Another teenager!!!

Man,, Todd and I are getting more and more out numbered, out played and out lasted here!! We have another teenager in our house!! Adam turned 12 in September and was very excited about it. As a twelve year old he gets to be ordained a deacon and pass the sacrament. Between his every other weekend visits and General Conference it was hard to co-ordinate a time when he could get interviewed and then ordained, but we got it done this last weekend. Mom and Dad Johnson came down for the ordination.

As we sat in the bishop's office I had a moment to reflect on the things I am most thankful for. I am most thankful for a husband that holds his priesthood authority as a privilege, and has taught our boys to do likewise. It is truly a blessing to sit there and listen as he has ordained every one of our boys into the priesthood and know that he is worthy, and honored to do so.

We also go to celebrate Canadian thanksgiving, which was really on Monday, but we had dinner Sunday. Our family, Todd's parents, and the Moss's came over. Dinner was delicious, BUT I was too busy getting it ready to remember to grab the camera and take pics,, dang it! Trust me, I am a good cook! LOL

AND Todd's birthday was on Monday as well. Our weekend was packed full again! He got presents from the kids, byu jammies, byu lanyard, see's candy, a byu snuggie, haha Yes he got a snuggie! I will post pics soon of him and his snuggie! My task was to make him a cake, I would like to say it was an original, but I got the idea off of cougarboard! One of the guys on there was suprised with a cake by his wife, who, I feel safe in assuming, makes cakes on a regular basis, as hers turned out way better than mine did!! What a task this one was!!! I had it hidden, but I think he snooped =(

New Orleans 2009

Todd suprised me with tickets to the BYU/Tulane football game that was in New Orleans this year! He found a killer deal on our plane tickets, hotel and game tickets. So we packed up, made arrangements for the kids then left St George on September 10, drove to vegas and flew out of Vegas on The 11th at 1:40 am. Having been up since 4am on the 10th, I was exhausted when we touched down in N.O. at 10:40, but ready to go see the sights!

We called Todd's brother Scott, and he met us in N.O for the weekend. What a blast we had. The first night we went to this little Market place diner, where there is a live jazz band, and Scott had us try alligator., yummy. And we hit all the little stores that line the french quarter, this is the part that reminds me of Vegas, all these stores have all the same crap, oo I mean little valuable collectables that the kids will either break or lose within seconds of me taking it out of my suitcase.. and for the most part the prices are the same, within $2-$5, but the colors are different, so if you are looking for a pink t-shirt, you may have to hit every store on the "strip" before you find that pink shirt! and Chances are you will get soaked to the bone looking for said shirt! lol

Day 2, we walked all over the french quarters, french market, we went to Cafe Du Monde for breakfast where they serve one thing,, Beignets, (pronounced Benyeas), piled high with powdered sugar, WOW these are amazingly delicious! in fact on day three, Todd and I went there after dinner just to have a cheap and yummy dessert, and of course, we hit bourbon street, We went to this little hole in the wall diner called The Clover Grill. OMGOSH!! Best burgers on earth! They take a 1/2 lb of meat and cook it under a hubcap,, YES I said under a hubcap. And they are grillin it right in front of you. what they put in front of you may be heartattack on a plate, but it sure tasted like heaven!

Day 3 was game day! We went back to the Market cafe for breakfast, and wandered around, Todd and I found a free ferry that takes you back and forth across the Mississippi, so we went on a little boat ride and wandered around Algiers for a bit, then caught the ferry back to the main land. We decided we would ride a street car instead of walk back to the french quarter, as we were waiting for the cable car and figuring out which one we needed to get on, this random guy came up to us, keep in mind it is game day, we ARE in BYU attire!, and asked if we had tickets to the game, we told him yes, and he says "oh well here I have four more tickets, if you have friends that could use them there ya go.." YAY now Scott gets to come with us to the game!!! We grabbed a bite, man food is expensive here! seriously, then headed to the super dome for the game. This building is amazingly huge!! Not even 1/3 full for the game,, and of course the BYU fans were the loudest!! After my boys sent Tulane back out to sea, we headed back to the French Quarter for dinner.

Day 4, haha guess where we went, I know there is so much more to see, and I wanted to see it, but tours of the city were costly and I would rather walk than sit in a van for 2-3 hours, so we went back to the French Quarter with the thought of Breakfast, HOLY MONSOON!! it poured all morning, so we ate and headed back to the hotel, where I am sitting now, to wait for our flight that leaves at 6:50 pm. So now we are sitting in the lounge watching the Saints and the Lions beat each other up!

What a trip, and this is the condensed version. We walked a lot, and had so much fun just being together. As we were packing our suitcase to come home we could not figure out where all our money went,, then after sitting down, and looking at what we bought and where we went, it became obvious that most of our money went for FOOD!! So if you are planning a trip to N.O. budget 2/3's of your money for food... it is not cheap down here. So much fun though!!!!

