Merry Christmas "you beautiful old savings and loan"

Here is a slide show of our kids and some of their favorite gifts from Christmas. You will notice that they are all wearing Christmas PJ's and there is a Christmas trumpet and that there is not much variety to the pictures - - sorry - I had a lazy clicker this year.

Merry Christmas!

Las Vegas Bowl - Shane and I

Yes it was a very disappointing game, but the trip was fun. Shane and I went down to the Las Vegas Bowl to watch the Coug's take on Arizona. We drove down Friday night (12/19) and came back LATE Saturday night, Sunday morning (12/21). Here are some of the pictures, hope you enjoy!

Okay, Okay - - SORRY!!! Sheesh

You know it's pretty bad, when friends you have only talked to twice in the past 13 years are telling you that you need to update you blog.... And people who normally read your blog have given up on you. Sorry to all our faithful, as well as to all those with only intermediate curiosity about the Johnson family.

Here are some updates!

______________________________________________

Audrey:

What can I say about my little princess? She was a cow for her first Halloween - the most beautiful cow in the world. We took her in for her 4 month check up a little while ago; she's in the 97% for head circumference, 97% for height and 97%+ for weight. Our little chunky-monkey is a silly girl. She laughs hard, but wants to make you work for it. She cuddles lots, enjoys long showers with daddy, and screeches at the top of her lungs - in a very cute and not demanding, just talkative way. The only time that she really gets upset is if we eat in front of her, or when she finishes drinking a bottle, before she thinks she's done...which is almost every time she eats - it's pretty funny really; and accounts for the height, weight and head circumference! She's not proportionately fat or anything like that. She just looks more like a 7 or 8 month old, instead of a 4 month old. Audrey has been sleeping through the night since she was 3 weeks old, so we've lucked out twice, because Boden was the same way. Here's the secret - let them cry; it's good for lung development, and essential in the latter years when you've learned to tune them out! J/K.

Audrey has her parents heart strings in her hand and knows how to pull them! _______________________________________________

Boden:

Our first little man, and #1 redhead: Boden is a good boy. He likes to learn and play (mostly with cars). One of his favorite movies is Speed Racer.

As you can tell from his picture, he's also into swimming lately. We're really proud of him for loving to swim. 2 months ago we started him in his first swim lessons and he had a really hard time the first couple of times. For the past few years, he's been one of those kinds of kids that has never liked getting his face wet. Well once he got his magic goggles, that all changed. It's all his instructor can do anymore, just to keep him above the water so that she can instruct. He loves holding his breath and seeing how far he can go without coming up. He's great at "Big Arms" (or the front crawl stroke), but still has a hard time, due to anxiety, flipping over to his back and doing "Monkey-Airplane-Soldier" (otherwise known as the back-float).

We've told our boys that they can only do one activity at a time, Boden keeps choosing to swim, and we're proud of him for doing things that he's scared to do - he loves it (the scones and chocolate shakes on the ride home with daddy might have something to do with this though...).
_______________________________________________

Damien:

Big "D". Yes this nick-name was sort of stolen from Harry Potter, but it works, and he likes it. Damien, our newest addition, has found his place in our family. He's the oldest now, and has taken on the roll of being a big help to mom, being silly with Boden and sweet to Audrey. Damien has a hard time being serious because he just likes being silly, but he's a VERY good boy, and we love him. He likes playing sports, math, science, chocolate and most of all, Boden. He and Boden are the best friends, and compadres in crime.

'Big D' just finished with his fall soccer games and is now signed up to start playing JR. Jazz basketball - he's WAY excited. Something that everyone that knows Damien will know about him is that he's a very kind and genuinely friendly kid. When we pick him up from school, he's sticking his head out of the window saying goodbye to all the kids, by name. Damien has a genuine love for people, what a blessing he is to our lives.

___________________________________________

Brandy:

Brandy - the love of my life and yours (you know it's true), is doing well. She struggles with us kids some times, but it's only when I'm not doing my part. She's such a good example for me in so many ways.

Brandy and I got to do some traveling before Boden was born - Bahamas', Mexico, Hawaii, but really haven't been anywhere exciting for several years. I was finally able to talk her into getting her passport though, and we're going to put it to use this Jan. when we take our first cruise.

She has been busy with her primary presidency calling. She's the 2nd councilor in the primary presidency and she really enjoys it. She loves the baptisms and the opportunities to spend time with all the kids in our ward. She even enjoys getting away from the house for a meeting or two (I can't understand why she'd like getting away though...).

Brandy makes our home a wonderful place to be, and I am so grateful that she's decided to keep me around this long.

_______________________________________________

Me:

Well, I know what other people say about me, but I'm not sure I should repeat that here (family site and all). I can tell you that I have been enjoying my calling as a gospel doctrine teacher. It's been a blessing to be able to rely on the spirit and connect with others in the ward in such a wonderful role. I have really enjoyed being able to take Boden to most of his swim lessons lately , and look forward to being able to take him to a few more, from time-to-time; but the next few weeks are going to be a bit hectic for me. I am starting to branch out a bit more with other work opportunities, but I don't want to say too much until I know for sure how things are going to turn out. Other then that, and loving the snow that is on the ground today - I am doing awesome. Brandy and I are excited that our family has grown from 1 to 3 in such a short amount of time. We've truly been blessed.

