The Johnson Family

first day of school

2010-01-05T21:46:00.000-08:00

First of all, how cute are McKay and Jaden that they are holding hands? Of course I made them hold hands and I tell them they have to hold hands and make sure they both get to class safely when they get to school. Partly so they get there safe, but mostly because I love watching those two cuties walk hand and hand to school. :) This day was way harder for me than it was for them. Jaden first of all was upset that I had to take her. She wanted to walk by herself. She reminded me that she knew where the school was because she could see it from our house. McKay is still upset that he cannot take the bus to school but was happy that he was going to be able to eat lunch there. They both found their friends and marched right into school with no prob. As soon as those doors closed I lost it. Especially because McKay was going all day and would not be home until 3. That is a long day. When Jaden got home she said she loved her teacher and that they had pet Binny pigs :) in her class, and she met new friends. When I went to get McKay at 3, he hopped in the car, took one look at me in disgust and said, "Mom, where have you been? I have been waiting for you for 200 hours! He also said that his teacher kept giving him sneaky looks. I had to compose myself from not laughing right out loud.

Ms. Trowbridge and JJ

JJ, Naomi Oakes, and Angela Davis

Aaron Hipps, Tanner Short, and McKay

Summer fun with cousins, lemonade stands with friends, and last day of swim lessons

2010-01-05T21:35:00.000-08:00

We went to visit my bro. Jay and sis n law Heather and kids and they made a hilarious movie together. I love how tough McKay, Brig, and Jake are trying to be and how adorable Jaden still looks as a thug. :)

My nephew Quinns baptism day.

Camby, McKay, Maille, and Jaden having a lemonade stand in 100 degrees weather. McKay and Camby were very upset that they could not sell lemonade for $5 a cup.

Last day of swimming lessons they got to jump off the water fall and go down the slide. They loved it. McKay and Jaden are quite the little swimmers. They did so awesome!

please leggo club!

2010-01-05T21:29:00.000-08:00

crazed leggo fan smile!! :)

McKay wants to get into the leggo club magazine so bad that his sister is even trying to help!

camping, lots of dirt, catching butterflies, skunks, and catching our first fish

2010-01-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

Summer of 2009 was filled with family, friends, and fun. The best time I think we had was when we went camping with our cute family of five. Granted, I was 7 months pregnant, did not sleep a wink, got up four times (three to pee and one to throw up), and was almost sprayed by a skunk. It still was a blast. I seriously love watching my kids run around and just be kids. They were filthy dirty and loving it. We made some great memories on this trip. The kids met some older girls with butterfly nets. They swindled them in to letting them use them and McKay and Jaden caught a ton of these tiny purple butterflies. They were so into it and so concentrated on catching butterflies that they were occupied half the day. There also was a swing tied to a huge tree that would swing out over a huge ditch. There were not a lot of people camping when we went, so they pretty much took over the swing. The scariest part of the whole trip was at night when we were eating and I saw a pair of glowing eyes near our camp. I froze and told Shaun that there was something coming towards us. He took his flashlight and put it right on a huge skunk. I guess skunks don't have great eye sight because it came right through our camp without batting an eye. I totally freaked out and felt like the girlfriend from parent trap. I yelled to my kids to get in the car as fast as they could and made them stay there until the skunk was gone. Jaden was crying, Roxcy was screaming, and McKay was laughing. The rest of the night Jaden would burst into tears because she was afraid a skunk was going to come and get her. Good job mom! One of the times I got up to go pee I had a baby skunk right by me with his tail in the air. I have never ran so fast in my life, pregnant and all. I will be ok if I never see another skunk again. I think hands down the highlight of the whole trip was when we went fishing. We went to a fish hatchery where you pay to fish. I know it is cheating, but we knew it would take all day to catch a fish and frankly I am not that patient. The kids had a ball, and McKay had been talking about catching his own fish for months. I was praying so hard that it would happen, and low and behold, within minutes he had caught his first fish. Then a few minutes later Jaden caught hers. The look on both of their faces was priceless. They still talk about it. We got quite the education that day as we took the fish home, got on line and found out how to skin, and debone a fish. The kids were totally into it and so was Shaun. They did a great job and it was the best fish I had ever had.

California

2009-10-19T00:23:00.000-07:00

The tooth fairy is broke!

2009-10-19T00:20:00.000-07:00

Jaden was so excited to learn on a recent trip to the dentist that her first tooth was loose. Her brother would never let her wiggle his lose tooth so she was in heaven to know she could wiggle her own. She also got a visit from the tooth fairy around the same thime.

Two front teeth

2009-10-19T00:17:00.000-07:00

McKay lost his two front teeth within days of each other. The tooth fairy left him a note and 2 dollars. I love him with those missing teeth. So cute!!

The humming bird nest

2009-10-19T00:12:00.000-07:00

One day the kids were outside and told us they found a birds nest. When we went outside we could only see this tiny thing the size of a silver dollar that did not look like much of a nest. Sure enough there were two tiny, tiny humming bird babies inside. It was so amazing that anything is that small. We were able to watch them grow, see the mommy humming bird come to feed them, and then eventually fly away. What an education for all of us. Love it!

Graduation and the beginning of summer fun!

2009-10-19T00:02:00.000-07:00

Mckay was honored for all around character for the whole year and was student of the month. He had a party with his buddies the last day of school to kick off the summer.

Jaden had her preschool water party to start off summer and her graduation. I loved being her teacher!

pudding art!

2009-10-18T23:58:00.000-07:00

McKay, Jaden, and Carson doing a little summer time pudding art! What little aspiring artists they are. :)

ROxcy turns 2!

2009-10-18T23:49:00.000-07:00

Roxcy got some rain boots, and a my little pony. She wore them all night and did not share with her sister much to jadens disappointment. ;)

We had a little bday party with a couple of her friends and cupcakes.

Sophi and Roxcy.

cousins, the farm, sleep overs, and hole in the rock

2009-10-18T23:37:00.000-07:00

On our tour of superstition farms we had the rare opportunity to see a baby cow born. malloy said it smelled and mckay asked why the baby cow just came out of the mommys butt! Wasn't expecting that questions on a fun day at the farm!

WWF time!

They thought it would be fun to sleep in the club house. They lasted 45 minutes and came inside!

Hole in the rock. McKay 6, Jaden 5, Roxcy 2

Lead singer of kiss!

2009-10-18T23:34:00.000-07:00

Here is Roxcy in the markers, apparentley trying to get a part in the band kiss!!:)

2009-10-18T23:11:00.000-07:00

My niece Emily got married and had a beautiful reception. The flower girls dresses were completley adorable. Here are Jaden, Roxcy, and Nixie.

My kids were hilarious on the dance floor. They had some pretty impressive dance moves. Must have been watching dad.

My cute niece, brother and sis n law.

This is one of JJ's favorite things to do. What a little sales lady.

McKay insisted on getting Jaden a gold fish for her b day. She was very excited to say the least.

Tipton b day celebration for myself and JJ.

Love this early morning pic!!

A FANCY NANCY FIVE YEAR OLD

2009-10-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

For Jadens 5th birthday we had a fancy nancy party. My sister made the cake of course which was to die for, my mom, myself, and Cherisse had a table set up where we did the girls makeup, and put fancy ribbons, flowers, and feathers in their hair. Oh yes, also lots of glitter. I think we had more fun than the girls! The girls had a tea party, danced, and had a great time. I could not do it without my cute fam.

Brother insisted on staying and helping with the ladies.

Is this the cutest cake or what?

Love it!!

Hogles cabin, snow, and fun!!

2009-10-18T22:44:00.000-07:00

Hogles invited us to their cabin and it snowed all night. The kids had so much fun with Jesse and Reed. Dana pulled them behind the quad on the sleds. They were flying everywhere. We got some pretty good video. They ate snow, made snow angels and ran around all day. To be a kid again.

WHY??!!

2009-10-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

I think I have more pictures of Roxcy in the markers, makeup, lotion, or hair putty than any other one of my kids. Always can laugh about it later. ;)

Disneyland!!!

