Happy 1st Birthday Kasidee!

It's nearly 1:00 am and I'm still awake. I've been looking at my sleeping Kasidee and looking through the pages of her scrapbook that I recently caught up. I can't believe one whole year has passed since this little angel came into our lives! I seriously can't imagine my life without her! She is such a content little sweetie; she's so happy and gentle and cuddly. And she's funny. She cracks us up with the little things she does. We hope you have a great first birthday Little Sweetie! We love you SOOOOO much!

You've Had a Birthday...

Last year when I discovered that Kasidee would most likely be born VERY close to Makenna's birthday, I fretted and fretted. I wanted to make sure they each felt like they had their own special day. Well, their birthdays are the 7th and 9th - one day in between. And you know what? I think it's so fun to have a 3-day birthday celebration - our little family can celebrate together on the 7th and the 9th, and the 8th can be for a little party with family and friends!

So yesterday (the 7th) was Makenna's birthday celebration. Quentin took the day off and surprised the girls with some of their favorite cereals. Then Makenna got to open the gifts from us (Quentin got her a Barbie Wii game; Kiera gave her some My Little Ponies, and we also gave her a few games and a Strawberry Shortcake movie). In the afternoon, we visited Granny (my Mom) and Nana (my Grandma) - Nana had just gotten home from the hospital. Then later, we took Makenna to Cherry Hill. It has been her "lifelong dream" to go there. Grandma Stephens watched Kasidee for a few hours. We all had fun, but soon after we went down the waterslide for the first time, Makenna suddenly said she wanted to go home. We couldn't figure it out for awhile, but it finally came out - our fearless and feisty little Makenna was afraid of the dark parts in the waterslide ride. We all had fun though, and ended the night with dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory (with Kasidee too)! Tonight will be another little celebration with a few family and friends - I'll have to blog about that too!

Happy Birthday Makenna!

Happy Birthday to our sweet Makenna! Wow, 4 years old! She tiptoed into our bedroom early this morning and said, "Mama? It my bir-day?" Our sweet, spunky Makenna has blessed our lives in so many ways. Just a few of the reasons we love our Makenna:
* She is so sweet and kind.
* She's very creative.
* Her sweet, soft voice can melt your heart!
* Her squishy cheeks are so kissable!
* She's spunky and spicy - in just the right amount!
* She knows what she wants and will be very successful in life.
* She loves her sisters and is a great friend!
* She is a VERY good share-er!
We love our Makenna SOOOOO much! Happy Birthday Sweetie Pie!

How Embarrassing!

Okay, I know someday Kasidee may not forgive me for posting these pics of her, but I just couldn't resist. Here's the story: Last Sunday after church, we visited my sweet Grandma Johnson in the hospital. We had just gotten home from our camping trip the night before and had taken EVERYTHING out of the van so we could wash and vacuum it on Monday. Anyway, I changed Kasidee's diaper right before we left, but when we got out of the car, the vinegary smell indicated that she had a really messy diaper. Since everything was out of the van, we had no diapers. What to do, what to do? We figured we wouldn't stay long and could get home in time for a fresh change. But she kept screaming and screaming in the hospital room. We figured hospitals are prepared for anything, so Quentin asked a nurse if they had a diaper they could spare. Since the nursery only had newborn-sized diapers, the nurse produced something wrapped up in a pink square and said, "Well, here's, um, this." A maxi-pad. Yup. After laughing our heads off, we decided desperate times call for desperate measures. So we cleaned her up and taped the maxi-pad to her. Amazingly, it worked. In fact, I was hesitant to take it off when we returned home - I wanted to see how long it lasted. Quentin made me take it off after 3 hours - but no leaks!

Sheep Creek Lake

'Twas our annual "Johnson Campout" this last week. We went to Sheep Creek Lake, which is near Flaming Gorge. We were minus a few this year (we missed you Mom, Ben, Jen & Boys - and Grandma and Grandma Betty!) but we still had fun - sleeping in, braving the wind, "fishing" (see below why there are quotations around that word), wilderness walks, campfires, huge "Chuck-A-Rama" style breakfasts (thanks Kerry!), marshmallow roasting, water bottle rocket launching, dirt-digging, playing and visiting, and a few trips to the sort-of nearby Red Canyon Lodge for ice/milk runs, gift shop browsing, feeding fish in the fish pond and having dinner in the restaurant. As I started posting pictures, I realized there were too many cute ones that I HAD to post. I probably should have figured out how to do one of those nifty slideshow things, but I'm too tired. So you'll just have to scroll through to see all the fun we had!


OUR CUTE LITTLE TENT TRAILER - I LOVE CAMPING BECAUSE OF IT!

SPENCER, KIERA & MAKENNA PLAYING ON KERRY'S BOAT TRAILER

KASIDEE & COUSIN JORDYN COULDN'T GET ENOUGH HUGGIN'

SWEET MAKENNA


A CROWN OF WILDFLOWERS

MAKENNA FELL ASLEEP IN HER CHAIR (notice the dirt around her eye and the whitish-pink calamine lotion on her cheek for her bee sting - pretty colorful face!)

ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT!

ROWING CAN MAKE YOU TIRED!

QUENTIN LET THE GIRLS "CATCH" A RUBBER FISHING LURE - THEY LOVED IT!!


DINING IN STYLE AT THE RED CANYON LODGE RESTAURANT (Thanks, Aaron and Lisa!)


