Old Stomping Grounds...

While a lot of Morgan's family was around for their gathering, we opted to visit the "old stomping grounds". This is the house that Morgan grew up in. His parents lived there for 15 years before moving to Pocatello. For the Johnson's, these pictures might be a trip down memory lane.

                                                          Recognize these adorable folks?

                                 Good ole' 1734 E. Glade. Here we have Ruth, Juliet, Morgan, and his parents.

 This is the same swingset Morgan played on as a child. They changed the other half of the backyard and added a pool.

 This is the chalkboard where Morgan's mom homeschooled Ruth and many a message was shared.

And while we were in the basement, Cassidy found this goody. Does anyone out there remember "Pogo" balls? They are about the same era as "Moon shoes". That really dates me, but I guess they are bringing these silly things back. I didn't really think they went over all that well the first go round.
   Thank you Householder family for hooking us up with this great tour. It was awesome!

The Big Surprize.....

This week our kids were at a wonderful camp for kids with parents who have cancer. They had the greatest time ever and I will write more about that on my next post, but for now, I want to tell you about our big suprize. The whole week, while the kids were enjoying s'mores and swimming and rockin' dance parties and ropes coarses, we were WORKING HARD!  We decided to suprize the kids by redoing their rooms while they were at camp. I forgot to take "before" pictures, but you're sure to enjoy the "after".

 I picked bubblegum pink and lime green for the girls room and I LOVED the end result! Morgan did all the chair moulding and that is what made it all look so great. Thanks Morgan!

 I wanted a vanity table for the girls so they can get ready for school in style. Love the mirror! (Thx Ikea)

 Sarah was the first one to see her room and she was REALLY excited!!!!

Lund was excited as well about his room. We did the boys' room a little more low-key with two shades of blue.

 My girls really liked the vanity!!! Such beautiful girls!
 
 Cassidy LOVED her new pink, soft body pillow and decided to hide under all the softness.

 And Sarah got a lime green body pillow and loved enveloping herself in comfort.

 Daddy was pretty excited for the girls too. (And that the project was finally over!)

 Here are some more views of the boys' room. I haven't hung up any picutures yet though.

 The boys were excited to get a new bean bag chair, which they quickly used as a weapon.
And we need to give a HUGE thank you to Grandpa Wiemer who brought over his "paint box" and got to work. He is an amazing painter and it was so great to have his help. Grandma Wiemer also came over and made sure Will was out of the way, which is a HUGE job!! Thanks, and thanks again to Mom and Dad.

I don't think we will embark on another project for a while, but it was sure worth all the work to see the kids light up after they saw their rooms.

Beautiful Faces Saga, Episode 2

Morgan and I have been busy this week re-doing the kids' bedrooms to suprize them when they get home from Cancer Camp this Saturday. Soooo, I am now very, very behind in my posting.

Here we go, back to the Family Reunion...

 We watched a couple of "shows" out front... What kind of shows you ask?

 The "Bike show" was pretty good until the actors crashed mid-scene....

 The "skateboard" show was also a big hit!

 The "Squirt yourself in the face"  show was very entertaining!

 Oh, and we LOVED the "night swimming" show...

 Actors: Elliot, Mike, and Archie

 Actors: Sarah, and Morgan.

 I really enjoyed watching the "I love my cousin" show!! Lund holding Archie

                                                      awwwwwwwwwwww....

And last, but not least, the "I hope they call me on a mission" show was sooooo thrilling, except the actor wasn't quite big enough for his outfit.

Taking a break from the "Beautiful faces saga" to bring you......"Injuries"...

I am taking a break from all the events of the Family Gathering, to tell you all about the injuries sustained this year....


Poor Karver! We couldn't decide if he had a heat rash or was allergic to his sunscreen. Either way, it didn't look fun!

Guilio had an eye misshap and ended up having a lot of pain for a couple of days.

And this may look like a happy picture to you... but not ten minutes later poor Ruth was stung/bit by a wasp and it really got her bad. Poor Ruth!

And since I don't have any pictures of the rest of the injuries/sicknesses, I will just compile a list for you...
1. Kason got an ear infection
2. Lund' ear drum burst (young Lund)
3. Sarah scraped her knee on the slip and slide.
4. A lot of people in the family got sick with some kind of cold/sinus deal.

But hey! It wouldn't be a family reunion if we didn't all get sick or injured. he he.... All in all, it was a successful family reunion and we all are healthy now.

Stay tuned as we return to our "Beautiful Faces Saga" tomorrow.

Beautiful Faces!

I have sooooo many pictures and wonderful memories to sort through from the Family Gathering. It is going to take me a while to get through them all.... so I am taking it one bite at a time.

So, sit back and look at some beautiful faces that were hanging around...


Bonnie and her newest addition, Archer (Archie)

Adorable Archie!!

And here is Ruth's youngest, Kason. (when you look at him, don't you just think "He's Jack-Jack from the Incredibles!!!???)

And who is this crazy lady?!!! I got to hold Archie for some of the WMBA game we went to. Fun times holding Archie and fun times watching the WMBA game from the suite. I forget sometimes how much I love watching basketball. Maybe someday I will have enough energy to play basketball again. Until then, I think I will just hold adorable babies and watch other women run up and down the court.

