We Love Soil

Announcing Bennett Steel Johnson!

2011-11-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

After a long pregnancy, that seemed to have lasted longer than nine months. I finally went to labor a day after my due date, and contractions began exactly at midnight of September 30th. I didn't have a game plan of who would take the kids when I started going to labor, but luckily sweet Marianne hurried over and took care of my boys. After much pushing and pain (that was with an epidural!), Bennett arrived at 7:25 am and weighed 9 lbs, 12 ounces. That will be my one claim to fame, delivering a big big baby, I knew my belly had to be that big for a reason. And now I know why!

Bennett had enhaled the meconium and was not breathing well. So he was rushed up to the Nicu. He ended up staying in the nicu for 9 days. I have decided that the doctors do not release you from the Nicu, until you have Olympian health. There was a time that I thought he would never be released and that they just wanted to keep him! Every day he improved, to the point that for the last five days he didn't have any oxygen or ivs hooked up to him. He was just chillin in the nicu, barely fitting in the bed, and keeping the nurses busy, because apparently he has a cry that can wake up the whole nicu.

Looking at these pictures brings back so many memories. After Bennett was born, I was aware what was going on and knew that he was in trouble. But from the beginning I felt this peace that sustained me through those nine days and since then. It was hard not be able to hold my sweet baby for a couple of days, and wonder when he would come home. But I was grateful for the many prayers that were sent our way, for the incredible care and concern that was taken to make sure that Bennett would be all right. My mom was able to come and help me, and ended up staying a total of 13 days, to help us out! I was grateful for Timmy for his constant support and love, and understanding what the doctors were saying. It took me nine days to know how to say meconium! And then my sweet little boys at home Zach and Grant. When they came to the hospital to visit me, I just started crying, because I was needing to hold someone, and there they were to fill that void. The reason why Zach is in his undies, is because he spilled chocolate milk on his clothes.

When Bennett came home, we were excited and couldn't believe our good fortune. He is a wonderful baby and so sturdy and huge. He is a calm child and has the biggest cheeks and eyes. He looks a lot like Zach to me and we are trying to find Grant in him. He changes everyday and it is fun to see how Zach and Grant love their brother. Whenever I have a challenging time during the day or night, I often think, "At least Bennett is not in the nicu, and least I am able to hold him whenever I want!"

We love our happy angel!

Note to self, no more summer babies!!!

2011-05-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

I am dying of heat today and it only went to 85 degrees today. The only thing that went through my mind is...you are still in second trimester! Oh my. I am used to having babies in the summer Zach's birthday is August 28th, Grant July 20th and other little baby boy due hopefully August 29th. The only question is why? Why do I do this to myself? It's easy, I completely forgot how uncomfortable heat and pregnancy are, but it is quickly coming back to my remembrance. Note to self, don't do this again! As for names of boys, Timmy and I are not on the same page. I like the names Theodore and Bennett, and Timmy likes the name William and James. As you can see we are on totally different pages. Luckily we have a lot of time to think it over, but we know for sure the middle name is Steel, after my dad and my grandpa. I have found out when talking to people that the ladies tend to like the name Bennett and the men like James. As for Zach he likes the name James because it is a train name from Thomas the train episodes. Boy names are hard to figure out, but in the end he will have to be named that is a requirement to leaving the hospital!

As for life with two sweet little wild boys, it is a lot of fun and very demanding. I think that is just parenthood, it is hard. But it has been by far the most rewarding thing I have ever done or will ever do. I had lost my phone for four days last week and had no idea where it was. I finally found it in the little potty of Grants! The only reason it was found was because Grant wanted to try going potty and I happened to be right there! Miracle? I think so! Timmy is gone to New Orleans for four days and I am trying to be brave. The boys ask every night where he is and we all miss him.

Another funny thing about expecting another boy are peoples reactions. When the boys and I go to the grocery store, we create quite a scene. The kind people around me ask, "Are you having a little girl?" And I say "no, another boy." I can see the pity and sadness on their faces. They then say "It will be all right!" Yes it will be all right! We just want this cute little boy named "Bennett" (hint, hint) to be well and healthy, we can't wait for our little addition. In fact he can come before his due date, if he so chooses.

Here am I with my amazing belly! Yes I am feeling really brave at the moment!

What are we having, a Boy or Girl?

2011-04-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

I had twenty weeks of pretending that I was having a little girl that I was going to call Clara, only to be shown that it is yet another boy. And not just any boy, but a little wild in my belly, the ultrasound lady had to chase him around my spacious belly. He almost didn't show me that he was a boy, until he realized that I needed twenty weeks to cope with the idea of another little angel boy to make the three amigos complete. After one day of mourning and watching Tangled, I have now come to realization that it is okay to have another boy, and that it will be fun! This little boy will help calm down Zach and help him be an older brother, and give Grant a run for his money, because Grant thinks he owns the whole household, and needs to be humbled a little bit. Timmy couldn't be prouder, his dreams of wanting to become Tim the toolman Taylor is now complete with his three boys. And as for me I am still the Princess of the family!

Winter Fun

2011-04-06T19:26:00.000-07:00

Let me begin with my birthday. I officially extended my birthday to a month, and it was awesome. I began my celebration in Utah and ended it whenever I felt like it. Also when Timmy had had enough. I oftentimes forget how old I am and have to ask Timmy because luckily we are the same age, he is two months older than me, so right now I am 27. Another side note is I do not want to be in first trimester next time I have a birthday because I didn't want to do much and nothing sounded good. That is probably why I extended my birthday.

Zach loves snow, he could play in it for hours. Grant is not so much in love with snow and as soon as some form of his skin touches the snow he is ready to go in. I am not a fan of snow and try to keep them indoors as much as possible. When Timmy gets home is the time they go outside. I know that I am lame, but my better half makes up for it! Zach is in love with Snowmen, he continually asks to make one, and finally Timmy made the ultimate snowman for him. Zach was in seventh heaven and was devestated when it started to melt!

For Valentines day the boys and I went out to pick out Valentines. Zach was excited at first but lost the fire very quickly. Grant was the one who stuck with it to the end. He was so cute drawing on each card and putting it in his box to hand out to people. It was also fun to see him pass out the Valentines, he took it very serious and wanted to make sure that I was close by to help him hold his Valentines he received. I was so impressed with how much he wanted to be a part of it.

It's been awhile yet again!

2011-04-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

I know I am not a good blogger. I also am trying to blame it on something, maybe it's
because I am expecting another baby again? However I have been out of first trimester for a while now and will find out on April 12th if it is a boy or girl. I am thinking that it is a girl. Anyway. Let me begin the post with Christmas. To say it was magical would be only the beginning.

Beginning with a sweet nativity scene. Grant was the baby Jesus for a second. Zach was Joseph and did a wonderful job taking over Mary's job by riding the donkey and holding Baby Jesus.

Opening presents was a lot of fun, Zach helped pass out the presents and then was able to open all of his wonderful presents from his generous Aunts, Uncle and Grandparents. Grant was very neat and orderly unwrapping his presents and would tear off a piece then put it in the trash. Zach was your standard present opener, fast and furious.

We had lots of dancing parties at my parents house. It got to the point where the boys were able to dance on top of the ping pong table. I was impressed with their sweet moves. I have since tried to get the boys to dance like that at home, but alas. I am not able to provide a ping pong table, cool rocky music and 10 screaming fans.

Here is Zach with our cat that my kind parents our keeping until we have a house and a job. He is a huge cat, and very nice to let Zach wrestle him, I am sure that Link our kitty wants us to take all the time we need to get our schooling done!

I have a precious Grandmother Soffe who just shines and is an angel of earth. I try to get as many picture shots with her and the boys as I can.

The reason why I add this picture is because every single family picture shot we have, I am always wearing this shirt. I don't know what draws me to it, but I stick out like a sore thumb and i am pretty sure this shirt has made a couple of Christmas card photo appearances!

We were able to visit the Oversons, aka Zach's love Lauren in Cedar City. It was a wonderful time to catch up with our wonderful friends. Zach did not forget his betrothed and even now Zach talks about marrying Lauren. We are not brainwashing our boy, he is coming up with it on his own. We really miss the Oversons and were so lucky to see them!

We had a wonderful three weeks in Utah and I loved being with my family as well as see Timmy's family. But all good things must come to an end. It truly was a magical time and reminded me yet again the importance of family and friends and how precious they are!

It's the Holiday Season!

2011-01-16T20:00:00.000-08:00

I am sorry I haven't posted for a long time. I have several good reasons. Here they are:

Timmy's birthday, I made him a soil cake and we went to Home Depot that day. I am so grateful for Timmy he is the best husband and dad anyone could ask for. I want to be just like him when I grow up!

Having Thanksgiving with the Johnson family in Missouri. We loved every minute of it. The boys were running around loving to be with the cousins. It was fun to see the Adams, Pauls and Daniels. Timmy was in heaven being with the brothers, and I love being with his family. I really lucked out in the in-laws department! Thank you for letting us come and giving us the time of our lives.

Potty training, I am now debating what is harder, sleep training or potty training...Zach as of this week has only had two accidents. During the Thanksgiving break he was wearing diapers, and loved it. During the Christmas break he was in his undies and didn't have any accidents. So overall I would say we are close to getting him potty trained. I don't dare say it, because last time I thought that he had accident after accident. So I am thinking positive thoughts!

Setting up Christmas, and I guess at this point, putting down Christmas. Both times, Zach loved it, and Grant loved eating the candy canes and playing with the ceramic figurines.

My next posting will be about the three week vacation of what I would like to refer as "A little piece of heaven!" I would actually have already posted about it but I haven't downloaded the pictures yet! Until next time! Adios

Halloween Night!

