A Sneak Peek into the Johnson Five

2011-04-15T19:07:00.000-07:00

My great friend, Mandy, and I relax by the beach. Well, if you can call holding a 1 year old who puts sand in his mouth and running after the other 4 relaxing.....
Elise seems to feel no pain....she's not cold, she's not hot, she's content to be in the water or on the sand. I've never had a child like this. She LOVES the beach!
Ella and Elise were the best of friends for the weekend.
Dillingers took us out for a seafood delight at the "Crab n", a local, very run down, but fabulous food place here in town.
A fantastic family!

A morning for Grandad

2011-04-15T18:12:00.001-07:00

Elise loves her Rapunzel dress from her Mimi and Papa Frank!
A wonderful morning. We decided to drop Great Grandad's ashes into the ocean one morning, hoping that he could swim with the dolphins. We couldn't find the dolphins, but went ahead and spread his ashes out. Immediately, Alex noticed movement less than 50 feet away. It was a dolphin!
It was remarkable how close we were able to get to the dolphins. Breathtaking, really. Such a blessing from God.

The sunrise was gorgeous and I loved breathing the warm air with my boys on our walk by the ocean.

Letters of love

2011-02-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

A note Tanner wrote about his sister last year. She is the "lowdis" baby in the whole world. But, read on.....I love my sister evin no shes rile lowd. I still love her.
Notes from Alex to mom and dad. He is beginning to take after his older brother and writing his own letters to us. The second ones says, "I like the cabin. The cabin is really fun. We go to the fun cabin".
Tanner tends to not worry about spelling, but just writes from the heart. His writing has really improved year.

Matt thinks this is a terrible photo, but I had to laugh as I caught her on the toilet with two beaters in hand, and mouth covered in cookie dough. Why put them down for a bathroom break???

2011-02-19T15:02:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day was celebrated with our co-op group. Fun games, lots of candy and cards and speaking of what real love is.
Elise shows off the craft.

And Alex.... handsome man.
Mama and the chicks gathered....

2010-12-26T16:47:00.000-08:00

Tanner is scouring his letter that Santa wrote back (to he, Alex and Elise). They couldn't believe that he knew the things he knew. Like that they had baked cookies with Nana, and that he thought he'd be at the house around 2am. Tanner read and re-read this letter to make sure he was prepared for the big night. Elise loved her big girl 'puter from her grandmimi and granpa in Texas.

Tanner got what he wanted. A super spy video watch. This was number two on his list. Number one was a 22 Cricket gun. He didn't get his number one request this year.
Alex was thrilled with the batman cave which was number one on his list. Santa knew!!
Up at 6:30am due to her brothers excitement! Elise got into the fun right away....especially after realizing that her stocking had candy. She was more interested in that than any gift this year....ah oh.

Number 15 on our Christmas list

2010-12-26T16:30:00.000-08:00

We continued with our Christmas list tradition of trying to think of ways to make the month meaningful with an outpouring of Jesus love each day in some way. This day we are waiting for our friends at the Meridian Care Center to arrive to visit the residents. All dressed up with jingly shoes. Those were a big hit with the residents!Our friends arrive! The Weaver and Sanders family. Two families that we co-op for homeschooling with and support each other in every way. The kids had made homemade cards for the residents and were ready with Christmas carrolls.

Here is Elise "performing" at our church Christmas program. She had no words for any of the songs, but had plenty of funny faces during the performance.
Elise with her best buddies, Will and Elle. Elle is actually really happy, but loves to put on her mad face! These three are front row most Sundays hamming it up.

Our Texas Getaway Adventures

2010-05-08T16:56:00.001-07:00

Top 10 reasons why we LOVE our Texas Vacations!
1. Sun and sleep! Elise fell fast asleep in the stroller at Sea World

2. Alex learns to drive the boat. He really was excited!

3. Tanner learns to drive the boat. Lake LBJ is fantastic in May during the weekdays!

4. A beer and a boat. Matt will kill me for putting this one out there, but hey, it is what it is.

5. Cave adventures in the hill country. Our guide was a bit long winded and Alex motioned for me and quietly asked, "is this guy making any sense?"

6. Sea World with Sami and Julia 7. Staying in a cool hotel in San Antonio so we can enjoy a full day at Sea World!8. Boating in Granpa's boat on lake LBJ. Obviously, this one makes it several times on the list since we try to get out swimming and skiing every day! 9. Spending time on the back porch with Mimi's dog, Buddy.10.Happy hour with Grandmimi and Granpa every night! Mimi and Papa Frank join us each night, but getting a picture of those two is nearly impossible.

Alex's 6th birthday celebration

2010-05-08T16:50:00.000-07:00

Turning 6 in Texas at his Granmimi and Granpa's house has it's advantages! Pancakes in the morning and presents right afterwards!

Star Wars was the hit of the day

Daddy and Grandmimi aleady sharing photos and Alex bliss in the aftermath of gifts.

Elise seemed to enjoy the show too!

