Even with lack of postings, we still have funny conversations!

Driving home as a family recently, the topic of marriage came up. Brinton said that he already knows how to be a good husband. Graham & I were nervous/anxious to hear about his knowledge on the subject.
Me: "What kind of things will you do when you are a husband?"
Brinton: "I'll cuddle my wife in bed." "And I'll let her pick the tv shows we watch. (That sounds pretty good to me. My good husband gets a check for both of these things mentioned.) I will also help do the cooking, the cleaning, and change stinky diapers. (Check, check and check again...sometimes Graham pretends he doesn't like to change stinky diapers, but who really likes that stuff?!) "I'll even get up with the babies in the middle of the night so that my wife can sleep." (Well I would say 5 out of 6 is pretty darn good.) So fortunately, my sweet little guy has some pretty good ideas on to how to be a good husband. I have no doubt he gets his wisdom from watching his daddy. Graham is so wonderful to me, and I am lucky to have him!

Look out Wadies!

Today I picked Chase up from preschool, and he was dressed like this. He looked so delicious. They have been studying Indians at school, but he quickly let me know they like to be called "mative americans." His teachers do such a great job! He loves coming home and decorating our house with the many crafts that he makes. I also had a recent Chaseism moment in the car where he told me, "Mom I am a wover of wadies." (That's Lover of Ladies for those of you who don't speak "Chase." I laughed so hard. I asked him, "What does it mean to be a lover of ladies Chase." His response, "It means I wike (like) the ladies a whole lot." Look out world here Chase comes! I love this kid!

Hairy Man

Any of you who know my Dad, know he is a Hairy specimen of a Man! (No really, he was once compared to an orangutan in terms of hairiness) We joke about it frequently as a family. Well, tonight when Brinton was getting a haircut, he observed, "I look just like Granddaddy with all this hair on my back." Graham & I laughed, took a picture, and decided this was blog worthy. I'm not sure he meant it as a compliment, but it made him think of his Granddaddy and smile. That's good enough for me!

Oh the things they will Say!

As we were leaving the gym today, one of the personal trainers told us goodbye. He remarked that I was looking kind of...pause...and then gave an exasperated sound. Chase took it upon himself to fill in the pause with the word Foxy. I busted out laughing. I mean my son is good for my self esteem, but it is a little weird to have your 4 year old say his mom is looking foxy in front of other people. I just can't imagine where he learns that kind of stuff. (You know as well as I do that the credit for that goes to my hubby.) Thanks for that one Honey!

It's Hard to be Humble!

Today in the car, while driving home from church, we had one of our fun family conversations. The word humble came up in the conversation. So Brinton asked, "What does humble mean? Graham tried explaining it so that B could understand. "It is when you don't act like you are the greatest, or think you are better than other people. When you are humble, you don't think or talk about how you are the greatest at something/everything." Just then Graham whispered to me, "Uh oh suddenly I'm not sounding so humble myself." My response: "You said it, not me." Right then, Brinton pipes back in, "Humble...I don't really think that word describes me." Graham and I busted up laughing. My sweet hubbie even added, " yeah, we probably wouldn't use that word to describe you either." He and his Daddy are so much alike sometimes it is scary. I absolutely love it! And don't worry Brinton & Graham. You guys can take the humble route. I will tell everyone how wonderful and amazing you both are. It's my Job!!:)

I'm not a Fan of Sad Fun either!

Chase always keeps us laughing. Today, on our way to preschool we had a fun little conversation.
Me: Chase, are you excited about preschool today?
Chase: No, I don't want to go to school.
Me: Why, it is so fun there.
Chase: I'm not really a fan of preschool Mom. (What 4 year old says that?)
Me: Well, Bud you have to get used to going to school. Next year you will be in kindergarten, and have to go to school everyday.
Chase: Well, I'm not really planning on going to kindergarten everyday.
Me: You have to go to school Chase. It's the Law! (I mean really...I decided to go there?!)
Don't you have fun when you go to preschool?
Chase: I just have sad fun Mom.
Me: What is sad fun?
Chase: It's when you are sad, but you still play.
Me: Okay. Well I still hope you have Happy Fun today.
Chase: Alright Mom, if you want me to have fun when I play I will.

I love the thoughts/words that come from my children. But sometimes I just wish I knew what to say so that we could bypass the part where fighting with me appears to be their only motive!
I do however feel thankful that they love to please us. I imagine when they are teenagers the conversations we have will end much differently than Chase saying, "Okay Mom, if you really want me to do it, I will!"