2010-11-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

I thought it was about time to post about Halloween Night. We began celebrating Halloween night in September, by watching Charlie Brown and the great pumpkin patch. We had a pre trick or treating day about a month in advance to our neighbors house. And then the great week arrived of Halloween Night.

We began the festivities by dressing up for mothers group. Zach was supposed to dress up as Superman, but he found the turtle costume that Grant wore last year. He somehow squeezed into the 6-12 month costume. Grant would only put on a costume that closely resembled clothes, so he wore pumpkin pajamas.

On Saturday Timmy and Zach undertook the amazing job of carving the pumpkin. Zach was very much involved while Grant wanted to eat, and then play with his football.

Then Saturday night we went trunk or treating it was delightful. Zach finally wore his Superman costume.

On the official Halloween night, Zach donned his favorite outfit. Grant with much coaxing, put on his sweatshirt and pant pumpkin outfit. Timmy is trying to start the trend of socks and flip flops, Eliza is the one who is an avid follower.

Halloween night continues. I was able to go to the store after Halloween and purchase some costumes that were 90% off. Let's just say I had a lot of fun and so did Zach! Some of the costumes are 12-18 months, but that tends to be Zach's favorite size. Grant on the other hand was more than happy to be done with all the Halloween nights.

In the end Zach has the same attitude of Halloween as his mother. It is our third favorite holiday right after Christmas and our birthday. It is a magic night where candy is being given to you right and left.

Grant is on Timmy's side of his dislike for Halloween. Grant did not become overjoyed when he saw candy being put in his Halloween bag. He did not like the concept of dressing up. Like father like son.

However they both liked the pumpkin patch!

Potty Training

2010-10-24T19:43:00.001-07:00

How to begin this post...this past week and a half have been WILD!!!!!!!!

1st week

This week has been a big week because we have begun potty training Zach. I finally had the guts to finally buckle down and read a potty training book. It was a good thing I did, because I would have done all of the things that they said was not a good idea. So with bravery I began on Wednesday afternoon, I first had him run around with just his undies downstairs. Then I had him run around without anything. The results were the same, he didn't quite make it to the potty.

But then the magic started happening, he actually went to the potty a couple of times on Thursday. We went to play group on Thursday at the church, and I showed Zach the nursery potty there, and he fell in love. Every ten minutes he said, "I need to go to the potty." The first time he said that he needed to go, I scooped Zach up left Grant crying in the gym and set him down on the potty. Let's just say that Thursday was the day of the boy who cried wolf. The times he said he needed to go he didn't, and then he would hold it to long that he had some accidents. I didn't know what to do, but I kept him in his underwear.

Friday I went to school with him and waited outside his classroom just in case he needed to go potty. He did a great job and stayed dry.

Saturday was the day of magic because he had zero accidents and went to several different kinds of potties because we went to a pumpkin patch. Which he loved by the way!

Sunday was 50/50. He loved going on the small nursery potty, and our next door neighbors potty. But he does not like to go on our home potty because it is not exciting to him. That's what we get for introducing him to several potties in just a couple of days! So we'll see what tomorrow brings. i am so proud of the boy because he has decided to be potty trained, I could not force it on him. He has decided and is succeeding. That's what I love about this boy Zach. He has his own time table and likes to study things out before he tries it.

2nd week

Zach is continuing his potty training course, and let's just say it is a rough ride. That is putting it lightly. It has gotten to the point where he doesn't want to go on our potty at home, and will refuse to go. I did attempt to pick him up and put him on the potty and as you can imagine that went over like a lead balloon! He is awesome at going potty on our outings, church and when we are at the neighbors.

As of tonight, by 6:30 pm he was back in a diaper. Starting tomorrow morning we will begin again!

I am still impressed when he actually goes potty and i wonder if that will ever wear off. Because I still marvel at Zach whenever he talks or picks his clothes out each morning and gets himself dressed. In my mind I am think, you are still so young, how are you doing all these grown up things?

A lot of firsts...

2010-10-17T20:02:00.001-07:00

Sorry I have not posted for awhile. A lot has been happening in the Johnson family these past couple of months, which I wanted to share with you.

Beginning with the accomplishments of Timmy. He ran a marathon! Can you believe it! He ran it in 3 hrs. and 50 minutes running time and 4 hours and 5 minutes with water breaks. He trained all summer long with it with his friend Chris Allee from the ward. He would wake up at the crack of dawn and run with his buddy for what seemed like million upon millions of miles! Great job!

Angela's accomplishment completing the couch to 5k program...
Those who know me realize that I am not a runner. I was in track for two weeks and quit because I realized that I did not like running. However my amazing neighbor did this couch to 5k program and inspired me to do the same. I began in the middle of summer and began running one minute, walking awhile, running one minute, walking a while. It got to the point where I could run a 5k, very slowly. So since I had a marathon runner in my house, I figured he could pace me at a 10 minute mile. That's all I wanted to do was finish the 5k in 30 minutes. And I did in 29 minutes and 20 seconds. Now I have completed my fast running career and now will resume my 15 minute running mile. In the process I managed to lose zero weight and pretty sure I actually gained some, well oh well my energy level is much higher! I guess to lose weight you also have to eat healthy...

I could not have completed my couch to 5k program without my boys, these two trained with me every step of the way!

Zach

Moving to the big boy bed and sharing a room with Grant. Being a Timmy baby and loving to be with people, he didn't like being in the basement when he knew everyone was upstairs. Grant loves having him in there and Zach likes being in a huge bed!

He began going to school on Wednesdays for 30 minutes and Fridays for 45 minutes to work on his speech. He loves it and has three backpacks that he likes to take with him every time. The first day I took him to school he told me to go away and had the biggest smile on his face when I left the room as I left he told the teacher. "Mommy left, look at my backpack!"

He has begun potty training, post on that later, because that is a whole story in and of itself. We began this past Wednesday!

Zach loves to pick out pajamas for Grant and himself and night. And when he gets really ambitious he tries to get everyone matching matching, because that is his favorite thing!

Grant

Has begun to walk. He was a little rusty at first but then came alive when my parents came. What helped him a lot was running around Lake Lansing's beach and falling down in the water. He is starting to run, which is scaring me a little bit.

Got his first haircut! My mom did the beginning cut and then the next week Lexie our neighbor buzzed his head. It was sad to see his amazing locks to go, but now he looks adorable and I probably should have done it sooner!

Well there you have it, it is crazy to have so many milestones happen in such a short time. Time moves by so fast!

Famine to Feast!

2010-09-12T19:30:00.001-07:00

Recently, Timmy was gone for a total of fifteen days in one month, due to Young Mens and school. I knew that the month from end of July to End of August would be rough. Because anyone who knows the Johnsons realizes that our world revolves around Timmy because he is so ace and we are high needs. I did learn a lot this month, for every hard thing that happened while Timmy was gone, I was helped all along the way. Let's just say I didn't do it alone!

The day Timmy left, Zach had a brick fall on his thumb. He eventually lost his fingernail. However I have found a new buddy in Tylenol and ibuprofen.

I locked myself out of the house. But my wonderful neighbor Marianne was able to break in my house very easily. Which is a blessing, because I would rather her break in than some creepy who knows what!

Lack of sleep because of Grant being weaned and Zach's thumb. I did learn the power of prayer and comfort which helped me get through those nights.

The Fridge died on me while Timmy was gone. But now we have a new one! And Marianne's sweet dad, cut the cabinet to size so the fridge could fit underneath. How amazing is that!

Every time Zach and Grant needed a buddy or lets be honest, whenever I needed someone to talk to or help me, there were my wonderful neighbors to help every step of the way. I tell you words cannot express how much I love, appreciate and admire them!

And then my parents came to town the day before Timmy came home and that was incredible. We went to more beaches than we had gone all summer. And we were able to celebrate Zach's birthday with my parents. I kept looking around and saying, wow, it was the boys and I for so many days and now I am surrounded by people. Famine to feast, famine to feast!

And who can forget. Timmy's home!

Happy Birthday Zach!

2010-09-05T19:10:00.000-07:00

Zach turned three years old August 28th. I love this little boy so much and am grateful for...

The great buddy he is to me. When we moved to Michigan Zach and I became a little duo. Wherever I went he was never far behind!

How much he loves his daddy, he will follow him everywhere - literally!

I get the biggest kick out of the Zach face. You can try the hardest to get him to smile, but he will refuse to smile unless of course he feels like it.

I love his thighs and cheeks, this list is not in order of importance... When he was younger I would show off his thighs to everybody. I just couldn't help myself. That is probably why Grant is a little bit on the small side, because I couldn't control myself when I have a chubby little kid.

I enjoy hearing him talk. He is starting to talk more and more and I love his deep manly voice. It's fun to carry on a conversation with him and the animation that comes with it. He takes talking very seriously and will repeat a word over and over again until I understand it.

He is very loyal. It is hard to win the heart of the Zach man, but once you have, he will be your buddy for life.

He's enjoyable to be around. He is basically mine and Grants entertainment for the day.

He is a kind brother. I must admit I was a little nervous how Zach would react with Grant when he first arrived. There have been rough times. But overall he is very protective of his little brother and wants to make sure he is all right. Whenever I tell him that it is time for baby to take a nap. He says "No baby nap!"

He wants to be a big boy so bad. He was so excited when he was able to move upstairs in Grants room, and he wanted to sleep in his bunk bed. The potty training part, is not so exciting and apparently not important part of becoming a big boy.

Loves his tools. Once a day he is busy building "His House." It is usually during Grants naptime, so he can be more productive that way.

