke up for Christmas morning at Grandma's house!

One of Ethan's favorites was the Thomas the Train he got.

Samuel got a great load from Grandma and Papa too, he loves the bed set and they look great in his room.

Great Grandpa Vance and Margie came over for Christmas dinner. Here he is rolling around with the kids!

Samuel put on a little concert for everyone.

Papa Ed has a heavy duty train set around the tree and Ethan could not get enough.

My love on Christmas. :)

Ethan and Papa eating dinner together, this was toward the end after Ethan had migrated from one person to the next all the way around the table till he ended up with Papa who was willing to share his juice. You can see Ethan eye-ing it. Papas are the best!

Samuel in his new Christmas clothes. He's getting so handsome!

Papa made some Christmas treats for some families from church and we went out and sang carols to them. It was a great Christmas experience.

Ethan got to wear Uncle Nathan's old cub scout hat, he loved it! Thanks Uncle "Ity"!

Papa Ed is a marathon runner! He ran one last year and is training for another one. We went to the track with him one day and Ethan found one of his favorite things at Grandma's house - Papa's water bottle. He ended up biting off the top - sorry Papa. Ethan says it tasted great. :)

While there we had another ping pong tournament!

Samuel really improved his game this year thanks to learning from some greats :)

The boys also did the traditional Polar Bear Dip in the pool.

They stayed in a lot longer this year. :)

Ethan adores his Uncle "Ity"!

They played and played! Grandma has lots of fun toys.

He even let Uncle "Ity" feed him!

We did GINGERBREAD HOUSES this year!

Team Samuel/Uncle "Ity" vs. Momma/Ethan

Ethan did a great job helping!

After eating a few blue M&Ms and a few gum drops he was done and got down from the table. I think we all thought it would be worse, but the sugar was kept at a minimum.

I think I was the one that got into it the most. I had a blast!
Long after everyone left I was still there!

Samuel and Nathan worked well together and had fun too!

The finished houses!

Here's Ethan eating the left-over marshmellows

Later he got a piece of the ginger bread

There was a small train amusement park that Grandma suggested we go to and Ethan love it. He got to wear his new Thomas hoodie.

We all got to go on a fun train ride, Ethan's very first.

Papa took him on the carousel.

He was too scared to sit on a horse so he sat on Papa's lap. He swung his feet so much he kicked off his shoes.

Here's Papa trying to coax Ethan to be a penguin but he wouldn't do it.
Cute picture of Papa though.

One of the great excitements of this trip was that D and I were able to take our first over-night trip for our anniversary! I was so spoiled! We went to the Mesa temple, I got a new dress, we checked in our hotel, walked across the street to Fogo de Chao - loved it! D got to have some foods he hasn't had since his mission! Love you hun!

You could tell it was our first night away from Ethan cuz we got nervous and came back early. I guess we could have called but we just headed back home and we found him - oblivious to our being gone - playing with Papa at the park.

Three generations of Johnsons.

We also got to go out to the country to see where Nathan (Uncle "Ity") did his Eagle Scout project. It was huge! It was a wildlife enclosure at a wildlife rescue/veterinarian clinic. The place was beautiful and had these amazing wooden enclosures to house the animals and it was a few of those that Nathan supervised the building of.

The enclosures behind the boys are the ones that Nathan, and many others helping him, built. They are huge! What handsome boys!

On the way home I saw some horses. I'm a sucker for horses so we stopped and Ethan and I went to pet them. They were really nice.

This is the morning we left, we were all up early and we all said goodbye. I don't think Ethan understood - I think he thought we were just going bye-bye to do something and we would be coming back. He still asks "Go to Grandma's house??...Pleeeease" He really had a great time.

Samuel with bed-head, taller than Grandma Marcia now!

Ethan got a going home toy to play with to remember Grandma by. We love our Grandma and Papa Ed. See you soon!

This is Ethan

2009-12-13T15:40:00.004-06:00

Ethan enjoys doing dishes with his Daddy.
We are starting him young. :)

He's a cuddler,

he loves markers,

And got his first set of watercolors last week.

Thanks grandma for my new sunday clothes!

Sea World and Halloween

2009-12-06T18:20:00.013-06:00

I was shopping early one morning at HEB when we heard a loud scary voice come over the loud speaker telling us that they were giving away free tickets to Sea World to the first person to bring them something with the word "Jack" in its name. I didn't think much of it, playing it cool, but made sure to pass by the cheese section one more time and grab some Colby Jack in case I saw the guy. I saw a group of people in the produce section and as I got closer I saw:

Jack

His costume was scary and freaked Ethan out. I was too late with the Cheese but now they wanted a pepsi product. The adrenaline pumps and we are on a mission. I race with my HUGE cart (the big car kind) dodging people left and right, did a fly-by pass through the soda aisle, grabbed a liter without even stopping and booked it back to where the pumpkin guy was, just before a lady emerging to my left.

totally won.

