San Francisco Labor Day Trip

We took a little trip. San Francisco was calling and we came and went. Josh took Thursday and Friday off to make an extended Labor Day vacation.
Josh and the kids have never been to San Fran. I have been a few times growing up. Crazy that it still has the same "feel" I remember when I was younger like being cold next to the bay as we looked at the bridge.


Ty liked the water and chased any and all seagulls or birds with a loud "ka kaaaaw ka kaaaaw" it was entertaining to watch. He even found a treasure a piece of ocean drift wood.


Marissa and Livvy spent most of their time "hiding" from the wind and saying "I'm cold Mom. . . I'm cold Dad."  Luckily they found a wind blocker behind this little wall. Those expressions on their faces didn't change the entire visit with the cold wind and big bridge.

It was a gorgeous day with a little sunshine here and there.

We spent most of the day at the Exploratorium. The kids never got board we were there a good 5 hours AMAZING science and fun! I am a bit of a nerd science was and is my favorite subject still. I am still fascinated by all the laws of science. 

Ty, Riss and Liv enjoyed it too. This was a mirror that went on forever the kids kept giggling dancing in it. Everything was kid friendly and touchable. There were little wooden stools everywhere so height wasn't a problem.

The rising fog caught Livvy's attention she would let it get really thick and then blow it all away again and again.

This was the room of distortion, being able to touch the ceiling is very cool when you are tiny. Josh looked like a giant.

Marissa's favorite exhibits were the one with color and light where she could dance and twirl and see all pink, purple, red, blue, yellow. .. etc. She now loves to mix colors and tell me how they change.

Optical illusions are cool this picture started looking like pulsating jelly fish after a minute or two of staring. Since the picture can't capture the real thing. I thought I would try to express my inner feelings through this stellar facial expression.

Monochrome land was like walking through that movie Pleasantville. I did love how my digital pictures turned out in this room.

Livvy couldn't figure how to get those Jelly Belly's out of the candy machine.

Ty liked making crazy monster faces with this exhibit.


Josh stopped off for a refreshing drink of water. Marissa and Ty wouldn't try a drink Livvy was all about the toilet water.

I liked the sound hall too. These Xylophones were melodious. We just couldn't get enough.

Josh and Ty sat down to listen to something and the next thing I know they were both asleep, were those magical earphones?


After our busy day of fun we headed to our hotel at the Embassy Suites and enjoyed the pool. I think the kids loved that the best. I loved the hot breakfast in the morning. The Hotel has an atrium inside with gigantic carp the kids loved feeding them.


These girls LOVE their DADDY it was nice to get him to ourselves for 5 whole days. There was alot of laughing and fun.

On our way back to Sacramento we stopped off at the Jelly Belly factory and took a tour. Did you know they make candy corns, and Fruit Gems? Those are like some of our favorite candies. It was quite the process to see how they make those delicious jelly belly beans. We had to wear these hats the whole time.  FYI if a bean is misshaped it is rejected and called a jelly flop. They sell flops at a discounted price. Ty discovered that there is a line of Jelly Bellies that taste like boogers, throw-up, onion and many other disgusting flavors. .. move over Harry Potter. We all got our own bag of fresh Jelly Bellies to enjoy on the drive home.  That was our weekend adventure of Fun.

Our New Home Sweet Home

This is our new place in Sacramento. It is much larger than our previous home in San Diego. I love all the space. The owners lived here for 11 years and had small children around our kids ages. I fell in love with it the moment we stopped to look at it back in May. Our rental hunting paid off and I know that this final year of residency will go much smoother because we live here. We were definitely blessed. My parents came with us to Sacramento and hung out with our kids while we house hunted. Thank you Mom and Dad.
Ty's school is only a 5 minute walk down the street.

There are some great garden boxes and the tomato, bell pepper, pumpkin and basil plants are flourishing. They make me happy. Josh's parent's and his youngest sister helped us move from San Diego. Grandpa Boone lovingly got the garden booming before he left. Both of our parents are so very generous and supportive we love them so much and appreciate their time they give to us so willing. I had a tomato from the garden this week and it was heavenly delicious!

Grandpa Boone climbed the huge tree in the back yard and the kids climbed up with him.

There is an amazing swing set that gets used every day. The owner gave us the pink baby swing as a house warming gift she is so very kind. Ty and Marissa love to race down the slides.

There is a nice gazebo. I absolutely LOVE all the trees and the shade. The yard is so clean no mud areas or stickers. It's like a little oasis in the city. Trees make me happy.

We have a nice family room with a gas stove for the winter months. It has a big window that lets in plenty of sunlight. Light makes me happy.

The kitchen is very cute I really like the colors and all the counter space not to mention the counter aren't made of tile squares with crusty old grout that is impossible to clean. Smooth counters make me happy.

Here is the "pink" room.

