Thanskgiving

Well, I promised photos for Thanksgiving but it was such a day that I didn't take any photos. Sorry! I will try to paint a picture with these words...LOL

Anyways, we cleaned and played Wednesday trying to get this small house ready for a lot of people. We baked our pies Wednesday night too. 2 Pumpkins, 1 Apple, 1 Lemon Meringue Needless to say we had fun! Thursday we got up late...6:00am and Jessica put the turkey in and KJ made some cranberry tea in the crock pot. After that Jessica started all the other cooking. Mashed taters, yams (2 kinds) frog eyed salad, Deviled eggs, Stuffing(in the turkey) Ham, Turkey, gravy, relish tray, corn, and rolls (made by our friends). We had the elders, Bob, and a new family in our Branch over. We had to get a table from the church to hold everyone. By the time everyone went through, it didn't even look like we had touched most of the food! This was the Elders first of three dinners. Bob was tired by 2:00pm and we sent leftovers home. Haylee and Adam and Jack stayed until around6:00pm playing games. Jack is 2 1/2. We had so much fun! We then visited two widows of the branch with pie. Lastly we had the missionaries back over for pie that evening. It was such a fun and enjoyable day. It was great to be in our house, to talk to family and to be able to get to know the new family more.

Hope all your Thanksgiving days were as wonderful as ours! Can't wait for our next blog...as it seems I might actually get back into the swing of keeping in touch again!

Halloween

What a fun time of year this is. Our family is getting ready to be very busy with the Community Choir Jessica is singing in for Christmas, and all the things a Branch President gets to do in the month of December. We are very excited to be together as a family and build on the traditions we started last year. Holli is so excited for Christmas as she remembers last year well. Halloween was fun this year too. There is a book from the library about kids who dress up as bug superheros. Holli was butterfly girl and JD was bumblebee boy. We homemade most of their costumes and had such a blast. We went to the church party and then hit a few neighborhood houses. We still have candy left!

Our trunk for the Church Halloween party.
The back of their costumes.
Meet Butterfly girl who's powers are using her smart brain to figure things out and Bumblebee boy who is so tough with his stinger.
Our pumpkins!

One year later...

I guess blogging is out of style! I just wanted to add some current pictures up for anyone who still might be reading this blog. I am going to try and start up again because this really is a good way to feel up to date with family and friends.

This is our family picture. It's not perfect but warms our hearts to look at those little ones! We took this up in the mountains near our house.

KJ took JD to his first Priesthood session. They looked so cute in their matching red ties and all!
During hunting season, Holli saw some deer out in the field and just had to shoot them like Dad did. So she took her bow, shot about 6 feet and was the happiest little girl on the planet telling everyone how she got to really shoot a deer.
This summer we got a tramp from a neighbor who was moving. The kids spent countless hours jumping on that thing. It has been great!!
Natalie and KJ are playing Wii. They are boxing and it's about 11:30pm! It was so funny to see them at it!

Some other things we've been doing. We have put in a deck out the back of our house, a walk way to it and the sliding glass door. We also did sod up front and put in Natural Gas. KJ's boot shop was put in during May and he is now moved up there. This winter we hope to really vamp up advertising and get the business very busy again. Holli and JD are growing like weeds. JD is talking some. This, That, Cat, Dog, and Mom and his favorite words right now. Holli is doing some preschool at home. She loves to do it and loves to learn the letter of the week. Jessica was released from Relief Society and is back in Nursery for now. Branch living is SO much fun... Hope to post more soon.

October doings

The real side of Holli. She is so happy! So wild! So wonderfully 2.
Yes, JD is INSIDE the pumpkin! It was so big! Holli loved showing off her pumpkin!
JD was all about the "Icky" stuff inside Holli's pumpkin.
Once again, Holli would not help carve the pumpkins! Icky she kept saying.
We spent 1 1/2 weeks down in Sanford. Holli, Jed, and Porter all played so well together. In fact, we still are praying for Porter at prayer time and we play "Jed & Porter" with paper towel cardboard swords.
The Family at Halloween. JD was a hunter. Somewhere there was even an orange bib. Holli was a fairy for the pictures and a princess the rest of the time. (She wouldn't wear the wings anymore)
Holli went through a spell where she had to sleep on the floor. I told her one night that she had to start out in her room and if she woke up she could come into our room. I found her at 3am just barley inside our room, fast asleep. So asleep that she didn't wake up when I tripped over her!
Holli has learned that if she pushes her bike to the top of the ramp, she can coast down it. She has so much fun doing this. It's tough to learn how to ride a bike on dirt roads!
Wednesdays are long days for us since KJ has meetings that night. We pulled out the fort and set it up. I have to admit that once it was up, not much playing was done inside it. They'll play more in forts as they grow up.
Our first taste of foods. JD did ok with his first taste. Not nearly as good as Holli did, but we are up to eating 3 times a day and loving food! :)

