A Day in the Life of us.....: 2009

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Christmas

Christmas has come and gone! Unbelievable! I remember time going by so slowly around the holidays when I was a kid, and now I just can't even blink, or I miss something!I have to say that this Christmas was probably my favorite one ever. Ivy and Porter are the best kids, and it has been so much fun to enjoy the holiday festivities with them. I hope I will always remember how much fun it is to have little ones!
Aside from the advent calendar/puzzle that we only put 4 pieces on and the cookies that we still have to bake, we pretty much accomplished everything we wanted to! Plus we got to spend some fun time all together.

Don't they just look thrilled to be there?! We waited in line for an hour, and then they couldn't even look at Santa! Classic.

Porter's favorite gift this year was a fur-reals Kitty. He loves it. And don't his eyes look HUGE in this picture?! They really are huge, and so blue. He is such a cute kid!

I would like to believe that this was Ivy's favorite gift this year, but I would be lying. This is my Samantha doll from when I was young, and Ivy isn't as excited about her as I thought she would be. Really her favorite gift was a little electronic cash register...her shopping toy. "Let's shop, Mom!" Oh no.

They really do love each other. Ahhh.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

haircuts and dancing

Porter actually had his first real hair-cut! He was looking pretty shaggy, so I took him in for a "big-boy" cut. It's a bit too short for me though- he's looking a little too grown-up! So I think I'll let it grow out again. (sorry the pics are backwards. too lazy to change them!)

Ivy is our little dancing girl. She LOVES her dance class. We practice at home and she tells me that she is the teacher because I don't know how to do it. Sadly enough that is true! My 3-year-old is actually a better dancer than me.

Monday, November 2, 2009

hAlLoWeeN

Wow! I can't believe it's already over, but we had a great Halloween. John was home for the whole week! So, we got to have lots of fun as a family. The kids had a great Halloween. They just thought it was fabulous to go knock on doors, and have people give them candy :) John and I dressed as Harry and Hermione, Ivy was a cat (she was supposed to be Crookshanks, but I couldn't find cat ears the right color), and Porter was Hedwig the owl. In a way I'm sad it's over already....I'm definitely sad to have John back at work!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

It's that time of year again...

You'll all be pleased to know that I watched White Christmas for the first time this season today! And those of you who know me well know that this will be the first of many Sunday afternoons spent in such a productive manner! Must be that chill in the air getting me in the Christmas spirit! I just love it!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

My New Hobby

Well, I don't really know if it qualifies as a hobby, but canning sure is fun! I recently bought a pressure canner, and have loved canning some things in it.

My Mom reminded me about how I used to make fun of her for taking pictures of food she had made, but now I understand! I am quite proud of myself!

Applesauce.... (SOooo much better than store-bought) I am going to do more this weekend.

Pinto Beans.....( It costs a lot less to buy them dried, but with them canned now they are convenient and ready-to-use :)

Green Beans ( I only did 3 quarts becuase this was my first time using my canner, and if they didn't seal, or if I ruined them in some other way, I didn't want to waste a ton!

Saturday, October 3, 2009

General Conference

Hey everyone! I am excited about general conference today and tomorrow! I was doing a little last-minute searching for coloring pages to help keep my kids entertained and I found a great coloring book that you can print out for little kids. Here's the link:

http://www.sugardoodle.net/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3124&Itemid=5

Have fun!

Friday, September 25, 2009

18 Months

I still think of this guy as a baby, but then I get a good look at him and realize he's all grown up! Porter is such a fun little kid. He is the ultimate boy! He is also very social and loves to interact with other kids. He is a big fan of nursery now, and so are Mom and Dad! I can't believe how fast the time is going by with him! I'm going to have to do double the kissing and squishing while he still lets me! Here are a few of Porter's favorite things right now:

Show: Curious George

Toys: Balls and Blocks

Food: Peaches

Words: Outside, Shoes, and Go

Person: Ivy

Game: Jumping on the Bed

We love you Porter boy.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

My little 3-year-old

This little girl right now is just so sweet and so fun.
She is the ultimate chatter-box, and I cannot believe all of the crazy things she says! There is never a dull moment with Ivy around, and that's the way we like it! Here are some of her favorite things:
Food: "Pony"(macaroni) and Cheese
Color: Pink
Movies: Pinnochio and Charlotte's Web ("Wilbur's Web")
Characters: Dora and the Princesses
Toy:Belle doll
Game: Dress-Ups
Books: The Little Mermaid and Curious George

Ivy Rae we love you!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Longest Post Yet

Oh My, Oh My, where do I even begin? I have been wanting to update my blog since I got back from Utah a few days ago, but I just couldn't decide how to go about doing it. Should I just make one great big long post with a short summary of the big events, or should I back-date and just make a bunch of little posts? Oh, that might be kind-of confusing....Hmmmmm. So, here it is. Possibly the longest post ever on my blog! Pass down the blue ribbon! hehehe

Anyway, We had a really great time in Utah. Flying with essentially two "toddlers," is exhausting, but do-able. Not that I really reccomend it! But once we got there the trip was a blast! So, in no particular order, here is a summary of our activities:

We got to hang out with my best friend Brooke and her CUTE girls. Karlee is Ivy's age, and Halie is just old enough that she won't have to wait too long for Porter to get home from his mission :) hehehe. Seriously though, they are adorable! I wish we lived closer.

I got to leave the kiddos and have dinner with some other amazing gals. I didn't realize my camera is as complicated as it apparently is though. The girl at Fredrico's had an exceptionally difficult time operating the "point-and-shoot" mode, so this is the best we got. Oh well.