Some adventures in the long winter

2010-02-18T15:58:00.000-08:00

We are all set up to school in our office. Most days it's very fun. Some days it's a lot of work on all of our parts. For the most part, we have really enjoyed this year together and when I look back, it's had some extraordinary moments. I wouldn't trade it for anything. One benefit has been the extra-curricular activities that the boys and their friends in our co-op have enjoyed. This gymnastics class is phenomenal with a Bulgarian coach, Ivan. The boys are much more enthusiastic when their friends, Hannah and Ava join them. This is Tanner trying out the rings. Alex and Ava.Ivan helping Alex finish his back roll.Alex and Tanner have also taken a PE class at the local rec center which has included an aray of sports such as rock climbing, flag football, hockey and running a mile. We've met a great family through this program too! Our newest addition, "mousie" a pet rat. This started out as a favor to a friend who wanted to get rid of the rat due to purchasing a new pet dog. She brought mousie (as Leesy has named her) over and Tanner fell in love. He's been so great about taking care of her and we've all kind of gotten to like her. Kind of.......

Long claws keep us covered as we hold her.

The new 2009 Christmas list

2009-12-03T15:57:00.000-08:00

This year, in an effort to make the meaning of Christmas sink in a bit, the kids and I came up with a list of things to do. One each day until Christmas. Here is the original list written by Tanner. He abbreviates to avoid writing full sentences. Some of the items on the list such as#10 include giving away dollars to any person asking for money on the street, or #12, kids make and serve dinner to the adults night. We had a McDonald's night where we paid for the car behind us. I'm not sure who was more excited, Matt or the kids! It was very fun and we've kicked off the month with JOY.

Today, Tanner worked on his fear of "public speaking" by doing 2 magic tricks in front of a crowd at the nursing home. They loved him! Here are the kids with their Christmas list of things to do this month. Three checked off!

Halloween 2009

2009-12-03T15:44:00.000-08:00

You would think these brothers....ah hmmm...space guy and batman, were best friends, wouldn't you? Papa Frank and Mimi arrived from Texas on Halloween night! We had a great week with them and unfortunately after this night, I couldn't locate my camera!Elise and friend, Carson.The room full of balloons was a HUGE hit! Yes, mom and dad joined in the fun of dressing up this year as roller derby girl and roller derby fan. The Ca-sassin was on fire! Love my obsessed fan, too. Little Leesy as our lady bug... Carved beautiful pumpkins at Nana and Papa's house.

Some new additions at the Cabin

2009-10-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

"I'll show you how to ride this thing, Leesy!" She's as much a "gearhead" as her brothers at this point. Alex, on the new swing Daddy put up!Mommy and Elise love to swing on the porch in our sky chairs.Okay, Tanner LOVES this 4 wheeler! He manages it very well, too! And, yes, daddy did buy him all the safe gear to go on it! And, our little Elise showing off that sweet smile!

SLC highlights

2009-10-07T20:23:00.001-07:00

Ryan and Shauna introduced us to paddleboarding on the great Salt Lake. The lake is so crazy, tasting saltier than the ocean and attracting unusual bugs and spiders all over. Paddleboarding is one of a handful of recreational attempts on the lake.

The boys loved the adventure!

Shauna's family basically started this whole tradition of Saturday mornings at the lake. Lots of hawaiian influence in food, music and fun. We loved the experience. Here is a picture of the huge "canoes" (because I can't remember the official name) that we took out on the lake.

On our trip up to SLC, we stopped in and admired the huge gorge at Twin Falls.

Our real live Superman!

2009-10-07T20:09:00.001-07:00

Late at night at Lagoon with Uncle Ryan and future Aunt Shauna. We opened and closed the park on our trip to SLC! Ryan and Shauna are officially engaged and we couldn't be happier for them! We HAD to make the trip to celebrate with them at Lagoon!We got one last ride on the huge rocking boat! Shauna's least favorite ride and she endured it at least 5 times! This is our 7 year old son, Tanner and his daddy swinging 150 feet in the air on the "superman" ride at Lagoon. It was hard to capture just how high they were. They were cranked up lying supine in harnesses and then Matt had to pull a rip cord to release the the cord and begin the flight. Several people (older kids) had been pulled back down because they were terrified at the top and couldn't bear to pull the rip cord. I expected to hear crying as they sailed over my head, but instead I heard shear joyous laughter. It was a crazy experience. You think you know a kid....Standing in line waiting to go....next. The line was over an hour as they only let one group go at a time. Tanner and Daddy all suited up and ready to go!
My interview with Tanner after the flight. He was honestly a celebrity with all the crowd! They just couldn't believe a 7 year old would attempt that ride!

Alex's big kindergarten day

2009-08-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

We are a bike ride away from Alex's school. Today was a smeltering 100 degrees, but it didn't stop my little man from riding briskly down the path to his first big day of kindergarten. Look at him locking up his bike. No help from mom. Big brother and little sis pose afterschool. His first "line up" on his way into class. He has 15 girls in class and 5 boys...hmmmm. His teacher's name is Mrs. Rule. Pretty significant name to a 5 year old. Sweet Alex still smiling after his first afternoon at Owyhee. To celebrate the day, we went out to eat and then cooled off at a great Eagle park with fountains. Typical to the Johnson kids, Elise stood and watched other kids for the first 10 minutes, took tenative steps towards the mister and then dove in full speed ahead until she was soaked! Did I mention it was 100 degrees today??? Even Dad joined in the fun!

Crazy cousins!

