Josh and His Jammies

There has been quite a stir about Josh's ducky/footy pajamas. I thought I'd expound a little about them since they're such a topic of interest.

Josh's jammies were custom made for him by his mom. Not only that, but for a costume in one of the plays he was in at Adams State. It's the ideal situation. Who better to make you footy pajamas than your mommy?

The play was The Foreigner and was my favorite play he did. He played Ellard, the dim-witted Southern boy -- very Lenny-esque. We've seen the play since Josh was in it, and no one has played Ellard as well as Josh did. Yes, I may be biased, but I love endearing characters and Josh's Ellard was definitely endearing.

At the end of the show's run, Josh was allowed to keep his footy jammies. The costume shop had a hard time justifying keeping them since there's very little chance that another person Josh's size will need footy pajamas in another play.

That's fine with us!

Christmas in Pictures

Here is a video montage of our Christmas this year.

Enjoy.

The Talented Mrs Johnson

During this Christmas season, I discovered a talent of mine. I knew that I recognized voices fairly well. When I was about ten I'd freak out the missionaries that would call our house asking for my dad (he was the ward mission leader). I'd call them by name just to hear them mumble, "How'd she know it was me?" It's the little things that bring me joy.

This year, however, Josh and I played a little game with the radio. In our car, the radio has the really cool "Info" button that tells you who is singing. It's amazing! No more cursing at the DJ's for neglecting to announce song artists. So as we were listening to the cheery Christmas music, we'd make guesses as to who was singing the familiar carols. 8 times out of 10, I was right. It was amazing! Bing Crosby. Harry Connick, Jr. Vanessa Williams. Carrie Underwood. Andy Williams. I was like a cornucopia of frivolous music trivia! But when Josh got one right it was a big deal too. :)

It got me thinking--which talents are cool and which ones are nerdy? I was beginning to consider this one nerdy. Kind of like someone who can count cards. Really cool at first, but then you wonder what kind of freaky mind powers they must possess. Okay, not really, but it was a bit freaky. More like my obsession with movies and tv. Cool or nerdy?

Never mind. I don't think I really want to know.

Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas, Everyone! I hope your Christmas was a great as ours!

Polar Express

We started our Christmas Eve off with a challenge for the kids. We began watching The Polar Express and were talking about how cool it would be for the Polar Express to show up in our yard. But the problem was that we didn't have any snow at our house. So, we realized we needed snow. Also, the train seemed to go through a canyon of some sort. We put the two clues together and figured out that we could go to the Grand Canyon to look for the Polar Express.

The kids were worried about missing Santa, so I told them that we could for sure be back in time for Santa. To sweeten the deal, I told them they could each bring one present to open. The catch to that was that they had to chose the present labeled "Don't open until Dec 24."

We drove to Flagstaff and then headed west toward the Grand Canyon. In the book, the boy's sister discovers the bell from Santa, so family is also very important to the story. Because of that, we decided to stop in a town called Williams (my maiden name). We had the choice to go either right (toward the Grand Canyon) or left (toward Williams). Abby needed the restroom, so we decided to stop in Williams and take the Historic Route 66 like in the movie Cars.

We got in to town and low-and-behold there was a train station with a giant train labeled Polar Express!!! We saw that the people there were all wearing their pajamas and we wondered if we'd be allowed on the train. We all got really nervous. While the rest of us went to the potty, Josh went to see if the train was expecting us, like they did for the kids in the story.

We found Josh and discovered that we couldn't enter the train without jammies. Then the train left. It left without us! We couldn't believe it! I thought we needed something to help us feel better, so the kids opened their presents. They were shocked to discover that each of them just opened a gift of PAJAMAS!!!

We still needed tickets. Josh asked the kids what the conductor told the boy to do in the movie. The conductor said to check his pocket. Josh looked in his pocket--nothing. Then we remembered the conductor told the boy to look in his other pocket. And there were the tickets! So we had tickets for the next train, pajamas, and a picnic dinner which we ate out in the freezing cold.

Matt was a bit miserable.

Abby remembered how to bundle up.

Emma happily gobbled her homemade sugar cookie as we waited.

Josh and Millie were so cute!!

This picture almost didn't make it on here. Who's that fattie with Emma? Gross. ('Fess Up Friday resumes next week!)

