Jivin' Johnsons

November 2011

2012-01-15T12:49:00.002-07:00

November came and went like a speeding train!! Josh spent most of November up in SLC working. The boys and I partied hard while he was gone! ha ha :) We went to park and played in the leaves a few days, that was lots of fun. I took the camera and snapped a few shots.

My mom and dad purchased a new house so we spent Thanksgiving break moving their stuff!! The boys really enjoyed getting everything out of the storage units!

We had Thanksgiving dinner on the 26th because we weren't sure when Josh was going to be able to make it down. He did end up making it down in time but I hadn't defrosted the turkey....oops! :) So we doubled up my birthday and Thanksgiving dinner. Josh made me a delicious chocolate cheesecake with strawberries dipped in chocolate.

The neighborhood boys had to have their own turkey bowl! The had lots of fun Josh had to show off his mad skills and agility with all the weight he had lost.

We had a great November :)

Halloween 2011

2011-11-09T19:31:00.001-07:00

2011-10-29T20:40:00.001-06:00

This year we went to the first annual Hurricane City Pumpkin Fest. It was lots of fun, they had trick or treating for the kids, a spook alley, entertainment, food, and games. Braxton really liked trick or treating, but he was being shy and wouldn't say it... it was a good warm up for Monday though. They played all the games and won fun prizes. The spook alley was a little too much for Braxton, he started out really strong but they had a section that was all black and you had to crawl through the tunnel. He didn't like that so we turned around. Boston was more interested in the skulls that had eyeballs that changed colors. We had hot dogs for dinner and the boys both ate every bite! It was a fun night they had a magician as entertainment. Braxton was pretty into it, but Boston was done! So we didn't watch his whole show. My boys were some of the cutest kiddos there! ( I think they might know it too!)

Hurricane Irene = Josh's First Deployment

2011-09-10T17:23:00.001-06:00

Josh has been deployed to the east coast to write claims for Allstate Insurance for the homes that were damaged as a result of Hurricane Irene. He got the e-mail Saturday the 27th of August. He flew out of St. George at 6 am on the 30th. He went to Philadelphia, PA for orientation and Allstate specific training. He was then given 15 claims in North Carolina. He is learning a lot as he goes from claim to claim. He said he could definitely tell when he crossed the border in NC because there were trees down all over and you could see a lot of the damage. His claims have been in a few different cities all relatively close together though. He has met a lot of nice people and seen some amazing houses! :) He closed out all of the original 15 in a week. He now has 6 new claims. We will see what happens next. That is the hardest part, just not knowing what the future holds or how long he'll be away.

We love him and miss him lots, but we are proud of him. It's hard work being away from your family for an unknown period of time. He is trying to stay positive, though sometimes I get complaining calls ;-P It takes a lot of courage to go out on your own in a new career and to be away from the family for an extended period of time, We LOVE you and Miss you DADDY!!! Keep up the hard work :)

Changes Changes Changes

2011-08-30T19:26:00.000-06:00

Summer is over as we know it, and its back to the wind and grind of work! Lots has changed over the past month in our house I'll try to recount as much as I can.....
First Josh gave his notice in July that he would be leaving AAA. He was very kind and gave them 3 weeks notice, everyone parted in a peaceful way. He didn't feel like disaster restoration was really the career he wanted for the rest of his life. So the end of July he went to Denver for an 8 day class that certified him to be a CAT insurance adjuster in 44 states. He enjoyed learning some of the new aspects, he already knew lots of the stuff from having worked with insurance adjusters and companies doing restoration. He passed his Texas all lines test with 95%! Wahoo we were so proud of him! :)
So when he got home it was back to work for mommy. Well since daddy had to wait for a disaster to strike he got to stay at home with the boys! What an adjustment for him......going from working full time-- if not over time to staying at home all day with our 2 almost 3 year old and 1 year old! :) to make matters worse it was a crazy week for me I had things scheduled from 6 am to 6-7 pm all week. It was not the best week to start being a stay at home dad. things calmed down the next week a little bit, but still slightly hectic. By this point dad had the boys in a routine for the most part.
So Leslie's change was that I started teaching severe special education at Hurricane Elementary. I have had so many people ask me which I like better general education or special education. But honestly it's not something you can compare. I absolutely loved teaching my 2nd graders for 3 years. But I love the students with severe disabilities that I have now. They keep me laughing, and stressing and busy just the same. I have 6 students on my caseload. 2 kindergarten 1 first 1 second and 2 third. I have 3 part time aids to help me out too!

ThiNGs I have leaRNed this SuMMer (2011)

2011-08-06T18:38:00.000-06:00

I took my friend Nikki's challenge to post 10 things I learned this summer,
excerpt from her blog....but holds pretty dang true to me!! :)
Because school is about to start and I am a teacher, I feel inclined to reflect on the summer and what I learned. I think that it is highly important to continue to learn while in the summer months, (did you know that the average student looses nearly 1/2 a grade level during the summer break? Crazy huh?) so...I have compiled a list of things that I have learned during this summer, so I do not have to face the fact that I may have gotten a little dumber...and probably a lot lazier...

So here it is......

Things I have Learned Summer 2011

1. Potty training can control your life!! Braxton is 7/8 of the way potty trained. He is just slightly obstinate and still poops in his undies....ugg I hate cleaning poop out of undies~ hence why I used disposable diapers.
2. The splash pad is AMAZING! seriously the kids can play for hours, but lesson learned Mommy must wear her swimsuit and plan to get wet!
3.Boston CAN DO lots of things that he doesn't want to do.....Like walk, go down the stairs the right way ( he now does this all the time) play by himself! He took like 6 steps to my dad, not wobbly or anything but will he do it again, Uhhh NOOO!
4. I hate clutter!!! ya it's true I discovered that I HATE it!!!
5. When I don't drink enough water, I get killer headaches. Ya I've known this along time, but discovered it this summer.
6. It feels so nice to have your (new) classroom all set up before the week before school starts! Thank you summer school!!
7. It doesn't matter how much you plan and plan, things will always go wrong, just roll with it.
8. I like having my body back! ( not pregnant or nursing,) I actually feel kinda skinny and cute!
9. My family is my life......if you look at my Facebook posts 90% are about my kids/family
10. You are never too old to have your momma help you! She has been my life saver this summer, helping me with the kids, classroom, party planning and fixing up the house and yard!

And now... in true teacher spirit, I challenge you all to post 10 things that you have learned over the summer. Seriously, I want you to do it or I might think that you too, have gotten a little dumber...:)

Boston's1st Birthday!

2011-07-24T23:14:00.001-06:00

WOWZA! I can't believe how time flies. Boston turned 1 on July 23rd, 2011. He is growing, I can't exactly say he's big! :) ( He still fits into 6-9 month outfits) We had a little party for him with lots of family. It was lots of fun! We are glad that so many of members of our family were able to come down form northern Utah to help us celebrate!

His invite....

Here is a picture overview of his special day!

4th of July 2011 & Boston's First Haircut!!!!

2011-07-14T23:14:00.002-06:00

Braxton has a festive red nose from a fall he took at the family reunion....it's not a scrape, but a burn. I can't help but think he's adorable even with his silly nose owie!!

I'm pretty proud of my festive hair-bow~ I totally made it myself :)

Since we were up in Northern Utah for the wedding and family reunion it was natural to stay for the 4th of July. We ended up going to the Parade in West Jordan, it was lots of fun....they had some great floats (one thing that I definitely miss about N. Utah parades) Bands, dancers, all sorts of things to keep the kids entertained! I took a gazillion pics :)

Later we went to Josh and Lyndsay's for a BBQ it was fun! Boston got his first haircut, he looks just like a little man!

We went to Josh Anderson's parents to watch the fireworks and have s'mores, Uh YUMMY!

Dunn Family Reunion & Family Pics

2011-07-14T22:32:00.000-06:00

We headed to Northern Utah for a wedding a family reunion--It was very convenient to have them in the same weekend. My cousin Andy got married to Jessie in the Bountiful temple on Friday. It was beautiful, the kids were good, and it was great to see all my cousins. The dinner was delicious~ Boston devoured everything he could....he did create a little bit of a mess in the process! The next day was the Dunn Family reunion in Kaysville. Grandma Rae Harding was in charge of it this year. It was lots of fun, the boys loved having so many friends to play with! :)

Boston really enjoys eating corn on the cob!!!

Scruffy felt like he should share the stroller with Boston! :)

We took some family pics at a park in Kaysville while we were there....here are some of the best shots! :)

The boys were in love with the ducks......half of the pictures they are looking at the ducks, not the camera! Josh got some crackers from the car and we fed the ducks, it was great they would come and get it right out of your fingers. Braxton was enthralled with it all!

Josh's 29th b-day & Fathers day!

