Garret turns 6

Today is Garrets 6th Birthday.  He is so excited about it.  He has been talking about his birthday for a couple weeks now.
I took the boys to the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake yesterday with my sister Georgette her husband Gordon, my sister Shar and 2 of her step-kids Kat and Luke.  It was pretty fun.  We got there right after they opened so most of the animals were out eating breakfast.  It was nice to be able to see most of the animals out and about.  The polar bear was especially cool to watch. It was having a nice time playing in the water and making all the kids squeal with delight when it would jump up out of the water in front of the observation glass.  Andrew really liked to see the animals and wanted to pet all of them and got upset every time I tried to take him to the next animal.  We also saw the baby elephant that is almost a year older than Andrew.  It was really cute running around its habitat.  I let each boy pick something from the gift shop because we don't go to the zoo often.  Andrew ended up picking a stuffed tiger (he named it meow) and Garret got a game.  I think it was a fun day even though by the end both of them were whining a little, Andrew because he was tired and it was nap time, and Garret because he was tired of walking so much.  They both ended up sleeping in the car on the way home.  We are already planning a trip to the Aquarium later in the summer.  Garret is so much like his dad and doesn't really care about seeing stuff, he would rather do things.  Andrew seems to be a good combination of the 2 of us.  He enjoyed seeing the animals but he also likes to be active and go on rides.
Today we are planning on hanging out for awhile and then after Brent gets off work we will head down to Layton for dinner and play time.
I'll post pics tomorrow.

Bring on Summer

Garret only has 2 more days of school left, so this brings up Summer for the Johnsons.  We've been trying to decide what we should do.  Disneyland ticket prices went up on Sunday so we decided if we wanted to go this year, and we totally did, we needed to buy passes by Saturday night so we wouldn't have to pay way more to go later on in the year.  We ended up getting Annual Passes so we can go a lot over the next year (if anyone wants to go with us we are totally open to that :P).  We are just lucky that Andrew doesn't need a ticket still, until next year.  We have already planned our initial trip towards the end of June, so we can go between the boys' birthdays.
Speaking of Andrew, he is almost 2.  I cannot believe how fast time has gone by since he was born or even since we moved to Logan.  He is so active.  He loves to wrestle and chase Garret around.  He is a pretty good eater.  He will eat almost anything we give him, sometimes we have to push him a little to get him to try something, but he will usually eat what we give him.  He is a major bruiser, but will come and cuddle whenever he can.  He still looks the same as always but he is just taller.  He loves looking at the stars, moon, clouds and birds.  He is just starting to talk more, so yeah he is a little behind, but every kid is different.  Its kinda all coming together at once.  Drew feels like his "spot" is where ever mom is and if anyone tries to take his "spot" he will do whatever he can to make them move, usually sit or lay on them.
Garret will be 6 in a couple weeks.  I cannot believe this either.  He is almost done with Kindergarten.  I don't know how its possible that I have a kid that age.  From what we have learned from his teacher, he has done so well in school.  He has been eager to learn and do whatever he can to learn everything he can.  His speech has gotten better since he's been in school.  Earlier this year he lost his first 2 teeth which was good since he had the permanent teeth coming in already.  He was excited to get 2 $1 bills from the tooth fairy.  He lost the teeth a couple weeks apart so the tooth fairy had to make 2 trips really close together.  He is already excited to go to 1st grade next year and be able to eat lunch at school (I know, he is weird).
I am still working at Harbor Freight as the assistant pricing coordinator.  I enjoy my work and am happy to be able to be out of the house for a few nights a week to keep me sane.  After we moved to our new apartment and I was released from being Primary President in our old ward, we attended our new ward (in the same Stake) for a couple weeks then was asked to meet with a Stake High Councilman.  I was called to be the Secretary for the Stake Primary Presidency.  I was kinda expecting it, but I was still unsure of myself.  So I have now been in the calling since March and have been relieved that there isn't all that much to it and that I was stressing out for no reason.  For Mother's Day Brent bought me some new couches.  We just got them delivered on Saturday, but we finally (after 8 1/2 yrs) have brand new matching couches.  I already love them and am so happy about our choice.
Brent is still at the court.  He has been applying for jobs in Salt Lake County and Utah County.  We are hopeful for another job at some point mostly so we can finally feel settled somewhere.  We seem to move to different places every 2 years or sooner so we are really looking forward to the day when we can have our own house and stay put for awhile.
Here's a couple pictures from the last little while.

