The Ultimate Insult!

My father-in-law always says the reason that kids fight is because they love to. I am totally convinced this is true with Chase & McKenna. They can fight about absolutely anything in their loudest voices. Yesterday while we were having lunch at home, they started at it. They began hurling whatever insults they could at one another. Finally, McKenna gave the ultimate, "Chase I not going to invite you to my birthday party." (Keep in mind the girl doesn't have a party coming up again until October 2010.) Chase responded with the same insult and then asked me if I could make sure McKenna was not invited to his birthday party. I could only laugh. Newsflash: Both McKenna and Chase will be attending each others' birthday parties in 2010. It's good to be the Mom!

My Precious Girl is 3! October 10, 2009

Well I am a little late in posting, but McKenna turned 3 on October 10, 2009. (The pictures show her each year of her life on her birthday) We had a great time celebrating her. It was the 1st time she was actually excited about her birthday. She for sure knew what was going on...kept asking for her presents. Her favorites were a princess bike and princess dress up clothes...she definitely gets that she is a girl. We celebrated her birthday the night before and then headed to Colorado the day of for a wonderful week at the cabin.

Dear McKenna,
Happy Birthday baby girl! I can not believe you are already 3. You are so delightful to have in our family. You love to play dress up and carry around baby dolls, but you also love to rough house and wrestle with the boys. You and Chase fight incessantly, but I suppose that is just the way it goes. You have decided that you are excited to have your baby sister come in January, but you are insistent that her name should be McKenna too. Your favorite new toy is your dog Coco (That is "Toto" to you.) You carry him around the house whenever possible, and you seem to actually believe he likes it! I love to watch you talk to your baby dolls and mimic me. It is precious. I feel so blessed to have you as my daughter. You constantly tell me, "we be best friends Mom." It is true. We be best friends McKenna and I hope you know that you can always count on me. I love you sweetie! Mom

It's a Girl!

So it is official! We will be having another little girl join our family in January. We are just thrilled. (Mostly) When we first got home and told McKenna, she said,"I don't want a baby sister. I want a baby brother." Fortunately, 5 minutes later she said, "Mom thank you so much getting me a baby sister." So she may be fickle but she seems to be more excited about the idea of a playmate. I wanted so much for her to have a sister to be friends with forever so I am very excited! The boys also are thrilled. They both felt like it should be a girl because then our family would be even. (You can't argue with that logic!) We even took Brinton with us for the ultrasound which was fun. He got his own picture (which he thought looked very little like a baby), and enjoyed asking the technician tons of questions. When the tech said she was 90% sure it would be a girl he said, "So tell us what is it for sure!) I guess he was looking for 100%. Anyway, Graham and I couldn't be more excited to have another precious baby join our family. We feel very blessed!!

My SuperGirl!

I love this picture. This pretty much sums up what it is like to have 2 older brothers. Don't get me wrong, McKenna enjoys dressing up in girl stuff too, but when it comes to playing with the boys she opts for the "muscley" spider man costume. Very feminine wouldn't you agree?! (And as a sidenote, the picture with Kenna & Brinton they are throwing webs at the camera.) But I am sure you already knew that.
So the reason McKenna is my supergirl is because she decided last week she was ready to grow up and be a big girl. I have been dreading potty training her, but she made it so easy. She loved having a sticker chart and talking about how big she really is. We started potty training on Sunday and by Tuesday she was telling me "I'm going potty now Mom." Honestly she has made it such a breeze! So after conquering that, she decided she was ready to sleep in a big girl bed. (Another thing I was avoiding...pure laziness on my part.) She started asking if she could sleep in the big girl bed in our guest room and voila now she sleeps in there like a champ. Recently Graham was out of town so my friend Lisa kindly stayed over (I'm a SuperWimp!) I went to get McKenna from the guest room bed to have her sleep the night with me (so Lisa would have the guest room) and she threw the biggest fit. "Mommy your bed is not a big girl bed!" So after trying to persuade her that my big girl bed is quite lovely, she asked me to take her to her crib instead.
Anyway, I just love this girl! She makes our home so much more fun. She talks all the time (She gets that from Graham I'm sure!) and loves playing with her brothers. So McKenna, thanks for becoming a big girl and dragging me along for the ride!

