Kids for Sale

I love my kids, but I have thought- "you drive me crazy" at least a dozen times in the past few days. I guess you could say we have hit the terrible twos. Just to give you an example of what goes on in our house..... The other day Ryan was running late from work (seems to be the usual these days) and so I was feeding the kids dinner while I finished preparing dinner for Ryan and I. They both had some chicken nuggets with ranch(their favorite part), and I looked over to see them elbow deep in the ranch, flinging it every where. Now you might think- why did you give them so much ranch- I didn't! That was one spoonful each and they managed to get it all over the walls floor and themselves. So after cleaning them up, I put them out to play while I cleaned up the rest. Then Kate comes over to me saying "yucky" with her hands outstretched. What was on her hands? Poop. She dug her hands in to her diaper and got poop all over her hands only to wipe it all over her shirt. So after I clean her all up and change her clothes, I walk over to Clark only to find out she'd wiped it on him too!! So I just about lost it. I don't know what it is about that hour from 5:30pm to 6:30pm - but it is just hell. In the Johnson family, we call it the 'arsenic hour'. You either feel like giving it or taking it!
In addition to all that we've started the whinning for everything, fighting over everything and Clark has even started the going limp thing when I'm trying to get him to do something! So needless to say- they've had quite a bit of crib time the past few days.
I don't mean to use my blog as a vent- but I just had to let you all know that my kids are just as bad - if not worse than yours! We are not perfect by any means- so feel better about what you're doing, because being a Mom is hard. So give yourself a pat on the back- because you certainly won't get it from your kids!

Finished!

I just finished reading 'Breaking Dawn' , the last book of the 'Twilight' series by Stephanie Meyer and I LOVED IT!! I borrowed it from my sister Nancy and had it for 2 days before I opened it up and started reading, not because I didn't want to read it, but I knew my life would be put on hold until I finished it. Saturday night Ryan picked it up and was going to start reading it, and I quickly stopped him. He was NOT going to read it before me! Ha! So I started reading that night and couldn't put it down. I have to say that I loved the first book, was ok witht the 2nd book, wasn't in love with the third, and a bit worried about how this would end up. But I was not disappointed with the 4th. Now I'm going to tell you what I liked about this book, so if you haven't read it yet- or finished it- stop reading now- or I'll ruin it for you.........

I am so glad that Bella finally turned into a vampire. Ryan and I have wanted this to happen since the first book. And I know there is a big debate between Edward and Jacob- but I've been rooting for Edward the whole time. Here's my reasons- 1. In the first book she made it so clear that it was true love. 2. Jacob is immature and selfish. Edward always did what was best for Bella and truly sacrificed for her. All Jacob did was try to get her to leave Edward. 3. Vampires are way cooler than werewolves!!

Also, you have to take into account that this is a FANTASY book. It's not real, no matter how much you think it is- so Bella 'giving up her mortality' has really nothing to do with it- it's all about love. And I believe that if you find that true love in your life- you would do anything to be with that person forever. (For those of us who are LDS- we believe that it's possible to be with some one for eternity- so why not?)

As for this book I liked that she told part of the story from Jacobs point of view. I didnt like it at first, but began to understand things in a different way. It made me really mad at Bella for being a dumb girl- but that was probably the point. I liked that for once Edward and Jacob were on the same page and Bella was the one on the outside.

I thought it was CRAZY that Jacob imprinted on Renesmee (by the way what kind of name is that! And how the heck do you say it!). Didnt see that one coming. I knew he'd have to imprint on someone before the book ended, but that was a surprise.

I loved the love story between Edward and Bella in this one. It seemed their relationship was a lot more mature in this book. I thought Stephanie did a great job with the physical intimacy of their relationship. They were married, she didnt go into detail, and showed what a bonding, beautiful thing intimacy is in a marriage. I thought they had a great husband/wife relationship. They both loved eachother enough to do anything to save eachother, and could tell what the other wanted or was thinking without knowing. They worked together, protected eachother, diagreed with eachother and had to take care of a child together.

Well I could go on and on about this book, but I won't. I'd be surprised if anyone reads through all this nonsence in the first place! But I loved it!

New Hair-Do

So Kate has been working on growing some hair ever since she was born, but has been quite unsuccessful. I have tried head bands, little pony tails, and lately little clips, to try to make her look like a little girl, but she just pulls them off! It doesn't help the situation, when all of these methods just seem to pull out her already short, thin, fine hair. Unfourtunatley Clark was the one who got the hair that grows like a weed, and Kate will be lucky to have pig-tails by kindergarden! So when she woke up from her nap the other day, and the static electricity from putting her bib on stuck her hair up like this- I just had to smile. Despite all my best hairstylist tecniques- I think this one works the best!

My Little Fishes

This is what we've been doing all summer.....

4th of July Weekend

Where do I even start?! We went up to my parents cabin for the weekend and had a great time. 4 out of my 7 siblings were there- and that always makes for a good time. I really enjoy spending time with my family and being able to just hang out and talk and laugh with them. There is just something about being with your own family that brings you back to who you really are and the feeling of home. It's also fun to get to know my nieces and nephews who are turning into adults! (That makes you feel old) But I just loved sitting on the porch during the rain storm and listening to my Dad, my brother Rob and nephew Zack play guitars while we all sang along. The weather was beautiful and rained every afternoon and dropped the temperature down to about 60 degrees!

Kate and Clark had a great time playing with their cousins- especially Jacob, who is just a year older than them. The older girl cousins had fun playing with Kate and wanted her to tag along to whatever they were doing. But most of all they loved being with Nana and Paco. Clark just loves my dad and if he was around, Clark was his sidekick! Clark also got to sleep with my sister Heather and her husband the first night we were there- thanks Heather for helping me get two kids asleep by myself!

We also went up to Heber on Saturday for their annual fireworks show. It is AMAZING! For those of you who dont know about it- it's the best kept secret in Arizona. It' s a pretty small gathering- compared to anything in the valley- so you dont have to fight the crowds and traffic too much. It's held right at the high school, and the were setting the fireworks off about 500ft from where we sat! You have to lay down to see the fireworks- because they are right on top of you! My niece Nicki even got some ashes that fell at her feet!

So heres some pics!

Kate going for a ride on the tractor with Daddy

Clark found this empty cooler and climbed in with is blankey

Got to love Arizona sunsets!

Clark, Jacob and Kate at the fireworks show

What a cute boy!

Lake Trip

This post is a bit late- but I finally got some time to download my pictures and make a post! We went to Canyon Lake 2 weeks ago with some friends. We had a great time riding the jet- ski's and the kids had fun playing on the beach. Kate and Clark wanted to go in the water, but as soon as the waves rolled in- they didnt like it so much. Kate lost her footing and fell in a few times, but Clark never got in far enough! I think I was the only one who didnt wear 50SPF sunscreen, and the only one to come back without a sunburn! Thanks Airan and Kelly for inviting us!

We Love to Swim!

I started teaching swim lessons the beginning of June and have been teaching Kate and Clark how to swim along with all my other students. They have taken really well to the water and love to go in the pool. Last week my sister Nancy brought over this little blow up pool, and they have had a blast playing in it. Clark's favorite part is holding the hose while the pool fills up, and getting the leaves or "yukies" out of the water. Kate loves to pick up the pool toys and get in and out of the pool! So I took a few pictures of them playing around, and hopefully I can get some of them really swimming and post those too!