Johnson Family

3 Week Utah Trip

2009-10-27T13:09:00.006-04:00

In August, we took a three week trip to Utah. We had so much fun. We were able to fit alot of fun things into the three weeks that we had. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera for most of it, so I don't have as many pictures as I should.
The kids had so much fun spending time with the family. They get spoiled rotten when we go out there, and they just love spending time with everybody.

Walker's favorite thing to do was to play in the dirt outside. I don't know how many times I would have the kids dressed and ready to go somewhere, and Walker would quickly end up looking like this before we could leave.

We went down to Mt Pleasant to visit Jimmy's grandma "Nana". We love going to visit Nana. She is such a fun person, and the kids had so much fun playing in her yard.

We spent alot of time going to the city park. The kids loved it, and it is a great place to meet friends and be able to visit while the kids are entertained.

Some of the other things that we did while we were there were: Bear Lake with Jimmy's family. His sister lives in Nibley, and we had so much fun seeing them again. Thanks for having us guys. My kids were so happy to see the cousins. We sure wish they lived closer.
We also went down to St George. My mission companion and good friend came up from Vegas to see us. It is always so fun to see her and her cute kids. Thanks Tashina. Then the next day my good friend Tracy and her husband took us out boating. We had so much fun. My kids all loved it. Thanks again B & T!
I also was able to go to the baby blessing of one of my dearest converts/friends from my mission. They had been waiting a long time for this sweet baby girl, and it was such a beautiful blessing. She is absolutely beautiful. Just like her mom!
We went on several little hikes and had such a fun vacation. I thought 3 weeks would seem like a long time, but it flew by. Thanks everyone for making our vacation fun.

15 year Class Reunion

2009-10-27T12:51:00.002-04:00

One of the reasons that we went to Utah this summer was for my 15 year Class reunion.
Two of my good friends and I were in charge of planning it. It was a lot of work, but it sure was fun to see everybody again. One of the guys from our class had a family night the night before at his farm, which was fun to be able to see everyone's kids. Then the night after we had a nice dinner. We didn't have as many people come as we would have wanted, but it was fun to be able to visit with those that did. I can't believe it has already been 15 years. I am getting old!

Bean Museum

2009-10-27T12:42:00.003-04:00

One tradition we have every year that we go to Utah is to go to the Bean Museum at BYU. My Kids love animals, so they really enjoy going. This year they ended up having a reptile show while we were there. My kids were in heaven. They all had a great time, but I think Wyatt seriously thought he had died and gone to heaven. Reptiles are his favorite thing in the world.

Payson Onion Days

2009-10-27T12:36:00.002-04:00

I grew up going to the Payson parade and carinival every year growing up. I was really excited that we were going to be in town this year for Labor Day, so that my kids could experience good old Payson Onion Days. Wyatt even missed his first day of Kindergarten for the "big" event. Of course I forgot my camera for the parade, but I got a few pictures of the carnival.

The Boys Change the Brakes

2009-10-26T09:59:00.001-04:00

Our Brakes needed to be changed, so one Saturday morning Jimmy asked Wyatt to come out and help him. Wyatt was so excited and felt so big being able to help him. I love watching them do things together. By the end Walker realized he was missing out on the fun and decided to join in. Quality father son bonding time!

McKartnee's Dance Class

2009-10-26T09:49:00.003-04:00

McKartnee took the cutest dance class this summer. It was a fairy tale ballet. They would read stories and act them out each week. The last week the parents got to go in to watch. It was darling. She absolutely loved her class. I felt so bad though, the last week when all the parents were there, I forgot her balet slippers.
She started the class out so sad, but by the end she was having a great time.

Walker's Second Birthday

2009-10-26T09:36:00.003-04:00

Walker turned two back in July. We had just a simple party with family. He is such a funny boy. He has alot of energy and is always making us laugh. We are so happy to have him in our family.

Great Falls Park

2009-05-29T10:02:00.003-04:00

We have a National Park by us that we love to go to. It is called Great Falls Park. There are a bunch of waterfalls that you hike to. It is beautiful. The kids love to make up scavenger hunts, and look for things in nature. Alot of times we take a picnic lunch up and eat there. This day was especially fun for the kids, because it had been raining for a couple of days prior, so there was water on the field. There were tons of tadpoles in the water. Wyatt and McKartnee spent forever catching tadpoles, while Walker spent the whole time throwing rocks in the water. It was a super fun day.

Wyatt's Fieldtrip To The Zoo

2009-05-29T09:51:00.003-04:00

We got to go with Wyatt's preschool class on a fieldtrip to the zoo. It was perfect weather, and we all had a fun day.

Wyatt's T-Ball

2009-05-29T09:26:00.003-04:00

Wyatt started t-ball this year, and is having so much fun playing. I love going to the games. It is fun to watch them start learning the game. My favorite thing was at the beginning of the season, whenever the ball was hit, they would all run for the ball and there would be a pile of teammates on the ground trying to see who came up with the ball. Very cute! Jimmy and his brother Jason are the coaches, so it is a fun father-son bonding time.

Grandma Comes To Town

2009-05-26T15:10:00.004-04:00

My mom, aunt, and sister came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. We had so much fun having them here. We did alot of the DC stuff, and then we also went down to Virginia Beach. My Grandpa when he was younger was stationed in Norfolk VA in the Navy, which is right by Virginia Beach. The next morning we got up and went to the Navy Museum and then went on a tour of the USS Wisconsin (a navy ship). It was cool to picture what things must have been like for my grandpa.
The kids sure loved having everyone here, and have missed all of the extra attention they had while they were here. It was sad to see them go, but are excited to see them again in August.

Easter 2009

2009-05-26T13:53:00.005-04:00

I have been the worst blogger! I don't know when I used to find the time to blog! I have so many pictures that I don't even know where to begin. Here are some from Easter. We tried to get a cute picture of the three kids together when they were ready for church, but Walker made it impossible as you can clearly see.

McKartnee Ice Skating

2009-03-10T12:44:00.000-04:00

McKartnee decided that she wanted to go ice skating for her mom and me time. We had so much fun. She is my brave child that jumps right in and tries anything. After a little while of me skating backwards to hold her up (which isn't pretty), she wanted to do it by herself. She kept falling down and would say "Mom I did it, I wiped out" I guess that was her agenda. We had a great day.

Wyatt's First Time Skiing

2009-02-15T23:15:00.003-05:00

I took Wyatt Skiing for the first time last weekend. He actually did pretty good for his first time. I was just happy that he didn't get frustrated and hate it like I did the first time I went. Hopefully we can go one more time before the season is over.

Wyatt's School Olympics

2009-02-15T23:03:00.003-05:00

Wyatt's little preschool does a winter olympics each year. They had six different stations they went to. It is so fun to watch them all compete. Then at the end they all get a gold metal. Good job buddy!

Three out of the five in his group are all Johnsons.

Disney World

2009-02-15T22:46:00.006-05:00

We went to Disney World with all of Jimmy's family last month. His little brother Justin leaves on his mission to Mexico on March 4, so we decided to do one last family trip before he left. His grandma "Nana" has been in town too, so she came with us which was so fun. It is so much fun when everyone gets together.
It happened to be one of the coldest weeks ever in Florida, but we still had fun inspite of the cold weather.

Catch Up Time

2009-02-15T21:17:00.003-05:00

OK, I am the worst blogger ever! I seriously don't know when I used to find the time to blog. I have got some major catch up to do.
This has been the season of injuries for us. Right before Christmas Wyatt and McKartnee were chasing each other. Wyatt ran and jumped on the couch, and overshot it right into our windowseal. He split his eye right open right below his eyebrow. We had to take him in for stitches.
Then while we were at Disney World, McKartnee was walking with her eyes closed, and hit right into a pole that had a metal loop on it. It split her forehead open, and we spent the morning in the first aid place. Luckily our brother in law is a Dr and came to her rescue. It was deep, but she got away with the butterfly bandage.
I hope it is not true when they say things come in three's. Hopefully we have had our share.

Santa Pictures

2008-12-17T23:36:00.002-05:00

We went to see Santa at the mall today. We go every year, and I love that they have the same Santa each year. It is fun to see how much the kids change from year to year. Today I just had to laugh. No matter what we tried to do, Walker wouldn't stop screaming, and McKartnee was "playing shy", and would not look at the camera. Wyatt was the only one smiling, but of course he is the one with stitches above his eye. Oh well, this will be one to look back and laugh at.

McKartnee's Birthday

2008-12-17T22:52:00.002-05:00

Today is Mcartnee's 3rd birthday. We had her princess birthday party on Saturday, and she had so much fun. She had some of her cousins and a few neighborhood friends come. Grandma sent her a new princess dress that she was so excited to wear. She was a beautiful little princess, and was so excited that all of her friends came. McKartnee is at such a fun age. She has the cutest little personality. We are constantly laughing at her. She loves her brothers, and always says that Wyatt is her best friend. She is so cute a nurturing with her dolls. She will make a great mommy one day. She laughs at everything, including when she gets hurt. She rarely cries. When she does I either know that she is really hurt, or she is trying to get somebody in trouble. She has the most contagious laugh, and is already the life of the party. We love you McKartnee and are so blessed to have you in our family!

Picking out our Christmas tree.

2008-12-17T21:52:00.005-05:00

Do you ever feel like the world is going full speed ahead, and you are running in slow motion getting further and further behind? This is how I have felt lately. Between Christmas parties, sick kids, Christmas decorating, traditions, birthday parties, kids getting stitches, seeing Santa, and you name it, I have had plenty to blog about, but no time to do it. I will try to catch up, but it may take awhile.

I will start with picking out our Christmas tree. Last year we cut one down for the first time. We had so much, that we decided to make it a tradition. We learned a couple of lessons from last year; 1. The tree's look alot smaller out in an open field than they do in your house, so this year we took a tape measure, and got a more size appropriate tree for our house. If you want to see what I am talking about see last years post 2. Take a truck to bring the tree home in. The kids had so much fun, and they also got to cut one down for jimmy's parents. This time of year is so fun. I just can't believe that Christmas is almost here.

