Fathers Day

There is no greater title I could ever aspire to than that of father. I love being a dad. I hope I turn out to be a good one. I'm greatful that in 14 short years I had a dad that taught me so much about how to be the father and man I am trying to be. Thanks Dad I miss you.

Life Livers

No, not the kind of liver that is an organ but to live life!

Yesterday, on our way home from Elitch Gardens Theme Park, I told Lynn that no matter what our situation, we seem to always find a way to do fun things. It's what we live for. He said, "It's because we're life livers." It got me thinking. It's true. No matter what our financial situation or what demands of our time life has for us (and we've been all over the spectrum with both time and money) our priority is to enjoy life.

I think it stems from Lynn's father. When Lynn was a kid, his dad worked a lot, but he instilled in Lynn a joy for making memories. I so appreciate that he took Lynn's family on vacations even if it was really a business trip to collect materials for the sign shop, he took his family along and made the most of it. When Lynn was 14, his father passed away rather quickly. Lynn said his father still had so much in life he wanted to do and so many places he wanted to see. Lynn didn't want to wait until we had time and money or "retirement" to make the memories he wanted to with his children and so... we don't!

We're always looking for a reason to make memories with our children. I don't think life is all about fun but I do believe, as Christ said, "Men are that they might have joy." And I think He's happy when we are happy. For us, a fun-filled afternoon at a park, a bike ride, a weekend getaway, stopping at a "Historical Site" plaque on the side of the road, a five-hour drive down a road I've never been before or lunch at an out of the way mom-and-pop restaurant, renews me. It's like it quenches a thirst. I can't imagine life without those moments. Some are just for a half-hour and some are for weeks away in a new country but they all do the same for me and my family. We love it. I rarely post about these things out of fear that we will appear as though we're trying to make ourselves seem great and our lives perfect... but if I post the bad, I ought to post the good too, right? We have amazing adventures.

Are you a life liver?

Banff or Bust

We are planning on going to Banff and Jasper National Parks in Canada in a couple of weeks. I was wondering if any of you have made it up there before and if there are any "have to's" that we need to see. I've been doing some research and there is so much to do I can't figure out how to narrow it down. I figure we'll do some hiking, bring our bikes and bike trailers for the kids, maybe do some kayaking or canoeing (kid appropriate), etc. We'll be traveling in our RV. Any ideas are appreciated (especially you, Kathy, if you read this.)

Days like that...

So today was just one of those days that happen every so often - more often than not - in the lives of a mother. For those of you who don't care about the mundane lives of motherhood, do not read this post. It's not for anyone else anyway, it's for me and my children to know that I DO understand because I was there once too.

Ezra cried all morning. It wasn't just a little fuss, it was an angry, painful cry and his body was as though rigamortis had set in. It's not in his nature to cry that way so I was extra worried and frazzled. I had set in my mind that I was going to exercise and clean the house so I woke up, put on a crazy-tight sports bra that although I logically know I cannot fit into post-pregnancy I can't seem to accept, and ended up staying in it for seven hours before I was able to exercise. It became permanently embedding in my chest. By then all grandios thoughts of jogging to the park had gone out the window and I settled for a Wii aerobics game and only got through five minutes before Jonah was upset that he didn't get his turn on the Wii and so I just gave up and let him play. I made lunch while balancing a screaming baby in one arm and peanut butter in the other and got both baby spit up and Jif all over my sports bra. I snapped at Granger when he asked if all he got for lunch was a PB & J sandwich and then I unwrapped some old disgusting fake-cheese I found in the back of the fridge and put it on the kid's plates. I almost totally lost it when Cora threw it away without even taking a bite and told her if she wasted food without even tasting it, it was coming out of her allowance (all $1 of it that I occassionally remember to give her). Then the tornado siren warning went off and we all had to go down to the basement although for a brief moment I contemplated going to the second story instead.