Wants to comfort me when I am sad. He has a tender heart, there is no doubt about it. He gives the best hugs, and oftentimes knows how to help me feel better.

Overall he is pretty good at minding. And when he doesn't mind, he is a good follower (you can ask the neighbors about that!) So the key to his success may be good friends!

His feistiness. He will do things on his own terms and in his own way. You cannot push it. That is a good thing to keep in mind for me, because most of the time Zach and I are on different time tables.

I feel like he is more than just my son but my friend as well. At times I feel like he has been in my life since the beginning of time! I love my boy so much!

Someday My Prince Will Come!

2010-08-22T20:29:00.000-07:00

While I was singing "Someday My Prince Will Come"

You were saving the world and could care less about girls, there were more important things in life.

Then suddenly during a Pine View Meeting at BYU-I. I was introduced to you and you seemed very familiar to me, it's like I had met you before. Cue in Saturday Nights Warrior "I've Seen that Smile Somewhere before"

After dating a semester you knew I was heading to Utah to student teach so you surprised me and said that you were going to transfer to BYU. I couldn't believe it. Thank you for doing that! Thank you for having the Johnson confidence and perservering when I was being a little difficult! Saying yes to marrying you was the best decision I ever made!

We were married August 5th 2006 in the Manti, UT temple. It was a beautiful day and I am so grateful that we can be together forever.

Now four years later we have two new superheroes in our family who are currently saving the world. And I know that out there, there are two little girls singing "Someday My Prince Will Come!" But until that time, they are saving my life everyday!
I love you so much Timmy!

(These amazing superhero pictures were taken by Lexie of course!)

Grants Birthday Party!

2010-08-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

For Grants birthday I chose to do a ball theme, because Grant gets the biggest kick out of playing catch. So I thought I would go with that. The first thing we did was have the kids take turns going through a ball obstacle course. While the kids were going through the obstacle course the parent prepared their plate of food.

We had a pinata that we had already used once but revamped it again, so we could get our moneys worth. I had gotten too much candy for Grants pinata, so the rest of the candy I will use for Zach's birthday this coming week. Luckily one of my neighbors knows my weakness for candy and knew that in order to save the candy it needed to be at her house. (GOOD IDEA!)

Then it was cake time, and these beautiful cakes were made by none other than Marianne. Aren't they amazing? (Have you noticed that my neighbors are awesome and I ask for a lot of things?) Well Grant would not have anything to do with his cake. We tried several things. Even Zach was willing to help with the eating, but to no avail. We finally put him down on the ground with his cake. Then the magic happened, he got the biggest kick out of picking up his plate full of cake and tossing it on the ground. I don't think he ate a piece of his cake!

Then came the present time. He received wonderful gifts and loved to open up the presents with a lot of help from his buddies.

Happy Birthday Grantster, We love you!

Out with the old and in with the new!

2010-07-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

We have had these green couches for a year. And I was ready to move on. I had been searching my favorite site for furniture (craigslist) and found these awesome couches. So without further ado. I e-mailed the people, scheduled an appointment with them. Put the green couches up for sale.

When Timmy came home I told him my little escapade and he was a little stunned to say the least. I called the lady and she said that someone was coming to see them in half and hour. So if I wanted to go and see them I had to go right then. I hurried and used our neighbors car to see them and bought them. Apparently the other people that came later that night wanted to buy them. But they were too late! ha ha ha ha.

Through the kindness of our neighbors for letting us use their van. We got the couches, only to find that they didn't fit through the door to the downstairs where they were supposed to go. which is so unfortunate. So I put the couch from upstairs to the downstairs, and put the new couches upstairs. A couple of days later a college student bought our green couches.

So it has been a fun switch. The only downfall is that the couches didn't go into the spot where they were supposed to go, but they work upstairs. So be sure to measure your couches before you buy them to make sure they fit in the spot where they are supposed to go! Who would've thought! I will show a pictures of the new couches later, sorry!

Happy Birthday Grant!

2010-07-25T19:38:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that a year has passed by so fast.

There are so many things that I love about this boy.

1. His smile

2. The way he laughs at peoples jokes, especially Zach's.

3. His braveness with all of his doctor appointments. He has gone in to see the dermatologist for the hives on his skin, allergist because we thought he was allergic to everything under the sun, eye doctor because of his goopy eyes and the Pediatrician because of his weight loss. We were averaging about a doctor visit a week for about six months.

4. He loves to be where everyone else is (another Timmy baby!)

5. How much he loves his mother, I still feel like I get his best smiles, laughs and hugs. (think I am a little biased)

6. His independence. He will not be denied his rights. He makes his wants and wishes known, not only will he grab Zach's toys, but he also has free reign on top of the kitchen table and refuses to eat unless he feeds himself.

7. His feistiness. I was so worried about how Grant would survive with Zach as his older brother. Now the tables have turned. I now have to protect Zach from Grant.

8. How much he loves his brother. Wherever Zach is, Grant is close behind. It has gotten to the point that as soon as Zach wakes up he asks where "baby" is. If Grant is not awake, it is all I can do to keep him from waking Grant up.

9. His laugh - he has several different kinds of laughs but they are all fun and irresistable.

10. How he is easy going. That may contradict all of what I said about his feistiness and independant streak. But the truth is, he is a joy to be around and is ready for any kind of adventure with a ready smile and laugh.

We love you Grant!

Lexie my wonderful neighbor was so kind to take his first year pictures, his birth pictures, blessing pictures and family pictures. She is amazing, they are incredible. Thank you!

I had to add Zach here at the end, because he wanted to be featured as well in his go to outfit!

What This Summer has been like...

2010-07-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

This has been a HOT summer. So most days Zach looks like this, I have to admit that he was running around like that at the park...

We have enjoyed our fire pit, and Zach is starting to understand the delightfulness of smores.

We have discovered the wonderful combination of slide, pool and sandbox, though fun it is a dicey combination.

We love all of the BBQs and playing with our wonderful neighbors, who we love so much and thank our lucky stars for everyday. Timmy is doing a fancy move trying to win the game "PIG" (AKA "horse").

Timmy loves his garden and has become an even more amazing soil man. (From Timmy: this is an older picture of the tomatoes. You should see them now!)

Basketball, scooter, tricycles, cutting grass with scissors, staying up way past his bedtime to catch lightening bugs, eating otter pops like there is not tomorrow.

And when it is too hot, we play inside, watch Dora or Diego, or hide under the bed. And then when I am feeling productive I leave them for a little bit, only to find little escapades like this!

And I am taking it all in and feeling like a kid again!

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-11T19:39:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July. It was especially fun because Zach was old enough to understand what was going on. We first went to the parade, which was awesome for so many reasons, the cool cars, the hip hop dancers, belly dancers, people coming down the sides giving candy to little kids, big snake, little ponies. My favorite part was being with the neighbors and having the parade last only an hour! We missed it last year because we arrived at the end, because we had never been to a parade that lasted an hour. Grants favorite part was the otter pop, his new favorite treat.

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That night we had a ward get together which is always a lot of fun. I love our ward here in Lansing, there are a lot of students in the ward with small kids. Lets just say Mothers group is awesome! We tie dyed some shirts, Zach was right in the the thick of things and especially loved the color purple on his shirt. I had to add a little more blue when he was done with it to make it more manly. Zach loved the fireworks and even got to light one, after he lit, it he ran away laughing, then pointed to the firework and said, "I did it!"

Grant on the other hand did not know what to think of it all. Let's just say there was some crying involved.

On Sunday, it was a repeat of what we did the previous day, except we stayed up to see our neighbors put on an amazing fireworks display. Zach loved every minute of it and after every firework would say, "Again Daddy" or "More Daddy" After about an hour the fireworks stopped, so we waited around for an hour more, hoping more would come, but they never did.

It was a wonderful 4th of July!

If they Only Knew How Much I Cared!

2010-06-28T16:40:00.000-07:00

Those who know me really well, realize my love for cats. It began at an early age and has continued to adulthood. The only problem is that cats don't share that same love for me. I guess they don't like me running toward them at a turbo speed while I grab them into a bear hug. I don't feel like I get my money's worth until either a cat has scratched me or starts growling at me, then I reluctantly let them go. I guess this dislike for me continues on into the Wild cat family. This video is when Timmy, Zach, Grant and went to the Potter Park zoo. The Lion cage is the only reason why I go to the zoo. I could stay there for a long time. Especially when the Lion puts on a show like this! Lets just say I think that when I die, the whole cat kingdom will come and attack me! I am sorry that there is no sound in this movie, our camera is as old as the hills!

Eating and Sleeping!

2010-06-27T20:59:00.001-07:00

Dinner time is one of my favorite times of day, and it is because Timmy gets to sit in the middle of the boys while food is flying around. It brings me great joy to watch the chaos, but not be a part of it! This week was a big week because...Grant now weighs 18 pounds and is on the charts at the 3% percentile. This is a big deal for us! He is now following the growth curve that he originally began with. I owe it all to chicken nuggets and Macaroni and Cheese. That stuff is so fattening, but he loves it with all of his heart. He does eat other things and has not shown signs of being a picky eater. But when I bring out the chicken nuggets, I can see pure joy on his face! Grant has proven to be a feisty, independant little guy. He refuses to sit in his high chair and likes to sit on the table and crawl around looking and sometimes grabbing peoples food. Which is unacceptable behavior, so he ends up sitting on one of our laps! I think he has us figured out!

