For your viewing pleasure!

Father & son...what happy boys!







The Heceta Head Lighthouse on the Oregon coast...more to come on that trip next post!








Marc helping the girls fly their kites...the wind is almost always blowing here in P-town, yet now that we have kites...it seems to have died down!





And here we have cousins, Rachel and Carter. Rachel was born two days before Carter. Stay tuned for another post in the next day or two with details and more pics about our trip to Oregon!

Our Summer...in a few words

Okay, I've been told I'm not publishing the blog frequently enough, so let me sum up June and July in a few words, then I'll try to post some fun pictures to add some excitement to your day!

internship (Marc)
play practice, now performances (Whitney)
funerals
births
free lunches at the park
garden (yea...we've picked peas, broccoli, and Romain lettuce so far!oh, and one strawberry)
funerals
family reunion
Oregon trip
funerals
visitors (G&G T, Aunt Jamie + kids, G&G J)

I think that's about it...6 funerals & 5 births in 8 weeks to be exact for any wondering. I'm still trying to figure out how I only have 3 days left of July. School registration is next week for the kids...

so, I'll try to do better at posting news/pictures to keep all updated on the exciting happenings at the Johnson household!

Torgesen Reunion Fun!

So it's been a long while since we've posted any news from our household; it's not from lack of news, more from lack of priority, time, and any number of other excuses I can't currently think of. The beginning of July found us visiting with family, most of whom we haven't seen for almost a year! Jamie and her kids were able to come stay a couple days en route to the Torgesen Family Reunion held in Northern Idaho (Blanchard & Oldtown to be exact). We sure enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with family! Here are some pictures to tell the story! Thanks David, Elizabeth, Kara, Scott, and Andy & Andrea for caravanning with us through the night!



Here is Carter (8 months old at the time) with his Great-Grandma.








What a good looking couple! Aunt Kara and soon-to-be "Uncle Scott" enjoying dinner out on the deck!









Here's everyone enjoying the traditional Torgesen Ice Cream pig-out (can't have an official Torgesen gathering without said event) before the fireworks on the evening of the 4th.






Some of the great-grandkids, while hiking on a trail beside Lake Coeur d'Alene in Northern Idaho.




Here the kids are actually hiking along the trail...feel like you're right there with 'em? Just trying to give the play by play...

The picture at the top shows the actual Lake. Due to my lack of blogging skills, I'm not quite there when it comes to formatting and getting the pictures where I want them!



Ah, a shot of Granny & Gramps Torgesen w/ the Johnson grandkids at their new home/Great - Grandma's home, in Oldtown, ID! It's been fun having G&G T stop by on their way to/from Oldtown over the past year as they've prepared to move up there... our door is always open!

Odds and Ends

Here is a picture of Olivia on a horse (her dream come true). At the end of the school year, she got to spend a few minutes "riding" a horse on a field trip.





Bryce is standing beside some tortoises (I can't remember what type) during his spring field trip. We have a local pet store that has a large "petting zoo" attached and it is completely free. It includes a bird room, a monkey, ostrich, fish, chicks, ducklings, etc. The kids love to go there.




This picture is taken inside Holt Arena, where Whitney's 3rd grade class took a field trip to see the Dodge National Rodeo Circuit SemiFinal (I think?) set up and various groups had info booths and they met Smokey the Bear. Here Whitney is the shortest one, standing by a 50 lb backpack containing water (these guys help put out forest fires).



Here's Carter, enjoying some attention. He was 17.5 lbs at his 6 month checkup. Now he is 7 months old, and just cut his first tooth. He loves to eat and so far has loved everything that he has tried, including a smidge of homemade ice cream!









