Reid, Meagan, Colton and Anna Johnson

Family

2012-02-09T21:53:00.000-07:00

Lego wagon turned into baby wagon :)

Daddy & Anna

Our little monkeys

Anna 9 months old

Outside play time


Anna's 1st barrette

We are busy busy busy this year! Colton and Anna are growing up fast before our eyes. Reid is in Real Estate School as well as teaching at ASU on the days he isn't in Real Estate School. Reid just got called to ward clerk in our ward. Needless to say, we don't see that man very often as he comes home after we have gone to bed after a very full taxing day of watching additional children. We are hoping that he can put his "hobby" of buying and moving to new houses into doing that for other people and getting paid for it. : ) Once real estate school is over he will be focusing on his Architecture exams and put the study guides and books that I got him to good use.

Anna has learned how to wave and LOVES to dance at any chance she can when she hears music. She is still doing the army crawl, I honestly don't think she will ever crawl on her knees because she is super fast as dragging and pushing her feet on our tile.

Colton is doing better with his vocabulary these days. I started doing home school preschool with him to get him ready for preschool and kindergarten. Its a great feeling to see and hear him recognize a word or number that we have been working on during his down time.

1st tooth - BIG GIRL ANNA!

2012-01-04T12:53:00.001-07:00

ANNA CUT HER VERY FIRST TOOTH AT THE AGE OF 8 MONTHS (JUST LIKE HER BIG BROTHER COLTON!). WE FOUND THE TOOTH AFTER A LONG DRIVE HOME FROM OUR CHRISTMAS IN KANSAS. SHE SEEMED TO DO REALLY WELL WITH THE TEETHING PAIN. SHE SEEMS SO OLD NOW WITH HER TOOTH. WE LOVE YOU ANNA MARIE!

CHRISTMAS CHEER

2011-12-21T11:56:00.000-07:00

New tree (7.5' of beautiful Christmas joy) & accessories we got this year.


Photo's with Santa at the mall. My kids are polar opposites, can you tell? (Should have gotten these done after we got haircuts a week later. Haha, oh well.)

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a New Year. Reid and I decided that we are going to learn a new skill every year...this year....the piano. Wish us luck!

Colton & Anna

2011-11-28T16:04:00.001-07:00

My good friend Danielle Arnold told me I don't post enough picture of my kids and that they are growing too fast.... so here is a update of my kids. As you can see Colton is trying to teach Anna all that he knows and Anna is actually learning. Colton taught Anna how to say "BABA" as in bottle. Anna is on the move, she love scooting around and smiling at her big brother.

Its getting cooler in Arizona and we welcome it with open arms!

We had a nice weekend with Reid's side of the family at our home for Thanksgiving/Christmas, it really turned out nice and we didn't have a single accident with any of the children (THANK GOODNESS!).

Hope everyone is doing well and staying away from the flu that keeps making its way to our home. :)

Happy Thanksgiving week!

2011-11-23T10:47:00.001-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving week!

We have been super busy from family birthday parties to writing church talks to planning to have family come for Thanksgiving. We are excited to have family come to stay with us Thursday-Friday. We will be doing a Thanksgiving dinner in the evening on Thursday and then have a big sleep over that same night with Reid's siblings that are in town. Then its BLACK FRIDAY. I keep asking Reid why they don't just make Black Friday a national holiday....cause I get more thrill and happyness from that then any other holiday and it would be concidered my favorite holiday if it was one. Oh well, I'm excited just the same... holiday or not.

Reid went to the temple topping party...where they put the top of the temple structure on. I got a pretty cool shirt that he brought home.

Picture of Reid and his co-workers on the Temple structure.

Any who, we are excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up. Colton is still trying to get over the fact that there is no more Halloween candy in the house, haha. Anna has learned to take a bottle (yay!) so Reid and I may actually be able to go on a date here or there. We are pretty excited about that. Anna is on the move, she is scooting around like crazy.

We put the Christmas trees up about 3 weeks ago to get the daycare kids and my kids use to the idea of not touching the trees. So far so good neither tree has been touched at all the entire time they have been up. I'm lucky to have such good kids of my own and kids to watch that they mind my things and don't destroy things. :)

Well, I better get back to cleaning the house and getting it ready for people to come visit. I'm running out of time! HAHA.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

FALL FESTIVITIES WITH THE FAMILY

2011-10-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday October 15th we met up with some of Reid's co-workers and went to a farm that had fall activities. There were horse rides, pumpkin patch, barrel rides, hay rides, tossing games, cattle roping, horseshoe throwing, moon jumping, face painting, petting the animals and so much more! We had a wonderful time... It was pretty warm but once the sun set it was just about perfect!

Ps. I also chopped off about 12 inches off my hair and got it colored more to my natural color again. :)


JOHNSON FAMILY

Ziplock Fresh!

2011-09-06T21:03:00.001-07:00

Isn't she cute?!

We moved into the new house, in the process of renting out the other house and running around like chickens with our heads cut off. : )

We are really loving the new house. It has a lot of things that we wanting in a home that we can "grow" up in.
Reid and my brother Massey have been killing it at the other house to get it rental ready by getting all of the projects done.

I'm starting a new gig at the house to make a bit of money since Reid's job is doing a fur-low on everyone's pay and hours. I will be watching some cute little kids! I'm hoping that it will help Colton with his social skills and timidness. I will be watching a 4 month old, 5 month old, 2 year old, 3 year old and 4 year old! This house will be rocking! Wish me luck!!!

