Johnson Gibberish

First Day of Kindergarten!

2011-09-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

Hard to know which is more surprising--that Rachel's first day of kindergarten is already upon us, or that I'm actually blogging about it!

As for the day itself, Rachel had a great one. Daddy stayed home from work and we had breakfast together. We dropped Rachel off at the kindergarten playground, and when the bell rang she was the first one lined up to go into her class. I shed no tears (c'mon--it's only 3 hours a day and my head is swimming with all the things I can do!), but I'm sure I would have if Rachel did. However, she clearly couldn't get away from us fast enough. As for her teacher, I think she'll be OK. Given that she's outnumbered 30 to 1 (yes, THIRTY to ONE--isn't that illegal??) she's got her work cut out for her. I've already volunteered once in class, and I have a weekly time slot now. The teacher seems to keep order pretty well, and the kids are anxious to please (LOVE this age!). At any rate, Rachel is liking kindergarten, even if it appears she won't be learning anything she doesn't already know (at least classwork-wise). It's a bone of contention, but we're too far down the waiting list for charter schools and there's no way we're paying for a private school at the kindergarten level, so it is what it is. OK--see you in a year when I blog about her first day of first grade :>)

Star Valley, WY 1/2 marathon

2011-04-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

Looking forward to this race in July--come one come all! Even Emily is doing it. Should be a lot of fun, and it's in honor of a runner who lost his life in a relay race over a year ago. Hope to see you there!

Has it been that long???

2010-09-14T15:12:00.000-07:00

Five months really goes by fast, huh? So, if Alysia can manage a post, I suppose I can too. This will be quick--just some cute pix of Rachel on her first day (second year) of preschool. Yes, this is before the too short haircut that I promise won't happen again. She's now going to an actual school building twice a week, as opposed to someone's house, and she seems to like it a lot. They have show and tell on Tuesdays, which is always a big hit, and on her second day, Rachel was selected to be the teacher's "special helper," which includes such exciting things as getting to open the door when class is over!!!!!!!!!!! Anyway, enjoy the pix--she's growing up so fast (cliche but true) :<(

Making up for lost time

2010-04-13T17:58:00.000-07:00

Given the recent postings of amazing kiddie birthday parties and incredible cakes, I thought I would submit, for your viewing pleasure, my first attempt at a cute b-day cake for Rachel. Keep in mind she's equally as loved as the Gracies and the Gavins of the world, even if her mommy is not nearly as adept at this stuff. In my defense (and knowing I'd need an excuse) I let Rachel and her friend Trinity do most of the decorating of this, her slumber party cake. No doubt Linda is running scared right about now....

In other Rachel news, I can't write down fast enough the funny things my daughter says and does, but here's a few I captured:

Me: "It's your birthday--you're four years old!" Rachel: "Yeah, and that's not old. That's not close to 100. Daddy's getting close to 100."

Rachel when helping me cook: "Ooh, this is going to be spectacular, yum! Spectacular, spectacular, spectacular!"

Me: "Why'd you come in our room in the middle of the night? You're not supposed to do that." Rachel: "Because I needed some lovin' "

Rachel talking to herself on the computer: "I did it! Way to go me!"

Rachel: "When I was a baby, if I would cry you would feed me with your boobs. Mom, I don't have boobs yet, right? But I have little boobs."

Rachel noticing an overcast day: "Mom, the sun's still asleep."

While watching Dancing with the Stars, we were discussing our mutual dislike of Kate Gosslin. Carl: "She's just evil." Rachel: "C'mon guys, let go of that bad stuff."

I gave Rachel 3 seconds to come to me when she was disobeying. Rachel (angrily): "Mom, I wish you were the little kid and I was the grownup!"

And, lest a post go by where I don't brag about my daughter's brilliance, Rachel was playing around on her magnetic blackboard, and then I heard her trying to sound something out. She then told me to "Look, I spelled STOP." Sure enough, she did!

Does my hair look OK?

2010-04-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

Rachel Johnson DANCING WITH THE STARS

2009-11-23T18:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtMceAz7dIY

Hope this works!

The rest of the pix

2009-11-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

Dressing up is fun to do

2009-11-09T10:05:00.001-08:00

We recently went to a murder mystery pirate party, where I was the Black Widow and Carl was Long John Silver. Neither one of us turned out to be the murderer--drat!

Rachel was a princess for Halloween--the best part of her costume was the cape, which she often didn't want to wear (and without it her princess dress wasn't that exciting). Dacia did a great post on Halloween so I'll leave the details to her.

