Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and More!

This year Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent with us and the all the Johnson family(ben's parents and brothers). We had a wonderful time!

Christmas Eve we headed to Mesa and spent a nice evening with Ben's uncle Steve. They had a feast of homemade tamales, ham balls(which are a tradition and good too), and gift exchanges with all the little ones. Great Grandma Opal gives all her great grandchildren pajamas which they look forward to!

Then we went home and woke up to Santa gifts and our kids excitement~We opened gifts and then headed up the hill to Prescott. We had a nice Christmas dinner with everyone. Grandma and Grandpa Johnson gave all their gifts to the kiddos which again gave a thrill to the kids! The choice for the boys this year were transformers and the girls got dolls and dance things! Saturday we went target shooting. I decided to go with all the boys and the kids. It was sooo fun! The kids shot the bee bee guns and I shot a 22 shotgun and a 9mm handgun(boy does that one have power). I did realize even more how powerful guns are though. Later that night the kids went swimming at the hotel we were staying at and then we played Uno Attack with the kids. Sunday was relaxing. We headed home Monday. It was very cold all days we were there, but the kids loved bundling up in heavy coats and before we went home we stopped off so the kids could throw snow balls at eachother for awhile!

What a Christmas! We spent it enjoying family and remembering our Savior~

-J

Christmas Things...

We had a Christmas Party at my mom's house! It was so much fun. All the little kids and us adults enjoyed the spirit of the season. We had a mexican buffet of foods and treats to fill our stomachs! We sang in Christmas music, read the 'christmas story', had the nativity, Abby sang a solo of 'Away in a Manger' (which we learned in one day-and she did awesome), the cousins exchanged gifts and loved their toys and trinkets! Mom's home was filled with Christmas colors and decor which made even more enjoyable. One of the biggest surprises was Santa coming to visit the Hill house. The kids were just too excited! Good company for sure!

My sister also graduated from ASU so Abby and I went and we cheered our Jessica on as she got her diploma and topped it off with some ice cream. Bentley loves her cousin Abby and vice versa! They had fun together.

Then we had the opportunity to see the Temple lights with Ryan, Aimee, Pyper and Gaje. Mom and Dad came too!

So far, we have delighted in the season!

Ornaments and Dancing!

Dance and Tumbling

You can't get better

than this. Abby has been tapping and doing a little lyrical ballet and Tyler has been tumbling. They just had their recital. It was a lot of fun to see them get up there and perform in front of people. They did such a great job and we are so proud of them! Thanks both to both sets of grandparents and Uncle Jodie and the boys for coming out and supporting them!

We love putting up our tree every year! This year was no exception. We started off reading a 'Christmas Story' from our collection and putting on the 'holiday tunes' for inspiration. Then the kids helped out from beginning to end with hot chocolate in hand!

Lunch and Rainbows!

I volunteered at the kids school. I am the 'art masterpiece' lady! I come with my poka-dot apron and I teach them about different artists and then we do an art/craft. I have really enjoyed it so far.

Well, afterward I had time to help out some more so I was testing some kids today for progress reports. Most of them were doing so well and I had some cute responses that just made me laugh.

I told them words and they were supposed to tell me what group they belonged to such as: green, yellow and red. I asked the child what group and the child responded--- "of course, in rainbows" :))) It was the cutest, but not right. The right answer was colors.

Another child was asked what pizza, chicken nuggets, salad, and chips belonged to and he responded frankly, " lunch"!:)) Again too cute, but not right. Right answer being food.

I just had to 'jot' this down because I love to remember things that made me smile.

J

Thanksgiving!

Thursday of course is the big 'TURKEY DAY'! We enjoyed every second of it! We came over Weds. night and spent the night over at Nana Hill's house (which is my mom's house). We took walks, swam in the hot tub and the pool(they heated just for the day) in fact the kids swam every day! They had a blast. I love that they can swim independently now.:) The kids had fun making crafts, coloring, watching 'holiday' movies with popcorn and just running around. Papa Hill also took the kiddos on jeep rides and the finale was getting a treat from the store. We, adults, took naps, cleaned, cooked and prepared for the big dinner. Nana brined the turkey this year and it was fabulouso! I always love Thanksgiving dinner because you eat foods that you don't normally eat all year round. Thanks Nana and Papa Hill for a great Thanksgiving weekend.

Thanksgiving

Friday was a full day too! Ben and I made breakfast for everyone---Homemade Waffles, hash browns and bacon! Then all the 'girls' went to a movie, boutique and lunch while the boys took all the kids for a bike ride along the green belt. We had a good time chatting and being 'girls'! The boys said the kids had a really good time biking! It was such a nice day that day to be outside. In one of these pics, is all the dad's with the kids eating some Chiptole and Mcdonald's! hee. hee..
Also, Papa Hill made a race track out of the garage and driveway for the kids to ride their scooters and bikes.. This has been a tradition for the past couple of years and the kids love it! We tried to play games as well.. Justin and Katey were the ring leaders one night on the patio. Also, there is a pic with a pool table in it. Well, these little boys would spend a lot of time rolling the balls back and forth trying to get them in the holes (I guess, this was there way of playing 'pool')!:) Good times.....

Thanksgiving

This was Saturday of our 'mini family reunion' and we went for a little hike, four wheeling and played in the sand by the lake. Oh and of course had 'turkey' sandwiches! Gobble, Gobble.... Tyler wasn't too sure of the four wheelers, but was excited to ride with Uncle Justin. Pyper (my niece) in the red ready to go for hike -"She asks, 'where's my baby?" hee. The kids love riding in Papa's truck (cheap entertainment- got to love it) and say cheese 'Jodi(my sis) and Katey(my sister in law) and taking a moment-- Mom and Samantha! Everday was so much fun with everyone!

