Pumpkin carving time!

Myles carving his pumpkin (with a little help from Mommy!) Having only one working arm didn't hold him back from digging into this pumpkin!

Here is Erik and his stubborn pumpkin! That thing didn't want to be cut up!

Here is the group carving up some great halloween pumpkins!

This is the end result! From Left to Right they were carved by: Myles (mom), Patrick, Erica (the giant pumpkin), Pete, and Erik.

Andrea & Erik by our master pieces!

Myles relaxing with Erica & Pete after carving his pumpkin.

This Sunday we had the family over for a birthday dinner for me (33 years young!). Dad, Patrick, Erica & Pete, and of course Erik & our kids all got together at the Johnson house for some yummy chilly on such a chilly day! We then did the birthday cake & gifts thing (thanks everyone for the great gifts!) which was fun! After we cleaned up, we got messy again by carving pumpkins! It was a BYOP thing (bring your own pumpkin) and we provided most of the carving tools - some broke... junky cub food purchase! I helped our one armed son carve a Scary faced pumpkin - eyes and a toothy mouth... no nose per his request. Erik's pumpkin proved to be a challenge - he could hardly cut into it. I guess it didn't want to become a halloween decoration! Patrick, Pete, and Erica carved great pumpkins while Dad took a bunch of pictures. Holly was running around and getting into things, so I ended up throwing in a baby einstein dvd and she was finally content. It was a ton of fun this evening! I'm so glad that people could come over. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Andrea

Update with Myles

This is just a brief update about Myles. This past week, on Tuesday afternoon, he fell off the top of the slide at Daycare. So I got the call that he was hurt and would be upset when we picked him up (it happened at the end of the day). Erik picked up the kids and when I got home, he took Myles to the doctor. Sure enough - broken collar bone. I always thought that kids first did something that needed stitches and then break a bone.... nope - we got the broken bone first. So now poor Myles has to wear a sling on his right arm for 3-4 weeks. Things were pretty rough at home for the first few days - Myles was in pain, and didn't seem himself. He was waking up 3 times per night crying. It was tough on everyone. He now seems to have pepped up a bit and is slowly healing. I'll try to get a picture of him in his sling and post that.

Hope everyone is doing well!
Andrea

Fall Leaves

We are working hard at raking up all of our leaves. So far we have about 7 bags, and about another 7 to go! But before we put them in the bag, I took a cute picture of Myles in all the leaves.

October Update

Holly @ the doctor's office - she may not look it, but she was sick.

People thought it was funny that she wore her beautiful necklace to the doctor's office. If it made her happy, I wasn't going to take it off her!

This is from today - everyone is healthy (except for a cold) and so we went to play and look around at the mall. Aren't the kids cute?

.

The beginning of this week was tough - I got sick over the weekend on Saturday, and then Holly and I were sick on Sunday. We both were running low temps (100.7) and feeling a bit crummy. Then my throat began to hurt, so on Monday morning I called in sick and went to the doctor. After a short office visit, I was told it was strep throat. Yuck. So off I went with my prescription for antibiotics. Mean while, Erik was at home on the couch because he wasn't feeling well either! Myles was the only one feeling good so he was at daycare. On Tuesday, I took Holly to the doctor and Erik went to the doctor. Holly wasn't happy about going to the doctor - she screamed when he listened to her heart & lungs. You would have thought she was getting a shot! Then she was even madder when he wanted to look in her ears, nose, and throat. Lots more screaming! Once he stopped, she stopped screaming. Weird little kid. Well, Holly only had a generic little virus and it needed to run it's course. When we got home, Erik told us that he also had strep throat. Great. More meds in the house, and sick adults. Just what we need! So slowly we all have been getting better.

.

Today is Friday, 10/17/09, and I'm at home with the kids. This morning we decided to head over to the Northtown mall to play in the kid area for a bit, visit with the animals at the pet shop, and eat at Subway. It was fun, but Holly started to get crabby and needed to come home for a nap. So now both kids are sleeping, and I'm relaxing on the couch. How wonderful! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Love,

Andrea

Apple Jack Orchards Adventure!

Johnson family picture at the Orchard!

Erik walking with the boys over to the apple orchard!

The cow train ride - Myles & Mason are in the first cow, and Preston is behind in the 2nd cow. I didn't send Holly on this as I was worried she would jump out!

Myles kickin' it on some giant pumpkins!

Cutie pie Holly!

When Holly saw the boys sitting on the pumpkins, she ran over to do the same thing!

Myles thinks he can lift the big pumpkin...

Mason and Myles sitting on the pumpkins

All 4 of the kids checking out the pumpkins

Erik pulling Holly in the wagon

A dirty faced Holly still eating an apple - even after it fell in the dirt...

Mason, Myles, and Preston pause for a cute picture under an apple tree!

Holly eating an apple - Yum!

Myles & Mason heading to the next tree to find the delicious apples!

Myles picking Apples with Mason

Today we went with some friends (the Thielke's) to Apple Jack Orchards in Delano. It was so much fun! There were TONS of people there on this nice, sunny fall day. Once we figured out where to go, we headed over to the orchard to pick and eat some apples. They were delicious! The boys had a blast picking apples off the trees, and Holly just wandered around with an apple in her mouth. After we took Myles and Mason over to the Apple Cannon - they each got to shoot 3 apples (with help from the Mommies). I'll post pics of this once I get them (my camera was running out of batteries). We then headed over for some lunch - brats, chips, soda, and some yummy apple fritter bread. There was a fun Irish band playing music while we ate. After lunch, we had time for one more thing - a ride around the strawberry patch in a cow train! The boys had a blast! (I'll post these later when I get them). It was such a great apple adventure today! I would recommend it to everyone!