2011-06-25T09:56:00.000-06:00

Josh had his 29th birthday on the 18th of June, he got quite spoiled, not by me, by him! He's so funny he buys things then tells me that I don't need to get him anything. Well that just isn't how it works around here! So between the two events that are just for him, he got himself new golf clubs, new golf shoes, a month pass to Sand Hollow Golf Course, and a smoker ( for meats and such). Then I got him 2 new pairs of shorts, some shirts, flip flops & two John Bytheway books. He got a golf club cleaner set from my parents a golf shirt, and some flip flops. He got a visa gift card from his parents. So as you can see, he was not lacking in gifts even though the two events basically ran together!

We had my parents over for dinner saturday, as a birthday/ fathers day dinner. This was what Josh dished me up as I was feeding Boston his mashed potatoes.

Braxton was using his cup cake sand kit to make us all cupcakes, he brought one to daddy,

and to mommy! Thanks Brax you are so thoughtful! :)

Schools Out!

2011-06-21T13:00:00.000-06:00

So it's officially summer in my book, Schools out!!! But we have been hanging out at my new school trying to get my room all set up! Let me tell you there are lots of fun things to play on and with in a severe special education classroom..... Braxton found some balls that I haven't inflated yet, he thought they made a nice hat! :)

The mini trampoline oh boy they spend tonz and tonz of time on this....Boston loves to hold on and jump jump jump!

We also spend lots of time out in the pool....of course i have no pictures in the actual pool, but I had promised Braxton that we could swim after his nap, then silly mommy couldn't find the pump to blow up the pool, so we improvised! He loved it! :)

Braxton is trying to blow up the pool! Good Luck Kiddo!

Memorial day weekend family had come to st. George so all the kiddos got together and played.....Braxton and his cousin Ashlynn were inseparable! They played in the sandbox and on the slide and swings....it was lots of fun! I had my camera, but didn't snap any photo's until it was time to go....

Sunday afternoon when we were headed over, I love the hand under his chin!

Braxton & Boston on the stairs

2011-06-01T13:54:00.000-06:00

Boston LOVES the stairs! He is a maniac, he;ll climb the stairs as fast as he can, turn around at the top hanging over the step and holler for someone to come get him. It is the cutest happiest squill. I've been working with him on how to go down, and Braxton has been watching closely. A few mornings ago while i was doing the dishes i heard Boston hollering for someone to come get him, only to look ans see this....I grabbed the camera and caught this priceless moment.

Dinner Dilemma

2011-05-31T21:30:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been in a dinner rut. You know when you make the same dinners over and over. Last night Josh wanted me to make this delicious pasta my mom had made last week. I didn't have the right ingredients so he looked up up a yummy summer pasta and made us a delicious dinner. So today I decided that I was going to make some new dinners this week! I found some really great recipes at disneyfamily.com So tonight I made chicken tostadas! Get the recipe here They were delish!! Hopefully everything I try will be equally yummy!

A lot of randomness....

2011-05-27T14:44:00.000-06:00

Leslie graduated from the

University of Utah with her Masters In Education!!!

Our cute little family!

The whole gang @ graduation, minus the photographer!

The oh so proud mom and dad!

Julie Johnson and Grandma Rae Harding

Braxton wanted to wear Momma's cool hat too!

A glimpse into the future, he probably won't be sitting on my lap though! :)

Josh sporting the cap........Someday babe!

So I really finished in December, but the Commencement was in May. It was fun to go up and walk! I'm so happy that I choose to get it done, and made it through with the love and help of my hubby and parents. Life after having nightly classes and homework is amazing. You have time for everything! :)

Braxton!!!!

Braxton is becoming such a cute big brother. Boston loves to follow him around and try and do whatever Braxton is doing. The other morning while I was getting ready for work Braxton took matters of entertainment into his own hands!

Braxton LOVES to play outside in the dirt with his wheelbarrow and shovels! He will just go out on his own and play for hours.....not even joking! He takes his flip flops off and gets to work! The other day he asked for water in his wheelbarrow and he tried to carry it down to the dirt, but it spilled on him. He told me to take his shirt off, so we got some shirtless pictures.

His Dirt...My Garden....he WON
the tomatoes are in pot's this year!

on to........

Boston!!

Oh my how times flies! I can't believe my little man is 10 months old! AHHH well he is a speed demon when it comes to crawling! He absolutely loves the stairs. He will crawl up turn around hang right over the edge of the first step and holler at me, squill and squeak. He won't for the life of him turn around and come down on his own. He loves it when I turn him around and pull his feet down, so he slides on his belly.....just not on his own. This has led to a few mishaps on the stairs though....he has tumbled down a few times, think he'd learn....apparently NOT!

He has two adorable teeth on the bottom they are a smidge crooked and it's adorable (ya I know won't be adorable if they stay that way! ) He has decided that big people food is where it's at! He loves oatmeal....mashed potatoes....and esp MAC-N-CHEESE oh he loves this amazing food, mom can feed him, or he can feed himself.

Boston is also trying to walk, and climbs on everything!! He is constantly climbing up the toys to see what else he can find in the toy box. If someone, or something is in his way he'll just climb over it! He tries to climb up my side while I hold him. He pulls himself up when ever he can, even if the item isn't stable! He is using his little walking toy and has figured out how to get himself back down now too!

Here are a few other random pics of the boys........

Watching Braxton play in the dirt outside!

If you made it this far.....Congrats!

I'll be sure to post more frequently, and stay caught up!!

Leslie

The Jivin Update.......

2011-04-28T18:34:00.000-06:00

   Well we are slackers when it comes to updating our blog, but I shall attempt to update what I can think of. Braxton is getting big, the time does fly, you older veterans with kids were not kidding that it goes by so fast. He is hilarious, his vocabulary has the cutest phrases, my favorite is that if you sneeze he will say, "Bless you daddy", or "Bless you Mommy", and if he sneezes and you say bless you to him, he will say, "Thank You", and smile, I love this kid. He is sometimes a handful, but to tell you the truth if you truly know your kids, it's not that bad going through that stage. We enjoyed Easter very much, Braxton received a lot of candy that we really have to manage, or ration, because the kid wants candy all the time, he doesn't even eat his healthy food if there is candy in sight or if you slipped out the word, "Candy", in front of him. He loves to go on walks, and ride in the car with his window down, if it gets too cold he will tell you to role it up. He loves his brother Boston, and wants to play with him like a big boy already, but, Boston is not quite there yet. And, he will occasionally share whatever he has, if you ask him, sometimes he is not in the mood to share, and wants it for himself, I don't blame him, because I am sure we can all be like that at times.
   Boston is crawling, and finally starting to climb the stairs, Daddy is helping him a lot on that part, all Mommy says is, that it's time to get out the gates for the stairs. He has one tooth and more are coming in. He has got the cutest baby giggle in the world, and the cutest smile, he must get it from his mom. He also likes to play with Big Brothers toys when he gets a chance. He really hates it if your eating food that he can't have, so when we make something we have to make sure we make something soft and smooth that he can have. Les, will have a new job next year teaching severe education at Hurricane Elementary, I believe she is exited and ready for the new challenge, I do believe she will miss teaching the second grade , and the many friends she met at Three Falls Elementary. "Good luck honey, WE LOVE YOU!". As for Dad, he is still working hard as a restoration Technician for AAA Disaster, at times it is fun, and at times it is very stressful, but it is very rewarding when you make someones day when they have something fall a part on them. Well, I am sure there is more news I have not mentioned, but that is all I am saying for now. Enjoy life everyone!!

Easter Mania!

2011-04-28T08:29:00.005-06:00

Braxton received a lawn mower for Easter and judging on his face I think he has awhile until the Big lawn mower comes into play. Love the face, bud.

He also received and trike motorcycle, he loves putting anything and everything in the bucket seat, so if we can't find the remote or our keys or even our car keys, we know just where to look!

Braxton got a wheel barrow and some gardening tools, well Boston thought it was his. Apparently he loves playing with the big boy toys which is fine by us.I think he wants to be grown up so he can play with Braxton more!

Braxton and Grandma Harding playing with his bubbles outside, this kid loves his bubbles, it's great hearing him laugh and try to pop the bubbles when Grandma blew them.

Braxton needed help from mommy on his Easter egg hunt. I guess the basket started to get heavy. Looks like daddy will start to get heavier with all that candy as well, for those that know I love chocolate.

Apparently the easter bunny was not hiding the eggs hard enough, because this kid found them all, way to go bud!

With these last pics we could not help but have Boston get in the festivities, so he found one egg and was trying to eat it, too bad it was a hard boiled egg, he is getting there!

Hope all had a wonderful Easter, and also remembered our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Love to all!

Braxton is 2!

2011-03-07T23:47:00.000-07:00

My little man turned 2 Dec. 31st! We were up in Salt Lake for my Grandpa Hall's 90th birthday shindig so we celebrated while in the snow! (Grandpa and Braxton share a birthday)

For his birthday we went to the Children's Museum at the Gateway Mall. He had a blast! :) oodles of pictures and they are all action shots. He wasn't about to stop and pose for a picture.