CUTE, DIRTY KIDS

KIERA'S DIRTY FEET

Texas-Sized Fun

The last 5 days have been a whirlwind of jam-packed fun, late nights, good talks, lots of laughs and lots of hugs. My sisters Brenda and Kris, brother-in-law Gary, 17-year-old nephew Jason and 15-year-old niece Brittney braved the 24-ish hour drive all the way from Texas last Wednesday and stayed with us till today (Sunday). (P.S. Devin and Rachel, we sure missed you!!) I don't know what it is about them - even though we only see each other every few years, when we get together it's like no time has passed at all. Their laughter is infectious, they are a blast to be around and make everyone feel so comfortable and loved, and we have talks and moments that make me wish I could have them here all the time. It seriously is non-stop fun. The girls had constant entertainment from Jason and Brittney and were pretty much attached to them - lots of hide-and-seek, wrestling, dart shooting, etc. etc. We tried to pack in everything we could during our time together - searching for a cherry orchard (and getting yummy apricots instead), launching water bottle rockets, doing a few fireworks, having several Wii bowling marathons, early birthday present shopping for the girls, and lots and lots of visiting. We were hardly home much - we ate out a LOT, visited Grandma Johnson, visited at Dad's house, went to the Jacobson reunion at the park, and went to my Uncle Cardell's house for a Jake/Austin reunion. (P.S. I think Cardell and Rosanne live in heaven. Their house is at the mouth of Provo Canyon, and it's in a secluded, tucked-away community of only a couple dozen cottages. In the center is a beautiful pond and a tree-lined grassy area with a big fireplace. It's just so peaceful. I love it every time I go there). Anyway, we tried to pack in the fun. When we returned at night, although everyone was exhausted, we just couldn't stop talking and hugging - we laughed, we cried, we played, we bonded.... When everyone drove off this morning, Kiera and Makenna broke down and just sobbed. Our house seemed empty and eerily quiet. Come back, y'all!




Dad's "Den of Antiquities"

"Driving" in my Dad's 1962 MGA

"New" Highchair

I just had to post these cute pics of cute Kasidee and her "new" highchair - I'm so stoked!! Our old highchair was one my old boss gave me (from when his kids used it). It was a nice highchair, but when we got it, it didn't have the safety belt thing. It lasted through our first 2 kids, but Kasidee kept trying to perfect her acrobatics in it - she just wouldn't stay sitting down in it!! So I've been eyeing a new highchair, one made with organically grown and naturally colored cotton - but it's $110!! I've been trying to justify buying this highchair eventually...but then I spotted a highchair in our neighbor's front yard. He was getting ready for a yard sale the next day - when I saw the price tag (10 BUCKS!) I asked him if he would sell early to me, and he said sure. So yay - now we have a "new" highchair. It's not the organic one that I've been hoping for, but it was ten bucks and (the best part) - I'm pretty sure it has never even been used (the plastic tabs hadn't even been punched out). So there you go - a cheap, "new" chair that straps her in! We're all happy!

Sleepover

Last night (this morning?) the girls were up a little after midnight, giddy about the huge thunderstorm we were having. I say giddy but it was really a mixture of excitement and fear - the same thing I was feeling. As we watched out the window, there were bursts of light nearly every second, coming from 3 different directions. Then it poured, adding to the dramatic night storm. Needless to say, we figured there was no way the girls were going to go back to their room by themselves, and I didn't particularly want to sleep on their floor. So we brought out the sleeping bags and made an impromptu bed on the floor next to my side of the bed. They squished together and cuddled. It worked - within 2 minutes they were sound asleep!

Catch the Reading Bug!

This summer, the Davis County Libraries have had a "Catch the Reading Bug" program. They've had puppet shows, storytellers, magic shows, jugglers, "Ginger the Origami Lady," and lots of other activities - and libraries and free things are 2 of my favorite things! The girls have really looked forward to going to these activities every week. And tonight was a 4-for-1. They played ice cube hockey, made little "bug cars" and "drove" them down a ramp, raced paper inchworms, and played beanbag toss. What fun!! Makenna got in the car and said, "This is a beautiful day. I got to go to Ella's birthday party AND to the library!" Can't beat that!

All-American Girl

At the girls' clogging performance last Saturday, I heard the song "All-American Girl" by Carrie Underwood and couldn't get it out of my head. It's a catchy tune! Every once in awhile, I get on a country music kick (don't worry - it usually doesn't last too long). Anyway, when I got home I looked up the song on playlist.com. When Quentin and I listened to the words together, we both started getting teary-eyed. You can hear the song by clicking on my playlist on the right-hand side of the blog. But below I've typed the words - so sweet!

Since the day they got married,
He'd been praying for a little baby boy.
Someone he could take fishing,
Throw the football and be his pride and joy.
He could already see him holding that trophy,
Taking his team to state.
But when the nurse came in with a little pink blanket,
All those big dreams changed.

CHORUS
And now he's wrapped around her finger,
She's the center of his whole world.
And his heart belongs to that sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American Girl.

Sixteen short years later,
She was falling for the senior football star.
Before you knew it he was dropping passes,
Skipping practice just to spend more time with her.
The coach said "Hey son, what's your problem? Tell me, have you lost your mind?"
Daddy said you'll lose your free ride to college, boy you better tell her goodbye.

CHORUS
But now he's wrapped around her finger,
She's the center of his whole world.
And his heart belongs to that sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American...

And when they got married and decided to have one of their own,
She said "Be honest, tell me what do you want?"
And he said "Honey, you oughta know... Sweet, little, beautiful... one just like you. Oh a beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American..."

Now he's wrapped around her finger,
She's the center of his whole world.
And his heart belongs to that sweet little beautiful, wonderful, perfect All-American Girl.
Oh American Girl.

Tappity Tappity Tappity

This morning the clogging class that Kiera and Makenna have been taking since January culminated in a performance on a stage as well as on a float in the Farmington Festival Days parade! The girls were thrilled! I was surprised that shy little Makenna (who would hide her face during practices) just beamed and smiled while she clogged during the performance. Later when Quentin asked her if she liked being on stage, she said, "Oh, it was SOOOO fun!"