Rachel's Ballet Debut

This year Rachel joined the ranks at Prima School of Dancing, and she LOVED it!! She had the awesome, Miss Aly Anderson for her teacher and both my girls think she is the bees knees! In our family, we have used ballet as a sort of preschool replacement. The girls have not officially attended preschool so they went to ballet to learn about being with other kids and listening to a teacher that is not from church :-) They really learned a whole lot more than that. We have been privileged to attend Prima where the ethics are high and the girls' teachers have been amazing Christian role models. They've also learned a lot of great motor skills and both girls are much more graceful because of ballet. I personally, love the ballet recital and all the excitement that goes along with it. This year was a little tough since I was 39 weeks pregnant for the ballet recital, but we made it!

Rachel's dance is the opening act from this year's recital, entitled, The Pearl. All except the beginning act took place under the sea. My girls loved watching the older girls dance as Mermaids and other great sea creatures. Rachel is the very middle girl in her class (4th from either side) and she is a seagull (if the music didn't give it away). Her class did a great job at the dress rehearsal (video above) and an even better job on the day of the show. Way to go Miss Aly's Seagulls!!

What do you think? Boy or Girl???

Well, as most of you know, we will be adding a precious little person to our family sometime in the middle of May! So, since so many of you have asked - here's the deal. Long before we were ever pregnant with child #3 my husband stated that he did not want to find out if it was a boy or girl until it was born, just like with our first two children. This thought did not sit quite right with me. I know that I have everything you would ever need for a little girl but my little boy supplies are a bit lacking. I decided - why not find out??

So, in January at our 20 week ultrasound when everything was checked out, Daddy (and sisters and grandmas) left the room and I found out what color our next little bundle of joy would be. So, yes, I know and yes, I am keeping it a secret. For the most part this allows me to plan - but mostly just in my head. I am not sure if figuring everything out in my head but still having to wait to prepare and buy things was really all that beneficial - but it sure has been fun to know!

I have many, many friends that are SURE that they know if it is a boy or girl. Either based on things I have done or said, or based on just their intuition. I am very curious as to whether or not the majority are right or wrong so I thought I would post a little survey. What do you think? Is it a new brother for my girls, like they have been praying for, for about 2 years?? Or is it a little sister that will have tons of fun with her big sisters - and Mom and Dad will feel like "we know what to do with one of these!"???
Leave your vote in the comments :-)

Our Big News!

Next May we will be welcoming the newest Johnson. Kathryn drew this picture at her grandma's house the other day and it seemed the perfect way to show the world our new family :-)

Friday Fun Day

A while back I posted about being afraid that the summer would pass us by and I thought I'd give you all an update. We decided (ok I decided) that we should do Friday Fun Days this summer. In order to accomplish this goal I made up some Friday Fun Sticks. I dug into the wonderful craft supplies from my mom's teaching days and found some tongue depressers. I wrote all of the fun things that we wanted to do this summer and then put them in a jar. Each week we pick one out for our Friday Fun Day.





 I am happy to report that we have already accomplished all but two of our fun sticks. We have had fun modifying and adding some as well. But, more along the lines of my last post, last Friday - we skipped Friday Fun Day. Do you know why? Because sometimes it's just as fun to stay home and enjoy your family :-)

My how they've grown!

Jeremy and I were looking at the old camera to get it ready for his trip to Guatemala and we found this fun video Kathryn took on 11-16-2010! I can't believe how much they've changed in a year and a half!! Rachel's hair is longer and thicker, and she's potty trained! Kathryn's voice is more mature and well she's as bossy as ever! In case you can't tell they are saying:
Kathryn: Now do a video
Rachel: I'm Rachel
Kathryn: What does Buzz Lightyear say?
Rachel: And Beyond!
Kathryn: What does Woody say?
Rachel: Reach for the sky
Kathryn: What does Bullseye say?
Rachel:
Kathryn: Nothing?
Kathryn: What does Jessie say?
Rachel: Yeehaw!
Kathryn: Yeehaw?
Rachel: Yeah
Kathryn: 'Kay, What does the penguin sing?
Rachel: Noone
Kathryn: Noone? That's silly!

As you may have guessed at about this time one of Rachel's "tricks" was quoting things from Toy Story... Kathryn was a very good interviewer!

Enjoy!

It's Summer... and I'm afraid

Yes, you read that right. It's summer and I'm afraid. For some reason I am afraid of not doing enough fun things this summer. I'm afraid of missing opportunities to play at the park, go run in the fountains, or see an outdoor movie. I am afraid of missing chances to hang out with really great girlfriends and let our kids play together. I am afraid of not being a good "summer" mommy. But what I am beginning to realize is that my girls are happy! They don't need huge adventures to have a fun summer. They can be quite content just blowing bubbles on a sunny afternoon :-)

 Daddy is perfectly happy with that too :-)

My Craft Fair Booth

This year when our MOPS group was finalizing plans for our annual craft fair, I decided to try my hand at having a booth. In the past I have put together little kits for Moms to buy and make crafts with their kids. These have been pretty popular but they don't have a huge profit margin. So, I decided to make a few of all of the things I love and just see what would sell. My expectations are pretty low so I don't think I'll be disappointed :-) My greatest hope for this Saturday is that I will have a fantastic day at a craft fair next to a fabulous friend who has helped me immensely to get me to this point. I am so glad to have had her help!! So, if you are in Rapid City this weekend, stop by and see our craft fair (and buy something from me)! We will be at the Minneluzahan Senior Center from 8 to 2 on November 12th! (And if you won't be here - I take email orders ;-) ) So, here are few pictures for those of you who like crafty things. The booth layout pictures are first, followed by some of my favorite things.Beaded Spoons
Stretchy Headbands that go well with the Flower Barrettes
Flower Barrettes and Flower HeadbandsBent Spoons that can be used as business card holders, picture holders, or even cell phone holders
Towel Hangers - Crocheted rings that neatly hold the kitchen towel that you already have.Scarf Holders - These are my own invention that I came up with to hold all of the girls winter scarves in our coat closet :-)Kitchen TowelsA cute little purse made out of a baby dressPicture Frame Earring Holders (I don't have any earrings to show you how they work - oops!)Snowman Candy Bars - They come in 5 varieties: Hershey's, Hershey's w/Almonds, Reese's, Mr. Goodbar, and Snickers. If they don't sell one you may just get one from me this year!
Kid's Craft KitsFlower DishclothsI didn't have a picture of the fuzzy flip-flops currently on my camera (other than the layout picture) but they are really cute, too! Seriously, if you know anyone that would love to come to a craft fair (and bake sale) send them our way, this Saturday! Thanks for looking at all my pictures :-)