Fort Johnson

The girls have been outside a few times since the snow started falling, but Levi, Jett and I have yet to venture out--until today. The snow has been pretty dry and hard to pack, but today Levi came in with a huge snowball that he had created while taking the garbage out--which he proceeded to throw at me, inside the house--and we decided that the snow was finally ready to make a snowman with. I'm sure the fresh snow we got this morning helped.
We proceeded to bundle everyone up--I felt bad because poor Jayd doesn't have snow pants, but we made do.
Once outside the girls and Levi immediately went to work on the snowman. Jett decided he wasn't to fond of the cold wind on his face, so he and I turned around and went back outside and watched from the window. Unfortunately, the snow wasn't rolling well enough for the snowman and Levi and the girls abandoned the snowman and Levi sent Jayd inside for a bucket. They then started making a snow fort (igloo as Levi likes to call it).
Jett wasn't fond of being inside while the girls were outside, so they got a wall up to block the wind and Jett and I ventured out once again. The fort isn't quite done, but it was getting darker and Levi needed to get ready for work. So we'll finish it later.

Christmas Finale--

Well it's over. Today we had our last Christmas celebration--this time with Levi's parents. Gayle and Bob came up this afternoon after Levi got up (he had to work again last night). We had T-bone steaks and of course more presents.
Levi got the Perfect Pushup system and what do you know, he got Bob the same thing.
Overall, we had a good holiday season. Now it's time to relax and enjoy the rest of the break before Kaidyn and I go back to school on January 5th.

Merry Christmas!!

Don't get me wrong--I love Christmas. What I don't love is all the driving that goes along with it. We already drove to Spokane last weekend to have a Christmas celebration with one part of my family. Today we will make another trip to Pasco and then Eltopia to see more family.
But first our own little Christmas celebration with just us.
Levi had to work last night so the girls had to wait until at least 6:15 before they could open anything. Kaidyn was up at like 5:30 and of course woke up Brother and Sister since it was finally Christmas morning. So I got up and baked the cinnamon rolls and the kids sat in front of the tree staring at the presents waiting for daddy.
Levi finally made it home, and the kids opened up stockings. We then had cinnamon rolls--although the girls didn't each much. Then we opened presents. Kaidyn got her DS that she's been begging for and Jayd got a Barbie the same size as her and Jett got more tools--among other things.
After presents, Levi went to bed and I packed the kids in the car and headed to Pasco to see my Grandma Schaefer. We had a nice visit and Autie Ginny and Uncle Finn were there too, so we got to see them as well.
Next to Eltopia to see my parents--grandpa and grandma on the farm as the kids call them--and have Christmas dinner--marinated tri-tip roasts.
Both my brothers and their girl friends made it, so it was nice to see them. As well as my Stepbrother Donovan, Gram (Karen's mom), Dale and Pat (Karen's brother and his wife) and Max and Christy (their kids). It was good to see everyone.
Of course there were more presents and my kids are officially spoiled. Kaidyn informed me she is addicted to getting presents--we are going to have work on that.

My brother Eric and his girlfriend (fiance) Cheryl with Jett.










My brotherRyan's girlfriend Tiara with Jett (he was a hit).

Christmas Eve

Well he's done it again. Some how Santa snuck into our house and managed to leave the kids' Christmas jammies under the tree while the kids we're playing. The girls got silky nightdresses with monkey faces on them (how appropriate) and pink bathrobes and Jett's were grinch jammies.

Jett's First Haircut

So, we decided Jett needed a haircut--mostly Levi got tired of hearing how cute his little "girl" was at the gym. I was a little nervous taking him somewhere to get his hair cut because he's so squirmy--so we decided to do it ourselves--the same way we cut Levi's hair--with the electric trimmers. However, this time we put an attachment on it so it's not as short. He definitely looks like a boy now, but not a baby anymore--how sad.