Stuck In The Bathroom

2008-11-10T20:25:00.005-05:00

We went to New York this weekend for our cute niece's baptism, and had so much fun with everyone there. We got home late last night.
Jimmy left later for work this morning, so instead of unpacking and doing all of the cleaning that I had to do,I just relaxed and chatted with him. Then when Walker went down for his first nap I wasted my time catching up on the computer. Before I knew it he was awake, and I was trying to wrestle him and unpack at the same time.
When he went down for his second nap, I tried to speed clean. I got all unpacked, and things put away, and I started cleaning my dirty bathroom. About halfway through, Walker woke up, so I went in and got him out of his crib. I thought that I would quickly finish cleaning the bathroom before I changed him and got him his snack. He kept trying to come in the bathroom and get in the toilet (his latest obsession), so I closed the door, and finished cleaning the floor. When I finished and went to open the door, the door nob would not work. Wyatt was playing at his cousin's house, so I called for McKartnee. I asked her to try to open the door from the outside, and she couldn't either. GREAT, so I have a baby, and an almost three year old running around the house, and I am stuck in the bathroom.
We have a mini screwdriver set, so I asked McKartnee to get it for me and put it under the door. I tried to unscrew the door nob, but with the mini screw driver, I could not get it to budge, and the normal one wouldn't fit under the door. I wedged the screwdriver in between the door and the frame, and tried to pry it open, and broke part of the door. I looked out the window to see if I could jump out, but I was afraid I would break my leg or something else doing it. I tried to stay calm, and I kept having McKartnee tell me what Walker was doing, and told her if he was getting into anything to let me know. (Like I could have done anything)
I was ready to jump out of the window if I needed to, but decided that as long as they were OK, I would stay put. I kept panicking thinking about everything that Walker could be getting himself into, and I worried about McKartnee getting outside, or into who knows what. I was seriously praying the whole time I was in there that Heavenly Father would just keep them safe, and it wasn't until I got out two hours later that I realized how much he had answered my prayers.
When Jimmy came home the kids were both downstairs just playing. When he was trying to get me out though, both of the kids came upstairs. They love when daddy comes home.
McKartnee loves to get chairs from the dining room, and move them to climb up and get whatever she wants. She put a chair in the kitchen in front, but off to the side of the oven to get to my stash of peanut M&M's out of the cupboard above it. We didn't even know that she had done this.(we were a little preoccupied with the door) When Walker climbs up on somthing and can't get down he does this little whine, and while Jimmy was still trying to get the door open he heard Walker. He went in the kitchen, and he had climbed up on the chair, onto the cupboard, and was right next to the stove. I am so glad this happened while Jimmy was there, and not before. When I think about this, and all of the other things that they could have, and probably should have got into during the two hours I was locked in the bathroom, it makes me know that my Heavenly Father was right there with my little ones protecting them from all of the dangers that they could have gotten themselves into. I felt so helpless being stuck in there, and I was so happy to get out and give my kids a great big hug. I am so glad that they were OK!!

My little Wy Guy

2008-11-06T21:11:00.003-05:00

Today is Wyatt's 5th birthday. It is so hard to believe that he is already 5. Jimmy and I were just talking about how 5 yrs ago today, we were at the hospital. When I first went into the hospital, his little heart was in distress, and they were monitoring it closely until my Dr could get there. When my Dr came and saw his heart rate, He asked how long it would take to numb me. When the anastesioligist said 7 or 8 minutes, he said "we don't have time, put her out" I remember being so scared at that moment, but comforted at the same time by a blessing I had received before we left for the hospital. It said that everything was going to be ok, and that the Dr's hands would be stable and precise. I didn't quite understand what that meant, until right then, realizing that he would be performing a c-section. After I had him, I had to come out of the sedation, so Jimmy had already been holding him for a little while. I will never forget looking into his eyes for the first time. He was so aware that it almost felt like he was looking right through me. My life completly changed at that moment. I remember never realizing that you could love anybody as much as I automatically loved this little baby. My love for him has only grown stronger over the years.
He has been such a great little boy. He has such a tender heart. He gets his feelings hurt so easily, but also gets so sad if he hurts anybody else's feelings. He is very rough and tough with his little sister (I am constantly saying "Be soft, remember she is a girl), but he is also very, very protective of her, and is always telling her "Kartnee you are my best friend". He loves to make little Walker laugh, and Walker just adores him. Wyatt can do anything and Walker just starts giggling. It is very cute. He loves to play catch with dad, and is getting pretty good at throwing and catching a baseball. He loves helping me. Alot of times when I punish them, I make them do chores. Wyatt loves doing them, and alot of the time asks me what else he can clean. (I need to take more advantage of that one!) He has been learning to read, and is really into drawing and coloring lately. I am adding a picture that he just drew that made me laugh so hard. Jason my brother in law had drawn him a picture of a skeleton in church on Sunday. Wyatt was making a Halloween book and drawing everything he could think of that had to do with Halloween. When he brought me the skeleton picture to show me, I was trying so hard not to laugh. He was so proud of the picture, but somehow the pelvic bone on it, had turned into an anotomically correct male if you know what I mean.
It is so fun to watch him grow and progress. Each stage that he goes through is so exciting. It is funny, but with him being my first, I get excited with each step he takes. With my other two though, I am not as eager because I realize how fast my babies are growing up. Happy Birthday my big five year old!!

Slip and Slide

2008-11-04T19:43:00.000-05:00

Let me just start by saying that this last week was just one of those weeks. I felt like I was so snappy with my kids and hubby. There were a few days that it seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong. I was determined that no matter what, this week would be better, so yesterday instead of doing my Monday cleaning, I took the kids to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, and there were not a lot of people there, so I just kind of let them take the lead and go where they wanted to. This was the first time that Walker was really into the animals. He loved it.
Today we had to make cookies for Wyatt's birthday treats for school. The kids helped me make them, and while Wyatt and I were rolling the dough out, it got really quiet. I went into the dining room, and McKartnee had got into the flour, and had it all over the dining room floor. When I walked in she excitedly said "Look mom, I'm doing it just like you." I tried to remember that she is just experimenting, and tried to supress the frustration that was brewing inside. I tried to quickly sweep, but we seriously had flour from one end of our little house to the other. (amid the frustration I forgot to take a picture of the mess.) I was trying to get her to help me clean it up, but we had the whole power sturggle going on, and I was starting to get frustrated, and she was getting frustrated. I stopped and thought how can I make this fun. I remembered reading about a lady doing a big slip and slide to have her kids mop the floor. I decided that this is what we were going to do. I swept really good, got a sink full of warm soapy water, and let the kids go to town. The had so much fun, and when they were all done I had them mop up the water with some towels. I don't think my floor has ever looked so clean.
I really learned today that it is all about my aproach in things. I need to try to be more creative about asking for their help instead of being so demanding all the time. That way we can all walk away from the situation so much happier. Wish me luck on this one!

Halloween

2008-11-02T20:57:00.004-05:00

We had a fun Halloween this year. The kids had a great time trick or treating with some neighbor friends. They got a ton of candy that I keep eating. I need to get rid of it before I eat it all.

Wyatt was set on being a dinosaur this year, and McKartnee wanted to be a princess again. We ended up using the same dress from last year because it still fit her. I got Walkers costume back in August on E-bay for $6.00 brand new. It ended up being so much cuter than I thought it was going to be. When he would walk the little tail would go back and forth. He even won the best costume at our ward Halloween party.

Wyatt's Halloween Birthday Party

2008-11-02T20:32:00.002-05:00

This year we are going to be out of town on the weekend of Wyatt's birthday. He kept telling me that he wanted a halloween birthday party, so we decided to have an early birthday party at our house last weekend. We had cousins and a few nieghborhood friends come. It ended up being pretty fun. He was very happy with his gifts, and seemed to have a good time.

This is everybody waiting to open presents.

Wyatt with his cake.

The kids playing dinosaur bingo.

Making their buckets for the pinata

Butler Orchards

2008-10-30T22:20:00.002-04:00

They have so many "pick your own" farms and orchards out here. For some reason, I have never taken the kids to one before. I thought it would be fun to go and pick apples with them, but I waited too long, and missed out on all the apples. We decided to do the pick your own pumpkin instead. We went with some good friends of ours to a fun place called Butler Orchards. They had a corn maze, fun slides, this huge barn full of hay that the kids loved to play in, and some other fun things for the kids. Then we got take a hayride out to a field and pick out our own pumpkins. Wyatt of course wanted the biggest one that he saw, but we finally talked him into a normal sized one. It was a fun day.

Cox Farms

2008-10-30T21:03:00.001-04:00

There is this fun place out here that is called Cox Farms that we go to each year. The kids love it, and there are a ton of fun things to do like a haunted hayride (which isn't too haunted) a corn maze, lots of huge slides, animals, free apples and cider, and they get to pick a pumpkin on the way out. It was even warm for us this year. We had a great time.

Jimmy's mom's Birthday

2008-10-17T13:13:00.000-04:00

Jimmy's mom's birthday was on the 5th, and we all went out to the farm to help her celebrate. The kids just love going out there. There are so many fun things for them to do. We love you Margie, and hope that you had a happy birthday. We appreciate all that you do for us.

McKartnee's Joyschool

2008-10-17T11:16:00.000-04:00

We had McKartnee's little joyschool group at our house last week. We had so much fun learning about the letter B. All four kids are just so cute and had me laughing the whole time at the little things they were saying. McKartnee gets so excited for Teusday's to come, so that she can be a big girl and go to school.

Live for the Moment

2008-10-07T12:44:00.000-04:00

Because of the season difference between the two, this is the first season that Walker is really wearing all of Wyatt's old clothes. As I see Walker in them, it takes me back to when Wyatt was wearing them. It seems like yesterday, and it is hard to believe that four years have passed since Wyatt wore them.
I really loved general conference this weekend. It is always so inspiring. So many of the talks seemed to relate to things that I, or those close to me have been going through. I really felt a message of peace and hope for this crazy world that we live in. I loved President Monson's talk, especially when he talked about how one day we will miss all the messes and finger prints around the house. I have really been reflecting on how fast my kids are growing up lately. Wyatt will be 5 next month, and my baby isn't even a baby any more.
I feel like I get way too caught up in things that don't matter. I get frustrated when I clean the house and turn around and it is a mess again. I sometimes focus too much on my own things (like blog reading), and I don't focus as much as I should on my kids. I am not as patient as I should be, I could go on and on. I really feel like instead of focusing on these things, I need to remember how precious my kids are, and how fast my time with them will go. I feel so blessed for the opportunity that I have to be a mother, and I know that these days won't last forever. It is my goal to live in the moment, and really focus them and their needs. As I find myself getting frustrated, I am going to try to remember that these are the very things that I will miss one day.
I am very grateful that General Conference comes every six months. I always feel so motivated right afterwards, and then so ready for it to come again.

