February Fun

It has been awhile since I have posted, largely because we have been so very busy. My dad and sister have been staying with us for the last month, as they are in town to do some training for a new business that they are starting. My mom also came to visit for a few days and so did my sister's husband Jeremy. Needless to say, things have been hopping around here and we have all been in heaven with the visitors. Miles and Tate are going to be so disappointed next week when they go back to being around boring old mom all day.

When my Mom was here, we all went to the Draper Temple open house, which was a real thrill for all of us, especially Miles, who just can't wait to be old enough to go to the temple. My Mom, sister and I also did a girls' night out, going to dinner and to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic". Scott and I have enjoyed many date nights and time with friends, thanks to the live-in babysitters. My sister and I have played many games and my dad has been incredibly helpful with the kids (even changing diapers). I told my Mom that this is how life should be, everyone I love under one roof. I will really miss having so much family around, but I am trying to enjoy every minute that I have with them.

So to catch everyone up, here is what Miles has been up to lately (besides cracking us up and continually outsmarting us):

Miles and I finally assembled his T-Rex model, which turned out pretty cool.

Grandma Kaye stopped by to visit and spent some time reading with Miles.

Miles has been itching to get out and learn to ski, hopefully with more snow and without his pajamas.

He has been participating in preschool sports at the local rec center and has been learning basketball skills this past month.

He also had another karate testing and is now a yellow belt (he's the one bowing in the picture below).

Miles has also loved playing with friends and going to preschool. In the evening, he has enjoyed watching American Idol with me. He asked me once if I was a rock star, to which I replied that I was not. He then said, "yes you are a rock star Mommy, because you rock." So, you heard it here first. Apparently, I rock (at least in the eyes of my 4 year old).

Not to be outdone, Tate has also been keeping busy this past month, just not necessarily in the ways that I would like. Tate is such a little character. He keeps me very busy and extremely entertained. He has a really big personality for such a little guy, and he makes everything fun.

Here is what Tate has been up to this past month:

Tate came across a number of rolls of toilet paper under Scott's bathroom sink the other day and had a blast with them. So, in 15 years if your yard should get toilet papered, it will probably be the work of Tate. He had early training.

Here, he made the discovery (note the mischievous look).

Digging into the fun (why is my Mom not stopping me?).

Lining them up along the bathtub . . .

Stacking them in the closet . . .

And then in the middle of the bathroom floor.

Then it's time to throw all sorts of bathroom items into the tub and turn the water on.

Next, heading downstairs to get into the garbage. Starting with the Diet Coke can (I too will go to great measures for a Diet Coke).

Then the crackers . . .

And the cookies.

Tate also loves to pull all of the pots, pans and tupperware out of the cupboards. Here are some of our kitchen items mixed in with the toys.

Tate refuses to wear socks and we spend a nice portion of the day putting them back on him.

Here he is trying on Miles' shoes.

Tate also loves to make silly faces. He will blow kisses, wave bye-bye, do patty cake, put his hands to his cheeks for "oh my goodness" and throw his arms in the air for "touchdown". Here he is making me laugh by doing what we call "lips".

The other day I caught him getting into a cupboard in the entertainment center and he was surrounded by stacks of DVDs. Needless to say, my reaction was not to get out the camera and take a picture. I swear whenever I am cleaning, he is right behind me pulling stuff back out just as fast as I can put it away. We never know where our things will turn up, but we always know that things will be exciting with Tate around.

Uncommon Criminal

Last night around 10:00 pm I received a phone call from a neighbor/friend who was inquiring about the type of car Scott drove. She said that there was an Audi with Ute plates parked across the street from their house. There was a man sitting in the car talking on a cell phone. Apparantly, the mysterious man had parked next to a home where the family was on vacation and my friend was a little concerned about the unknown visitor. I told her Scott was not home and that he had gone over to the church to play basketball. I assured her that it was probably him, however, as Scott has a history of taking really long work phone calls in his car. I thanked her for calling me first and not the police.

When Scott got in, I asked him if he had stopped on his way home to take a call. He said that after the game he had several voicemail messages from work, and so he had made a phone call on his way home. Scott rarely comes into the house until he has finished his work calls, so this time he pulled over on a dead end street (unaware of the out of town neighbors) to handle the work issues. He didn't want to pull into our driveway to make the call out of fear of waking the kids with his lights and engine running. I told him about the call from our friend and asked if he would please stop freaking out the neighbors.

At 10:30 pm the doorbell rang, and I opened the door to see a police officer standing on our front porch, asking for Scott Johnson. Apparently, my friend was not the only one who spotted the stranger in his car scoping out the home of the vacationing neighbors. Fortunately, the police officer was very understanding and we worked everything out pretty quickly. I thought the officer was particularly wonderful because he asked if I needed Scott to do anything around the house for me while he was still there. Then he told Scott he should probably listen to his wife and not park on the street to take his calls. Who wouldn't love that? :)

Leave it to Scott however to ask for a picture before the officer left. The officer was amused about the prospect of being on the Johnson family blog. So, here is the picture of my suspicious and frightening husband with the police officer who was fortunately in a very good mood.