Anderson Family Christmas

So--the annual Anderson Family Christmas (on my maternal side) was today at my Aunt's house outside of Deer Park. It was great to see all my aunts, uncles, cousins and Grandma. This is pretty much the only time I see that part of the family during the year. I also got to see my cousins baby girl--Vanessa--who was super cute and Jett had a blast playing with. Good times!!

Frozen Pipe

So I just went to give the kids a bath and I turned the water on and after it warmed up, it was hot--too hot. So I turned the knob on the tub towards cold, but the water stayed hot--same temp. So I turned it more cold--still hot. I turned it all the way to cold and guess what--the water turned off all together. I guess that means a frozen pipe--I ran around to all other water sources to check for more water not working. But so far everything else is fine, even the bathroom sink--so I now have water dripping in all sinks and tubs.
Oh yeah--did I mention the drain is frozen too. The water won't go down.
Ughhh--and Levi is working, so I don't know what to do--I guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow and hope for the best.

***update--12/20/2008--Levi got home this morning and decided he couldn't go to sleep without crawling under the house to try and fix it. He crawled under and discovered that it was warm and there was lots of insulation. Couldn't figure out what was frozen. So he walked around outside and the only thing he could figure is a couple of vents right outside the bathroom we're facing the north wind. So he put something in front of the vents and by this afternoon, the water was thawed--however the drain is still frozen.

"More"

So Jett said his first word several months ago and, of course, it was dada. I've been working with him to say momma, but nothing so far other than gibberish and screaming. I know you can teach babies sign language to communicate, so I thought I would try that. I have been working with him on "more" so I would know if he was screaming because he wanted more food or if he was done.
Today, when all of his afternoon snack was done he started screaming, so I went to get him out of his seat. Instead, when I got there, he said something. Levi and I looked each other and both said, "did he just say 'I want more'." That is so what we thought, of course it was more like "I wa mo". I looked at Jett and said "do you want more snack" and that time, as clear as day he said "more". So much for signing--or momma being his next word.

Christmas Progam

Today was Kaidyn's Christmas program. I took a half day off from school so I could go since her school doesn't do an evening program--only two during the day. Anyway, it was really cute. The kids always sound "great"and I love how they still sing traditional Christmas songs and remind us of the reason for the season.
Jayd and Jett were a little squirmy and after every song Jayd asked if it was sisters turn. At one point Jayd had to go to the bathroom, so Levi took her. He isn't comfortable taking her into the mens room with him, so he waited outside while she went into the bathroom. When she was done, he decided he needed to go to, so he pointed me out in the gym and sent her on her way to me while he turned around to return to the bathroom. Well, Jayd decided she was done waiting for sister to come sing and she was going to go look for her. So rather than coming to me (which I wasn't aware she was supposed to be doing anyway) as soon as daddy was out of sight she turned around in search of her sister.
Levi returned to the gym and realized Jayd hadn't come to me. As soon as he came over and asked where Jayd was, I looked in the hallway and saw the secretary escorting Jayd into the office. I rushed over there and the poor ladies in the office were trying to figure out what Jayd was saying. They figured out that she was looking for her sister, but couldn't understand the name Jayd was saying. I rescued Jayd and returned to the gym to wait for sister who wasn't much longer.

Picture Day

So, I received a call the other day that my 1/2 of beef was cut and ready to be picked up--meaning I had to drive to Spokane to get it. I decided that since I had to go anyway, I might as well make the trip worthwhile (although a freezer full of beef is definately worthwhile) and I made an appointment to get the kids' pictures taken at Penneys. I was a little nervous because since Levi works this weekend, he wouldn't be going with me, and normally the kids are a handful.
However, today they were AWESOME!! We got them in, photographed, together and individually, and out. No major melt downs or screaming or fighting. It was great--and look how cute my kids are--not to mention how old looking they look.

