Johnson Family Updates

In which Natalie is a rosebud in Coppelia

2011-05-01T21:34:00.000-07:00

Coppelia is the story of a dollmaker who creates a doll so lifelike that he dreams of a way to make her come to life. Franz sees the doll and falls in love with her as well. Swanhilde, his intended bride, is not terribly happy about this. So she and her friends sneak into Dr. Coppelius' shop to try and talk to the girl (not realizing that she's a doll). They all get caught in turn, and Swanhilde puts on the doll's clothes and tricks both Franz and Dr. Coppelius. In the end, Swanhilde and Franz get married. It's a comedic ballet full of slapstick. I think it was the most entertaining recital so far in Natalie's ballet career. They had so much fun! Brooklin absolutely loved watching the girls dancing. She would have been onstage in a heartbeat if we had let her. You can't see her that well because of the lighting, but here she is dancing in the audience. I'll give her another year or so, but she's going to love ballet just like her sister.

How we celebrate Easter

2011-05-01T20:29:00.000-07:00

I'm really grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ, and all He did for me. Easter is a wonderful time where Christians all over the world celebrate an empty tomb. Because while the Savior suffered greatly in our behalf, the real message is that He overcame ALL! What a blessing to know that He truly lives today and loves each and every one of us!

Our kids combined with our friends, the Gimmesons, to decorate eggs Friday night to start off the Easter festivities.

Like many of may siblings and friends, Joe and I talked to the Easter bunny about showing up on Saturday instead of Sunday morning. It's just too hard to deal with getting kids ready for church while they're hopped up (no pun intended) on sugar. Worse, they usually have chocolate on their church clothes long before we can even get in the car. And worst of all, the true meaning of Easter gets lost. The kids didn't know that we'd made that deal though. So they got up Saturday morning and went about their normal cartoon-watching routine. I got up around 8:00 and started breakfast like normal. After breakfast, AJ happened to casually walk by the dining room where their baskets sat untouched and realized what had happened. So much fun. It was a great spring surprise.

Saturday evening, we really enjoyed spending time with Jeremy and Dyana and Grandma and Grandpa Johnson with games and such. Grandma Johnson graciously provided dinner because she's just that good a host.

Because of varying church routines, the Johnson family had Easter brunch instead of dinner. We had all kinds of breakfast delights. From pancakes to monkey bread to bacon and sausage to apple french toast casserole...and it was all so good!! After breakfast, the kids had their egg hunt at Grandma's house.

This year was the first Pirate Lane egg hunt. After church, the kids all got together to hunt for Easter eggs left by the Bunny himself. They had a great time, and it was really fun to do something like that with the neighbors.

When the call to "go" was given, Brooklin made a beeline straight for...you guessed it, the dog! In case you didn't know already, Brooklin absolutely loves dogs. She was eventually persuaded to try for eggs as well.

Spring birthdays

2011-05-01T20:01:00.000-07:00

Four of Liz's boys have spring birthdays, so we gathered at Grandma's house to celebrate for good food and company. Happy birthdays Andrew, Jared, Ben, and Aaron!!!

Brooklin is a messy toddler, and we had chocolate molten cakes for dessert. So no clothes.

This is AJ being...well, AJ.

Where we see Ben and Stacy get married, and LeiAnn's family is all together!

2011-04-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

My youngest brother, Ben, met a beautiful, talented young woman named Stacy last year, and they were married March 31st in the Draper Utah LDS Temple. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe that marriage in the temple is for time and all eternity. Ben and Stacy, by being worthy of and choosing a temple marriage, will be together with their future children forever. Being able to be in the temple with all of my siblings and their spouses was such an incredible thing!!

This is baby Ivy (Peggy & Seth) and baby Tyson (Jed & Allison). They're such fat babies!! Look at Ivy's little rolls! We tried to get a pic of baby Bryant with the other two, but I didn't catch that.

Brooklin and her cousin, Ally (Dennis & Gayla), look so much alike!!

Jed and Allison were gracious enough to let us stay with them throughout the festivities and afterwards. Saturday morning, the girls all dressed as princesses while watching General Conference.

Here's a couple extras of Brooklin. She has latched onto a baby doll my parents saved from when I was a baby. I've had to repair arms and legs a few times, but she loves it! The other pic is poor Boo, desperate to go outside, she didn't care that she was pantsless and her coat was backwards!

Here we all are! Who knows when it will happen again? Hopefully soon though. I love my family!

Oh, scouts...

2011-03-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

Joe and I are not 100% converted to scouts as parents yet. We believe in the program, but we're not very good at getting AJ to pass stuff off yet. We did, however, work on enough things that AJ earned a bead at his recent pack meeting. He was pretty proud of himself, but not proud enough that he could tell anyone what he did to earn the bead. He had to track his health habits, make a job chart, and teach a few family home evening lessons.

Here's a few pictures from the annual blue and gold banquet.

AJ and his pack had to perform a few skits. This was the best one. Joe said they had it all well practiced and were great in practice. However, in front of the crowd, they all ended up with stage fright (except for "Ham-it-up AJ").

Repainting the Duster

2011-03-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

Joe recently participated in a car show at Big Bend Community College. One of the things he was embarrassed about was that they made him lift the hood and show off his mis-match paint job. So this week's project is masking off and repainting the trunk and engine compartment to match the exterior. We are lucky to have a nephew who works at a paint store and got a GREAT deal on the paint for us. Joe had to really finagle that one. It looks a lot better now that it's done. Sorry the after pics are not the best.

Of Brooklin

2011-03-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have a love/hate relationship with my kids as toddlers. I think my daughter is so funny in all the little things that she does. Like hiding under a laundry basket. Or trying DESPERATELY to put on her doll's pajamas and getting frustrated when I told her they simply wouldn't fit. But it's also still hard to deal with the lack of intelligible communication and the emotional outbursts when I just don't understand what she wants. Luckily, sign helps a lot with that. But I don't know the signs for a lot of things and thus, neither does she. But she is getting better about talking.

The best news is that Brooklin is almost potty-trained. We have found jelly beans to be a great motivator for her. She has been dry all day today (so far!). Most days we are about 50/50 for accidents vs. in the toilet. She likes to wear her underwear and gets really mad when I insist on a diaper for car rides and such. Not quite sure what we're gonna do on our trip to Utah next week. We might just have to cart the toddler toilet with us :)

Being brave

2011-03-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

Poor Natalie had her first cavities last year. Unfortunately, whatever germs invaded her mouth really did a number on her. And she ended up with 9 cavities. So we've been a little more diligent in making her brush and floss regularly. We recently had checkups, and she only had one small cavity!! I love her little lopsided smile from the lidocaine. I also had one small one, and everyone else was clear. Thank heavens for that.

Introducing LeiAnn Johnson RNC-OB

2011-03-26T11:29:00.001-07:00

My work gives a pretty strong incentive (money) for people who decide to certify in their specialty. I finally decided it would be well worth my time to complete my certification. I travelled to Las Vegas (by myself!!) the last week in February to take a review course and the test. I was really glad I took the review course first. A lot has changed in OB since I was in school and even since I precepted for L&D. The test was really hard, but luckily, I passed!!

I had a great time down there besides studying. I shopped at a huge 3-story ROSS on the strip for hours, probably, and didn't worry that anyone (kids or husband) was bored or sick of sifting through racks of clothes. I also walked to the mall one day and saw all kinds of fun stores that I didn't have time or money to shop at! I also finally got to see the fountain show at the Bellagio, which was spectacular! It's a shame that Las Vegas has the gambling and the disreputable establishments because there's a lot of really great and fun things to do/see there. I want to go back with Joe and see shows next time.

I celebrated my 30th birthday all by myself studying for my test in my hotel room. Joe (my too-sweet and wonderful husband) sent these to my room. It was perfect! The kids told me that they had a surprise coming (they can't keep a secret to save their lives), and I was really worried that he would try to send flowers or something equally difficult to take on an airplane. But he totally knows me. I loved it!

One of the best parts of my trip was my 3-hour layover in Salt Lake. My brother, Ben, and his fiance, Stacy, brought me Costa Vida (YUM!) for dinner and hung out with me. Stacy is my brother's twin. It's so crazy! They are exactly alike and obviously perfect for each other. I can't wait for their wedding!

De-Motivational Posters

2011-02-18T20:16:00.000-08:00

Joe and I think some of these are really funny. A lot of the ones online are dumb and hugely inappropriate, but these were worth passing on.

This is our favorite:

Of the terrible/terrific two's

2011-02-10T10:25:00.001-08:00

It's hard to believe my little girl is already 2 years old!! She is absolutely terrible and terrific at the same time. Like last night when Joe told her that dogs say "Meow", she rolled her eyes at him, slumped her shoulders, and shook her head. It was so hilarious!! This picture was one night after family home evening when she set up the stools in the living room and started dancing on top for us. She was really upset when we made her take them down. She's into everything and wants to help us with everything and do everything that we do (including wear deodorant-she throws a fit if I don't put a spot on her arms for her every day). Crazy, silly, adorable girl!!!

Brooklin got her own pink cake for her birthday. I figured she'd dive right in, but she wouldn't touch it without a fork! Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, the missionaries, and Liz plus some of the nephews were all there to wish her a happy birthday.

The official stats from the two-year doctor's appointment are 27#5oz. (58%) and 34.5" tall (60%). If the old wives' tale holds true, that means Brooklin will be 5'9" tall as an adult. I think Natalie will be 5'0" if she's lucky!!

The bad news from the appointment is that she has yet another ear infection. If this one doesn't clear up, or if she gets another one, I think we'll be getting tubes again this year. Poor girl.

What's a pinewood derby if you have to stick to the rules?

2011-02-10T09:59:00.000-08:00

Here is AJ checking his car's weight before his very first pinewood derby in scouts. He won a couple of his races and had a great time participating. And we have all kinds of ideas for next year.

AJ decided he wanted his car to be a "Decepticon". I'm actually really proud that I was able to design and make the sticker with my computer and cricut.

Joe challenged the Elders' Quorum to a no-rules contest after the boys' races. Actually, it was a one-rule contest because you can't use pyrotechnics in the church. Joe's car is built on a basic car platform with an RC jet engine strapped to the top. It was really fast! Here's a couple short videos of the car on the track.

Natalie makes friends wherever she goes. She and a couple other girls decided to put on a ballet for us while the cars were racing.

Favorite Reads of 2010

2011-01-04T17:14:00.001-08:00

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien has been on my to-read list since I read The Lord of the Rings trilogy forever ago. I finally made it around to it and was rewarded. I love to good book, and this is just such a fun story. I never thought I'd enjoy Bilbo Baggins like I did.

I read Nathaniel's Hawthorne's classic tale of adultery, repentance, and redemption out of my need to make up for all the books I didn't have to read in high school. I fully expected to wade through it. Instead, I was totally drawn into the storyline. Some books are classics because they are simply good books. This is one of them. P.S. Do NOT read The Grapes of Wrath. It may be a classic, but there were no redeeming features to this book!

This book was my most anticipated read this year. Mockingjay is the third in a series by Susanne Collins about a girl forced to participate twice in a reality-show type competition where she has to kill off other kids to survive and "win." She ends up as the face of a revolution and suffers immensely for her efforts. The series is full of drama, heart-rending defeats, and little hope. But it's enough, and the ending was perfect, I thought. Her characters are messed up after their experiences, to be sure, but you're left feeling that the world is a better place because of them.

Deanna Raybourn's Silent in the Grave is the first in Victorian-era series about a widow, Julia Grey, who becomes entangled in mysteries after the death of her first husband. Getting a taste for the intrigue, she follows Nicolas Brisbane around trying to vie for a place as an agent and possibly more. I absolutely love the temptestuous relationship between Julia and Brisbane, and this series fits totally within my current obsession with historical novels.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows is one of those rare books that is just good all the way around. It's written very creatively through the letters of the characters to one another and takes place on an island post-WWII. Fantastic book!

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater is probably my favorite YA novel of the year. The story about teenage werewolves in perhaps not my favorite, but her writing is so fluid and beautiful. It feels like you're reading straight poetry. I love it!

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig is my absolute favorite book of the year. In fact, it's well in the running for my favorite book ever. Set in Napoleon French era, it's full of swashbuckling spies, and romantic misadventures. The characters are hilarious, and the plot to unmask the Pink Carnation was totally surprising. I love the commentary from our modern counterpart, Eloise. I love Richard, Amy, Jane, and the whole gang. I'm reading it a second time right now and love it even more. Side note: There's a couple decidedly PG13 pages in this book. Beware sensitive readers.

Silly Natalie

2011-01-04T16:58:00.001-08:00

Joe was cleaning out his garage and found Brooklin's infant carseat. Natalie was cold watching tv, so she found a place to sit. Ridiculous how comfortable she was inside there.

One day, Joe put Natalie's tutu on his head and told her it was a new fashion. Later that night, I went to tuck her in bed and found her thus!

Another night, we found Natalie like this. She told us the next morning that she just thought it would be funny to stick them to her head.

Christmas came early this year, really early

2011-01-04T16:23:00.000-08:00

Santa did in fact make it to our house this year, even though the kids were sketchy at best in December. AJ was so naughty one day that I wrote a letter to Santa telling him not to bring presents. But he managed a come-back before I sent it.

And speaking of naughty, AJ woke up at 4:00 on Christmas morning, making it our earliest Christmas ever. But instead of waking up Mom and Dad, he just woke up the girls, and they started opening presents. We had no idea until half an hour later (still earliest Christmas ever) when Natalie ran up to tell us Santa brought her a pink scooter. We made them stop and go back to bed. Which turned out to be a great idea, because then they all slept until after 7:30. They only opened a few presents each, but I'm still frustrated that I didn't get to see their initial surprise reaction to Santa's coming. That's my favorite part!

We told the kids flat out that they were not going to get everything on their wish list this year, partly because we couldn't afford it, and partly because there were things we didn't want them to have. But we talked a lot about being grateful and not complaining. This strategy worked very well until AJ opened his Sunday clothes from his mom and saw a purple shirt. He exclaimed, "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!" He stopped himself right there and wouldn't say anything else about it. I asked him later, and he said, "Mom, it's just that I HATE purple. I don't like it even a little bit!" So we'll be returning the trendy purple for another color :)

We had Christmas Eve dinner at Liz and Nathan's house this year. It was Italian de-lish!! So good! We all ate way too much and enjoyed doing it.
We escaped the post-unwrapping apocalypse at our house Christmas morning by heading over to Grandma Johnson's house for fabulous prime rib dinner and more presents.

