Mud Springs

Over Memorial day weekend we took our camper and toys up to Mud Springs on Pinyon Mesa for some fun family camping and riding. We were expecting rain for most of the weekend but we went anyway. We still managed to have a lot of fun over the four days.

Tyler learned how to make a fire without matches over the weekend and was very proud of himself the first time he got the fire going. We were all impressed and proud of him for working so dillegently on getting it started and then keeping it going.

The boys managed to find the largest mud holes and plow their way through them. The wall of water as they flew through some of them was impressive. I should have made them do the laundry when we got home.

What fun we had that weekend despite the rain. Getting out was alittle frightening, it is a good thing that we have such a big strong truck. We look forward to many more camping trips this summer!

Our First Camping Trip of the Year

What a wonderful family trip we had. We spent 4 days in Utah around Goblin Valley State Park. What beautiful country we explored.

The boys were wonderful and hiked forever throught the slot canyons. We were hoping we could make it all the way to the waterfall but we also knew that we had to walk back as far as we went forwards. Ryan even walked 3 miles on his own.

We spent some time hiking through the goblins as well in the state park. Everyone had fun climbing on them, around them and in some cases through them. It was fun seeing differnt animals and shapes in the rocks around us. We found a couple caves to climb in and around as well.

The ATV trails around our campsite were fabulous. My mom came back to work telling everyone that I tried to kill her on the last trail that we took. At one point she even got out of the RZR and walked with Alyssa as I drove it down the "hill" and over the ledge. After that hill she trusted my driving skills a little more. The boys had a great area to practice their driving skills in their little RZR as well. They are really improving in their driving abilities.

We look forward to going back later this summer for more fun.

AHHHH Neighbors!

Today ended up being a good day despite how the afternoon began. It was a beautiful day out and we were all enjoying being outside. Alyssa, Ryan, Ben and I were out front on our porch planting some flowers in our planters enjoying the wonderful weather until our neighbors came out. They were having a party and were completely inconsiderate of everyone around them. They were all drinking and using language worse than a sailor. Their music was even worse. Half of the party was outside in their back yard which just happens to be right next to our front porch and the other half were inside their house yelling back and forth. I could not believe that they would be so inconsiderate of others especially while there were small children around. I was angry that they would continue with that type of language when they could see my children a few yards from them! We stopped planting and went inside. We could still hear them. That is when we decided to go out for a ride - I know it is Sunday but it was much better than sitting here listening and watching that poor of behavior in adults. We had a wonderful family afternoon and enjoyed the weather and eachother. I love the summers and being outdoors but these people make it difficut with our children. I do not ask much of others but...if you are going to behave that way DO NOT DO IT IN FRONT OF CHILDREN and others who are quite offended by it! Show some respect for other people and control yourself. Educate yourself so that you have more than just the "four letter words" to express yourself.

Update

It is definately time that we update the blog...sorry Mindy that I took so long and thank you for the little prods to get it done.

The kids are growing so fast! I love each and every one of them and I am so grateful that they are such a big part of my life. They each add something special and unique to our family.

Tyler...The big brother. He is so good with his brothers and sister. He has such a big heart and is incredibly smart.

Benjamin...What a comedian. He has such a wonderful smile and contagious laugh. He is very sensitive and concerned for others.

Ryan...He is my little cuddle bug. He loves to give and recieve hugs and kisses. He is so energetic and inquisitive. Oh how he can wear one out.

Alyssa...so sweet and happy. She loves to laugh and giggle. She is getting into everything, teasing the boys and keeping everyone on their toes.

Dancin' 'Lyssa

Alyssa LOVES music. She likes to dance as well. We have been watching Dancing with the Stars because of the music and dancing. I have mentioned that she likes to dance on her chair...well here are some lovely pictures of her dancing away. What fun we have around here.

Bella - Welcome to our family

Bella joined our family just before Christmas. She is a beautiful boxer puppy. She is almost 6 months old now. She has been so much fun. We all love her although the boys are not very good about taking her out and she doesn't voluntarily go out because she hates the snow. She does not like the cold so it has been a little trying. She is slowly getting used to it and will play some while outside. She is such a loving dog. She loves to sit on your lap and cuddle. It is fine now but probably not when she gets bigger. She follows me around the house most of the time and lays at my feet when I sit at the couch. Alyssa is learning to stand up for herself with Bella as they are the same height right now. She has been knocked down a few times but has learned to put her hand out and on Bellas nose to redirect her and not knock Alyssa down.

Bella is a smart dog. She knows how to sit and lay upon command. We are working on "stay" right now. When we go for walks she knows that when we get to an intersection we stop and she will sit next to us until we say go then she will stand and start to walk again. She walks very well on a leash.

We love Bella and are glad she is with us.

