Johnson Family Reunion

Well these pictures are a few weeks late getting posted but I am trying really hard not to just skip somethings. These are pictures from our Johnson family reunion (just Mitch's immediate family). Brett and Tiffany were in charge of planning it this year and did a great job. They decided that since Mom and Dad Johnson are on a mission in Salt Lake City we would all just meet there and stay there for a few days. Friday we all went to Cherry Hills and had a great time. We all stayed at the Crystal Inn (which is the best place for families because of the size of rooms and the amazing breakfast) and Tiffany had reserved a large banquet room so that we could have a gathering place and, of course, stay up til the middle of the night playing games. Yes and that's what we did. I think that both nights we stayed up until 1 or 2. Day two was games and hanging out at a park. We had fun playing kick ball, doing skits, and just being together. Thanks Brett and Tiff! Now it's our turn for next year planning experience....

Our family picture.
Tanner and Mitch swimming at the pool at the hotel.

What a little fish Lexie has turned into. We put her in her life vest and she was off.

Some of the boys playing bocci ball.

Conner, Sicily, Lexie, and Kallie coloring on the poster for Parker. Parker team had just won the championship game in baseball.

I love this pictures. Natalie and Wayne. Natalie is such a daddy's girl.

We love them both so much.

Lexie and cousin Masey. Masey is so grown up now. We don't see them very often, she went from baby to little girl, I swear, overnight.

Sierra, Sicily and Whitney our favorite "big girl cousins".

Bryce, Kallie and Tanner. These two little boys are so dang cute. The two balls had them occupied the whole day. If they weren't playing with them...then they were looking for them.

Thanks again Brett and Tiff for a great reunion!!!

Party before the Party

I told Natalie that we were coming to Utah to meet my cousins from Arizona and that we were going to be bringing stuff to make watch-bands so if she wanted to come and make one and let her sister-in-laws and mother-in-law know we could meet with them before our cousins came in. Well we sure did and we had quite the little party in our hotel room.

All the girls working hard.

Me, Dora (my mother-in-law, she's on a mission at Temple square and had already worked the day shift) and Natalie with our lovely watch bands.

Jennie, her friend, Janice, Jenger & Natalie and their lovely watch-bands.

Thanks for coming girls it was fun to see you and get to know you a bit better.

Ramsey-Martineau Reunion..Or Craft Get-away

Ever since I can remember we have been getting together every summer with my moms closest sister Leann and her kids. Maybe because we both have such small families we sometimes seem like brothers and sisters. (even though we only see each other once maybe twice a year) All us girls decided that we were at a good point, no little babies, we should get together for a shopping excursions...and that is what it was. Leah says it was a craft overdose. It was and she totally had a craft melt down at the last store. LOL ;) We met in Utah and decided that we would each family would bring a craft to do at night and during the days we would go shopping. Here's some fun pictures.

Wendy and I decided that watch-bands and jewelry would be fun. This is Leah, my cousin Shaun's wife, Missy , & me making our fun accessories.

My mom, Wendy and my aunt Leann making their fun accessories.
Here's all our fun jeweled accessories.

Day 2 we had wonderful pedicures because we were pretty tired from Day 1 from shopping.

Wendy, Cari, Leah, & Missy

On day 2 we were a little shopped out so our way out we stopped at the Church distribution center. This picture is on Temple Square.

After 2 fun filled days shopping, at I think about every craft store in the Utah Valley, and 2 fun nights making crafts and talking and giggling. We had to say good-bye. I love these girls. Sorry you weren't invited Shaun...we still love you and we're glad you have a great wife that fits right in. Leah said for next year she's going to have to drive and bring a trailer.

Missy, Leah, Cari and Wendy with sad puppy faces saying bye-bye. We still think you should move closer.