I have been unpacking the house like a crazy lady. Its a lot of hard work moving from one place to the next! I always forget how hard and how much work it really is.

We are really enjoying the new ward. There are young families all over the place with tons of kids. The relief society presidency came over this morning at 7:15am (kill me, I hate mornings) to welcome me to the ward and bring me my favorite jam in the entire world. Have you ever tried the cannery blackberry jam. Its TO DIE FOR. Seriously if I had a case of blackberry jam and a couple boxes of biscoff cookies (not to be used together)... I would be in heaven.Anyways, back to talking about the ward... the elders had a BBQ last week and it was delish! It was great to go to and meet new people and swim a bit. They are trying to pull Reid into scouts again.... can't he just have a easy calling like primary teacher or something like that? Scouts takes up too much family time and the boys are usually inconsiderate. Oh well.

Well, its getting late-ish, I better head off to bed.
Hope all is doing well. Send some cooler weather our way!

Meagan Johnson

P.s. The title says "zip-lock fresh" because I have seen the movie Madagascar ~~1 billion~~ a few times now... and that's what the zebra says to himself in the beginning when he is trying to psyche himself up to show off at the zoo in front of the kids.

House

2011-07-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

Well.... We are moving again. This time, Reid was the instigator of this move, but I picked out the house as I'm tired of moving. I wanted a house that had enough room/storage for all of Reid's garage stuff. A home office for Reid and a living room and family room (separate), and enough room that our family can grow into and maybe we can stop moving every couple years! (haha) My last criteria of looking for houses was I wanted it in the best school district and school rating as possible.

Ps. If you are looking to move and are wanting to search for the best schools in a area... try www.greatschools.org!

So here it is in all its glory:

(That cactus has got to go.... anyone know a company that would remove it? I'm scared its going to fall over.)

Blessing Weekend

2011-06-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

Anna Marie Johnson was blessed in church on June 5th 2011.

The family was able to come and enjoy our blessing day with us at church and then came over for lunch afterwards. We are so grateful we have such supportive families!!!

The same weekend we were also able to get some pictures taken by Katelyn (Jensen) Phipps who I was able to get to know (breifly) through a couple friends, Amber B. and Ray & Ingrid D. We had our children's grandparents come for the pictures and are so pleased at how they turned out.

Here are some photo's from the session we did with Katelyn... enjoy!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-02T09:28:00.001-07:00

Anna on the left and Lucy on the right!


From left to right, Anna (under the shaded car seat), Colton (sitting) and Chayse (standing)

Memorial Day Weekend:

Reid and I decided that we needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of our lives and enjoy a nice road trip to Santa Fe, NM. It was suppose to be about a 8 hour drive but since we had to stop about every 3 hours to feed Anna it turned into a 10ish hour drive. We spent the first night by ourselves in a hotel and since I was able to find a hotel with kitchens in each room we were able to cook dinner instead of battling with the kids at a restaurant. It was so nice to be able to just relax with Reid and the kids. The following day we met up with Cole, Marissa and their beautiful daughters Chayse and Lucy. I think it was more like a 4 1/2 hour drive for them from Lubbock, Tx. We were so happy to meet our new niece Lucy! Colton had a wonderful time with his older cousin Chayse. I enjoyed spending some time with Marissa and Reid was so happy to see his brother again! We stayed from Saturday to Monday afternoon and then made the trek back home. I think we did decide that we aren't the biggest fans of Santa Fe, NM.... it was always super windy and it felt even more dry than Phoenix (I didn't know that was even possible!). But we had a great time despite the windy conditions. Anna turned 4 weeks old this past week and had her well baby visit. She is 50th for weight and height. 9lbs 2-5oz and 21 1/2 inches long. They said she is still a bit jaundice so we had to go get her foot pricked again. :( I should be hearing back today on the results. On a lighter note, my parents are coming into town TONIGHT and I'm so excited to see them again. They are coming to town because Anna will be getting blessed by her daddy this Sunday. :)

Colton started saying prayers with us, when Reid starts saying the dinner prayers he stops what he is doing, folds his arms and then after we say Amen, he says.... AAAAAMEN. Gotta love it!

I think that's about it by way of new news... till next time!

Hospital Pictures of Anna

2011-05-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

We ordered pictures and a cd with all the photos that they took in the hospital... my sister has been dying to see some "non cell phone" pictures of Anna. Here you go!

Babies!!!

2011-05-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

Anna Marie Johnson

Born: April 30th 2011

Time: 4:35pm

Weight: 7lbs 1oz

Length: 21"

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T12:26:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend full of Church, Easter basket hunts, egg hunts and family dinner. My friend Lisa came down to visit over the Easter weekend and we had a good time shopping, hanging out, and of course eating out. :)

Still no sign of baby girl yet, but there is progress being made. I have been having more and more super painful contractions and every time I go for a check up I have dilated even more than the last week. Reid hopes that baby girl comes late as he has been busy painting the house and working on other housing projects. I on the other hand want this girl out, its starting to get really hot here in Arizona!

Baby Baby Baby

2011-04-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

Well... I'm 37 weeks and 3 days. That marks the time at which Colton was born. I guess this little girl is comfy and wants to hang out for a while longer. :) I don't mind though, I am trying to finish up my semester right now (only a couple weeks left) and also trying to get my house looking a little less nasty.

