Need I Say More?

See ya in Arizona...

One Last Time (I Hope)

We are officially moving AGAIN. We've prayed and fasted and feel like it's what we should be doing. Life has been crazy since we made the decision a couple weeks ago.. We are going back to Arizona. We leave tomorrow to go to California for a couple of weeks, and then the kids and I are going straight to Gilbert from there. School will start 3 days later. Landon will be coming back to Redmond to get things wrapped up here and will join us shortly!

I never thought I'd say it, but I'm sad to leave Washington. We have had some amazing experiences here, and have grown tremendously as a family. We have awesome friends that we are so sad to say goodbye to. We even made some lifelong friends in Moses Lake! This has been quite an adventure for us. One that I'm grateful we've had. One that I fought all the way. However we are excited and anxious to see what the next chapter of this crazy life brings.

I've been packing like a mad lady for days, and am just praying that the next couple of weeks goes smoothly. I think 2 weeks on the beach should help with my stress level. To the beach...

New Teeth

Colton got his braces off today. He couldn't be happier. He'll get retainers in a couple of days, and that's that! Happy Day Happy Day!

Wax On Wax Off

For Family Home Evening tonight, we talked about the importance of work. Why it's important to learn how to work, and working together etc. After the lesson, we went outside to wash and wax my car. Landon had high hopes that the after such a moving lesson, the kids would jump into it and really do a great job. I was a bit sceptical! The washing part was great. They all had their own sponge, so there wasn't any fighting and they did a great job. Playing with the hose and soapy water wasn't all bad. And then we had to wax it. At first they were all still pretty into it. But once they could see that it was going to take "forever" we lost them one by one. When it comes to working, our kids are all over the map.

Colton is my child that no matter what he's doing, or what I ask him to do, he says "ok" and does it. However, he is a boy and he doesn't always do it well. He doesn't complain, but he's a bit sloppy! Whitley on the other hand, fights me on everything. It doesn't matter if I ask her to brush her teeth, or weed the yard she complains. But once she's over the anger, and accepts that she has to do it she's the best. She's maticulous, and gets it done right. And when you catch her in a good mood, she'll work her fingers to the bone!
And then there's Kennedy. She's somewhere in between. Sometimes when she can see Whitley starting into a big fit, she just jumps up and does it. And then there's times that I have to ask her to do something 15 times, and she finally pouts and grunts while she stomps away to work! And then there's the classic work for a few minutes, and then sneak off and play the "I'm the baby, and I'm too small to do that" card! I'm pretty sure by 7 years old that card has EXPIRED!By the end, it was just Lan. He did a great job though, and my car looks great.

Boy/Girl Parties

Colton went to his first "boy/girl" party tonight. (Landon snapped a few quick shots as we dropped him off with his phone.) It's funny to hear him talk about what they did. I so remember being 12 and not really knowing how to act! The boys were wrestling on the tramp, while the girls watched and giggled! It just cracks me up. I still can't believe that I have a child old enough to be doing these things. Jr. High, here we come!

The "Beach"

I love to swim. Scratch that. I love to sit in the sun, and watch my kids swim. I get in occasionally to cool off. But there's nothing I'd rather do than sit in the sun while my kids swim and have fun. As summer approached this year, I've been asking my friends where they swim. People don't have pools in their backyards, and I had only seen 1 pool here and it was indoors. YUCK! Everyone here just goes to the "beach". I learned that really it's the lake, but people are set up on the shores like their at the real beach. So we finally had the chance to check it out. There are several "beaches" to choose from and everyone has their favorite. We just went to the one that was the closest to home. Lake Sammamish was only about 20 minutes from our house.Colton and Whit "snorkeled" like they were in Hawaii the whole time. I asked them what they could see, they said "not much".

(when I grow up I want my body to look just like Whitley's)
Kennedy and Taylin had tons of fun on these floats. It was a fun day, and something I would definitely do again.