I copied this from Leah's Blog but I think she gave a good re-cap:

Oh this was one of the funniest trips ever and we, ok I decided we are for sure doing this again next year and I'll start to save my money now. Thank you Leann and Rita for making it possible and such wonderful memories have been made, lets re-cap:
Rita: she finally gave us our Christmas gift that she has had for a few years now. she cracks me up. It is the biggest binder of Family Home Evening lessons and activities. My kids will love it!!!

Wendy: she is the BEST driver around =) Thanks for shuttling us around even if we gave you a hard time for your sense of direction.
Cari: she is the driving force, without her organizational skills we would not have accomplished so much in so little time.
I can't wait to find out what you are having!!!
Leann: she did such a good job and not buying anything the first day but then had a relapse and made up for it the 2nd day. =)
Missy: she wins the prize for most random comment "wendy if someone wanted to steal all your beads, would you swallow them so they couldn't have them" holy cow you are funny Mis. She also was a great sport even when she felt sick the first day.
Leah: well I guess they were shocked with my high energy level until the 2nd day I threatened them not to wake my up for breakfast I would rather sleep =)
I can't wait for the 2010 trip =)

You know it's SUMMER when...

These are things at our house that make us know it's summer.
1. We go the grocery store and buy more popsicles and ice cream then real food. (just about)
2. We have something planned every weeked except one in July and one in Aug.
3. Kids won't and don't go to bed/sleep until 10 or 10:30 (My kids were in bed one night at 9 or 9:30 and kept saying shut the lights off - the lights were off...it was still light outside and the light was coming in through the window. :) silly kids
4. All the good shows are over...American Idol, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, NCIS, & the Mentalist (thanks to DVR...it records and I watch all week long...especially on Laundry day)
5. I swear the lawn needs mowed every other day. It really does...who ever fertilizes...jeezz. :)
6. Kids outside all day long. I LOVE THIS.
7. YES, we eat popsicles all day long. Otter pops too.
8. Boating...MY Favorite

How do you know it's summer or what's your favorite thing about summer?

A weekend worth waiting for....

I think that we have been planning this weekend (Memorial Day weekend) for probably about 3 months. Since Mitch and Mike are such avid fisherman they needed a weekend of just fishing. Opening day at Henry's Lake is the Saturday before Memorial Day so why not make a weekend of it. That's just what we did. We took up Mitch's parents' "cruisin condo" - motorhome and went camping. We took our boat and had a great time crusin the lake, fishing, and eating. I think that Nat and Justin had the best luck fishing. I am sure that Mitch will have plenty of great days ahead. I still can't beleive how amazing the weather was, it was beautiful. Mitch kept saying, "opening day is never this nice." I think it was because I was there." I don't think I would have lasted in nasty weather. Here are a few fun pictures. They are a little out of order, but that's ok.

Tanner being cheesy. Yes, you'll notice his girly pj's. We left his bag at home and luckily I had a pack of diapers and wipes in the car until Tiffany brought us his bag on Sunday. Thanks Tiff. He wore the same clothes and Lexi's Pj's.

Justin and Tanner with the fish Justin caught.

Lexie and cousin Conner enjoying the wild boat ride.

Sleepy fisherman (Brett and Mitch). 5am fishing kicks in 9 hours later. I think we (everyone, I was off and on with the kids) were on the lake from 5 am - 9pm with a 2 hour break for dinner and rain.

Lexie fishing with her Barbie fishing pole.

Cousin Whitney and Tanner. Whitney was such a trooper; helping with the kids and going without the luxury of a shower for 3 days.

Tanner being silly with Whit's help.

I told Mitch if we went up for the whole weekend we were not taking the boat out on Sunday. We thought it would be fun to go to Yellowstone on Sunday. The rest of Mike and Brett's families came up and joined us for a great adventure. Mitch and Tanner on our hike near Old Faithful.

Mitch and me with Old Faithful erupting.

Our little family watching and waitng for Old Faithful.

All of us on the backside of Old Faithful doing a little hike. Mitch and family, Nat and Justin, Mike and family, & Brett and Family. We love having family so close to hang out with. Thanks for all the fun everyone. Thanks for coming to Idaho Nat. We love it when you come.