2009-10-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

Jaden 4, McKay 6, Roxcy 1

Only has eyes for Mickey. All other characters Roxcy stood at a safe distance......except Mickey.

McKay got chosen to go up on stage and fight Darth Vador. He was in Heaven!!

Mickey again!!! :)

Stay away Donald.

You too Minnie.

Your pretty Belle but we are not friends!

Jaden was so excited to wear her princess dress and see all of the princesses at dinner. So cute. Roxcy was excited for 2 minutes and then the dress came off.

2009-10-18T15:47:00.000-07:00

The band is back together. McKay wanted to start a rock band with all the nieghboorhood kids. We set up the stage, got some instruments, and they went to town. They will totally be famous one day. :)

Jaden and her cute friends playing dress up at play group.

Leggo club please put my son in your magazine. This is the 5th picture I have sent in.

Christmas day!! McKay got his dino car and JJ got her barbie car from Santa. Talk about crazy drivers!

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2008 tipton program with cousins

Emily and my cute hubby singing and playing

We acted out the nativity. Jaden (4), McKay (6)

Jaden and Santa (aka Papa)

Carson and Jaden were the Christmas elves in the preschool program and they were hams!!

Juliette just had Delilah so Adam met up with us at the Polar Express. We brought Carson with us too. It was a zoo, crazy, and completley fun!

cousins!!

2009-10-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

The club house

2009-10-18T15:24:00.000-07:00

Mckay begged, and begged his Papa to build him a club house. My dad came out one day with some scrap wood, and that is exactly what he did. He built a club house. We had some of McKays friend come over and they had to paint it. Of course McKay picked Orange. THey painted everything including the grass!

FHE Bowling night

2009-10-18T15:17:00.000-07:00

Good job brother!! What fun this was to go with the kids bowling. I loved watching my kids cheering each other on.

This is the life

2009-10-18T15:11:00.000-07:00

I found this picture of Roxcy when she was one and had to post it. She loves swinging. Always has. When we go to the park she stays on the swings the whole time. We went a few days ago and she stayed on the whole time and fell asleep again.

Diamond Backs

2009-10-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Shaun and I got a baby sitter for Roxcy and took Jaden (4) and McKay (6) to the Diamond Backs game. It was a lot of fun, and we had great seats. They said their favorite part of the game was getting their face painted and the fire works at the end.

Dirt, Mud, and more dirt make for a perfect camp out!!

2008-12-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

When we first arrived for the ward camp out, my children started playing with all the dirt on our car and tires. I freaked out a little and said, "You guys are getting so muddy, their is dirt everywhere. Then, my cute husband just looked at me and said, "Are you kidding me?" Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first one in a mud wrestling contest, but I have to mentally prepare for it. My mind had not switched from mom mode, to do what ever the heck you want we are camping mode. It was beautiful! We were surrounded by trees and it rained on and off the whole time we were there. I usually can only take one night of camping but I always feel a twinge of envy for families who live on a lot of land and can just let their kids explore and be outside all day. My kids love to camp, get dirty, and explore. I really think they are in their element and so happy when ever we go camping. Even Roxcy was in heaven. In the evening we had a ward fire side and I was trying to finish the forth book of Twilight. Roxcy had fallen asleep and probably would have been fine in the tent, but being the thoughtful person that I am :), I told Shaun that he could take the kids to the fireside and I would stay in the tent with Roxcy. Do I feel guilty? No! I got the best of both worlds. I could hear the fireside and read my book at the same time. I did get busted when Shaun came back and caught me red handed. After everyone was asleep, I was still reading and the batteries in my flashlight went out. No problem.....I grabbed one of McKays glow sticks, broke it open, and finished my book. I did have a massive head ache in the morning, but it was worth it!

These two pics. are so hilarious! Look at these cute boys and how tough they are. McKay, Cason Payne, and Gavin Perkins. McKay and Gavin stood in the rain for a long time to get a few rain drops. Kids are the best!

Jaden, Lizzy Flake, and Mailey Neus. These girls were three peas in a pod on the camp out. Somtimes I would follow behind just to hear their conversation. Quite the imaginations.

Dirt anyone?

After we arrived Roxcy just walked around looking at everything. She was so happy and looked so amazed at everything around her. I love witnessing a childs first.

My kids basically lived down by this swing. They could not get enough. What a blast.

Jaden you are such a fun kid. You love to play dress up, dolls, and for me to do your hair a certain way, but you are not afraid of anything, and always the first to get in the mud, or get wet. You love being with your brother and his friends and never seem to mind if you are the only girl. It is so fun to be around you. What a great kid!

We brought pop, and Roxcy went to every open can she could to drink. At one point, drinking was not enough, she poured a can of fruit punch over her head. She was swimming in the stuff. It did give a nice red tint to her hair though.

McKay, you are my little HUCKLE BERRY FIN! You were trying to build fires, collecting rocks, sticks, in the water trying to catch frogs, you name it, you were trying to do it. You were so sad to leave and just wanted to keep exploring and playing with friends. I am always so amazed at how you can keep going. You are always thinking of things to do or places to go. No matter how tired you are, you just want the party to keep going. You always bring so much fun to everything we do.

Serious Brownie points!!

2008-12-03T11:43:00.000-08:00

Shaun and I have a tradition of going to stay at a hotel for a night right before I have a baby. It is the perfect amount of time to get away and really enjoy ourselves. Well, I am not pregnant, but, Shaun totally surprised me, arranged for my parents to watch the kids, and took me to the Point in Phoenix. I don't know if I was more excited to get away for a couple of days, or the fact that my husband arranged everything and pulled off a great surprise for me. None the less, it was fabulous. We shopped, ate, and watched movies. Thanks for the great weekend babe, and for being an amazing husband. When do we get to go back?

Toddler bowling and McKay's 6th Birthday Party!!

2008-11-19T11:48:00.000-08:00

This was a BLAST!! We had a family BarBQ at my moms house and Aubrey was in town and brought over this HUGE Construction tarp (AKA Super fun slip and slide). We put my dads hose over the fence, poured a gallon of soap on the tarp, and we went to town. Becky and Joe came by with their kids, and most of my family were there. It really was so fun. I have not laughed so hard for a long time. The kids kept walking up the tarp when they were done and kept getting knocked down by everyone going down. Hence the name, TODDLER BOWLING. My nephew, Jonathan who is in remission for cancer was such a champ and also went down a few times. Thanks Aubs for a super fun time!!

Shaun, McKay, Jaden, and Max

Aubs, Jaden, and Harlie

Jonathan taking a ride.

Jaden taking Roxcy who cried the whole time. I don't know if she was more afraid of the slip and slide, or the crazy people running around with soap all over their bodies.

The Train 'O' Fun!!

Max, Jaden, Brig

McKay grabbed a raft for some extra air!

Poor Roxcy. This was here expression the whole time. Utter confusion!!

McKay and Mrs. King, (his kindergarten teacher), handing out cupcakes on his birthday.

Grandma and Grandpa taking us to Chucky Cheese for the B-Day celebration. McKay had just lost his first tooth. Love it!!

My kids are obsessed with chucky cheese when they see him. They seriously follow him around like two little puppy dogs. Look at those grins.

Ray, LuAnn, Mariann, Shaun, Roxcy, Jaden, and McKay

The Birthday Breakfast!! The "M" pancake that my mom and dad so skillfully taught me to make growing up.

I asked Aubrey if I could borrow the tarp, and re used it for McKay's B-Day party. The boys (and Jaden) had so much fun. Krew, Quinn, Aaron, McKay, Carson, and Ryan

All of the crazy boys actually sat and posed for me. I love Jaden in this picture. I went to drop her off at her little girl friends house during the party. She started sobbing and said she did not care that she was going to be the only girl. She had so much fun and absolutely did not care that she was the only girl.

McKay and his bud Reed. These two boys have so much fun together and just love to be wild!

When is our last day of church?