We entered the train, rode to the North Pole, listened to a reading of the Polar Express, got to the North Pole, saw Santa and his elves, got a gift from Santa and a few gifts from the Polar Express people, sang carols, and had a magical time. It was a great trip, but I think our anticipation was the most exciting part of the whole thing. I'll happily go again. But probably not on Christmas Eve. We'll do our exploring earlier in the season next year, I think.

In case you didn't get a good idea of what Josh's jammies looked like, here's a better shot. Isn't he the cutest thing in the whole world? Just ask the people of Black Canyon, AZ. Sorry, inside joke.

Christmas Morning

To avoid the huge montage of pictures we took this morning, here is one of each kid. This year's homemade gift was a pottery piece I painted with my sister, Tara. Tara made piggy banks for her boys and I made collectibles for each of my kids.

Emma has been asking for a turtle, so I got her one.

Abby loves horses, princesses and pink. So she got a pink unicorn.

Matt likes frogs.

I didn't know what Millie would grow up to like, so I chose this really cute lady bug for her. And it was really cool that we found a really cute new onesie with a lady bug on it too. It was on sale.

We had a wonderful time together. Josh shocked me with getting me Rockband Beatles. How the heck he pulled it off is a mystery. He's tricky. I can't wait to rock out with him.

Christmas Kid-isms

According to Matt, if you have white icicles on your house and not the cool blue LEDs that we have, you are a freak and weird. If you have white and blue icicles, then you are half-weird, half-not-weird.

According to Abby, Santa's reindeer include: Prancer, Dancer, Vixen, and Vomit. Vomit hurls a lot.

Merry Christmas, All!!!

The Skinny on Millie

Today is Millie's birthday! Can you believe it? One year ago I was hospitalized with my new baby on one side of me and my big baby on the other side. This has been a long year. So much has happened. Some happy. Some very not. But, this post is to celebrate the greatness of my baby daughter--Millie Marie!!


We had Tara and Jabon and their boys come by for some cake Monday night. I took this opportunity to borrow their camera to take pictures of Millie's party and some of my decorating. Here is our Christmas tree, complete with gate to keep babies of all sizes out of the present. And, man, that Jabon in the middle of the floor took me forever to place just-so!




Some more Christmas pictures, but this one also features my old rocking chair. I loved this chair. Now, it is the first place to look for Millie if she's not directly under my feet. She loves this chair. It doesn't matter that she's stood in it and fallen on her head, she still happily sits in it all the time.


Millie opened her presents. We hoped it would help her prepare for Christmas morning. I don't know that it did, but she still got some great gifts. Aunt Tara and Uncle Jabon gave her a cute outfit that she looked adorable in today. Emma gave her the rattle in the picture above. Millie really loved it. Probably because she's played with this rattle since she originally received it last year.

The kids each gave her a card of some kind. They wrote her poems, drew her pictures, wished her a happy birthday. It was so cute. Especially since Millie is smart enough to read them by herself. That's what it looks like, doesn't it???

We made sure to start the habit of not associating Millie's birthday with Christmas. We wrapped her presents in Hannah Montana wrapping paper instead of snowmen and Santas. And you probably guessed that the Hannah Montana paper was left over from one of her sisters. I said we wanted to keep her birthday and Christmas separate, not her birthday and reality hand-me-downs separate.

Mommy and Daddy gave Millie a Fisher Price Little People set. I need to go search for the picture of me on my first birthday opening my first Little People set. But, for now, just imagine it. As soon as I saw this in the store, I knew Millie was going to have it. Josh saw another set, but it had some weird looking girl in it, not the blond girl with the blue dress or the dog. Hello!! You have to have the retro stuff. Then I turned to Josh and asked him, "When did our stuff go 'retro'?" He told me it was when we got old. If someone would like to smack him for me, I'd be much obliged.

I decorated Millie's cake. I originally made her a 9"x13" cake, but that seemed boring, so I decided to make two smaller cakes. One cake was a picture of Millie. Striking likeness, isn't it?

The other was a more Christmas themed cake with candy cane stripes. Yes, I dotted the I's with hearts. I'm corny, but I the mom. I can do what I want.

I realized that I am a genius as a mother. I made Millie the same Funfetti cake that I love and it proved to be so much less messy than a chocolate cake. Genius, I tell you.

