Life Under the Mango Tree

Blogging Revival

2012-01-14T10:08:00.002-07:00

Wow! I put up a new post, from my phone!!! Maybe you'll hear from me more now, dear blog, now that you are at my fingertips. I don't get down to the computer much & all my pictures are on my phone anyway, mostly. Maybe I'll do Project 365 (at least 1 pic/day, that would be easy enough) via my phone.

2012-01-14T10:07:00.001-07:00

Michael & Addi made a wonderful breakfast for everyone today (minus the eggs, mom did those under close supervision from the true chef). It was delicious!!!

Addi is Potty Trained!

2011-07-21T15:49:00.008-06:00

There NEVER seems to be a good time for time consuming stuff! But, with another baby well on his way, I figured we'd better get to it or I'd (we'd) be changing 3 poopy pants & that just wouldn't be cool. So we made the effort & I'm proud to announce that Addi is officially potty trained, she's 3& 1/2. She took about a week maybe two to make it stick but she did a great job. Straight to panties she went & rarely had an accident. When they did happen, she cleaned it up herself & put on new undies herself. She really did a great job, once I decided to make the effort. So I just made her a basic pee-pee chart (50 toilets in a chart & stickers to stick on each potty, 2 for poops) & turned it over to her. Oh yeah, & a candy each time she went successfully on the toilet, although she milked that by rationing her pee pee for more candy, but whatever, I'm not opposed to bribery & hey, it worked! We are going to take her to Chuck E. Cheese for her big reward...someday...soon, I promise!
Good Job Miss Addison!!!

Walking Children Through The Holy Week Before Easter

2011-04-17T21:15:00.005-06:00

I found this blog called "We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ" from a link another friend had on Facebook. What a great idea to help make Easter what it is meant to be, a reminder of our Savior's atonement & resurection.
I was at the store yesterday picking up some Easter baskets for the kids to use at our family egg hunt & I was saddened that the buckets said "Happy Spring" rather than "Easter." I hope that we can keep this one holiday a holy day as it is, in my opinion, the most sacred of them all.

Here is the link & I also copied & pasted the entire post below, hope that's ok!

http://beinglds.blogspot.com/2011/04/walking-children-through-holy-week-by.html#comment-form

Walking Children Through Holy Week by Wendy

In our home we have a half wall that separates the bedrooms from the front room. The is half wall is like a big chalkboard for our family. We put up pictures on the wall. We use the flat part as a stage. My son used it as a the tower for King Benjamin giving his speech for scriptures one day. Since we don't have a television, we sometimes put the computer up there and watch a movie together. Last year for Easter we used the half wall as a picture time line of the last week of the Savior's life and His resurrection.

Our Display from Easter 2010

So here is a brief picture outline of what we did day by day to teach the last week of Christ's life and the resurrection. I will explain it in more detail below. The pictures that I have mentioned are in the LDS Gospel Art Book or individual pictures can be ordered through LDS Distribution. A scripture summary is given all of Christ's life with specific events in the New Testament. All the following story references can be found here near the bottom of the page. The Friend April 2011 also has a picture outline with the scriptures attached at the bottom. After I had written this post, I got the Friend in the mail.

Sunday: Plan of Salvation review and what Christ's role in the plan is.
Monday: Triumphal Entry
Tuesday: Purging the Temple and the Widow's Mite
Wednesday: The Last Supper and Washing the Disciples' Feet (Also can be taught are the parables)
Thursday: The Garden of Gethsemane and Christ' Arrest
Friday: Peter's Denial, The Crucifixion and The Burial
Saturday: No Picture. We talked about the Spirit World and Jesus' teaching. Also we read about the darkness in the Americas.
Sunday: Christ Visiting Mary, The Empty Tomb, Christ Visiting the Apostles

Sunday
We start the week by talking about Jesus' role in the Plan of Salvation. In my opinion, the whole plan came together during the last week of Jesus' life. When Jesus was resurrected, the plan came together perfectly. The rest of the plan is up to me to do what I should and to want to return to live with my Heavenly Father and my family.

We found this resource for a simple art project for the plan. It is a coloring sheet and a puzzle. When I printed it, I needed to scale back the percentage from 200% to 175% and have the sheet print on a landscape option.

Source

Monday
Jesus' triumphal entry was a beautiful fulfillment of prophesy.

Triumphal Entry by Harry Anderson

We put up the picture and explained that the people were so excited to see Jesus that they had a parade to welcome Jesus. We then do a parade in our backyard waving our arms and banging on instruments.

Tuesday
Jesus cleaned the temple. He came through and literally cleaned house. He also taught about the widow and her faith and what she gave was more than the hypocritical show of the others in the temple.


Jesus Cleansing the Temple by Karl Heinrick Bloch

On this day we post pictures of our favorite temples. We talk about how the temple is kept clean and is modest. We then talk about our bodies and how they need to be kept modest and clean.

Wednesday
This is where we broaden the story. Since we have little ones, we break up the events of Thursday into two days. I am working with short attention spans not necessarily an attempt to dilute material. We share the the story of the Last Supper and Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. The healing of the 10 lepers also takes place and can be included.

The Last Supper by Karl Heinrich Bloch

We generally have a seder or a passover meal. (I will post again about how you can have your own simple passover meal later on in this Easter blog party, so stay tuned!)

The Passover was being celebrated at this time. We talk about how God protected the Israelites that were willing to slaughter the lamb and have the blood on their doors so that the Destroying Angel would pass over them. We talk about how Jesus knew that His coming death was similar to the passover. We would be saved from our spiritual death and have a hope for the resurrection.


Jesus Washing the Apostles' Feet by Del Parson

We talk about how Jesus then washed His Apostle's Feet. We talk about how Jesus was willing to serve and love others. A discussion can take place on how service is important that even Jesus was willing to wash dirty feet of other people.

Thursday
On this day we show the picture of the Garden of Gethsemane and Christ's arrest.

Jesus Praying in Gethsemane by Harry Anderson

We talk about how Jesus prayed for us and how he hurt. We also talk about how an angel was sent to aid Christ and that we can have Heavenly Father's help.

The Betrayal of Jesus by Ted Henninger

We then talk about Jesus' arrest and how Peter tried to protect Jesus because Peter loved Jesus. We also talk about choosing the right and Judas' betrayal. We talk about how it is important to do things for the right reasons even when the price seems so bright and shiny.

Friday
There aren't many pictures of Jesus' trial or what happens to Him before his crucifixion. We talk about Peter, Golgotha, and the burial in the tomb.

Peter's Denial by Carl Heinrich Bloch

We talk about Peter and how either out of obedience or out of safety denied knowing Jesus. We talk about how scary it must have been for Peter.

The Crucifixion by Harry Anderson

We talk about how the Roman soldiers put nails in Jesus' hands, feet, wrists, and ankles. We get out a nail and a hammer. We show where the nail was put and put press on each of our hands. We have our boys point to Mary in the picture and how sad she is. We point to different parts of the picture and ask what is happening. We talk about when Jesus died the temple veil tore and how special the temples are.


Burial of Jesus by Carl Heinrich Bloch

Just before bed we talk about how the friends of Jesus raced to get his body into a tomb before the sun set and how special the body is. We also talk about how Jesus' spirit is no longer in his body. An example is shown with a glove. The glove represents the body and the hand the spirit. We talk about where the body and the spirit go. We don't talk about the reuniting of the body yet because the resurrection hasn't happened yet.

Saturday
We review all the pictures. We talk about the Nephites and how they sat in darkness and heard a voice from heaven. We also mention the sadness of Jesus' friends and Apostles. We also talk about how Jesus goes to the Spirit world and teaches.

Sunday

Mary and The Resurrected Lord by Harry Anderson

Mary goes to the tomb and finds it empty. She is sad to think someone has stolen Jesus. She sees angels and hears the voice of Jesus. She learns that He has resurrected. She announces it to the Apostles.

Behold My Hands by Harry Anderson

Jesus shows himself. He lets them touch Him. He show that the plan has been fulfilled. We take the glove and show about the resurrection and how Christ was with out His body for three days.

Sugar Eggs

2011-04-08T10:58:00.006-06:00

Last night I went over to a friend's house & had a great time making this adorable sugar egg. When I got there I had no idea what to make. She had so many AWESOME looking eggs, how could I come up with an idea that would "do?" I was looking around at all of her MANY decorations for the eggs when I saw Scooby Do. I love Scooby Do & so do my girls so I just knew that whatever I did it had to have this "Great" Dane in it! After a bit of indecision I decided to make a garden with an Easter Bunny & a pond with a sun shining from the sky. I decided to hide Scooby in there and then I found a ton of other cute stuff to hide too. So that was my idea, to make a hide & seek egg for the kids to enjoy. Although now I don't want them to touch it!!!

2011-02-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

This scrapbook personalized with Smilebox

Flash Back - Addi Eating an Oreo (8mos)

2011-02-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Flash Back to Michael Anne Telling a Story (3 or 4yrs old)

2011-02-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

1st Grade & Freshman Year

2010-08-27T23:10:00.004-06:00

Wowww, can you believe we've got a first grader & a college freshman in the fam!!! Michael Anne started first grade this past Wed. & Brenden started college at Utah Valley University :) What a big day for all of us!!!

After dropping Michael off at school we were too sad to go home so we went to play at grandma's. Thank you grandma for taking our minds off missing Michael Anne!

Little Bears

2010-08-14T08:15:00.005-06:00

A few months ago I signed up to be a material CUTTER, not SEWER, for our church's humanitarian projects. When they divided out the jobs guess who was asked to be a sewer...ME! So I was given the material to sew up these little bears. Sounds easy enough, but come on folks, I don't sew!!!! Well I put it off for a couple of months & then the day came this past week to take them to the church for stuffing & finishing. So I sewed them with my sewing machine about an hour before I had to be there & to my surprise they turned out pretty well. When I got to the church I was amazed to see all the work the ladies had done, they had made zillions of quilts, receiving blankets, hats, booties, nightgowns, newborn baby kits, you name it, they made it & it all looked REALLY nice & finished so beautifully!

