Merry Christmas

I can't believe we haven't posted anything since Halloween. SORRY! This holiday has been crazy busy for us, and we are loving every minute. Here are a few pictures from December.

Our best attempt at getting a picture of the kids in their Christmas outfits.

Santa's lap. Lincoln was so brave. Maggie was so excited.

Maggie was a little lamb for the ward Nativity.

We also had fun watching her in her Pre-school Christmas Program.

She did so good.

We hope you are having a Merry Christmas and are enjoying the holidays and the Spirit that it brings. We love celebrating the Savior's birth and are so grateful for Him.

a fairytale

Once upon a time... there was a tired princess, a sober knight,

and a happy little stuffy nosed dragon.

We actually had a pretty good Halloween even though some of us were still feeling a little under the weather.

Maggie really wanted to go trick-or-treating. We decided it would be ok to take her to a couple of houses in the neighborhood since she was feeling almost 100%. Lincoln had to go too. We were even joined by some friends.

Trick-or-treating was a huge hit as it always is! Lincoln was thrilled about all the candy. One thing I didn't know about him was his love for Reeses pb cups. Everytime we were at a house that had them in their bowl he was like, "i have orange one!" He would say it even if they had already given him a different kind. I think he scored about triple of what Maggie did by doing this. I mean...how can you say "No" to that little guy. We aren't complaining though. Gotta love Mom & Dad Halloween Tax. Dan thinks it's ALMOST as good as Uncle Tax.

Q

It seems like everyone around us is getting the Swine Flu in one form or another. My question is...are you actually being diagnosed by a Dr. or are you just assuming that since you have a virus it is Swine Flu??

Just wondering.

As for the Johnston household...we've got some aches, some fevers, and some pretty nasty coughs. H1N1?

Maybe.

Probably just some yucky virus.

Even this sweetie is feeling it a bit.

Swine Flu or not...we are putting ourselves under QUARANTINE. It's rainy and cold. We are cozy and warm. We have everything we need to lay low.

Blankies. (pink & green)

Fotches. (as in fotch a moomie)
I know it is only Halloween...but my children have been begging to watch this & Frosty lately. I think it's a good day to give in.

lots of Sanitizer.

& yummy left over Chili.

It's a good day for the big Q. This is gonna be fun.

Here's the recipe for the chili. It's is my absolute FAV feel good/warm yourself up recipe. I think this is batch #2 (maybe 3) for us already this Fall.

Southwestern White Bean Chili

1 cup chopped onion

4 cloves garlic

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp ground red pepper (if you like a little spice)

3 15oz cans Great Northern Beans (drain & rinse)

2 4oz cans diced green chilis

4 cups chicken broth

3 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Put everything but the cheese in the Crockpot. Cook on high 4-6 hours (longer=best). Stir in cheese 5 minutes before serving.

Top with sour cream, cheese, & cilantro.

(I usually double this recipe...I like to have leftovers & freeze some too)

ENJOY!

4 Funsies

Monster Mash Johnston Style

The PATCH

Hawaii Chair

smiles

Getting lots of these smiles and coos lately. LOVE IT!

Not too long before we are joined by Big Sis.
I could be wrong...but I think somebody might need a little attention.

What do you think?

9.27.09

Isaac was blessed by his daddy.

Family picture before church.

The men-folk.
Can you believe that boy on the far left?
He is seriously taller than me now.
What the heck...Bryce?!

It was a great day. We're glad Mom & Dad J, Mom & Dad R, Cat & Craig clan, Kiley, John, & Bryce could share it with us.

This is what Dan has been working on the last year.
The U of O Academic Learning Center.
Isn't it amazing?!

They are now wrapping things up and it should be complete in a few weeks.
We were able to go on a weekend retreat with the people responsible for this beautiful building. This included the people from Nike, the Architectural firm, Hoffman, University of Oregon (and their significant others).

Tu Tu Tun is where we stayed. BEAUTIFUL place.

Here we are Salmon fishing on the Rogue River. Our fishing guide, Helen, is the only female guide they have. She was pretty hard core and ended up leading me to THIS....

29 lbs of Salmon right there! I actually ended up winning a prize for the second biggest fish. (First prize was 32 pounds)

I seriously thought I was going to die while reeling it in...but what an adrenaline rush.
So fun.

This is everybody on the jet boat ride.
We went on a scenic ride up the river...lots of black bears, deer, bald eagles. Very pretty. We did some 36o's too which is why Dan wanted to sit in front. More action up there.
Here we are on the balcony outside our room.

Thanks Mr. Slusher for an AMAZING weekend.

Thanks hubby for working so hard and putting in so many long hours to build something so great and support your family.

Thanks Mom, Dad, Kiley, Bryce, & John for taking on 3 little rugrats for a couple of days. They had so much fun. I actually didn't worry about them too much because I knew they were in good hands. They also drove half way to meet us with the kids (8 hours round trip)!

special Thanks mom for having all the kid's laundry done. It's nice to come home and not have to worry about piles of laundry to wash!

Beach weekend (day two)

The weather wasn't cooperating Saturday morning so we took a trip to the Lincoln City outlets.

Then the Johnsons, and Gma & Gpa Johnston joined us Saturday afternoon at the beach.

chillin with dad at the beach house.

chasing the waves.

studly.

climbing the sand dunes.

mom & lincoln chowing some pb & j.

It was a good time & we came back wishing we had just one more day.

Oh well.

It's still good to be home.

Beach weekend (day one)

We had the opportunity to stay in a house on the coast this weekend.

It was great!

The first night we grabbed some yummy pizza and sat on the rocks watching the tide come in and the sun go down.

The Oregon Coast really is Beautiful.

big day

Maggs had her first day of Preschool today.

She was totally excited. The drop off went well and we went home. The three of us.

Things were a little quiet,

and pretty boring.

So we decided to make some after preschool goodies...then it was time to pick her up.

We had some post preschool Chocolate zucchini bread.

Wasn't too long before things livened up again.

Go here for the recipe

(Lis...you got me hooked on ourbestbites Everyone...It's definitely worth checking out!)

feeling adventurous

Between pregnancy, work, and a new baby...we really didn't get out a whole lot this summer. Now that summer is coming to a close....we decided to do what we have been wanting to for some time. We took the kiddies on their first overnight campout.

I'm not gonna lie. It was a lot of work.

It was also very fun.

yummy food.

beautiful scenery.

campfire goodies.

rock throwing.

cozy sleeping arrangements.

Good thing we finally got some use out of the camping gear. Looks like it is already time to invest in a bigger tent.

gross

bushes

One of my favorite discoveries after buying our house...the 3 blueberry bushes in our backyard.

We are loving them right now.

The kids love picking them.

Lincoln eats them faster than we can pick.

I love having the lil guy on the outside instead of inside. He is so much fun.
I really love this stage.

welcome home

Isaac Reid Johnston

8.3.09

7 lbs 14 oz

20 inches

the four of us

a family shot.

kiddie pool with daddy. what's with this HEAT?!

still can't believe this guy is going to be a big brother.

here we are...

getting closer to the 5 of us.