Cousins Day

Over UEA weekend, we decided to get all the Johnson cousins together for a photo shoot and some play time. We went to Wheeler Farm (which is one of my favorite photo locations) and had a crazy good time. I forget how little so many of the cousins are. Josh is the oldest on both sides and even though he is my little man, I'm still in denial that he is a teenager. We have 13 grandkids and one on the way (another girl coming in the Spring). 

I picked a few of my favorite shots to post on the blog. They might not be each mom's favorite of their kids, but I'm the photographer so I get to choose. He he.

 Elliot, Cameron, Noah (Ben and Stephanie)

 Emma, Erin, Joshua (Jeremiah and Aimee)

 Seth, Trey, Aiden, Sadie (Brady and Melinda)

 Hanah, Livvy, Collin (Trevor and Jenn)

*****

When we were done at Wheeler Farm, we went straight to Joel and Jamie's for Bryson's first Birthday. The kids had so much fun going from one cousin activity to another. This was seriously Emma's idea of  what "the perfect day" would be. She absolutely loves time with her cousins - and to see all of them in one day - wow.

 Emma, Kailee, Alexa, Josh, Cambree, Atley, Gauge, Erin, Bryson

Tell me he isn't adorable!! It was so fun to watch him down his cupcake and open all the gifts. He's such a cutie. Every time I put the camera up to take his picture, he would turn and smile. It doesn't take long for them to figure that out, does it? 

So that was part I of our UEA weekend. That was just the first day off so I will have to post more later.  I was pretty excited about how all the pictures turned out - especially considering I had a sinus infection and my head was killing me the whole day. Not bad, huh?

Frightmares @ Lagoon

 Lynsee, Witch A, Witch B, Me, Cari, Erin, Bryn, Emma, Witch C

We are so lucky to have such a cool favorite aunt (CARI) that takes us to Lagoon every year. We went to Frightmares two years ago and realized it's worth waiting all summer for it. It was awesome this year to have all of us there together.

Bryn was brave and went with all of us on the new ride (Barbacoa? I can't ever remember the name of it. I think Barbacoa is a Mexican place, but oh well.) and didn't exactly enjoy it. She was so cute because she was wanting to cry the whole time and didn't. She was brave and just hung on tight. When we got off, she said "I not like that one."

The girls both love the Musical Express. The boys - not so much.

Even though those are fake punkins, they do make for cute pics.

 Bryn just adores Err and can't get enough of her. I'm so glad they're bff's. And on Wednesday next week, Bryn is going to have a baby brother join their little family! We are so excited to have another babe in the fam and for Lyns to take some time off work and hang out with us!

Josh doesn't love having his picture taken, but I had to snap this one. Bryn loves Josh and usually when I see her, the first thing she says is "Where Josh?" or "Where Err?" or "Where Emm?"... Every once in a while she greets me with "Hi, Aim!" and I love it!

 Erin's favorite ride at Lagoon is the swings. I was glad to not have to squish my mama hips into one of those seats this year. I have always had to ride with her because she's so tiny. She's finally growing!! And it's awesome to have other kids ride with her. 

 The kids spook house at Lagoon is fun.. mostly 'cause the kids get a bag of goodies.

Even though it was cold and rainy, Cari was willing to live up to her name and go on a few "big" rides with the "big" kids. We took Erin on the white roller coaster and that pretty much ruined it for her. She was done with rides after that. I don't think I realized how freaking rickety it is. Time to fix that ole thing up. Sheesh.

I ended up with so many great pictures from this day! I love hangin' with my sisters and our families. And, that was a great way to start one of our favorite months -OCTOBER! Yay for Fall, football, Halloween, candy, family get togethers, parties, soup bowls and caramel apples!

Finally! A weekend at the Cabin

Between soccer and other scheduling issues, we went the whole summer without making a trip to the cabin. Josh's game was rescheduled for last Saturday so on a whim, we packed up and headed to the mountains. There were still things at home that we missed (Scout overnighter and the Primary Program), but sometimes a weekend away with the family is worth the sacrifice.

We haven't been there this late in the season for several years. I forgot how gorgeous it is when the leaves are changing. And, it was a little surprising how much run off there still is this time of year. Erin had to keep "touching" the water to see if it was cold. She's a crack up.

The kids love Manor Lands and all there is to do. In the past, we have had ATV's and other fun toys up there, but this time we just enjoyed nature. Erin and Emma were disappointed about not doing the zip line, but there were other people using it the whole weekend. We "hiked" down to Backman's to say hi, but nobody was home.

We went to the Scout Camp and parked outside the gate. I think we were technically trespassing, but no one seemed to care. Jer did some serious reminiscing about all the time he spent there as a teenager. He worked there one summer and can remember every detail. He walked Josh around and explained what Merit Badges you can pass off there and how awesome the whole experience is.  The girls had fun stirring the fish around in the lake and looking for animal tracks (which there were a lot of). When we started up the hill to the car, we noticed a branch in the road that wasn't there just a half hour before when we walked down the hill. A beaver had been quietly working away at it and had almost made it to his destination with the branch when we interrupted him. Erin is holding the branch in the picture above and you can see all the wood chips from the busy little beaver. So fun.

