Ready For Christmas

Well, here are the boys with their winter mustaches. I suppose Aaron's is more of a beard. No matter what, they will not stop licking their lips and are left with that "double lip" look. They get this from their daddy. They are super excited for Christmas to come. We have been trying to instill in them that with the economy down, there is going to be a lot less this year. On their wish list: Nintendo DS. Somehow I think the lesson got missed.





For the first time in a long time, I am not so excited for Christmas morning. The gifts seem so unimportant. We are just wishing for all the worry to go away. Amy's mom is very sick and we are tired of the never ending medical bills. We are looking forward to a new year and hopefully peace.

Kelbre in front of the Christmas tree. She loves taking all the ornaments off and then putting them back on in clumps. She has also learned that if she wants something for Christmas, then you have to "ask Santa" which terrifies her. So, she decided that Robby can ask for her. Her wish: a Dora mermaid Kalidescope.

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Happy Happy Birthday Rachel dear....

happy days will come to you all year.

If I had a wish than it would be

a Happy, Happy Birthday to you from me!

Wish we could be there to celebrate with you!

Junk Food

So how is one to loose weight when this is the daily scene in my house? Okay, Okay, Halloween was last week and then it was my birthday. But it never seems to end. Besides the big bowl of chocolate from Halloween, a lady in my ward brought over a big brownie cookie that said "Happy Birthday." We already had an apple pie and then grandma sent over cookies. This of course doesn't include the ample supply of ice cream in the freezer. I think it is time to start asking people over for dessert.

Aaron the Photographer?

Aaron asked if he could borrow the camera to take some pictures of them playing in the leaves. Here is what he came up with:

He looks frustrated......

and sick.............

not sure what close-up we are looking at here.....

at least he got a picture of the leaves

Looks like a pig nose!

and of course Pal!

Estes Park Trip

Grandma Centra is here visiting! We decided to take a ride up the mountains to spend the day together at Rocky Mountain National Park. The kids love being outdoors. It was a beautiful ride, but unfortunately, I was sick the whole time. What I thought was a long lasting stomache flu ended up being a bad gallbladder. So I get to have that removed in about 10 days. Oh joy. In the meantime, we are loving every minute of grandma time! The biggest shock was that Kelbre went right to her (I think the fact that grandma was holding a barbie helped a bit).

Space Derby

The Bullet

The Boat

Robby and Aaron recently participated in a scout Space Derby. They received a block of wood and had to sand it into a rocket shape. Then the pack got together and they raced them on these strings (There is a rubber band inside that you wind and then let go). So here are their masterpieces. Robby decided on a boat because that was as much painting as he likes to do. Neither boy placed in the top 3, but it was fun.

Problem: As we were walking out the door, Kelbre asks

"Daddy, when do I get to be a boy scout?"

Rules

So both my boys had to write a set of "rules" in school. They were allowed to write any rules they wanted. So here they are:

Aaron's Paper:

"7 Rules How To Be Nice To Your Older Brother"

1. Let him read one of your books.
2. Ask if he can help you get a snack.
3. If you are holding his dog and he tells you to let go, let go.
4. If he is babysitting and you got hurt, tell him to call mom and dad.
5. Let him pick the show.
6. If you brother is teaching you a game and you didn't hear him, ask him nicely to say it again.
7. If you do something mean to him, say sorry.


Robby's Paper:

"8 Rules For Living With My Sister"

1. Give it to her or prepare for a scream.
2. Always make her happy.
3. If she cries, give her to me.
4. If you can't get her to do something, give her to me.
5. If it's pink, it's hers.
6. If you are a stranger, stay away.
7. Always have a sippie in hand.
8. If you want to have some fun, play with her!

Fall Leaves

We finally gave in and purchased a leaf blower/sucker last fall. I decided it's not worth doing though until they "all fall down." The kids are enjoying them in the mean time.

What is with this face? I think Robby might be having an influence on her.

Halloween

Where's Aaron?

Robby was so happy to be a clown so he could "be silly and it's okay."




Tinkerbell doesn' usually have big red cheeks, but Kelbre REALLY wanted her face painted like her brothers!

It was so nice having a warm Halloween for a change. The kids stayed out twice as long and ended up a ton of candy (literally?). All were very tired by the end of the night though.

My mom, who is visiting from Maryland, has a bad eye condition and occasionally wears an eye patch to soothe the contrast between the eyes. I never really thought anything of it, but when we left to go trick or treating, Kelbre declared "Grandma is going to be a pirate!"

Art Show

Aaron was recently featured in an art show in our town. He loves to draw and has even started playing around with watercolor painting a bit. Great job Aaron!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Someone has a birthday shout "HOORAY" (can you hear it?)

We want to sing to you today (but you're at a scout jamboree)

One year older and cuter too! (okay..........wiser)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!


We love ya.


In honor of your birthday we can't play baseball.....

It's freakin cold in Colorado and wet.

Pink Birdies

I am not so sure these qualify as pink

Just hanging out

Snack Time!

