annual camping trip

Memorial weekend has come and gone, thus has our annual camping trip. This year marked a great trip for the kids! We all agreed it was one of the best, and for once we had great weather! 

Kendra and Paxton were inseparable. Spending alot of their time watching movies in the campers. 

Much the same, Bryce and Hudson were inseparable. Spending most of their time playing with the cap guns Grandma Sharon bought all the boys.

Sister ran wild, but not quite as wild as I was anticipating. Although Grandma Sharon did find her climbing this ladder behind the camper. I was sure to have my eyes on her 99% of the time, this must have been the 1% that I looked away.

This also marked the first year that we got to go swimming at the campground pool. It usually doesn't open until June, but with the warmer temps they decided to open early. I didn't get any pictures of us swimming because I was running up and down the slide with the kids, but I did manage to snap a quick picture of Harlow looking adorable in her Minnie Mouse swimsuit.

It was so nice to relax and do nothing for 3 days. We spent alot of time around the fire.

Alyssa and Morgan (plus Morgan's friend) were AMAZING helpers with Harlow! 

Even Bella was well behaved.

This was probably the last year Harlow will fit in this tiny sleeping spot in the camper. She sure slept great in her spot though.

Things I didn't get pictures of; lots of walks to town, lots of bike riding, lots of s'mores, swimming and the boys braving the big slide by themselves, playing at the park, and a nighttime movie in the park. They showed Frozen and it was a hit with all of the kids. 

Isn't she the cutest!!

clinic visit

I took all three kids to the clinic for Paxton and Harlow's yearly check up. You know, because Harlow turned 2 on May 8th and Paxton turned 4 on........December 28th (So I'm a little behind, sorry middle child!). I knew taking all three of them wouldn't be any more difficult than taking just Harlow alone. She's the wild one that needs to be told "no" a million times, needs to be taken off of the desk, told to not stand on the bed, not to climb up to the sink and turn the water on, don't touch the garbage because there's germs. etc... But these three kids are loved at the clinic, by our nurse and Dr. Frannie. And Dr. Frannie is so glad that she can now call Harlow her "friend". She wasn't sure if Harlow would ever come around to loving her quite the same way the boys do, but I think she's almost there. She was compliant, listened to directions, answered questions, and even smiled. And there were NO TEARS!!!!! By anyone! And there were three shots given, one to Harlow and two for Paxton. The second after Harlow was poked, the nurse told her she was done and she sweetly replied, "okay". Such a proud mama!

Some quick stats....

Harlow at 2 years old- weight- 24 lbs 14 ozs (22%) and height- 33 1/4 inches (43%)

Paxton at 4 1/2 years old- weight 37 lbs 11 ozs (49%) and height- 41 1/2 inches (56%)

mother's day

As any mother knows, there aren't really words that can be put together to explain the love we have for our children. I am no different. I love them with everything I have (and then a little more!). I have a special way of telling each of them....
To Hudson I say- I love you more than anything.
To Paxton I say- I love you, shmuv you. (something completely made up we started saying years ago)
To Harlow I say- I love you much!

Per tradition, we went to pick out flowers on Mother's Day. A quick opportunity for another picture together.

And in much the same way, there aren't words that could ever define the relationship I have with my mom, or the way I feel about her. She is first and foremost my best friend. She has given me and my family so much of herself. Her generosity and selflessness is endless. I will strive to have this same relationship with my children. I wouldn't be strong enough to do anything without her by my side.

Harlow's REAL birthday 5.8.2014

Of course Harlow got another birthday celebration on her actual birthday, May 8th. Per tradition, we filled her room with balloons and Jamie even managed to sneak them in while she was sleeping. I was so excited to watch her reaction when I woke her up the next morning, but the little stinker woke up on her own and came out with a balloon in hand. She found me getting ready in the bathroom to tell me there were lots of balloons and then said, "brothers did it". She's always blaming them! We had time for a few presents and a couple pictures before heading to daycare.

Playing with her new unicorn and baby.

Look at how old she looks?!?!?!?! This picture makes my heart ache for my baby girl.

Harlow is a big fan of Carson!! One of her faves.

Speaking of faves.....all sweets! We went to Happy Joe's and she loved that sundae, but surprisingly enough she still shared with Paxton. She licked every last bit.

After Happy Joe's we headed back to our house for more presents from family and cake/ice cream. And yes, Harlow ate more! She loves getting sung to, and always joins in to sing to herself. I think she had the best birthday ever! She loved the attention and watches the videos of herself on my phone everyday.

A few videos of an entire day dedicated to our girl........

all three of them

Just a few pictures of all three of the Johnson crew....in all of their cuteness, craziness, and silliness. But we wouldn't want them any other way.

A picture from Easter Sunday. Harlow was a little under the weather on Easter with the beginnings of a cold.

A picture sent to me from daycare. That morning I had asked if she could try and keep Harlow's clothes as clean as possible since she had her last day of school that night and I wouldn't have time to change her. I knew that was an almost impossible task as Harlow gets into everything!!!! A couple hours later I got this picture with the comment, "The only way I can keep Harlow clean." Ha, very true!