Halloween: Fun Pics; Creepy Pretend Holiday

So I had to add a few more cute pictures that we got from Halloween. I feel so silly calling Halloween a holiday, because it really isn't. It is just a day for people to be kind of creepy. As we trick or treated our neighborhood I was reminded of this fact. This year the boys really enjoyed it when grown men, dressed up in freaky costumes, tried to scare the life out of them. McKenna...not so much. I mean really, I wanted to say, "Enough already! Kuddos to you, you were able to scare my 2 year old little girl to tears." Unfortunately, she got really squeemish about walking up to doors after a couple of close encounters with some crazies. I know, I know supposedly it is all in good fun, but come on... at least they should stop once the tears start a'flowin'!"
As a quick side note, please pay special attention to the picture of me with what appears to be a trophy of some sort. I know...who actually brags about winning an award for a soup cooking contest at their church?? Me that's who! I mean it isn't everyday I win a cooking contest. It is my first win to date. So thanks to my great friend, Michelle, who I got the receipe from. (Her blog actually) The chicken queso soup was delicious...and very rewarding!

Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins for FHE on Monday night. That of course means by today our pumpkins are looking a little pitiful, but it was really fun! We invited our good friend, Lisa over to help us carve. I got 3 pumpkins so that Graham, Lisa, and I could each work on a pumpkin with one of the kids. Fortunately for me, Uncle Dave showed up, and wanted to show his creative style. We had a fun time, and the pumpkins turned out great! In case you can't tell, Graham's pumpkin was a Mickey Mouse head, Lisa's was a monster from Where the Wild Things Are, and Dave's was a crazy faced free hand pumpkin. Kuddos to Lisa, since it did take about 1 1/2-2 hours to complete that pumpkin. There was a lot of detail! Happy Halloween!

Halloween Work Party

Well Graham had his annual work Halloween party this past Saturday while I was out of town. I missed being there with the kids, but Graham got some cute pictures. Chase won Best Costume. (That UPS kid is pretty cute!) So fun for him...so frustrating for Brinton. When Chase decided he wanted to be a UPS man, he begged me to buy him a UPS truck. Seriously! That kid thinks his parents are doing way too well. Needless to say, he gets a UPS box to carry, no truck to drive. Sorry Chase!

My Little Man can Hold a Grudge!

I love the little conversations that happen when we are driving in the car. Yesterday, McKenna & I picked Chase up from preschool. Usually he is in a super good mood, but yesterday this was not the case. I was thanking a friend for some help she had given me, and Chase begins so kindly screaming at me from the car.
Chase: "Mom, mom, can I have the rest of the granola bar?
Me: "Yes buddy, but please do not speak to me that way. Make sure you share some with your sister"
When I finally ended my all of 3 minute conversation, I climb back into the car to Chase's griping about how he can not break off any of the bar. (Nature valley bar...they are hard to break and quite messy) So I break off a small piece and handed it to McKenna. Chase begins a nice 4 year old tantrum about how he wanted to give it to McKenna. My response, "Well maybe next time if you talk kindly to me I will let you give it to McKenna. (Yeah I know, what a reward!) Throughout the drive home, McKenna is begging for more of the treat. Chase is obviously not going to share anymore. I look in my side door and find a small piece of the bar remaining, because lets face it, it was my breakfast and I never quite got around to eating it. (So typical) So I hand the appetizing looking snack to my daughter and Chase starts tantruming once again.
Chase: McKenna, I am very angry with you.
Me: Chase don't be unkind to your sister.
Chase: McKenna, I am not happy that you got more than me. I am never sharing my treats with you again!
Me: Chase, stop being so angry with your sister. I am the one who gave it to her. So if you want to be upset with someone it should be me.
Chase: Oh don't worry Mom. I am even madder at you than McKenna. Thats a promise.
Me: Well okay then.

He may hold a grudge, but at least he is honest about it. Hopefully those 2 qualities will nicely balance each other out.

Super Girls' Weekend; Super Dad!