Freaked Ethan out a little, but we won tickets for Halloween day. Samuel had Regional band try outs (who plans stuff like that on Halloween???) He was there at 6:30 am to register at a school across the street from Sea World.
So while Samuel went through 4 rounds of adjudication,
D, Ethan and I went to Seaworld.

We went on one ride, Ethan's first carnival ride ever!

Here they are waiting in line.

Ethan wasn't even scared!
He'd go anywhere with his Daddy.

"Seat belts! So we can be safe!"
(wink* wink* Dora fans)

Up, Up,...

and Away!

So excited!

Next we checked out the shows.

Ethan liked it, but I'm not sure he knew what was going on.

They did lots of high dives and acrobatics.

This is Val after the show. She's in our ward. She's awesome.

She trains Beluga whales to do stuff like this!

She generously invited us back stage and we got to meet this guy!!
Both him and Ethan like playing ball.

We got super close!

Close enough to touch!!
Thank You, Valerie!

After that show we made our way to watch the sea lions.
I've seen these bad boys in the wild, but never like this.
They were great actors.

I think Ethan liked this one a bit better because of the story line.

This is the Steel Eel.

I was feeling courageous and got in line to ride it.
The entry way looks so innocent, easy getting on, almost cute even! So misleading!!
I'd say I'm a daring person as far as carnival rides go, but this is me on the Steel Eel:

Scared out of my mind!!

We started up the first big hill and half way up I had to close my eyes cuz I got so freaked out! I kept chanting "I can't look! I can't look!" and didn't open my eyes until the end. There were parts when I had to force myself to breath cuz I was so scared. It was a thriller, but I don't think I'll do it again, atleast until I've forgotten what the first time felt like. :)

We picked up Samuel from tryouts and he made first alternate and
will be competing in the Region band in a few weeks.
We went home and I put the kids in their costumes and we all went around the neighborhood.

Samuel was a headless guy. I saw this costume online and was so excited when I was able to put it together. We all got a kick out of it when S tilted his head to the side like this.

Ethan was a monkey and loved the costume. He wore it off and on for two weeks cuz he liked it so much. I think D even put it on him yesterday when it got chilly outside so they could go play basketball. What the neighbors must think! :)

Some of the things we do

2009-11-29T18:56:00.006-06:00

We like wearing our daddy's old clothes.

We like running back...

and forth.

We like squeaky basketballs.

We like to suck our thumb and to feel our blankie, and yes it's pink, but it makes us feel better.

We like buses. This is our first official bus ride. Such bliss.

We like breakfast, especially at our favorite Iron Skillet truck stop.

We like cups that look like everyone else's sodas, but are actually water. And we like anything we can hold while also holding our favorite car, cuz we aren't letting go.

We like homemade projectiles made with everyday flammable substances like hairspray and bug repellent. And we like shooting them off in the backyard. Oh ya.

We like painting without paint, no clothes on, and lots and lots of watermelon.

We like rocking chairs and our favorite "choo-choo" dvds.

We like smiles. :)

We like happiness.

Ode to my big brother

2009-11-22T08:54:00.006-06:00

Frankie is my big brother.
I can't speak for all big brothers, but mine is awesome!

He's handsome, (all my friends had a crush on him in high school), he's chivalrous and studly, patient but will tell you when you're being a dork, and completely dependable. He used to babysit me when I was really little and take me with him and his high school friends driving around on a friday night. He offered to beat people up for me when I was in elementary school and he's always looked out for me.

He has a wonderful wife and 4 boys. His youngest, Aiden, and Ethan are only 2 months a part. After his mission to Guatemala he moved back to Kodiak, married Shelly and became a cop.

There are so many fun stories I have of him. As a cop, I remember he was on duty one night and came to say hi to me up at the high school on his break. There was a basketball game going on that night so I was surprised to see him. He came up to me and gave me a big hug and we laughed and had a great time till he had to go back to work. After he left a few people asked me if he was my boyfriend, which was kinda weird, but I remember thinking that I definitely wanted my boyfriend to be as cool as my big brother.

I used to have to get up for early morning seminary. My parents had a hard time getting me up, so when Frankie had to work the night shift as a cop he'd take his break around the time that I was supposed to get up, so most mornings I'd jump out of bed to a uniformed, bullet-proof-vested, gun-holstering cop nearly breaking down my door, shouting at me to get up and turning over my bed. There was no way I could sleep through that!

My Junior year in college he got deployed to Iraq for a year. It was so hard for him to be away from the family, but it was hard for him to come home too. He got back just as our brother Troy died and my parents had split up. Things were chaotic for our family, but through it all he's been a constant source of love and support in my life.