The holidays were very good to us, and I just want to say how grateful I am for the incredible gift of my Savior's life. I know He lives! I am blessed every day by His love. We love all of you and wish you a Happy New Year!!

Preparing for Christmas

2011-01-04T15:50:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas season began right after Thanksgiving with the annual "Put-up-the-tree-and-see-how-many-ornaments-the-kids-can-break" celebration. Although, believe it or not, the kids didn't break a single ornament this year!!! We can't claim a total victory though because two of the ornaments we got in the mail from Grandma Muhlestein were not handled with care. Nothing a little super glue can't fix!

It seems the older our kids get, the busier we are. This is especially true during the holiday season. The kids participated in the annual school concert early in December. If you remember a few years ago, when AJ went to a different school, we were not impressed with the holiday program. There wasn't one Christmas song!! Not so at this school. The program had a bunch of super-cutesy songs about Christmas and jingle bells and all the things that a school holiday program should include. It was well worth our time. Not only that, they were smart and didn't try to crowd everyone into the elementary school gym during the middle of the day. Instead, it was held at the high school in the evening, so the parents could actually come and see.

Natalie and AJ were also part of the nativity for our ward Christmas program. AJ was a wise man, and Natalie was an angel in the choir. I decided to sing a solo for the program. I sang, "A Baby Changes Everything". It was terrifying, but I got lots of positive comments. The program was maybe longer than it needed to be, but very spiritual. And afterwards, of course, the kids got a visit from their favorite jolly old elf.

AJ had a piano recital last month. He played "Silent Night" and "I Saw Three Ships" and did great as always.

Natalie's ballet studio and another dance company in town performed, "The Nutcracker" this year. Natalie was a cute little mouse. Her favorite part was in the battle between mice and nutcracker soldiers, one of the soldiers got to lift her up.

It seems even the weather was in a Christmasy mood. We got three or four decent snow storms in December, which is unusual for this area. It would have been a whole lot more fun if the city did anything to actually take care of the roads. Instead, they just let people drive on it, compact it, and turn into a giant layer of ice. Here we are building a snowman with Natalie's friend, Miranda.

Tie trick

2011-01-04T15:40:00.000-08:00

Joe has been quite the member missionary lately, making friends with the full-time missionaries and going on team-ups and such. This has led him to reminesce about his mission days. One of the things he liked the best was competing for the biggest tie knot. Here he is with his big ol' knot.

And here's the secret to this knot...

Because my Boo is just cute

2011-01-04T15:25:00.000-08:00

Brooklin can be such a stinker sometimes (like when she decides to randomly empty her dresser). But other times, I love her so much it hurts!

She's decided to learn how to dress herself. It's pretty funny.

She's realized that being in a toddler bed means she's not physically obligated to stay put, but she's smart enough not to show her face after she's supposed to be in bed.

Here's a few other random pics. What a funny baby!

Of absenteeism

2011-01-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

Last summer, the night shift got together and decided that we wanted a set schedule. Let me explain. Working nights is not like working days. I can't work one on, one off, etc. I will die. When my schedule is the same every week, I work two on, five off. The first day home after working, I just sleep. I get up some time in the late afternoon and pretend I don't feel like death. Then, I try to go to bed at a decent time and lay there half the night wide awake, still feeling like death, knowing that I'm gonna have to get up and take care of kids in...three hours now. The next day, I feel mighty crappy, but try very hard to get something done around the house. Day three is usually better, but still tired. Day four, I'm starting to perk up a bit. Day five is when I feel my best, but then I have to sleep all afternoon because I have to go back to work that night. Anyway, I never get any good sleep, but it's doable.

Now, after we had done the set schedule thing for a few months, one of our nurses decided that it wasn't fair that she wasn't working any weekends (because you make more money on the weekends). Technically, it says in our contract that everyone is supposed to work every other weekend. So we had to do away with the schedule and rearrange everyone. Then, I went to working one on, three off, one on, two off, two on, two off....etc. I wanted to die. Without a set schedule, I pretty much spend every day in either day one or day two mode. I always feel awful, and I never get anything done. And then, the holidays rolled around, and people had requested vacation time (oh, and that particular nurse who was not happy quit), and a few more people quit, so they rearranged our schedule again to fill the needs. Which, by the way, was extremely unsuccessful. We spent more than one night two or even three nurses short. (PS I would like to apologize to anyone who had a baby during the last two months because I'm sure they didn't get nearly as good a care as any of us would have liked due to the shortages.)

So basically what this means is that I've had no real sleep for months, and my blog has taken the back burner in a major way. We're back to a semi-set schedule now, and I'm hoping it stays that way. There's talk about not allowing people to take vacation time during the days they usually work because it messes up everyone else's schedule so badly. Not that they wouldn't be able to take those days off, but they'd have to use PTO, and the hospital would need to find someone to come in extra to cover the shift. Or we could switch shifts with another willing nurse.

If you didn't read my entire rant, I'm sure you're not the only one. Just don't be upset with me if I (A) don't answer your calls in the middle of the day, or (B) growl over the phone, or (C) answer the phone strangely, agree to things, and never follow through (because I'm talking in my sleep).

Oh, the weather outside is frightful

2010-11-23T10:21:00.000-08:00

The best part of being self-employed is taking a snow day with your kids!

We really need to figure out how to attach a snow shovel to the front.

Because we are going to learn to like fish

2010-11-17T22:07:00.000-08:00

Joe, growing up in Washington, actually already likes fish. My early experiences included ... trout, so I'm not as big a fan. But I'm going to learn or die trying because we recently inherited one big fish. Apparantly, a tanker filled with fresh salmon rolled over on I-90 near Spokane, and a few people from our ward were lucky enough to happen upon the spill. So we got a share of the spoils. That fish is huge!

As a side note, we put the fish's head in the fridge right next to the milk. I can't wait to see what our kids say in the morning. We're going to tell them that it's for dinner. If all goes well, I might even go so far as to put it in a pot of boiling water in the evening to see what they do.

Harvesting

2010-11-14T18:32:00.000-08:00

These last few weeks have flown by. I had multiple training meetings to take up my spare (not!) time. I recertified for ACLS (Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support), which is like CPR on steroids. So drop dead in front of me...I dare you!! Okay, please don't. Survival rates suck no matter where you are or how good a nurse I am.

Joe is doing well at work. He keeps saying that he should have done this years ago, and I agree! Being self-employed is so different, and in a good way. (Except for health insurance). He's also enjoying being a part of the classic car club with all the old fogies in Moses Lake and his friend, Aaron.

Our ward's annual Harvest dinner was last week. I volunteered to make two pies. One of which was my famous lemon meringue, which went over quite fabulously. It was the first to be gone, and everyone raved (yeah me!!). I also made a cream cheese pumpkin that was pretty darn good. I put the whipped cream on too soon, though, and it melted all over, but still tasted good.

I took Natalie in for a check-up this week. She is 35 pounds, and 43 inches tall. Which is 10% for height, and below the 3rd% for weight. But she keeps growing, so we don't care that she's small. Interestingly enough, Brooklin is now 28#. She's catching up fast. All 3 kids got flu shots. Brooklin got hers first. She cried for a minute and got over it. I had to hold AJ down to get his, and he complained the rest of the day about how badly it hurt. ("Oh, I can't shut the door; my arm hurts so bad!" "Oh, I can't clean up my toys because my arm still hurts bad!" "Oh, I punched my sister because my arm hurts so bad!") Right after AJ's tantrum, it was Natalie's turn. She responded with, "I don't need your help, Mom. I'm a big girl. I know it will hurt a minute, but then, I'll be okay."

Joe and I are part of a babysitting co-op, so we actually got a date on Friday! We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant, so the whole date only cost us for the meal and gas. Babysitting is so expensive; it's no wonder we haven't been getting out regularly before this.

Joe's mentor/manager owns the movie theater in Ephrata. He invited us to a private showing of Megamind yesterday, and we obliged happily. It was pretty enjoyable, for a cartoon.

I went to the worldwide leadership training meeting yesterday. There were some very intesting changes made, including getting rid of all the committees and a huge push to get people at home more often, especially the bishop.

Joe is watching "Supersize Me", reaffirming how badly I hate fast food. Gross!

When things go bump and BOO

2010-11-01T13:49:00.000-07:00

These last few weeks have been pretty hectic. Holiday season is upon us folks.

Natalie's birthday was the 19th. I can't believe my baby girl is already 6!! (I know, that last comment was unbelievably trite. Get over it.) Natalie is Miss Popularity in her kindergarten class. Every time I drop her off, there's huge grins on the faces of the kids waiting for her to get out of the car. She runs towards them with arms outstretched as they all shout her name and join in a big group hug. No joke. Kindergarten is awesome. So she insisted that she needed to invite a lot of girls to her party. And I, for some inexplicable reason, agreed that she could invite who she wanted. I think we had 13 girls at her party that afternoon (if you include Brooklin...and I do because she's a force to be reckoned with). We made cute pictures of fairies, decorated a poster of Natalie as a fairy, decorated and ate cupcakes, played on Natalie's new bed, and opened a whole bunch of presents. Natalie is loved; that is for sure.

AJ had a recital on the 22nd. It was a costume recital, so he dressed as a clone trooper from Star Wars and played the Star Wars theme. The first song is "Pumpkin Party". So cute.

The next day we attended the Gimmeson's annual power-tools-only pumpkin carving contest. Joe and my pumpkins turned out great, but the contest was rigged. They ended up giving the trophy to a kid (who did not use power tools, by the way). We got ripped off.

Luckily, we didn't have to boycott Halloween this year just because it landed on a Sunday. The town opted to move its celebrations to Saturday, so we were able to fully participate. Every fall, I forget that I'm busy and decide that I want to make my kids' costumes. So they finalize their orders by the first part of September, and we start planning.

AJ decided to be a knight this year, which included a sword that is the best thing/toy he's ever seen and/or played with. He loves nothing more than using it to torture innocent victims (mostly, his sisters when his parents aren't looking.) We very smartly didn't give it to him until Saturday, and I think it's been in time out as often as it's been in his hands since then.

Natalie wanted to be Queen Clarion from Tinker Bell. Before you get all "Uh, Queen Clarion has a gold dress..." on me, let me explain that she wears a pink dress in one of Natalie's books. And since the pink fabric at Joann's was way cuter than the gold fabric, Natalie decided she'd better go with pink.

Here's where I admit that I'm a horrible mother. I didn't finish Brooklin's costume, so Brooklin wearing a hand-me-down from Natalie (that she wore when she was 3). She was terribly adorable as Dorothy, and it was incredibly fitting that the one word that Brooklin says consistently is "doggy", and she got to drag Toto around. But I still feel bad.

It's a good thing she won't remember how her mother slighted her in favor of her siblings. And none of you better point her in the direction of this post. I'll deny everything. I fully intend to finish her costume in time for Christmas. Joe insisted that we dress up as well, so I wore an 1800s style dress and crown. Joe pulled out the mullet for an 80s flashback. Oddly enough, we didn't manage pictures of either of us. I wish I'd brought my camera to the Bruneel's costume party that night though. There were some really great costumes. The First Councilor in our Bishopric was the Hulk. One teen totally committed to Superman, spandex and all. Our former stake Young Women's President was Wonderwoman. Joe had a lot of fun scaring teenagers in their haunted house.

Here's some fun Johnson Halloween traditions. First, one of us takes the kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. We stop and dump out the kids' bags every so often and sort the good candy from the bad candy. The good candy (Snickers, Milky Way, Reese's, etc.) gets put up and away, and the crappy candy (anything generic, Smarties, and the like) goes into our own basket to regift. Second, we insist the kids pay "Mom and Dad taxes" on their goods. Actually, what we usually do is put all the goods into one basket and everyone gets to eat out of it. Although, the full-size candy bars generally end up stashed elsewhere... Third, when we're tired of giving out candy, we pawn off the last of the basket to whoever comes next. Sometimes, this means multiple handfulls of our cast-offs, which unsuspecting children are thrilled by, even though it's mostly Tootsie Rolls. This year, we had another party to go to, so Joe traded the rest of the basket for a full-size Snickers. It was great! We love Halloween!!

Of talks and primary programs

2010-10-17T19:04:00.000-07:00

Today was our ward primary program. This being my first program while in the Primary presidency, it was a little stressful. We put together a practice/pizza party on Friday. I can't tell you how many kids didn't know their parts at that point, but it was most of them. And they had no idea when to go up to the podium. We were still working out getting kids where they needed to be to sing solos, play violins, etc. It was crazy.

But it somehow all worked out. The kids sang their best; they were fairly reverent (well, as reverent as 40 children ranging from 4-11 years old can possibly be when on display in front of 100+ attentive adults and various toddlers making googly eyes and laughing at them...that would be Brooklin, in case you're wondering), and most of them had miraculously figured out what they were supposed to say. Interestingly enough, Joe got more than a few comments about how our son apparently can't hold still to save his life. He was dancing to all of the songs. At least he wasn't trying to pretend fight with the other boys in his class like usual. I got roped into giving the introduction of the year's theme, which is "I Know My Savior Lives." I actually wrote the program, and when I presented it to the rest of the presidency, I told them I thought that one of us should introduce the theme. They said, "Oh, I'm sure you'll do a great job at it!" Thankfully, I only had to talk for a few minutes.

Other than that, Joe passed his final exam for work (Yeah!!!), so he is a full-fledged investment advisor representative. There are other designations he'd like to pursue in the future, but he can do everything he wants to for now. Now begins his hunt for clients. They even added him to their website. Check it out!

Celebrating old age (Just kidding Joe!)

2010-10-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

I really like to tease Joe about being old. He's two years and four months older than me, which means he's ancient at 32, while I'm still in my prime at 29. And he has gray hair. I have a picture somewhere to prove it. His mentor at his new job says it makes him look distinguished. I don't know about that...

