Charlotte Rolling Over - Half Marathon - 4th of July - T-Ball

Here are some pics documenting Charlotte's rolling skills.

In other news...Valerie and I are training for the Top Of Utah Half Marathon at the end of August. We just completed our second week of training with a 5 mile run. I've come to the conclusion that running isn't that bad as long as you have something to occupy your mind, otherwise, it can get a little boring.

Here are some pictures from our 4th of July. We went to Menan Days again for fun, food, basketball, parade, and lots of sun. We took second in the three-on-three basketball tournament; we lost by two points in the championship game. Riley and Macie each placed in their age division at the always competetive Menan Day's races (The winner gets .75 cents, down to .25 cents for third place.)

Also some pictures of Riley at T-Ball.

Wacky Maggie

From the archives, we were going through some old videos on our camcorder over the long weekend and came across some of Maggie's hi-jinx from when she was here visiting last fall for Margie's play and Rex's birthday.

Enjoy!

Pittsburgh Johnson Happenings

Rolling-Pin Toss Champion

Yesterday at Forest Hills, PA's 4th of July Community days, the Borough crowned a new reigning Women's Rolling-Pin Toss Champion...our very own Margie Johnson!

The winning throw was very impressive...there were several ooohs and aaahs from the audience, and that wasn't just because Margie almost pegged a group of boys walking at what any reasonable person would have considered a very safe distance from the competition based on the placement of the other competitors' markers.

Unfortunately, because I was a little overwhelmed trying to monitor the two little guys at the time (not as expert as Margie at wrestling both of them yet), I was unable to capture the winning throw on video.

The unavoidable connection between Margie's expertise wrestling the boys and her victory in the rolling-pin toss was not lost on me or several of the other onlookers.

To compensate for not recording the winning throw, however, I have posted video of the awards ceremony for all to enjoy.

The most remarkable parts of the awards ceremony are, in order, 1) the announcement that Margie set a new Borough record, and 2) the bizarre behavior exhibited by Felix on the podium with his mother.

Regarding the first of those two points (Margie's new record), several attendees also commented confidently about Margie's prospects for taking her game to a higher level (hello, Beijing).

Margie's trophy is currently displayed prominently on our mantle.

37 and Counting

On a separate note, I traveled to Montréal for work last week. It is a very beautiful city, and one I would love to visit for leisure sometime.

Because my passport had expired in 2003, 10 years from when it was issued prior to my mission (yes, I know I'm dating myself here), I was not eligible to fly into Canada, which requires a current passport.

For another year or so, however, U.S. citizens traveling by land or sea can still enter our northern neighbor with only a photo ID and birth certificate. Consequently, I made arrangements to fly Southwest into Manchester, New Hampshire, rent a car and drive the rest of the way to Montréal.

In addition to NH, the trip also took me through VT, another state I'd never visited before. The highway I was on drove through Sharon, where the monument and visitor's center for Joseph Smith's birthplace are located. Unfortunately, I was on a rushed schedule and was not able to stop there but slept away the drowsies for about 45 at a rest stop in Sharon.

It was very beautiful driving through NH and VT, two states that from what I could observe mandate ownership of Subaru Outbacks. They were everywhere I looked!

With my visit to those two states, I've now been to 37 of the 48 continental. I've posted a map that shows which states I've visited; as you can see, I'm keeping very close track of this all. If our travels to next summer's JFR go as planned, by this time next year, I should be up to 42 of the 48 continental, towards my goal of visiting all of those 48 by my 40th birthday.

Hope everyone is doing well and having a happy long weekend!

