Peiton's birthday celebrations

Peiton had some great birthday celebrations, although she really didn't know what was going on still. I tried telling her a couple days before her birthday "Peiton your gonna turn two!" "Tomorrow it is your birthday." She didn't really get it. O'well, she still had some great parties. The night before her birthday we celebrated at my parents house, we were short in numbers but still had some yummy strawberry shortcake, Peiton's favorite...or her mom's. :)
The next day was her birthday and I think she had a great day! Mommy spoiled her all day long...what else is new though. ;) When daddy got home we went out to eat and went to Collin's parents to celebrate. Peiton is lucky enough to share her birthday with her awesome Uncle Cameron, I am not sure if Cam was ready to say goodbye to his birthdays yet...sorry Cam. So we celebrated for both Cameron and Peiton. They both had their own cakes, one chocolate for Cam and one white one for Pei, they were both delicious.
The first present Peiton opened was from the Kunz's and along with it came two suckers, after seeing those suckers the gift opening was over! All she wanted was those suckers and to eat those suckers. She really didn't pay any attention to any of the other presents (which is sad, because she got some darling things) until those suckers were gone. When they were gone she got a little better and more interested in the presents.
My little baby is two, I really can't believe it. She is one sassy little thing and I love it...most of the time.

Johnson Family Reunion

At the beginning of August we had our annual Johnson Family Reunion. This year it was at my in-laws and they had a lot for us to do. The kids and adults were able to play on the water slide, slip and slide and pools. A little basketball, volleyball and a new game with golf balls were played. Everyone had a blast. I put together a few challenges that turned out really fun and it was great to see everyone show their talent on the karaoke. :)
It is always so good to see the whole family together. Everyone was there except, Jason and Nicky...we missed you guys. Thanks Holly and Charlie for putting together a great, fun day!

Bode needs his "Buddies!"

It is that time again for The Buddy Walk! It is a little over a month away and they have opened up the pre-registration. The Buddy Walk is awesome, it is a great experience and the proceeds go to a great cause, they go to all the cute little people like Bode. The Buddy Walk raises money so Bode and other kids with Down Syndrome can particpate in many activites that help them and their families. It also teaches you a little bit about Down Syndrome Awareness.

We have particpated twice now, the first year Bode had about 70 buddies come and the year after he had 90 something, it was AWESOME, we Bode had the most buddies. We can do it again! We have had so much support with the Buddy Walk and we are hoping we can count on all his "buddies" again.

We will be back with a new color of bandana to help everyone see all of Bode's Buddies. With registering you get a T-shirt, lunch (this year it is sponsered by Red Robin, yummy hamburgers) and a kids carnival. You also get the experience of being surrounded by all these special spirits, that alone is worth it!

Date: September 26th

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Place: 1850 E 7200 S Anctzak Park Cottonwood Heights

Cost: $7.00 per individual

Family registration $5.00 per person (you must purchase at least 4)

to Pre-Register go to here. The pre-registration is only open until Sept 4th, they need to get an accurate count so they can get the shirts, lunch and games. So, pre-register so you will be guarenteed a shirt.

If you can't make it and would like to still make a donation go to www.firstgiving.com/bodesbuddies. You can also make donations if you are planning on walking, the more donations the better! If you have any questions you can email me @bode1110@msn.com

Like I said before, we always have a great experience at these Buddy Walks and we have always appreciated so much those that come and support our little guy, it means a lot to us!

Here are 2 different videos of the Buddy Walks that we have particpated in. The first one is 2007 and the 2nd is 2006 (Thanks TJ for making this one, it was the perfect song). Everytime I watch these I get tears in my eyes because I am so overwhelmed with all the support we have. We love you! Enjoy!

This is the Place Monument

I love going to This is the Place Monument Park! My kids love it too. We have been going with my family for about 4 or 5 years now, each year it gets better because the kids get older and enjoy it more. They have so much to do that you need a full day there. The only bad thing is that it gets so hot and gets the gets tired so it is hard to stay a full day.

Some of our favorites this year were....

The little train ride (Bode loved this, look at his face in the picture on the little train)

Riding the ponies

Petting all of the sheep and goats

Buying candy at the store (Coop's favorite)

Making a arrowhead necklace

Peiton's triple bee sting...okay not so fun! She walked right through a beehive and got stung 3 times. She was screaming (photo below).

If you need something to do and want to teach your kids a little pioneer heritage, take them here. It is a little more adapted for the older kids, they seem to like it a little more. You also do a lot of walking (just like the pioneers...) so they get tired quickly and get thirsty, bring lots of cold water.

Thanks mom for another fabulous day at This is the Place!

I love to see the temple...

