Fall 2012

Here's a quick recap of the last few months activities.  Going backwards in time here is the latest in family gatherings.  Today I spent time with the Johnson girls at the Grand America.  Since Lila likes Fancy Nancy books she had no problem agreeing to go to tea with her Grandma and learn some basics in good manners.  

As we do every fall we spend many weekends raking up leaves.  Liam is getting better every year at helping clean up the leaves that fall from the big trees around our house.  Even Lila is learning to help out.

Almost forgot to post Halloween pictures this year.  Here is a shot from the annual Johnson Halloween party.

 Lila couldn't decide which costume to go with so she started out as a bee and then decided to be a unicorn.  All Liam cared about was that he was something scary.  He was supposed to be some grotesque thing but could barely stand to keep the mask on his face.

Lila has also continued to take ballet classes from Ms. Kim.  She loves ballet so much she wants to have a ballerina party for her next birthday.

Before the weather turned cold we also went and hiked around Red Butte.  They've got a great kids garden and we finally took advantage of it since it is only about 5 minutes from our house.  

Family Photos 2012

Just got a few photos back from our recent family photo shoot.  I'll post more after I get them back from the photographer but already loving Lila's shot with our cat.  

Summer 2012

Our usual Johnson vacation time in Bear Lake came around again this past July.  As you can see I take protecting Lila from the sun very seriously.  Liam and Lila had a great time seeing all of their cousins and getting turns riding in the boat.

Liam started 4th grade at Uintah Elementary.  I took several shots before he headed out to school but couldn't get a single one with him keeping his eyes open.  Luckily he has a couple of good friends in his class and is content so far.

Lila started preschool at the place she went last year so there was no drama.  She was very excited to go and have some play time with other girls.  She came home the first week and was ecstatic that she could write her name all by herself.  This is definitely the age of independence.

I had another birthday this August too.  Ben was very thoughtful and bought me a lemon cake, perfume and sweater.  He also got take out from a nice restaurant and we enjoyed having a quiet evening with the kids.  Lila was probably more excited about my birthday than anybody and kept jumping up and down asking me where my presents were.  It's nice to have kids around to keep birthdays exciting.

Also got to go out to one of my favorite restaurants with some friends to celebrate.

Tea Time

It is a rare event that I am able to get together with my cousins but we finally managed it.  After some texting back and forth and working out the babysitting situation we finally got together for tea at the Grand America.  We caught up and had a lovely time....minus the sugar overload!

Lila's Birthday Bash

So Lila woke on the morning of her 4th birthday and got into her new leotard, tights (underwear included) and ballet slippers to go to her first ballet class.  You can just see the pure joy in her eyes!  

Later that day we got together to celebrate as a family and ate some princess cupcakes.

When the weekend came we packed our bags and when to Logan for a real party!

We had just been to NYC and visited the Plaza hotel and were inspired to throw an Eloise party in Logan.  Not exactly NYC but we decorated in pink and black to help create the mood.

Luckily Grandma's patio was in full bloom and Lila had a bunch of cousins over for a water party.

I don't think anyone can question that these two are related!

Lila had such a good time turning 4 she has already asked me when she will turn 5.

Family Vacation 2012

Adam and Holly recently moved to Connecticut so we decided it was a great chance to visit them on the east coast and take a family vacation.  After flying into JFK we drove up to Redding, CT where Adam and Holly are currently living in Mark Twain's carriage house.  As you can see Adam and Holly were very welcoming.  They were great hosts and we had a great time hanging out with them.        

New York was one of our stops on the trip and although we didn't take the ferry ride out to see the Statue of Liberty we did walk down to Battery Park to see it from afar. 

We also took a tour of the 9/11 memorial and spotted the new trade towers under construction.

Here's a shot of our stop at the Natural History Museum.

We also had to take a stroll through Central Park and Time Square.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was definitely my favorite spot in New York.  Liam really liked the Egyptian part of the museum.  I took a solo tour through their special exhibit Prada and Schiaparelli.

Another leg of the trip consisted of seeing some of the other towns closer to Adam's house.

Here we made a quick stop in New Haven to take a tour of Yale on our way to Boston.  

We also stopped at a great chocolate shop in New Caanan.

Lila was in heaven having a sleep over with her cousins night after night.  Holly was so nice to take care of her when we made an overnight trip to Boston.  Lila is going to have major withdrawals not being closer to her cousins.

Easter

So Lila is definitely getting the idea from her Grandma Johnson that every holiday is a major event like Christmas.  Easter started out with a search for the perfect Easter dress for Lila.  We found one for her in Salt Lake but then she got an even fancier one from her Grandma Johnson.  The day then started out with the kids waking to find a few things that the Easter Bunny left followed by a small hunt at our house.  After having brunch we then headed to Logan where Grandma Johnson had put together a massive feast and coordinated a major hunt with candy, money, toys and clothes.  After stuffing ourselves and piling our car with new things we headed to Grandma Morse's house to do a third hunt.  So how many Easter egg hunts is too many?  I'm pretty sure 3 exceeds the normal limit!