The Boys' Christmas Program

The boys participated in their school Christmas program the beginning of December. They did a wonderful job. I think this year was the best program the school has done. Tyler played the part of Santa Clause and Benjamin was a reindeer. Tyler has multiple speaking parts and never missed a beat. I honestly do not know how he does it as he never wanted to practice the lines at home. Benjamin did nothave any speaking parts but he knew the songs and sang them well. We were very proud of the boys.

Tyler's Birthday

Tyler turned 9 years old on December 7, 2008. It is hard to believe that he can be that old already. We are so grateful for him and that he is a part of our family. I remember the day we blessed him as an infant. We were all gathered at my parents home in Grand Junction Colorado; we have family and friends there to celebrate our little one. Tyler was blessed at that time and told that he would be a great and loving example to his brothers and sisters. We have seen the fruits of that blessing. He has always been wonderful with his brothers and sister. From the time Benjamin was born Tyler was always close by asking to help and hold him. We have so many pictures of Tyler with one of his siblings sitting on his lap. He loves them so much. He has such a soft and loving heart. His old first and second grade teacher said she would love to keep him in her class forever. He has been found back in that classroom during his recess helping the younger children with reading or math or other asignments that they might be working on at the time. We love Tyler for his loving spirit and brilliant mind.

Thanksgiving in Arizona

We spent a week in Arizona with Lanny's Dad and Stepmom for Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful trip! Both of Lanny's sisters and their families made it out for Thanksgiving as well as some of Lanny's cousins with their kids. There was quite the crew. We will let the pictures tell of our adventures and family fun. All of us cannot wait until we go back.

Moster Truck Tour of an Ostrich Farm - The boys LOVED it!

"Fishing" for Ostriches - Using bolts and orange slices.

Feeding the deer - Benjamin liked the deer better than the ostriches

Feeding the birds - Ryan was scared to death but Alyssa couldn't get enough of themSwimming with cousins

There was a lot more fun activities, but you get a good idea with these pictures the fun that we all had. It was wonderful being with family for the holiday.

Alyssa is 1!

Alyssa had her first birthday! What a joy in our life she has been. Our family is complete with her. What a surprise she was and a blessing she has been.

Her personality has begun to shine through. Like Ryan she loves to cuddle. She has moments of spontaneous laughter where her eyes sparkle and her laugh goes all the way to her toes. She loves to smile and play. She prefers the remote control to most of her toys even though it doesn't do anything. She has taken to climbing and we have found her on the desk in our room playing with the computer. She is definately drawn to the electronics. Somehow it runs in our family.

What a party we had for her and Grant for their birthdays. Tia planned and pulled off a fabulous birthday party. We had a costume party with games, food and cake. Oh, the train was a huge hit as well. The kids could not get enough of the train (Courtesy of Kevin and Jill Edwards).

Grant made a very cute sidekick as Robin.

Benjamin gets his cast.

Benjamin broke his arm at the end of September. He ended up going in to the operating room three days after he broke it. The surgeon ended up not having to pin it she was able to set it and cast it without surgery. It was very good news. He chose to have a purple cast. Right before surgery though the doctor found out that his favorite color was green and was surprised that he wanted purple. When he came out of surgery his green monkey had a purple cost on his arm and Benjamin had a purple cast that was accented with a bright green stripe to match his monkey. Benjamin was wonderful through it all. He was even disappointed that he could not go back to school until the following Monday. The cast is scheduled to come off on November 11 if all goes well and it heals as well as it has so far. He will most likely be in a long arm splint for the following 2 weeks.

OUCH!

Can you guess who this is? We had to make a trip to the emergency room on Sunday. One of our children - who wanted to remain annonymous to see if you could figure out/guess who it was - fell and broke his arm (okay it was not Alyssa). I must say us Johnstons when we do something we do it all the way - no holding back! Both bones are broke and are at different levels. He is scheduled to have surgery tomorrow morning to put a pin in the bone to stabilize the fracture. As you can see in the x-ray (below) it is displaced quite a bit and if we do not pin it he could lose all pronation and supination of the forearm; basically the ability to turn his palm up and down. We are very happy with the doctors who have treated him so far and are very happy with the surgeon that will be performing the procedure. We will keep everyone posted as to how he does with it all. Right now he is just bored because we can't send him to school until after the fracture is stabilized and in a cast.

Ryan is 3!

Ryan had this 3rd birthday on September 14th. What an exciting day. He has grown so much. It really is hard to believe how fast the time has flown by. We love our little Ryan!

Ryan has such a big heart. He loves to give hugs and kisses and loves to cuddle. He is a big helper around the house which is great because he makes the biggest messes in the house. He has a laugh that is so contagious. He is playful and loving.

We have been truely blessed to have him as part of our family.