While we were gone, Mackenzie had homecoming and she sent me a few pics of her getting ready and one of her and her date... it brought tears to my eyes, that I missed being there to sent her out on her first real date, seriously, when did she go from this... , to this.....when did she get so beautiful and how did I get so lucky and blessed with such a fantastic kid?

this is her and Brent, her date!

here are links to the pics we have of our trip if you want to browse through them! New Orleans is so full of history, I know I barely saw a peice of it!!! I need to come back and just tour the city!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=156610&id=563940637&l=9dcd43af33

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=156837&id=563940637&l=6378882a68

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=157323&id=563940637&l=e00b11d747

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=157600&id=563940637&l=0336d1eb12

A Breakthrough!!

For those of you who have met Levi you know he is a charmer,, Spoiled beyond reason, but a charmer nonetheless!! He is also a VERY picky eater. His diet consists of hotdogs, they can't be wrinkley,, stay with me here, Easy Mac, Top Roman and Peanut butter sandwiches, sometimes to mix it up a little he will want the bread toasted, or cut into squares, at times he gets really adventurous and wants it cut into triangles even! Oh the excitement!!

It is a nightly battle to figure out what he is going to eat for dinner here is how our conversations usually go:

L; Mom what's for dinner

M: tatertot casserole

L: *whinning begins at this point* MOOOOOOOOOOM ewwwwwwwwwww I hate that

M: well what would you like

L: Can I have a pb sandwich?

M: *sigh* sure *makes sandwich and puts it on a *gasp*pink plate*

L: *beginning of tantrum, which involves throwing oneself on the floor into a heap* MOOOOOOM I hate the pink plate! YOU KNOW THAT!! WAAAAAAA

I could continue but you get the drift of how this goes almost every night at my house. M stands for anyone who is making his sandwich by the way. And we have all gotten wise and no longer give him the pink plates, lol apparently it changes the way the food tastes, WHO KNEW?!?!?!?!

*this is a boy, who I have learned thrives on structure and mixing it up really does not work well with him, It really works best if you give him warning times as to what is expected,, IE At 8 pm you have to get in the shower, at 830 you are going to bed, as opposed to just announcing it is time for bed at 830*

Soooo, this last monday I channeled my inner super nanny and decided that Levi needs to start eating dinner with the family. It gets really tiring trying to appease 7 people when honestly a simple salad is what would make me happiest! Fast forward to Dinner time onTuesday. I made Chicken and Gravy, rice and a veggie. When Levi walked in from school, I sat him down and began the prep work. Telling him he was a big boy now and he needed to eat what we were having for dinner and there would be no more peanut butter sandwiches for him at dinner time. *SIIIIGH* First the whinning begins, then the bargaining, let me tell you this boy can bargain. THEN the "I am never talking to you again" threats, which at this point I am ok with as I have had enough of his bargaining and whinning. This went on for 90 minutes. Him telling me he didnt like it, having not tasted it I could totally understand how he would know this, me telling him this was dinner, he telling me he doesn't like change, yes he actually told me that! To which I remind him he is in 1st grade, change happenes on a daily basis and I know he can handle this! Finally, he realizes I am not giving up on this one and he must eat what is for dinner if he is hungry. YAY!!! 1 for MOMMY!

After he ate what little morsels he had on his plate *he only had about an ounce of chicken, and a 1/4 c of rice and veggies* he asks me what is for dinner tomorrow night. So apparently I have to prep hinm 24 hours in advance now?? LOL I tell him we are having Tater tot casserole and follow that with "and you are eating it, and there will be no whinning, is that understood?" to which he sadly agreed.

In my travels I found a tech deck skate board which is Levi's newest obession for a killer deal of $2, this is a $20 collector's item. I grab it up thinking YAY I can use this as a bribe for dinner time,, and I am all about the bribes!! Tuesday after school, I show him what I got and tell him he has to go all week eating what is for dinner without whinning and he can have this tech deck sunday night. He agrees.

Dinner Tuesday: Tater tot casserole

L; Mom I dont like this

M: Remember, no whinning or that tech deck goes back to the store.

L:oooooo fine, *pierces a peice of tater tot on his fork* I wonder what this tastes like

M: a french fry

L: *tastes said tot* mmmmm this is good, mom what does this taste like? *hamburger on fork now*

M: It tastes like a hamburger buddy

L: Like a burger with cheese without the bun *cheese is sprinkled on top of the casserole, this kid doesnt miss a beat*

M:yes but you can't taste the cheese *holds her breath, he doesn't like cheeseburgers*

L: Hey, this isnt half bad mom, good dinner

and he eats his dinner

Yesturday went pretty much the same, I made chicken cresents, which he has had one bite of before, so he was really apprehensive of eating it last night. he asks "what happens if I throw up?" to which I say,, "you aren't going to throw up, only babys throw up at the table bud, and you are so not a baby right?!"

