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 . . .

Can of Cream (AKA Ghetto Cream)

We're starting to come out of the "newborn fog" around here and we're enjoying the final month or so of summer.

We love homemade ice cream, but several years ago our ice cream maker gave out. I happened upon a recipe that said ice cream could be made in resealable plastic baggies, or one container that fits inside another. The wheels started turning.

I have this inexplicable need to save containers that I think will come in useful at some point. I'm not a pack rat, except when it comes to said containers. From my stash I came up with a large cannery can and a peanut butter jar.


We put the ice cream ingredients in the peanut butter (peta-butta if you're Meredith) jar then set it inside the large can. We filled it with a couple of layers of crushed ice and rock salt.


Then I put my child laborers to work. They rolled the contraption back and forth, asking every two minutes if they could eat the ice cream yet.


After 20 minutes it was at a soft-serve stage and everyone LOVED it. I called it ghetto cream because not only was it made in random containers, I served it to the kids in recycled yogurt cups! I know, very high class.



This picture has nothing to do with the ice cream session, but I thought it was funny.It was one of those times where the kids had been playing and then it got quiet. When Adam went to check on them, he found them having a leisurely read in "the boat."

Have a great weekend!