McCall and Neil's Super Fun Blog

With these people...

And it was hot enough to be places like this...
I think we might have to make Sydney for New Years a new family tradition!

Alex is always all smiles!
(Lindsay wasn't interested in the slide at the time and she only wanted to watch TV for a couple minutes at a time... She's just too busy.)

My brother Taylor is officially a published writer!  He writes a lot of poetry and one of his poems was selected to be in a book called The Iowa Review.

Okay, I hope you have plenty of time for this one...

Here's what we've been up to this holiday season.

First, the annual Johnson-sibling night out.

Moving on to Christmas Eve at the Christensen house, we draw names for presents.  Here's Neil opening his.
And me.  My parents give us slippers or jammies on Christmas eve as well as our annual tree ornament.
Taylor, Neil, and Sean all got almost the same sweater but all from different people.  It was quite the coincidence.
Tinkerbell with the purple Ariel she wanted.
Tiny Reagan.  For some reason I didn't get a picture of Nick opening his present, but there he is in the background.
Christmas Eve BINGO at The Johnson's.
Some of the kiddies with papa calling out the numbers.
A very busy Christmas morning!!!  This picture made us laugh because, as you can see, it looks as if I'm not wearing pants.   I assure you I am wearing pants---well shorts.  Neil surprised me with this Paris Hilton perfume.  My sister has it and Neil likes it so he secretly bought it for a present :)  Despite the name of the perfume, it is actually quite nice.
Oh- my favorite part!  Neil woke up at 6 am to make me sugar cookies from scratch!!  He said it was especially difficult due to the fact that we don't own cookie cutters or a rolling pin.  So he made them into an Mc, a Heart, and an N.  What a sweetie!!
We got about a million things- this is just what Santa left!
Cute Lindsay and LaLa 
Max got a gun that shoots little velcro balls.  Of course Pops was the target!
Livvie got this awesome, old school polaroid camera.  Her face was SOOO funny when her dad took a picture of her and the picture popped out of the camera! 
Max and Liv
This is one of Neil's many presents.  They're electronic shooting earmuffs that go behind the neck.  He was stoked!


Neil and Blake's new presents from their dad.
Ethan in the Princess tent.
Alex laughing about nothing.  It was hilarious!
We had our yearly Christmas Day lunch at Grandma CC's, although most people couldnt' make it due to the terrible snow storms.  After lunch we headed to Neil's grandma Lyril's for more visiting and more food.  (this is her Christmas tree)

Last week Neil took his last final at the University of Utah!!

I got a couple presents from some students yesterday, which I didn't expect at all!!

Neil's family has a tradition of making peanut brittle every December. I have never liked peanut brittle, but for some reason, this stuff is so yummy and addicting!
It is quite the process with several rules. Everything has to be exactly right! Here's Blake and Pat having a turn.
 Leah and Dawn (Kurt in the background)

Neil and Leah. The sugary stuff is so freaking hot- it still burns your hands even with the gloves on!

Leah, Pat, and Neil. This was Ryan's (the guy in the background) first year at this party so he was really interested with the whole process- Until he took a turn and Dawn criticized him that is!  I must say, I love the tradition, but my love handles don't!

We also celebrated Henry's 5th birthday! Here he is w/ Grandma Dawn, his brother Lewis, Great Aunt Alayne, and Great Grandma Lyril.

My friend Charity is getting married next week so our friends threw her a shower. Here's the bride to be and the moms to be.














Here's Brit, her baby Peyton, and Michelle





















Me, Brianne, and Jamie























A cute picture of Michelle and Nique








Of course I'm an idiot and didn't even think to take pictures of her opening all her darling presents! Next shower, I'll be all over that!



I rarely see these girls but it's always so much fun when we do get together. The majority of us became friends in 6th or 7th grade but some of us go even further back!

We still need something to go on top.

This title may seem bizarre, but read on, You'll die laughing. (maybe it's just me)
So, I teach 8th grade health. As part of the State curriculum I teach Sex Respect (the sex ed program). It has been surprisingly fun and all sorts of hilarious!! Several times I have had to try my very hardest not to burst out laughing in front of my classes. I always had to grade papers alone because they made me laugh so dang hard!
The main purpose of this post is to tell about a particularly funny assignment. The students had a 4 page worksheet that they had to do WITH THEIR PARENTS! (I'm so glad we didn't have this assignment when I was that age!) The first page is 20+ words that they have to define. The second page is an HIV/AIDS quiz. The third page is an abstinence pledge (Utah has an abstinence only curriculum). And the fourth page has the parent or the teen write statements regarding sex, drugs, alcohol, pornography, and parties.
The first and fourth page consistently cracked me up! Let me just share with you some of the most hilarious definitions. [petting was probably my fav]
Petting: stroking of a dog or cat. Brushing the person's hair. Rounding the bases. What I do to my dog.  Being a tease.
Sexuality: The study of sex.
Write a clear position about teen sexual activity: There will be none until 16 or married. I will not have sex with my daughter until she is married.  It's supposed to be fun.  (I think these parents should have re-read their answers a few times)
State your position towards alcohol or drug use in your home: No drugs or alcohol until their old enough.

My Job is too much fun sometimes!

The other day, however, I pulled out the old Tiffany & Co box and decided to actually wear the expensive gift my then very informal boyfriend gave me. Neil was quite surprised, since I've probably only worn them once or twice since he gave them to me.Just call me Sarah, Plain and Tall (or McCall, Plain, and average sized)