But today is his birthday, so I think I should say some nice things about him too. First of all, JOE PASSED HIS BIG TEST!!!! I'm so proud of my brilliant, hard-working, ever-patient husband for going after his dream career. Being an investment advisor is what he was made to do, and I know he'll be awesome at it. He starts bright and early tomorrow morning. Second of all, my husband is a fantastic father to our children. He sets a great example of a righteous priesthood holder in our home and helps me be a better wife and mother. Third of all, he just flat out makes me laugh. After going-on ten years together, he still surprises me with his humor and positive outlook on life.

We spent yesterday at Joe's parents' house canning applesauce. To keep things lively while we were working, Joe and his brother had a heated policital discussion about gun laws, the constitution hanging by a thread, the fact that Obama might be a terrorist (according to very reliable internet searches, according to Jeremy), and how Joe doesn't vote (not really, Joe just likes to spur his brother on). It was great fun.

Last night, we got our first date as part of a babysitting co-op. We got together with a few other couples in the ward and switch off babysitting for each other. We went bowling. I'm happy to report that I did not break any of my appendages. I did break my thumbnail in half, BUT it was much better than the last time I went and lost a toenail after I dropped a ball on it. I will not be posting my scores, but Joe got a 156!

Joe and I think this video is hilarious. http://vimeo.com/2042969 But don't watch it all the way to the end. If you get to CPS, you've gone too far. It's way funnier without that.

What have Joe and LeiAnn been up to?

2010-09-26T21:12:00.001-07:00

This seems to be the question everyone wants to know. Okay, so just everyone who cares about us. Well, the wait is OVER!!!

LeiAnn has been picking up extra shifts at work, so she doesn't always feel like keeping up a blog. She prefers to keep up on feeding children and husband. Why would she do such a thing when she clearly hates it and feels like death? Because...

Joe is in the middle of a job change, which many of you already know. He is taking his licensing exams to become an investment advisor, and will be soon starting at Waypoint Wealth Management. He spent the summer working full time and studying in the evenings. He took and passed the state life and disability exams. And recently, he passed the Series 7, which is a beast of a test (6 grueling hours, to be exact). And when I say passed, I really mean he kicked that test's trash!! Anyway, a few weeks ago, he decided to quit working at JRCC because he wasn't able to study very effectively, and he really just wanted to get done. So his last day was the 10th. His last test will be this week or next, depending on when he feels like he's ready for it. We're fine financially while he's in transition, but I have been taking extra shifts when they're available just to make sure we stay that way until Joe's income is steady. When Joe's getting discouraged, I like to show him pictures of his new office.

In addition to studying, Joe got the particularly lovely experience of going to jury duty. He had to report two of the three days he was scheduled in September. The first one was a case about a DUI, assaulting a police officer, obstruction of justice, and hit and run. The lawyer asked Joe if he would be biased if the defendant didn't testify in his behalf. Joe said he would automatically think the guy was guilty if he couldn't look the jury in the eye and say he was not guilty. So he got to go home. The other one was a case of pedophilia (and yeah, the guy lives not that far away from us!). Thankfully, Joe was able to get himself disqualified for that one as well. We are constantly amazed at the serious lack of efficiency in the government. This was a prime example. Joe and 44 other jurors were forced to take 2-3 whole days off work this month and were compensated $10 a piece. Honestly, the $10 is more of a slap in the face than compensation. But the lost productivity is ridiculous. Not only that, but it took an entire day to disqualify almost all of the people there and narrow down the numbers. Dumb!

AJ read a whole bunch last spring and won a ticket to Silverwood (the largest/only amusement park in the Northwest). We were really proud of him, and we promised to use it some time before it expired. Well, Silverwood, being in Northern Idaho and all, is not open all year round, for good reason. We waited and procrastinated and waited some more until we really just had to make the time. Also, we made it halfway through the Book of Mormon and needed a place to celebrate with the kids. So we skipped a few other activities and took off last Saturday. It was a little drizzly and about 50 degrees, and perfect!! We didn't wait more than a few minutes for any of the rides, even the really big coasters. And we were well prepared for the weather, so we were fine. The kids absolutely LOVED it!! Natalie was barely tall enough to ride the roller coasters and more than a little scared, but she bravely rode all day long. AJ just loved it. And they even had great rides for Brooklin, who loved it to death.

Natalie is working hard in school. She is OBSESSED with twinners lately. She insists on picking out Joe's clothes, so they can be twinners in color. And she and her friend, Emily, at school (who, by the way, is the girl with the pink marker) have to plan their hair every day to be twinners. And Natalie is absolutely thrilled that she and Brooklin are both going to be fairies for Halloween this year. Here's a picture of her and AJ doing their homework.

Our activity this quarter for primary was singing at the nursing home. They were very gracious, and the kids enjoyed performing their program songs for the residents. They also got to perform solos, and AJ played "Star Wars" on the piano. I wish I had a picture of his face. He was so proud of himself!!

Brooklin is well on her way to being bigger than Natalie. I measured them for their costumes. Brooklin's chest and waist are officially an inch larger than Natalie's. So I'm making their costumes the same width, just lengthened for Natalie. Brooklin still doesn't talk much, but she signs to us quite a bit. She likes to be helpful by picking things up (most of which she randomly deposited on the floor, but who's counting?) and taking her dirty diapers to the trash outside. She very dutifully folds her arms through the prayers. She knows all of her body parts and thinks it's hilarious to poke people in the belly button. I wish I had a picture of her the other day. She was trying to get out of her high chair and fell head first into the trash can. I would have taken a picture if she hadn't been crying. Luckily, the trash can had been recently changed, so it wasn't gross. And she wasn't hurt, just mad. I realize that I'm a bad mom for laughing at her, but it was just funny.

Validating my Cricut's expense

2010-09-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

Even though I use and enjoy my Cricut for scrapbooking purposes, Joe has accused it of being slightly overpriced. Okay, he might have used the word "ridiculously". But I maintained that it would prove itself. And to establish its worth in my husband's eye, I made him something for his car out of vinyl in about 5 minutes and saved him quite a bit of money.

I had so much fun with vinyl, I also made Peggy some stuff for her house, and I made a Family Home Evening assignment board (which I kind of promised I would do when I got the Cricut...for Christmas a year and a half ago).

Excuses, excuses

2010-09-14T17:56:00.001-07:00

AJ is the king of excuses for why he has not or will not be able to accomplish what he's been asked to do. And while mostly annoying, some of them are pretty creative.

"I can't!"
"I tried!"
"It's hard!"
"Because Natalie was distracting me!"
"The TV was distracting me!" (Even when it's off?)
"The computer was distracting me!" (Also turned off)
"Brooklin made me forget about it!"
"I was going to, but Natalie made me play with her!"
"My brain was distracting me!"
"My brain told me not to!"

Because school is still fun

2010-09-01T10:10:00.000-07:00

I had good reasons to request for Natalie to be in morning kindergarten. It turns out afternoons work better for babysitting anyway, but this morning, I'm reminded about those reasons. Let me list a few now.

7:10 am Natalie - "Mom!! Today is school!!!"
Me - "Not till this afternoon, Natalie."
Natalie - "Ohhhh...."
8:10 am Me - "Bye AJ! Have a great day."
Natalie - "Can I just go on the bus with AJ?"
Me - "No, your school doesn't start until after lunch."
Natalie - "I know, but I can just wait there until it starts."
8:15 am Natalie - "Mom, is it the time yet?"
Me - "No, there's still four more hours."
8:16 Natalie - "Is it the time to go yet?"
Me - "No!"
8:30 am Me - "Natalie, where are you?"
Coming in from outside, Natalie - "I was just thinking maybe I should just walk to school."
Me - "You can't walk to school because you would have to cross the highway, and it's too dangerous, and it's still not the time."
Natalie - "Can I go in three minutes?"
9:00 am Me - "What are you doing?"
Natalie - "I'm looking for some bread to make my lunch."
Me - "It's not lunch time."
Natalie - "I know, but I need it for school."
Me - "You don't get to eat lunch at school. You eat at home, and go to school afterwards."
Natalie - "Well, Mom, I think I should just go now, so I don't miss it."
10:15 am Natalie - "How much longer?"
Me - "Two hours."
Natalie - "Can you just set a timer, so I know how long?"
I set the alarm on my phone.
10:15:30 Natalie - "Can I see your phone to see how much longer?"
Etc.

After school, Natalie was very excited to tell me that she had made a new friend. She doesn't know her name, but she was kind enough to pass a pink marker to Natalie, so they're instant friends! AND! Her teacher's name is Ekko just like Natalie's best friend and neighbor, so that was another point for how cool school is. Her disappointments included (shock and awe) the bus does not have seat belts!! And her teacher did not even ask her what 5+5 is, and she already knows that it's 10.

Of Big Trips

2010-07-02T17:15:00.000-07:00

Joe and I decided to spend some of our tax return on a big family vacation this year. We had limited time and a big agenda; hence, big trip.

The first adventure was at "The biggest dinosaur museum in the world" at Thanksgiving Point. Since our oldest is semi-obsessed with dinosaurs (he literally brought home a different dinosaur book to read every day of the school year), we had to stop. He said, "It was the funnest thing of my entire life!" AKA put a check in the "We're good parents" box. The kids left with a shark tooth fossil (AJ), a pink stuffed snake (which Natalie promptly named Pinkalicious Snakey), and a cute little white owl (which Brooklin named "Baaa..."drool).

We spent the next few days in Monticello, where my youngest brother, Ben, just returned from an LDS mission to Bolivia. He can barely speak English. He gave a non-homecoming talk in church on Sunday. He said he wasn't going to speak Spanish to bear his testimony, but my Mom said he had to.

Here's my kids tackling their Grandpa Muhlestein.

Joe and I got to take a great RZR ride over the mountain to the cabin while the kids rode out with Grandma and Grandpa M. FYI: the RZR can jump, but you have to go pretty fast. Oh, and the governor is between 55-60 MPH :) We had a nice cookout at the cabin and shot skeet while we were there.

Joe kept complaining that we have driven by Arches dozens of times on our way to Monticello, but he had never been. So we broke down and drove up there one day. AJ was so funny. We didn't have time to hike to all the arches, and he really wanted a good hike. So on one of the stops, we had to walk on a pathway between two of the sites between the parking lots. We told him that that was the hike. He didn't think that was okay. He told us when you hike, you have to go somewhere, not from cars to more cars.

The next day, we drove to Las Vegas and stayed on the Strip at Treasure Island. That night, we attended Cirque do Soleil's Mystere show. It was a lot of fun. Even Brooklin was kept entertained the whole time. There's so much to look at; you can't keep track of it all. This particular show is geared to children and has a lot of slapstick humor. The kids thought it was hilarious.

On the way to Las Vegas, our new car was acting up, so Joe brought it to a dealership while we swam in the pool the next morning (thank you warranty). Brooklin didn't like the water, at first. However, by the time to go, she didn't want to get out.

We headed down to San Diego next and spent the evening on the wharf next to the big boats. Joe stayed near there for one of his conventions while he was in school and has wanted to go back ever since. AJ was just disappointed that he couldn't get a ride on the submarine.

The next day was dominated by Sea World. My brilliant husband suggested we buy waterproof cameras for that day, and I think they were worth it. When I get the pictures back, I'll let you know. At least I didn't have to worry about my camera on the 3rd row of the soak zone at Shamu's show. We got absolutely soaked on the Shipwreck Rapids ride. I was still wet when we were driving away.

The next adventure was fighting LA traffic to drop off Brooklin with my cousin, Haley, who very graciously offered to watch her for the day. She might be mad at me when she's older. But per several recommendations and based on her reaction to Sea World, she would not have enjoyed Disneyland. And it would have been a big pain to have one parent sit out of every ride with her.

Disneyland was probably my favorite part of the trip. It is the happiest place on earth, you know. Seeing Natalie meet the princesses was so great!! I think I enjoyed it more watching my kids see it for the first time than I did as a kid. AJ's favorite ride was Splash Mountain (that's my boy!). Natalie loved the Merry-Go-Round. Joe laughed the entire ride through Space Mountain.

I think we've mentioned before how our kids are totally suckered by any and every commercial. The one that has made a big impression lately is "Pillow Pets" (i.e. it's a pillow. No, it's a pet. No, it's both!!!) One of the gift shops had pillow pets, and the kids just HAD to have one. We checked the ol' internet to make sure they weren't a total ripoff and finally gave in. AJ and Natalie are thrilled with them. And we haven't heard the end of how amazing these things are yet.

The drive home through California and Oregon was fairly standard. We took about a dozen pictures of Mount Shasta because the kids were fascinated with the fact that it's a volcano (they're on Joe's phone; I haven't uploaded them yet). AJ told us he thinks it's going to erupt tomorrow despite it not showing any symptoms of such activity. So we had to drive really fast to get away from there.

We even managed to see Andrea and Scott on their way back home where we crossed paths on I-84. We're looking forward to seeing them for AJ's baptism on the 17th.

While we had way more puke than I like on a road-trip, I'm proud to say there were no other bathroom accidents this time. And we made it home with all the children/gear we came with (and more)!

Another $70 down the drain

2010-05-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

Natalie did a great job on her dance. The production was Balanchine's "Jewels". Natalie was a Ruby and looked absolutely adorable. She really loves ballet and is getting better about remembering the steps. Plus, she gets to wear stage make-up, which is just about more happiness than she can stand (yes, we're beyond terrified of her teen years). During the first performance, she got frustrated because the girl next to her wasn't standing on her mark. So she stopped in the middle to point this out to her. It was so funny.

I had to laugh. Another little girl joined Natalie's dance group this spring. Her mom and I were talking the other day about the cost of dance. Natalie's costume for her spring recital was $70, and she gets to wear it all of twice. She was talking about how she wouldn't let her daughter touch it after the recital because it cost so much. And I said something like, "Well, whether she plays with it or it sits on the hanger until it doesn't fit any more, the money is already gone. She might as well enjoy it!"

