He Did It!!

So, life is awesome, and we've been busy, but CASH SLEPT IN A BIG BOY BED!! We have been trying and trying since around the time Marley was 2 months old, and he has refused to do it. But, last night I got him to sleep in the bed! It took me laying by him for 40 minutes, but he finally relaxed enough and fell asleep... He even stayed in bed all night until 7 this morning. I'm so proud of our buckaroo. He's getting to be such a big boy! He says and does things every day that make me laugh outloud. One of my favorite things is what he says when he wants something... We are trying to teach him "Please may I... _________" So, he says things like "Please may I have some hold you?" Or "Please may I have some open the door?" It's adorable.

Let's see... Marley is almost a year old and I can't believe it. She is simply adorable and a big huge bundle of personality. I remember when Cash was little we would tell him "trouble" or "danger" or "no" and he really did a good job of avoiding those things after just a few times... NOT Marley. She finds it absolutely hilarious to play in the dog water, water cooler, dog food, etc. She will look at me, laugh and then go for it as quickly as possible. It's so funny. She does say a few words... She says: dog, hi, dad, bye bye.... and when she plays peek a boo, she covers her ears, not her eyes. It's really hilarious.

Also, I have to brag about Ryan... He just landed a job of a lifetime!! We found out last week (on our anniversary actually), and he starts tomorrow. He's really excited, and I'm so proud of him. It was nice to see him do a drawing, he hasn't done one in awhile, and he's so artistic and talented. It's going to be a 3-4 month job, so I am expecting not to see much of him this summer, but I'm so proud of him and to see this job completed, it's totally worth it.

For our anniversary I set it up through my dad for Ryan to drive a race car at Meridian Speedway on their practice night. He didn't get to tear it up like he wanted to, but it was still really cool for him to drive in one and on the track. The only problem is he now really wants a race car of his own.

I'm going to put up some pictures of some fun things... With all the ups and downs, I really love life.

Happy Mother's Day

Anyone that knows Ryan know that he's the best when it comes to gift giving... As hard as I try, I'll never be able to give gifts with the thought and perfection that he does. I honestly wasn't expecting anything for Mother's Day, except a lot of help, but I was wrong!

On Saturday Ryan totally surprised me with a new bike and trailer!!





I've had my same bike since I was 12 when my parents gave it to me for Christmas. It's a great bike and means a lot to me...I'd even ride it to work when Ryan and I lived off the green belt. But, truth be told it's 14 years old!! It's all luxury now... I'm so excited because now I can ride my bike to WinCo with the kids. I already have once with Marley and we've gone on rides almost every day since he got it for me. It's fabulous.

Not only that, he took me out Saturday night, slept on the "monitor" side of the bed to get up with the kids Sunday morning, made me one of the best omelets I've ever had (it even rivals Ted's Bakery in HI), made me dinner, took us all (including dogs) to the park even though he was exhausted, gave me the best card with a recording of Cash saying "Happy Mother's Day, mom... I love you!" and even made me a little sundae when I came downstairs from putting the kids to bed.



I'm one lucky woman!! I have two wonderful kids who make me laugh and smile 100 times a day and a husband that does the same.







Our 5th anniversary is coming up in a week, and I must say, it's FLOWN by. I know everyone says that the first five years is the hardest, but if that's the truth, then we've been VERY lucky and VERY blessed because "hard" is not a word I would use to describe it. It's amazing how much life can change in 5 years!! :)

"How does your garden grow?"

I feel like so time has passed since I last "blogged"... We finally planted our garden and last week I found a nice suprise!





Bad news is the other day we had a nie hail storm and I think we lost our basil and possibly our peppers. They got beat up. But I'll keep you posted on the development. I must say, for someone who thought they could have a garden, I knew/know VERY little. :)

We also had such a great Easter, and a fabulous visit from our fabulous friends the Facer's! :) Little Cash and Ollie loved each other to pieces, unless they were tired. We discovered a niceand cheap 3-par 9 hole golf course that I didn't know existed and the weather was gorgeous. Marley found herself a boyfriend too! She couldn't get enough of Ryan (Facer) and his guitar while they were here. Becky is so cute pregnant, even though you couldn't realy tell because her belly is tiny. But it's very exciting! We even flew kites. The first time since I was little, and I absolutely loved it... it's so peaceful!