I went to the ob/gyn today for my weekly check up and she said I'm now dilated to a 1 1/2 centimeter. So that means that from Thursday till today (Tuesday) I have only gone from a 1centimeter dilation to a 1 1/2. I'm glad to hear there is some sort of progress with all the pain I have been experiencing. :)

Past weekend: We had a wonderful Easter lunch at the Bartlett home on Saturday. We all got to search for the money bunny eggs and had a great time!

Primary kicked me out on Sunday because I keep having crazy contractions. Its probably good not to be chasing around sunbeams all day. I'm so grateful they kicked me out!

Easter weekend: My friend Lisa from Houston (but now living in Utah) is coming to visit me! She will be here from Friday afternoon to Monday morning! I still need to run out to the store and get goodies for our little Easter egg hut. :)

Reid has been keeping busy. Our little car broke down on the high way on Saturday. Luckily we have towing insurance and it didn't cost us a thing. We got the car towed to our house were Reid then put in a new belt, alternator and battery. Its running again! The funny thing about Saturday's car breaking down is that we were out car shopping when it happened. We got a mini van (ugh). Reid loves it, weirdly enough. I on the other hand would rather drive the 91' Toyota Camry. Haha. Its a 2004 Ford Free-star in really good condition. Senior owned.

We set up the baby's room this weekend where Colton is napping temporarily right now as I carpet cleaned his bedroom yesterday and its still not quite dry. Its so crazy to think we will be parents of 2 little rug rats soon.

Haircuts: Reid and Colton were about 2 weeks past due on needing haircuts. Reid buzzed Colton's hair off and I cut and buzzed Reid's off. They are looking good with nice summer cuts!

We hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!

Colton teething on a french fry. (Prior to his haircut)

The car!

2011-04-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

Our friends Rick & Settina from church came over this past weekend to help us do some routine maintenance on our car.... air filter, spark plugs, oil change ect.

I had to take these pictures cause Colton thought he was SOOO big helping the guys out. : )

Family

2011-04-11T23:37:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was full of excitement. My (Meagan's) visiting teachers threw me a baby shower for our little baby girl that will be coming to the world relatively soon. I'm so grateful to have such wonderful visiting teachers, friends and family! It rained this weekend and got fairly chilly, it was SO NICE. It felt like a nice spring day in Kansas. Saturday night we had our friends Rick and Settina over for ice cream and games. Sunday we went to church and actually made it by the opening song (I know, I could hardly believe it myself!) I team taught/babysat the sunbeams, Colton was in nursery and Reid taught the 9&10 year old boys. Rick and Settina then came for lunch as we needed to borrow some tools from them and shared our lunch in return. We then went to their home for dinner. : )

Colton is teething right now and couldn't be more cranky. Its his last 4 for a while (the canines or corner teeth)!

Reid has a lot on his plate right now and is taking it as it comes. : )

Meagan is trying to get school done before the baby comes as the semester ends on her due date. Its all online so she is able to work ahead (even the tests).

Our 2 Indonesian students are going to a new host home on Saturday.

With work deadlines, baby due dates, school dead lines and teething toddlers we sure do have our hands full!

Hope everyone is enjoying the nice spring weather, it will get hot soon!

Where did the time go?

2011-04-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

I'm 35 weeks and 4 days along in my pregnancy and can't hardly believe it! This pregnancy has flown by, I'm grateful that I haven't had to go into the hospital for any preterm labor like I did with Colton. With Colton I had a pretty intense pregnancy and delivery. So far with baby #2 it has been smooth sailing I hope and pray that my delivery with this one will be just as good as the pregnancy. :)

I got a wonderful txt message from a Houston, TX friend (who now lives in SLC, UT)... she is wanting to fly down and visit before the baby is due! I'm so excited and hope that it all works out so that she can come visit. I miss her dearly! I like to call her my famous basketball friend as she works for the NBA. (Houston Rockets and now the Utah Jazz). ;)

There was a death in our family last night, my trusty green bike that I got for my 10th or 11th birthday saw its last ride last night. I brought it with me from Kansas when I moved here about 3 years ago. Reid started riding it to work and back since I moved here and it finally died beyond repair. : ( RIP Green Bike!

Family Date Night

2011-04-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to the $3 theater in Tempe and saw the Disney movie, Tangled. It was ADORABLE and really FUNNY! Colton wasn't to happy to be there as it was a 7:15pm showing and his bedtime has been around 7:30pm. (Reid did his home teaching before the movie, so we were unable to go any earlier.) We then went and grabbed some ice cream snacks and cookies from McDonald's, ate them in the car and then headed home. Colton is now asleep, I just finished reading another chapter in this new book that I bought called "That's My Son" -Rick Johnson. And Reid is working on finishing up the taxes.

Ps. EVERYONE should read this book, its mostly about how to raise a boy but it has also opened my eyes to reasons why Reid, Massey and my Dad act the way they do...and how we as woman can better support them.

Well... Reid is asking for receipts... gotta go digging....

-Meagan Johnson-

I'm an Aunt (again)!

2011-03-28T15:19:00.002-07:00

My sister in law Marissa Johnson just delivered a beautiful baby girl named Lucy Grace Foley Johnson. She is pretty darn cute from the one picture I got from the proud dad and grandma! :) We are so excited to have little Lucy join our crazy fun family.

Congrats again Cole & Marissa!