We cut it close, but we were finally able to go to the temple open house. We thought we would chance it and take all the kiddos...it could be a disaster or it could work out, we thought it was worth the chance. After doing it, we were glad we did.

We got to the introduction part and Bode sat great through the little film they show and then off it was to stand in the LONG line. Bode and I did our laps around the temple grounds while Collin waited in line with the others. It was so funny, by the time Collin finally got to the door to go in, Bode saw and ran up and motioned his hands for us to come, it was finally our turn.

After we got in, we discovered that Bode had gone #2, Bode's #2's aren't like any other kids #2's, they are quite potent. We were like "are you serious, in the temple?" There really wasn't any restrooms to chance a little guy in and then what were we to do with the diaper if there was??? Smelly. Thank goodness we were by some really nice people (not that any of the people weren't nice) this certain family pretty much entertained our kids and were great to be behind.

I LOVED the temple, what a beautiful place it is. The spirit you feel there is amazing, even though it isn't dedicated you can feel it so strong. Just a peaceful feeling. I am so glad for the opportunity we had to take our kids to 2 temple open houses this year, really that is incredible. Cooper learned so much about the temple this year and he was so excited to go to another open house...he did get a little tired walking around, but he enjoyed it for the most part. I am grateful for the blessings and the promises I receive in the temple and I am so thankful that my family can be together forever!

Snowbird

Collin's parents had a condo up at Snowbird for a week and they invited us to come up and spend the evening with them. We had a great time. I haven't been up to Snowbird forever, I am not much of a skier so I really haven't been up for a while. I forgot how pretty it is and they have so much to do now. We went up after Coop got out of school and Holly had a yummy lasagna dinner waiting for us. We ate up and went out to play.

They had so much to do. All the kids enjoyed the bounce house and the slide they had in the bounce house. It wasn't too crowded so they basically had it all to themselves. Coop and I did the trampoline jumping, I can't believe what a workout that is. I was sore the next couple days in my ribs and my biceps from trying to do flips. It was pretty fun it just showed me how old I am getting. Coop did awesome on it, he had those back flips down.

We were able to ride the alpine slide, Collin took Bode and he loved it. Coop rode by himself and won me on our little race, he was pretty good besides the fact that he didn't stop at that end and knocked over all the barricades.

Cooper wasn't too fond of the bull riding, I think it scared him a little bit, but it was sure fun to watch him.

Bode took us on a long, long, hike....that kid could walk forever. Holly bought him a little magnifying glass and he was looking at everything with it, the flowers, the signs, everything! It was pretty funny.

We finished the night up with some ice cream and a trip to the park. It was a awesome park! They could have stayed there and played for a long time, but bedtime was calling all of our names, so off we went. Thanks for the fun night, we were glad we were able to make it.

"Look who's 2!"

I really can't believe Peiton is 2! It was 2 years ago that my water broke while I was at my sister-in-laws (I am still sorry about your floor) playing Bunco. I think it was the most exciting Bunco game that I have ever been to. I will never remember that night, it was all so exciting, and here we are 2 years later.

Peiton has added so much to our family, we love her to death!

Some of the things that I LOVE about Peiton would have to be....

I love her smile. Recently she has pulled out this silly smile, she grins from ear to ear with her eyes squinting shut, it is so cute.

I love when she wakes up in the morning, this is probably her happiest time of the day. She is always so excited to see you and always in the best mood (well almost always).

I love when her daddy comes home from work. When she hears the garage opening, she gets this surprised look on her face and runs right to him yelling "dah-dee" it has to be his most favorite part of the day too. She loves her daddy.

I love her attitude. I know that I shouldn't love a bratty attitude, but it's Peiton's bratty attitude and I love Peiton. It just cracks me up that she has such an attitude at this young of an age. I love it, and hate it.

I love her little walk...if you haven't seen Peiton walk your missing out. She swags her bum side to side and just has the perfect little strut.

I love that she loves her brothers (well Cooper all the time, Bode most of the time).

I love her own little language. It isn't English, I think it is a mix between Bode's language, her made-up language, and English. I sure hope that one day it does turn into English and only English.

I love that she loves shoes. After she gets dressed she has to put her shoes on, lately she hasn't really picked what I wanted her to pick, but it works.

The list could go on and on about the thinks I love about Peiton. She is such a joy in our family. I look forward to the many more fun times, fights and drama we have in store for us with this little Pei pei.

Peiton the day she was born. She was so little (compared to my boys)

I think it was 6 lbs 3oz




This is her blessing picture. Doesn't she look like a porcelain doll. I believe that would be her dads skin coming out...:)




Peiton always loved to jump...the jumpy jump was her favorite. She still will grab on to the end of her crib and jump as high as she can.






She has never been a clean eater, I think she gets this from me and Bode. You can always tell when Peiton has had something to eat. Usually it is off of someone else plate too, never her own.