Meet Coco!

Well we finally have added a puppy to our family. Our children could not be more thrilled. I know some of you that know me are thinking how...but it just happened. I was talking to my mom about 6 weeks ago and mentioned to her that at some point in the future we would get a dog for our kids. She was surprised and mentioned that her good friend Patty just had a litter of schnoodles (schnauzer/poodle mix) So I talked to Graham and we decided to go for it. Grandmommy told the kids about the puppy when we were vacationing in Florida together in early August. She said that she would keep the dog until Graham flew out to Texas at the end of August. Graham went out for a guys trip with my family this past weekend and had a great time deep sea fishing. (He caught some big ones too!) But I digressed, as far as my children were concerned his mission was to return with their new puppy Coco. (Chase came up with the name himself.) Graham got home yesterday evening with the puppy. Needless to say, it was difficult to get the boys to go to school today. I told them both we would meet them at their bus stops after school with Coco. (This helped some.) So we are enjoying having this little guy around. He is so sweet and precious as you can see. Lucky for me, my mom did a great job "potty training" him for the weeks she had him. (We are working on continuing her efforts.) Unlucky for my mom, she completely fell in love with Coco. She actually thought about getting the kids a different dog, but felt like they were already bonded to Coco through pictures and videos. It was a loving sacrifice on her part (Believe Me!) and we are so happy to have him. Thanks Mom!!! And a special thanks to Kristin for being willing to keep Coco at her house all the days mom had to work. Sorry about your carpet, but you really are an awesome Aunt!! To let you know how excited the kids are, yesterday morning Brinton came up to Chase and said, "Chase we are getting our puppy today. This day is going to change the rest of our lives!" So with that, our lives have been forever changed.:)

Our family is Growing!

It's about time for me to make the announcement that we are expecting! (Many of you know, but I need to make it official.) We are super excited to welcome another baby at the end of January. We should find out pink or blue in the next few weeks so stay tuned for the news. This has actually been a harder pregnancy for me than usual. I don't normally get sick, and the first trimester was filled with nausea this time. Our children (who found out at 6 weeks, but managed to keep the secret for almost 2 months) are thrilled. Brinton loves the idea of having another baby in our home. He coined our favorite phrase early on in the pregnancy when he said, "It's all for the cause Mom." He walked into the family room one day to give me some crackers and asked if I was feeling sick from the baby. When I told him I was, he thought about it for a moment and said, "Well Mom, it is all for the cause. I mean let's face it: you feel sick for a little while, but we end up getting a baby out of it. That seems like a pretty good deal to me." He has reminded me a few times since that this is all for the cause. I fortunately told Graham before we even got pregnant that I planned on being a Diva this pregnancy. I usually don't complain, or ask him to get me food I am craving, but this time things have changed. I mean, I am getting older, and it is kind of fun to have him make me grilled cheese sandwiches late at night. Thanks for being a good sport Honey!! Afterall, it is all for the cause!

Back to School!