2009-08-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

No matter what country you are from.....candy is GOOD! Taking a "break" on the drive to Cascade. Oh boys..... The like the silly pictures best! The boys were very sweet to their little Elise.Alex loved having Uncle Ryan's dog, Rosco staying with us. I guess he's a cousin of some sorts until Uncle Ryan has kids. Lounging in the house after a day in the sprinklers! Love this shot. It was taken after a long day of boating with our family. The kids are always "OUT" on the drive home.

Our Cascade retreat

2009-08-07T19:52:00.000-07:00

The back view, newly painted.Daddy does have some down time and enjoys the "loop" on the motorcycles.The front view. We are enjoying using the deck for meal times. Elise and Alex on the bike. It is VERY hard to get the girl off the bike. Oh, no....another motorhead on my hands. Both kids (and probably Matt) can be heard screaming in delight around the trails they take around the cabin.

Boating and family

2009-08-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Daddy and Alex in the "kid toss"! We enjoyed our whole Taylor side of the family up in July. This weekend, we had Cory, Sonia, Jake and Gavin and Ryan and girlfriend, Shauna. We all spend the weekend in Cascade at the cabin and on the lake. It was beautiful all the way around. Love my family. The Barcelona loves...Cory and SoniaMommy and Leesy Jake enjoying the fun! Cory and Alex cuddle in front Our little boat docked on the beach. Oh, I'm so in style....Elise Sonia and Gavin Tanner is an excellent swimmer and boater this summer!

Tanner's kindergarten graduation

2009-06-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten graduation was fun with songs, cheers and tears! Lindsey told me, "can I take a photo of Tanner. I really want to have it in my room, so I can see him every day." Us girls, especially in kindergarten, tend to wear our hearts on our sleeves.

Mrs. Hartman was an excellent teacher! We all loved her. Notice Tanner and all the girls? He seemed to have quite a following this year, and loved every minute of it.....well, except when they mauled him at the cubbies.

Alex as a Jedi Knight

2009-06-13T15:22:00.000-07:00

Alex was chosen as a Jedi knight trainee during a Star Wars show. They wore the robes and got light sabers to learn to defend themselves. He took the whole thing very seriously. The next video shows his fight with Darth Vader himself.

Right shoulder, left shoulder, DUCK, left leg, head etc..... He was good! Can you imagine Alex's little heart racing as he faced that huge Vader??? I hope we never forget his delighted giggles all throughout the Star Wars space ride. Their laughs were the best sounds I've ever heard......why can't we bottle that?

Disneyland and Tanner's Birthday!

2009-06-13T14:28:00.001-07:00

One highlight was our breakfast at the Plaza with Minnie and friends! On Tanner's birthday, we surprised him. He was thrilled to get autographs in his book from all these characters.

We had three full days of wonder at the happiest place on earth, and we still didn't see everything! The boys were at a great age enjoying the fastest, scariest rides along with the adults! "I AM having fun" (Alex, day 3) photographed out! Aunt Breezy was along for the ride as a graduation gift from us. I think she had fun, too! This was in the new Buzz Lightyear ride.This was in Brother Bears cave where you put your had in the rock and it showed a picture of what animal you were inside. Alex was a tiger, Tanner a fish, Mommy a beaver.....huh? California Adventure was fun, except that they didn't have the fast passes for their rides, so we found ourselves in long lines (40-50 minutes), and after the Grizzly River Raft ride broke down after waiting for 30 minutes, we gave up and explored the brother bear habitat. The kids loved soaring over California and Tanner's favorite, Screaming California rollercoaster ride! Neither liked the James Giant Peach, swings (me either!)

2009-05-13T20:05:00.001-07:00

Soccer days

2009-05-13T19:14:00.001-07:00

We play soccer every Saturday morning at a nearby park. Our league started out with a few families that wanted to let their kids enjoy soccer without breaking the bank, and as word got out, we ended up with over 50 kids. Alex's team has some little 3 year old girls that spend most of the time holding hands, as you can see!Tanner plays with the older kids and LOVES it! We are thrilled to find a sport that he enjoys and isn't completely intimidated by. His best friend, Brock and he are on the same team (of course!)Natural athelete, we think.....don't all parents??

Alex's 5th birthday bash!

2009-05-13T19:07:00.001-07:00

Our big 5 year old!A game of musical chairs was pretty fun upstairs! Matt put some black lights in and the kids enjoyed dancing with glow in the dark sticks, necklaces and bracelets!The line for slamming the pinata was long... Our birthday boy with his homemade chia pit with real grass!

A visit from the Cox family

2009-05-13T15:54:00.001-07:00

Katie and Brian Cox, our best friends from college joined us for a long weekend with their newest addition, Josie (3 months). With our 5 kids altogether, we discovered that hanging out at the house, napping, playing games and eating was our best bet! A bit different from our adventurous college days!All of us, except little Elise....where was she??? Okay, so we had one outing to Pojo's for a fun afternoon of games and bumper cars.Addie and Josie hanging out.Yes, 3 year old Berkeley likes olives!

2009-04-05T18:13:00.000-07:00

We spent a fun afternoon at our friends, Hannah and Ava's house. Little did I know that the boys have been watching "Dancing with the Stars" at their Nana's house and have learned a few moves. The four kids came out from "rehearsal" with these choreographed dances (all Tanner's doing). Hmmmmm.....