Zach is loving his toddler bed and the freedom it gives him. He figured out how to crawl of the crib with the foam pad, so I finally gave up with crib idea, it was a wonderful time that had to end at some point. He now wakes up at random times in the morning, ranging from 6:00 am to 8:00 am. I am filled with both excitement and a tiny bit of apprehension as I hear him running up the stairs, to come jumping into our bed! If it is too early I stick in a dora video and sleep on the couch. Thank heavens for Dora, she has provided me with sanity and extra sleeping opportunities. However Zach might end up speaking spanish before English. The only words he seems to repeat from the show are the Spanish ones!

Kirtland

2010-06-20T14:21:00.000-07:00

It was fun to finally see Kirtland and all of the sites. It was a fun trip that I will always remember, what made it even more memorable was having Collette my wonderful sister along for the ride! We began the trip going to Lake Eerie. Zach and Grant were loving the sand.

The first place we went to was the Visitors Center. We had a very thorough missionary couple that gave us a three hour tour. Keeping Zach in line was quite the deal. He looked at those ropes that were supposed to block him from entering the room and took that as a new challenge to cross into the forbidden rooms. Also in the school of the prophets Zach had a complete meltdown. I felt so bad for the people in the tour who had to put up with our craziness! It was amazing that despite all the crying, I could feel the spirit and knew that this truly was a sacred spot. I was also grateful for the Senior missionaries who were so kind and raised their voices higher when necessary!

Next we went to Kirtland temple. It was beautiful! We couldn't take pictures in the inside of the Kirtland temple, which was unfortunate, but it was incredible to finally see this beautiful temple, that the pioneers sacrificed so much for! The lady giving the tour gave us more factual information about how the temple was built instead of spiritual things, which is just as well. We couldn't go to the top floor because we had more than fifteen people in our group. Luckily Zach was asleep during this time!

We went to another house which I forgot the name to, however their portapotties were amazing! I felt like a had walked inside a church building, I will always remember those beauties. Then we hiked to the stone quarry which was a little difficult to find. But I was determined to find it! And despite protests from my group that it didn't exist, it does!

Next we went to the John Johnson farm, and let me tell you that this was the highlight of all of Kirtland and worth going to. It is about 45 minutes away but it was worth every minute! We were the last ones to go through the house and we got the tour of all tours. The man giving the tour was incredible and didn't mind when Zach went underneath the ropes, but he did mind when Zach tried to sit on the beds! This was the place where one of the twins died because of the mob coming to get the prophet. It was a chilling story to be in the room while we were told the story. Zach was having a wonderful time, but Grant was going wild and was done with the Kirtland experience, especially while we were in the revelation room, and while Grant was blowing up, Timmy was accidentally turning the pages on the Bible that was about 150 years old. When it comes to kids I think it is best to have the grand spiritual experience at the beginning of the tour instead of at the end! The missionary tour guide was so kind and let us stay as long as we would like. We later had a picnic outside of the farm, and were the last ones to leave the farm and close the gate.

This was a wonderful experience, and it made me appreciate the Prophet Joseph Smith and the early Saints even more, who gave up so much!

farewell My Love!

2010-06-14T13:04:00.001-07:00

Zach is betrothed to a lovely girl named Lauren.

It was love at first sight.

Zach has never bitten, hit, or hurt her, which is a big deal... just ask our other neighbors!

Wherever she went he followed close by.

Lauren accepted and loved Zach for who he was.

When she left, Zach's world fell apart as he knew it.

He tried to elope with her and run away, but being only two you can only go so far. Thank heavens for that!

Even now he is wondering where his buddy went. And anytime anyone asks him where Lauren is, he says in "Utah"
We miss you so much Overson family. Thank you for being wonderful friends and neighbors. Timmy misses E Jay time, and I miss you so much Ann! And who can forget Jasmine and her beautiful smile. But you haven't seen the last of us, in about twenty years there will be an awesome wedding for these two!

Chicago!

2010-06-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

Timmy had a conference in Chicago at the end of April for a couple of days and since my cousin lived there Timmy asked if I wanted to go. My first response was "NO!" The stress of having two kids in a huge city did not seem very appealing. I then talked to my mom about why I didn't want to go to Chicago and she said that I should go because it would be a good experience for all of us. I am glad I went!

We went to the Field Museum which was pretty neat, my favorite part was the dinosaur exhibit. The building itself is beautiful and huge. We got trapped in the Native American section for a half an hour, I was trying so hard to find an exit, but I couldn't! (Not that I didn't like it, there were other things to see...like big lions!) We stayed around after the Field Museum closed to make the most of our $19.00 parking. Can you believe that!!!!!!! One of the pictures is taken by the aquatic center which is supposed to be one of the best in the nation. I am thinking that we probably should have gone there. In Zach's words "Oh Man!" I guess that means we will just have to go back.

We then got to see my wonderful cousin Devon and his sweet wife Jenni. They treated us like gold and it was fun to catch up with them. I kept bragging to them about how great Grant was. Well he unfortunately cried the whole day, so that it what I get for bragging up my baby! We went to Stake Conference with them and later in the day got to see a cool park, and Lake Michigan. I look pretty dicey in the last picture because I didn't get my nap and those who know me best know how important my naps are!

We then proceeded to go to Timmy's conference for Monday and Tuesday. His Conference was about 30 minutes away from Chicago and in a very highly secured place. I had to walk around with a badge on. There wasn't much to do there, so the boys and I hung out at the hotel all day. Which was funner than I anticipated. They had a free hot cocoa machine there which Zach loved. We filled up a cup of hot cocoa about four times a day. The boys and I would then walk outside until it got a little bit to cold, then we would watch Sesame Street which is a very long show but very educational. We got a lot of ice that Zach would dump in the bathtub and then we would get some more. When lunch time came we went down to this fancy little cafeteria place where we made our presence known. And then we had a nap. The first day at the hotel was magic, the second day the newness had worn off and both Grant and Zach were ready to go home!

Monday afternoon, Timmy got back at three and we tried to make it to the zoo before it closed at five. We arrived at 4:10 pm and got to see my favorite animals before the place closed, the big cats and the monkeys. The zoo is free but the parking is not unless you move your car every half hour. Unfortunately we didn't time the parking right, so that was another $19.00 spent on parking. "OH MAN!!!" The best part of the zoo was this crazy monkey who was going crazy and showing everyone its teeth. Zach loved it and Grant didn't know what to think of it.

Then we went to the Navy Pier, this place was magic. We got there at evening and it was so fun to see the huge city and the Lake. We had Chicago style pizza kindof and the highlight for the boys was the Jamba Juice. We loved seeing all the lights and the boys slept well that night.

It was a wonderful trip but I was grateful to come back home. I have decided that it takes a lot of practice before it is easy to go on trips. It takes a lot of effort to go out of comfort zone and see new places, but it is worth it. Part of me wonders if my mom wanted me to go on the trip so that I could understand a little bit of what she went through when my family went on trips. Well it worked! Thank you mom and dad for being so brave and taking me and my brothers and sisters on lots of trips because it isn't easy!

(Sorry that pictures are in a crazy order. Who knows how it happened. My technology skills are lacking!)

We Love Having Visitors!

2010-05-30T20:22:00.001-07:00

When Timmy and I moved out to Michigan, we didn't think that a lot of people would come and visit us. We knew that both of our parents would, but besides that we didn't expect to see anyone else. Luckily we were wrong!

Our first visitors were Timmy's parents they have come out a total of three times! The first time they came they brought apples from their orchard and made applesauce for us. The second time they came we had just moved across the street and they helped us unpack the house, revamped our whole backyard and made curtains. And when they came to Grant's baby blessing Timmy's dad took out the cat smelling carpet on the stairs and replaced it. We love it when they come, and it isn't because we put them to work!

Nicole was another visitor. She came right after Grant was born and stayed a week. She was truly a lifesavor, I don't know what I would have done without her. Everyday she would take Zach outside and make his every dream and wish come true, then she would listen to my little breakdowns and help me get through them. She kept the house sparkling clean, and was just a delight in every way. I look back on that week and have the best memories.

Then we had my cousin Kyle come and Timmy's brother Adam come on the same day! Kyle stayed for a total of 12 hours and Adam could only stay for 24 hours. But it was the funnest visit. We ate at Outback Steakhouse, played Sequence afterwards. The next day Timmy and Adam tried to make a air balloon, which unfortunately didn't work. We loved seeing them, thanks for making the effort of coming to see us.

Lucky Grandma and Grandpa came to visit us at the end of October. And even though it was a rainy week and they had missed the autumn leaves. We still had a blast, going to the pumpkin patch, seeing Michigan State, and our favorite part was cooking together and bedtime stories!

Our last visitor was Collette, she stayed with us a total of ten days! It was delightful. We went to Kirtland, saw several lakes, went to the zoo and just had so much fun together. She left on Wednesday, and we all miss her so much.

Thank you so much for coming out to see us! We are grateful for our wonderful family.

Lucky Grandma

2010-05-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

Today Zach saw Lucky Grandma (my mother) through skype and he kept pointing to the screen and saying "Home" over and over again. Zach also called "Lucky Grandma" mom at one point in the conversation. Let's just say that these two have shared a bond that began since birth.

She took care of him when he had jaundice

A couple of months later, after I recovered from childbirth. I would go down to my parents house and make jewelry there three
times a week. My mom would take care of Zach while I made jewels. That is when the magic began:

When we moved to Michigan my mom was so worried that Zach would forget about her. But don't you worry, no one could ever replace lucky Grandma. You have a bond that will never be forgotten. As my mom said, "Zach would have been my seventh child, if I would have had one more." Thank you for raising Zach his first year of life. You are a wonderful mom and thank you for all that you do. We are missing you in Utah and cannot wait till we can visit "Home" again!

Happy Mothers Day!
You may have noticed that in most of the pictures Zach is not smiling. That is known as the Zach face - his go to face. However he really is a happy boy, though his face at times doesn't show it.

