Josh is OFFICIAL!

Last night I got a text from Josh with this picture. He spent the weekend sitting in classes to become a Referee. At the end of the course, you have to pass the 100 question test to become a licensed ref. He was so excited when he got his score and there was his patch with it! Now he can start reffing and actually make some money while being on the soccer field! He couldn't be happier!

It was a Perfect Night

On Monday, for Family Home Evening, we took the kids to Temple Square. We had planned on going a little later in the week, but I'm glad we went when we did - the weather was perfect. Whenever I think of walking around Temple Square as a kid, I remember being cold and bundled.

On the way there, Jer and I were telling the kids about how the windows at ZCMI used to be decorated with candy at Christmastime. Then when we got downtown, the windows at the no-longer-ZCMI were all decked out with candy creations! It was so fun to see and show the kids!

 I didn't want to take my big camera so the pictures were taken with my phone (not the greatest). Look how the kids are just wearing jackets. Ah. Love it.

Erin took her Nintendo DSi and took pictures of everything with it. Emma was a good sister and posed for many pictures. :)

 

One of our favorite traditions this time of year is to go eat at The Pantry and then walk around to see the lights. It was so yummy and so fun! I love this time of year! I love taking the kids to do things that I did as a kid and seeing their eyes light up at the beauty of the temple. 

It was a Perfect Night.

Thanksgiving with the B's

This year was our turn to spend Thanksgiving with the B's. Just my sisters and our families were there this year so it was pretty chill. Mom had it decorated with cute centerpieces and her real silver. That's one thing you don't get when we have Thanksgiving at our house.

The little girls were so wild - and both love Jer. Bryn is Grandpa's sweetheart.I'm not sure if she loves Err or Grandpa more.

(above) Devin, Lyns, Bryn and Mason with Grandma and Grandpa.

(above) Jer and I with our happy kids. New Years Resolution for 2013 - fit on the loveseat with a kid between us. Comfortably. My mom and dad look cute! I don't know why I didn't get any pictures of Cari. She was there and was the highlight for the girls (as usual).

His HEAD is like an orange on a toothpick

This boy is going to make me lose so much sleep over him. Last Saturday he was playing in a soccer game and collided with a teammate. As they both jumped up for a header, Jake's head missed the ball and hit Josh's face. They both went down. Hard. And Josh didn't get up. He was knocked out for a little over a minute and when he came to, he didn't answer his coaches questions (like what day is it? where are you? what's your girlfriends name?). He stood up to walk off the field and walked toward the goal.

Can I just say that it is a darn good thing I was not there. Granted, hearing the story later wasn't pleasant, but I'm glad I wasn't there watching my son lay face down on the field.

We took him to the InstaCare but since it was a weekend, no one would do a CT scan until Monday. The doctor checked him and had us watch him closely thru the night. We took him back Sunday morning because the doctor wanted to keep close watch.

He slept a lot over the weekend. And, had a hellofa headache.

Tuesday morning at 5am, Josh woke up and started puking. Not a good sign. Never a good sign after a head injury. I called into work and once we got the girls to school, I took him back to see the doctor. He couldn't stop throwing up. There was nothing in him yet he couldn't stop. The first thing they did when we got to the doctors office was give him a shot in his butt for the nausea. He still threw up after that. His So they sent us home so that he could be comfortable while they scheduled the CT scan.
 

Unfortunately, Lynsee wasn't working that day. They sent us to her office (Utah Imaging) for the xrays. But, even though she wasn't there, she called and told the doctor that we were coming and to read the images right away and let us know if everything was okay.

We still had to wait a while before they did the scan, but by about 3:00p.m. we finally knew that his brain was okay and his cheek bone wasn't broken. A word to the wise: never google or search webmd about things that your doctor tells you "it could be."

Josh was pretty upset about this concussion. The one's he had last year (yes, that's plural) were minor enough that he didn't seem to understand how bad it could be. This time, when his blood pressure was way high, his resting hr was racing, his cheek was swollen and cut up, and he was puking for hours straight (all that on top of the headache), he actually considered walking away from the sport of soccer. Post Concussive Syndrome is not fun. And it doesn't go away the next day.

The shot they gave him knocked him out for like 12 hours. Not only did he crash in the front room on the couch, but he never moved while I shampooed the carpets (yes, he missed enough that I had to rent a rug doctor).

So when he uses his head in games or practice or even just screwing around with his friends, you'll know why his mom freaks out. And so help me, if I get my way he will not only start wearing a helmet to play the game, he will be wearing it 24/7. Junior High kids can be mean and they might give him crap for it, but at least he will have his brain cells. Or what's left of them.

My Baby is old enough to get her ears pierced!

The rule in our house has always been that you have to wait until you are 8 to get your ears pierced. Erin has been excited and anxious to get hers done for a long time. I decided to take her about a month before her birthday so that by the time Christmas gets her she might be able to switch them out. She had picked out what earrings she wanted online so when we got there is was quick and painless (for my wallet at least). She was all smiles before the guns came out....

Still okay while getting her ears marked with a pen....

Then, just like that, smiles are gone and tears start pouring. I still don't know how people can do that to their babies. At least when they are 8, they make the choice themselves. She went into it knowing it would hurt and she still wanted to do it.

We walked straight over to Sizzler (at the District) to have dinner and that was a nice distraction. 

Look how red her little ears are. And her shirt is wet from tears.

But, she did it and she loves them. We have been pulling her hair back every day so that she can see them when she looks in the mirror.

Next fight - wearing "dangley" earrings.

Just a little greeting to wish you happy trick or treating

 Every year we have a little cousin Halloween Party with the Johnson's (cause Jenn is awesome and plans it every year). We did it at the church this year because the weather didn't allow us to do it outside like we have in the past. We had navajo tacos, played games, drew names for Christmas and had a hot chocolate bar. So fun!

 Seth and Emma are only 1 year apart - look how tall Emma is! Or is Seth little? Yes.

 All the little one's love Emma. She is so good with all of them. I love this picture of her with Elliot.

 Grandma and Grandpa B took the kids to the Petersen Family Farm to pick out their pumpkins. They had so much fun and I was sad I missed it (darn that Wells Fargo). They got to go on a hay ride and then picked the craziest and biggest pumpkins they had.

 Josh and Emma are both in the "don't take my picture" stage so I take what I can get. They are both so serious about pumpkin carving.

 Emma didn't actually clean hers out - she tried a new technique. She is so artistic. I love it.

 I had to work on Halloween. I did get to leave a little early to go to the parade at the school, but I still had to pretend to have fun while I was there. These goof balls are so crazy. Even on days like this when I don't want to be there, they make me laugh. Jesse's hat and mullet are awesome.

 Emma decided this year was her year to be independent and not be with her family on Halloween. So Jer and I took Erin trick-or-treating with her cousins. She was such a cute little bumble bee (thanks again, Ash, for making her wings so purdy).

 Josh was a good sport (he always is) and stayed home to answer the door for trick-or-treaters.

 Look at the cavities! Emma was a butterfly and her wings were adorable too, but she wouldn't leave them on for a picture (again - too good for the camera). Erin actually stayed in the same costume all day (and night). She usually has to change 15 times and doesn't end up wearing the costume we worked to hard on.

It was a fun Halloween but, I'm glad it's over. When did this holiday become so much work?

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?