Johnsons' Journey

Since it’s the beginning of yet ANOTHER week, I thought I’d  better check in with ya’ll … Though, other than a whole lot of bowling (what else would we be doing?! ), there isn’t much else going on.

We’ve been to the bowling alley every day from Wednesday through last night. The kids wanted to go last Tuesday too, but Joe was super tired and couldn’t talk himself into it… What are those kids going to do when school starts back up and we won’t be able to go even half as much as we do now? They are going to go through some serious bowling withdrawals! … But maybe then we can stay home and I can actually get some work done on some of my projects, instead of spending half my time at the bowling alley.

At the Wednesday’s “Have-A-Ball” league, Josh bowled yet another new high game! His high game is now 209! Amazing! He seems to bowl best at the Wednesday league, for some unknown reason.

On Saturday we finished paying for, and got, the new bowling balls from the Have-A-Ball league… We had wanted to do it on Friday, but the lanes were CRAZY BUSY, and Shawn (the owner) just didn’t have time to drill the balls. He said he would be in at 5:00 on Saturday, so we went in there, planning on having dinner there as well (we’re eating at the bowling alley WAY TOO MUCH).

The boys, including Joe, were SO EXCITED about getting their new balls… They are nothing fancy. Just plain balls, unlike the ones we bought the boys for Christmas, which are reactive (will curve, if you hook them right), these are just for straight bowling… But that didn’t stop them from being excited. *lol* … In fact, when we got there and were climbing out of the Durango, Jared says, “Getting a new bowling ball is more exciting than having a new baby!”

I beg to differ!

Bet he’ll change his mind once he grows up and becomes a Daddy himself.

Josh… being Josh… has named his balls. His reactive ball is called “Hulk”, because it’s the same colors as the Incredible Hulk. His new ball, which is green and black, is named, “Josh Johnson Jr”, because Josh’s name is on the box the ball came in.

Anyway, Joe… being Joe… had to name his ball too. His ball is patriotic colors, so he named it “Betsy”, after Betsy Ross… OMWord, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Joe this excited about getting something new. He was teasing me that I would have to sit in the back seat with the girls, because Betsy needed to be buckled into the front seat, next to him… Then, in the middle of the night, he was busy tooting in bed. I was getting annoyed, so I woke him up and told him that to either go to the bathroom, or at least aim his rear in the other direction. He just looks over at me and says, “You’re just jealous because I got a new bowling ball!”

I swear, 99% of the time he acts like one of the kids!

Amanda’s been bowling a little more than normal… Of course, when Shelby is there (Shawn, the owner’s daughter) she doesn’t want to bowl, because she would rather play with Shelby. But on both Saturday and Sunday she bowled her free games… In fact, on Saturday she ended up bowling 5 games, which she has never done before… She didn’t bowl on Friday though. She decided she wanted to color instead. She wanted to draw me something…

Amanda: “What’s your 2nd favorite animal, Mama?”
Mama: “A cougar.”
Amanda: “But I can’t draw a cougar.”
Mama: “Well, what can you draw?”
Amanda: “Butterflies!”
Mama: “Then that’s my favorite animal.”

So she drew me a picture of some butterflies.

The girls finally got their league shirts on Sunday. We paid for them in April, when the league first started, and Coach Mick ordered them from USBC right away… But MAN, are they slow! Alicia’s been rather impatiently waiting for them since then, and was SO EXCITED when they finally came… Just in time for our last summer league night next Sunday. *lol* … But at least they will have them for the fall league.

It’s weird to think that all the summer bowling leagues are just about over. There is only one more Sunday night “Some-R-Kids” league, two more of the Wednesday night “Have-A-Ball” leagues, and two more of the free kids league on Thursday… The fall league starts up again on September 18th.

