labor day weekend

Once again, catch up time....over Labor Day weekend, Grandma Cindy and I took the kids to the cities for a 2 night hotel stay. Hudson cashed in on his birthday hotel gift from his godparents, Maddi and Zevlen (THANK YOU AGAIN!!!!). Our first stop of the weekend was to the Minnesota State Fair. It was a HOT day, although, not deathly hot like I anticipated it to be. We hit up all the kid friendly activities and spent A LOT of time going on rides. We spent our first night in the hotel after the fair, then the next day we went to The Blast, its an indoor play place in Eagan. The kids ran wild for a couple hours while Grandma and I could just sit back and watch. After that we went to Sea Life for the 4,568th time, or so it seems. All three of the kids love that place, especially Hudson! On our last day we went to the movie Pixels, which surprisingly enough, we all enjoyed! I think the reclining leather seats helped with that too! All of those fun activities plus lots and lots of hotel swimming and some eating....it was a really GREAT weekend!

I don't know what it is about this picture, but I crack up every time I look at it. Not sure if its because Hudson looks like the angriest little farm boy ever, or because Paxton looks like the happiest little farm boy ever, or because neither of them have necks?? Whatever it is, its hilarious to me!

Harlow needed an adult to ride with her on some rides. I was happy to oblige, the breeze from going round and round in circles actually felt pretty good.

All of the kids took a turn on the trampoline. I know the pictures are dark and hard to see, but they all really liked it. Started with a little hesitation, but ended with genuine smiles and laughter. 

The worker was generally a little cranky, didn't say much other than, "move back, jump, stop jumping", all very quietly and monotone, but he liked Harlow and it was cute watching her listen intently to his directions.

A police officer, still Paxton's life plan.

Even though it was our 4,568th time at Sea Life, it was only our 2nd time with the stingrays. At our last visit, the kids were a little hesitant to pet the stingrays, but not this time. They all stuck their hands in there as the stingrays swam around them. This mama though, man I get squirmy and 9 times out of 10, I rip my hand out of that water pretty fast when the stingrays get anywhere near me.

I still say though, with all of the activities we spoil these kids with, they would all be just as happy swimming in the hotel pool 24/7.

Our last stop before heading home was all for Hudson....the Halloween store. It is his heaven on earth, odd as that sounds. He searched high and low for the scariest mask and decided on this one. I think his search was pretty successful. That kid and his obsession with Halloween and everything scary is....well....scary!

When we got home Hudson and Paxton decided to keep their weekend going and spend the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house. My poor Harlow just can't seem to tear herself away from me quite yet. She wanted so badly to go on a sleepover but said, "I would just cry for you when I got there." I love that she loves me that much, but don't want it to hold her back from doing things she wants to do. But, like everything else, its a phase and soon enough she'll be begging to leave. So right now, me and my girl are inseparable and I'm cherishing it. 

To end the holiday weekend, we met the boys and Grandma to go to Sibley Park and out to eat. We fed the animals and then fed ourselves.

Paxton- kindergarten

 Paxton started KINDERGARTEN on August 26th. He was ready and he was "kinda" excited. If you asked him if he wanted to go to school, he would always answer with either "kinda" or "a little bit". Frankly, I think he was a little confused. He had been in the before/after school Kids Connection program all summer with Hudson, and he called it school, so when we talked about school starting, he had felt like he had already been going for months. And because Paxton lives in his own little la-la land, it had to be explained to him several times. Then to make things more confusing for him, on the first day of school I picked him up, but on the second day he went to the Kids Connection program after school. I tried explaining this to him but I could tell his head was spinning a bit so I just told him to follow his big brother, and then he asked me, "So I go to first grade then?" Oh my dear Paxton, no! At that point I looked at Hudson and asked him to kindly take of his poor little brother. I'm thankful I have at least one responsible boy! 

Since school has been in session now for a few weeks, I can give a little update on how things are going for Paxton. He is still so-so about the idea of school. Sometimes he's happy going, sometimes he still gets tears. I don't think he dislikes school, but I think he's easily bored, doesn't really care much about learning anything, and he's super jealous that Harlow still goes to Grandma Sharon's on Mondays and stays home with aunts on Fridays. I can't even count how many times I've heard, "It's not FAIR!!". I ran into his teacher, Mrs. Maudal, who was also Hudson's kindergarten teacher, and prior to school starting I had warned her that she was getting a very different Johnson boy this time around. A much more rambunctious boy, not always a rule follower, and one with much less patience. I had to ask her if she's noticed these differences, and she laughed and told me that yes he is different, but just as sweet. And to my surprise, she also told me that Paxton has been on yellow a couple times, (behavior color chart- green is good, yellow is a warning, orange is sent to the office, red is a call to parent). News to me as I had just asked Paxton if he's gotten off green yet and he assured me he had not, even going on to tell me stories of other classmates getting on red. 

This little boy cannot be trusted! 

But gosh he's cute! 

And here's a couple of all of them together that first week of school. My three babies with their backpacks....I'm still in disbelief. 

Harlow- preschool

My baby girl went to preschool....and we both cried big tears! Leading up to school, she's been so excited, but the last week or so before it started she started asking questions like, "Will you come to school with me?" And in about the last month, her "mama's girl" phase has been in full force! She always wants to be with me, if I leave she cries, she yells for me at home to make sure I'm still there, and she's quick to tell everyone that she loves them but she loves her mom the most. So going into Tuesday, August 25th, I knew it wouldn't be easy but I also knew that she'd love school, it was just the goodbye that would be hard. And hard it was, on us both! And its been 2 weeks now, and its still hard every morning. Sometimes she cries big tears, sometimes just little ones. Sometimes she hangs on to my neck for dear life, and sometimes she willingly goes with the teacher as she looks back at me with tears in her eyes. Every morning she tries to be brave, assures me that she's strong and she won't cry, but she just can't seem to make it through. But I think we're getting close. She does love school, she loves her teacher, she loves making new friends, and she loves bringing things she's made home to show me, she just loves her mommy more. 