So our zoo in Denver had a free day and Robb took off so we could all go. The boys got Kelbre all excited about going to the zoo by telling her that there were pink birdies called Flamingos. Just our luck, the flamingos were some rare species that are orange. Oh well!

She's already convinced that pumpkins are pink (her trick or treat plastic pumpkin is pink) so why shouldn't pink flamingos be orange?

Playdough Pals

Here is Kelbre with Jessica, the little girl I started babysitting about a month ago (along with her newborn brother). Yes, I know; schooling at home and doing childcare is a little insane. I must be! I am actually letting the kids do playdough which was always a big No No for me.

Cheap Labor

Robby has been begging us for some time to let him mow the lawn. So we finally came to our senses and realized that $2 was cheap labor. We better appreciate it while we can! He actually does a pretty good job. Now, if someone would just invent power tools for cleaning his room we would be set. Bye the way, the grass looks good! Hard to believe there wasn't any last year!

Bobcat

Just a couple weeks after turning 8, Aaron received his Bobcat award in scouts. Now he is officially a wolf. Believe it or not, this ceremony actually made me nervous. Leave it to me to paint something wrong in front of everyone.

Dinner, Wolf Style

Aaron and his cousin Ben are both in the wolf den in cub scouts. To pass of one of their requirements they had to help prepare an outdoor meal, so they cooked Sunday dinner for the family. Here they are assembling Chicken Kabobs. It's a good thing they only had to "help" with the meal; they got through one platter of kabobs before giving up and playing on the trampoline. Luckily parent's are around to finish the job so the Johnson boys wouldn't have had to fight over 10 Kabobs! All in all it was a delicious meal. Good job boys! And, yes, the Broncos did play that day so both boys are showing their support to Uncle Reed.

Happy Birthday Sariah

Today is my niece Sariah's 14th birthday. Since we can not be there to celebrate with her we had pancakes in her honor. We love you Sariah! Rock on!

Looking Good in White

Aaron is baptized!

Congratulations to Boo Man
I know it seemed like an eternity to you, but the big day finally arrived. I was really surprised at how calm and exited you were. We are so proud of you buddy for your choice to be baptized and follow Christ. You are a great example to all of us! I can't wait to see your testimony grow.

Wisdom of 3 year olds

• Scene: Aaron's Baptism. Robb decides to hold Kelbre and cousin Brady on his lap during a lull in the ceremony and starts to read to them "Clifford." He only gets through a page or so before he has to stop to finish the confirmation. No sooner does the closing prayer end, Brady stands before everyone and yells, "Now.......... Clifford!
• Scene: The middle of church. Kelbre is restless and so I decide to break out the book of bible stories to keep her quiet. The first story she sees, of course, is Adam and Eve and the creation. All of a sudden she starts yelling "mom, she forgot her clothes!" "Look mom, she needs clothes!" No matter how hard I try to move on to another story, she keeps forcing it back to that one.
• Scene: Making Tortillas in the kitchen. I stick my hands into the dough to mix the ingredients. Kelbre starts yelling, "Momma you gotta wash your hands." "Oh, no! Wash your hands!" Then I dump the mixture out on the counter to kneed the dough and she yells "Oh no, put it back in the bowl mom! It goes IN the bowl!"

Art at the Park

To my children's dismay, going to the park is no longer just for play. Mother ususally has alterior motives. Here the boys are painting pictures of what they saw at the park. They actually turned out really cute. Kelbre was happy to color a few pages pink then she was off to the slides. The funny part is, it took me at least a half hour to pack all the art stuff, sack lunches, 3 kids and 2 dogs for an "afternoon" at the park, only to have the rain clouds moved in about 20 minutes after we got there. Colorado weather is just so fun. Or not.

Pirate Party

A new definition of "ice cream cake."

Cannon Ball Fight. 200 Balloons gone in about 3 minutes.

Pirates

Walking The Plank

Robby walking the plank with Style!


Happy Happy Birthday Aaron!

Back To School Virtual Style

Mrs. Tara Walker with Robby. She is the best teacher ever!

Mrs. Kellie Flowers with Aaron. She is fantastic too, Robby had her in 3rd grade.

It's back to school time and I am finding that my boys are having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. At least the "doing school work" part. These photos were taken at our back to school picnic last week when the boys got to meet their teachers. They sure didn't have any problem getting motivated for that! Robby was lucky enough to get the same teacher again this year. She is the most amazing teacher ever and has made all the difference in his achievements. I love taking these photos every fall and then hanging them above the computer so they don't forget who is really in charge! Now if I could just send the boys to them when they're being lazy!

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Aaron with his completed Lego Starwars Spaceship. Thanks Grandma Centra!

Aaron is finally 8! This is a birthday has been long awaited! When we asked Aaron tonight what he thought of his birthday weekend, he said it was "tiring." He had a pirate birthday party yesterday then a family birthday dinner tonight with Robb's family. The fun has only begun! Scouts start this Wednesday, and then he gets baptized on Saturday. I'm tired too!