Happy Birthday video

2009-04-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

A cool talking phone from Granmimi and Granpa Howard. I think she likes it!

Our happy birthday song to the latest princess in our family!

April Fools....no, she really is ONE!

2009-04-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

I guess we'll go in reverse. She has now figured out that cake is GOOD, and she wants to share with Daddy. We switched to a small cupcake as the "little cake" was a bit overwhelming for her! Daddy is helping her say, "I'm one now". My cousin JuDawn make these sweet petal cakes. One for the big guys, one special cake for E and cupcakes for all else. They were so yummy! Her cousins, Dillyn and Mia passed on this cool ride for E to enjoy. She loves being pushed around by her brothers. I might have another "motorhead" on my hands.....Now, this is how we started the day off. Look how big my little girl is today! She even let me put a barrett in her hair. Notice by the end of the day, she had NO clothes on and who knows where that cute barrett is.

My flight experience!

2009-03-02T19:59:00.001-08:00

So, we had a girls weekend planned in McCall and I got to start the weekend off right with a sweet ride on Jamie's airplane! Jamie is a new friend who is the mom of a preschooler I see for speech therapy and we swapped services. The pilot and the therapist! It was awesome and the kids (and dad) loved seeing and playing in the plane before Jamie and I took off.A view of Boise downtown as we flew by. The boys were in hog heaven! Tanner was sooooo disappointed that he wasn't going. Even Elise go in on the action! Jamie was sweet enough to to a "fly by" our house. The kids and Matt are standing in the driveway waving....can you tell?

Here is just some of the spectacular views as we climbed into the mountain ranges. And down to the unmanned runway in McCall 35 minutes later (a 2.5 hour drive!). It was incredibly fun! I only wish I had the brains (and money) to learn to pilot myself. Opens a whole new world!

What a little personality we have!

2009-03-02T19:53:00.000-08:00

Elise is beginning to show her little spit fire personality and we love to laugh at her everyday. Today just happened to be throwing a ball and grunting as she did. Exerting so much effort, I guess. We also like to capture this funny crawl that she is using. One leg out....looks much like what Tanner did as a baby! Tonight, she was standing on her own, letting go of the couch and laughing. I'll capture that next time!

2009-02-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

We've spent many weekends working on this cabin to get it finished. Well, I should say, Matt has spent weekends working. The kids and I enjoy playing, making videos, setting up forts and relaxing while watching the snow fall. We love it. Although we are technically not supposed to move in. You'll see we have much furniture in already and are making ourselves at home. We should have the occupancy permit next month. Daddy and Tanner working on the stove outlet. This is the small galley kitchen in rough form.Nice flip, Tanner!And Alex is next!

Queen of the castle is what we say.

Sweet music

2009-02-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

Alex, Tanner and Elise singing for you!

A nine month update

2009-01-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

Alex and Alaina after their preschool Christmas program.

One of his favorite christmas gifts.....stormtrooper. Too bad the costume only endured one day. It was ripped to shreds after one wear. Rough play or cheap material? Probably both.

What is our sweet pea doing at nine months? Well let me tell you....this was her month! She is now babbling a ton, rocking on her hands and knees ready to crawl any day, smiling at strangers (even flirting a bit while riding in the grocery cart) and so much fun! This has been a fun month for all of us. She continues to wake in the middle of the night, so we're working on that next.

We'll update you on a "teach your baby to read" program we are testing out. A christmas gift from Nana that says Lissy will be reading possibly before she walks......hummmm.

We love her little peacoat from Aunt Katie! Years ago, when Brian, Kate, Matt and I were in Paris, Katie bought it for her unborn child and we get the benefit years later! So sweet....

Christmas day in Idaho

2008-12-26T21:03:00.001-08:00

We made it over to Aunt Shannah and Uncle Beau's house for brunch where we got to see Mia, Dillyn, Grammy and Papa and Breezy on Christmas morning.

Our sweet cousins, Mia and Dillyn

Grammy and Papa should have been in Hawaii today. They were booked on the flight two days ago, but due to the winter storms in the western states, all flights were cancelled. We made many jokes about warm beaches to make them feel better!

Aunt Breezy cuddling with sissy

So, Tanner started out in our room at 5am, whispering, "can I go down, Mom?" It had been snowing all night and we had forgotten to close his blinds, so it did look "light" outside, but no, he did not get to go downstairs yet. He was able to fall back asleep, but Matt and I were up. Waking to jingles, the boys ran excitedly down stairs to find that Santa had really shown up! The electric slot car track was a huge hit among ALL the boys....Dad included.

New underwear and a new scooter. What could be better?

Elise just loved watching the excitement and finding any bit of chocolate on the floor to rip into.

Granmimi and Granpa always find the latest electronic gifts....the boys loved the cars this year!

Cute for Christmas

2008-12-26T20:56:00.000-08:00

So, this is the thing. Baby girl clothes are so much fun. Elise had more christmas outfits than I could fit into this season. Last year, it was a must on the list for the child I was carrying, so we ended up with many sweet dresses ready to be worn. Then, she got this sweet "first christmas" outfit from her great grandparents in Texas. We'll be wearing them well into January!

