Hawaii Part 1

On our way to Japan we stopped in Hawaii for a week, strictly because it was less expensive for the Air Force to fly us to Japan on this route . It turned out to be an even more brilliant idea than anticipated, because it allowed us to adjust to the time change half-way to Japan. Here is a picture of Helen's favorite flowering tree at the Hale Koa hotel where we stayed.This was the chapel that we attended in Honolulu. Actually, I think that they called it a tabernacle. I think it's always a good idea to go to church in locations that have the 'hallways' outside. That's a pretty good sign that the weather never warrants air conditioning or central heat.

The best place that we visited was the Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu. If you have not heard of this particular tourist destination, it is probably because tourists don't go there often. We nearly had the whole park to ourselves. We made Helen part with all the treasures that she had picked up off the ground before we left.

Sometimes at the end of a long morning it's hard to smile, even when you are next to some lovely orchids.

Helen was willing to smell all the flowers right at her height. Please note the treasure clutched in her hand.

This is a famous cannonball tree. Lucky for you all, they haven't invented smell-o-net yet. This was the worst smelling tree of the whole place.

This palm tree made me feel like we were back in the Jurassic Period. I have seen the much, much smaller cousins of this palm, but never anything this enormous.

This was Ryan's favorite gigantic tree. He and Helen could even take a rest in the roots.

Helen and I were really excited to find this tamarind tree. I love tamarind!

Jane got really good at smelling all the flowers while we were in Hawaii.

Here is the fruit from the blue marble tree. So exciting!

Ryan and I were both impressed by the variety of these plants, whose names have currently escaped me.

I am not sure if there is anything as fun as making sand castles early in the morning before anyone comes to the beach. We only had to share the sand with the birds and they merely added to the excitement. I hope Grandma Johnson notices how these two girls look like the Sunbonnet Sue's from the quilt she got for Christmas. Helen is putting the flowers in for eyes on the butterfly sand sculpture for the finishing touch - she thought of that detail herself.

Jane was really good at monitoring Ryan's work on the gigantic sandcastle.

Johnson Family Campout

We are officially back on the 'net.' Last week our household goods shipment arrived and we are going through the exciting job of reacquainting ourselves with all our belongings. I had no idea that our packers in Nebraska had actually vacuum sealed the toy boxes under very high pressure, but I have a sneaking suspicion they did because the boxes exploded when they got into our house.

We also have a bunch of wonderful pictures to sort through, and we thought we would tell the story of our summer chronologically over a few bog posts. Today you get look at the Joshnson Family Campout.

Here is a picture of the First Aid Relay Race that Ryan was in charge of. The kids and Spencer did a great job getting Helen's leg splinted and then the boys showed their muscles with the fireman carry.

I am not sure how Jane figured out that she would enjoy a sucker, but she spent the whole time Ryan ate his trying to get her hands on it. At one point she grabbed the end while it was in his mouth and jerked his head a full 90*.

Brice taught an excellent knots course. We don't have a picture of the application of this skill later in the camp out, but Brice was impressed with the boy's creativity in tying one another up or to each other or to inanimate objects like trees.

Classic Camp Songs by Craig. I think that I will be able to teach my children their right from their left thanks to the song Craig taught: "1,2, 3, 4, 5 Once I caught a fish alive". What a treasure!

I think that it is clear from this picture that it is Helen that is the secret weapon on the winning side. Kite Making with Doug: It's hard to tell who had more fun, the kids or the parents putting these flying machines together.

Miles in action. Here is Hunter with the man-eating Tulip Popular tree. You may not know that it is carnivorous, but the expression on Hunter's face makes it clear that he knows and he is not getting a millimeter closer than necessary.

We take our snack time seriously. Helen was particularly proud of this snack because she learned to make gorp with Grandpa and even sampled it before the trip.

Here are Craig, Heidi and Owen enjoying a long hike.

If you will note the sign in the background (It reads "Extremely Dangers Keep Off"), we think that hikes with 12 children under the age of 10 are best done near sharp drop offs. It adds to the excitement and overall enjoyment of the event.

Here are Helen and Chloe showing off their stylish camp t-shirts/dresses. As a side note, that is the only time I ever saw those particular toys in their mouths not caked in dirt, although it wasn't the only time I saw them hanging out of children's mouths.

This is the picture of the "fast" kids on the hikes. I only got a picture from the front of them after we had to turn around because we had taken the wrong turn.

Here we are hiking. I would like to point out the foresight in choosing bright orange for the t-shirts. In addition to helping us recognize members of our own group, no hunter or animal would mess with such a brilliant color.

Have you ever seen so many happy cousins campers? This was a serendipitous moment; in a matter of minutes they would all be soaking wet from the small trickle of a stream you can see under the log. Don't worry, I don't think anyone 'fell' in.

My Waterloo Days and Cooking with Dad

Last week we went up to Grandma and Grandpa's to pick up the Roll Over Protection Bar for the bunkbeds. Luckily it was also My Waterloo Days which is always a good time. Here we are at the parade. If you click on the link, you will see that the girls and I are superstars, at least famous in the greater Waterloo, IA area.

Helen really loved playing with all the new toys at Grandma and Grandpa's. This is where we found her when we told her it was time to go back home to Nebraska.

Jane was happy to see the Grandma had a good supply of necklaces for her to accessorize with. We also loved the Billy Goat Gruff bridge in the backyard.