The Dentist!!!--part 2

So, today made for another trip to the dentist and another trip to Wenatchee. Kaidyn was calmer this time, I think because she new what to expect. She drank her drank, got relaxed watching Over the Hedge and cuddling with Momma, and went back to have her work done--no problem. Came out about an hour later with a red face, tear-stained cheeks and her two front teeth missing (I know what she'll be asking for for Christmas). One of her front teeth was beginning to grow behind the other, so the plan had always been to take that one out. When they went to do it, the other one was loose as well, so they took it out, too.
When we got home, I reminded Kaidyn that she needed to put her teeth under her pillow for the tooth fairy, but she informed that the tooth fairy was going to have to wait because tomorrow was her share day at school and she wanted to share her teeth!!

Pay off!!

So all my years at Royal have finally paid off!!
My first year there a fellow teacher told me about how I could get a loan forgiveness in the amount of $5000 on my Stafford Student Loans for working at a low income school. I checked it out online only to find out I had to stay at the same school for FIVE YEARS!! At the time five years seems so far out. Well, what do you know, last year ended with the end of my five years. So I applied last summer, only to recieve a letter that I was ineligible because they needed more documentation. So I sent more documentation--and I recieved yet another letter saying I was still ineligible, they needed more documentation. So I sent in more of what they asked for.
Yesterday, I recieved another letter from my lender. As I opened all these thoughts went through my head--"My documentation isn't enough--I need to work there longer--What more do they want me to send in?" But this time I was notified that my loans were eligible for forgiveness in the amount of $17,500 (because I teach math in a low income school--and people think math isn't necessary). Yay me!!!!

Where to put the tree--

So, it's that time of year again--Thanksgiving is over and it is finally time for Christmas and that means decorations and the tree. So we decided where to put the tree--same as last year, in the living room by the fireplace--and Levi hauled it in from the garage along with the boxes of decorations. I put the tree together and the girls went crazy hanging decorations, only there was minor problem we forgot to consider before putting up the tree--Jett!!
Now that he can stand without hanging on to something as well as walk and climb, and the fact that he is very curious and a boy, anything he can reach is fair game for inspection and if it is round and ball like, that means he can throw it and bash it together with another round object. So no sooner had we started hanging Christmas ornaments (you know the round ball ones) he started pulling them down and chucking them across the room. I came to the realization that this isn't going to work. We can hang the ornaments higher, out of his reach, but that just means he will drag a chair over to climb and get a better reach, or he might just decide to try and climb the tree itself. So, we had to figure out a new place for the tree, some where Jett wouldn't have easy access too.
Our house is pretty open, but we finally decided we would put it in the living room with the pool table, by the front door. We can put the ottoman between the two couches in the other living room, so Jett can play in the living room, and still have access to the playroom and his bedroom, but not the tree. It's not my ideal place for the tree and adds a new level of difficulty to playing pool, but I guess with kids come sacrifices. I don't remember it ever being a problem with the girls.

Happy Thanksgiving--

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Ours was actually pretty eventful. Levi had to work today (and he worked last night) so rather than having a huge Thanksgiving here making lots of noise so Levi can't sleep or leaving and having Thanksgiving out of town leaving Levi all alone without dinner, we decided to go to a friends house in town. Levi was able to sleep until a little afternoon and then we loaded everyone up, and headed over to the Andra's house for dinner. I took my turkey over there last night to be brined, and we arrived about the time they were putting the turkeys in the roasters to cook. They decided to put them in the garage, as Bree doesn't have much counter space to begin with. After two hours of cooking and what should only be one or two left to go, Bree and her mom went out to the garage to check on the turkeys and low and behold the breaker had blown and turkeys were still very cold. So they turned them on again, and decided to check on them sooner, and what do you know, the breakers blew again. Well they decided to put one of the roasters on an extension cord to the house, but somehow it didn't get plugged in. With the roasters finally plugged in and working, we just had to wait for the turkeys to cook. In the meantime, the girls colored, Jett showed off his walking ability as well as sporting a pink bib, since he couldn't wait to eat and David taught Kaidyn how to multiply. Levi's cousin Thomas also came over to visit for a bit.