When I sat down with about 5 or 6 of these "older" gals (they are not really old just a lot older than me) I began to realize that not all successful & productive Mormon women can sew! I think I may have had more sewing experience than all of them combined!!! Yeah! It felt good :) So we stuffed those little bears & I sewed up all of their little stuffing holes & they looked great. Some little children will love them soon & I'm glad I got to be a part of that little comfort they will bring to little hearts.

After we finished up the bears I had a little time left so I made a heart that will be given to heart patients at the hospital. Here's how it turned out.

By the way, I've decided to stop calling myself a non-sewer. I can do it, I just don't do it too often! You can find a lot of the projects that inspire my novice self on Amy's Sew&Tell .

Ah, The Joy...

2010-07-28T16:07:00.005-06:00

...of being a mother...baby puke & a laughing baby to go with it!!! He got a real kick out of this mess & I have to admit, it was pretty funny :) I should have known better than to hold a full baby above me and jiggle him but it was too fun watching him giggle, even when the puke began pouring out!!!

PlayTime

2010-07-20T22:50:00.003-06:00

We had a fun play day inside today. Polly Pocket got married to Superman & in the temple no less! Glad to know she has such high standards :) Also, the girls wanted to play farm so they put their bonnets on & had breakfast on the farm. Michael Anne cooked up some tasty grub & Addi had a good time cleaning up while Michael Anne "picked" toy fruit from mommy's "limbs." Good Times!

Pioneer Day Bonnets

2010-07-18T23:48:00.008-06:00

This was a fun project to make bonnets for my girls to wear at the Pioneer Day parade this coming Saturday. Michael & Addi are so stinking cute & I think they look adorable in their bonnets! I got the pattern from the website Mother Earth News. I didn't count the hours but it definitely took me longer than the "under two hours" they claim, but I think they came out pretty well considering that I'm definitely not a seamstress! In fact, this project was sort of a "bust the sewing machine out of the box & figure out how to use it" project more than a "hey, let's make bonnets" project. It was pretty fun though & now I'm not so scared of my sewing machine!!!

Ok, so I'm really proud of these little bonnets. I don't sew much at all so these were quite a project & I'm so excited about how well they turned out. To celebrate I'm going to try linking this post to my friend's Sew&Tell blog. Wish me luck!!

Happy Henry

2010-07-09T23:08:00.002-06:00

Henry Christopher Johnson, 4 mos. old. Such a HAPPY baby!

He's a BIG BOY, wears 12mo. clothes already.

Prince Henry

2010-07-09T22:49:00.002-06:00

The other day Michael Anne decided it was high time for her baby brother to become a PRINCE! So while Grandma Johnson held him "still" she went to town draping him with scarves, stickers, & of course a crown! He's pretty cute don't you think :)

Michael's Science Experiment

2010-05-22T22:47:00.003-06:00

Michael Anne decided to do this experiment the other day. She set it up all by herself, except for me cutting the paper towels. I think she got the idea from Fetch with Ruff Ruffman on PBS kids. She's quite the little genius :)First, use different colored markers to make a line along the bottom of a paper towel strip. Label each towel with the marker you are testing.Then dip it in water to let the capillary action of the towel disperse the colors contained in the ink of the marker.Finally, observe the colors that make up the ink colors of each marker. Number 1 was a regular black marker. Number 2 was a black Sharpie. The colors in the black Sharpie ink did spread out a bit but it held pretty fast to the towel so its hard to see.

It was very fun & interesting!

Michael Anne & Happy Henry

2010-05-22T22:29:00.003-06:00

Look at these CUTE kids!!! Aren't they AdoraBle!!!

Michael Anne & Henry hamming it up together!

Addi feeding "her" baby.

I was on the computer one day & Addi was supposed to be napping, but when I heard a noise I looked over & there was her little bumb toddling on the craft table!

Addi tossed her baby doll & it landed in this cute yoga pose!

Where have we been???

2010-05-14T13:17:00.004-06:00

Michael Anne's 4-H Dance Club performance, Tahitian Dancing.

Butterfly, face painting from the walk-a-thon carnival.

Silly baby!

Addi has been enjoying dress up lately.

April Fool's dinner. Jello "drinks" & meatloaf "cupcakes" with mashed potato "frosting." Good tricks!

Michael lost her 3rd tooth. The new on is already 1/2 in!

Henry had his first sleep-over at Grandma & pa Church's.

Henry loves his bouncy chair.

Henry's bed at Grandma&pa Church's.

Henry on St. Patrick's day, all dressed up for a friend's baptism. What a handsome little guy!

Hangin' out with Mom.

At the park.

Chillin' with Daddy.

Sticking his tongue out on his 3 month birthday!

Wisdom Teeth Wake Up - HaHaHa!

2010-04-19T12:54:00.001-06:00

This is so funny, a little long but so funny!

Look a Baby!

2010-01-25T13:32:00.004-07:00

Addison is pretty facinated about this baby in my tummy. She seems to have a pretty good idea about what's going on but lately she's been looking for a baby in everybody else's belly too, including her own. This afternoon we were playing babies & we tucked her smallest baby doll into her pajamas. She was so thrilled that her tummy was big like mommy's & when she unzipped it & pulled the baby out she really got a kick out of that! Here is a funny little picture of her with her baby! Oh, she cracks me up! Next thing you know she'll be trying to feed her baby dolls mother's milk, just like Michael Anne did when Addi was born! So funny!!!

Cyber trash finally caught up to my blog...

2010-01-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

Dear Reader,
Today I was looking at my blog. It's been kind of boring me lately so I was checking it out seeing what I wanted to change & guess what I found...something not so boring but pretty icky.
I noticed that there was a new comment on my previous post about being in the hospital last weekend. BTW, thank you everyone who was concerned about me & especially those who called or facebooked me to wish me well. I'm still doing well so that is good.
However, someone left a comment to that post with an add for some sexy girl cam. YUCK! Not so nice to see on my family blog. So I deleted it & just enabled comment moderation on my blog to hopefully discourage future spam/inappropriate comments. So when you visit my blog feel free to leave a comment but I regret to say I'll be checking up on you! Keeping you/me clean and family friendly :)
Thanks for all your nice & encouraging comments. I do love hearing from all of you from time to time!
Love ya, Julie

What’s up w/You? ... Here’s what’s up w/Me!

2010-01-02T19:15:00.003-07:00

Here I am in the hospital. I've been here since about 12 midnight, this morning. What happened is that I was getting ready for bed last night around 11:15pm when I went to the bathroom & noticed light pink bloody discharge (TMI, I know). I got nervous & called Derek at work. He suggested I call Dr. Wold just to be sure, so I did. Dr. Wold said I ought to go to the hospital to get checked out since there was no obvious reason for the bleeding. So off I went, leaving Addi & Michael Anne in bed with Grandma & Grandpa Johnson upstairs. When I arrived at the hospital I got hooked up to the monitors & they did a pretty thorough ultrasound to check the placenta, my cervix, & the baby. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary so they went ahead and did a urine test to check for a bladder infection. That came back negative as well so Dr. Wold asked them to keep me under observation until the morning.
It was a long night. I called Derek at the hospital, too bad he doesn't work at this one! I told him what was going on so he called in the on-call person & went home to be with the girls. I tried to sleep but couldn't really so I watched t.v. and tossed & turned a lot. It was nice that the nurse was so accommodating; they all have been very kind & helpful. It is nice to have good care when things are up in the air. Finally, this morning around 8:30 Dr. Wold arrived and checked me out. He was about to send me home when he noticed that I had been rubbing my belly on the right side. He asked if it was bothering me, which it was. So he said we'd better take a look there with the ultrasound. So he did & sure enough that's right where my placenta is. Since it is often difficult to detect bleeding from the ultrasound he said I'd better stay here to keep an eye on things. If the placenta tears or begins to separate from the uterus it will cause the baby to die as its blood, oxygen, & food source would be cut off. That made me worry and I almost burst out in tears but I'm glad he is taking good care of me and helping to make sure that the baby & I are safe. I am so excited to have this little guy join our family. I would hate for something to go seriously wrong & compromise his health. We don't have a name for him yet but he is very much wanted and loved already! Dr. Wold did say that if he comes sooner rather than later he should be okay, but it would of course be better for him to remain tucked away in his little hot tub until he is actually full term. They did however; give me the steroid shot that would help his lungs develop more quickly just in case he needs to be delivered sooner. I am so amazed at the ability of the body to make babies but I am also so impressed with the knowledge, care, and intuition of my doctor & the nurses who have taken such good care of me!
So the day has been long. I had a headache for part of the morning and then again later in the afternoon. I'm feeling pretty good right now, although lying in bed seems to make me more tired than you would expect. Thankfully, the H1N1 scare has died down enough that the hospital has relaxed its visitor policy. So Derek brought the girls by for a while, until Addi needed to go home for her nap. They are so dang cute. Michael Anne brought me some things to keep me comfortable, a beautiful picture she drew of our family (I like seeing how she writes at this point, sounding out names like Brenden & writing it Brendin), a little bobble head dog toy of hers, a lucky penny to make wishes with, a couple of treats (candy cane, Clementine, nuts, and a grape Dum Dum sucker). She also came with her mothering mode on. She wanted to do everything she could for me. She loves to take care of me when I'm not feeling well. She says things like, "anything for you mom," & "your wish is my command!" She also climbed up in bed with me snuggling and watching Animal Planet with me after Daddy & Addi left.

A little while later Mom & Dad came for a visit. It was nice to see them & I'm glad my mom is feeling better today. While they were here I got to talk with my brother, Jeff. Before they arrived Dave called & later in the evening Kevin called. It sure is nice of them to take the time to check on me & make sure I'm doing alright. I never thought of us as super close when we were younger but I have really felt their love over the years and that means a lot to me. Michael Anne went home with Grandma & Grandpa Church. She loves going with them & it will be nice to not worry about her while I'm here.

Argh, my bootie is sore! I need to squirm some. That's better! I kind of can't wait for my sleeping meds for tonight as it is so hard to get comfortable in these hospital beds. They did however change my bed from a birthing bed to a regular'ish one once it was determined that I would stay here for 24 more hours. Another NICE thing that is keeping me busy is my baby computer! It is so nice to be able to sit here typing my story and surfing the net while I've got the time…all the time I could possibly want! Thanks Derek!!!!!!! It is also cool b/c it has a built in web cam which I used to take a picture of myself lying here & posted it to my Facebook profile. In fact, maybe I'll just post this journal entry onto my blog as it's been pretty neglected lately & this is what's going on with me! Yeah, that's what I'll do next.

