Oma the Great (yet another Utah Trip post)

My Grandmother is fantastic.  The kids have called her Oma (the German word for Grandma) ever since they learned who she is.  The title fits her perfectly--she and my Grandpa speak German after each serving missions in Switzerland and then later serving together as Mission Presidents in Germany.  Of course, with Joel's mission to Austria and his ability to speak German, the name Oma is a perfect fit for our family. 

So when she wanted to come to Provo to give the kids each a goodie bag, we were thrilled.  They played and laughed, and--get this--our almost 80 year-old Oma even jumped on the trampoline for a while.  I couldn't miss the opportunity to get pictures.

What you don't see pictured:  rough housing, standing and jumping around, and playing "crack the egg" and "dead man, dead man, come a live."

(William was comfortably chilling out on the hammock while all of this was happening.)

The kids sure love their Oma.  Even though Oma has many grandchildren and is getting quite a brood of great-grandchildren, she has enough love in her heart for all of them.

Fun in the Canyon (Utah Trip, cont'd)

The kids were lucky enough to be able to go up a canyon not once, but twice during our visit to Utah.  They went once with some of the Johnsons, which included some very fun cousins, and they also went once with the Burtons.  The kids had a blast both times, but I only remembered my camera once!  Just imagine pictures with the Johnson side.

My kids all have a soft spot for Beautiful Aunt Amanda.  Men, she is 24, brilliant, and single.  Any takers?  Let me know!

Sharing Marshmallows (sharing = picture-worthy, not the marshmallows)

Woo-hoo!  Climbing doesn't get much prettier than this.

Aunt Maddy and Ashley are practically twins, right down to their personalities.  Yes, they jive very well.  They just get each other.  And they are both quite eye-catching, I might add!

(Men, Maddy is almost 16 and can date soon but I am not soliciting phone numbers for her.  Thank you and goodbye.)

William knows that there are two people who will always comfort him when he gets hurt: Mama and Grandma.  And he does love his Grandma(s)!

He also loves the water.  No really, I mean it.  I have never seen a toddler take to water like this fish-boy.  I half expect him to sprout gills.

Unfortunately his love of water does not come paired with a sense of danger, so he is willing to jump headfirst off any and all surfaces to reach it.  He is none too happy when we intervene, either.

But he will watch it dreamily.

My sister Maddy took these photos.  Pretty fun!

Yep, pretty fun.  William and I are buddies.  I don't know if he will have trouble adjusting to the new baby but  based on his general good nature, I don't expect he will.

William and his Papa are buddies, too.  This might have something to do with the fact that Joel will help him dunk his face in the water.  You'd think William would protest, but I think this was his favorite part of the entire day!

Happy Birthday Joel!

Joel recently celebrated his 29th birthday.  He and his coworkers had a good laugh because he has been telling them for the past six months that he is 27.  The really funny part?  Joel wasn't making that up!  He really believed it.  Too bad it isn't true.  The day I reminded him that he is a year behind in his guess, he laughed and commented that now it's like he has lost a year of his life all at once.

So, obviously the adults in our house don't take our own birthdays too seriously.  "It's just another day," we always comment to each other.  It took Joel a long time to figure out what he even wanted.

We decided to get him a grill.  It's been fun!  We've used it twice since Saturday and it is fun for me to know I can cook on it without heating up the kitchen or scrubbing a pan.  Joel and I spent several hours putting it together and I think he was satisfied with it.

We didn't do a whole lot on his actual birthday (in fact, we attended a wedding shower which couples were invited to) but I hope we got enough celebration in over the weekend to make it count.

It is fun to take a day to celebrate this wonderful man.  I love him more the longer I know him, and best of all, I respect him more than just about anyone else.  He is intelligent, funny, fun to be around, and practical.  One thing I admire most about his intellect is his ability to remember scripture.  He can always remember who said what at General Conference, even several years later!  And don't get me started on scripture references.  He is practically a dictionary on any topic.  I also don't get tired of him--Joel and I spent hours and hours talking to each other on our recent trip home from Utah because we still haven't run out of things to say to each other.  I need all of these things in my life and so do our children.

Happy Birthday to a fantastic father and a loving husband.  Knowing we are stuck together for eternity makes this deal a whole lot sweeter!

Utah Trip, Where Dreams Come True Because of Doting Grandparents

We have been back from Utah since the beginning of the month.  Why has it taken me so long to post anything about it?  Good question!  But here are about a million pictures to make up for it.

Joel stayed in Iowa until the last week of our trip.  The kids and I were out in Utah for about four weeks total, which was long enough that they had enough fun to last them all year.  (It's a good thing, too, because with the baby due at the end of November, we are not going anywhere over the Holidays.) 

Everett had a huge meltdown about every other day.  Once he got it all out of his system he was generally pretty compliant and happy.  He loves being at his own home and it was a bit of a struggle for him to be away from his familiar routine but he was genuinely sad when we finally started our 20 hour drive back to Iowa.  "I just want to go to Grandpa's house!" he repeated.

We made the drive all in one shot.  The kids were fantastic.  Except for a meltdown in which Joel carried an out-of-control Everett from Burger King to the car (no he did not get the toy he was tantruming about), the kids were fantastic.  We stopped twice while they were awake and due to my Nazi-ish control over the water, their bladders did not fill up enough to necessitate more potty breaks.  At about 11pm Joel and I decided to push through the night while the kids were zonked.  Poor Ashley woke up once and complained of a sore neck (I don't blame her one bit) but they all stayed asleep until 3am when we arrived home

We were so happy to pull into our own driveway!  We opened the door, exhausted and thrilled, only to discover that our Air Conditioner had gone kaput while we were gone.  89 degrees in Iowa humidity feels much different than it does in arrid Utah.  At least it was only in the upper 90's outside--we missed a major heatwave in July.  Fortunately a wonderful family in our ward invited us over the next day for dinner and to sit in a cool house.  We did, for six hours!  These people are saints.  

