Summer to remember

 Canoeing

 Fishing

 Hiking

 Swimming

 Boating

 Parks

 Wildfires

 Fair

 Visiting family

Beach

  Forest

 Ocean

 Trails

 OMSI

 Cousins

We had a lot of fun this summer of 2012 and we were so grateful that Jeff had a job that was secure and flexible enough to allow us to do these fun things as a family. These are just a select few photos from our many adventures and we are positive the list will just keep growing.

Phaelen

Well, this is late but things have been truckin' along and Phaelen had his forth birthday so I thought I would post some photos before I get distracted again and forget to post anything for a month or two.

Ode to Calder

Calder is SEVEN years old now. It feels like I forget how little he once was and is now becoming a young boy. This both excites and scares me, which I expect to continue to feel throughout his life.
Let's see...Calder loves Legos, he has lost 8 teeth, has had 3 cavities, rides his bike almost as well as I do mountain biking, likes his hair a little longer than his dad would like, has gained a tremendous amount of confidence in the water this year, can make his own PBJ sandwich, really likes soy sauce and pot stickers, likes to understand why and explanations for things but doesn't always like the answer and will sometimes make up his own answers which a lot of the time are funny and/or complex, he really likes Phineas and Ferb, Ninjago and Scooby-doo, doesn't love reading alone, has many intricate thoughts, is learning to debate and negotiate, still likes his back rubbed and hair played with, is learning to take pride in his appearances, loves to learn anything science related and can be very determined when he sets his mind to it.
Oh, and get this! One of his birthday presents was an itunes gift card and one of the songs he bought was "Mr. Roboto" by Styx - thank you Uncle Brian for the example you are.

News update...Johnson style

Well, we have been busy since the last post but no need to worry, it wasn't because we didn't have anything going on. I will break it down into months so it'll be easier to remember the order of things:
March - you saw the last post of Calder and Jeff's skip day and how much fun Jeff and Calder have spending time with each other. After that the boys got sick so we took them to the doctor and Calder was diagnosed with mild eczema which resulted getting a rash in an uncomfortable area after going to the hot springs and some kind of grass allergy while Phaelen had croup again and we were given a regime of allergy drugs to get the boys on when certain symptoms show up. With some happy news - we closed on a house! It is the same one as the pictures/video we posted earlier.
April - we moved into our house after A LOT of cleaning and painting (foreclosure) plus getting some appliances and furniture. We live farther away from Missoula, but we have lots of land and a house with lots of potential! Calder decided that he wanted to go to his new school before the summer so he could meet new friends to play with in the area and we didn't have to drive to his old school twice a day for the remaining 2 months of school. After awesome visits right away from family (Don, Angie, Belin, Grandma J, Teresa) we got a lot of work done and the boys have settled in really quickly. We even converted a shed outside to house yard tools and CHICKENS. We got 9 golden sex link chicks from Kathy and they will start laying eggs in a few months. Calder lost some teeth and learned to ride his bike too. Phaelen is keeping up and running around all the time and loves to help with chores.
May - The upstairs is mostly where we live and the garage is a disaster! We still haven't decided where everything should go and realize we need a lot more furniture and shelves. We are getting all of our utilities figured out and made our first mortgage payment which helped us realize that this could be our home for a VERY long time - and we started brainstorming plans for improvements and what we could afford realistically. Jo got to go on a "retreat" up to Spokane with Kris and Bethany too - it was fun!

June - The garage is basically organized and everything is in it's area but not completely because the downstairs isn't "ready" yet for a permanent decision and construction wise it's 85% finished. Calder finished the year at his new school - which is only 2 1/2 miles from our house and made some cool friends really quickly. We knew we'd add a dog to the mix sometime and were checking the pound and local breeders but didn't expect to have it work out so fast! We got our Airedale terrier puppy, named Gachet (Ga-shay) aka Gash in time for father's day and my birthday. Summer time adventures started popping up at any given time that Jeff wasn't working at the Fire Dept (we'll post more photos soon). Kelly, Drew and Kennadie came over and we had a fun time together and the weather is finally warm!

July- Calder turned 7 and we had a joint birthday celebration and had a fun family barbeque at Kathy & Dann's house. That is all up to this point but I'll post more...