First Day of School

2008-10-01T23:27:00.000-04:00

Yesterday and today were big days for Wyatt and McKartnee. They both started school.
McKartnee started a little joy school yesterday. Last year she had such a hard time with Wyatt going to school, that I knew that she was going to need something this year too. I talked to a few of my friends that have kids the same age. We decided to do a little joy school/play date once a week. It is pretty chill. There are only 4 kids, two boys and two girls. We are just going to focus on learning a letter a week, and do a little learning, but mostly play. She was so excited to go to school. She was so happy all morning, and wanted to get ready first thing. The only problem of the day was when she asked for her backpack. I went in and got Wyatt's old one, because I didn't buy her one. She got a little upset, because it wasn't pink, and she wanted a pink one. I talked her into taking a picture with the blue one on, but she wasn't about to take it to school with her. Even without her back pack, she had a great time.
Wyatt is going to the same preschool that he did last year. I have been so happy with it. The teacher is great. Wyatt loves her. It is through the child development course at the high school, and a lot of the girls in the class are in our ward. Wyatt was so excited to go back today. He got all ready, put his back pack on and wanted to wait outside a half hour before it was time to go. When he got home, I was asking him about his day. I asked him if it was good to see Miss Fin (Miss Finlayson, his teacher), and he said "Yes, she was so happy to see me." It is always so hard to get a lot of info out of him, but I got that they made a puppet of themselves, had cheese balls for snack time, and wrote their names. I can't believe that he is almost 5. When I looked at him today as he was waiting to go to school, he looked so grown up. It just doesn't seem possible. He is such a good kid, and I love watching all of them get so excited for all the firsts. I remember having those same feelings when I was a kid.

Disney on Ice

2008-09-29T00:27:00.001-04:00

McKartnee and I went to Disney on Ice this weekend. It was a lot of fun. My grandparents used to take us every year while growing up, so it was fun to be able to carry on the tradition with her. She really liked it.
I have to write down a couple of funny things that she has said recentley, so that I don't forget them. She has been a little singer lately, and will try to sing every song that she hears, but she never gets the words quite right. The other day, she was trying to sing the Sweet Escape song, and where it says "Take me away, take me away", she was singing "Give me away, throw me away". I was laughing so hard.
Also, Every time that I talk about Utah, she thinks that I am saying "you" tah. Jimmy's cousin was out here this week, and her little girl Annie and McKartnee really hit it off. They were best buddies. Here is one of the conversations we had about her: McKartnee: Mom, can I go to Annie's house? Me: No, Annie lives is Utah, and that is a long ways away. McKartnee: Annie lives in "My" tah? Me: No Utah, by where grandma lives. McKartnee: Oh, can I go to "My"tah and see grandma and Annie? I love the stage that she is in right now. She is such a fun girl, and we love having her around.

Yankee's Stadium

2008-09-25T12:23:00.000-04:00

Jimmy has been wanting to take Wyatt up to a Yankee's game before the stadium gets torn down. This last weekend he got tickets, and him, Wyatt and his dad went up to New York to the game. They had so much fun. They went into the city to look around, and took Wyatt to the big Toys R Us store. That is where they ended up spending most of their time. Once he was there he didn't want to leave. He rode the Ferris Wheel, and even said there was a huge moving dinosaur. He was in Heaven.
Then they went to the game and had a great time. It was a fun grandpa/father/son outing.

Family Home Evening at the Ball Game

2008-09-16T16:04:00.000-04:00

Last night we braved it and took all three kids to the Nationals game. We thought that we would be lucky if we made it to the 5th inning, but the younger two did surprisingly well. Wyatt has been to quite a few games with Jimmy, but we weren't sure how Walker and McKartnee would do. They loved it. Walker was happy clapping, and just looking around at all the lights and people. There was a nice couple sitting behind us that helped entertain them. They even gave McKartnee a ball they got from batting practice, because it was her first game. We left at the beginning of the 7th, but I think they could have lasted the whole game. It was a fun night.

Sweet Water Tavern = YUMMY!!

2008-09-05T20:31:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday night we had a girls night out at the best restaurant in town (in my opinion), the Sweet Water Tavern. Every time that I have gone there, I have loved the food that I got, the service has been amazing, and the desert is to die for. They have these flourless chocolate waffles that are soooo yummy. ( and I wonder why I can't loose the rest of my weight) After we were done eating we just sat there and talked until the waiters were visibly wanting us to leave. Cali, my sister in law, and Kristy have been the greatest friends to me. They have definitely made living out here a lot easier. I am sad because they just split our ward, and Kristy is now in a different ward, and I won't be able to see her each Sunday. I guess that just means we need to have more girls night outs!!

Family Beach Trip

2008-09-01T00:07:00.004-04:00

I am a little behind on posting these, but last week we came home from a week long beach trip with all of Jimmy's family except for Jeff and Chelsie. (We missed you guys)

It was such a fun trip. Jimmy's youngest brother left for school last Monday, and we wanted to do a family vacation before he left. We went up to Bethany beach in Delaware, and stayed in a really nice beach house. There were 21 of us, and we didn't even feel crowded. The kids loved spending time with all of their cousins, and are still going trough withdrawls.

We Celebrated Brandon's, Greg's, Cali's, and Chelsie's birthdays. (even though Chelsie wasn't there)

By the end of the trip, this is how we all felt, although we didn't want it to come to an end.

The Lion King

2008-08-25T22:24:00.000-04:00

The Lion King came to town and we decided to take Wyatt and McKartnee to see it. They absolutely loved it. They are still talking about it. McKartnee keeps telling everybody about how Scar pushed Mufasa off the mountain and made Simba sad. She gets very animated about it. It is pretty funny

Girls Night in Park City

2008-08-13T21:22:00.003-04:00

This past weekend I took a well needed trip to Utah to see my family and friends. One of my best friends from high school is moving to San Diego, and she recentley had a baby, so I decided to just take Walker and go out for the weekend to see them. (I don't think my mom would let me come without any of the grandkids) It was so easy flying with just one kid!!!

The first day I was there, I spent most of the day with my mom, but I was able to meet up with my friend Amy for lunch. Amy is one of my favorite people in the world. I taught her on my mission, and the second I met her, I knew that I had known her before. It had been a long time since I last saw her, so it was so much fun to catch up with her. She is an amazing person!!

Then the next day, I got together with most of my friends from high school, and we went up to Park City. We had such a fun time together. We shopped for hours and hours. It was funny, because it was a "Girls" trip, but we all ended up mostly shopping for our kids. We finally got around to eating dinner at about 9:00 that night. These friends are all like sisters to me. It is so nice to get together with them, because we can always just pick up from where we left off. I am so glad that we have remained close over the years, and feel very blessed to have such wonderful friends in my life. We missed those that couldn't make it. Thanks Tracy for driving up from St George the night before to be there. You are a great friend!!

The next day I flew home. It was a very quick but fun trip. I would have loved to have seen more people, and spent more time with those that Iwas able to see, but we are hoping to make it out there for Christmas. Thanks mom and Tara for watching Walker, and thankyou Tara for letting me use your camera since I am a ditz and forgot mine!!

Rehoboth Beach

2008-07-31T20:18:00.005-04:00

We did a family beach trip this last weekend at Rehoboth Beach in Deleware. It is only about 3 hours away. Wyatt absolutely loved the water this year. He stayed in the ocean almost the whole time we were there. McKartnee loved the water at first, but then she was content just playing in the sand. Little Walker did not like the water at all, but loved the sand. He had it all over. He kept getting on his hands and then would rub his little eyes. Through it all though, he stayed pretty happy.

Here is Wyatt's fu manchu from the foam in the waves.

Here is our little mermaid in the sand. She kept wanting more and more sand on her, and at one point she had so much sand that she couldn't move her legs, and she panicked a little.

This was Walker's first time to the beach. My other kids loved the waves and the water, but he was not having any of it.

They have a Funland on the board walk. It was just as big of a hit as the beach itself was.

Thumbs up!

McKartnee's version of tumbs up.

Jimmy's brother and his family were there too, (we kindof crashed their party) so we met up with them at the beach and had a great time.

We only end up going to the beach a couple of times each year, and with it being so close we keep saying that we are going to go more. Hopefully we can and will. While it is not as relaxing as it used to be before kids, it is still one of my favorite places to be.

Wyatt got tagged

2008-07-29T15:28:00.003-04:00

Wyatts cousin Macey tagged him.

Mommy tag

This is Wyatt answering questions about Mom.

1.What is something Mommy always says? I Love you
2. What makes Mommy happy? kisses
3. What makes Mommy sad? When we fight
4. How does your Mom make you laugh? by tickling me
5. What was your Mom like as a child? a little girl
6. How old is your Mom? 22 (good boy)
7. How tall is your Mom? 32
8. What is your Mom's favorite thing to do? play with me and Kartnee
9. What does Mom do when your not around? I can't answer that question
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? for kids
11. What is your Mom really good at? working on the computer like youre doing right now.
12. What is your Mom not good at? building tree houses (Not that I have ever tried, but I'm sure he's right)
13. What does Mom do for her job? make food for everybody
14. What is Mom's favorite food? salad
15. What makes you proud of your Mom? doing good stuff
16. If your Mom were a carton character who would she be? herself
17. What do you and your Mom do together? play
18. How are you and your Mom the same? both people
19. How are you and your Mom different? I'm a boy and youre a girl
20. How do you know your Mom loves you?when we don't fight
Pretty cute!! Now I tag Cannon, Landon, Lincoln, and Tyse

Party at the park

2008-07-21T22:19:00.004-04:00

A couple of my friends in my ward had babies at the same time that I did. We decided that it would be fun to throw them a little party to celebrate them turning one. The three of them were all born within two weeks of each other. We decided to go to a fun park nearby. We ate cupcakes and let the kids run around and have a good time.

This park also has a merry-go-round that runs for free on the weekdays. I think Wyatt rode on it alteast six times in a row. I rode on it once with Walker and McKartnee and that was enough for me.