Political Commentary

I have been following the political arena more closely this year than I ever have in the past. With the current issues before us and the possible changes that we are faced with it is more important than ever for us to make a stand on the core values we live by. My words are not as elequent as my sister-in-laws so I have added her comments below and agree with her 110%. I feel that we need to make this point and get the message out to all those who are not listening to the issues and are caught up in the hipe of the campaigns. Break down what is being said, "Hope" and "Change" is not reason enough to vote for someone!

Babbel views
"This election has gotten us so fired up. Now more than ever we totally 100% disagree with what is going on. Here are our issues:Those men, inspired by God, who founded this country established rights that every free man is entitled to. No where did they state that each man has the right to have his life paid for by the sweat of another man’s brow and efforts. There is no personal accountability for those who do nothing to receive help that has been earned by the sacrifices of others. People are responsible for their own lives and the lives of their families.Have we now decided that excellence and self improvement are to be punished? Apparently the democrats think so. If a man should improve his situation and make a good life for himself, he suddenly has to give at least 50% (under Obama) of that income to those who haven’t earned it. Look into the ideas of Marxism and Communism and you will find yourself reading the Democratic plan for this country under Obama’s leadership.While we need to be charitable to those who have less, being forced to give of our hard earned livelihood to those who do not deserve nor have earned it is wrong.For those who support the democratic party idea of establishing even greater economic handouts, I would like to know how we as a country will pay for it. They claim the national budget/deficit is out of control, but would like to increase government spending exponentially.Health care is another privilege we have, but not a right. People are not entitled to have their health care paid for when they take no personal responsibility for their current health conditions. If you have worked in a hospital you have seen that the majority of patients on government health care have gotten there because of their lifestyle choices, not because of an inherent medical condition. Please explain to me how any intelligent American can think that the government can efficiently and appropriately run a national health care system. They have been unable to manage medicaid, medicare and social security. How can they go from those failures to suddenly run a health care system that will then encompass the hundreds of millions of people currently in this country? Look at other countries that have national health care and you will find untold numbers of stories of horror of the medical care that is received/not received there.We feel very strongly that abortion and homosexual behavior is wrong. Our Heavenly Father has established these as unalienable truths that cannot be argued away. Abortion in all but a very few cases is exceptionally wrong. Homosexual behavior is wrong and entire cities (Sodom and Gomorrah) have been destroyed for it. While the majority of the Democratic party policies can be explained as a different way to deal with the problems in our country, there is absolutely no excuse for their views on abortion and gay rights. Those policies go directly against the commandments of God and the establishment of the family.Sen. Obama stated, "I'm going to teach them first of all about values and morals but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD." Apparently accountability and respect for human life do not count for much with him. I absolutely cannot respect anyone who feels that a baby is considered a punishment and that it can be gotten rid of with no eternal consequence. If he doesn’t want them punished with an STD perhaps the democrats should consider teaching correct moral principles to their children in addition to accountability for their actions. Sen Obama strongly disagreed with the Supreme Court ruling upholding the partial birth abortion ban. This is where you can be birthed to the head, just keep the head inside of the mother and then kill the baby. Where is the respect for human life? As far as gay rights go, I don’t feel I need to explain. Gay marriage is wrong, end of argument.With regards to the other issues at stake in this election, I don’t know enough to state clearly why I agree with one side and not the other. But honestly, WHO CARES!!! There is no way I could possibly live with myself by voting for a Democrat and supporting the policies listed above. Our Heavenly Father and our families need to be the two most important things in our lives. We plan on voting based on those issues that demonstrate our respect for our Heavenly Father’s commandments and the sanctity of the family."

Speak up! Write your congressmen! Take responsibility!

Water World, Denver Colorado

We went to Water World last weekend and had a blast! The boys loved it. Benjamin asked if we could come back again and I told him that it would probably be a while because it was an expensive trip. He, being so considerate and thoughtful, replied, "I have been saving my money, if I gave it to you would that help to pay for us to come again?"

Benjamin and I had a lot of fun on the two man water slides. We went on one that was in the dark and sent us down hill in circles. We both got dizzy going around and around and around. What a fun family day we had.

Even Ryan and Alyssa being so small had a good time playing in the water. Ryan went on a couple water slides with me but much preferred swimming in the pool to any rides they had there.

They had a great kids area that had small waterslides, waterfalls and fountains. The stairs even had water running down them between to three levels in the kids area. Ryan enjoyed this zone too, but not as much as the swimming pool. The lazy river was fun for Ryan as long as he didn't have to sit in the tube. He had his trusty life jacket and it carried him everywhere he wanted to go.

Ryan and Alyssa - One Saturday Morning

We were playing around the house today trying to get things picked up and just relaxing. We took the opportunity to take a few pictures as I am trying to update some of the frames on our walls at home. I noticed the other day that the last picture we gave my parents of Ryan was when he was 6 weeks old. Alyssa was only 4 weeks old. It is definately time to update her pictures as well. Here are some of the pictures that we came up with. You will just have to come visit us to see the rest!