The Johnson Family

The best of 2010

2010-11-21T12:13:00.000-08:00

So a friend reminded me that it has been almost a year since I last updated my blog--for the record it has only been 10 months--but boy a lot has happened in those 10 months!!
I am very glad my two younger kids a still pretty young, reflecting back and all the stuff Kaidyn is in too, keeps up pretty busy. I can't even imagine what it is going to be like when the other 2 are older.
First of all I will start with the kids:
Kaidyn--ended her year as a 2nd grader and is now in 3rd grade!! She is one of the best readers and math students in her class. She loves to read and is constantly asking me to bring home books from school. She joined Grant singers this year--it's the schools "special" choir that performs at various events throughout the school year as well as most school programs. She also recently joined the 3rd grade math team and hopes to be one of the top 4 math students so that she can go to the competitions. She played soccer last spring and continued with fall soccer. She is now in the U-9 division and her team totally rocked, and she scored at least 1 goal in all games except the last one. The team played together all last year and added 2 new members this year, but stayed pretty much the same. The only games they lost were during a tournament, in which one of the losses was in a shoot out and they ended up placing 4th. They should continue to play together in the spring and she is so excited about it. She is currently playing basketball, but missed her first game due to illness. She will play through mid-December.
Jayd--is now in Kindergarten. She is learning her letter sounds and basic reading and math. She also played soccer this fall and really enjoyed it. Other than that not much is new in the world of Jayd.

Jett--is now a boisterous, no fear 3 year old. He climbs, he jumps, he runs, he punches, he throws balls and temper tantrums. Watch out when he runs up to you (especially if your a guy) because you never know what he's going to do! He got Seahawk football tickets for his 3rd birthday this year from Levi's cousin and he and Levi went to the game November 7th. The Seahawks were totally creamed by the Giants, but he didn't care and had a total blast!

Now on to Levi and I:
Levi is still working as a Grant County Correctional Officer. He comes home with some pretty interesting stories and with some hellos from some of my former students. He also played for the Moses Lake "semi-pro" football team, the Columbia Basin Riverhawks, last spring. The team totally sucked and never one a game, but I think he had fun and with only some minor injuries. He is debating between playing again next spring and playing more golf instead--my vote is more golf!!

As for me, I have become a "runner" in the loosest sense of the word. If you know me, you know that my idea of running was between and around bases. Last winter I decided I needed a life change. Nothing drastic, just different. I quit drinking soda, from 6-8 Pepsi's a day to 0, and I started running. It was a rough start, and I hated every minute of it. Looking back, I don't know why I even kept with it, but I did. I ran in Ephrata's Canal Caper (10K) last March and finished in a little over an hour. Then it was Bloomsday (12K) in May and a half-Marathon in July in Missoula. After that some friends talked me into training for a Marathon in Portland in October. So I did. My goal was just to finish, and I did, 5 hours and 14 minutes later. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, next to childbirth, but without the drugs, and looking back I loved every minute of it. I inspired Levi and he's going to run a couple halves with me next year.
I also began my 8th year teaching at Royal Middle School. I'm still teaching 7th grade math with a couple of additions of an intervention class.

Well that's the Johnson's in a nut shell for the 2010 year. We went camping this summer and went to a couple of Mariners games. We got a couple of cats, Griffey and Felix, and hopefully will have no mice this winter. We still have our 2 dogs, Rocco and Kiya, and they are not liking this cold weather.

Good Times!!!

Fanfest 2010

2010-02-01T18:24:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked the unofficial start to baseball season with our annual trip to Fanfest at Safeco Field!

We arrived at Safeco Field about 30 minutes before the gates opened in hopes of getting vouchers for a Edgar Martinez of Dan Wilson autograph--along with everyone else. We joined a line that wrapped around the stadium and across the street in front of Safeco Field. Since the Edgar and Dan autograph sessions were limited to 500 people, we did not get a voucher (oh well, maybe next year), but we did for some of the other players, however we didn't feel like standing in line for those so we skipped those autograph sessions.

We had a blast anyway--

The first thing we did was run around the bases. To see Jetts face light up while he was running from base to base was so awesome, it made all the fussing while waiting in line totally worth it.

Next, we went to catch pop-flies in the outfield. When it was my turn Jett was being fussy again, so I picked him up and propped him on my hip as I went to catch my ball, Jayd also decided she wanted to join us and clung to my other leg, just as I made a perfect catch. Those watching were quite impressed with my combination of baseball/mom skills!! The girls and Jett also tried to catch balls and although they were unsuccessful, they still had fun.

Last we went to center field to the "homerun challenge". Basically we hit a ball off the tea over the centerfield wall from about 40-50 feet away. All 3 kids loved it and Levi and I both hit a ball over the wall!! Swinging the bat felt sooooooo good!!

After lunch and a stroll through the Mariners Hall of Fame, we hit the team store and then we were ready to hit the road and head home!!

Can't wait for April 12 when the Mariners open the regular season at home against Oakland and the Big Unit is throwing out the opening pitch!! I'm making my prediction right now that the Mariners will win the west this year--maybe even the World Series!!!

Way overdue--

2009-10-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

So I am way overdue updating this blog. I used to be so good, but not so much anymore.
Anyway--we had a way busy summer. We built a deck, went to Vegas, went camping, hosted birthday parties, went to Silverwood and before we knew it summer was over and it was time to go back to school.
Kaidyn is now in 2nd grade and loves it. She is in the high reading group and also enjoys math. She is also playing soccer right now. Her team--the Wildcats--are fun to watch. Kaidyn has been playing for 3 seasons now and it's amazing to see how much growth she has made. From playing bunchball to actually passing the ball to teammates and playing defense. She's not super aggressive, but I'm sure that'll come with time and experience. She scored her first goal of the season last Saturday, and it was so awesome that I was actually there to see it, the last couple of seasons when she scored a goal for some reason I have missed the games she scored goals in.
Jayd is going to pre-school three days a week for about 2 and 1/2 hours a day. She loves it. She is making lots of friends and is learning lots. Her speech seems to be getting a little clearer too. It's hard to believe she'll be in kindergarten next year.
Jett turned 2 a couple of weeks ago--2!!--so hard to believe my baby is 2. He is now in a big boy bed and we're working on potty training. He is doing so awesome. He loves to sit on the potty and go, he just needs to work on telling us every time, he gets it about half the time. Whoever said potty training girls was easier never had my children. The girls were stubborn and defiant. Jett is totally the opposite--at least in the realm of potty training!!
I started my 7th year at Royal Middle School. I am teaching math again this year in the 7th grade, but I also have a PE class this year--totally love that.
Well that's about it. Hopefully I haven't forgot anything--although I'm sure I have.

