A Few December Photos

Ava's final singing/dance performance.

I'm so glad we found Clayton, Ava loves it so much. They had so many Christmas performances which kept us very busy but Ava loved every minute of it. She even shed a few tears getting ready for the final show, I however did not!

Thanks Grandma and Annie for the flowers and support.

Cutest twins EVER!!

Mitch and Santa

Excited boys!

Ava and Santa

Peyton and Santa

Ash and Santa

Abbey and Ava

Snow Day

The kids love going out in the cold but as for me. . . . .

I'm ready for summer! I know I sound like a big grump, but I hate putting snow clothes on my kids(they cry and wine until everything feels just right...(can you say OCD) and then stay outside for 10 mins.), my clean floors are dirty and wet, there are snow clothes strung all over the house, my kids are board, my house is a mess, Mitchell's nose won't stop running, and I have tons of shopping to do but refuse to take my kids out on the roads in the blizzard. So...if you don't get a gift, a card or a plate of candy from me this year just know that I do love you, I'm just throwing in the towel! I think I'll watch a movie with my cute little kiddies and let everything else go!!

Festival of Trees

Ben's two sisters and mom decorated a tree with Dale's Santa collection for the Festival of Trees this year. When I walked up to the tree I was overwhelmed with memories of Dale and his love for the Christmas season, I know he would have been so pleased to see his collection of on display for so many to enjoy. We went early in the day because of Ava's performance so it wasn't crowded, Peyton must have stared at the tree for 20 mins. The hostess asked him to tell her all about his Grandpa so she could tell his story to the people who came to view the tree. He couldn't believe that we were giving grandpa's collection away, I think he would have packed it up and took it home right then if he could have. The tree turned out great, Dale would have loved it!

November Review

We've had a fun and busy November and beginning of December. My goal was to have my shopping done by December 1st and here it is the 4th and I haven't started, and I'm not even stressed!(Yet)

I just wanted to document a few highlights of what we've been doing this past month:

*Ben and I went to Chicago/Milwaukee for Adnan's wedding. We had a great little get away without the kids and got to visit some places we'd never been before. The wedding was so beautiful, we couldn't be happier for Adnan and his hew wife, Kristen.

*Ben went to Denver to visit his brother and go to the BYU vs Air force game for his birthday.

*The kids and I had fun going to movies, hanging out with grandma, and ordering in for dinner while he was gone.

*Mitchell decided he didn't want to wear diapers anymore and potty trained himself. I can't believe how easy it was. YEAH Mitch! No more diapers at our house. . .EVER!

*Ashton got his cast off.

*Mark and Colette came to stay at our house for a few days for Thanksgiving. We love it when they come, we pretend like we're on vacation too. Ava had so much fun having Jessi around, she was so sad when she left.

*We celebrated Thanksgiving twice, once at our house with the Johnson family and then at my Grandma and Grandpa Taylor's.

*Ava started her singing and dancing performances. Which is a big part of why I haven't started my Christmas shopping.

Happy Thanksgiving

After going through one of the toughest years of my life I'm so grateful for all that the Lord has blessed me with and I hope I don't ever forget it or take it for granted. I'm especially thankful for:

*A husband who loves me unconditionally, who makes me feel safe and who makes me want to be a better person. He's the BEST!

*For the joy my children bring into my life.

*For the most amazing Mother in the entire World. I love her so much and appreciate the example she's set for me, I have a lot to live up to. I just wish I could take her heartache and loneliness away.

*The most amazing friends. After losing my Dad so many of my friends knew exactly what I needed, when I need it. I hope someday I can repay them for their love and support. It feels so good to be loved my such amazing women. Thank you, Thank you!

*For a Dad that made me feel special and loved always. I miss you!!

*For my Faith

*And finally for the peace I feel in my heart.

Happy 32nd Birthday!

World's Greatest Husband, Dad and all round Good Guy.

We Love You!!

7 Things about me you may not know

1. I love to take baths, I rarely shower unless I'm in a huge hurry. And I like the water burning hot.
2. I can't stand listening to people eat, it's like nails on a chalk board for me. My poor husband is unfortunately a very loud chewer and gets many dirty looks when we're eating together.
3. I may look like a happy, cheery mom on the outside but by 5pm I'm on the brink of calling my Dr. for a Prozac prescription.
4. I love to bake, hence the 30 lbs of baby weight I've been trying to get off since Peyton was born.
5. I miss my Dad every hour of everyday. He's always on my mind. We became best friends over the last few years and I relied on him for pep talks and conversation more than I realized.
6. I love picking my kids up from school, it's my favorite time of the day. They're so excited and willing to tell you all about the day they had in the short ride home. I've realized once we get home and they get distracted they forget a lot of the little details.
7. I want to go back to school and become a nurse.