He takes a bite of the cresent, and says, NO LIE HERE!! ........ "hmm weird, MOM, when I tasted these before they were gross, now they aren't half bad! You are a good cook!!" Kenzie, Jake and I laughed so hard,, WHO KNEW Mom could make more than PB sandwiches?? He askes what is for dinner for tomorrow night and I say,, Hot dogs buddy, to which he grins from ear to ear,, and asks, will there be mustard on those dogs?? *he is not a fan of mustard and I have never made him eat mustard!!*

So far so good. This is my huge accomplishment for the week, heck it is so big I might let the entire month take credit!!!!

Where has the time gone?

It is hard to believe that the summer is over and all our kids are back in school, and have been for a week. We didn't have any big plans for this summer, due to the trip we took in March to disneyland, but we had an insanely busy summer..

June found us spending time in Park City with Gramma and Grandpa Johnson for a few days. Levi got to play in a tball league for the first time ever, he had so much fun doing that, and our girls had Girls Camp. This was also our first summer with all 6 kids for two two week periods, the first two week period being in June. We also had a milestone birthday this summer,, Kenzie turned "sweet 16"!!! We suprised her with a birthday party that she only had a small inclination about! It is really hard to keep a suprise from someone who is quietly listening and keenly aware of everything going on!

For the first two weeks in July, Ash, Andrew and Adam were with their mom and we were still busy with tball, and the start of football. Jake had the opportunity to participate in a football clinic in Provo, so he and I made an over night trip of it, and had a blast. It really is fun when I get to spend time with the kids one on one and they want to be there. The last two weeks in July we headed up to SLC for a few days with all the kids, and went to Lagoon, which has become an anual trip that we all love. Levi is getting tall enough now to go on almost all the rides, so we got to spend less time in Kiddieland this year. We were able to be there for Todd's nephew's third birthday party, which is always fun! We also took the kids back to school shopping while we were up there, Thank heavens our girls have some concept of money and how to get the biggest bang for their buck! Although, Ash is the easiest to shop for, she has a uniform she has to wear. They all did great and managed to stay somewhat close to the budget we gave them.

August we had to start getting ready for back to school, and for one last horray, we went to Vegas for my birthday, and met my sister and her family down there for the weekend. We haven't seen them in about 4 years, so it was fun to get to spend some time with them and have the kids reaquaint themselves again. School started on the 13th for all but one of our kids, Ash started the monday before. They were all excited to go back, although I think MOM was the most excited. I love having my kids home for the summer and being able to just go and do stuff with them, whether it be the beach, sightseeing or just relaxing, I also like being able to get back into my schedule of what I do when they are not underfoot.

This is Levi's first year of full time school, I was a little concerned about how he would do being gone all day. The night before school started, I was tucking him in and told him if he wanted me to I would drive him to school the next day. He promptly told me he was older now and was fine riding the bus. The next morning, he woke up looking a little stressed, when I asked him what was wrong, he told me his tummy was not wanting to go to school, and be in 1st grade. After he ate breaky and got ready, he was skipping out the door, eager to see his friends from last year again! When he came home he was full of excitement telling me everything he did that day. I asked him how his tummy was doing, and he tells me "Oh I just told my tummy to stop being silly"

So we are well on our way to the beautiful Fall season here in sunny St George. There is so much more I could tell you of what we did, but I feel like I have rambled on long enough....Hope everyone had a wonderful summer. And I promise, I will get better at blogging...

7 years and counting!!!

Todd and I celebrated 7 years of wedded bliss this last week. Our Anniversary is May 27th and we went to dinner that night, which was fun. BUT the real celebrations started on Friday morning, when we headed to Vegas for the weekend! Todd had booked us two nights at the Hilton, and thanks to a coupon from Expedia, we got a killer deal on the room. We arranged for our friend to come stay with the kids and we headed out early friday.

We met up with a friend of his who sent us to two timeshare presentations. Before you laugh or roll your eyes, know this, that is the best way to get free stuff in Vegas! For three hours of our time we got 4 passes to the Rio Buffet, one of the best, if not the best on the strip, $100 to Pampas, a brazilian restaurant, 2 show tickets to Nathan Burton, and 2 show tickets to Steve Wyrick.

So we spent Friday early afternoon at the first TS presentation, then went and checked into the hotel, rested for a bit and went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. That is the first place Todd took me on our first date. So we go back as often as we can.

