Lindsay and Lauren's Piano Recital

Lindsay and Lauren started taking piano lessons from a lady in our ward in the fall. They are doing so well. Their teacher planned a recital with another teacher. We planned for it to be on their birthday so family would be in town to watch. They did such a good job and practiced a lot to learn their three songs. There were about 9 kids in all and a very crouded house with proud parents. Thanks to the Elmores and Sister Cashin (their teacher) for putting this together. It was great

Here is Lauren.Woah, bad picture! Lindsay would you look at the camara next time.

The Nutcracker

With Lindsay and Lauren's birthday so close to Christmas, we asked them if they wanted to go to the Nutcracker instead of birthday presents. They were very excited about this since they get presents in 10 days anyways for christmas. So in October, we booked the tickets for Dec. 13 (2 days before their birthday) and waited with anticipation. Lindsay and Lauren wanted to go to Applebees for dinner. They were so excited to just go by themselves. They are getting so big.

Because prices are so expensive, we got the nose bleed section, but it was still ok. This is a picture with the stage and curtain in the background.

Here the girls and Paul are as we anticipate the show starting.


This was the only picture of the Nutcracker advertisement we could find. It was outside the building up high. The girls had to be hoisted to this platform blow the advertisement. But the cool thing was that we were right be the door all the ballerina's were exiting the building from. So in the end, we got to see them up close, just not in costume. I thought that was cool. I even got to congratulate the snow queen. They were very nice. Overall, I think I liked it more than any of us, but the girls had a great evening. It was so fun to take them on an outing like this.

Andrew Turned 3!!!

I know it has been a month since he turned 3, but my camara has been out of comission because one of my kids took the battery out and lost it. It took me about 3 weeks to realize that that was the problem, so my mom graceously gave me a cd with his birthday pictures on it. They were so cute, I had to put them up.
He is growing up to be such a big boy. I just can't believe he is already 3. We are alone together in the mornings while his sisters are at school, and we have the best time together. He is the best grocery shopper, and is great for dr. visits, but most of all, he is great with hugs and kisses. If Paul doesn't let Andrew know when he is leaving for work in the morning, there are major tears out of that boy. He needs at least one kiss and two hugs. Paul loves it!!!!!

Of course, he loves his grandpa!
And his Grandma!!!

And his daddy and sister Sarah!!!!

And Lindsay and Lauren, Brycen and Andrea!!!!

But most of all, he loves his Mommy, don't you bud!!!

Me and My Hubby

I was tagged by my cousin Amy, so here goes.....

1.His full name: Paul Lindsay Johnson (that's where we get Lindsay's name from)
2.How long have you been married: 10 1/2 years (May 15th )
3.How long did we date: Since I turned 16. (he is 7 months older so he had to wait for me)
4.Who eats sweets: I do.
5.Who said I love you first: Is this pathetic, but I honestly can't remember. I called my husband says he did first. I will just have to take him at his word.
6.Who's taller: Him
7.Who sings better: This is actually a sore subject between us. I hurt his feelings once, making fun of his singing, so now he is always trying to prove to me that he can sing. Poor thing, he really does try. Why is it that none of the Johnson boys were blessed with their dad's voice. What a tragedy!
8.Who is smarter: Hello, all of my brain cells are gone from having kids, of course he is smarter.
9.Who does the laundry: Me, and it's a good thing, he doesn't even know how to turn it on.
10.Who pays the bills: HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11.Who sleeps on the right side of the bed: Paul does
12.Who mows the lawn: My hardworking hubby, and man am I thankful. I hate mowing the lawn! But I swear, he enjoys every minute he is outside working on the yard. It's his baby!
13.Who cooks dinner: Me.
14.Who drives: If we are all together, he drives. That's fine, I can sleep.
15.Who admits when they're wrong first: Paul definately does. I can hold a grudge a lot longer than he can.
16.Who kissed who first: Paul kissed me at my homecoming dance a month after I turned 16. He was a junior, I was a sophmore.
17.Who asked who out first: Paul asked me to go on a double date with two friends of his from his school that were dating. It was so funny because they fought the whole time. I think Paul was really embarassed, but we just laughed about it. That's when I asked Paul to my homecoming dance. It has been love ever since.
18.Who wears the pants: I definately voice my opinion, but Paul wears the pants in the family.
I'm supposed to tag 4 other people. Ok I am going to tag some of my family: Jenny, Kass, Marie, and Laurie Elmore (she is not family, but i would love to here what she has to say).