Lastly, Jen had the most awesome costume for Halloween and let me prance around in it the next day, a la Scarlett O'Hara--you're never too old to play dress up (at least I'm not!).

Hmmmm--having trouble getting the other pix to post, so I'll try them on a later post.

Becoming Friends

2009-10-05T15:46:00.001-07:00

It took a while, but ever so sloooowly, Rachel and Grace are becoming friends. Grace seems to be hitting, I mean loving, a bit less less and Rachel seems to have more patience with Grace, although when Grace was over here recently Rachel said she needed some private time from Grace, then went in her room and closed the door. At least she didn't shove Grace first. And Rome wasn't built in a day, after all. Here's hoping the friendship thrives.

Preschool--Day 2

2009-09-08T08:37:00.000-07:00

By popular (!) demand, Rachel left for Day 2 of preschool with a more girly and proportional backpack. The problem, you see, is that the black pack is actually big enough to hold her purple folder, which gets a bit crushed if I want to close the pink pack. However, many of my blog readers who shall remain nameless (Jen, Emily, Dacia, Alysia) clearly subscribe to the notion that it's better to look good than to feel good :>), so I give. And in defense of the black pack, whose loss I'm still mourning, it was from her dance class AND she got to write her name on it--how cool is that? And before any of you anonymous blog readers (Jen, Emily, Dacia, Alysia) comment on Rachel's outfit, this week is red week and in a closet of pinks and purples we were lucky to find this. Another dilemma this morning--to go or not to go to preschool. This is because last night, after driving back all afternoon from Cedar City, Rachel tossed her cookies in the car while I was in Smith's grabbing a few groceries (no worries Jen--the smell is almost gone....). Being the hands-on Dad that he is, Carl immediately called me on my cell to let me know what happened and to assure me he would sit tight until I got there.... Once home, I gave Rachel a quick bath and got her to bed. She didn't have a temp, and this morning she was fine and ate a good breakfast--all indicators that she could go to school. Now every time the phone rings I just pray it's not her teacher.

First Day of Pre-School!

2009-09-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

Yep, my baby is off to school--it's empty nest time for two hours, twice a week. Any good Mommy would be crying now--remembering the day her baby was born, what a big, smart girl she's become, wondering where the time went. As for me...did I mention two hours TWICE A WEEK???!!! Lest you think I have ice water running through my veins, it's pre-school, for goodness sake. She'll have two years of this before the big K, at which point I'm sure I'll be a mess. Plus, I don't even think they had pre-school in my generation, and look how good we turned out.... Anywho, Rachel was very excited this morning, insisting on wearing her backpack while eating breakfast. As I drove her over, she asked if I was going to stay at pre-school with her. When I told her no, she said, "GREAT!" I guess that two hours works both ways. So, this day is noteworthy for other reasons as well. One, it made me blog, and two, I actually put make-up on before 9am on a day other than Sunday. I may post again next week once Rachel declares a major. In the meantime, though Carl thinks I'm heading straight for the TV and bon bons (are those the same as truffles?) I'm actually going to start packing for our weekend race.

Short, shorter, shortest

2009-06-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

Since Rachel has that lovely flyaway hair and she doesn't like pigtails, barretts, headbands, or anything to tame it, it was time for a no-nonsense summer 'do. Amazingly, after a quick morning comb-out, it's short enough that there's no more bedhead. We should have done this a long time ago!

Jesus is good people

2009-03-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

Rachel: Mommy, does our food come from Jesus?

Mommy: Yes, all good things come from Jesus.

Rachel: Jesus Christ is a very nice man.

Who does your hair?

2009-02-02T06:47:00.000-08:00

Ah, the funny things that can happen under Daddy's watch (or lack thereof--HEY, I just did smaller text!!). While Grandma Karen spent all day Saturday with Grace, Daddy and Rachel had some bonding time. They played hide-and-seek, they studied the scriptures, they practiced reading and writing, they filled out Rachel's college applications--they had so much togetherness they were as one...ah, silly reader. In reality, Carl worked in the office while Rachel wondered what Daddy was doing as she did arts and crafts, all by her lonesome, in the kitchen, with Carl occasionally tossing her a crust of bread for nourishment. She certainly wasn't bored though--especially when arts and crafts turned into Beauty Shop, with Rachel as both hair stylist and customer. As you can see, she clearly has a knack for this, and I'm excited about all the money we'll save with her do-it-yourself prowess. Forget college--we're now thinking cosmetology school.