2008-11-12T22:41:00.000-08:00

So I want to make a scrap book of my blog at the end of the year. In order to do that, I need to actually post my pictures from this last year. Here are two of my favorite moments from when Jaden and McKay played T-ball. We have a great neighborhood that got a few teams together to play T-ball on Saturdays for free! So fabulous! I was getting the kids ready for their last game and McKay was less than enthusiastic to go. I bribed him but nothing worked. I finally told him that it was his last T-ball game and he did not have to go anymore after the game was over. He did not answer me. He just sat there in deep thought and finally asked, "Mom, when is our last day of church?" I was on the floor laughing. When I told him that there will never be a last day of church he looked crushed! Classic!

Jaden loved playing T-Ball. She felt so big and looked so cute and tiny in her over sized T-shirt. The only problem was when she was in the out field and a ball was hit, she would run as fast as she could to pick it up but never quite make it. So the last game she must have tried ten times until she sat down and cried. I could not take it anymore so I got a ball that we had and threw it to the out field right next to her. She looked up, and I told her to get it. She picked it right up and was so excited and proud of herself. I was proud of her too. :)

I of course love this shirt and try to get McKay to wear it as much as I can before he is too embarrassed.

I love that pink glove!

Dad's 70th Surprise Birthday Party!

2008-11-12T12:12:00.000-08:00

My dad's 70th party was so fantastic. We wanted to do something really special because our dad is the most amazing man we know. We emailed, mailed, and called as many old friends and family as we could and asked them to send us memories written down on paper for my dad. It was so fun going through them all. Some stories we had heard before and some were new and really made my dad blush. We put all of the memories in a book for my dad and then all of my siblings, their spouses and my mom surprised him. We had pizza, cake (Cherisse made it), 50's music, and karaoke. It was the funnest night. My dad was so surprised and was even more surprised when we read all of the things that people had to say about him. He really has been such and amazing person his whole life. Everyone that he knows holds him near and dear to their hearts. He is so great in so many ways. He is such a calm, non judgemental listener. He is so intelligent and seems to know just about everything. If he doesn't know the answer to something, he has a book that does have the answer. He is so humble and would never make anyone feel small or insignificant. He says yes with a smile and never complains. I have never known a more giving person of their time and talents. He keeps a few spare keys to every ones car in the family even after we are married just in case of an emergency. And yes, we have all had to use them. His greatest joy is watching his family grow, learn, and live life to the fullest. He loves to laugh and has the greatest smile. He is calm and not quick to react in a bad situation. Always giving others the benefit of the doubt. He can be a bit mischievous. The best baby sitter that my kids have ever had. Can fix anything. Love you dad!

Halloween!!!!!

2008-11-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

Jaden 4, Roxcy 1, Mckay 6

So excited to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. Kept doing karate moves all day.

So I bought Jaden this costume last year for Halloween and on the day of she refused to wear it. She said she wanted to be a princess. So this year I talked about lady bugs, and read books about lady bugs, and sure enough she wanted to be a lady bug for Halloween. Yeah!!

These girls are two peas in a pod

Roxcy kept her little head band on most of the night and just kept running in circles going BZZZZZ! :)

Who likes posing and who doesn't?

Roxcy, Nixie, and Jaden. When these three are together you can not get any more girly. They are so cute to each other and the conversation is hilarious.

Malloy, McKay, Jaden Roxcy, Nixie, Carson, and Cody Halloween night

Love the Sistas! Tiff, Cherisse, and Juliette

Jonathan and Cherisse. Love that they dressed up on Halloween.

Roxcy pushing Cody. I think that Roxcy thinks that she is 10 yrs. old. She tries to get anyone in those strollers to push around.

Jonathan, Cherisse, Juliette, Adam, TIff, and Shaun

McKay wanted chauffeur service the whole night.

Love this pic of Jaden!!

Mom and Dad staying strong for two hours passing out candy. We have a lot of tricker treaters in our neighborhood so they just both sat at the door and left if open.

I love that little face!

So McKay came in after an hour of tricker treating, had his costume off, Jammie's on, candy dumped on the floor in 1.2 seconds. A kid after my own heart.

We had to drag this girl in from trick or treating. She would have gone all night long. Love it!

The next day we had a family+Amber :) shower for Juliette at Crackers. It was the funnest. No clean up and no cooking. Just fun, laughing, presents, and food.

I love this picture. These three boys have the funnest, craziest, most hilarious (did I say crazy), personalities ever. They definitely can liven up any room. I don't want to know the trouble they will be into in the future. :)

My cute sister Cherisse had all of us over on Halloween day to decorate cookies, make finger puppets, and candy necklaces. The kids had a ball.

Of course we let her do all the work. She is the MASTER!

OK......... can you pick out my son? That's right. The one doing the ninja moves. I was laughing so hard. McKay is so funny. I love that all the kids are posing so still and in every picture I have of McKay's class he is doing a ninja move!!

Flex those muscles

Mother Natures Farm with the Hogles. Jaden, McKay, Jesse, and Reed. They all had so much fun.

THe candy witch visited our preschool this year. (aka mimi or mom) THe kids loved it and my mom always tells the most dramatic, interesting story. THey love their mimi.

Jadens prescool class having some treats.

The teachers. Miss Cherisse, and Miss Tiffany

Jaden and Carson. These two are such good buddies but can be very mischevious together.

So fun being able to be Jadens teacher. She is my little sweetie.

OK, so fun!! We went to Amber Olsens Halloween party as...... you guessed it Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. I think that Shaun and I had more fun actually getting our costumes on. We seriously were laughing so hard. My husband is such a good sport to put up with all of my crazy ideas.

MILK anyone. I guess my sister is having the milk man's baby!! hehe

Such a fun party, and so fun being with Adam and Juliette

OK....... so Jaden, McKay, and Carson built this little fountain with rocks and the hose. They were really into it. They spent a lot of time on it. I had to get a pic of all the hard work.

Go inside to put the camera back and come back out to this!! They are quick. So I get the camera and take another pic. Then I go back inside to put it back and come back out with all three of them jumping on the tramp. in the nude! Can't leave them alone for a second. :)

I love the mornings......sorta of. I always wish I could sleep a half an hour longer and wish my kids breakfast could magically make itself. But what I love is the sound of Jaden and McKay going into Roxcy's room, Jaden crawling into Roxcy's crib to snuggle with her, and McKay doing something crazy to make them laugh. I was able to sneak in there the other morning to catch this cute moment.

AM I GOING CRAZY???.......... I am still laughing at this picture. One night when Jaden had dance, we were running late so I grabbed her dance clothes, put Jaden in the car, and told her we would change when we got to dance. When we got there, I parked and started getting her dressed in the car. We walked inside, she went to her class, and I started chatting with someone. When there was about 15 minutes left of class I started watching Jaden dance. Her leotard looked a little skeewampus(as my mother would say:)) and I thought she had probably gone to the bathroom and had put her leotard on wrong. When she came out of dance I asked her if she went to the bathroom and she said "NO". I asked her why her leotard looked that way and she said, "Mommy, you put it on this way." OK, first of all I have put on leotards my whole life, it is second nature to me. But, for some reason that day I decided to put on her leotard first with BOTH LEGS through one of the holes so part of the leo was hanging off her waist, then her tights after that. What do you think her teacher thought? I did not even have the excuse that her dad got her ready because I was right there at dance with her! Don't you just love some days. The funniest part is that Jaden did not say one word. She danced her little heart out the whole time doing shuffle ball change. :)

Pixie sticks anyone. This is one of those moments in your child hood that is priceless. A little neighboor down the street was doing a lemonade stand. Before I knew it, Jaden and Mckay came out with pixie sticks, a box, paper, markers and a cup to sell pixie sticks. It was a big hit! The neighboorhood kids loved it. My favorite part was when I tried to buy one and offered them a quarter. McKay then told me it would be a dollar for me. What a businessman.

The beach, sun, cousins and family= PARTY!!

2008-10-17T21:41:00.000-07:00

I just have to say that though I am posting these pics a few months late, I still love reminiscing about the beach. This year was especially amazing because my nephew Jonathan was there and had just finished his last round of chemo. He was still sick and could not walk very well, but did not want to miss the beach. We had a "NO MO CHEMO" Luau party for him. Of course my sisters and I put on a skit for Jona that was a big hit that will be used as black male on us for years. :) We all laughed and cried that night and just enjoyed being with each other as a family. These are just some of the many reasons I love our annual beach trip.