Hopefully I'll be going home tomorrow morning with no foreseeable complications or indications of anything else to come except for a healthy, happy baby! Wish us luck, I've been wishing with my lucky penny!!!

BYU Wine Cooler...

2009-12-23T11:46:00.005-07:00

Found this on Kohl's website while looking for a Christmas gift...pretty funny! You can click on the wine cooler to get one for yourself or just for a great laugh.

Regular $37.95

Sale $34.15

Toast your team with this BYU Cougars insulated wine cooler.

*Team logo adds collegiate appeal.

*Thermoguard insulation chills cheese, snacks and up to two bottles of wine.

*Inclueds hardwood cutting board, stainless steel cheese knife & corkscrew.

Thanksgiving Dinner for Lunch

2009-11-20T14:19:00.005-07:00

Today Addison & I joined our little Pilgrim Michael Anne for lunch at school. They served turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, pumpkin pie, rolls, milk, & fruit. The whole lunch was tasty & it was super fun to spend some time with Michael Anne in her little world! After lunch we got to go back to class with her for story time during which the teacher read a book made by the children in the class. Each page had a drawing by one of the students & they were all so proud of their story & especially their very own drawings.

Remembering Christopher James Church...

2009-11-15T00:11:00.004-07:00

Yesterday, Nov. 14, was one of my older brother's birthdays. Chris was born in the Panama Canal Zone in 1968. He passed away Dec. 10, 1984. This year he would have turned 41.

Some things I remember about him:

1. He loved the Redskins

2. He liked Snoopy

3. He was a good friend to my older brothers & to us "little" kids

4. He loved our mother's chocolate mousse cake

5. He didn't like spaghetti

6. He played football

7. He saved me from a boy named Vincent in 3rd grade who wouldn't leave me alone

8. He had a nice smile

9. He was very honest & didn't like crude behavior or talk

10. He had an ingrown toe nail removed & camped out in his tent in our family room for what seemed like a week (am I remembering that right?). He had a high tollerance for pain which I do not!

11. He was a Boy Scout & in the Order of the Arrow

12. He was fun to play with

13. Our cat, Wendy, loved him the best, I'm pretty sure. I remember when he died she knew something was wrong, you could just tell. I'm sure he was there with her when she died years later looking out at the ocean.

14. His eyes were kind of crystally blue/green

15. I still have some of the things he gave me for Christmas that year, he planned ahead & enjoyed doing nice things for us. He was a good brother.

16. When he died my mom & dad cried for weeks, months, years (still do)...he must have been a good son

16 things don't seem like enough memories. Thank the Lord we will be with him again! This promise has helped me make good/better choices throughout my life so that I will be able to be with my family after this life. I hope it helps you make good choices too :)

Addison in October

2009-11-05T16:57:00.003-07:00

Here are some cute pictures of Addi over the past month. She loves to play & has a good time entertaining herself. The last photo is of her praying, not sleeping!

Chase Goes to Homecoming

2009-10-01T20:56:00.003-06:00

Wow, doesn't Chase look Handsome!!! Some of you may not have seen him since he grew 6 inches, but here he is looking all dapper for the Park City High School Homecoming Dance. Jessica forwarded this great picture of him & I'm glad she did b/c due to lack of photographs Bren & Chase rarely get their due space on this blog so this is a super extra awesome post!!!
The report is..."It was fun."

Addi Goes to Nursery!

2009-09-10T11:42:00.002-06:00

I can hardly believe Miss Addison is already 18mos. old!!! So, I took her to nursery at church on Sunday for the very first time. She only made it to the 2nd 1/2 because she was napping through the first 1/2 but she seemed to like snack time & singing! What a dazed cutie she is!

Oh Boy...

2009-09-02T21:28:00.005-06:00

Mr. Johnson looking so serious

In case you aren't hooked into the Facebook network I thought you might like to know that our
Baby #3 is a BOY!!!!
Wow!!! I am only 16 weeks but with Derek's great inside link to an ultrasound & a good friend who knows how to use it, we went ahead and found out early (as we did with #1 & #2)! You know I just can't wait!!! I'm getting used to the idea of a little boy, I had an inkling but also a picture of our little girl posse. It will be fun to see what he looks like & acts like, us but boy :) The little guy definitely had a protruding package so we are pretty sure. Now, to find a name... & then to feign surprise at the doctor's office in 4 weeks!
Here are a few photos of our cute boy that the Facebookers didn't get!

Mr. Johnson sucking his thumb & Mr. Johnson's goods

Moms & Muffins

2009-09-01T13:07:00.004-06:00

The PTA at Michael Anne's elementary school puts on a couple of really fun activities throughout the year. Today was the first one, Moms & Muffins. It was a lot of fun to spend some time with her reading and having a yummy treat. Hopefully daddy will be able to make it to the Dads & Donuts when that comes along!

Michael Anne's 1st Day of School!

2009-08-27T10:54:00.005-06:00

Its official. My little girl is in kindergarten!!! She is so excited to be going to school & has been anxiously awaiting this day for weeks :) What a cutie! Here are a few pictures from this morning. She was up before the crack of dawn ready to go as soon as I'd let her! Now Addi & I are trying to figure out what do to with ourselves without Michael around. So far we've played ponies, played dolls, played balls, & I've wrestled the contents of my purse from her. Now she's down for her nap & I'm going to go take a shower...then what?
(I don't know why some of these pictures are sized wrong, oh well)

Summer Time Addi

2009-08-07T20:22:00.004-06:00

Addi tries to fill some pretty big shoes...some day baby girl!

Ridding a Pony at Thanksgiving Point

Today out in the backyard. It was unseasonably cool today so we spent most of the day outside in the yard, playing under the trees. It was a lovely day!

The Girls...

2009-07-28T16:27:00.005-06:00

The following are a few pictures of the cutest girls in my world...

Well, this one's not so cute but it was very funny!
Michael had to go to bed & came in with this face crying in the most pathetic voice, "I'm DOOMED!"

Riding a horse at Thanksgiving Point, somewhere there's a picture of Addi riding one too. Michael Anne rode the largest horse too, which was taller than her 5 ft. 7 1/2 in. mommy!

Addi was having a terrible day with her molars jabbing through her baby gums. So mommy gave her an Otter Pop & boy that did the trick!!! (She also loves the baby Orajel. She'll get the little tube and pull her binki out to apply the gel, what a smart kid!)

Addi eats Cafe Rio, our anniversary dinner at home.

Addi auditioning for her latest role in Queen Kong!

Well, that's it for this post. I've been so ill feeling lately (although better more recently) that messing around on the computer just isn't seeming like much fun lately. Don't be surprised if these next few months are hit and miss with blog updates. I'm not feeling like its way up there on my list of things to do. We'll see! Hope you are all having a fun summer!!!

Attention: Moms of Babies & Toddlers...

2009-07-06T22:20:00.005-06:00

My sister-in-law, Stephanie, is a very talented mom! Not only is she raising 4 of the most beautiful children on the planet but she somehow finds time to make some really cute baby gear. Lucky for the rest of us she has decided to share her talent & offer her cute baby shoes for purchase. Hopefully she doesn't mind me sending you her way but I couldn't help myself!!! You can follow this link to her blog, http://littlebugbabybotique.blogspot.com, which features some of the cutest baby shoes I've seen yet. You're sure to find a pair of these soft soled shoesies for your own baby's toesies or a great gift for a friend! Have fun exploring her site!!!

Happy Anniversary to Us - 7 Years!!!

2009-07-02T13:34:00.000-06:00

Our FIRST RESPONSE...

2009-06-26T22:42:00.007-06:00

Derek & I are VERY HAPPY to announce that
we are expecting our 3rd baby!
E.T.A. ~ February 18, 2010

More Karate

2009-06-24T09:11:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was Michael Anne's first Karate lesson with a group. The majority of the group are much more advanced so they took the three younger, newer kids aside to teach them more of the basics. It was fun to watch her learning and interacting with other people. It's so funny to me how shy she gets sometimes when I know full well what an outgoing, funny little rascal she is! But she did a great job & had a fun time. She's looking forward of her next class tomorrow. She's super cute in her Karate duds & watch out... this girl packs a mean punch...AYyah!!!

Addi

2009-06-24T09:03:00.002-06:00

The other day we went to the duck pond at BYU by the Bell Tower for a picnic with Grandma Church & my brother's family. It was such a fun time. We brought old hot dog buns to feed the duckies & their babies and then the kids had fun dangling their feet in the cool water. Maria got a bunch of really cute pictures (I'll have t ask her for copies) but this is the ONE I got of my cute little Addison with her little bitty toes in the water. She is so darn cute!

Father's Day

2009-06-24T08:37:00.005-06:00

Father's Day was a lot of fun this year, as it always is! Derek is such a great dad & husband. I don't know what happened in the universe but it seems like my husband, his brothers, my brothers, my friend's & cousin's husbands are all a different breed of good men. It is wonderful to be around them & watch them. They are great examples to the next generation of dads (let's hold off on that though)!!!
I personally feel like the luckiest woman in the world to have such a devoted, helpful, and loving friend by my side. If all he did was rub my feet, which he does EVERY day, I'd love him but he does so much more for me... I can't even list all the day to day stuff he does without ever being asked or coerced. & then there is the way he loves me, the way he loves our children, the way he speaks to us with a kind voice. I don't think there is anything he wouldn't do to help us be happy, even on 2 hours sleep or no sleep at all & he does it all without a word. He's a GREAT guy! Derek, I love you.
So, I suggested we have a BBQ for Father's Day dinner after church on Sunday. I don't like picking out the meat so I asked Derek to do it & boy did he pick the meat!!! He brought home everything you could think of and our dinner turned into a feast of salad, shrimp, fresh corn on the cob, meat & veggies. Oh, it was so good. I wish you could have smelled it, tasted it, enjoyed it as much as we did. WOW. & YES, he even prepared it & grilled it himself & what an amazing job he did!!! Yummy.