A chicken in the front yard--What??

Woke up--scooted the kids to school... Got them in the car? "Mommy, what is that sound.." I replied, "A strange bird, as it was flying away." Then out of the corner of my eye, I see a white chicken tottling up my driveway making all sorts of noise.. I bursted out in laughter! You can say that it made my morning as well as the kids! It was like a cow would be walking down the streets of New York City-- A chicken in my front yard--What???

The most ironic part of it all, is that I know a friend who had a chicken that went missing yesterday!!! MMMMMMmmmmmhhhhh--interesting?;0

J

A Happy Old Man?!

Every morning or early evening I see this older man in our neighborhood. And actually he lives about 4 or 5 blocks north of us, but when I drive or go walking he is always out. He always waves and when we walk he says hello or makes a nice comment on the family or kids. He is always does yard work. His house is by the park so he is seen often picking up or sweeping around the park. I also see him taking small walks down the street, broom in hand, talking with other neighbors or sweeping rocks off the sidewalks ect.. This morning I even saw him on another street sweeping again, waving again. Amazing! It actually brightens my spirits when I see him. Here is a man that has lived a long time and probably experienced many different times, old, retired and always chipper wanting his surroundings to be better. It got me thinking about how I should be and what kind of person I want to be more often!

---Thanks to the happy old man down the street, broom in hand!:)

J

I have an awesome husband! I know he thinks I am awesome too, but this post is about him! Tyler has been kinda asthmatic lately(last week), had to miss school and then he caught a cold which made things worse for a bit. I was worried like a mother should be and my hubby 'picks' me up (metaphorically) and lets me know it is going to be ok even though we don't have insurance(long story--will have some in January) and I am freaking out inside that he might have the 'swine' flu(my imagination runs wild of how sick he could actually get meanwhile, no insurance--not good--not swine flu by the way).

Well, he tells me guess what...?... we have the 'Lord on our side, sweetie.' I nod and tell him I know, but...... Well, I did my little mommy prayers throughout the days and with the help of calling in a prescription, being dedicated to breathing treatments and having faith my little boy is getting better!

Hubby cleaned, cooked, did laundry so that I could keep my eye on my sweet Tyler! I am grateful for such an awesome partner in life and for my sweet kids! I learn and grow from them all the time.

J

What we've Been Doing Lately!

I had soooo many pictures because I lost my camera and was slacking on posting, lately.So, LOOK DOWN/SCROLL DOWN after reading! I've been super busy since the fall break! Well, the pictures consist of our trip up to Flagstaff, Sedona and Prescott. We really had a good time. Ben took a few days off and so we decided to take advantage of the fall time and see the change of colors in the mountains. And boy did we ever! The pictures don't do it justice. We went on several hikes and just enjoyed spending quality time as a family. When we were on our way home, we jumped right into the Johnson Family Reunion! We had such a good time. We went to the zoo, did some dry canning (for a food storage, can never be too prepared), celebrated Uncle Jodie's birthday, spent time at Saguaro lake and then to end things everyone came over our way for church and for a nice lunch at our house. We always enjoy getting together! We were tired afterwards, but it is always worth it. Then came Halloween. Friday night we went to our trunk or treat and then Saturday we headed out to Jessica and Mike's for a dinner and gathering of candy! Thanks Jessica for having us over-- we had a good time. Tyler was Spiderman, Abby was a Balerina and Benji was a bee!

Quote from Tyler: (we are going to church the day after Halloween) "mom, can we do Halloween all over again? I had sooo sooo soooo soooo much fun?"

J

Thanks Mom and Dad Hill

I just wanted to publically thank my mom and dad! I put in a call on Sunday evening stating we had a problem behind our fridge. Our valve went bad and was slowly leaking! Well, dad knows a thing or two so he offered to come and help! They originally came out on Monday evening and he tried to fix it, but the new valve was not working. Well, we made the best of it and I made them dinner, we ate outside(beautiful night), then mom planned a lesson, activity and cupcakes for FHE! sigh,,,,,how nice!:))

Well, I worked today and the previous two days so life has been crazy, but mom usually comes out every so often and watches the kids so I can work! I really do appreciate that she does this because she does it for free and the kids love their Nana! So, today dad came with mom to fix the valve (this time it worked), then he also fixed our toilet which hasn't worked for months and then he washed our windows on the outside plus our screens! When I walked through the door after work, my heart felt so overwhelmed by the help! They did some of this without me having ask too! I feel very loved. So, again thank you , thank you , thank you! Ben, I and the kids appreciate the love, support and kindness!

I've been working more this year and Ben has been working a lot of overtime so that we can live in our home and live our life. It has been a little stressful at times, but having good family and friend support has been one of the reasons we have been doing good and getting by!

with a full heart,

J

Lots of stuff going on!!!

So,

We've been doing all sorts of things in the past few weeks. Tyler and Abby had both of their school cottages which we all went to, even dad! Abby sang some of her songs she's been learning and had a book full of projects they have been doing. Tyler has been learning all about rocks, soil and minerals in science. Their class made volcanoes! How fun! We got to see his volcano explode. Tyler was so excited about it.

Then we had the opportunity to go to the zoo with friends. We always like the zoo and they had the splash area on which made even more fun too!

Abby had 'cRaZy hAt' day at school and she was so proud of her homemade hat, we had to take a picture! By the way, in this house if something is being done or made the other usually has to jump in so Tyler made one too! I loved helping them do this--creativity at its best!