I hope you feel enlightened.

Yes, I am still alive

Sorry it has taken so long to get out some posts. So here are three posts of things that have happened in our lives. Enjoy!
Christy

We went Camping!

Paul was dying to take the kids camping, so a few weeks ago (Sept 19), we went out to Smithville lake and gave it a try. We had a great time. The kids had luchables for dinner (and were more excited about that than anything) and Paul and I made foil dinners. We had a big bon fire and cooked smores.
Here is our view of the lake from our campground. It was beautiful.
In the morning, we cooked pancakes and bacon and then we took a walk on the trail and the kids found all kinds of things to look at. Lindsay found a caterpillar and couldn't part from it. So we took it home for a few days and then set it free. I was afraid it was starving to death. We will definately do this again. We all had a great time!

I love my Grandpa Martin

"I just want you to know that my Grandpa Martin is the coolest. I worship the ground he walks on, and in return he plays with me all the time. I love it when he jumps on the trampoline with me." - Andrew
" I also love it when he plays lego's with me, oh by the way, he also reads me books and plays games and lets me pour Nerd candy in his ear when he is sleeping (haa haa)! I love you Grandpa" - Andrew

Back to School

Wow, sorry this post is so late getting on my site, but life here is nuts and I just have been plain lazy about getting my photo's downloaded onto my computer. Sarah started school this year and loves kindergarten, even though she gets in trouble a lot. But that doesn't slow her down a bit. That girls is a smart one and has had no problems learning her sounds. We love you Sarah.

The girls had plain black backpacks that I got for free from a friend, so they wanted to decorate them. I used some fabric paint and they had a great time making them more "pretty". They had me write Hannah Montana on their back packs also. There was no convincing them otherwise. Oh well, they are happy, after all it is their backpack.
Of course, Andrew had his own opinion about his sister going to school.
This was a picture I took outside Sarah's classroom of her and Paul on her first day of school. She was so excited and had no problem saying good-bye. You are a big girl Sarah.

Poor, Poor Andrew!

Andrew took an unfortunate spill today when we were leaving the pool. He tripped over his flip flops and dove head first into the cement. Paul still hasn't seen it. I tried to describe to him what he looks like, but I don't think there are any words for how bad he looks. Poor guy, we have a wedding in two weeks, lets hope this clears up fast, or this fall will live on in infamy forever. Poor guy!

More Johnson's moving back to Missouri

Paul's brother Kevin got a job teaching (and coaching cross country and track)at Central and so he and his family are moving back to St. Joseph next month. We are so excited, especially since Paul's brother Mark and his family are moving away to New Mexico. Kaiden and Julianna got to come stay with us for a day while their parents were in St. Joseph looking for a house to live in. The kids had a ton of fun together and can't wait till they come back for good. What a blessing it is to have so much family close by.
Kaiden wasn't too excited to play Hannah Montana, but he was a good sport!

The Joy of Fireflies!

Heather is such a good aunt, and is always playing with the kids. She took the kids outside one night and went on a firefly hunt with them. They caught a lot of them and had such a good time finding them. I attempted to try to take a picture of a firefly(for those of you who don't know what they look like), but it was too blurry. Sorry! There aren't a lot a great things associated with hot muggy weather, but this is a good one. What fun they had!

Sarah attempting to try to catch one with her bare hands.

We love you Heather!

