Just kickin' it

June started soccer a few weeks ago with her buddies Kiki and Jaxon.  It was a little rough at first - she went from being a star player on a mostly-4-year-old t-ball team, to being the runt newbie on a mostly-6-year-old soccer team.  I tried to take some pictures at her first game, but she spent the whole game by the coach's side, wiping tears on her sleeves while she successfully dodged all of the action on the field.  It broke my heart, and we thought about walking away from the sport altogether, but we decided to go back for one more week.  

I have no idea what brought about the change, but June was a completely different girl this week.  She ran her guts out, played some real defense, and even kicked the ball a few times.  I'm so proud of Junie - she was still very scared, but she really gave it her all and ended up having a great time.  Her team, the Wildcats, won both games on Saturday!  Be proud Aunt Darby and Rylee! 

Here's a little movie of June's goal kick (Wildcats are in blue), and her little buddy scoring a goal.

A Busy September!

We love it when Uncle Cole flies in for a visit!  I couldn't resist taking this picture of these two - looks like they are playing dress-up!  It's crazy to think that Cole is a real pilot and Kolby's nearly a doctor.

If you knew how goofy these two are, you'd be crazy to put your life in their hands!

We made a trip to the Oklahoma State Fair with the kids.  They loved the petting zoo and visiting the giant horses!

Amos had to pose in front of anything with wheels!

And we had an awesome time at Disney on Ice this year!  It was even better than last year's High School Musical on Ice!  It kicked off with Cars on Ice - Amos was in heaven!  He went home and gave his dad every detail! 

(Stephanie C., if you are reading this, yes, I stole these pictures from you.  And I'm not sorry.  Your camera is so much better than mine, and I will steal again if I have to!)

I loved the Little Mermaid the best!  Pregnant women, sick of swimmin'! 

Check out Ursula!  Who could skate in that costume?  Amazing!

Sebastian

The Lion King showed the whole stampede on ice!  It was magical!

And the girls' favorite was Tinkerbell!  Winn kept saying, "Mom, I thinkly Tinkerbell is coming up next!!!!"  She made a grand entrance and they did the whole movie on ice!

This was June's face through the whole thing!

And last but not least, Winn got to make a special trip to Build-a-bear to spend her birthday money from Nana Betty!

She stuffed and fluffed her new black bear, who started out as a boy, but then magically turned into a girl once Winnie took a gander at the outfits.

Winn named her bear Kalvin Betty, after Nana Betty.  We're still not quite sure if it's a boy or a girl.  It's a little confused about it's own gender right now.

Kalvin and Winn, best friends for life!

Winn's the big 3!

This sweet girl has been counting down to her birthday since June!   For months, Winn's first words to me each morning have been, "Is it my Monsters vs. Aliens birthday today?"  I was so happy on September 8th to finally answer, "YES!"

 

These past three years can be summed up in one word:  JOY!  Winn smiled the day she was born, and that big beautiful face has been smiling ever since.  Winn loves life, gets excited about EVERYTHING, and can put a smile on any one's face.  She makes friends with everyone she meets and desperately wishes she could go to school with June every day!  Lately, she finds her greatest joy in playing jokes on her mom, dad and June.  I've been told she inherits this from her mischievous Uncle Kory.

 

Birthday present #1:  Nana Deb got to be here for the big day!  She was a big help with party preparation since Mom got back from Costa Rica at 10:00 p.m. the night before the party!  What do you think of our "bob the blob" cupcakes?  Winn couldn't stop beaming over them!

Here's Bob himself and the Missing Link!

Winn and Amos are such good buddies.  It is such a blessing to live by cousins!

Winn scored a lot of loot this year.  Check out this pimped-out ride for Barbie!  Uncle Buck never disappoints!

I can't believe it's been three years!  She sure has grown up into a lovely little lady!

Winn is definitely a daddy's girl.  Every afternoon she whispers to me, "Mom, do you hear something?  I think it's Daddy home from school!"  We have the best daddy in the world!

These sisters may sometimes struggle to get along, but I've seen the love when they don't think any one's looking!

A big day of partying can sure tucker you out!  We love you Winn, keep smiling!

Ten years . . .

(From top to bottom:  Heather, Wendy, Melinda, Jess, Heidi, and Nicole)

I have never been very good at making friends.  I always feel awkward and say the wrong thing, and then privately obsess over my awkwardness and lack of social skills.  But by some miracle, I was blessed to find these truly amazing friends while starting my freshman year at BYU ten years ago (yes, I do feel old when I say that).  We were all lucky enough to live in the same hallway at Deseret Towers.