We had Elmo cake and ice cream with the family at Grandpa and Grandma Johnson's house. Braxton stuck his finger in Elmo and mommy got after him. So he looks like he's going to cry in some of the pictures. Bad mommy! :(

After cake and ice cream we got to go visit Josh's friend Nic at work. Nick is an EMT and Braxton was in heaven to see the ambulances. Nic went the extra mile and gave us a tour, Braxton got to put on the oxygen mask, watch mommy get hooked up to the heart machine, then decide he wanted to get hooked up to, he got to turn the siren on and sit in the drivers seat. He was so happy!! He absolutely loves fire trucks and ambulances.

The next day we went up to Roy and took Grandpa Hall to breakfast, then went out to his open house later in the day! We sure love Grandpa Hall!!

Christmas Card

2010-12-20T12:59:00.001-07:00

Just so no one feels left out!!

Pictures, PICTURES, & more pictures!

2010-12-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

Warning: Not for the faint of heart...oodles of cute, adorable & precious pictures ahead!

Snow!!!

2010-12-14T18:27:00.000-07:00

Braxton absolutely loved playing in the snow....this was before he had all of the snow gear too! I had to bribe him to come inside. Then he would want to go back out. Jamie & Chases condo got oodles of snow for playing in. Braxton was even good about staying away from all the yellow snow!!

Braxton's first time ShOOtinG!! ya, a GUN

2010-12-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

So while we were up for thanksgiving the boys always go out shooting.....this year they decided to take Braxton. Daddy got him all decked out in winter apparel, it's really for Christmas but he got to wear it early.

If you ask me he knows how to pose!! He's showing off his cool boots that light up when he steps!

The boys.......Braxton, Josh A. Troy, Garret, Gage, Chase & not pictured Josh J.

Ready aim....FIRE

He was lucky enough to ride in the Rhino with the Gain Boys ( mommy approved he was seat belted in)

It was just a comfy enough ride for a nice nap!! :)

They had a blast!! Braxton was so full of energy and happy when he got home!

Thanksgiving & Leslie's b-day

2010-12-14T17:21:00.000-07:00

We were up in Salt Lake this year for Thanksgiving. We had a really fun time. Some of the highlights are...
Making rolls for Thanksgiving dinner at Jamie & chases house...the upstairs bathroom was the hottest room in the house so we used it to raise all of the rolls in! It was funny!!

Going up to Layton to meet Nicole for my birthday. We had lunch at the Olive Garden. Everyone thought that Boston must have been her's! :)

I love this one.... it's like they are communicating with each other! So funny :)

Nicole modeling her Christmas present... I wanted her to be able to use it, so I had her open it early!

Josh had gone to the mall with Chase on black Friday, well if midnight counts! he got me tonz of Victoria's Secret lotion!!!! I was all out, it was just what I needed! Braxton kept getting them out of the bag and smelling them, then taking them to Jamie to smell adorable!!

SLC 11/18-11/21

2010-11-23T14:05:00.003-07:00

Last weekend we went up to SLC for Hurricane's state game. They played hard and ended up losing to Juan Diego. The drill team did a wonderful job!! Yeah! That's what really matters to me! :) the poor things were freezing. Josh took the boys up Thursday night, he took our bishop's boy Corry to help with the boys on tracks getting up to the game. He also took a co-worker up with him, so he had lots of MANpower for the kiddos. I rode the bus up with my girls; boy 4:30 is sure early to be on a bus!!

We stayed with Aunt Jamie & Uncle Chase. The weekend was uneventful, restful and fun. We went to get ice cream and braved the storm!

Braxton & Grandma Julie

Jamie & Chase

Julie, Jack & Braxton

Josh, Boston & I

Josh A. & Lindsay

It obviously snowed while we were up in West Jordan, since it was Boston's first snow storm I took a pic!

Saturday Morning we headed to Cabela's, Josh had a gift card from his birthday burning a huge hole in his wallet!! We had tons of fun playing around!

Boston's Blessing

2010-11-23T07:59:00.000-07:00

We Blessed our tiny little man November 1st. Josh did an amazing job, I love that he honors his priesthood and is able to perform that wonderful ordinance. He is a wonderful daddy and husband. Here are a few pictures from the day.

We are glad that so much of our family was able to make it down to share in his special day!

haPPy haLLowEEn

2010-11-08T22:09:00.001-07:00

Braxton's first horseback riding experience. He was just thrilled that he got to ride Joe. He was so cute chillin' all by himself....as Joe started to walk he wasn't so sure, so momma jumped up and went for a ride too!

After the Horsey ride we carved our pumpkins......Braxton really seemed to enjoy himself! He really wanted to cut the pumpkin on his own too.....maybe in a year or two! :)

I was just messing around taking some 3 month pics of Boston and since it was Halloween I made them festive.

Braxton and daddy all dressed up for trick-or-treating! We had a blast, Braxton was such a trooper we took both kids out in the strollers and hit more than half our ward! Braxton made a haul!! He was upset when I had to dump some of the candy out of the cauldron so he could get more....but as soon as he got more candy at the next house all was well!

Momma and Braxton, momma was a hick, or what ever you want to say.....just all dressed up in random weirdness!

Boston, Momma, and Braxton Showing off the candy pile!

Jesus

2010-10-26T21:04:00.000-06:00

Tonight while the home teachers were here Braxton picked up this picture off of the t.v. stand and said Jesus. It filled my heart with love and joy......my little man knows who Jesus is, and probably better than you and I as the veil is still so thin since he's only been away from our Father in heaven for a short 20 months......... I'm a very proud mommy. (What a good job they are doing in nursery too!)

3 months old

2010-10-23T16:40:00.000-06:00

I Have been a major blog slacker, so much has been going on.....I will do better, promise!

Boston is 3 months old today!!! I can't believe that all the craziness was 3 months ago, feels like last week~

Boston with frankie!

Since it's so close to Halloween I thought I would capture the day with a little bit of festivity!

Just a little update on him. He weighs 11.4lbs He is smiling and reacting to people talking to him. He loves his big brother and is very loved by Braxton too!! He doesn't quite fit into the 3 months clothes....but newborns are getting a little tight :) He's a little fussier than Braxton was but he will take a Binky so that helps a ton (Braxton would have nothing to do with a Binky!)
Look for another post with the rest of the family update! :)

Busy, Busy, Lives!!

2010-09-27T09:18:00.002-06:00

Not much has been happening lately, I have been busy with school, and Leslie has been busy teaching school, and going to school, thank goodness she will be done this December, she is pretty stoked about it all, and so am I, I get frustrated when she is stressed. Leslie has also loving her extra curricular job of coaching the Hurricane High drill team, it gets her back into dancing and back in shape, and the girls are happy they have a full time coach, they have not had one for a couple years, the bad thing is is that they won't do any competitions this year but will participate in them next year. The boys are doing well, Braxton is starting to pick up on little words here and there, and little habits, for example, I had a couple of my deacons over for ice cream on Saturday afternoon and one of my deacons kept wiping his mouth with his shirt, needless to say we had to change his shirt after Braxton finished his ice cream cone, not exactly the habit we want him to have, but it was cute to see him copy everything he did, Les thought it was hilarious too. Boston is growing up so well, he is now a little over 9 lbs, Les knows the exact weight, I have trouble remembering at times. He is such a bundle of joy, both our kids are!!! And, I have a good wife that is happy with her three handsome boys, I know because she told me. Leslie is the glue of this spectacular family, God knew what he was doing when he made woman, men are lost without them. Cherish your wives, even though at times things are stressful and not so good, you can always cherish them, they do so much for you and your kids. There should be more days throughout the year to honor them, besides Mothers Day!! Love you Les, your the bestest!! Anyways here are a few photos of our kids! Enjoy!

Aunt Nicole, holding Boston, on her Birthday,(Well, the day beforeher Birthday.), Happy birthday Aunt Nicole!

Braxton Loves his back pack, he carries it around all the time, it's a little big and heavy for him at times, but he'll grow into it.

Braxton was so tired, he fell a sleep eating his lunch, funny kiddo!!

Zzzzzzzzzz!

Braxton caring for his little brother when he fusses, or is in reaching level!

Ahhh! Kisses from big brother!

I guess he is in protection mode, no one touch or mess with my Bro!!

Boston really tired! He loves sleeping on his boppy!

Dad repositioned some sprinklers in the back yard, and Braxton decided to help out with the dirt. (As soon as the planter box is not in use I will make a sand box for him, he'll love that.)

Boston chilling in the sun, while daddy is working on the sprinklers, mommy was helping daddy and Braxton, so he slept in the rays!!

My Story.......