Well, we had our annual girls' weekend in Texas this past weekend. It is so much fun. My mom centers it around Time Out For Women (put on by Desert Book)She brings us all into town and then helps to make the weekend so much fun. Mom, you are the Best! So this weekend, on Thursday, we were also able to celebrate the sealing of Ansley & Elizabeth Knies. It was so wonderful to be present for the joining of these precious girls to Chandler and Heather. It is amazing to finally see them in their role as parents. It is definitely meant to be! No one could love and adore those girls as much as their parents do! Time Out for Women was on Saturday in San Antonio. It was an amazing experience, and we were each "spiritually fed." I have so often been reminded of my need to enjoy the present moment of my life as a Mom. I had that reiterated to me at this conference.
So I did lots of other fun things while in Texas IE. makeovers with Mom & sisters, lunches with "just the ladies", movies/charades as a family, a run (yes I ran) with my sisters Alden & Kristin, and lots of time just sitting with no responsibilities. (No really, multiple times I was aware of the fact that I had absolutely nothing I had to do or be in charge of...pretty nice feeling!) It was so fun, and I am so grateful my Mom feels like this is a worthwhile event. It definitely recharges me for life.
Well, while I was away, my husband was being Super Dad! I am so lucky to have him! He was so wonderful about sending me away to play, and he enjoyed the children as a Single dad for the weekend. I am also very fortunate to have wonderful friends who were willing to pitch in and watch my children when Graham had to work. Daddy still had to make the Bacon! It was fun to talk with Graham throughout the weekend because they were always running somewhere. They had lots of fun activities, and McKenna bonded even more with her Daddy. (now she prefers to have him sing & tuck her in at night) I am grateful that I was able to enjoy the weekend knowing that everything was taken care of. And don't be too jealous, but I even came home to a clean house! So Graham, you are not only a Super Dad, you are a Super Husband as well. Thank you!

Can you Believe our Little Guy is 6??

Well, I may be a few days late in posting, but Brinton turned 6 on October 19th. It was such a fun day to celebrate him. He looked forward for 2 weeks to his birthday and soaked in all the fun he could on his special day. Brinton, we love you so much! You are such a special spirit sent from our Heavenly Father. Daddy & I are amazed at the goodness within you, and your constant desire to follow Jesus Christ. You inspire me to live my life better because I know you are watching me. You are the kindest big brother to McKenna and you are Chase's very best buddy. I feel so blessed that you set the example for Chase & McKenna. I know that you are trying everyday to be like Jesus, and as a Mom this brings me such joy. We love you with all our hearts, and our so proud of the big boy you have become.

I love being a Mom!

Sometimes I forget to say it, but I love being a Mom! I feel so blessed to have our 3 precious children. I never knew I could have so much fun working so hard. Life is busy, time is short, children are crazy, too often my house is messy, but inspite of all that: I love being a Mom! These children inspire me to be a better mother; more worthy of their unconditional love. They are so pure and so thoughtful. I am truly blessed to know them. So the next time I call my dad or mom crying about how crazy my children are making me, they will remind me of this blog entry. And that is fine by me because I Love Being a Mom!

Those Gym Towels are Really Small!

So I have been working out at the gym now since May, (that is incredible for me!)and I am really enjoying it. I thought once the kids went back to school it would be much easier for me to get into a normal workout routine. Obviously I was so wrong about that! Anyway, so I go to the gym whenever I can work it into my schedule. Sometimes it is just me & McKenna (she graciously waits for me in the childcare part of the gym) and sometimes I take all of my cute Banches. Well yesterday, I took Chase & McKenna right after lunch, but before naps, and told Chase I would be fast. So I did my workout, and hustled in to take a shower and get somewhat presentable for the rest of my day. Before hopping in the shower I went on and locked my car keys (with my locker key attached) in my locker. Not realizing this; I shower away. It hit me as I am dripping wet, buck naked, with a teeny-tiny gym towel covering part of my body that I have no way to get into my locker. So what to do?? Well I wait. I mean I can't walk out dressed like this. So I wait. Women are always coming into the locker room to use the restroom, shower etc. So I wait.strong> Apparently very few women work out at 1:15 in the afternoon, and surprisingly few of them feel the need to use the "Little Girl's Room" at that time either. So I wait. Finally after about 10 minutes I realize I could be waiting for quite a while. Just then I hear someone using the vending machine right outside of the men's dressing room. So I tip toe just barely out of the dressing room, realize it is a woman and say, "Pssst could you come in here really quick." Then I hustle back into the dressing room trying to reposition my Tiny Towel so that my Tiny Hiney is covered. All of a sudden that Hiney didn't seem so Tiny! So she comes in, I explain the situation, she has pity on me and grabs some wire cutters. Well poor girl, it took her about 10 minutes to cut my lock off my locker, but in the end I did walk out of the gym fully clothed. Graham recommended I get a combination lock next time. Definitely something to look into!

Happy Birthday Beautiful Girl! 10/10/08

McKenna Baby Girl Knies Johnson, you turned 2 today. You bring such incredible joy to our family. Your brothers adore you, you melt your Daddy's heart, and you are your Mommy's Little Best Friend! You have brought a sense of peace to our entire family. Brinton & Chase love taking care of you and do so much to make you happy. Our family is truly blessed by you! Happy Birthday...And Many, Many More!