Ready for church on Sunday and I had to capture them all spruced up!

New sweaters for everyone!

2008-12-26T20:51:00.000-08:00

My cousin, JuDawn knitted the kids sweaters and hats for Christmas this year. Jazzy, sporting the beanie, enjoyed some photo time with Elise! The boys were thrilled with the little cardigans and wore them continuously for two days!

Construction on the Cabin

2008-12-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

We headed up to see the progress Matt has been making on our 600 square foot cabin in Cascade. He's been spending a couple of days a week up there, but wanted all of us to join him last week. Admittedly, he didn't get as much done as usual, but we sure had fun. I couldn't believe what a fantastic job he has done painting and getting the electical work done, let alone, getting the floor laid. It is so exciting to think we'll be able to use it soon! The kids and I gave Dad a break and went out for some sledding right down our hill. Elise lasted about a half hour strapped into the sled! Alex and Tanner were in winter heaven!

Getting them all dressed takes a LONG time!

A shot of the kitchen area..... a long galley kitchen is what fit best in this cozy place.

Thanks to Aunt Katie for letting us borrow this sweet winter suit for Lissy. She was nice and snug in the 1 degree weather outside (for a short time!)

Another day, another month

2008-12-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

At eight months Elise is:
1. smiling only for family
2. tolerating minutes of tummy time, no crawling attempts
3. sporting 6 teeth
4. has now rolled 3x
5. sleeping 4-6 hours at a time at night
6. loves bath time excessively
7. weighs in at 19 pounds (85 percentile)
8. is adored by biggest brother, Tanner who packs her everywhere (wonder why she doesn't crawl??)
9. tolerates big brother Alex (who competes to carry her, just to compete with Tanner)

Alex's thanksgiving dance

2008-12-08T18:49:00.000-08:00

Alex performs with his preschool class just before Thanksgiving. He continues to amaze us with his ability to remember songs, fingerplays and dances on a days notice. We wonder if he might have a bit of a photographic memory. Wouldn't that be fun? The video is a bit hard to hear, but the dance is cute anyway!

Trying to capture a christmas pose

2008-12-08T18:39:00.001-08:00

So, it's December 8th and I still haven't developed a Christmas pose for our cards yet this year. I thought, "how hard could it be? I'll just get a good one in the bath. It's typically a good time for Elise". Well, Alex would not cooperate there and then afterwards, they wouldn't sit still without giggling and falling all over the bed. Then Lissy was upset. So much for an easy shot. Still pretty darn cute though.

Our Johnson creation at seven months

2008-11-12T20:22:00.001-08:00

My friend, Barb (who is also a Johnson) gave Lissy this sweet t-shirt as a gift. It says it all!

Why are hats for girls so darn cute? Maybe it's just the model.

2008-11-03T19:13:00.000-08:00

In Alex's preschool, they learned this finger play. He, unlike his older brother, loves to participate in all the songs with actions. Tanner is the tenative one to go to doors to trick or treat, Alex is right there knocking. Tanner is the observer, Alex is the participater....not giving a second thought to whose watching. I wonder what the third little personality will be. What fun!

Halloween night

2008-11-03T19:03:00.000-08:00

Could there be any cuter kids on Halloween night? Mickey, Donald and that Jungle book bear

Super scary pumpkins. They are imitating the pumpkin faces if you can't tell.

Harvest parties

2008-11-03T18:52:00.001-08:00

Tanner has this new love. A girl named Alexi in his kindergarten class. She sits right next to him and he has been infatuated with her since day one. They actually have a very sweet friendship. Her mom told me that recently Alexi confided in her that she had kissedTanner on the playground. I asked Tanner about it later, and he said, "yeah, she did". Matter of fact. "Right her on my neck." Oh my. We had a talk.

Corn maze fun at a local pumpkin farm

His good friend, Isaac from kindergarten.

The field trip started off with a hay ride out to see some exotic animals (a zebra in Idaho???). It was about 30 degrees that morning and I had packed up Elise to go with me as a parent helper. We froze, but Tanner was thrilled to have us along. How long does that last??

Many Halloween adventures

2008-11-03T18:35:00.001-08:00

A family picture in front of a scary skeleton.
Just my style. Not. But the kids thought it was
cool.

Halloween one week early. We now have a tradition of going out to an annual party put on by a family in Eagle, ID who puts on a great event. This year, not only did a small plane (flown by the dad) drop candy overhead, but these superheros also came sky diving down. You can image the excitement in the air when the kids spied them coming in!

Donald and Mickey this year.

Our friend, Zach and Jake Vickhammer, joined us this year for the exciting party. We had to take pictures beforehand, of course. Alex was a little disappointed to be Donald Duck instead of a cool Darth Vader.

My first taste of chocolate

2008-11-03T18:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, at 7 months old, we allowed our little missy to have a taste of a chocolate chip cookie. Needless to say, it was a complete hit! We couldn't pry that thing out of her mouth. Yes, the shirt says it all, "daddy's girl".