My friend Tara got a Beco baby carrier. When I went to her house to visit teach her, I saw it sitting there and thought that it looked cute. When I asked her about it, she had me try it on with Walker. I was sold. I had to get one. I was still using the Baby Bjorn, but Walker is just getting too heavy. I was always sore after wearing him for too long. This one really distributes the weight well. I feel it on my hips instead of in my back. It was a little pricey,but well worth it. I love it.

Walkers First Birthday

2008-07-20T21:24:00.005-04:00

Walker turned one last Monday. It is hard to believe that it has already been a year . We had a very simple family party for him on Sunday. As you can see in the pictures, he was more interested in the dog than his presents at first. He wasn't very interested in the cake at first either. The older cousins and Wyatt wanted him to dig in, so they decided to show him how it was done.

He is at such a fun stage right now, and is learning a lot. I absolutely love this stage! He says mama, dada, uh-uh for uh-oh, and the sweetest one is Je Je for Jesus. We have officially hit the hall duty stage of church, and when he is fussy, I try to distract him with the pictures on the wall. I always point out Jesus, and now every time we walk by a picture whether it is a Jesus picture or not, he says Je Je. He loves to play catch, and I have to say for his age he has a pretty good little arm on him. (he gets that from dad) He also loves any car that he can push around. He is such a sweet little guy, and some of my favorite times of the day are when I go to get him out of his crib in the morning or after his naps. Right when I walk in the door, his little face lights up and he gives me the biggest smile. We are so lucky to have him in our family. Happy birthday little man! We love you!

Camping

2008-07-15T21:52:00.003-04:00

Last weekend we went camping. We went to a park called Burke Lake Park. It was such a fun place to go. There is a huge lake to fish in, campgrounds, playgrounds, a train that goes through the park, and a Merry-go-round. The kids loved it. The highlight of the trip for Wyatt was soon after we got there, he caught a frog. Nothing could make him happier. The kids all slept well, and we had a great time. We hope to go many more times this summer.

Memories

2008-07-10T23:17:00.003-04:00

I swore that I would never do a tag again, but I thought that this one would be fun to look back on memories. Here are the rules:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Nana

2008-07-09T00:06:00.001-04:00

Jimmy's grandma (nana) came to town for Jeffy's reception, and all his cousins came to visit. It was so much fun having her here. She is so much fun to be around, and is knowledgable about everything. Nana is one of those people that is nice to everybody that she meets. She is good at everything that she does, and she is so stylish and fun. It is fun to listen to all of her experiences. She was telling us about how much life has changed in her lifetime. She has lived from horse and buggy times up until now. We really take so much for granted and have it easy compared to what people used to have to do. Talking to her made me really miss my own grandparents. One of my favorite things used to be visiting with them and listening to thier stories from when they were growing up. It is so neat to have such wonderful people to look up to and learn from. I wish that I could have a tape recorder and record all of their experiences to have them forever.

Chelsie and Jeff's Reception

2008-07-08T22:51:00.005-04:00

Jimmy's Brother Jeff just got married on June 26 out in Utah. They had a reception out here this last weekend. It was so much fun to have everybody get together. They are the cutest couple, and we are so happy that they found each other. Chelsie is such a great girl, and we are very excited to have her in our family.

Their reception was a ton of fun. It was out at Jimmy's parents farm. They have been hard at work trying to get the place looking nice, and it looked beautiful when they were done. They decorated the big barn and it looked like a different place.

There was tons of yummy food, good company, and fun dancing. Wyatt got to dance his first dance with a girl (besides mom). It was such a hot and humid day, that even with the air conditioning we were all sweating. McKartnee had the perfect solution. At the end of the night, she decided to jump in the ice bin. It was a fun night for all of us.

4th of July Pancake Breakfast

2008-07-08T22:14:00.000-04:00

On the 4th of July, our ward has an anual pancake breakfast that we went to. It was a fun day. It started out with breakfast, and then all of the primary kids brought their decorated bikes and paraded around the park. After that there was a softball game that Jimmy and all his brothers played in while the rest of us just visited.
That afternoon we had a fun picnic at a friends house, and then did fireworks that night. Overall it was a great day.

Build-a-Bear

2008-07-06T14:37:00.000-04:00

McKartnee has been doing such a good job with potty training. We have a sticker chart that she gets to put a sticker on every time that she goes. We told her that when she gets the chart full, she would get a special surprise. We decided to take her to build-a-bear, because she loves stuffed animals so much. She was in heaven. She knew right what she wanted the second she saw the pink leopard, and thought it was so cool that she got to put the heart inside all by herself. She took alot of time giving it a bath to make sure she was all nice and clean. Now she carries it around with her everywhere. Lucy leopard is her new best friend

Nationals Game

2008-07-02T00:14:00.000-04:00

Last Monday night Jimmy's brother Jordan watched the kids while Jimmy and I went to the Nationals game. We had so much fun. It was raining super hard when we left, so we thought that the game might get canceled, but we decided to go anyways. When we got there the game was delayed for an hour, so we just walked around the new stadium and looked around for a while. When we got to the opposite side of the stadium from where we were sitting, there was one of the most beautiful double rainbows I have ever seen. This cell phone picture does not do it justice. It was so bright and vibrant, and you could see the entire arch of both rainbows. This shot was cool though because it looked like it was going right into the nationals logo on the score board. The nationals ended up loosing the game, but it was still fun to be there.

Back at home, Wyatt was misbehaving so Jordan made him sleep in the closet. J/K . Jordan had put Wyatt and McKartnee down to bed first, and Walker was having a tough time, so he kept him up for a little bit until he was more tired. When he went to put Walker in his crib, he couldn't find Wyatt anywhere. He wasn't in his bed. While Jordan was looking for him, he heard a rustling coming from our room, and he found Wyatt asleep in our closet. I asked Wyatt the next morning why he was in the closet, and he said that he wanted to see us when we got home and went in our room. Funny boy. Thanks Jo for watching the kids, you are the greatest!

My Super Boys!

2008-06-26T12:26:00.000-04:00

Only My Hubby!!

2008-06-25T22:05:00.000-04:00

We have had these bushes in our front yard that were probably as old as our house is, and had never been pruned or shaped at all. They were beautiful for a couple of weeks in the spring when they would bloom, but for the rest of the year they just looked like over grown misshaped bushes. We have been talking about taking them out for a while now. On Saturday Jimmy woke up and said that he was going to take them out. I was thinking it was going to be an all day thing to dig 4 huge old bushes out, but I totally underestimated my husband. He said that he was going to the store, and he would be back. He came home with a tow rope, and started watering down the ground around the bushes. Next thing I know, he is hooking one end of the tow rope around the base of the bushes. He hooked the other end up the his car, and pulled the bushes right out. I was laughing so hard, and we got some pretty funny looks from our neighbors and from people driving by, but what could have taken all day only ended up taking about an hour. Jimmy is always good at finding faster methods of getting things done.

Exciting Updates

2008-06-22T21:59:00.002-04:00

McKartnee updates: So you all know how I have tried a couple of times to potty train McKartnee with no luck at all. She was so not interested. Our cousin Emily told us that her little girl was just as stubborn about it until one day out of the blue she decided she wasn't going to wear diapers anymore, and from that day on she was potty trained. It just had to be her idea.

Well, yesterday Wyatt went hometeaching with Jimmy, and Walker was taking a nap. I turned on a show for McKartnee, and I was in the kitchen getting some food ready for a BBQ. McKartnee comes running into the kitchen stark naked and says mommy I went poo poo. Afraid of having to clean up another poop mess I asked her wear. She took me into to the bathroom, and much to my surprise she had gone in the potty, and was so proud of herself. I tried to make a huge deal about it. She called my mom and Jimmy's parents, she got a princess sticker on her chart, and got a treat. About and hour later, she came out and said I went pee pee. She had done the same thing without me even having to ask her. We had a BBQ we were going to, so I had to put a diaper on her for that, but first thing this morning she said she wanted her panties on. We haven't had any accidents yet, but it is only noon, so I am sure we will have one at some point today. Wish me luck with this one!!

Walker updates I can't believe that he is going to be one next month. The time has gone by so fast. He is at such a fun stage, but I am just wanting him to stay little. He is growing way too fast. He is starting to walk, he takes about 5 steps and then falls down, but he is starting to get it. He also says "yay" , and claps his hands. It is very cute. His front teeth finally came through, and he hasn't had any major accidents since the last post. (I probably just jinxed him)

Wyatt udates: He is at an age where he really needs interaction with other kids. He constantly wants friends over. Right when one friend goes home he is asking for another to come. He is starting to be such a good helper around the house, which is a big help to me.

We are all loving summer and going to the pool almost every day.

Happy Fathers Day!!

2008-06-15T15:40:00.004-04:00

I just wanted to say Happy Fathers Day to the best dad and husband ever.

Growing up without a father being part of my own life, one of the most important things that I looked for in a future husband was somebody that was going to be a good father to my future kids. I feel so blessed to have found the wonderful man that I did. He seriously is everything that I had hoped for and more.

Here are some of my favorite things about Jimmy. I love that he is such a hands on dad. He loves being a part of the kids lives, and makes spending time with them his top priority. I love watching him wrestle and play with them. I love watching him patiently teach Wyatt how to throw a ball, or ride his bike. I love watching him tell stories to the kids. I love and appreciate how much he helps me out with them. He is always willing to get up in the night, change stinky diapers, let me have a girls night out. or anything else that I ask him to do. I love that everytime I am home with the kids and Walker starts crying, McKartnee looks at me and says "I think he wants his daddy"

Babe you are a great daddy and a great husband and I feel so blessed to have you in our lives. Thanks for all you do for us. I hope you had a happy fathers day!!

