JOHNSON, Party of Six!: September 2013

Can we please hold on to August a little bit longer?!? I am not ready to start mourning for summer. By my calendar we have until September 22! I am going to relish in the long afternoons, BBQ as much as we can and enjoy the season clear to the bitter end!

Even though August is by far the busiest month of the year, I still love it! The fair, all of the birthdays and(drum roll....) the beginning of school! Which normally I am not looking forward to at all. But this year I may qualify for the worst end of summer mom ever! I can not believe that this mom who hated all the homework, school requirements, AR reading points, blah, blah, blah...is now anxiously awaiting for the teachers to take these children back! Don't get me wrong, I love my kids so very much. We did the 4-H, the trips, the pool, the cousins, the fair, the picnics, the fun times, the sleeping in, and now I have reached the end of my outer limits. The summer was packed with awesomeness, but we ALL need structure back! We need routine. I personally need to think my thoughts that I haven't heard since May 21. I will however, look forward to 4:30 Monday - Thursday to put my arms around them and tell them I love them and to hear all about their day and the different things they each have learned.

SO in honor of being the worst end of summer mom ever...here is a little bit of the awesomeness that happened in August.

What better way to spend a hot summer day than soaking in a pool? We only made it to Lava swimming 3 times this whole summer...and 2 of the trips happened in August!

Dakota loves the water. But she is so chill...she loves just about everything!

We were even lucky enough to have Daddy go with us on one of the trips. Wouldn't you know it...I forgot my camera for that one!

We also managed to squeeze in a couple more picnics. This was one of my favorite things we did this summer. I just love being in the mountains and we have no excuse when they are right out our back door.

Big milestones are happening around here! I love it, but at the same time, I hate it.

Time tells me that Dakota is 6 months old. How is that possible? Didn't I just bring her home from the hospital? I can say, that for the most part, I soak up as much time as I can with the two little ones (especially since school started). There are rough moments, but the good outweighs the bad tenfold.

To My Dearest Dakota Rae:

We are half way there. Halfway to being a one year old! You see, I am very proud of your growth and accomplishments, but I know that soon you won't need me as much. Soon you will be all about your siblings and that daddy of yours. My precious baby girl, you are the light of our lives. We love every minute of every single day with you. You are the most perfect addition to our family.

Here's what you are up to these days:

You have some serious teething going on, with 2 pearly whites on the bottom. Your favorite chew toy is one that we freeze.

You weigh 14 pounds 15 oz. and are 25 1/2 inches long. I have finally started putting you in 6-9months clothes.

You are fascinated with my water bottle and any time you see it, you try to get it!

YOU ARE SO CURIOUS! If we are anywhere remotely exciting, you fight sleep because you don't want to miss a thing! You pop off while nursing all of the time to see what's going on around you.

BIG NEWS - You are eating baby food now! Plum Organics has become our new favorite! I decided to skip the traditional rice cereal all together and give you something that would inspire your palate for amazing tastes and great food. You started out with Just Carrots, and LOVED those. Next we tried Just Mangos...they were not your favorite, so we moved on to Peas with a hint of mint. You couldn't eat them fast enough. To date you have had butternut squash with cinnamon, just peaches, broccoli with apple, and spinach with peas and pears. I kind of think eating is one of your favorite things!

You are sitting up pretty good and love your bumbo. You are already army crawling! I am not exaggerating. I've seen you scale the entire living room. If you want it, you find a way to get it.

You are doing things crazy fast and I can't wrap my head around it, nor am I ready for it.

You love, love, love your brother. No one else can make you laugh as hard as he can!

He thinks you are pretty cool too.

Your sisters also love you to pieces!

You love to be loved on!

It's not hard to get a picture of you smiling because you do it all the time.

You are the happiest, smiliest baby I have ever seen.

You are the sweetest baby in the world.

We love you!

