Seven year itch?

Yesterday was Kolby's and my 7 year wedding anniversary.  I did some research online and found out that it qualified me for one wool/copper gift.  I'm so glad Kolby went with his gut and got me flowers and not a wool sweater or some copper-topped batteries.  I had to include a picture or two of the flowers because they were so beautiful!  Yellow roses (the first flower he bought me), Gerber Daisies (my favorite flowers), and tulips (our wedding flowers).  All day long, I just kept walking into the kitchen to take a whiff!  So much has changed in seven years - Our early days of marriage were filled with lots of late-night dates, trips and vacations at a moment's notice, and, of course, child-free uninterrupted sleep!  Now it's a challenge to stay up past ten, the only thing we do at a moment's notice these days is take one of our sick girlies to the doctor, and I think last night was our first date in, well lets just call it months!  But the one thing that hasn't changed for us in seven years - we are still butt-crazy in love with each other!  Bring on the next seven baby!  

Practice Time!!!

Okay Papa Lee, here's some proof that we're not slacking off!  Every time I get my mandolin out to practice, a couple of little helpers want to join the jam session!  So far we have been working on a bluegrass version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."  I think it sounds pretty swell!  June got this special fiddle from her Papa this past Christmas, and is currently trying to grow into it so that she can start some real lessons!  Winnie's just dabbling in piano at the moment, but from what I hear, Papa's already got her instrument all picked out - an accordion!  Heaven knows she's got the girth to pack one, but I don't think she's at all interested in the nerdy stigma attached to such an instrument.  I think we'll just get her a mandolin or maybe a banjo and we can be the Okie Chicks!  

Chillin' on a Sunday Afternoon

I have never had much of a green thumb, but I decided that this year's my year for a spectacular garden.  Okay, so it's only two flower boxes but I am putting my all into it!  We're hoping for a nice crop of tomatoes, corn, carrots, cucumbers, peas, and a watermelon or two!  I have to thank Grandma Sara and Grandpa Kyle for inspiring me to plant some seeds and watch them grow!  They are old pros and I have to admit, I have learned every gardening tip under their tutelage!  Keep your fingers crossed that I don't kill everything!

Things get so exciting in Oklahoma on the weekends, we wear ourselves out!  Here's a picture of Kolby and Winnie just watching the garden grow!

Winnie is in love with being a mommy these days!  She's actually quite sweet to watch with her baby dolls!  She bounces them a bit as she walks and talks gently to them.  But don't be deceived, when she's had her fill of dolls, she's got quite the arm, and usually whips one or two across the room into their beds.

Just out for a little sunday stroll!  

Let's not forget June's favorite pastime!  Go speed racer!  Our back yard is a rather steep hill and her wagon makes for a pretty sweet ride!  Sometimes Winnie rides along for the thrills, but today she was a bit timid!  Not June, though.  She's always got the need for speed!  Don't try this at home!  June is a professional!

Hey June . . .

It does my heart good to know that my love of music has passed on to the fruit of my loins.  And I guess we're taking requests now.  So Caulder, this one goes out to you.  Just to preface June's musical number, I should tell you that a few months ago, June came running up to me all excited and said, "Mom, a guy on your ipod is singing a song about me!!!  Hey June!!!"  For those of you who haven't been living under a rock for the past fifty years, you probably guessed that the song is "Hey Jude"  by the Beatles.  Well, not at our house anymore!  Now we have the pleasure of listening to "Hey June" at least four times a day, on repeat when we travel, and June gives us her soulful rendition about every half an hour.  In fact, Winnie's already picked up on it and walks around all day singing, "Na na na naaaaaa, June, WAAAAAAA!"  I wish we could have captured the whole song because June can really hit those high notes at the end!  But here's a preview . . .       

Little Junie Johnson

My sweet June Bailee Johnson.  For the past four years, she has filled my life with love and laughter.  The things that I admire most in June are the same things that try my patience and leave me exhausted at the end of each day.  In a word, she is intense.   She is a deep thinker, an insightful soul, she has a stronger will than anyone I have ever known, and cannot be detoured from accomplishing anything she sets her mind to doing.  She has quietly watched, absorbed, and successfully learned how to do things that I would never expect a four-year-old to be able to do - reading and writing words, spending over an hour to finish a difficult puzzle, even giving me an accurate and thorough medical examination.  My favorite part of motherhood is watching my children discover elements of the world around them for the first time.  June is constantly in discovery mode, and I have the joy of witnessing her new discoveries every day.  I remember laying in bed with baby June by my side when she was one week old.  I was having a good cry.  Maybe it was the hormones, maybe it was the lack of sleep, but I was sad because I didn't want her to grow up.  My cry was futile.  The past four years have flown by, but they have changed my mind.   Helping my little Junafish learn, grow, and become a beautiful person is the greatest blessing any mother could ask for.  I love you June, and I'm so glad Heavenly Father sent you to our family!                   