After our little hiking adventure we found a little spot for a quick picnic. Thanks for lunch Mike.

Yeah, it was a lot of work to get ready to go but well worth it. Camping is fun! Yipee! Thanks for the party Johnson's and Crumps! We love you all! Who else could fit 11 people into a car...only the Johnson's. Brett and Tiff''s van broke down on the way back from Yellowstone. We were ahead of them so Mike and Laurie picked them up in there Avalon. It was funny to watch them pile out. :)

It's about Time...(May Flashback)

Yes...it's about time that I updated this blog. I don't know which months is busier May or December.

It's about time...that we finally got to take the boat out again. Oh, how I love our boat. I think it's the best purchase we have ever made. Even though I tease Mitch sometimes, I really don't mind going fishing with him on it (well as long as we catch fish and the weather's not too bad.) I get a little crancky when we've been out for hours and NO FISH. Best of all...I love wakeboarding but that doesn't come 'til late June-Julyish.

The Saturday before Mother's Day was gorgeous and Mitch's brother Mike called and asked if I had something planned for Mitch...I said, "No, DO YOU?" Yep, we need to go fishing. Mitch asked if it was okay and I knew that I would either have to go or stay home and do Saturday chores by myself, so of course I decided to go. We went to Palisades Reservoir and had a great time. It's so beautiful and we did catch some fish.

This is the first fish we caught. It's not to big..but somethings better than nothing and it tasted good at our fish fry.

Here are the kids. Poor Tanner got to wear a pink life jacket cause the one he normally wears is snug with a sweatshirt under it and has one of those head bobber things on the back. We were just trolling around so it worked.

It's about that time of year for dance recitals.

Kallie and Lexie Johnson. These 2 little girls are so cute; they are best friends and cousins too. This whole year after dance they would take turns at each others house playing and would just have a blast. I can't believe how fast they are growing up. They did so good at their recital. Mitch said, "Lex does really good, she's a count ahead of the teacher" (who is down in front of the stage kind of doing the dance so the little girls don't forget what to do). I noticed that too. We were so proud of her. Great Job Lexi and Kallie!

Well this isn't the greatest film job it was actually done on my camera not on a video camera. But my camera will record digital and our video camera is a little out of date. I hope we get a new one in the sometime future. In case you noticed the arm leaning on the stage and the people talking it's because we take pictures and film at the reherseal instead of the actual recital, which makes it nice cause the recital gets very hectic with all the people.

It's about time we had nice weather. Go figure in the middle of May we had a very cold week and the next week it was in the high 80's. Every morning Lexi askes if it's summer yet and if we could get the sprinkler out. YEAH! We finally could. It was really HOT. It's not that hot now, just in the 70's. That's okay.

It's about, time....that we share the great news, that our third baby is on the way. Yep that's right we'll have three little monkey's running around. My due date is December 6. I am just over 12 weeks. Lexi and Tanner are so excited. Every day Lex asks, "How big's the baby?" Tanner says, " Baby in your bummy (tummy)?" Tanner wants a baby boy and Lex wants a baby girl. I guess we'll see:)

Easter Fun

Of course we can't have spring without one winter storm. Last Frinday Morning we woke to about 3 inches of new snow and it just kept on falling. It was mostly mellted by late after noon but c'mon. I am ready for SPRING.

I don't know if you can really see it that well but this is lex writing her alphabet on the sidewalk.

Cari likes to find any excuse to have a party, so she decided dinner club and easter would be a good reason. We invited a few family members and friends over, and these are all the kids getting ready for the Easter egg hunt. (Don't worry Dad the house is still all in one piece.) Thanks for coming everyone. It always makes a party more fun!!!

The hunt was on. We had the little kids go in the front yard the big kids go in the back yard. This worked out well because little kids seem to be in no hurry. They pick up and egg...shake...open it....and if it's not an egg they just walk on by. (If there are "prizes" or wrapped cookies; they have no interest. It's so funny)

Lexi and her best friend/cousin Kallie. Lex sure loves her cousins and friends. We were asked time and time again, "How much longer till my friends come here to play?"