It was a cold 50 degrees on her first day of school too. 

She was a little more excited on her second day of school. She wanted to take some more pictures showing off her Minnie Mouse backpack and cool new school shoes. She even danced a little with excitement of going to school again. That's how I know she's fine, that's how I can leave her there in good hands three full days a week. 

But I took this video as we were pulling into the parking lot on that second day, and I should've known by those questions and that sad little noise she makes at the end, that once again, our goodbye would not be easy. 

Hudson- 1st grade

Okay, we are officially in the second week of school, and Hudson is officially a FIRST GRADER! That's still hard for me to think about. I have to remind myself that Mrs. Maudal isn't his teacher anymore and that he's in an actual grade! Taking him to his first day of school this year was much different than last. I could tell he had some nerves, but he knew the ropes. One huge difference, he's agreed to eat school lunch sometimes this year! I never thought I'd get him to agree to that! But he said if its something he likes, he's willing to do it. I remember back to last year on the ONE day I forgot to pack him a lunch, and his teacher emailed saying he was quite upset about it and just couldn't fathom eating school lunch and had mega anxiety walking through that lunch line, and it was a corn dog that day! Another difference this year...homework! And boy does he give that a big thumbs down. For a boy who follows all school and classroom rules, would never disobey his teacher, and gets nervous when others do, he sure doesn't bring any of those school morals home with him! The second I mention homework he's complaining. But all in all, I am so proud of my first grader. He's really coming out of his shell and feeling more comfortable in new situations. 

And he hated taking these pictures for me, it was a freezing 50 degrees outside!

ears pierced

Miss Harlow Mae got her ears pierced a couple weeks ago!! This is big news as she had been asking for awhile now so I finally took her serious and believed her that she really did want them. I had many conversations with her, telling her that it does in fact hurt, but knowing that she doesn't even cry for shots anymore, I figured she could probably handle the pain pretty well. We walked hand in hand through the mall and she looked up at me and said, "I'm so excited!!". Her nerves came out a little bit the closer we got, but she bravely answered all of the lady's questions, first one being, "What is your name?", and like always she answered with, "Harlow Mae Johnson" and it is seriously the cutest thing ever! She told them she was three years old and that yes indeed, she wanted her ears pierced. They asked me to have her sit on my lap, so I wasn't able to see her reaction the whole time, but my mom took pictures. This brave girl never cried, NOT ONCE! No tears fell, she didn't whine, jump, or even wince. There was a close call once they were all done, but they brought the mirror out to show her and she was all smiles! (Please ignore my horrifying expressions in the pictures below!) So my girl has earrings, what she's wanted for months now. If its possible, she's more beautiful than ever. And we're cleaning those beautiful ears 2-3 times a day for 8 weeks! After that, she has an adorable set of cupcake earrings just waiting for her, kindly picked out by her big brother Hudson.

getting ready for school

I will be sure to post much more about all the kids' first days of school, but still wanted to share these pictures. The boys had conferences last week before actually started. They met their teachers and had their school pictures taken.....and look at how handsome they were!!!

This might be one of my favorite pictures of all three kids together. I could eat them.

fishing and a movie

We had a busy night on Thursday with the Annual Kids Fishing Contest being rescheduled due to rain, and going to Movies in the Park at German Park. The boys headed down early with Jamie to start fishing, and boy were they successful! Both of them caught fish big enough to place and win a $5 prize. This was quite impressive as there were 250 kids in the contest and only 7 places given.

Hudson with his 7th place winning fish.

Paxton with his 3rd place winning fish.

I had to laugh when Jamie sent me a picture of the board listing possible winners. I know that's my Paxton Johnson in second, but I've never seen his name spelled that way before (Packston).

They were so excited when their names were called for a prize! Especially Hudson who wasn't quite sure if his fish still made the cut. And they had huge smiles when they ripped open their envelopes to find money, their OWN money, that they WON! When we went to the movie later on, Paxton kept offering to pay for things saying, "I can pay for the ice cream, I have enough money." What a sweet, generous boy. 

After the contest, close to dusk, we headed to another park, laid down our blankets and enjoyed a movie, Box Trolls. 

They had a stand with Culver's ice cream, yum! A scoop of vanilla ice cream and then toppings to add on your own; chocolate, caramel, oreos, m&ms, sprinkles, and whip cream! It was a big hit, even for me! All of the kids enjoyed that, and got popcorn with Grandma later. It was a fun night spent outdoors together before the summer ends and school slaps us in the face next week! 

goodbye to daycare

Little Miss Harlow Mae had her very last day at daycare EVER, and thus closes a chapter for this family. Bittersweet as the kids are growing up too fast, but looking forward to an exciting future. Harlow said good bye to Katie and her friends and she's off to full day preschool next week. Harlow is going to MLC Tuesday through Thursday, and still spending Monday and Friday with her aunts and grandmas. She is more than ready for this transition. She's excited for school and has been envious of her brothers. She's quick to tell you she's a big girl as she holds up her three little fingers saying, "I'm this much."And though I know she'll do fine, since she is quite a big mama's girl, I fear her little arms will cling to my legs as I drop her off, tears might well up in her eyes, her lip might quiver, and she might ask me to stay leading us both to break down and cry, but.....I have no doubt that she'll get over it quickly, that she'll jump into playing and learning and making fast friends.

We visited the school last week and she ran that building like she owned it, happily exploring all that it has to offer.