Catching Up... Again

It seems like I just can't keep up with life in general so this blog has been sorely neglected. Hopefully as I enter the second trimester I'll get some energy back.... and even more likely, when I finish reading at all hours of the night. I am about 3/4 the way through the last book in the Twilight series and am looking forward to getting my life back. The past week and a half has been consumed with reading and/or wishing I were reading.

Anyway... life continues full force for the Johnsons. No rest for the weary. At least we have lots of fun and have great friends to share our adventures with. Below are some pictures from the last few weeks.

Celebrating Gina's birthday at BJ's Restaurant.

Four out of control kids at the mall. Where were their moms?! :)

Morgan and other EAGLE students reciting the EAGLE pledge at their school talent show last Friday in honor of Character Counts week.

Below.... The Great Pumpkin Festival at the Desert Botanical Gardens.

Adam in a hay-maze.

Petting the miniature horse.

Holding a chicken with a new friend (she makes them everwhere!!).

Super cute boy with his pumpkin.

Beautiful girl and her pumpkin.

A fun day at the DBG - thanks Jen A. for the tickets!

Ultrasound

Once again I have fallen behind on posting. I do actually have some pictures on my camera that need downloaded, but that will have to be the next post. For now, I wanted to get up some pictures of Baby J3. Yesterday we went for a first trimester ultrascreen - a procedure new to me this go round - where they measure the baby's neck via ultrasound for signs of Down's Sydrome. They also did blood work which I won't find out the results of until later next week. However, neither the sonographer or the doctor who reviewed her work noticed anything of concern - i.e., the baby looks healthy.

It was the first time I've ever had a 3D ultrasound and since the baby is so small - only approx 2 1/2 inches at this point - s/he isn't very developed and since looks pretty extraterrestrial. The brain still is forming partially outside the skull so it almost looks like a vampire haircut. Still a cutie to me though. :)

Today I went for my regular OB appt and the baby's heartbeat is strong - 160 - and all seems well. I go back in 4 weeks for another check-up and then on December 8 we get to find out the tie breaker - will it be a boy or a girl?????????

Tolmachoff Farm Outing

This morning Adam, Dylan and I headed over to Tolmachoff Farm in Glendale for a MOMS Club tour. Yes, I said Dylan, not Morgan. MO had school this week even though the rest of Laveen is on Fall Break. I am hopeful that is just because they started late this year and that next year everyone will be on the same schedule. Kimberly needed to go birthday shopping for Dylan so I happily said he could come along with Adam and I. Boys boths were good listeners and we all had fun with our MOMS Club friends.

As part of the tour, the kids got to ride on the ladybug tractor train, pick vegetables including a pumpkin, have a corn lesson in a corn maze and have an ice cream cone. They also got free run of the farm where there were many other fun attractions like a baby chick hutch, a tricycle/hay maze and a corn play area that the boys loved. We packed our lunches and ate in a shady picnic area. It was a nice outing. Now if only I could get a nap. :)

Waiting with Sean in the train line.

Getting ready for the ride to begin. I didn't get more train pictures because I ended up riding with Ryan. He will turn one on Saturday and it was such a treat to get to hold him. What a cutie pie.

Corn angels.

A lesson on Indian corn.

Adam, Dylan, Sean, Will & Matthew posing as fruits and veggies.

Picking radishes. We also got zucchini and cucumber. Yum!

Dylan's pumpkin.

Pumpkin-head Adam.

Children's Museum with Paige

This morning Adam informed me that he wanted to go to the Children's Museum. It is his new favorite hangout. Since we have a membership for 3, I asked him if he wanted to bring a friend and he chose Paige. So... I called Laura and told her that we would like to steal Paige for the morning. Fortunately, she obliged or I would have had an unhappy boy on my hands!

Although we had fun, I did learn my lesson today. I won't be going back to the museum before noon. Lately, Ad E & I have been going after lunch and we practically have the place to ourselves. There is never a wait for anything and it is a lot more fun. Today there was an elementary school trip and a million preschoolers there all vying for the shopping carts, cars, bicycles, etc. The kids still had a good time, but I told Paige next time we would pick up Adam from school on a Tues or Thurs and head over.

