Halloween 2018

Halloween this year was a Harry Potter theme, with more villains! I'm afraid this may be our last family theme year... but I will continue to encourage them to try to keep going. After the trunk or treat, the kids said, "Maybe we can, you know, do our own costumes next year?"

Dobby the Elf

Professor Umbridge - how can she be a bad guy? She loves pink and cats! 

Harry Potter - classic! 

Belatrix Lestrange - evil? Nah, she can't stop laughing! 

Professor Snape and Professor MacGonagal

Betty came to our Trunk or Treat

Halloween at school this year

We went trick or treating in our new neighborhood and met some of our neighbors too!

New House!

Earlier this year, Matt and I were asked by our company to move to Reno to help grow that new office - we seriously considered it, looking at homes and talking to friends who live there. But it just didn't feel right... we even looked at Texas and other states. We felt a serious urge to make a change - something, but we weren't sure what...  In the end, we felt we should stay in Vegas, and that looking to buy a house would satisfy that itch. So... we started looking and found a house I liked... but then, just when I was driving by the house changed its status to sold. I saw a house down the street that I liked, with a for sale sign out front... but it wasn't on Zillow. Just then, someone drove up to the house and started to pull in the garbage cans. I of course rolled down my window and asked if the house was for sale. They were super nice - an older couple - and explained their son had lived in the house and there was some issues with his divorce keeping the house from being listed. We came back later that night to look a the house and really, really liked it. The owners said they would call us when they were ready to list it... I thought, yeah right.

Well, they did call us! They said they were going to list the house the next day but wanted to see if we wanted to buy it first.  Matt was traveling for work though, and it had been months since we had seen the house. We didn't feel quite ready - so we told them to go ahead and list the house. We continued to look for other houses, mainly in our ward. We found one that we liked but it was a foreclosure and it was taking forever to get... just for fun, we asked our realtor to check on that original house. It was still available! We put an offer on it and it was accepted the very next day! This house just seems like it was waiting for us. I took this photo on the day we got the keys - a rare, beautiful cloudy day.

Moving in town is kind of rough - I think I would have preferred an all in one swoop awful few days than this dragged out almost month of moving things back and forth. We only moved about 5 minutes west, so we just filled up the mini van over and over and over. Then we moved all the big stuff in one weekend - moving in with our beds and furniture only to find out that the water and gas was shut off... so that was a fun weekend of filling up water jugs at the old house and pouring them into the toilets at the new house. 

We also moved Matt's Chevy Nova... Someday, someday. 

Claire's 11 B-Day Questionnaire

What is your favorite color? Teal and grey

What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries and oranges

What is your favorite dessert? Brownies


What is your favorite stuffed animal? My panda Po

What is your favorite subject in school?  History

What is your favorite sport or activity? Volleyball 

What is your favorite food? Macaroni and cheese

What is your least favorite food? Olives

What is your favorite primary song? Love is Spoken Here

What is your favorite drink? Diet Coke

If you could pick a super power, what would it be? Invisibility 

What is your favorite thing we did this year? Our family reunion to Colorado

What is your favorite season? Fall 

What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher 

Who are your best friends? Mady and Emma 

What is your favorite book? Harry Potter series 

What is your favorite holiday? Christmas 

What do you like to take to bed at night? My soft blue blanket 

What is your favorite animal? Yellow Lab Puppies 

Nine Years with Miles Man

Miles was born 3 weeks early covered in the most blood I think I have ever seen in real life (all of it mine!), plus that greasy white vernix everywhere.  He cleaned up really well though - and he still does. Happy birthday Miles! 

This photo is on my debit card and I get SO many comments on it! I can't change it out, even though I know I should have all four kids on there... It's just one of my favorites.

Miles: 9th Birthday Questionnaire

This handsome young man turned 9 today! What the what? Where is the time going? He is getting so tall and grown up. Miles wears a size 7 shoe and is about as tall as Claire now. 

He is still very interested in soccer and hopes to play this Fall, though he asks to play football and I cringe... just not something I wanted for him, but I guess I should maybe give him a chance to try it. 

He is going into fourth grade and is excited to have friends in his class from both church and his class last year. He lets his little brother climb into bed with him every single night, on a twin bed! He saves me sleep and for that I am eternally grateful! Love you Miles Man! 