New York

2011-03-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

We got home from our very long and eventful trip to New York, NY. Reid's boss took us out there. We were able to see some really amazing classical architecture as well as some intense Gothic architecture and my all time favorite, modern architecture. I really enjoyed the chance to get away from my every day life of being a mom to spend some MUCH needed alone time with my husband. We saw some pretty awesome plays while we were there including, Spider-man and Momma Mia. Spider man on Broadway was AMAZING to say the least. We got to do some fun tours as well including the NBC studios tour. I had a good time getting to know the wife's of the men that my husband works with. We all went to church on Sunday since we are all LDS. The church building in new york was so crazy, there was a temple on one level and then the next level there was a church building! We ate some pretty amazing food while we were there... I'm already having withdraws! I am 33 weeks pregnant and we walked everywhere, I was SO surprised that I didn't go into labor. Reid and I weren't very good at taking picture while we were there because the 3 other couples always had their fancy cameras out, hopefully I can get some of the picture from them! : ) We are back home and safe, Colton was very happy to see us this morning as we didn't wake him up last night when we got into town. We have 2 new students with us now until mid May, they are from Indonesia. I'm about half way done with my semester of school and the baby will be here in about a month, can you believe it?!

Time to get back to our crazy lives. Hope everyone had a great week.

Reid and I after about 1 hour of sleep on the plane

On a boat to go see the statue of liberty & Ellis island

Brooklyn bridge! (Reid took this picture for my sister Brooklyn)

Ellis Island

Out front of the building at Ellis Island. (It was SO bright out!)

Name this architect.... I mean... name the architect who created this famous building... Give up? Frank L. Wright!

This was on the floor as you walked into the building.

The building Frank L. Wright designed.

Museum

Inside the museum

Central Park

On a subway train with the co-workers and wives.

A new couch!!!

2011-03-14T20:13:00.001-07:00

Many of you know that we have been kind of crazy with the Dave Ramsey plan and sold our new cars. In the process of selling them we had to come up with lots and lots of cash to pay off the difference since we had to sell them at a loss since we got them brand new from the dealership. We mostly sold our nice furniture, we had leather sofa's and a nice big wooden kitchen table with matching chairs. We haven been furniture free for about 4 months now. We found a table and chairs in the ally behind our house that we use to eat on but today we went out and got a new leather couch! And it was really pretty cheap (cost wise) and so we are still money ahead even after selling our couches and buying a new one.

I'm excited about this couch because it turns into a sleeper couch, but not one of those sleepers where its super uncomfy and looses its shape after a while. This will be nice for when my family is in town and I need a extra bed for someone to sleep on.

Thank you LeIsle (Reid's Aunt) for being willing to watch Colton at our home while we are out of town for a week! Now you have a couch to enjoy while you are here!!! YAY!

Tell me what you think!!!

(This is a picture from the website of the store we purchased it from, Furniture Plus. I strongly reccomend checking out this store, this couch was much cheaper than any IKEA couch and seems a lot better that the leather couches that IKEA has been putting out lately)

Earthquake + Tsunami = No Airport in Japan

2011-03-11T08:05:00.001-07:00

This morning at 5am I was suppose to take Misato to the airport so that she could go home to her family in Japan. When I went to her room to get her to go, she said "there was a huge earthquake in Japan". Her family is safe! The airport was hit. We took Misato to the airport anyways to talk to the host home coordinators to see what to do next. They said all flights to Japan are canceled and to take your students back home and that they would contact us.

8.9 on the ricter scale! with a 7.5 after shock! Plus huge tsunamis hit Japan and other countries across the world. What a crazy thing to have happen while we were sleeping the night before she was suppose to go home to Japan.

Our hearts and prayers go out to all those in Japan affected by this horrible disaster.

Airport in Japan after earthquake and tsunami.

Factory in Japan after the earthquake.

Flu

2011-03-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

I officially think that Colton and I are going to become hurmits in our home so that we don't keep getting so sick!

It all started with Colton, he got the flu on wednesday and had a good time puking everwhere. I guess you could say Thursday was the "adults" day as Reid, Misato and I were all puking by 8pm that night.

Reid had a flight out of town this weekend and its amazing that he even made it to the airport as he was probably the sickest of us all.

I'm a bit worried that this is going to throw me into labor but I'm trying everything in my power to stay hydrated... even if it means I drink some juice or water and 2 minutes later its in the toilet.

I thought Colton was over the flu because Thursday he didn't get sick at all and he was fine through the night. As we were taking Reid to the airport, Colton lost all the milk he was drinking, all over the car. SO nasty!

On a brighter, less nasty note... its suppose to be 89 degrees today!!!

Misato leaves for Japan tomorrow at 5:30am. We are so sad she is leaving us. We really have enjoyed her in our home and she has been a big help with watching Colton while I make dinner. I'm not sure what I will do without her!!! ;)

We hope everyone is doing better than we are on this nice warm day.

With love,
Meagan Johnson

Lots of things on the mind...

2011-03-07T10:26:00.000-07:00

Reid, Colton and I had a wonderful weekend! Friday, Reid went and got his hair cut and then ran home so that I could get to my appointment. I got a full head of highlights and a eye brow wax (1st time). Saturday, we went to breakfast with some of Reid's old friends. Then we ran home and got our foreign exchange student's boxes sent of via USPS. I worked on homework and tests for my math class and then we went to the Science center with some of Reid's work friends. We saw a very interesting exhibit called Body Worlds & The Brain. (Sorry, we couldn't take pictures)

We then went home cause we promised to take Misato out to dinner as a going away dinner. We took her to all you can eat Chinese, Japanese & American food. She will be greatly missed! Can you believe she has been here since October?!