It got better though when Lynn came home. He took Ezra, made dinner and told me to go take a bath (I hadn't been able to leave Ezra long enough to do that for the past two days since Lynn has had his 12 hour clinicals and I know I smelled and looked like a rat.) So I took a bubble bath, read the Ensign and when I got out, dinner was ready and Lynn even picked up after himself. Not a bad ending to a crazy day. Anyway, sometimes I have days like that...

Oh, and not a single bit of cleaning got done.

Baptism and Blessing

May 23rd was a very special day. We traveled back to Snowflake and in the old pioneer church on Main Street, Cora was baptised and confirmed and Ezra was blessed by their father. Many friends and family were there and some drove from quite a distance to be there. We felt very blessed and loved. We had such a wonderful week there, visiting with family and friends. I am so proud of Cora for the decision she made to be baptised and to Lynn for being the kind of father he is. I am one proud mama.

Camping

We camped with my brother Travis and his family at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Their baby, Bo and our Ezra are just ten days apart.

Birthdays!

My two favorite little boys in the world had birthdays. Grae is now 6 and Jonah is 4. They both chose their cakes and we burned matches instead of candles. We also went to Elitch Gardens Amusement Park for their birthdays. Super fun!

Busy, busy

In the last six weeks, quite a bit has happened. Cora had a birthday, we had a baby, Lynn had a birthday, I had a birthday and Saturday is Jonah's birthday. Grae's birthday is nine days after that. Whew! Also, Aunt Arianne came to visit, the Easter Bunney showed up and we had a snowstorm! I had to post a few pics from the last month or so... before things get crazier. Pics in no particular order.

Zzzzzzzz

Sleep? What sleep? We love our baby. We will not be blogging for awhile.

We would like to invite all who want to attend to Ezra's baby blessing and Cora's baptism. They will be on Saturday, May 23rd in Snowflake. Please call us for details. We love you all!

Introducing...

Ezra Luke Johnson

Born Saturday, March 14th at 4:13pm

7lbs 10oz

20"

"Dad's a nurse!"

I was in my room studying as usual and I could hear the boys playing outside my door. After a while I could tell something was wrong but I was trying to ignore them and concentrate on the chapter about the female reproductive system and birthing process that I was thoroughly enjoying (heavy, heavy sarcasm). I then heard Granger say to Jonah, "I know. Let's go to dad. He's a nurse!" Technically, I'm only half a nurse because I'm only halfway through my program, maybe not even that far because I still have to pass the national boards after I graduate, but the kids don't know that. So after a while, Granger and Jonah come bursting through my door and asking me if I can help them with their medical emergency. It seems Leonardo suffered severe trauma when dropped from the top of the stairs onto the tile. I'm afraid he sustained too many injuries and although it's not usually the nurse's place to do so, I pronounced him DOA. Let this be a lesson to you all. Although there have been many advances in modern medicine, there is no cure better than prevention and even mutant reptiles can meet an untimely demise if they're not careful.

Garden of the Gods

Cameo's side note: My butt doesn't really go down to my knees. It's my shirt. Oh yeah, and it's my shirt that makes my belly look huge too, not the kid... (or the pecan craving).

Garden of the Dogs

When we went to Garden of the Gods,it seemed it should be Garden of the Dogs. We did not know that it prety much would be just that, Garden of the Dogs. "Doggies!"I said. I just saw two little dogs walking along the path. But then it was a different story. One big dog with curly brown hair passed by. Then a black dog with curly hair passed by. "Hmmm, I wander if this place should be called Garden of the Dogs." I thought. Two people walked by with dogs. Then more. And more. And more! "IT SHOULD BE CALLED GARDEN OF THE DOGS!" I screamed. "It should." said mom calmly. Then a black dog came by. "We should get a dog." I said. More dogs to be continued..........

by Cora

Woooo!