My little little guy!

2010-05-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

Grant just had his nine month appointment. Here is what I found out:

1. Weight is 16 pounds, which is very low. So low in fact the Pediatrician ordered a blood test to make sure he wasn't allergic to anything. His weight has dropped off the charts. The doctor wants to see him in a month to make sure his weight has gone up.

2. He has undeveloped tear ducts, so now we are going to see an eye doctor to see if someone can poke them open.

3. His rash is still there, and is caused when he gets really hot. When he starts itching his rash, more bumps appear and then his legs are covered with lots of spots.

4. His top two teeth are going to be coming in soon, maybe by next week.

5. He had to get his blood drawn, which was so hard to have to hold him down, while they drew blood. The results show that he is not allergic to anything.

I am grateful that I was able to get the help that I needed to help out Grant. And am impressed with how happy he still is despite all of his "hardships"!

As for the weight issue, luckily he has his brother to look to as a model and guide of how to be chunky. Aren't Zach's thighs amazing?

Who Looks like Who?

2010-04-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

I sometimes look at my boys and ask myself, "who in the world do you look like?" So I would like to post some photos of Timmy, me, Zach and Grant, to see if anyone recognizes some similarities between parent and child.

The Bedtime Routine

2010-04-11T19:23:00.001-07:00

The bedtime routine is a very important time for me. I have dedicated many hours trying to figure out how to get my boys to sleep. And once I think I have figured out the trick ... they change things up on me again.

This is Grants bedtime routine:

1. Change diaper/put him in his pjs
2. scriptures
3. prayer
4. feed him
5. turn off light
6. turn on fan
7. put him in his crib with his blanket close to his face.
8. Shut the door and he goes to sleep

This is Zachs bedtime routine:

1. Change diaper/put him in his pjs (some days it is quick, other times not so much)
2. scriptures
3. Prayer
4. brush his teeth
5. get his drink ready
6. change the batteries for his nightlight
7. read three books (I had to put a limit on it, because he could go for awhile!)
8. while I read to him, he has to have crackers, so we need to brush his teeth again after that.
9. He turns off the light
10. I sing about five songs, depending on how nice I am feeling. Now he sings the songs with me, which is so cute. His favorite song is "Once there was a snowman"
11. Then I say another prayer with him,
12. Then I put him in his bed, make sure he has his two blankets, his teddy bear and books at the end of his crib.
13. I turn on his fan and his heater then I shut the door.

And still tonight, he woke up an hour later wanting to see me again. And he has started to add more steps to his routine. He now wants to help me put Grant to bed and turn off his light and turn on his fan.

So what is the moral of the story? I think Zach has mastered the art of prolonging his bedtime! It won't be long until Grant starts perfecting this art.

A glimpse into what heaven must be like

2010-04-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy week to say the least:

Zach went to three Easter egg hunts in which he mastered the art of picking up eggs.

Grant has gone to see the Pediatrician, Natural allergist, and the dermatologist

We deep cleaned our house

Two birthday parties

Visiting teaching

and then

General Conference

I know that life will get busier, and that time seems to be moving faster by the second.

But as I was looking through the pictures wondering which picture to post to demonstrate this wild week. I found this sweet picture that brought me such peace and happiness and reminded me of what a lucky girl I am. I don't know what day it was, but I remember doing the dishes and looking into the living room and seeing my sweet boys. Grant was playing with his toys and Zach instead of attacking Grant, had the scriptures open. I had to take a picture of course, because this moment I knew was special and may never happen again. I stopped doing the dishes (which wasn't hard) and hung out with my boys for the rest of the day, because time moves too fast, and moments like these slip away too quickly. Before I know it these sweet boys will be all grown up and be gone before I know I am ready for them to leave!

What could Grant be allergic too?

2010-03-21T20:49:00.000-07:00

Grant is an angel baby, but he has one flaw that he cannot help. he is allergic to so many things. How many? I have yet to find out! It is a game that Grant and I are playing, called "How to get rid of the hives!" He has been having hives on his legs for a month, and I went to the doctor last week for help... he gave me steroids to put on the legs. So I started to call around to these ladies who have kids that are allergic to a lot of things and they helped me out a ton! I have declared them my new pediatricians.

So here are the results of my experimentation of food. I had to redo everything, because when I did the four day rule I didn't really pay attention because I thought he wouldn't be allergic to anything. (Note to self, don't do that again!)

He broke out in hives after he ate oatmeal (lucky boy!) So I won't be feeding him that any time soon.

Then I stopped feeding him rice and that has seemed to help.

I stopped drinking milk because he throws up after I drink it because he is lactose intolerant.

And come to find out, he is also allergic to soy. I started drinking soy milk a month ago, because I was missing milk, and didn't connect the two (soy milk, hives... same time frame).

So right now, he is eating fruits and vegetables, and I am not going to give him any grains for awhile and I am trying to stay off of the dairy products. Who would have thought that a person could be allergic to so many things? Hopefully he will grow out of these allergies. And despite all of this Grant still smiles and acts amazingly. Perhaps that is why he has all of these allergies, because he can handle them! Heaven forbid I had any allergies, I am having a hard time staying off of the dairy, because first of all I had to review the food pyramid to remind myself what was in the dairy section, anything that comes from a cow, right?

I feel a little outnumbered!

2010-03-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

I came from a family of mostly girls. I was surrounded by sisters wherever I went, which involved a world of calmness and rainbows. Then all of a sudden I was thrown into the middle of all of these boys and a whole new world was introduced to me...

1. Wrestling, it does not look fun and I worry that someone will get hurt!

2. Eating is the most important time of the day, nothing can distract them from it, and they will do whatever it takes to get food. And I mean anything!

3. Tools are essential to have in the house and they must be handled with care.

4. Grunting, I think Timmy likes to reinforce this grunting, because of his love for Tim the Tool man Taylor. Grant however knows how to grunt very well, and I wonder if it is just instilled in them.

5. Dirt - I don't know if it is because they are the sons of Timmy who is majoring in Soil microbiology. But Zach is in heaven when he can plow something up. I am sure Grant would also be in heaven, but I am not that brave yet to put him in the middle of a dirt pile (it either could be magic or chaos).

6. Destruction - wherever they go and are, it is easy to see where they have been and where they are heading because they leave behind a trail.

7. Biting - (That might just be Zach, we apologize to anyone he has bitten and may bite in the future) Luckily Grant does not have any teeth yet.

8. Deep voices - I don't know if they are purposely trying to counterbalance my high pitch snow white voice, but there are a lot of deep voices in our house. Especially Zach's deep man voice.

9. Energy - they are always up to something and want to be doing something.

10. Love to have a companion - that is why I call my sons Timmy babies because they always love to be around someone and hate to be alone. Which means that I am now on a mission, except for I have two companions instead of one. (Unless Zach see ones of the neighbors and then he changes companions real fast)

There may be more things, but I am grateful for my trio who have taught me so much. It is fun being the only girl because then I am the princess and should technically get whatever I want, right? (I don't know if that applies to moms!)

The Past Few Months

2010-03-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

We have been on some amazing trips these past couple of months and since the Olympics are over and my life can go on... I have decided to post.

Our first trip was to Houston, Texas where I was able to visit my sister Collette, my cousin and his wife and also my Uncle's family. The trip was amazing. One phrase to describe this trip was 1 -2 - 3 blastoff. We were able to go to NASA, which was awesome. We also went to the Children's museum where there were lots of activities. But my favorite part of all was seeing family and not seeing snow! The weather was awesome, it felt like a Michigan summer!

Then we flew to St. Joseph Missouri to see Timmy's family. It was a delightful Christmas and a success. It was fun to see all of Timmy's family. Zach loved being with all of his cousins, Grant loved being with everyone. And to know Timmy's family is to love them. It was fun seeing all the new babies, and they all took turns being Jesus when we acted out the Nativity on Christmas Eve. It also snowed a ton! We were snowed in the Sunday after Christmas and had home church, which was perfect. There was a baby blessing, talks, missionary experiences and family pictures.

We came home for a couple of weeks, and then we headed to Utah for my sister Nicole's wedding. It was a week of heaven. All my family was there, except for my brother Daniel who is on his mission. Nicole was the perfect bride and so beautiful. We are happy to have Adam as part of the family. I love red heads and he has great read hair. He is very kind and a perfect fit to the family. Zach loved being around lucky grandma and grandpa and was a huge part of the wedding luncheon by default. He loves Nicole so much and decided to join her during the luncheon. The time flew by too fast! I haven't uploaded the pictures yet, but I will post them later...Sorry!

As for the plane rides, I am glad that we don't have to go on another plane for a long time. I am so grateful for our wonderful neighbors who have taken us to and from the airport several times. Thank you for doing that! Zach loved wheeling around his Lightening McQueen backpack and it gave him purpose and kept him contained.

The High Chair debacle!

2010-02-04T19:17:00.000-08:00

I loved how I wrote about baby steps and then I didn't write on the blog for about 3 months. All I can say is that I apologize, and that we have been traveling a lot these past couple of months, and now things are starting to settle down. I will do a post sometime in the near or distant future of our trips, because they were so delightful. But not today! I want to instead talk about Zach and the high chair. He isn't supposed to be in it, for one thing, and second of all where in the world is Grantster supposed to sit? Well according to Zach that slight detail does not matter, and in the mean time he is giving his food orders from a new position now!

Sorry that some of the pictures are sideways!
I also apologize for the meal that is on Zach's plate, I don't know what I cooked that night, but it doesn't look tasty. Maybe that is why Zach never finished that plate of food.

Baby Steps!