The Duster's Decor

2010-05-22T17:20:00.000-07:00

The Duster project of the month was refinishing the interior. Joe did a LOT of research and found a kind of spray paint that's flexible enough to do fabrics (and leather). So he used it for the seats and the door panels. The black looks so much better than the green did. The drivers' bench is in pretty bad shape, so he commissioned me to sew him a cover until he can afford to get it reupholstered. I'd do it, but my sewing machine doesn't have nearly the gusto to do something like that. Nor am I that confident in my skills.

Adventures involving the '50. Oh, and a baptism

2010-05-22T16:46:00.000-07:00

Brooklin really likes riding with Daddy!

In April, we took the '50 and the RC cars out to the sand dunes, played around some, and barbequed hot dogs with Aaron Gimmeson, his kids, and Jon Redford. Joe did a fantastic Superman face plant off a jump with the '50. I WISH I had caught it on camera! He was trying to show off for his friends. It was a beautiful 70 degrees and sunny, but the sand was really dry and deep. Makes it hard to ride in. Plus, there's always way too many people. Actually, we were laughing because this kid comes out in a super nice truck with full-blown gear from head to toe on a brand new bike (there's an argument, unresolved, as to whether it was an '80 or '125). His dad was trying to show him how to ride, and neither one had a clue. The dad couldn't even manage to keep his feet on the pegs. The kid did a little better, but kept popping the clutch, wobbling all over, and never once shifted into second. I should have recorded him too.

We attended Joe's nephew, Andrew Crowell's, baptism that night. AJ is getting really excited for his turn in July!

Brooklin likes to climb and hide inside cabinets, etc. She's just cute!

So Easter was a month and a half ago; you're all still interested

2010-05-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

We had a great time coloring eggs and decorating them with glitter, beads, and colored sand. Echo joined us for the fun from next door.

The whole Johnson clan (minus my nephew Steffen) got together for Easter dinner. It was wonderful to have John home from Iraq!! Dyana arranged a huge egg hunt for the little kids. Some of the eggs even had money in them! The weather even managed to cooperate somewhat, so the kids could hunt.

As we marvel at LeiAnn and Joe's talents

2010-05-03T09:38:00.000-07:00

Here is the kitchen remodel from start to finish (minus the inbetweens). BIG DIFFERENCE!! And it only took us a year and a month to complete...

In which Brooklin only appears in the title and pictures

2010-03-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

The weather has been really nice outside this year, so it wasn’t too bad when AJ started soccer a few weeks ago. He’s on a 2nd grade team with his cousin, Andrew, this year, so it’s been challenging for him to keep up with the bigger kids. He really enjoys being part of a team and going to practices. I can’t say that I’m certain that he actually likes soccer, though. He absolutely refuses to take his ball out of the house except for practices and games. Grr…

Our Primary activity was on the 18th of March making fleece blankets for the Church’s humanitarian efforts. We focused our stories on the earthquake in Haiti and how many people are still without homes, but the Church told us they can’t guarantee that’s where the blankets will actually go. We know at least they will warm someone in need. The activity was a ridiculous amount of work and worth every bit. The kids really seemed to understand the service project and were excited about helping others.

Natalie was asked to participate as a Little Sister in the Miss Moses Lake pageant this year. She got to practice all week for a dance that she performed on stage with the other girls. And she got to dress up and escort one of the contestants on stage where she received her own Princess crown and got to walk and wave to the crowd while they read her bio. Her Big Sister, Meghan Houston, gave her a gift set of nail polishes and flower nail stickers and a plush duck, which she is thrilled with. She insists on wearing her crown all the time, and I can’t say I’m surprised. Meghan was voted Miss Congeniality.

Some other fun things we’ve done…I took the kids to see the new Alice in Wonderland. It was a bit weird, but the kids thought Johnny Depp was hilarious as the mad hatter. Joe and I saw our stake’s production of Hello Dolly! on a double date with some friends. The best part of that was getting to spend an evening together without the kids. AJ sold cookie dough for a school fundraiser. For future reference, it’s a ripoff. We found out afterwards that only a very small portion of what they sell goes to the school. And it’s $14 a bucket. And they messed up on AJ’s orders as well as a whole bunch of others. They are very good cookies though.

Joe is ever busy wheedling as much money out of me for his car as possible and spending it on projects that weren’t supposed to need fixing. And apparently loving every minute of it. Some progress though; the car has actually made it out of the garage under its own power. In fact, Joe is driving it home teaching right now. Maybe that’s why he’s not home yet. ;)

While Joe’s been in the garage, I’ve been working on becoming a semi-professional scrapbooker/photographer. Look what I did with the following picture. I don’t know what happened, but something on my camera (the shutter) does this periodically.

I turned it into:

Not bad, huh?

The reason my blogging has been lacking lately

2010-03-01T13:26:00.001-08:00

That's right. 3000 pieces, and we didn't lose a single one!!! Now, I can finally reclaim my dining room.

Detailing 29th birthdays, lime green Mopar, and other such pasttimes

2010-02-28T14:41:00.001-08:00

We've had a few events over the last couple weeks to write about. I turned 29 on Thursday...the first time. My mom says that I can still have my birthday from now on but stay the same age forever and ever. I might take her up on that. Although, Joe bit the dust several years ago (okay, 2), and he doesn't seem too worse for the wear. Then again, he does have a TON of gray hair now. Hmm... I got scrapbooking stuff from Joe, flowers from Joe's mom, money, and a whole bunch of cards. The Primary Presidency took me out to lunch on Friday as well. Friday night, we had the Moses Lake family over for cake and ice cream. I'm perfectly happy with a low-key birthday.

Natalie danced for a cancer benefit dinner a few weeks ago. She did a great job, as usual. Unfortunately, the teacher didn’t really give us some important details beforehand. Like that in order to actually watch the program, we’d have to reserve a spot and pay $50 a plate for dinner. So the parents all crowded out in the hall and tried to see the girls as much as possible. I held my video camera up and tried to record what I could. Joe didn’t even stay because there wasn’t room for anyone extra.

Joe bought a project car a few weeks ago. It is a '74 Plymouth Duster. Sorry, I don't have a good picture of it yet. The one attached is how he wants to paint it. It's already lime green. It's not his dream car, but he's really excited about it. He's fixing a few problems (some minor, some major) before he sells it. The goal is to make enough money to buy another car...which will also not be his dream car, but will get him closer to his dream car. It may take him a few cars, several years, and a lot of LeiAnn's patience before the dream car becomes a reality.

Joe is in Phoenix this week for work. His business belongs to a conglomerate of small businesses. Each season, they pick one of the companies to review. All the owners go to the business, interview all the employees, and make recommendations as to how it could be better run. Many companies pay big bucks to have professional firms perform this service for them, so it's a big deal. He'll be back next week. I'm going to hole myself up in my house and try really hard not to harm any of my kids. Good thing there's school all week. I might go to Tri-Cities one of these days and get the girls' pictures taken while AJ is in school.

That's all for now!

LeiAnn and kids minus Joe :(

Warning!!!

2010-02-27T18:06:00.000-08:00

The following image may offend the delicate sensitivities of some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

Time flies when you're having fun...

2010-02-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

Brooklin is one. As trite as it is, I can't believe she is already this old! She has been such a fun baby, and I can't wait to see more of the person she's becoming. I love her so much and am so grateful she chose to be part of our family. Here are the stats. She is 17#10oz. and 28" tall. That puts her in the 5% for weight and 15% for height.

We had a spur of the moment cake and ice cream party with a few of the family and friends on Saturday night for her. I made her a butterfly cake. Yes, that is a colored pencil in the middle - don't make fun. I didn't have a swirly candy cane like the recipe called for.

Here she is inspecting the cake.

And here she is roughly 2 minutes later.

We had to hose her off in the sink to open her presents. Thanks to those who sent gifts/cards!!

She was pooped by the end of the day!

Here is a few of Brooklin's favorite pasttimes.

Including Christmas, Primary Presidencies, and long overdue posting

2010-01-24T16:53:00.001-08:00

I guess it’s been a month or so since I’ve written an official letter, so I have some catching up to do. Obviously, we’ve been busy. Here’s some highlights.

Christmas was wonderful, of course. Joe and I absolutely love this stage of parenthood. Our kids are old enough to know what’s going to happen on Christmas morning, but young enough that Santa is very real to them. Watching their little faces light up is so much fun! Some of the highlights were watching our kids act out the nativity as part of the ward party, having Joe’s family and Andrea and Scott over for our annual Mexicana Christmas Eve party, and the fabulous presents we spoiled ourselves with. Joe received a bigger tv as a last-minute present from Santa after he accidently dropped our old one installing wiring for me. It was really my fault because I was taking care of the baby instead of helping him. Or maybe it was Brooklin’s fault for messing her pants at a bad time . I think I made out like a bandit. A week before Christmas, Joe decided to check out a local furniture store’s “1/2 off” sale, thinking it wouldn’t be really that good a deal. It turns out it was!! We’ve been saving money for new furniture for our dining room and bedroom, so I got a brand new dining set and bedroom set for Christmas. I also received a Cricut die-cutting machine from Santa for scrapbooking. AJ is really into dinosaurs this year, and he got a few puzzles to that effect as well as a bunch of toys from Grandma Johnson. He also got a big slot car racing track that needs a home, so it can stay put together. Natalie FINALLY got the infamous cupcake maker she asked for last year. Turns out all the reviews are right. It’s WAY easier to make cupcakes the normal way. And yet, she loves it! We kind of felt like Brooklin got the shaft, but what do you buy a 1-year old? Santa went out of his way and got her a ball-popper toy, which she does enjoy. And of course, there were all kinds of clothes and other necessities that Joe made us wrap and put under the tree. We have a standing policy that anything non-perishable bought post-Halloween has to be wrapped and placed under the tree. I can’t tell you how thrilled I was to finally open my new socks. The old ones were in shreds by the time Christmas came.

I got called to the Primary Presidency right after Thanksgiving, and that has taken a ridiculous amount of my time. We’ve had bulletin boards to put together (still a work in progress), binders to prepare for all our teachers, reorganizing of classes, baptisms to attend, as well as just getting through each Sunday! I’m the 2nd counselor, but I’m the only one who’s actually been there each Sunday. Over the holidays, the others all left me alone to fend for myself.

We are still making improvements to the house a little at a time. Joe built me some floating shelves to fill a gap on the kitchen wall. They really look great! We tiled the toe-kick in the kitchen. And we’re working on finishing some wainscoting in the dining room. Joe has been working on refinishing the bathroom countertops.

Brooklin is a stink. She has decided that anything and everything is funner if it’s out of drawers, boxes, or cupboards. Her favorite thing to do is get in the bread drawer and scatter my loaf of bread from one end of the kitchen to the other. She also enjoys digging in flour, dishwasher detergent, and laundry detergent. I broke down and bought child-proofing tools again. I’m afraid of her.

We’ve all been sick a lot over the last month. Brooklin came down with pink eye the week after Christmas. That same afternoon, she woke up from her nap, and her whole face was swollen and puffy. So Joe took her to the doctor for more antibiotics. About the time she got over that, AJ came down with a hacking cough. It was bad enough that I had to give him breathing treatments every few hours. He finally succeeded in giving it to Joe and his sisters this week. I’m claiming the benefits of Echinacea as the reason I’m still okay. Knock on wood. I’ll probably get sick tomorrow, right before I have to go back to work.

AJ and Natalie are engaged. They kept saying they were going to marry each other when they grew up, and we kept telling them that brothers and sisters don't get married. So the next question, naturally, was, "So who can we marry?" We told them that they could marry someone LIKE Alex and Monet, who are the kids of some friends of ours the same ages as Natalie and AJ. The next time they were playing together, they told Alex and Monet that that was the plan whether they were okay with it or not. They also have a 3-year-old boy for Brooklin to marry, so we're all set.

Our stake conference is this weekend. Last night at the adult session, they were talking about the importance of temple work. They told us that in our stake something like 50% of our members are less active. Also, 1/3 of the members who have held a temple recommend don’t have a current one. I wonder of those who do have a current recommend, how many attend regularly. We’re not always great about going every month, but we went last week and are still feeling good about ourselves.

Because it is way cuter coming from Natalie

2009-12-24T08:23:00.000-08:00

I tried to convince her not to rock in the chair, but she assured me that it was necessary for the song!

Of Milestones

2009-11-23T17:53:00.000-08:00

Brooklin decided to knock out another milestone yesterday. See for yourself...

Of doctor visits

2009-11-10T09:58:00.000-08:00

I took the girls to the doctor yesterday for checkups. Natalie was 31# and 40" tall, which is less than 3% for wt. and 7% for height. Brooklin is 15#9.2oz. (5%) and 26" tall (7%). I swear I feed them!

I almost forgot the biggest news! Brooklin took her first steps on Monday night. She doesn't know she's too little for that!

Because Brooklin is only 9 months old for 31 days

2009-11-04T14:18:00.000-08:00

Here’s a cute picture of Brooklin flying. By the way, she got her second ear infection of the month. This time, she didn’t even have a runny nose. I took her in because she wasn’t sleeping well and seemed grumpy (Brooklin is never grumpy unless there’s a treatable cause…hungry, dirty diaper, ear infection). I just want to get tubes in her ears, but the pediatrician isn’t ready to go there yet. Ugh!

In addition to flying, Brooklin’s talents at 9 months old include climbing all the way up the stairs unassisted (if you don’t count me hovering over her in case she decides to try her luck at going back down), standing without holding onto anything, walking with help, and eating everything small enough to fit in her mouth. She even ate Vietnamese cuisine with me. My favorite thing she does right now is she cocks her head to the side when she giggles. If you’re holding her, she lays her head on your shoulder. It’s the closest thing to a cuddle we get, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s adorable.

The one where we take a "Girls' Trip"

2009-11-03T14:50:00.000-08:00

Natalie felt bad that she wasn’t invited on the “Girl Trip” to see Wicked in September. So I planned a girl trip of our own as one of her presents from us for her birthday. We drove down to Tri-Cities on Friday morning and shopped till we about dropped. I miss stores!! We had lunch with Dyana and her girls and then shopped some more. That evening, Natalie got to wear her Sleeping Beauty dress for Jeremy and Dyana’s ward trunk-or-treat. Arri and Paige were Little Bo Peep and a Lamb (so cute!!). Natalie said the best part was the costume parade. See the previous post for a picture of Natalie and Arri.