(the boys before their haircut)

(After Drew's first haircut)

(My, I mean, Our new couches)

(the mother's day flowers from Brent)

(He's so cute)

(Garret Easter morning)

(Believe it or not this is a tantrum.  He throws himself down and does this face.  Its hilarious and its great that he doesn't scream and make a ton of noise)

I am going to try and update more, but we'll see what actually happens.  I haven't been the best at keeping up with this, but I will try harder.

2011

Ok, so I know I'm a loser and cannot keep up the posts on this blog. Man has so much happened since the last post.

In June both boys had their birthdays, which is on the last post. At the end of the month I got a job and started in July. I am the assistant pricing coordinator at Harbor Freight Tools in Logan.

In July we went to California to visit family and to go to Disneyland. We first went to visit my family because my sister Danell was blessing her youngest at church. We visited with all of the family, went to the beach with everyone, saw the "Big Trees" (the Sequoias), the guys went golfing and the girls and kids went to the zoo. After we left the beach we drove down to Disneyland with my sister Georgette and her husband Gordon. We did Disneyland for one day and California Adventures for the other day. Then we came back to Logan. It was a very fast and fun trip. After we got back I went to do training and stuff for my new job. The store was just being set up and was brand new so there was a lot of stuff that needed to be done, but I couldn't help all the time because of the kids.

August brought my birthday and Garret starting school. He is in afternoon Kindergarten with Miss Stoddard. He loves school so much. He is always asking to do his homework the day he gets it even though he has the whole week to get it done. He loves being able to play on the computers at school and enjoys the "centers" they have to learn things. He has a lot of friends in his class and thinks all the girls are "cute". They have done school wide talent shows and a Christmas concert that he did really well in. He is so smart and our first progress report from his teacher said he was on track or better with all of the work. He is learning how to read and is doing well with that also.

For Halloween Garret was Buzz Lightyear again and Andrew was a monkey. Andrew would always make monkey sounds, not on purpose to sound like a monkey that is just what he sounded like when he wanted something. We went to the Trunk or Treat we had at the church.

November brought a new calling for me. I was the Primary Secretary but the President and 1st Counselor both moved and the 2nd Counselor was expecting and lost her baby late in the pregnancy so she didn't want to continue in her calling. So I was asked to be the new President the week before the Primary Presentation. Yay for me. I knew it was coming and had started thinking about who to ask to be my Counselors. The whole process was definitely interesting for me. November also brought Thanksgiving. We decided to host some family at our house. We made the turkey and a few other things and my sisters that live in Utah, Georgette and Shar, came and brought some of the other food. It was our first time making a big turkey and it turned out really good (good job Brent). We enjoyed having everyone at our place, it was a good day.

December was more of the same. Christmas was fun with the boys. Andrew didn't want to open any presents for some reason and after they were open he wanted to put the paper back on. He is so silly sometimes. After Christmas my sister Shar got married to Chris so we spent the day down in American Fork and Orem for that. The boys enjoyed playing with their cousins and with Chris' kids (who are now their step cousins, but its all the same to them) and with Shar's friends kids. We are so happy for Shar and Chris.

Ok now its January. Andrew started Nursery the first week of January. I was nervous that he would get upset if I went into nursery for anything and he saw me. He hasn't had a problem at all. He doesn't care when I go in there at all. There are toys and snacks so he is happy. He even sits on his chair when they tell him to, just another example of my kids listening to other people more than me :P We had decided back in November or December that we were going to start looking for a new apartment to live in because we couldn't take the place we were at anymore. The management and maintenance didn't communicate very well and we were left hanging a few times because of that. Also they wanted to raise our rent instead of lowering it. We talked them down to keeping it the same and then to dropping it by $25 but that wasn't good enough. We were also tired of the loud college students that lived in our building and surrounding buildings. So we found a new place and moved out pretty quick. We moved a mile south of where we were. Garret is still in the same school and we are in the same Stake but we did switch wards. We moved in to our new place on the 16th. I am still the Primary President in our old ward for the next week or two until they replace me which I was told was going to happen as soon as possible. We are liking the new place so far. The boys have to share a room which they like except for in the morning when Drew wakes up Garret.