________________________________________

I hope that you will all feel appeased with these postings and accept my humble apologies.

Love from the Johnson Family~

Grandma Evy

Grandma Evy, G.G.,  passed away Wednesday, October 8th.  We called her G.G. because it was easier for Boden, when he was little, to say G.G. and understand the difference between Great Grandma, and Grandma.  

I am so grateful that Boden knew her for 4 years, Damien knew her for a couple of months and Audrey was held by my grandma.  She was the grandma that I saw more then anyone else.  In fact, I could say that I saw her, more then any other of my extended family, especially over the past few years.  We love Grandma Evy and are so very grateful to know that she lives on, with Grandpa Joe, in Heaven, and that families can be forever.  

BEACH Vacation

We just got back from our 1 week Oregon Coast vacation; which was an blast. I am trying to stay current as I can on this blogsite, so here are some images for you to enjoy:


We left on Saturday the 16th and stopped off to see Grandma Beth in Baker City, OR for her 80th birthday. On Sunday we drove the rest of the way up to Rockaway Beach, OR., where my parents had rented a beach house for the week. It was a nice place (as you'll be able to see by the pictures), right on the beach by Twin Rocks. We were able to go crabbing, swimming in the ocean, siteseeing, visit the air museum, feed the seals, arcade playing, etc... it really was a fun vacation - you'll have to ask the boys about some of it...
Damien really enjoyed his first time to the coast, and says that his funnest experience was when he got knocked down by a big wave and was upside down for a second....This sounds scarier then it was, since he was in one foot deep water at the time, but it was pretty funny to watch and he really had a good time. The boys both enjoyed berry picking, crabbing, running around the astro column and going to Fort Clatsop, playing in the water...etc.

Hope you enjoy some of the pictures!

Love from your favoirte Land Lubbers!

Go Cougars!

The boys and I are excited about going to our first game on the 30th (my birthday!!! - - For those of you who have lots of extra presents laying around; ie. Big sceen TV's, 4Wheel drive (Fuel economic) vehicles, snow mobiles, a boat - you know - anything you might have lying around). I took them to a MEET THE COUGARS night on Thursday night the 14th. They really enjoyed getting some new Cougar apparel, and some autographs from some of the team and Cosmo. It was fun to see them so excited - -my little football players in the making!

Here are some pictures of the day!

FHE - Family Pictures 7/28/2008

For Family Home Evening a couple of nights ago, we had a picnic dinner outside on the grass and then had our family lesson. It was a nice night, and Damien and Boden were having a lot of fun. We decided to take a couple of unprofessional family pictures, just for the heck of it. We also took some individual pictures of the kids, just for fun.

Love from the Johnson Family!

Fishing_7/26/2008

Hi everyone!

My folks went camping a couple of weekends ago (July 24-26), and I promised the boys that we'd go up too, but it turned out to be something we couldn't do (camping). Instead we joined up with the family on Saturday, and I took the boys fishing and swimming instead - they had a blast! Here are a couple of pictures.

They each took turns, one on the kids rod and one on mine. We caught 2 fish with my rod, and 1 with the kids. It was really fun for me - I was able to snag the fish without them knowing and then just ask them hold the poll and just "let me know if you catch anything". They were both so proud of themselves (we caught 2 keepers and then a baby with the kids rod). The cool thing was that they both wanted to eat the fish that night, so we brought them home and added them to the menu for dinner (even Brandy had a bite - SO PROUD of my family).

Anyway - here are a couple of pictures - hope you enjoy!!!

PS. If I am missing anything along the way, or if you want to see other things that I might have forgotten to post, please just comment and let me know!

BIG Family News!!!

Okay everyone. Remember that teaser from last week... Well here is the BIG NEWS I promised. Our little family of 3 is growing in leaps and bounds this month. We are excited to announce that not only do we have the addition of our little princess, Audrey, but we also have a foster-child living with us, named Damien, and we are going to be adopting him, and making hima permanent part of our family.

Damien is a very good boy. He's 6 years old and is full of energy and giggles. He likes chocolate (well any candy really - he get's really excited about candy). He likes to play outside, and wrestle (which is great for Boden), ride his bike and swim/camp/hike etc. In short, is a boy's-boy. We're really grateful for him in our family and he's really starting to settle in perfectly as the older brother.

Here are some pictures of Damien and Boden on our latest hike to Timpanogos Caves. Please take some time to congratulate Damien and make him feel welcome in our home and family!

More of Audrey - Cause who can get enough?

Okay all, here are some more pictures of Audrey, because no on can get enough of Queen Sweetness... We are having so much fun with our little girl. She's such a little sleeper/cuddler/eater. So easy going, loves to be held, doesn't mind getting her diaper changed at all, doesn't mind loud noises, etc. Perfect for a house full of boys.

We Love our girl!!

Found these pictures, had to share

Boden is an awesome son, we love him....however he can be a bit of a knuckle head sometimes. This is him with his good friend Bridger, who lives just down the street. It had been raining for a couple of days and they decided to go outside while the sun was shining and have some fun...

do you think they had any?

