Evrett's Fun with Friends

Preschool Christmas Party



Zoo Playgroup

Gingerbread House Fun

Little Lilian Beth Griffin has arrived!

Our first niece and cousin has finally arrived!! She was born on DEc. 6th, 2011 and is perfectly beautiful.




I have had some fun making things for her. mostly quilts because clothes that tiny aren't very fun.

A right of passage

when your child doesn't want you around anymore :( And it seems to be Evrett who we are facing this with...

We have a routine at night. To read two books, then lay down and sign "You are my Sunshine" before kissing goodnight and leaving. We've always laid down right next to him and rub his head as we sing. Well the other night I had just finished reading him his books and started to sing when he said

"Stop that mom. Stop singin"

So I said OK and went to kiss him and he said:
"Just go away"

WHAT!?!?!?! My baby is NOT old enough for this! And to make it worse Ben went in while I was brushing my teeth and got the same treatment.

Ben tried saying "I love you Evrett"

and again:

"Stop saying that. Go away."


Really I think he was just really tired and didn't want us hovering over him b/c it didn't last long as since he has wanted to sleep in our bed and such but I guess we are well on our way to a house of big boys!

Knock Knock Jokes

the boys really like knock knock jokes. BUT they don't really get them and say things that totally don't make sense and then laugh their heads off for hours. Its so funny. Anyway a couple of Evrett's favorites are"

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Banana slipped on doo doo!!


ba hahahahahahahah!!!!

Then Aunt Bacon (megan) helped him create this one:

knock knock
who's there?
Sword.
Sword who?
(dead look on face, tougue hanging out) eehhhhhh.

b/c the sword killed him.

kinda morbid i know, but hilarious too.

Hawaii

So Ben's parents were so nice and offered to take us on a tropical trip over Thanksgiving as a late graduation present. Ben had been counting down for months....I started getting excited when it neared the top of my "to-do" list which was about 1 week before we left :) but either way IT WAS SO MUCH FUN and so so so nice to get away for a little bit and

1. be with family we hadn't seen in awhile

2. be somewhere beautiful and warm!

3. be around nice people...everyone who lives in Hawaii is SO friendly

4. not have to cook anything the entire trip

5. not have to stress over $$ the entire trip

6. not have to clean my toilet, tub, shower, sick, vacuum the floor or make any of the beds

7. have no cell service and no internet

The kids came with us which was even more fun I think. We went to Kauai, which is the oldest and greenest island. It was absolutely gorgeous and had perfect weather of about 80 degrees. I seriously thought that this is probably what Heaven is like. Ocean & Mountains, Rock & Green, Rain & Sun, Warm but not HOT. Perfect.

Here is a run down of the trip before I start forgetting!

Day 1- flew to Seattle. dropped Ben off in Newcastle for a course with his Dad. the kids and I spent a few hours with Shelby and Linsday Shuman (Sutarik & Landoe) in Shelby's new house with Lindsey's new baby....it was really really wonderful to see them and how good they are doing. Ate Pizza with the Johnson clan and got ready for the next day travel

Day 2- Flew to Honolulu and then a 1.5 hour layover and on to Lihue, Kauai. The big boys did awesome, Evrett started to melt down but towards teh very end of all the traeling so it was fine. We landed and breathed in the yummy hawaiian air :), rented a car and hit up Costco for some sunblock and snacks. While there we ate in their cafe which was outside and learned that chickens run wild all over the island. They were everywhere!! It was so funny. Even little baby ones and they'd run under the tables to eat any food you dropped...pigeons of Hawaii! We then went to our hotel and learned we were upgraded to suites that faced the pool/ocean. Such an amazing view. That night we went swimming in the hottub

Day 3- SUNDAY. We got up and went to church. It was a cute little white building with blue trim. I was suprisd to see the majority of the members weren't native hawaiians and it made me jealous!! How do so many people get to live there?? and what jobs do their husbands have?!?!

We went and got a puka dog after that and did some shopping for Sam and Megan since sam only eats organic and no wheat and Megan is vegan. We went to a siteseeing place calleed
spotting horn" that had water shooting up and a cute little market. The boys each got an instrument although they asked several times why we were buying stuff on sunday. I was proud that they knew enough to not like that we were doing it. That night we went to a yummy restaurant and were seated just under the roof (open with no walls) and it started POURING on us seated furthest away. The boys thought it was hilarous and we had to move our table all around to fit under the awning. The food was delicious. Ben and I both got Mahi Mahi cooked differetn ways. No swimming this day since it was sunday.