What is your favorite color? Navy blue

What is your favorite fruit? Raspberries 

What is your favorite dessert? Vanilla ice cream (or Dippin Dots)

What is your favorite stuffed animal? Groot (Guardians of the Galaxy)

What is your favorite TV show? Amazing World of Gum Ball 

What is your favorite subject in school?  Art and math 

What is your favorite food? Pepperoni pizza

What is your favorite drink? Dr Pepper

If you could pick a super power, what would it be? To be elastic and stretch as far as I can

What is your favorite thing we did this year? Our family reunion to Colorado

What is your favorite season? Fall 

What do you want to be when you grow up? A doctor and an artist 

Who are your best friends? Talon, Lorenzo, AJ and Gabe

What is your favorite book? Diary of a Wimpy Kid

What is your favorite holiday? My birthday or Christmas

What do you like to take to bed at night? My soft blue blanket 

What is your favorite animal? Chameleon or an elephant

Kid Quotes

During one night of the Colorado reunion, I took a cranky Henry on a walk around a pond that had a few fountains out in the middle, one large, one small. He wanted to walk around to see the smaller one, and he said, "That's the small one, and THAT'S a Mama fountain." Great, the big one is the mama...

Last visit with the Coontz family before their move to Medford, OR

Penelope has a very small mole on the far side of her forehead and she likes her bangs to cover it. Apparently Miles teased her about it once... sheesh. Anyway, she is very picky about her bangs lately and combs them just so. She also refuses to grow them out. See logic above. She was combing them the other day and doing these overly dramatic poses in the mirror with each stroke of the brush. She said, "There! MUCH more stylish that way!"

Miles left Henry and Penelope at our little neighborhood park with a neighbor boy so he could come inside to cool off and get a drink. He said he told AJ, "If someone tries to kidnap you guys, hit them with your pogo stick."

Taking away Henry's pacifier went so well, that I told the kids we were going to also go cold turkey on soda. Penelope said, "That flavor sounds DISGUSTING!"

I couldn’t find Penelope for bath time and was looking and looking everywhere. I went upstairs and got distracted and stopped looking. She found me later on and said, “I admit it. I love to hide under fluffy blankets!”

Penelope was swimming at the pool in Colorado during our reunion - on the side of the pool is painted the depth of the water, "3 ft 6 in." Penelope said “Well I’m 6 so I can be in!”

Henry was doing "this little pig went to market, this little pig stayed home" on his tootsies. He paused for a minute and seemed to forget what the next pig did... He said, "This little pig went to Target." I think I may have a Target problem... :)

Henry likes Minecraft, a "building, educational game on a tablet." But he thinks it’s called My-Craft and he says can I play “Your-craft?” The other day he said "Miles's Craft" - silly kiddo! I would never have let my first born play a game on the iPad... it's hard to let the older ones though, and not Henry.

This and That

Summer has been busy and I need to catch us up a bit!

Claire and I went to see Matilda the Musical at Tuacahn in St. George - it was a quick getaway and we had fun staying in a hotel room, then getting back in time for church the next day. I think Claire's favorite part was getting to sleep in a pitch black room. Penelope is a bit obsessed with having a bright light on in their room and Claire prefers it dark.

The kids took swimming lessons at a private home this year and I wish I had discovered this earlier! We had done the rec center/city pool lessons and we always had a bored teenager as their teacher (there were a few decent ones but not many...). Penelope had just about out grown her floatie and it was time to swim this summer. She did so great! She was swimming around the first lesson and jumping off of a high rock by the third. I think she just needed a confidence boost to try it.

Henry and I (and sometimes Mema) got to hang out in their attached hot tub - which was the same temp as the rest of the pool. Henry is pretty brave in the water - maybe too brave. He floats on his back and jumps into the water. My favorite was when he pretended to walk into the water from the side, like it was an accident. :)

Sometimes, it's quiet for a good reason. Claire is becoming a good babysitter and if she can figure out how to not fight with Miles, she will be ready.

I got to see my friend Kate on our trip to Cedar for the volleyball camp - in 30 minutes, she can boost me up and help me make big decisions. She should seriously be a counselor! It was a perfect coincidence that she needed to be in Cedar that day.

We also stopped and saw Justin on our way home - it was his 40th birthday that day. So, here are the two oldies but goodies on the Johnson side.

Matt was promoted to Senior Audit Associate at PBTK - so I got to set up headshots for him so his bio could go on the website and be used in proposals. Kind of fun :) We even hire a makeup artist so we are super fancy!

Pioneer Day for the North Las Vegas stake - all I can say is we survived another year! And I am so thankful to be born in a day with air conditioning!

This guy.... I'm so sick of this iPad. I let him play on it when I have to work from home and get things done, but he is on it way too much. I made him a little bed out of beach towels so I could get through Sam's Club quickly. What a life!