Father and Son skip day

Teeth

Calder hasn't lost any teeth for almost a year, but that has changed in the last few weeks! He has his mom's long rooted teeth so wiggling isn't always fun and pulling up is necessary.
Calder has already lost the front bottom two teeth so now the ones next to those are getting ready to make way for bigger teeth. That little tooth on his bottom left front took nearly 3 weeks to finally pop out - it was over due so there was minimal bleeding but help was needed pulling it out. Then the very next day he says, "Mom I have another loose tooth!" This was surprising since the other three teeth had months between them. Low and behold, less than 4 days later his top right front tooth comes out, but there is a fun story to go with it.
We had just been down at Grandma Kathy's and Calder loves doing chores for money - so he had some serious cash, about $2.50. We live a street behind a grocery store so Calder declares, "I want to stop at the bakery and buy a huge doughnut with my money from chores". It was after 3pm so the doughnuts were marked down to 40cents instead of 75cents - so Phaelen got one too. We are headed home in the car and just as we pull into the driveway Calder says, "Mom, I think I ate my tooth. My mouth is bleeding!" I have to admit that I had mentioned (okay teased) that he might swallow his tooth biting into something because it was so loose and to be careful. Luckily, he still wanted to eat his doughnut and saw his tooth still stuck in there. Phaelen thought this was hilarious and with the two of them laughing they re-enacted the whole ordeal to emphasize how funny it really was. Plus every time Calder showed someone he lost another tooth the entire story had to be retold. So the tooth was saved - and doughnuts now have a funny memory in our family.
P.S. I may have to update this picture again soon because the bottom right front tooth is really loose now too!

 

 

 

Calder's holey smile

House hunting

Yep, we are in the process of looking at houses and this is one we really like...to be continued.

Annual Newsletter 2011

This last year has been overflowing with changes around our house. We have lived in Montana for an entire year now and we are here to stay! Winter lasted a super long time but the sun finally came to stay around May. Our summer was filled with outdoor adventures like canoeing, hiking, camping and biking. We have made a lot of new friends with young families like us but we still miss our friends from many places that we have lived these last 7 years. We moved to our own apartment in Lolo in September that has lots of space and is walking distance to the Elementary School. Now that we are starting to make roots here in the banana belt of Montana we are learning about purchasing a home. So if anyone wants to come visit us the door is open and food is served!

Jeff started the year working hard as a hospital security guard and going to Paramedic classes. He enjoyed skiing on his days off and having the days to spend with the boys. He had a lot of firefighter interviews all around the western US and was put on a few hiring lists. Jeff did well in the Montana Fire Consortium in June and filled out a lot of applications again. In July the City of Missoula's Fire Department offered Jeff a job as a Firefighter and he started work right away. He has a 1-year probation period, got a CDL license and he is still working on his Paramedic.

Johanna has been holding down the fort wrangling the boys and getting accustomed to the area. In August she traveled with the boys alone to the Oregon coast for a family reunion for her mom's family. She likes to work out and do all kinds of art. Refinishing furniture is also a new creative outlet for her and has even sold a couple pieces. She is now an Independent Distributor for a company called Choffy that sells brewed chocolate that is delicious and healthy. She hopes that in the next year she can focus on attaining her Bachelor’s degree again.

Calder finished kindergarten and has made a lot of new friends. He did really well in swimming lessons and next year he will be able to swim all by himself. He also did soccer this year with a company called Soccer Tots and learned a lot of skills. After we moved, we decided that another year of kindergarten (and growing) was best so he will be in 1^st grade next year. His teachers report that Calder is smart, amicable, cooperative, super coordinated and has the best handwriting and drawing skills they've seen in years!

Phaelen turned 3 in August and is growing up so fast. He talks a lot more and is understandable to most people, has a goofy sense of humor, likes playing with other kids and is already good with legos. Since he likes to do as many things as his older brother, Phaelen also participated in Soccer Tots, is starting to draw a lot more and is potty trained. He loves to be involved and help out with anything in the kitchen or handyman work.

We know that this new chapter in our lives is just beginning and we couldn't have done it without the love and support from our friends and family. We know that God has put us here at this time and we will try and make the best of it!

Jeff, Johanna, Calder & Phaelen

The Johnson Pack