Kenzie's Birthday

Just to be clear as to what a slacker I am...Kenzie turned 4 on July 12th. Grandma Patti and Nan came down and we were able to go to Amazing Jakes. She was so happy to have the whole day about her.
All Smiles: Kenzie and Rylie are always excited to be the same age for 3 weeks.



This is my niece Taylor, she is getting so big. We love having a baby in the family again. Lindsey and Dustin had to work so we just took her along with us for all the fun.



This was Kenzie's favorite part. She just kept riding this thing over and over.








Here she is with the cake that she picked out all by herself. Everytime we go to the store she wants to see the cakes. I think it was one of her favorite parts of the day. She carried it to the car by herself. She insisted. I was glad it made it to the car in one piece. We don't call her mess for nothing.

Taylor enjoying some cake!

Catching up...well a little

Things have been crazy here. So if you actually read my blog,(my mother in law) I am sorry I have been a total slacker! Here is a run down of what each of us, the Johnson Family has been up to lately. We will start at the top and work down, just because I am organized like that.
So Jason:) he has been busy busy with school and work. He found out that he got a ton of wrong advise from a counselor at school. Totally frustrating...but what do you do. We thought he would be able to get into the nursing program this fall...but that is just not going to happen. So he will apply to the program and will have to wait. In the mean time he has enough credits to graduate with an associates in science degree. I don't know how he does it but he does and our family always comes first....which makes me one grateful woman!
So Shay:)...or aka me. I have also been extra busy. Since I only have Kenzie home now I thought I should go back to school too. I am taking 13 credits this semester online. It has been good. Crazy but good. Besides that I pretty much do everything you would expect of a mom of 4 crazy fun kids.
Brenden:)

is such a great kid. He has been playing fall baseball. Which of course Jason loves. He is totally girl crazy and is going to be taller than me soon. Real soon. His shoes are bigger than mine. He likes his new school and has made tons of friends. He likes to be outside riding his bike or playing with his friends but his nose is usually stuck in a book. I can't ever keep up with what he is reading because he goes through them so fast. He is super quick to defend his sisters...sometimes too quick, if I am the one trying to teach them a lesson.
Hailey:)

is growing up way too fast. She is all girl unless she is on the soccer field and you had better stay out of her way. She is slowly adjusting to the new school and misses her friends. She likes our new ward and Jason and I are lucky enough to be her primary teachers. She is still a huge help to me. She puts her whole heart into everything that she does. She is super competitive and since she comes by it naturally we think it is a really good thing.
Rylie:)

is a crack up. She is all or nothing. Happy or sad. We all call her "2 cents", because she is always adding her 2cents to whatever anyone else says. She really loves Kindergarten. She is quite social, as you could imagine. One day Kenzie and I went to surprise her and have lunch with her at the school. It took me a minute to find her because all the girls in her class were sitting together and Rylie was sitting right in the middle of all the boys. We are working on the temper that comes with the RED Hair....I have come to realize that it will be a long road.
Kenzie:)

She is my baby...but she is growing so fast. She loves being home with me alone. I love it too. She loves to go to the mall and get a pretzel. We hold hands and giggle and shop. I seriously am not ready for her to start school in the fall. She is quite spoiled, not just by me but by everyone. OK, mostly by me. She loves to ride her bike and help in the kitchen. She has a REAL love for high heels. She wears mine all the time. Everyday. When we got her new Sunday shoes she cried because they don't sell high heels in her size. My Grams sent her an old pair of gold and clear high heels. She wanted to wear them to church. I almost gave in, that is how spoiled she is. Of course she still makes messes but not quite as often....if you don't count the hot pink fingernail polish on my kitchen table.

Mess a mess

That is what we call her. This is one more reason why. At least she is learning to try to hide...I mean clean it up before I find it. Marker on the wall...she said, at least it is coming off THIS TIME. I had to laugh.