Well we got everything else ready, and Levi had to head to work, without dinner. Finally, about 7:30 one of the turkeys was done and we sat down to eat. It was a very good dinner and worth the wait, but it was a crazy road to completion.

Kaidyn Thanksgiving Program

Oh the joys of working. I used to think that staying home with my kids would be boring and I'd go crazy, but I'm beginning to see the upside, especially with Levi being able to fulfill that role since he works nights. Levi and Jett and Jayd went and had a Thanksgiving lunch with Kaidyn today and then Kaidyn's class put on a Thanksgiving program. Fortunately Levi video taped it for me so I still got to see it, although it's not quite the same as being there.

Girls day out--

Well, today I took the girls to see High School Musical On Ice in Spokane. We made a day of it, and decided to do a little shopping first, but unfortunately since it was Sunday, the mall didn't open until 11:00 and we still had to go to lunch and be at the arena before 1:00. Since we got there about 10:00 we decided to got to Barnes and Nobles, since it was open, and then Costco. Then we went to Applebee's for lunch and the whole time Kaidyn was in a hurry and didn't want to get dessert because she thought we were going to be late. Well we got dessert and then headed from the north side to the arena. I forgot what driving in Spokane was like and it took longer than I thought to get to arena. We finally arrived and I got into my purse to get out the tickets and there were only two tickets, and I started the day with three. I dumped out my purse, looked all over the car. I have no idea what happened to that other ticket. Fortunately I had the reciept, so I was able to go to the ticket window and get the tickets reprinted, but as a result we were now late.
Now this wouldn't be a big deal, but I got awesome seats that were a row behind the front row, down on the ice. So being late meant walking down in front of everyone, and to top it off, our seats were in the middle of the row, so we had to squish our way in front of all those poor people.
Once we got settled in for the show, the girls really enjoyed it. They had stuff from the third one, which I took the girls to see at the theater a couple of weeks ago ( i still like the second one the best) and then parts from both the first and the second shows. The girls loved singing along and dancing and watching the ice skaters do the jumps and spins. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, so no pictures this year, but it was still fun.
Since we had got there to early to shop before the show, we went shopping after the show. I needed to get Jayd new pants, because her 3T pants show a lot of ankle, so she is now in 4T pants.

The Dentist!!!

