Dinosaur Museum

This last Tuesday we went to the Dinosaur Museum ($2 Tuesdays in August). It was insanely, crazy busy and we didn't spend a lot of time looking around, but it was certainly worth the $2 (if I had to wait in the line for hours like some people, I don't know if I could say the same). Ellie enjoyed looking at the exhibits and I just tried to keep an eye on Ellie. Ellie was a little disturbed by the huge shark and told me she did not want to get in his mouth.
I think it would be worth it to pay the full price and spend some decent time there. Maybe someday when dad is available to come along.

Happy Birthday Maren!

Yesterday was Maren's birthday and we celebrated by having family over for a BBQ on the new patio.
Here is Maren's caterpillar cupcake cake. I am no queen of cakes, but I thought it turned out cute. And the important part is that Maren thoroughly enjoyed it -she devoured two cupcakes and some of dad's homemade ice cream too. Then it was present time. Here she is with the Raggedy Ann from Grandma Brown (it's tradition in our family for the grandkids to get a homemade Raggedy Ann or Andy from Grandma for a first birthday present). Maren just loved it, if you can't tell. She gave her a big hug right away.

And then Maren wandered the backyard, picking flowers and eating dirt. What a fun party.
My how my baby has grown.

Maren,

You are such a sweet, happy addition to our family. Thanks for being a calm, easy-going baby. Thank you for sleeping so well at night. Thank you for putting up with your older sister who thinks you are so great that she wants to be with you a lot of the time. Thank you for waving at strangers - it is really cute. Thank you for being so smiley and so giggly. Thank you for helping mom by playing with toys instead of hanging on her legs. Thanks for giving dad a big grin when he comes home from work - he likes that a lot. Thank you for letting us love and kiss on you all over. You are a special girl, and we know it.

We all love you lots and lots,

Mom

Brown Family Reunion

This year the Brown Family Reunion was held up at the Heber Valley Camp, which is owned and operated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Very, very impressive camp, and a whole lot of fun.
Friday we settled and had dinner and then tried to attend a family program (Maren was not very cooperative). We got kids settled and enjoyed a few minutes in front of a raging bonfire (thanks to my nephew Austin) before turning in ourselves for a very uncomfortable night of little sleep. Isn't that the definition of camping? (The definition of camping is definitely not a cabin with electricity, hot running water, and a cooking station complete with refrigerator and freezer, sink, and gas grills.)
Saturday was full of fun activities. First, I left the kids with dad and I enjoyed a hike with several from the family. Here is Alicia and I at our hiking destination (Deer Creek and Heber is in the background if you look closely). Ellie and Maren had a great time playing with cousins while I listened to Nick give a presentation on gardening. Then we played on Legacy Lake. We did the paddleboats, which was great fun.

Maren fell asleep almost immediately.

And Ellie enjoyed the 'sparkly water'.

Next was lunch with the entire Brown family. Maren became attatched to this watermelon slice and carried it around with her for a good long while. She ate it all and went back for seconds.

Then we packed up and headed home. It was a lot of fun being with the family and seeing relatives that I only see at these kind of events. What a fun day!

Coming Soon: Baby Number 3!

We are excited to announce that Johnson baby 3 is on his/her way! Here are some commonly asked questions:

When is baby due? February 12 - but really, I don't believe in due dates (Ellie was two weeks early; Maren, a week late), so I just say February. That makes me 12 1/2 weeks pregnant, for those who care.

So how far apart will Maren and the baby be? 18 months

Was this pregnancy planned? Yes, but we didn't expect it to happen so quickly, so it was kind of a surprise, but a pleasant surprise.

How have you felt? Yucky. I have good and bad moments. Evenings are the worst. Unlike my first two though, I haven't had any serious food aversions, which is good (and bad! I've gained 7 pounds already!). I had a serious lack of energy in the beginning, but that has thankfully picked up again. If you had seen my house, I couldn't have hidden the fact that I was pregnant.

Are you hoping for a boy? Of course. However, we'd be happy with another girl - and Nick reminds me that it would be cost effective.