2010-08-10T13:18:00.000-06:00

This is my story of why I decided to come a month early! Well everything had basically been going smooth while I was in mommy's belly. First they thought she had placenta previa, so she got to have an extra ultrasound where they determined that she didn't have placenta previa, and that I was big for my gestational age. Well that was good news for mommy because it meant that Dr. Thompson would be willing to start her early! Well things kept progressing and she took her gestational diabetes test, and her number was too high so she had to go back in and take a 3 hour fasting test where they drew her blood 4 times. The results were in our favor and all was well. So then at the beginning of July mom started swelling up, nothing too bad, and it would be gone in the morning after she was off her feet......Well it kept getting worse and worse, at her Dr's apt on July 21st her blood pressure was up just a little bit, and she had proteins in her urine. Well that was not good, they told her to come back on the 23rd and they were going to take her blood pressure and protein count again. So Thursday night mommy asked daddy to give her a priesthood blessing. She could just tell that things weren't going to go as planed. The Lord assured her that even though things weren't going as planned that everyone and everything would be fine. That gave mommy lots of confidence as she went in to the Dr's on Friday. Well her blood pressure was 160/115 or so which is really high and her proteins were out of control high too, so they told her and daddy that they needed to go over to the hospital and they would do a stress test for me, to make sure I was ok and then see what the next step would be.
   Well they dropped of Braxton with Grandpa Jeff, and headed to the hospital, when they got there they hooked mommy up to all the monitors and I passed my stress test, I was doing great :) They took an ultrasound to make sure fluid levels were ok, as well as everything else. This is when Mommy and daddy started to realize that everything wasn't alright. I was measuring like I should be due at the end of September, well my due date was August 20th. So that was a bit of a fright....but they saw that my lungs were functioning and so that was reassuring. Well with all the information they gathered they said that Mommy was going to have a baby today!! She was really excited yet it was still kinda surreal.
   I'll let mommy tell you about what happened next! So when I went in I was dialated to a 2, they started me on the Pitocin and because my blood pressure was so high they had to start me on Magnesium too, which meant I had to have a catheter. The risk of the magnesium is that it passes to the baby, which can shallow their breathing. Well I didn't have too many options so we signed all the papers and were ready to have a baby. Dr. Thompson came over about noon and broke my water to get things moving. I had the epidural about 2ish. They had me laying kinda on my side, something to do with the magnesium and my lower back was killing, so I asked the nurse if I could adjust and she said " oh that's prob. the baby crowning....let me check well sure enough it was and I was like a 9 and 1/2 she said it'll be no time know. Then I threw up just enough to push him the rest of the way. She said that Dr. Thompson was on his way but that they were going to have everything ready because Boston was coming really soon! So they got me all situated, all the nurses came in as well as like 6 people from the NICU. This was a precautionary thing as they didn't know what was going to happen.
  Well Dr. Thompson walked in got his gown on and told me to hold my breath and count to three, and suddenly we had a baby....The nurse told me to look down, and there he was. The Dr said stop pushing......now just a little push and he was out. He could barley reach to be put on my belly his umbilical cord was very short.....and his placenta was tiny.   He was breathing fine on his own and so after they evaluated him the NICU staff left. I got to hold him and love him! He was a perfect little package weighing in at 4 lbs 14 oz.

I wish this was the end of the story but it's not. They couldn't get mommy's blood pressure to drop so she had to stay on the magnesium which makes you feel awful.....she couldn't keep any food down and would throw up the pain meds too. So they had to put them in her I.V. it made her feel better. This finally stopped on Saturday night...no more I.V.  Then Sunday she was supposed to be discharged but her blood pressure was still really high that morning, they were talking about making her stay......she was not happy about this. So when Dr. Thompson came by and said that we could go that evening she was extactic!!

I had to pass a car seat test before they would let me go, 90 minutes sitting in the car seat......I passed with flying colors! :)

Daddy and Braxton came to the hospital to pick us up.....as we were walking out we got lots of comments on how cute our little family was! :)

"Boston" Born July 23rd, 2010 Weighed 4 lbs 14.4 Ounces 17 inches long!!

2010-07-24T08:23:00.000-06:00

Leslie holding Boston after delivery, she is very happy he is here and well. Congrats Mommy!! We love you!

Baby Boston under the heat light, his body temp was not where we would of hoped, but he is doing ok!!! Here he opened his eyes a little bit!! Love you Boston!!!

Big brother Braxton, he does not know exactly what to think of him yet, he still thinks he is inside mommies belly, because we ask him where Boston is, and he still points to Leslie's Belly. You'll be a great big brother Braxton, we love you too!!

Finally, after waiting for the doctors and nurses testing my newborn son, and Leslie feeding him, daddy (Me) got to hold him for about 10 minutes. He is so tiny, I can't believe it. I love you Les, Braxton, and my new born son, Boston, you all mean the world to me!!

Boy toys!

2010-07-19T10:46:00.001-06:00

Braxton recently got a BOY toy....Ironman.... Our niece and her dad are living with us, and Braxton likes to play with her toys. Well daddy says they are girl toys.....so DADDY bought Braxton a boy toy!! He absolutely loves it! He loads the weapons, and says "RIRE" and pushes the button to make them shoot! So cute :) Then he runs after it, grabs it and puts it back in. I snapped some pictures of Josh and Braxton playing after church. I think they are two very handsome men!

I love this action shot......

and just for fun another belly picture!

Braxton's 18 month old fun!

2010-07-12T20:48:00.001-06:00

The long and short of it! ~The new do~

2010-07-07T22:25:00.000-06:00

So if you hadn't figured it out from the previous post, I decided it was time for a new do-- so I chopped it all off! I did this about 3 years ago, so it wasn't as hard this time. Because I've highlighted my hair, no one will take it so I have two pretty sweet braids in my dresser drawer!! I absolutley love it, it's so light and fun to have such a new hair style......I know lots of people can't believe I would cut off my long locks, but they grow back, and my hair grows really fast! :P So here is what you have been waiting for.....my beautiful self portraits......Braxton isn't very good at taking pictures yet! :)

The long and short of it!

2010-07-07T10:02:00.000-06:00

Happy 4th of July

2010-07-04T20:41:00.000-06:00

We had a fun little BBQ on the 4th and this was our Yummy dessert!

Otter Pop tutorial........

2010-07-02T16:33:00.000-06:00

Braxton absolutely loves otter pops!! But what kid doesn't?

Just thought I would share a little of our fun with you!!

June in a nutshell~

2010-06-29T14:52:00.000-06:00

Some summer fun........

2010-06-24T19:51:00.000-06:00

Road Trip!

2010-06-03T16:04:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we headed down to Phoenix, AZ to visit Josh's brother Tom. It was a long drive, but actually quite pleasant! We went to the Zoo while we were there with Tom & his little girl Dalilah and some other friends Scotty, his wife and son. It was lots of fun, Braxton definitely liked the petting zoo the best though! He had to pet all of the goats....no one could feel left out! Ha Ha :) We had a fun little BBQ with everyone and swam. Braxton is not afraid of the water at all, He will go right in, climb out of his tube, anything to get into the water! Swimming lessons are on the checklist!

Braxton's first time Rappelling

2010-05-12T18:35:00.000-06:00

Braxton got his first go at rappelling on Tuesday night, since Josh is in YM's and I am in YW's Braxton gets to tag along to combined activities. Our activity was rappelling.....as most of you know I absolutely love rappelling, well being six months pregnant i couldn't find a great place for the harness around my waist so I was in charge of the food. The girls absolutely love Braxton and were taking him all over up the mountain. Josh decided that he was going to take Braxton down with him, so he got him all harnessed up and hooked him to his harness and headed down the cliff. Braxton was so cute he was looking all around giggling. When they got to the last 20 feet where it's a free rappel Braxton clung to Josh....he couldn't figure out where the rock had gone :) Of course I hadn't taken my camera...but one of my girls got it on her phone so the resolution isn't marvelous but still fun!

Mother's Day

2010-05-12T18:20:00.000-06:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day! Josh & Braxton made waffles, they were very yummy! Hung out till church....after church my parents came and brought me a present and I gave her hers'. Then Josh made steaks and potatoes for dinner, It was a marvelous day! I can't say how much I love being a mom, and can't wait for #2 to get here!

Our little Hoop Star!!

2010-05-01T11:02:00.000-06:00

Josh took Braxton to the store last week, and this is what he came back with! Braxton didn't want to go to bed that night, he just wanted to play! It was so cute~

I had Josh take some pregnancy pics.....this was a week ago mind you. But here I am 5 months prego!!

Kite Festival & Stuff!

2010-04-22T17:24:00.001-06:00

My dad is the Hurricane Valley Chamber President this year, and they had their business expo on March 17th. My dad called me and told me that I needed to come check out the Bat-mobile---so I headed over with Braxton (Josh was with the scouts camping) and we took some pics. Braxton is still a little young to be into it, but I'm sure the day will come!

Then we headed over to St. George for the annual Dixie Escalante Kite Festiville. We took My mom with us and had a good time....Braxton went on the slides with momma, and the bounce house wasn't his favorite. I have to say that we woke him up form his nap to get out of the hot car and go........

The train ride was fun......Oh look at that wonderful baby belly going on! :)

Even though it wasn't windy, we were able to get his kite up for a minute or two until he tangled himself in it!!! Ha~ gotta love trying to get kite string unwrapped from his legs and shoes and oh ya everything!!