Camping at Spring Canyon

2009-08-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Just returned from an awesome week (well 4 days really) camping with the family and our friends Bree and Davie and their baby Major.
We left Monday morning for Spring Canyon on Lake Roosevelt, with the hopes of getting a camping spot since the sites were first come, first served! and an even bigger challenge of finding two sites next to each other since we were going with friends and one of the sites needed to be big enough to accommodate a fifth wheel (unfortunately not ours). We found sites--not next to each other, but across, so it worked.
While Levi and David went to get the fifth wheel from Bree's grandparents, who live nearby in Electric City, Bree helped me set up our camp. As we were setting up the tent, I thought about putting on the rain fly, but Bree convinced me not to as it was in the high 90s and not a cloud in sight. After setting up camp, I took the girls down to the lake for some swimming. They both did swimming lessons this summer and were eager to show me what they had learned.
Since we are now a family of 5, we need a bigger tent. Last year we went and bought a bigger one, but the zipper was broken when we opened it up, we returned it. This year instead of another new tent, we decided to get a second small tent and let the girls sleep in their own tent. I wasn't sure how they would do in their own tent, but they were great!
The girls wanted to make s'mores, but it was too hot for a fire, so we convinced them to wait. It was a very hot night and I was glad that I hadn't put on the rain fly, as we had a little more ventilation without it. The top of the tent is open with a screen, so it allowed more air to flow through.
Tuesday was a day for more swimming and playing at the park. Levi and David went fishing and while Levi caught a couple small mouth bass, they were too small to keep. Fortunately it was a little cooler Tuesday night, but still too hot for a fire. The kids were dying to make s'mores again, so we used the propane cook stove instead!
That night I was suddenly awaken by a pounding noise. It took me a moment to realize that it was raining very hard. As I looked up at the opening at the top of the tent, I was taken back in time to the day we set-up and Bree saying the chances of needing the rain fly were almost non-existent! Ha ha! But it wasn't as bad as I thought. I couldn't feel much rain getting in the tent. Levi was next to me and was hogging the sleeping bag and had it totally covering him. Well, the temperature had dropped significantly because of the rain, and I was cold so I grabbed the bag from him. This was when I realized that even though I was not getting wet, Levi was getting soaked, since he was in the middle of the tent, directly under the opening. I waited for the rain to let up and the ran out of the tent in search of the rain fly. As I was outside, I realized I was not the only person struggling to get the rain fly on! I got it put on, just in time for the rain to stop completely. Oh well, Levi told me I probably didn't need to worry about it afterall, since the rain had stopped, but I wasn't about to go back outside to take it off! I'm glad I didn't, it rained off and on for the rest of the night!
Wednesday was to be Levi's last day of camping since he had to work that night! David had him talked in to calling in sick, but I told him that he should go to work and save his sick time for when he really was sick!
We went out in Bree and David's boat and found a secluded beach to play on and swim! Jett had such a blast swimming and kicking his little feet (while wearing his life jacket ofcourse). Kaidyn even took her life jacket off and worked on swimming without it. When we returned to camp, Bree's parents had arrived from Spokane, so we sat to visit with them and the girls decided to go play cards. A few minutes later I heard this blood curdling scream from Jayd. She had been stung by a bee! It was a first for her so I wasn't sure how she would react to the sting. We put ice on it and I cuddled her. It started to swell, so fortunately Bree had some Benedryl. She took that and passed out. I let her sleep it off and when she woke she was better. No swelling and you could hardly tell where it had stung her. Thank goodness! Then we played a little game of whiffle ball and then it was bedtime, and since Levi had left, the girls slept in the tent with me and Jett! (and it rained a little more, thankfully I left the rain fly on!)
Thursday comes and it is time to pack up and leave. Bree and David helped me load the truck and we're off, but not before on more time at the playground. They had a merry-go-round there, and Jayd was dying to play on it! So I spun the kids on it. Jett decided he wanted to get off, but I didn't get it stopped in time, so a more-or-less fell off, which wasn't too bad except that he fell face first right into a puddle of water--the only puddle anywhere around the toy--he must have planned it!
All-in-all a fun, and eventful, camping trip! Can't wait to do it again!!!!

***pictures to be posted as soon as I find the cord that connects my camera to my computer!

Before/After

2009-07-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well--the deck is 99% complete! I just have one more set of stairs to build leading up to the other side of the deck by the garage and it will be complete!! Can't wait--hopefully I can finish it tomorrow after Levi wakes up!

Before

After

2 adults---7 kids

2009-07-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today we met my friend Amber at a park in Moses Lake. She was headed from Spokane to Leavenworth for a wedding and her boys needed to run around and her girls needed a break and to eat. It's crazy to think that between the two of us, we have 7 kids!!

Home Sweet Home!

2009-07-17T18:53:00.000-07:00

We made it safely home--as if I had any doubts! But we had a fabulous trip! We did so much, but still I feel like we didn't do enough. I can't believe how much there is to do in Vegas--including getting lost at 2 am!
We went to a Tournament of Kings show in our hotel, the Excaliber. It was a dinner and a show with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and you had to eat with your hands. But it was very good! We walked most of the strip and made a point to visit as many casinos as possible. There were so many high-end shops, I wish I had more money for shopping. We went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay, the Bodies Exhibit and Titanic Exhibit at the Luxor. We also saw the Blue Man Group at the Venetian. It was so awesome. So much color and sound and it was hilarious. We watched the fountain show at the Bellagio, the pirates at Treasure Island, the Moving Statues at Cesars Palace. Only in Vegas can you see Lions, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, the Sphinx and more in the same place.
Tuesday night we went to the Piano Bar at Harrahs which was a blast. It's amazing how much fun you can have with a couple of Pianos (and a few beers). Then we went to Toby Kieths bar and grill (also at Harrahs) and watched an amazing band--I even got Levi to dance with me (after a few more beers). At about 2 the bar closed and we headed back to our hotel via the monorail. Unfortunately, I got us going the wrong way, then when we got off to get on the monorail going the other way, we were informed that we had just got off the last monorail of the evening. We were about 7 miles from our hotel, and several blocks off strip at the Hilton. It looked to be a loooooooooooooooooooong walk! But Levi, my hero, got us a cab (the first either of us had ever been in) and we got a ride back. I was so grateful, the driver got a huge tip!!
Wednesday was our 9th anniversary, and we planned to do the Stratosphere. We got up and going about 7 pm, had a nice dinner. Walked down to the Stratosphere and I looked up and decided that I was okay just looking at it. It was very tall--and I am afraid of heights--maybe another time!
Like I said, we had a great trip, but I definately missed my kids.
I didn't get very many pics, but here are a few of what I did get.