I am getting HUGE! Yesterday we went to Garden of the Gods and hiked around a bit with the kids and then went to the grocery store. Between those two places I got a, "Are you having twins?" "Are you due any second?" Three, "Would you like some help with that?" while putting groceries in my cart. (C'mon, a box of cereal is NOT that heavy.), a woman responding saying, "No, she wants to do that herself so she can go into labor." and two, "Wooo!"'s. What? Who just looks at a woman's prego belly, says Wo! and walks by a person? It happened not once, but twice! They were both men of course. And at the end of the day, I found a NEW stretch mark. (Like somehow the stretchmarks from the three previous kids aren't enough for him.) Man, this kid needs to be born!

A few pics of February

Here are some February pics. The kids love jumping on the trampoline in our backyard with their favorite friends also named the Johnson kids. Jonah calls them his "cousins". Also, here is Cora for crazy hair day. She got her picture taken for the school yearbook. I think it was a hit!

(On a side note, today is hump day. We are halfway through with Lynn's school sentence at Concorde... All downhill from here baby!)

Turn baby, turn...

So last month the doctor told us that the baby was breach. She said to go home and to lay on an ironing board against a couch or stairs so my head was below my stomach... and that it might help the baby flip. I thought it sounded kinda odd but what the heck did I have to lose? I did not want to have this baby cesarean. So after doing my own internet research on what has worked for other people, we came up with this concoction. The frozen bag of vegetables is supposed to make him want to move away from the cold. Then I read that if you talk to the area where you want his head to be, he might flip towards the sound and that it really works if you concentrate the sound through a paper towel roll and have familiar voices. The kids really wanted to help in all of this so they took turns talking through the roll to the baby. They kept saying things like, "Hey, come here. It's a lot warmer this way." And Jonah kept saying, "Come out!" We would say, "No, no. Don't say that. It's not time. Say turn around." So he'd say, "Okay, okay. My turn." and directly into the paper towel roll as loud as he could, "Come out!" The whole charade was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing but desperate times call for desperate measures... If anything, the kid was shaken to death with all my laughter. Perhaps that is what helped him to turn. Who knows, but the doctor says now he's no longer breach and I don't have to have a cesarean. Yeah!

Help us name Baby one more time...

Yes, round two for naming our kid. If you're sick of this game, I get it. If you're willing to vote again, though, I'd appreciate it. Your votes and comments last time really helped. We just have a new set of names to think about now... One of these I really don't like and one of these Lynn really doesn't like but I put them on the poll because I want unbiased opinions on these names. Not set on a middle name yet so don't let that sway you. You guys are awesome. Thanks for the help! (Also, I'm sick of seeing my big ol' pregnant belly on the top of the blog so I needed to get a new post up.)

I Love Livin' Large

Poor Cameo is getting to the point where almost everything she does makes her uncomfortable. While I truley feel sorry for her I've got to say she is great eye candy. Call me crazy but prego women are sexy and no one is sexier than my wife. You can keep all your toothpick models thank you verry much. They make me sick. I'll take a natural woman any day of the week. So here's my shout out to all you real women and your real bodies. You may not be as hot as Cameo but you're great as is.

Free Day is the Only Way

Living in a big city does have its perks. Yesterday was free day at the zoo. It was a little chilly but there were plenty of indoor exhibits for us to warm up in. Because Cameo and I are pretty much cheapscates we judge things not only on how fun they are but on how fun they are based on how much they cost. Using that rule the zoo trip was a success. The kids loved it and free gives anything a good chance of being fun when using the "cost to fun ratio" so even though the zoo is not my favorite I had fun too.

P.S. Thank you to everyone who voted on our baby names. We still haven't decided on a name, but it is almost certain that we wont use any of the names on the list from the blog (except maybe Trek). It's not that we don't value your opinions it's just that we don't like those names as much as we thought we did.

P.P.S. Mary you can use Quade if you want. It's a good name just not for us.(Of course you'd have to have another boy first).

P.P.P.S. Nathaniel I don't think we will name him Nathaniel but thanks for saving my life anyway.