Day 4- We stayed at the hotel beach and pool to swim. We played in the sand a lot and in the waves. The boys searched for crabs. The pool was a perfect 3.5 feet or less so there wasn't any worry about the kids drowning. They even had a kid section for Evrett. I had fun talking to Megan and Rebecca for awhile and just enjoying their company. I'm lucky to have the inlaws I do. Around 4pm

Day 5- we went to the north side...Princeton, Napali coast, Burgers, cocnuts, snorkeling, shells,

Day 6- we stayed at the hotel beach/pool again and learned to make lais

Day 7- Thanksgiving! We decided to bag the fancy hotel dinner and grocery shop for some stuff to grill on the beach and watch teh sunsent. It was one of the best nights of my life. Simple, humble, fun. We all worked together to make the dinner...which didn't turn out perfect but was perfect anyway. We played in the waves for a couple hours...racing them to shore. the little guys dug in the sand. We ate pumpkin pie and were all filled with gratitude for our blessings. When it got dark Megan taught the boys about all the stars/constilations and the lessons continued in the car on the way home. Before all this though, we tried to find a hiking trail to waterfalls and a rope swing ben had read about online but both were closed for liability reasons....people have been getting hurt but Ben was a bit disappointed. We did see a mad weave a basket from palm leaves. He was a bit crazy and said most days he doesn't make any money and will take food in return for a basket so it was a sad situation but Colin felt so bad for him and thought the basket was so cool and he insisted we buy one. It was $7. After this we stopped for the most delicious shaved ice ever. A place called Jo Jo's. It had macadamian nut ice cream on the bottom, shaved ice with yummy flavors and a creamy topping. I wish we'd gone back a few different time. The only downside was the Evret ate his whole huge mango one and then we drove 15 miles up a windy road to see the Wiamea Canyon and he got car sick and threw up...but it cleaned easily. This is on the dryer (so browner) side of the island but was still beautiful.

Day 8-Friday we spent the day at the hotel pool again...all a bit tired from all the driving & siteseeing we did the day before. I got to read a bunch of a good book "cold mountain" and that night we went to a Luau! It was so cool!!!

Day 9- We

the weather was a bit cooler so we did some shopping, went to get pizza for lunch, hung out by the pool for awhile and then headed out for dinner at a cute little mexican place that was really yummy. We had a fun time talking & laughing and continually ordering food :)We ended the night in the hot tub.

Day 10- Our last day. We collected some sand from the beach to remember the trip, packed up all our stuff, ate another big yummy breakfast, and loaded up in the big van for one last time. We flew back to honolulu and then waited for awhile there b/c of a maintenance problem on the plane....we ended up not getting to Seattle until 12:05AM the next morning. We debated changing the flight or staying the night at a hotel close to the airport but decided to stick with the original place to head back to Johnson's. We got 3 hours of sleep before having to wake up for our next flight back to Chicago. It was pretty rough and we'd all had it but considering all that it went by quickly. I think we were all in a depressed daze :) and then it felt really good to be home. BUT WHAT A FABULOUS TRIP!!!!! We have all been dreaming about going back...literally dreaming it. It was such a beautiful place and such a nice break from everything. Our first REAL vacation with nothing to do but relax.

Funny Quotes

Brannon (6 years) was trying to help Evrett (2) out by telling him what to do only he didn't like and it and threw a huge fit whenever Brannon would talk. So Brannon told him to go to time out for 2 min...which he didn't like either. I told Brannon thanks for trying to help but I will take care of him and Brannon said "Well, I am just practicing for when I'm a dad and can tell my kids what to do" :) It was pretty funny.



12/16/11:
Brannon has a bit of trouble in the bathroom going #2. It takes a really long time and about a whole roll of toilet paper to do the job. One night, frustrated with him, I said

"It's because of all the crap you eat! You need to eat healthier!"

his response:

"Well, I just eat the crap you make me so its your fault. Why don't you make me healthier food"

He got me there.

Boy's School Open House

Conference Thoughts

Family Pictures Fall 2011

On Ben's day off I dragged them all out to take family pictures. It took about 20 minutes with Ben's camera, tripod, and remote control flash :) I was thrilled with how they turned out for what minimal effort we put into them! They are all out of order b/c blogger isn't working...

Apple Orchard

A few weeks ago we went to an apple orchard with Evrett's playgroup friends. Of course I forgot my camera but one of the other moms emailed me a few pictures. Here they are

Thoughts on parenting

I am always so worried about raising good strong kids. I constantly worry that choosing to do Oral Surgery (dad not home much, dad that is only at church half the time & doesn't have a calling, mom that is tired and burnt out 99% of the time, attending a school that has failed the state tests for the past 4 years, etc.) will have long lasting, and damaging, effects on them.