I can easily say that freshman year with these girls was one of the most fun years of my life!  I could go into greater detail, but most of our stories are incriminating to one or several of us, and I'm not looking to embarrass, or get anyone in trouble with the law!

So we decided to celebrate our 10-year anniversary in a big way.  We left behind our jobs, children, and husbands and headed to Costa Rica for five days!  

(Heather, Melinda, Jess, Rebecca, Nicole, Heidi, and Wendy)

The trip was AMAZING!  We zip-lined over the rain forest, snorkeled off the coast of Tortuga Island, and hiked to white sandy beaches, where we soaked up the sun and sea.  But by far, the best part of the trip was just lounging around with these awesome chicks, laughing hysterically about our college years, and catching up on the new happenings in our lives!  It really does my heart good to know that we can still get together and it feels like no time has passed at all!  Thanks for all the fun girls, I can't wait to do it again!

    

Surviving week one . . .

I'm happy to report that week one was a success!  June has a week of kindergarten under her belt, and I didn't have any major break-downs.  Nice work Johnsons!  

Here are some highlights:

1.  Due to an overdose of cold medicine, Mom read the time wrong and was a half-hour late to pick June up on her first day.  The office called!  I rushed to the rescue feeling like the world's worst mom, but June told me, "It's okay, you could let me stay here longer if you want to."  At least I really knew she loved school.  But I may never forgive myself.

2.  June LOVES Mrs. McDonald!  We're so glad her broken arm didn't keep her down!  She's the perfect teacher!

3.  June made three friends.  Hannah, Hailey, and she can't remember the other girl's names - but they have already been invited to June's birthday party in March.  June's a planner.

 

4.  Winnie misses her sister.  But she LOVES walking June to school.  And she really loves spending some alone time with Mom.  I forgot how easy it was to run errands with only one child in tow.  

5.  Two and a half hours isn't  long enough to get my chores done.  The drop-off, drive home, drive back, and pick-up make it feel like June goes to school for 15 minutes!  Maybe we'll just start taking a nap in the parking lot!

 

6.  June is loving it!  I just knew she'd get a taste of the good life at school and never look back.  Her days are filled with singing, art projects, shape sorting, story-reading, fun assemblies, yummy snacks, playground time, and making sweet new friends.  Look out med school, here June comes!

So Long, Summer

It's 8:00 in the morning on this, our last day of summer freedom.  This is the first time in over five years that the ending of summer break has been a real bummer.  Probably the biggest bummer of my life.  Tomorrow I have to hand my little Junie over to the public school system.  Kindergarten just snuck right up on us, and I don't feel prepared for this change at all.

It's been a great summer, filled with family reunions, swim parties, barbecues, ball games, and more hot dogs than I'd like to admit to.  Although, if you ask Kolby, his summer vacation was  a joke - two weeks with the family and then back to the grind on July 6th.

But today I have a sick feeling in the pit of my gut.  I'm worried.  My girls are my whole life.  In fact, you could probably count the days we have spent apart on one hand.  I don't know how a parent does this school business.  Everyone keeps telling me to be excited and enjoy the little bit of free time I will have now that June is off to school.  I won't.  I know myself well enough to realize that I'm just going to be a nervous wreck wondering if she is safe going to the bathroom, or in danger on the playground where the kids can be ruthless, and strangers could be lurking.  

June was worried about this day, too.  She was worried until she got to visit her bright, colorful classroom filled with toys, puzzles and art supplies.  And it only took one look at the playground to convince her that school is the place to be.  I know she's going to hop out of the car tomorrow, head for class and never look back.  I know I did.  I loved school!  And I want her to love it, too.  But chances are, I'll be the one lurking in the parking lot, just to make sure she doesn't need me.  June did give me permission to linger.  Yesterday she told me, "Mom, it's okay if you want to sit in your car and cry for a while."  So I think I will. 

Our Little Slugger

June started t-ball when we got home from Utah in June.  She had been practicing in the back yard for months to prepare for her first team sport, and even got in a few training games with Papa Lee while we were visiting, but I just can't believe how well she doing.  

I really love the YMCA sports programs - the kids say an oath before each game and promise to be good sports.  All of the parents are helpers on the field, but the kids do all the work.  It is so nice to watch these little guys have fun, learn to play the game, and not worry about making mistakes.

Here's a little video of June at her game last monday night.