Love,

Andrea

Coloring this morning

Myles and Holly coloring great pictures!

A close up of what Myles colored - it is me in the middle, our house on the left, a tree on the right, the sky above and the grass & dirt below. How cute is that?!!

This morning Myles asked to color a picture, so I set both kids up to color some great pictures! They were so cute together!

Love,

Andrea

First Wedding Dance

I tried to take a video of Erica & Pete's first wedding dance - it didn't turn out very good (the sound is all messed up due to some of the low beats in the music), but I thought I would post it anyway.

Congrats again to the lovely couple!!!!!!!!

Andrea

Erica & Pete Lehner get Married!

Erica & Pete in the park - very classy get away car they are driving!

Silly Groomsmen holding Pete - Erica was very nervous about injury to her Groom!

The Best Man and I (Maid of Honor) had to give our speeches at the reception - it turned out okay!

Each table had a very beautiful cake for the guests to cut into.

Stacey and I at the reception - it was so great to hang out together!!

A very tired looking Myles hanging out with his cousin Lily - they were so funny together!

Myles with his new Uncle Pete!

My parents relaxing with Myles during picture time at the church.

The lovely Bride taking a break while others are getting their picture taken.
.

Erica just finished getting ready for her big day!

Little Holly in her super cute red dress! At first I was a little worried that she wouldn't want to take off her lovely purple necklace, but she eventually did.

The very handsome Myles in his tux! My flash washed out the cute little vest and tie that he has on with this tux. He looked soooo cute!!!!!!

My Sister and Myles chillin for some pictures before getting the dress on.

Well, this was the big weekend! My sister married Pete Lehner, and now is Mrs. Erica Lehner! Yippee!!!!!!! (although it will take me a while to get used to the sound of that!) It was a crazy busy weekend. The wedding rehearsal was on Friday with the grooms dinner after that. It was fun, but for some reason, my kids were not on their best behavior. I think Myles was just really anxious and excited to be a ring bearer. We didn't get to hang out late with everyone, but by coming home so early, I was able to get so many things ready for the big day on Saturday. The morning came early and we were all up by 6:30 am. The kids got their bath, and we loaded up the car. My hair dresser came to my house to do my hair for the wedding and it turned out great!!! (Thanks Tanya!) We also hired a babysitter for the entire day & evening, which turned out to be the smartest thing we could have done. It was a huge help! We were at the church by Noon to get ready for pictures. The kids did pretty well, and we were able to bribe them to participate in some of the pictures. I think we even got some nice family photos. It was then a waiting game till the wedding at 4:00 pm. But once the ceremony started, it flowed smoothly and was beautiful! Myles did a WONDERFUL job pulling Holly down the aisle in a wagon. Before hand I told him to smile and have fun, and that if he sees someone he knows that he could wave at them. Well, he decided to wave at EVERYONE all the way down the aisle. It was super funny and cute! I wish I could have gotten that on video! The kids were AWESOME during the ceremony - better than I could have ever imagined, and they lasted the whole time in the church!

.

After the lovely ceremony, the bridal party went to Spring Brook nature center for some nice park pictures. We then followed the Groom & Bride in their classic Mercedes with the top rolled down to the Reception - very classy looking! We honked our horns almost the entire way! The Reception went well. Holly didn't really get to participate as it was starting late so she went up to the hotel room with the babysitter. Myles had fun sitting next to his cousin Lily. By 8:00 pm he asked Erik to go up to the room as well - he was sooo tired and relaxed a bit up there before going to bed. So while I am bummed that the kids didn't get to dance, it was for the best. We then proceeded to dance the night away and hang out with everyone! By 11:00 pm however Erik and I called it a night so that he could drive the babysitter home. I stayed in the hotel with the kids, and Erik crashed at home. He came back early in the morning for breakfast with us - we ate with my cousin and her family. Myles sure does get a kick out of his cousin Lily! They are 2 peas in a pod!

We are a bit tired today, but what a lovely wedding it turned out to be. I am so happy for my sister, and can't wait to get to know my new brother-in-law a little bit better! They will be living in Minneapolis, so it will be easy to hang out with them once they are back from their honeymoon. I am very happy for this!

Love, Andrea

Erica's Bachelorette Thursday night (9/25/08)

Di, Sarah, Deb, Erica, Andrea, Kristen, and Ginger @ the Bachelorette party!

.

Erica up on stage while the teams compete for the best pick up line - Erica then voted for which one she liked the best. It was super funny!

Here is what the crazy ref looked like at the Comedysports club.

Last week a bunch of us gals took Erica out for a night of fun and laughter. We all met up at Chino Latino for drinks and some good food! It was fun to get to know those I hadn't met, and reconnect with those I haven't seen in a long time! Then we headed across the street to the ComedySportz club for a fun improvinational comedy. We were sure to tell them that this was for Erica's bachelorette and they made sure to include her in the show! Very fun!


Thanks everyone for making this night such a great memory! It was wonderful!
Love,
Andrea

The kids love popsicles!

This weekend was hotter than I expected, and the kids needed to cool off. So we went out on the deck and enjoyed some yummy popsicles together! Yum!

Andrea