Santa's Last Stop

 Santa may have dropped off one more present in Ohio, since we couldn't fit it in our luggage.  He left a note telling the kids that it was hidden in the garage.

Yes, he adores her.

Looks like it's a hit.

Interviews: The Run Down

In the midst of our holidaying, we fit in a few residency interviews.  Ok, so that was actually the point of heading out west for two months.  My mom graciously offered to watch the kids so I could participate in almost every interview.  She even flew out in October so I could go to the South Bend ones.  I was feeling guilty for wanting to go, and then just kind of accepted the fact that I wouldn't be able to go since it's not something you take kids to, until I talked to her and she had the attitude of, "No! It's really important for you to go!  I went to all the ones I could with Dad when he was doing the same thing, so I really think you should."  So thanks to her encouragement and tending skillz I was a big part of interview season with Ben.  Thanks Mom. :)

For all those people who have asked or are wondering, Ben has chosen Family Practice as his specialty, and that's different than a General Practitioner.  So if you mess the two up I will probably punch you in the face.  If you'd like an in-depth discussion about how they are different, I will tell you in person.  The main difference is that Family Practice requires more training.  And yes, they make more than teachers.

We interviewed in South Bend, IN; Lancaster, PA; Boise, ID; Spokane, WA; Provo, UT; Ogden, UT; Salt Lake City, UT; Phoenix, AZ; and Columbus, OH.  There were some we liked, some we loved, some we disliked, and some we detested (Boise).  It was good to see the programs because some we expected to love we didn't, and some we expected to be lukewarm were wonderful.

Now we have some big decisions to make, and THE MATCH is what decides where we will go.  So we have to turn in our rank list and then wait until the middle of March to see what churns out.  We are having quite the dilemma with this decision though, I'll tell you.  We can put the program we like the best as #1, but what if we don't get in there? And what if I have to live in Provo? :)  We would love to live close to family, but we've been able to have a unique experience living away from where we grew up and we really love Columbus.  I don't think we'll be staying here for residency, but we've loved it, so I think we could get to love another new place.  Yet I think about all the times I bawl when I get dropped off at the airport to fly away from my family yet again.  You can see why we are torn.  This is where we would appreciate some input.  So if I seem distracted, stressed, or crazy, that's probably what's rolling around in my head.

I included a picture of my sister and Sammi because she (and my other sister Steph who is not pictured) were both huge helps with watching my kids during the interview season.  (Don't be freaked out by that crazy bride peering over at the pianists.)

When did I get a big girl?

I still think of her like this:

Favorite Quotes

My favorite quotes from Emerson lately:
11/25/11
"My cereal is all foggy." (soggy)

12/3/11
"Mrs. Santa will turn me into a good boy."

12/19/11
"You know what poop is called?  Sore wet."  (I guess because it hurts to be wiped?)
"You know what Pooh Bear's name is?  Pooh Bear Benjamin Christensen."

12/26/11
While gazing at the crescent moon
"Mom, why is the sky smiling?"

12/27/11
Trying to hang a stocking
"My muscles are not high enough to do that!"

1/7/11
"Mom, Sammi is such a little sweetie pie, isn't she?"

1/15/12
"You go to time out, Little Missy!" (to Sammi)

Christmas

 On Christmas Eve, my family always goes to a movie and Chinese food.  This year we went to We Bought a Zoo because it looked like it would be a cute, kid friendly show.  It was cute, but it wasn't like hold-my-kids'-attention-cute.  It really was more adult subject matter.  Oh well.  The kids were really good through it, and we made it through dinner afterward without any meltdowns.  Probably our best year ever for that. 

We also open sibling gifts on Christmas Eve, so this year E and Sammi gave each other jammies, and then my siblings and I exchanged.  It was weird not having Brad there since he is on his mission, but I think he still got spoiled pretty well.  It was so much fun to talk to him and Ben's brother Michael over Christmas! 

We spent Christmas morning with my family and then spent the rest of the day at Ben's family's house and enjoyed seeing everyone there and playing games and watching A Christmas Carol.  Emerson just played with Grandpa Tom's train until it ran out of batteries.

 Right before we left Ohio in November, Emerson's preschool teachers helped him hurry and finish his Christmas gift to his parents.  It was an adorable calendar all made of handprints to be different animals and objects coordinating with each month.  I was so excited to receive my first parent gift!  I think I got a little teary even.

 Excited little Sammi May.

 With her (mom's) stocking.

 E with his stocking.

 The kids in front of the tree

 And a mere 10 hours later...

Christmas Morning!

 I heart Sammi's crazy morning hair.

The haul (for the entire Johnson family...not just our kids!)

A Merry Christmas to all!