He sent me a note this summer that he was going to be in Albuquerque for a training conference and that I should fly up to see him. I got so excited and was able to buy the tickets right away. I hadn't seen him for 3 and a half years and when I saw him jumping up down to see me as I walked down the terminal I started to cry. He's my big brother and I hadn't realized how much I'd missed having him around to watch out for me. He started to cry too and we hugged and hugged.

We had such a great time!! He's so much fun. Of course he rented a big truck and drove fast, blared good music, wouldn't let me pay for anything and took me out on the town. He pulled out all the stops and just spoiled me. What a great big brother. Here are some pictures:

We went to a Brazillian grill, his first time, and we loved it!

Couldn't stop taking pictures, we were so excited to see each other.

He found his dream car. ;)

We did find a costume shop and he just went to town.

He must have tried on a dozen of them and was totally in character

The All-American

Johnny Depp

Bob Marley

I was only there for two days so we took one of them to go up Sandia Peak, one of the longest trams in the country.

It was soo high!
And all of us were hanging there by that cable, going over mountains, higher and higher.

It felt like a Sound of Music moment.

Here we are again.

Frankie climbed down from the trail to get this shot, got me a little nervous.

Look at all the little people down there!

We had lunch at the top, it was awesome.

Waiting for our turn to go back down!

Chill-axin' at the hotel.

We stayed up almost all night the last night and he got to take me to my gate at the airport cuz we were flying out around the same time.
He's awesome.
I love him.
Can't wait to see him again.

Trainer Momma!!

2009-11-04T16:41:00.002-06:00

She's a great friend, a wonderful mother, and a rockin' trainer!

Check her out!

http://trainermomma.blogspot.com/

Me, Screaming from the rooftops...

2009-09-20T10:05:00.001-05:00

“You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving.The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for,that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

From “Ten Secrets for a Successful Family” by Adrian Rogers, 1996

Found it on a friends blog and have to re-iterate it!

Second 1/2 of Summer

2009-08-23T15:19:00.020-05:00

Summer is officially over, so I'm posting the second half,
we had a wonderful time!!

Ethan found the squirt bottle.

And loved it

I had to get some sleeping pictures. That pink thing is my old robe which is now his blankie

Ahhh...summer days, D's at work and we play and play and play

Ethan trying to hold more bouncie balls than his little hands can carry

D's Birthday dinner. Kneading pizza dough can work up a sweat!
So can a hot oven in the background.

This is Samuel bored, right before I suggested this...

Ethan was launched

But Samuel went down that thing so fast he caught air off the end and
got grass-burn on his chest.
Poor guy...
but so hilarious! :)

Pizza dough had risen and was getting rolled out.
What concentration! :)

D loved his cake, happy 26th honey!

Ethan got a couple dozen of these little cars for his last birthday and he loves them.

He has begun to park them side by side.

And pretends to give them a drink from his water bottle

D often puts Ethan to bed, but if I haven't heard any noises or story-reading for a while
this is what I find.
Ethan is getting so big!

Samuel was in charge of activity for FHE, and he had just competed in a bridge building contest using toothpicks and glue and wanted us to try it as a family. We got all of the supplies and went for it.
This is D's bridge.

This is Samuel's bridge that ended up winning the contest. We had a hard time balancing buckets of food storage and gallons of water on it, but in the end Samuel's held out longest. We didn't think to take pictures till after mine was already demolished.

I found Ethan like this one morning when I came to check on him,
he was reading it out loud
in baby-speak.

This is my trip to Idaho!!
I met up with Heidi first (girl on the right), then we finally saw Tiffany (driving)
and her new husband Skylar.

These girls are awesome, we were roommates my senior year at BYU-Idaho.

We stayed at a hotel in Mountain home and got up early the day of the wedding to help with getting ready.

Heidi and I waiting outside of the Boise temple.

Here they are!

Tiffany and her dad.

She was gorgeous!

Heidi and I in line with everyone for the big picture.
It was so much fun to have Heidi to play with. :)

Hours of photos

Tiffany's little sisters

Happiness

One of the greatest couples I've ever met.
Still in love after five kids! :)

It was a hot day!

At the luncheon

They had some great cheesecake, but I can't handle too much rich stuff like cheesecake or frosting, I always end up taking a bite then giving the rest to D.
This time I gave my extra cheesecake to Heidi.

Heidi after eating my cheescake

Me at the reception

Heidi having fun with my camera

After I got back from Idaho my Dad came down from Washington.
This is us at the park with Ethan.

Samuel got into a summer engineering program and had a huge graduation in August.
My Dad (Papa) and Ethan were buds the whole time.