Lately I have felt so overwhelmed. There is just too much for me to do. I can't do it all! And the people & things that are most important-my children! sometimes take the brunt end of it. So I am making a conscience effort to give them each at least 15 min of one on one time everyday. I just want them to know that I love them! That I'm proud of them and that I really do like to spend time with them but there isn't anybody else here to help me with all the things that need done. This last month's visiting teaching message had a quote from Sister Beck that said something like "it has never been more important to raise a good strong home/family then it is now" and I really do feel that. Everywhere we look Satan has brought his evil into the "norm" and it doesn't even phase people. Standards are slipping, expectations lowered, and it makes me sad. I just pray that even though I'm only one small person that Heavenly Father can help me make ends meet with teaching & raising the kids right. There really do need to be 2 sets of hand but Ben's just aren't available right now.

I was working on some other church stuff online when I found something someone had written about blessings. It was jsut from the bible dictionary on page 753 and it said something like "there needs to be effort on our part to receive blessings. We need to put some energy & thought into how to make them most of them" It is general conference this weekend so it was being used to talk about the different ways you can increase your effort in gaining blessings from GC but I have been thinking a lot about that with my struggles of feeling like I'm not up to the task I"ve been given for these few years. I am so so so tired and burnt out everynight. I go not stop for about 17 hours every day doing things for other people and in the end it just isn't enough or isn't a good enough job. So as I go into the GC weekend I hope to find some answers to how to make sure I'm doing the best I can with the kiddos. I want them to be smart, strong, independant, faithful men. Not one of the mormons I seems to see alot..."mormons" with liberal views on things. Mormons who hangout in bars, wear immodest clothes, support gay marriage, etc. That is my hope and prayer right now as a mother of 3 wonderful boys who are growing up in a scary world!

The Bran MAN

Colin was able to go to a Cubs game with Ben the other night. He has waited patiently for about a year for one of Ben's bosses to give them tickets so he was SO excited when it finally happened. They got all ready and headed out for their Father/Son night. They both had a lot of fun and Colin wore his Cubs sticker for about 3 days afterward...he just kept switching it to his new clothes.

Anway, while they were gone Evrett, Brannon and I got to hangout. We were playing games, then they played Wii while I read. It was a nice night, but Brannon said the funniest thing. He came up to me all nervous. I could tell he wanted to tell me something but he was either afraid or embarrassed to do it. I asked him what it was and he said:

"Well, at recess everyday we have races."

he swallows and rubs his eyes (this is difficult for him!)

"and this GIRL always wins every time! None of the boys can catch her except for Timmy (little black boy) but only when we play tag. She still wins all the races"

He was so distraught over this I had to try really hard not to laugh at the cute kid. I explained that its normal for girls to be faster then boys until they get a little older. I told him when I was in elementary school I was the fastest rope climber in P.E. :)

Then the next day I heard him telling Ben about it too! Ben asked if she was really tall and Brannon quickly said

"NO! She just has these really long skinny legs that move really fast"

So cute I just wanted to squeeze him.


So he has been in full day school for about a month. It is going well. He is a bit behind in reading and math from where Colin was at this stage b/c of the difference in kindergartens they went to. But he works hard and so far has been on the best "green" level everyday. He really likes his teacher and has made some new friends. He is just really tired (and therefore very grumpy) after school. But we love him anyway :)



Colin is doing really well in school so far too. His teacher is very organized and sends home great homework that he actually likes doing. He has gotten 100% on all his spelling tests and is learning to love reading. He has been on Green everyday too, except for one day b/c for some weird reason. He is slowly making new friends. One boy we found out lives on our street, so hopefully we can play with him some more. They parents are all just a little distant to me b/c I'm white I guess. He is just a great older brother and helps me out a lot. He isn't super organized and uptight with his things/backpack/homework but he is very responsible when it comes to asking him to do things.

I just need to take more pictures of them! They don't like to let me so I've quit trying I guess.