Our hotel "Excaliber"

The Stratosphere--this is as close as I got!

Levi on the Strip

--at the Tournament of Kings

Las Vegas or Bust!

2009-07-10T23:14:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow Levi and I leave for our trip to Vegas. I am so excited. First of all, it'll be our first trip alone since our honeymoon. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and I will miss them dearly, but it will be nice to do things with other adults just for adults, sleep in and not have to worry about diapers. Secondly, we will be celebrating our 9th anniversary while on our trip. It seems crazy how quickly the 9 years went, but yet, here it is--9 years and 3 kids later and we are still very happy and in love!!
I'm a little anxious about flying. I don't have a lot of experience with flying, but I have been assured that all will be well!!
We are going to go see The Blue Man Group, and there are a couple other activities we would like to do. Levi has been working on me to go on a ride on the Stratosphere. Have I mentioned that I am deathly afraid of heights and the Stratosphere is very, very, very, very, very, very high--but I am a very brave, and at times, very crazy--so we'll see.
I will have lots of pics to post and lots to say upon return, so until then . . .

Happy Independence Day!!

2009-07-04T21:59:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!! We had a BBQ with some friends and then Levi went to work. I got the kids some pop-its and sparklers. After dinner I let the kids do the pop-its. They all loved them, especially Jett. Anything he can throw is right up his alley. But I was a mean mommy and made the kids wait until it was darker to do the sparklers. When I finally deemed it was dark enough, we went out on the deck (it's almost done). I wasn't sure how Jett would react to them. When the girls were his age (about 21 months) they would have totally freaked with the "fire" of the sparklers, and they were still a little timid tonite (at 4 and 7 years old), but not Jett. He snatched that sparkler right out of my hand and went to work swishing it and flinging it in the air. He had so much fun and every time the sparkler went out he said "more" and was ready for another one. He was very sad when they were done. Then we sat on the edge of the deck looking towards Ephrata and watched 3-4 different fireworks shows. I don't know if they were for the different towns around us just fireworks that people bought, but they were pretty good. And after everyone, Jett cheered "wooooo" and clapped his hands and then said "more". Once again, he was sad when they ended. The girls enjoyed them too! Overall, it was a pretty good 4th, for not really having any plans.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!!

THE DECK!!

2009-06-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

We are FINALLY building our deck! Every time we do a project around here I always intend to take before and after pics, but I always forget. I actually remembered this time. So far I've only got before and during pictures, but we're hoping to have the deck done by Friday, so I will post the final after pictures then!

BEFORE

DURING

THE BOYS HARD AT WORK

The project has taken longer than I expected though. It took almost two days just to dig the holes, the boys kept hitting rocks, so some of the holes ended up bigger than needed because by the time they got them deep enough, they also ended up being wider after taking out the rocks. It'll be so nice to be able to go lounge on my deck and read, I can't wait!!

Like Father, Like Son

2009-06-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

So Jett is all boy and he loves his daddy! He does everything daddy does and follows him around everywhere. He likes to mimic daddy as well. Today I found Jett a little toy lawn mower, so he went and helped daddy "mow the lawn". Then we started nailing the hangers on the beams for the deck and Jett went and got his hammer so he could help daddy put in the nails and right now as we speak, they are sitting on the couch together watching the Mariners.

Kaidyn learns to ride her bike--

2009-05-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

Kaidyn is working on riding her bike. Levi decided to have her practice by riding on the grass--that way if she crashes it's a little softer. She was pretty successful and even rode across the backyard, across the driveway and onto the island where she usually crashed. She is still working on turning and continuously pedaling, but she did pretty good today.

More Baby Major--

2009-05-24T19:29:00.000-07:00

Just got back from visiting Bree and David and Major. The girls were both dying to hold him, so we went over for a visit. I also got to hold him again and I've decided I want another baby. I'm trying to figure out how that's going to work, because I don't want another child, just a baby. I wonder if there is somewhere you can go rent a baby for about the first year--until they start walking and turning into monsters. I could just sit there and stare at Major for hours. I guess I don't need another baby, I can just live vicariously through others--the best part, I don't have to get up in the middle of the night with him. I can just visit and then leave him with his parents. I guess that'll work for me.

Jayd and Major

Kaidyn and Major

Loving the Weather!!

2009-05-23T21:17:00.000-07:00

I love hot weather!! Today was so awesome, the girls got a double slip-and-slide for their birthday and they have been dying to try it out. Today was finally hot enough (and there was no breeze) so I set it up for them. Jett tried to get in on the action a little too, but I didn't put him in his swim trunks. They had a blast!!

Welcome Baby Andra--

2009-05-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

For the last (almost) 9 months, we have been referring to Bree's belly as Baby Andra. Without knowing the gender and having no names picked out, that's all we could do. Baby Andra finally has a name and a gender. I always wonder how people cannot want to find out what their having. I'm sure it's fun waiting for the surprise, but how do you plan. I am definitely a planner. Anyway, Bree's official due date was May 28, so I was (happily) surprised when David called this morning to tell us the baby had arrived!! They named the baby Major David Andra, he was 6 pounds 11 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long. He is absolutely adorable, and tiny!! I am so glad I have a friend whose close who has a baby for me to hold again. Jett is getting huge now and since we are officially done having children, it'll be nice to be able to satisfy that baby urge for a while now!!

Bree and David at Kaidyn's birthday party, little did they know they would be parents themselves in less than a week!

Proud momma!!

Major

Happy Birthday Kaidyn--

2009-05-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

Well, Kaidyn is now 7 years old. I can't believe I am the mother of a 7 year old--that makes me feel really old. Instead of the traditional family birthday party with her and Jayd, we decided to do separate birthdays for the girls this year. I figured Kaidyn was getting to that age where she wouldn't want to associated with her sister quite as much. So instead Kaidyn invited 14 of her friends over. Only about 10 showed up, but it was still really busy. I forgot how much girls scream, but it sure brought back memories of birthday parties I had been to when I was her age (and older).
I took the day off today so I could get the house clean and ready and take cupcakes to her class. I am so glad we don't do birthdays like that in middle school. We would get nothing done ever!! It was cute to see Kaidyn the center of attention though.
Kaidyn got a bike for her birthday--WITHOUT training wheels, so now she just has to learn to ride it!! I wonder how many skinned knees that'll take??

Happy Birthday Jayd--

2009-05-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

So my baby girl turned 4 today. I can't believe she is already that old, it doesn't seem like that long ago that she was born. Crazy how fast time flies. Here are some pics from her birthday. The Williams Family came to help us celebrate! It was good to see them again, and we really enjoyed visiting and playing baseball in the field. To top it all off, the weather was absolutely gorgeous.