My lovely grandma

2008-10-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

If there is ever a time to listen to that voice, that Holy Spirit voice inside your mind, it is now. Mine was telling me that I needed to get a generational picture done with my grandma, my mom, myself and Elise. It was a nagging voice that amist many obstacles, was heard. On Sunday, September 14th, we all went out and my uncle Jeff took these beautiful photos of the four of us. It was a wonderfully beautiful day that I think all of us enjoyed immensely. We finished it with a hearty meal at my mom's house and "I love you's" all around as we always do. On Tuesday, my grandma went into the emergency room with the beginning of a health crisis that eventually took her life on September 28th. Two weeks from the beautiful fall day we all spent together. I am ever so grateful for listening to that Holy Spirit voice. Now I have photos along with a great memory of my lovely grandma. I look forward to the next time we meet. Love you, grandma!

Sea World

2008-09-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

The kids first trip to any amusement park was a HUGE hit! The shows were amazing along with the rides. Alex liked the dolphins best, while Tanner got soaked watching Chamu. Matt rode (alone) the thriller upside down, dangling feet coaster, while I stuck to the Texas Splasher! It was a great day to end our vacation on.

At last we got to see our beautiful niece, Samantha. She met Elise for the first time and it was a hit!

Lovely ocean days

2008-09-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

Beachy days.....Grandmimi continues the search for the perfect sanddollar!

Elise even enjoyed her first taste of sand. A beach beauty in the making!

We spent two days enjoying the most beautiful, warm beaches. The boys loved every minute and so did we!

Boys will be boys....they fished out these poor jellyfish that were scattered along our dock, put them in fresh water and later dissected them.

The view we woke up to every morning. Papa Frank enjoyed two loves....fishing and grandkids!

A visit to Texas

2008-09-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

I thought I was being eaten by sea gulls!
Tanner and miss Elise with the ocean behind them.
Dad and his boys.

We recently took a few days to visit our beloved Granmimi and Granpapa and Mimi and Papa Frank in Texas. We all stayed on the bay in Rockport, Tx. It was an amazing home with a beautiful view as you can see. Our LONG plane ride was well worth it to spend time with family, see the beach, drink in the sea water and visit Sea World for the first time!

Alex's first preschool day

2008-09-07T18:22:00.001-07:00

Alex started at Shepherd of the Valley preschool last week. His teacher had called and asked if he'd like to be the "helper" for the day and he gladly accepted. His teachers commented that he was a "calm in the storm" in the classroom. They say it's the craziest group of four year olds they've had in 16 years!

Mrs. DuVall is one of his teachers.

Alex decided he needed to know what was in the water table this week and promptly took a large lick of the material which we soon found out was salt! He bravely kept it in his mouth while we went out to rinse and spit in the sink. I don't think he'll do that again.

First lemonade stand

2008-09-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

The boys are trying to earn some money for a much desired power ranger toy and decided to try selling lemonade on our lonely road. It took all I had not to call our neighbors to head down and buy some! They sat out there..... and sat out there. Finally the neighbors spied them and came over to buy some watered down, half full glasses. They ended up making about $8. Tanner waved down several cars and couldn't believe they wouldn't stop! (I couldn't either!) Who could resist that beautiful sign and those smiles???

Family Camp

2008-09-02T09:54:00.001-07:00

Well, we spent another weekend up in our favorite mountain town, Cascade, but this time we attended a family camp. Our good friends, the Weavers, also went along with some other families from our church. You would have thought it was Disneyland for the boys! They enjoyed total freedom in the large camp, riding bikes, playing games and getting very dirty until late in the night.

We spent one afternoon exploring Tamarack resort which was 4 miles down the road. We took the kids up the chairlift to the top of the mountain. I have never been fearful on a chairlift, having grown up skiing when I was younger. This time, however, with Elise on my lap and Alex next to me, watching the trees below us....well, my stomach was turning! The kids loved it and the views were amazing of our lake Cascade below.

First day of kindergarten

2008-08-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day to start kindergarten! Tanner was super excited to go and explore his classroom, meet his teacher and use his new backpack! What a difference a year makes! We kept Tanner out of school last year and are so happy about that decision as he is so much more confident and at ease with being on his own.

His teacher had a scavenger hunt for all the kids to explore cubbies, bulletin boards, the reading centers ect. Tanner loved checking of the tasks on his paper. The last task said, "give your mom and dad a kiss goodbye". I held off reading that one to him until the very last minute. It appeared much easier for him to say goodbye than me!! What a big boy he has become.

Cascade lake

2008-08-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

Just like her brothers, Lissy loves the lake! We spent our weekend in Cascade, and while daddy worked on the cabin, the kids and I took a break at the beach down the road.

The boys enjoyed trying to bury their sister.

She was so tired after all of that, she feel asleep. I had stripped off her wet clothes and I think she rather enjoyed some naked time on the beach!

As you can see, Elise is really trying to sit up on her own.

The boys didn't mind the cold water at all!

Foolin around at home

2008-08-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Elise found her latest toy very exciting, and so did her brother. It's funny how the boys want to try out whatever she is into......make sure it's safe, you know!

At our four month mark, Lissy is now cutting her first two teeth. We wondered why she was such a slobbery child and found out when these two crooked white teeth popped through in the front bottom. Her eyes remain a "steel" kind of color....not blue, brown or green yet.....so we'll keep watching for what they will end up being. She continues to deal with pretty bad reflux, so we are experimenting with how to ease that for her. We go through at least three outfits a day as she spits up ALL day long. Luckily, this child has been blessed with many clothes! Through it all, we wake up every day feeling like we won the lottery with the children God has given us!