Two days later, a new AC unit was installed and realized I have never been so grateful for air conditioning in my life.  Yes, we are pampered and spoiled.

So, onto pictures.  The kids had more fun than they knew how to handle.

Everett is talking with his Aunt Mykell, who is being patient and indulging his every word.

Everett got to participate in a kool-aid stand!  He has always wanted to do this and was thrilled when some neighbors of the Johnsons let him help.

"Kool-aid for sale!" he'd shout, with his purple-mustachioed mouth.

He would watch hopefully for new customers.  They had a few because his cut of the earnings was just enough for him to be able to afford a puzzle in the dollar aisle of Target.

He also bought two mini-bakugan toys from the kids selling the koolaid.

Ashley came out and enjoyed helping for a while, too, but she did not buy any toys.

Another fun thing we did was go on a trip to Yellowstone.  We went on a float trip down the river.  It was a little long for the kids but they enjoyed wading in the bathtub-depth areas.  William was mostly only happy when I held him as he hung over the side of the raft and dipped his hands and face in the water.

But another fun part of the trip was going to Big Springs.  There are huge fish that eat bread.  The kids loved this.  

A little river otter even came over and snacked on some bread, along with seagulls.  

Everett got covered with giant mosquito bites.  I've never seen someone react so badly to mosquitos (and he was wearing bug spray).  The picture doesn't do his legs justice.  I can see faint marks on his legs even six weeks later.

William had fun everywhere but at the Burtons he uncovered his love for dogs and cats.  We only had to tell him what they were once and he was off looking for the "dah" or "cah" any time he was even close to a window.  

My sister Maddy's cat is very patient with children and so William loved that I let him follow that cat around.

I was always a little nervous, though (see above picture).  I don't fully trust animals with my kids, no matter how patient they are.  Hey, I snap sometimes too and I like to think I have more control over myself than an animal does.

I snapped this photo of Everett watching William and the cat.  Sweet, huh?

Ashley had fun with her cousins.  She was thrilled that she and a cousin who is only a month younger got matching dresses from Grandma Johnson for their birthdays.  

My parents put in a new floor while we were there.  William discovered the joys of sweeping and would sneak into the work areas anytime he could.

Ashley got to watch lots of movies she had never seen before.  I took this picture when she and Uncle Mack were watching Cinderella.  I don't know who looks more interested?

The kids also loved the hammock and trampoline at the Burtons.  This is really a whole post on its own, but I'll mention it here anyway.

Ashley's favorite was a hammock swing.  "Higher!  Higher!" she'd shout to whoever had the patience to push her.  Right here she is bargaining for two more minutes after we told her it was Everett's turn.

This is just after we let Everett have his turn anyway.  She was a little possessive over that swing.

Everett's favorite was the trampoline.  He enjoyed figuring out tricks.

William loved the trampoline as well.  He'd laugh and laugh as the kids bounced him.  They don't weigh enough to do more than slightly jostle him, but I still worried a little every time they did it.

I will probably post more pictures later, but this is the gist of our trip.  It was tons of fun and the kids had plenty of opportunity to remember why they love their cousins so much!

Our Family Tree

We have our very own family tree.  No, I'm not talking genealogy.  I'm talking about something mushy, sentimental, and romantic here.

Joel proposed to me in a park across from the Mt. Timpanogos Temple, at the base of a tree with a giant trunk.  It was a great spot, made peaceful and lovely from the late-night moonlight glittering through the leaves above us.  I've never forgotten it.  Joel's words were simple and perfect and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

The tree looks quite different in the day time.  It is massive.  Joel's head doesn't quite pass the knotty part you can see on the trunk before the limbs separate.  I have always wondered how old that tree is.

So, on our recent trip to Utah, we decided to stop and visit our engagement tree.  We haven't been back since the original event!  Now that we have three kids (and counting), I consider this landmark to be more of a family tree than an engagement tree.

We had the camera on timer, but it was downhill from us and we didn't all quite squeeze together before the camera clicked.

We really do love each other, I promise!

Yes, we kissed.  I like kissing Joel even more now than I did then!  The kids' reactions are typical.  Ashley is awed, William is screaming, and Everett is bored.  It's a good thing Joel and I have forever to get our smooching in.

We played around in the park for a while.

(this picture was over-exposed but I'm including it anyway.)

Of course our jolly William found his good friend, dirt.

(and ate it.)

Then because I am a very nice mom, I made my kids pose in front of the Temple.

(Put your arms up and yell "Hooray!", we commanded.)

I talked to the kids about what it means that Joel and I were married for eternity in the temple.  After hearing about how we can all live together in heaven, Ashley said, "But I will need a big person to help me get all the way up there because I am very small!"

She was referring to the physical method of arriving in heaven (though I don't know how that works), but she is right in many ways.  I am grateful that I get to be the one to help my kids learn how to live righteously so we can all be with our Father in Heaven.  I know that not everyone believes there will be family units or love between couples in Heaven, but I do with all my heart.  I can't imagine true Heaven without it.  Preparing and teaching my children is a joyous job with a steep learning curve but I wouldn't wish away a moment of it.