Well it is that time again. The end of a wonderful summer, and the time to go back to school. Today was the day. I must say, I have been looking forward to it over the past week, but once it got here my excitement wore off. Brinton started 1st grade at Franklin West, and my little Chase is now in kindergarten there as well. It is always very emotional for me to leave my kids the first day of school...probably because when they actually start kindergarten it feels like the end of the "Mom & Me Era."
Anyway, the boys were relatively excited to begin school. Chase admitted when we got to his classroom that he was feeling a bit nervous. I am sure I compounded that by crying, but what is a mom supposed to do?! We got cute pics of them (as you can see) and then McKenna and I were on our own. (I am looking forward to having special alone time with just her.)
Chase is in half-day kindergarten so we picked him up from the bus stop before lunch time. I must say the 1st day of school excitement had worn off by then. I asked him about his day, and his reply was, "It was boring Mom. We didn't even have recess." When we got home and were eating lunch I tried to pry more. He said, "Mom we didn't do computers, we didn't do PE, we didn't do recess, we sang a little, but I didn't get to play instruments. It was boring. I already said that." So that was Chase's 1st day of public school in a nutshell. Later this afternoon, he did admit he had PE, but didn't recognize it as PE. He just was balancing a bean bag on his head and finger.
Brinton enjoyed his first day back. He seemed to enjoy his teacher and had fun seeing old friends. He did ask if I cried when I left them. I admitted I had and he smiled. I think he really enjoys knowing he is missed! I love you boys and am super proud of the wonderful guys you are becoming!!

My Mom : According to Chase Johnson

Chase recently finished preschool. I can hardly believe he will be starting kindergarten next year! So for his last day of school, he brought home a lovely picture of me with some very interesting facts according to Chase:

Mom is 20 years old (Thank you Chase, but that makes for very scary math. Brinton is 6 years old!) Actual: 30
Mom is 100 inches tall. Like a T-Rex standing up. (That's a tiny T-Rex) Actual: 64 inches
Mom weighs 3 million pounds. (No thanks for that one Chase. His teacher says all the other kids were guessing 10 pounds, and he knew they were wrong!) Actual: None of your business...except I will say it is even less than 1 million pounds.
Mom's favorite food is meatloaf. (I do make the occasional meatloaf. Chase hates it!) Actual: Chicken fried steak...Yum!
Mom's favorite color is black. (I do wear black often. It is slimming and I am after all trying to disguise my 3 million pound waste line.) Actual: Maybe red??
Mom's favorite thing to do is: Do stuff with me. (Well he was absolutely correct about this last one.) I love doing stuff with my kids!
I love you Chase, and enjoy so much seeing you grow! Thanks for the good laugh!

Pure Deliciousness!

Be honest! This picture just makes you smile. I love this girl!!!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Ole! As you can tell we really get into this holiday. Okay not really, but Graham's brother Dave likes to throw a party he refers to as Cinco de Moustache. Last night it was deemed Cuatro de Moustache because it fell on Monday night and is used as a social event in his single's ward. So Graham & Brinton went to the fiesta while I stayed home at the infirmary. (McKenna & Chase have been sick.) They were sad not to go, but Brinton was quite excited. He left shouting "Adios amigos!" Since coming home, Brinton too has joined the infirmary (late last night) so I am having quite the fiesta myself at home today. Happy Cinco de Mayo...I hope yours is less yucky than mine.

Spring Break in Colorado

We took the kids to Colorado for Spring Break...I know I'm behind but better late than never! We had a great time being there as a family. Dad was able to get some work done, but we were still able to have lots of fun. We rode the quads, swam at the Durango Rec Center, painted rocks, and made daily trips to the ice cream shop. (Of course this is always the kids' favorite part of the trip!) It was so fun to be able to play in the snow! Unfortunately it was not fresh snow...so a little hard to work with, but snow is snow. The kids had a blast! We are so glad to be able to getaway to the cabin for some special family time. Thanks Grandpa J!!

Chaseisms

2 quick "Chaseisms" I wanted to record.

I have a gal who comes over every other week and helps me clean. Chase came upstairs to relay this to me. "Mom, I was just downstairs and I told Elizabeth, you are a good cleaner Elizabeth." She didn't understand me so I said, "Muy bien Elizabeth, that means good job cleaning Elizabeth." He is precious!

Also, Chase has always been my style dog; the one most concerned with what he is wearing for the day. Last week he came and climbed into bed with me to cuddle, (his morning ritual...and I love it!) fully dressed for the day. He said, "Mom, do you like my outfit? Do you think the ladies will like it?" The fact that my four year old is already trying to impress the ladies is a little frightening. But I have heard a story or two about his dad at that age. He was quite the ladies man in preschool/kindergarten as well. So he gets that from Graham. Thanks a lot babe!