Let’s see… What else is going on…

Oh, I know… Jared FINALLY lose another tooth. It had been almost 3 years since he lost his last one. This was tooth #9… So yes, he’s 12 1/2 years old and still has all his baby molars. *lol* … It came out faster than it probably should have… About a week ago it was barely loose. But then he accidentally wiggled it too hard. He heard a cracking sound, and his tooth was painfully much looser. Then, when he lost it, he was wiggling it and accidentally pushed it out, when he meant to push it down. He said it hurt, and it was bleeding a bit. Poor guy! … But at least it’s out!

Our newest kitten, CeeCee is SUCH a baby! … You know how some babies like to be walked, and the moment you sit down, they start to cry, and you have to get up and walk until you feel like your feet and arms are going to fall off? … Well, we never had that issue with any of our kids, but CeeCee is Just. Like. That… Seriously! She always wants to be held by whoever is standing. As soon as you sit down, she’s off and running to find someone else who’s standing/walking around. It is so funny! She will perch herself up over the shoulder, and stay there… As long as said person is upright and moving.

When we’re not at the bowling alley, I’ve been continuing to work on my heritage blog. I am currently working on typing out my Mom’s story she wrote, that is pretty long. I think it’s already over 7000 words long, and I still have some more to type out… I’ve also been googling places she mentions and getting pictures to go with it. Those pictures will go into the heritage book I am making.

Speaking of heritage books, the other day I sent an Email out to all the family on the Andersen side, asking if people would be willing to write some short stories about current families… But so far, no one has replied. I have no idea if anyone is willing to do it or not. *sigh* … Maybe they are just waiting to get it typed out, and then they will Email me?!?! … But it sure would be nice if they sent something that said they would get back to me, or that they would rather not… Whatever…. It just would be nice to know one way or the other.

I’ve also been working on lesson plans… The school year is sneaking up on us fast! … I now have the entire years lessons done for Josh, Alicia, and Amanda. I still have to finish Jared’s. I am about half way done… Then, all I will have to do to get ready for school is to get their binders ready to go, and print out the lesson plans… Need to buy ink for that first though.

Well… I suppose I’ve bored you long enough! See ya on the flip side!

I can’t believe it’s August already! … This is our last month of summer vacation. … The summer just FLEW by, faster than they normally do. Probably because we were busier this summer, than we normally are. I will be so sad to see the summer turn into a wet, Oregon fall, filled with school work and rain. *lol*

I measured and weighed the kids yesterday. I try to do it a couple times a year, but it seems I haven’t done it since last December. Ooops! … But I also noticed that I had done it last August too, almost to the day. So it was fun to be able to see exactly what they’ve grown in the last year.

Jared is now 4 ‘ 10.5″ and weighs 70.4 lbs. In the last year he has gained 3.25 inches and 8.6 pounds.
Josh is now 4′ 9.5″ and weighs 82.8 lbs. In the last year he has gained 2.5 inches and 11.2 pounds.
Alicia is now 4′ 7″ and weighs 70 lbs. In the last year she has gained 3 inches and 12 pounds.
Amanda is now 3′ 10″ and weighs 38.8 lbs. In the last year she has gained 2 inches and 2.6 pounds.

Jared is now only 1 1/2 inches shorter than I am, and is LOVING the fact that he is almost as tall as I am. Of course, he also loves the fact that he is a full inch taller than Josh, for a change… But Josh wasn’t impressed with that. He wants to be taller than Jared. (At least he still outweighs Jared by a good 12 pounds! )

On Saturday, I planned on doing some work in the classroom. I was hoping to get some work done in there, and then asking Joe if we could hit Kmart in the evening… So I got a lazy start to my morning, and didn’t really start my morning chores until 10:30, figuring I had lots of time.

Not so much.

Joe calls me from work at 11 o’clock, saying that his sister had invited us over to their house for a BBQ at 2:00, and that after that we would be going bowling.

So much for my plans.

So I finished cleaning the kitchen, did my workout (45  minutes), and took a shower… At around 1:45 we left to go to the Mewings.

