December 2007: Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Johnson Family!

Mike and I have enjoyed our three boys this year. Tate has been a blessed addition to our family. We love watching them all together. We are grateful that they enjoy being together so much. This year has brought so much joy as well as refining. What it has brought the most is a remembrance of the source of all our happiness: a dependence on, emulation of, and relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

We are grateful for all of our family and friends and love to hear from you. We wish each of you a Merry Christmas and hope that this next year holds hope and promise for you.

Much love,

Mike, Briana, Owen, Eyan, and Tate Johnson

December 2007: Mike's Last Day Off 'til Christmas

We thought we'd enjoy Mike's last day off until Christmas at Disneyland. We had a great time with the boys. Owen was able to ride Star Tours for the first time. His face was classic as he came off. I'm not sure what he was thinking, but the damage may have come from the ride breaking down in the middle creating a pitch black room. Disneyland has been so much fun to enjoy together as a family.

December 2007: We're in Trouble

Slow down Tate!!! I can't believe him. He just wants to be as grown up as his brothers. He is pulling himself up on everything. He has even tried to turn away from the sofa and walk. I'm not sure what I will do if he starts to walk this early. He's still so little, it will seem so unreal to see a little guy like him walking around. Sometimes when we try to sit him down, he won't bend his legs, but tries to walk. Its hysterical. Owen was 13 months and Eyan was 17 months when they began to walk. Tate isn't even 9 months yet!! We're in trouble.

December 2007: Cougar Stadium in San Diego

We were so excited to go to another BYU Football game this season. Mike, Owen, and I bought tickets to the SDSU game with my Mom and Dad, my brother Luke and his son Davis, my sister Vanessa and her husband Josh. It had been raining the past few days so I had to go out and buy a hat, jacket, and gloves for Owen and Mike and ponchos for us all. It was really chilly:-). We headed down to the tailgate party early. We enjoyed some yummy BBQ and Owen got his face painted amidst the sprinkles. The game was fun to be at despite the fact that it was a rather uneventful being a blow-out. The San Diego newspaper commented that it was Cougar Stadium in San Diego as there were 2/3 BYU fans. We love our Cougars!!!

December 2007: Fave Flashbacks in December

Sorry, sickness and fun Christmas projects have really put me behind on the blog. Here are the songs for the month of December so far. ENJOY!!!!

Total Eclipse of the Heart--- Bonnie Tyler
http://www.soundflavor.com/track.php?trackId=4072
Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money--- Primitive Radio Gods http://www.soundflavor.com/track.php?trackId=5198450
More Than Words--- Extreme
http://www.soundflavor.com/track.php?trackId=2659

Sweetest Thing--- U2
http://www.last.fm/music/U2/_/Sweetest+Thing
Estoy Aqui--- Shakira
http://www.soundflavor.com/track.php?trackId=2001507

November 2007: Ho Ho Ho Makes Boo Hoo Hoo

The day after Thanksgiving, Eyan, Owen, Mom, Vanessa, Kelli, and their kids all went to Temecula for a Christmas Season Kick-off. We missed the parade - is anyone surprised? We cruised around Old Town and the kids got these cute reindeer balloon hats made by a funny turned creepy balloon guy. As we were waiting in line to see Santa, Owen's reindeer hat popped. Jackson gave him his - the 2nd one popped. Somehow by the end of the night I was holding 2 one antlered-is that a word?- reindeer balloon hats amongst everything else. And yes, I did try to combine the 2 to make 1 whole reindeer - but who can figure out how those guys make those things anyway.

The best part of the whole evening was the Santa Photo seen above! There was a little shack in which Santa and his elves sat. As soon as we got inside both Davis and Jackson started wailing - it wasn't a little cry, it was a wail. The sweet Santa kept trying to direct Vanessa and Kelli on how to still get a good picture and tried to help the boys stop crying, but it only made it worse. This is a horrible photo on many levels: the lighting, the positioning, Mom's hands in the corner fumbling to figure out Kelli's video camera, the look of fear on Jackson's face and of torture on Davis'. However, if you look at the photo I cropped out from it, you can see two darling little boys surronding a cute Santa. Kelli and Vanessa were so patient - Kelli trying to hold both children while one tried to wiggle free and Vanessa trying to calm Jackson over her pregnant belly. We gave a new meaning to the "Shrieking Shack". After that fiasco we decided to forgo the horse-drawn trolley ride and head home.