Easter!!

2010-04-05T15:20:00.001-06:00

Its a..(long Dramatic pause).....BOY!!!!!!

2010-04-01T18:28:00.000-06:00

Most were hoping that the result would of been the other way around like my wife but the outcome unfortunately for them it's a BOY!!! So now I have my Middle linebacker and my future Outside linebacker!! Both will choose there own desires and goals in their life, but for now as a dad, I can help them on a path; if they choose to stay on it, is up to them. We totally got a lot of family members on the story of were having twins for April fools day, but for some we had to cut that story short because the world would of found out on the joke and then we would have to make it right!! Due date will be sometime in August!!! Will keep everyone posted on any further news!!! And remember IT'S A BOY!! :)

Easter Pictures

2010-03-27T18:36:00.002-06:00

Warning!! Picture overload, I just couldn't choose which ones not to inculde~

Hope you enjoyed the fun!

Home sweet home!

2010-03-25T15:54:00.000-06:00

Here's an update on the whole fifths situation.......

So the plan was for me to go back to the house on Tuesday. My loving mom was going to go clean the place with Lysol while I was at work to make sure that it was all sanitized. So I'm talking to Josh Monday night making sure everything is in order and I ask if the little guy had been at the babysitters since that first day. He's like uh I don't know. Call her, so I do and I find out that he was there that day. That the blisters were gone, still had the rash, and shouldn't be contagious.......... SHOULDN'T.........Well that kinda upset me. I'm not sure that shouldn't is a good enough answer for me. So we make arrangements for my mom to watch Braxton until the little guys rash is gone and he can go back to the sitters without it hurting mommy.

So Tuesday I'm thrilled to get to see him, I get home and he's busy climbing on the bed and playing.....not super interested in mommy....OUCH.....that kinda hurt my feelings but I also anticipated it a little bit. But as soon as I started playing with him he was all into me! YEAH! It's so marvelous to be back home and be able to spend time with my boy! You don't realize all you miss until you can't be there for everything!

.......Exile.......

2010-03-19T15:29:00.000-06:00

Just to keep the world updated on the goings on around our house.........

I have been exiled from the house, which means that I can't see Braxton or Josh or go in the house while they are not there.

The reasoning........
Braxton was exposed to Fifths Disease, this really doesn't effect him too much other than he might get sick, though it can cause a miscarriage if I were to get it. (It's really pretty harmless for anyone that isn't pregnant!)

Bottom line......... I've been exiled!!!

Luckily I have a great girl friend who is letting me crash at her house and use all her stuff! :) Josh is taking care of Braxton full time after work, and being MR. MOM!! I'm thankful that he is so willing to do this for the safety of our little pea, he didn't even hesitate he said you can't come home I'll take care of everything.

Here's the story for those who want to read more.

I'm driving home from my masters class on Tuesday night and I gave josh a call to see what was going on. He tells me that I can't come home because Braxton was exposed to aldfdlfhadjklsfh. ( well that is what I heard). I'm like what? So he says it again and says you need to call Sam and see if you can stay with her. I'm still all sorts of confused so I'm questioning him, and he is suddenly not there. So I'm freaking out, what is going on.....try to call him no answer, try again, no answer......WHAT THE HECK! He calls back and says he was on the phone, he explains what's going on better and lets me know that Braxton is fine, and will be fine but, it can cause a miscarriage so I have to stay away. He's already called the Dr. I'm basically home by now......So i'm like can you get me some stuff......He's not thrilled but I convince him that clean underwear are a good thing and he packs a bag for me and throws it on the porch. I got my laptop and school books as well, but that was all!! I head over to Sam's and work on my paper that was of course due the next day!
Wednesday I went in to the Dr.'s to see how long I needed to stay away he tells me that the incubation period is 4 to 7 days so if he doesn't break out with the rash within a week i'm good to go home. That Braxton's risk of getting Fifths is low because the other boy already had the rash, but agrees that it's better to be safe then sorry.

So I had no Green for St. Patrick's day....Had to explain to my students why and they all laughed that Dad's don't remember holidays!

For mommy....it's been weird to be here, but not be able to be home, I miss my boys terribly but I'm glad that everything will be ok.

For daddy........well, he told my dad that it sucks!! But I think it's been some good father son bonding time!

We're expecting!

2010-03-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

Good job Nicole! She figured out my riddle--- Josh and I are expecting a new addition in late August Early September! We are so excited for Braxton to be a big brother!

I've had 2 doctors appointments and listened to the crazy fast heart beat, you forget that feeling the first time you hear it! Just unexplainable. I'm starting to get a little bit of a baby bump, I had Josh take a pic on Friday so I could share it with you........

Riddle me this......

2010-03-06T16:50:00.001-07:00

Riddle me this, riddle me that, I've got a riddle for you to figure out~

1+1= 4 ( Josh + Me = 4 feet)
2+1= 8 ( Us + Jake = 8 feet)
3+1=12 ( Us+ buddy = 12 feet)
4+1= 14 (Us + Braxton = 14 feet)
5+1= 16 (Us + new Baby = 16 feet)

Leave a comment with your answer and the answer will soon show up!

For the love of .....Strawberries

2010-02-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Braxton's new love is strawberries! They were on sale so I bought a few packs......I happen to love strawberries myself! When we got home from the store he picked up one of the containers and was carrying it around, I asked him if he wanted a strawberry and he got all excited!! I washed em, and gave him a bite. This process continued through 4 strawberries. He got distracted and went on his way. Only to come back a few minutes later making piggy noises at me, I tried to give him a bite and he freaked, he wanted to hold it. So I put him in his high chair took off the stem and gave him the whole strawberry........and he was in heaven!

All DONE!! What mom, I got it all over, no way!!

President's Day Get Away!!!!!

2010-02-19T18:19:00.003-07:00

For Presidents Day this year we decided to head down to CALI! Josh wanted to visit his Grandma & Grandpa Johnson, who live in San Luis Obispo. Which he hadn't seen in oh like 15 years! So we got everything packed and headed out Saturday morning at 2:30 am!! YES 2:30 am~ We thought that would be great since Braxton would sleep the whole way!

Well he slept till I made the turn off to go to Bakersfield and then decided that he was hungry. Good thing when we stopped at McDonald's in Mesquite I got a fruit and yogurt parfait-- it became his breakfast! The ride down was gorgeous......everything was so lush and green from all of the rain! Then we got to Highway 58.....so we turn off on this little tiny dinky road, and we are thinking that the GPS has stopped working.....so we check the next crossroad and make sure we are in the right place, and we are; so we keep driving. Well for all of you who aren't familiar with California Highway 58 let me just give you the quick and dirty.......DON"T TAKE IT!!! STAY FAR FAR AWAY!!!! It is a little farm road that weaves up the huge mountain.TO make matters worse it's incredibly windy/curvy/twisted! Needless to say I got very car sick! Like lets stop and throw up every 15 minutes~ Then we lovingly found out that Braxton has my weak stomach! So after 3 stops and outfit changes and car seat clean-ups we went 15-20 mph the rest of the way off that road! Needless to say, that added an hour or two to the journey! The best part is when I called Jack ( Josh's dad) and he's like why the heck are you on that road!! My only answer was the DANG GPS!!!! But we did arrive safely!

This is Braxton with his Great Grandma Johnson

We went and saw the Hearst Castle on Sunday, we did one of the guided tours......it was sweet!

This swimming pool is the indoor pool and all the Gold that you can see in the tile is real! They say that you get to walk on gold while your at the Hearst Castle!

Just up the street 6 miles from the castle was the Pregnant Elephant Seals......We went up to check them out and they were all over the place, the babies were so cute, we only saw them from the road though.......they have them pretty protected, designated viewing areas and all!

We went to lunch at Fat Cats, per Jacks suggestion! It was yummy! But rather crowded, we kinda spaced that it was Valentines Day! :) The beaches were packed too! But then again it was 78 and sunny! Oh I just soaked up the rays!! Braxton was being so cute while we were waiting to be seated, he kept wanting Grandma to pick him up so he could sit on her lap! Too cute!

After lunch we went to the beach, it was Braxton's first time!! He was so cute, he would pick up the rocks that were in front of him to clear his walking path! When the tide came up the first time he wasn't so sure about that cold water, but he soon got used to it and was loving it!

This is Great Grandpa Johnson and Braxton before we left Monday morning! All smiles! :)

We decided since we had gone that far we would stop over in Apple Valley and visit Grandma Cramer and Uncle Bill's graves. Braxton loved the pictures he just kept pointing!

Josh & Grandpa

Leslie & Grandpa

We had a wonderful time, lots of fun memories, and I'll have to post some pics later with Grandpa's amazing handy work!

I'm 1!