Winnie's singing debut!

This morning, June, the greatest great-granddaughter in the world, called her special Nana Betty to sing her a special happy birthday song.  Well, Winnie was a little jealous that she didn't get to sing along so, without further ado, here is Winnie making her singing debut!  First in her repertoire, her favorite song from primary, "Hello, Hello."

And for her encore, Winnie's soulful version of Happy Birthday goes out to Nana Betty.  Hope this video is the icing on your birthday cake!    

Retraction

Okay, I don't really like admitting when I'm wrong.  But I think I better do it before I get struck dumb.  When I was writing my previous post, I was tired from three nights without sleep, due to the sickos.  I may have mentioned that husbands are pansies when they get sick, while a mother's strength in the midst of illness rivals that of Wonder Woman.  I learned a hard lesson this weekend.  I, myself, became so ill with a urinary tract infection, Kolby had to take me to the emergency room in the middle of the night on Saturday.  I'll spare you all the disgusting medical details, but will say that the pain rivaled that of child-birth and it ended up being an extremely bad infection.  So, for the past few days, I have been laying on the couch high on pain meds, moaning, while my sweet and caring husband has gone to school all day, come home, cleaned the house, made dinner, fed and bathed the girls, put them to bed, monitored my health, and rubbed my back while he studied neuroanatomy.  Alas, I am retracting the negative statements made in my previous post and apologizing profusely to my loving and extremely helpful husband Kolby.  I don't know what I'd do without him.  He's definitely my lobster!

     

Poor Little Lambs

Welcome to sick bay.  The flu struck our house this week.  I blame the usual culprit - nursery.  There's nothing like being awakened from a dead sleep by the sound of your baby puking her guts out on her freshly washed sheets and blankets!  I hate it when my kids are sick.  I have awful pregnancies and I throw up for the entire nine months, so a 24-hour flu is like a cake walk for me.  I ache more for my babies when they get sick.  I just sit and rock them all day and sing little songs in their ears.  Even Daddy had to take a sick day this time.  It has been my experience that the only thing that is more work than taking care of a sick baby is taking care of a sick husband.  Lets face it, women are so much tougher when they get sick.  When I have the flu, I still clean the house, take care of the kids, even make dinner.  When Kolby gets sick, he lays in bed all day moaning while his little wife tends to his every need.  I don't mind really, I just think that it should be acknowledged that moms are tough cookies, that's all.  I knew I shouldn't disturb their slumber, but I just couldn't resist taking this picture.  I guess sick daddies make the best pillows.     

A little help please!!!

I have had a few questions floating around in my mind lately and figured, what better way to get some good answers than by asking my fellow blogging buddies.  I guess I'll just make a list.

1.  I was recently put in as primary chorister and was hoping to find some helpful websites or materials to use for singing time.  If you have had this calling before or know of any good materials, please let me know.  

2.  I want to start scrapbooking online.  I know, I'm about a year behind everyone else and just feel like I spend a fortune on tangible supplies and would love to just do it all on the computer.   Anyone want to guide me to the right place?  I don't even know where to begin.

3.  Our family recently became vegetarians and we're doing well with the transition but I don't want to just keep making the same things over and over again.  The girls have been fine with the change because they both love fruits and vegis so if anyone has any good vegetarian recipes, please send them my way.

4.  I hate to ask this one the most, because I don't like admitting when my parenting skills just aren't cutting it, but my oldest (June, 4 years old) is a bit of a bully lately - yep all 28 pounds of her.   Her most common victim is her little sister, but lately she's been spitting at people, disrupting primary to tell off another child, throwing mud in her little cousin's mouth, just to name a few.  She has a short fuse and I know that in most situations, she is provoked but I am not going to let her retaliate.  I feel like she's always in time-out and I've taken just about every toy away, I've even made her write apologies and suffer the embarrassment of delivering them to the victim.  I'm not giving up though and would love to hear from anyone who's dealt with a child bully!  I've gotta nip this one in the bud before she's wearing brass knuckles and chasing kids around the playground.