Jett Checkup

2009-05-14T20:42:00.000-07:00

Jett had his 18 month checkup today--even though he is over 19 months. He weighed in at 28 pounds and 32 1/4 inches. That puts him in the 50 %tile for both categories, which means he has had a growth spurt since his 12 month check-up because he was only in the 25%tile at that time. He decided that he wanted to wear his hat today, and the only time he took it off was when he fell asleep. He looked like such a little man.
After his appointment, he and I went to the Tri-Cities to do some birthday shopping for the girls. He was so good, he slept on the way down--probably because of his shots--and then sat in his stroller and was such a trooper as I dragged him from store to store. It was so great to have a day just with Jett, we hardly get to do that ever, so I really enjoyed it.

7th Grade Field Trip

2009-05-08T19:40:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we took our 4th annual 7th grade field trip to the Seattle Mariners game. It was so much fun. I started the morning at 3:15 am, when I had to get up so I could hit the store before heading to school to get everything ready. I got to school about 4:30 and started putting together the groups and information the chaperones and students would need for the game. Students started arriving at 5:30 am and by 6:45 am we had the buses loaded and headed to Seattle.
It worked out pretty well because one of the Seattle news channels had a Weather Education Program that they put on before the game, so we went to that at 10:30. It was kind of corny and they weather guy talked to the students like they were 5, but I guess that's okay because there were some 5 year olds there. Anyway, along with the program we had lunch, and at some point I lost my group. So as I was searching for them, I ended up down by the field getting Jarrod Washburn and Shawn Kelly's autographs. Then I went to look for them in the Team Store where I bought some bases for our own baseball field. Finally I found my group in time for the game to start. Our seats were up in the 300 level, so we were pretty far up in the "cheapseats" of Safeco Field, but our principal picked up some front row seats on the first base line that I got to go sit in with a student for a couple of innings.
One of the students that got to sit in those seats had Ichiro toss him a foul ball, but he wasn't paying attention and it bounced of his cheek and back onto the field where another person got it--how sad.
Anyway--it was a good and quick game until the top of the 10th when the Rangers scored several runs, including a grand slam. The M's ended up losing, but I know the students had a great time.

Kaidyn's first T-ball Game

2009-04-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

So tonight Kaidyn had her first T-ball game. It was supposed to be Tuesday, but because of weather, it was canceled, so it was tonight. Anyway--I was a little worried that it was going to be long and boring, but it was actually kind of fun and cute to watch. They play 3 innings and everyone bats through and runs all the bases. The practice getting the ball and throwing it to first after every hit. Kaidyn even played first base for one inning, and even though she didn't catch any of the balls that were thrown to her (the few that actually made it all the way to first base) she did a great job of fielding them and throwing them to the coach at the tee. It went by really quickly. Unfortunately, Levi had to work tonight, so I was by myself and I spent most of my time chasing Jett around which upset Jayd because then she couldn't sit on my lap. But Kaidyn had fun and did a pretty good job hitting.

Viva Las Vegas!

2009-04-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

Just bought our tickets to Vegas. Neither Levi or I have ever been. We decided it would be a fun trip to take, especially without kids. We are going over our anniversary--it will be 9 years July 15!! Can't wait--I definitely need a vacation.

Does it ever end??

2009-04-25T18:23:00.001-07:00

All I hear all day is crying! Jett cries because he fell again and bonked his head. Jayd cries because I asked her to clean her room. Kaidyn cries because Jayd looked at her funny. So much crying. And then there is the fighting which leads to more crying, and the whining, which usually leads to even more crying. Does there come a point when the crying stops?? I think I'd be okay with crying if it was only when necessary, like when hurt or sad, not for every little thing.

2009 All Star Game Ballot

2009-04-24T21:59:00.000-07:00

Hey, vote for the Mariners to go to the All Star game. It would be nice to see a bunch of M's on the roster this year. More than just Ichiro. You can vote up to 25 times--and trust me, by July 2 everyone in my family will have voted 25 times--I'm trying to figure a way to get my dogs to vote as well--lol!! If interested, follow this link:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2009/ballot_reg.html

Go Mariners!!

Bummed--

2009-04-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

So in my 6 years of teaching, I have never thought twice about leaving my things out in the open from my purse to my daughters DS. Well I will be thinking again now. I had my cell phone taken right off the top of my desk the other day. At first I thought I might have just misplaced it--I've been known to do that. But when I tried to call it to find it, I didn't hear it ringing in my classroom. Okay, sometimes I don't have the best reception in there, if it's on the floor, it might be out of range.
I was able to narrow it down to the class period it might have been taken in, however, because of WASL testing this week, I didn't see that class period until today. I confronted them, and made a plea for my sim card--I don't have a lot of numbers memorized anymore, they're all in my phone. The phone is an old one a friend gave me last year when she got a new one and mine quit working. So the phone isn't worth much, it doesn't text and the battery doesn't last very long on a charge.
Well, what do you know, when I walked into my classroom at the beginning of sixth period, there was my sim card sitting on my desk. I thought I would be happy to see my simcard, but it turned out I was upset and disappointed, because that meant one of my students really had violated my personal space and broke my trust all for a stupid little phone. I have never felt so . . .bummed. I don't know how else to describe it. So now I don't have a cell phone, I'm hesitant to buy a new one because I shouldn't have to, so if your trying to get a hold of me, you may have to call Levi's phone for now. We are getting a landline put in next week, but until then I'm somewhat cut off from the world. I'm hoping whoever took it will realize the error of their ways and return it, otherwise there may be 20 of my students from 3rd period not going on the 7th grade field trip to the Mariners game in a couple of weeks. Then we'll see whose bummed.

Johnson Field--

2009-04-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

So I am sure many won't be shocked to hear this, but over the weekend, I had Levi mow a baseball field. We have this square, mostly flat, mostly rock free part of our land that was weeds last year, that was surrounded by fence posts (no fence though). As Levi was mowing the rest of the yard, I pointed it out and said "Why don't you mow that too." So he did and Johnson Field was born. We are currently using rocks as first, third and home, and the post leading to our septic tank is second base, but it works great because we have a fence for home runs and plenty of space to run and only a few holes to watch our for. But it is so awesome. We played a mini game as a family on Sunday and can't wait to have more people over for a bigger game--either that or we need to have more kids--NOT!! I will post pics as soon as I make it to the store to buy batteries! Anyway--we'd like to eventually put up a backstop--how cool would that be, and a true fence to go with the posts and fill in the holes and maybe get some real bases. The Septic Tank post will always be there, but we can definitely work around it. Oh yeah and watch out for the snakes!!