Weddings, blessings, and the Zoo

This last weekend was a busy one for us. Jamie, Jessica's sister was sealed to Taylor in the Jordan River Temple. She looked so beautiful and so happy. Congrats to her!The other big event for us was the blessing of JD. He was named Jay after Jessica's side of the family, Dean after the man in the picture below, and Johnson after his father. So full of meaning. And what a blessing he's been in our lives already! Thanks for everyone who was there and everyone who sent their love. That following Monday, we took Holli to the Zoo. She had fun looking at the animals. It was hot and most of the animals were sleeping, but the ones that moved around she loved! We can't wait to take her to Denver and see a bigger Zoo!

We love to get Holli and Kenzie together whenever we can. They are starting to play together and it's so much fun!
Holli didn't have a boring moment this weekend between all of Holli's Aunts, cousins, and Jessica's cousins, she played harder than she has ever played! Thanks to everyone!

JD's Blessing June 27th

We are going to bless JD out in Utah June 27th @ 11:00am. This is during Cary's sacrament. Below is the address to the church. We will not be planning a dinner or get together of any sort afterwards so if you want to stay for all of church you can, if you need to hit the road as we will need to, please feel free to do so.

670 E 800 N
OREM , UT 84097

Two weeks and two kids

Another go at the stomach flu for Holli this last week. We've all had it at least twice in the last month! Holli was so tired that she didn't even move once she went down. Her arms simply feel to the side. She's doing better so far and we really hope the bug has left her body for sure.Little man found his finger and started sucking away. This wasn't the first time either! Let's just say we will push the paci if he looks like he's going to be the finger sucker.

Little man all clean from his first bath at home.

Holli helping Mommy give JD a bath. Holli was small enough that we did sink baths for a long time. This was JD's first and last sink bath. He didn't really like it either. Poor guy, but it's got to be done!

Not the best photo in the world, but a close up of this clean wide-eyed boy. We are all so in love with him.

Ok, so Holli has her days where she's not so in love with him. She has the hardest time when we go out in public and she's not the center of attention. We find that funny because she gets all shy when anyone notices her and we thought she didn't like the attention. Maybe it's just that she doesn't like JD getting all the attention. Most days though, she helps with diaper changes, wants to constantly "wrap" him up in blankets and burp clothes, and will give him pep talks when we leave the two of them alone in a room for a second. She's concerned when he cries but if we are holding him too much, she's not afraid to drag the car seat across the room and say "Baby in." It's so funny to see her drag it because it takes all her strength to do it!

Kj is as we write battling the stomach bug again. He thinks it might be food poisoning this time, but whatever it is, he's sick AGAIN! He's been keeping pretty busy though. Last night he got the garden tilled and the plan is to get a lot of yard work done this weekend.

Jessica is figuring out the way to get things done with two and has found that there's not a lot of free time in the day. Hence why this blog is getting done at 10:30pm! She feels great and loves both her kiddos so much. Kj has helped so much in the cleaning department while she is still trying to fit it all in. The only thing really lacking is the daily walks she wants to take due to the nasty wind!

Well, that's all from the four of us.

Jay Dean Johnson

Here are the much anticipated photos of JD. I believe most of you already know the details, but here they are again.

Jay Dean Johnson 9 lbs 1.4 ozs, 20 inches long, 14 inch head and chest. He's got beautiful brown hair. His poor face was pretty bruised from delivery but is looking much better now. Jessica's water broke around 3:00am she thinks and we were out the door by 4:00am. Mike and Natalie came up and took Holli for us, which was great. The epidural never really worked to start but somehow was pulled out in the process so Jessica did the last 1 1/2 or so all natural. OUCH! For two people who weren't prepared to deal with that kind of pain (yes on both parties side) we made it. JD was turned sunny side up which caused a lot of the pain but at sometime, he turned back around. JD was pushed out in 5 pushes. Jessica was pushing as the doctor walked in because at that point she didn't care who was there or not, just that that baby was coming now.