The lazy days of summer

I love summer, and the lack of scheduling that goes on. I have started reading Anne of Green Gables with the girls and they are loving it (although I don't think they understand half of what I read to them, the author is annoyingly detailed). So, we fill our days with reading, movies, Barbie.com, games, arts and crafts, swing sets, parks, and friends. Does anyone have any fun ideas that they do with their kids during the summer that I could try out? Please share.
Hope you are having a happy summer.
Christy

WE ARE GOING TO CALIFORNIA!

I know what you are thinking, and NO we did not drive there, we all flew, and the kids were so excited. If I can figure out how to download movies onto my blog, I will put a little clip I took when we were taking off. It was HILARIOUS! We were in CA for two weeks. The photos in this blog are extra's that I wanted to include.This is what the kids looked like after a long day at Sequoia National Park. They did so great!

The kids loved all the rides at disneyland! We spun this thing till I even wanted it to stop. Paul wouldn't even ride it. He has his limits!

Paul having fun at the beach!

All the kids had backpacks. Andrew was so cute with his, he would carry it around and act so big with it on.
We got to visit with Granny. The kids love the dogs and her pool. We had a great time there. Our trip was so wonderful, we had a great time and I didn't want it to end.

The Beach House!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is where we were the first week we were in CA. Thank you mom and dad for renting this house for us to stay in and enjoy! We had such a fun time at the beach. The kids loved all the walks grandma and grandpa took them on, the beach, the shopping, the food, games, and all the fun.
This was their first day at the beach. It was a Sunday evening and we didn't intend to get wet and we were not dressed to get wet, but what in the heck were we thinking. Of course we would get wet. How do you keep 4 kids out of the water. Well, they all ended up drenched in the end and Lindsay got knocked over by a wave and lost her new glasses in the water. Woops. She was so upset. Note to self: glasses and ocean don't mix!
Oceans and diapers dont mix!
Photo of all the cousins there. Pictured with our kids are Brian and Kass' two little ones: Dayne and Bridget.
Here is the picture of the Fam! We will miss this place. The weather was heaven!

Disneyland and Sea World

Paul and I were a little concerned about the amount of money we were spending to go to sea world and disneyland, but once we were there, and were having such a great time, all of it seemed worthwhile. To see the look on their faces with all of the exciting things to do and see, it was all worth it.
They LOVED petting the dolphins, that was so exciting.
When we got to disneyland the first day, the first thing we did was meet Minnie. They were so excited. We saw lots of different characters, including the princesses. They were in heaven!
Of course we had to get a photo in front of the castle. Hello!!!!
Andrew was in heaven riding in the cars. We had to do it twice because he wanted to. Uncle Brent came the second time and spent the day with us. We had a great time both days. We were so exhausted on the way home, but we did everything we wanted to do. Such good memories!!

Visiting with Family!

The kids loved playing on Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Kent's play set.
Lindsay and Lauren were so excited to meet their cousin Emma. They are the same age and had a great time together.
This is Ben, Emma's little brother, and Andrew had a ball with him. They were buddies.
Left to right: Uncle Kent, Julie (my cousin), Mom, and Aunt Carolyn. They fed us very well! We stayed with them for one day and two nights and had a great time. Thanks!!!
The kids swimming together. I want more California weather. It spoils you!

Yosemite National Park

This was the first place we went for the second week of our trip. We were only here one day. We intended to stay here longer, but Lindsay and Lauren were sick so we cut it short. This is bridalvale falls, and we were getting soaked. It was spectacular and so easy go walk to. Grandma and Grandpa Johnson stayed behind with Lindsay and Lauren at the car.
Here is grandma and grandpa with us at a lookout at Bridalvale Falls. Georgeous! Sarah loved climbing the rocks and insisted on trying to climb almost everyone she saw. But she did conquer this one! You go girl.
Here we are at the end of our journey through Yellowstone with Great Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. They were a lot of fun to be with and were very patient with us. Lindsay and Lauren were sick the whole time we were with them and they were very concerned about that, but they recovered a few days later. We loved being with them. We were able to sit and visit AFTER the kids were in bed and had a great time doing that.