I was thinking that we would be eating at 2:00… But they wanted to watch some Brooks and Dunn special that they had recorded off TV. I usually eat lunch at 1:00, as my little bowl of instant oatmeal from breakfast is long gone by then. So I was pretty much starving when we got there, and Scott didn’t even start BBQing until 4 o’clock. *sigh* If I had known they were going to wait so long, I would have eaten lunch as soon as I was out of the shower.

By the time we got to the bowling alley, I pretty much just wanted to go home. I was tired, and my feet were complaining about the shoes. I was glad when it was time to come home. *lol*

We had to be up early on Sunday, so we could get to church on time. I’ve started getting the kids up at 7:30, instead of 8:00, and we’ve managed not to be late the last 3 weeks. Yay! *lol*

It was communion Sunday, and since we had already talked about the meaning behind communion, and Jared’s been born again since he was 5, Jared took his first communion. I was so proud! He is growing up to be such a wonderful young man, and it makes my heart happy that he’s made the decision to follow Christ. … After the service was over, we went up front and I took a couple pictures. They didn’t turn out the greatest, as both Jared and I felt weird doing it, but I am still glad that I got what I did. I needed a picture to commemorate the day.

After church, Joe took us to Pizza Hut, in Oregon City, for lunch. (Yum!) Then we went to Kmart, since we weren’t able to go on Saturday… I thought it was sweet that Joe would give up his Sunday afternoon, which is his only lazy day, so we could hit Kmart.

We needed to get the kids fall/winter clothes on layaway, and Alicia has been dying to go get her first training bra. *lol*

And boy, is she happy with those bras! … At first she went to look at the ones with the A cups, and I had to tell her that she is not ready for those yet. So I found her a 2-pack of simple, cotton training bras. I wasn’t to get another set, but it was the only one in her size, in every brand… Anyway, they sure make them a lot softer and more comfy looking than my first bra! … And thankfully, the set came with a white one and a pink one. She had really wanted a pink one! … We’ll have to look at Walmart this weekend and see if we can find her a couple more, since Kmart didn’t have anymore in stock.

By the time we got back to Molalla it was 3:30, but we didn’t have to be at the bowling alley (for the kids’ league) until 5 o’clock. Joe didn’t want to go all the way home (we live 7 miles outside of town), so we just stopped by the small park in town to kill some time. The girls played on the playground, and the boys tried to learn how to play with their hacky-sack… without much luck. *lol*

At around 4:30-ish we headed to the bowling alley… The league doesn’t start until 6:00, but we figured that the kids could bowl their two free games before the league started. Normally we get two lanes, but this time we had Alicia and the boys share one lane, just to drag things out a little. *lol*

By the time they were done with the league, Joe and I were more than ready to go home. *lol* … I was thankful that Joe works late on Mondays, and I knew I wouldn’t have to go anywhere!

As for Monday, besides doing some housework and laundry, I decided to get some work done in the classroom. I had finally bought some banker boxes, so I packed up last year’s work and put that in our closet. Then I got the new workbooks put away in the kids’ cubbies, and I also put all the 7th grade stuff on the shelf. I also got the 7th grade teacher binder ready to go.

All that’s left, to get ready for school, is to finish the lesson plans and get the kids’ binders done… I have ordered those from Walmart.com (as they never seem to have enough at Walmart when we go), so I will finish that as soon as they get here.

Joe ended up working late yesterday, and he was feeling too tired to drive, so he ended up crashing at his sister’s house, which is a LOT closer to his work than we are (he has about an hour commute, one way). I was teasing him about having a sleep-over with Gene, since his sister is spending the summer at the farm, working for the Toepfers. *lol* … Turns out that Joe didn’t get much sleep at all, and while he was glad that he didn’t have the extra driving, he would have gotten more sleep at home… So he’ll be home tonight.

Well… Guess that’s all… It’s been nice boring you, but I should run! … See ya on the flip side!