Wednesday, October 8th

We got to celebrate our friend, Hannah Kartchner on her birthday. We made some cookies and went to play at the park. The kids had such a fun time, and I couldn't resist the cute pictures of Brinton and Hannah. He pretends like Hannah liking him is strictly one-sided, but judging by these pictures I would have to disagree.

Chase's 1st Soccer Goal: Sort Of!

So the boys had another soccer game on Saturday. They both had a great time as you can see. Brinton got 5 more goals bringing his total to probably 16 goals for the season (3 games played). He is awesome! But the really exciting news is that Chase sort of got his 1st goal. So he finally makes it all the way down the field and is kicking the ball into the goal, when the wind blows and knocks the goal down. The referee quickly picked the goal up allowing Chase another turn to get the ball in when another gust of wind takes the goal down. By the time the Ref picks the goal up, the Coach says, "Hey that counts as a goal for Chase." Poor Guy. So he didn't actually get the glory of seeing/feeling himself kick his 1st goal, but we talked it up all the same. So Hooray for Chase! We are proud of both of our cute soccer players!

Do I really have to potty train her??

So when is it really time to potty train? McKenna is about to turn 2 (on the 10th of October), which is way earlier than I potty trained the boys. But as I am taking pictures (smelling something) she says "Mommy I poop" As much as I would like to pretend it isn't time...when they can say the words in a sentence it is difficult to deny!

Soccer Buddies

So Brinton & Chase had their 1st soccer game on Saturday. It is so fun because this year they are able to be on the same team. (Under 6 yrs category) That does not however mean they are at the same playing level. Chase started the game first, and it was quickly evident that he needed some extra coaching. That is where Graham comes in. He has to tell Chase that it is okay to go up and take the ball when others are dribbling it. He also needed prompting to defend his goal rather than watching his opponents score on them. By the end of the game however, he made a great goalie. When the other team would head down to their goal he would jump right in front of it. He kept from having a goal scored on the Red Storm. (Team name) Brinton on the other hand is all business. (He did play last year.) He scored 5 goals in the first game, and kept wondering if Grandmommy would be paying him $1 for every goal this year. I am guessing not since he has mastered the concept of goal scoring. Let's see: 13 games x 5 goals a piece he may start wondering if school is really necessary. Brinton also gets very annoyed when teammates don't know/follow the rules. He was quick to let a teammate know "You can't touch the ball in soccer. It's the rule." He also cheers very loudly when the other team "mistakenly" scores a goal for our team. "Awesome, they just gave us a point!" In the car ride home, Brinton repeatedly wanted to compare his game with Chase's game. "How many goals did Chase score today?" Rascally big brother! All and all it was a fun 1st game, and I am thrilled to have the boys playing together!

The Crazies!

Graham & I were hanging out in the family room when he happened to get a glimpse of our children looking OH So Crazy! We had to capture the picture (see below) because afterall they were all superheroes with super powers. What was McKenna's super power you ask? She was just being super cute tagging along with her brothers. They obviously dressed themselves (except for Kenna girl) and I wondered would I let them go out dressed like this? The answer: Maybe...I've seen worse at Walmart!

So pretty much my favorite thing in the world is spending time with family. So I was thrilled when my sisters, Alden & Kathryn both flew in to AZ for a weekend visit. It was so fun to have them here with me. We had lots of fun together, and my children adored having their Aunts in our home. As much fun as we had, you stil need a highlight. The highlight of the weekend: me laughing until I cried. I don't know if I have ever done that before. But how could I not when I saw my sweet 25 year old sister pedaling around my subdivison on Chase's bike. (See picture Below:) Why would your sister be riding your 4 year old's bike you ask. Because she is pretty much the sweetest person in the whole world. I was late picking up Brinton at the bus stop outside of our neighborhood one of the days that my sisters were visitng, and so I drove out of here like a mad woman to pick up Brinton and Blake (one of our neighbor buddies.) Kathryn was afraid that I might have missed the boys and knew that I would be in a panic to have to tell Blake's mom I lost her son...so she took off on Chase's bike pedaling the whole neighborhood trying to locate the boys. She eventually stopped at Blake's house to check if the boys were there. I had already dropped Blake off so my friend Kellie offered her a ride home, but Kathryn was too uncomfortable to accept. Imagine her embarrassment when she turned around as she was pedaling away to see Kellie & Blake laughing hysterically at the image in front of them. Unfortunately, I was not as good of a sister to her as she was to me. I was standing outside taking great pictures as she returned...and laughing so hard I cried. (Don't worry it wasn't only me laughing. Alden was taking pictures on her phone and sending them as text messages at the same time.) Good times!! I hope you still love me Kathryn even after you read this posting. Anyway, we had a wonderful time being together as sisters. I am so lucky & thankful to have them! draft 8:46:00 PM by sarah Delete

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You know what is worse than the child who tattles on everyone else?