Photoshoot

Time sure flies...and with that your kids grow up and change! Remembering the details is so important to me. Learning. Growing. Changing. all of us. Every. Single. Day. In honor of that, I felt it was time to update our portraits hanging on the wall. They are definitely out-dated. In the old pictures, Clay just turned one and still looks like a baby. Jauncee still has her baby teeth, and Jeslyn looks so little and young and has really short hair. Clayboy often asks me who the baby is on the saddle. It can't be him, he is big, and not a baby. "Is it Kota?" he asks.

I took the matter into my own hands and put the Rebel T4 to use!

I am proud of the results.

The group picture didn't turn out so well. Dakota had a little tiny cold in her right eye and Clayboy had an accident because momma was too busy snapping shots to help him with his belt. So we had to use his hat to cover the wet spot on his pants.

There is always next time!

Momma's helpers!

The youngest two love helping me out in the kitchen, and I love the company!

Janucee, chilling on our new couch. Can I say that I.LOVE.THEM! It is sad to be in love with furniture, but they are so comfy and roomy and new!

The end of August we made a quick trip to Victor to fly spray the cows and calves. While there we visited with family. I forgot my camera but my SIL Marianne happened to send me this cute pic she took. Can you believe Halloween is just around the corner? I hope it takes awhile to get here.

August also brought the first day of school! The kids were both bright eyed and ready for the day!

Jauncee is starting the 3rd grade. Her teacher is Mr. Wadsworth.

Jeslyn is starting the 6th grade. Her teacher is Mrs. Hall.

We weren't able to say our good-bye's as a family, because Dirk was long gone well before the sun came up. The girls were blessed to be able to have Dirk give them a Father's Blessing the night before to calm the nerves and set the tone for the year.

A new year...lots of changes...new opportunities...and hopefully a lot of HAPPINESS!!

The County Fair

Hello to summer fun! (or work)

Hello to the smell of fried food and farm animals. The feeling of dust clinging to your clothes. The sound of activities taking place and rodeos being won.

Hello to sticky fingers and salty kisses.

Hello to late nights and early mornings.

Hello to the Caribou County Fair!

We had so much fun that I barely have the energy to write it all down. So, I'll be brief and let the pictures do most of the talking.

Fair week for us started bright and early Monday morning with horse 4H.

Jeslyn competed in three different events.

The first event was showmanship. It is similar to showmanship with a steer, but a little bit different.

There was a lot of competition in this event and it wasn't necessarily her favorite either.

Jes doing her pass in front of the judge. She ended up with a red ribbon - 2nd place.

The next event was the walk/trot. I failed to get any pictures of that. I was taking care of 2 little ones. I was able to watch a little bit of it and I thought she did great. She ended up with a red ribbon -2nd place on this event as well. I asked her 4H leader what she did wrong and he said two things...she kept waving her hand, he called it chicken wingin' and she sat a little bit forward on the trot, in all fairnesss, some of that is her saddle.

Her last event was the trail. It was the last event of the day. I almost talked her out of participating, I was tired and hot and ready to go home. Chasing around a 2 year old and carrying a 5 month old everywhere was A.LOT.OF.WORK! We ended up staying and I am glad that we did. She did so good. I was very impressed. Some of the things she had to do was open and close a gate while on her horse, weave in and out of tires, get the mail out of the mailbox (on the horse), ride over logs, and side pass a really long board. She did AWESOME. This event is more our style and true to what we would do daily here on the ranch. I was very glad that we stayed. I believe she ended up with a blue ribbon - 1st place on this event.

It was a very long and exhausting day, but the kids all had fun...so it was worth it.

Tuesday we got a day off.

Wednesday we hit the fair in full force! It was weigh-in day for Jeslyn's steer Mohawkwa. He weighed in at 1305 lbs. We set-up the stall and hauled over the show box and supplies. My parents, Jake and Kristi all came this night...just in time for the rodeo.

Thursday is when all the action began! The show started at 10:00 am beginning with showmanship. Dirk and Jeslyn both left the house early that morning to get the steer all primped before the show. The rest of us got there around 9:30 am and started the day off with an early birthday present for our Clayboy.

Yay! A New Hat! Just what he needed.