Rachel sings

2008-12-12T09:52:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpP4rXMP_XU

Hope this works!

Gotta Dance!

2008-11-11T10:12:00.000-08:00

Rachel did a tumbling class once a week in October, which she loved. Unfortunately, the first day's instructor, who was awesome, didn't return to the class, and we had a series of mediocore or, in one instance, downright lame, instructors (this is toddler tumbing, people...how hard can it be?) Anyway, we found out our favorite instructor is teaching a Combo class on Fridays--45 minutes instead of 30, to include tumbling, ballet and tap. I can't wait to see Rachel and her 3-year-old cohorts tap, much less do ballet, but since Mommy wants her to look the part, we had great fun picking out her outfits and ballet slippers at a newly discovered secondhand store. Went to Payless for the tap shoes--at over $20 a pop we quickly left the store. Found some on-line for $5, which we'll pick up tomorrow. Rachel, of course, wants to walk around the house in her new outfits so I put the cutest one on for the blog shots. When I asked her to put her arms out and point her toe, she logically pointed TO her toe. Smart girl. She's sure to be a prima ballerina or the tap equivalent. Can't wait to buy a tutu!

RANDOM PIX

2008-10-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

Can't think of anything witty to write, so I'll just post a few cool pix. Of course, I'm too lazy to reduce their file size, so it may take a while to download (since it took a while to upload). Sorry! Also, I could tell you where these pix were, but a) Do you really want to know? and b) Would you remember anyway? Therefore, let's go with c) Easy descriptives. There's Rachel and me by the fire, all of us overlooking pretty mountains, Karen with pretty fall colors, and Rachel by a lake. My personal favorite is Rachel and me by the fire. I think I was supposed to go running with Carl, but it was cold out and I was so much more content to cozy by the fire with my baby and a great book. Amazingly, I was able to talk Carl out of running and keep my big happy butt just where it was. A great night indeed!

Another bob in the family

2008-07-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Hey, if it's good enough for Dacia....

Much like at the dentist, Rachel did a great job with the hairdresser getting all that flyaway hair chopped off. She doesn't look too happy about it though, does she? Actually, when I told her we were going to get her hair cut she was excited and had no trepidation whatsoever. This was her second haircut--perfect for summer.

Wednesday's with Gracey

2008-07-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

Buggy and I have wound up in a nice routine of weekly get-togethers with our girls. So far we've had a picnic at Liberty Park, visited the Discovery Children's Museum, gone to the zoo and went swimming at the Bountiful rec center. Often Topher joins us, which just adds to the fun. We would have done something yesterday too, but Gracey had to get all sick on us--how selfish! Anyway, I really enjoy these outings and I admire how Buggy doesn't treat Gracey with kid gloves, but rather gets her out and about to experience life as much as possible. I'm sure Buggy would agree that we're very lucky to be stay-at-home mommies who can do this type of thing. Looking forward to our next adventure!

Open Wide!

2008-07-23T09:07:00.000-07:00

Rachel had her first dental appointment recently and did great. She watched Mommy have hers first, and when she realized it wouldn't hurt (after confirming this with me about 100 times) she was ready. She was well-rewarded afterwards with two new toothbrushes (one an electric Ariel), toothpaste, dental floss (great fun to pull completely out), sugar free suckers and a pair of sunglasses. She has 16 teeth (no second molars yet) and a pretty big overbite (unlike Daddy's underbite). Since her visit, our toothbrushing wars have been a bit milder. I have no doubt that braces are in her future, as well as glasses or contacts, since good teeth and vision don't run in this family. Besides, shouldn't everyone be stuck with a dorky, four eyes, metal mouth school picture around the Jr. High years?

Blog Parody

2008-07-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

There was an article in today's paper about this blog site--"an astutely sharp spoof of a recent Web phenomenon: the married Mormon blog, in which LDS women (and it's almost always women) write about their family doings, post photos of their kids, and decorate with backgrounds, musical play lists and widgets. It's scrapbooking in a form that everybody, from your neighbors in the ward to people on the other side of the world can see."

So, if you're interested, here's the link: http://www.seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

Oh, and since I'm blogging (AGAIN), may as well include some cute Rachel pix.

P.S. Does anyone know how to control where pictures and text land before posting? I sure haven't figured it out, but it seems there's no real control with putting pix where you want them. Then again, if I continue to be this crazed blog lady, I'll probably figure it out sooner than later.

