Summer Blog Catch Up

Sometimes I get too busy to blog and miss out on some funny moments or cute pics. Therefore, I am catching up with some blogs that never got posted this summer.

PEACEFUL ASHLYN - Sometimes, this is Ashlyn at her best! She wears me out and sometimes it's so nice when she does the same to herself and crashes. AAAAHHHH, finally peace and quiet!

LITTLE BEETHOVEN'S - The three girls actually thought they were playing great! It was so cute, however, I think Brooke enjoyed it the most.

ASHLYN'S HAIRDO - This is what happens when you let a four year old do her own hair!

BIG POUTER - The girls got the same exact pair of pj's for the summer ad I thought it would be a cute pic. Obviously, not all my children agreed - check out Maddie's big pout!

ASHLYN'S VBS DEBUT - Watch how Ashlyn get's so into the actions. She made me laugh, so sorry that the video gets a little bumpy at times.

GOOFY DADDY - Chris will probably kill me for posting this, but it is too funny. Here he is as Daddy Walrus!

Caught in Action

We have a new thumb sucker in our house - Baby Dylan. Baby Dylan is my cousin's baby that I am watching during the day. He has now decided to join our Brooke in sucking his thumb. He's been doing it for a few days now, but I haven't been able to catch him on camera. However, I finally did yesterday. There's no denying it Dylan - you were caught in action.

Ashlyn's Boo Boo

Today, Ashlyn came up behind me and asked me to turn around and look at her as she had something to show me. When I turned around, I saw Ashlyn wearing one of my bras on top of her shirt. And before I could tell her to get it off, she tells me "Look Mom, I have boo boos." Not the type of boo boos that most kids talk about!

Back to School

Today was Maddie's first day of 1st grade. We were fortunate to be accepted out of district to the Southeast of Saline Elementary. However, since this school is out in the country, Maddie gets to ride a bus to and from school this year. She was so excited to go back to school and was so brave when she climbed up those stairs of that big bus. However, Mommy wasn't as brave as I shed a few tears as my baby got on the bus and went to school for the whole day. Ashlyn also cried because she wanted so desperately to go on the bus with her sister.





It was also a different feel at the Johnson house as well. It was earily quiet, which I determined was because Maddie and Ashlyn weren't fighting, and Ashlyn was somewhat sad that her playmate of three months was not here to keep her company. (Brooke just doesn't play the same as Maddie does). However, it won't be long until Ashlyn's afternoons will be spent at preschool - or at least they will three days a week - and then I won't know what to do with myself since I will only have Brooke and baby Dylan (my cousin's baby that I'm watching during the day). But for now, we will make good use of the quality time I get to spend with my two younger children.

We're Making Progress

Today we worked on our bike riding and we are making major progress! Something must have "clicked" because Maddie rode all by herself the length of two houses!!! She is beginning to regain her balance when she starts to lose it and she's stopping without falling everytime. We just have to work on her starting by herself. But, we are pleased with the progress we're making!

"It's Not as Easy as it Looks"

Well, Chris and I decided that it was time for Maddie to learn to ride her bike without training wheels. What we found out is that it's not as easy as we thought it would be. Maddie has not shown much desire to take the training wheels off, but we felt that since she's now six years old, it is time for her to try.

We did what every good parent does and padded Maddie up with her helmet and knee and elbow pads for those expected falls that occur as you are trying to learn how to ride. Chris set out first as the teacher and quickly became frustrated as Maddie didn't seem to understand what to do. I was surprised at how quickly Daddy's patience ran out, I always thought he had way more patience than I do. That is why I thought he would be the better teacher. Anyways, Mommy quickly took over the lessons and worked with Maddie to see if I could do any better. Much to my surprise, I didn't achieve much better of a result. Maddie seems to not understand that she has to keep pedaling and steer the bike in a straight direction - you can tell that she stops doing this once she senses that I'm about to let go. She would make it just a little ways and then would lose her balance and fall. I will admit, she was very brave and got back up on the bike and would try again. She even got a small scratch and didn't cry!

What we learned from our short experience - both Chris and I have to obviously work on our patience, as we know this isn't going to come to her overnight. We were very proud of her for trying and being brave even though she was scared she would fall. However, we would appreciate any advice from those of you that have accomplished this with your children. We know that eventually she will get it, but as Maddie put it - "Its not as easy as it looks Mommy."

Brooke Loves Baths!

Our Brooke loves to take baths. Honestly, she loves water! Well, the other day the older girls were taking a bath and Brooke decided to join them without my knowledge - until Maddie started screaming for me to come to the bathroom. Once I got there, this is what I found...



Brooke in the bath with her CLOTHES on!!! She is so funny!

Another VBS Behind Us

Well, we finished up Vacation Bible School last Friday. This was the girls' second VBS this summer. We attended our church's this June and "Surfed through the Scriptures" learning about the Beatitudes. This VBS was at our old church in Hutch. It was a lot of fun going back each night and learning about having a serving heart in "God's Big Backyard". It was also nice to see all of our friends and family at Crossroads. The girls even got to have a couple of friends stay overnight one night, which was fun for them to spend some time with friends they don't get to see very often. Below are some pics from the week. What a great week it was, but I'm so thankful it is over - Mommy's tired!

Maddie & Dalton in her Crew!


Ashlyn & Zach in her Crew!


Maddie & Ashlyn with their friends - Landri and Hayley!


Ashlyn & Cooper the Dog!