The next morning, after I had officially spent our life savings, I took Natalie to see Disney on Ice: Worlds of Fantasy. She absolutely loved it. Her exact words when we got in the car afterwards were, “Mom, Disney on Ice was just a dream come true!!” I wish I had a picture of Natalie’s face when Tinker Bell came flying out onto the ice (isn’t it cool to be 5 years old and not notice that she’s strung up by wires?). I was really impressed by the production. The skaters were actually very talented, the costumes were well done, and it was all-around enjoyable for me as well.

We got some great pictures of the girls playing in the leaves at Dyana’s house while we packed up all our stuff.

Because Halloween is fun, darn it!

2009-11-03T14:01:00.000-08:00

Scott and Andrea came down for a mid-week visit on the 21st. We spent the day carving pumpkins and finishing the counter for my desk upstairs. The pumpkins turned out fantastic. We got lots of compliments on them from our trick-or-treaters.

We quickly cleaned up Natalie's birthday party on the 24th and went over to the Gimmeson’s annual “Power-tools only Pumpkin Carving Contest.” In addition to lots of great food, we really enjoyed seeing all the pumpkin creations. Joe even took 3rd place with his African tribal pumpkin. The last minute “Joe Rules” pumpkin, for some reason, didn’t place. We thought my swirly pumpkin could have taken the trophy, but I didn’t have time to finish.

Here are our Halloween pictures: Natalie as Sleeping Beauty and Arri as Little Bo Peep, the pumpkins in their glory, the trick-or-treaters, Liz in her Pocahontas get-up, Joe as Travis Pastrana, and Brooklin the ladybug. AJ was a clone trooper (Star Wars, of course), but I somehow missed getting a good picture of him. Joe actually drove the ’50 around the neighborhood while the kids trick-or-treated. It was fantastic way to let the bigger kids keep going while he ferried the younger ones home when they got cold.

When Natalie turned 5 and was undoubtably a princess

2009-11-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Natalie’s 5th birthday on the 19th. Natalie got all kinds of great presents and cards. I got her tickets to Disney on Ice, which I'll blog about later. The birthday boy/girl in our family gets to choose all the day’s meals, so we had waffles, Pasta-Roni, and clam chowder with homemade bread bowls. Grandma and Grandpa joined us for dinner and dessert. Of course, Natalie wanted both cupcakes and cake for her birthday.

We’ve been slacking off the last few years and haven’t given Natalie a proper birthday party, so we repented and gave her a Princess party this year on Saturday, the 24th. Her friends, Lanie, Taylor, Vivian, Kamrie, and Monet got to dress up as princesses and color princess pictures and make princess crowns and play Pin Cinderella on the Castle. Then, we had cake and ice cream and opened presents. Natalie is one spoiled little girl. She got princess Barbies, a ballerina Barbie, a princess puzzle, watercolors and princess pictures to color, and a butterfly necklace and rings. And that’s not including all the presents from family!

We had a birthday dinner with the family on the Nov. 1st for Liz and Natalie. It was a ditto of Joe and John’s birthday dinner with homemade pizzas and chicken wings. Yummy as always!

Where the sand dunes meet CR50 racing

2009-11-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

Joe took the ’50 and the kids out to the sand dunes one Saturday with Aaron Gimmeson and his kids. They had a great time. Mostly, Joe and Aaron let the kids run wild while they raced each other. And Natalie only almost hit the truck! AJ is starting to get over the incident last year at Grandma’s house (He fell over…it was a wimpy wreck at best).

This is Joe riding with the guys from Business Networks, who came down to critique JRCC.

Of Nirvana and Birthday Cupcakes

2009-10-15T11:17:00.001-07:00

These last two weeks seem to have gone by so fast. I blinked, and they’re gone. Joe celebrated his 31st birthday yesterday. He received money (which he tells me is going to be used for his next demolition derby car), a ShopVac for the garage, new winter gloves, and lots of hugs and kisses. Brooklin just kind of slobbered on him and smiled, but I think he knew what she meant. We rode the 50 with AJ and friends around the neighborhood. AJ still rehearses his speech about wrecking last year at Grandma’s house every time we mention the dirt bike, but he did much better yesterday. We also supported our local FFA by perusing their pumpkin patch and bought five pumpkins for carving. Actually, we mostly spent the day cooking yummy things to eat. We made pancakes, our spicy orange chicken wings, cupcakes (side note: Natalie told Joe that she was “so proud” of him for choosing cupcakes instead of a regular cake), and personal pizzas (courtesy of Joe’s mom). I think we dirtied every dish in the house.

Joe’s brother, John, is home from Iraq for a few weeks, so we went over there Saturday night and ate dinner and visited. We spent Sunday afternoon over there as well. And last night, John came over here before he had to leave this morning. It was very nice to see him, but, like always, it's hard to see him go back. We wish him well with peace and safety!

Joe and I gave a really interesting lesson in church on Sunday. I’m not entirely sure that the kids in our class didn’t going to go home and tell their parents all about original sin, the quadratic equation, being “saved,” and/or achieving a state of nirvana. But hopefully, they at least got that if they memorize the Articles of Faith, we’ll bring treats.

Brooklin apparently doesn't get bathed enough because she still thinks the water is HILARIOUS!

I've been trying to catch Brooklin giggling on video because baby giggles just don't last long enough. My other kids always want to star in these videos.

Joe the Demolition Derby Racecar Driver

2009-10-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Last week I was finally able to do something I have wanted to do since I was a kid.

I was able to drive a demolition derby car in the races at our local rodeo arena. I realize this may sound lame to some, but let me explain. This is a short 1/8 mile oval with 8 cars in FULL CONTACT racing. There’s additional prize money for the most aggressive driver out there (i.e. take out the most competitors). The wonderful part about this is my buddy/boss has paid for everything (the car and all entry fees).

So they start out with the time trials, and I was all kinds of nervous. But I ended up pulling off a 12.89 second lap which I later find out was the 7th fastest lap of the night. This qualified me for a trophy dash. They run two trophy dashes; the first for the fastest four and a second for the 5-8. Well on the first lap, I was spun out by a faster car, and the guy behind him smashed into the driver’s side rear corner. I need to add they hit hard. While I was trying to recover, I swear I ate 2 lbs of dirt. I was in a front wheel drive car, and all of my competition was in rear wheel drive in this race, so I was eating their dirt the whole time. My goggles even had ¼ inch of dirt in the bottom. Needless to say, I took last in my race.

Anxious to redeem myself, I was in a regular heat race next with a more diverse group of cars. I was quickly able to take the lead, and I looked up ahead and there were two cars all tangled up in front of me (perpendicular). So in my .5 second analysis of the situation, I decided to try to hit one of the cars right in the rear axel. I neglected to account the fact that the car I hit was a Cadillac El Dorado as seen here.
http://www.avicarcollection.com/PICT0021.JPG/PICT0021-large.JPG
Needless to say I was stopped dead in my tracks, and I was passed by two other cars. I was able to get my car going again, and I ended in third place. I did talk to the guy I hit and he told me it was possible the hardest hit he has ever experienced (I bent his rear axel smashed his rim and blew out his tire and he had to cut back his rear fender a bunch to clear a new tire).

My last race of the night was called an Australian Pursuit. In this race, you start staggered around the track. When you get passed, you pull over and stop. When there are only two cars remaining, you race for 1 more min and if there are no more passes, then you call it a tie and split the money.

In this race I was just running for dear life, and I could have sworn I was being passed on every corner. The back end of my car was bouncing over the ruts so hard I was told it was 1 ½ feet off the ground. I ran about 12 laps, and I was right behind the two cars trying to take each other out when the guy in front of me finally completed his pass.
We go for another 3 laps and I realize we are the last two out there. I was not going to catch him, so I let off a little and coasted to a tie for 1st in that race.

I ended up winning money in two of my three races totaling a whopping $50 which I gave to the my buddy who had $500+ invested at this point.

In summary this was one of the most adrenaline filled experiences ever!

This is a video I took of my co-worker driving the same car in a different derby before I busted the car up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vNByRBi848

Of Growing Up Too Fast...

2009-10-01T09:24:00.000-07:00

September must have been extremely busy because I haven’t had a chance to sit down and actually write what’s been going on! Actually, my work schedule has been miserable. They’ve been penning me in wherever there was an opening because several people have quit. I feel like when I’m home, I’m either sleeping or working non-stop to keep the laundry and dirty dishes from overrunning the household.

In the midst of being perpetually tired, we managed to do some fun things. We took down the old mirror in the bathroom and replaced it with a nicer one. The mirror was seriously stuck to the wall, so it took a big ol’ drywall patch.

We got our backsplash up in the kitchen. One more notch on the way to DONE!!

AJ started school at Garden Heights and LOVES first grade! He is reading more. He brings home a book every night and gets to choose a treasure for every 10 books he reads. So far, we have read nothing but dinosaurs, and it’s great!! I keep thinking one day they’ll run out of dinosaur books for him, but not yet. AJ has officially graduated from speech therapy…yeah!!

Natalie started ballet again. She’s doing well. We’ve almost got her skipping for real!

Brooklin has entered the bumped and bruised baby stage. She insists that she will walk by the time she’s 9 months old, as evidenced by her current abilities of standing with help and climbing stairs. She also grew her first two teeth (the bottom middles) and had her first ear infection this month. Actually it was her first sickness of any kind (she’s never even had a runny nose to this point). We’re just realizing how non-baby friendly our house is.

Joe has been called to the scouts for the same age group as our Sunday School class. To which, Kyle Hirz replied, “Are you serious? Awesome!!”

Joe’s mom, Liz, Liz’s friend Jamie, Dyana, and I spent the second weekend of this month in Seattle and attended a performance of “Wicked” at the Paramount Theatre. The show was FANTASTIC!! Absolutely worth every penny we spent! We drove over on Friday and spent time shopping, reading good books in our nice hotel room, and enjoying all kinds of food that none of us had to cook or clean up after. Despite getting lost in downtown Seattle and nearly missing the show and the blisters I got on my feet from running several blocks trying to get to said show (oh, and who could forget when Brooklin ate so much at the Cheesecake Factory that she literally burst?), we had a great time!!

Joe already gave a pretty full synopsis of his demolition derby racing experience, which he’s still smiling about. Last week, his work sent him to Bozeman, MT, for a mold remediation training. We missed him terribly while he was gone!

The fair

2009-08-24T17:20:00.000-07:00

Joe told me I have to explain the raw fish comment. We have a strong belief that small business owners, especially ones trying to bring a bit of culture to our white trash small town, should be supported. Even if it’s not really our thing. So a new Japanese restaurant opened recently, and Joe took me to lunch, even though I don’t like fish. Joe had teriyaki beef sushi with eel sauce. I had a Hawaiian sushi roll with tuna, avocado, and mango. The bad news is that I didn’t like it. But the good news is that it wasn’t the raw fish. The real fishy flavor was not the tuna; it was the seaweed paper it was rolled in. So the moral of the story is that if you don’t like seafood, but want to support your local sushi restaurant, ask specifically for it to be wrapped in soy paper (which is mostly tasteless) instead of the seaweed.

The fair was this week, so we spent a few days down there looking at all the exhibits. Some were pretty impressive, but there were a lot that we thought, “Wow, I could do a lot better than that.” I took the kids to the Carnival on Tuesday. AJ is finally tall enough to ride the big kid rides. He and his cousin, Andrew, honestly rode rides as fast as they could until they were ill. It was pretty funny. They both had looks of terror on their faces and held on for dear life the whole ride and then got off and told me how AWESOME it was! Poor Natalie was too short to ride most of the rides by herself, but I think she had fun anyway. Liz snuck on the roller coaster without a ticket, so Natalie could ride on it.

Joe and his coworkers decided to turn Ben’s old Cutlass into a demolition derby car. Here, they don’t just crash into each other until only one car is left standing. They do full-contact racing and such. They made their derby debut on Wednesday night. And the car actually won its heat! In another round, it was doing pretty well until it blew a tire. The car is still running and is really not too much worse for the wear.

Friday night, Joe and I took the kids and just walked around the fair. Oh, and we ate our obligatory Space Burgers. It’s apparently a big deal around here to get hamburger pressed into a circular disk by a sandwich-press. But they are the cheapest thing to eat at the fair.

Sunday, we had dinner over at Joe’s parents’ house to celebrate his nephew’s 20th birthday. All kinds of fun!

We met with AJ’s new principal at Garden Heights this morning. She and the special services people seem very on top of things. We’re very excited to work with them. AJ’s even really excited to go back to school. Especially since he won’t be spending 2 hours on a bus every day.

Finished concrete

2009-08-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

This week we finished off the concrete counter. We got sick of waiting for our friend to come over and help, so we read everything we could find and went for it ourselves. The color is not exactly as we wanted, but I think we’re just happy it’s done.

It’s kind of scary because when the acid stain dried, it left a white residue that didn’t wash off after we neutralized and cleaned it. You can’t see the final color until it’s sealed. So you just have to hope that it’s the right color.

AJ went to the doctor this week for a checkup. He’s 47 pounds and 4’1” tall. That puts him in the 25% for weight and the 75% for height. The concern we had was that he was wheezing when the doctor tried to listen to his lungs. So we don’t know if he has asthma (which wouldn’t be a shock given his health history) or if he just has some virus causing it. So he’s doing breathing treatments all week to see if it gets better.

Oh, and Joe convinced me to eat raw fish on our date.

In other news

2009-08-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

We went to a retirement party for one of Joe’s bosses on Friday night. Lots of good food, but slightly chilly weather at the park. I can’t decide if that’s better than too hot or not.

Brooklin decided to crawl to mark 6 months of life. I thought she’d bulk up a little bit once I started solids with her, but she had other plans. She saw the doctor this week for a checkup. She’s 13#8oz. and 25 inches tall. That puts her in the 5-10% for weight and 10-25% for height range. She fits right in at our house!

Before and after

2009-08-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

If you’re wondering why it’s taken me this long to write, it’s because all week long, I’ve been going from this…

to this...