Sunday we got up and went to church. Colton sure does LOVE nursery! Reid taught the 12 yr old boys and I had a visiting teaching conference 3rd hour. We came home and ate left overs for lunch before Reid had to run off to church again for a meeting. Later on after Colton's nap the home teachers came and brought a wonderful message and sweet spirit with them. We are so lucky to have devoted home teachers. After that we had home made bread sandwiches for dinner.... soooo delicious.Later on we went to Bill & Ravaes to say hello for a little while as we feel like we haven't seen them in ages! It was nice to visit and Colton got to play with his little cousin Emmin (Karl & Rachel's son). I made some good peanut butter cookies while we visited and then we headed home and went to bed.

All in all I would say it was a wonderful weekend!

Colton found my winter hat and loves wearing it!

Colton got a haircut too!

New Highlights and brow wax! Only 9 more weeks to go in pregnancy.

Colton

2011-03-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

Colton learned the word NO. Welcome to a life of the terrible 2's!

He also recently learned how to say... "More please" and "all done". He is a little smarty pants... if only we would have taken out that passifire a while ago. : )

We are excited to have Reid home soon! We have seen him all of about 3 hours since Sunday night when he went to work.

Monday we are going to have a play date with Colton's cousins at the park across the street-ish from my house. We are so excited for it!!!

Since our weekend trip to Kansas Colton has decided to bring back the 2nd nap. THANK GOODNESS. I have been able to get a bunch done and also get some much needed rest in since I have been playing "single mother" all week.

Its suppose to be 80 degrees today, bring on the park!

Weekend Trip to Kansas

2011-02-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

We took a short weekend trip to Kansas this past weekend to see Massey before he leaves for his two year mission. We left Friday evening and had a layover in Dallas,TX where the plane didn't work...we sat on the broken plane for about a hour and a half. They then took everyone off the broken plane and had us sit in the terminal till they found one that worked.... we then boarded the plan and FINALLY got to Kansas about 4 hours late... 3am (Saturday morning) It wouldn't have been so bad except for the fact that Colton was awake the entire time cause he hates sleeping on us and Reid had pulled another all nighter at work the night before.

I woke up around 9am Saturday morning with Colton. My dad and brother took Colton out sledding down the front yard hill while I made waffles and eggs for everyone. Reid then woke up later when breakfast was ready. :) We had a great day on Saturday full of eating and shopping and Kenect via X-box.

Sunday my family went to church at 9:00am... and left us sleeping. Since Colton always wakes up around 9:30am I got up with him and picked up the house and vacuumed while Colton watched cartoons. The family came home and we had a wonderful roast meal together. We then went on a nice drive together and then came home to get ready to go back to AZ.

We left Kansas Sunday at 7pm... there was a delay because of the weather and we barely made the plane in Dallas. We got to AZ at 12am Monday morning where Colton and I went to sleep and Reid then drove to work and pulled a all nighter AGAIN.

Here are some picture from the weekend.

The weekend is over!

2011-02-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

Shoot this is my (Reid's) first time writing on the family blog. I had to ask my wife to "turn the blog on" for me and get it started. So here goes:

The weekend is over. We had a long one. On Friday we went to have breakfast out at Tumblweed Park in Chandler. We walked by the animals and stopped at the play-barn. Colton loved it! After that, we took Meagan to the doctor's office for some routine testing for her pregnancy. Then I worked the rest of the day. In the evening we drove all the way out to El Mirage, AZ to visit some of Meagan's relatives who are in town, Kenny and Ann Sloop. We took them out to dinner and had a great time. They were great with Colton! We had chicken and ice cream. It was great to hang out with some real Kansans. They are headed back to Kansas in just a week, so we caught them in town just in time.

On Saturday, I worked in the morning and then we went to our friends' Daniel and Dacil's son's first birthday party. Colton loved it! They had a HUGE pinata that really startled Colton when it finally burst open and all of the candy exploded out everywhere.

We had Stake Conference on Sunday. There were some great talks. We have to be good now...haha! After conference we had lunch and then went for a drive to enjoy the rainy weather..we don't get big rain storms here very often so we have to enjoy them. Now we have to hurry off to bed to get ready for another crazy week.

Till next time! Reid (representing the Johnson family)

Friday night from left to right: Great Uncle Kenny Sloop, Meagan, Reid & Colton, & Great Aunt Ann Sloop

Saturday night at Ian M. 1st birthday party

Our Valentines Day

2011-02-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

What a day we had yesterday full of ups and downs.

I (Meagan) signed up for online classes that started yesterday. (Reid is really happy about this!)
I started cleaning our VERY messy and dusty garage.
Colton watched "Snoopy" valentines special on Hulu.com
We gave our two foreign exchange students cute "Hello Kitty" boxes of chocolate
Reid made me a giant banner that said " Happy Valentine's Day Meagan" on the kitchen wall
I got carried away with cleaning the garage...so I was a bit late on getting dinner on the table. But dinner turned out REALLY good! (Cheeseburger Meatloaf with spiced potato wedges and salad)
Colton didn't nap at all yesterday and wasn't feeling well. (We then found out later it was the flu)
Colton puked all over a rug in our bedroom and in the toilet. (thank you for not puking on the white carpet!).
Reid and Colton opened their Valentines from me. :)
Reid, Colton and I went to walgreens to get something for Colton to feel better. Childrens Pepto Bismal and pedialight.
Reid, Colton and I went to frys grocery store to get a diaper pail insert for the trash cans and got a chocolate pudding cake for our "gift from Reid".
Colton sang himself to sleep as I'm guessing he was feeling better with the Childrens Pepto. :)
Reid and I ate chocolate pudding cake and a glass of milk and talked about our day and then went to bed.

