Christmas in the Northwest, part TROIS

YaYa showed Will how to play with his new Fisher Price garage. It is pretty cool! Today (December 31st) he climbed on top of it and stood up! Oh my.

YaYa and Pops posed with Will on Christmas night. We finally got a picture with everyone looking at the camera (and without Will's hands in his mouth), only to realize that the star looks like it's coming out of the top of my Dad's head! Ha!

Will's Christmas dinner included some peanut butter toast. Is anything cuter than a face covered in peanut butter?! He also ate chicken, mashed potatoes, couscous, deviled egg, and green beans.

Will loves his new puzzle! Now, if we could only find the missing pieces ...

This is how we communicated with Will's Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Aunt Ramona on Christmas! The weather in Oregon didn't allow for a trip. Earlier that day, we had a webcam visit with my brother Darren, who was also stuck in Oregon. We miss you, family!

Brice and Will watched the new "On the Go" Baby Einstein DVD after opening presents on Christmas morning.

Christmas in the Northwest, part DEUX

On Christmas morning, we ate breakfast and brought the presents into the living room. Contrary to what I've always heard/read, Will was not more interested in the wrapping than the presents. He loved the presents! First he opened a letter/number stylus from the Glasers, then a wooden vehicle puzzle from "Santa," then a Baby Einstein DVD from his loving parents, and finally some PJs and a Fisher Price garage from YaYa and Pops. Did I say that HE opened them? Not true. I had to open them myself because he wouldn't rip the paper! I have such a neat and tidy little boy. ;)

Oh ... I should say something about Brice's amazing outfit. He originally put together his "elf suit" for a Young Life Christmas club several years ago, and I found it in our Christmas box this year. So, on Christmas morning, I said, "You should go put on your elf costume!" He didn't even put up a fight! What a good sport. :)

There are many more pictures to post, but I need to close this post for now. I'll finish the Christmas post later! Bye for now!

Christmas in the Northwest ...

... is a gift God wrapped in greeeeen! (Or should I say white?) Ha ha! I hope my Dad sees that.

Anyway, I wanted to do a Christmas post, but I must warn you that Will is going to wake up from his nap at ANY MOMENT! We'll just see how far I get, and I'll just finish later if I'm interrupted by that sweet little boy.

The most difficult thing about this Christmas was the absence of our family members! Neither Brice's parents nor my brother could make it to our house because of the bad weather in Oregon. We missed them so much!

The weather here was COLD and it was definitely a white Christmas (as usual). Mom and Dad arrived on the afternoon of the 23rd, and Will gave them an adorable reception! He was so excited to see them. We had dinner that night at the Roadhouse Grill. Kids eat free on Tuesday, so Will got a Hawaiian pizza all to himself! He only ate one piece (and a bunch of food we brought for him) but baby's first pizza seemed to be a hit. After putting Will to bed, Mom and I played bananagrams while Brice worked on a secret holiday project and Dad did some important computer work.

On Christmas Eve Day, Mom and I went to Fred Meyer (so did everyone else in town) for food and supplies while the boys stayed home. We attended a wonderful Christmas Eve service at 4:00 pm, and Will did really well for the first 15 minutes. Mom, Brice, and I took turns hanging out with him in the hall after that! We went home, ate dinner, put our little bundle of joy to bed, exchanged a few gifts, and watched "Prince Caspian" before bed.

Uh-oh! I hear Will! I'll finish this story and add lots of pictures later tonight after our movie date! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Rookie of the Year

And the 2008 Kittitas County Association of REALTORS
"Rookie of the Year" is ...

Brice Johnson!!!

Congratulations, honey!

Sicky McSickerton

"Ooooh! A sparkly apple and a jingle bell! How do I choose?"

"Mommy! Make it jingle again!"

"Let's see what this tastes like ..."

"It's snowing! I think I'll lick the cold glass door."

Hello, all! December has proven to be a busy month, as usual! I have one more DAY of school as a WSU grad student (this semester, anyway) and one more week as a teacher (before Winter Break). I see the light!

I wanted to share some adorable pictures of Will from the past few days. He has been sick and miserable! Luckily, he's still adorable!

Sick kids and New Kids

It has been a while since my last post! We each went through a little bout of "stomach bug" and then had lots of committments last week. Brice has been experiencing a lot of back pain (and doctor appointments), but the recent physical therapy seems to be helping.

Will had his 15 month check-up last week (athough he is actually 16 months old) and things are looking fine. He is still on the skinny side, but he is in the 75th percentile for height. He was much more frightened by the doctor, nurse, and scale this time, and it was much more difficult to keep him entertained during the long wait! I'm glad the doctor visit is over.

Mr. Cutie-Pie helps Mommy clean with the Swiffer Duster!