Poor Little Walker

2008-06-05T13:42:00.001-04:00

My poor little guy has had the hardest week. First, his front two teeth have been trying to come in for weeks now. The gums are so swollen and sore. He has been a little trooper. While he has been a little more fussy than normal, he still tries so hard to be happy. Today they finally look like they are cutting through. Yeah for him!
On Sunday he was crawling around, and he crawled in our room. He does this a lot because he loves to stand up and talk to himself in our mirror. It is very cute. I thought we had things pretty baby proofed, but he ended up pulling himself up on our dresser using the cord to the alarm clock. He pulled it right down onto his little nose. I don't think the whole thing landed on him. From the little scratch on his nose it looked like it must have just bumped him as it was falling. Thank goodness he didn't get hurt worse!
Well, if those two things weren't enough, on Tuesday, I had to run to the beauty supply store to get some things for Young Womens. I never take my kids there, because it is just to tempting for them to touch and knock down all of the little hair products that are just in their reach. Jimmy was out of town, so this time I had no choice. I put Walker in the cart, and the other two were doing a pretty good job of staying by me. I pushed the cart forward just a little, not even two feet, so that I could see what I needed to get. Sometimes in the grocery store or Target where they have the big carts, Walker will sit in the front Mckartnee will sit down in the big part, and Wyatt will stand on the bar in the front, and I will push all of them. Well I think that is what Wyatt tried to do, only they had the small little carts. As he stood on the bar, the whole cart flipped over, and Walker landed on his forehead on the floor. It happened so fast that by the time I tried to grab the cart, he had already hit the floor. I felt so bad. Walker was screaming, Wyatt felt so bad that he was crying, we had the ladies that worked there frantically trying to help us. I'm sure that everybody else in the store was thinking "What kind of a mother are you". Trust me I was asking myself the same question. I kept Walker awake for a couple of hours and really watched his eyes, and thankfully he was OK. That was pretty traumatic for all of us. I am just so glad that he didn't get any bad injuries from it.
If you look in the pictures, you can see a big bruise on the top left side of his forehead, and a little scratch on his nose. With everything that happens to kids, it is amazing that they make it to adulthood. Hopefully we will be so lucky!!

Wyatt's Preschool Graduation

2008-05-31T10:57:00.007-04:00

Wyatt had his preschool graduation on Thursday. He was so excited. When he was up on stage, he just couldn't stop smiling.
They all stood up and said the pledge of allegiance, and sang some songs that they had learned. Then the teachers stood up and said what each child was remembered by. Wyatt and his friend Benjamin were remembered as the dynamic duo that was never separated. Wyatt was also remembered by his funky hairdo's. (I guess that's what you get when your mom is a hair stylist right?)
After that they walked across the stage to get their little diploma's. It was very cute.
I was very happy with his preschool. The girls all were so good with the kids. I am glad he will be doing it again next year, but I am sad that his little best friend will be going to kindergarten.

McLean Day / Memorial Day

2008-05-31T10:35:00.000-04:00

I am so far behind in blogging. I have been a real slacker lately. The weekend before last was McLean Day. While it was nothing like Payson Onion Days, it was still fun, and the kids had a great day. We didn't take many pictures, but they rode on the merry-go-round several times, they did the pony rides, and Wyatt even won a goldfish. He named his fish Lava Gills, and was really into him for the first couple of days. The fish started turning brown, and wasn't looking too hot, so I flushed him down the toilet before we had a dead fish to deal with. Luckily he hasn't even noticed.
For Mem orial Day, it is a tradition for all of Jimmy's family to go to Kings Dominion. It was such a fun day, but I am a big loser and forgot my camera. Wyatt was tall enough this year to go on a couple of the big rides. He loved them. He would just giggle the whole time. It was very cute. McKartnee hated the rides that went up high. I think she may be afraid of heights, but she loved these big monster trucks that went around a big track. One of the many times that she went on it, I couldn't see her in any of the trucks. There was one truck that all you could see was a big hat, but I didn't think it was her, because she didn't have a hat. Well it turned out to be her. She had found a hat in the truck and put it on, but it covered up her whole face. She didn't seem to mind.
This was the first year that I wasn't pregnant or with a newborn, so I was even able to ride some of the rides. It was great.
I have to tell a story about Wyatt that happened while we were there. Wyatt has always been a little headstrung, he knows what he wants, and he goes after it.. This makes things difficult a lot of times because he wont take no for an answer. While we were there, his two girl cousins went into the girls bathroom by themselves(because the one is older), so he was determined that he was going into the boys bathroom by himself. We ended up playing tug of war, and he was getting very upset. I kneeled down to explain to him why he couldn't go in by himself, and as I was talking, he said "Blah-blah, blah-blah, blah-blah". I was so shocked and mad!! I didn't even know what to say. He felt bad after, but said that he couldn't remember where he heard it. He is 4 years old, not 8 or 9. He was lucky we were at the park, or he would still be in his room today.

Wyatt's Missionary Call

2008-05-29T18:34:00.001-04:00

Our ward did a cute little primary activity where they sent out mission calls to the kids. Wyatt got called to Germany. They reported to the church on Saturday morning, where they had a pretend learning center, a pretend airplane where they flew to their different countries, they even had a mission president and his wife. They taught them all about being a missionary. The kids all loved it. We have the most creative primary president. I love her. She always has the cutest ideas, and is so good with the kids. Wyatt was so proud to be a missionary for the day.

Just For Laughs

2008-05-13T14:04:00.001-04:00

I thought this was too funny!

WARNING: THIS BLOG HAS BEEN HIJACKED:

2008-05-11T00:15:00.002-04:00

Mom,

This is your son Walker, I hope the title of this entry or the fact I am writing already did not startle you. I just wanted to get your attention. I had a rough night of sleep last night and decided to hop on the computer while you and dad were still sleeping. I see you on this blog thing occasionally looking at pictures and reading stories. I have even seen you laughing and giggling as you look through pictures and videos of me. I may never understand what is so funny about an innocent little 10 month old boy tasting a lemon.

Anyways, bet you never thought I had blogging skills did you. I have months of observation experience from my floor view, truthfully I could have written something like this months ago. Hey, a kids gotta pick up something with all that time…. you should see me drive.

Mom, the purpose of this entry is to warn you. There have been some strange things going on around here the past couple of days. I need to trust you that this information will not leave this blog.

Ok…. I caught Wyatt and Kartnee red-handed yesterday morning scheming up some type of plan of action, maybe a revolt at dinner time tonight or something. Now I have no idea what the plan involves, I simply wanted to fill you in. I feel it is my duty as the youngest in the family to report these kinds of things. Fine, I was part of it too, ENJOY!

P.S. Sorry for the grammatical errors, dad must have not been a good speller either, must run in the genes.

Wyatt: "I Feel Something Inside"

2008-05-05T16:37:00.004-04:00

We had a great, fun filled weekend with family. Jimmy's sister Kim just had a baby last month, and they came down here this weekend from New York to bless baby Brady. He is such a cute little guy, and he received a very sweet blessing. We love when they come down. They are so much fun to be around, and the kids all have so much fun together.
During fast and testimony meeting, we had a lot of family stand up to bear their testimonies. Both of Jimmy's parents did, Kim did, and his little brother Justin did. Wyatt was listening more intently than he does on other weeks. He leaned over to Jimmy and asked what a testimony was. While Jimmy was telling him, he said "Dad I feel something inside" Jimmy explained that it was the spirit telling him the church was true. He asked if he could go up and bear his testimony. Now I know that we are asked to not have our kids go up if they still need help, but after that, how can you say no. He was so proud going up there, and he did a great job. It is moments like this that really melt my heart as a mom.

Pet Day at Reston Town Center

2008-05-04T15:21:00.002-04:00

2008-05-04T14:48:00.002-04:00

They had "Pet Day" out at the Reston Town Center Mall. It is an outdoor mall, and everybody could bring their pets on leashes. They had concerts going on, face paintings, and all different tents set up with pet supplies, and information about pets.
My kids thought that it was the coolest thing ever. They were in heaven. They seriously ran from dog to dog petting each one. They had no fear at all, and some of the dogs they played with were just as big if not bigger than they were. Wyatt loves dalmations, and was so excited when he finally saw one. He ran right up to it, and it gave him a big slobbery kiss on the face. It was pretty funny.
I have to say that I almost wanted a dog after leaving. There was the cutest baby sharpee. I was really glad that it wasn't for sale, because it was so cute that I probably would have bought it, and then had buyers remorse this morning.
Before we left we let the kids get their face painted. I thought that there was no way McKartnee would sit still long enough to get it done, but she did great. They turned out really cute. Wyatt was a dinosaur, and McKartnee was a butterfly.
We had a fun filled day.

What Are The Chances?

2008-05-01T15:03:00.002-04:00

My kids have had way too much energy lately! They are bouncing off the walls. McKartnee is also at the stage of trying to give up her nap. On the days that I make her take her nap, she won't go to sleep until around 10:30, and when she doesn't take one, she falls asleep right when her head hits the pillow, but she is also cranky-bo-panky all evening!
I have been trying to get them out of the house to do more things, because when I don't, it just turns to them arguing here at home, and then none of us are happy. Today we got up and I checked the weather, and it said: partly cloudy, with a high of 67, and a 20 percent chance of rain. We decided that we would go to Great Falls Park, have a picnic and do a scavenger hunt. We made our list of things we would find, drew the pictures, and then colored them. We packed up and took off. It wasn't super warm out, but with jackets on we would be fine. Well, I start driving up the road, and it starts sprinkling. I thought with a 20 percent chance, it would just sprinkle a little bit and then be gone, so we went up to the park (a 20 minute drive). We decided to eat in the car and see if the rain would stop, but 40 minutes later it was still raining. I should have been a good mom and still let them still do the scavenger hunt in the rain, but instead I brought two sad kids home, and now it is on the agenda for tomorrow, and hopefully it won't rain. Now it is an hour later, it is sunny and warm outside. What are the chances right? That is just my luck!

Is Anybody Else Disapointed????

2008-04-29T09:12:00.002-04:00

OK, I probably sound like a TV junkie, but really I am not. We watch three shows. American Idol, Lost and the Office.
The Office is one of my all time favorite shows. I love it, but I have to say that this season has been a little disappointing to me. You would think that with the writers strike, they would have had time to come up with some really great ideas, but it looks as if they just took a long vacation. Well it is time to clean out the cobwebs, and start making us laugh again! There have been a few things that have really bothered me.
1. There is a reason it is called "The Office", so lets keep the show filmed there. Not Michael Scott's house, or Dance clubs/Ryan's apartment.
2. Speaking of Ryan, he just needs to go away. He is so not funny, and is a horrible actor, and this new storyline of him on drugs is lame.
3. Get off the topic of SEX! It seems like they are trying to make it just like all the other shows out there, by adding all the garbage. NEWSFLASH: It doesn't need it!! It is more funny without it.
On a happier note, I love the Jim and Pam story line, and I loved the second episode of the season because of that, but the other two episodes have been a disappointment for me. There have been some funny things, but not the typical Office, that has me rolling from beginning to end.
Is anybody else with me on this one?

