Pics, Videos, and Stuff




15 year class reunion..me in the middle in my homemade shirt lol

 This last weekend (Sept 24-25) was my 15 year class reunion...there was a parade of which I rode on a float showcasing only 11 or so of the 200 people that graduated in from Moberly in 1995.  Might I add that there were more alumni from our class in the parade crowd than on the float.  We tried. Pathetically.

Torey's school pictures finally arrived, and in my opinion (which is somewhat educated) it's one of the best of the 7 yrs of school pictures that she's ever taken.  She's really enjoying Middle school.  She even sat with a large group of them at the homecoming football game Friday night.  (She's in the middle of the pic..good luck!) Ethan was also in the parade.  He marched with the YMCA Flag Footballers and got to help hold the YMCA banner as they marched.  He had a really good time and went around telling everyone he was in a parade.  He is such an entertainer!

Ethan also had a flag football game this last Thursday (Sept 23rd) and we were able to get short video footage of his "action."  I say that lightly cause most of the time, he bounces, cheers, or slumps, and the team is often at the other end of the field before he is.  This clip does show one of his more involved moments. He happens to be in the right place as the guy with the ball is running by and he pulls the flag belt off the kid.  Ethan is wearing blue shorts (no white on them) and a red shirt.  He's the taller one. (It's his first time ever playing football, etc, so we're cutting him some slack. lol)

Jason is finishing off the first of his last couple sessions in college. (He's not sure about getting his Masters yet)  This Sat. Oct 2 are finals, and then he has a two week break before the next session starts.  It will be intense, or more intense because instead of online classes, he'll have two evening inseat classes that go from 5:30 to 10:30pm on Wed and Thursdays.  Boy will this be a test of his resolve.

We're counting down the days now until Christmas, because not only does it mean it's Christmas, but we will be traveling to NY this year to be with family out there.  We'll get to see the Adam and Emily's triplets in person for the first time, and Jason is excited about our kids getting to do some "real" sledding.

I'm still waiting for Jason to download the video footage from the Orscheln party where he rode the mechanical bull, so when he finally does that, I'll get it up to share will everyone.  Other than that, we're still squeaking along...slowly but surely.  Love you ALL!

Our First Flag Football Experience

Neither Jason or I have any experience with flag football at an elementary level.  I played powder puff football in high school, where there was minimal tackling...and Jason played real football his senior year.  So we signed Ethan up for flag football through our local YMCA and he had his first practice and game last week.  He had a good time.  He jumped up and down and watched more than anything, because he was so excited just to be out there...but not a lot of action.  I took some photos to share with you, but there's nothing like seeing it in person.  Maybe next time I'll video.  I had to know what I was getting into, before I shared it with everyone else. lol.  Here are some pictures.



The Huddle



Smell The Fear!



Ready to Run!



Quarterback in the making...

All in all...some of the spectators thought we were at an NFL game and were taking the boundry lines super-seriously...and were all vocal and into it...the rest of us were laughing. After the game, we went straight to Wal-Mart, bought a small Ethan sized football and some cones and started...training. lol

Ethan's Birthday on Sunday 9/12

He's 7, he's spunky, he likes his mac and cheese
He plays legos, he quotes starwars, another popsicle please
He's in first grade, playing flagfootball, watch out here he comes
He's writing, he's reading, he's getting better at math sums
He's growing, he's happy, he keeps us on our toes
With light sabers, he's amazing, battling all his foes
Now onward, and forward, to eight he's looking now
His stare, it's steady, with one slight raised eyebrow...lol

Here's our Ethan!!!

He loves to give the eyebrow...a Jason inherited talent

Legos Legos Legos...that's whats for dinner

My very pathetic attempt 2 hours before the party at making a "Lego Cake"

Ethan and his Great Grandpa Carter share their September birthday.  Ethan of course turned seven and GGpa Carter turned 80.

Torey also has some exciting news...she has decided to play the clarinet in the Middle School Band.  Kids in Moberly start in sixth grade.  She got a clarinet, just tonight, thanks to her dad, Josh, and will be playing soon.  She recently also had school pictures as well.  Here's a snapshot in the car before going in the school...

 Video of Jason riding the mechanical bull at the recent Orscheln Employee Party coming soon....

Ethan's 7th BDay!!

Seven years ago, today, Ethan Thomas Johnson entered this world.  He was anxious to come and has loved living since he got here.  I look back and am so grateful for finding my Eternal companion, thus making Ethan's appearance possible.  Happy Birthday my little love muffin man!


More Pictures and updates to come from his birthday! Stayed tuned!

Torey's First Temple Trip

We packed a homemade sack lunch of sub sandwiches, necturines, chips, snack cakes, and bottled water and set out for the temple in Nauvoo, IL.  We drove 2 hrs 15 mins and arrived around 11:30am.  We ate lunch in a nice little park area behind the temple with the rest of the youth and adults from our ward and then headed for the temple.

We had about 45 people from our ward there.  It was a cool experience to see so many youth willing to give up a Saturday to go to the temple.  I'm proud of our youth!

Torey said she had a good time.  She commented on the beautiful surroundings and how peaceful the temple was.  We hope to go again soon!