Here is Whitney standing in front of the Mystique Theater (a dinner theater). She auditioned and was given the part of munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. She'll be in about 15 shows (they'll do about 25-30) as she'll be assigned a "buddy" with whom she'll alternate performances. She has already started rehearsals and seems to love it so far. Anyone interested, the show runs July 10th thru August 25th (on Mondays, Thurs, Fri, & Sat each week). You can get tickets for dinner & show, or just the show only. We'd love for any and all to visit! It's a pretty cool place; you can read more about it at www.mystiquetheater.com

Now that school is out, we are looking forward to free lunch (for kids) at the park M-F each week until the middle of August, a family reunion at the beginning of July, and attempting a garden. Should be a fun summer!

First time for Everything...

So we all our first time for everything moments...right? Well, a week or so ago, Olivia and I shared a "first" moment for both of us! Just a quick bit of history, Olivia lost her first tooth in April while we were visiting the Speckhards at Bear Lake (in UT). Kathleen did a great job gently pulling the tooth out as I stood by watching. I honestly don't recall ever pulling a tooth out in my life (none of my own, Whitney's or Bryce's). I remember eating a bowl of Alpha Bits cereal once and realizing a tooth had come out while I was chewing, and I remember going to the Dentist because several of my teeth had changed color (becoming transparent) and the Dr. told my mom to give me an apple or lots of caramels and the teeth would come right out (I was afraid to let anyone touch them...and yes, they were loose). Anyhow, I digress...
Last week, Olivia had been complaining that her teeth hurt when she ate. Knowing she had a loose tooth, Marc tried one night to look at it and attempt to pull it out. Olivia refused to let him touch it, and barely allowed him to even see it. After MANY tears on her part, she finally went to bed with the tooth still intact. The next morning over breakfast, she began to cry again, saying it hurt too bad to eat, yet she was hungry and wanted to eat. Marc had left for his internship, Bryce and Whitney were at school, and Olivia actually allowed me to look closely at her tooth. It was ready to come out. So after a long talk with Olivia, mainly to get the tears to stop, I convinced her to let me "wiggle" the tooth for awhile. Although I played games to wiggle the tooth and have her forget about the possibility of having it pulled out, I was buying myself some time to get up the gumption to actually reach in my daughter's mouth and yank a tooth out (remember, I have NEVER done this before). Olivia did ask if we could "please go to Provo to Sister Speckhard's house so she could pull it out, because she does it so nicely". I finally persuaded her and myself that we could get this tooth out without either of us dying, and lo and behold, after two false attempts (yes, it slipped out of my fingers....what can I say, again, it's my first time) the tooth was removed, Olivia was still smiling, and I did not faint or turn colors! So now Olivia has a beautiful smile with her two middle bottom teeth missing.


Back in April, Bryce had his routine dental check-up and the Dentist suggested pulling five of his bottom teeth because his baby teeth were so tiny, and the adult teeth trying to come in had no room. So here are a couple of Pics of Bryce, brave boy that he is, with and without teeth.

A Champion Among Us!

Because of Marie's humility and modesty I will be the one to share the exciting news! Our ward held their 2nd annual chili cook-off / talent show tonight and Marie's pot o' chili took top honors. I did not get a chance to taste the delectable dish as I was busy pretending to be an MC for the talent show, but her chili was the talk of the night. She promises to post the ad-hoc recipe at a later date. Congrats Sweetie! We all knew you could beat the 9 year old from last year :)


Our family was able to share some of our talents with the ward, even though you will notice that we were missing one during the performance. (Small bit of last minute stage fright) Thanks goes out to Mom Torgesen for teaching us this song (Down By the Old Mill Stream). Hopefully we didn't hash it up too badly. As you can see Whitney definitely loves the spotlight.

G & G J Visit

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson were able to make the Utah/Idaho
grandchildren circuit at the beginning of April. We werehappy to have them with us for a couple of days.

We were fed well via Grandpa's treat to a local buffet and enjoyed every minute of their visit.

Carter was able to see what he will look like in 60 years. Don't worry Carter it could be worse :)



G & G J are welcome anytime as well as any other family or friends.