A Poem from the Past

Graham and I were cleaning out a file today when we came across an old poem he had written in elementary school. Graham has 8 children in his family; the first 6 were boys (how did his mom do it?!) So without further adieu my husband the poet:

Little Brothers

nice,cute
jump, skip, run
They are so cute
little brothers

Big Brothers
mean,ugly
hit,punch,kick
i will fite back
Big Brothers

I don't know if you thought that was as funny as I did?! Graham often says they fought a lot growing up...and I am guessing these were real feelings he wrote about. This poem was mounted on cardstock and given to his mom & dad. I am sure it produced all sorts of warm fuzzy feelings. I am sure the teacher had quite a laugh as well!

We Love our Diamondbacks!

Graham recently got tickets to go see the Diamondbacks. He got tickets to the Friday night and Saturday day game, so he took both of his boys out for some one-on-one time with Dad. They had a great time! Before the games, Dad came home with shirts for both of his buckaroos. (Chase...my little style dog was beyond thrilled!) I made sure to get pics before the game, and Graham remembered to take the camera to the game on Saturday. So... sorry Chase that your pics weren't quite as exciting. Chase did at least come home with a gigantic bag of cotton candy. Fortunately for me he quickly forgot about it. (I do love cotton candy!) The boys both had a great time having Dad's undivided attention. They are already asking when they will be going to their next baseball game. Thanks Dad, for being such a super dad! We are so glad you enjoy time with your kiddos so much!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Easter in the Johnson household. The kids had a great time hunting for eggs & baskets, and we enjoyed going to church to celebrate our Savior Jesus Christ. Right before church, I made Graham a little crazy when I informed him I wanted a "quick" family picture. We were trying to get out the door for church, and he was less than thrilled to be late, but I think all and all it was worth being 3 minutes late to church to have such a sweet picture of our precious family!

Our day at the Zoo

I actually enjoy when my kiddos have a day off from school. (Granted the entire summer break is a little bit wearing...I am referring to a fun vacation day now and then.) Friday the kids had off so we headed to the zoo. I love having a zoo membership! We rarely spend more than 2 hours at the zoo...which is the perfect amount of time for me. Today we only looked at the reptiles & amphibians before heading to the water park to cool off. The kids had a blast, and I really enjoyed watching them (& snapping cute pictures.) This age is so fun to me!

I'm a really Lucky Mom!

I know I haven't posted in forever! I have been off having too much fun in Texas with my Knies family and in Colorado with our Johnson family. So I need to do some back posting, but I couldn't let Chase's preciousness pass without recording it. (Since I count this as journaling as well:)
Yesterday when I picked Chase up from preschool he told me he likes to sing about me in the bathroom. He said he sings about how much he loves me. So I asked him to sing me one of his songs. And he does."Mommy how much I love you. Does my Spirit know you're here? Mommy How much I love you. You're 100% to me." It has a precious tune he made up too. Really, talk about the luckiest Mom! He sang it all day for me. Then today as I dropped off for school, I kissed him and told him I loved him. He turned around and said "I'll see you in the bathroom Mom." So even though I am not there with him in body, he feels that special connection to me. Well Chase, you made my day, (twice in a row actually.) I love you so much, and am so thankful for your tender heart!

I love this Kid!