Showmanship ended being a disaster! Mohawkwa got loose a couple different times. Each time, he became more wound up. It was really hard for Jeslyn and frustrating. I think she took last place. She was never able to set-up her steer to show the judge. We weren't sure what to do. Jeslyn wanted to throw the hat in the bag and give up. After a few pep talks and a little prayer, she pulled herself together and went out there in the Quality show and cleaned house. She took 1st place in her class and was got to come back to compete for Grand Champion.

Now I tease Jeslyn and give her a hard time telling her that the showmanship disaster was her decoy. I think all the competitors at that point thought she was out of the competition. THEY.WERE.WRONG!

Jeslyn's cheering squad!

Jeslyn got 2nd place - Reserve Champion! She was happy. I was proud!

In three years she has taken 1st, 3rd, and now 2nd. Not bad for a beginner! But she can't take ALL the credit. Good cows, breeding and of course none of this would be possible without Dirk!

He is the best of the best!...In Everything :)

Jeslyn's grandma Connie is always very supportive of her. It was so nice to see her. We were glad that she came!

Friday was the Market Animal Sale where they auction off all of the animals. Since Jeslyn took 2nd, her steer sold 2nd. The sale was a little soft but Jeslyn did well and was her best sale to date.

Agrium was the buyer of her steer.

Friday was also Clay's birthday! We had a party the night before to celebrate. I am not sure if you can see it in this picture but he got a Lightning McQueen headlamp for his birthday and just had to wear it to the fair. It was hilarious, and cute! Gotta love a 3 year old.

Mohawkwa and Jes...Reserve Champions!

BIRTHDAYS

August is also our busiest month for birthdays. First up on the 9th is Clay's. He turned 3! We were lucky enough to celebrate with Grandpa and Grandma C. and Jake and Twisti. We smoked a turkey in the barrel and had turkey BLT's, bbq squash spears, and pasta salad. It was very scrumptious! Can you guess all that Clay was interested in?....Presents!

...and the balloons! He had tons of fun playing with Uncle Jake!

Dakota even got in on the balloon fascination.

The cake was homemade with LoVe, and wasn't much for appearance, but it was delectable!

Black Magic!

3 year old's don't care what it looks like as long as it has candles and frosting!

Here's what you're up to these days...

You weigh around 35 lbs.

You are a momma's boy up until daddy gets home then it's all daddy!

You are a really good eater, most of the time. You even like green trees aka broccoli.

You are 100% potty trained, night and morning.

You are such a big talker! You can put paragraphs together like it's nobody's business. Actually you can have a full on conversation with just about anybody, as long as they aren't too scary. You are still a little bit timid, reserved and cautious. I like this trait.

You love to be outside.

You love to ride your bike!

You love to go on the ranger with daddy.

You love me to read books to you. I love it to.

Every morning when you wake-up you come running in to our room and jump in bed with us. I love that you love to snuggle. Will you please always snuggle me, even when you are big?

You love looking at farm/tractor magazines.

You have the cutest laugh...it is very contagious!

You love your sisters, oh so much. And they love you! Your favorite thing to play with them is hide-n-seek.

Some days you wake up and want to be a cowboy. Hat, belt, boots, rope and all. Then you ride your Rocky like your in a rodeo with Mom as the MC. You like me to call you Boone Johnson while you are riding. You win every time!

A day doesn't go by where you don't kiss me on the lips and give me bug squeezers! It makes me feel so loved and appreciated. I love that sweet side of you!

You make us all happy, oh so happy.

We love you sweet boy!

The next birthday on the list was....JESLYN, on the 26th. She turned 12! What?!?!

12 years ago my sweet baby girl entered my life in quite a dramatic fashion and my life has never been the same. Jeslyn has brought me SO much joy, so much laughter, so much happiness and so many blessings!

I still can hardly believe that I have a 12 year old!

Her birthday fell on a Monday so she spent most of the day at school. We did have a family party to honor her that night. Grandpa and Grandma J. came to help celebrate.

Every year the birthday girl/boy gets to choose what they want for their special dinner. Jeslyn chose homemade sloppy joes, and salad. It turned out really good.