White Belt

2009-06-20T23:12:00.002-06:00

Well, she did it. She finished her homework for Karate & performed her moves well so now we have a little white belt Karate master in our midst! Congratulations Michael Anne!!! She's really good at all her moves, except jumping over the noodle when it is swiping her feet. She jumps alright but not straight up more like kidda everywhere and anywhere while the girliest giggles spill out of her in an uncontrollable deluge of laughter! It's really funny!!! But watch out if she needs to kick or punch or duck or scoot to the side...a regular ninja! Okay, okay, I know they are different arts but here I am a mom who's only exposure so such things was being the Tia Qwan Do (I don't even know how to spell Ti Quan Do?) boxing dummie for my brothers back in the day, running for my life while they terrorized me with impending doom! Now she is all signed up for the summer program and anxiously awaiting her next lesson on Tuesday. AWESOME MICHAEL ANNE!!!

Chop Chop!

2009-06-16T11:18:00.004-06:00

Yesterday Michael Anne had her very first Karate lesson! Her cousin Kamryn goes to the Bobby Lawrence Karate Training Center so we decided to go there too. A few months ago Kamryn invited us to go see her belt advancement & Michael was totally excited. Kamryn is on the SWAT team which is their super awesome performing group. Michael thought it was really cool and I thought it would be a great opportunity for her to have some fun & to learn some more self dicipline and control. The following are a few pictures of her with Micki, her instructor. She learned the basics last night; attention, gaurd stance, punches, kicks, bowing, ducking, jumping, side stepping & the 7 special words which are "Yes sir, No sir, Yes ma'm, No ma'm, Please, Thank you, & You're welcome." Her next lesson is on Thursday evening and she will earn her white belt as long as she has completed her homework which is to use the 7 special words often & to do 5 chores around the house without being asked. Last night she went to bed with no argument & did her dishwasher chore by putting in the soap & turning it on by herself. This morning she's already made her bed very nicely, cleaned up her room (even Addi's stuff). Needless to say I'm loving this maybe even more than she does!!!

All Ready for Kindergarten!!!

2009-06-12T21:56:00.014-06:00

Michael Anne had her kindergarten check up at the doctor's office today. She was very prepared for her slew of shots but it showed in her slightly elevated blood pressure that she was a little nervous. Not to worry though, she brought along her teddy for comfort and Dr. Weipert's office gave her a BUNCH of prizes including, a bead bracelet, a sucker (of course), a coupon for a free ice cream cone, a coupon for a kid's meal at Del Taco, a certificate for being a SUPER patient, a Frisbee, a sticker, and maybe something else that I can't remember right now! Anyhow, the haul was a big one for such a big girl on such a big day!!!!
Here is our pediatric doctor. We think he's tops! He's been with us since our prenatal classes before Michael Anne was born and will likely be our doctor for years to come!!! His staff are wonderful and they take really great care with our kids. Thanks North Valley Pediatrics!!!

Incidentally, Addi had her well baby check up too & she is doing fine. I asked them for a sucker for her too as sugar seems to dull the pain! She enjoyed a few licks of watermellon DumDum goodness and a couple more sucks of it in the car. Then she tossed it and played with her sticky little hands the rest of the way home...what a cute kid!
Have you ever tried to take two children to the doctor for shots at the same time??? Surprisingly & wonderfully, Derek ended up with all his hours at work & was sent packing for the day so he showed up at home without calling ahead just as we were about to leave & just as I was about to begin meltdown mode...we had a poop out with little time to spare...so the meltdown was avoided & I cannot tell you the relief and utter happiness I felt at the instant he walked through the door! I think there is a good reason they don't like to schedule them that way, somehow it just ended up like this to their dismay...and mine, lucky for us daddy was there to hold one while the other protested the poky kisses! All in all, it was a good time though. Everybody left happy so that's good!!!

After we dropped sleepy, sticky Addi & daddy off at home Michael Anne & I went to the mall for another little treat. Grandma had recieved a coupon for a free Build-A-Bear & this seemed like the perfect day for a little cuddly, snuggly kind of fun. Here is her little critter, Sunny Cat, named for her soon to be school, Suncrest Elementary! Isn't she cute & a cat that takes a bath, now that's a great pet!!!

Daddy, Trix are for Kids...& this Trix is on You!

2009-06-11T20:52:00.004-06:00

Michael Anne got a swirly yogurt (Yoplait's - Very Berry Watermellon) out tonight for a snack & this is what she said: "Oh, I got green & red!" & daddy said "Yeah, I bet its pure sugar too." & She said "NO, its pure adventure for my taste buds!"

From Michael Anne's Blog of Pictures & Stuff

2009-06-03T17:15:00.000-06:00

Friday, May 29, 2009

A Pile of Cousins

Uncle Dave & Aunt Penny have been in town this week with my cousins. We've had SO MUCH FUN playing and going to movies & hanging out at the park with them & Grandma Church! I have totally loved everyday, except when it comes to an end... that really stinks. They are going home tomorrow but here is a picture of us romping around at Gma & Gpa's house tonight.

Hedge Smedge

2009-06-03T14:33:00.004-06:00

Today while we were playing out in the backyard Michael Anne decided it would be fun to take a walk with the spray bottle and "help out Mother Nature." This always sounds like a good time to me so we packed up everything and took it all inside & then strapped Addi in her stroller for a nice long walk. Michael was having a blast squirting every living thing she could find, but not the dead bird we found b/c "that's not living, well not anymore!" We walked past one finely manicured yard and Michael went over to water the bushes. They too were nicely trimmed, perfectly neat & square. I said to her something like "wow, isn't that amazing? that bush is completely square!" With nary a missed beat my little smarty pants replied "Yeah Mom, that's because its a hedge!" Oh well I'll be. That girl knows just about everything and then some!!!!

On the same note, the other day we were in the car & the kids wanted to watch a movie. Brenden was sick of Strawberry Shortcake and the like so it was his turn to pick a show. He chose A Bug's Life being the nice big brother that he is. Michael immediately protested and said she voted for something else, more girly. Derek said "No, it's Brenden's turn to pick something." She said "but I vote for...." He said "well we don't need a consensus it is Brenden's turn to pick." "Yes we need a consensus" she protested. Then Derek said "Michael do you know what a consensus is?" "Yes" she replied, (we exchanged a look that said "Ugh huh, sure you do") then she continued, "its when everybody agrees & I DO NOT agree!" Hummgh, she was right, but still A Bug's Life prevailed.

Only One Year of High School Left!!!

2009-06-03T07:42:00.003-06:00

Today is Brenden's last day of his junior year!!! WooHooHoo!!!! Where has the time gone? As promised here are some more pictures of the boy who makes us so proud. He's done a lot to finish off this year well and these pictures will show some of the accomplishments he's had. Way to Go Bren! We LOVE you!!!

Brenden has been attending the Jordan Applied Technology Center every morning this year. Here he is sporting his first SUIT, care of Grandma & Grandpa Johnson, with his Web Design teacher, Mr. Kidd, at this year's graduation & awards ceremony. Mr. Kidd had a lot of nice things to say about Brenden and as you can see in the next picture he was rewarded nicely for his good attitude and all the great work he has done this year!

These last two photos are from the Salt Lake Community College concurrent enrollment Art Show. Brenden's teacher submitted this website he designed and it won the blue ribbon Award of Excellence in Animation & Multimedia! You can't quite tell from the picture but it is a website that tells all about the planets. The planets rotate and when you scroll over them they give info about the planet. The Earth also spins in the background for a really cool effect. Surprisingly, the award was accompanied by a check for $100.00! You should have seen his face when he sat down to look in the envelope after he accepted his award. It was awesome!!!

2009-06-02T16:10:00.006-06:00

Easter 2009

Getting ready for the Easter party at Church

Hunting for eggs & having a good time with the Walton boys

Easter egg Hunting with the Johnson Cousisn

It was a rainy day but full of Easter fun!
Thankfully Easter Sunday was much BRIGHTER, must have been in remembrance of our Savior's resurrection & atonement!

What pretty little Girls (not a bad looking daddy too)!

Earth Day

2009-06-02T15:34:00.007-06:00

What a Wonderful World!

We LOVE our planet around here! So we decided to have a fun Earth Day by using as little in-the-house energy as possible. We began the morning with a delicious "green" eggs & bacon breakfast & then the girls & I spent the day outside at the playground & in the back yard. When we were inside we kept the lights off & other energy users to a minimum. After Dad & Bren got home we had a scrumptious BBQ for dinner in the back yard and although I look horrible in the photos I'll post them anyway so you can see all the fun we had!
We finished off the day with our family scripture time focused on the beautiful scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants 59:16-20
16. Verily I say, that inasmuch as ye do this, the fulness of the earth is yours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbeth upon the trees and walketh upon the earth;
17. Yea, and the herb, and the good things which come from the earth, whether for food or for rainment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards;
18. Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart;
19. Yea, for food and for rainment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul.
20. And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgement, not to excess, neither by extortion.

I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who has prepared such a wonderful & interesting place for me to live. I am glad to raise my family with his love and I'm glad my children love their planet too! The part of this passage that really stood out to me this time was in v. 18 that these things are here "both to please the eye and to gladden the heart" We are truely enjoying the outdoors this summer and it has gladdened my heart to be outside in the sunshine, breathing the fresh air and looking up at the majestic Wasatch Mountains!

Brenden's Birthday

2009-06-02T15:21:00.007-06:00

Brenden turned 17 on April 27th!
He's growing into quite the young man. We had a lot of fun helping him get his driver's license & celebrating with a custom-made, one of a kind "cake" of stacked Arby's melts & curly fries (one of my most favorite creations to date)!

He's not much for pictures but I've got a few of the driver's license, dinner at Red Lobster, the "cake" & our family party celebrating all the April B-days.

There may be a few more pictures on Derek's phone so I'll have to see if I can track down a few more, he's so handsome it would be nice to see him in pictures more often!!!

Michael's Chores...