Tanner and cousin Brekka on the hunt. Tanner and Bryce taking time out for a picture. They would have picked up a lot more eggs if they would stop posing.
Tanner in his Easter outfit.
Lex showing off her new Easter dress, and hair bows made by aunt Wendy and mom.

I had to post this one just because of the cheesers. We had 3 pictures just like this.

A little overdue...better late than NEVER!!!

My sister Wendy and I thought we would get together for a little St. Patricks day party and then watch American Idol together. We decided to forgo the corned-beef and cabbage and just eat all green food. If it wasn't geen then we made it green. Our Menu consisted of: "green mashed potatoes, green hamburger gravy, green beans, green jello, green apple juice, and home-made oreos with green filling. The kids thought it was so fun. It was fun!!!

A few weeks back we decided to once agian head to Utah to see Mitch's parents, Natalie and Justin, and go to a Jazz game. We told Tanner we were going to the game and he kept thinking that we were going to the church to watch Mitch play church ball (Mitch plays church ball every Wednesday night). So when we were packing our bags to head to Utah he came out with Mitch's basketball shoes and ball. We just laughed...it gets better. When we were in Utah and said are your ready for the game... he said, "go to church." (That's where we go to watch Mitch play basketball) We finally got to the game and I wish we had a picture that did him justice. I think he was in utter shock of all the people and the noise. He had huge bug eyes, wide open mouth like WOW, and wouldn't talk! Finally by the second half he was having fun. He loved seeing the bear (mascot of the Jazz). He is still saying "do Dazz" (Go Jazz). If he sees a game going on TV he still says "daddy's dame (game)." We sure had Fun.

Natalie and Lexie. We love our aunt Natalie. She takes such good care of us.

Tanner does look a little shocked in this picture.

Cutie Pies!

What can I say....I know I am partial...but I have the cutest kids.

Grandpa Ramsey

My Grandpa Ramsey passed away early this morning. He was such a wonderful, kind, giving and happy person. A few of my favorite memories of Granpa are...One that sticks out so much, and I think Lacy and Mike will remember this too...One day Mike, Lacy and I (I think we were between the ages 7 and 10) were all at Grandma and Grandpa's, just playing. We had come in for lunch and of course were we being silly and laughing. Grandpa asked one of us to say the prayer and of course couldn't because we were laughing to hard...then he asked the next one and of couse couldn't because of laughing...then asked the next one of us and of course couldn't becuase of laughing...that's right none of us could because we were trying so hard to keep our giggles in. Grandpa finally said, "I guess I'll say it" with a giant smile on his face. He proceeded to say the prayer and then said the following..."Father please bless these silly kids" - that did it we all just bust out and could not hold it in any more. Even Grandpa started laughing. I don't think we even finished the prayer because we were all laughing to hard. Grandpa could always make us laugh. He was such a happy person with a good joke.
I will always rember the support my Grandpa showed for me and going to all my sporting events. Especailly my softball games. My dad was one of my softball coaches so Grandpa would travel with my dad to all the games. When we went to state in Coeur d' Alene my dad asked coach Jackman if it was alright if Grandpa (our #1 fan) could ride the bus with us - he did. I remember him saying as we were all getting on the bus, "Don't worry about me, I'll just be sitting up here in the front." I don't know why I think that's so funny but I can hear him saying it. Grandpa had a funny way of pointing out the obvious - if you know what I mean.
He would say or do the darndest things and Grandma would say "Good hell, BOB." We would all just laugh right along with him. He is such a wonderful person. I will truly miss him.

His funeral will be at 2:00pm on Feb 14th (Saturday) at the Burley Stake Center. All our welcome.

This is a video that my cousin Mike posted of my Grandpa. It's truly a treasured moment.
http://www.mikeandhill.blogspot.com/