Levi is such a Liar--

2009-04-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

So today the weather was sooooooooooo nice, we decided to spend the whole day outside working on the yard. We have a bunch of stuff to take to the dump so we began the day filling up the truck. We have about 6 acres (5.69 to be exact) so there is just mass garbage all over the place from the wind and previous tenants. As I was walking around picking up garbage I didn't really think about what could be under the garbage, until I came to a big cardboard box that had obviously been there for some time, and picked it up and there was a snake underneath. I didn't get a real good look at it since I dropped the box and ran faster than I have since my knee surgery, but that little glimpse of blackish, reddish, scaly skin is and will forever be burned into my brain. I know their good and helpful by eating the mice and stuff and they won't bug you if you leave them alone, but I still do not like snakes. Plus last summer Levi told me there were no snakes on our land, that they didn't like being in the openess--he is such a liar.
Anyway--when I told him what I had seen, he of course had to go check it out--such a boy--but when he got to the box, he was so cautious in picking it up, it was kind of funny. Anyway, by that time, the snake had long since gone. Oh well, it's better that way.

Hot Tub or Jungle Gym??

2009-04-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

Well the hot tub finally thawed so we could get it cleaned out. It froze over the winter before we could drain it. Not sure if the thermostat went out, the heater went out, or if it just couldn't keep up with the ice cold north wind blowing directly on it. Needless to say it was 500 gallons of frozen solid ice for about 3 months. I'm not sure what damage, if any, was done, but we're going to take it apart tomorrow and see if any pipes are cracked. I know the seals and skirting need replacing, hopefully it's that simple and we can have it up and running soon. Mean while, the kids thought it would be fun to play in it. Here they are posing, and running around playing tag. Probably a little dangerous--but no more than jumping on the trampoline.

Mariners Home Opener--

2009-04-14T22:24:00.000-07:00

Today was the BEST DAY EVER!--Well one of them anyway. I took a personal day today, and Levi and I left the kids behind and headed west to Seattle for the Mariners first game of the season at Safeco against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (something like that). We were a little nervous this morning when it started snowing huge flakes around 9 am. But the trip over turned out to be uneventful--other than it was soooo quite. We actually got to have an adult conversation and didn't have to worry about being interrupted. It was so great.
We stopped in Ellensburg for lunch at McDonalds. The line for the drive-thru was long, so we decided to go inside. I volunteered to run in while Levi waited in the truck, I got his order and started to ask if there was anything else he wanted when all of the sudden he said, "I'll just go in with you." It had never occured to us that we could both go in. We were so used to one of us waiting in the truck with the kids. We both laughed and went inside to order.
It was pretty chilly when we got to the stadium, and they ended up closing the roof. At the start of opening ceremonies the announcer came over the loud speaker and said that the opening day of baseball was meant to be played on green grass under blue skies and they began opening the roof, and there was sunshine and blue skies. It was so amazing, I had to go buy a hat because the sun was so bright, and our seats were facing the sun.
It ended up being a really good game. Griffey got a hit, Silva actually pitched a pretty good game, the bullpen didn't blow the game and there were some good catches in the outfield. The Mariners struck first, scoring a run in the first inning. The Angels answered a couple of innings later. Then the M's got another run and once again the Angels answered. At the end of nine innings, it was tied 2-2, so we were headed into extra innings. The Angels were unable to score a run in their half but the Mariners did much better getting a runner on, and then the next batter bunted the ball just to move the runner along, but thanks to an Angel error on the throw to first, the runner was able to score. YEAH--the Mariners won 3-2!!! Levi and I bolted to try and beat a majority of traffic--we were successful in that, however, once we were in line to get out of the parking garage we had to wait for all of the pedestrians streaming out of the stadium and crossing the street. We finally made it on the way home.
We stopped in North Bend for a bite to eat and Levi asked if we should stop for gas. We had about a half tank, so I figured we'd be fine and I told him not to worry about it. A few miles away from our turn, the gas light came on and dinged at us. With about 18 miles to go, our distance to empty on the little doohicky on the truck said we had 24 miles. So I figured, we're gonna make it, no problem. Well that 24 miles quickly turned into 18, than 16, than 14 . . . and was going lower faster than the miles we were actually traveling. Levi and I just crossed our fingers and prayed the rest of the way home that we would make it and . . . we did--thank the Lord!!!

Easter Sunday

2009-04-12T18:12:00.000-07:00

I think once you have kids most holidays are destined to be multi-day affairs. This morning the kids woke up to find that the Easter bunny made a visit--Kaidyn woke me up to let me know this at 4:30 am--I told her to go back to bed and we would worry about it at a more decent hour. Less than two hours later Levi got home from work so I couldn't make the kids wait any longer. They found their baskets then hit the back yard to find eggs. Then it was time to get ready to go to my Aunts in Wenatchee. We met at the church for breakfast, then another Easter egg hunt for the kids. Then we went to church. Jett made it for about 20 minutes, but then I had to take him to the nursery to do his screaming there.Next we went to my Aunt's house where we had a delicious ham dinner and another Easter egg hunt. The Easter bunny there hid money in the eggs too, so the kids were quite excited.

Then my cousin Kylie and my brother's fiancee Cheryl took the girls for a boat ride in the lake by their house, it sounds like Jayd was a little nervous being out in the boat, but Kaidyn had a blast. The battery died, so Kylie had to row them back in the rain. It looks like Jayd tried to help. Overall it was a great Easter. The kids ended up with more candy than they did at Halloween. I may have to take some of it to school just to get rid of it all without all of us gaining 100 pounds.

Happy Easter!

Easter Saturday

2009-04-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

Today the kids had the first Easter Egg hunt of the weekend this afternoon at Lyons Park.

It was actually more of a dash than a hunt, when the horn blew signaling the start, all the kids bolted towards the eggs that were scattered on the grass. Jayd was insistent of staying with her sister, so she was in the 1st-2nd grade section and didn't stand a chance. I saw her get an egg, but it must have fell out of her basket somewhere along the way, because it wasn't there at the end. Kaidyn ended up with only one egg and then a nice little boy gave each of the girls one of his eggs because he ended up with a lot. Jett also ended up with only one egg thanks to a generous child because he was more interested in the other kids. The kids enjoyed it just the same, and the highlight was getting their picture taken with the Easter bunny.

We just finished coloring the eggs. Hint: an upset toddler, tongs and several cups of coloring dye do not mix. Jett enjoyed putting the eggs in the cups and pulling them out, but when I took the egg and dye from him after he was trying to drink it, he grabbed a nearby set of tongs and threw them. Of course he knocked over several of the cups of dye which spilled all over the island (not a big deal because the wood is very dark), and the floor (kind of a big deal because the floor is very light--oh yeah and new!!) . Oh well, after cleaning up the floors, there is only a faint shade of reddish pink visible, and you can't really see the yellow and fortunately, the blue only spilled on the island.