It was Paige's first trip to the museum and she was so cute! She kept saying "WOW!" whenever we explored a new area. She was even impressed with the bathrooms which had a toilet and sink 'just her size'.

One of Adam's favorite things to do at the museum is pour and measure the rice/beans.

House painters.

After fighting the mob at the museum, the kids & I were hungry so we walked over to one my favorite sandwich shops - Crave - at the ASU Downtown Center. I had a delicious Veg-Out sandwich. They truly have the best vegetarian options!!

Enjoying lunch.

The bike rack tunnel by Crave - one of the highlights of the day. Really. They loved it. :)

On another note... Jeremy and I were joking the other night that I am going to have to change the name of my blog. We are leaning toward "Outnumbered in AZ". :)

Baby 3's first picture. Literally looks like I swallowed a peanut whole.

Catch-Up

So, now that our secret is out of the bag, you can all forgive me for not having been as good about posting lately. I have been super tired and going to bed about the same time as the kids. Plus, I know I should, but I haven't slowed down much during the day and time at the computer is a luxury. But enough excuses! Here are some pictures of recent goings-on in the Johnson family. I'll try to get better about taking more pictures... and posting them!

Adam 'trapped' at the Children's Museum.

My gorgeous boy on one of our Starbucks dates.

Beautiful Kindergartner on University Friday.

Spiderman and Madeline at Chandler Mall. It was a fun outing for Gina, me and our favorite 3 year olds.

Rock Star!

When can we decorate for Halloween?!!

Morgan trying on her holiday socks and playing with her new flashlight.
May the force be with you. Adam has chosen to be Obi Wan Kenobi for Halloween.

Adam checking out the ultrasound that indicates he will now be a little... and big... brother.

Morgan was in shock. "Really?" she kept asking me. "Are you 100% positively sure?" After we convinced her it was not her in the ultrasound, she was very excited. This morning she came up to me and looked at my belly. I told her it would be a while longer before it gets bigger. :)

Grammy Time

It is late, I am tired and I have been working on our preschool financial stuff most of the day (i.e., I have brain fry!), but it has been a while since I posted and my mom has sent me some great pictures of the kids.


On Sunday, Jeremy and I went to see 'Tropic Thunder' (save your money) and my mom and Tom entertained the kids for a couple hours. It was a treat for all of us. As you can tell by the pictures, the kids enjoyed putting on a fashion show.

Snowman tickles caped princess.

A smile for the camera.

Cat woman has nothing on Morgan!

Cat cutie.

Then, last night, Adam spent the night at Grammy's. He is really into the Star Wars trilogy and Grammy is so cool she helped him build a fort for the characters to play on. I wish I had her energy!!!

Posing with his awesome fort.

Look at Grammy's and my artwork!

Darth Vader hangs on for dear life.

I have some more pictures to update one of these days... for now, off to catch some zzzzzzzzz.

Morgan Starts Kindergarten!!!

Our Kindergartner!

Today was Morgan's first day of school at EAGLE College Prep. She has been excited about this day for months and, unlike many of the kids (and some parents), she did fantastic.

As soon as she woke up this morning, she came downstairs with the list of before school activities we created together (i.e., healthy breakfast, brush hair, brush teeth, etc.). She happily reviewed and checked it off as the morning went on. Then, she and I grabbed her backpack and headed to school. Since the building is still not quite done (hopefully tomorrow or Thursday), they had a school 'camp' day at a local banquet hall.

On the way to school Morgan told me she was a little nervous only because she didn't know many kids in her class. I told her that one of the things I have always been so impressed with her about is her ability to make new friends. She smiled at that and proved me right for within three minutes of being there, she was off and playing with other kids.It was such an exciting atmosphere this morning and so neat to see all the kids in their new uniforms.

Arriving in the main hall.

After setting lunchbags, paperwork, etc. inside, they asked all the kids and parents to wait outside. They then called all the kids up by name to stand with their teacher. That was the only point I got a little choked up. But, any sadness passed, because I know that Morgan is smart enough, mature enough and all together ready to be there.

Waiting to be called up with her class.

Morgan's class during roll call.

I am looking forward to picking Morgan up and hearing all about her first day. When I left she was playing a game of Simon says and already looked to be having a great time.