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I took the girls to the dentist--it was Jayd's first time and Kaidyn's third or fourth. Jayd was a little nervous, but I figured Kaidyn had gone enough times that she could go first and show Jayd how it was done. Well, the hygienist had other ideas and wanted to take Jayd first, I insisted that Kaidyn go first, but in hindsight I think she knew something I didn't know. I gave in and Jayd went first. GOOD THING!!!
Jayd was nervous and cringed everytime the hygienist held up a new tool, but once she got familiar with the routine she sat there with her mouth open and allowed the lady to do her job. She still a little young for x-rays, so we didn't have to deal with that. Overall, she did a very good job for her first time.
Kaidyn was a whole other story. Can you say DRAMA QUEEN and FREAK?? What do you get when you cross those two things--Kaidyn (she's going to read this someday and hate me). Anyway--she would not let the lady take the x-rays, she claimed her mouth was to small--if you've seen her eat, you know this isn't true--and she screamed through the cleaning--the hygienist wasn't able to finish with her tool and had to finish with a toothbrush. I felt so bad because Kaidyn was so not cooperative.
As a result they referred her to a children's dentist in Wenatchee where they do sedations on children who are nervous about the dentist. We went to our initial appointment about a week ago where they learned just how "nervous" Kaidyn is and to meet the Dentist--Dr. Cara.
Well I have to say, the office, staff and dentist are AWESOME. They recommended consious sedation for Kaidyn (as the couldn't get the xrays with the hygienist and me holding her down) so they could do the xrays, clean her teeth properly and she had a few small cavities.
Since she can't eat or drink after midnight, I requested the earliest appointment--which is 7:30. I had to get up super early, get myself ready, get Kaidyn up and in the car by 6:15 so we could make the drive to Wenatchee. It generally takes about an hour, however, this morning it was super foggy and possibly slick. I was nervous driving myself in that weather, but Levi insisted I take the truck so I felt a little better--at least if anything happened, I had a lot of metal around me.
We arrived at the office, and they gave Kaidyn something to drink, which she freaked out about because she didn't know what it tasted like. But between the me holding her down and the lady opening her mouth, we got the liquid down her. We then watched cartoons and cuddled for a half hour until they came for her. I was not allowed to go with her, which she cried about again, but she was so relaxed, she wasn't able to fight it. They took her back and about an hour and half later she was out with clean teeth and a filling. They said she was very grumpy until she finally gave up and just fell asleep. At least they got it done. They then informed me that she needed another visit because the xrays revealed 2 cavities on the bottom as well as one of her front teeth is growing in faster than the one above it is coming out, so they will have extract it. So that makes for another visit is two weeks. Oh yeah--did I mention the sedation is $288, which is generally not covered by insurance. Luckily we are double covered under Washington Dental, so usually what the primary insurance doesn't pay, the secondary picks up, so we're hoping they pay for the sedation.
Not one to miss an opportunity to shop, we hit a few stores while in Wenatchee as well as Costco. Kaidyn was a little wobbly throughout all this, and slurred her words for a while. She was mildly upset that she couldn't have Red Robin for lunch (it was only 10:00 am) but I appeased her with a milkshake from McDonalds. After shopping we headed home, rented Wall-E and I had the rest of the day off to hang out with my family. How cool--I could get used to this

This isn't supposed to happen anymore--

So there I was, in the middle of my class, walking across the front of my classroom when all of the sudden, something "shifts" (I don't know how else to describe it) in my knee after I take a step and I all but fall on face in front of my students. I, obviously, start crying and my first thought is "this isn't supposed to happen anymore". My students run down the hall to get the principal, who is actually walking down the hall towards them and yells at them to walk (how typical). Someone finds me an ice pack, advil and crutches to get me through the day.
Okay, as many of you may or may not know, I had knee surgery this past summer to repair my "screwed up" knee so that I could walk like a normal person and not have issues. Well today in the middle of 3rd period I "tweaked" my knee again. The same thing that used to happen all the time before the surgery. It is very frustrating because that is the whole reason (and the only reason) I had the surgery. If I had known that I would have the same problems afterward as I did before, I would not have messed with the surgery (and being laid up for 6 weeks during my summer vacation) and just lived with it. On a normal day I could go home and get to the doctor to see why my knee did what it did. But no, not with my luck. It just so happens that today is parent teacher conferences, and to top it all off, I also have night conferences. So I will not even be home until well after 7, so forget going to the doctor--maybe wednesday morning, before conferences. At least tomorrow is Veterans day and there is no school. I can rest for the day. Boy I'm glad we just got a Wii.

Happy Halloween!!

I am always so glad when Halloween is over. The girls start begging like 2 months prior to get their costumes and I always make them wait until like the week before otherwise I get more begging "just to try it on to make sure it fits". Anyway--I was able to hold them off until today on "trying on" the costumes.
I have realized that my little girls are growing up way too fast. Instead of wanting to be princesses and fairies and stuff like that, Kaidyn was Sharpay (from High School Musical) and Jayd was Hannah Montana. The actually turned out really cute (especially with their wigs). Although I do have to say, of the three, Jett was the cutest as a spider.
We started out at 5 to trick-or-treat down town Ephrata, and then worked our way up to the hill where a couple of houses give out full size candy bars.
We didn't buy any candy of our own this year, because nobody comes to our house--I guess that comes with living in the country--but I figured if anyone did stop by after we got home, we could give them some of the kids's candy. Boy they made out like bandits. Anyway--I'm glad Levi was home this year to help me take the kids out. Last year I had to do it on my own and that was tough.