My junior high friends and I went to the New Kids on the Block concert at the Tacoma Dome on Saturday night! Isn't that WILD?! We went to NKOTB concerts together in 1989 and 1990, so we couldn't pass up the reunion tour. It was incredibly fun!!! Here is a picture of us posing with our tickets outside the Tacoma Dome. The tickets said "no cameras," so we left our cameras in the car. Fortunately, another friend didn't heed the rule (nor did most of the crowd), so I have access to lots of great concert shots. I'll post more pictures and more details very soon!

Lazy Sunday

I'm feeling good about the fact that I just submitted this week's assignment for my online course, so I'm posting a new blog as a "reward!" I still have more work to do -- another paper due next Sunday and a comprehensive Unit Plan due in two weeks -- but this is a nice break.

I finally took a picture of Brice in his Crown Royal costume (see explanation in the Halloween post), as you can see! I also took some snapshots of Will wearing one of Brice's baby outfits. I remember thinking it was sooo cute when Donna first gave me the bag of clothes, and I couldn't believe he would ever be big enough to wear it! Anyway, you can't go wrong in checkered bell bottoms and a matching sweater. What a cutie!

Will made a few new discoveries this weekend:

1. Just today he started "stomping" to the music of the TV. He usually waves his arms like a madman, but the footwork is new. He looks like a mini River Dancer!

2. Will has also taken a liking to eating apples. He eats them like a real man, too. He just takes bites right out of it! Don't worry -- I always keep a very close watch on him because I know apples can be a choking hazard. He sits on my lap and I take it away if he starts to bite off more than he can chew.

3. He had his first boiled peanut today! He seemed to like the first one, but then spit out the second one. Hmmm.

4. We showed Will how to get on his bouncy horse yesterday, and the result was hilarious. He finally decided that he likes it! He can't get on by himself, but once we help him up it's all over. He bounces, wiggles, and pulls on the horsey's ears, all while saying "brrrrrrrrr" like a car.

5. He likes to shove things underneath the couch, oven, and refrigerator. Ugh. (see picture)

6. Will is a puzzle master! He has three basic wooden puzzles, and we've noticed that he understands how to put them together on his own now. Even when all of the puzzle pieces are mixed up, he takes each piece to the appropriate puzzle, tries to put it in the appropriate hole, and usually succeeds! Then he applauds himself and says "Yay!" We'll have to get some video of this trick (along with the bouncy horse).

Well, that's all I have for tonight. There may be other things, but my brain is fried! Prayers for Brice would be much appreciated -- we were both feeling sick today but he doesn't seem to be improving yet.

Have a great week!

A busy week

We had quite a busy week! I know I (Julie) was feeling the pressure with the first middle school choir concert of the year on Thursday, Halloween on Friday, a performance on Saturday, and a total of five papers due Sunday night! Thank goodness my son is adorable, my husband is amazing, and my parents came to visit!!!

Preparing for the middle school choir concert felt more intense than usual (larger choirs, toddler at home, perhaps?) but things were very smooth on Thursday night. The kids made me proud! It was quite a relief when I was able to turn out the choir room light that night and head home. A big thank you to Mom, Dad, and Brice who stayed at home with Will so I could be at school most of the day!

Friday was an early release day, which means I have to be at school longer than usual due to district meetings. (Ironic, eh?) Things at school were just fine -- I dressed as a mime in order to save my voice for a "secret" performance on Saturday. I had been very hoarse all week. I stayed silent for all three choir classes! I think I'll dress as a mime every year on Halloween -- the students were remarkably calm in response to my silence. :)

Brice dressed as a bottle of Crown Royal whiskey, an inside joke that was a big hit with his coworkers! He had the great idea a few weeks ago when he found out that everyone in his office is required to dress up for Halloween. Apparently quite a few people in his office enjoy Crown Royal! He found an idea for the costume online and had help from his mom and my mom putting it all together. We didn't take a picture, but I'll try to remember to take one soon. (The costume is still sitting in our front room!)

We spent Halloween night at the Glasers' house, which was REALLY fun! Their street is the busiest in all of Ellensburg as far as trick-or-treating goes. We ate pizza and salad, wandered down the street to see decorations and costumes, and answered the door for over 650 trick-or-treaters! Master Yoda (a.k.a. Will) was mesmerized.

Mom and Dad left on Saturday after some furniture shopping and a yummy lunch at the new restaurant in town (Sazon). Brice stayed at home with Will that night while I attended EHS Choir's "Evening on Broadway" with Joed. I loved seeing and hearing all of the performances! I felt like a proud parent watching all of those former students sing their hearts out. I also sang the "reveal song" at the end of the night -- a secret I kept even from Joed, who was sitting next to me! Well, I spilled the beans during the third silent auction, but I didn't tell her what the musical was! (It's "My Fair Lady," by the way!) Fun stuff.

What a weekend! :)

Halloween teaser ...

This is just a little taste of our Halloween adventures -- stay tuned for more pictures and a real blog!

Concert ... over ... can't talk ... ahhh.

Weekend on the west side

I wish I had taken some pictures this weekend!

