I am a good mom.... really!!!

Will just came up to me after the seven kiddos left from our little preschool group and he said, "That was a good day mom! A good day!!" I feel a little bit better because, if you consider my other recent posts, it seems like I just let him run amuck! No kids home today with the stomach flu and a good book to read while eating a bowl of chocolate ice cream in my Lazy Boy... It is going to be a good day, a really good day!

P.S. I am including proof that I really am a most wonderful mother!... yet even as I type this Will is laying half naked in the hallway flashing me a sideways smile! I guess there is always room for improvement!

Care to Brush your Teeth???

Yummy!!!!

Today was a busy day with one child home sick with the stomach flu (Cassidy) and Will not getting enough attention from mom. I think he thought he was trying to be helpful or something when he did this. Well now, that is probably giving him too much credit... i think this was just plain fun for him to suction the toothbrushes to the toilet seat!!! And if you are looking for the 4th kids toothbrush, it wasn't so lucky! It was in the toilet!! Needless to say, I threw them all away and purchased new teeth cleaning apparatises! (or would it be apparati??!!!hummmm)

Will's Playgroup a.k.a. "The School of Will"

Well, seeing that I only have one child at home during the school day (maybe more soon if the adoption works out). But with that said, I have only Will at home with me right now during the day and he is getting pretty bored and sick of looking at me all day. (Who could get sick of looking at me all day?!!!he!he!) Anyway, I decided to start what I am calling an "organized playgroup" twice a week. It is sort of like preschool, but not so intense or anything. There are seven kids that come over on Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30-11:30 and we learn about a certain letter and play and they even pack their own snacks or lunches and we have a picnic at the end. Will likes it because he feels old with this backpack and lunchpail and it is a lot of fun for the other kids as well. Also, when 11:30 rolls around we load all the kids up into the "Johnson bus" and make our way around town taking the kids home. The kids love it and they announce the bus stops to me. So cute!!! Last week we did the letter A and made apple prints, apple people, apple trees, ate apples and drew the letter A. Will spent a lot of time under the table instead of at his seat working and I figured he maybe internalized about 10% of the information. But when morgan came home for lunch, he recited everything he learned and my jaw dropped. You mean he actually does listen?????? This week we are onto B and ballooons, butterflies and bears.

O.K., that is just plain gross!!!!

As you may know, we don't get a lot of rain here in Arizona and I am afraid when it started pouring last Saturday, my little guy didn't quite know what to do with it. So, he did this....

...he caught the rain in his cup and then drank it right up!!! (Notice his big sister looking on and not stopping him....hummmmm)

Then, later, while at the church for a party... he sees the drain pipe... i still can't imagine what is going through his mind at this point....

...because for some reason he thinks... "hey, let's drink that dirty water that is running down out of this pipe! Won't that be a treat!!!!"

That's right! Your trapped! Now, just smile for the family picture!!!

So last Sunday before church, I played a mean trick on the kids.... We got ready for church and I told them that we needed to be early so we could beat another family in the bishopric that we have been racing each week. (I know it is coniving to race a family to church, but hey! If it works, it is a win-win situation! And by win-win, I mean that if we win, they have to make us cookies.... oh, and we are also on time to church! Double bonus!) Anyways, we got to the church a half hour early and we grabbed Bishop Johnson out of his meetings and snagged an innocent bystander from the parking lot (hard to find a half an hour before church starts), and we lined up in front of the church for a "family picture".... You see in our home, it is very rare, if not non-existant that we are all in one picture together and looking halfway decent! So I saw my chance and pounced on it. I also made the kids be in pictures too, because, what can I say, I am sneaky!!! We only had three family pictures taken that contain our whole family, because the guy I had taking them (an RM who came back to visit our ward), thought that when I said "take a million if you can, just keep snapping them." well, in his RM mind, it translated to "take three pictures and make sure one of them is from the ground looking up so that we all look 500lbs." you can't blame him though, he must have been in a foreign speaking mission to have translated so poorly!! (Wait, he was here in Bagdad on his mission.... hummm!) O.K. enough of me ragging on the poor missionary who was just getting some service hours in, he obviously was unaware that we have 0, count them... 0 pictures in our home of the whole family together! he!He!

Anyways, after he took his three pictures, I did the best I could pairing up different units of the family and posing them!! Enjoy!!

Cassidy who just happened to be looking up after ummmm! maybe losing her contact or something!

A few of the boys before Will started freaking out!

Well, this is it folks, but at least we are all in the same picture!

Sarah, on the other hand, loves to "pose", in fact it is hard to get a "natural" picture of her because if there is a camera nearby, she will be posing!!!

My son looking way too old..... when did he get so old???!!! Soon he will be leaving on his mission....sob!Sob!

The girls pretending to be the best of friends, and Sarah showing off that her arm can turn completely backwards....what the.....!

O.K. a little better!!

"O.K. Will, if we let you have your sippy cup in the picture, will you stay still for two seconds!!!!?????"

And again with the cup!!! Maybe they will let him take that thing on his mission!!!



O.K., now you can tell why professional photographers won't return my phone calls.... We ain't easy to photograph!!!

First Day of School.... Again! or "Oh Happy Day" as sung by Mom

Well, yesterday was the first day of school for Cassidy and Lund and they were overjoyed (as was I)! They were especially excited because they each have their own labtops this year and they feel all sophisticated and stuff! Cassidy is now in the "older room" with the 5th-8th graders and Lund is still in the room with the 1st-4th graders. I love their small school and the small numbers of students and their teachers are amazing!!! I am a happy mom!!! If I can't be the one teaching them, (becuase, let's face it---- I can't!!! then, I am glad the teachers I picked for them are wonderful!)

Here is my handsome little man looking all grown up!

Here is Lund's entire class of 1st-4th graders (7 kids total)

My beautiful pre-teen!!

Here is Cassidy's entire class of 5th-8th graders (10 kids total)

First Day of School for Sarah

Today was Sarah's first day of school. She was pretty excited and pretty scared at the same time. It was extra hard for her to get up and get going this morning because Lund and Cassidy don't start their elementary school until next Monday. But she is now back into the groove of school and I think she will have a wonderful year this year! She is doing Kindergarten again because last year was a bit hard on her and at winter break I took her home to homeschool her and spend some more time with her. She had a REALLY hard time with the "all day" kindergarten schedule that they have here. Now this year, she has a new teacher (her other teacher was amazing too, we just wanted her to feel that she has a fresh start) and she is one year older, so I think she will do great!