What we do when we're bored...

So we were bored and started playing around the other night and Ethan became our object of entertainment...somehow we got onto the Tom Cruise "Risky Business" theme and here is Ethan's attempt at an impersonation.

School Updates:
Torey's locker gave her some problems at the beginning of the week, but it got better as the days progressed.  That was the one thing that she said she didn't like about school.  I think now that we have the locker conquered...she'll find something else to not like.  But isn't that how Middle school kids are anyway?
Ethan's experience has also improved.  He's a little more confident and hasn't had any major bathroom issues since the first day.  At least not at school.  He's got a pep in his step and comes through the door after school with a smile.  Does a parent's heart good to see their little boy happy after a day of 1st grade.
Jason is into his school groove finally, realizing that he's on his final chapter...which makes this last 8 months a little easier to tolerate.  I am still trying to get my schedule calmed down and smoothed out, but all and all, we'll survive.

The weather has been a little cooler and the oncoming forcast shows some cooling temperatures, which we are looking forward to.

Upcoming events:
Sept 4th -Torey's   first Temple Trip.  She'll get to do baptisms.  We are going to Nauvoo, IL.
Ethan's birthday is Sept. 12th and he'll be 7 years old.  (How time flies)
My 15 year high school class reunion is at the end of Sept.

The Kids First Day of School 8/24/2010

...the alarm goes off early...ugh...have to get up...why?....oh yah, first day of school!  Torey comes running through the house to my room.  "Mom, I'm up!  I got up with my alarm mom!" and then runs off again to get ready. Here we are, this is what I had been waiting for...routine, schedules, getting the kids off to school again.  I think I always dream like doing all that is an easy thing, and then I awake and the GRIND continues. lol. 

Torey has to get up an hour earlier this year. 6am instead of 7am to get ready.  She has to be at school between 7:05 and 7:30.  The bus comes at like 6:30 or something crazy like that, so I'm just taking her to school this year. I'll probably trade off with my sister Tawnee who's kids have to be there at the same time.

She was excited yesterday to get there.  She had her outfit picked out and her lunch made and was just practically bouncing off the walls.  Alex and Alyssa Delp walked over and we took them to school on the first day too!

So I dropped them off...was doing so well with the emotional aspect of the fact that my baby girl was starting Junior High/Middle School, that I was old enough to have a daughter in Middle School...and then I saw boys watching her as she walked in the school...and then I had a very slight breakdown.  Just a few tears, but definately some lack of breath/breathing issues.  Sad. I know. 

Okay, so now it's 7:20ish and I have to get back home to wake Ethan who has to be at school between 8:05 and 8:35am.  I walked to his bed and picked him up out of bed and hugged him and whispered in his ear that it was time to get up.  He turned his head, breathed his glorious morning breath into my face, and smiled. lol.  He hugged me back and told me he was so excited.  We got him dressed, flattened down his bed hair a little, and poured him a bowl of cereal.  He ate a couple bites and then told me he didn't feel good.  He had turned sheet white and looked like he was about to hurl.  I asked if he was okay and he told me yes, but he really didn't look to hot.  He brushed his teeth and we made his lunch...and then I drove him to the school.  He got out of the car, with the color back in his face, and gave me an scarey and devious look...

And then I told him he better be good, and he looked at me and said he was going to make good choices.  That's something that we drill into him...cause even though he can look very sweet, he can be surprisingly calculating.  Anyway, he gave me a nice smile, I snapped a picture and felt better about letting him go.

After dropping the kids...I had to zip over to the college to try and secure a strategic parking spot between the two buildings where I had class.  I got there, got a spot and then relaxed in my car with the windows down for about 25 minutes until class time.  I took a deep breath and then walked into accounting...

...and after a 9-3:30 day of classes for me, I zipped to my mom's house where the kids are dropped/walk to...and found Torey sitting at the computer.  I hugged her and asked her how her day went.  She hates her locker, she was late to every class because her locker wouldn't open.  The teachers give the 6th graders a little leeway because of the locker sitch, but she had to have a teacher open her locker everytime she needed something.  She was frustrated.  Funny thing is that she didn't have any problems the night before at the open house.  But other than that, she had a good day.  She liked her classes and didn't really have any other issues.  Wish I could say the same for my Ethan boy.

Last year, Ethan's classroom had a bathroom in it, which worked great because Ethan has bathroom issues.  He can go by himself, but he goes often and can clog a toilet like any grown man. lol.  His 1st grade classroom this year doesn't have a bathroom in it and he wasn't used to that idea...so, to make a long story short, he had bathroom problems 3 times during school.  Poor guy also had to go right before school let out and ended up being in the bathroom for a half hour, worrying everyone to death because he didn't walk to grandma's like his usual routine.  I frantically found him in the bathroom at the school...crying...and afraid that he was going to be in trouble.  Needless to say, when I woke him up this morning...his first coherent words were...I don't want to go to school.  Poor guy.  I assured him that today would be better and then we got ready.  He dragged a little, but I think he'll be okay.

So...there we are.  First day of school.   (long relieved sigh)