Today Chase was playing outside with his friend and he fell on his ear. (while climbing on top of the air conditioning fan I might add!) He came inside screaming(in total Chase fashion.) So I comforted him, didn't see blood and we moved on. Well about an hour later I noticed that it looked a little scary on the back of his ear (I'll spare you the details) so I decided to go visit the doctor. I love our doctor!!! He is always so calming to me and he loves my kids. (How could he not?!) Anyway, so we visit with him, he reassures me Chase's ear is fine, and he converses with Chase. (He thinks Chase is so funny!)
Chase: Dr. Aaron why are you wearing your church shirt today? Dr. A: "Well I woke up thinking it was church today and then realized it wasn't really Sunday. And look, I spilled coffee on my nice church shirt." Chase: (very concerned) Who spilled coffee on you Dr. Aaron?" Dr. A: I did when I was drinking it. Do you drink coffee Chase?" Chase:"No!" Dr. A:"why not, because you are a kid?" Chase: "No because I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints." Dr. A: "Oh what do they teach you at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints Chase?" Chase: "Well not to drink coffee that's for sure." (I'm slightly proud, slightly mortified at this point.) Dr. A: Tell me 2 other things you learn at church." Chase:"They teach me to be kind to others" (Happy that is what he came up with.) And they teach me to play games. So that ladies and gentlemen is our church in a nutshell according to Chase Thomas. I love this kid. He is hilarious!

B's 1st Field Trip

Today Brinton's kindergarten class visited the Phoenix Zoo. He has been asking me for weeks to come on the field trip. I of course was excited to go, that is defintely a perk to being a stay at home mom! So, Brinton, Chase & 3 boys from his class explored the zoo for a few hours with me and another mom. We had a great time! They loved touching the stingrays at Stingray Bay. (All except Chase. He is scared of those kinds of things...I admit I touched one, but it isn't really my cup of tea either.) So we had a lovely time on Brinton's 1st field trip. He said it was the best day of his life. I am sure glad I was there to experience that monumental moment with him.

Choose Your Battles Carefully!

Well at least that is what I am trying to do. Normally I would not allow my son to leave the house looking like this. I mean really the boots with shorts are one thing, but the red soccer socks look just like tights. But...Chase really likes the way he looks today. He usually has such a good sense of style so maybe I am just having an off day. (Well I don't really think it's me:) But what does it really matter if he goes to preschool looking like this? He is happy with his choice of style and I am happy that he is so proud of himself. And who knows...he might just start a style rave of his own. I have seen stranger fads than this one. I love you Chase!

I need to realize Less is More!

This morning I decided to fore go the Betty Crocker bagged blueberry mix that I usually make for breakfast and make homemade blueberry muffins instead. Yum! BIG MISTAKE! It took me about 10 times as long and the end result: children complaining that these don't taste like my usual blueberry muffins. Chase was not about to taste them. Brinton ate one, but gagged every time he came across an actual fresh blueberry. ("Yuck what are these gross things Mom? Please just go back to your usual muffins.) And McKenna only ate 1/2 of one. So I was left with a dozen blueberry muffins, my pride a little hurt, and the realization that less is more.

10 Years & Counting! February 12, 2009

Can you believe it? Graham & I celebrated our 10th year wedding anniversary last Thursday. I know what most of you are thinking. Sarah, you can not possibly be old enough to have been married 10 years. You look way too young for that. (Wasn't anyone thinking that??) Well alas, it is true we both are old enough to be celebrating this exciting milestone together. We had the most wonderful getaway to celebrate a decade together. Graham planned the entire thing himself (as a surprise) All I was responsible for was making plans for the kids while we were away. (A very special thank you to Marni & Lisa for being willing to help with my kids. I appreciate you both so much! The kids had a blast!)
So we stayed at the JW Marriot in Tucson from Thursday to Saturday. It was beautiful! The hotel was very nice, and the views were breathtaking. We had a nice leisurely morning on Friday. We even went on an awesome scenic hike. I was pretty surprised just how beautiful natural desert landscaping is when it is surrounded by so many beautiful mountains. After returning from our hike, Graham rushed me along to a fabulous spa experience. That's right! He had scheduled a massage & facial for me to enjoy all by myself. (for a mom who is constantly surrounded by 3 precious but loud & crazy children peaceful alone time is just what I needed. I even read a book and took advantage of the whirlpool in between treatments.) It was so nice. (Thanks for thinking of that Graham. You are amazing!) Then when I returned to my room Graham had laid out the most beautiful fancy dress ensemble for me to wear to dinner. It was beautiful!(Thanks to my awesome sister Alden for helping Graham out with this surprise.) We then enjoyed a quiet dinner together at a beautiful restaruant in the hotel. So those were the main highlights from our weekend getaway. I confess, it is true, I love my husband. It was so fun to celebrate our love in such a fun & relaxing way. Graham is very charming and quite good at surprises! I am grateful for this wonderful 10 years together, and feel so blessed to be on this journey through life with my best friend.

