A Big Move

Sometimes it hard to say goodbye to your best favorite cousins and head out on a new adventure.

So you just say see you later. . .

and have a few laughs before you hit the road.


Sometimes you cry big tears when you think about moving so far away and starting in a new school without your very best friend.

But you promise to be best friends forever and skype all the time.

Sometimes it's tough to pack up your home and leave the special place that has your name all over it. So you take lots of pictures to help you remember and blow it a kiss on the way out the door.

Sometimes you know that things just won't be the same when you can't give a tight squeeze to your Nana and Papa every day.

So you count down the days until they come for a visit and run up an enormous phone bill to fill the time in between.

Sometimes it helps to visit an old friend on the way to your new home. Just pick things up right where you left off. That's how you get through a big move.

Kolby V. Johnson, M.D. FINALLY!

Well, it's only taken ten years to get this guy through school, but on Saturday, May 28, he finally did it. Kolby's a doctor!

The Johnson family flew in for the big event - just in time for Oklahoma's big tornado day. I'm glad they made it safely. We had a great week, despite the weather, and celebrated at Great Wolf Lodge in Dallas. Maybe I'll get ambitious and blog some pictures of the trip later.

It was all I could do to keep the tears from flowing during the ceremony. I was bursting with pride for Kolby. It has been no easy task to take on med school with a growing family. I don't think he had a minute to rest for the last four years. His few study breaks were filled with piggy-backs, story time, changing diapers and keeping up with the honey-do chores around the house.

Dozens of his peers received their hoods from their fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, or grandparents who are doctors. I couldn't help but wonder if one day, one of these little rug rats will be hooded by their dad.

Congratulations Dr. Johnson! We know your patients are going to have the best doctor in the whole world!

10 Years: Magical!

On April 28, Kolby and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary. We agreed early on that 10 years is a pretty big deal, so we decided to take our very first vacation alone together since our honeymoon. What better place to go than our honeymoon destination - Disney World! Trust me, after ten years, three kids, and non-stop schooling, it would have been easy to just pick a beach and collapse on it. But we now agree that we would have missed the magic and fun that only Disney (and Harry Potter) can bring!

Ten years with this guy. Best decision I ever made. Love him so much.

We've been wanting to go to the World of Harry Potter since before it opened. And it was amazing! The butter beer was better than I could have imagined, the rides were thrilling and made you feel just like an honorary wizard, and the setting was so real! Kudos, Universal Studios!

There was plenty of time to be goofy. We've been missing that lately.


Kolby enjoys rides more than anyone I know. He's even got a special way of spotting the scared riders, and cracking just the right joke to put them at ease and help them enjoy themselves.

That's how he gets me to go on rides. I can't deny that I'm pretty much terrified of any ride that moves faster than dumbo.

New favorite ride: Expedition Everest at the Animal Kingdom.

We couldn't pass up this shot in front of Dr. Malpractice. We were also celebrating Kolby's upcoming graduation from med school. It was sooooo nice to finally take a break from all the studying and hours spent at various hospitals and clinics.

I didn't realize how much we needed this getaway. It was really rejuvenating to just have fun without a care in the world.

I don't know what I did to get such an awesome, special husband. He is truly the greatest! I feel so blessed every day to have him in my life, as well as our three little pards. God surly knew what he was doing when he created families. Can't wait to see what's in store for us over the next ten years!

Big Changes on the Horizon

As we speak, Kolby is finishing his last day of rotations as a medical student at OU. I can hardly believe that come May 28, he will be Kolby Johnson M.D. What a ride! The last four years have been filled with millions and millions of hours of hard work and sacrifices made by this awesome guy. And let's not forget his supportive wife who kept the family running in his absence and his beautiful kids who allowed him a LOT of quite time to study. That's no easy task when you're little.

Oklahoma has been an amazing place to live - even if it has introduced us to the wildest weather we've ever seen. We have met some of the most wonderful people here and been blessed to live by family, too. I know that we were meant to be here and have these great experiences as a family.

