Happy Birthday to John

Look who turned 36 today!!!!
Happy Birthday to You!

Poor John had to work ALL day on his birthday--until 10 PM. He managed to come home for 45 minutes to eat dinner and have some cake. I love John so much. He is such a good father and husband. This semester has been tough. He is teaching 6 classes which means keeping track of about 180 mostly writing students. He hasn't been home much Monday-Thursday, but boy do we look forward to his 5 week break in December and January. I decided to post some random pictures in his honor.

He LOVES his little girl.

and his mom

This is when he met his most adored favorite all time musician Pat Metheney

Our last getaway- to Las Vegas- sad, this was almost 2 year ago!!!!! We need another vacation!

Boogie boarding with his father in law

Climbing trees on the "Trail of 100 Giants" in the Sequoia National Forest

Jared's Baptism- Awesome day!

Completing his 3rd Triathlon (May 2007)

We love you John!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Soccer Mania

I haven't blogged about my second born in awhile. Poor middle child. Jaden has been busy playing AYSO soccer. John was able to be the assistant coach this year and in between teaching a class at BC and then rushing to teach a class at CSUB, he managed to swing by and take Jaden to soccer. Jaden had fun--most of the time. He struggled with a constant runny nose and cough for the first half of the season which made it hard to run full out. I finally got him into the Dr and discovered he has allergies. Aaaaaah, that Bakesfield air. We had a great season. I hope he will continue to play.

Jacey watching the games

Jared Sings on the Ice

Jared auditioned for and made the school choir. (Yay!) Last weekend the choir sang on the ice at the opening game for the Bakersfield Condors hockey team. We were all there to support him.
Jared and his friend- Chang Ho

Jared going on the ice. He was excited and nervous.

The choir singing America the Beautiful.

The hockey game was fun to watch too.

Jacey had a busy weekend with lots of family, and she was a grump. She refused to pose for any pictures.

My sister Jamey and Joanna

Happy 60th Birthday Dad

My wonderful dad, James Johnson, turned 60 on October 14, 2008. We surprised him with a dinner out at KC's Steakhouse, and then we went back to my parents' house for dessert . I made a nice slide show dvd of his life thus far. I scanned over 150 photos into a 14 minute video. Here are some pictures of the night. Unfortunately after dinner, we picked up the kids to bring them with us for dessert and things got crazy and loud, and I didn't managed to take any more pictures.
When he walked in. I think we really surprised him although my kids threw a ton of hints in the weeks leading up to this.

Dad and crazy Mom

My dad's sister JoAnn and husband Rich

My Dad's other sister, Nancy

My brothers- Jake and Jeremiah

My sister- Jamey

Getting ready for the retirement home- being fed

Happy Birthday Dad!

It's A Parade

Jacey had her bike parade at school last week. Her preschool does a unit on transportation and it culminates in a bike parade. They have patriotic music playing while the kids ride up and down the driveway, class by class. She was too cute.

Jackson checking out the parade

Giving me some attitude when she didn't want her picture taken

She came around and smiled

Fun on Ice

Jacey received Disney on Ice tickets for her birthday from Grandma. They finally came into town 2 weekends ago and she was so excited to go. We had front row seats with a super close view of the whole show. I didn't realize how cold it would be so close to the ice. Brrrrrr. She had to sit in the my lap the 2nd half so that we could keep warm. It was a fun mommy/daughter date.

This is how close to the ice we were.

After the show

I Love My Little Guy

I was so finished having kids after Number 3. I felt it was all I could handle and I got my girl. Life was great! I knew that John felt we should have another and that bothered me. Having a fourth wouldn't change his life, much. He would still get up and go to work and come home at the same time everyday. It would change EVERYTHING for me. I felt like I wanted to be a good mom to the ones I already had and that having another might send me over the edge. In the back of my mind though something was whispering to me that we weren't just finished yet. I tried to ignore it. I really did. But it kept getting louder and louder. I finally humbled myself and started to pray about it and I took it to the temple. And within months of my heart softening and realizing yes, there is another one and yes, it's the right thing, I was pregnant. John was hoping for a girl while I secretly wanted a boy. I'm not sure why- it just seemed like it had been awhile since I had a little boy. We got a little boy and he is the sweetest thing. I'm so so so SO glad we have him. He has been such a blessing in our lives. He is seriously my best baby by FAR. He is a testimony of answers to prayer, and of the temple, and of all that is good in this world. I couldn't resist taking these pictures of him the other night. He just makes me so happy. I find it hard to complain about anything with him.
He can't walk or stand alone yet- he is leaning against the couch. My prediction is Thanksgiving. (He'll be 15 months)

I was feeding him crackers and little tiny bits of popcorn to keep him happy while we were watching a movie. Bad idea- a few minutes after I took this picture- he choked, gagged and threw up. My fault!