2010-01-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

Braxton turned One Year old on December 31st! My how time flies I can't believe that I had a brand new baby boy a year ago! He is such a joy and pleasure to have. He can always make me smile, he is so inquisitive and has a contagious smile :)

We got to have two different celebrations for his BIG DAY! We had a fun party on New Years eve at our house, then we went up to SLC for my cousin's wedding that weekend and we got to have another fun party while there. He had lots of cool new toys and some super cute new outfits! The draw back to having a birthday right after Christmas I'll have to buy all his clothes for the rest of the year! Ha Ha!!

Christmas

2010-01-07T19:36:00.000-07:00

For Christmas this year we were up in SLC we stayed with Josh's sis Jamie and her hubby Chase. This is their dog Brody opening his present from our dogs Buddy & Jake. He is really getting into it, pushing it all around, hilarious! :)

This was the reward for getting the present open a lollipop! (for doggies)

Braxton opening his present from Aunt Jamie and Uncle Chase, he did such a good job of holding it up for the picture!

After helping daddy open our present from Jamie a& Chase, he thought that it was a toy to climb on! Ha ha the boxes are just as entertaining as the toys!

Braxton going after another present from Grandma and Grandpa Johnson.

Oh, sweet a toy! I'm all done! Mom dad you open the rest of the presents when I'm done with this one I'll come investigate! :)

When we got home from Salt Lake we had Christmas with Grandma Karen and Grandpa Jeff, didn't get any pics but he sure got spoiled!! He loved every minute of Christmas!

Floody Floody :)

2010-01-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

I came home from dinner and games with some ladies at work and found this, for those who are unfamiliar with my house, it's not normally this piled up in one location!

When I walked around the desk I found Josh working away on a flood, in our house, yes! Well the perk of the whole situation is that i didn't have to pay someone to come and and fix it since that is what my hubby does!!

This is what the wall ended up looking like. There was mold on the baseboard and climbing up the back of the dry wall so it all got replaced~

This my beautiful strawberry patch was the culprit of it all, the drain comes down off of the roof right into the dirt, well apparently it wasn't draining down like it's supposed to, it was soaking up all of the dirt underneath the patio and seeping into our basement! So now I have plastic coving my strawberry's and when that comes off it will be a pig black plastic pipe to ensure the water makes it as far away from the house as possible.

Bottom line.....it pays to have a handy husband!

Happy Thanksgiving & Birthday! :)

2009-12-04T16:29:00.001-07:00

Braxton is so ready for his tatoes and gravy~ Yum Yum ~ He wasn't too thrilled about the cute little 'My first Thanksgiving' hat that grandma gave him.

Our Thanksgiving feast! Randee, Moser, Miles, Braxton, Josh, Dad & Mom

Happy 25th Leslie! Look at that pretty cake Josh made! :)

We musn't forget the beautiful flowers that my wonderful Girl SAM sent me !!

......and she wears whitey tighty's.....

2009-11-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

So today in my class we were writing who am I poems.....one of them was hilarious so I thought I would share.

I am the biggest in the class.
I have long hair.
I have smelly feet.
I wear a necklas.
and she wears whitey tighty's!
Who am I?

Well....if you couldn't guess he was describing me, so after the class guessed Mrs. Johnson the kids were asking if I really wore whitey tighty's and I said well that's what he says...and another boy piped up and said they are called garments! Ah the beauty of teaching 2nd grade!

I love my job! :)

My first hair cut

2009-11-13T16:34:00.001-07:00

So momma decided that it was time to get rid of the shaggy do----She put me in the sink and cut off all of my hair! But I guess I look like a handsome stud still so I wont complain!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-07T16:41:00.000-07:00

We went to out to Tuachan for a Halloween festival,--it was geared towards elementary ages kids but we had fun looking at the crafts~

Everyone loved his cute little ducky outfit!

We had a fun party at the house......I had to make homeade rootbeer, it's tradition and Braxton loved the dry ice!

We had a very Happy Halloween~ hope you did too!

For dogs or for Kids?

2009-11-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

Well, if you ask Braxton he will say for kids!

Just in case you can't tell he's playing in the dog water!

Braxton & I up at SnowBird!

2009-10-25T16:24:00.003-06:00

I had the opportunity to go up to SnowBird for SpyHop training for work, Lori was kind enough to watch B while I was busy making movies and such! We had a really great time! On the way down I stopped and took some pics of B in the leaves....this one is my FAV!! :)
The sky......oh how pretty are the mountains :)

I know you can't really tell, but that is snow falling from the sky! Yes Yes! It didn't stick but it sure came down hard!

My naked boy! He loves the remote! :)

Daddy, I'm ready to go work out!!

2009-10-10T20:18:00.002-06:00

Ranting

2009-10-04T22:44:00.002-06:00

So you try and be all supportive of the home town ways and go to the homecoming football game and what do you get?!?! A dumb lady who ruins your night! ARG I just wanted to scream!! So our school district employee's and a guest get into the games for free, right? WRONG....you have to have this dumb little sticker on the back of your badge, that they no longer give out....so how in the heck are you supposed to get one?!!? Beats me!!! So after we got all decked out in our Hurricane colors Red & Black --parked a mile away--waited in line for 15 minutes and the stupid lady wont let Josh in....but wait I watched her let a fellow teacher and her spouse in just 3 people in front of us! Yes so I revolted and didn't pay the $5 bucks for Josh! I showed them! Watch out HHS athletic department you might just get a strongly worded letter from a disgruntled former fan!!!!!

Dear Family & Friends

2009-09-13T14:00:00.003-06:00

I really like ice cream! In fact I like ice cream so much that when my momma let me have a lick or two I wanted the whole thing!! So I grabbed it~ momma tried to keep it away from me, but I'm pretty strong and I won!! Well until daddy helped

so I thought that I would eat the napkin instead--she wasn't paying attention she was trying to get my mess cleaned up!
Well guys that is about all I have to tell you right now, but I sure do love that cookies and cream ice cream!

Love

Braxton

Three Bears Creamery Cottage & Zion

2009-09-13T13:13:00.006-06:00

After we went to the North Rim, then down to buy me some Jewelery from the Indian ladies we headed to Kanab, Josh was craving some DQ.....but we didn't think there was a DQ in Kanab so we found this cute little place that served ice cream. I got a ginormous waffle cone with cookies and cream ice cream and Josh had a sunday type dessert with cheesecake and ice cream and strawberries--he liked it but he said it wasn't big enough :) We all know Josh and his ice cream!
They had the cutest little Baby bear and momma bear and poppa bear chairs I couldn't resist the pics!

Braxton in Baby Bears Chair....yep mom it's just right!:)

Leslie in Momma bears chair Josh in Poppa Bear's chair

After we had our ice cream we headed to Zion, Josh hadn't ever been through the top of Zion so it was fun.....we stopped to take this pic and a mosquito bit me! I couldn't believe it--it's been 5 or more years since i've been bit~ Then we got stopped by this herd of big horn sheep....we watched them for a while it was fun, they were bucking at each other and running back and forth across the road!
We continued on down the road and Josh got to experience the tunnel! He was amazed at how long it was, and how much rock was above his head! Braxton wasn't a fan of the dark, he started screaming...weird! But we had a fun time on our break from being sick!!

Now we are home and back at work, well I am, Josh got worse as I got better. What started out as a cold progressed to the FLU......no not the H1N1 you may ask he is lucky in that aspect. He woke up Thursday morning with a temp of 102 degrees. He went into the insticare and they confirmed the Flu and prescribed bed rest. He is doing a bit better but he still has no energy and coughs and wheezes if he is up doing anything for too long. The worst part about it, our little man is now coughing and has a runny nose. He has also had a diarrhea a few times--hopefully it will not persist into this week!

North Rim

2009-09-13T12:53:00.004-06:00

For Labor Day Josh & I decided that we were done being sick and sitting around the house, so we headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We had a run ride out.....it was a lot longer to the rim from the turn off then either of us remembered :) When we got there we went to the lodge and on the little scenic walk with Braxton! It was so fun to hear everyone say how lucky he was to be in the stroller.

So we were hiking back to the Lodge and this squirrel was just sitting on the trail he moved as Josh put his foot down to step--so we thought he deserved to be part of out post!

Johnson Family Pics

2009-09-04T10:55:00.007-06:00

All of the events were in HONOR of Julie's 60th Birthday! Though she didn't have a clue she just thought that since Tom was comming up that everyone decided to come up and take pics! Boy did we have her fooled!

We took Family pics at Wheeler Farms this are one's that I took in between all the individual family shots.
Jamie & Julie

Gabe & Peyton Uncle Matt & Braxton

All the Cousin's old enough to walk! Watching the ducks

Breckyn, Preston, Jadyn, Peyton, Dalilah, and Ashlee

Preston, Breckyn, Jadyn and Ashlee

Chase Jamie and Lori

Matt & Lori

Tom & Dalilah

Braxton's first trip to Lagoon!

2009-09-04T10:35:00.004-06:00

Braxton's very first roller coaster was......none other than Puff the Magic Dragon! He didn't cry or scream he just hung on! It was so cute when we went down the first hill, he gasped! I loved it! I think he is definitely going to be a thrill seeker!