Well, I'll wrap up my questionnaire.  I would love some feedback on any of the above topics so feel free to send your advise my way.  Thanks for all your help and I promise my next post will be more entertaining and not quite so needy! 

Introducing Kolby Johnson

Then . . .

Now . . .

Okay, I've been husband tagged a couple of times and a few of my blogging friends have never even met my husband and wanted to know how we met and fell in love so I guess it's time to introduce you to Kolby.  It may be long-winded but bare with me, I'll try to condense . . .

Name:  Kolby V. Johnson  - For a long time his parents told him his middle name was Vard, but he found out at the tender age of 19 that it was a lie - just the middle initial V.  Wasn't that cruel?  And yet funny?

Hometown:  Genola, Utah

Age:  31 

Occupation:  Full-time medical student at the University of Oklahoma.  He's currently planning on a career in emergency medicine.  

How we met:  Well, to preface our meeting, I should tell you that Kolby was my older brother's trainer on his mission in Japan.  Curt sent a couple of pictures home with Kolby in them, but I didn't pay too much attention, I was in High School and very busy with my studies:)  During my freshman year at BYU, I made the trip to Idaho for Curt's homecoming and for Thanksgiving.  On Saturday night, I answered the phone and on the other end was Kolby seeking directions to our church for the homecoming.  It was love at first hello.  I'm not kidding. I fell in love before I ever met him.  We only talked for a few minutes but it was like I was talking to my best friend.  Call me confident, but I knew I would marry him - so romantic, I know!  

  Our first meeting, on the other hand was more comical than romantic.  He figured all Idahoans were cowboys and, not wanting to stand out, came dressed in a complete cowboy garb!  Weird!  He was also much more shy than the guy I'd talked to on the phone.  He didn't say a word to me all day!  He didn't even look me in the eye.  So the next day, I packed up my stuff and was preparing to head back to BYU to get over my true love, when Curt asked if he could borrow my gloves to go snowboarding with Kolby.  Kolby piped up and offered to return them to me at school since he would be coming back to Utah the next day.  A glimmer of hope! He was true to his word!  He returned my gloves and he asked me out, well, technically his best friend Willie asked me out on our first date and then proceeded to come with us on our first, oh, maybe 15 dates.  Months Later, Kolby told me that he got so excited to get back and see me, that he forgot the gloves and had to turn around and drive an hour back to Idaho to pick them up!  Now that's love shicks!

Our first date:  Okay, he wasn't the best dater at first!  He and Willie took me to the Crest gas station and bought a huge mountain dew that we delivered to his friend Brad's mom.  Then we went to his apartment and watched Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.  Does that even count as a date?  

Who kissed who first:  Kolby kissed me!  And no, Willie was not involved!  

Who said "I love you" first:  I did.  It was spontaneous and I've never regretted saying it first because I meant it.  He said it right back!  

Our engagement:  Well, we had dated for about a year and I was just waiting . . . waiting . . . waiting for the ring.  He didn't say much about it, even though he knew I was dying to be engaged.  Finally, on the Saturday morning of fall Conference, I couldn't take it anymore!  Being the brat that I am, I gave him one week to pull it together and ask me to marry him, or else! Then, he blind-sided me!  That afternoon, we had plans to go fishing with, who else, Willie and his new girlfriend Candace.  We got to the dock at Payson Lake and our fishing buddies were nowhere in sight!  He said, "well, let's fish while we wait."  I lobbed my line out into the lake and noticed a scuba diver swimming below us!  My line got very heavy and it took all my strength to reel it in!  Not a fish, a cowboy boot!  What?  Kolby knelt to dump the water and little fish out of the boot while I tried to locate the prankster scuba diver who put a boot on my line!  I was still brooding when Kolby pulled my ring out of the boot and proposed to me!  My brother came running out of the woods with a video camera and the mysterious scuba diver, Kolby's friend Brad, rose from the lake with a dozed roses!  We got married 7 months later on April 28, 2001.

How long have we been married:  It will be 7 years this month!  7 years, two babies, and a lot of school later, and we're still crazy about each other!  

