Rhece's Two-fer

His first two teeth for the price of one teething session--I do love a deal! When I poked around in his mouth last week there was nothing, and then yesterday these two little teeth. I was surprised because he has been a bit fussy, but not teething fussy.

In other news, Adam is in Lake Tahoe for a fellowship interview this weekend. I don't envy his travel schedule (although I wouldn't mind a trip!) which usually includes late nights and early mornings with lots of driving and/or flying in between. We'll be glad to have him back more regularly by the end of the month.

Madelyn and Parker have both started piano lessons. We planned on starting Madelyn now, and then Parker later. However, after the first lesson, Parker was completely distraught that he couldn't start too. For now they both practice happily and frequently. I thought I'd better record that in writing. I know that is liable to change at some point! If you're looking for a peppy rendition of "Skip To My Lou" or "Mary Had a Little Lamb", come on over for a recital!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town . . .

Rhece was really curious about that curly white beard.


With four kids, Santa had to move from his wing-back chair to the full-fleged red gingham sectional (I loved that sectional)!



This was our 2003 visit.


We were on the eastern side of MI Saturday and took the opportunity to stop in Ann Arbor where the nicest Santa in the world visits every year in the most quaint little country store. He brings his reindeer on the second Sunday in December, so we missed that. It's been a few years since we visited him there and it was a lot of fun.

Impromptu Track and Field Night

Winter has arrived here and so our indoor "help-the-kids-run-off-their-energy" activities have also begun. The other day what started as simple tower building ended up as an impromptu obstacle course and high jump event. Madelyn's determination showed up as she insisted on getting her tower up to ten blocks and then leaping over without knocking it down. There were hits and misses, but overall it was pretty impressive to watch. Before it was all said and done we had all taken turns in the events, although Meredith's goal was not to leap over the tower, but to run through it. I think she liked the crashing sound!

What do you do for fun in the winter?

Arizona in Review

We're finally home and back into the swing of things around here. I have hundreds of pictures from the last two months. Don't worry though, I will spare you all but a few of them :) I haven't edited all of the Utah pics yet, so we'll start with Arizona.

Pops and Granna with all nine grandkids. It was kind of like herding cats to get them all in one place long enough to take the picture, but it turned out to be well worth it!


Here they all are again sporting their new matching red hoodies.



Parker and Madelyn at a park in Pine Top, AZ


The train park in Scottsdale, AZ. We had a great time meeting up with the cousins again for this outing. They were pleased as punch to be able to take the train ride.

And the carousel was a hit too. At the zoo in UT we also went on a carousel ride which had all sorts of animals to choose from. Unfortunately for Parker it took him the whole two minutes on the ride there to decide just as it was ending that he wanted to go on the peacock. He was devastated that he couldn't ride. Thankfully the carousel in AZ only had horses to choose from.

More to come!

The Conquering of Toad Rock

It is becoming a tradition that when we are in Utah we must hike to Toad Rock. It is part way up a mountain near where my mom grew up. I remember hiking to this boulder on our Utah visits when I was a child. It used to be that you felt like you were in the wilderness once you hiked up there, but with the way the area has grown, you now feel more like you're in the neighbor's back yard!

Adam and I took Madelyn, Parker, and Meredith on the hike, leaving Rhece home with Grandma Tamara. In retrospect, Meredith probably would have enjoyed a play date with Grandma too since this is how she was hiked up there :)

Here is the earthen toad in all her glory.

Here we are before anyone had climbed to the top of the rock.

This is the view of the valley below. I love this view so much!

Once we got to Toad Rock we thought the kids would like to climb to the top of it. Madelyn refused, and consequently, so did Parker. Sensing a fear that needed to be overcome, Adam climbed to the top and encouraged the kids to do the same. Seeing him up there safe and sound, Madelyn decided that she might be able to try it. She was really nervous and tense, but I saw a look of sheer determination set in on her face. I love watching her go after something that makes her nervous and then seeing the confident smile flash across her face as she realizes that she can do it. That is what this picture below captured when she was about half way up the rock.

The look of sweet success!

Unfortunately the more determined Madelyn was to make it to the top, the more determined Parker was to stay at the bottom. He did eventually get to the middle but refused to go up any higher. Maybe next time :)

Blog Upkeep . . .

Just posting to let you all know that we're privatizing the blog. We have lots of great pictures coming from our recent Utah trip. Until then . . .

The Johnsons

Help Wanted . . .

We need a new tooth fairy in the worst kind of way.

A week ago Madelyn lost a tooth (I've don't remember what number this is, she's lost quite a few) and dutifully put it under her pillow that night. Being the conscientious mother that I am, I completely forgot about the dental pay-out before I went to bed, for several days in a row. Madelyn was very distraught about the fairy's whereabouts and wanted to know what we should do. I told her maybe she should write a note to let the tooth fairy know that this was a new lost tooth, not an old one just lying around. Pictured above is what she came up with, complete with an arrow pointing out the tooth. Maybe tonight that tooth fairy will finally get on the ball . . .