E's haul included:

Misty Island Take-A-Long set

2 Tonka trucks

Thomas collapsing bridge

Lego Duplo camping set

Clothes

Golf clubs (Grandpa couldn't resist)

The Lion King movie

Matchbox cars

Thomas shirt

Thomas movies

Thomas Uno game

Sammi's haul included:

Play kitchen with playfood

Mini kitchen utensils

Doll clothes

Purse with dress-up jewelry

Fisher Price Zoo with animals

Clothes

Toy piggy bank
Stacking ring toy

Play phone

On Christmas night we headed up to my family's condo in Midway so we could have easy access to Daniels Summit because Santa happened to arrange for a family snowmobiling trip!  Grandma graciously volunteered to watch the kids and the rest of us had a wonderful time.  It was cold, and most of us got stuck and/or had our engine flood, but it was a blast.  We had a great time.  I learned not to be adventurous though, because every time I would try to venture off the path and follow other people, I'd get stuck somehow.  It didn't help that my reverse button malfunctioned and kept killing my engine...but still.  I was much more cautious after the first few times it happened.  We were all amazingly sore the next day.  You wouldn't think it was a strenuous activity, but it is.  When your thighs are tightly clenched and your thumb is holding down the accelerator and you are leaning over and counterbalancing...it is hard work.

We wrapped up our vacation with a killer New Year's party at both sides of the family.  We were able to get together with high school friends for dinner, Logan friends for lunch and the Treehouse Museum, have a graduation dinner for Natalie at The Five Alls, go to dinner at Jenny and Troy's house and be bribed with Swedish fish, go to lunch with Christine and David and Emily and Elise at Tucanos, and spend lots of time with both families.  We went to a few University of Utah basketball games where E cheered "Utah State!  Utah State!" very cutely and loudly while wearing his Ute sweatshirt and waving his flag, and ate at lots of yummy places.  Ben worked for his parents for many many hours helping them prepare to move, and then move, and then getting things set up in the new house and things cleaned up at the old house.  I gladly took the job of tending to the kiddos each day.  We did so many fun things, I just know I've left things out!

It was so hard to leave after spending two months in Utah, but it was also nice to get back to our little house in Columbus.  Luckily everything was in order and we had zero major disasters. The kids just wandered around the day after we were back wondering where everyone was.  Just stuck with boring old Mom and Dad.  Bwahaha!  Thanks everyone for putting up with us for two whole months.  We loved it.

Leading Up To Christmas

 ...We also did a few more things before Christmas. 

We (I) put Sammi's hair in big-girl pigtails.

 She loved them.

 We got some sleep, but mostly too little because we were having too much fun.  I like that Bear and Sammi are in the same position.  (Just to clarify, this is a different Bear than Emerson's.  She just has to copy her brother, so she has her own.  Her true love is her purple blankie.)

 It appears as though the sleep dart hit E as he was about to crawl off his bed.

 My beautiful sister Natalie graduated from Utah State University this fall (I believe in 31/2 years!).  My dad and I went up to move her out and I snapped some graduation photos of her since they no longer have a fall ceremony for graduates.

 Isn't she purty?

 Our future Aggie

 The girls.  She's not squirmy at all.

 We had Ben's family's traditional homemade gift exchange.  Ben's brother John had him and made him some little games.

I had Ben's sister Elise and made her some pillows for her bed.

And Ben had me!  I will admit that I had my suspicions because we always tell each other who we have even when though it's supposed to be a secret, and he refused this year. He came through big time with a daily calendar of memories and words o' love.  And 2012 is a leap year so I got a bonus day.  There were so many sweet messages and memories from both of our families.  Thanks to Ben and my mom and sister who helped him.

And still more to come...

Christmas Festivities

...And continuing on...

We began our Christmas festivities right after Thanksgiving so as to maximize our time with everyone (except my brother Brad who is on his mission) while we were all together.

 We got to see Santa and Mrs. Claus and there were no tears!  Emerson did tell me that "Mrs. Claus will turn me into a good boy."  He really got thinking when we told him about the elves that are spying on him making sure he was being a good boy.

 Sammi loves her some sugar cookies.

 E admiring his handiwork

 Nom nom nom

 We also got to celebrate my mom and dad's birthdays! They were both born on the same day, same year, same hospital.  Isn't that presh?  When I was little I always thought I needed to marry someone with the same birthday as me.  Luckily I found out I didn't have to before it was too late.

 We went with "Mamama" (grandma) and "Ba-pa" (grandpa) to pick out a fresh Christmas tree.  E told us the one we picked wasn't a good one and it turned out he was a little bit right.  There were some bees hiding dormant in there and when it warmed up in our house we found them crawling across the carpet.  It was nasty.  There were only like 2 or 3, but that's too many.

 Decorating the fake tree downstairs.  I tried to get a smile and this is what he gave me.  At least he's looking at the camera.

 In love with the bells.  This is her "cuted out" face.  She has this slightly pained expression when she is loving something or sees an animal or wants to cuddle.

 Clapping for herself after placing an ornament.

 Cute little hands

Handsome little E

Little sweetie pie

  Decorated Christmas cookies with "Na na" (Aunt Nat) and Grandma

 And Grandpa.  E was real good at dumping sprinkles

 We enjoyed a nice preschool program by Emerson the bunny

 This is him by his girlfriend, Cass.

 The kids and Grandma Dixy (Ben's mom)

The kids with Grandma J and Nat

We also sent cards to our cousins and to Uncle Brad on his mission.  I had to document Emerson writing his own name!  My favorite is the "s" laying down.

But wait!  There's more...