This will always be one of my favorite pictures of Peiton. I love how her blue eyes stick out.

Thanks Lindsay Ross Photography for a great pic!

All smiles!

More smiles!

And the goofy smile!

Love you little Pei,Pei...sister...babies....June bug.... Pei wei!

2nd Grade

I really can't believe Cooper has started 2nd grade, WOW, where does the time go. He is such a sweetheart and I just don't want him to get older, he is at such a great stage in life.

Well 2nd grade for Cooper has been pretty great, besides the night before. About the week before I stared prepping him and getting him excited about starting and he was doing great. He kept telling me he wasn't nervous and that it was fine. Well the night before he was getting ready for bed and he broke down, crying uncontrollably...it was pretty sad. Collin hadn't had a chance to give him a blessing yet, so we did it then. He calmed down a little bit, but still pretty much cried himself to sleep. What do you do as a parent? He has to go and you know he will be fine once he is there, but it is that initial thought of doing something new that just scares you to death...it scares me to death too.

He woke up and I asked him how he was doing, and he said "okay, just a little nervous still..." the tears were being held back, only a few escaped this time. As we got breakfast done and he got his backpack, I could tell he was feeling a little better.

His friends came and picked him up and we were off, 2nd grade, here comes Cooper Richards! We got there and he found out that he was in a portable, he was stoked! He then saw his teacher come out and I think all his nerves were at ease...she was darling! Just a young teacher out of school for a couple years and she looked like a lot of fun. His nerves were eased and so were mine.

He got home and he told me he had a great day...he still would rather be home playing with friends, but it was a good day. Go Cooper!

Spudman

Over the 24th of July weekend, I participated in my 1st triathlon. I loved it! I don't know if I really loved it while I was doing it, but when I was done I thought it was a lot of fun. The tri was called the Burley Idaho Spudman. I did it with my great friend Lou lou and her niece also did it (and rocked it with 1st place in her division...go Kimmi!) Lou lou and I drove up to Idaho Friday afternoon. We got there and got our bikes placed in the transitions and our running shoes in the running transition. We decided the easiest sleeping arrangements were to camp. It was a blast. We set up our own little tent on the golf course where the tri started, it worked out perfect. They had a carb load dinner provided, they served spaghetti, a roll, green beans and low and behold a baked potato! I was kind of bummed, actually really bummed, I went to get my camera and the battery was dead, so I have no pictures of us on our adventure down there and us camping it up. Thanks to Michelle and Peter (Lou's sister and bro-in-law) we were able to get pics of us doing the race.

We were in the 5th wave and started about 7:40. I have never swam in open water, besides the Lake Powell trips when you have your life jacket on like a diaper and you are in the middle of the lake. This was a little intimidating and kind of nerve racking. I think at first I was so nervous that I got myself tired, once I calmed down a little bit, the swim was pretty easy, which is because it was in the Snake River, with a little push from the current.

After the swim it was off to the bikes. This was probably my favorite part. We rode in the back country of Burley Idaho, it was really pretty and a lot of fun.

The running was a little more difficult. I haven't been running because of my IT band injury and so the training in that area has been non-existent. It is amazing how quick you loose your endurance when you don't run. It was hard for me. It was sooo hot too, that I felt a little dehydrated. I don't do well when I am running in the heat. But I made it and I finished and I had a great experience overall. We will be giving it a try again next year, but I think I will train a little better next year.

Cooper & Paul

These two crack me up! They always have the funniest conversations. This is one of the latest. I wasn't there to hear it, but my friend Lou lou took great notes as she heard them. Here it is...

Paul: "Bella (darling little neighbor girl) wants to marry me. I'm serious."

Sydney: (Paul's little sister) "I'm going to marry Ethan (Bella's little brother)."

Leslie: (Paul's mom) "Coop, do you have a girlfriend?"

Coop: "no"

Paul: " You know Cooper you can't make to the Celestial Kingdom unless you get married."

Coop: "I know."

Paul: "I want two kids, a boy and a girl."

Coop: " Me too, but I don't want the girl to be older because older girls play pranks. Did you know that Paul?"

Coop: "Peiton has a boyfriend--it's Cole (Paul's little brother)."

Paul: 'Hey if they get married we can be related."

Ha, ha, ha...Where in the world did Cooper find out that older girls play pranks??? And the fact that they are talking about marriage...what??

Another camping trip...