This morning I measured and weighed the kids. I like to do this every so often, because I am one of those obessive type of moms that keep track of everything. *lol* … I was shocked to see that Jared has grown 3 1/4 inches in the last year! He is now only 1 1/2 inches shorter than I am… And he couldn’t be more thrilled! … Now, for his age, Jared really isn’t all that tall. I’m sure that he will never be shopping in the big and tall clothing stores. He has too much of the short Evans genes in him for that… But, he seems to be making up for some lost time in the growth department, as he normally doesn’t grow that much in one year.

Man! What. On. Earth. Is. Up. With. Our. Summer. Vacation?!?! … We are seriously lacking in summer weather over here in NW Oregon. It was probably close to the beginning of July before the rain finally stopped for more than a day at a time, and I think we had a couple weeks where the temps were up in the high 80s and low 90s … But for the last week or so, it’s been cloudy in the mornings, and only warming up into the upper 70s.

I have a HUGE fear that fall will be here before we really get the chance to enjoy summer. *sigh*

So it’s time to party in the sun now, while we still can! Bring out the lawn chairs and the outdoor fireplace, and let’s have a weiner roast and enjoy summer while it lasts!!!

Since spending March-June working on that huge digi-scrap project, I haven’t been able to talk myself into do it since. I know I am going to have to get some layouts done soon… Unless I want to be kicked out of all my creative teams. *lol* … Plus, there are all the projects that are coming out… A special photo book for Joe, for our anniversary. The heritage book I am working on. Christmas photo cards, etc.

So much to do… So little time (and energy)!!!

Quote of the Day:

Amanda: “Daddy, can you get me a baby sister, please?”
Daddy went pale after that… I think she almost gave him a heart attack!

It seems unreal that I have been blogging for 8 years now… EIGHT YEARS! … Amazing! Who would have thought back then, that I would still be going strong 8 years later. Though, I admit, I probably would have thought that I would be getting more visitors/comments than I do now. *lol* Funny thing is, most of my loyal readers from back in those days no longer blog/blog hop (and I’ve lost contact with most of them), but I always seem to pick up new readers along the way… Crystal, I think you are the only person who has been reading since day 1, and is still here… But you’re stuck, since you’re family.

I like to go back and read through old posts. It’s like watching the kids grow up again. You don’t know how thankful I am, that I have taken the time to journal for so many years. So many memories, saved forever. Things I would have forgotten.

My plan is to put all my journaling into book form, by way of Blurb. I am working on the first book… You can add up to 440 pages, and I am on page 328. This first book actually contains pre-blog journaling (which I have also added to my blog), dating (so far) from May 1992 to April 2000. I didn’t write as often back pre-blog, so I can fit more years into the book… Though, I would fit a LOT more if I stuck with just journaling. But, you know me! I have to add pictures too! They enhance the journaling, don’t you think?!

Speaking of Blurb books, I have another one in the works as well. It’s for my family, and my Mom’s side of the family. It’s called “Passage to India … and Beyond” … It’s a heritage book on my Mom’s side of the family. I am adding family lines, photos, and stories (etc) that I have collected over the years. It’s turning out really cool so far, if I do say so myself! … When it’s done, I will buy myself and my Mom a copy, and then let anyone else who wants a copy, buy one. (Sadly, I can’t afford to buy all the Andersen relatives a copy myself.)

Another thing I’ve been working on this week is lesson plans… Every year I wait until half way through August, and then PANIC, because I start running out of time. But this year will be different. No end of summer rush to get ready for the school year. *lol* … Our summer vacation goes through Labor Day, and we start school then.

I am almost done buying the things we need for the school year. I just need more ink and paper for the printer, and I need 3 more 3″ binders. I think I need a 2″ binder too, but I am not 100%. I can’t remember if I bought one with the rest of the school supplies or not. *lol* I will have to look tomorrow, when I do some work in the classroom… I finally bought some banker boxes, so I can pack up last year’s work and put the new workbooks into the kids’ school cubbies. That’s my Saturday project for this weekend.