This is the most smile I could get off of her. The girl refuses to smile for the camera. Get her sisters to mess with her in a restaurant or store and she shrieks with laughter. She's a tricker.


Some of Millie's milestones:

• Eating big people food. Her favorite thing is Mandarin oranges.
• Almost walking. I've been convinced for the last two months that any day she'd begin taking steps. I thought for sure she'd be my first child to walk before she was one. Not quite, but she could if she tried. Soon.
• Six teeth. Most babies get four teeth on top, two on bottom or vice versa. Millie has her usual two front teeth on top and two on the bottom, but she also has a tooth on the right bottom and one on the right top. Symmetrical still, just in her own unique way.
• Talking. Okay, not really. More like squealing for two seconds at a time every two seconds for several minutes at a time. Oh my gosh! Wanna watch tv? Sorry! You only get to hear the tube for two seconds at a time. And it's mostly just to hear herself. If she wants to make a point she sits at the base of your feet while you're trying to cook or do dishes. Then she screams.

Some of Millie's favorites:

• Person: Daddy. Oh, how she loves her Daddy! To see her eyes light up when she sees him makes your heart melt!
• Food: Mandarin oranges.
• Place: The rocker.
• Color: I don't know. She's one.

So, that's Millie. My baby is getting so big! Happy birthday, Sweetheart!!

Taking a Break...

...but just for a few days.

I know, I take breaks quite a bit, but this is a scheduled one. We moved in to the rental today. Right now it's just a bunch of boxes and unassembled beds. We're sleeping at Tara and Jabon's for one more night. Tomorrow will be a major unpacking day.

Tomorrow I'm also heading with Tara to a pottery place and we're making cute things for our children as part of their Christmas presents. We've adopted Josh's parents' tradition of the 3 Wisemen gifts. Each kid gets three gifts. Last year I tried to begin the tradition of one of the gifts being homemade (hence, the pottery tomorrow). They also get a big bag of clothes and a third gift. We've been going back and forth on what the third gift will be this year. We'll let ya know later.

So, for now I bid you adieu. Have a great weekend and I'll reconnect on Monday after our internet is installed at our new place.

Gorilla Brazil

The other day, Matt was singing a song I didn't quite recognize. Josh listened to him and was able to do some translation for me. Matt was singing, "Gorilla, Gorilla Brazil!" Now, you may be just as confused as I was. The tune of this song is from a little movie about 101 dalmatians. The tune, therefore, is "Cruella DeVil." Yes, the mean lady in the movie 101 Dalmatians, according to Matt, is actually Gorilla Brazil.

Matt is not the only one to get confused by the lyrics of songs...

We have a cd of the LDS speaker John Bytheway talking about his confusion with the Primary song "In The Leafy Treetops." The second verse goes, "In my pretty garden the flowers are nodding." He didn't get the word nodding. He thought the song was saying the flowers are naughty.

Josh told me about his confusion with the Primary song "I Am a Child of God." The second verse goes, "I am a child of God. And so my needs are great." Josh always thought is was, "I am a child of God. And so my knees are gray." For the longest time he was afraid praying too much would turn his knees gray.

My Primary song confusion came with the song "Pioneer Children Sang as They Walked." The line that got me was, "They washed in streams and worked and played. Sundays they camped and read and prayed." I always sang it as, "They washed in streams and worked and played. Somedays they danced and read and prayed." Made sense to me. They needed a little stress relief sometimes, so why wouldn't they dance? I had forgotten about my childhood faux pas until this summer as I sang loud and proud with my Primary class. Yep, the pioneers I sang about danced.

I also had some issues with the Phil Collins song "Invisible Touch." The chorus goes, "She seems to have an invisible touch, yeah." I swore the song actually said, "She seems to have an invisible Tuff Shed." I didn't know why. Was she a witch? Wonder Woman? She needed something invisible to hide her invisible jet? So didn't get it.

Ernest Goes to the Big Screen

Flipping through the channels today I came across the movie Ernest Saves Christmas. Since this movie came out when I was 11, I loved watching it. I think we even taped it off tv one year. But it got me thinking. Ernest P. Worrell (played by Jim Varney) started out as a character in tv commercials. Then he got his own tv show and then he went on to make about a dozen Ernest movies. It just really struck me that this character started out in commercials, but became a bit of an icon. Who hasn't heard the catch phrase, "Knowhutimean, Vern?"? If you haven't, I'm sorry your life is so sad. Ernest was so funny and just really a memorable character.