Josh had to be the cool daddy and win Braxton a prize! He was so cute he even made sure he had extra cash before we went in so that he could play some of the games! He won him this cute big tweety bird by popping like 15 balloons at darts! Braxton absolutely loves it!! He wouldn't let go, it was so stinkin cute :) Rattle Snake Rapids....need I really say more? Josh hung behind with Julie and the baby's ( he didn't want to walk around wet all day!) But he snapped some good pics! Our boat was Tom, Dalilah, Jack, Jamie, Chase and I. We were doing great just getting wet enough Dalilah was loving it laughing at everyone; then we went under the waterfall and got drenched, I mean Tom Dalilah and I didn't have a dry spot on us! This was when Dalilah decided that she didn't really like the ride and was going to cry the rest of the time. Poor girl :(

This is after the ride, my shirt is really a light color of green, and no I don't have nine pounds of hairspray in my hair to make it look that wet!! Josh just hanging out with the lil' ones-- Braxton and Ashlyn!

We had a fun time at Lagoon it was super crowded, and quite warm, but it was fun to have the whole Johnson family together just hanging out!

Braxton climbing the stairs

2009-08-07T10:15:00.003-06:00

cHRisTMas IN juLY

2009-07-31T13:31:00.002-06:00

Our Friends Nikki and Warrin had a Christmas in July party on Wednesday! It was so fun, we were supposed to wear Christmas socks and bring Christmas foods and a white elephant of course!

Josh didn't have any Christmas socks so we turned his Christmas pants into shorts! I put some of my reindeer socks on Braxton~ I thought they looked quite festive.

Nikki had all her Christmas decor out and about it was so cute! We had some yummy yummy food, and played the white elephant gift exchange. There was only 1 steal and it was at the very end of the game; I suppose I need to bring something horrible next time, or something way good--who knows. All in all it was a really fun night!Nikki and her cute little guy Cole!

MERRY CHRISTMAS IN JULY!

Sand Mountain

2009-07-28T08:54:00.003-06:00

Sand Mountain is this giant hill covered in sand! So we headed there Friday evening for a nice little outing! Braxton & I made it to the top! With a little assistance from Ty for the last 10 feet! Here we are on our adventure up! It's more work than you'd think to add a 18lb kid!

Everyone at the top! Yeah we made it:)

Braxton and I headed down! Lots of people do crazy stuff down the hill, we were boring and just walked.

Lake Powell

2009-07-27T16:38:00.006-06:00

Braxton & I got to go meet Melissa & Ty and his family for a fun filled week of Lake Powell. I only have some of the pics from my camera...still awaiting pics form others cameras.

So Melissa sends me a text Monday morning ....she says we should come over and meet her at Powell! Who can resist Lake Powell? Definitely not me!! Since a day's notice isn't enough to take time off work Josh couldn't come but he was kind enough to tell us to go anyway.

Tuesday we headed to Lone Rock campground. It's about 2 hrs from LaVerkin. Braxton was good and slept most the time, because of some delays in leaving my plan to drive during nap time was foiled. But he did sleep until he decided it was time to eat, so I stopped in Kanab and nursed him in the grocery store parking lot :) When we got back on the road he decided to scream for 20 minutes or so. We arrived safely!

We ate lunch and Braxton got his first sand experience! As you can see he headed straight for that new stuff, right under the lawn chair.

Digging his hands right in, no reserves. I guess this means he's not afraid to get dirty---ALL BOY---

After lunch we got swimsuits on and headed out for a run in the boat. Here is Braxton in his cute life jacket, he wasn't so sure about the contraption that he couldn't crawl around in! Ty's niece McKaela took a liking to Braxton she was constantly playing with him! She was an awesome helper! This is her teaching Braxton how to properly play in the sand!Ty's nephew Kayden was also quite the fan. He thought that Braxton should cover himself in the sand! Braxton agreed that that was a good idea! Ty's mom Karen had brought glow sticks for us to play with at night.....little bug got to play with some because he woke up--he was fascinated he tried to eat all the different colors. This is the crazy sand castle that Melissa, McKaela and I built. It took forever.

Braxton loved to play in the lake, he would sit and splash in the water! He found the boat rides to be very relaxing and would fall asleep in mom's arms. We had a wonderful time, I'll post more as I get more pics!

Personality

2009-07-15T16:19:00.003-06:00

Braxton is getting such a cute little personality! He is such a happy guy!

These pics were after tubby time! He just loves his duckies but he loves it best when mommy blows on his belly after I lotion him up!

Look at those mischievous eyes.....if you look close he has the camera cord in his left hand!

I just liked the red accent in this pic!

He has started to have a grown up cry though....it's a lot louder and he lets you know when you pissed him off!! Like if i take the sippy cup or water bottle away from him.

He is such a joy to have---I love watching him explore and learn new things everyday!

T is for TROUBLE

2009-07-15T16:07:00.004-06:00

Mom & dad are in trouble! Braxton has figured out not only that he can *CRAWL* places but that he can climb on things when he gets there. While I was putting laundry away yesterday he decided that he wanted to climb in my suitcase!

It's not that he is full on crawling but it's a little more advanced than the army crawl, he gets up on all fours, moves his knees forward, then does something very similar to the worm, and starts all over again. He can get anywhere he wants pretty dang fast :) Looks like it is time to baby proof the house!! So we go to get a baby gate for the top of our stairs......get it home and oh wait it's not meant for the top of stairs. Apparently there are only 3 kinds that can be put at the top of stairs!! I suppose I'll have to return this one, and get one of those. Not sure where though Wal-Mart didn't have a top of stairs baby gate?!

Messy Boy :)

2009-07-13T12:51:00.002-06:00

I know everyone has messy food pictures --I thought I would share a few fun ones with you though! Braxton was having some sweet potatoes--he decided that he needed to wipe his own mouth, then his head and as you can see this is the result!

4th of July

2009-07-05T21:02:00.004-06:00

We went to the Hurricane parade, it was short but Braxton liked it! He wasn't even bothered by the sirens.
We had lunch and went swimming with Grandma and Grandpa Harding.
We had a BBQ @ Uncle Mike's. Josh and the girls put on a fireworks display for us, then we went and watched St. George's fireworks display! We ended up a ways away but it was ideal as we didn't have to wait in traffic to get out! :)
It was a fun 4th of July for the whole fam!

Leslie's Needs

2009-07-02T13:30:00.002-06:00

So my sis-in law tagged me. You go to google and type in your name's needs. So I typed in Leslie's needs. This is what I got......
1. Leslie needs a fat reality cheque
2. Inquisitive Leslie needs lots of attention.
3. Leslie needs to catch up with Obama web savy campaign
4. Leslie needs to find a place in Paula's life
5.Leslie needs a home.

I tag Nichelle, Nicole, Desi, Aubrey, and Sydnee.

Look at ME!!

2009-06-25T15:05:00.006-06:00

WARNING.....many cute and adoreable pic's ahead!!

So for a quick Braxton update:

**He is sitting up all on his own now for 10+ minutes at a time.

**He's been rolling around for a month or so now! He can get where ever he wants. :)

**He's figuring out the crawling thing, he gets up on his hands and knees and can take one step forward before crashing and he can push himself backwards quite nicely.

**He loves, I mean loves the dogs. He watches them so intently, and giggles at everything they do!

**He's been eating rice cereal and fruits and veggies for a little over a month now and absolutely loves his food! He has to have his own spoon when I feed him so that he can shove it in his mouth in between bites!

I think that about covers it, All I have left to say is what did I do before I was a MOMMY! Man can life get any better?

Hogle Zoo

2009-06-25T14:28:00.005-06:00

While we were up in Salt Lake we decided to take Braxton to the zoo. We met Nat and her girls there. It was lots of fun, Braxton was so good--no crying or fussing! We saw the birds of flight show; for those who haven't seen it, it is awesome go see it! The eagles were swooping down right over our heads the lady in front of us got flapped by a wing! Braxton was enthralled he just watched and followed them where ever they went. Fox 13 News was at the zoo to promote the Madagascar exhibit so Josh wanted to get our picture taken with Big Booda (sp) so here you are Me, Braxton and Big Booda.

We had fun, can't wait until Braxton is older and can enjoy the animals even more!

Josh's B-day

2009-06-24T09:08:00.005-06:00

For Josh's birthday we went up to SLC to celebrate with his twin sister Jamie! It was lots of fun. Josh wanted to go 4wheeling for his birthday....Well as many of you know the weather was not exactly good this last week! But we went anyway!We stopped to look at some things right as it started to pour, we headed up the trail a bit more but it was no longer a dry stream bed :) We decided to turn around and head back down the mountain, This is what we looked like at the end of the ride. I think the correct term would be water logged :~)Hey look, I found some dry spots!!