2009-06-02T14:17:00.009-06:00

So Michael Anne can't quite read yet (she's learning but wants to wait until she starts kindergarten to "really" learn, & there's no changing her mind - punk, but who really cares I guess) but I want her to do some specific things each day. So instead of making a chore chart or list of things to do I've come up with this idea instead... a picture for each thing she is responsible for each day. But not just some clip art picture, a real picture of HER doing what needs to be done so she'll not only remember to do it but she'll be reminded of how it is supposed to be done as well. Genius. The idea is that we'll divide the refrigerator in 4ths, a done & not done side for both morning & night, & then she'll move the photos, which I'm laminating & fixing a magnet to the back of, from one side to the other as she completes each job. Here are the photos I took of her jobs yesterday, in no particular order. I think they are really cute.

Reading Lesson & Happy Attitude

Clean Room Before Bed

Shower & Cleaned up Craft Area

Unload the Dishwasher & Tidy the Closet

Play with Sissy & Story Time

Make the Bed Neatly & Say Prayers

Scriptures & Brush Teeth

Brush Hair & Go to Bed without a Fuss

Yummy...

2009-06-02T14:08:00.003-06:00

Here are a few of the meals I've made lately...you may laugh but these were the first times I'd ever made lasagna, baked potatoes & broccoli, or a roast by myself! They were pretty tasty if I do say so myself...and I do say so!

Addi's Drawrings

2009-06-02T13:59:00.003-06:00

Addison found the Magna Doodle & with one short lesson on how to hold the draw-er she produced this lovely one of a kind original drawing! Watch out Pablo Picasso!!!

Addison Turns One...Turned One

2009-06-02T13:04:00.012-06:00

March 12, 2009
We love you Addison!!!
Addi has a special place in our hearts. She is growing into such a fun little person. She enjoys playing with her family, "cooking" in the kitchen & signing her favorite signs (food, milk, more, sleepy, I want that, I love this). Her eyes are so big and beautiful and she has the sweetest smile & makes the funniest faces. She's got a pair of pretty eyebrows and she knows how to use them. Her dimples are to die for! She can feed herself and is beginning to take those first wobbly steps that will walk her right out of her snugly little babiness and into toddler hood. She is a beautiful and keen little girl. We love her SOOOOO MUCH. Thank you Addi for being ours & Happy Birthday little Goggzy!
Addi Eats her Birthday Cupcake!

The poor girl was so tired by the end of the day that we had to have dessert first and then dinner after Addison was put to bed for the night. So much fun for such a small baby!!!!
Addison's Birthday Dinner - Steak & Chicken Fajitas

A Little Random Birthday Fun

Addi got the go-ahead from her doctor to begin whole milk. She was very excited about the idea but really only began taking a bottle or sippy cup in the last few weeks (this being posted on June 2nd)!
We had lots of fun with Addison's birthday as it seemed to stretch over a full week, thus the different outfits. She really enjoys her "walking" toys from her grandmas. She's really good at pushing the buttons to make her horsey & her stroller play fun music.
After quite a long day I thought this last picture of her snoozing in her bed was very cute!

Wouldn't this be COOL!?!

2009-05-23T22:23:00.002-06:00

Click on the picture of this AWESOME bike for your chance to win one of your own!!!!
I never win giveaways but I SURE DO HOPE I WIN THIS ONE!!!!

Everything is Amazing & Nobody is Happy

2009-03-28T00:34:00.004-06:00

Here's a funny but probably true bit that I got a good laugh out of. Sorry you can't just watch the video here but embedding was disabled for some reason, guess you'll have to click on the link...I know, so much extra work...guess that's kinda the point...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGYx35ypus

Fun Questions to Ask Your Kid

2009-03-26T08:44:00.004-06:00

The other day I was meandering through Facebook & found this fun set of questions to ask your kid. The best part is actually writing down their exact responses & then laughing while you read them to your own mom or husband or somebody who really knows you well.

If you decide to do this with your child/children it will give you a pretty good sense of what they think of you so be prepared for tenderness, bewilderment, and a reality check of the best/worst kind!

So here are the 20 questions and Michael Anne's responses (keep in mind ((especially when you read #6))- she's 5). My thoughts & clarifications are in parenthesis.

1. What is something mommy always says to you?
I love you!
2. What makes mommy happy?
Me & Addi
3. What makes mommy sad?
NOT me & Addi
4. How does your mommy make you laugh?
tickling me
5. What was your mommy like as a little girl?
She liked her mommy & her friends
6. How old is your mommy?
60 (Seriously...that's almost double my age!)
7.What is her favorite thing to do?
play with me & Addi
8. What does your mommy do when you're not around?
plays with Addi
9. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
you'd become a famous writer
10. What is your mom really good at?
giving me kisses
11. What is your mom not very good at?
oh, I know... umm, no I don't. I don't know anything you're not good at (that earned her a bowl of strawberry icecream...good girl Michael Anne)!
12. What does your mom do for her job?
teach (remember Mikey, mommy doesn't go to work anymore) right, teach me how to read
13. What's your mommy's favorite food?
salmon (it's actually lobster)
14. What makes you proud of your mommy?
her giving me kissies & taking me to playdates
15. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
mamma, is Hannah Montana a cartoon? (No baby she is not) okay then I pick Scooby Doo
16. What do you and your mom do together?
play
17. How are you and your mom the same?
we like playing
18. How are you and your mommy different?
you like tomatoes & I don't
19. How do you know your mom loves you?
she gives me kissies
20. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

Red Lobster. Correct? Was I correct? (Yes dear & don't forget Hawaii) Yeah but you said favorite place to GO & we never go to Hawaii but sometimes we go to Red Lobster so that's what I picked! (Yes baby, that is true).

Michael's 6 inch Haircut!

2009-03-11T16:29:00.005-06:00

Today started out like any other... mommy trying to comb out the tangled rat's nest that is Michael Anne's hair after a long night of sleeping & squirming in her bed.
You know how it goes, first an "ouch" then a tear or two, followed by gallons of tears, sobbing, screaming, running away... Poor girl. We even employ the wonderful de-tangler spray but even that sometimes doesn't work well enough. So I said to her what mothers of all eras have said to their little long haired beauties "Beauty knows no pain." She replied "This beauty knows plenty of pain!" So then I said we could cut her hair off so the pain would be less & she got all excited and said "LET'S DO IT!" So we did & here it is... (By the way, Daddy doesn't know yet. He'll see it when he picks up his little girly on his way home from work from her playdate - Michael wonders if he'll know who she is!!!)

Not sure why I didn't take a before picture but it was down to the bottom of her shoulder blades in the back, which is about the end of this next picture!

Some Fun & Random Pictures

2009-03-06T12:49:00.010-07:00

Here is a collage of fun/random pictures over the past few months:

Meet GEORGE. Michael made & married George. He's a bit of an Air Head, but very amiable.

Michael during a READING lesson. This is a GREAT program, Frontline Phonics (click here for a link to their site - it's kinda expensive but Derek got a deal on EBay)!

Working on her "HOMEWORK" Let's hope she's still so excited for homework in the years to come!

Comfort Food, mom's Lasagna. This was the first time I'd ever made it & it was delish!

Family DINNER, even Adds loved the lasagna

Our version of ANTS on a LOG, we used chocolate chips as there were no raisins available.

Michael got this brilliant idea to soak her feet & Addi got a brilliant idea to splash in the water!

Family Home Evening

FHE, adapted from the Friend magazine (click here for a link). Match the scriptures with the picture of someone showing faith in God.

How to have FAITH

Addison has discovered that THE BOX is the MOST FUN of ALL

Brenden setting up HIS Experiment for the Science Fair

Michael Anne setting up Her OWN Experiment

Michael Anne carefully preparing her Labels

The Lima Bean Plants (oddly, Michael's grew & Brenden's didn't even break the surface so we used the data from her's for the science fair project!)

Watering the precious Lima Beans (they're still growing strong)!
Michael Anne wants to grow the beans & smash them up for Addi to eat, what a thoughtful sister.

Addison is a little TORNADO. Here's what she did to their nice & neatly organized closet.

BABY POLKA DOTS

Playing with Sis in THE BOX

Addi Climbs the Stairs - she's been doing this for a while now

Michael Anne chillin' at the Nu Skin store in Provo

Addi & cousin Kate playing House

Michael looking rather Pretty at Church

Michael Anne Rock Star Johnson & her homemade Guitar

Valentine's Day

2009-03-06T04:24:00.012-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day was a lot of fun this year. We began our morning with the Primary activity at church, which Michael Anne totally enjoyed. Of course, anytime David is around she's in Heaven!!! The kids got to make Valentine's for the missionaries, play Valentine themed games, make cute little mice out of Hershey Kisses, beads, & yarn, & they had a cupcake walk for a nice treat. Here they, Michael Anne & David, are at the Primary Party, don't they make a darling pair (yikes)!

Michael REALLY wanted to do something special for David for Valentine's & truth be told she probably made him about 20 Valentines but I told her that we could do something nice for his whole family instead. So, after the party at church we went over to Krispy Kreme & picked up a dozen Valentine/Heart-shaped doughnuts. It was a good time & she loved every minute of it! Here we are at David's house delivering the tasty treats. By the way, David is 7 and the two girls are his little twin sisters who are actually Michael Anne's age. I must admit that this was a fun little adventure with my girl.

We had a nice Valentine's brunch after Michael & I returned home. I made heart-shaped pancakes & some spread raspberry jam on them, which I think made them look like bloody hearts. Even Addison got in on the good stuff & enjoyed her Valentine pancakes too!

Finally, before Brenden had to head out for his date to the Sweetheart's Dance at school, we all exchanged Valentine cards which Michael Anne totally loved! We even made her a little box to keep them in & now 6 days into March she still gets them out & looks at them!!!

Isn't he handsome in his PINK shirt!?! They wore pink & brown & we thought he looked smashing! Not sure what that smile is all about but he really looked nice. His date, April, also looked very nice & supposedly there are pictures from the dance to prove it but we haven't seen any yet!!!

Welcome Home! Isn't this the coolest!!! A little Valentine decor made with my fancy Cricut Expressions machine.

Sick, Sick Babies...

