Catch-Up

 At the end of May, this big fella graduated from Preschool!  I can't believe how tall he is getting to be.  Sometimes he wakes up in the morning and I swear he has grown another inch.  He has loved Preschool and is mostly excited about starting Kindergarten.  He is a little nervous about it, but in the end I think he will love it too.

 Sammi had to get her backpack on and take a picture with her big brother.  She will be starting Preschool in the Fall and is thrilled to be going to school just like her brother.

E and Sammi at Preschool graduation.

The big graduate!

 In June, we also got to see Ashley and baby Rowan.  The kids were super excited to meet their new little cousin, (the first on the Johnson side).  He is such a good little baby and very good natured to put up with his crazy big cousins.

 Emerson somehow got it into his head that he and Rowan were going to have a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa's house, so after he and Sammi went to bed, Ashley stuck Rowan in the pack n' play in E's room and we took a picture to prove that the boy cousins indeed had a sleepover.  They seemed to have a great time while sleeping. :)

 Also in June the kids embarked on the ward Fathers & Kids trip.  They went camping, just the 3 of them, overnight.  The kids kept reminding me that we have FOUR people in our family but only THREE were invited on the camping trip.  They were really excited, and Daddy took great care of them and brought everyone back in one piece, unburned from the campfire.  I was pleased, to say the least.

Trip to Richfield

 A couple of weeks ago we were able to take a trip down to Richfield to visit Ben's grandma.  She is our only living grandparent!  We went with his sister Brooke and her family.  It was fun to get to know these cousins who have lived far away for so long!

Grandma was a good sport to have all of us at her house, since it was upwards of 10 people, with 6 of them being small children.  We went swimming, bowling, and ate outside a lot on her porch while having some nice chats, and all in the course of 1 1/2 days.  Right before we left, the girls got a special treat and had their nails painted at cousin Jill's salon.  They thought that was pretty neat stuff.

Grandma Great with all the crazy kids

Life Lessons From Pa

I can't give just one of my parents credit for the way I've turned out.  They are both equally responsible for me being what I am...whether good or bad. :)  However, since it is Father's Day, it is time to focus on life lessons I have learned from my dad.

1. Playing Dirty Is Sometimes Necessary

Soccer is where this lesson comes into play.  Dad was often busy with a lot of responsibilities at work, but somehow he made time to coach our soccer teams and would come to any games he could with my mom.  There is something really exciting about having people watch you play, and I always appreciated my parents supporting us in whatever it was we were doing.  I was a pretty good soccer player, nothing spectacular, but I really loved to play.  Somehow I learned from my dad without an actual demonstration that a discreet, well-placed shove or trip could help matters when trying to win the ball over.  (Don't pretend you haven't done it too.)  Some people are just sneakier than others, and I was one of the sneaky ones.  I believe I only got a yellow card once, and the poor other girls who tried to retaliate just as the referee was noticing the situation were the ones who had to bear the consequences the rest of the time.  I think they learned a little something too: just be a little more discreet.  I think this skill may have started when I was very young and had an older brother to deal with.  The little sister is not usually the one who gets in trouble for a fight, although she very well may have started it.  Sorry 'bout that, Scott.

2. Do Your Best

Report card time.  Both my parents are very intelligent and did very well in school.  So it is pretty much a requirement that we "do our best" in school too.  ("Doing your best" means you should be getting an "A").  Dad was never unfair or unkind about his expectations (neither was Mom), but when you are accountable for your report card, it does motivate you to do a little better. "Why settle for a B when you can get an A?"  True Dad, very true.  I don't mean to make it sound like nothing less was acceptable, but it was nice to know that Dad had confidence in us that we really were smart and could get the best grade offered.  There is something really satisfying in working hard and having something to show for it.  Dad was always good to help us particularly with our math homework.  I am still amazed to this day that he can remember how to do any of those things, because I can hardly remember!

3. Heavenly Father Made Costco

Dad and I enjoy going to Costco together.  If I am up in Murray visiting for the weekend because Ben is working, the weekend isn't complete without it.  Why we love it so much can't so much be expressed in words...it just has to be felt to be understood.  It is, after all, where I buy my vomit cleanin' gloves in bulk.  Mom likes Costco too, but it's not a deep abiding love that draws you there on a Saturday despite the crowds.  She is good enough to tolerate us, because we are pretty dangerous when we go there together.