We are now in for another big change. Kolby was offered a family practice residency position in Pocatello, Idaho. Crazy to think we are coming home! We are heading out in June to start the next chapter of life - one with a paycheck! Congratulations Kolby on your MAJOR accomplishment. We love you and are so proud of you Dr. Johnson!

Bits and Pieces of April

Spring is in full bloom in Oklahoma. Here's a little bit of what's been going on this month:

Klive (or Special K as he is now known around our house) has taken a liking to rolling around the house. He still has no desire to crawl, but the alligator death roll seems to work just fine to get him from A to B.

These girls have been enjoying some fun in the sun. I am worried that our water bill is going to be outrageous this month due to all the sprinkler use. Oh well, better enjoy the heat while we're here for one more month.

This front tooth finally fell out. I should say June cranked it out. She's one tough cookie. Too bad she already stuck her tongue in the space - now that gold tooth is out of the question.

Klive said his first word. Of course, it was "Dada." That's three for three kids who said Daddy's name first. To be fair, he has started saying "mama" too, but only when he's hysterically crying and in dire need of a bottle or bum change.

This guy was the target of an April Fools joke. You're welcome for the sweet tail, Kolby.

Klive finally started taking naps during the day. At this point, I don't care where he's taking them. I'll take what I can get.

We've had some fun time with our cousins. We are going to miss these cousins like crazy.

These two are trouble with a capital T.

And June spent some quality time with Nana learning how to use her new sewing machine. She made an amazing Princess and the Frog skirt for Winnie. What a nice sister.

Lucky Number 7

What do you get when you add three birthdays in one week . . .

Seven dozen cupcakes of various themes, shapes and sizes . . .

and . . .
10 best-buddy cousins all hopped up on sugar and nitrates?

You get a three-ring circus! And one tired mom.

We had an awesome time celebrating one big birthday in March: Kolby turned 34, June turned 7, and Lyra turned 3.

Lucky for us, Our Bott cousins flew in for the big surprise. June came home from school and they jumped out from behind the couch. You would think there would be screams, cheers and hugs, but these kids just got right down to business and played hard.

Except for this boy, who had to take hourly breaks from play to eat four times his weight in chips and candy.

On the day of celebration, we headed to the bowling alley for some rowdy fun. Who knew you had to make an appointment a month in advance to get a spot at the lanes? We learned the hard way and had to dash across town to find another alley that would take us in.

So we bowled . . .

and bowled . . .

And bowled some more.

Then we headed back to Nana's circus tent and loaded up on bowling ball cupcakes, popcorn, and hot dogs.

Even these boys got in on the cupcake action.

Now mom is all cup-caked out. Seriously, I never thought I'd see the day when I couldn't stomach one more cupcake.

And so this little lady is 7.

Junie B. She's getting tall and skinny like a bean pole. She's a book-reading fool who never misses an opportunity to get a bug or plant under her magnifying glass. She's a helpful big sister who's learned the art of rolling her eyes rather than lashing out at her pesky siblings when they get into her stuff. She's a mostly-patient teacher to her sister who wants to be her mini-me. She's a singer in the car on her way to school. She's Dad's study buddy and Mom's fellow cook in the kitchen. She's our one and only June Bug and we love her like a son-of-a-gun.

Grandma time

True to form, I'm playing catch-up again. Let me take you all the way back to January. Grandma Ivie packed her bags and came for a nice long visit to see all her kids in Oklahoma. It's been such a long time since we got to have a real visit - We're usually lucky if we get to spend a holiday with her every couple of years. I hope she enjoyed her time here as much as we did.

Grandma has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all things culinary. She taught Tish and I how to make homemade chocolate cake and sourdough pancakes. Priceless skills! We also took a day and went to the temple as a family to do some work for some of our ancestors. The kids also had a ball playing with Grandma. June's still working hard on the homemade coloring book that Grandma brought. It makes my heart happy to know that my kids have finally gotten to know my Grandma Ivie.