A Johnson Tradition

A few years ago, my mother in law said she would love to have a picture of her grandkiddoes every year before snow falls. It has become a fun tradition and more and more of a task as they grow in size and in numbers. It's funny to try and get just one shot with all of them looking at the camera. This year the kids are 8 months to 14 years (and everything in between).

 Thirteen out of Fourteen smiles.

 Cameron, Elliot, Noah

(Ben and Stephanie)

 Trey, Seth, Sadie, Aiden

(Brady and Melinda)

 Chloe, Hanah, Livy, Collin

(Trevor and Jenn)

 Emma, Erin, Josh

(Jeremiah and Aimee)

Youngest to Oldest.

Sun in your eyes?

Frightmare's at Lagoon

 Cari is so awesome. She is our favorite aunt. For lot's of reasons. One reason is that she always treats us to a day at Lagoon in October. Erin and Brynlee especially look forward to this every year.

 Jer and I took Err and Bryn for a while so that Lyns could actually ride some rides (last year she was prego with Mason). Bryn kept telling us she wanted to ride the boat. So, we took her on the mini-tidal wave in the kids area. As soon as we sit down, she points to the "big boat" (tidal wave) and says "not this boat. That boat." So, we took her on that one. She was so excited.. look - no hands. Until it really started to go. Then that ride wasn't so fun. She is so much fun. She will try anything. There were a few rides that she said weren't good and so we didn't go a second time, but she was willing to give them all a chance.

 Jer, Josh, Devin and Mason were there with us. They just don't love posing for pictures. Shocking.

Thanks, again, Care! It was so fun!

Crazytown

I'm still not thrilled with the fact that Summer is over. I love Summer.

School started on August 27. There were a lot of things on our list of things to do during the Summer that were skipped. There just wasn't enough time. I know I felt like there wasn't, but the kids probably wouldn't agree. They had a lot of boring summer days this year. With both Jer and I working, they were left to entertain themselves part time. Having school start was a good thing, right?

Emma was a little nervous on the first day because she wasn't sure who was going to be in her class and she has a new (to the school) teacher. But, once she got inside and found out that her teacher is the class clown, she relaxed and has loved every minute of sixth grade. Mr. Pendleton is good with all those 11 year old dweebs. Joking about poop a lot seems to keep them all on task. Em is really having a great year so far! No anxiety. No stress. She is all smiles. I couldn't be more thrilled with how far she has come!

Erin spent her last week of Summer counting down the days till school was starting. She went with that beautiful smile on the first day. . . and must've left that smile at school. She is doing the Emma thing all over again- school phobia. Even though Erin is shy, she has never been so attached to my leg before. The anxiety has actually landed her in the hospital already this year. She has worried herself sick. So sick that she spent Wednesday at Primary Children's Hospital with doctors worried that she might have appendicitis. She comes by that naturally - the anxiety part. Darn! I was hoping that would skip her and she wouldn't have to go thru what Emma did.

Josh handled the first day of 8th grade like there had been no summer. He continued with his tradition of wearing the current ManU jersey on the first day of school. For being a kid that doesn't care about girls or fashion -he sure cared about what he looked like on the first day.

Sadly, this picture is the only B-day picture I got of Joshie. His Birthday was on a Saturday this year and he had a soccer game that day. So, we opened gifts that morning and I promised no pictures in his jammies. He had a great Birthday this year. He scored in his game that day (first goal for him in 4 years since he's played defense till this season), he got bacon and spam from the B's (and $ for college), an Amazon gc from the J's, earbuds from Cari, FIFA and a Panda gc from Jer and I and as always, money from Grandma Morton. He really could have gotten nothing and he would have been happy. Josh is an amazing kid. He was ordained a Teacher in the Priesthood by his dad on Sunday and we had family over for dinner. I can't believe my Joshie is getting so old (and BIG-taller than  me). He really is everything a mom could hope for in her son. (Even though he changes the password on his sisters iPod often just to irritate her. Last time he changed it to "I'mnottellingyou" so that when she asked what it was he would tell her and laugh as she cried because she couldn't figure it out).

 Sunday, September 9 was my big sisters fortieth birthday. Wow. We are getting up there. :) Her best friend threw her a Surprise Party on Saturday night and then we had a family party on Sunday.

 I found this cute idea on Pinterest (a major addiction of mine) and turned it into my own thing. It was cute and hopefully made for some fun decor in her office after the party.

 Mom had fun finding all of Cari's best pictures and displaying them all over for everyone to laugh at.

Erin keeps changing her smile. She is losing teeth like crazy lately. I do love her smile - teeth or no teeth. I mentioned before that she  has worried herself sick lately. It's killing me. She is such a mommies girl any way, but the last couple of weeks have been really hard. She's been working with the school counselor and today she got a candy bar from her for going to school 8 days in a row!