Grandma Ruth Visits

Grandma Ruth came to visit for a few days. She hasn't been here since we moved to Redmond so she was anxious to see where we've been living! We mostly visited, played games and lounged around, but loved having her here. With all of the trees, hills and winding roads, I think she was a bit nervous to drive around! She said she felt like she was on a roller coaster. I guess we're just use to it.

As luck would have it, she was here for Landon's birthday so she took us all to Salty's for brunch. Lucky us lucky us!!!We gorged ourselves silly, as usual. But can't wait to go back again! Thanks mom.

Landon's Birthday

Whitley was on camera duty and felt that she needed to take a picture of every card he got.

The kids got him some much needed t-shirts.

And his favorite See's chocolates.
And Whitley even got him a cell phone. She wrapped up his old cell phone, and thought it was hilarious! Luckily the kids weren't the only gift givers, and he received many other cash and prizes! Not to mention the phone rang with birthday wishes all day long.

Happy Birthday Landon-We love you

Jammin'

When we got home from our trip, we discovered that we had a cherry tree in our backyard. When we left, there wasn't anything resembling a cherry on that tree. By the time we got back, it was full of yummy ripe cherries! So of course, I sent my kids right out to pick them.

We ended up with a couple of huge bowls of cherries. So we decided to make jam! I think we ate more fruit that we actually "jammed".
When it was all said and done we had cherry and peach jam, and blueberry syrup. My favorite part of summer is all the yummy fruit!

Whitley's Elbow Update

We went back to the Orthopaedic this morning for Whit's follow-up appt. Things looked good. She is only lacking 20% of the movement in her arm, so that was good news. She started with her physical therapy this afternoon. It was a little bit painful, but she did great. Now we have some exercises that she'll need to do at home for homework. The physical therapist thought she'd have her full range of motion back within a couple of weeks. But for the next several months, no bikes, no hanging, no rough housing, even NO SOCCER! She has to be really careful while it continues to heal.

The bad news is, that since she broke a growth plate there is a small chance that her arm could stop growing. It's weird, but it would only stop on one side of her arm, so her arm would grow out at an angle from the elbow. We go back in 3 months for more follow-ups to make sure that isn't happening. If it is, then we're headed for more intense therapy and maybe even surgery. For now, we're staying positive and praying that her arm will continue to heal without any complications. More to come, I'm sure...

4th of July 2009

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!!

Starting the Summer Off Right

The kids got out of school on June 19 at 11:30am. By 1pm we had had lunch, and were on the road headed to AZ. We had 25 hours to drive, and our car was packed to the hilt!We stopped in UT. along the way to visit Matt and Jami. We couldn't wait to see new baby Wyatt and the girls. Kennedy and Kylee
Then it was off to AZ to see friends and family there. This is Colton and Brayden. It was so fun seeing both babies. You really forget how tiny they are! Rowdy and Brayden
While we were there, Grandpa Scott got tickets for a Diamondbacks game. The team stinks, but the hot dogs and nachos were worth it!

Whitley's orthopaedic surgeon suggested that if we could find someone to remove her cast while we were on vacation, it would be better for her arm! So Landon went to good ol' WalMart and picked up some heavy duty metal cutters. Took that cast right off!
This is the girls visiting "Ahma". It was too hot to stay for very long at the cemetery. We went to Peter Piper Pizza one night for dinner with the Kahle's. We use to do this all the time. The kids run around like crazy people, and we can sit and visit. It's a win win. This is Colton and his best friend in the whole world Preston. These two spent almost the entire 9 days together playing XBOX!
On our way back home, we stopped in Springville to spend the night with Shane and Nicole. The kids had a blast spending time with their cousins. Bumpa took us all out to eat at Tepann Yaki. The kids loved the show!
All 6 Johns grandkids. Kennedy (7) Brandon (9) Ashley (3) Chase (6) Colton (12) Whitley (9)

We got home late tonight. Just in time for our 4th of July celebration. We had a blast visiting so many friends and family. Thank you all for you continued love and support, and for opening your homes to us.