I LOVE having a contest to see who can see the ocean first when we first arrive.
I LOVE getting to the beach house, having our swimming suits on already and running out to the ocean.
I LOVE that the place we stay is full of sand, dirt, mildew, rust, and has not been updated or worked on since the 60's.
I LOVE that no one minds the beach house (to much :) ) because we are right on the sand and at the beach (not in the house) for the whole week.
I LOVE that we pack in 30+ family members into one house and that we wouldn't have it any other way.
I LOVE our 7 am walks to the donut shop to get a donut every morning.
I LOVE taking my kids down the Pier and letting them watch everyone fishing and then asking if they can touch the fish.
I LOVE watching my kids come out of the ocean all wet and lay in the warm sand.
I LOVE watching my kids catch sand crabs and ask if they can keep them as pets.
I LOVE the adrenaline rush of the freezing cold ocean when I first jump in, and the cramp I get in my right pinky toe.
I LOVE running as fast as I can with my sisters into the ocean and swimming, floating, and acting silly like we are kids again.
I LOVE watching my brother Scott surf.
I LOVE hanging out with my older brothers on the sand and having long conversations with them.
I LOVE convincing my sis-n-laws to get in the water.
I LOVE putting the kids down for the night and sitting with a big blanket on the beach with my hubby.
I LOVE all the beautiful beach houses with immaculate porches that surround our porch, and then looking at our porch that has an explosion of towels, bikes, scooters, chairs, shoes, boogie boards, swimming suits, sand buckets, shovels, and anything else that pertains to the beach.
I LOVE watching my kids with their cousins knowing that they are making memories that will last a lifetime.
I LOVE all of the junk food we have 'O' plenty for all to partake of any time, and anywhere.
I LOVE playing games at night and laughing so hard that I almost wet my pants.
I LOVE that my mom is in heaven and satisfied reading her books all day and knowing that we are in heaven.
I LOVE the proud smile on my dad's face and chuckle as he watches us from afar.
I LOVE the adult night swim we take and how giddy it makes us.
I LOVE just laying on the beach doing nothing.
I LOVE watching my wonderful husband looking for sea shells, sand crabs, and building castles with my kids.
I LOVE the Balboa bars!
I LOVE going to bed at night and seeing bodies asleep all over the place because there is not enough room in the house for everyone.
I LOVE watching everyone with a good book on the beach and calling dibs on who gets what book next.
I LOVE eating literal sandwiches on the beach and not caring one bit.
I LOVE laying next to my husband in our sand filled bed with all three of our children crammed into one small room and knowing that this is what life is all about!

My sisnlaws and sisters, Tracy Tipton, Heather Tipton, Jamie Tipton, Juliette Hess, Tiff Johnson, Cherisse Sarager. My mom is missing in this pic
My bros., brothernlaw, husband, and dad. Scott Tipton, Jay Tipton, Rick Tipton, Adam Hess, Shaun Johnson, Dad

"NO MO CHEMO" party. This was so fun and my nephew looks a little frightened. I don't know why. :)

First day at the beach McKay and Jaden. 4 and 5

Brig and McKay

With Brig and Andrew planning the week

Jaden, Carson, and Brig

Just a little excited to see each other. Brig and Jaden

Look at that smile!

Uncle Scott giving McKay a little ride

Hold on tight

Donut Time! McKay, Jaden, Roxcy

Nothing better than donuts, the beach and dad!

TROUBLE!!

My cute sisters family. Jonathan, Cherisse, Carson, and Cody

Jay and Jonathan. Jonathan walked down to the pier with his walker. It is a long way and we were pretty proud!

The clan

Rick and my dad

More of the clan

That is what I am talking about!!mmmmmmmmm

We need more zinc and sand please!!

Roxcy + marshmallows = heaven

Our little monkey

Our other monkey

Cousins at the fire pit. Malloy, McKay, Truman, Max, Roxcy, Jaden

Malloy and McKay being goof balls together

Max, Brig, and McKay

Shaun, McKay, Jaden, Carson, and Andrew taking turns burying each other

Look at that cute face

What a little beach babe

Give me some love. Jaden and Carson

Rocxy and Andrew with a healthy snack. :)

Sisters. Roxcy 1, Jaden 4

Mckay 5, Roxcy1, Jaden 4

Jonathan, McKay, and Brig

I love this pic. of Roxcy. She not only loved playing in the sand, she loved eating it as well

The Motley crew. These little monkeys decided that Cody needed to wake up from his nap. McKay, Jaden, Malloy, and Carson

Malloy and McKay

I have never seen someone so excited to me buried in sand before. :)

Mimi, Roxcy, Nixie, and the Diet Dr. Pepper she bribed them with to sit on her lap. :)

I love this girl!

The sea lions we saw on the Harbor cruise

Jaden on the Bungee jump who wanted to go higher

McKay had the best laugh on this thing

Daddy time. McKay, Dad, and Jaden

Papa with Jaden and McKay

YES......... they all got in with thier clothes on

Roxcy feeding Cody sandy grapes

This was the favorite hang out of the trip for the kids

Limbo anyone

My brothers are dying in this pic. Scott, Rick, Jay, Adam, Jamie, Tracy, Heather, Tiffany, Juliette, Cherisse

McKay and Carson

The fam at the bottom of the pier

Love this

Love this even more

And more sand crabs

My favorite pic of the whole trip

Shaun loves going on walks with the kids when we are at the beach. He is such a great dad

2008-10-17T21:33:00.000-07:00

A favorite hiding spot for our little squeaker!

2008-10-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

McKay, Jaden, and Roxcy were being so quiet the other day, and I could not find them anywhere. Of course I should have thought of looking where the pots and pans go, that is usually where I stick the kids. :)

POOR NEGLECTED BLOG

2008-08-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

This is for all you family and friends...... I am finally posting again after way to long. I really thought that with me not teaching preschool in the summer that I woud be so on top of things in the blogging world. On the contrary....... just the opposite. Trust me, there were many days I thought, "today is the day to update!" Then I found myself either passed out asleep in my kids room while putting them to bed, or after putting my kids down, on a date with my couch and my dvr wanting to use absolutley no part of my brain. And though I have so much catching up to do, I have to say, I enjoyed every moment of my evenings of going to bed early and vegging.:) Seriously though, for those of you out there that happen to pop in on my blog still,.... I am still alive and would love advice on how to best schedule the blog updating in. When does everyone update? After the kids are in bed? When they are napping? When they are watching a movie? Please tell me some tricks so I can repent of my non blogging ways. :)

Kindergarten...... Yikes!!!

2008-08-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

Seriously mom get out of here..... You are embarrassing me!

Camby and McKay. When we got to school, the first thing McKay asked his teacher is if he knew Camby. He then told her that he was his very best friend in the whole world.

In McKays class, their are seven boys from our ward. Their teacher is in for a big surprise. I hope they don't drive her into an early retirement.

As you can see from the other pictures, that is hard for my son to make a normal or semi normal face when I am taking pictures. He thinks it is funnier to be crazy, so I was so excited when he smiled in this shot at school right before he went in to his classroom.

I have to put down some of the funny questions and statements that McKay made today. As we walked outside to go, he proclaimed, "Mom, this is the best day of my life. It's raining, it's my first day of kindergarten, and I get to go play at Quinn's house." He asked me when the bus was picking him up and if he could eat lunch at school. I think my favorite one though was when he asked me in how many days was I going to pick him up? When I informed him with a no to all of his questions he was disapointed. :) When we had meet the teacher he drew a picture for her and then told me that he thought he might be shy at school. Inside I was laughing so hard at that statement and I was thinking in my mind..... Yes, I wish you would by shy sometimes:). When we picked him up from school he had a big grin on his face and I asked him what he did at school. He said, "I don't know, but I have a new girlfriend." This also surprised me because I was not aware that he had an old girlfriend. I definetly need to get with it. I asked what her name was and he said he did not know but that she thought he was funny and he said he kept making her laugh. He said he loved school and that he did not get sent to the principals office ( relief ). The best thing he said was regarding the blessing that Shaun gave to him. After we got home he said, "Mom, after you and dad left today I wasn't even scared. That prayer helped me.