2009-11-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

I have learned a lot these past 4 months with having two boys. The first thing: to make myself feel good about my day, I set little goals like these and call it an accomplishment when actually done:

1. I got my hair done today, without Timmy being home to take the boys.

2. Both of the boys took a nap at the same time, which means, I got to take a nap!

3. I was able to get both of the boys dressed before noon.

4. We made it to mothers group or the library Story time, before it actually was over!

5. Zach didn't bite anyone today.

6. I let Timmy actually stay at school for his 8 hour allotted time.

That's all I can think of right now, and I have been sitting here for like 20 minutes thinking of other things that I possibly could've done, and yet, I can't think of any. Sooo

Here are my goals in the future....
1. Make dinner by myself
2. Exercise
3. Clean the house
4. Go to bed on time

I'll stop there, don't want to get to carried away. Plus these goals may take awhile. I might have to make up some more little goals, to make myself feel better, like... I will be dressed before 10:00 am tomorrow! Or maybe go to bed right now, because this handsome little face wakes us up every morning at 7:15 am!

Ode to the Grantster

2009-11-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

Luckily Zach has not yet topped the crawling out of the crib incident. So now I can dedicate this post to my precious second child who doesn't get the recognition that he deserves. Grant is heaven sent and I am so grateful for my mild mannered little boy who takes a binki. The difference between these boys are incredible. He is the calm after Zach's escapades. He quietly sits by me while we watch Zach make the most of life. He is my constant companion and knows when I need a smile or a laugh to make my day better. He goes to anyone and has this calmness and peace about him that helps me calm down. I love looking into his eyes because they are animated and full of happiness. I get a kick out of how he has always wants to hold his head up to make sure he doesn't miss anything, especially to see where his older brother is, who he loves so much. He talks a lot, and we have some really amazing conversations. I love this little boy and I feel closer to heaven when I am with him because he is such an angel! I love you Grant!

The day I have been dreading has arrived...

2009-11-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

Zach learned how to crawl out of his bed last night. I didn't think this day would ever come because he doesn't even run very much and is a very cautious boy. He was so wired after all of his candy from our several days of trick or treating that he was trying to bite Grant. We put him in his crib, and he was screaming his head off and having the time of his life in his crib. (timeout is not effective for this boy!) All of a sudden he walks outside of his room with the biggest smile on his face. Timmy and I start laughing and couldn't believe that he crawled out of his bed.

We put him in his crib again and he crawls out again, in the most careful way possible. We then took out his premium mattress from his crib to the toddler bed. And now he is in his toddler bed, and the containment of the child has been eliminated, My life as I knew it had changed drastically, and hopefully my non coping skills will be able to deal with this! The moral of the story is: do not give your child candy late at night, because then they develop superman skills and can do the impossible!

Zach and Grant

2009-10-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

It has been quite an adjustment taking care of two boys, but I have loved not every minute, but close to it. They are great little boys and for the most part get along very well. How we get through the day is that I hold Grant up so Zach cannot reach him, and then when they are close by there is a lot of supervision. I am proud of Zach for handling Grant as well as he has, and learning how to say "nice" when his well intentioned pats on the head become punches!

An eventful Sunday

2009-10-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some quick little stories of of what Zach's Dad saw him do today:
1. We did the dishes this morning. Zach pulled a chair to the sink and turned on and off the faucet, added soap to the bowls, cleaned with the rags, made new wash rags, and got water every where. He loves the sink.
2. Then he pulled his chair to the stove, found a pot I hadn't washed yet, pulled it off threw it in the sink, pulled his chair back over to the sink, filled the pot with water, pulled it down, pushed the chair over, put it on the stove and then put a lid on the pot. After this he wanted to turn on the heat, and thats where his fun ended.
3. I had my sleeping bag out from campout yesterday, so Zach crawled inside to the very end of it and back and forth and back and forth with me in it too. Then we drew pictures with both of us with sicking our heads out of the bag.
4. We had Stake conference and Zach tried to run up to the Stake President and lead our neighbor Lauren to him too, while he was giving his talk (probably on reverence, I didn't hear much of it).
5. Then Lauren showed Zach how to act like a dog, and the two puppies chased each other down the hall.
6. When we got home Zach pushed the rocking chair up to his crib, climbed on the seat, then the arm and then tried to dive in the crib and thats when I dashed in and his fun ended.
7. Then Zach ended up in his crib and we wanted to read books to Grant, so I let him, under close supervision.
8. Zach HATES diaper changes, unless Grant is getting one right next to him, so thats how we got his diaper changed right before bed.
9. I'm sure theres more, but thats enough. Zach is a very busy fun boy. He is always thinking of something fun to do. I had visions of him today as a teenager, dreaming up tons of fun things to do and keeping our family happily entertained. He is a lucky happy boy!

Zach knows how to open doors!

2009-10-18T20:07:00.000-07:00

Zach fortunately did not pull anyones hair this week, but he has learned how to open the door. I put him into time out about five times a day and it usually is in his room and I shut the door. The other day I put him in his room and lay down by Grant, so we could both get a little break from Zach. All of a sudden I hear him opening the door and walk into my room and go "shhhh" (that is what he says when he thinks someone is sleeping.) I laid in bed still wondering what he would do next. Then he closed the door, and started running around the house. I got up about a minute later because I remembered that the locks are on the outside of the door because Zach locked himself in his room a couple of times in a row. Not wanting that to happen again, Timmy switched the locks so you couldn't lock yourself in your room. The only problem is that Zach could lock you in your room. Luckily he didn't, but he did hear me get up out of bed and quickly ran back into his room and closed the door. I walked into his room and he was rocking back and forth on the rocking chair, and had the biggest smile on his face! He is a tricky little boy, I tell you!

Zach has had another wild and crazy week!

2009-10-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

Starting with him qualifying for Early On because he is speaking at an 18-20 month range. I wasn't offended with him qualifying for it, I was actually grateful that there is help out there to help him get back on track. The early on lady came on Thursday to help him with his speaking skills. Then things went a little wild, because Zach was hungry and tired, so that added onto the wildness factor. First off he was supposed to do a puzzle, but he ended up banging the blocks together. She tried to get him to quiet down with the blocks but that only motivated him to get louder and louder. Then she pulled out a book and a ball and asked which one he would rather play with, obviously he chose the ball. (I asked her if anyone ever chooses the book and she said that most kids do!) She told him to roll the ball to her but he refused and said "Mine!" several times. She finally had to put away the ball and he kept trying to get it out of the bag for the rest of the hour. Her comment about that episode was "Wow, I really need to be on top of my game for this one!"

Then she said that he was hungry and that he should probably eat. I was excited because I thought that meant she would leave. Well, I was wrong, what happened is that she sat and watched him eat. His eating skills were a little dicey, and he kept throwing things off of the table because he loved her reaction. After 10 minutes of eating they went to the other room, while I was in the kitchen cleaning up. All of a sudden I hear this yell from the lady. I rush to the other room, and Zach had grabbed her hair because they were wrestling, or rather Zach was wrestling her! The first thing that entered my mind was that at least he didn't bite her! She left shortly after that. It was a long hour and I felt really bad for the lady. Hopefully next month will go better. Her parting words were "you must have your hands full with those two boys"." And it is true. Grant and I just watch Zach with awe and wonder.

What we have been up to!

2009-10-01T18:30:00.001-07:00

It has been a busy two months seeing my family in Utah and learning how to adjust with two kids. Zach went a little crazy with his sleeping he was starting to wake up during the night and then he was refusing to take his naps so so we gave him a new bedtime routine, gave him a nightlight and put on the fan so there would be white noise. Now he is sleeping well and Timmy is starting to adjust to waking up at 6:30 am.

Grant is a little angel boy and looks just like Timmy's brothers. He spits up a lot and it's a good thing that we have hard floors everywhere because there is a trail of spit up wherever we go. Zach is getting nicer everyday to his little brother and says baby all of the time. Yesterday he was sitting on top of Grant, but that will hopefully be a one time occurance!

We are starting to make outings during the day which is a big deal for me because taking Zach out was a huge deal without Grant. We haven't attempted going to a store yet but we have gone to the library once and went to mothers group two weeks in a row!

Here are some pictures that my amazing neighbor took of Grant before we left for Utah!

Here are the Pictures of Grant!

2009-08-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is taking so long to post the picture. Our computer is extra slow for some reason, so I wasn't able to post as many pictures as I would like. Grant is such a great little boy and the binki is helping out so much. Zach is asjusting as well as he knows how, and attacks Grant less and less everyday. I am so grateful for my little family, for my sister who came out to help us, for my great neighbors and the ward members. I feel so blessed!

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Baby Grant is here

2009-07-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

Grant Timothy Johnson was born last night, 7/20/09 at 11:17 and weighed 8 lbs 2 oz, 20 inches long. Here is a brief report of how it went. We went to the weekly appointment in the morning and the doctor said she thought everything was ready to have the baby and we could go to the hospital that night, she would break the water and then persuade the baby to come. So we kinda just strolled into the hospital at 5 and got signed in and everything. the water was broke at 6pm. Angela was not feeling contractions at this point. So we walked around the birthing center trying to help things move along and that helped alot. By 7:30 she was feeling contractions and by 8:00 she wanted the epidural. The anathesiologist arrived around 8:20 and she was happy by 8:45. The nurse checked how she had progressed and had the doctor come in to confirm and they said she was ready to push. So Angela was feeling great on the epidural and couldn't feel exactly where to push, but she pushed hard anyway for two hard hours. So was a little angel and tried so hard to get the baby to come and finally he did. He is a beauty and is so content and happy. I love my little family so much. These boys are going to be a bundle of fun. I love Angela so much and am so proud of her. She is my hero! She is feeling fine and recovering well. Pictures later

What we have been up to these past few weeks!