Kaidyn Sports

2009-04-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Kaidyn had her first soccer game last Tuesday. It's really cute watching the kids play soccer at this age because they play 4-on-4 and they all huddle around the ball kicking away and they get so excited when they score, even if it's in the wrong goal. There is a lot of (accidental) tripping and pushing, it resembles rugby at times, but they get right back up and into it. This is Kaidyn's 2nd year playing soccer and we've noticed a big improvement from last year. Kaidyn really hustle's after the ball, and the kids attempt to pass it to each other.

She has a blast playing and Jayd cheers from the sideline while Jett plays with the extra soccer balls laying around.

Wednesday night Kaidyn also had her first tee-ball practice, a sport Levi and I are much more familiar with. Kaidyn is one of only two girls on her team, but she didn't seem to care. She enjoyed playing anyway. So as it stands right now, Kaidyn has both soccer practice and tee ball practice on Mondays (5 and 5:30) , soccer games on Tuesdays, and tee-ball practice again on Wednesdays. I don't know when the tee-ball games will be, but I'm it'll be even crazier when that begins. Oh well, at least we only have one now, I can't imagine what it'll be like when all three kids are busy like this :)

18 Months--

2009-04-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

I just realized today is Jett's half-birthday. He is officially a year and a half old. I can't believe it was 18 months ago that he was born. Man that was a crazy night. Levi was at work when I called him to tell him I was in labor and needed to go to the hospital NOW!! The lady at the check-in desk was a little confused and thought I was an inmate being brought in because Levi was still in his uniform. 2 hours later, just 8 minutes after midnight on the 5th of October our little Jett was born. He's not so little anymore and he is all boy. Today as we were playing outside he kept wanting to dig in the rocks and throw them and play in the dog water. I was trying to take pictures of him, but he would hardly sit still and he wouldn't look at me or smile. The girls were more than happy to smile and pose for the camera.

Jayd in the Gator Kaidyn poses for a picture

Jett drives Jayd around

Baseball, Barbeque and Beer

2009-04-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

Life doesn't get any better than this. Today was GORGEOUS!! and we were able to spend the whole day outside working and playing and finishing projects. We got the doors to the shed finished, the yard cardboard and dog doo doo free, played a little soccer, and cleaned up the barbeque. Then we threw on a couple of steaks opened a couple of beers and turned on the baseball game--Braves v. Phillies. The perfect ending to the perfect day.

Spring Break is coming to an end--

2009-04-04T20:17:00.000-07:00

So tomorrow is the last day of spring break. The week went by so fast--but I really feel like we got a lot done. I'm almost done with the lesson plans and grading I brought home with me. Levi and I made doors for our shed today--and with only one little fight--very impressive. We just have minor communication issues once in a while--I know what I'm talking about and he doesn't. Otherwise we did a pretty nice job. I got the rest of the trim put up in the dining room. The garage is cleaned out and we now have room to use the saws. Tomorrow we are going to get the garbage out of the yard--since there were no doors on the shed, the dogs drug out all the cardboard boxes and tore them up. Hence the building of doors today.
Today also marks the last spring training game for the Mariners. Their first regular season game is Monday at 4--can't wait. Then their first home game is Tuesday, April 14. Levi and I will be there--soooooooo excited. Hopefully they have a better season than last year, although if you think about it, they really can't do any worse. They've lost a lot of preseason games, but they have a lot of options, and I am quite excited for the return of Griffey.
Anyway--even though we really didn't go anywhere, I think it has been a great spring break. I could use another week, but I can't complain, and there are only 48 days left of school once we return. So the sooner we get back to school, the sooner summer vacation will be here. YEAH!!

"Baseball"

2009-04-03T20:20:00.000-07:00

So today we made our monthly Costco trip to Wenatchee. I was wearing my Mariners necklace that has little blue-green baseball looking beads. I was holding Jett and he kept grabbing my necklace and saying "buh buh". I just removed his had from my necklace--since it's stretchy and I didn't want him to break it. Then he did it again. It was after the second time that I realized he was trying to say "baseball". So of course after that I let him play with my necklace all he wanted and he kept saying "buh buh". It was so cute and I am so proud.

So much for no plans---

2009-03-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

So it turns out my nice relaxing, no plan spring break was yet a dream. It's only Tuesday and I can already see the week slipping away. Yesterday we went a visited Levi's grandparents in Outlook (near Sunnyside). We realized it had been over a year since we had been there and we were long overdue for a visit. His grandparents have an awesome place in the country. The weather was nice so the kids were able to play outside and run around and be as loud as they want. Very similar to our place except there is actually a yard with grass. Jett enjoyed Grandma's decorative frogs that she has around her deck--he enjoyed throwing them as well, fortunately none of them broke. Levi showed off to the girls that he could climb the tree--and they cheered him on.
And I think Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed having the kids around as well. We had a wonderful lunch of KFC--I love their coleslaw!!--and a nice visit. We also were finally able to get some of Grandpa's saws home--he hasn't been able to use them for some time, so he's giving them to Levi, who is quite excited. Now Levi has lot's of ideas for projects since we have the equipment, now we just need a shop to work in, for now our garage will have to work, which meant today we spent time cleaning it out and making a trip to the dump--with several more in the future. I also spent time putting molding around our new floors as well as finishing up a quilt. Then Levi had soccer practice tonight for Kaidyn's team--he is coaching her team, it is quite entertaining since he knows nothing about soccer.
Tomorrow is Wednesday and Levi is taking the girls to see Monsters vs. Aliens (they're having a spring break special) while I try to get lesson plans and grading done--hopefully Jett will nap, otherwise I will have a helper. Levi works Wednesday and Thursday nights. Friday we are making our monthly Costco trip to Wenatchee and then Saturday and Sunday I'm sure we'll be finishing any projects I decide to start the next couple of days. Then it's back to school with 48 days left until summer vacation!! I am sooooooooo ready. Anyway, hopefully I can find some time to relax this week--at least I'm home with my kids.

SPRING BREAK---at last!!!