Walking with Dinosaurs

Last Friday night, Scott and I had the privilege of taking Miles to see the show "Walking with Dinosaurs." Since Miles is crazy for dinosaurs, we thought he would enjoy it, and of course, he brought his large Tyrannasaurus Rex along for the ride.

The dinosaurs were pretty amazing, although the show got a little slow in places. If you were willing to shell out the really big bucks (we were not willing), then you got a much better show - the dinosaurs were actually larger than you since they were really close to you, and there were no pesky stage lights blocking your view. Miles kept wanting to know when T-Rex was going to be coming out, which it turns out they save for the very end of the show. T-Rex finally made his long awaited appearance and all was right with the world again. We all had a fun time, and I think Miles enjoyed having a little special time with Mom and Dad.

On our walk back to the car, Miles said that he was going to miss the dinosaurs and that we should come back and see them the next day. Scott quickly explained that the dinosaurs had to travel to other cities and states so that other little boys and girls could see them too. Miles then began going through the list of states - "Will they be going to Washington?" "Will they be going to New Hampshire?" So apparently a simple explanation is not enough to satisfy his curious mind. Dinosaurs roaming the country - how exciting!

House Guests

My brother Adam and his wife Dawnelle recently visited us from Wisconsin with their four kids, Sierra, Breyden, McKinley and Brindley. It had been quite a while since we had seen them and we all had a great time hanging out. We played board games, watched videos and spent an evening having pizza and playing games at Chuck E. Cheese, where Adam and Scott kept complaining about how horrible the pizza was. Um, guys, it was Chuck E. Cheese.

Things we learned from their visit:
1) We need to ask Santa for Rock Band next year. Adam's family got a Wii for Christmas, and we all had a great time with it. Miles and Scott also liked Wii sports, especially boxing and baseball.











2) Babies are super cute. But two babies together are off the chart cute. Baby Brindley and Tate were pretty hot commodities during the visit and it was really fun to get to see them together.













3) Miles needs an older sibling. He had a great time playing with his older cousins and they were wonderful with him.







4) It is hard to live away from family. I enjoyed every minute of the visit. There was a lot of playing, a lot of laughter and a lot of love. Come back soon!

Santa Rocks!

Well, another holiday season has come and gone, and we were particularly grateful this year for the opportunity to enjoy so much time with friends and loved ones. My parents were here for Thanksgiving and we got to spend Christmas with Scott's family. We were also privileged to get to see my brother Adam and his family (in town from Wisconsin) for a couple of days before New Years.

Here are a few of the many highlights from Christmas:

1) We heart Santa! - This year, because of the ward Christmas party and a party held at Scott's Aunt Karen's house, we got to visit with two of Santa's helpers which was incredibly exciting for Miles. He was very quick to hop up on Santa's lap and rattle off his 3 desires for Christmas - a T-Rex, a rhinoceros and a scooter. He was a little disappointed when Santa did not produce the items on the spot. We are still trying to understand how this whole Santa thing works.

I thought Tate would cry once sitting on Santa's lap, but he appeared mesmerized by the man with the long white beard and the red hat.

The captivation was short lived however and he was soon ready to be back with his dad.

2) Christmas Eve - We spent the evening with Scott's family at his sister Sue's house where we enjoyed a lovely dinner, a talent show, a reading from the bible of the Savior's birth, and a gift exchange. Miles and Scott read "The Night Before Christmas" and Miles had us all sing "Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer." Thanks to some cute and clever cousins, he has learned all of the additional unwritten parts to the song and it has quickly become a favorite.

3) White Christmas - As many of you know, I could live without ever seeing snow or the temperature drop below 80 degrees, except at Christmas time. There is something so magical and peaceful about looking out your window and seeing the cold, white snow drift in while you are bundled up inside. Now, if only I could get it to appear on the 24th and disappear on the 26th. Here is a picture of our house all done up in lights - I do so love a white Christmas.

4) Happy Children - Everyone says that you can't really appreciate the excitement of Christmas until you have children in the home. I have loved getting to see my kids learn to love the holiday as much as I do. Every year I drag them around to look at Christmas lights, and this year Miles showed signs of actually enjoying it a little bit. Ahhh, progress. . . . .

Christmas morning was fun and relaxing as we hung out as a family and played with new toys. We spent the afternoon at Scott's parents house with his family until a strong blizzard forced us to head home. Such a lovely day - sad to see it end.

Waiting to see what Santa brought:

Before the chaos:

Favorite Presents :

This T-Rex now has his own seat in our car.

Our little "babe magnet".

5) Family Time - There is nothing like being together at Christmas - my favorite thing of all!