April 2008: Owen's Big Day at Disneyland

Owen was VERY excited to be tall enough to take his first ride on Splash Mountain. He went on it with his Auntie Lizzie and his good friend from Utah, Josh. When asked about the ride Owen said, "scary". Any further comments Owen? "I liked when we went on the slide, straight down." The after picture was awesome. Owen looked scared out of his mind. Funny enough, he's ready to go on it again. He and Eyan also went on Matterhorn-I remember being scared of the Abominable Snowman as a kid. Did I say as a kid? I couldn't believe they were both tall enough to ride it. That is the janky-est ride at Disneyland. Talk about whiplash.

We were all excited to meet up with our good friends from Utah, Steve and Janae and their darling crew. That's a great thing about living here, everyone comes to Disneyland, and having a pass means we can meet up most anytime!

Check out Owen's Playlist. He chose some of his favorites for you to enjoy listening to!

March 2008: Don't Cha Wish Your Husband Was Hot Like Mine

I was reminded by an old "sample lady" at Costco this past week that I "should consider myself blessed" because I had a husband that was great at gift giving. I really am lucky. Mike is extremely thoughtful when it comes to making me happy! I realized that I hadn't talked about my actual birthday with Mike yet on the blog. That morning I was able to take my time to get ready for the day without worry of the kids. Once I was ready we left on our "trip". Whenever I go anywhere with Mike, rarely do I know the plan. He is so funny. He keeps the details to himself. I have just learned to try and go with the flow, something I am not good at but getting better at. I do love surprises! For reasons still unknown to me, except that it made me feel silly and he told me I had to post them on my blog, Mike brought me to the park and told me spin around down a hill like Maria on "The Sound of Music" while he took pictures of me.








We then drove on, all the time Mike trying to tell me things to keep me off the scent of where we were really going, a tactic he uses often. Towards the end of the drive he tells me that I am not allowed to make a fuss or say "Michael" in that tone or "we can't afford this", etc. Money was not to be discussed. We pulled up to the Guitar Center. I was in shock. I have always wanted to learn the guitar and had mentioned it on many occasions, but none recently. He had remembered. I was very giddy. We walked in and a sweet, long haired guy named Brady helped us pick out my guitar, yes MY guitar. He played a little for us per my request. I tried my hand at it and Mike laughed. Nice! I had never played before, just Guitar Hero, but thats just buttons. It was tough, a challenge. I was so happy as I walked out of the store with my own Fender.
On our drive to lunch, I got out of Mike, since we did not have money to spare, that he had been putting money aside to get this for me since Christmas. We did not get anything for each other for Christmas and I know that killed Mike. He wants to give me the world, what can I say, don't cha wish your husband was hot like mine, i guess is fitting. He had not eaten lunch for almost 3 months and had put that money aside for my birthday fund. His employees had been wondering why he hadn't been eatting. Wow, I couldn't believe it. Very humbled and loved, we went out to eat at Macaroni Grill. I love their Caesar Calzone, garden salad with the yummy house dressing and of course their bread with oil and balsamic!
On our way home, we needed to get back since Mom was watching the kids, Mike found a scenic spot and opened this envelope that he had been protecting the whole day. He first gave me a letter he had written to me, I'll spare you the details, except that it said, "I know that I can't give you the world like I want to, however, I have come up with some coupons that you can redeem in the future!" Enclosed were 30 coupons***for my use.
"***Coupons cannot be combined. Coupons cannot be redeemed for cash. Cash value...Acceptance of coupons by issuer based upon financial means and stability. May take years for coupons to become effective. No purchase necessary. Void in Rhode Island and where prohibited. Must be 30 years old to be eligible to redeem."
Through the rest of the day Mike would give me 5 coupons at a time. I guess I want lots of things.
Listed in no particular order, my 30 things:
"This coupon good for...
*1 bag of Skittles *1 clothing shopping spree *1 Serger thingy
*1 date night per week *a gym membership *1 Cold Stone ice cream
*1 cool cell phone of your choice *1 trip to Utah to see your friends
*1 trip to Europe *a day at the spa *1 dinner & a movie
*1 membership to yoga studio *a home decorating shopping spree
*1 home of your dreams *guitar lessons *1 HD video camera
*1 top grade digital SLR *1 trip to Hong Kong *1 Apple computer
*1 embroidery machine *professional camera equipment *1 trip to see the Smiths
*a dozen roses, "there better be fresh flowers!" (from "The Man Who Knew Too Little")
*the latest greatest I-Pod *1 BYU football home game per year
*1 excellent jogging stroller *3 computer software programs
*my choice *my choice *my choice

That's pretty amazing. I just need to remind myself of the fine print! I'm one lucky girl, really I am. Happy birthday to me. Later my Mom took me shopping for some fun clothes and then I tried my hand at my guitar for Mike and the boys. Definitely going to need those lessons:-)

March 2008: Grandpa's Car

Ok so I know that I am in the minority, but I do not have a TV/DVD player in my van nor do I plan on getting one. I am the weirdo who would rather sing songs, listen to music, or play "I spy" or counting games with my kids. Yes there are moments of insanity in which I see the value of watching a video, but for now I am standing my ground:-). My dad, however, has a nice company car with the works. My kids LOVE going in Grandpa's car. We were on our way to celebrate my brother Luke's birthday in Cardiff and they popped in a video. I couldn't resist taking these pictures. Pretty funny! I guess the funnier part is that I do the head tilt thing just like Owen and am in a complete zone when I watch TV too!

March 2008: Our Newbery Award Winner

We are very privileged in our house to be in the presence of a Newbery Award Winner, our own Owen Russell Johnson. Owen has selected with 2 other Kindergarteners in his school as a Newbery Winner for his book that he wrote, "I Went to Disneyland". His handwriting is incredible as well as his writing abilities. I wish I had a scanner so that I could show you all. Owen was very excited to be chosen. The most amazing part of the whole thing was that I was able to attend an assembly in which he was chosen to read his book in front of grades K-3. I thought that he wouldn't want to go in front of all those people and read, but he was amazing. Of course I started crying looking up at him and realizing what a sweet little boy I had. Later Mike, my Mom, and I attended a second assembly in which he was chosen once again to read in front of students and parents. This time I went up with him to hold his book. I was so proud of him.

March 2008: Tate's 1st Steps

Yes, it is way past March, but I wanted to document Tate's first steps. I love his little shy shoulder shrug. He was so cute with his first little bit of walking, he would walk straight legged with his legs out to the side instead of front to back. It was a very cute waddle. Of course he was very selective of who he let watch him walk. His uncles and aunts didn't believe me for awhile because he would turn limp or keep his legs bent whenever I tried to get him to show them how he could walk.

March and April 2008: Eyan 3, Tate 1

We have lots of catching up to do, but here are two highlights: Eyan turned 3 and our little Tate turned 1. It is amazing that our little family is growing up so fast. Mike had a birthday too, but I'm not sure if he'd want me to say how 'old' he is:-). I love the candlelight on Eyan's face and the little piece of whip cream on Tate's lip:-). I'll try to get more photos up "soon". I love that people actually look at these. It makes me feel loved!