We still need to paint the walls, add hardware to the cabinets, stain the island countertop, and put up the backsplash, but the bulk of the messy work is FINALLY done on our kitchen! We got the cabinets finished (we may still add trim – haven’t decided), granite installed, and our new sink and faucet in this week. I love it. Yes, I eventually plan to have matching appliances too. Just probably not this year.

Utah Travelogue

2009-08-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a serious long journal for the next bit, so those of you bored by such are free to skim and enjoy the pictures. The kids and I took off for Utah on July 22nd with my sister, Andrea, as backup adult support since Joe couldn’t come until the next week. Here’s what I learned after 16+ hours in a car over 2 days – I have the BEST KIDS EVER!!! This is largely due to Joe’s incredible mother, who made AJ and Natalie each a backseat toy/colored pencil/book holder. They were able to keep all their stuff organized and easy to play with. Not only were they entertained for the entire trip (without the use of any electronic devices), but they were a LOT cleaner. Andrea was shocked at how good they were. When they both started to get tired, Natalie announced that they needed their pillows because it was bed time. Even Brooklin was an angel despite the long ride. We had to stop every 3 hours or so to feed her, but she didn’t complain at all. We stopped in Twin Falls, ID, for the night and took our time getting to Monticello the next day.

I’m pretty sure we just bummed around Friday playing with Peggy and her kids until it was time for me to go to my class reunion. I saw lots of high school friends and met their spouses and ate a delicious dinner prepared by Heather Frost Holm and her family. Macie got to come with us because Natalie couldn’t bear to leave her at home with Grandma and Grandpa, so everyone thought I had four kids instead of three. When I told them that Macie was Peggy’s daughter, everyone went, “Oh, yeah. Definitely.” I was really disappointed at how many people didn’t come to the reunion though. It seems like there is a LOT of people from my class that live in Monticello and didn’t show up. And there were quite a few others that I know were in town and still didn’t come. I was really worried that it would be just like high school, and everyone would separate into their respective cliques, but it didn’t seem that way to me at all. In fact, there were a few people that I thought, “Why didn’t I hang out with him/her in high school? He/she’s so cool!”

Saturday morning was the Monticello parade. I swear our kids scored enough candy to last several lifetimes. It totally filled the basket under Brooklin’s stroller plus a few grocery bags as well. I’ve decided small town parades are way funner than big town parades because you know the people on the floats. Even here in Moses Lake, it seems like every float is a blatant ad for some business and nothing more. No one gives out treats; they give out flyers for their business. We got to sit with my Aunt Tamara and her 18-month-old grandson, Cooper. He’s quite the busy little boy. The abundance of candy was partially due to CJ, the pre-missionary my parents were fostering until he left for the MTC this week, who collected and gave our kids everything he found.

That evening, I abandoned my kids to go on a cookout with their grandparents while I went to part II of the class reunion. We had a very nice dinner catered at the K&A Chuckwagon. The presentation included updates on where everyone is and what we’re doing. The families of Darla Redd and Brandon Larcival (who both passed away since we graduated) gave us an update on what they were doing before they died tragically. We signed cards for the families with our favorite memories. I’m really glad I went.

Sunday was church and a visit to Grandma Muhlestein. I had a déjà vu moment when we got out of church and saw actual rain in Monticello. I thought I was in Kansas for a minute the way it was pouring down. Despite being parked right next to the door of the church, we all got drenched. Here is a picture of me and Andrea and a couple of the kids. You can’t tell very well, but we were dripping wet.

Sunday evening, I brought Natalie, Macie, and Lydia over to Shannon Young’s house to visit and play with Avery. Shannon gave me a tour of her house. They’ve done a lot of work, and it looks great. She told me all about living back in our tiny hometown after the metropolitan community of Kansas City. There are some definite advantages and disadvantages to each!

Monday evening, we went out to Grandma and Grandpa Harvey’s house for a visit. I haven’t been out there for a LONG time. It’s always fun to see them. The kids got to put their names on Grandma’s fridge as the last ones to visit.

Monday for FHE was shooting rockets at the elementary school. The kids had a great time chasing the rockets and rolling down the hill. AJ was the brave one who had to be hoisted onto the roof by Grandpa Muhlestein to retrieve a wayward rocket.

Tuesday morning, Andrea, Brooklin, and I took off for Salt Lake. Andrea’s flight left shortly after Joe’s flight from Spokane landed. We planned it pretty well, so I exchanged one passenger for another and didn’t even have to park at the airport. Joe and I continued our trip to Logan. We decided to visit some friends and see how Cache Valley has changed since we hadn’t been back since we moved. We wished we had time to see everyone! As it was, we saw a few friends when we made a deposit at Deseret First Credit Union (where Joe used to work). And we were able to see a couple of Joe’s old mission buddies. One of them was gracious enough to watch Brooklin for us while we hit 9 holes at Logan River golf course. It’s as fun as I remembered it! Our friends told us they wanted to adopt Brooklin after a couple hours with her. I must admit, she is pretty adorable! That night, we drove back down to American Fork and stayed at Dennis and Gayla’s house.

After a fantastic breakfast prepared by Gayla, Joe and I were able to attend an endowment session at the Mount Timpanogas temple. Joe and I got asked to be the witness couple for something like the 5th time in a row! The last time was in Spokane when the temple president asked us to be the witnesses before we’d even handed them our recommends!

Wednesday afternoon we drove back down to Monticello and went to bed. While we were gone, the kids pretty much terrorized Grandma and Grandpa:) Actually, they spent plenty of time on the trampoline and enjoyed the time with their cousins.

Natalie decided she wanted her hair cut while we were gone. So Peggy gave in and cut it for her. She actually wanted it as short as her friend, Avery Young (Brad and Shannon Young’s daughter from Monticello), but I said she had to keep it a little longer, so we can pull it up for ballet. It really was getting long and stringy on the ends.

We abandoned our kids again to go golfing at the Monticello Hideout on Thursday morning. It is a beautiful course and challenging, too. I would love to spend more time down there. There’s not too many places where you see deer on the course!!

After that, I got us ready to go camping while Joe played around with his RC car. (Grrrr). Then, we headed out to the beautiful LaSal mountains with the rest of the family.

Friday morning, we heard our neighbors hundred or so dogs (okay, it just seemed like that many when I was trying to sleep) barking up a storm. Turns out they treed a bear! Poor little cub of a thing was scared half to death.

This is AJ and Dallin on their “treasure hunt.” It included a map made from a piece of bark!

These next few pictures are of the hike up Mount Peale. Most of us had to turn around due to small children part of the way up, but a few (including my trooper, AJ) made it almost to the top.

Saturday morning we packed up and headed back to town. After a few desperately needed showers, Joe and a few others drove over to Cortez to see the Extreme Rock Racing finals.

Saturday night we drove out to the cabin to play with tannerite, which was rumored to create really fun explosions when hit with high-powered ammo. So we set up a bunch of rocks and stuff to blow up. After an hour of not hitting the target, the boys had to sight in Dennis’ rifle, and we finally had an explosion. It wasn’t quite the pyrotechnics we were expecting, but it pulverized everything around it.

Sunday after church, we all packed up and headed for our various homes. Joe and I stayed at a cheap hotel outside of Twin Falls and finished the drive on Monday.

The first picture is driving through Red Rock country near Moab. The second one is Deadman’s Pass through the Blue Mountains of Oregon.

Natalie's best friend

2009-08-05T11:23:00.000-07:00

Ever since we moved into our house, Natalie has been instant best friends with the girl next door, Echo. Every night, she prays that she and Echo will have a chance to play together. When we got home from our 2-week trip to Utah, Echo and she ran into each other's arms. They're so cute! One day before we left, Natalie started posting these home-made arrow signs all over our house. I couldn't figure out what she was doing. She told me that, "They're so Echo can find me at our house." She's so silly.

More kitchen messes

2009-07-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

The last couple weeks have been spent trying desperately to get the appropriate help in finishing our kitchen and failing miserably. As a result, my kitchen is torn apart, spewing its messes into the far reaches of the rest of my house, with very little progress being made.

We managed to get help to get the island painted on Saturday. I love the color and am extremely anxious to get the rest of it done. Joe is a pro with the spray gun!

In other news, Joe and I celebrated our 8th anniversary by a round of golf and dinner at a local restaurant. Joe tried to make himself look good by adding 10 strokes to my score, but I wasn’t having any of that.

Peggy made a comment about how Brooklin seems to fall asleep wherever she's laying just like Natalie. I thought it was funny that Natalie fell asleep in almost exactly the same spot as the picture of Brooklin I took.

AJ and Natalie Look-alike-Meter

2009-07-14T15:49:00.000-07:00

Brooklin

2009-07-14T15:30:00.001-07:00

July 4th

2009-07-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

Joe and I are very grateful to live in this beautiful country and have the freedoms we enjoy and for those who freely serve our country and protect our way of life! We're also especially grateful for family and good friends to share our lives with.

We spent the morning recovering from AJ's party, and then hung out with our friends, the Gimmesons, for most of the rest of the day, with a visit to Grandma and Grandpa Johnson thrown in there. After another BBQ at Aaron and Melissa's house, we watched the city fireworks from the Stake Center lawn. The kids were pretty pooped by the time we went home last night.

AJ is 7!

2009-07-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

We were still feeling guilty after promising AJ a pirate party (because we live on Pirate Lane) last year and not being able to pull it off (because we had just moved, and I was pregnant and tired). So this year, we got it done right.

Friday evening, AJ's and his cousins/friends got to make their own pirate flags, fish for pirate gear (swords, eyepatches, etc.), and run an obstacle course with water balloons. There was the necessary water wars, and even the adults didn't escape. After games, we ate dinner and cake and ice cream. AJ got some great presents this year. He's really excited about playing LEGO Indiana Jones for the Wii.

We're really grateful to have AJ in our family. He's an awesome kid, and we love him so much!

Brooklin can eat real food

2009-07-05T16:09:00.001-07:00

Brooklin is experimenting with solid foods. Mostly, we just mash up whatever we're eating and give her a bit. I've heard someone say that it takes at least 3 tries for your palate to get used to and like or dislike foods, which makes feeding babies interesting. Here's Brooklin trying peaches. By the way, she ended up really liking them. She's also very fond of bananas, potatoes, and ice cream. However, the Reese's Piece that got dropped on the floor in front of her, which she promptly put in her mouth, was not a winner. She spit up chocolate and peanut butter all over her clothes.

This baby likes to be outside, especially in the grass.

Concrete or bust

2009-06-28T21:27:00.000-07:00

Joe and I poured our concrete counter for the island this week. It turned out that the only day he could get that done with the guys from work was the only day I had available to make my years' supply of jam. So we just worked around each other!! But man, it was a mess (and still is in places).

The deal with concrete counters is that (1)It takes a lot of either research and/or know-how to do them. (2) It is very labor and time intensive. But (3) The materials are ridiculously cheap. I think we're in less than $100 total, where it would have cost us more like $400-500 to do granite or something else on our island. The concrete has to cure for 7-10 days before we can polish, acid stain, polish again, and seal it. Oh, and you can't set anything on it or use it at all before it's sealed. I hope it looks good when we're done!

My sister-in-law told me about a place that sells strawberries for $1 a pound if you come and pick them. So I took the kids with me and we picked 15 pounds of strawberries! Liz came over with a bunch of blackberries Nathan picked last time he was camping. We used my kitchenaid to get the seeds out of the blackberries. Then, I canned a batch of blackberry jam, two batches of strawberry jam, and two batches of mixed berry. It was a lot of work, but I'm really pleased with the results. Jam is not cheap, and we go through a lot. Plus, homemade jam is so much tastier than store jam packed with high fructose corn syrup.

Yesterday, we took a little trip to Spokane. AJ's birthday is on Friday, and we decided it would be cool to celebrate a little early and take him to the new Transformers movie in IMAX. He is still raving about it, even though we had to walk 1.5 miles to the theater because downtown was closed off for Hoopfest. We're busily putting off getting ready for his birthday party on Friday!

Happy Fathers' Day!!!

2009-06-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all the fathers out there on their special day. I appreciate everything you do! I firmly believe that our world and its prosperity is directly linked to the work you do within your home and the good example you set for your wives and children. My own father is an incredible man who I respect and love more than I can say. I look back and realize that every choice he made was done with love and with the best interests of his children at the heart of it. I would not be who I am nor have my faith in God except for his example to me, so THANK YOU!!

And I want to say a special thank you to my poor abused and neglected husband (he informs me that this is not usually the case, but you can refer to the previous entry for your own judgment)!! Joe is one of the best people I have ever known. He is absolutely my best friend in the whole world. He loves his children dearly and desires more than anything their happiness in life. His family is the most important thing in his life, and I couldn't have picked a better man to spend eternity with!

This week's adventures

2009-06-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

With the warmer weather, we've managed to make it to the pool several times already, taking advantage of our season passes. The water is still a little cold, but it feels good when it's over 90 degrees. Even Brooklin has seemed to enjoy splashing around in her floatie. I need to get pictures next time we go. The kids are taking swimming lessons from their cousin, Zachary. AJ can tread water, reducing my "I hope my kids don't drown" anxiety a smidgeon. They both have water-in-the-ears fear, so that's the next hurdle to tackle.

Saturday, we celebrated my niece, Arri's, third birthday at a party at her house in Tri-Cities. She's adorable, and her mother, Dyana, threw a very enjoyable party for both kids and adults. Even Becky and Toni were able to make it on their way to visit Becky's parents in New Mexico.

After the party, we had a bit of time to do some summer clothes shopping for Natalie before we headed home. Natalie loves to play "fashion show" with her new clothes, so I took some pictures. Here she is in one of her favorite new outfits.

I have to confess that I'm a horrible wife. We played with friends late Saturday night after we got home, and I completely forgot it was Fathers' Day on Sunday morning. Joe, very politely, asked me if I would make him pancakes for breakfast, and I told him no because we didn't have time before church!! I didn't even realize
it until we got in the car to go to church. So I made Joe a big dinner with pie and ice cream for dessert to try and make up for it, but I still feel miserable about his being abused and neglected. We also had Joe's dad and Liz's family over for dessert. Check out the strawberry pie that Nathan made...it was at least as good as it looks!