Spending more time at home this summer (with three children), we find ways to entertain ourselves! Tanner is a ham and was showing off how he felt about his new haircut.....

Gold medals and goodbyes

2008-08-17T14:47:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, the kids and I ventured downtown to our market to spend time with our friends, Teresa, Jacob and baby Camila. They are leaving for Australia on Monday.

We also got to see our hometown hero, Kristen Armstrong, gold medalist in cycling at the Olympics. She had returned from Bejing and the town presented her with a key to the city and proclaimed April 16th as her day. It was neat to have the kids see an olympic athlete and Kristen was a friend from college years ago, so I was proud to stand in the crowd cheering for her. We made it to the ceremony, barely, on our bikes. Yes, I was crazy enough to attempt taking two boys on their own bikes, and one four month old in a seat on the back of my bike.....downtown, by myself. What I soon discovered is that when I needed help, strangers stepped up. One man offered to take our picture down at the rally. Two women ran to Alex's side when he got stuck right off the sidewalk and didn't follow Tanner and I across a busy downtown street. Later that night, I heard him pray, "thank you God for sending those angels who told the ladies to help me".

The boys love the fountain with friends, Javi, Jacob and Josiah. As you can see they were very sweaty from our 95 degree weather!

A few favorite photos

2008-07-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

All dressed up and ready for church. I couldn't resist taking a few photos of the kids nice and spruced up....hasn't happened a lot this summer!

Yes, I am only three months old, but I LOVE to eat!
Our cousin Jake and Tanner enjoyed the boating a lot!

My daddy talks to me and makes me laugh too!

Saturday morning market

2008-07-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

We love our Boise market on Saturday mornings. We ate delicious donuts (thanks Papa Frank), yummy crepes and lots of other samples.

Alex stopped the crowds playing with this mime.

The boys favorite part is the fountain. It is very cold water that cools them off fast!

More summer fun!

2008-07-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Papa Frank bonded quickly with Elise. It is the beginning of a very sweet relationship.

Mimi and Papa Frank jumped right into our family routine. We loved having them!

The boys and Elise at Julia Davis park one lazy afternoon.

2008-07-22T08:51:00.000-07:00

We hardly saw the kids all weekend! They were busy catching fish, digging holes and getting very dirty! We did have a great salmon feast the last night as our friend, Dave, caught and shared his large one. It was fantastic!

Visitors this summer

2008-07-22T08:42:00.000-07:00

New baby brings visitors all summer. We started off with Mimi and Papa Frank from Texas! Right off the plane, we took them up to the mountains past Cascade for salmon fishing. Although the fishing was unproductive, the fun was not! Even baby girl got dirty and in need of a scrub down. She was not happy about everyone laughing at her rolls!

We met our friends, the Thompsons, up at the camp site. More pictures of how much fun the kids all had next....

Alex's pledge

2008-06-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

I had to include this video of Alex. It is one of our favorites and records his sweet voice at age four. We had no idea that he knew the pledge until he began to say it one morning. I HAD to capture it on video!

More of our girl

2008-06-20T13:54:00.001-07:00

After bath time, Lissy lounges in the original duck towel. Tanner and Alex have similar pictures with the same towel. Love our bubbly smiles, too!

Fathers Day surprise

2008-06-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

What a surprise Daddy had on Father's Day when his boys came out dressed in his Father's Day new clothes! They thought it was SO funny!

Vacation Bible School

2008-06-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

Tanner and Alex attended VBS all week. It was a small group to go along with our small church, and the games, teachings and fun were unbeatable. I'm so proud of these two boys and what they are learning about our amazing God. It is the most important thing we can teach them in this world. Tanner had quite the harlem of girls during the week and thoroughly enjoyed the attention.

The camel

2008-06-14T14:48:00.001-07:00

This sweet baby camel came down the parade isle and took a rest right behind us. She laid down and let all the kids come and pet her. Her owner literally did take a rest a few feet away and let the crowds take over the camel!

Tanner and sissy

2008-06-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

Tanner is the master cook at the house! He is so creative and loves to dress up and play all day long! He also loves his sister so much. He is constantly kissing and hugging and trying to soothe her when she cries. He's a wonderful big brother.

Eagle Days Parade

2008-06-14T14:36:00.001-07:00

Alex posed with his water shooter! The last portion of this great parade is a big water fight between the fire fighters and people! It is so fun!

We had friends there who helped to collect the candy and shoot the water guns.

Tanner and his friend Garrett, getting a little wet! It was in the mid 80's, and perfect for a water fight!

The first giggle

2008-06-05T13:57:00.001-07:00

We are seeing more and more smiles each day and then the giggle came yesterday. It was the sweetest sound I think I've ever heard. Of course by the time Matt arrived from downstairs with the video camera, she was done.

Can we ever take too many pictures of our sweet Lissy Lue?

She makes me laugh with all the facial expressions that a two month old could have. She gets a preoccupation with the camera when it's on, so she's a bit less animated, but still very cute nonetheless!

Tanner turns 6!