I didn't think my kids really noticed or understood this love for Costco until two separate occasions.  One, my 5-year-old asked, "Why do you and Grandpa like to go to Costco so much?"  He doesn't really get it, because he hates all stores and going there with me.  The second occurred when my two-year-old and five-year-old were fighting about whether we should go to the store and Sammi burst out with, "But Heavenly Father MADE Costco!!!"  She gets it.

4. Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Valuable parenting advice.  I think this came out when one of said, "But YOU did!"  I know you're supposed to lead by example and all that, but honestly as a parent I just want my kids to do what I say.  Like in the case of finishing your dinner or else you don't get a cookie, I'll have a cookie regardless.  You can bet that the kids won't have a cookie regardless though...(unless they are a conniving two-year-old and you are at your wit's end.)

5.  There's Nothing Your Dad Can't Do

This phrase of Dad's has been around for all of my life.  We heard it a lot as little kids, and it just reinforced the fact that our dad was our hero.  He would fix a broken toy and we would hear the phrase, "And what do I always tell you kids?" We would instantly reply in chorus, "There's nothing our dad can't do!"  He would rescue a frisbee from a tree, "There's nothing our dad can't do!"  He made a particularly fantastic batch of salsa, "There's nothing our dad can't do!"

6. Dodging Is Necessary

Dad is the king of getting around amusement parks.  Nobody can weave and dodge like Dad to secure a prime spot in line.  I even watched him do it with grandkids in the stroller recently.  You also quickly learn that if you don't walk as fast, you'd better keep his hat in view or you will never meet up again.

7. Feet Are Like Private Parts

Perhaps it is my Dad's profession that subjects him to way more feet than he would like, but it is a strong policy in our family that feet are like private parts.  They should not be shared or flashed about willy-nilly.  We jokingly refer to each other as "toe sluts" if we are wearing sandals or going around barefoot.  The way that they DIFFER from private parts is that they have to be "previewed" before marriage just to be sure that the potential marriage partner doesn't have an extra number of big toes or something.  Overall, there are just way too many people who subject everyone else to their disgusting feet, so it is sound advice indeed that if you HAVE to wear sandals, make sure your feet are properly groomed beforehand.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!  Thanks for the valuable life lessons.  Up for a Costco trip soon?

Useful Things My Mom Has Taught Me

As I was trying to go back to sleep at 4:30 a.m. this morning after cleaning up one of my children's  vomit, my thoughts inevitably turned to my mom who cleaned up countless gallons of vomit from 5 children, (and unfortunately 2 grandchildren when their parents went on a graduation cruise for a week last year).  My older brother and I laugh about that horrible post-vomit shaky distress cry where you try to direct your voice from the bathroom just loud enough to wake Mom but not loud enough to disturb Dad who has to go to work in the morning.  And in case you are wondering, as a mother who has been the recipient of this distressed, watery cry, I still find it funny when I talk about it with my brother.  Maybe I can only say that though because this morning my son was a champion vomiter and managed to only get it on the sheets and NOT the floor and NOT the bedspread.  It's the little things that count.

As for useful things my mom has taught me, the list begins with (surprise!) something gross, given the way our day started out.

1. The best tools for cleaning up vomit are gloves and a plastic spoon.

I have so appreciated this advice in the middle of the night when I am too tired to think.  I have found I can do pretty much anything if I am wearing plastic gloves.  We buy them in bulk from Costco and I use them for anything from handling meat to cleaning up bodily fluids.  You wouldn't think of a plastic spoon as your tool of choice, but it is priceless for lifting chunks out of the carpet instead of smearing them in when you are trying to wipe them up with a rag.  Obviously the benefit of it being plastic is that it gets thrown away afterward.  My mom is a genius, I tell you.  She has practical ways for doing lots of things.

 
One thing I have remembered from being sick in the night as a child was how patient my mom was with us.  She would have to get up multiple times, change sheets, clean up, and she did it all without making us feel like it was our fault.  She is a great example of patience and I strive to be like her in how I treat my own kids. 

2. Just settle down.

One of the most infuriating things as a child/teenager was being told to settle down.  The thing is, Mom was right.  Sometimes you just need to settle down.  Most of the time, no good comes from being stressed.  My mom is great at letting calmness prevail.  Even when she gets into stressful situations, she is great at conveying a sense of peace and order.  I think that is one big reason all of us kids still like coming home.  We associate good feelings with being there.  Both Mom and Dad are good at listening to our problems and then helping us proceed with solving them in a calm, orderly fashion.  So settle down, dang it!