Another thing I would like to do tomorrow, if we have time, is make a trip to Kmart… A few weeks back Alicia wore a shirt that was a little smaller than she normally does, and I noticed that we need to start thinking of getting her some training bras. I figured we still had a few more months, and I also thought that Alicia would not be impressed with having to wear one… But I was wrong! … When I told her, she got all excited. She wants a pink one! And she wants them NOW! … She’s been bugging us about it ever since, and is DYING to go to the store to buy some.

Who knew?!

We also need to buy the kids some fall/winter clothes… They’ve been wearing short this summer, so you don’t notice how much they grow… This morning, Amanda came out with a pair of jeans on. Now the last time she wore them, they fit perfect. She came to me, asking me to button them… But they wouldn’t even come close to buttoning, and were an inch or more too short. … I told her to put some shorts on… Time to move her up into size 6 clothes! (Just in time for her 7th birthday! *lol* … I can’t believe she’ll only be in size 6, when she’s 7 years old… She sure is tiny!)

We, of course, have spent a lot of time at the bowling alley this week… One thing is for sure, all this free bowling, thanks to kidsbowlfree.com, has been great practice for the boys! … On thier Sunday league, Jared got 5 strikes in a row, and ended up with a 199! It’s not his high game, which is 203, but it’s his high league game. We thought that come this Sunday, Jared would probably win the blockbuster award for highest-over-average game… That is, until Wednesday… When Josh bowled a 206 at the Have-A-Ball League!!!! TWO-OH-SIX!!!! … How awesome is that! It’s his highest game ever, and he even beat out Jared’s high by 3 pins! … That kid was on cloud 9, trust me.

We didn’t do too much else this week… Jared and Josh spent Wednesday night with the twins, and then the twins came here on Thursday night… Oh, and tonight Scott, Debbie, and the twins stopped by, after we all went bowling, because Joe was giving Scott some yard stuff… So we bought some ice cream and visited for a while.

Well… Not much else going on. Think I’ll run for now! See ya on the flip side!

Jared is always asking questions about something… Well, Jared is always talking, PERIOD, but that’s neither here nor there… … Lately, he’s been wondering a lot about the difference in owning a business (or restaurant, or whatever) and owning a franchise. He’s always asking me about whether or not a certain place (like McDonald’s) is individually owned, or part of a franchise… Usually I have no idea, but I answer the best I can. *lol* … Next thing I know, he’ll be asking me which is the best franchise to own!

Joe works a lot of hours, so he tends to get very tired… He’s working 7 days a week, between his two jobs. By Sunday he is totally wiped out. So, after we go to church, we come home and I make lunch. He usually eats his lunch in bed, while watching some TV, and then he sleeps for the rest of the afternoon, just trying to catch up on some of the sleep he’s missed throughout the week… The light from the windows doesn’t seem to bother him at all. He can pretty much sleep anywhere, and at any time! … As for me, I like the room to be dark. I would have to get roller shades or something to make the room darker in the day, if I wanted to get a decent nap in.

I’ve been working on my heritage blog a lot lately, typing out stories that older family members have sent me, about my great grandparents and their lives on farms in India, as well as their work in the mission field. There are also stories on my grandparents and their siblings… When talking about my Grandpa Andersen, everyone says the same thing about him… That he was a very “clever and creative” man. My mom’s cousin, Joan, even said that he should have been an engineer, as talented as he was at things… I guess if he were alive today, he could take advantage of things like CAD drawings… But, as it were, he went to school for a degree in agriculture.

Why is it that, ever since we had kids, Joe’s and my things are pushed to the back burner. *lol* … For example, when it comes to the house. We are always doing these great matching themes in the kids’ rooms, and of course we try and keep the living room, kitchen, etc looking nice, for when people visit… But when you get to the master bedroom, you get a collection of miss-matched everything?! … I mean, it’s well orgnanized, but the bed spread doesn’t even match the valance, and we haven’t even gotten around to painting the room yet. … Maybe someday we can turn it into those really nice master bedrooms, like you see on TV. You know the type… Oak furniture, fancy cedar chests, matouk linens, etc.

Hey… One can dream, right? *lol*