Who's his best friend:  Well, besides me, Willie, of course!  Don't worry, Willie did get married to Candace so it's not as weird when we all go out now!

Who's a better singer:  Well, singing is my passion and Kolby's tone-deaf, so I'll let you be the judge!

Who is taller:  I am . . . just kidding!  I don't think I know anyone shorter than me!  I'm 5'1" in shoes and he's 5'11".

Who is smarter:  We make a good team when we play Cranium because he is definitely better at math, science and geography, and has a great memory.  I am better at history, English, the humanities and the humdingers!  We've got all our bases covered when our kids need help with homework!

Who eats more sweets:  Kolby doesn't like sweets!  In fact, that was what our first fight was about.  I was trying to pick something to make for dessert, and he didn't want anything!  I guess that's how he maintains his figure!  I, on the other hand, have an insatiable desire for snack treats!

What is his guilty pleasure:  Potatoes!  It's a good thing he married a girl from Idaho! 

Who has more siblings:  Kolby does.  He has one twin brother and three sisters.  I have one brother and one sister.

Who does the dishes, the laundry, makes dinner, pays the bills, etc:  Well, those are technically my jobs but Kolby never hesitates to help.  I never have to ask him for help either, he just does it!  He changes as many diapers as I do and never complains.  Plus, he even gets up with his girls in the night and rock them back to sleep. I'm not sure all dads do that, I am really lucky!  

Who mows the lawn:  We trade off.  But he's definitely got a greener thumb than I do!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed:  I don't know.  When you are facing the bed, I sleep on the right, but when you lie in the bed, Kolby is on the right.  I'm not really sure what this question is supposed to prove . . . maybe the coolest person sleeps on the right side or something.  

Who wears the pants:  Most would think I do because I tend to be, well let's just say it, a control freak!  But, secretly, Kolby wears the pants.  He has never let me down in his decision-making, and he always puts me and the girls first.

My favorite things about Kolby:  He's so easy to love.  He is a good and honest man, he is a selfless person, and he shows me and my girls that he loves us every day.  He honors his priesthood and never hesitates to serve others.  He is a peacemaker.  He makes me want to be a better person.  He juggles so many challenges every day and still manages to bring his smile and great sense of humor to the dinner table every night; no one can make me laugh like Kolby.  I feel so lucky that he chose me to be his wife!   

        

  

  

We're missing you already :(

Time sure flies when you're having fun!  We were so excited to have Nana Deb and Auntie Audra fly out for a week-long visit.  Sadly, today we had to say a tearful goodbye at the airport.  But what a fun week it was!  We were so glad they could make it for little Lyra's baby blessing and cousin Amos's birthday party!  As usual, we put Nana to work painting a tropical mural in the Girls' room and sewing curtains for Lyra's room!  She's the most talented Nana in the world, why not work her to death on vacation!  Thanks Nana Deb!

We also talked Nana into giving the girls some haircuts!  I'm sorry to everyone who loved their long locks, but June asked for a pixie and we think she looks like a doll!  Not everyone can look this cute without hair!  

Winn just got her bangs cut.  We think she looks like Loyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber!  She might want to kill us when she gets older and looks at this picture!

   We took the kids to a pseudo-Chucky Cheese, and let the good times roll!  June and Audra participated in a go-cart race and took first place!  She promptly and proudly displayed her ribbon on her bedroom wall!  

Yes, Audra is still a newly-wed and called hubby Jimmy about 15 times a day, but I think she had a ball spending some quality time with all her nieces and nephew!  I think it was just enough time to convince her she should wait a while before jumping into the whole "kid" thing!  We even got to enjoy a sisters' night out!  Good times!!!

And, to top it all off, our honored guests got to be here for a tornado scare!  The sirens went off at 2:00 a.m. and the tornado hit a few miles away and only damaged one neighborhood but there's nothing like taking your life in your hands while on vacation!  

Oh, to be so loved!  I don't think Nana got to sit down without a kid on her lap the whole time she was here!  I can tell June's maturing because today at the airport, she fought back tears when she gave kisses goodbye, but as soon as we made our way home, she said, "I'm sure gonna miss Nana," and started to cry.  It broke my heart!  Tonight she prayed that we will be safe on our trip to Utah to visit Nana this summer.  I'll probably have to make her one of those count-down calendars to our trip home!  Hopefully the next few months will fly by!