How did Ellie respond to the news? We waited until we heard the heartbeat to tell Ellie, but she kept asking questions like "When are we going to have another baby?" and "Mommy, is there a baby in your tummy?" You can't pull much past a three year old! We kept it a surprise, though, and she responded well to the news. Actually, she's continued life as normal and doesn't say much about it unless she's asked. She does say that she wants a brother.

Grandma Elia and some History

My Grandma Elia passed away last week, her funeral was on Monday, and I have been thinking a lot about her, and my mom’s family. I feel like I need to share these thoughts here.

First, a little history: My mother was born to Jack and Iona, the third child of nine. Jack and Iona felt strongly that they needed to have another child, and prepared for a tenth. During childbirth, both mother and baby were sadly lost. Jack was devastated and overwhelmed by the responsibility of raising a young family on his own. He was counseled to marry again quickly. This is where Elia was introduced into the family. She flew into Salt Lake from Mexico a few days later, met my Grandpa for the first time, and they were married just two weeks after Iona’s passing. At this time, the three oldest children were married, and the other six were still in the home. Elia had no experience in raising children and unfortunately, some of the children were split up so their needs could be best met. My aunt Susan came and lived with my mom and dad (who at the time were expecting my oldest sister). Jack and Elia adopted two more boys. This may seem like a sad story to some, and I admit that I don’t understand some of the decisions that were made at the time. However, I know that a loving Heavenly Father had a hand in all of this.

Truthfully, I never spent much time with my Grandma Elia. But in the times that I did see her, I felt nothing but genuine love from her in her warm embrace and gentle pats. I know that she loved the gospel and did her best to fulfill the will of the Lord. She loved my Grandfather, and his children. She never wanted to take the place of my grandmother, and I am grateful for that. I look forward to the day that I get to meet my Grandma Iona, but as that day will have to wait, I am grateful to have had Grandma Elia.

Jack and Iona:
Jack and Elia:

Carson City

So this year for my birthday I got what a really wanted - a trip away with my family! We decided to go to Carson City where we stayed with Nick's Aunt and Uncle. It was a short trip, and a lot of driving, but we all had a great time. It was so nice to get away for a few days.

Here's our first pit stop at the salt flats.

We spent a good bit of time at Lake Tahoe, which is really what inspired the trip. Ellie really wanted to go to a beach. She loved playing in the sand and water, and splashing mom and dad.

Maren wasn't so sure of all the sand. She kept wiping it off of her hands and feet.

Uncle David and Aunt Terresa had these awesome blow up water slides that Ellie thought was pretty cool - and she loved playing with her second cousins. She didn't want to leave, really. She would've been happy to stay there forever.

They also had these fun cars for the kids. Here Ellie is with her second cousins Payson, Molly, and Sophie. They rode these around and around and around for at least an hour or so. Little Sophie fell asleep in the car! So funny.

And here is crazy driver Ellie at the wheel. It's a good thing Payson was there to help keep them on the road!

It was so so nice to get away from home and spend time with the Carson City Johnsons. We loved spending time with Nick's cousins and their kids, and we couldn't have asked for better hosts. Thanks all for a good time!

Patio

Here are the much anticipated photos of the patio - they were anticipated, right? I know you all were checking every day, hoping to get a glimpse of our work of art... come on, admit it.

Here Nick is compacting the road base with a jumping jack. I think a man likes projects such as these just so he can work with heavy equipment. Oh wait, this is not a patio photo....but sheesh she's cute.

We got a huge load of sand dumped in our driveway, and Ellie took advantage of the moment and built sandcastles. By the way, we only used about a third of what we got, so if anyone out there needs sand, we'd certainly be willing to work a deal.

So many, many bricks...

I am a pro now - we could do this as a side business. Oh wait, no we could not...I have a whole new respect for laborers.

Yeah! We are finished!!

My very, very dirty husband and I. I was pretty nasty too, but didn't look so bad compared to my brick cutting, and thus splattered husband.

We are so happy to have this project checked off our list. We just bought a patio set today, so come on over for dinner!