Fall Catch-Up

I had the idea that I would catch the blog up, event by event. But, obviously that is not happening! So I thought I would do a catch-all blog to get everyone up to speed with our crazy fall, then maybe make an entry back into the world of regular blogging. Our fall was a busy one! Both girls started school, Jessilyn in kindergarten, and Reese in 3 year-old preschool. The first day of school was an exciting day in the Johnson house! A few weeks later we went to Amarillo for the weekend to celebrate Hutton's 1st and Marlie's 2nd birthdays. We missed Hutton's official party, but still had a great time celebrating! A few weeks later, my MaMa went to meet her heavenly father! As much as we miss her, it was such a sweet time for our family. During her sickness, much time was spent with her, and new memories were made. The weekend of her funeral, our family had such a special time just being together...telling stories, looking through photo albums, reading her Bible and devotional books, making memories...MaMa and PaPa have left an incredible legacy, and we are so blessed by our family!! A few weeks later was a surprise 35th anniversary party for Mom and Dad. More of that incredible legacy... What a fun time we had that weekend! Jessilyn played her first season of t-ball. One major plus was that all of her games were on Saturday evenings, so Daddy could come to every single game! She really enjoyed it, and was a pretty good little player. She also started dance class at a fantastic Christian fine arts studio, and Reese began her first year of gymnastics. She was a little apprehensive at first, but she has warmed up, and now absolutely loves it. I just realized I have no pictures of dance or gymnastics, those will have to come later. Along came Halloween (spent with PaPa), then soon after Thanksgiving. During all of this, Dad was having a not-so-great football season that ended in not making the playoffs. For those of you outside the coaching world, it's not good when you don't make the playoffs!!! Not good for the boys, especially not good for the parents, and therefore, coaches, and therefore wives, and therefore families...you get it! Christmas season is now upon us, along with all the parties, programs, and activities that entails. More on that to come...

Jessilyn riding a pony at a birthday party

Hutton opening gifts

Jessilyn at Marlie's party

Silly cousins!

My cute little punkins!

Say cheese!

Reese's class trip to the local pumpkin patch

T-ball medal

She makes her daddy proud!

Jessilyn with another coach's kid on mismatch day during Red Ribbon Week

The girls at our church's fall carnival (before a game)

My sweet little flower and bumblebee

Our Halloween creations

Going for a ride on the four-wheeler

Sea World

This summer, my sisters, the girls, and I took a quick little girls' trip. Jessica and I met in Dallas for one day while Jaclyn was working, then met her in Temple and saw her new apartment, then went to San Antonio. We spent the first day shopping, then took the girls to El Mercado in downtown San Antonio. Jessilyn got her face painted, and they each got a new little mexican dress. We went to the Tower of Americas, then to dinner and the river walk. It was a long, but very fun day. After that we spent two days at Sea World. It was a quick trip, and the girls had a blast having "girl time" with their aunts. One evening, we drove to our old house that we lived in when Dad was in medical school. It looked much better than we were expecting, and they have painted it a lovely, very "San Antonio" shade of turquoise. haha

Visiting with Macye and Bryce while in Dallas.

Sweet sisters! (pretty cute, too!)

Showing off their new dresses.

A little face painting.

Jessilyn posing with the cast of the ski show

Close-up of our attempt at a picture at the entrance...typical

New sunglasses

At top of the Tower of Americas

They love their aunts!

Reese's #3

My little Reesey turned three in August. Yes, I said August...don't judge. We had a fun party at a local kid-sized gym. It was a blast! I think the kids had a lot of fun. When I asked Reese what she wanted for her birthday, all she would ever tell me was "A big dragon and a little monkey." Your guess is as good as mine. So, we had a "monkey" themed party. The only thing I could find decor-wise was a monkey mylar balloon. I made some monkey cupcakes, and there you have it. It was a great day!

She wanted her cake to be a pink monkey.

Jessilyn made her practice blowing out her candle on her birthday donut. She wasn't too into it...obviously.

Sweet cousins!

All the little monkeys

Ready to open gifts

New monkey sleeping bag from Pops & MiMi

Going for a ride on her new scooter.

My Man is OLD!

July brought a trip to Amarillo. Randon's mom's family was having their annual reunion, Randon's birthday, and Fourth of July. We celebrated Randon's 30th, that's right, I said THIRTY!!!, birthday. We celebrated with his family on his actual birthday, then the next day with my family. The next day was July 4th, and we shuffled back and forth between family celebrations. I headed home in the middle of the week to work, then went back. While I was home, I painted Reese's room. We moved her from a toddler bed to a full size...she has a new Big Girl Room. We had a great time in Amarillo swimming, fishing, golfing...it almost felt like a real vacation!