Relaxing Weekend

It was nice--I actually had a relaxing weekend--no where to go, nothing to do (unless you count housework and creating lesson plans and grading papers), but it was still night and I got so much done. All the laundry, grocery shopping, meals planned for the week, papers graded, lesson plans done, tests created, and I read 2 books. Overall, it was a nice weekend. Levi had to work this weekend, so he slept most of the time. Plus today he had to take one of the inmates to the hospital for seizures, so he worked 4 hours of overtime and didn't get home until 10 am. After 16 hours of work, he still managed to get up in time to watch the Seahawks win. Anyway--I'm taking one last moment to reminisce about the weekend because it'll be the last for a while, I don't think I have another free weekend until next year.

Curlie Sue--

Kaidyn decided she wanted to have curly hair, so we spent last night putting her hair in curlers to sleep in, when we took her hair out is was massively curly, maybe using the small curlers wasn't a good idea. It turned out really cute and stayed intact all day, with out missing a beat.

Kaidyn and Jayd also went back to Kaidyn's classroom tonight to carve their pumpkin with daddy. It turned out very well, and on the upside, there wasn't a mess that I had to clean up here. Kaidyn said her teacher collected the pumpkin seeds that the kids didn't keep to take home and plant and is going to roast them tonight so they can have some tomorrow at school. Should
be good.

The Newest Member of the Johnson Family

So this is much harder than I thought--probably why I never kept a diary or journal. I could never find time to keep up. So I decided tonight that at 8:00, after I got the kids to bed I would add on all the recent developments before I went to sleep. And here it is, almost 8:30 and I just want to go to sleep, but I am forcing myself to write, because I want to introduce everyone to the newest member of the Johnson family--our new baby girl--Kiya. Her mother was half Husky and half retriever (we're guessing some sort of lab) and her dad was a doberman pinsher. 1She is 10 weeks old and we got her Friday night (October 17th). She is sooooo cute (of course, she's a puppy) but she is so sweet and cuddly too. I figured since there would be no more Johnson babies, this would be the next best thing. Plus Rocco needed a friend.
The first night with her was like having a newborn. She whined and kept me up all night. I was up with her every couple of hours to take her potty because I didn't want her to go potty in my bedroom. She has gotten pretty good at going outside since--we send her out a couple of times an hour and she goes, but if we forget, she goes on the floor. Fortunately she goes on the dining room floor--boy am I glad we put in hardwood laminate. A few weeks ago it would have been carpet. Needless to say, she still needs to work asking to go out, but I guess that is part of having a baby. I just wish Jett was that easy to potty train.

Introducing--The Incredible Hulk

So Jett's birthday was about a week ago, but the memory is still fresh in my mind--and will probably remain so until I lose my mind--of him smooshing his cupcake into his hair and the green bath that followed.
've seen other kids do it, but I don't think the girls ever did the frosting in the hair thing. It was totally priceless watching Jett do i.t, so much so that even when I realized what he was doing, I couldn't stop it, it was so typical of his personality just to do something because it felt like the right thing to do at that moment. The girls were too busy stuffing as much sugar in their face as they could, afraid that someone would come along and take it away when they were that age. Not Jett, he knew it was all his and he could do whatever he wanted with it so he was gonna put it in his hair.
I am so grateful that Dad and Karen included batteries with their gift so that I had some for my camera. Leave it to me to think of everything else but batteries for my camera.
I think the pictures tell the tale better than I ever could.

Virgin Blogger

Okay, this is my first time. Never blogged before--never even responded to a blog before--although I do have admit, that I have read a blog or two. Anyway--I figured this would be good way to share my family with you all, and it seems to be easier than email--more permanent. And besides, everyone's doing it!!! As soon as I get batteries for my camera I will post the pictures of Jett's birthday. He had green frosting from his cake all over his face and hands, he looked like the Incredible Hulk. All for now--