Fall Update

We went to see the Witches at Gardner Village. We invited Mckenna to come and she loved it, too. Here is Mckenna and Rachel with the witch on the bench. Bria was afraid of the spider on her staff so she wouldn't sit next to her. Maybe next year.

Here is Bria, Mckenna, and Rachel....

Bria and Rachel's favorite witch is "Witchy Poo". They talk about her all year long.

We went to St. George a couple of times. Jeff and my mom and dad did a 65 mile bike race last time. Here is my mom and dad coming toward the finish line.

Jeff took a wrong turn at the end, so I didn't get him in action. But here he is at the end.

Here they are at the condo just before the race.

Jeff taught Rachel to ride a two wheeler and now she can't get enough of it.

And Bria practiced hard on her scooter.

Bria now poses for the camera, too.

Here's our other St. George trip. We played at the pool a lot.

First Day of School!

Bria started preschool and was sooooo excited. She has been talking for weeks about getting her own scissors and wearing her elephant costume for the Halloween party.

She has been wearing this backpack for days now getting ready for the big day.

I got to come with her on her first day and trace her shape and color a life size Bria.

Then we had a little mother-daughter date afterward at Arctic Circle for ice cream cones!


And I can't believe this one...Rachel had her first day of Kindergarten.

Bria gave her a big hug on the first day and told her "Good Luck".

Here's Rachel walking to school on her first day.

And here she is lined up and getting ready to follow her teacher into her class for the first time.
I was very proud of myself, because I didn't let any tears slip out (although I will admit I was choked up)!

Tapioca Pudding

I made one of my favorite desserts the other night: Tapioca Pudding with whipped cream. Yummmmm! You have to eat it warm with cold whipped cream. It's the best.
Bria liked it and said it tasted like "chocolate chip surfboards".
Rachel hated it and said it tasted like "alien boogers".

I'm on a roll....

We went to fireworks twice this year and the girls LOVED them!

Two of Jeff's brothers came into town with their families and we went up the canyon for a cookout.

The Johnson boys minus one

Bria, Rachel, and Aubrie waiting for the fireworks show to start.

The cousins

So long, Farewell....

My brother Jeff, aka Froid, aka Uncle Shnoy Noy, left on his mission a couple of weeks ago. Here we are saying our final goodbyes. Rachel cried the whole way home and cried herself to sleep that night because she missed him already so much. It was sweet.

We're baaack!

Here is the Johnson family alive and well.


My brother, Jeff, got his mission call to the Sacramento, California mission. He leaves on June 10th. We will miss teasing and tormenting him.
Everyone was supposed to guess where he was going before he opened his call. I definitely won as you can see and am still waiting for my promised prize.



Danny and Kristen (my brother and wife) had their first baby in January. Her name is Mckenna and she looked just like Rachel did as a baby. She is an awesome baby, hardly ever cries. Lucky parents.





Bria turned 3 years old in February. She is such a little sweetheart. She loves cuddling and is also addicted to the computer game Jump Start.




We got a new puppy in February named Nala to replace Chloe who is in doggy heaven (long story).




Easter

Easter egg hunt with Grandma Rees and cousins.



Jeff and I went to Hawaii with my family. We left the kids home and had a relaxing getaway!
Here we are getting our Matsumoto's Shave Ice. We went there almost every day.

Here's Scott and Jeff about to attempt surfing.
Jeff drinking from a coconut. It looked cool, but tasted nasty!

Here we are in Waimea Falls. For all you Lost fans, this is where Sawyer and Kate dived in and found the briefcase.Jeff and I at Sunset Beach



Rachel turned 5 in May! She is starting Kindergarten in 2 months. I can't believe she is so old. She is the peacemaker in our home and is an awesome sister to Bria!


Rachel got to go to Build-a-Bear and bring a friend for her birthday. She LOVED it!


We visited Grandpa Rees and Grandma & Grandpa Knudsen's graves on Memorial Day. My dad sets up pictures each year around each grave so you can remember what they looked like. I think it's a great idea.



Rachel graduated from Preschool!

Update

The following posts have our lives in a nutshell for the past three months.

We went trick-or-treating....

We carved pumpkins....

Rachel had a Halloween party at preschool.....