Primary Calling

I was called to be the primary first counselor. It took about 8 weeks to get "set apart" because Ben wasn't at church any of the sundays (to watch our wild children :) the bishopric had time to do it. So I served in the calling for 8 weeks without that blessing and I have strongly felt the difference since receiving it. It was a really detailed blessing and I'm sad I lost the notes I wrote down immediately afterwards but the things I remember are:

* to love the kids. some come from not ideal home environments and they need to feel our love.
*VISIT the kids! in their homes. It will help both them and us as leaders
* that I'd be able to discern what is right/appropriate for primary and what is not AND that I would have the courage to stand up and express boldly my opinions. (I have since had such a clear mind on what I think should and should not be done. There is no need for extra analyzing it. and I don't feel bad saying so ...in a nice way :)
* that I'd be able to organize and help the axillary go smoothly
* that Heavenly Father was pleased with my energy and excitement for Primary

I have been so busy with this calling. The pres is a full time teacher, a masters degree night student, a wife, and a mother to 2 kids so I need to be able to help her pick up her slack from her life. The other counselor's family suddenly decided to move so hasn't been much help to us. A lot has fallen on me and despite being a little stressed and having some mild anxiety, everything that needs to get done is done. I'm not always sure how. I know I am getting a lot of help from up above. Things have just been falling into place. I am so grateful for a loving and caring heavenly father that is so watchful of all our needs, both big and small.

Here we are at a baptism for Lily Morales. Andra Staley ,in the pink shirt, used to be her primary teacher. Sarah Hoagland, in the white, was the primary second counselor-but she moved. Ross Quijano is the fun guy in the middle of all the kids.

Evrett starts "School" and other cute randomness

Evrett started school! Well...kind of :) We are doing a preschool swap with 4 other moms/kids. We each take a turn teaching for a week (two days per week). So far he has really liked it and hasn't cried when I leave him. The poor kid doesn't know how to play with kids his age so it should be good for him. Although he still has way more fun with his brothers. He really wanted to wear his backpack...which I filled with his diapers and wipes and was a good reminder to me that he still is my little guy who needs diapers :) Otherwise I was getting really sad over how fast they grow up.
We have planned a few "field trips" for the preschool. Our first one was to an apple orchard in Indiana. We invited any playgroup people to come along too. It was so much fun. The apples were delicious and perfect kid sizes.

Evrett LOVES food. He is always hungry. He smells food wherever we go (like neighbor bbqs, restaurants near the Target parking lot, etc.) and sniffs & sniffs then always says "Mmmm, that smells GOOD." Sometimes he adds in what he thinks it is... "Mmmm that chicken smells GOOD." (Bbq) He is so cute.

My mom got him some play food for christmas that he loves. He gets all the pots and pans out and makes us yummy things. He also loves to help me cook.



We are doing pretty good with the big boys gone all day at school. He has school a coupel days a week and then I try to play games with him or take him to the park the other days. One day we went to the "Duck Park" with just 2 pieces of bread (they hadn't ever been very hungry before) but we had about 100 ducks come flying at us to eat! So the next day we came back with a huge $1 walmart loaf of bread for the. We had a blast. He really likes running errands and playing outside. He asked to watch TV once (the Wiggles) but he didn't watch for long. He likes to build trains and play playdough while I run on the treadmill. He has definitely gotten stubborn and likes things certain ways. He gets REALLY frustrated when he wants something but I can't understand what he is saying. But overall he is a wonderful little guy to have around!


He loves to climb things, although he still doesn't try climbing out of his crib.


He was in charge of the boys' basketballs during their practice.


This is when he was so sick with a cold (he still get asthma when sick) and he wanted SO BAD to get up to play but would last about a minute and I'd find him laying down, too tired to play. I found him in mulitple rooms of the house like this and once even face down on the pantry floor. Poor kid!
When we go to Grandpa & Grandma's he always wants "BUM BUM SQARE PANTS" on...Sponge bob square pants :) He will watch it for a little while but he will always tell you it is his favorite. We went to a lego store and he found a Lego Mr. Crabs (from the show) so we had to take a pic.


And Evrett was invited to his first b-day party without his brothers! It was a really cute fireman themed party for a boy at church, Peyton Edmunds. They had a lot of fun.

August was a rough month.

Go Jess!!

Hartmann, Batavia volleyball sweep Wheaton Academy for 6th win of season

By KEVIN DRULEY - kdruley@shawmedia.com

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Batavia's Mary Nilles sets the ball during their win over Wheaton Academy Wednesday at Batavia. (Photo by Sandy Bressner - sbressner@kcchronicle.com)