We went camping again, yes again! Thanks to Holly (for taking Bode) and to great, fun friends, it was a blast! We have had this trip planned since like April, you have to plan it that far in advance if you want to get a spot. We got the camp spot up American Fork Canyon at the Timponoekke (sp??) campground. It was beautiful! We had the perfect spot. We got two group spots and we had our own little culdesac, it worked out great. Like I said before, my mother-in-law took Bode for us. That was such a relief! I felt bad leaving him home, but he had a much funner time with Grandma and Grandpa than he would have had camping. It made our trip much more enjoyable too. We got up there Friday night and enjoyed some Cafe Rio under pine trees. Spent the night eating smores and just talking it up. The kids played their little hearts out. There was a fear of bears, this was the campground that the little boy was dragged from his tent last year. The kids had all been prepped and once night time came, I think they got a little nervous. We only had one encounter with a bear, that was when Ali stuck her hand out her tent door and touched it's fur...crazy!!! (It really didn't happen) What a cutie.

On Saturday we ate a yummy french toast breakfast made my the Jones' and just lounged around until we decided to go to Silver Lake. We had a great time there, I am so glad we went. The kids played in the water, some of the adults played in the water, and some adults tipped over the raft fully dressed in the water. If it wasn't for Lou lou trying to surf on the tiny 2 person raft, I still would have been dry. :) It was all worth it though, having to swim her and the boat back to shore because we both couldn't get in the middle of the lake. I think the main problem was we were flooding the deflating boat which made it very difficult to get in.

We got back to camp and played some games, and the Johnson's, Myer's and Olson's made us delicious Taco Salads for dinner. More smores were made, and more chit-chattin was done. We woke up Sunday morning made breakfast burritos and packed up and headed out. It was a great trip and one we will do again. We missed those that couldn't make it...until next year!

American Idol

On Tuesday, we were so lucky to be able to go to the American Idol Tour. I have always been a big fan of American Idol and I watch it diligently and I even vote...yahoo, and the man I voted for the most, WON! (Although I was pretty fond of Adam too, not his screaming and weird, yucky dancing, but his voice was pretty awesome).

This was SO awesome, we had such a great time. I don't know what was funner, listening to all the cool music and their great voices, or screaming like a teenager seeing Zac Efron in person (well I would be screaming too if I saw Zac Efron in person, what a babe).

Charlie, Holly, Aunt Julie, Court, Kelly, Collin, Me, taking photo=my mom

Collin and I

Collin, me, Mom


Charlie, Holly, Aunt Julie

Court and Kelly

This is one of the many commericals they played before it started and during intermission. Every time Adam's face would pop up, the crowd would SCREAM...it was hilarious.



Here are some of our favorites....(my camera doesn't zoom in very far, so the pictures aren't the best).

Megan- not really my favorite, actually not my favorite at all. Collin sure does like her though, I think it might be the hot pink dress she was wearing.

Matt - He was one of my favorites, I always like what he did. He was pretty fun to watch too.

Danny= This would be my Mom's and Aunt Julie's fav. Go Danny!

Adam= I sure did like Adam, I liked him at the beginning of the competition and then he kind of got annoying, but I still think he is pretty awesome. He sure does know how to put on a show. The crowd was wild when he came out.

Kris= Oh...Kris, what a cute guy. I could sit, watch, and listen to him sing for a long time. He did a great job. I was kind of bummed that he didn't sing my favorite song of his, but he did a great job anyway.

Thanks Holly and Charlie for the great night! We had so much fun and it was an awesome show!

Richards family camping trip

Last weekend we had our annual Richards Family camping trip. We went up to Tanner's flat up Little Cottonwood canyon. I have fond memories of this place, we use to go here all the time as a family growing up. It was still as beautiful as I remember, although not quite as relaxing and exciting....:)

I would have to say it was kind of a crazy camping trip. Oh my goodness. Bode and Peiton gave Collin and I a run for our money...crazy! Not that they were crazy, well Peiton's scream got a little crazy because of the lack of sleep, and Bode was just crazy Bode. The first night I think I got about 2 hours of sleep, that might be exaggerating a little bit. Peiton wasn't quite sure what was going on and she is one to sleep very well in her crib, not in the mountains, in a tent, sleeping by 4 other people.

We got up there Friday afternoon and set up camp, we had a great camp. We cooked tin foil dinners that night...yummy, one of my camping favorites. Cooper had fun with his cousins playing on scooters and just enjoying getting dirty. We took many walks up and down the campground and enjoyed each other's company.

On Saturday we just had a lot of down time (well everyone else but Collin and I) and we were visited my a few rain storms, which actually cooled it down quite a bit, it was pretty nice. Court, Matt, Cam, Grandma and Grandpa J came and visited us that day, Nicky we MISSED you! Holly and Charlie made a delicious dutch oven dinner that night and I think I got my kids in bed by 8:00, which was awesome!! They were wasted.

Even though it was a little crazy, it was great to be with family. Thanks for putting up with our crazy kids...hopefully we are invited next year, and hopefully we come. :)