P.P.S. I've decided blogging is no fun unless people comment on your blogs, so comment away and I'll try to do the same with all your new blogs.

P.P.P.S. Blogging is just a cover for procrastinating on other, less fun projects, don't you think?

Forgot a Tag question

2008-07-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

Five of my favorite snacks/foods:
1. Ice cream (especially the kind with lots of STUFF--cookie dough, reeses peanut butter cups, etc.)
2. Brownies
3. Seafood (shellfish--crab, shrimp, scallops) pasta in a white cream sauce
4. Eggs Benedict
5. Mexican

OK, this blogger stuff is addictive (and way too time-consuming). I must stop--NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's only 1:00 in the morning, may as well do a tag

2008-07-13T23:55:00.000-07:00

My first time being tagged, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. Here goes:

Five things I was doing ten years ago:
1. Living in Seattle.
2. Working for a group of radio stations.
3. Hiking as much as possible.
4. Taking advantage of my radio freebies as much as possible.
5. Exploring the state of Washington.

Five things on my To Do list:
1. Call my mom.
2. Call my sister.
3. Go to Hobby Lobby for scrapbook stuff (I have a coupon and need to finally start our 1/2 marathon book, which eventually will become digital).
4. Pick up pix at Walmart.
5. Set up CD/DVD cabinet.

Five things I would do if I was a billionaire:
1. Buy Grace a new heart.
2. Make everyone I love debt free.
3. Pay for college for anyone in my family who wanted to go or is currently going.
4. Treat everyone I care about to some awesome trips on me.
5. Donate lots of money to various causes--especially children-related issues, HLHS and Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Five bad habits:
1. Watching recorded TV instead of being productive
2. Binge eating and/or eating too much junk food
3. Not getting enough sleep
4. Reading Chick Lit instead of Parenting magazines or other useful stuff
5. Procrastinating

Five places I have lived:
1. Illinois (Springfield, Joliet, Lombard, Chicago)
2. Washington (Seattle and Everett)
3. Utah (Tooele and Eagle Mountain).
Yep, only three states and only in this country--BORing, I know.

Five people I tag:
1. Carl
2. Alan
3. Jen
4. Emily
5. Dacia
I pretty much duplicated who Alysia tagged, since I don't know anyone else who blogs. Now time for bed!

Can you say "Big Girl Pants?"

2008-07-08T05:39:00.000-07:00

Well, Rachel can say it, but that's about all. Granted, her mommy hasn't completely jumped on the pottie training bandwagon yet (my goal is before Labor Day, which means I really don't have to start until August, right?). Interestingly enough, now that pottie training is on the horizon, Rachel has started blessing us with two poops a day instead of the usual one (in case you were curious). I think Belle, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty probably appreciate that Rachel's still in diapers. Rachel's daddy, on the other hand, feels that Rachel should have been pottie trained soon after birth, since she really had nothing else going on at the time. Let's just say that somewhere between birth and college this milestone will take place.

Learning to undress

2008-06-27T12:32:00.001-07:00

Big head, small body. Better than the alternative, I suppose!

Bed Head

2008-06-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

Enough said.

On a roll

2008-06-27T12:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, when it rains, it pours. My third post of the day (with another to come, I think). I know Rachel eating corn on the cob at almost 2-1/2 is not a breakthrough, but Rachel eating of her own volition is certainly worth a mention, don't you think? Plus, kids and corn on the cob are a cute combo, as Emily proved with Caden (who's way ahead of Rachel in the eating-by-himself department--when Emily feeds him, that is ;)

Rachel's "Hot Tub"

2008-06-27T12:24:00.001-07:00

Water table to some, hot tub to others--I highly recommed this toy to any kid with a water fetish. HOURS of entertainment, and an excuse for Mommy to sit on the front porch and read--er, watch Rachel.

Back in Style

2008-06-27T12:07:00.001-07:00

Remember jelly shoes? I think they were hip about 15 years ago. Then again, if I thought they were hip then, it was probably more like 20 years ago (I'm usually years behind the latest trends, as Dacia, Emily, or Jen will be the first to tell you--Alysia is too nice to say anything :>)). However, for the toddler set these are COOL, and far be it for me not to have a hipster daughter....

More Gracey with Papa

2008-04-14T07:03:00.001-07:00

Yep, those who post control the pix that are shown, but I need to give equal time to proud Papa Carl, so here goes.