2009-03-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

So this was the looooooongest week e-v-e-r!! I never thought 3:01 would come today (that is the time school gets out). But finally my chairs were up and the bell rang. I am definitely burnt out and ready for a break--and I'm not the only one. The students have been antsy all week--at least the ones at school this week have been. I have had so many students absent due to being sick, that my classes have been awesome sizes (averaging 15-18 students a class). We've had several out with influenza-b, the cold and one with mono. Luckily I have escaped with only a cold--since Wednesday--and so far I'm the only in the family to be sick. Not sick enough to miss school but enough to go to sleep as soon as I got home yesterday until I had to get up and go back to work.
It's kind of nice--we have absolutely zero plans this spring break. Levi has to work a few days so we can't do too much. But hopefully we can get some spring cleaning and yard work done, maybe a trip to the dump, and to the quilt store. I'm just hoping the whether will be nice so we can spend lots of time outside.
Kaidyn had an assembly today where she got to stand up for 50 AR points and also received her Junior Jogger t-shirt. I'm not sure exactly how far she had to "jog" to get it, but she's been working towards it almost the whole school year.
Anyway--I can't believe it almost April--and then May and the girls' birthdays--then June and the end of school--can you tell what's on my mind.
18 days until the Mariners home opener--10 days until their first regular season game!! YEAH!!

Happy St. Patricks Day!!

2009-03-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone wore their green today. It's amazing how into holidays middle school kids can get. We had lots of big green hats today and other various green accessories.
Anyway--Today would have been Grandma's 83rd birthday. It was weird waking up this morning and realizing that I didn't have to worry about remembering to call her later. However, I did forget to call Levi's mom to wish her a Happy Anniversary--sorry Gayle--hope you had a good day!!

Tagged

2009-03-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

So one of my students tagged me like a month ago--thanks Brit--I was trying to ignore it, but she won't let me forget--so here it goes--

8 TV shows I watch:
1. My Name is Earl
2. The Big Bang Theory
3. How I Met Your Mother
4. Friends (reruns)
5. House Hunters
6. American Idol
7. Wizards of Waverly Place (with my daughters)
8. Lingo (on GSN)

8 Things I am looking forward to:
1. Spring Break
2. The start of the Mariners season
3. The Mariners home opener
4. The 7th grade field trip to the Mariners game
5. Baseball on TV almost every night
6. Summer Vacation
7. Our trip to Vegas
8. Did I mention the Mariners season is starting soon!!!

8 Things I did yesterday
1. Woke up
2. Went to Safeway for Starbucks and sausage
3. Made french toast and sausage for the kids
4. Made a castle out of legos with the kids
5. Played Monopoly on the WII
6. Cleaned the kitchen
7. Put on the thresholds for some of our new flooring
8. Broke one of the thresholds for our new flooring

8 years ago I. . .
1. Still lived in Cheney. . .
2. in a duplex next to Kim and Greg
3. Had been married for less than a year
4. Did not have kids
5. Was still in college at EWU
6. Worked at Red Robin in downtown Spokane
7. Drove a 1989 Red Honda Accord 2-door
8. Never thought I would be working in Royal City

8 things on my wish list:
1. Win the lottery
2. Get season tickets to the Mariners
3. Sell my rental
4. Get all the projects done around my house
5. For the weather to warm up
6. To make it to the end of the school year with my sanity
7. A husband and kids that pick up after themselves without being asked to
8. For my truck to be paid off

8 people that I have tagged:
1-8. Sorry--can't do this to anyone else :)

School Dinners

2009-03-14T20:19:00.000-07:00

Thursday night Kaidyn had a "Family Fun Night" at her school. Her class put on a patriotic play and she was Betsy Ross (can't you tell the resemblance). Anyway, she spent weeks memorizing her lines and new them by heart. We practiced speaking loud so the crowd could hear her. Come show time, she read straight from the script and we could barely hear her. It was cute anyway. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera. Luckily Levi had his cell phone, so I took a picture with that and emailed it to myself. How did we ever survive without cell phones, let alone picture phones. Then we enjoyed a lovely school dinner of tacos and cinnamon rolls (who decided those two items went together, at least I didn't have to cook), then we went back to Kaidyn's classroom to make a reading game.
Then last night, a couple of the 8th grade girls put on a "Teacher Date Night" for their passion project. So it was off to my school where the kids were watched by a couple other students, while Levi and I and several other teachers and their spouses had a delightful (quiet) dinner of BBQ chicken breast with salad and rolls and chocolate brownie and ice cream for dessert (much better than the taco, and once again I didn't have to cook). The girls also put together a game of Do You Know Your Spouse Jeopardy? It was a combination of Jeopardy and the Newlywed game, where we picked categories and then answered questions trying to match the answers of our spouse. Levi and I had a rough start, missing like the first 4 or 5 answers. But, after that it was smooth sailing and we ended up winning!!! Yeah us!! It was a blast!!

Quilt

2009-03-06T21:16:00.000-08:00

Well here it is--my quilt. I've been working on it for about a month, and been thinking about it for much longer. I still have to put the inner and outer border on it, then get the backing and quilt it. But if you had any idea how much thought and processing went into this quilt, you would understand why this is a big idea. I have to say, putting together a quilt is hard with kids climbing all over but I got it done. I made one other quilt a few years back, but this one was more challenging and more fun. Plus I had a better machine to sew it on, that really helped--I got my grandma's sewing machines. The one I used is older than my own, but in much better shape, so it was nice. It was also nice to have something of Grandma's that I will use and remember her.

Schaefer Family

2009-02-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

For the first time since Grandma's 80th birthday, the Schaefer Family is all together again for Grandmas Memorial service, the only person missing was my cousin Kenny, but no one is really sure where he is at.
The service was nice, Grandma would have approved.

Anyway--as we do with any event, we take family pictures at the front of the church. It's actually pretty cool to have these pictures, because otherwise I wouldn't have a picture of my entire family, we're not really a picture family. Anyway, the family is getting to big for one big picture, so we had to split it up in individual family pics this time.

On TV

2009-02-02T22:28:00.000-08:00

Levi and I were watching Mariner Monday--old mariner games replayed--how cool. And they were showing footage from Fanfest--and lo and behold--there was the Johnson Family. It was when we were in line waiting for Don's autograph--we were like right behind the person getting the autograph.
We were watching the FSN Live news after the game on Monday, and Levi was like "that looked like me" so we rewinded it--thanks to DVR and there we were. It was so weird--but kind of cool.

Sad News

2009-01-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

I got a call earlier today from my dad. My Grandma Schaefer passed away earlier today. I know she's with my grandpa now, which she has wanted for some time, but it is still really sad. This is the first death in the family the girls (well kids really, but Jett was just crying earlier because everybody else was) have had to deal with it. I wish we all could have seen her a few more times--I wish I would have taken more pictures of her with the kids--I meant to at Christmas, but I forgot, and figured we'd make it down to see her again sometime in the next few months, so I could just do it then. But now it's too late . . . I'm so gonna miss her. I just have to remind myself she's happy now with my grandpa--they're together again like they were always meant to be.