Saturday we went to the second TS presentation, then headed to the Rio for lunch, soo good, and so much food!, then we went to the afternoon show of Nathan Burton, a comedic magician, and he was fun to watch. After the show, we headed to Dinner at Pampas, which is a brazilian style restaurant that is really over priced, and not anywhere near as good as the one in St George, was kind of disappointing, but we only had to pay $25 for the meal,, (keep in mind we had $100 g/c for the place, so yea very high priced!) After dinner we walked over to the theater for Steve Wyrick, and relaxed in their lounge until the 9 pm show. He was amazing to watch. Very audience interactive.. I loved it. We headed back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

Neither of us wanted to head back to reality on Sunday and head home, but alas responsibility calls, and we both answered. So we are home again, well rested, reconnected, recommitted to each other, loving eachother more than ever before. Don't get me wrong, we have always loved each other, life just seems to get in the way sometimes, and you tend to forget what is important!!

Thank you sweetheart, for loving me, even when I am difficult to love, for accepting me for who I am, for supporting me in all I do. You are my world, my life, and my love! The best thing that ever happened to me! Here is to eternity!!

Happy Mother's Day,... Happy Muther's day?!?!

This is my favorite time of year! Earth starts to thaw, yes it does freeze down here, and flowers, plants and gardens start to push their way up out of their dark haven! Ahhhhh spring.

We had a great weekend this last weekend. Jake ran his first 5k, with me. Now here is what ticks me off.. lol.. I train and push myself and dang near kill myself trying to get ready for these races and I can barely run a mile, if that without stopping, wouldn't you know it, the boy did 3.1 miles in under 30 minutes! YAY him, sucky for me! LOL I finished in about 37 minutes. I don't know the exact time because there was no time clock there. I am so proud of him for doing this! He was a little nervous and anxious as the time drew nearer to run, and he did it! He ran with a friend of ours who is a fantastic athlete and who knows just how to push kids to keep them going, while I ran with his daughter and wife, who by the way can totally kick my trash at running distances! WAY TO GO JAKE!!

It was our weekend to have all the kids this weekend, BUT being as it is mother's day weekend and I am just the step mom, we only had them until saturday. Here is what is impressive and really touched me. Ash says to her dad on wednesday, "dad, what are our plans for Mum on Saturday? Are we going to do anything? I think we should go to the waterpark in the center of town and have a picinic" Todd asked how I felt about doing something like that, YAY I love doing stuff like that, was my reply, and I left it up to Todd.

After the race on saturday, we came home, Todd went to work, and the kids and I GUTTED the older boy's room. Good heavens, I am not completely sure how two boys, one of which is only here two weekends a month, can make such a mess, I guess I would be more upset if their room didn't also double as a play room. After an hour and a half and three garbage bags later, we all showered and headed to Washington City to go to their Cotton Day's celebrations and meet up with Jason and Kami, above mentioned friends, and their kids. We played some carnival games and ate homemade ice cream, then headed home. Ash quietly asked again what we were going to do for mum's day, and we decided to go on a picinic at the water park, the girls helped me make sandwiches, and off we went, we spent a couple hours outside in 90+ degree heat, splashing, playing and baking in the sun! And there is no other way I would have rather spent my time with my kids this weekend. We had so much fun, no computer, or tv, no video games or whinning over no one playing nice.

I woke up Sunday to Levi asking me if it was mother's day yet and if he could give me my present at 7:30 am, I had been laying there awake since 5:30 am, he was so excited to give me the present he had made for me at school. A washcloth with his hand prints in "mud" on it. Mud being brown paint. Too cute! Todd and the older kids made me breakfast in bed, yummy! and we got ready for church. when we got home, my sweetheart made me a delicious steak dinner, complete with ice cream for dessert, which I did eat, being as I had already eaten the chocolates that the Ward gave us moms.

It was the best Muther's day ever! The kids said they felt bad they didn't have gifts to give, honestly, I am really happy with just spending the day with them and the hugs I got as they were leaving, and spending Sunday with half my kids, I would rather have had all of them here for muther's day, but that is a day I will have to continue to share with their mom. And if I have to share it with someone, I couldn't think of anyone else I would rather have on my team than their mother.

Stomach flu and blessings!

Thursday, around 3:30, I suddenly got a combination of the shakes, chills, weak knees, headache, and nausea. I was across the street at the gas station, picking something up, and I wasn't sure I would make it home!! UGH I hate being sick. The timing is never EVER GOOD! We had tickets to go to General Conference this weekend.

Todd came home from work and saw how pale I was and how hot my forehead was and sent me to bed. I got up friday morning, still feeling queasy, but willing it away, and went to my training session at the gym. Came home and passed out. After talking with Todd throughout the day, we decided I would stay home and he would take the kids up so they would get to experience a live session of General Conference. So I packed them up and sent them on their way by 5 pm.

Now I sit in an eerily quiet house, enjoying my couch, my blanket and the second session of General Conference. No one demanding anything of me, no one wanting a snack, or a drink, or need me to fix something right now. As much as I miss my family right now, and I do miss them, I am really enjoying the quiet, Some times blessing come in forms of sickness.