If only the weekend getaway could have lasted just a little longer...

Josh and I deleted our Facebook pages this morning. He's a good kid and decided if there is anyone that wants to contact him, they know how without fb. Goodbye evil facebook world. We don't miss you and all your gossip.

That's So Random

One of the miscellaneous things on my to do list has been to go through all of Jer's Cd's and put them all back in their own case. They have been in a case in his car, but I decided it's time to put them all on an iPod or Zune and then stuff the Cd's away in the garage. I can't believe the collection that we have. Jer was Virgin Records biggest fan and has not purchased a cd since the one at Gateway closed. He is a firm believer in actually paying money for music instead of stealing it like most people these days do. And, thanks to all those cheaters, music stores are a thing of the past. And, by the way, he also believes in burning (as in flames) anything by Green Day so if you look closely at the picture and see any of that fine music - it's mine. I will claim all Green Day,  Enrique and Backstreet Boys. He wouldn't be caught dead with that stuff.

 

This is just a handsome pic of my soccer boy and his fancy necklace.

 I know school has been in session for a while now, but I still feel a need to include first day of school pictures. My kids hate these. Do all kids hate them? It's funny to me because they are in new clothes and their hair is actually done so why is it torture to have a picture taken?

I went back to work a couple of weeks after the kids started. It's been a fun year so far. I am tutoring at Granger High, Cottonwood High and Kennedy Jr. High. Last year, I was at Kearns and I am missing those cougars, but I love my job no matter what school I go to. (For information on the AVID program click here).

I had to post this adorable picture of my Laurels. I love these girls. This was at our activity  a week ago. We made these cute frames with hooks to hang necklaces on. Who cares what they are though - they made an awesome pic of the girls.

Labor Day weekend came and went. We had originally planned to take the kids to the cabin since we haven't been all summer, but it was taken. In an attempt to not let the kids get bored and disappointed, we came up with a list of  "ten things to do in one weekend." We didn't quite get to all ten things, but we succeeded in keeping them busy. On Friday, Jer and I spent a couple of hours at Swiss Days in Midway. I can never get enough of this place and next year I need to remember to plan ahead and go with the girls so that Jer doesn't need therapy by the end. Too many people and too many "crafts" in a too tiny of an area makes him anxious. Weird, huh?

The next thing on our list was to hike to Lake Mary with the kids. This was probably my favorite part of the weekend. They did awesome and now we know that those little chicken legs of Erin's can hike like a big kids. We have been waiting for our baby to get big enough to start doing things like this. She was awesome.

I don't know that I have ever been up there this late in the summer. Isn't is gorgeous? I felt horribly guilty for all the swimming we did when I was "younger" when I saw all the signs that say the water is used for drinking. Teenagers are dumb 'cause I'm sure those signs aren't new.

 Emma has always been a lover of nature. She was in heaven. As I went back through my pictures, she was leading the way nearly the entire time. I love that she loves the outdoors.

 I found a disc of pictures from 2003 and had to share this. This picture was taken at Trevor and Jenns' wedding. Josh was five and Emma was two. And to think that my Josh will be a teenager tomorrow.

Bitter Sweet September

This time of year is so bitter sweet for me. I hate that Summer has to come to an end, but I love everything about Fall. Since the kids are just shy of being back to school for two weeks, I thought I would share some of my random summer pictures.

We spent a lot of time at 7 Peaks this year. It never feels like it's enough, but we almost made it once a week all summer long.

 It was especially fun every time we had a friend or cousin with us. The Summer Pass of all Passes was awesome because we weren't the only family to have them. Logan came with us a couple of times, Lynsee and Bryn a few times and Kailee as often as possible. And, as if we don't spend enough time with Josh's soccer team, we played with them at 7 Peaks too. 

 My camera was  a little fuzzy (might have water on it or something... I'm so bad about that). But look how cute these girls are. They're all so photogenic.

 

 I love this picture because KK and Bryn are both there with us. Lynsee is expecting Bryn's baby brother (baybro) and after spending a day at a water park with Bryn, I now know why Lynsee is still barely showing - she has to chase her two year old non-stop. That little stinker is fast.

 Erin started the summer out with some hesitation with the water. I don't know if it was because the other kids always had a friend with them and she was stuck hanging out with her mom, but she didn't want to do much in the beginning. Needless to say, by the end of the summer, there wasn't much she wouldn't do. She even went to the deep end of the wave pool with me and sat on the tube. And, from the picture below you can see that we stayed until we were pruned.

 This is how Logan and Josh play at a water park. What kind of kid does that?

 Most times, I packed a picnic lunch for the kids, but our last day there we decided to get a burger in the park. It was so yummy and really wasn't that pricey (surprisingly).

 Besides hanging out at 7 Peaks, we did a lot of grilling in the back yard. And, we are so not close to being done with this. This picture is one I sent to Jer while he was in Denver. Sad, but I needed to prove that I was feeding our kids while he was gone.