I am liking being the Primary President. I can definitely feel the Spirit with me most of the time, especially when I am trying to feel its presence. I don't get as stressed about things that I did before. I feel like everything just falls into place more than before as well. I can tell that Heavenly Father is looking out for us.

That is about it. Brent is still working for the court and I am still working a few days a week at Harbor Freight. I think we both enjoy our jobs enough. I am just wondering now what will come for us this year.

Garret is 5!

Garret had his birthday yesterday. Its hard to believe that my little baby is now 5 and will be starting school in the fall. We stayed pretty low key. We had family over for lunch on Saturday and did a joint party for the boys since Andrews b-day is in 2 weeks, we didn't want to have people have to drive up here twice in a couple weeks. Garret seemed to have a bunch of fun with his cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents, even a great grandma and great aunt here. Andrew was not so thrilled, but he was starting to teethe again, and we woke him from his nap. It was definitely nice to see everyone and celebrate the boys birthdays at the same time. For Garrets first birthday I made him his own cake to rip into. I wanted to do that for Andrew also to see if he would go after it like he does everything else. I made each boy their own little cake, Brent had the idea of making the cakes into their initials. Garret got a G cake and Andrew got an A cake.(Garret decorating his cake with "doughnut sprinkles") (Everyone singing to the boys, Andrew was totally confused during this part of the day) (Andrew didn't know what to do about the cake and candle so Garret helped him out a bit) We only gave Garret a piece of his though so he wouldn't get sick. I had to try and help Andrew get at his cake. He was hesitant and when I finally smashed his hand in it he got upset and wanted off the table and was whining. So I guess Andrew ended up having about the same reaction to the first birthday cake that Garret did. It was still fun watching him deal with his first cake.(He was not having a very good time)

We are having a pretty good time here in Logan. We wish traffic wasn't so bad and that we would have some nicer days, but its good for now. Its a little better since its the summer now and there aren't as many students in town.

My sister Georgette watched Andrew for me while I took Garret to a Doctors appointment. She took him swimming. Here are a couple of pics that she took: (So cute I don't know what to do with him) (Looks like he is modeling the swim diapers for a print ad or something :P)

My dad came out for a golf tournament that his uncle puts on every year in Preston, ID so all the guys went to that and the girls hung out at McDonald's for lunch. Andrew was posing while Garret was playing: (I've got one almost the same as this one of Garret)

Our ward is pretty good. Its a transition ward because we have 4 apartment complexes in the boundaries. We have people moving in and out every week so its hard to know who people are. I was called to be the primary secretary back in March. It has gone pretty well so far and I am enjoying it. It is kinda hard to keep up with all the families moving in and out though. We do have a lot of kids in our primary (about 100) and half of them either don't come or don't come very often. It is fun though because it falls right in with stuff I like to do. I like to be in primary and I like to keep track of things and keep things organized (well things that aren't mine :P).

Brent is enjoying his job at a law clerk at the courts here in Logan and in Brigham City. He has to go to Brigham City for 6 months of the year. They switch off every 3 months and his first rotation there will be done in a couple of weeks.

We will be heading to California for the 4th of July weekend because my sister Danell is having a baby soon (she's due tomorrow) and she is planning to bless the baby on July 3. I can't wait to get out there and visit with my family and friends that I haven't seen in a while.

I will try and update more often now that I can put pics on my computer again. And of course Andrews birthday is in a couple weeks so there will be a new post about his first year and everything.

Andrews latest

Alright here we go. I am using my phone to do this so hopefully it works. The last time I updated Andrew was only 4 months old. Now he is 7 months and is a really big boy. At his 6 month checkup he weighed 22 lbs 93rd %tile and was 28 inches or 97th %tile. He was only rolling from his tummy to his back. Now he will roll both ways. He has been getting up on his knees and rocked back and forth. He also would scoot backwards on his tummy. Finally on Sunday he crawled across the room. before he would move his arms and then lunge over an over till he got where he wanted to go. So he is crawling now and I think he likes it. We need to start Andrew proofing our house.