So I was looking through a family circle magazine a couple of days ago and found this advertisement for The Childrens Place and thought it was so cute and so appropriate for me since McKay just started Kindergarten today. Plus, I cried my eyes out when I read it.

There will be bigger hallways and bigger kids. There will be new sounds, new friends and new teachers whose names might sound scary at first. He'll line up, look back and file inside and at that moment you'll realize this is your first day of school too. Value every moment.

So cute! So today was McKays first day of Kindergarten and I thought that I had better post. I really want him to know how incredibly cute and hilarious he was on this day. I really thought I was going to be a mess today. On the way to his school I got a little misty eyed, but by the time we got there he was so excited to see his teacher and friends that all I could do was grin from ear to ear. When I got home Jaden wanted to play polly pockets and barbies with me. It was so fun having one on one time with my girls. But, after an hour and a half I wasn't sure if I was more sad because I missed McKay or because I had been playing Polly Pockets the entire time that McKay was at school. :) Shaun took the morning off and we all walked McKay to school. Shaun was so proud of him. Shaun wanted to give McKay a Fathers Blessing and Mckay informed him that he didn't need one because he already knew he was going to like school. Shaun still gave him one and it was so special. When we walked McKay to school I think Shaun was more nervous than anyone. He said that when he was a kid he used to feel nervous and a little sick on the first day of school. Shaun said that as we walked McKay to school he started to feel that way again. Regardless, he still felt well enough to video McKays every move all the way to school. :)

Happy Mothers Day

2008-05-13T23:08:00.000-07:00

My mom is so fabulous!! She was always a mom that taught us that anything is possible. Her motto is "Kill them with Kindness". I remember as a little girl if my mom ever heard my friends and I talking about someone else she always stepped in and pointed out something positive about that person and let my friends and I know that she did not like how we were talking. I remember being embarrassed sometimes but she taught me so much by doing that. She is never afraid to defend what she believes in, or stick up for an individual no matter how unpopular her view may be. She is very, very, loyal and would do anything at any time for her family and
friends. She is a comforter. She always knows what to say to others who are having a hard time in life, or suffering in some way. She is always serving others and finding ways to help and give hope to those around her. I remember as a little girl always having someone staying with us that had a broken home and needed a place to stay for a while. She always encouraged us to think of kids at school that did not have friends or might be a little different and had us invite them to our parties or over to play. Shes always is in the moment. She acts as if she has all the time in the world, which makes you feel so important if you are chatting with her, or need something. She loves to joke, be silly, and she loves to laugh. She truly just loves life in anything she does. As I get older it seems like I can call my mom and she always has an answer or words of encouragement to keep me going. I love you mom!!

OK so my family started a family tradition a few years back and I love it!! Every mothers day the men cook, the woman sit in the dining room, and the men sit in the kitchen with all of the children and have to be at our beckon call. We are actually quite obnoxious about it and milk it for all it is worth. We have them refill our glasses, bring us seconds, salt our food, you name it, they do it. It is so fun to sit with the ladies uninterrupted and just chat while we are waited on. The guys are troupers and put up with us for the evening. Love you Shaun. Thanks for a fabulous mothers day.

My good friend sent me this great quote by Sister Hinkley and it is now one of my favorites.

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car

Wearing beautiful tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed and

With long perfectly manicured fingernails.

I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels

From taking kids to Scout camp.

I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing

Sister Scheck's lawn.

I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from

Making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.

I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping

Weed someone's garden.

I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and

Tears of a friend on my shoulder.

I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.

Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Roxcys 1st Birthday!!

2008-05-13T22:41:00.000-07:00

Here is Roxcys first birthday sign and birthday pancake breakfast. She does not look impressed. :)

Being smuthered by kisses by big bro. and sis.

Roxcy was so funny. She did not want anything to do with her cake. She was afaid to touch it. McKay and I showed her how it is supposed to be done but once again she was not impressed. :)

The cake that of course my little sis cherisse made. She always does such a great job. Thanks Cherisse

This tutu was made for Jaden but looks so cute on Roxcy too. She did not like the tutu, but found this flower and really examined it for a bit while I snapped some pics. Then she tried to eat it. What a little cutie!

Roxcys birth and hospital stay

2008-05-13T21:40:00.000-07:00

These pictures are all mixed up, but this is right after I had Roxcy and right before they knew that there was something wrong with her. My whole family was there (even Jaden and McKay) in the waiting room, so they all got to see her before she was taken to the nursery and then to banner desert. She was so cute and looked so much like McKay.

This was the first time we got to hold her at Banner Desert and I remember being so afraid to even move.

This was Roxcy getting ready to be taken by air vac to banner desert. Her first helicopter ride at 1 day old.

This was a very emotional birthday for me. It is hard to believe that Roxcy was born a year ago and had to be taken to Banner Desert to the NICU. I have never actually written this down anywhere so this is a bit hard. She had undeveloped lungs and was not breathing on her own. It seriously was the most depressing feeling in the world to come home without her. I knew she was in good hands, but to not come home with her and to see her hooked up to so many things and see her struggling to breath was so terrible as a mother. She had tubes in her nose and down her throat. I remember after her first night at banner desert the nurses told me that she was a fighter and that her name suited her very well. Her first night the nurse had to put all of her tubes back in twice because she kept yanking them out with her tiny little hands. I remember feeling so proud of her at 2 days old that she had the will to do that. :) I knew at that moment that she did not want to be there as much I did not want her there. The hardest part was Shaun and I could not hold her for about 4 days we could only touch her foot or hand. When they finally told us we could hold her I think I held her for 2 hours straight without moving a muscle before I let Shaun hold her and my bum was totally numb. Then Shaun held her for 2 hours. We did that shift the rest of the day and I was in heaven. She truly is our little miracle baby. Shauns parents and my parents would come down to the hospital and switch off so Shaun and I could have a break. They were so wonderful and supportive. The nurses would always ask if Roxcy ever got put down, but after they told us we could hold her there was no going back. I can not imagine her not in our lives. She brings so much joy into our home. She is our little peace maker and comedian. If Jaden and Mckay are fighting, and they see Roxcy, they just get the biggest grins on their faces and start laughing. They truly adore her. She has this larger than life spirit and observes her surroundings constantly. I am glad that ordeal is over with and we were able to celebrate such a fun birthday. When I look back at that day I can remember feeling so absolutley afraid for my brand new baby, but never alone. I had all my family around me, and so many wonderful, supportive friends that came down to the hospital and did so much for me in my time of need. I feel (to say the least) blessed for so many amazing people in my life and to be a mom of three little angels.

Easter 2008

2008-05-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

My kids were obsessed with coloring Easter Eggs this year. We did it at school, then twice at home. They usually would color the egg and then crack it open and eat it. They did not get the concept that the Easter bunny was going to hide them.

Easter dinner at my moms house with me, Roxcy, Cherisse, Tracy, Juliette, and Emily. I feel pretty blessed to have such incredible woman in my family and in my life. They are all so strong, smart, fun and crazy. They always inspire me to be a better person. Love you ladies

Show me the goods. McKay, Quinn, Jaden, Truman, Carson, and Malloy after a hunt at my moms house.

Exhausted from the hunt and taking a little break.

Since we have church at 8:00 the Easter Bunny decided to come and hide eggs after church. The Easter Bunny is so considerate and always works with my time schedule. :)

McKay after church on Easter Sunday. He looked so dang cute!

Jaden who scored on the Easter Eggs. When she prayed this night she asked if Heavenly Father could have the Easter Bunny come again to our house and bring her more candy. He was tied up though.

