June

Welcome to the June edition of the Johnson Journal! It's summertime. The sun is blazing. The air is muggy. The twins are splashing in the kiddie pool. The babies are napping. Big brother is reading Percy Jackson...again. Finally, Mom gets a quiet moment to do some blogging. So grab a popsicle and a spray bottle, put your feet up and enjoy a few stories from our family to yours:

Birthday Blues...

I turned thirty-something this month. I hate birthdays. No one should have to do laundry, or pick up dirty clothes, or change diapers, or put up with temper tantrums or break up fights on their birthday. Birthdays are what day spas were created for. I should be spending the day in a plush pink bathrobe with cucumbers over my eyes and sponge wedges between my toes. Alas, I am a mother. So birthdays are pretty much like every other day, except I spend the whole day feeling sorry for myself. Fortunately, I only had to endure the mundane for half a birthday this year. Once Justin got off work at 1pm, we dropped the kids off with Grandma and Grandpa, drove to Columbia to look at motorcycles and sporting goods, and then went to Macaroni Grill with our friends the Westovers. Jennifer Westover is my birthday twin. She and I share a June 3rd birthday, and she was also turning thirty-something this year, so we enjoyed eating some yummy Italian food and guiltlessly devouring our own divine chocolate cake! Yummy!!!

Hardly A Harley...

Justin loves to shop online. Hardly a day goes by when I don't catch him browsing listings on Craigslist or eBay, daydreaming about his next big boy toy, like a motorcycle or a hot rod. Every once in a while, he'll point something out to me and tell me what an awesome deal he could get on < fill in the blank >. One such evening, Justin found this 2000 custom Ultima Softail motorcycle on eBay.


The current bid was awfully low, and Justin decided to plug in some numbers, just for fun, not expecting to actually win the auction. Well, the auction ended and what do you know? Justin had the winning bid. He spoke with the seller on the phone, wired the money for the bike, arranged for shipment from Arizona and eagerly anticipated the delivery of his new bike. The motorcycle has "Harley Davidson" written on the gas tank, so naturally we assumed that this bike was indeed a Harley. Upon closer examination, however, it turns out that the vin number for the bike is not a Harley vin number. No, sir. This is NOT a Harley Davidson motorcycle. It is a custom built Ultima Softail motorcycle. Okay, whatever. So the previous owner just wanted his bike to say "Harley Davidson" even though it wasn't a Harley. LAME-O!!! Anyway, it's still a great bike and a good price so we're still excited. Except now almost 20 days later it turns out that there's a problem with the title and they might have to re-title it as a 2010 motorcycle even though it was built in 2000. Woah...wha? Not cool. We don't want a 2000 motorcycle with a title that says 2010. So, hopefully they'll resolve the issue or give us our money back? Past experience tells me we might be in for a fight before all is said and done.

Bartering With A Boxer...

One of Justin's patients couldn't pay her dental bill, so she gave us a puppy instead.

Sometimes bartering sucks.

Crazy Cousins...

Justin's sister, Crystal, and her three kids came for a two week vacation in Missouri. While they were in town, we visited the St. Louis Zoo and took a day trip to Nauvoo, Illinois. The rest of the time, we pretty much just hung out at the library.


Rolie Polie Smiley Face...

At 8 weeks, Kade is showing us his happy face, dimpling in all the right places, and developing eyes of deep blue. Such a little charmer! I have to fight to keep from squishing those cheeks right off that head!!! Love this little boy!



Workin' it...
Now that I'm thirty-something it seems that my metabolism is slowing down. I've been P90X-ing and Slim Fasting my way back into shape with some meager progress. After four weeks of daily exercise and cutting carbs, I've lost a lousy 5 pounds....with 25 pounds to go before I reach my pre-pregnancy weight. I really hope I don't have to have to buy new, bigger-size jeans this fall. That would NOT benefit my thirty-something self esteem.

So, that about does it for this month's edition. Summer is off to a great start, and I'm truly enjoying having my kids around me every day. We do a lot of swimming and play-grouping. I avoid the grocery store at all cost. As a result, we've been eating a lot of peanut butter and macaroni and cheese dinners...perfectly acceptable for summertime, I'd say. Next week, we're off to visit friends and family in Utah!