Some of you may be saying nothing. Well my kid doesn't tattle on everyone else. He strictly tattles on himself. That's right! Over the last 3 weeks Brinton has taken to confessing every negative thing that he has done to me his mother. Some of you may think that sounds cute...well it might be if it happened once or twice. Brinton probably tattles on himself 10 times a day. (And that is not accounting for weekends...when it happens ALL DAY LONG!) So the conversations go something like this:

Brinton: "Mom I was climbing on the counter in the kitchen, and you tell me I'm not allowed to do that. But I was and I won't do that anymore."

Mom: "Okay thank you Brinton" (well what else do I say to that?)

Friday night-

Brinton: "Mom I just pushed cousin Kenny into the pool and I'm not supposed to push people into the pool."

Mom: "That's right you're not supposed to push people into the pool. So go have a time out for that."

Brinton: "I don't want a time out. I guess I should just start lying to you."

Mom: (in my mind) Well it isn't actually considered a lie since I didn't ask for any of this information. Instead I say: "Well you do what you think is right. Now head on into time out."

Now perhaps that seemed funny, but while I am typing this blog and talking to my sister Kathryn on the phone, Brinton interrupted me.

Brinton:" Mom we are upstairs and we are all jumping on each other. We aren't supposed to jump on people."

Mom: What do I say to that?! "That's right son we aren't supposed to jump on people. So since you know that how about you take care of it." In my mind: Do you know what you are doing to me son?! He is singlely trying to drive me into the crazy house. But don't worry, I'm not gonna let him!!!

I survived the 1st week of Kindergarten!

Well, the title might seem silly, but with the first few days of Brinton in kindergarten, I wasn't sure that I was going to make it. Crazy I know! My children have an ability to make me insane when they are with me, but it is almost unbearable for me to allow them to grow up. Brinton began all day kindergarten 2 weeks ago, and I was watching the clock from lunchtime until I could pick him up from school. Don't worry, that has now stopped. Chase, McKenna & I are adjusting to having our big boy in school all day. He is loving it and actually talked me into letting him ride the bus home in the afternoon. He wanted to ride from day 1, but I explained that Mommy was taking baby steps in this new adventure of life. Our little Chase began preschool last week and is enjoying being big just like Brinton. He even brings home homework every time he attends and is ecstatic to do it! (Wonder how long that will last?) He is becoming my big guy now that Brinton is gone during the day. He loves helping me, and does his best to take care of McKenna most of the time. (He does however love teasing her!) So we are doing well in the Johnson household. I love being a Mom...almost all of the time. I was sitting with them yesterday in church marveling at how quickly they are growing (McKenna was outside in the foyer with Graham so I could marvel), and thinking how very special this time with them is. I am blinking and they are growing. That is difficult, but we make the most of each day. And lets face it, there are many days that I am grateful they are growing!

Computers Aren't Going anywhere, so I am joining the ranks as a Blogger

I have been fighting against being a blogger for a while now, but I am so hooked on seeing my adorable nieces & nephews on blogs that I finally decided I can no longer deprive all of you of my cute & rascally children. My brother Chandler recently became a father X 2 (we are so thrilled), and began blogging. Thanks to him and his efforts today I have now set up the Graham & Sarah Johnson Family Blog! Well don't get too excited, I still have to learn how to add pictures; otherwise this blog will be pitifully boring! So to catch everyone up to speed: We are enjoying living in Mesa, Arizona with our 3 precious children. Brinton is 5 and just began kindergarten ("sniff sniff"). Chase is 4 and will be beginning preschool this week, and McKenna is 22 months and my best little girlfriend. Obviously we keep quite busy, but my husband thought I needed more to do, so he ruptured his Achilles tendon 4 weeks ago. It has been an adjustment to say the least! Graham had surgery to repair it 3 weeks ago, and will still be on crutches for 5 more weeks...but who is counting? Well me that's who! I have only now been able to fully appreciate how helpful my husband used to be around the house. It is amazing how quickly this house goes to pot when I am the only one caring for it. I definitely look forward to Graham's full recovery as soon as possible. So life is good in the Johnson household and plenty crazy, and we are enjoying almost every bit of it!