Roxcy was hilarious! She loved trying to pull those plastic eggs apart. She would sit and concentrate so hard until she got them open

She was in sugar Heaven on her first Easter. I would have liked to say that that was the first day she had tasted candy, but I have a mom who gave Roxcy Diet Dr. Pepper at 3 months. And, who knows what else. Know wonder my kids love Mimi so much. They get whatever they want. :)

Creating a canvas on the porch

2008-05-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

This is McKay, Jaden, and our neighboor friend Brodee. That is not mud. It is paint and it was everywhere. I was so mad! Of course I made them smile and pose first, and then they got in trouble. Apparantley no one can come over to our house without getting wet, muddy, or a bucket of paint on them. :)

It's a miracle!!! I am posting and hopefully not getting any more threats from my cousin Missy! :)

2008-04-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

Birthday dinner for Jaden, Aunt Mariann, and me. Thanks mom and dad Johnson!

Three Birthday Girls. Aunt Mariann, Jaden, and mom

Grandma Johnson and her girl

So excited to be four! We had to have our birthday breakfast with a pancake "J" and birthday sign. Growing up my mom and dad always did this for us and now my kids get so excited for it.

Big brother was just as excited as Jaden for her birthday

Jadens big day! The princess tea party. This was borrowed from a friend ( thanks molly) and it was all real and so adorable. The girls (most) were very careful as they poured their lemonade and ate their food. Thanks to my cute sisters Juliette and Cherisse, my mom, my mom-n-law, and Aunt Mariann who came and helped and made Jadens day even more special. Love you

Seriously all of these girls were so cute! Jaden, Maddi, Carly, and cousin Nixie

Sleeping Beauty made a guest appearance and Mckay was being so shy. I had to take a pic of it. I don't think I have ever seen him get shy around anybody

Sleeping beauty danced with the girls, read stories, put on makeup, and ate with the girls. (thank you Loretta)

Jaden and Nixie decided it would be funny to put nerds (the candy) on the couch and pick up as many as they could (with their mouths) before they rolled onto the ground. Look at those mischievous grins. These two are Trouble with a capital "T"!

Mimi came in her best tea party attire and assisted with putting makeup on the little girls. They were in heaven. Isn't my moms hat the best.

My girls!! Mom, Roxcy, and Jaden

Jaden staring in awe at sleeping beauty as she entered

Jaden did not stop smiling after Sleeping Beauty arrived

The birthday cake. Jaden was in heaven when she saw this sleeping beauty cake for her 4th birthday (Which was March 8th. Better late then never.) I asked my sister Cherisse to help me with this cake which consisted of me going to her house and telling her how good she was doing, how cute it was, and handing her some frosting. Thanks Cherisse you saved the day!

TAGGED

2008-02-25T21:01:00.000-08:00

My cute cousin Missy has Tagged me and I am sure some of my answers will have some of you wondering how you are friends with such a crazy girl...... but, here it goes.

10 years ago: I had been back from my mission for about a month. I was still asking my sisters to go everywhere with me so I would have a companion. When my friends wanted to hang out I would ask for a specific time, location, people going, what I needed to bring, and exactly what time I would be home. Very nerdy.

5 things on my to do list today: Since it is 10 at night, the only thing I have left to do is a date with my bed for some much needed sleep. Here is what was on my to do list today.

1. Went to aerobics at the church with all of my children and worked out. ( I realized it was time to put my words into action when my three year old daughter told me at church yesterday in the bathroom stall that my bum was to big for the potty. And yes, the bathroom was full of women. Love those honest comments! :))
2. Went to Walmart to do a little grocery shopping.
3. Dropped Jaden and McKay off at a Birthday party at 1:00
4. Made dinner for our dinner group ( If you have no idea about this one, you need to know. It is the best invention ever!)
5. Grandma and Grandpa came over to have FHE with the fam. This consists of McKay and Jaden wrestling, jumping, spinning, dancing, tickling, and basically being completely out of control while grandma and grandpa tell them how cute they are. Then we end with a prayer. :)

5 snacks I enjoy: Are you serious? What snack don't I enjoy?

1. Haagen Das Almond and chocolate covered vanilla ice cream bars ( there are three in each box and I can easily consume the whole thing).
2. Almond Roca
3. Cold Cereal
4. Vanilla bean ice cream
5. And of course the "Pazookie"!!

5 places I have lived:

1. Tempe, AZ
2. Mesa, Az
3. Provo, UT
4. Salt Lake City, UT
5. Queen Creek, AZ
wow!!! I am so impressed with this. :)

What would I do if I was suddenly made a Billionaire:

First, I would buy my dad a brand new, no miles on it, right off the lot, car of his choice. Then, I would by a huge beach house with 10 bed rooms right on the beach for my entire family, fly them all out and tell them that I won a weekend at a fun beach house. Then when they all arrived, and we were all together, I would tell them that we actually now owned the beach house. I get excited just thinking about the reaction. Can you stand it? Then, I would let each member of my family and Shauns family pick out whatever car they wanted and drive it off the lot. Start plans on a custom home on a huge lot of land. Make sure that I bought the other surrounding lots of land so I could live next to my sisters and give the other lots of land to my closest friends and make a perfect neighborhood. Take a trip to Europe with Shaun and stay in all the 5 star hotels. Take a trip to Disneyland with Shaun and the kids for 2 weeks and stay in the nicest room in Disney land and order room service every meal. Take a trip with my sisters, mom, sister n laws, and closest friends and family to a spa for a week and receive messages when ever we like. Go to Oprah ( better yet, be on Oprah!) Give money to friends, family, charity, church, and always have money on hand to give to those homeless guys you see on the corner. This is one of my favorite topics to talk about with my sister. It's fun to dream.

5 jobs I have had:

1. Dance teacher
2. Olan Mills
3. Sears
4. Computer company
5. Dental office

5 things you didn't know about me:

1. I will start with my favorite. My last month on my mission my companion and I were serving in Pres. Hinkleys sons ward and teaching someone in his home. His son invited us over on Christmas for Christmas dinner. It was Clark Hinkley, his wife Kathleen, and their four beautiful children, and my companion and I. All of a sudden President Hinkley, Sister Hinkley, and their body guard come walking in the front door. They joined us for dinner and my comp and I sat directly across from Pres. and Sister Hinkley. I even told a joke which President Hinkley did not get. We laughed, took pictures, and enjoyed watching him just be a grandpa. It is truly one of my most cherished memories that I will never forget.
2. I was really sick for the first four days of my honey moon. Throwing up, fever, the whole nine yards. Poor Shaun
3. Went para sailing in Nice, France with Aubrey after our missions and we were laughing so hard while flying through the air that I peed. Poor people in the boat. I have a bladder problem. :)
4. One summer Aubrey, Becky and I would sneak into Kino Junior High pool at night and go skinny dipping. That makes me laugh as I am typing this.
5. I threw out my back one time while doing a flip on the diving board, trying to show off for a boy I was visiting in Alabama. His mom insisted that a bath would make me feel better. I managed to get in with no problem, but to my complete horror, I realized that I could not get out. I laid there and wished that I could magically disappear. Then, his sister n law and mom knocked on the door and came in. I started crying and told them I couldn't get out. They then proceeded to lift me out. One had one leg and arm and the other had the other arm and leg. They got a pretty good show to say the least. hehehe

Now I get to tag 5 people...... I tag Heidi, Michelle, Melissa S., Juliette, Lorena. Good luck ladies

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home!!!

2008-02-16T17:13:00.000-08:00

THE PEDICURE!!! First of all I have to say that having my husband back after three long weeks has brought my sanity back. I sure appreciate him a lot more, and I don't think the kids will ever forget how long their dad was in Nentucky ( aka Kentucky). They have not let him out of their site and are like little puppy dogs at his heels. So the first Saturday after Shaun was back I went to get a pedicure. It was much needed and much deserved if I do say so myself. When I walked in, a cute little Asian women told me to come and sit down and put my feet in the water. When she started massaging my feet I noticed that she had rubber gloves on. I thought to myself, "What a great place, they are so sanitary here!" Then I looked up at the three other ladies getting pedicures and noticed that the women giving them pedicures did not have rubber gloves on. That got me to speculating........... Was my lady the only one in this salon that wears gloves and is just a super clean person, or do they save the rubber gloves for those special clients that have less then desirable toe jam? Did they say in chinese as I walked in the door.......... "We have got a rubber glover coming in get ready!!! Either way, I am bound and determined to find out the mystery behind my pedicurest. Maybe I will pop in unexpected and catch her in the act with somebody else without her gloves on, or maybe I will take a crash course in Chinese from my dad and find out what they are saying. I will let every one know. :) hehehe

Since Shaun has come home Roxcy will only fall asleep at night if he rocks her. It is so cute and absolutley endearing.

