Saturday, July 25, 2009

yep, it's ice




A couple of days after my mom left AZ, it hit 118 degrees and we decided we needed to find some way to cool off. We bought a cheap little clearance pool that I though Brynn would have loads of fun in. But it turns out she's not too fond of hot tubs, which is what pools become in Arizona in July. So we tried ice cubes. Didn't make it cold, but it at least made it about the same temperature as her baths normally are. Arizona. July. Ugh.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Dancing with Cinderella - For Marty

This is something that I made for Marty. I was planning on giving it to him for his birthday, but I couldn't wait until September. :) Anyway, after he saw it last night he asked me to post it on the blog so his family could see it. So...enjoy, Johnsons! (and everyone else)

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

We're alive







Wow, this is the longest break that I have ever taken from my blog. For a while there, with Bryce it was just one thing after another after another, and I went into survival mode. And when that happened, I had to prioritize and my blog got the boot. In fact everything except for my kids got the boot, including my house.



But now we are all doing much better. Bryce is now a happy baby, and we spent almost three weeks in Utah (which is, I think, what ulitmately saved my sanity).



Bryce had his two month check-up. He is healthy! 90th percentile for weight, and 95th for height. He is taking after his dad, alright.



Brynn has always loved Bryce way too much. But just as someone told me would happen, she is
getting better with him and he is getting more...durable. Every morning she wakes up and asks for him. Every time he wakes up from his nap crying she runs to his room. She is always saying, "Wanna touch tiny hands? Wanna kiss the the head?" She does still climb on him, poke his eye, and other dumb things, but she is getting better. I didn't realize how much fun it would be to see my kids interacting with each other.











Photo shoot

A lot of times I have a hard time getting Brynn to smile for the camera. However, this day I started taking some pictures for her uncle Greg in the cute clothes he bought for her, and she was totally hamming it up! I don't know if I have ever had so much fun taking pictures of her.





Brynn's belly laugh

Tackling grandpa Oldham

Blessing Bryce







We were absolutely, no-matter-what, going to put down our roots here in AZ and bless Bryce in our current ward. But since we were going to be in Utah on the fast Sunday when we were planning on blessing him anyway, and we really wanted Bryce's grandpa's (who he is named after) in the circle, we finally backed down and decided to do it in my old home ward. It was a beautiful, special, and emotional occasion for us. A truly wonderful day. Very sadly, my mom's camera was stolen, which is the camera I used for the blessing. But luckily Christy was snapping some pictures and sent them to me.



In case you are wondering, here is the scoop on Bryce's name. Right after Marty and I got married and before we were thinking too much about kids, we started discussing baby names. Marty mentioned that he'd like to have a boy named after his dad, Neil, but Neil doesn't like his name and wasn't too into the idea of one of his grand-kids being named Neil. Now Neil spent years working at Bryce Canyon, and they were absolutely wonderful, and Bryce Canyon is basically a sacred place to Neil. So Marty said he'd like to name a boy Bryce, after his dad (in a round about way). Anyway, the second Marty said that, I realized that I LOOOOVE the name Bryce, and that I REALLY wanted to name a boy Bryce. The only time we questioned that name was when we got pregnant with a girl first and decided we wanted to name her Brynn (my middle name). We weren't sure if we wanted to have two "Bry" names in a row...but heck, we liked both the names, and...those are just THEIR names, ya know? And then his middle name, Allan, is after my dad. So Bryce is named after both of his grandpas, just like Marty is! Whew, the end!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Utah

So here is the big trip to UT. I know this isn't the first time I've said this, but I was kind of hit and miss with the camera. So if I missed any family members, know that I love you! But I have been running on basically no sleep for two and a half months now. So please excuse the brain-dead...ness :)


Brynn is becoming such a little mommy to Bryce. This was at a party we had before the Johnson's played their concert (the three kids and Neil all play in the Wasatch Winds).












Fun at Kelly and Christy's house rough-housing with Uncle Kelly...




and Uncle Greg.



Brynn and her twin cousins, Landon and Carter, are SO cute together!





Working hard to get to Grandpa Johnson.








Picnic at Bryce Canyon.


It rained the first day we were at Bryce Canyon. I was so happy!!! Look at our sweatshirts!!! Jealous, Arizonans? :)










Usually Brynn doesn't sleep in the car. But when Grandpa Johnson started singing to her, she knew it was nap-time and went right to sleep. Look at that content little girl.




Family picture 1st attempt:



Second attempt:


Third time's a charm!











Awe!



Sigh...love this boy.




He was really a trooper during all this traveling.





Like the Mai Tai (baby carrier)? You can get them on Etsy from the Kitchen Sink Boutique. It was a life saver on this trip!



Why is it the first thing they did right after they got out of the car was to go and search for dirt?











Bryce at Bryce Point at Bryce Canyon.








Crazy Marty.






Loves her dad.





Wow, that's lots of kids in one car. They did great, though.



Brynn kept busy with the make-up in my purse.


Grandpa Johnson talking about his years on this stage at Bryce Canyon.


More dirt.


They might as well be the same person. You should have seen them when Marty had a goatee!



I love having sisters-in-law!





The cool tree on the cool hike (Wall Street).










"Messy hands, Daddy."







Three kids being carried up a very steep trail.



Two sleeping boys,


One tired girl.


What a gentleman! Carter is helping Brynn get her shoe back on.


We were so sad that Kris Anne's family couldn't come with us, but glad that we got to see them later.




Scotty and Georgia were really cute meeting Bryce for the first time.


I can't believe I didn't get more pictures with my parents! All the more reason for them to come back out soon, eh? My mom is a children's librarian and has impecible taste with books for Brynn. The first thing Brynn always says when she sees grandma Oldham is, "Read?"


Look at those rolls!




Because one wasn't enough.


Two clean kiddos.


I'm so glad my VA cousins could come out to visit, even though it was under sad circumstances (my grandma fell and broke her hip and shoulder, so the Virginians flew out to help).


We call this picture "Bryce Cream." A pint of Ben & Jerry's and a snuggly little Bryce. Does life get any better than this?


My cousin Christy and her kids. I can't BELIEVE it took us this long for our kids to play together! Ya know, Arizona is beautiful in the winter, Christy...hint, hint.




I always love it when Brynn finds a play-mate that will hug her back rather than run in terror. Brynn doesn' know the meaning of boundaries.