Another sweet part of this time of year - tomatoes. I pretty much make myself sick on a daily basis all through August and September. These are the first three red one's from this years harvest. We have tomatoes and peppers coming out our ears at this point.. oh yummy salsa.

Unfortunately, our summer included a sad goodbye. This is Avery and Erin. The only thing missing from this picture is Ashlyn. These three princesses have been best friends for as long as they can remember (since their little lives only consist of  5-6 years). Avery's dad got a job in Rhode Island and while we are so happy for this new chapter in their lives, we are missing them like crazy. Avery's mom is one of my closest friends as well so I'm moving on ... can't blog about this without crying.

 And, of course, we spent a whole lot of time on the soccer field this summer. I have mostly covered all the tournaments already, but I couldn't blog about our summer without including at least one soccer picture. We figure Josh played in 22 (I think) games this summer. That's two seasons worth crammed into a summer. I'm sporting quite the soccer mom tan.

So welcome September. Yes, I hate to say goodbye to water parks and the smell of fresh cut grass, but September is a favorite of mine. Here's to back to school, fall harvest, birthdays, cooler weather, more soccer and dance, and football season.

USA Adidas Cup

Since my little camera took a swim in the creek, I took pictures with my phone. I do wish I had taken my Nikon, but I have a hard time lugging it around along with all the other crap I have to take to games (chairs, sunblock, water, snacks, umbrellas....).

We finally made it over the hump this tournament and played in the championships. We killed another USA team in the semi-finals and advanced to the end. Our first few games were close. We tied our first game 1-1 and ended up playing that same team for first place. They won in the end by one stinking point. It was tied 3-3 and I thought it was going to go to extra time, but the one good player they had on their team scored in the last 30 seconds. I actually think the time was up 3-4 minutes earlier but the ref hadn't called the game. I think he was just going to let the game go until someone scored again so that we didn't have to play all day. It was 100 degrees and the kids had already played that morning so I don't blame him.

In one of the games, Josh did one of his awesome slide tackles (the legal kind) and ripped his knee up. He was pretty annoyed that the ref made him leave the field to get it cleaned up. He didn't understand why blood is such a big deal. So after some explaining and waiting for the the medic team to clean him up, he went back in but just in time for the whistle to blow and the game to be over. His coach kept asking if he was done and ready to go back in and Josh was freaking out about it taking too long to get cleaned up, but rules is rules. He called his dad after the game and told him he missed the whole second half. It was more like 6-7 minutes, but it felt like forever.

So here they are after getting their awards. It was great for the boys to finally get a medal. I think they were all a little mixed up inside - happy to be there, but bummed about second place. Not much you can do though when the other team has a 17 year old scoring all the goals for them.

It was a great way to end a summer packed with tournaments. This was our fifth tourney since June and the difference in our team is pretty remarkable. Our season starts next week and they are all excited to get started.

Yesterday Josh stayed home from school with a stomach bug. He was beside himself when he found out that I emailed his coach and told him he wouldn't be at soccer last night. Isn't that mean? He seriously was lost last night when he started to feel better and couldn't go to practice. The kid can't breath without a ball at his feet.
  

Camping

Since the boys and I were originally planning to be in England the week of August 8th, my parents had scheduled a week of camping with the girls. For those that haven't heard, Jer got a new job last month and has spent the month of August in Colorado.  So, as good as a new job is, unfortunately, we had to postpone our England trip to next Spring. Erin and Emma still got to go with Grandma and Grandpa on their little vacation though.  Josh and I went up Thursday night and crashed their party.

 The girls were excited to show us everything that they had been doing. Playing in the creek is something I grew up doing. I was a little worried initially because of the water levels this year, but the creek was way down. It didn't take Emma long to put a hole in her shorts going down the "slide." And then, shortly after that, her bum cheeks were showing! So funny. She didn't believe me when I told her that would happen. I really wanted to take a picture of them hanging on the clothes line, but she threw a fit about it.

The picture below is how the big kids play in the creek. I kept asking Josh if he was ever going to get off his throne - he didn't think it was funny when I helped him out of it. I didn't think it was funny when my camera took a dive in the creek. :(

 The tent looks small in this picture - it's not small. Weird.

Erin didn't realize how much she had missed me until I got up the canyon to see her. She couldn't leave my side. I didn't mind. I was lonely without her, too. The crazy thing is that the kids immediately went back to fighting and driving me crazy. How is it that the girls went all week not whining or fighting, but as soon as Josh and I got there, everything changed.

There were only a few moments when they were actually all getting along and smiling... usually when my camera was out. It was so fun to spend time in the mountains. It is one of my favorite things to do. Next time I would just prefer to not be a single parent. Thank heavens for grandmas and grandpas.

England update: For those that have helped Josh work toward his England trip, we appreciate it so much!!!! He has earned more than half of his part and is excited to go to ManU this Spring. I will keep you all up to date as he continues to prepare for his AMAZING trip!