Braxton giggiling

2009-06-10T16:45:00.003-06:00

Braxters

2009-06-10T07:56:00.004-06:00

Ok, so I have this adorable video of Braxton laughing, I tried all day yesterday to get it to upload.....it wouldn't and when it finally did there was no picture just sound. I will continue to work on it! But for now here are some cute pics.

He likes to have one leg sticking out of the covers just like daddy!

Ogden- Memorial weekend part 2

2009-06-05T21:00:00.003-06:00

Sunday morning we drove up to O-town to see Nicole and Jake and have breakfast. Nicole made some yummy pancakes for us!

This is so Braxton.....OHH hair let me try it! "what flavor of shampoo do you use?!" The look on her face is classic! Maximus just wanted to lick Braxton to death! Braxton again grabbing and pulling, Maximus was better at dealing with it than Brody.This is so typical male, the only thing missing is Josh sitting next to the boys watching T.V.After breakfast we went to the cemetery, then we headed over to Grandma & Grandpa Hardings, when they weren't there we went up to the church to see if they got out @ noon. It was like 12:03. Sure enough out comes gramps...Josh rolled down the window and hollered at him, he looks over and says what are you doing here Joshy?! Then we hurried back down to the house before grandma saw us and waited for her to come home, we were standing in the driveway waving when she pulled up. It was a fun surprise visit. This is Grandpa, Scruffy, Grandma & Braxton!!

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-06-05T20:37:00.006-06:00

Josh Braxton and I headed up to SLC for Memorial weekend. We visited my Grandma Hall's and Uncle Randy's graves up in Ogden and put flowers there. Braxton was asleep in the car so we didn't get any pics.

We also went to grandma and grandpa Hewlett's graves and got some pics there--They are in the same cemetery as President Hinkley so we wandered over and saw it too.

Aunt Jamie & Braxton, this is one of my favs! p.s. her shirt is really blue! :)Here is Braxton & Uncle Chase.....they are bald buddies!! (even though Braxton has lots it's just blond) Braxton loves dogs...Brody however isn't sure that he loves Braxton pulling at his ears and such.

Grandpa Johnson & Braxters! I thought this was a fun one of Braxton Hanging out on the couch with the rest of the grown ups, he's the only one that can play with his toes so easily though! :)

I love this pic of the two men in my life; what can I say, I'm blessed.

Sleepy heads

2009-05-13T11:08:00.004-06:00

This morning after I fed Braxton I laid him in bed next to Josh, when I got out of the shower this is what I found....I couldn't resist!! :)

mY 1st mOmMa's DaY

2009-05-12T11:53:00.008-06:00

Mothers Day was wonderful, what can I say! The joys of being a mom are infinite! It's such a blessing to be a mom and have a wonderful husband; I thank my Heavenly Father daily for such wonderful gifts.
My mom and I went to lunch on Sat. and did a little bit of shopping!
Then Josh and I had a bunch of people over on Sunday for a Mother's Day BBQ! Oh it was fun to get everyone together. We had our neighbors, Walt & Gene, then our Friends Tom & Joy, Pat and my parents as well as Scotty one of Josh's co-workers. We had hamburgers, polish sausages, my dad made the marvelous Hug Hess salad, Joy brought potato salad, and we had chips and lemonade. For desert we had Marie Callender's pies. A peach lattice with vanilla ice cream and a Razzelberry Satin thaw and serve. Oh yummy yummy.

Not everyone was in the picture, some people had left.

This is Grandpa Pat ( he's not really his grandpa but we call him that)! He hasn't held a little one since his kids were little 40+ years ago

Josh totally surprised me with an amazing gift-- I couldn't believe it. We had needed a case for our super nice Olympus camera ( only downfall to the camera is it wont take B&W pics). A while back I was pestering Josh to let me get a cannon powershot that has some freaking awesome features. But he talked some sense into me and said that we had a perfectly good, if not great camera that was not even a year old. So after 15-20 minutes of pestering I gave up and had kind of given up on the idea. Well Josh brings the old camera out and a cute little case and I thought oh awesome we've needed one of these. So I open the case to put the camera in and found the Cannon Powershot that I had wanted!! I was so excited I couldn't stop thanking and kissing him!!!

These are some of the millions of pic I took messing around with the settings....I isolated the green in his blanket.
This one is obviously got the blue isolated! It's so fun stay tuned for more crazy pics!

School!

2009-05-12T11:45:00.002-06:00

So as most of you know I teach school--this means that I only have 8 days left of work until summer break~~ YEAH~~
Well I decided to be adventurous and 'Cease the Day' and get my masters degree through the University of Utah. So I crammed back in Feb. took the GRE ( now that is a test that will make you feel like an idiot) Passed it got accepted into the program at the U. Then I'm talking to my academic advisor and he tell me that there might be a way to get a huge grant, but he'll have to see if there is funding left, and see what kind of strings he can pull. He tells me that he'll get back to me Wed or Thurs of the next week. So he calls me on Wednesday with the 'bestest' news in the world! He worked it out so that I can get the grant to get my Severe Special Education endorsement which they pay me to do, then I turn around and finish my masters with only 15 credits left and pay for it with the money they paid me~ Sweet Deal eh?
So needless to say, though I only have 8 days left to teach I'm going to be busting my but with my own classes!!

Sleeping

2009-05-12T11:37:00.004-06:00

Braxton is doing such a wonderful job sleeping at night! If he wakes up it's usually around 3 or 4am. He can fall asleep on his own after our bedtime routine. We read 2 stories sing a song--give a kiss and Say I love you , Time for to go nuh-night!! I know I'm cheesy!!
The funny thing is he has to have something right up by his face, his blanket and stuffed star, or the bumper in his crib he is such a goof--but it scares me I have to go in and move him after he falls asleep.:)

Swimming at the pool

2009-05-12T11:29:00.004-06:00

Braxton and I went swimming on Sat, he absolutely loved it!! He talked and cooed and smiled and splashed. We had a great time.

Tubby time!

2009-04-22T11:57:00.003-06:00

Braxton got to play in the tub last Sunday! It was so cute, he loved his duckiesLook at him hord all of his ducks---daddy doesn't get any!

YaY for SLeeP :)

2009-04-22T11:54:00.002-06:00

Last night my little man slept for 9 1/2 hours! Can you believe it! He went to bed at 8:30 and didn't wake up to eat until 6. Mommy was thrilled, her chest throbbed a bit but hey, it was well worth the pain! I know that it may not last, however I was just excited that it came!

some family pics!

2009-04-19T17:33:00.002-06:00

Easter Weekend

2009-04-13T16:18:00.003-06:00

For dinner on Friday Josh prepared quite the feast! Watch out Cafe Rio here comes Chef Josh!! He even did the pulled pork! What a guy :)Aunt Jamie and uncle Chase stopped by on their way back from Cali to say HI! Jake decided that he should just be one of the humans and sit on the couch!! Aunt Jamie with her nephew Braxton.

Easter Sunday was such a pretty day that we took Braxters outside (so he would stop screaming) and because he loves to be outside! As you can see the boys are protecting their baby again--"you watch that way and I'll keep a look out this way"

Johnson Look-alike Meter

2009-04-05T18:49:00.001-06:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Free genealogy - Geneology

It's YouR biRTHday ShOuT HooRAY!

2009-03-31T08:06:00.002-06:00

Happy 3 month b-day Braxters!!

We got him a bouncer, he absolutely loves it! He can't totally spin himself around yet, but he grabs at things and pulls and pushes.

The keys play music and light up, he just stares at them as you can see!

He really likes to make that froggy spin! His eyes get humongous every time he does it!

Saturday I took him to the pool for the first time....we didn't get in because I couldn't find any swimmers @ the store. I'll have to keep my eye open for them! But I lathered him up in sunscreen and he hung out in the shade while mommy worked on her tan!

So his swim suit is more like pants at the moment, but they don't make them small enough. It's a conspiracy :)

2009-03-26T15:54:00.001-06:00

Braxton and Daddy outside watching for the space shuttle-- We went and met Ashlyn, this is Jayden holding her! Jayden didn't want to go to bed.....she wanted more turns! :)

Silly Mommy

2009-03-20T20:21:00.004-06:00

I decided that I wanted to take some pics of the cutest kid in the world. So being the silly mom I set up studio in the bedroom and had fun, until Braxters decided that he was done of course!

These are just a few of them that I played around with....see what you think!

SO....maybe I'm cheesy but I think the hat is sooo cute!?!

SaY ChEeSE

2009-03-10T15:56:00.002-06:00

Like Father, Like Son

2009-03-10T15:50:00.002-06:00

So Josh was hanging out with Braxton Saturday morning watching Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse Club House. I walked downstairs to find this awesome set up for Braxton so Josh could go make breakfast, I thought it was hilarious!! :)

Braxton's Blessing

2009-03-04T10:25:00.004-07:00

We blessed Braxton this last weekend. It w as fun to have all the family down. He was incredibly spoiled, I don't think he was set down for more than 10 minutes the whole time! :)

Josh did an amazing job with the blessing it made me a very proud wife and mommy!