Cash is talking and growing up so fast. We went back and watched some videos that we posted on here, and it's crazy to hear him and him not being able to talk and communicate with us like he does now. It makes me kind of sad. Marley is growing up like a weed too! She pulls herself up on everything and she is definitely the boss around here. She knows what she wants and she usually gets it. Here's a few pictures to enjoy!

In Like a Lion....

I thought March was supposed to "Come in like a lion and out like a lamb"... not really the case, but I do love the random snow and hail and thunder storms we've been having! They definitely keep life interesting and makes me enjoy those days that are just sunny and beautiful more. I guess everything has it's opposite so we appreciate it's opposite more! Today I went out and got my garden boxes ready to plant and planted a couple herb starters that I bought. I'm so excited!! We're going to have potatoes, tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini squash, onions, lettuces, bell peppers, rosemary, oregano, basil and cilantro. We'll see how much of it I can keep alive!

Not much is happening here on the Johnson front, just loving how my children play together, make each other laugh, and I'm sad at how quickly they are growing up. Marley is crawling everywhere, will walk REALLY slowly with your hands, and pulling herself up on everything. She's getting quite the personality... it's hilarious! Cash is so smart is is such a little boy! He just loves playing, going swimming, reading books and learning new things. Cash is starting to show that he is jealous of Marley lately... He'll want exactly what she has, and wants held when she's being held. She can be quite the pistol as well. It really is hilarious, they are fabulous! It's precious to see Ryan with them... it makes my heart warm.

Check out the video... they sure are precious.

**Dos Anos**

February 27th came, and it was Cash's birthday! Despite a tragic morning, we managed to pull off a pretty good birthday bash for our little boy. Thank you everyone for your help! Cash thouroughly enjoyed his day, and loved having his friends over to play. He had two little car cakes to eat and did so with his hands. I love it! We sure love our little boy. He'll say "tengo dos anos" if you ask him how old he is, and he'll attempt to hold up just two fingers. He's so stinkin' smart and growing right before our eyes...

Reunion!

Cash and I recently went on a trip to Arizona to visit some of my friends from college! Fabulous is the best word to describe the experience.... Cash was SO excited to see his buddy Oliver and to fly on an airplane. I swear that kid can spot an airplane that is so high in the air I can't see it... let alone would have noticed it flying above me. He did miss Ryan though. My wonderful husband stayed at home and watched Marley... she can be a handful too! :) Thanks Ryan, you're the best!! We had such a good time going on walks, visiting the Zoo, shopping, swimming, and watching movies. Krisitin even had her cousin and another girl come over to babysit for us so we could all go out to dinner and a movie! Good times... good memories. Thanks for making it work eveyone, and thanks again to Ryan for helping so much. Love you all!!

Elder Holland

Today we were blessed to be able to attend a special Stake Conference where Elder Holland spoke to us. He's quite a powerful man, funny, emotional, and very to the point. He spoke mainly to the youth of the church, asking them to give 10% of their lives to the church... he said he got to pick the 10% and wanted this next ten years. He said to just "Stay". "Don't leave." "Whether you're a part of it or not, the church will grow and get stronger and stronger, so just stick with it and enjoy the blessings of it." He told a story of how when he was young he grew up in a non-active family. As long as he could remember his dad had a pack of Camel cigarettes in his pocket and he just thought the shirts came like that. He remembers when he was 10 years old the Bishop, Sunday School President, and Young Men's President coming over to his house and asking his dad to teach a Sunday School class. Before they could say anything else, he quickly responded "But I smoke!" After some uncomfortable silence, his dad looked over at Elder Holland and back at the men, and knew that the class he was supposed to teach was the 10 year old class, the class with his son. The next thing said was: When do you want me to start? They looked at him, quite surprised, and told him that the class was vacant and needed a teacher that Sunday, but that he could take his time and start when he needed to. His dad immediately flicked his package of cigarettes into the fireplace and told them he'd be there on Sunday. There was a lot of work involved, but he got back on the right track. The point he was making is that he decided to change right then, and he did it. He didn't procrastinate, and he stayed with the church.

I appreciated this message even though I wasn't really "going" anywhere. I just feel that we all need the reminder that we are appreciated and loved even if we feel we are small and insignificant. They love us, and need us to stay.