 She spent Wednesday at the hospital having tests run (found out she has an intestinal blockage due to stress) and as if that wasn't enough torture, I took her to the dentist on Thursday for two root canals and three fillings. This wasn't my best idea. Her stress level is already off the charts. So take her to the dentist? Ugh. After an hour of her clinging to me and screaming, I caved and said I would just suck it up and pay the extra for the laughing gas. She calmed right down and watched an entire movie while they drilled and poked and filled her cavities. I do wish I could have her suck on some laughing gas every morning before school now. Is that so wrong of me? If we could use it to calm her nerves just until she gets over the morning anxiety she might not feel so sick all the time.

 On a whole other subject - I moved branches last week so that I could have more hours at work. After my first day of a "long" shift, I was on my way home and a teenage girl did this to my car:

I wasn't hurt. She wasn't hurt. But my car that I love so much was definitely hurt. I hate driving it around like this. It looks so WT. The insurance adjuster is supposed to come do an estimate next week and I will probably have a rental for a bit while my baby is in the Acura hospital. So sad. But, I do love my job and the new branch. It's so not convenient as far as location, but it's a fun job with lots of benefits that make it worth it.

So that was a super random update, but at least I can sleep tonight knowing I finally blogged. ;)

I'll take a Super Cheese, a large fish, two Arctic Pups, a Footlong with extra sauce and a large Cherry Coke.

This summer has been so crazy weird. I've never been a working mom during the summer so it's been a huge adjustment for me as well as the kids. Now that it's coming to an end, I hope the kids are feeling like it was fun and everything our summers always are. I've tried my darndest to fit all the same activities as always and even though there have been days where the kids sit around in their jammies till I get home, we have still had tons of fun!

Josh played in the Freedom Festival 3v3 Tourney over the 4th of July. It was so hot! The games were only 25 minutes long, but in 100+ degrees, that was plenty long. I had to work on the 3rd so Jer took the kids and then when I got off work, I headed straight there. I missed the first game (which was painful - I don't miss his games).

The best part may have been dinner after the games. We took the girls to Cari's house for a sleep ovuh and then Jer and Josh and I went to Glades in Spanish Fork. Oh baby. Just typing the title to this post made me crave it all over again. It's my fave!

The girls went to the Provo Parade with Cari on the 4th and then hung out all day until the Stadium of Fire! Cari is the best aunt ever! She entertained them for two days! And Grandma and Grandpa B. got to party with them at the Stadium of Fire! Erin slept through it all, but Emma loved it all (even the Beach Boys).

Jer and I had to work on the 24th so the girls went with my mom and dad to Spanish Fork for the parade and fun at the fire station. So glad my parents and Jer's parents have been able to spend time with the kids this summer! Every chance the girls get, they walk to Grandma B's to hang out.

The girls have had a couple of sleepovers with Grandma J. Emma said she had TWO pb&j sammies at midnight last time. I asked her if grandma knew she was eating that late and she said "Yeah! She made the sandwiches for me!"

A couple of weeks into the new job, I went out to go to work and discovered my car had been broken in to. We reported it to the police, but here's the weird thing: they didn't take a thing. I'm still confused as to who/what/why... but grateful that nothing was taken. They just emptied the console and the glove box out onto the seats.

(?, Jace, ?, Aiden, Ethyn, Erin, Ceyara, Jaxon, ?,  Ms. Nielsen)

Erin LOVES her teacher from last year so much that we had a play date with her during the summer! She is so awesome! We would love it if Erin could just be in Ms. Nielsen's class until 12th grade. They had so much fun at the park! They had a little water fight - which was actually a good thing since it was SO STINKING HOT!

When Josh is at soccer training, the rest of us try to entertain ourselves. It's too far to drop him off and go home, so we usually walk the track, wander Target or go to the Lake at Daybreak. We finally found a way for the girls to actually look forward to soccer nights. Last time Erin took bread to feed the ducks. So fun!

Emma had a dance recital at the end of her dance year. It was pretty disappointing - not because Emma didn't do a great job, but because the whole thing lasted 10 minutes. She has been wanting more in the way of clogging lately. So, we did a summer dance camp with another clogging team and she loved it! It was 4 days last week and that was more what she has needed.

Josh has played in the Freedom Festival, the Impact Tournament and the Utah Invitational. He also spent a week at Camp Tomahawk with the Scouts. Busy summer for Joshy! He got 8 merit badges while there and  brought back SO MUCH DIRT! We have one more Tournament to go before school starts - the Adidas Cup. Should be another fun weekend full of soccer and sunshine!