2009-07-12T19:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I haven't posted for a while. We have moved into our new duplex and we are loving every moment of it. We now can play the recorder, bang pots around and I can play the piano! Zach and I are so much happier and very grateful to be here. Timmy and I finally unpacked the last box this week, so that was a big deal. There is something about pregnancy that leaves me unmotivated to get things done, except for one thing and that would be painting our living room. Our first color choice of paint was yellow, which was as bright as the sun, so I made Timmy change it to this beautiful...wait for it... accidentally purple color choice, I had no idea it would turn out that color! I don't want to even post the picture because Timmy is trying to recuperate. Our conclusion of why the paint turned out that color is because the yellow paint threw it off because we just painted over the yellow. So if you ever happen to visit, please just call it a tan color, because Timmy is refusing to paint again! I guess it is not wise to choose a paint color when you are in third trimester.

As for pregnancy, I am loving the Michigan summer because we have been enjoying some nice 60 - 70 degree weather, and when it gets any hotter all I need to do is call my sister in Houston and feel a lot better about the weather. The baby of course has not come yet and I am expecting this little Grant to come on the 29th of July because that is the day that my midwife said she would induce me. This last month of pregnancy is quite the deal, not so much of how I feel, but the comments I get from people. Such as, "Are you going to have twins?" "You are the biggest pregnant lady I have ever seen!" (Luckily he said that to my husband and not to me!) "You are due in two weeks you look like you are overdue by two weeks." And the comments keep coming, I don't blame them in a way because being 5 foot 2.5, and pregnant is quite a spectacle because the baby doesn't have a lot of options of places to go so I look a little dicey. It has been a great pregnancy overall, I am just anxious to see what this little guy looks like and want him to get here safely. I think part of the reason he hasn't come yet is because he is a little nervous to meet Zach, and wants to be in a safe place as long as possible! So right now it is a waiting process and we will see what happens!

Will this baby come 3 1/2 weeks early?

2009-06-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

If this baby is anything like Zach he will be coming tomorrow! Zach came as unexpected early surprise and he continues to surprise us everyday! I will give you a brief rundown of his delivery. To begin with i had gone to education week the week before and had been walking around BYU campus several times over so I think that contributed to the early birth! The day before he came, which was Sunday I noticed that my belly had dramatically dropped. That night around Midnight I felt just a tiny bit of water. I got up and searched on google about water breaking. (As you can see I didn't read a lot of pregnancy books!) It said that if there isn't anymore fluid in a half an hour it is probably something else. Well after waiting nothing else came, so i thought everything was fine. The next morning which was Monday I told Timmy to go to work because I was sure everything was fine. I got a little more water so I called my mom and she said to call the nurse. The nurse told me that I should go to the hospital immediately. So I threw on some clothes, didn't eat anything or take a shower because I was fully expecting to come back home after this little inconvenient visit to the hospital.

I drove myself to the hospital and found out that my water had broken but I was only 1 centimeter dilated. I hurried and called Timmy to tell him the news and he rushed home to pack the baby bag for the hospital fully to expect the baby to come as soon as he walked through the door. It unfortunately didn't happen that way, it was a long waiting game. I had gone into the hospital at 10:30 am and didn't have Zach until 1:24 am. They put me on potossun and when the nurse said that I should be in a lot of pain when a contraction happened, I quickly got the epidural. Even though I wasn't feeling that much pain, I didn't want to take my chances. In fact the epidural man became my little buddy and I saw him a total of four times!

By 11:30 pm I was ready to push, and so I halfway pushed for the first half an hour because I wanted my little boy to be born on an even day and not on an odd day. I don't know what my thing is with odd numbers, I just don't like them! However I should have tried a little harder because I ended up pushing for two hours, because Zach was coming through the wrong way. The doctor finally came and said that he was going to use the forceps to turn him around and that if I didn't push really hard he was going to have me go in for a C-section. (This was the same doctor who said that if I ate any sugar or salt I would gain three pounds the next day. I didn't like this doctor!)

Zach came within a half hour after the doctor showed up! and it was an incredible experience. Zach looked so beat up with bruises on his head and a lot of red marks over his face. I actually thought he looked like a little grandpa! There was so much to take in, and little did I realize what a great adventure this boy would take me on. I love him with all my heart and can't wait for him to meet his little brother. Except this little one cannot come tomorrow because Timmy is at scout camp!

This is my favorite picture of Zach, because he looks so tough and is already featuring the Zach face.

The Return to the Hole

2009-05-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

As we are preparing to move across the street to our beloved duplex that we have dreamed about living in since the day we moved into our basement duplex. I would like to give a brief history on both of the basements that I have lived in. The first was my Sophomore year in college. Where my good friends from the dorms and i decided that it would be so much fun to live in our own little place, and the price was just right. So we lovingly called the basement "the hole". What started out to be a great idea turned out to be a year we would never forget. There were five little girls upstairs who made a lot of noise, we could take a maximum of 5 minute showers because there was only one water heater. Not a lot of people would visit us because we were not conveniently located and we were considered a pack of wolves because we were inseparable. But I actually have the best memories of that year. The day we went dumpster diving right after Valentines Day and got a ton of flowers and told people that they were from our secret admirers when asked about them. The weekend we went to the library to find a book on how to fold napkins because there was nothing else to do. The day when we decided to be brave and ask people to come to a party at our place and only one person showed up... When we accidentally burned the sugar container because we left it on the oven burner. These are the greatest memories and luckily we were able to laugh at the events while they were happening. These roommates of mine have become my best friends and we became closer because of this funny year.

Fast forward to moving to Michigan where we found ourselves in another hole. We rented this place sight unseen, and we found out quickly why the landlord was willing to work with us from Utah! The place was not what we had expected. However as soon as we met our neighbors everything changed. Not only did they welcome us the first day we arrived, they gave us cinnamon rolls, invited us to a BBQ that night, told us where to go shopping and helped unload our U Pack. They have changed our whole outlook on Michigan and I will be forever grateful for them. I will look back on all the times when we were living in our second "hole" where we are sitting in front of our TV with the sound down on the lowest setting because we don't want to be too loud. Trying to teach Zach to be quiet because we make a lot of noise as it is. Learning to turn on the fan at times to go to sleep at night because the walls are so thin between the upstairs and the downstairs that any sound carries. The great food that our neighbor gives us upstairs, our favorite being his famous BBQ. The week in December when we didn't have any heat because the heater needed to be fixed. These are great memories and ones that I will remember with fondness. However if you ask me if I would ever repeat both of my experiences of living in "the hole" ... Heavens NO!

Here are my favorite roommates of all time, and maybe because we acted like this we might have scared a couple of people. These are the amazing flowers we found in the dumpster!

And this is my lucky family that I am so blessed to have in my life. I would live with them anywhwere!

Aaron and Christina's wedding

2009-05-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

We were so lucky to be able to go to see TImmy's family for the last wedding reception for the Johnson boys. We had a wonderful time. We drove with Christina's "American Mom" Cindy. She was a very nice lady who was patient with constantly stopping, and putting up with Zach's little episodes of screaming. Here is Zach dancing with Cindy at the reception

The time at home with all the cousins was action packed, but unfortunately we don't have any pictures of that time. Zach was much happier than he was on his first trip to MO, but he still was a little unsure of all the other cousin's invading his personal space. He has "oldest and only child syndrome", which we hope the new baby will cure him of. But Zach like to play with everyone outside on the slide, swings (one of which Mark broke!) and the sand box.

At the reception, Zach was is heaven. He loved all the food and space to run. We also had fun with all the activities in the program. The dancing was also alot of fun. Here are some pictures to highlight that part:

Alicia and Keith were quite the dancing duo. They worked to floor well and captivated the crowd.

I think that about sums it up. Also I think we were supposed to send the pictures Melanie downloaded onto our computer to everyone else. So someone remind us if that is what we were supposed to do. If you want pictures we can send CDs.

The Wild Month of March!

2009-04-16T17:58:00.000-07:00

Before you start reading I would like to apologize for not flipping the pictures upright. I thought I had... oh well, this blogging thing is still new and helping me learn the wonderful world of how to run the computer!

For Spring Break in March we went to Frankenmuth, which is a fun place in Michigan where the whole town is a small replica of what Germany is like. The first place we went to the world's biggest Christmas store Bronners (that might be an exaggeration!) Zach loved this place so much and couldn't get over the little elves with the tools!

Zach is trying to convince Santa in advance that he would like him to save up on all of the balls he has available for Christmas next year. Ball is one of the five words that he knows. The others are: mom, dad, whoa, yeah

Zach went crazy when he saw all the ornaments. I let him go to see what he would do. That was a bad idea he wanted to touch every ornament in the store. At this point we knew it was time to leave the store, or else we would have to pay for a lot of ornaments, due to them being broken!

We then ate lunch outside because the weather was so nice. Zach accidentally slipped and fell into a lot of mud, but luckily we had another outfit for him. Afterwards he wanted to carry a whole bag of food to the car, and refused to let anybody help him.

Afterwards we went around to a lot of German shops, and we sampled a lot of tasty food, especially the fudge. Zach was able to fall asleep while we were walking around, and was such a good sport all around. My favorite part of the shopping experience was when Zach spotted a large stuffed lion. The pictures explain how it was backwards, sorry!

That night we went to the pool in the hotel with Zach for the first time. He was so scared of the water and held on us for dear life. He finally got the hang of things and got a kick out of the water. The next morning we headed off to Lake Huron because Timmy said that it would only take 20 minutes. We didn't have any directions or a GPS system, so we got a little lost and finally found the lake 2 hours later. Zach's face explains how we felt about the whole experience.