Of course, this isn't the only thought I had on the subject.

What other commercial characters would be worth seeing in movies or on tv? The Geico cavemen proved that not all characters transcend all media. Their tv show was horrible. What about Flo the Progressive girl? I try to hate her, but she just doesn't annoy me. As cynical as I am, I rather enjoy her commercials. Don't know how well I'd do watching her for an hour and a half, though.

Then I remembered that I have seen another group of commercial characters in the movies.

Pete and TJ (their real names, I learned tonight) are some of my favorite Sonic drive-in characters. They also appear in the movie Stranger Than Fiction. I like that movie. I think it's so great that they keep that witty banter they do so well in Pete's car as they eat their delicious treats in the Sonic drive in parking area. I can't help but wonder, though, is their appearance in the movie like a product placement? I totally thought of Sonic when I saw them. And I wanted a Diet Cherry Limeade. But, then again, it doesn't take much to make me crave a Diet Cherry Limeade.

Who would you like to see hit the big screen?

With Love, From Me to You

Dear Rockband Beatles,
You are really cool. You are the best video game I have ever played. Usually I can't play video games. Whether it's because I lack the hand/eye coordination or because I lack the ability to care about the game, I just don't play video games well. But you, RBB, are awesome. I love you. In fact, I want you for Christmas. I love you so much that I used a Beatles song as my title tonight. RBB, you rock my world.

Dear Shaun T.,
As the creator of the Insanity workout by Beachbody, I'm sure you realize how much of a butt-whooping your program is. But, did you realize that it is also an ab-whooping? And a rib-whooping? And a calf-whooping? And a thigh-whooping? It also whoops every other part of my body. Places I didn't even know could be whooped. This is my first week of your program and already I know it's going to be a great thing if I can keep up with you and your INSANITY!!! I get why you called it that, Shaun T. You're killing me, Smalls.

Dear Huggy-Bear (our white car),
I miss you. You've been away from the house much more than you've been home. I know you're doing your duty by taking Josh to work, not only for his regularly-scheduled shifts, but also all of the much-needed overtime he's been given. But I also missed you when you were stuck in the parking lot at the hospital with a dead battery. And I missed you this morning while you were stuck on the side of the road devoid of gas. It's nice to have you home tonight. But now I miss the van.

Dear Christmas Decorations,
I can't wait to see you! When I do it will be because we've moved in to our house and you've been salvaged from the storage unit. I can't wait to hang you, display you, and plug you in. Then maybe it will feel a little more like Christmas. Today was a cold day. It was in the 50s. I know, CD, you're totally laughing about it like I was, aren't you? I wore a short sleeved shirt while others around me wore sweatshirts and even parkas. This is fall weather, not Christmas weather. I look forward to you helping me feel the spirit of the season a little better. It will be a good day and then maybe I'll believe that Christmas is only 20 days away. Maybe.

Dan In Real Life

Tonight I watched a bit of the movie Dan in Real Life starring Steve Carell.

I like this movie for a few reasons, but here are the top two:

1. I love the message of needing to live in the moment and enjoy your children. Dan has three daughters and puts them (and the rest of his family) off to pursue his own romantic feelings. As much as I love the romance in a good chick flick, this isn't the focus I like. It's the realization he eventually makes to be involved in his daughters' lives and let them be involved in his. I actually tried to do a bit of this today. When my children got home from school, I had freshly baked cookies, and the movie they've been asking to watch, waiting for them. My focus was on them and I even happily sacrificed the time I usually spend vegging out to make said cookies. I had fun getting everything done for them. I think this is a really good thing since when we move we've decided to homeschool the kids. The girls are two grade levels ahead of their class in reading. Emma is in the 99th percentile in her grade for math. They're both bored in school. Unfortunately, the schools here just aren't at the same level as the schools in Montana. So, I found today's attitude refreshing. And hopeful. Maybe I will be able to do this. I've homeschooled them once before, so I think I've begun the process of learning what works and what doesn't. This will prove interesting.