Not a very flattering picture of Colton and I right after we woke up on Valentines Day.

It was mostly a good Valentines day full of excitement! I love you boys so much!

Valentines Day!

2011-02-14T14:57:00.000-07:00

This is what I woke up to this morning....

Reid had to go to work super early this morning, because they have a work deadline on Wednesday. He was sweet enough to make this giant sign for me before he went into work. :) What a sweet guy I have.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentines day!

I have been trying to think of a craft to do as I have realized I need to pick up a hobby again... my day to day activities just are about as boring as a pile of rocks. Here is what I'm thinking... RAG RUGS. So if you receive one for your birthday ect, now you know why. :) I'm hoping to use sheets instead of rags as I have read they hold up much better and clean up better too... so if anyone has old solid colored sheets that they are willing to give to my crafting hobby... please don't hesitate to send them. :)

The day when Colton and I got to use the car....

2011-02-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

Reid and I share a car, and being that I'm a stay at home mom I'm ok with Reid taking the car to work everyday. We decided that Fridays Reid will ride my bike to work so that I could get things done, IE. grocery shopping.

Since today was Friday, Colton and I got the car! Yay. My bff came over in the morning as I had a check up appointment for baby #2. Colton and Settina watched some good ol' Bob the Builder after breakfast and it was finished by the time I got home. Settina then went home and I put Colton down for a morning nap since he was rubbing his face and couldn't hardly walk straight. On my way to the OB/GYN I realized that the car has become very messy and I decided while Colton was napping that I would pull things out and clean, I vacuumed the floors and seats ect, I then oiled up the door hinges as it was driving me nuts how loud and hard it was to open the doors all the way. After I was done it was about 12:15pm, I then called Grandma Bartlett (Colton's Great Grandma) and told her that we would be a little late for lunch as Colton was still napping. She said "no rush". Once Colton woke up we jumped in the clean car and headed to the gas station (Since Reid left the car empty for the "gas fairy" (As his sister Edith calls it) to fix.). Since I was getting gas and the inside of the car was so clean I decided to run the car through the car wash. Its such a nice feeling to have a clean car. We then headed to Great grandma & Great grandpa Bartlett's farm where we enjoyed a nice lunch of "throw everything into a pot and add some cheese". Grandma was amazed that Colton could drink out of a regular cup and eat successfully from a regular form and plate on his own. (Thank goodness I have been working on that with him!) Great grandma Bartlett, Colton and I then went out back to the farm and fed the chickens, rooster, and sheep. Colton LOVED being out there near the animals and tried to imitate the animal noises. He also almost fed a chicken right from his hand... then last second as the hen was really close... he threw it at her (what a boy right?!). We then went inside and got the napping Great grandpa and he helped us pick oranges to take home. Colton really enjoyed getting oranges. Colton also got to hear the hens when they made their noise that they had laid eggs and got to see where eggs come from. (I'm sad I didn't have my phone with me or a camera... Colton was so cute!!!)

We just got home from our big day on the farm and Colton was acting very tired, orange in one hand and rubbing his eyes with the other. He is down for nap #2... and I couldn't be more happy about it as I'm very tired and I still need to make the grocery list and go grocery shopping... oops! :)

All in all I would say we had a very eventful day with the car. Till we meet again next Friday Mr Camry!

BREAD

2011-02-08T17:16:00.000-07:00

We seem to go through sandwich bread REALLY fast around here now that we have a extra student living with us. I was looking through blogs and websites last night trying to look at different ideas of how to cook with a stick food budget. One of the blogs had a wonderful idea of making your own bread to get costs down on the food bill. So I decided that I would try it. I found a couple recipes for making bread from scratch without a bread machine. I'm going to try them out to see if we like any of them. One of the recipes is titles "$.11 cent loaf of Bread". The other thing I'm excited about is the fact that it will be healthier than getting the $.89 bread at the store that has hardly any nutritional value (IE. enriched flower...ect). Since I'm at home all the time, I figure its worth a try right?!

Reid had to work all night last night at the office instead of from home in the home office. He got home just before 9am this morning and slept till about 1:15pm. (He also went to work yesterday at 3am!) When he woke up this afternoon we went and took Colton to the park by our house. Colton seemed to enjoy himself there and didn't want to leave. We then put Colton to bed and had a late lunch, while lunch was cooking Reid put together one of the 4 toddler chairs from IKEA that we got a while back. I had put the table together but didn't have the time or patience to put the chairs together. I'm like that IKEA picture in the instructions with a question mark over my head. Haha. Anyways, Colton woke up to his new chair to go with the table he has been using...and he loves it. :)

DATE NIGHT

2011-02-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

Chocolate Affaire Filled With Fabulous Entertainment, Decadent Delicacies & More!

Sounds like my kind of entertainment!!!

Reid is out with the scouts this morning doing "food for scouts" (food donations). After that we he has a conference call then we are driving out to Glendale, AZ to enjoy the Chocolate Festival! I'm so excited I can't hardly contain myself!!!

Reid and I sat down and decided with him having such a busy schedule that we need date night once a week. So starting tonight will be our first of many date nights. Since we just decided that we REALLY need to do date nights last night.... Colton will be joining us on this date. We decided that we are going to take turns planning date nights (every other week). Since I REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to go to the chocolate festival in Glendale we decided this will be our date night (and since the festival is kid friendly with crafts...Colton probably wont get too bored and make it a crazy night). Colton better enjoy it while he can because this is the first and last date night he will be going on.... (Good luck youth baby sitters from the ward!)