Ballet Recital

2009-06-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

Andrea and Scott came down to support Natalie at her second ballet recital. Grandma and Grandpa Johnson made it as well. Nat got to wear a new costume and makeup; it was so exciting. The theme was Stars and Stripes Forever. The Pre-Ballet danced to the William Tell Overture. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

June 6, 2009

2009-06-06T10:40:00.000-07:00

I stink at journaling, I know. We’ve had a busy month. Joe’s work had the opportunity to go whitewater rafting by Leavenworth. Joe was the only one smart enough to bring sunscreen. Some of his coworkers still refused to use it, saying that they would “burn once, and then tan the rest of the summer.” They all got horrible sunburns. His boss had the equivalent of second degree burns that he had to get prescription ointment from the doctor to treat. Dad’s words of wisdom keep ringing in my head, “Life is hard – but life is harder when you’re dumb.”

Joe and I went to Packwood, WA, again for Memorial Day weekend. We forgot our camera, so we only got one picture with Joe’s iPhone. This year’s purchases include a dresser for the baby and a glass cake display/punch bowl. This year was not nearly as exciting as our Labor Day adventure because we knew where to find Joe’s parents’ camper, and the weather was perfect! We were also much better prepared with strollers for the kids.

Joe and I had our first totally successful project!! I say that meaning that we didn’t encounter unexpected difficulties, and we only had to go to Lowe’s once to finish it. And it’s completely done and functional! We installed pendant lights above our island. We also moved on and installed under-cabinet lighting. That project can’t be quite finished until we’re done painting though. Joe got all excited about painting the cabinets and removed all the doors from my uppers. I REALLY wish he would have held off until we were actually ready to paint. I don’t think my cabinet organization is that horrible, but it was never meant to be showcased!

My baby is 4 months old. She’s such a sweetie. She can roll over both ways with ease to my dismay. I like it when I put babies down, and they stay put! She’s trying really hard to sit up on her own as well. After her doctor’s appointment got rescheduled a few times due to an emergency at the hospital (which, by the way resulted in me getting only 3 hours of sleep before I had to go back to work that night), the baby finally got another clean bill of health. Brooklin is 12#4.8oz. and 23” tall. When the doctor told me, I said something about how chunky she is. She just looked at me, laughed, and said, “LeiAnn, she’s in the 25%.” I’m just excited she’s on the chart.

This is a picture of Joe practicing our paint spraying skills on our headboard. We needed a test project before we tackle the cabinets.

2009-05-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

Joe and I have been busily pulling apart and trying to put back together our kitchen. As a direct result, the rest of my house is a disaster as well. However, we are making headway. There’s just a smidgen of light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s there.

We also tiled the entry while we were at it. The extra cost was negligible (literally like $10) since we did our own labor. Never mind my dirty dishes and dirty carpet in these pictures. Next up is finishing caulking the trim, adding trim to the cabinets, painting the cabinets, installing the countertops, tiling the backsplash, redoing plumbing …. I told you it was just a smidgen of light.

AJ was honored as student of the month for responsibility in April. Joe and I made time to go watch him get his award on the 1st. We have to encourage that type of behavior any way we can! His teacher says he has been much happier lately has been very cooperative. We made that day AJ’s day and took him out for dinner and a treat after school.

I got exactly what I wanted for Mothers’ Day this year. Since we’re remodeling, I told Joe not to spend extra money on me. I had to work Saturday night, and on my way home Sunday morning, I was thinking that what I wanted more than anything was a hug from my kids and my husband to make me some of his super-delicious crepes for breakfast. When I walked in the door, both of my older children ran and gave me a big squeeze and told me they loved me. And Joe was at the stove cooking crepes! Not only that, Joe had spent a bunch of time cleaning and vacuuming my whole house Saturday night, which I was not expecting. I also got flowers from my mother-in-law. My family is so great! AJ was so sweet. He came home Friday from school with a present for me. He tried to hide it when he got off the bus behind his back. He was so excited to give it to me!! AJ always spends so much time picking out gifts because he wants to get you just the right thing. He knows I use my calendar a lot to keep everything organized, so he got me a calendar with a bunch of different stickers for appointments, doctor visits, etc. P.S. I tried multiple times to call my mother to tell her how wonderful I think she is, and I never got through to her. So Mom, I love you! You are fantastic, and I thank my lucky stars that I get to be your daughter!

I got my hair cut today. I try to take pictures, so that if I really love it, I can show the stylist what to do again. I love getting my hair done! I love how soft my hair is and smells so good.

Stranger Danger

2009-04-28T12:25:00.001-07:00

This is a little embarrassing, but I'm posting this because I know there are other parents out there who will sympathize.

We took the kids shopping at Lowe's the other day for various kitchen remodeling pieces. While in the faucet aisle, the kids seriously just disappeared. Joe and I turned around, and AJ and Natalie were both gone. So we started looking around a few aisles thinking they couldn't have gone far and couldn't find them. We had to call a Code Adam. As soon as it was called, they emerged from behind some big items in between the aisle, and a store clerk found them. They thought it would be funny to hide from mom and dad.

So we decided it would be a good idea to have a family home evening lesson on stranger danger. We spent the evening playing out scenarios of how a stranger could get them if they're not careful and explained further why they have to stay with mom and dad in the store. The kids thought it was so funny to play "Stranger Danger" that Natalie has been asking me to pretend to be a stranger all day, so she can run away screaming, "You're not my mom!"

2009-04-26T20:21:00.001-07:00

Last weekend, we attended Moses Lake Stake’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” with Joe’s family. The stake spent quite a chunk of change on the musical, and it turned out pretty decent. There’s talk that they want to do “Les Miserables” next year, but the orchestra said, “No way!” They had a hard enough time playing the music for this play. The costumer vetoed “The Lion King”, and the set-designers balked at “Phantom of the Opera”. There are evidently not enough black people here to do “Hairspray,” so who knows what they’ll do? Someone suggested “Grease”, but the Mollies and the Peters thought it was WAY too racy. In fact, the high school did “Grease” a few years ago, and apparently a big part of the Mormon community here boycotted it, of all the ridiculous things.

Jeremy and Dyana came up for the play and stayed through the weekend. So we spent quite a bit of time Saturday and Sunday over at the in-laws playing games, hanging out, and eating a lot of really good food. Joe’s mom was kind enough to let our kids hang out at her house on Saturday afternoon while Joe and I took in a game of golf. Thank you!

I went to parent-teacher conferences on Monday. AJ is doing very well academically. His teacher says he continues to explode periodically when things don’t go his way, but he hasn’t been violent or disruptive. He just needs to figure out a better way of dealing with his temper.

We started ripping apart our kitchen. It’s going to be a HUGE project, but I’m really excited to see the end result. I got a request to go into more detail, so here goes. So far, we've cut off the peninsula and made it an island. We're adding a 18" drawer base to make the island bigger and expanding the cabinets along the wall by where the island used to connect with another 24" base cabinet. We are raising every other upper cabinet and adding trim for detail. Then, all the cabinets are going to be painted (white) and glazed (with a light brown). We replaced the light fixture, and we're adding under-cabinet lighting and pendant lights over the island. We're replacing the counters with granite/concrete, replacing the sink and fixtures, and redoing the backsplash all the way up to the cabinets in tile. Oh, and we're tiling the floor as well.

Here's Captain Underpants. He thought he was so funny.

Brooklin videos

2009-04-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

Brooklin - Happy

Brooklin - Sad
If you're thinking to yourself that Brooklin wasn't really crying, it's because she never really cries. She is the best baby! I don't know what we did to deserve her, but I hope we keep it up.

Easter egg hunt

2009-04-17T14:03:00.000-07:00

Easter

2009-04-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

It seems like I let one week go by because we didn’t do anything, and then it’s been three weeks all of a sudden.

Conference was wonderful. We spent Saturday shopping in Tri-Cities, so we were late listening to all of the sessions, but we did listen to it all. The beauty and downfall of not being able to watch it live on tv is that you can watch any time, but you have to make sure to do it.

AJ and I have been sick. He had a fever that kept him home from school a few days. I know he’s well enough to go now, but he would really like to stay home, and he’s been pitching a fit every morning when the bus comes. He’ll be out of school again Monday and Tuesday for conferences, so that doesn’t help anything. I just have a little cold.

Easter was also wonderful. We colored eggs the night before and had an Easter egg hunt outside. Joe mowed the lawn yesterday and found a missing egg – at least there was only one! We had a big dinner at Joe’s parents’ house for Easter. It was delicious, as always. The kids are still finishing off their Easter candy, or rather; Natalie is finishing off everyone’s Easter candy when we’re not looking.

Testimony meeting is always interesting. I was in the mothers’ lounge with the baby where it was quiet, so I actually got to pay attention. I have no idea who it was, but one man’s testimony went something like this, “You know, my son is a big football fan like me. And he always goes for the quarterbacks. But I really like the guys nobody knows about, like the linemen and the defensive guys. And in the church, the prophet is kind of like the quarterback. Like Joseph Smith is great and all, but I really like the twelve apostles, you know. And in the New Testament, Jesus is wonderful, like the quarterback of the team, but I just find myself rooting for His disciples. And I just think it’s great that we have a new apostle in the Twelve…” Wow!

Joe and I splurged on golf passes to the course next to our subdivision. Joe has been playing really well lately. I’m not as bad as I used to be! We can take Natalie and AJ with us, now that they’re a little bit older, but Brooklin is technically not welcome. We’ll have to figure out what to do with her while we go. Last time we went, we just pushed her stroller through the course, but I’m pretty sure that we’re not supposed to do that. Lots of fun though!

I went back to work on Sunday night. Ugh… It wasn’t as bad as I was afraid, but I survived, and so did my patients.

Happy 2 months!

2009-03-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

My baby is already 2 months old. Brooklin is a sweet baby, and we couldn't be more thrilled that she is part of our family. She smiles all the time and sleeps 6-7 hours every night. In fact, she rarely cries at all. She's happy to sit and observe what the rest of us are doing for the most part. At her checkup today, she was 10#7oz. and 22 inches tall, which puts her in the 25-50% range. She's perfect!

Soccer

2009-03-29T18:47:00.000-07:00

Let's see if this video of AJ's soccer game will work.

2009-03-29T18:32:00.000-07:00

I have a couple good stories for the week. Friday night, to celebrate AJ getting bumped to the advanced reading group at school, we took the kids to Wal-Mart to pick a toy. We also decided it would be a good time for them to get to spend some of their allowance. Our kids have a really hard time picking up after themselves, so we instituted allowance as a reward based incentive verses punishment, which hasn’t been very effective. Anyway, I felt horrible for the people in line behind us because we took forever helping them count out their money to give to the clerk. On the way out, a man actually approached us and asked if we were doing okay financially because he saw us counting change. When we explained that we were trying to reward our children as well as teach them about money, he was actually pretty impressed. It’s nice to know there are still nice people in the world.

We painted Natalie’s bedroom this weekend. It was a bigger project than we anticipated, but I’m happy with the results. And unlike some of our other projects, it’s completely DONE!

Today, I got a call from Natalie’s teacher in Primary. She said they were talking about the Holy Ghost, and she was whispering the lesson for effect. They explained that you can have the Holy Ghost with you all the time when you are 8 years old. Natalie got a really worried look on her face and said, “I don’t want that when I’m 8. I’m afraid of ghostesses.”

We have to be careful what we say around our kids. AJ got out my Twilight DVD and was watching the bonus features. Natalie walked in the room and asked, “Why are you watching the extra crap?” She’s also taken to expressions like, “Oh, snap!” which are hilarious in her little voice. It’s a good thing Joe and I only para-swear.

Despite the rain and 40 degree weather, Joe and a friend shot 18 holes of golf at the nice golf course yesterday. His friend does business with the pro shop, so they let him golf for free and bring others along. Joe’s pretty excited thinking that he might get to go more often as long as he maintains that friendship.

week of March 22nd

2009-03-22T22:09:00.000-07:00

This week flew by, which is odd because we really didn't do that much. The weather has been nice, so we took a few walks and played with AJ and Joe's RC car a few times.

We installed new (well, refurbished) cabinets in my laundry room. It looks much nicer and cleaner - at least it will when Joe's tools get out of there. I also started organizing all my scrapbook, sewing, and other craft projects in the cabinets upstairs. They're not installed yet, and I still need to buy the countertop I'm going to put up there to work on all my various projects. One of Joe's coworkers came over yesterday and gave us all kinds of ideas about what we should do with our dining room. What he wants to do wouldn't cost that much, but the excess isn't budgeted for. Stuff like that can kill you when you're doing home improvements. Everything is just $100 more.

AJ was pretty cute last night. He didn't want to go to sleep because he was afraid he'd have nightmares. So Joe went up and was trying to calm him down. AJ said, "Do you think we could ask Jesus to help me not have nightmares?" So of course, Joe helped him say a prayer. Then, AJ asked, "Dad, will you help me pray every night?" There's hope!!

That's it for now.

P.S. Liz and I went to WalMart for the midnight release of the Twilight DVD. Yeah, we're geeks. We know. Andrea put a Twilight background on my blog, and I'm not even gonna make her change it.

A bunch of boring stuff

2009-03-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

Joe FINALLY got his Traxxas Summit (an expensive radio-controlled truck) in the mail. It was his turn to decide what to do with our tax return, and he really wanted a toy. I’ll have to post some video of him playing with it on YouTube since my blog has been rejecting my videos for the past few months.

AJ started soccer again this spring. It’s COLD! At least he gets to run around to stay warm. I hope it warms up a bit and soon.

I took the kids to Big R to see the baby chicks, speaking of spring. They were sure cute.

We had friends over last Sunday for dinner. We took pity on Ben and Shannon, who are in the middle of remodeling their kitchen.

AJ really needs to learn to behave himself at school. He had a bad day last week and ended up in the principal’s office again. Joe permanently relieved him of his light saber as punishment (he broke it in half in front of him). I don’t know what we’re doing wrong with him, but we’ve had it with him in trouble. Nothing we do seems to get through to him.

I took the girls to Spokane last Monday to get pictures taken and visit Andrea on her day off. We pretty much only had time for pictures and a bite of lunch at the mall. I had to drive home in a snowstorm to get AJ off the bus in time. I barely made it! The pictures turned out adorable – both girls were VERY cooperative. I wish I could afford to buy them all! But then, I think, where would I display all of them?

