Christmas gift exchange rotation schedule

Hey all, and Happy Holidays! :) I thought that the Christmas gift exchange rotation schedule was posted on the blog at some time, but I couldn't track it down. Does anyone know where it is, and/or have it memorized?? ;) See you all SOON for (as Maggie calls it) The Wedding of the Century! :)

Aunt Amy!

We love it when Amy comes to visit. She was definitely heaven sent this trip. Because she was here, I was able to steal away to New York City for a day where I met Scott, spent some time in the city and then drove home with him that night. We also were able to make Thanksgiving dinner virtually uninterrupted while she locked herself away with the kids! In addition, she also did story time for Rex's preschool class, let Daphne drag her around the house while she held her stash, made crafts and played games with the boys, cleaned up a jug of spilled milk, cleaned up a clogged, overflowed toilet, broke her toe, went on to play laser tag with a broken toe, watched a polar bear swim over our heads at the zoo (while walking around the zoo broken toed), and just made us happy she was there. We had fun and miss her a ton!

Daphne's favorite activity was looking at the "berbils" with Amy

At the zoo

Dropping Amy off at the airport...so sad

Conjoined Knuckleheads

The video below shows what emerged from our basement tonight after Felix and Rex had been sent down to clean up the mess they and their neighbor-friend Garrett, and their distant (Woffinden) cousins had made when they were all over for dinner tonight.

At first while they were cleaning, Felix and Rex engaged in the typical bickering and teasing, but eventually they bonded (?!) in the way shown below. : )

LISA!!

Lisa, we want to make sure we wish a happy birthday!!  Hopefully we won't totally space out and forget to call you tomorrow :)  The kids are home from school so I am sure there will be lots of chaos, but we love you and can't wait to see you at the wedding!

Stamford Thanksgiving Parade

Because I'll be working the first part of next week, I stayed in Connecticut this weekend.

When I got home from Church, all the parking on my street was taken, and when I asked my roommate why, he explained today was the city's Thanksgiving parade.

It was a beautiful day, so I walked the 1/2 mile or so to the parade route and took a few pictures from my phone.

Maybe later I'll post my videos of Mr. Potato Head, Bob the Builder, and Fred Flintstone. : )

Halloween

The Owensboro League of Superheroes!

With their arch nemesis “Toxic Avenger"

Halloweenies

Waldo and Madame Butterfly

Waldo, Pippi, M. Butterfly, Batman and Darth at the insanely crowded ward party

What you will see in the bathroom Halloween morning

Darth Vader, Butterfly, Batman

Home from Trick or Treating, wet hair and all.  It rained.  We probably shouldn't have gone out to begin with because we found out that morning that Felix had Strep and Daphne, Pneumonia.  What a shame to miss out on Halloween when it only comes once a year.  We stayed away from our friends and called it an early night.

Broadway Star!

Riley's Second-Grade Performance.

Happy Fall

I took the kiddos out for a photo shoot. It was a miracle I got any pictures with them all looking. It was a circus!

Shot of the day

A glimpse of what it's like everyday in our home...all smiles and hand holding

A whole lot of editing went into this shot



 A lovely fall day in Pittsburgh

Wedding at West Point

Saturday I had the chance to attend my friend Casey's wedding in the Catholic chapel of the Most Holy Trinity at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he was a cadet.

My other friend, Scott, who is also an alum was at the wedding, too, and took me on a tour of the campus.

The pictures below were taken atop the roof of the Library overlooking the Hudson.

The wedding and tour were great experiences and made me more grateful 1) for my wife and 2) those who serve our country.

Perhaps the biggest highlight was the performance at the reception dinner by the Pipes and Drums of the Corp of Cadets (www.usma.edu/uscc/dca/clubs/.../pipd.html)

Wedding deal-o-rama

For all of you who are traveling to the wedding, there are some great hotel deals I found online. Here is a link to one I found on Kayak, it is $26 a night. Yes, $26. Definitely worth looking into.

I'm excited to come out and huck some rice.

http://www.kayak.com/r/ATzxzQo

Pumpkins, Squash & Gords...Oh My!

Valerie is one of Macie's Girl Scout leaders and they went to a local farm that has lots of fun activities for kids. The whole family tagged along and we had a great time.

Entering the Labyrinth

Riley protecting her and Carver's pumpkins

Charlotte and Carver ride in a sea of pumpkins

Lots of cool squash, gords, pumpkins, etc.

The corn box

Stopping along the hay ride to pick pumpkins

Charlotte picks a perfect pumpkins

Painting pumpkins after the hay ride

Carver amongst the scenery

Macie going for a spin

On the hay ride - minus the hay

the Johnsons Take Manhattan

 The kids posing with one of the pieces in the Donald M. Kendall sculpture gardens on Pepsi HQ campus where I work.

Cute picture of Margie and Daphne at the sculpture gardens at Pepsi

A shout out to uncle Todd from one of the 'hoods in his mission (I think?), while riding the NJ transit train into Manhattan

Felix and Rex taking in a headless Lady Liberty from the Staten Island ferry

Walking with the kiddies in the SoHo neighborhood on our way to Washington Square park

Couple cute pictures of the girl in Central Park

Margie and the kids in Central Park, atop a rock the boys discovered, climbing and playing on it for some time.

The boys on the "top of the rock"

Felix and Rex posing with a Lego Statue of Liberty in the Lego section of the FAO Schwartz on 5th Avenue

Felix and Rex "pole dancing," to quote Margie, on a mostly-empty subway car.
The man behind Felix gave no signs of letting their antics interrupt his sleep.

Margie and Daphne riding on the subway

Felix checking out one of the dinos at the American Museum of Natural History

Rex interacting with one of the high-tech exhibits.

Happy Birthday, Amy!

Since I wasn't able to call you tonight for your birthday, I wanted to send you a quick birthday wish here and let you know how much we love and appreciate you...especially your tireless and enthusiastic cheer leading for everyone in our big, happy family!

Engaged at 64!!!

I was really "out-foxed" by Charles last night! I thought we were going to dinner...one of our regular dates. Because he worked late, he arrived after 7. He showed up with a bouquet of roses, and a jar of Hershey's candy. He brought his own knife to cut the roses. When we had arranged the roses in a vase, he said we should have a piece of chocolate. I was ready to go to dinner, and told him there was some candy opened on the counter, so we didn't need to open the jar. He really wanted a piece from the jar! When I took the lid off, there was a ring box inside!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't have been more surprised. It's beautiful, and I am thrilled!!! Honestly, I still shake my head in disbelief. At this point in my life, I never thought this would happen to me, but am so very grateful for his love.

Daddy Daughter Night

I took the girls to the Chick-fil-a daddy daughter event last night. I didn't have high expectations; I just figured it was ploy to get me to buy more kids meals. Anyway, they threw a great event with a man in a tux greeting us at the door, black tablecloths with a rose center piece, the cow, a man playing a guitar, and the girls' favorite...A ride in a horse-drawn carriage. This was one of the pictures they provided. Thinking it wasn't going to be much, I forgot to take our camera. They are the best and I'm glad I'm their dad!