3. I'm just precious.

Along with being calm, my parents both possess a great sense of humor.  I appreciate their example especially in their marriage when they can diffuse what could potentially elevate into arguments with the phrase, "Just precious!"  It's a phrase that has evolved in our family to pretty much mean, "I know I am silly, but just love me anyway."  That has come in useful when Ben and I have to redirect our discussions.  "Just precious!" saves the day.

4.  Things happen in a special way.

Another magical phrase in our family is "in a special way".  Ever had your child ask you a difficult or potentially awkward question?  Well, "in a special way" is for you.  Don't know how to explain how the motor of a frontloader works?  Well, the parts work together "in a special way", duh.  Don't know how to explain how the baby comes out of your tummy?  Well, you go to the hospital and the doctor helps it come out "in a special way", silly.  My mom used that phrase more times than I was ever aware because I was so often satisfied with answers to my questions and therefore didn't question the special way she was referring to.  Sneaky little devil.

5. It will all even out in the end.

As kids, I'm sure we fought a lot.  This doesn't mean we had an unhappy childhood or that our parents were bad, it just means we were kids.  My kids fight about who gets to flush the urine down the toilet, and I don't count that as a parenting fail...I chalk that up to being 2 and 5.  I remember being pretty instrumental in those childhood fights, and probably got away with more than I should've since I was able to cast blame pretty effectively on my older brother.

One way my mom was able to put an end to some of those fights or feelings of jealousy when someone was invited to a sleepover was by reassuring us that it would all even out in the end.  I'm not sure if that is true, because I remember hearing this other well-known phrase from other sources that "Life Isn't Fair" but it sure was nice as a kid.  Lucky for Mom, I think those of us who were keeping score lost count a long time ago, so we were never able to test her theory.  I'm not sure who got invited to more sleepovers to this day.

In all seriousness, fairness amongst members of our family was a huge part of how we were raised.  I always felt like my parents listened to me as a teenager and tried to be fair in letting me explain my reason for being late for curfew, why I needed extra money for something, why my grade wasn't what it should be, and I feel like that sense of fairness blossomed in my prepubescent mind into respect for others.  My parents never went spouting off about showing respect: their actions and example spoke louder than their words ever could.  Maybe that's why I never really fought with my parents as a teenager--they never went around hurling punishments at me willy-nilly that I didn't understand.

6. There is value in a good rant.

I'm not sure how many hours in the day my mom has to accomplish things, but I know at least a few of those hours are taken up every day by her kids( especially her daughters), calling her every day to chat.  Mom is good at listening to rants because she knows when to jump in and say, "That's so annoying!" or "Well, I can see how that would be frustrating, but maybe you should've..."  Either way, she realizes it is essential for her kids to just get it off their chests and then move on with life.  And the great thing is, she doesn't go around blabbing to a bunch of people like your junior high friends would.  Not that I speak from experience...

7. It's soooo good-a!

My mom is a great cook.  There is no one's food I would rather eat than hers.  She has mastered the art of mashed potatoes and gravy (among many other things) and I find myself always comparing others to hers and I am always disappointed.  Our family cookbook, dubbed "The Bible" is one of my most prized possessions, and I am lucky to have a living and breathing companion resource (my mom) that I can call with virtually any cooking question I may have.  There were a lot of calls when I lived in Ohio and repeatedly cooked Thanksgiving dinner.

We always ate dinner together as a family growing up, and it has been just lately that I've discovered that not all families do that.  There were definitely lots of busy days where some family members had other obligations, but we always knew Mom would have dinner for us.  I feel lucky that my mom passed on her talent and love of cooking to me.  I feel like good food makes anything better.

There are many more life lessons that I could articulate, but I think I'd probably better go and care for my sick child.  Thanks for all of the useful life lessons, Mom!  Happy Mother's Day!

Dinosaur National Monument

 Ben had a few days off during his rotation, so we decided to make the most of them by taking a little mini-vacation to Vernal to see the Dinosaur National Monument.  It ended up being the perfect amount of time for everything we wanted to do there.

The first day we headed out in the afternoon to drive the 3 hours there.  We were kind of running out of time to do any of the dinosaur-y stuff, so we went to McConkie Farm to see the Indian petroglyphs.  The hike took us about 1 1/2 hours and the weather was perfect.

There were TONS of antlers on the fence at the entrance of the farm.

A teepee!

I love how Sammi is showing off the petroglyph.

 

The kids loved these walking sticks they had at the beginning of the hike.  I commend whoever thought of that idea.