2008-06-05T13:47:00.000-07:00

Tanner had a great 6th birthday. We can hardly believe that we have a kindergartner on our hands. He spent the day with his nana and papa enjoying all the special priviledges of a birthday boy, and then returned to us for a family party. He invited his best buddies, Brock and Haydin too! This was the first year that Tanner really enjoyed the attention of his birthday, blowing out candles and opening presents. He is becoming more comfortable with attention as he grows into a confident fun little boy. We are so proud of him. He loved his golf clubs from his grandpa johnson so much that I found him curled upstairs during nap time with the golf clubs set up on the bed next to him! (who sleeps with their clubs??)

Smiles

2008-05-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

You just can't capture the sweetness of these smiles. Elise is 8 weeks old and has seriously taken over our hearts.

The rooster tail excitement

2008-05-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

Boise's big excitement this weekend was the rooster tail at Lucky Peak dam. With increased amounts of snow, the dam has to release more water and the resulting factor is a rooster tail for all to come and wonder at. Matt thought we'd beat the crowd by finding an off-road "park" on the other side of the real park to view the specticle. The boys loved hiking in and sliding down in the dirt. Elise wasn't real fond of the sunshine, but thankfully slept through the hour of traffic we had to endure to try to get back to Boise (less than 5 miles).

Mothers Day

2008-05-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed a fun mothers day together. Breakfast was delivered to my bed and I had two hungry boys help me eat it up!

We are enjoying the different looks of Elise! She is growing so much each day and we are getting little smiles more often now. She seems to be growing out of her colicky stage....we hope!

Growing boys

2008-05-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

Tanner is now reading the BOB books.

He will be entering kindergarten in the fall and is very excited!

Alex is our big story teller. He talks and talks and talks, and is not at all interested in learning to read! He will start preschool next fall, too.

Alex's 4th birthday

2008-05-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

Alex celebrated turning four with his family all day on April 29th. He jumped on his new big bike in the morning and opened presents that night after pizza and cake.

The Johnson family visits

2008-04-22T17:54:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Ben's 60th birthday this weekend. He was surprised by visits from his boys from Texas (Brian) and Washington (Ben). Cousin Sage, came with her dad Benji and the boys thoroughly enjoyed spending the weekend playing and laughing with her.

What's happening at 3 weeks old?

2008-04-22T17:36:00.000-07:00

We had a playdate with friends today. My friend, Julie, came with her twins (3 months old). Although Elise is holding her own at over 9 pounds (about the same as baby Elle next to her), there is a big difference in development. She still is very newborn looking compared to the older twins! Chunky Will (over 12 pounds) laid next to Elle on the right.

More pictures

2008-04-21T17:24:00.000-07:00

So many outfits, so little time....

One week old

2008-04-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Has it been just a week? After many sleepless nights, Elise has blessed us with two good nights of 5 hours of sleep at a time. She really is an easy baby so far, sleeping and nursing well.

The boys reaction

2008-04-09T11:46:00.000-07:00

Tanner and Alex took an active role in measuring Elise, and listening to her heartbeat. Matt weighed her using a sling and weight system.

She was 21 inches long, 8 pounds, 2 ounces. Her head was 14 inches.

The water birth

2008-04-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

Matt and I decided early on that we wanted to go a different route with this last child of ours. Instead of having her in a hospital, we went with "The Baby Place" birthing center. We saw two main midwives/nurses for our 9 month pregnancy and received top of the line care. Where they really shined was during the labor and delivery. We decided to try a water birth where I was immersed in the jacuzzi tub and baby Elise would be born in a gentle environment.

On April 1st, my contractions were about 6 minutes apart early in the morning. We took the boys to my mom's house and stopped by the birthing center to be checked. I was dialated to a 3-4 cm, and our midwife told us to go out of a walk and come back in a few hours. We did just that, but as the contractions got worse, I voted to go home and relax until I couldn't take it any longer. We came home and within 3 hours, Matt was hurrying me back to the baby place. Now, from 1pm to 4pm, I had dialated to an 8 and was completely ready for birth. I jumped in the tub, and with full attention from our two midwives and one doella, we labored for a little over an hour. The tub helped slightly with the contractions, but they were coming hard and fast. The instruction and direction from the midwives was so helpful to keep me from hyperventilating and from other physical injury that often comes with birthing. Elise's head came first, but her shoulders got stuck. Matt had been ready to catch her, but the midwife swiftly took over, positioning me so that she could get Elise out quickly and safely. It was fantastic! As they put her on my chest, my sweet husband cried for his newest child, his first daughter. It was overwhelming, loving, encouraging and an amazing moment with her. After delivering her, the placenta was delivered and we were both taken out of the bath and put in a queen sized cushy bed to bond with her. No measurements were taken, and the midwives slipped out of the room quietly to leave us alone for a time.

We had no name and no stats to report, but we called our families with our joyous news anyway. By the time many arrived, we had decided on Elise. The other two names were Cecilia or Macy.

Elise's big day!

2008-04-09T09:51:00.000-07:00

Our due date was March 23rd. We thought she would come early, as our boys had, so on March 15th, we were ready and showing signs. Alas, she did not come, and she did not come for another two weeks! On April Fools Day, the first of the month, she decided that her day had come.