Jinkies Scooby!!! It's Halloween!!!

This Halloween, we were off to solve a mystery. These kids are Scooby Doo junkies! So they chose the family costume theme this time around. And we always enjoy our Halloween in a big way at Aunt Becky's decked-out party!

Top row: Mystery Machine, Freddie, Scooby Doo, Hex Girl, Black Samuri Sojo (yes, there is a Samuri Scooby Doo)

Bottom row: Velma, Daphne, and Shaggy

Winnie called herself "Delma" and has been giddy all week in anticipation. She bolted from house to house in search of the next treat. And her excitement couldn't even be dulled by the several spills she suffered. She took a tumble off of a rock wall, and dumped her goods after a large dip in the yard got the better of her. Yep, mom was kicking herself for forgetting the flashlights this year.

June kept pace with cousins Kiki and Jaxon. We didn't worry about losing her this year, that hair was nearly glow-in-the-dark! She got to wear her costume to her very first class party on Friday, too. Now that's a big deal!

I threw this costume together for Kolby on Saturday afternoon. I was painting like crazy to get it done in time! I have a feeling this one is going to be a nice addition to the dress-up box, since Scooby Doo is acted out live every day at our house!

Kolby let me borrow his "coolest" bell-bottoms for my costume. June told me the wig and lip gloss was a little too girly to be Freddie, but the ascot really pulled it all together.

I'm going to have to swipe a picture of Scooby and Shaggy from Tish. After all, they are the main characters! Hope everyone had as much fun as we did! Happy Halloween!!!

Getting Spooky

We may have jumped the gun a bit, but we just couldn't wait until Halloween to carve our pumpkins this year! Last Saturday night was all about the pumpkins!

June was really helpful with the "guts" removal.

Winn stuck her hand in once, then bolted to the bathroom to scrub off the "uscusting" goo. I have no idea when she got so squeamish.

In honor of Disney's recently-released classic, we went with a "Snow White" theme. Winn and I carved up ol' Snow White in all her splendor, and Dad and June worked their magic on the wicked witch. What do you think?

Snow White, The Wicked Witch, and Prince Charming?

I guess we just couldn't get enough of pumpkins that day, so we rounded out the night with some jack-o-lantern cookie-decorating. I gave each of the girls some frosting and sprinkles and let them go at it.

June, as always, was meticulous about her frosting and sprinkle placement. It was a work of art.

Winn's frosting may have been two inches thick, but that didn't stop her from devouring every bite.

Pumpkin Night RULES!!!

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!