We spent a few days at the cabin and the girls are getting ready to go on a camping trip with the B's this week. I have a lot more blogging to do to actually get caught up, but this is a start.

It's the Closing Ceremonies for the London Summer Olympics and I'm sad it's over already! We've had fun watching the USA take Gold in so many sports!  Emma decided her favorite part was the "stick jumping." Josh loved that his practice was canceled so that they could all watch the Brazil v. Mexico game. And Erin loved the "twirly gymnastics with hula hoops." I love it all, but the BMX track was fun and the women's US soccer team ROCKED in the semi's against Canada!

Well I didn't tell anyone but a bird flew by so what I done is set up a nest outside....

I don't know that I have ever let myself go that long without blogging. I'm feeling so bad about not keeping up it. We have kept plenty busy and I have had tons of "I gotta blog this" moments, but I have honestly not had a minute to spare since before school got out. It's in the a.m. now and I shouldn't be up, but if I don't blog now, I may never.

This Spring was crazy town around our yard. The birds moved in and they tried to take over. We had a nest in the front yard in the tree. This nest was very neatly built and we were entertained for weeks as the birds came in and took over. Every time one of us would go out to move the water we would be dive bombed by the ma or pa. We were so so careful, but one day after school, the kids found the nest on the ground and no birdies to be found. So sad. I'm not sure if a cat got to them or what, but we found three dead birds and an empty nest. The nest became a great show n tell at school, but had a sad story attached to it.

A couple of weeks later, my dryer was giving me grief. I seriously was having to run it 3x to get the towels dry. Jer got up on the ladder and cleaned out the dryer vent. Sure enough, there was a nest. Unfortunately, that did not fix the dryer. So, a few days later, Josh and Emma got brave and went out to look at what was blocking the airflow. Josh reached in and quickly pulled his hand out after feeling more than just a nest.

 They took turns getting up on the ladder (notice the incredibly inconvenient location of the vent) and taking pictures of the little buggers. I called Animal Control but they were no help. So I called a Bird Rescue lady in Logan. She said they were Starlings and needed to be moved. She said the heat from the dryer would kill them. She told us to carefully move them to a box with their crappy "nest" and then hope that mommy bird finds them.

 Emma was amazing! She got up on the ladder and with a glove on her hand, she carefully lifted the baby birds and set them in their new home. Unfortunately, we did exactly what Bird Rescue Lady said to do, but mom abandoned them anyway. So sad. Emma was so so sad. The babies didn't survive the night and we had to bury them.

This was as close as Erin really got. She did get on the top of the ladder to see the birds and was super helpful once they were in the box, but the whole thing was kind of sad. My dryer works now.

 On June 1, we had to say goodbye to some of or favorite people. It was the last day of school and the girls were not ready to part with their amazing teachers.

 

 Mrs. Selman with Emma.

 Mrs. Pleuger with Emma.

 Erin with Miss Nielsen.

We cried. We loved our teachers this year!

 That night, we had to celebrate the end of the school year so we went to the Drive-In to see the Avengers (and all the crazy people that put their kids in the back of their truck on an air mattress... not just for the movie, but to drive to and from as well). It was fun. We will definitely be doing more of that this summer.

 Erin started swimming lessons the very next week. She did so great and keeps asking when the next session starts! We also got to have a little cousin time since Jamie had rhino plasty on June 5.

 On June 6 and June 8, Josh had soccer tryouts. Long story short - there was some serious drama and crazy nerve racking talk, but at the end of it all, Josh made the team. Whew!

 My Birthday was the next day and Jer woke me up and took me on an early date. We went to the Farmers Market and to lunch. It was so fun to have time with the two of us. I took the girls to the mall later to go shopping and then that night I went out with the crazy ladies in the picture below. I love spending time with these women! We saw Snow White and the Huntsman (so so good) and then over to Yogurtland for some "dinner."It was a great birthday!

 We haven't wasted any time with getting to our Summer projects this year. The girl's tie dyed t-shirts...

 We went to the Copper Mines to show the kids how amazing the whole thing is. We didn't stay long. It was raining and cold. :(

 We got our Pass of All Passes and went to have some fun in the sun at Seven Peaks....

 We had a cake decorating contest...

 We went to lunch with all the B's for my Birthday....

 And I got to see one of my best friends (Nicole) while she was here for her brothers wedding. Her hubby is a doctor so it's not often that I get to spend time with her! These are our "babies" on our laps. I love that she is always the same Nicole she has always been and even if five years goes by, it feels like it was only two days. The only difference is now she has a money tree in her yard. Ha Ha.

 So that almost gets me caught up on my blog. That was lots of pics and not much detail - but that will come in the next post I suppose.