When we do an all three sibling bath, its quite the production! It usually starts with playing nicely, then someone fights over a toy, there's alot of splashing, an occasional near drowning, and someone always ends up in tears. I take a lot of bath time videos, and if I wasn't worried about private parts hitting the internet, I think I could entertain you all!

Warmer temps have finally arrived and the kids soak up every minute outside. So instead of fighting them to come in the house for meals, we like to eat on the deck. As of late, this has been Paxton's smile every time I ask for a picture. And with his little mini-Pax right by him, Harlow has to give the exact same one!

As also seen here. When I posted this picture to Facebook/Instagram, I labeled it, "Crazy, Crazier, and Content". I think it fits them pretty well here.

a little tantrum

Here is a glimpse of Harlow at her finest.......

Minnie Mouse Birthday

The BABY girl is turning TWO years old on May 8th and with busy weekends in May, we celebrated her birthday a little early. She doesn't mind, according to her, she's been 2 for about a month now. And we had no choice but to celebrate with her absolute favorite character, Minnie Mouse. 

One set of her godparents, Ryan and Liz.

Another godparent, Huntie Buntie

Leave it to Maddi to give Harlow make up and jewelry which I'm pretty sure was her favorite gift! She had makeup all over her face, eye shadow, blush, and lipstick. And check out those dangling earrings! 

These four are great friends and cousins. They play so well together, and I know my boys look forward to every time we get them together. 

It's become tradition to have a pinata at the parties now, and in typical Harlow style, she went wild on her pinata with a real metal baseball bat! Her tiny little body even managed to get a few pieces of candy out before Hudson went to town on it letting all the loot fall to the ground. 

The whole gang of kids and our "stair picture". 

Top: Hudson, Carson, Regan, and Harlow-Bottom: Paxton, Sidney, and Lincoln.

Sister enjoyed being the center of attention and she blew that candle out several times.

Here's a little video.....

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY HARLOW MAE JOSEPHINE!! I COULDN'T LOVE YOU ANY MORE THAN I ALREADY DO, BUT TOMORROW I WILL. 

kindergarten open house

The time has come, Kindergarten is right around the corner for Hudson. This time last year I was a mess, debating the decision to send him to Kindergarten as a young 5 year old (with a June birthday) or wait another year. If you had asked me one day to the next, I would've given you a different answer, never sure of where my heart was, but now.......I am SO sure we made the right choice in waiting. I have no doubt that my almost 6 year old is ready now. Even as we walked through the school, and he rarely let go of my hand, I knew he was excited, proud, and eager to learn all about that big school. He wanted to see every single Kindergarten classroom and took the time in each room to talk to the teacher and try out the projects they had on the table.

Some of the teachers use different types of chairs for core strength, balance, and a way to wiggle out that extra energy kids tend to have. Hudson tested out each one, choosing the "T" chair as his favorite. The teacher asked him to pretend to write his name on her hand while he balanced on the chair. In typical Hudson form, he needed that tongue out for concentration. (A trait each of our kids have!)

Hudson has mastered the iPad, Kindle, and our cell phones, but a computer with a mouse is something we've never done at home. It took him less than a second to figure out how to maneuver that thing around, click and drag so that arrow moves where he wants it to.

He was very excited to board the bus for a quick ride, picking the very back seat. Jamie and I quietly mumbled to each other about how much both of us despised riding the bus. We're still not quite sure how transportation will work next year with our biggest kid in school, but I do know that that big yellow bus full of rowdy kids scares the bejesus out of me! 

I noticed many of Hudson's nervous tendencies while we were there; holding my hand, playing with his fingers, and blinking as he talked, but I also noticed his pride and anticipation of what Kindergarten means, and meeting new friends at a new school with a new teacher, and doing all of that as the oldest of two other siblings. There is no doubt that I will be a wailing mess of tears on his first day come September, and I will have a million fears, but I won't doubt for a second that he will succeed, and grow, and make us proud.

exploring at the park

The kids have a favorite park in town and we spent another afternoon there last weekend. Unfortunately its not in walking distance (but fortunately right next to the Target for some convenient shopping!). They each have their "go to" activity there. Harlow loves the.....no idea what this thing is called so I'll go with "spinny thingy". It could also be called the "spin so fast and get so dizzy you'll want to barf thingy". But no surprise, she loves it. Climbs on, spins like crazy, falls off, climbs back on, repeat.  

Paxton loves the spider web and pretends he's all sorts of mean and icky creatures climbing around that thing. 

This teeter totter thing isn't Hudson's favorite, but I just loved his genuine smiles and laughter......

But this is Hudson's favorite, the woods and creek behind the park. He was bummed the water was still too high to get into the tunnel, but that didn't stop him from finding long sticks and rocks to throw in the creek. 

When it was time to go I told them that Mommy had let go of her many fears of them falling in for long enough and couldn't take it anymore. They assured me that they wouldn't let go of that tree and were safe as safe could be. But for some reason, I didn't trust that skinny little measly tree, or their little fingers holding onto it for dear life. I'm pretty sure they'll be 50 years old before I'm ready to let go and let them live a little!