I Have The Greatest Hubby!!

2008-04-28T10:35:00.000-04:00

For my birthday this weekend Jimmy took me overnight to a hotel about 20 minutes from our house, while his mom stayed with the kids. (Thanks again Margie for doing that for us) It was so nice to be able to sleep all through the night, and to be able to sleep in a little bit in the next morning. We were right by an outside shopping mall, so we walked around and shopped a little bit the next morning before going home. Anybody who knows Jimmy knows that he hates shopping, but he was so patient and sweet to go along with me that day.
He got me the xbox version of American Idol, which is such a fun game to play. We stayed up until 1:00 playing it, and laughing our heads off. If you have never played it, I definitely suggest it.
That night I had to make cinnamon rolls for Young Women's in Excellence, so he got all of the kids ready and put them to bed by himself. (even while the NFL draft was going on). Tonight he is taking me to the Colbie Collait concert, which I am very excited about.
Thanks babe for making my birthday great, and for being who you are. I am so lucky to have you in my life!

Yet another "2" moment

2008-04-24T14:47:00.000-04:00

A couple of my friends have been blogging about their daughters that are younger than McKartnee. They are already showing interest in, and are successfully being potty trained. I have been very impressed, because Mckartnee has no interest in being potty trained at all. The only time that I can get her to sit on the potty is when she gets in the tub, and even at that it is for like two seconds. I always try to make it fun, and reward her, but still no interest. I haven't wanted to force her and make it a negative experience, so I have been fine with just waiting until she shows more signs of being ready.
Well, I am now really hoping that this will be soon. She is at the stage where she does not want to keep her clothes on. She probably changes her clothes 5 times a day. If she takes her pants off she always takes her diaper off too, which she thinks is hilarious. She always says "Look mom, I naked". I keep explaining to her that if she doesn't want to wear her diaper anymore, she needs to learn to go potty in the big girl potty. Until then she has to keep her diaper on. Each time that she takes it off, I ask her "do you have to go potty?" She will say no, so I will always put her diaper and her clothes back on. This morning we went through the whole routine again. When she said that she didn't have to go potty, I went to get her diaper. She ran and hid in my closet (her favorite hiding place) and peed on the floor. Grrrrrrrr!! I have the feeling that it is not going to be an easy feat to potty train this girl.

Bugs Bugs Bugs.

2008-04-22T14:06:00.002-04:00

So anybody that has been to Virginia in the summer months knows that we have an over abundance in bugs! Also anybody who knows me very well knows that I really do not like bugs at all. In fact some of them really freak me out.
My kids on the other hand love bugs and have no fear of them whatsoever (they get that from Jimmy). Last year Wyatt loved bugs a little too much, and didn't know quite when to stop with them. Especially worms. He would carry them around in his hand for a long, long time, and then he would get mad at them when they would no longer move.
My friend Amber did a Family Home Evening where they made bugs out of fruit. I thought that this would be a fun thing to do after teaching the kids to be nice to the bugs, ie. not pull their wings and legs off, not smash the life out of the worms etc. (Thanks for the idea Amber)
The kids loved it, and had such a fun time making their own bugs. Unfortunately it is all coming back to get me now. Every time that I see a big creepy bug in my house I calmly go and get a paper towel to dispose of it. If Wyatt is anywhere near, he always says "No mom, we have to be nice to the bugs remember". Then I end up having to softly pick the bug up with the paper towel and put it back outside, knowing dang well he will make his way right back into my house. I guess kids really teach us to practice what we preach!

Vent Session

2008-04-22T11:04:00.002-04:00

Does anybody else hate when people tell you they will be at your house between such and such times, so you wait, putting everything off that needs to be done, in hopes that they will actually show up??
Our A/C went out last week, the hottest week of the year so far (my luck). The soonest they could come to look at it was today. I set up for them to come this morning. They said that they would be here between 9 and 11 . I usually shower when Walker goes down for his morning nap, but didn't this morning thinking they might actually show up when they said that they would. I should know better! It is now 11:20, I am not even ready for the day, and still no a/c man!!!

Grandma Came To Town

2008-04-16T16:56:00.002-04:00

Last week my mom, sister and brother came to visit us. We were so excited to have them come. We had a great time while they were here. The kids were in heaven, and got spoiled rotten. They were only here for four days, but we had great weather, and were able to do a lot of fun things.
We went into DC to see the cherry blossoms, and all of the monuments, went to the circus, went back to DC to see different museums, went to a Braves/Nationals game (luckily the Braves won), and went to Mount Vernon.
It is hard at times to live so far away from our friends and family, so it was so nice to have them come. We were sad when the week came to an end. Thanks for coming guys we sure had a fun time.
Any of you are welcome to come and visit any time, we love having company!! There is so much to do out here, and most of it for free.

2008-04-16T16:55:00.002-04:00

From the mouth of Babes

2008-04-05T14:51:00.004-04:00

As I am using my blog in place of a journal for the most part, I want to start remembering some of the things that my kids say and do that make me laugh.
I will start with just a few of the things that Wyatt said as he was just learning to talk that had us rolling. He used F in place of some of his other letters. He called smartees "farties". All of Jimmy's brothers loved that one. We have a creek that we like to walk down to by our house, and he would always say "I want to go to the freak". He loved lollipops during this time, and I had to be very careful to call them lollipops. Every time I heard somebody say sucker I would cringe in fear of what he would call it. Luckily he stuck with lollipop.
McKartnee loves the song Santa Clause is coming to town. She is still singing it every day. She always says "You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm telling you Wyatt." I think she seriously thinks that song was written for her brother. It is pretty cute.
Jimmy when he was younger used to always call the National Monument a pencil, because he thought it looked like one. He has told our kids that, and the other day when we were driving into DC, Wyatt said very excitedly " Mom I see it, I see it, I see Pennsylvania."
I dropped my kids off at one of my friends houses last week to have a play date while I ran errands. When I came back McKartnee kept saying "Mom, I scared of the Germans" I kept trying to figure out what she was saying, but that was all that I heard. Finally I said "show mommy". She took me into her friends room and showed me her pet Gerbils.
I love kids and the funny things that they say as they are learning to express themselves. Although I work with them to say things the right way, it always makes me sad when they actually start doing it.

April Fools Jokes

2008-04-02T13:11:00.002-04:00

Ok, so yesterday as I was reading on the internet for ideas of a joke to play on Jimmy, I read one that was so funny that I couldn't stop laughing. I thought I would share it with you.
There were these two guys driving somewhere at night, and the passenger fell asleep. The driver pulled into one of the truck rest stops. and pulled right in front of a parked semi with it's lights on. He put the car in park, and then started screaming " Oh my gosh, we are going to die". His friend woke up and literally wet his pants he was so scared.
That is a little mean, but hilarious. I don't know why, but I love to see people get scared. Jimmy and I used to watch a show called scare tactics, and it is so funny to see how people react when they are scared.
I didn't come up with anything original yesterday, but I did get Jimmy pretty good. First I put a rubber band around the sprayer in the sink, and when he turned it on it got him all wet. Then he left it on, and I forgot about it so when I went to make dinner, it backfired and I sprayed myself.
Then, last night I did a pregnancy test. It only had one line on it, and was totally negative, but Jimmy doesn't know the difference. I brought it out and showed him. He look at it and said "does this mean you are pregnant?" I told him that it did. He started to get excited, and then as he thought about it he said "No, this is an April Fools joke, you are much too calm for this to be real." My husband knows me well. I had him going for a minute though.
How about you guys, did anybody do any fun jokes for April Fools Day?

Nationals Game

2008-03-31T14:54:00.002-04:00

The Nationals just built a brand new stadium. Jimmy has been so excited for it to open. It is located right across the street from where he works, so he has been able to watch the whole process of it being built from the beginning.
He has looked forward to taking Wyatt to the Opening day game since the day he found out it was being built. He bought part of a season ticket package that included the opening day game. They ended up adding a game making the opening day fall on a Sunday. He debated still going, but just felt like it wasn't worth it. (all on his own, I didn't say a word) He never complained, but I knew that he was a little disappointed that he wouldn't be able to take Wyatt.
Well, they just happened to schedule an exhibition game the night before opening day between the Orioles and the Nationals. It wasn't opening day, but it was the first game ever played in the stadium. He got tickets, and Wyatt and he had a great time. They even went early so they could see batting practice, and Wyatt was given three balls from different players that they autographed for him. Wyatt keeps telling everybody that he went to the first baseball game ever.
I am so glad to have a husband that is such an example to me! He always puts the lord first. I am not in any way saying that I would look down on anybody that would have gone, because I hope that I myself, would be able to make the right decision if something was that important to me. I am just grateful that my kids and I have him to look up to. He is such a strength in my life, and I am very lucky to have him!

Incredible is Incredible!

2008-03-27T21:29:00.001-04:00

This little bottle is one of the best investments I have ever made! After McKartnee's little lipstick episode, one of my friends recommended that I try this. I am so glad that she did. Not only did it get the lipstick out with no effort at all, but after some effort, it got two red gatorade spots that I have tried everything on to get them out.
Later that same day, I somehow managed to get this lovely ring of grease on one of my favorite shirts. I thought to myself "Oh great, there goes that shirt", and then I remembered I had a bottle of incredible sitting on my counter. This was the test. It worked on carpet, but can it get a solid grease stain out of my favorite shirt??? The answer is yes. I am now a believer in Incredible.
It is only $4.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond, and you better believe that I am going back to get two more bottles for backup.
I would definitely suggest this for anybody that has a two year old, or kids of any age for that matter.
Thanks Arielle for the suggestion!

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T21:16:00.002-04:00

2008-03-23T14:46:00.003-04:00

I hope that all of you had a great Easter. Ours was a lot of fun. I love to watch the kids get excited. It always makes me feel like a kid again. This week we did some fun Easter activities. We made Easter egg sidewalk chalk. This was so easy, and my kids loved it. You just use plaster of paris, water, and tempera paint, put it in the plastic Easter eggs, and let it dry. Then you have hours of fun for the sidewalk, trampoline, each other, you name it. We also made a Easter Bunny cake, and then we did all the regular Easter stuff like decorating eggs, Easter egg hunt with the cousins, searched for the hidden Easter baskets this morning, and then had Easter dinner at Jimmy's parents house. Overall it was a great day. I hope yours was too.