(Baby Kate, Celeste, Andie, Christine, Alissa, Nat)

My nephews drove in the Demolition Derby. Crazy! This is Mike in front of his car before it got all smashed up.

I used to go to demolition derbies all the time and didn't think twice about the drivers' safety, but this time it was at the front of my mind! Luckily, they both survived! This is Jordan in front of his car before the wrecking game began.

We had a few choice days at Bear Lake. Oh, how I LOVE that place.

Ivy did a lot of this:

A miniscule amount of this:

And Porter just thought he was The Man. I can't even tell you how many times that apple fell in the sand, and he couldn't have cared less.

We got to visit with my Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. They are so sweet, and I was so glad for the chance to let the kids hang out with them for a bit.

My dad is the best Grandpa. He took the kids on walks or 4-wheeler rides almost every evening. They love him!

There were lots of good times with the cousins.

(Ivy, Connor, Swensen)

Probably the biggest event was Ivy's Birthday! My baby girl is 3! Crazy. We spent a few hours at the Logan Aquatic Center with some of the cousins, and a few pizzas.

Ivy, Porter, Liv, Avery and Mya

And, the cake. Ta-Daa! Ivy requested a castle, and it was actually kind-of hard! It just didn't turn out as cute as I had hoped. I need to learn how to use fondant. But, Ivy loved it.

We also went to a very cool Dinosaur Park in Ogden. It was a super hot day, so we didn't stay too long, but the kids loved it and would have stayed all day.

There were so many cool dinosaur exhibits, and a dinosaur playground. Very fun.

So I guess that's it! Congratulations for making it to the end! We're glad to be back home with John, and are working on getting back into a routine. I have a ton of catch-up work to do, so I guess that'll teach me to leave town for a month!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Grandma Darling

This picture is really pixellated, but I wanted to post today about my sweet Grandma who passed away last week. She is known as "Grandma Darling", and we will miss her. She was a great Grandma, and holds a special place in my heart. I'm so thankful to know of the eternal nature of families. How blessed I am to have the gospel in my life! I'm so glad to be in Logan, spending this special time with my family.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Working in the yard and other goings-on

Here's a little documentation of one of the joys of baing a home-owner. I was pretty excited about the yard-work part of owning a home before we moved in, but now it is just something I dread! It is so humid here, that I can't even be outside for a few minutes without being drenched! Also, I decided to be "green" and bought a reel lawn mower (non-motorized). What was I thinking?!?!?! I thought it woud be great to get a good workout by mowing the lawn, but it is awful! So, John was so sweet to take part of his day off this weekend and mow the lawn and trim the edges. Thanks babe!

On another note, Porter has 3 blankets which he affectionately calls "bee-boo" that he just loves. This is how he is usually found in is crib these days!

Ivy has finally figured out how (or rather has just decided) to ride her bike. She thinks she is big stuff. But she does get a little angry when she is going up a hill. She doesn't want me to help her, yet she is so mad that she's not quite strong enough. What a dilemma. But doesn't she just look like an angel?

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Help Me Pick!

Now that Ivy has her own room, I get to make it as girly as I want (wahoo!). So here are some comforters that I love, and I need you to help me decide! Once I pick the comforter, I will get to choose all of the accessories and paint the walls. So, cast your votes now! I have titled each one above the picture. I do have a slight favorite, so let's see if I have good taste :) Can't wait to see which one wins!

Bree

Olivia

Emma

Wilshire

Garden Party

Rose

Friday, July 3, 2009

Decorating

I am having lots of fun decorating our house. I don't have it all done yet, but I thought I'd share what I've finished so far.

Probably my favorite room in the house, with my favorite accessory, my new-to-me piano!

This is just beyond the entry-way, on the other side of the living room.

Porter's room was already painted blue, so it was easy to pull together. I think it is cute!

The other wall in Porter's room.

I also just made these, but haven't put them up yet.

bonks on the head

This post is mostly just for my own journaling purposes, and so that I can tell Porter when he is older that he probably gets more bonks on his head than any other little boy I have ever know. The poor kid! A couple of weeks ago he crashed and got a huge goose-egg, and not even 2 hours later he totally just walked into a wall. Also, just a few days before that he fell all the way down our stairs (not for the first time). Ivy tends to be pretty clumsy too, so I guess the kids got my genes. Sorry guys!

Friday, June 19, 2009

Getting to Know Indy

A few things we've learned so far:

1. If you leave a package of oreos (or anything else) uncovered overnight, they will be soggy in the morning. Humidity is awful!

2. Indiana is called "The Hoosier State," but nobody really knows what a hoosier is.

3. People are serious about their sports here, and apparently the first thing you are supposed to do when you move in is deck out at least one bathroom with Colts merchandise. Not on your life!

So I guess we haven't learned much so far, but we'll have a few (or 7) more years, so I guess it's good we're pacing ourselves. We wouldn't want to learn to much all at one time! We did get to have a fun date the other night, thanks to my Mom the babysitter. We took a peddle boat on the downtown canal, and it was really fun and beautiful! I thought I'd share a few pictures.

It's our own little Venice!

Oh, I guess we've learned 4 things! Did you know there are 4-person bikes? How fun!

This pyramid fountain was actually on the IUPUI campus, where John will be spending his days (and nights) starting July 1st. It's a beautiful campus, right next to the canal district.

Not the best picture, but I thought we needed one since we probably won't go on another date for about a year! Love ya babe!