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BATAVIA – Demanding a deficit amounts to sports silliness, but maybe Batavia volleyball players should embrace a slump or two.
Sophomore outside hitter Jess Hartmann thrives on them, coming alive when it looks like the Bulldogs need a jolt.
“The strength of my game is that I get really determined,” Hartmann says. “After we start losing even more, I just want to put the ball down on the court.”
On second thought, why not simply tell Hartmann the Bulldogs are trailing? Could be a lot safer.
Batavia encountered little adversity against Wheaton Academy in Wednesday’s 25-8, 25-20 non-conference sweep, as an even-keeled Hartmann still managed a team-best five kills.
Junior Kristen Koncelik followed with four, watching as the Warriors (1-1) succumbed to a slow start that was rooted off the court.
Batavia (6-2) opened a match with a one-point edge for the second time in four days. On Saturday, a Plainfield North tournament opponent turned in an incorrect lineup. On Wednesday, a Warriors player brought the wrong uniform and had to use a jersey that did not match the listing on the roster.
Wheaton Academy seized an 11-9 lead midway through Game 2 only when junior outside hitter Bianca Cifaldi used the Hartmann syndrome to key a surge.
“I didn’t think I had so much frustration in me, but I wanted my team to do well because I know what we’re capable of,” said Cifaldi, who smacked a match-high nine kills. “I wanted them to show it, because the first game was not how we play.”
The Bulldogs felt comfortable with their own performance after ironing out a handful of focal points from this week’s practices.
Coach Lori Trippi-Payne stressed more focus on the service line, so Meghan Fabian (Game 1) and Mary Nilles (Game 2) captained separate lengthy runs to take control.
Trippi-Payne continued exploring the art of balanced hitting, so the front line – namely Hartmann – incorporated off-speed strikes when they faced the Warriors’ block.
“Jess is starting to really develop into the hitter that we always knew she could be. She’s learning how to find the holes and make some shots,” Trippi-Payne said. “We’re teaching our kids how to make shots, because they tend to still get blocked quite a bit. We’re trying to alleviate that.”
Nilles collected four digs and 12 assists while distributing the ball evenly to the Bulldogs’ attack.
Batavia’s rotation includes underclassmen Hartmann and classmate Heather Meyer, which surely served noticed to the youngsters in attendance on Rotolo Middle School Night. It wasn’t too long ago when Hartmann aspired to the high school scene.
“I looked up to the varsity players like no other,” she said, “so it just feels great to be here right now.”
She stayed no longer than two games against the Warriors after the Bulldogs’ recovery from a late charge.
Wheaton Academy rallied from a 21-12 hole to within 22-20 but would come no closer. A would-be Cifaldi kill sailed just out of bounds to end the match.
“We’ve been in tough situations before,” Fabian said, “so we knew to stay positive and keep fighting.”
For one Bulldog, anyway, that’s the preferred MO.

A few more Summer Catch up Pics

Ben had THREE whole weekends off in August!! Plus the one Saturday he was on call he only had to go in the morning for rounds! It was a great month and we had lots of fun with him around. Evrett really likes food, so naturally he likes to help me cook. He will push his green stool over and help me make dinner. He really likes when I let/help him use sharp knives to cut things. My mom gave us a kid cook book that he likes to look at and pick recipes out. He and Ben made us pancakes from the book one morning:

Ross and Melissa Quijano, in our ward, called us up and said that a local arcade fun center was having their annual $1 days. All rides, mini golf, mini pizzas, and rootbeer floats were only $1! Ben hasn't had any extra work so we couldn't afford to go, but the boys really wanted to so they each pulled $10 out of their piggy banks to fund our fun day. We played Mini Golf and EVRETT WON a free game b/c he made a hole in one on the last hole. So funny! Then we went on lots of rides, watch Ross win 3,000 tickets at one game, and ate yummy food.

It was also our summer of Pets. First came the frogs that were found in Grandpa's pool filter. We helped them back to the pond down the street, but Evrett talked about the frogs every time he saw the pool.

Can you see the Frog with Brannon?

And then one saturday morning Ben found a baby squirrel in our yard. We left it for a while for the mom to come back, but she didn't. We took it to an animal shelter place but they wouldn't keep it and told us to build a next onto the tree and the mom would come back. Well, she didn't, and Ben and I....with our ANIMAL HATING hearts...couldn't bear to see the poor little thing freeze to death so we did some research online, bought some formula for it, and feed it from a syringe for the next 6 days.

Evrett was very fascinated with it and kinda went hysterical the first time he saw us try to feed it. The next feeding time Evrett went and got his favorite cake cookbook to pick out a cake to make for the baby squirrel :) He also asked if it was his "Baby brother" :) funny kid.

We named him NUTTS and he was pretty cute. But on the 6th day I went to feed him and he wouldn't eat or swallow when I forced the milk in his mouth. He wasn't moving much either so I put him back in his bed and left him there until Ben came home to find that he had died. Poor thing. I'm not sure we helped it or caused it to suffer longer (probably the latter) but what do you do? There was a chance he could have survived and we did out best. Poor thing. He was our first and last pet. At least until another half dead baby animal ends up in our hands.