*I tag 7 people who are out of blogging material like I am.

God Bless America

God bless America! What an exciting day and night. It felt so good to step into the voting both and express MY opinion!! Althought I wasn't a big supporter for Obama It was so moving to see the first African-American President elected. You couldn't help but be moved and touched by this historic moment. His speech was amazing! My eyes welled with tears as I thought about this amazing moment and the fact that now that this process is over we can unite as Americans.


I've been so into this election and I'm very passionate about my views. I listened to way to many talk radio shows, read too many online articles, and watched to much CNN. Because of this my children have taken notice in the election and asked many questions. Last night as Obama was speaking, Peyton was a little concerned about our next President (maybe I expressed my opinion in front of him too much) but, this was a great opportunity for me to teach him that now that we have a new President we'll support him and respect him. I explained to Peyton that it's very important for Obama to have our support so that he can lead the country in the right direction. However, that doesn't mean we have to agree with everything he does, it's our right to disagree without being disrespectful. I've seen so many parents teaching their children that George Bush is evil and a bad man, I think it's awful. I makes me sad that children are being taught disrespect and hate towards our President. Bush made some bad decisions and has been a poor leader in many many cases but, I truly believe he is not a bad man. I hope my children will grow up to be free thinkers, to feel like they can express themselves and not be mocked, I want them to question others when they feel they're wrong. I'm grateful they were able to witness this amazing time in our history.


Obama still has a lot to prove to me. I like a lot of his ideas, I'll be watching very closely to see if he can keep all the promises he made on the campaign trail. Like, NOT raising my taxes, better education, heath care for the uninsured, ending the war and getting Osama, while balancing the budget and paying down debt. Then, I'll be impressed and he'll have won me over. He has ignited our country, the American people are so full of hope and excitement. I hope he doesn't let us down, I think the effect could be devastating at such a critical time. Good thing he has at least 4 years to make the CHANGES this great country needs.

Halloween Fun

We had so much fun celebrating Halloween this year. The Saturday before Annie, my Mom, and I made a spooky Halloween dinner complete with spaghetti with eyeballs(meatballs), witch fingers(bread sticks), witches brew(root beer with dry ice) and spider cupcakes. The kids thought it was so fun.

On Halloween we went to Ben's work for a little visit, to our neighborhood truck or treat, to my parents house for the annual Halloween party-where we had lots of fun trick or treating around Walden Hill although we missed Pa Colin terribly, and then over to Julies where we channeled Grandpa Johnson and ate his famous Stewart's hot dogs. I thought Aunt Julie did a great job recreating Dales secret recipe.

We love Halloween at the Johnson Home and hate to see it go, however, we're looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. We love spending time with family and friends, remembering how blessed we are, and that we have so much to be thankful for.

That's My Girl

Ben had to work this morning so I decided to take the kids hiking. Peyton's been dying to hike Mt. Olympus. While we were on our way up the trail Ava exclaimed, "I'm a shopper not a hiker." I just had to record that little one liner, it describes her to a T!

**Before you get overly impressed we only hiked about 200 yards up the mountain. Mitchell was giving me a heart attack, he had to do it by himself. You gotta love 2 year olds!

Loving This Fall Weather

We just can't get enough of this beautiful fall weather. We've had so much fun visiting Gardner Village, playing at the park, watching Peyton play flag football, and my new favorite place Wheeler Farm. I think we go once a week. The kids love seeing the farm animals, Mitch loves the tractors, running in the open space, and getting a little treat at the store. The best thing about it is that it's never crowded and it FREE! I know this weather can't last much longer but I'm going to savor it while I can.

S.A.C. Triathlon

SWIM

BIKE

RUN

This past weekend I completed my first beginners triathlon. I ended up beating the time I set for myself, which I was so pleased about. We went down to St. George for the weekend and two of my good friends, April and Liz did it with me. It was so fun having my friends there and cheering each other on. I had a blast and can't wait to do it again.

My little Mitchie

(just testing out my new camera)