2009-03-06T03:48:00.007-07:00

A few weeks ago our little girlies got a case of the sickies. They both had high fevers, runny noses & were so uncharacteristically tired & worn out (I eventually got the worn-outs & runny nose too). It was very sad to watch them feeling so miserable. Thank goodness for their beloved bears, Kellin & Strawberry Milkshake & my GREAT hubby! Fortunately everyone got better but not before we missed our trip (Boo Hoo) with Grandma & Grandpa to Washington for cousin Eric's 8th birthday & baptism.

Addi in the Stylin'Studio

2009-03-04T22:57:00.004-07:00

Girl Tech - Stylin' Studio

2009-03-04T21:59:00.002-07:00

A Post Card from Paris!
Grandma found a Great Deal on the Stylin'Studio
Here's a Hipped up Michael Anne (I did this one) in Paris, I hear she had a great trip!

Christmas 2008

2009-03-03T14:23:00.013-07:00

Christmas was a lot of fun this year (last year that is). It was the first time I did most of the getting ready, well the decorating the house & wrapping gifts part. Here are some pictures of Christmas, Family, & Cleaning up after the holidays.

Out in the COLD to procure the perfect Tree!

My favorite Nativity from Panama

The Girl's Favorite Nativity from Fisher Price (with a few visitors)

Addi's Favorite gift to try to Unwrap (daily, hourly, by the minute)

Who is that guy? I think he smelled like Beef & Cheese!

Michael Anne & the Primary kids Singing some Holiday songs for us (notice the boy in the green soccer shirt, that's David... the love of her little life)!

Enjoying some Yuletide Yummies at the Ward Christmas Party

The Tree on Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas my Baby Girls!

Here they come!

Michael Anne's Stocking (don't be fooled by my name on it, Hillary made this beautiful stocking for me years ago but Michael loves it so much that she gets to use it)

Addi's Stocking

Hey, what's this stuff??? For me??? Nice.

Addi's 1st Christmas Gift of her Whole Life!!!

This is so fun, for everyone!
Isn't it great when a simple Baby Food Box is the Christmas hit?!?

Michael Anne made this BEAUTIFUL picture of our family for me for Christmas! Thank You baby Girl!

Michael's Christmas Crafts

Some cute Santa Stuff

Michael Anne & Audrey A baby is born! Oh Dear!

What great Doctors these two make!

What a beautiful Girl! Good Bye Christmas...

Thanksgiving

2009-03-03T14:05:00.004-07:00

Thanksgiving is always a fun time of year for me. I love reminiscing about our big dinners at 516 Walter Reed St. on Ft. Clayton. Nobody had family around so families would get together from the ward to enjoy some good company on the special day. Dad would always make the coolest name plates for everyone with custom drawings of something that was unique to each person, I loved those. While my mom & the other moms went so out of their way to make it a special celebration with amazingly carved watermelon fruit baskets, pies, marshmallow yams, several turkeys & all the fixings. This past year we had another nice Thanksgiving & Michael Anne got to make some fun turkey cupcakes with Grandma Church the day before.

The Famous Pinapple Turkey, made my Own this year!

Mommy & her Two Little Turkeys

Michael Anne & Grandma making Turkey Cupcakes

Turkey Cupcakes

Halloween

2009-03-03T13:53:00.004-07:00

Michael had a lot of fun making Halloween cards this past year for all of her cousins. Here they are. I especially liked the "spooky cats!"

Did I ever post some of the fun Halloween treats we enjoyed during October???

Toad's Eye Soup with Broomstick Bread Sticks

Sausage Mummies

Bread Stick Bones & Bloody Sauce

Lots of Stuff from the Past few Months...

2009-03-03T13:50:00.003-07:00

Well, I don't know why I haven't been blogging much lately. Maybe I got bored of it or maybe I was too lazy to move the pictures from the camera to the computer, either way I'm ready to catch up I guess! I think I'll make separate posts for the different events/days gone by. Have fun catching up with us!

Check out my new Highchair!

2009-01-22T13:50:00.003-07:00

Addi always seems to be under my feet in the kitchen which can be a bit of a dangerous problem so we finally went out and bought her a groovy new, green Chicco highchair so I can strap her in and she'll still feel "in" on whatever I'm doing since she's up high enough to see the counter tops and stove. Inadvertently, it is also nice to have to feed her in although she does really well sitting on your lap while having food shoveled in! It is pretty sweet and she loves it most of the time. Here are a few pics of her in her new digs. Isn't she the cutest ever!

What have you done to me????

Food for Thought

2009-01-22T12:55:00.004-07:00

I decided to start keeping track of the food I make for Addison as she's decided to be a solid food baby almost full time now. So I started a new blog for that purpose. It is called Deliciously Homemade and can be found at http://www.deliciouslyhomemade.blogspot.com/

I decided to do this because I'd wanted to make her food myself but I was intimidated by the task until I thought I could just simplify all the glorified ideas in my mind, chop up some good, healthy food, and that would work just fine. So I bought myself a Magic Bullet blender and some fresh fruits & veggies and got to work, only it isn't work b/c the Magic Bullet is so awesome and quick I can't give it enough kudos!

So, what inspired me to ditch Gerber and make my own??? Well to be honest I haven't kicked Gerber or Enfamil to to curb completely. I do use them too but I was watching the one or two episodes of Jon & Kate + 8 that I've ever seen... oh no, it wasn't one of their shows it was Kate on a talk show that I rarely ever watch but caught a snippet of one day... anyhow, the hostess was asking Kate about feeding her children (her many children) and mentioned that they NEVER (okay, technically rarely) eat out. The hostess was surprised and asked how she does it. Kate's response stuck with me and what she said was basically that she has these little people she's been given to raise and that she wants their bodies to have the best start they possibly can so she cooks their meals and feeds them at home or plans ahead and packs lunches instead of hitting the drive thru.

Now, I'm not that great and we do the drive thru but I thought there was definitely something to what she was saying about giving her kids' bodies the best shot at a healthy life and I knew I could do that too. So Deliciously Homemade was born. I know some of you are homemaking, baby-feeding experts already so if you feel like checking it out feel free & feel free to leave some of your own ideas for me to try out!

The thing I enjoy most about cooking is seeing how much my family likes what I make for them, it is especially fun to watch my baby gobble up the concoctions I make for her too! It's fun, easy, and I feel like I'm doing something good for her. Hope you enjoy it too.

Another long time no post...

2009-01-17T10:50:00.009-07:00

Hummm, why haven't I been here in a while??? Busy I suppose. I just wanted to leave a little note though that we are happy and doing well so far this year.

I've been impressed with our family, we have set a goal and are doing a great job keeping up with it. We've decided to have scripture time each day and we have a rotating schedule as to who is in charge each day. Instead of reading from cover to cover each person is in charge of choosing a topic for their scripture share and then they read/talk about a few scriptures that go along with what they have chosen. It has been very nice and fun to get together each evening to read and uplift each other instead of just being entertained by the tv. I have been impressed with some of the topics and I think it gives us as parents another little insight as to what our kids are thinking and concerned with. It is also the perfect time for family prayers and I am really enjoying it! I am thankful for the scriptures & I'm glad we are actually using them instead of looking at them from their spot on the shelf!

It is also fun to have Michael Anne & Addi use the Friend magazine to help them choose a topic. Last night it was Addi's turn and she told us the story of President Hinckley when he wanted to move an old dead tree. He hooked up a chain to the tree but when he began to pull the tree a link in the chain broke. He went to the store and bought a replacement link and put it in place but the chain was never the same again. He encouraged us to be a strong link in our family chain and to draw upon the blessings of righteous families in the scriptures and in our pioneer heritage for strength. We sure do have a strong heritage of faith in our family, from both sides. Then we read about the strength the stripling warriors gained from the teachings of faith from their mothers & their blessing of protection for trusting their own faith.

The Count Down to Christmas

2008-12-23T23:04:00.000-07:00

Who knows what the heck is up with our count down counter downer??? Maybe it's hosted in Kiribati! It's getting way ahead of itself, & way too ahead of me! Hope you all are enjoying your count down to Christmas.

We enjoyed the Christmas program in our ward this past Sunday. The Primary sang, and what a wonderful job those little ones did! The ward choir also sang along with scripture readings of course and they were also quite good. At the end of the service we were moved by a piano/organ duet that just made the meeting. It is such a wonderful time of year, too bad it is so short lived. Next year I am determined to begin celebrating Christmas the week after Thanksgiving! It is just too nice to pass up.

The girls & I have been enjoying the lights and decorations of our beautiful Christmas tree and tuning into the traditional holiday tunes on the t.v. with senic backgrounds of winter wonderlands (isn't it cool that you can listen to music on the t.v.?) it is quite relaxing.

Sorry, no pictures in this post. Maybe tomorrow I'll get the girls all dolled up in their Christmas dresses so you can see how beautiful they looked on Sunday.

Michael Anne Turns 5!

2008-12-21T03:07:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Michael Anne!

Saturday was our baby's 5th birthday! Can you believe how quickly time has passed???

It was such a fun day reminiscing about her birth & the fun and excitement leading up to it. I am so happy to be her mother, she is such a great kid. Since she was born before my time as a blogger I think I'll do a little review for the record book...

Derek & I found out we were going to be parents back in March of 2003. After we decided to go ahead and have a baby I was nothing less than anxious. I must have spent a bundle on pregnancy tests! Finally, one day the little stick turned up positive and I could hardly contain myself. Derek was still at work & I had to be somewhere before he was to arrive home so I left a maternity catalog from JCPenny's on the bed with the little stick resting on it (I had grabbed the catalog while shopping for church clothes for the boys one day, in hopes of needing such attire soon). I wrote a little note to Derek on the cover of the catalog, something like "Congratulations, you're going to be a Daddy!" Later, we were on the phone together from wherever I had to be and he was home but he hadn't mentioned his surprise yet. We kept talking and the whole time I thought I was going to explode with suppressed joy. Finally he walked into our room and found the note. It was a fun time for us both!