Don't you just love living in the big city and having free events to go to all the time! CHOCOLATE!

EXAMS

2011-02-04T13:46:00.000-07:00

ITS OFFICIAL.... I was able to get Reid to commit to going to a class for his Structures exam to become a licensed architect. This is basically a study class for a few weeks that teaches him things about the Structures exam that he needs to take (along with a bunch of other architecture exams, in order to get licensed). It started last night and he seems positive about it. The down side of it is that it takes up yet 2 more nights a week of his already crammed schedule. I'm not joking, let me prove how busy that guy is:

Monday nights: Works all night long for his full time job in order to get renderings done in time for the Tuesday morning meetings. (We see him for dinner and then he locks himself in the office and remotes into work)
Tuesday nights: He gets off work and goes to his structures exam class and then from their goes back to ASU and teaches his Auto CAD course. By the time he is home... I'm crawling into bed. He gets left overs and a kiss goodnight from me.
Wednesday nights: Scouts (ugh)... they are killing me! They have been starting super early every week (6pm) and then he comes home from it at 9pm. By the time he is home... I'm crawling into bed. He gets left overs and a kiss goodnight from me.
Thursday nights: Reid works all day and then goes to his structures exam class and gets home at 9pm. Again... by the time he is home... I'm crawling into bed. He gets left overs and a kiss goodnight from me.
Friday nights: He doesn't have anything planned (unless there is a scout camp out)... So Colton and I take advantage of every second he is home.
Saturdays: You guessed it.... he has been doing scouts on Saturdays.

(What ever happened to making the kids earn their own scout money and going door to door?! They seriously need to learn some responsibility... if they don't go out and sell flags... then they don't go to scout camp. Easy lesson to teach and learn don't you think?!)

Sundays: Reid remotes into work from home and works all day after teaching the boys at church.

I have one busy husband! I don't think I want to have any more kids if they don't ever see their dad.

On the brighter side... maybe that class for one of his exams will pay off and he can do his own thing. (Not that, that will let us see him more...probably less... but at least I know he will be happy.)

I'm also grateful to have some foreign exchange students living with us so that I'm not alone all the time!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

2011-02-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

Colton Johnson

Nesting: "Around the fifth month of pregnancy, the "nesting" instinct can set in. This is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world."

Uncontrollable urge is right! You would not believe the things I have been doing. I have raked the entire front yard, trimmed a overgrown tree, re-arranged and deep cleaned one of my foreign exchange students room, laundry every second of every day, dishes two times per day, cleaned out my fridge, swept, moped, vacuumed any floor surface I have come across, cleaned toilets and showers. If I didn't have a husband, a 1 1/2 year old son and two foreign exchange students... I think I would run out of things to clean!

At least I'm able to sleep most of the night because I'm so worn out. :)

When we went and got the sonogram done at almost 26 weeks pregnant we also found out that our baby is measuring out at 2 1/2 lbs already! Can you believe it?! Either this baby is going to come early like Colton did or its going to be mighty large. I find it funny that from time to time when Colton wants to be held that the baby kicks and hits him already (probably because Colton is sitting on her!) She is going to come out with her boxing gloves on ready to take on Colton.

This week in weather, the Midwest got a intense blizzard. I have been getting text messages from people in Kansas saying things like, "I have lived in Utah most of my life, but I have never seen it this bad!", or "I grew up in Minnesota, this puts those winters to shame!". They first got sleet (freezing rain) which then turned to ice on the roads and plants ect. Then hours later they got dumped on by a couple feet of snow. I talked to my family on the phone last night and they said it stopped snowing but even though the sun is out it still wont melt anything because its only 5 degrees outside. It made me want to get a big cup of hot coco and sit by a fireplace just listening to stories about the storm. I miss it. I'm hopeful that there will be one last snow storm when I'm in Kansas in a couple weeks.

Well, my brain is going about a thousand miles a minute in different directions (due to pregnancy and my horrible cold) as I'm sure you can tell by my posts lately... I think I will go clean. :)

On my mind...

2011-01-31T16:55:00.000-07:00

This is what has been on my mind lately...

Hair bows & Headbands....


Cute infant swimming suites...

With cute shoes to match!

Ever since Thursday when we found out that we are having a little girl I have been thinking about how fun it will be to dress her. I'm kind of one of those people that like to be different....so even though most stores only supply pink clothes for little girls... I thought this yellow swimming suite with matching shoes was SO adorable!

We have also tried to figure out a name for our little one on the way and haven't agreed on one yet... so the search for a name is still going. : ) Knowing us she will come home from the hospital without a name.

Hope everyone in Arizona enjoyed the clouds and rain as much as I did today!!!

Baby?

2011-01-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Reid and I went to the doctors today to find out the sex of the baby and to make sure that everything is growing nicely. :)

We are having a HEALTHY (as far as sonograms are concerned) ... baby GIRL!

Reid and I both secretly wanted a boy (shh, don't tell) but we are happy to have a healthy baby girl on the way. Reid expressed to me that he thought a cute little girl would be fun until he was scout master and was around all the teenage girls in young woman's. Haha.

As my sister said, "bring on the pink clothes and hair bows". (I'm personally nervous about hair bows and such as I know Colton will want to wear them as he LOVES to accessorize.)

Well there you have it.... if anyone wants to see the cute video that my doctors office made of the ultrasound then let me know. Maybe I can figure out how to put it on here or facebook. :)

My eggo is preggo...