And look how cute these two guys are watching the game. Archie didn't want to turn his head for the picture because he was too into the game!

Oh, and here are all the crazies that Morgan and I and Archie had to put up with!!! he he he!!!! Closest to furthest: Ruth (Morgan's youngest sister), Juliet, (one of the older sisters), Bonnie (younger sister), and Mikey (Bonnie's hubby).

Oh look!!! Here are some adorable boys at breakfast. We went to the Gilbert House in "old school" Gilbert and it was a TO-DIE-FOR breakfast!!!! This is my table with my gentlemen: Elliot (Bonnie's 2nd child), Will, and my handsome hubbie!

The next table over was full of these actresses: Cassidy, Lucy (Bonnie's oldest), Emily (another older sister of Morgan's), and Sarah. Quite the dramatic bunch!!

And onto the next table: Jason is the one with the awesome goatee! No, not the baby, that's Kason, not Jason, I don't know how you could get them confused!!! he he he...Alright, enough of that, we also have Karver (the handsome 3-year-old), next to his mom, Ruth.

Mikey and Bonnie all to themselves (Hey, how did that happen?)

And at this table we have.. In the pink: Grandma Johnson, the next gentleman is Chantel's boyfriend, John, which brings us to Chantel in yellow, who also had a birthday at this breakfast. And we will finish with Juliet, who is one of Morgan's eldest sisters. (there are a lot of sisters, ya gotta keep up now...come on!)

And the "Lund table" containing: Lund the Grandpa, Lund the Grandson, Warren, (one of Morgan's younger brothers...there are only three boys, so keeping up with them won't take as much brain power), and the eldest of the Johnson kids, Alicia.

And now we will bring you more beautiful faces....

And here are two animal lovers hanging out. The lovely Chantel is in school to someday become an Equestrian vetranarian and she loves ALL animals, even our hairless rats. And Kason suprized me at how much he loved them and how gentle he was with them. Are you creeped out by our pets yet??!!!

Stay tuned for episode 2 of the "Beautiful Faces" saga!

Nerf Wars!!

Instead of trying to cover the Family Gathering all at once, I think I will focus on little blips. That will be easier for all of us to digest.

 Tonight, I will tell you about the Nerf wars that have been going on at the Johnson house. Because we have boys, we have Nerf guns, (sorry to be so prejudice, but it is true!). Anyway, before the Hynes family came to stay at our house, we went to the store and bought a bunch of bullets for all the guns we already had. And that's all you need.......Let the games begin!!!

 Here are some of the warriors before the battle. Cassidy and Sarah look a bit like Charlie's Angels here.

And not only is this scary because he is pointing that gun at ME, but man, look at the size of the head on that guy!!! No, not my husband silly!, but the teddy bear sitting next to him on the couch!!

I will be in chemo tomorrow with Morgan by my side, so I will try to post some more family pictures unless I fall asleep...........

First Family "Gathering" blog

We have been having a fabulous week here at the sunny Arizona Johnson home. Mainly because we have family all around us and that is ALWAYS a wonderful thing! Ruth and Breanna and their babies flew in on Monday. The Hynes family with their three kids came in on Tuesday. Juliet came on Wednesday and there are multiple Arizona Johnson's scattered about.

I haven't been getting my camera out as often as I should, so today I only have a few pictures to share. But what I really need to do is take a picture of everyone in our family room talking, because that is our favorite thing to do. Lots of memories and laughs. If you aren't here, I am not trying to rub this in your face, but you know how Johnson's are when they get together......they talk!

 Yesterday a few of the kids and I made "glop" at the table. Is is a liquid or is it a solid???? that's the fun, it is both, or neither, however you want to look at it~

 Elliott had a lot of fun stretching it to its limits.

 ...........as did Sarah.

 Another favorite thing has been the "frog walks" that are taken in the evening. We walk the golf course and find TONS of frogs (or toads, I am not sure which). Lund is holding four of them in this  picture!

                             Cassidy wasn't so sure when the toad promptly peed on her. But she will pick them up nonetheless. Some of the other kids weren't as brave and just wanted to look or touch. My kids don't mind getting toad pee and mud all over. Thanks guys!

Anyway, this doesn't even show a portion of the fun we have been having. Now, don't get me wrong, we have babies that need naps, chemo lady that needs naps, and grandma and grandpa that need naps, so we do a lot of juggling of kids/responsibilites. Plus, three days this week, I have been here at Mayo getting chemo and MRI's, so there has been a lot of help all around.
   Here is a list of other things that have been going down.......
     1. A lunch at Peter Piper Pizza for old time sake..
     2. Night swimming with lots of babies.
     3. Day swimming at Desert Oasis in Chandler.
     4. Dinner at Chipolte's
     5. Moving Grandma and Grandpa into their new house. This is an ongoing project. The big stuff is there thanks to the menfolk, and the packing and cleaning will continue..
     6. Eating frozen yogurt
     7. Splash pad at Chandler park
     8. I think they are going to the Southwest museum today....

Fun, fun, fun. And I just love having the family at my house. When I get tired, I can just go up and take a nap. How great is that?!!