As the months passed we got even more excited. I was getting ready to go on a short family trip and I just couldn't wait the extra week until my return to find out if the little bundle I was carrying was a boy or a girl. I felt like I wanted to stop calling it "it." So I convinced Derek to take me to the mall to Gender Ultrasounds. Let it be known that I didn't have to do much convincing...he was pretty excited too! While I was lying there the tech that was performing the ultrasound said something to the effect of "congratulations, it's a girl." We were so thrilled. Then she said something to the effect of "boy she sure is happy to show you that she's a girl. You can close your legs now baby!" I'm sure she thought she was being funny but I was surprised at my reaction which was something to the effect of "hey lady, that's my baby you're talking about, watch what you say about her!" The motherly instinct had set in.

As December drew nearer I was excited for the possibility of Michael being born on her daddy's birthday (Dec. 6). I had shared (& still do) my birthday with my dad and I thought that was pretty cool so when Dr. Wold said it was possible she could be born then I thought that would be neat. Well, Dec. 6th came and went and there was no sign of Michael Anne. That week drug on by and eventually Dec. 13th came. The Dr. said I could come in to have her that day and by that time I was really ready to hold my baby in my arms rather than on my hips!

So we arrived at the hospital, got all hooked up and even more excited, if that was possible. When Dr. Wold came in a while later he checked how things were going and it turns out they weren't going at all even with the little help of the ever dripping i.v. So he said he'd advise that we go home and wait a little longer. He said that if we kept pushing it without response from my body we'd end up with a C-section and it wasn't really necessary...just a little more patience. Ugh, met me lately??? Patience is not something I've got a lot of and at 40 weeks of pregnancy I didn't have much if any then either! But I knew he was right so we got all unhooked and headed home. I was so sad. I really wanted to hold my baby! Derek took me to Cafe Rio for lunch to settle my aching heart, it helped (when doesn't a Cafe Rio salad make one happy?).

Sooo, another week passed ever so slowly. At my appointment sometime that week the good doctor said we'd better get that little girl out of there soon one way or another. So he scheduled me for Saturday the 20th. When Saturday and 41 weeks of pregnancy finally arrived I was so ready to have this baby but nothing was happening...still. (The night before we went in for a progesterone treatment & then went to the movies to give it some time to work & then went back for another treatment & then home for the night, arriving back at the hospital around 6am). The nurse on my watch was named Carolyn. She joked as she hooked me up to the i.v. and monitors that her shift ended at 6pm so make sure you have your baby by then! I laughed and said okay (like this baby had any care for our anticipation! Dr. Wold mentioned at some point that she was just lounging in her cozy, warm hot tub and would be out whenever she felt like it)!

The day wound on just like all the other days before. Nothing seemed to be happening. Then at 5pm the nurse came in and asked how things were going. They weren't, but I had felt some pretty good contractions which didn't seem to produce any progress but they were doozies! I had been planning to have an epidural ever since working at Gorgas Army Hospital in high school. One night my friend,Candy,& I were allowed to work a night shift as her mom was a nurse in Labor & Delivery and the Newborn Nursery (top floor).

It was a night full of babies and we were invited to stand in on a few births but not before Dr. Chen schooled us on the art of birthing. We were given a couple packs of smelling salts and told to be ready just in case we were needed. Well, I remember the differences between some of those births... one lady was screaming at the TOP of her lungs in pain and another was like "ooh, ooh honey that kinda hurts" all mellow and calm. I guess you can tell which one stuck with me! Later I spoke to the screamer. I asked her if the pain was really all that bad and her response was "Yes! It felt like I was being hit between the legs with a sledge hammer over and over and over again!" Holy yikes...that wasn't for me! So I wanted the pain free version but I thought the meds would wear off so I kept putting off the nurse's frequent offerings. Finally when I thought I couldn't or didn't want to take it anymore I asked if I could get the epidural. The nurse said she had wondered how long I would wait and that if they did wear off then they would just toss in some more... what? really? well then hook me up!!! I digress...
15 minutes later the nurse came back in and made a joke about my disobedient baby, reminding us that she was to be born by 6:00. Derek & I continued to play cards as she checked me yet again. But this time she looked surprised and asked me if I was ready to have this baby. I said "I don't know, am I?" She decided to go get the doctor. We put our cards away.
Dr. Wold arrived shortly and with 3 short pushes assisted by my dear husband, our great nurse, and a little tug from the good doctor who unbeknown to me quickly slipped the cord, that was wrapped around her neck 2 1/2 times, off and got her breathing, Michael Anne Johnson made her debut into this lovely world and into our waiting arms! I couldn't believe it, she was finally here! All wrinkly and cute.

I kept looking at her and saying to Derek "This is so crazy, we have our baby!"
I got to hold her for about 20 minutes before they took her away to get her cleaned up.

She was born exactly at 6:00pm!

Since Michael's heart rate kept plummeting with every contraction Dr. Wold wanted to get her out quickly (naughty cord) in the process I lost some blood and as a result I passed out a while later as I was moving from my bed to a chair and then again when I was getting up to go to the bathroom. That was weird. Eventually I was okay. When they brought her to me a little later she was adorned with two little bows, red & green. She was our Christmas gift and has been our prize ever since.

Bringing Michael Anne home from the hospital was an amazing feeling! It felt as though life was just what it was supposed to always be. Here's her proud daddy!

Since Michael was born just 5 days before Christmas, Daddy did all of the Christmas shopping & decorating the night before! He even scored us a really nice tree for free!

Brenden & Chase couldn't have been more proud of their new little sister!

Over the years Michael Anne has proven herself to be such a joy. She is funny and witty and incredibly clever. She has a sharp mind and a will to go with it. She can be a handful and a heart full all at the same time.

Now that we have another baby girl she has also proven to be a great helper and friend to me and to her little sis. She is compassionate and curious. She is stubborn yet quick to obey when she feels like it and loves the spotlight, I guess that tech and our nurse had a little something on her, she's a little flashy & loves to obey the letter of the law with exactness! More than anything though, Michael Anne is everything I had hoped for and one of my everythings that I want & love each day. She is our little monkey and she is a precious soul. I feel so close to her and I know she was meant to be ours.

1 Year Old

2 Years Old 3 Years Old

Toothless 3 Year Old 4 Years Old (with Audrey)

5 Years Old (with Addi)

I have a twist on a primary song that I have sung to her since the day our baby girl was born it goes like this, "Michael I love you. Michael I do. Father in Heaven has sent you to me. When I am near you I love to hear you whispering softly that you love me too. Michael I love you, I love you, I do."
Thank you for being our baby girl. We love you Michael Anne 1/4 of a Tree Top Johnson! We love you so much!

Winter Wonders

2008-12-19T19:21:00.000-07:00

My Little Snow Angel! Addi & Mommy snuggle to stay warm while Michael plays in the snow.

Addi playing at Church in her make-shift play pen.

& here she is standing up. She's quite good at pulling herself up on things.

9 Months In - 9 Months Out

2008-12-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Addison Nicole Johnson, 9 mos.

As of today our little Addison Nicole is a whopping 9 months old! Can you believe it??? (I've been waiting for the day to borrow Melissa's nifty title to this post. Very clever Melissa!) We have been so blessed to have this sweet little angel baby in our home. She is so happy and makes the funniest scrunchy faces. Every morning she wakes up with a big smile for mommy and loves to snuggle and play with her big sister. She enjoys bath time and eating new foods (which often lead to baths). She likes to wave and smile at everyone. Addi is a busy baby, crawling all over the place. She enjoys playing in her room with Michael Anne and helping mommy sweep the floor with her jammies (oops). She is learning to crawl up the stairs and getting into daddy's cds. She is good at showing us what she needs with her wee little hands. We especially love her "milk hands" and all of her own signs she has for different things. Everyday we find ourselves smiling and laughing with our little one. She is such a good baby and such a joy to each of us.

WE LOVE YOU ADDI!

What Have We Been Up To???

2008-11-26T00:08:00.001-07:00

So it's been awhile since I posted some pictures and told a little about what we've been up to so here are some pictures of the last days of summer. Enjoy!

A Visit to BYU and the Dinosaur Museum

Feeding the Ducks

Having Some Lunch (different day)

Yikes! Don't Eat My Baby!!!

Watch Out Michael Anne!

Wow, look at that!

More to come later...baby Addi is calling!

I'M BACK - Next Day

Mommy & Addi at BYU

Love those Wasatch Mountains!

Michael's Soccer Jersey We Made at Home with Her Name on the Back

There's My Little Protoge!

The Park Here in Orem Swarms with Soccer all Summer Long.

Michael was Pretty Excited about it and We Often Stopped to Watch the Kids Practice or Play Games. Sometimes She'd Pick up a Little Game on the Sidelines with other Little Brothers & Sisters of the Players so I Started taking her there during the Day when the Fields were Empty for Soccer Practice. It was REALLY Fun for Both of Us Until it Started Getting TOO Cold Outside! (Who plays soccer in the cold?...I guess everyone in the Northern Hemisphere...Geez!)

My Little Monkey Up a Tree!

She Climed this Tree all By Herself! Reminded Me of the Good Old Days Scaling Trees in the Rainforest of Panama & Playing in the Cashew Tree where the SPAZ Club Met with Milk Cart Seats & Shelves for our Books & Other Treasures.

Well, I'm doing these Updates in the mornings when the kiddos are still sleeping and Addi is just waking up so I'll be going again, probably until tomorrow. I still have other pictures to upload from the summer so check back again soon. Ta Ta For Now!

Breakfast Anyone?

2008-11-10T22:26:00.000-07:00

I saw this commercial on t.v. the other day and thought it was hilarious. I am so eggcited that Derek helped me find it on YouTube so I could share its mildly sick humor with you! Enjoy.

(Oh yeah, you must scroll down & pause my music player to hear the video.)

