Johnson Family Reunion

We had our little Johnson family reunion last week.  The kids were really looking forward to seeing the cousins and playing at the lake.  The weather wasn't the best, but we still had a great time.  We stayed at a place where there was a pool and the kids all spent hours in that thing and it was never enough. 

The year Allie was born, there were 3 other baby girls born in the family.  So now there are four 5 year old girls.  Now, the year Nate was born there were 2 other boys and here they are with Uncle Steve.  They don't really care about each other now, but they'll soon be running around having fun just like the rest of them.

We woke up Saturday and went to the lake.  Nate didn't wait for me to get him in his swimsuit.  He was out there playing.  I decided long sleeve jammies are better than sunscreen anyway and left him like that for a while.

 We got to test out these boards for a while that morning too.  The kids thought it was pretty cool that they could go out in the deep all on their own. 

 

We also piled as many cousins on the tube as we could get every time it went out. 

 Allie was pretty obsessed about the newer babies than Nate.  She got to hold both her little boy cousins and thought it was pretty fun.  This is Blake and he was a wiggly worm.

I don't have all the pictures from the other people's cameras yet, so I don't have a group picture or even very many at all.  I think I must have used my mom's camera most of the time.  Anyway, we had a great time and it ended all too soon.  We have a great family and I am so glad we are able to get together and play. 

Down by the river...

Mike's Aunt Helen has a really fun place to play down by the river near Grandpa Joe's house.  She has all sorts of fun activities for the kids, and yummy food for us. 
Here they are floating their boats.  They are attached to chalk lines so they can reel them in.

The water was super cold, but it didn't stop them from getting in.

 Nate was hard to keep away from the river.  At one point, we decided to see what he would do.  He backed up to the bank and started to dangle his legs over the edge.  He would have gone right in without a backward glance.  Crazy boy...

 In some places, it's deep enough to have a swimming hole.

 Uncle Scott is always fun with the kids.  He helped them float in their boats and made sure everyone got wet in the water fight.

 The tiny pool kept Nate happy for a long time.

It was such a fun day, we never wanted to leave.  I even spent some time in this hammock.  We are so lucky to be able to go to fun places like this.
I have to add these pictures too.  My niece Brook got some lip gloss that night and spent the rest of the night with a joker face that was freshly re-applied if she thought it was getting rubbed off.  Mike's lips were sunburned and sore, so he borrowed her lip gloss.  He did just about as good of a job as she did in his application.  Pretty funny.

More motorcycles

I love watching these guys ride off on the motorcycles.  They follow Mike and look so cute.  Nate loves to go fast.  He'll be one to watch when he gets on his own.  When I take him on the 4-wheeler, he pushes my thumb onto the gas so I'll go faster.  He's a wild one.
Jake is getting better and better.  Even Allie shows less fear.  They sure have fun out there. 

Tractor Ride

We couldn't go to the Fourth of July parade this year in Star Valley, so we went up a few days before and played.  Grandpa was getting the tractor out when we pulled up, and he let the kids drive it around in the field.  They thought they were so cool to be able to drive around something so big.  I had to hide behind the camera so I wouldn't worry about all the moving parts and the huge thing lumbering around the field.  Even if they knew where the brake was, they wouldn't have been strong enough to use it.  Good thing it goes so slow.

Pretty soon, they hooked it onto the manure spreader and Nate got to ride too.

Don't let this picture fool you.  Nate was having a great time, until I forced him to get a picture with Jake and Allie.

In fact, he liked it so much that first thing in the morning, he was back to take another ride...

Fireworks

I haven't been on the computer much lately and haven't stocked up my blog posts. I usually write a bunch and then set them to publish every few days. We have been gone and there was so much going on, I have neglected my duties. Not to worry though (in case you were worried), there are many to come.


This was the first year since the kids were little that we were able to see the big fireworks in Logan.  We found the perfect spot.  No one was around so we could let Nate roam and play. 

The others loved to run around too.

I wasn't sure how Nate would do with fireworks.  He loved them.  It was so fun to look at him and hear his little "oh, wow!" sounds every time things were particularly pretty.  It is way more fun to watch fireworks as an adult.  I get to see the wonder in my kids eyes. 

Jake and Allie were both excited and had fun yelling out that each new shape was their favorite.  It was a really nice night.  I hope they fall on a day when we can go next year too.

Motorcycles

I forgot to post about this last month, so here it is now.

We went to Wyoming a few weeks ago and let the kids roar their engines in the field.  I love to see these kids putt around with confidence.  I didn't learn to ride a motorcycle for real until just a few years ago and even then, I've only gone around the field a few times.  Allie can ride circles around me.  I love it.

Jake had fun on this motorcycle and even learned how to work a clutch this trip.

 Nate loves anything that goes.

"Look at the camera Nate!"

We always have fun at Grandpa Joe's! 

Soup

My mom used to give us kids a bucket and a spoon and let us make "soup" outside when we were little.  She does it with the grandkids too.  It's a great trick.  I have watched my kids spend hours making soup. 
Nate loves it.

  He even tastes all the ingredients after they have had a chance to get soggy.  He really likes chalk.

"Maybe if I slowly put this rock in my mouth, she won't notice..."

I think he considers the day wasted if he hasn't gone through a few outfits.  At least he has fun!

The lake

We took the boat out and had a great time.  We were the only boat on the lake for most of the time.  I love days like that.

 I love that he sticks his tongue out when he steers things.  He also discovered how to honk the horn and perfected the skill many times over and over.

 Nate was fearless when it came to the water.  He'd have gone right overboard if we let him.  The other kids seemed more timid at his age.  He didn't mind the cold or anything.

There aren't many pictures of Jake on this trip because he was on the tube the entire time.  He is pretty addicted to it.  Allie was more brave this year and went a few times too.  We have a great time boating and feel so lucky to have a boat that runs well and takes us where we want to go.