It was a great trip and a very memorable Spring break.

Farewell to the lovely mullet!

2009-04-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

Zach was blessed with a beautiful mullet that I once had as a child.

When he was being called a girl more than a boy, I finally agreed with Timmy that this mullet phase needed to go, and that I can have our next boy continue on with the tradition.

Zach did an incredible job with the clippers, and didn't cry at all, which was a pleasant surprise.

Now he is a grown up boy! It was a sad day to see him grow up so fast in just a few minutes. But now he is not being called a girl ANYMORE.

Big Brother, Little Brother

2009-03-08T18:19:00.000-07:00

Because we lost our camera cord, we are unable to post recent pictures. Especially of the big event of shaving Zach's mullet. We will get you those pictures as soon as possible. In the meantime here are the two profiles of Zach and "little brother" from the ultrasounds. Can you tell who is Zach and who is "little brother"?

What does it mean to be a "Johnson"

2009-03-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

Angela wanted me to make this post, so here I am. I'm sorry to all the ladies reading this because this will not be nearly as entertaining as what Angela might write. So for all of you that may not know, Angela is PREGNANT, and we had the ultrasound this past Friday. All three of us went to the doctor and it was a very enjoyable time. We didn't have to wait long (I HATE waiting in those waiting rooms - all these women and uncomfortable TV programs and diagrams and so on). Anyway, Zach thought it was fun to go in the exam room and turn out the lights and look at the little monitor that shows the baby. But after about five minutes he was picking up on the fact that we were paying more attention to this little monitor than to him, and he felt insulted. So it will be interesting how he reacts when he learns that that little monitor wasn't just showing a picture, but his little . . . brother! Yes we are having a boy and I, well we are very excited. These two could be quite the dazzling duo. There are many amazing duos of brothers in my family. Brent and Mark have been tight from the beginning . . . I will just leave it at that. Anyway, the new little Johnson boy will be born around the end of July, about one month before Zach turns 2, so its pretty good timing. We don't have a name yet, but we do give names a one week test run. This week we are trying out "Grant Timothy". So far it seems like a good possibility but any other suggestions are welcome. But the best part is, the Johnson name will carry on.

Germany, Nursey and Eating

2009-02-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

This week has been so nice having Timmy back into our lives. I am grateful that he made it back safely from Germany, and that he was able to spend time with his family and see the wedding. Zach and I survived with the help of the ward who fed us meals and invited us over for play dates. Anyone who knows us, realizes that we rely heavily on Timmy, and so they helped us out.

We have finally reached the 18 month mark where Zach can go to nursery. Zach has been going to nursery a month earlier than he should have, because Timmy and I substituted a month ago, and once Zach understood what nursery was all about his life would never be the same. As soon as sacrament is over he walks to the nursery door and knocks several times and won't stop until someone lets him in.

For the most part he is doing better than expected, he is not biting anyone and hasn't tackled anyone to the ground. He loves snack time and is the first one to the table and the last one to leave. He has claimed the whole play kitchen in the nursery and will grab and push anyone who approaches this area. Once he finds a toy that he wants he will do anything to get the toy. So there are some things that we need to work on to say the least! He is into throwing tantrums right now and it is quite the deal because he falls to the ground very carefully (he has this self preservation about him!) then he just starts crying, and sometimes he just lays there, I don't know why.

You know how I love candy so much, well Zach has also grown to love it as much and will not eat anything else. He won't even eat pizza! We went to Timmy's professors birthday party and we had it at a pizza place. Zach was being so cute but would not eat any of the pizza. But as soon as the cake came out he lit up and ate the whole piece of cake. He had chocolate frosting all over his face and people were taking pictures of his face. Let's just say he was in heaven, and Timmy and I were wondering how could this happen? He was eating so well, but it changed so drastically! If you have any suggestions on healthy snacks and lunches, please let us know!

It takes a Village!

2009-02-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

Zach had a banner day in sacrament meeting, he actually stayed there the whole time! This has happened only a couple of times in his short little life. However it took a lot of people to make it possible. We sat by a family that had an eight year old that loves Zach, so he entertained him most of the time. When Zach got sick of him, he crawled under the bench in front of us to visit his adopted grandparents who gave him water. After he had quenched his thirst, he came back to our bench for a little while. When that wasn't enough, he started grabbling toys from a cute eight month old baby, who didn't know what to think of the situation. So with the help of three families and us, we were able to keep Zach entertained during sacrament.

Yes it takes a village to raise this child, thank you all for your help in raising Zach, because we have no idea what we are doing! However you must remember, that Zach is the one who chooses his village. However hard you may try to win him over, or not, once he has decided, you are either in or out!

We're Back!

2009-02-01T18:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the faithful followers of our blog. Mainly Marie, she's been asking us when we were ever going to post again. Well today is your lucky day! We have been living in Michigan since August, and we are really enjoying it here. The only draw back is the cold. It is very intense, it feels like there are icicles piercing you all over. But the other seasons are ace, the only problem is that winter is half of the year. Tim enjoys his schooling and professors. Zach is now walking and starting to become more verbal. I am learning how to be a mom, now that I have moved away from my family. Luckily we moved across the street from three awesome ward families, that have taken us under their wing. We couldn't function without them, and they are truly a blessing to us. Here are some pictures of what we have been up to these past months.

Zach enjoys playing in the laundry.

Zach's first birthday party. We had a little party with the neighbors. Zach did not know how to handle the crowds and so wouldn't touch his cake. I knew that under the right circumstances he would be an amazing cake eater. So when we got home we let him have his own piece of cake, and that's when he lived up to his true cake smearing, eating potential.

Halloween is Zach's new favorite holiday. He couldn't believe that people were handing out free candy! The whole night he never let go of his pumpkin. When we returned home, he showed us each piece of candy from his pumpkin pail.

Zach and Timmy are the best of friends. When Timmy gets home everything is better. Zach loves this little tricycle, but it is hard to keep pushing him in it because you have to bend down so low. Timmy solved that problem as you can see. Those duplexes across the street are where our amazing neighbors live.

Zach has a nightly ritual with my mom who is called the "Lucky Grandma". Every night she calls and sings a song that she made up for him, he gets so excited. Now he is to the point where he grabs the phone and walks around the duplex talking to his "lucky grandma". They have the greatest time.

Zach used to have a bath every night. Things have changed, now we do it only every other night. Mainly because his hair catches most of his dinner. Depending on how close to his bedtime, he either loves bathtime or hates it, luckily he mostly loves this special time of day with his dad.

Thanks for reading! I will write again soon because I am trying to limit my nap time. Please excuse all of the typos and not knowing how to flip the pictures. That will come with time, as this is my first experience as a blogger.

2008-04-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

Due to popular request, here is another excellent movie. Enjoy!

2008-04-26T20:31:00.001-07:00

Here is a little snapshot from some of the critical parts of Zach's life.here are my two sweethearts at Valentine's Day. I don't know who is cuter.Zach was born 24 days early, but everything was perfectly fine with him except Jaundice. So he had to lay under this light table in out apartment all day long except for eating time. Some times this is terrible on parents because the baby cries so much, but Zach loved it! He just sprawled out and thought he was at the beach.
This was the blessing day! I was nervous because I wanted to do a good job, and everything was fine. We had a little party at our apartment after church.
This was Zach's favorite trip -- Zion National Park. We went there for my birthday in November last year. There were lots of good trails for strollers and we all had a great time. The weather was awesome and so was the scenery.
Now this is Zach's favorite toy, the Super Saucer. He is entertained in this for a long time and loves the time on his feet. He is very observant of every action and studies everything that Angela and I do. He also really likes the songs from "High School Musical" thanks to Aunt Lisa, and it is a key to calmness. Lisa dances and sings him the songs whenever she has a chance. He also likes the computer and hitting the buttons just like his parents. Cells phones are also a favorite. He listens to the ring tones and sucks on the phone! That might not be a good idea because the moisture ruined Angela's phone. Luckily, it was time for her to get a new one! Thats all for now. Hope you enjoyed!

2008-04-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't know how many of you know this, but I did go on a trip to Guatemala in February to visit Mayan sites with my professor and classmates. If you want more details you can talk to me about it. But here is a little synopsis. Above is Palenque. It is a large site and one of the first discovered. There is a large tower in the center of the city (King Benjamin maybe) and it was absolutely phenomenal. The sites absolutely take your breathe away.
Here I am at a place where they have the pottery on display and actually let you hold it!! This big pot is from the "preclassic" (about 500 BC) and was on the bottom shelf. As we were taking the picture they told me a spider crawled out of the pot and I tried hard not to scream or drop the pot, hence the cheesy smile!
Another great part of the trip was to see the Rain Forest. Ever since I was a little kid I had a fasination with the Rain Forest. I did reports on the forest and jaguars (which we also saw, but in a zoo). But this was an awesome chance to interact with the wild. Oh there were also lots of monkeys.
This was the Mision Palenque, our favorite hotel. We were really ruffing it if you know what I mean...

2008-04-26T20:03:00.000-07:00

So who does Zach look like more, Mom or Dad. (If you can't tell who is Tim and who is Ang, that is funny, we'll just make you suffer through it) So add your vote and we will see if Mom or Dad wins. Hope you like Zach's picture!

More experimenting

2008-04-26T19:56:00.001-07:00

I wanted to experiment with adding video. If it works well we may do that alot. Try this one!

We joined the Bandwagon!

2008-04-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

We are now on the web. Even though Angela and I should be a part of the technology generation, we are somewhat technologically impaired. But here we are and we are excited. Stay tuned for future posts from Angela and I.