One worth posting

Needless to say we have been a little busy around our house lately, so posting things as often as I'd like has been out of the question, but I came across this today, and I had to post it. For those of you wondering how Boden is at being a good big brother to Audrey, here you go... We definetly have more family news, but I want to wait a couple of days before going public with it.
(hows that for a teaser?)

Have a great day!

Sweet Big Brother!

Princess Audrey has arrived

Drum roll please......the moment you've all been waiting for....Introducing AUDREY NICOLE JOHNON. Audrey was born on Saturday the 14th of June (HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ME!) at 11:32AM. She was 7lbs 14oz, and 21.5" long. When she was born she cried for the first 5 seconds, until the doctor put her up on Brandys stomach and she immediately stopped her crying. She opened her eyes right away and just sat there looking around for about 45 minutes, even with goop in her eyes (no crying), she just continued to look around. Then the nurse took her and gave her a shot, she cried until she was wrapped back up, then stopped crying again. She's our calm baby. We brought her home on Sunday the 15th - Fathers Day - and she slept her first night in her own room....where she woke up every hour for the first little while, but ended up giving us a 3 hour break in the early morning... Lastnight was awesome. She woke up at 2:00am then at 6:50 am., so she is already sleeping well at night.



We're so grateful to have our little princess. I am going to post a slideshow, but you'll be able to see a lot more on our online photo album (SEE LINK ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE PAGE).

Boden's last couple soccer games

Boden had his last couple soccer games the past few weeks, and since I have been lazy lately, and haven't posted anything, you're getting the games all at once... Here's an overview - - he kicked the ball maybe 2 or 3 times, but he still managed to make everyone on both teams, and both sets of parents laugh.

See for yourself:

Peter's Home-coming from Ghana Africa

My brother Peter came home from his mission to Ghana Africa. He served a faithful 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We're really proud of the fact that he now has a very noticable testimony and can speak pretty well in Twi (chwi), an African dialect. He even knows how to say, White Man - Red, Red - which sounds much cooler in African then in English (it's a chant the kids say when they see the white boys walking around - white man with sunburn - la, la, la.... He knows how to say much more then that, but that's the coolest I've heard so far - very rhymy..

Here are some pictures:

Cookin in the canyons

Now I have lots of picutres of this, Lesleys birthday dinner, posted on our PHOTO ALBUM, so I'll let you go there for it, but I thought I should at least post the popcorn videos..

well - have fun

Family Support Stuff

I am posting this as proof that I have gone to support Molly in her school performances. Boden, Brandy and I went to see her sing the other night, I am even putting 2 little clips on here if you want to listen to them. You'll need to pause the music player below though.

Have fun,

Love,
Your Favorite Johnson Family!



Molly Johnson...Riverton High Schools next American Idol

Molly and the Purple People Eaters

May showers and baby stuff

Okay, I have been putting this off because it's a bit girly, and since Brandy doesn't post to this site...well all the women suffer. However, I have recently come to realize that 90% of our frequent viewers out there are women...so...in order to serve our regulars better...my hands are tied.

Here are some photos from a recent baby shower (well relatively recent anyway) for Taunya, Brandy's sister. Brandy, Heidi and Taunya (all sisters) are all having babies within weeks of each other and since this is Taunya's first, Brandy threw her a little party.

Anyway - enjoy the pictures, there are lots (courtesy of Kendra - another sister - who, by the way, is NOT pregnant), I have also updated our online photo album (see link on side of page) with these pictures as well.



Love, The Johnson Family

Posts for posting sake

I know I haven't updated our site in a couple of days...sheesh....sorry. Anyway, here is a post, for posting sake. I don't really have a lot of announcements so here are some brief thoughts (not Hanes!).

First - Lawn - I have a major project on my hands for our backyard. I am trying to get things plotted out and set up for our trees and planting area in the back. I have already laid it all out, I'm just trying to decide if I want to do it all, or hire someone else to do it. I think I have decided to do it myself though.

Audrey will be here within the next 4 weeks YEAH!!!

Boden and I are having a great time the past couple of days together. We went to see Narnia together, and we went and saw Speed Racer together and we also saw IronMan with mommy. He's my little buddy. We've also been playing lots and he's been following me around the yard helping my with my jobs.

I am really excited about this video I'm posting. Boden was really trying hard here for about....15 seconds. I am not kidding either when I say that this was probably the only point in the game that he was doing that, but it was REALLY cool to catch it on camera.

Lots of love,

Your favorite Johnson Family!

Games, Movies and Arcades

Today was a fun day... Brandy had a baby shower for her sister (Brandy is one of 3 sisters that are pregnant right now - all due around the same time), so I took Boden to his soccer game and then we got to stay away from the house. We went to the movies, Speed Racer, then got a sandwich and played some arcades for a little while. We had a lot of fun - male bonding...grunt grunt, grunt.

I have updated the slide show below with more picutures with todays game. I also updated our photo album (see link on left hand side of the page). Here are some pictures of the two of us today as we came home and it was time for Boden to take a nap (still playing around).