Love You Grandma--you're going to be missedKaidyn and Jett with Grandma--November 2007

FanFest

2009-01-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

I am so ready for baseball season. Levi and I decided that we needed to get out of Ephrata and away from the cold for a weekend, so we took the kids to Fanfest at Safeco Field this weekend. It was so much fun. We got to run around the bases, hit balls, play catch in the field, go in the dugout, catch fly balls, get our picture taken with the moose and more. We also stood in line for about an hour to get Don Wakamatsu's autograph (he is the new Manager for the Mariners) and while standing there, Dave Valle was making his way through the line signing autographs as well--he used to catch for the Mariners but now he's a commentator. It was so awesome. We had so much fun. After a long day at the field, we checked into the hotel--we decided it would be better to stay the night then drive home--good idea, we were both EXHAUSTED!!!

A word of advice, don't give kids cookies before you want them to go to sleep. After checking in, the lady at the desk gave me warm chocolate chip cookies for the kids, I figured why not, the kids were good today in spite of all the walking and standing in line. OH MY GOSH--I have never seen them more hyper or bouncy, all three of them were bouncing from one bed to the other, running around the room--I hope there is good insulation in the walls otherwise the poor people around us. Other than that--awesome weekend, and nice to get away--the temperature was mid to high 40s. Jett and Levi wait in line

The kids run around the bases

The kids sit in the Mariners Dugout

Family picture with the Moose--Jett was more
interested in looking at the moose than the camera.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!--Johnson update

2009-01-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

You know how it is, so much to do, so little time and so much happens in the meantime.
I spent three days last week in Seattle at the OSPI winter conference. It was good timing on our part. A group of us left Tuesday after school. The pass had just reopened at around 2:45 and we left school a little after 3:00. Headed over in pouring rain made it to Seattle and the pass closed again that evening. I attended a lot of great sessions and discovered some great restaraunts as well as a place that had 160 beers on tap. So awesome. I spent the time that I was in my room watching the news to see when Snoqualmie pass would reopen. Fortunately, they reopened the pass 9:00 am Friday morning I was able to head home to relieve Levi who had been home alone with the kids all weekend.
I have decided it is time to lose some weight. I know a lot of people make this New Years resolution, but that is not my reason. My reason is because I went shopping last week and I found that the most comfortable pants I tried on contained an elastic waist. I'm not pregnant so there is no reason to where pants with an elastic waist. Wish me luck as I'm giving up (or massively reducing) anything containing mass amounts of sugar (i.e. candy, ice cream, chocolate, pepsi, cake. . .). Kill me now. I have also been going to the gym more often and pilates the other day about killed me, but I refuse to buy bigger pants and elastic is not an option (although I did buy those pants because they were really cute). Anyway, I'm not giving up carbs or doing anything that extreme (because I don't agree with that whole thought process) but I'm just trying to eat less junk, drink less beer and pepsi, more water and work out. Wish me luck.
Kaidyn had a school assembly today and any student in the first grade who had 25 AR points got to stand up for recognition during the assembly. (AR is a program in which students read books and take tests online, testing comprehension, on those books for points, --Kaidyns books are 0.5 points each.) She said she was the only first grader in her entire school that made 25 points. We are so proud. She has become an awesome reader and loves reading--so much like her mama.
Jayd currently thinks everything is stupid. When we ask her if she wants to do something, she says no because it's stupid. When we tell her what is for dinner, she says she doesn't like it because it's stupid. We tell her to go play toys and she says she doesn't want to because it's stupid. I hope this is just a phase. On a higher note at least she is expanding her vocabulary a little, and she is getting easier to understand.
And speaking of an expanding vocabulary, Jett has started saying lots of words. He says Dada and Mama (of course), but he also says banana, snack, all done, more, milk, sis, shoe (i'm not sure where that came from), doggy, thank you, byebye and night night. The words aren't by any means crystal clear, but they are about as clear as some of Jayd's words. Along with walking he is also a major climber. As a matter of fact, Levi called during my prep yesterday to ask if I knew that Jett could push the chairs around and climb up on them. I told him yes, I had seen him do that before, but then he told me that Jett pushed the dining room chair into the kitchen (not that it's that far) and against the counter. He then climbed onto the chair and got into the cookie jar to get some candy (the cookie jar is where we keep the candy). Levi ran into the kitchen when he heard glass clinking, and found Jett with the lid off, reaching in with a crooked grin on his face. Levi couldn't get mad at him and ended up laughing. He said he gave Jett a piece of candy. I wish I could have seen it. Jett is so crafty.
Well that has been life around here the last two weeks.

Winter Vacation--almost over

2009-01-04T19:20:00.000-08:00

How sad. I am down to my last night off. It's back to work tomorrow. How sad.

I used to think I needed to work to keep my sanity. That if I stayed home with kids I would go crazy. This may still be true, but it doesn't seem to be such a bad thing anymore. I have totally enjoyed my last two weeks home with the kids--and I know Levi has enjoyed it too. It was so fun to be able to go out and build a snow fort with the kids, and watch Jett and his crazy facial expressions that say he's going to get into something, and read books with Kaidyn (she actually did most of the reading) and building a Lego castle with Jayd. I got a lot of book read and redid our bathroom--I painted and put up new hardware and a new medicine cabinet and it looks so awesome now. I can't wait until summer now, so I can spend more time with my kids and watch them grow and learn.

Happy New Year!!!

2009-01-01T10:09:00.000-08:00

I can't believe another year has come and gone, but it has. Kaidyn will be turning 7 and Jayd will be 4 in May (scary). Levi and I will be one year closer to 30 in June (more scary). Fortunately
Jett won't be 2 until October--but still. AND--we will be celebrating 9 years of marriage in July. Time flies.
Last night we welcomed the New Year in with a few friends who didn't have anything better to do. Bree and David came over but they didn't quite make it until midnight.
Derrick and Autumn also came over with their two boys Colton and Caden (or the other Caden as Kaidyn calls him). And had a blast playing Rockband on the Xbox.

Jayd tried on Autumn's big boots--those black things covering her entire legs!!
Kaidyn, Caden and Colton made it to midnight and helped us toast the New Year--which we had to rewind to watch because we missed it the first time getting the Champagne--thank you DVR.
Jayd crashed about 11 pm and Jett was in bed close to his normal bed time.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Fort Johnson

2008-12-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

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--

2008-12-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

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!!

2008-12-25T21:55:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-24T19:30:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-24T12:38:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-20T21:33:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-19T19:18:00.000-08:00

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"

2008-12-19T17:35:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-06T21:22:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

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!!

2008-12-02T20:48:00.000-08:00

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--

2008-11-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

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 th e 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--

2008-11-27T22:36:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

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--

2008-11-23T19:02:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2008-11-18T15:41:00.000-08:00

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--

2008-11-10T16:26:00.000-08:00

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!!

2008-10-31T21:09:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

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--

2008-10-23T19:30:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-10T17:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

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--