Johnson's Journey

This year we skipped the BIG pumpkin patch we have visited for years and stopped by a small farm we pass on our way home. It was simple.

James was excited to have his choice in color of pumpkins this year.

We all chose pumpkins and were wheeling them out to the car…

…when James was randomly stung by a bee ~ ouch!

So, we quickly loaded up our harvest and headed home.

Carving the pumpkins is a family affair, whether I like it or not! Josh is usually good about craving the insides out of my pumpkin for me. James was very cautious with the seeds as he wanted to roast them ALL.

Max is never far from the action!

Abbie is looking online for a spooky-face design.

Max is forever curious.

Ready to light up the night!

- Abbie hosted a Halloween Party -

Miss Madi the Candy-Corn Witch enjoying some Jack-o-Lantern Pizza

Hanging out…

Lauren holding Peppermint (our corn snake)

Posing after a fun game of marshmallow toss ~

Girls hanging in the hot tub, in the rain, later that night.

Stacie all dressed up to take James trick-or-treating!

Abbie = Witch / James = Shark / Stacie = Witch

James is loving 1st grade and we are grateful to his teacher for all she does to support James!He loves school & learning! Here he is working on his autobiography.

Max is never far away from James… So sweet!

James loving Peppermint.

He really is a cool snake. Even I enjoy holding him… and I thought I was scared of snakes. Gotta love when your children help you overcome your fears.

I ran my first 5k ~The event was called The Warrior Dash  and they say it will be “the craziest frickin’ day of your life”and it was pretty crazy!

My friend, Melinda, is the one who told me about the race and how you run a 5k and have to overcome several obstacles along the way (14 to be exact!). I sat on it for a couple weeks and one evening decided to join in the wild-crazy-fun! I bought my spot in the Warrior Dash!!

The day of the event came and I was so nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. I knew I could easily run a 5k, but was unsure about the trail and obstacles. I had good reason to be worried… in fact, the race itself was mostly uphill on unsteady ground. I fell only one time, didn’t hurt myself with the exception of a skinned up knee. And the obstacles were way more difficult to overcome than I had anticipated ~ wow!

I should have done more ‘training’ on upper arms! The first obstacle we had to jump into a pond which was quite deep, I could touch the bottom, barely. With the hundreds of other people, we had to attempt to jump up and over 4 different logs. It was slippery, muddy, soggy, and kinda scary in the deepish water. We also had to climb up and over, across, down many different things. This required stability, arm strength and bravery! We ran across old, rusty cars (tetnus, anyone?), through fire and finally down a muddy hillside (which was fun) on our way to the finish!

At the end, I was feeling exhausted and so proud of myself! I really had to push myself at times to complete some of the obstacles and had to really push myself to keep moving up those never-ending hills!

We were hungry, but before we could think about eating… we needed to remove some of that mud! It was caked on everywhere! The water for cleaning up didn’t look much less muddy than we were, but it did the trick!

My tank top was pink before the race ~ now it’s a nice brown.

All cleaned up and ready to proudly wear our warrior helmets!

This little device timed my race AND served as a free beer token!

Of course, we were in need of some serious protein… so we all devoured a turkey leg!

It was a seriously crazy-fun day! I love that Melinda invited me and I actually did it, I completed the Warrior Dash!

 I was excited to see Bill & Erin ~ but I always forget how perfectly perfect it is when we’re all together! It kinda feels like it’s just meant to be…

The day they arrived we played by the pool all day and barbequed for dinner. Sometime in there, Erin taught me how to make the coffee for iced coffees… YuMmY!!

We slept in the next morning. When we finally got up and around, Erin and I decided to go out for a quick jog! It was fun to run with somebody. I was nervous because I had never really had a running partner, but if I’m going to have one, she’s a great one to have! She went slow and walked when I needed to walk!!

After some tasty breakfast, we made our way to Mt. Hood where we discovered a trashy-little Fun Park! We definitely would have skipped it if we’d known how classy it was, but ended up with some funnies out of the adventure.

Erin and I photographed the gang speeding down the Alpine Slides, some going faster than others!

Then the kids waited for forever and a day to jump on this crazy, little trampoline thing…

and then we headed up to Timberline Lodge for lunch.

After lunch, we grabbed some plastic cups from the bar and hiked up to the snow!

On the drive home we stopped in Hood River for Ice Cream cones

and then a quick little hike up to see Multnomah Falls – Beautiful!

The next day, Erin and I enjoyed an hour of Zumba… then we were lazy for the rest of the day! It was excellent. We said our good-byes late that night and Josh whisked them away and to the airport early the next morning…

We’ve been pet sitting this Bearded Dragon, Ike, for the summer… to see if a bearded dragon would be the right lizard for our family. We have enjoyed Ike and his eager eating habits. We always love learning about new animals… but in the case of having a bearded dragon for a pet, the pros definitely do not outweigh the cons: The poop is very stinky and big, with the tank needing to be cleaned each day. The heat/lighting is very fragile and always needing to be adjusted. The diet is lots and lots of fresh greens and some crickets and meal worms.We have enjoyed Ike, though are ready to say our goodbyes!

Abbie worked at the Clark County Fair for the 2nd year. She volunteers in the Young Life food booth doing lots of different things from shucking corn, to pouring froszen lemonade, to selling corn on the cob, and using the $ register. She loves working the fair and has a GREAT time meeting and hanging out with friends after her shift! Last Saturday a group of friends met at the fair and then all came here for swimming, hot dogs, and a fire in the fire-pit.

My grandparents gave James and Abbie some tomato starts from seeds they’d saved over from their tomato plants last year. We are very proud to have not killed them. In fact, they are doing awesome! They are strong and healthy and have many yellow flowers… If we can get a tomato or two, we’ll be thrilled!

James had a pack of sugar snap peas so we planted those too! They are producing peas faster than we can eat them!

I planted strawberries for fun AND they have given us several berries so far!

The kids and I visited my grandparents this week. It was a wonderful visit. We all had such fun together! Granddad loves to share his garden. James and I picked loads of cucumbers and zuchinni ~ we can’t wait to make zuchinni bread!

Granddad loves to share his knowledge and James takes every bit of it in… I love to see my kids spending time and having fun with people I love and respect so deeply!!

James posing in front of Granddad’s HUGE tomato plants!

As things go, the snake’s life with us was short lived. He escaped and James was okay with it as it was the second time he’d found a way out… James realized he was a wild animal and would do anything to get back outside (we were all happy about this). Now the snake habitat is a habitat for the snails and trout creek James caught in the Rickreall Creek.

While the kids and I were away, Josh got busy on the deck (a project we have been dragging our feet on for almost… forever). It is looking amazing! I am so excited and proud of him!

James was interested and asked lots of questions… Josh was very patient even as he was work, work, working! Such a great Dad! James ended up with a paint brush and helping Josh with the painting by the end of tonight.

I can’t wait to share the finished product!! I am so so excited! We are going to be sanding, painting, and staining all day tomorrow in hopes of finishing the top deck!