Grandma & Grandpa Johannesen

My parents, my younger sister (Heather) and her daughter (Skyler) were visiting Utah while we were there and it was really fun to see them. We were able to see them for just a few days, but tried to spend as much time with them as we could before they left for Mount Vernon. Heather cut everyone’s hair (which was especially wonderful since we had wedding pictures just a few days later...) and we introduced them to the Crown Burger. Yum. :)

Bear Lake

The Gavin and Jill Anderson family reunion happened this year at Bear Lake. We rented a cabin and spent a fun week together. We had a great time swimming, hiking, crafting, playing games, watching movies, etc. It was fun to have everyone under one roof and for all the Anderson kids and grandkids to play together. Our cute, engaged Emily had to spend a whole week (!) without her fiancee just a few days before their wedding. My friend Katie came out to play for a few days while we were there. It was fun to see her and her cute kids too. She fit right in with the Anderson clan. :)

Kid Pics

My friend Danae came by the other day to take some pictures of the kids. I wanted to take some pictures that would show what my kids are interested in right now.  Owen is into StarWars these days. It all started out with wanting to be Darth Vader for Halloween. :)

Here are Livie’s pictures. I wanted to show that she loves books and also to show her in her room. :)

This whole photo idea started out with my wanting to do some one-year photos of Jonah. I wanted to capture him in his little space in his bed and then get some fun ones as well. I love this little face. :)

Trampoline

In the heat of summer, for some reason, we decided we needed a trampoline for the kids. We bought it a few weeks ago and Nate spent the better part of a day putting it together. The kids were sooooo excited and they all love it. I was surprised that Jonah would like it so much. We piled a bunch of balls on it and it has been a lot of fun. I asked Danae to take some pictures of the kids on the trampoline as well. :)

35 Years

Wow. I turned 35 this year! Crazy.

So here’s how it all went down. The morning of my birthday Nate and the kids made me stay in bed while they prepared breakfast in bed. My favorite: eggs and peanut butter toast. Yum. Then I opened my presents. This is an Anderson family tradition which I realized the first year I was married to Nate and I gave him his gifts at the END of the day (a Johannesen family tradition). Later we went out to lunch at Uncle Maddio’s, then Bowling and to see Rio at the $1 Theater. It was a lot of fun. Later that night we put the kiddos to bed and went out to dinner with the Hansen’s. Carolyn and I have the same birthday. It was a really fun day! That night I climbed into bed (after brushing all the toast crumbs away...) very tired and happy.
Then tonight we went to Puzey’s to party it up. Cheryl made AMAZING cupcakes and they gave me a darling gift (see above).

4th of July

We had a fun time celebrating the 4th this year. I think we took on too much, because both Nate and I were exhausted. Nate ran the Peachtree Road Race, largest road race in the world. He and 55,000 of his closest friends. Luckily he qualified for an early start. It was a hot sticky Atlanta day. The kids and I ventured out to a parade that morning. Olivia (see photo above and another below) had her hands over her ears for most of the day. :)
We headed up to Puzey’s after the parade and had a great time on the giant slip and slide. About 5 other families from their ward came over and we had a BBQ and fireworks show (quickly before the rain started). Then we all sat out on the porch enjoying the cool night, thanks to the storm.  We piled our kids into the car at 10pm to head home, tired but happy!