2. Another thing I love about Dan is the glimpse into the future that I get. Dan has three daughters. So do I. Do I think someday Emma will be begging for more responsibility and freedom to go out and drive? Uh, yeah. Do I think someday Abby is going to yell in my general direction, "You are a murderer of Love!"? Yes. Yes, I do. In fact, I can hear it ringing in my head. It's very loud and shrill. It makes me scared and nervously laugh.

Steve Carell is great. Dane Cook is actually very enjoyable. It's really a very great movie and I suggest it to anyone that hasn't seen it. And to anyone that has seen it, for that matter.

The Haps

The haps around here (or "happenings"), are full of drama, as usual.

Mom and Dad came down from Great Falls to visit for Thanksgiving. It was such a great week and a half. They were very patient with us as we tried to secure a home for ourselves. They were also very patient when they were thrust into the home already established with 11 individuals.

We also had my brother Peter and his wife Genica here with us. We even got to see the pictures of Peter Jr (not really going to be his name, but I'll just call him that until we're told what his name will be).

Some of our highlights include:

Beatles Rockband jams. Dad has discovered his love for the Wii. So much so that Mom bought him one for his birthday. He insisted on jamming with Beatles Rockband a few times while they were here. Of course, none of us protested. We had our final session last night and I had fun watching both Mom and Dad rock out on the drumset. They had a bit of a competition to see which of them could get the higher score. It was pretty dang awesome to watch. One night we had a competition between the boys and girls. Dad, Peter, my BIL Jabon, and his brother Brighton all played against Mom, Genica, Tara, and me. Somehow the girls kept winning. Somehow! It was great fun. The boys did get a higher score than us on one song, I don't want to make it seem like we completely blew them out of the water. Not completely.

Thanksgiving. We had everyone here at Tara's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Mom's mom even made it for some visiting time earlier in the day. It was good food (which I didn't overeat, thank you very much) and good family.

Phoenix Zoo. We got to go to the zoo. It was really fun. I have to remind myself that it's not September. It's almost Christmastime. But the perfect weather at the zoo made it hard to remember how far into winter we actually are. The animals were pretty cool to see, although I was somewhat downhearted to find that they closed the alligator exhibit. That was one of my favorite animals. I think because Josh is terrified of gators and crocs. It probably didn't help his fear when he lived in South Africa and had to ride his bike down a path covered by sunbathing crocodiles. Anyway, it was fun.

Black Friday. I've never been shopping on Black Friday before. When I was working, I worked that day because I was at a bank. No days off for Black Friday when you work in the banking industry. After I quit working, we never had enough money for the shopping. Plus, what would I do with my children? Take them with me? I think not. So, Mom, Tara, Genica, and I headed out at 4:30am. I stood in line for a Ninetendo DS (don't tell Emma). But Josh and I had realized that we couldn't just get one. If you have more than one child, you know what I mean. We needed two--one for Emma and one for Ab. I did not need to hear Abby complaining that her Christmas was ruined because she didn't get cool things like Emma. By the time I'd been in line for an hour or two, it was my turn to claim my prize. I went to get one pink and one red DS. I was told I could only get one. I was freaking out! I needed to get two! I took the last pink one and went to get back in line for the second one, when Tara told me that she walked up to the lady and said she needed a red one. The lady didn't argue with her, and Tara became my hero! Now I'm fully stocked with two Nintendo DS's. I could not imagine trying to brave that madness alone. I'm so glad my mom and sisters were with me!

Just seeing Mom and Dad. I've realized that I miss Great Falls. It's only been just over two months since we left, but I do miss my friends, our ward, our house, seeing Mom and Dad whenever I want, seeing Gramma and Grampa whenever I want, seeing frost on the windows, etc. I'm a bit homesick.

Of course, I have no pictures of any of these things. But it was a great visit and I was sad dropping Mom and Dad off at the airport this morning. I'm so glad they got to fly, though. I'd hate to think of them coming and being so busy this whole time and then having to spend two days in the car.

We did secure a rental, but we won't be able to move in until we can get a truck to move out of the storage unit. We'll do that next week. It's slow, but the Lord finds it necessary to continue to try to teach us patience. I'm sure sick of this lesson and hope I can learn it soon so we can move past it.