Cute Hats and Other Stuff

2008-03-23T13:47:00.000-04:00

This is a shoutout for my cute friend Angie who makes and sales these adorable little hats. She has some for boys and some for girls. I have absolutely loved McKartnee's. It is great for when I have to run out the door to take Wyatt to school, and don't have time to do her hair. She makes other cute stuff too. Take a look at her blog. It Baby Fab Accessories, and you can get to it under my favorite sites.

Watch This Video!!

2008-03-13T09:06:00.003-04:00

I have a friend who lost her sweet little boy almost two years ago, when he fell from their living room window. She made a touching video in his honor, in hopes that another child's life may be saved. I can't imagine going through what she has, and I really admire her strength, and the fact that she is speaking out to save others from the same pain she has gone through. I e-mailed this out to, so sorry if this is a repeat, but I don't have everybody's e-mail address, and I wanted everybody to have the chance to see this. Here is her post from her blog with the info:

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

In Loving Memory of James

The countdown is on to James' 2nd anniversary. I can hardly believe that in 40 days it will be 2 years since my beautiful boy graced this earth with his presence. I have created this you tube video in memory of him. If I could ask my fellow bloggers to get the word out to view it and comment on it, it would mean so much to me that James is somehow being remembered, and that maybe I can do some good from the tragedy we have suffered. Here is the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MJfgmZuE1I

Thanks everyone, I appreciate it. Much love and appreciation.

Michelle
xxxxxxx

ps. Don't forget to rank it and comment on You Tube, it will help it move up in the ranks so it will be viewed by more people. Thanks and much love.

Mug Shots

2008-03-12T10:53:00.001-04:00

Hey Arielle, remember when you said that you didn't believe me that McKartnee could be naughty? Well, is this proof enough for you? LOL
I called my sister-in-law this morning to ask her a question. We talked for maybe 5 minutes. I had the TV on in my bedroom, and I thought that was why McKartnee was being so good and quiet. I should have learned by now, that if she is quiet for any length of time, she is into something.
When I walked into my room after I got off the phone, I took a huge gasp of air in shock, and then just busted out laughing. I ran to get the camera, and when I got back in the room, she was hiding in my closet. Needless to say, I have lipstick all over my house, on the walls, mirror, carpet, on every makeup brush I own, on everything she touched in my closet, and there is a sweet ring in the tub from bathing her.
Notice how she got the lipstick EVERYWHERE but her lips. Thanks McKatnee, I needed a good laugh this morning!

Idol Chat: Who is Going Home?

2008-03-12T08:52:00.003-04:00

First off, let me scratch everything that I said about Chikezie last week. He was awesome, and so fun to watch. Where did that come from? Maybe he heard what I said about him last week, so he stepped up to par. J/K. If he keeps this up, I am glad that he stayed.
Poor little David A totally messed up. That was not my favorite performance of his, but come on, there is no way he is going home.
My favorites based on last night's performances were Brooke and Carly for the girls, and Jason and Michael for the boys (even though the judges kind of trashed both of them)
My prediction on who is going home this week is David H for the boys. I wish I could say Amanda for the girls, but I don't think we will be so lucky. I think it will be Kristy Cook. She is darling, but I agree with the judges, the song just didn't work for me. Good for her for trying though.
Let me know your predictions.

2008-03-10T14:27:00.002-04:00

I saw this on my friend Kyle's blog, and thought it was pretty fun. I found out how my knowledge lacks in both areas, but especially on the countries. My mind froze. When I saw the results, I saw that I missed some pretty obvious ones. Oh well, it is all in fun. If you take the tests post your scores in the comments, so we can all see how well you did. Good luck and have fun.

62

Seven Random Things About Me

2008-03-08T23:02:00.003-05:00

OK, so I have been tagged again. I always feel bad if I am specifically named, and then I don't do it, so sorry if you are sick of hearing things about me.

1. I love to be sore after a workout. I guess it makes me feel like I accomplished something.

2. I love raspy voices, and I remember in high school when my friends were horse, I would drink out of their drink in hopes that I would get a horse voice too.

3. I have super dry skin. This came in handy when I was young because my face never broke out very much, but now I am already seeing the wrinkles, and my knuckles get so dry they crack. I try to keep lotion on, but end up washing my hands too often to let it work.

4. I like to eat my steak pretty rare. It grosses Jimmy out. I usually order medium, or even medium rare.

5. I only wash my hair every 3-4 days. I can get away with wearing it down for two days and then after that it is usually pulled back. If it is super bad, I just braid it and throw a hat on. It is sad but true, those are the days that I get the most compliments. Getting ready is over rated.

6. I cry way to easily in movies. I used to make fun of my mom growing up, and now I am almost as bad as her. Not quite though, she even cries in Bambi.

7. I have a bad habit of making things worse when trying to help. I will give you two examples. First my friends husband was dying of cancer, so we planned a girls night out. I asked everyone what movies sounded good, and they suggested Just Like Heaven. Me not researching what the movie was even about (as if the title wouldn't give it away) got the tickets. My poor friend during the hospital scenes was sobbing. I felt terrible. Next I have another friend that is going through a brutal divorce right now. Her husband cheated on her and left her with three kids. I thought she could use a girls night out, so we decided to go to nanny diaries. That sounds harmless right? WRONG! The whole movie is about the husband cheating on his wife. Again I felt like a jerk. So if you are ever going through a hard time, just call me, I can make it worse. I think I will stay away from the movies next time.

So there you have it. Again I tag whoever want to do this. Have fun

Wyatt's First Date

2008-03-07T15:14:00.001-05:00

Wyatt and I went on our date the other night. We had a great time. We went to the toy store, and looked at every toy there was to see, and then went out to eat at Chilli's. One of our deep conversations of the night went like this...
Me: Hey Wyatt, what do you think I can do to be a better mom?
Wyatt: Get a new mouth.
Me: A new mouth?
Wyatt: Yes, a new mouth.
Me: How do you think that will help me be a better mom?
Wyatt: I don't know, it just will.

Great, not only do I have my list to work on of being more patient, spending more one on one time, reading to them more, having regular scripture study, etc., etc ( the list goes on), but now I have to get a new mouth. Oh the logic of a four year old.

For those of you who watch American Idol, what did you think about the top twelve? The girls that left, were the ones that I would have picked, even though I liked Asia'h.
For the boys, I would have picked Luke, but I totally would have picked Chikezie over Danny. Even though Danny was a little annoying, and very over the top and in your face about his lifestyle, I liked him. In my opinion he was much more entertaining than Chikezie.
I think that David Archuleta will take it all, and I hope he does. He is the cutest kid ever, and he is so humble. I love him!! I can't help but smile when I watch him. I also really like Michael Johns.
For the girls I like Brooke, and I hope she does well. I also love Ramielle. She has an amazing voice. The one that I don't understand though is Amanda Overmyer. Does anybody else agree with me that the girl can not sing? I always think that the judges are going to trash her, and they always love it. I guess it is just not my style.
Well those are my predictions. What do you think?

Wyatt's First Trip To The Dentist...

2008-03-05T00:10:00.000-05:00

was a success. No cavities. Yeah!! I was a little worried, because just like with everything else I do, I have procrastinated taking him to the dentist. Ya,I know, he should have gone like a year ago. Thankfully it was a rather painless visit for him. The dentist said his teeth look great. Me on the other hand, I have two cavities. WHAT?? I swear every time that I go to the dentist I have a cavity. I really do brush my teeth I promise. I think my teeth have gone down the drain with pregnancies. I am starting a strict flossing regimen, and also a donation fund to help us pay for it. I swear dentists make so much money! (No offense to Brandon and Tracy)

I love this picture, It's like "come on mom, You're embarrassing me"

Wyatt was so Brave!! I am proud of you little buddy!

The First Sign of Spring

2008-03-03T23:13:00.000-05:00

So, we have all been sick at our house (except for Wyatt), and today I was feeling lousy. It was one of those days where you just want to curl up on the couch and not move. Well it just so happens that is was also the first warm day in quite a while. Wyatt had gone to the park with his friend, and I was feeling guilty because McKartnee had been watching TV all day, so I finally dragged myself off the couch and took McKartnee and Walker outside. I am so glad that I did! It was such a beautiful day. It felt like spring. I think it got upto 65 degrees.

When I went to get McKartnee's bike out of the shed, I saw these flowers. It made me so happy, because I am soooo ready for spring!! This time of year is always hard. I feel like we get tormented. We get a taste of good weather and then it turns freezing cold again. Last week it was in the teens here, then today was 65, tomorrow is supposed to be 67, but then by this weekend it is supposed to go back down to 40 degrees. Atleast it is March, and we know warm weather is not far off. Plus it could be worse, I could be in Utah where it snowed yesterday. J/K

This was Walkers first time in our outside swing. As you can see, he loved every minute of it.

I think McKartnee was just happy to be out of the house.
Me too!

I love This Little Guy!!!

2008-02-27T16:38:00.001-05:00

Wyatt is going through such a sweet phase right now. Somebody once told me that kids behavior goes in six month cycles, six months good then six months bad. I totally believe that. Wyatt is definitely going through the six months of good behavior . Too bad I can't say the same for McKartnee, but I guess she is two, so what can I expect right? Wyatt has been my big helper. He loves to make Mckartnee and Walker laugh, and these are a few of the things that Wyatt has done lately, that have completely melted me. First off, we had the kids save up their own money to buy souvenir's in Florida. Wyatt of course wanted to spend all of his at Gatorland. He picked out two things, and he had enough money to pick out one more small thing. He walked over to the magnets, and asked if he had enough for an alligator magnet. He did so we helped him count out his money, and he went up and paid for it all by himself. I was so proud of him. When we walked out of the gift store, he gave me the magnet and said "Mom, I got this for you because I knew you would love it". How sweet is that.
Then while we were at Disney World, I didn't realize how cool it got at night, and thus I hadn't brought warm enough clothes for Walker. I sent Jimmy into a gift store to buy one of those big beach towels so that we could use it as a blanket. Wyatt went with him to help him pick it out. They both came out with big smiles on their faces, but wouldn't tell me why. We went on to the rides and I forgot about it. The next night we were at the hotel, and Wyatt got another big smile on his face and went and whispered something in Jimmy's ear. Jimmy reached in his bag and pulled something out. Wyatt brought it over to me, and it was a pair of Mickey Mouse earings that he had picked out for me. Jimmy said that in the gift store Wyatt said "just a minute Dad ", he walked over to the earings , grabbed them, and said "Dad I think I need to get these for mom". Jimmy told me "how do you say no to that?"
One last thing, last night Jimmy's dad and brother came over, and we were all just talking and Wyatt said "mom can we go on a date" Jimmy looked at me and said "Wow, it's been a long time since you've been asked out, you better go" So this weekend I am going to take my little man out on a date. What a sweet boy, he is going to make some lucky girl very happy one day!!