And pictures of the house and baby, of course…

Brooklin’s smiles are getting more frequent and much cuter than I can ever manage to capture with the camera.

Last week’s project was replacing the light fixture in my kitchen. It turned out to be a much bigger project than we anticipated because the old fixture was attached in the wrong place. So we had to move the wiring over a floor joist, put in a new wiring box, drywall patch the other hole, and paint the ceiling again to get the new fixture in.

This week, we started painting cabinets for our upcoming kitchen remodel as well as for my laundry room and craft area upstairs. We also finished tiling the upstairs bathroom and almost got the toilet back in place. Unfortunately, the water supply line we bought was too short.

Baby blessing and such

2009-03-04T16:08:00.000-08:00

My birthday was last Wednesday. I celebrated by chopping my hair off and by taking a nap that morning after AJ got on the bus. Joe took me out to dinner that evening. He made it special by showing up in a suit complete with a dozen roses. He even arranged for babysitting, so I didn’t have to. I got multiple monetary donations to our house renovations as well as some jewelry, lots of cards, some treats, and Facebook/email shout-outs.

Thursday was AJ’s nutrition night at the school. They learned about eating healthy meals and emphasized eating breakfast every day. It’s funny. I feed AJ breakfast before he leaves for school in the morning. Then, AJ eats school breakfast again almost every morning when he gets off the bus. They taught the adults about the dangers of energy drinks and soda. We gave ourselves a pat on the back for not drinking the stuff like other people do. The interesting thing we learned is that a lot of energy drinks have alcohol in them as well. And since most people don’t know that there’s alcohol in them, they’re being sold to teenagers and people are drinking them in schools and workplaces all over. Scary!

The kids participated in a service project for primary on Saturday morning. We made cards and sung songs for a few of the nursing homes here in town. Joe and I were there to help as part of our calling as Valiant teachers.

Brooklin’s baby blessing was this Sunday. In her blessing, Joe said that she had a “strong heart” and that it would lead her to make right choices. He blessed her with wisdom and a desire to stay close to her family. Lots of people were able to attend, including Scott, Andrea, Joe’s parents, Liz and her family, Ben Justesen, and Brett and Jeni Hellewell. After church, we celebrated at our house while the kids destroyed my house. (Really, it wasn’t that bad). We also celebrated my and Dyana’s birthdays since they were both this week.

AJ had his first visit from the tooth fairy last night, who is apparently a lot richer now than she was when I was a child. AJ has a few more loose teeth, so it won’t be long before he gets visited again. I can’t believe he’s really that old.

As for our house, we’ve managed to tile the upstairs bathroom and get it painted. Looks good so far!

Almost done bathroom remodel

2009-02-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

All we did in our spare time (besides playing with the baby) this week was work on our bathroom remodels. We’re fairly close to done with the downstairs bathroom. It looks really good so far and makes us excited to finish the others.

Brooklin is still healthy and happy. She often sleeps 6 hours during the night – I don’t know how we lucked out there.

AJ got in trouble (AGAIN!) at school and had a half day suspension as a result. For punishment, he had to give the Wii to his cousins, who had theirs stolen recently. He might get it back if he doesn’t get in trouble any more this year. In his defense, the reasons he keeps getting in trouble is because other students are doing things that he perceives as wrong, and he is trying to remedy the situation. This week, AJ saw another little boy take a lunchbox on the playground that wasn’t his. The other kid was trying to bring it to a teacher, but AJ thought he was trying to steal it, so he took it away and pushed the kid down. When a teacher tried to intervene, AJ got really upset and hit the teacher too. Not good.

Anyway, here’s a couple pictures of the remodel.

Home improvement

2009-02-17T14:35:00.000-08:00

My mom and dad drove up from Utah to help me the week after Brooklin was born. It made my recovery so much easier!! Simple things like getting AJ on the bus and entertaining AJ and Natalie would have been absolutely miserable for me to try to do by myself while I was still in pain from my surgery and trying to feed a newborn every 2-3 hours. It was nice to spend some time with my parents, even though I know they were bored after day 1. My poor dad had to resort to trimming my cherry tree and other labors to stay busy.

By Saturday the 7th (which was my original due date), I was feeling enough better that Joe and I decided to start tackling some of our home improvement projects. Joe and my dad bought paint and tools, and we painted our dining room. It looks so good!! We also switched out the light fixture for a chandelier Joe found on sale. We still need window treatments, chair rail and crown molding to finish the room… and a new dining set and a new area rug and shelves or something to store tablecloths and such in...

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson finally got to come see the baby this week. They’ve had pneumonia and other various illnesses, so they graciously stayed away to prevent the baby getting sick. It must have about killed them to do so, but I know Brooklin appreciates it! They brought dinner one night and spent the evening with us.

This last week we’ve started working on our downstairs bathroom. So far, we’ve pulled up the vinyl flooring and subfloor, layed down hardibacker, replaced the toilet supply line (not because we broke it; it was just really cheap), pulled off the tile backsplash and mirror, mudded over the backsplash and various holes in the wall. Next, we’re going to paint, replace the vanity light fixture, and lay down tile. It’s really fun to have a project like this, but expensive! The hardest part is not having all the tools we need. We really have to work hard to keep our budget in check.

The baby had her 2-week checkup on Friday. She is already up to 7 pounds, 12 ounces and 19.5 inches long! I am still in awe at the difference of having a full-term baby. It astounds me that I don’t have to wake her up to eat or worry about jaundice and all the little things that I had to worry about with AJ and Natalie. Brooklin’s such a good baby. She’s already starting to sleep 6 hours at night. Unfortunately, she likes to stay up until midnight before she goes to bed. But I guess that’s better than waking up for the day at 4 am. It would be nice if she’d sleep in her crib, or even her bassinet, but she’s pretty sure that she needs to cuddle all night to be happy.

Andrea and Scott came over Sunday for a visit. They were nice enough to bring us a replacement entertainment center since ours had a big crack in it when we bought it on our last trip to Spokane. We boxed the old one and sent it back with them yesterday. We didn’t do much besides play with Brooklin and rip holes in my bathroom walls removing tile other than that, but we enjoy spending time with family. We even convinced Scott to hold the baby. He swears that he doesn’t want one of his own, but I think we’ve managed a crack in his resolve. They had to leave yesterday afternoon, so Andrea could study for a test.

Meet Brooklin Annalise Johnson

2009-02-06T10:36:00.000-08:00

Brooklin was born January 30, 2009, at 6:14 pm. She was 7 pounds, 1.6 ounces and 18 3/4 inches long. She's perfectly healthy! After a difficult pregnancy, we are counting our blessings for such a beautiful baby. We can't believe how different and better it is having a full term baby after two premies. Little miracles like the fact that she wakes up on her own when she's hungry are not lost on us!

My parents are here from Monticello, Utah, to help me as I'm recovering from the cesarean section. We're so grateful that they're here. I don't know how I would have survived without them to get AJ on the bus every day, clean my house, and make sure my house continues to function properly.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-30T18:06:00.001-08:00

AJ and Natalie’s letters to Santa were pretty darn cute. All Natalie asked for was cupcakes, which we had Christmas Eve for Zachary’s birthday. AJ apologized for getting on the naughty list (he got sent to the principal’s office 3 times this semester!!!) and promised to be good as long as he didn’t get “black rocks” for Christmas.

That night we read the kids our three traditional Christmas stories (How the Grinch Stole Christmas, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, and the real Bible story of Jesus’ birth) and put them to bed. Joe, who’d worked all day prior to our party, quickly fell asleep on the couch as soon as the kids were settled. I woke him up around 10, and we wrapped a few remaining gifts until 1 o’clock. Santa had to stay up late to get to our house after we went to bed, but we heard there were others in the area up way later than us.

Joe and I generally don’t buy ourselves big items except as gifts, so Santa was able to be pretty generous with us. Joe got a new LCD flat screen, and I got a piano. AJ was most excited about new Star Wars games for the Wii. Natalie got a whole bunch of nail polishes and chapsticks and purses and a motorized puppy she’s been asking for forever and clothes, among other things. But the only thing she cared about was that Santa didn’t bring her cupcakes for Christmas. Santa was confused. Unbeknownst to the big guy, what she wanted was similar to an EasyBake oven specifically for cupcakes. You can’t win them all, I guess.

After a greatly needed nap for me, we headed over to Grandma Johnson’s house for a fantastic steak dinner with the family. I had to leave early to go to work of all the awful things. We were really busy that night too. I was grateful that I didn’t get scheduled for Christmas Eve though. That would have been much worse.

Natalie's Ballet Recital

2008-12-30T17:59:00.001-08:00

Natalie participated in her first ballet recital on the 13th. They were so adorable! She really enjoyed seeing the older girls dance as well. We have lots to look forward to. You can't make out faces very well on the video because of the lighting, but I'll post it anyway if my computer will let me.

AJ's winter...ish concert

2008-12-30T17:54:00.001-08:00

AJ’s kindergarten winter concert was the 9th of this month. Joe and I were somewhat disappointed. We crowded ourselves into a tiny gym along with what felt like thousands of other parents only to hear AJ sing two songs that were neither festive nor Christmasy. One of the songs (although I use that word loosely) had to do with a snowflake, but that was as close as we came. I realize that schools have to be religiously neutral, but what’s wrong with a little “Sleighride” or “Walking in a Winter Wonderland”? Frankly, I would have been overjoyed to hear a Hanukkah or Kwanzaa song from my son. I don’t think avoidance entirely promotes tolerance any more than focusing on the majority’s beliefs. Jumping off the soap box…

I have a video of his concert that I'm going to try to upload, but I don't know if it will work or not. My computer is being dumb.

More knots

2008-12-09T08:52:00.001-08:00

Natalie's knots

2008-12-07T11:26:00.000-08:00

Natalie has recently figured out how to tie knots...so she ties up anything and everything. I've decided to catalogue some of the things she ties up.

This week's news

2008-12-07T11:23:00.000-08:00

We’ve pretty much spent the last week trying to recover from our journey. Natalie has pinkeye (and maybe an ear infection that we’re gonna get checked out tomorrow). AJ is over his cold and bit of a stomach bug. Joe is over his bout with a nasty stomach bug. And I’m still trying to get over a cold as well.

However, we did manage to get our Christmas decorations put up. I had an ultrasound to make sure the baby is okay. My doctor wasn’t terribly pleased when I lost weight over Thanksgiving and am measuring smaller than I should be. Everything looks just fine for now though. The little one is sure an active child. She rarely sleeps. Or maybe she just sleeps when I do. That might be a really good thing!

We went to the Primary Christmas party on Friday night and listened to a few really talented musicians and a few not-so-talented ones. They're just kids; plenty of time to improve. There was plenty of pizza and desserts afterwards. We told the kids that Santa might be able to come, but we weren't sure. When Santa walked in the room, Natalie's face absolutely lit up. She exclaimed, "I knew he would come! I just knew it!" I didn't have my camera, so one of our friends in the ward took pictures of our kids on Santa's lap and is supposed to email me with them. Joe and I are loving being in the golden age of Christmas with our kids. It really is magical for them, and it's so fun to watch!

Scott and Andrea came down yesterday to pick up a bed frame we brought home for them from Monticello. We were pretty boring and mostly sat around all day while Scott and AJ played pretend Star Wars battle. AJ went to a birthday party for one of his classmates that afternoon. He was such a sweetheart. He’s been talking to McKenzie all week long about what she wanted for her birthday, and she said she wanted a dolphin. So we got her a toy dolphin as well as a My Little Pony. When she opened it, he said she was really happy about getting the dolphin, and he was very proud of himself!

A Monticello Thanksgiving

2008-12-07T10:38:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was pretty eventful for us this year. We left Monday evening when Joe got home from work for Monticello. We didn't get on the road until after 5 pm because we had to finish running errands here in town before we could go. And then, we made it as far as Tri-Cities before the check engine light came on in the van. Joe's iPhone proved its worth for the first time on the trip as it allowed us to quickly locate a Schuck's where they diagnosed the problem as something minor and turned the light off.

With all the delays, we only made it to Baker City, Oregon before we decided to rest for the night. The hotel was the cheapest we could find, and we definitely got what we paid for, from the non-pre-heated room to the chintzy continental breakfast. Oh, well. It could have been worse.

Tuesday, we pretty much drove all day long. Our kids enjoyed a few movies courtesy of Joe’s work laptop along the way and read books or slept the rest of the way. We’re really grateful for seasoned travelers! We planned our stops to include Apollo Burger and Gandolfo’s, two of our favorite restaurants not found in Kansas or Washington. We made it to Monticello around 9 pm that night.

Joe got to go on a motorcycle ride with my brothers and dad on Wednesday. He only crashed pretty hard a couple of times! Thankfully, no major injuries were incurred. And Ben’s bike only received mild damage as well. Maybe Jed will send us the video of one of the wrecks. It was pretty funny.

The kids spent the day playing with the cousins and Uncle Scott, who has firmly solidified his status as favorite uncle. It’s like he just can’t help playing with the kids. I helped my mom bake pies and troubleshoot her oven, which was on the fritz.

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious, of course. We were saved by Grandma Harvey’s turkey, since the oven wasn’t working. My mom baked another turkey for leftovers in her big crock, but it took all day long to cook. Joe represented our family at the church for basketball and such.

Friday, my dad took my kids on a hike to see some ancient Indian ruins while Joe and I stayed home and rested. My dad’s hikes are notoriously farther and longer than he thinks they are. I decided that it probably wasn’t the best idea for me to go since I get winded going up the stairs these days. And Joe was coming down with one of the various illnesses going around the house, so he stayed home too. We’re told our kids were troopers and didn’t have to be carried at all!

What a fun thing to be able to have everyone (except Ben, of course) come down for the holiday! I know it’s really hard for us all to plan something like that, but it’s always worth it to be together at the same time.

Joe and I left for home Saturday morning. We had to stop every two hours all the way home for my poor pregnant body and its various ailments, so we took our time. We stayed the night in Boise and drove the rest of the way Sunday.