Roxcys hair is finalling starting to grow.......... Straight up!!! It is hilarious. And to my complete excitement it has a red tint. I have always wanted a red head. What a little sweetie

I came in the kitchen the other day and found this beautiful creation on my kitchen table. Mckay created it and said it was an alien blob monster and that I had to leave it until daddy got home. So, we set the table around our little alien and had a pleasant dinner with mom, dad, Roxcy, Jaden, Mckay, and the blob monster. No one lost their appetites needless to say.

Look how proud Mckay is of his alien dude

Jaden came down with strep throat last week and was really sick. She would sleep on and off all day long and did not want to eat or do anything. It is always so hard for me to see my kids sick. I knew she was feeling better when I went in to check on her in her room and she asked me where her tiara was and that she needed to put it on because it would make her feel better. I did all I could to keep a serious expression. So Cute and so Funny!!

ON YOUR MARK, GET SET, GO!!!!! Roxcy at 9 months crawling. While Shaun was gone she started doing the army crawl but she waited for the full on crawl until he got home. She is cruising all over the place and Jaden and Mckay love putting items in front of her to crawl to.

Weekend in the Snow

2008-01-23T08:05:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun weekend. We started in Prescott and ended the trip in Flagstaff. It was so fun to see my brother Jay and his family. My kids were in Heaven. McKay is always in Heaven when we visit Prescott because he instintly has four brothers to wrestle with for hours on end. Jaden loves it because they dote over her so much. My brother and sister n law are such amazing parents. You truly can feel so much love in their home. We all know in my family that if you visit Jay and Heather, and plan on staying for just a day, it won't happen. They can always convince anyone to stay longer. Their home is always open to anyone and it truly feels that way. Love you guys.

Jaden looks like she has had one to many rides down the hill in her sled. :) My kids had so much fun sledding. They were so crazy. McKay kept wanting to go down the hill that had all the jumps. No matter how many times my kids fell down they wanted to sled more. I of course was having a blast my self. I don't think anyone can ever be to old to enjoy sledding. I was laughing, snorting, and basically being a spaz the whole time. Almost all of my brothers, sisters, sister n laws, and neices and nephews came up to Flagstaff on Monday to sled. It was so fun!! We did miss Adam, but I have to publicly thank him for the daddy day care all weekend. What a good guy. He watched Roxcy while we sledded and took McKay and Jaden part of the day also. Thanks for the help!

My little snow Angels

Hiedi and her cute kids came to hang out with us during Christmas break. It is amazing how kids can remember each other and just jump back into playing with each other after such a long time. I have to admit that I miss having the Cossebooms close by. It was so much fun to chat and catch up.

"The Seven Year Itch"

2008-01-07T22:15:00.001-08:00

Shaun and I just had our 7 year wedding anniversary and I can't believe how time flies. As the years go by I can truly say that I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have found and married such an amazing guy. Here's a little shout out to my better half. (I'm not kidding about the better half. :) ) Here are just some of the reasons I love this guy.

1. Shaun puts up with my crazy habit of always planning a party at our house or planning to go to a party somewhere else and forgetting to tell him until 2 minutes before. He is so patient with me.

2. One time Shaun came home from work and I had our kitchen table and chairs in the garage painting them black, and the wall in the living room repainted with diamonds on it. He looked at me and asked what I was doing and I told him that I thought I had told him. He literally smiled, shook his head and then said, "I loved it!" Again, very patient.

3. When we first got married we got two of the same things when we opened gifts. We did not know which stores some of the gifts had come from, so I had the idea to keep those gifts in the car in case we came across the store and then we could run out to the car and return the gift. Shaun had another idea. One day he was helping some of his old roommates move into a new apartment and they commented about the awesome crock pot, blender, toaster, etc. that were in the car. Shaun (aka, Santa Claus) then took the liberty of handing out every last Wedding present to anyone and everyone who wanted or needed something. He has always been generous. I have to say that I was not jumping for joy when I found this out, but we laugh about it now.

4. Whenever Shaun sees someone in need on the side of the road, he always stops to help them. He is very charitable. I get nervous about this habit of his and I think he has stopped telling me how often he does this.

5. He is the most forgiving, non judgemental person I know. Always giving others the benefit of the doubt even if someone has wronged him.

6. Very goal oriented. Loves learning and is always trying to better himself.

7. Loves to make me and the kids laugh. Shaun has such a witty sense of humor and loves to make others smile. He is not afraid to be silly or make a fool of himself. What I mean by that is, he puts up with my crazy collection of costumes and wigs and is always game to play a joke or dress up crazy with me.

8. He spends so much quality time with the kids. The kids hide every day when Shaun gets home from work and he pretends he can't find them. Then, when they finally come out they all wrestle and laugh so hard. The kids adore they're daddy. He never complains if he comes home from work and I say, "you get the kids tonight, I am going to run away for a while." He just smiles and says, " We will miss you, but run away for as long as you need."

9. Loves the gospel. When Shaun and I were dating, Juliette and my mom were snooping in Shauns truck (why you ask, I have no idea except that that is what families do. We have got to watch out for each other.) Anyway, Juliette came in and told me that he had two book of mormons to hand out and his goals for the year posted on his dash. She was the hardest person to impress when I was dating someone. She gave her full approval after that.

10. I have to throw in this story just to keep my husband humble. I don't want his head to get to big by saying all these nice things. We met on a blind date. On this blind date we went swimming!!!!!!! I know, isn't that the worst. Anyway, he later admitted, after we had gotten married, that before I saw him in his swimming suit that he went around the corner and did a bunch of push ups so his arms and chest would look bigger. I laughed so hard and still do at the sight of that.

I love you Shaun, Happy Anniversary!!!

2008-01-02T23:42:00.000-08:00

FAMILY

It has been a year in March since my Nephew was diagnosed with a very fast growing cancer and had to have a brain tumor removed. He is still coming down from Prescott every week to get radiation. I got to see Jonathan a couple days after Christmas. It is always amazing to see him. Look at his countenance and smile. It really puts life into perspective to think of this 14 year old boy going through what he has been through, so much pain that no one on Earth could understand,countless hours of radiation and Chemotherapy, and still have the cutest sense of humor and love for life. He is truly an inspiration not just to me but to many, many, people. I love you Jonathan, you are a Hero! Roxcy(7 months) and Jonathan (14)

Cousins at the Dinosaur museum. Carson, Jaden, Malloy, and McKay. We have been to this place more than I would like to admit, and more than I would ever like to go. My kids seriously love it here and act like it is the first time they have been here every time we go.

This Christmas was one family party after another. Juliette was down for a week and we went to movies, had spend the nights, and went out to eat almost every day. Here is me, Juliette, Cherisse, and Amber (Our adopted sister) at Oregano's our favorite place on Earth. I feel so blessed to have such amazing, talented, loving sisters. We can laugh so hard that we pee, and cry so hard until there are no more tears. We know every shortcoming and weakness about each other and still love each other anyway. Thank goodness for my sisters.

2008-01-02T22:52:00.000-08:00

MUD MANIA, THE GOOD DEEDER, AND THE DANCING DIVA

We have started giving Jaden and McKay chores to do. One of them is to water the plants out front. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that they would take this job so seriously that they would water the flowers not once a day, but every time they went out side to the point that we had a literal swamp in the flower bed. We finally had to take the hose out of the front because they were obsessed with watering. My friend once told me that she did not think she had ever picked up her son at my house without him being soaking wet or muddy. Here are some of the neighborhood kids with McKay and Jaden having their mud bath for the day.

