2010 Reunion/Grandpa's 80th Birthday

This years Johnson family reunion was also Tony's Grandpa's 80th birthday. We had an open house for him Saturday night. During the day we played some games. We all had beads designating the teem we were on. We had a fun time. Here is a slide show and some great videos of the games.

Here is a video of Asher in the Rhino....he was in charge of going fast or slow, and just loved going fast.

And here is TJ riding behind us on his motorcycle.


Here is Brian catching pencils.

and Jenny catching pencils.

Ray catching pencils

Summer sorting plain and peanut M&Ms.

Eric & Julene trying to catch marshmallows. Tackle included!

TJ & Jono trying to catch marshmallows.

Jodie & Marie trying to catch marshmallows.

Gracie shakes the balls out of a box.

Laverne Shakes.

Steven shakes. And gets a headache!

David tries to drop clothes pins from his nose, into a jar.

Sherie drops pins.

Tyson has a chipmunk voice! Kids, don't try this at home!

School Carnival

Every year, during the first week or two of elementary, the school has a carnival to raise money. This is the last year I have a child at the elementary school! The kids have fun, but it's always so hot, and the lines are so long. But they enjoyed themselves anyway. There were many things to climb on and some carnival games.

And these are of the kids on a blow up thing where you are supposed to try to pull the band as far as you can before it pulls you back. lol
TJ

Gracie

Football

Entering 3rd grade means that TJ can play Football this year. I'm not sure how I feel about my son being tackled, but ok. TJ doesn't seem to hate it, yet he doesn't love it either. I think he is still trying to figure out what everything means, and what the heck to do. We aren't a sports watching family, so he's not familiar with all the positions, and rules and everything like some may be. (And I'm NOT complaining about that! lol) So, we signed him up and he had to have cleats and a mouth gaurd. Everything else is provided. Here he is just after setting his mouth guard. We bought one that molds to your teeth.

And here he is, after we got his pads, helmet, and pants. Isn't he cute?...errr I mean scary.

Number 7 there is my little boy. Littlest one there, but he pushes as much as the others. His Uncle will be proud, his practice jersey is U of U....Go UTES! lol

Here his is locked in combat with another player at practice. Neither one was giving up.

Practicing tackling yellow pads taller than him. There is a video of this later on.

They do all sorts of warm up exercises. He's the dark clothed one with white socks, third from the right of the pic.

In between the yellow and orange guys. Another exercise.

And stretching. Some of the stretches and exercises seem silly, but I guess these guys know what they're doing. Like yesterday...they were bumping shoulder pads with each other, to loosen up their shoulders. LOL Looked hilarious!

So here is are a couple videos of him tackling the yellow pads. He is on the first one.

First Day of School 2010-2011 School Year

Yep, it's that time again. Summer went by so fast this year. It didn't really seem like we had one. Don't know why. We did plenty. We got school clothes bought. School supplies are bought. Kids are registered. First days outfit is picked out. And now it's time. Gracie was nervous this morning. She got a male teacher this year. He is new. Mr. Pinkleman. TJ got Mrs. Heiner. He wasn't really nervous. He was excited to make new friends. Good thing, cause he only knew 2 kids in his class. So here they are, in the car ready to go. TJ will not smile lately for pictures. I'm gonna have to tape his mouth into a smile. lol

My pretty girl. She had to have a plaid shirt. And they both have cowboy boots on, though you can't see them. TJ's are black with blue uppers. Gracie's are pink with white uppers. Notice the cheetah print backpack. Remember the aforementioned cheetah print love? Still don't know, but she loves it.

TJ looks so happy to be here. lol Stinker!

Here she is at the door to her class. Her name is the red puzzle piece on the left. I caught her mid sentence, thus the open mouth.

And here is her new desk.

Outside TJ's class room. Some lady offered to take a picture of us together. That's a first.

And TJ's new desk. His teachers alarm didn't go off. So she was late. The principal was in there taking care of the class, until she got there. What a way to start the year! lol

Good luck kids! I hope this year is great. I hope we like their teachers. It's amazing how much I worry about them being liked, and treated well by their peers and teachers. Fitting in, etc. I'm starting to think that it's more stressful to go through it as a mom, than it was to go through it as a kid. *sigh*

Once I dropped Gracie off, she seemed fine. There were lots of kids in her class that she knew. TJ on the other hand, seemed apprehensive. And then I left, and wanted to cry! Almost did too! What is with these emotions? Must be a girl/mom thing eh?

Love you kids!

Camping 2010

We got a new camper this year, after selling our old one to Tony's cousin. It's bigger, and has a better bed for Tony and I and a set of bunk beds for the kids. So, we've gone camping a bit this summer. We've had cousins, and Grandpa, and Tony's parents come up with us. We've gone to one spot every time, and still not seen everything around the area. We hiked into a lake, that was surrounded by a swamp and hidden sink holes. Tony fell in one of said sink holes, up to his chest. Good thing Justin was there to help pull him out. Nasty spot, in my opinion. TJ caught 1 fish at this lake. Which Uncle Bill proclaimed to be tasty, that night.

Another time, we hiked into Hidden Lake. Just a little hike. Beautiful lake. Tons of rocks surrounded it. Some moved as you walked on them, so you had to pick your path carefully. Tons of fish were caught, but they were so small we threw most of them back. The kids had fun though.

It's been fun and adventurous. The slide show is kind of long, but there are some fun pictures in it.

The Harley

Tony and I were going to Sturgis this year....but things didn't work out. So we just took a little ride through some beautiful areas. The experience on a bike is so different from being in a vehicle. You experience all of the temperature changes, and all the smells. Some are great, and some aren't. lol I just love the smell of mountain air. So here were are. Aren't we cute? It was nice for us to spend some time...just the two of us. Sure do love him. Afterward, are some scenery photos. I'm not a big scenery picture person, I want people in them. But, this river was so beautiful. Of course the picture doesn't capture it. But...enjoy them anyway.