6 Quirky Things About Me...

2008-11-08T22:28:00.000-07:00

1. I ALWAYS lock the car doors when we are in the car, even driving down the highway. You never know what freaks are out there or where/when they might pop up!
2. I ALWAYS shower in a particular order. First, I get all soaked. Then I wash my hair. Next I put conditioner in my hair. Fourth I shave my pits & legs. After that I wash my body. Then I wash my face and then finally I rinse the conditioner out of my hair. I never deviate from this pattern, it just can't be done.
3. When I put my make up on, I ALWAYS pour a little foundation into the palm of my hand and add 5 drops of moisturizer to it and rub it all around until it's well mixed and then I rub it all over my face. I HATE applying it with sponges. They soak up way too much of the stuff and then it comes out uneven. My way, the best way, works just right every time.
4. I ALWAYS fold my towels just so. If they are folded any other way then they are "wrong." Derek knows this and tries to defy me on this issue but I make sure it's done "right" anyway & refold if necessary. Thank goodness he still helps me fold laundry!
5. Let's see... along the lines of #1... I ALWAYS lock the house door. Again you never know what freaks are out there or where/when they might pop up!
6. And finally, humm probably others could point out something much more "quirky" about me than I can but let me dig deep (okay, I don't have to dig that deep) Let's shake it up a bit, I NEVER wash my face at night. Well, that one wasn't much fun but I think it's a bit different than the norm.

Okay, instead of tagging someone with this same topic I'm going to make up one. The topic of this tag is... 5 of your favorite memories. I'm picking Dave, Chad, (yes, boys) Teralee, Nicolle, and Amy W. I'll post mine tomorrow maybe.

Her Pearly Whites are Poking Through

2008-11-06T09:43:00.000-07:00

Addi has two teeth now! The first popped out on Oct. 29th on the bottom left and the second made its debut the next day on the bottom right. So far she has been experimenting lightly with them but she seems to be exercising her bite a bit more this morning...ouch! She'll learn.

I've got to figure out how to put videos from our camera onto the computer and then onto the blog because yesterday Michael Anne asked for an Oreo cookie for a snack and Addison yanked it out of my hand and shoved it into her little mouth. I was going to take it from her but she seemed to enjoy it way too much to deprive her of a little chocolate goodness! By the time she was done with that cookie she was definitely ready for ANOTHER bath! It was so cute. I'll figure it out and add it to this post a little later when the baby monkey is napping.

Baby Eats Pancakes

2008-10-23T23:13:00.000-06:00

Last night we had pancakes for dinner. We decided that they were soft enough that Addison could gum them pretty well so we gave her some(sans syrup)and boy did she love them!!! She made a little mess of herself though so she got to have a little bath too. She loves the bath & HATES getting out of the water when we are done!

Hey, did you guys leave any for me?
Yumm, Pancakes!
This is GOOD!

So good...

MORE!!! (please)

Ahh, bath time! Rubber Ducky, you're the One...

You make bath time oh so fun!

What? Time to get out???

Come on! Put me back in the tub!

Seriously, put me Back!

Wee Witches Weekend @ Gardner Village

2008-10-22T14:46:00.000-06:00

Michael & I have been looking forward to this day ever since we stumbled upon Witches Night Out last year. It was even more fun this year with Aunts, cousins, & Grandma along for the fun! Here are a few fun pictures of us...especially my little witch, Michael Anne.

Indie Fixx Autumn Cornucopia Giveaway

2008-10-21T07:25:00.000-06:00

In case you enjoy winning cool stuff here's a link to an online boutique full of neat things like beautifully crafted glass jewlery from Starving Artist Bazaar. You don't want to miss this one! In addition to the products they have for sale they are also having an amazing givaway overflowing with all sorts of goodies. You can enter to win by going to their site and following the "How to Enter" instructions (just click on their graphic above to go to the site).

Good Luck & Happy Browsing!

My Little Michael Anne

2008-10-02T18:46:00.000-06:00

Here are some really cute pictures of Michael Anne this summer that her Aunt Stephanie took during our family reunion. I think they show her fun & mischievous personality quite well! Don't you???

A Bit'o Halloween Fun

2008-09-27T01:07:00.000-06:00

As a tribute to this coming Halloween I've decided to put my creative cooking skills to the test and make some SPOOKY Halloween inspired meals. So as not to burn my limited skills out we are going to have these spooky meals each Friday, that way Chase will be here for some of them, and I'll only have to make 5 of them!!! The menu was inspired by (well, taken from) one of those Pillsbury seasonal cookbooks that you find at the checkout in grocery stores. My mom gave us one so we're going to try it out.

On the menu is; Toad's Eye Soup with Witch Broomsticks, Spaghetti with Meatball Eyeballs, Tarantula Tacos, Spooky Spiderweb Pizza, Slow-Cooked Chili with Spider Bread, Ground Beef Mummy Bread, and Crescent Wrapped Sausage Mummies with Dragon Eggs & Warewolf Hair Hashbrowns.

Keep your eyes peeled for pictures of these spooky treats & Halloween jokes by our resident little witch, Michael Anne, over the coming weeks & have yourselves a spooktacular holiday season!!!

***Do you like Michael's scare-a-crow costume from a few years ago??? Can you believe that I acutally made it!?!

Awesome Concert

2008-09-12T22:37:00.000-06:00

So my sweetheart planned a belated birthday gift for me last night that was totally awesome!!! While Gma & Gpa Johnson watched the girlies I drove up to SL to meet Derek for some much needed and anticipated fun. I didn't know what he had planned just that we'd be outside so I brought blankets and met him up behind the U at Red Butte Gardens. It turned out to be the last summer concert featuring Tristan Prettyman, Butler Trio, & G. Love & Special Sauce! It was awesome!!!

Aside from about 1/2 an hour of light rain and kinda cold temps it was a blast! We had a good time laughing at freaky people, smelling ugh... odd stuff, and listening to good music while in the company of my favorite person on the entire planet. It was perfect and I loved being alone with him, amidst hundreds of happy people. Good times. Thanks Derek, I really needed that!!!

Addison 6 mos.

2008-09-12T22:03:00.000-06:00

Today was Addison's 6 month birthday! We have been so blessed to have her with us for an entire 1/2 year already!!!!! We love her so much, she is such a beautiful little baby and brings so much joy to our hearts and our home. She really is made of sugar and spice and everything nice!
Here is a 1/2 birthday picture of our little princess, and a few others just for fun. She seems to be developing many new tricks these days. She has recently begun to get a taste for other foods besides yummy mommy's milk. So far she's tasted cantelope, watermellon, greenbeans, banana-oatmeal cereal, and maybe one or two other things all of which she has loved! She's also begining to get the idea of crawling...she hasn't actually done it yet but she's figuring it out pretty quickly. We are proud of all she has learned and all she has brought to our family in such a short time. We LOVE you Addi!!!

Got Milk?

2008-09-02T07:36:00.000-06:00

Another generation of breastfeeding moms, I'm so proud! Notice she's upgraded to using a feeding blanket to nurse her twin care bears. What a funny kid!!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake Recipe c/o Amy Hatfield

2008-08-14T09:54:00.000-06:00

Hopefully this recipe is visible. I've heard that my text is invisible, maybe that's why my blog seems to be a ghastly ghost town* for comments... (or maybe it's just boring, alas I hope my life isn't that boring, it sure doesn't seem so to me)!
*Way too much Scooby Doo these days, actually who could ever get enough of Scooby & the gang? We love a good mystery around here!

INGREDIENTS
1/8-1/4 cup poppy seeds (depending on preference)
1/4 cup milk
1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs

DIRECTIONS

Soak poppy seeds in milk for 2 hours (opt). Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.

In a large bowl, stir together cake mix and pudding mix. Make a well in the center and pour in water, oil, and eggs. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl, and beat 4 minutes on medium speed. Blend in poppy seed mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Summer Time Goodness

2008-08-13T16:09:00.000-06:00

So, my friend Amy has the cutest stuff on her blog. She makes gorgeous bags and such, which everyone should take a look at and consider purchasing to keep her addiction to beautiful fabric affordable as she does such beautiful work with it! Anyhow, she recently posted about one of the greatest boxed cakes there is, Funfetti, and I thought I ought to send a shout out to one of my newest favorite cakes too!
The cake is a lemon-poppy seed cake that I got off of my cousin-in-law's blog www.cafeamy.blogspot.com (coincidentally, her name is Amy too). It is to die for and you should try it out as soon as you can! I even went out and bought a bunt pan just for this cake and I am so glad I did because it is going to get a lot of use! It is the best, lightest-tasting, summer goodness I've had in a long time and I'm temped to make one every week, hey it is so good maybe twice a week!!! If you try it tell me what you think, I absolutely love it! If you make a trip out here this summer I'll make one for you...or this winter, or really anytime...it is that good!!!!!!!! I'm beginning to salivate just thinking about it's moist, lemony freshness. Maybe I'll make one this weekend, yes I think that would be a wonderful treat! Derek will be very happy!!!

Such a Cute Cute Baby!!

2008-07-29T08:40:00.002-06:00

I love this picture of Addison. Her hands and feet are a blur because she is so excited but I love the grin on her face and how pretty she is in pink! This has been a big month for her... on the 4th she mastered rolling over and on the 24th she actually started laughing whenever I tickle her. She is adorable!

Addison & Brenden's Big Day

2008-07-16T10:41:00.001-06:00

The Sunday before the reunion was the perfect day for Addison's blessing and Brenden's ordination to the office of Priest. (I don't have many pictures of this day so if anyone has some please email them to me and I'll put more on). Later that day was also cousin Hattie's blessing at her grandparent's home in Provo. The backyard pictures were taken there. I especially love the pictures of Brenden & Chase, they are so handsome!

More Family Reunion

2008-07-16T10:04:00.000-06:00

A fun activity the family did during the Johnson Family Reunion was a ropes course in Provo. It was pretty fun, although I just played with Addison, she was a good excuse to avoid wetting my pants while being hauled up on the rope swing!
Everybody all Harnessed Up! Flattering isn't it?!?
Brenden & Chase on the Rope Swing.

And Last But Not Least: Derek on the Rope Swing. It took the whole family to hoist him up there but it was worth the effort. He dazzled us with a few flips as well as a double flip! onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_8s-yozzXuzg/SH4gCTme7lI/AAAAAAAAAoA/Ka8R1k0C8nA/s1600-h/071508+031.jpg">

Here are a few pictures of the girls having some fun at the ropes course. Luckily Audrey & Michael kept each other pretty well entertained during the rope swing and then were able to join in on the parachute fun. Notice Addi enjoying the reunion by taking a little siesta in her own privately shaded chair (she did that a lot).