Here are Ryan and Helen making cookies. Helen is just waiting patiently to eat the m&m's on the counter. She is really good at making sure we all get one when making cookies.

Meandering through May

I went through my fabric in anticipation of our move this month and I found some fabric that I thought would make a fabulous play dress. When I gave it to Helen it was immediately renamed a "Cinderella dress' in honor of her current favorite book-on-tape.

Here is Helen on her third birthday with her "Razzamataz" flavored birthday cake. To be honest, Helen makes birthday cake requests and then I just make a ice cream cake doctored up. My dad made a great raspberry/strawberry/blueberry sauce that razzamatazzed this cake right up.

Jane has enough hair to put pig-tails in and it sure looks much better than the flowing mullet she had down her shoulders.

Here are the girls having fun together. It sure is a lot of fun with the girls around.

As you can see from this picture I am getting much better at my coloring. I hope that by the time I am done being the mother of small children that I will figure out how to draw a decent looking horse. (That is not what I am coloring, just stating a general wish).

Jane's First Birthday

I didn't realize how exciting birthdays can be for the whole family. (Note the size of Helen's smile)I made Jane a lemon cake with lemon cream cheese frosting.
Poor Jane ate too much dinner and couldn't appreciate the cake properly.

Helen was more than happy to help Jane open her presents and then play with them. What a good big sister.I had to include this picture - I think that is one of our best pictures of Jane.

Pictures and Video to Share

Mom and Nate came out to visit last weekend, and we packed in as many fun activities as we could - the zoo, algebra, Scrabble, countless pretending scenarios with Helen, walking practice with Helen, and more algebra.

Here we are on a cold Monday at the Omaha Zoo.



It was so nice of Mom and Nate to teach Jane to walk while they were here.



Nate's getting very good at naming his colors.

Peter Pan is one of Helen's best friends these days.  A favorite song from that story is "Never Smile at a Crocodile".  Every time we turn to that one in our Disney Songbook, Helen has the self-imposed requirement to run to the closet, get out her "crocodile" (a.k.a. dragon) outfit, put it on, and then sing the intended song.

With our tulips in bloom, we again tried our hand at taking our girls' pictures in front of them.  As you can see - that's a task easier said than done.  

Picture #32.  The flowers must be poisonous to children.

Picture #51.  Enter Pinwheels.

Picture #68.  Helen shares the joys of picking weeds.

Photo #75.  Two smiles at once!

Photo #101.  Excitement, happiness, flowers, danger - it has it all.

Finally here's a little video packed full of treats - Jane walking, Helen tumbling, Jane's animal sounds, "Helen the Spinning Fish", and their proud parents looking on in wonder.  By the way, don't be alarmed by the duck-like noises Jane makes as Helen tickles her feet - that's her I'm-so-happy-I-can't-breathe-laugh.

Exiting News!

We received our next Air Force assignment: Misawa, Japan, starting in the mid July. This great picture of the base welcome sign came from www.misawalife.com.
In regards to the recent earthquake, from what we can tell, Misawa was spared from major destruction, but the have lost power.
To get ourselves ready, Ryan and I started a Japanese language course. Our library offers an online course through www.mango.com. We can now say good morning/afternoon/evening, thank you, good bye, are you sightseeing, it is cold/hot, it is fine weather, and be safe. We are well on our way to proficiency.

Happy Birthday Michelle and the Relief Society!

Imagine you got a present that was squishy on the outside and hollow in the middle. You might think that your husband had bought you an innertube for your bike or maybe a padded seat for taking care of business. But you would be wrong. It would actually be a massage face pillow and you would be so happy!Here is the birthday cake that I made for the Relief Society birthday (it is actually March 17th 1842) but our congregation celebrated early. I called this cake "Wishing for Spring" since I couldn't decide if they looked more like cherry or crabapple blossoms. Thank heavens for the Wright Family Cookbook and Grandma's great recipes.

Old things turn new

I wish that I had a picture of Ryan wearing his favorite shirt, but here is is converted into a dress for Helen. Ryan was struggling with sending this shirt to Goodwill because it had been through so many good times with him. He was willing to give it to Helen though. That's how much he loves her. Who could blame him?

New Dresses

A couple of weeks ago I decided that I would try and learn how to sew clothing. Granted, Mom helped me make a lovely dress when in was a Young Woman and Amber coached me through a couple of pajama pants, I would hardly consider myself an expert. In fact, I have to do a lot of deep breathing before I started. That been said, I think that it may be harder to get girls to stand still for pictures than to make dresses.

We are going to have to wait for a couple of months before we can wear these to church since we just got 3-5 inches of snow.  

February Fun

I recently got this costume from a family from our church and decided to let Helen wear it around the house. Although I know it's a dragon, we like to call her a crocodile. That way we can turn on "Never Smile at a Crocodile" and dance around the living room. It breaks up the monotony of winter quite nicely. Jane loves the costume too. One day I went into the girls room and found her wrestling the crocodile (without Helen inside) and it looked like Jane won. At least she was the one growling and biting. Last week we had unusually warm weather and the girls and I went out everyday for walks. As you can see, Jane discovered sticks. Who knew that they were so tasty. She must be related to her cousin Alyssa who also likes the taste of the great outdoors.

Here are Helen and Jane playing. These girls love moving magnet letters around on my fridge, on the floor and in their mouths.