Here is Ty's room the celing is painted like the night and day. Ty noticed there is a small flying saucer in the night sky. It is cool.

We also got some bunkbeds that I really like and the kids like because they can be in the same room to sleep and not have to touch each other.

Here is the front room it has a nice brick fire place.

Here is the accent wall in the front room.

There have been many forts made and summer memories. I like that the kids can run outside and enjoy the day that makes me happy!

We are liking Sacramento. Josh is getting some great training and he is working with some amazing podiatry surgeons. We have 7 weeks until our new little girl is due and life is very very good. I am happy, Josh is happy, and the kids are happy. We love and miss our family and friends but we are so very blessed in every facet of our lives.

Johnson Family Reunion 2011

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson

The Reunion was in Show Low at Moylen's Pond or "Owens Creek side". I grew up swimming there every summer as a kid it still has the same slimy mud at the bottom and wispy grass along the side that tickles your legs. I have spent many hours floating on giant Styrofoam planks in that pond. It was fun to have Josh's Mother's family pick that as the destination point of our gathering. Grandpa Johnson is 93 years old and still very witty and fun to talk to Grandma Johnson keeps everything running and my favorite saying of hers is "Oh my stars!" Joshua wasn't able to make the reunion since we had just moved from San Diego to Sacramento. He worked some brutal 120 hour work weeks while we were gone.

Ty and Jaden caught crawdads and spent most of their time in the creek. Uncle Phil showed the boys how to cook and eat their catch. Despite the boys faces they all ate one and said it was good. I will pass every time No thank you Phil.

Uncle Dustin Showed up during his lunch break and gave the boys a look in the trunk of his police car. They thought that was awesome but then he turned on the siren and lights and that was even cooler. Nice gun Dustin. Grandma Boone said Dustin has the perfect job he loves to drive fast and shoot guns. We all agree and it's cool.

Another fun thing we did was catch polliwogs. There were thousands of them. Liv jumped right in the water and laid down with them all she is a lover of water. Grandma Boone was great at corralling them into a cup. Marissa named hers "wiggly" and Ty brought home 5 that we kept until they mysteriously vanished one day.

Livvy watched her polliwogs for about 5 secs before releasing them back into "the wild" We made these nice white hats for the AZ sun. The girls wore theirs the whole time it was a fun craft.

I love this picture of Ty and Olivia. They are just sitting and waiting, checking out the river and deciding what to do next on a hot lazy summer reunion day.

Grandpa Boone took Ty, Marissa and Ashlyn out for a ride in the paddle boat. There werekayaks and canoes available to play in as well.

And of course Marissa was thrilled to discover a watermelon life jacket. It was just the ticket to get her in the water. I didn't get in the water being 6 1/2 months pregnant, it just wasn't calling my name. We had a great time and look forward to the next reunion in 2 years. It was nice to have some long chats with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. They always send their grand kidsand great-grand kids personalized birthday cards with $5 every year. Pretty amazing considering the size of their posterity now. They are an amazing couple. I love the gentleness and kindness Grandpa has taught his children by example. I see that in Joshua and know where it comes from Grandpa. I really love this Johnson Family they a very solid and good people. I am blessed to a part of their family.

May was here and past by too fast. . .

Olivia Turned 2!

Here she is confidently showing how old she is today :0) She got some glow bracelets and an ice cream sandwich and life was good. She slept with her bracelets and wore them the next day.

Livvy is getting so spunky we all love her very much even if she is a little too demanding these days. She is a pretty little girl with a contagious giggle. We love you Livvy!

We had some awesome visitors Caleb, Jenni and Ashlyn! It was good to hang out with the newlyweds. We ventured out to a lot of places. Ty, Ashlyn and Rissy had plenty of bonding time. Ashlyn saw the Ocean for the first time which was cool and she ran in the freezing water with Ty. We went to the San Diego Temple.

The San Diego Zoo we road the tour bus and ate kettle corn.

Jenni and Caleb are so chill it's easy to have a good time anywhere.

* Note this picture has taken 2 years to capture. Our kids have never willingly entered a petting zoo and voluntarily touched an animal in the time we have lived in SD. But today they were all getting in on the action and loving it. I think it must have been Ashlyn and Caleb's magic touch with the animals.

The girls passed out on the bus tour around the zoo. Luckily Josh held them and eventually fell asleep too!

This is a pretty good family picture. You may have noticed I have been posting much more. . . I think it is because I don't want to pack up my house and move. I am procrastinating as long as I can I would much rather look at pictures than pack them.

We got some cool pictures as the sun was setting.

Ty-Me-Riss-Liv-Caleb-Jenni

Riss-Josh-Ty-Caleb-Liv

And my favorite a romantic sunset Kiss. I will miss the Ocean and San Diego we have LOVED living here! ( not the hottest profile at 5 month pregnant but still very romantic) Ahhh