Here's the gym at UTSA, Samuel is waaay down there on the gym floor.

We are so proud of him.

Here is Daniel getting a famous haircut. Growing up, my dad always cut our hair,
even us girls.
It's also a tradition that babies born in the family get their hair cut for the first time by my dad on their first birthday.
So while my dad was here we had to take part in the tradition.

We also took my Dad downtown to the Alamo and the riverwalk.
I got in a bit of trouble for taking this picture,
I forgot that you weren't supposed to take pictures inside any of the buildings, even the ones around the Alamo,
but he was just too cute when he went up to the signs and read them out loud.

We also went to the Guiness Museum downtown
and this is how small the smallest person in the world is.

And the tallest.

And here's the biggest person on record, making funny faces for the camera

Ethan saw some basketballs and would stop at nothing to get them,

even if that meant crawling into a cage.

Or licking the glass cases they were held in.

At the end of the day we ended up in an arcade
and I caught my dad kicking butt with a shot gun.
He's such a stud!
He sent me a few pictures today of what he looked like in college
and I just have to put them up:

At graduation...around 18-20 years old I think.

When he joined the Marines!

Getting an award.

Looks like a year book pictures. What a handsome guy.
Love you Dad!

First 1/2 Summer

2009-08-09T14:57:00.015-05:00

I was thinking about separating these pictures by event, but it's just not happenin'.

Too many!

Let's start at the beginning of the summer ...

Samuel had his end-of-the-year band concert.
He will miss Mr. D, but is excited to be in Wind Ensemble this fall.

He tested and got first chair in clarinets.
You can see him in the middle sitting down with the black glasses.

Early this summer we went to the annual SRC picnic! We got to meet Daniel's new co-workers and got to see old friends. And as always the food was awesome!
Ethan of course went for the first ball he could find.

And started kicking it

We went for a walk around the park
and got drenched in the rain.

We made it back in time for Samuel to finish up the pinata!
Blew it to bits.

For the picnic they gave us free tickets to the attractions in the park.
A fun one was the train!

Ethan was a water fiend that day.

Samuel's funny faces.

We were at the caboose

We got tickets for miniature golf too...Samuel's a great shot.

The clubs were a little short for D.

Ethan wouldn't let go of the colored golf balls we gave him.
After D shot, Ethan ran after his ball and tried to find it in the castle.

Determined

"Where-go?"

Grandma and Papa Johnson came into town for a week and this is the only picture I got of their visit. Sorry Grandma, it's only one, but it's a good one. :)

Ethan loves Momma's lasagna!

"I like it A-LOT!"

Father's Day = an afternoon of cooking.

D got a personalized cheese cake from scratch.

Then the boys wrestled for a while.
As you can see, Ethan's winning streak is still intact.

Ready for lift off!

Up, up and away!

"I love Daddy's sound effects!"

Daddy's tuckered out

But Samuel's ready to go!
C'mon horsie!

I love footie pajamas from Children's Place.
I got these on sale and I LOVE them.

Momma busted out the bubbles

Ethan loves bubbles!

I don't usually let him rome without clothes, but we went out to water the grass and his diaper started to swell, and eventually I just took it off.
There's no point.
So he got to run around naked for a little bit.

I came home from the gym one day and was craving shrimp!

So we pulled out the new BBQ-er, and our old table into the back yard
and made shrimp and chicken kabobs with fresh pineapple and veggies!
Soo good.

This is Ethan's first Kabob.
He really liked the pinapple, just like his daddy.

Samuel's ready to eat!

And here is the remnants of our feast!

For the 4th of July we went to the Circus, just like last year.

The pre-show was Awesome!

They didn't have this guy last year.

Daniel had to lift E up above his head to reach.
I think it rocked his world to see a guy that tall.

Over-all, this year's circus was nothing compared to last year's Bello-bration circus by Barnum & Bailey. I guess they rotate different circus themes each year and I just didn't like this year's as much as last year's.

But we got clown noses!!

This picture reminds me of last year's...

Ethan was only 6 months old!

Speaking of Ethan's age....

Can you say: NURSERY!

Yup, my son's in nursery.

This was taken July 5th, 2009, after his first day in nursery.

Which he loved!

And this is his first ever colored picture that he brought home for me.

It's still hanging on the fridge.

Ethan was quite the socialite this summer.
He got invited to a handful of birthday parties and had a great time!
Here he's at Ryah's 2nd birthday.

They had punch balls!

And yummy food.

This is us with Ryah's little brother Jace.

This Summer! First of many posts

2009-08-09T14:44:00.007-05:00

I came into the living room one day and this is what I saw...

Hilarious!

I had put up the blue string to keep the books on the shelf.

But it did more than keep in books!
Poor guy couldn't get down without help.

____ Johnson News ____