Disney World

2008-02-19T11:57:00.004-05:00

We got to spend three days at Disney World while we were in Florida. Two of the days were at Magic Kingdom, and one day was at Animal Kingdom. We had so much fun. I love Disney World! I think that I was more excited to go than the kids were.
We got the kids little autograph books, and they could not wait to have the characters sign them. McKartnee got a little scared, so we have ton's of pictures of Wyatt, and the only one that she would stand by for a picture was the fairy godmother. I'm sure she would have gone to a princess too, but we didn't have the patience to wait in line for them. They don't look too thrilled in the pictures, but they really were excited.

2008-02-19T11:55:00.004-05:00

My kids loved the parades. We saw every parade that they had on the days that we were there. We even saw one twice, and they wanted to stay to see it. Growing up in Utah, we got to see parades all the time, but they don't have many out here, so it was extra fun for them to see.

2008-02-19T11:39:00.004-05:00

You can't go to Disney World without geting the famous picture in front of the castle. The person taking it didn't get the whole castle in, but you still get the picture.Wyatt loved the indie cars. He thought he was really driving, and thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Animal Kingdom had a whole dinosaur section. They had all different dinosaur rides, and then a place where the kids could dig for fossil
They also had a safari ride that was really cool. They made it look like you were really in Africa. We rode that one several times and never got sick of it.
We went to alot of the shows too. I think the Lion King, and the Finding Nemo musical were the favorites.
Wyatt's favorite rides were the Safari, Goofy's roller coaster, and the indie race cars, McKartnee's favortie rides were the tea cups, and the winnie the pooh ride.
It was such a fun vacation, a well needed break from the cold. I am ready to go back!!!

GATORLAND

2008-02-18T12:28:00.003-05:00

.
Our first stop in Florida was Gatorland. Wyatt is so into crocodiles right now, that he was in heaven. A couple of times he almost hyperventilated he was so excited.

He got to hold a real aligator which he thought was pretty cool.

Sorry this is sideways. This was a cool statue they had.

Wyatt in front of the baby alligator cage.

This part was cool, because you could buy hotdogs and feed the alligators. They would turn their heads so fast and chomp down to get them. It was cool to watch, but I would never want to be one on one with an alligator! The kids loved feeding them. It was a fun day.

I've Been Tagged Again

2008-02-06T15:47:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I really don't like doing these about myself, but I think it is fun to read about my friends, so here ya have it:

1. 10 years ago: I was on my mission. (wow that makes me feel old) I was in my first area Albert Lea, Minnesota. I was with my second companion Sister Greco.

2. 5 things on my to-do-list today: Finish packing. We leave for Florida tomorrow. See if I can find McKartnee a swimsuit. I don't even know if they are out in the stores yet. Pay the bills. Take the kids books back to the library. Re-clean the house before Jimmy gets home. He has been out of town since early Monday morning, so we are excited to have him come back.

3. Snacks I enjoy: This is bad, but I have to have something sweet after every meal. Right now my weakness is Mint Oreo's with milk. I have eaten a whole bag pretty much by myself since Jimmy has been gone. (and I wonder why I haven't lost all of the baby weight) I also love Peanut M&M's, Healthy Coice Fudge Bars, Baskin Robbins hard candies, and pretty much anything chocolate.

4. Things I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire: I would travel, travel, and travel some more. I would love to travel all across the world. I especially want to go on a safari ride in Africa, and go to Europe. I would put an addition on my house, and put some money away for the kids missions, school, etc. I would also help my mom do a lot of the things that she has never had the money to do for herself.

5. Places I have lived: Utah, Minnesota, Virginia

6. Jobs I have had: I worked for 3 days at the Hunan Restaurant in Payson. I quit because they had me scrape the left over rice that people didn't eat back into the rice they served, and to wash the glasses, they had me rinse them off in COLD water, no soap or anything. Disgusting!! I also worked at McDonalds, Zion's Bank, Phone Directories Company, Joseph Patrick Salon, and then in my own salon in my basement.

7. Things people don't know about me: I easily become obsessed with things. Right now I am obsessed with scrapbooking although it is hard to find the time to do it. I love the outdoors,I am very forgetful, and I am not very good at organization.

any of my friends who read this and are willing to do it, TAG you're it

Posted by estinger at 4:05 PM

My Little Gold Metalist

2008-01-27T12:51:00.000-05:00

Wyatt's preschool class learned about the olympics this week, and to finish the week off, they held their own olympics. It was so cute. They each got a t-shirt with their names on the back, and all of them made a torch and a flag. They all came walking in holding up their torches and flags, and then did cute little competitions. After each of them got to stand up on a platform and receive a gold metal. Wyatt did a great job. It was fun to go and watch him.

Photographer in the Making

2008-01-25T11:50:00.000-05:00

McKartnee brought me the camera this morning and said "here mommy". Then she kept saying "See my picture". Wyatt and McKartnee both love to see pictures that we have taken, so I thought that is what she was talking about. When I turned the camera on to show her, this is what I found. Somehow she figured out how to turn the camera on, take some pictures, and then turn it off again. Not bad for a two year old right?

Girls Night Out

2008-01-25T11:41:00.000-05:00

One of my good friends from out here, Liz Hawkins, is moving to California. We had our last girls night out with her last weekend. We went to Maggiano's a really good Italian restaurant. We waited for quite a while, and they couldn't clear two tables by each other, so they ended up putting us in a private room, which was fun. We all talked about our fun times with Liz. She is such a great person. It was a fun night, but I am sad to see her leave!

Matching Sweaters.

2008-01-25T11:22:00.000-05:00

The kids got matching sweaters for Christmas, and I finally got around to having all of them wear them on the same day.

2008-01-23T22:49:00.000-05:00

my husband...
What is his name? James Eldred Johnson III

How long have you been together? 5 years

How long did you date? dated 1 month, engaged for 2 months

How old his he? 29

Who eats more? Usually him, but not always

Who said i love you first? He did

Who is taller? He claims to be three inches taller, but it is closer to one. I think my shoulders

are higher though, because I always look taller.

Who can sing better? Jimmy, I am awful.

Who is smarter? Jimmy, although he hates math, and I love math and figuring puzzles out.

Who does the laundry? I do, except for when I go to Utah, and he gets desperate.

Who pays the bills? It's a team effort. He makes the money, and I write them out and send them off.

Who sleeps on the right side? He does.

Who mows the lawn? Him

Who cooks dinner? Usually me, but he loves to experiment, and is probably a better cook than I am.

Who drives? When both of us are in the car, he usually drives.

Who is more stubborn? definitely me. He is so good to apologize even when I should be the one doing it.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me.

Who asked who out first? We were friends for so long first. I went back east to visit an old roommate, and stayed with his family for part of the trip. It was at the end of that trip that we decided we would date when Jimmy came back out to school. Long story short... We never really had a first date.

Who proposed? Jimmy did

Who has more friends? We both have a lot of friends, but I keep in touch more with mine than he does.

Who is more sensitive? I am for sure. Jimmy is a very stable person. He balances me out.

Who has more siblings? he does

Who wears the pants? probably me just because he is so considerate of my feelings.

Amber (all three), Beka, Heather, Katie, Kelsie, McKell, NelLyn, Nicki, Shayla, Tashina, Tracy, and whoever else that reads this tag, you’re it!

Face Lift

2008-01-23T19:17:00.000-05:00

I figured that it was about time for a face lift, considering that Walker was not even in our other family picture. (I am quite the procrastinater) My good friend from out here is an amazing photographer. She is the one that did Walker's announcements. I always love the work that she does. Thanks for the pictures Virginia!! I added her website to the blog, you will have to check it out. She is the greatest!

A Human Tornado

2008-01-18T13:11:00.000-05:00

HELP!!! I have a human tornado on my hands! We just cleaned their room yesterday. We have not even got ready for the day, and look at it. She pulls all of the books out of the book shelf, opens the drawers and pulls the clothes out, takes all of her shoes out of the closet, pulls the puzzles out and takes all of them apart, emptys off the changing table, etc. etc. I started putting some things up higher on the bookcase where she couldn't reach them, and you can see her solution to that. Now she gets the stool out of the bathroom, and empties more things off.
I wish that it were only her room that she demolishes, but it is my entire house. I spend my whole day cleaning up after her. As I am cleaning one of her huge messes up, she is making another one. She is constantly one step ahead of me. I try to have her help me clean it up, and she ends up pulling more things out. Does anybody have any advise? Wyatt was not the cleanest two year old, but he was nothing like the tornado. If you have any tips please send them my way. You may save McKartnee from being locked in a closet until she turns 3. J/K

Yeah! It Finally Snowed.

2008-01-18T12:36:00.000-05:00

We finally got some snow, and my kids are thrilled. They were so excited to go out and play in it. They did snow angels, ran and slid in it, and when dad got home they had a snowball fight. They started to make a snow man, but the snow was so wet and heavy, that it ended up being just two big snow balls. They didn't care. They just had fun being out in it.
It's too bad that today is supposed to be 50 degrees, and all of the snow will end up melting. Then it is supposed to be 20 for a high on Sunday. The teperatures are so up and down. Earlier this year we had a 40 degree differance in one day. Now you know why McKartnee has a runny nose in all of her pictures. It is neverending.

Six Month Old

2008-01-15T20:46:00.000-05:00

Walker just turned six months old. I can't believe how fast time is going. It seems like it goes faster and faster with each kid I have.
Walker is the sweetest little guy. He is so happy all of the time. He loves his big brother and sister, and they can not get enough of him. He just started sitting up on his own. He is constantly jabbering. He seems to make the same noise whether he is happy, sad,mad etc. It seriously sounds like a bird squawking, so he has aquired the nickname squawker. He has been such a blessing in our home. Our family would not be the same without him. We love you little guy!!