My parents met us in Issaquah for the first-ever "Will hand-off!" He went back to Puyallup with them and we went to the Barnett's house in Woodinville. Brice and Amanda's birthday party was a big hit. We had a blast! It was really fun to meet Amanda's boyfriend, Ben, who is now her fiance!! They got engaged on Saturday on their way from Seattle to Portland. Back to the party: we had a blast with our friends and I lost my voice! (I was getting sick already.) Brice was the life of the party. He is so fun!

We spent Friday night in Bellevue, as did our friends Gavin and Patty. The four of us had a marvelous brunch at the Sun Break Cafe in Auburn. Actually, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! Afterward, we met my parents at the South Hill Mall in Puyallup to find that they had a wonderful night with Will! We spent time with them that night and even got to hang out with my besties Alison and Stacy again. We drove back home on Sunday.

Alas, I should close this post since I have to write two papers by the end of the night. Hopefully I can steal some of Amanda's pictures from the party and post them soon. Take care, all!

Brice's birthday week

More pictures from our weekend in Salem!

Now for the weekly update:
It's official ... Brice is 32! The folks at Re/Max gave him a cake on Tuesday and we celebrated yesterday with a tasting at the Iron Horse brewery and dinner at the Roadhouse Grill with Roger and Joed. It was a good day! The celebration continues tomorrow as we head to the west side for Brice and Amanda's combined birthday party.

A few fun updates on Will:

1. He likes to put blankets over his head and run around without seeing where he's going ... his babysitter Breanna got a big kick out of that one yesterday!

2. If you lie down on the floor, he likes to dive over you headfirst. It's hilarious!

3. He LOVES to be chased. The laughs that come out of that boy are so precious!

4. He helped Daddy clean the carpet today! I wasn't home from work yet, but Brice was cleaning up some spit up from the carpet (with a rag), and Will just got up, walked to the kitchen, took another rag from the drawer, and got down and "cleaned the carpet" next to Brice. So cute!

5. He says "car" now. He always says it over and over again so it sounds like he's saying "Ka! Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka!" He's all boy!

Weekend in Oregon

This past weekend we drove to Salem for a visit with Del and Donna (Brice's parents) and Darren (my brother). We arrived around 9:30 pm on Friday night and enjoyed dessert with Del and Donna after putting Will to bed. Our drive went fairly well, but we found out that sitting in a car for five hours isn't Will's idea of a good time anymore! The highlight of our visit was time at Roloff farms in Helvetia (near Portland) with Del, Donna, and Darren. It was a beautiful day, there was a lot to see and do at the farm, and Will loved walking around the pumpkin patch! If the woman in the picture with us looks familiar, it's because she is on a TV show called "Little People Big World" on TLC. The show follows the Roloff family, who own Roloff farms! We returned to Salem and enjoyed a birthday dinner for Brice (Oct. 22nd) and Darren (Oct. 2nd) at Del and Donna's house. Brice's Grandpa Waddle joined us. The meal was delicious! We left after lunch on Sunday and stopped for dinner in Tacoma with Stacy. It was a fun weekend full of photo opps!

Red October

I have no idea what "Red October" means, but it does make me think of Sean Connery! I can't seem to take pictures on my own, but Becky Hill took a few pictures of us this past weekend. We went to an open house for Ryan Glaser, back from Qatar! The trees in the Glasers' backyard are gorgeous and red, and it was really nice to see everyone at the Open House. Brice spent a lot of time rearranging our home office this weekend, and Julie is swamped with audition recordings at the middle school. Will's big news is that he loves taco sauce. Seriously! Brice discovered it today when he gave Will a quesadilla ... with taco sauce. Did I mention that Tuesdays are Daddy Day?

Let the blogging commence!

Nearly two months after creating this blog, I am finally writing post #2. Why is it that I find more time to accomplish things while school is in session AND I'm taking an online course? My life is a mystery.

Special honors go to Taryn Smith, who inspired this triumphant return to blogging. We have to keep her "in the know" at all times, especially now that she is headed to Spain for nine months!

I'll end this post with a description of September 2008 in the Johnson household. Will is walking, throwing food, saying "dah" (dog) and "uh oooooh," playing with cars, looking at books, pointing at everything, and cracking us up with his hilarious antics. Brice is selling real estate, jogging on the treadmill, watching football, and checking his fantasy football stats. (Did I mention football?) Julie is teaching, taking an online course as part of the Professional Certification process, singing with the Ellensburg Women's Chorus, and trying to go to Jazzercise more often.



Our most recent family picture --July 18, 2008
(Spokane, WA -- Bonnie and Aaron's wedding)










We loved spending time with T in Ellensburg this summer!


















Adios for now!

Inaugural blog...ural

Testing, testing, 123.

Is this thing on?

I have been enjoying the posts of several friends and thinking to myself, "Self, this is a wonderful way to communicate with others and document family memories!" So tonight I bit the bullet and signed up! Get ready to join the adventures of Johnson, Johnson, & Johnson! More later ...