They loved being little mountaineers

  After the hike, we grabbed some dinner and then headed to the hotel to go swimming.  (We waited 1/2 hour before swimming, of course.)  There were some fun-looking drunkards also at the pool area, so that was entertaining.  We didn't stay too long since the pool was freezing, but dipping our toes in the hot tub was refreshing.

You know how some hotel rooms have great configurations for kids and others are terrible?  This one was arguably the most perfect setup ever.  There was a pull-out couch for the boy with a chaise longue just big enough for a 2-year-old girl to sleep on, and THEN there was a little dividing half-wall between the couch and the king size bed so we could put them to bed and then stay up and read! Perfect, I tell you.

The next morning we headed to the actual Dinosaur National Monument Quarry.  It was pretty awesome.  The ranger was great at fielding all of Emerson's questions like, "Do dinosaurs have brains?" and "Why do they have feet?"  I got a kick out of his questions, but I was proud of him for being brave enough to ask them.

Ben requested that we immortalize the car

 

In front of the wall o' bones

The femur of some large dinosaur

That is a real dinosaur bone.  A REAL ONE.

You just missed touching the bone there, buddy.

The skull of a large dinosaur...Allosaurus perhaps?

I told them to look at the camera, so they did this.

   After the quarry, we headed to the cute little dinosaur museum in Vernal.  It was a really nice museum with stuff perfect for the kids.

 On the way home we stopped in Myton, where my Grandpa Draper is from.  He is the grandpa that Emerson is named after.  We also stopped in Roosevelt at the cemetery where Grandpa Draper's brother and parents are buried.  The kids were really fascinated with the idea of a cemetery, and now every time we see one they exclaim, "Well, there's where all the dead people are buried."  It was nice to stop and pay our respects.  Hopefully they appreciated it among the gentle rebukes to the children that we are not supposed to step on the headstones.

 It was a nice little getaway.  I love when Ben and I have a long drive together because we can look forward to good conversation...as long as the kiddos are occupied by a show.

Birds of a Feather

We found a robin nest in one of our trees.  I love how bright the eggs are!

And only a few days later, we found this!

Speaking of birds, we did something totally random and got some baby chicks for the kids to have as pets for a few weeks.  Ben's parents raise chickens, so we checked with them to see if we could just pass them along once they aren't manageable and cute anymore. 

Sammi, who is usually the adventurous one that loves animals, isn't too fond of the chicks.

E has really taken a liking to them and is quite hilarious.  He is usually really timid around animals and new situations in general.  It's been fun to see him with his pets.

Here are the four chicks: Honk, Fluffy, Teddy, and Beefaroni.  (E named 3 of the four)

E thought they might enjoy playing with his giant ball

Here are the kids at IFA trying on some Western Wear right before we bought the chicks.

It has been quite the experience having chickens as pets.  They are actually really low-maintenance since they just sit in a box in the garage until we want to play with them.  We just have to occasionally give them chicken feed and water and change the pine shavings in their box.  It's been fun, but I'm definitely never going to turn into a chicken farmer.

It's A...

 GIRL!

Head and back

Little feet

Little fingers

 We are so excited to meet this sweet little girl in September!  I have to admit, I felt like it was going to be a boy, but we are thrilled to have a new baby sister soon.

Catch-Up

 These pictures were from a very long time ago, but I had to post them.  Aunt Nat came for a visit, which we always love!

This is what I get when I tell Sammi I want to take a picture

And this is what I get when I tell Emerson I want to take a picture

When I told him to smile normally...

To look at the camera...

Finally!

 When the weather was being psycho we had a lot of inside days where we tried really hard to find fun things to do, and this idea came from my mom.  She used to use shaving cream on her students' desks so they could write their spelling words in the foam, and then she would wipe it off and it would clean the desks at the same time! Isn't she smart?

 It was a hit with these little fellas too.

Big Girl Bed

 Sammi has been a tricky sleeper.  She made up her mind when she was almost 2 that she no longer wanted to be in a crib and that she was going to be a stinker about naps.  We have been battling her about naps for the past year and have found that it is always a trade off that if she takes a nap, she will have a difficult time going to bed at a reasonable hour.  Not for lack of trying, though.  She just isn't tired and will repeatedly pop out of bed.  I am happy to report that things have magically gone much better since we bought her a twin bed.  That stinkin' toddler bed didn't do the trick for some reason.  She is sleeping much better and going to bed is much more pleasant for all of us.  I don't know if it's actually the bed or she just happens to be growing out of that particular phase, but either way I am grateful.

 

She pretty much thinks she's da bomb in her princess jammies and big girl bed.