Beautiful Gracey

2008-04-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

It's such a joy to visit Grace now that we get to hold her. Yesterday she was very alert and happy, so we were thrilled.

Look how happy she is when Karen holds her!!

Look what happens when Papa holds her....

Gracey actually said her first full sentence yesterday when I was holding her--something to the effect of "You're my favorite after Mommy and Daddy." Of course I was thrilled but felt a little bad for Carl.

One or both of us try to visit Gracey every other day, which so far has worked out pretty well. It's nice to go together, but when we go separately we don't have to share holding her (and I DON'T like to share!!).

On every visit invariably some medical personnel comments on how beautiful Gracey is. A member of the IV team said yesterday Grace is the prettiest baby she's seen (and she's seen many.) You may think she says that to everyone, but one look at Gracey and you know it's true.

Anyway, we look forward to our next visit with this beautiful angel, who teaches us so much just by being here. Thank you, Bugs and Toph, for the gift of Gracey. We love her and both of you more than you know.

Rachel sings I am a Child of God

2008-03-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

Since I can't seem to incorporate video into my blog, I have to do it via YouTube (my latest fixation anyway). However, let's see if I can link this so you can just click on it and view it. If it doesn't work, go to www.youtube.com and type in "Rachel sings I am a child of God" and it should pop up. Here goes....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epQfaBq7J-Q

This was filmed in early December. The email of her singing Winnie the Pooh was filmed just a few days ago. Winnie the Pooh can be accessed via Youtube also, by searching for "Rachel sings Winnie the Pooh"

Laundry isn't so bad

2008-02-08T14:04:00.001-08:00

Yes, there is a blue moon scheduled for tonite! If you can't beat 'em, join 'em (at least once a quarter, anyway). Plus, I've been threatened with not being allowed to read others' blogs (of which I'm a faithful fan) unless I pony up and give a little something of my own. So here goes, although I have a feeling my captions and my pictures won't quite connect (someone help me on this someday, OK?).

If you have kids yet hate laundry, you only have yourself to blame.

This picture of Carl is especially for Dacia.

This picture didn't make the newsletterbecause a key member of our family was missing, but it's one of my favorites.

Back by popular demand

2007-11-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

OK, apparently my lack of blogging isn't the big deal, but my lack of Rachel picture postings is, so here's the latest (some hot off the presses from last night!) Let's see if I remember how to do this....

Cute Rachel comment

2007-09-06T06:32:00.000-07:00

OK, since everyone is now digital scrapbooking and I still haven't begun scrapbooking the regular way (I plan on doing that with our 1/2 marathon races to see if I like it or not--otherwise, for now I'm sticking to the tried and true pix in albums concept from my generation) I thought I would do a quick Rachel update. We were reading a story this morning--she picked "The First Christmas" and there was a pix of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. I asked her to point out the baby and she pointed to Baby Jesus. I asked her to point out the Mommy and she pointed to me. BRILLIANT, don't you think? Anyway, here are a couple cute recent pix. I also have to mention that I don't know how Emily does it. She's raising three boys, currently by herself, keeps her blog current AND has to pack for a move, the latter of which I know firsthand is a drag--and just wait until the unpacking. At any rate, I'm convinced she's hopped up on prescription drugs and gets virtually no sleep. Kudos to you, Emily! Speaking of unpacking, I need to stop procrastinating and get back to it. It's a bummer when you think, "I think I'll grill hamburgers tonight" and then don't know where the Foreman grill is, or "Let's play ping pong" only to wonder where those darn paddles are. And we've got so many home improvement projects to do it boggles the mind. OK--enough venting for now. Stay tuned--the next blog entry will no doubt be in December (but isn't it fun when you check for the thousandth time and then find something??!).

7442 Castle Rock Road, Eagle Mountain, UT

2007-07-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

:>)

Cute Rachel sequence from 2005

2007-06-22T09:43:00.000-07:00

I know this is old, but I just included it in a book I'm making for Rachel and don't think anyone has seen these pix. This was after Lake Powell, when Carl hadn't shaved all week, and decided to rub his scruffy face on Rachel's baby soft one. The result is self explanatory and pretty funny. Wish I knew how to put captions UNDER pictures but I'm still a novice at this. Just call these "before, during and after."

I'm getting sucked in....

2007-06-20T05:54:00.000-07:00

You want cute? I'll give you cute. Check these out:

Rachel Bobblehead

2007-03-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

This is a test to see how this works. Let's see if we can download "Rachel Bobblehead"