Happy 33rd Birthday Graham! February 10, 2009

In honor of Graham's birthday, I have to blog about how wonderful my husband is to me & for me. I am very grateful to have him in my life.

33 Things I love about my husband:

1.The way he loves me.
2.He is generous.
3.He takes me on a date every week.
4.He puts up with my craziness and acts like it is no big deal
5.He tells me I’m beautiful all the time. Really, all the time. It is so sweet.
6.He is a wonderful Dad. He enjoys playing with our kids.
7.He spoils me
8.He is a wonderful provider
9.He has always made sure we make Christmas with my family. We’ve been married 10 years, and have traveled to Texas 9 of them. This last one we all gathered for a family reunion in Colorado over Christmas break. It was so fun!
10.He listens to me when I want to talk. And I like to talk a lot!
11.He cleans the house, and cooks the majority of Sunday dinners.
12.He likes order. He is not a pack rat and I am grateful!
13.He takes me on getaways where it is just the two of us.
14.Honesty is very important to him.
15.He tries to follow the example of Jesus Christ.
16.He is sensitive to my needs.
17.He is savvy. He makes wonderful well-thought out decisions.
18.He lets me think I’m in charge.
19.He gave me my most treasured gifts: Brinton, Chase, & McKenna
20.He cuddles me a lot!
21.He encourages me to cry when he knows I need it, and listens until I get it all out…sometimes it takes a while.
22.He is so loyal!
23.He loves spending time as a family.
24.He sets a wonderful example for me and our children.
25.He leads our family righteously.
26.He is my best friend. We have so much fun being together.
27.He does not stress…or at least not much. Unfortunately, he can’t because if I knew he stressed I would come undone. I take care of the stressing in our family.
28.He compliments me on the way I mother often.
29.He has amazing self-discipline
30.He believes in doing what is right…Always
31.He loves my family. How could he not?, but I’m still grateful he does.
32.He accepts me for who I am.
33.He believes he is lucky to be married to me. I am glad he feels that way, because I genuinely feel lucky to be married to him as well!

He Gets that from Me!

This week, Brinton's teacher sent home a note for me. It read, "Mrs. Johnson--Today, when we were coming back into class to work on the sheep, Brinton sighed and said,"Oh Boy, this is going to be a long and stressful process!" I mean really what 6 year old says that? Apparently he is aware of stress from someone. Now who could that be??? He definitely gets that from me!

Putty in Her Hands!

I confess. This girl melts me. But can you blame me with a face like this one? I consider myself to not be an easily manipulated mom. However...when this girl looks at me with her precious smile and says, "Just two mo minutes Mom," I am nothing but putty in her hands. Trust me, she gets a lot of extra 2 minutes throughout the day. McKenna is such a joy to have in our family!

Too Much Thinking??

Sometimes I feel very sensitive and aware of the fact that our children are growing up. Graham & I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary next week. That got me thinking. These 10 years have flown by. (I am very grateful for my wonderful husband.) That started me thinking about how quickly 10 more years will pass, and we will have a 16,14,&12 year old. That made me emotional of course because I love having my little children. So I know some of you are thinking...Sarah stop thinking. You're only upsetting yourself. But really, I am not. I just wanted to take a moment and record that I love my children! They are amazing gifts in my life...and I am trying to treasure them. These days are passing all too quickly, and I am trying my darndest to enjoy them. I hope all of you are doing the same!!