Jamaica!

 

Jeremy works really hard at work.  This year he worked REALLY hard.  Hard enough to have earned a spot as one of the top 25 producers in his company last year, which qualified he and a guest (me! me!) for an all expenses paid trip to Jamaica.  This is where I am so thankful that we live near family and that I have a mother that didn't mind exhausting herself for 5 days while my children ran her ragged.  Love, love, love you Mom and Jeff!  Even just flying into the airport in Montego Bay was breathtaking, the water was so turquoise and the trees were so green.  We felt like we were in a fairytale as our driver took us to the resort we would be staying at.  This is a place that we would never be able to afford to stay at and it was absolutely gorgeous.  Our suite had a patio that walked straight out to a private beach.  The water was warm and clear, and it was sunny and hot the whole time.  We ate amazing food and got to go snorkeling, seeing the most colorful, beautiful fish and coral.  One day we went on a zip line course that took you through the rainforest overlooking the ocean.  It was pretty terrifying, especially the suspended platform and the drops straight down, but really fun once you got past all of that.  We were also able to swim with the dolphins and actually on them!  That was an experience I will never forget.  We felt so spoiled and so grateful to be treated to a vacation of a lifetime.  It was so relaxing to be able to get up whenever we wanted to and not to have any responsibilities for a few days.  Funny how we missed those little buggers of ours though.  Maybe we can all go back to this paradise someday.

The Johnson FIVE!

The youngest Johnson turned a whopping high five today.  Five is a big deal in this house, it means starting school soon and getting some "big kid" responsibilities.  Mason has been talking about his birthday since April 10th of last year, planning and replanning all the details from his friend party (still to come) to what kind of cake he wants and where to go out to eat, etc.  He woke up this morning telling everyone happy birthday and laughing at the silliness of that, then opening his gifts,( legos!  super hero stuff!) and eating a mountain of donut holes for breakfast.  Our day involved a lot of running around since tomorrow Jeremy and I hop off to Jamaica for a few days and I had to get the kids and the dog ready for their perspective stay-overs, but they did sing to him at swim class and we did indeed go out to eat at Red Robin and then to Grandma's for cake and ice cream after which we tucked our three munchkins in there to stay and are now home in a very empty quiet house.  Of all of my boys, Mason may be my most difficult.  Mostly because he is a STUBBORN little guy that isn't afraid to speak his mind and plant his feet.  Sometimes he wants to be one of the big boys and do things on his own, without help, but sometimes he likes to stay the baby and regresses to asking for help with socks and shoes he's been putting on himself for years.  As frustrating as this can get, I often take a deep breath and realize most of the time this means he needs some more attention (even though it's always when I'm in a hurry!) and more of his mama.  Man this kid is clever and can reason his way out of anything.  When he is in a great mood I could just eat him up and his facial expressions make him fit for a camera career.  We sure do love this little guy and hope he keeps pushing us to our limit so we can evolve into better parents, pr at least more patient ones.

Hoppy Easter

Spring Break in our county always comes the week before Easter.  This year we were expecting to get a young puppy over the break and did not make any fun plans besides housebreaking and getting to know our new little one.  Since we got Baldwin earlier and he is older, we had some free time for play dates, time at the pool and playground in the not so springlike weather.  It even snowed on Monday!  For our actual Easter, Grandma and Jeff came over for our feast and we took the dog cousins to the tennis courts for some play time.  Jeremy introduced the kids to the movie Ben Hur, and Mason promptly fell asleep.  The older kids enjoyed the "fighting parts."  We also skyped with our cousins in Australia and wished them here in our living room.  Can't wait until they are here to celebrate the holidays with us in person.