He is already learning what to do when he wants to be picked up. He just makes his way to me or Brent and whines and hits our feet or if we are on the ground he tries to climb on us. He is pretty funny. He is already getting into things he's not supposed to.

Since my last post I got a job. I started on November 1st as a temp at Ziplocal formerly PDCpages and Phone Directories Company. I worked there twice before. We were still living with Brents parents.

While I was at Ziplocal, Brent got a job as a Law Clerk for the 1st District Court in Logan, UT. He started on Dec 20th. He was making the 2 hr one way (4 hrs total) commute everyday. Finally we set a day to move to Logan. My last day of work was on Jan 14th and we moved on the 15th.

We found a really nice town home for a decent price. We have 3 bedroom 2 1/2 bathrooms. The boys get to have their own rooms which is good since Garret is a loud sleeper and Andrew still wakes up in the middle of the night sometimes. Their rooms aren't real big but they are big enough. We are enjoying being on our own again and really appreciate the sacrifices Ralph, Nancy and Dustin made for us to stay with them.

Well i think that is good for now. I can't post any pictures from holidays etc because we don't have our Internet hooked up yet.

4 months old...

Andrew is now 4 months old!!! Holy cow does time fly by. Its kinda funny though, to me it feels like he's been around a lot longer than that. He is such a big boy. His sleeper jammies are size 6-9 months. I think he's about as big as Garret was, I think he's heavier, but I would have to look at G's baby book. He is so happy all the time. He sleeps through the night most of the time, but a couple times a week he will wake up talking at 4 or 5. He does pretty well with tummy time, but will try and eat his hands (common occurrence with him) while he's on his tummy, they are right there after all. So its been fun trying to get him to roll over. We are loving our time with him. He is totally a momma's boy though (thats gonna have to change). He still won't sleep during the day unless he is being held. I guess the one thing we are looking forward for with Andrew is him starting to eat baby food. I think he will love it. We started him on rice cereal today and he didn't like it at first, but he got the hang of it and ate most of what Brent made for him.

Garret still loves his brother and wants to do everything for him. If he were a little older and more coordinated I think I would let him, but for now we just have him get stuff for us or take his diapers out to the garbage.

Brent passed the Utah Bar Exam!!!!!!! He got sworn in on Oct. 13. We are so proud of him.

I have been helping my sister Georgette with wedding stuff. She is getting married on November 13, so in just a couple weeks. She assigned me the opportunity to throw her bridal shower. This was something I wasn't completely comfortable with since I have only been to 3 bridal showers and 2 of them were mine. Anyway so this has been interesting so far and I am just hoping and praying that I can get it all squared away and that it goes off without a hitch. I am also going to start working at night for the next 6-8 weeks at Ziplocal. I used to work there when Brent and I got married until I had Garret. I worked there again temporarily before we moved to Ohio and now I'll be there again. Its the same place, different name. I am excited to get out of the house and feel like I am doing something productive.

2 months!!

Andrew is 2 months old today. I am so amazed at how big he is. We go to his check-up on Tuesday to see how big he is and for him to get his first round of shots. He is overall a happy baby, when he is standing or sitting :P The only time he likes to lay down while being held is when he wants to go to sleep. He had his first cold last week :( We went to Disneyland on the 10th and after we got back to Utah I caught a cold. Garret got it and so did Andrew. I felt so sorry for Drew since he is so young. We are all better now though.
A few things Andrew has started doing this month are, crying more :P He also has started to lick/suck on his hands, like all the time. As I mentioned before he likes to stand. He has been holding his head up pretty well for about a month now, and loves to stand and jump. He looks around at everything. He will watch as people walk around the room. He likes to talk and smile at anyone that will talk and smile at him. We love him so much and are very happy we have him in our family.
Garret is still the same. He is a very good big brother to Andrew. His imagination is very good and active.
Brent and I are doing pretty well also. Got a few more hours of sleep last night :) We are adjusting pretty well to having two kids (I think at least). We are blessing Andrew on September 5 so we are excited to have all the family members come into town :)
I learned this morning that my Grandpa Hale passed away. He has been fighting cancer for a very long time so we knew this was coming. I am glad my dad was able to be there with him and my Grandma. My Grandpa was awesome. He was so funny and so loving. I am glad I got to know him the little bit that I did. He will be greatly missed.