So this kid has put a bug in his sisters nose, put markers all over his sisters face, taken his goldfish out of the fish tank with his bare hands and put it in a cup of ice, then put it back in the fish tank where we all thought it was dead, but were informed an hour later that a miracle had happened and that his goldfish had been resurrected. But, McKay is also the most sensitive and in tune kids I know. Tonight after dinner he told me he wanted to go take treats to his friends in the neighborhood. I asked him what treats he was going to give them and he said his Halloween candy. Since it is January 2nd I thought that candy from October would not be the most desirable treat to give out, but he was insistent. I thought he was going to knock on the door of two or three friends homes and give them a sucker or something. Instead, he got on his bike and put his Halloween bucket on his handle bars and rode down the street 7:30 at night stopping at each house throwing candy in the driveway. He was beaming and thought he was being such a good little friend. I followed him up one side of the street and down the other. He turned and said, "Mom my friends are going to be so excited when they wake up tomorrow and find my candy!" I didn't have the heart to tell him that it probably would be covered in ants and be thrown away by all the moms and dads. I just agreed and kept following him down the street on Jan. 2 with his Halloween bucket. Aren't kids the best.

This was Jadens first day at dance class and she loved every minute of it. The teacher told me that she did great and said that she kept trying to help her as they did some dance moves across the floor and Jaden just kept looking up at her saying, "I already know this, I can do it by myself." She's not independent in the slightest. I think it is an exciting moment for a parent when their child seems to be taking an interest and loving something that you have loved your whole life.

2008-01-02T22:25:00.000-08:00

"WWF"

My kids looked so adorable for church all dressed in their Christmas attire that I thought it would be so nice to snap some photos before we left. McKay and Jaden apparently interpreted me taking pictures of them in their Sunday best as let's have a "WWF" tournament and see who can rip their clothes to shreds the fastest.

ROLEY POLEY BUGS IN YOUR NOSE

2007-11-11T23:44:00.000-08:00

My sister is going to be so proud of me for updating my blog. As I was posting the Halloween pictures I remembered (wish I could forget) this day and had to tell everyone this story that I can laugh about now. The kids and I were all playing one day when the doorbell rang. I got up to get the door and was literally back in about 10 seconds. When I returned, Roxcy was a little bit fussy, Jaden was laughing, and McKay bolted out of sight and hid. Seeing all the warning signs I asked Jaden Why Roxcy was crying and she said, while laughing, "Mckay put a ROLEY POLEY BUG in Roxcys nose!" "HE DID WHAT?" And as I examined my 5 month old, it looked like she had a little bead in her nose instead of a bug to my releif. I managed to retrieve the object out of my babies nose to find out that the bead unfolded into yes you guessed it, a Roly poly bug. Roxcy seemed fine after I made sure there wasn't any other foreign objects in her nose. And we have a new rule in the house, Absolutely NO bugs in any ones nose at any time! They don't tell you what to do in these type of situations in any parenting book. :)

Trick or Treating with cousins

2007-11-11T23:11:00.000-08:00

Shaun and I can not go one Halloween without wearing our awesome afro wigs!!

Trick or Treating with a skeleton (McKay), a princess (Jaden), a pirate (Malloy), and NACHO LIBRE (Carson). The coolest costume I have ever seen!

This was definitely a night of treats. Juliette came down from Flagstaff, Cherisse and Jonathan came over, and Mimi and Papa. I love family, and any excuse to get them here I will try it. McKay, Jaden, Malloy, Nixie, and Carson looked so cute and had a blast collecting candy. The night would not be complete though without one of the kids throwing up (Nixie on Juliette), and Jaden wanting to change her costume every five seconds from a lady bug to a dancer to a princess. Got to love kids! :)

The many looks of Roxcy

2007-11-11T22:39:00.000-08:00

AARRGGHH!!........Mateys

Get your chicken BABY!

"HAIR CLUB" for babies! She's not just the President, she's a client.

Our sweet little baby girl is constantly being smothered by her big brother and sister. People told me that the novelty of a new baby would wear off,............I'm still waiting. They are constantly putting hats, wigs, eye patches, handing her things to eat like corn on the cob, and their plastic kitchen food. She is the most even tempered baby and adores her brother and sister. She lights up and belly laughs every time they enter the room. I on the other hand keep Roxcy with me at all times and don't light up as much when I see my kids coming toward her with the next costume prop for her to wear or eat.

"WWF" wresting with dad, pumpkin carving, and five little monkeys at the zoo

2007-11-11T22:19:00.000-08:00

When we were carving pumpkins with the kids they kept making the best scary faces. This is just a sampling of what these little gobblins were coming up with. I would not want to meet these three in a dark alley when they are in a bad mood! :)

Weekend with five kids!

2007-11-11T21:25:00.000-08:00

Juliette and Adam went on a much deserved "R & R" to Mexico for a few days a we got the kiddos! It was a blast. We kept all of them busy and let everyone eat whatever they wanted for the weekend. We went to the zoo and they got to pet sting rays, and a PYTHON. Nixie was fascinated with the snake. She just wanted to keep petting it. I know what I am getting her for Christmas from her Auntie. The looks we got from people as the kids had snow cone juice all over their faces and clothes was almost as pricless as the looks Shaun and I recived for being at the zoo with five kids under the age of five. So fun!

Schnepf Farm with the Hogles

2007-11-11T21:09:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun with Dana, Susan and kids. Even though we live what feels like a hundred miles away, our kids are always so excited to see each other. Plus, Susan and I love each other so much that we have decided that our kids will be best friends whether they like it or not. We sat and watched a live band as we ate dinner and the kids got up and started shaking their grove thang. It was hilarious to see all of their sweet moves ( I taught them well).

Polk a dots

2007-10-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

Jaden and Mckay love the book "PJ Funny Bunny" about a brother who teases his sister 24/7. One part of the book PJ paints his sisters face with polk a dots and my kids think it is hilarious (real hilarious). Here is evidence that kids mimic what they read and see on T.V. :)

2007-10-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Michelle

2007-10-17T08:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Michelle! Here is a little Birthday shout out and just some of the reasons I think Michelle is the best.

* Most devoted and fun mom who would do anything for her kids.

* Most creative person I know.

*Funnest person to take a trip with.

- Womens conference

- Price is Right........ Go hot pink shirts "We love our Arizona Barker Beauties".

- Jay Leno (we were totally on tv........ we are so famous)

- Magic Mountain

- Tooting in the gas station. :)

- Disneyland with our families right after we had our babies.

* Best Bachelor watching Buddy. GO TRITA AND RYAN!

* President of the Jack Bower "24" club.

* Best hostess, party planning girl, and cake maker I know.

* A very devoted and loyal friend. I always knew I could call or go over to Michelles house at any time of the day or night,( literally), 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 am, you name it, she would be there with her big smile ready to give me advice, support, or tell me my latest craft or invention was cute.

* Michelle is one of the most patient people I know.

* Always looks gorgeous.

* Best bunko buddy. One time she sat in the carport with me for two hours trying to break open some coconuts just so we could have matching coconut bras for Hawaiian bunko night.

* Best neighboor and friend in the world, who I am determined to live next to again some day!

Love you Michelle, Have an awesome day!!!

The Fam

2007-10-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

2007-10-13T19:08:00.000-07:00

Roxcy

2007-10-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

Jaden

2007-10-13T19:01:00.000-07:00

McKay

2007-10-13T16:39:00.000-07:00

sugar and spice

2007-10-13T16:32:00.000-07:00

2007-10-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

The three rascals

2007-10-13T15:49:00.000-07:00

Weekend in Flagstaff

2007-10-12T23:08:00.000-07:00

Sisters are friends who know everything about you but love you anyway.

Me, Roxcy, Juliette, Jaden, Malloy, Nixie, and Mckay. We had so much fun visiting cousins in Flagstaff. Juliette had quite the itinerary ready for us when we arrived. I love my sis and was sad to say goodbye. I know she is in Flagstaff, but I feel like she has moved to Timbucktu! Thanks for such a fun filled weekend. You are the best.

2007-10-12T23:07:00.000-07:00

2007-10-12T23:05:00.000-07:00

Popcorn party!

2007-10-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

I was quite the proud aunt to witness my niece Nixie laughing her head off and saying her first word "popcorn"! What a cutie.

The reading corner

2007-10-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

It's amazing that a boy so active can sit still and be perfectly content looking at books. I love it.