We are home now and ready to get back into life. JD's doing great although slightly yellow. Just watching that closely. Kj is pretty tired but handling it all pretty good. Jessica feels great, a little sore still, but loving having baby out. Holli is curious about JD but is keeping a distance. When we are not looking she's talking to him or giving him stuffed animals, but won't really look at him when we are around. She's throwing some pretty good fits that we hope go away in a few days or so. She was given her own baby carseat and baby at the hospital and has to do whatever we do with JD to her own baby. It's very sweet.

Last few hours of being prego! On our way to the hospital.Poor little boys face was pretty bruised. Look at that chest!Sleeping so sweet. He's dressed and ready to come home.The first pic of the new family of hour. See, Holli's really not sure what to think.She wanted to hold him, until he was on her lap. She'll come around.It's hard on everyone. We all fell asleep in the hospital room just being together as a family.At home and happy. Holli actually crawled up all on her own.

Easter, Holli's Birthday and our poor car.

March was a full month here in Norwood! Kj traveled to California for Marc's blessing. While he was gone, Holli fell at church and broke her arm landing her in a pretty pink cast. Kj hit our 8th deer since coming to Norwood and Jessica slid off the road on her way to church resulting in the car being totaled. We've been busy! On the fun side, Kj's gotten a few more boots in and has loved working out in his shop. Jessica's done babysitting for Uriah now, but still keeps Holli busy. She's still working on her blog and scrapbooking. We took one last long trip out to Utah to see the family out there. We all three around counting down the days until Baby can come. Our due date is May 24th but we are hoping for more like May 4th! April is turning out to be as busy as March with less bumps in the road. Easter was a blast this year too! Turkey season has started and we hope to be posting our long beards soon!

Holli, Shoes, and Kj

It's been a few months since we've posted so here's what's been going on in our life.

At the start of the year, January 1st, Kj came down with the nastiest cold he's had. It lasted 4 weeks. About two weeks into it, Holli and Jessica came down with it. Holli didn't sleep much and so out of self preservation we would sleep in her twin bed propped up by pillows so she could breathe. By Thursday night she was breathing well enough that we decided it was time for her to sleep in her crib by herself. She cried for 20 mins, Dad tried to calm her down and she asked for "the Mama." After Jessica came in she jumped off her lap, patted her big girl bed. We asked her if she want to sleep in it and she scrambled up and laid her head down. We didn't hear from her the rest of the night! So just like that, Holli is in a big girl bed. She loves it and really has done w

As most of you already know, Kj has purchased the equipment needed to start his own boot repair shop! The Friday that Kj went to Grand Junction to pick it up, Holli was very excited too. At 9:30pm when Kj came home, Holli insisted that she go outside to greet Dad. 5 mins before Kj came home, Holli was all dressed to go outside, PJ's and all! She ran down the ramp, snow covered and all, to get her hug for Kj. It made his night. I guess Kj wasn't the only one excited!

Kj standing by his 'new' Landis Finisher! He rearranged his shed out back and loaded it all back in there. As you can see he already has some boots to repair and he's not even up and running! He has a patch machine, the finisher, and a sewing machine. We are going to order his supplies soon. He can't hardly wait to get going. He even may have a lead to repairing shoes for Simms! Everything is working out perfectly for him. He hopes to stay busy enough to work all day on Fridays and Jess hopes that he's not too busy to work more than that. He's going to be wonderful.

Holli and her Oreo's. She loves the middles...who doesn't.

It's not often that Holli will cuddle with Mommy.

More than 10 times a day we read Holli's current favorite book, How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? She loves to ROAR at all the Dinos!

Wearing Mom's shoes and walking around in them. Such a big girl!

The Ultimate compliment to the chef is when you lick you plate clean. Sticky French Toast. Yes, we took a bath right afterwards.

Other than the above, life is wonderful. We stay busy with church and normal life. Jessica is feeling good and growing slowly. Congrats to Amy and David with their new little one and Jessica prays that all little boys are not that big!