Sabbath Day Holy

Where to start? First of all, it's Valerie. The weekend in Driggs was fun, but I knew before we even left that the RIGHT thing to do was to pack up and come home Sat. night so we could go to church. Well, to say the least, we were exhausted after hiking all day Saturday and tucked the kids in for an early bed. We sluffed church and Macie burned her legs. Lesson learned. The burns didn't look too bad on Sunday. I called the pediatrician; the nurse told me to put neosporin on them and keep them covered, so I did. Macie cried when it happened, took a nap, and seemed completely fine when she woke up. When we got home I changed her dressings and saw that the skin had turned black. I looked up burns on the internet to see that the worst possible burns are "painless" due to nerve damage. I immediately freaked out since Macie showed no signs of pain. I called Janet for advice (thanks :)) and went to the ER since it was now 8:05 and, of course, the instacares all closed at 8. I was a wreck and crying, but Macie was on cloud nine. She was jumping all over the chairs, (sliding down them,which made me cringe every time knowing that that poor burned skin was underneath) and having a great time. A nurse informed us that there were 55 patients waiting. After I calmed down and let Macie play in the ER for two hours, we decided she could obviously wait till the next day to see her pediatrician. the pediatrician sent us to the wound/burn center at the hospital. The Dr. said it was 2nd and 3rd degree with some exposed nerves. She just sat there the whole time and let him do whatever he wanted. He was flabbergasted that Macie didn't cry and scream when he removed the dressings and had to pull some of the dead skin off. He made sure she still had feeling by poking her everywhere, and she eventually pulled her leg back. He said she was the toughest patient he'd ever had. (When I have had to call back and ask questions I explain who I am and they say, "Oh, that tough little girl with the burned legs?") Anyway, she is fine. Yesterday they said by next week the new skin should be growing! I did, however, let her get wet today at the splash park, so hopefully that doesn't slow things down. I couldn't say no to this special event...she loved it! Apparently I didn't learn my lesson as Riley got herself a pretty good bumburn. I take no responsibility for this. I tried my hardest to apply sunscreen to her legs, but she wasn't about to have it. She has a million scratches on her legs (she always tries to slide during her t-ball games) and says that the sunscreen stings too bad.

So there is our week in review. Charlotte had her 4 month check-up today. She is in the 50th percentile for height and weight and her head is in the 90th. We are so proud :) Enjoy the pics...and thanks for putting little Mace on the temple lists. You guys are the best!

Weekend In Driggs

Here is a link to a photo album of our weekend in Driggs, Idaho at the Burnside residence (Buffy's parents' house) We went up Friday and stayed until Sunday afternoon. It was a great time until Macie burned both legs by sitting on the exhaust pipe of a motorcycle.

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d7a677a4e544d784d673d3d0d0a&campaign=blog_playback_link&blogview=true

Father's Day Miracle

We witnessed a Father's Day Miracle yesterday as Riley learned how to ride her bike without training wheels. We didn't have our camera at the time, but caught this action when we went for a walk around the neighborhood tonight for FHE.

Beach Bums

Here is a photo collection of our vacation at Virginia Beach. We rented a big beach house with 5 other families. It's so beautiful out there! We love the beach. Here is Felix fishing for the first time. It lasted about 5 minutes.

Rex preferred throwing grass into the water to fishing.

At the beach.

We were close to a military base, so we saw many, many fighter jets flying overhead which is what Rex is checking out here.

Saying cheese.

Felix and Scott in their first ever 3D Imax film..."Sharks". Felix took off his glasses anytime the sharks came on screen. He said he didn't want them in there with him. He liked the turtle and fishes, though.

Scott and Felix with friends in the canoe. This was in the backyard of the beach house.

Peanut butter and Jelly "sand"wiches.

Felix and Margie catching a wave on the boogie board. Freezing water, but soooo much fun!

Let's go fly a kite.

The weather was glorious and the beach was so lovely that Scott said he wanted to be buried here.

There was a local on the beach digging for crabs in the sand for his grandkids. He was nice enough to let us play with one (see bucket). It reminds us of one of our favorite books, "Billy's Bucket".

Felix's favorite thing was splashing in the big waves. Every day he asked to do specifically that.

Scott and Felix looking for sea shells.

Rex was having a major teething episode for much of the trip. This was the face he mostly wore.

Photo protege

Apparently when Riley has the camera pointed in anyone's direction, they feel the need to pull a face.  An interesting phenomenon that deserves a national study.  You can see that despite her lack of training, she actually has a similar photo style to mine.  Should she be flattered or should I be frightened?  Either way, she came up with some fun--and incriminating--pix from the weekend.  

Enjoy.

KJ

Random incriminating photos from the blessing

Here are a few pictures from this weekend's blessing of Chucky.  I have a ton more pix but this is a good start. You notice that the trampoline is a large gathering spot at Todd's. Other than the "trampoline/shin" incident there were no other injuries to report.  I am going to post some pictures Riley took during the weekend in a separate post.  Classic pictures. Hope everyone's well.

KJ

Just a warning....there is a picture that involves nudity (No, it's not Todd show off the "Twin Peaks").  Screen accordingly.