4th of July

I love this picture!! As always we had perfect time in Heber for the 4th! It was great to spend so much time with family. My kids think Christmas and 4th of July are equally awesome. Every year they love it more. I am grateful that we can make such great memories.


We have had so much fun having Taylor around. She is the happiest baby. My kids have loved on her and loved on her. She is so fun...I just want her to stop growing.






These two are so much alike...I swear Rylie was meant to be born as her daughter. Of course Rylie cried all the way to Payson when we had to leave.


Of course we rode quads...with the new rule that no kids ride unless there is an adult. So we came home this time without any broken bones! For this time...


These are all from the parade. Which was awful, which we won't be going to next year. I think that super cranky people should stay home if they don't want to get wet.








Brenden was outside the whole time we were up there. He loved every second of it...like always.


Linds, Taylor and Dustin


Of course they had to get their face painted.



Finally Grandma Patti got this baby to go to sleep on her. She is not much of a snuggler.

The weather was so great that I seriously did not want to come home. The last 5 weeks have been crazy around here. Jason just finished a summer class that was so crazy...he had like 10 hours of homework a day. But he made it though it, got his A and we are so happy to have him done. He needed the class to get into the nursing program at ASU. Slowly but surely we are getting through this school thing. I know it will all be worth it.

Two in a row...

I asked Makenzie to get dressed for me. This is how she came out. Got to love those socks....


My girls are constantly dressing up. Sometimes it gets pretty interesting. On this particular day Rylie had decided to be a fashion designer and use her pajama pants to create something new...aka a scarf-hat. Then they thought they would make an airplane and be a pilot. I was cracking up when I saw that they had tipped the office chair over, got inside the cockpit and put on their goggles. All their words...not mine. I asked Rylie why they were flying in their panties...she came right back at me with "MOM, that is how we roll".





Kenzie trying to rollerblade. I had to laugh when she came out in the quad helmet. It was so heavy on her that she could barely lift her head up.


When I downloaded the pictures from my camera I was surprised to find over 350 images. After I was done deleting all the pictures that Kenzie had taken I only had about 130. Here is one she took of herself.


Rylie Loves Loves Loves when Jason makes RIBS. She is so funny to watch when she is eating them. She loving calls them RIBBIES.



Brenden earned his Bear Badge....only of course after he got to fight the bear inside the tent for it. He had been looking forward to that since he started scouting. We are very proud of him...and he made it out alive! He also got to go to scout camp.



Rylie having a little fun with some balloons. I am not sure if I should laugh or be worried??


Kenzie learned to ride a big girl bike. She was so excited for Jason to get home to teach her how. I was sure it was going to end in her needing a band aid..crying and all the drama, so I could not watch. But I was so wrong. After about 10 min I could not take it anymore and went out to check on how she was doing and she was already riding. She was so VERY proud. So was her Daddy.

Long Overdue...

I know...it has been what seems like FOR-EV-ER. Our little family has been quite busy.
Here is what happens when Brenden and Hailey want to have a late night and hang out all night together. At least they were not fighting....

This is a project that Brenden had to do for school. He had to write a paper and do a presentation on Larry Fitzgerald. Then he had to participate in a wax museum for the school and tell everyone important facts about who he is and why he is important to AZ. The costume was much better with the wig that I got him...but he was too embarrassed to wear it. He still did a great job. He also finished with awesome grades. It was a tough transition at first going from 3rd grade curriculum to 5th but he made it. He did his very best and we are really proud of him.

Here is Hailey showing some of her soccer moves. This is before she broke her colar bone. She was really bummed that she could not finish her season. But it all worked out and she got on the Aresnal Team. We are so proud of her. She has already played an indoor summer league with her new team. They are really talented and she is looking forward to the season and to be coached by some of the best.

This is where we find Rylie if she has a bad dream. I guess the hallway is less scary than her own bed. I love how she borrows Hailey's beanbag to make it a little more comfy.
And that will have to do for now. I have LOTS more to catch up on.