2011-01-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

As you all know from my other posts that we are expecting baby #2. You may also know that I have been putting off making a appointment to go get my 20 week ultrasound done to find out the sex of the baby. I'm now 25 1/2 weeks prego. This morning at 9:30am I made the call to the Gilbert office to get my ultrasound (since the Tempe office that I go to doesn't have a in house sonogram machine) I made the appointment for 10:20am tomorrow morning. Reid is very excited about it. :) Colton is going to be watched at our home by my BFF Settina (T, as I call her), she lost her job yesterday because of the place closing up. She is super baby hungry and we have been trying to talk her and her husband Rick into having a cutie pie of their own by having them watch our crazy boy. Haha. I then have a eye appointment in the afternoon while Reid is at work.

We will be sure to get on the blog tomorrow to tell everyone what we are having. Stay tuned!

With love,
Reid, Meagan and Colton

Family

2011-01-25T13:54:00.000-07:00

I thought I would do a quick little update.

Reid: Trying to find ways to spend more time with Colton and I. He has decided to conduct his ASU class in a way that makes it so he doesn't have to go all the time. He has decided to make it a part online part in class schedule. His normal in class hours are pretty rough this semester when trying to raise a family (7:30-8:45pm). So this way he can do every other week online via Blackboard and then on the other weeks he goes in to teach and collect assignments. He is thinking that he will probably give up the course soon especially because the class size keeps getting smaller and smaller every semester.

Meagan: I am "growing a baby", and that's about all that's on my brain all the time. : ) Reid and I had a sleep over on the office floor last night as we didn't want to wake up Colton and move him to his crib in the office. (We have 2 cribs set up right now). Reid and I were up talking late and he was also working from home in the office which led us to just getting some pillows and blankets and slept on the floor. Quote from our sleep over last night, "How much do you dare me to put this USB cable in my mouth" - Reid Johnson. (Apparently he loves doing dares when he was a kid having sleep overs.)

Colton: The poor kid is sick again. I'm pretty sure he was only well for a day and a half. This time he has a nasty cough, runny nose and fever. As opposed to the previous cold of runny nose and sneezing. We hope he gets better soon as we have little Rachel Morris's birthday party to go to this weekend! Colton is at such a fun age, Reid likes to "horse around" before bed to wear out any last bit of energy. Last night they were playing on the bed and he started to get really angry at Reid. We let him off the bed and he walked up to the crib and said..."in". I (Meagan) picked him up and said "do you want to go to bed already?" and he about jumped out of my arms into the bed.

Our little family: We are trying to plan to see my little brother Massey before he goes on a mission for 2 years. I can't fly past the last week in March, so I'm trying to get Massey to come out here! If I can't convince my mom into that then we will have to use up our vacation time to go out there. :) I wish I weren't so pregnant or I would just take Colton on my lap to Kansas...but the belly is getting big and so is Colton! Haha.

Sundays

2011-01-23T23:22:00.001-07:00

Colton and I hate Sundays.... we have to wake up early (before 10am!) to be at church at 9am, (that is, if Reid doesn't turn off the alarm making us very late for church.)This makes us both very cranky stressed out people. We had to stay a extra hour and a half so that Reid could go to the young men's/scouts meeting that was suppose to only take a hour. (I know next time to just go home as Colton couldn't handle it as we weren't informed about the meeting and so Colton wasn't prepared with snacks or a drink, MAJOR MELT DOWN.) Anyways, we go home and eat lunch and then Reid tucks us both into our beds and we nap from about 1 or 2pm to about 5:30 or 6:30pm. We wake up, I make dinner, we eat and then Colton goes to bed for the night at 7:30pm. This has become our Sunday schedule. While we are napping, Reid works from home (story of his life).

If only church started at 2pm, but we are stuck with 9am church year around as we share the building with two singles wards. This wouldn't be so bad, but when we moved to Kansas from Missouri 10 years ago we moved into a ward that was also 9am church year around. Will the madness ever end?! Next time we move, I am scouting out the wards ahead of time and what time they meet so that we can enjoy church/Sundays as much as other people seem to enjoy it.

Ok....phew! I am stepping down off my high horse or soap box. :)

On a bit of a lighter note, I'm researching baby names... I only have about 3ish months till baby #2 is here and we haven't even started thinking about names. Since we don't know what the sex of the baby is yet I am looking at both boy and girl names. I put them on a list and then read them to Reid, he then butchers my list and I start over. Good times. :)

I also am pretty excited for the end of my pregnancy as I love when the "nesting" phase kicks in. I am starting to feel like the nesting phase is on its way full force as I cleaned out and sanitized our fridge as well as cleaned the kitchen today (after my nap and dinner of course). Yay for a clean-ish house!

Reid doesn't like the end of my pregnancies or after when my hormones are all crazy cause I get all Nazi like and put notes on things and freak out when people don't do things I like or if they eat me out of house and home... or drink my favorite juice. Oh and did I mention I really like to pick fights during this time too, weird, I know. Its a good thing that our students are only here till late march cause they will really start to hate me. (One is leaving late Feb)

If anyone is wondering where I'm at in the pregnancy stuff, here is a little idea:

I have to go get the glucose testing done in two weeks.
The same week that I'm suppose to go get tested I also have a OB/GYN appointment. Friday Feb 11th.
I need to schedule my (20 week) ultrasound. I'm 5 weeks late in doing that... so I need to go do that ASAP. :) Maybe someone should text me tomorrow to remind me that I need to go do that. (Since everyone else but me wants to know the sex of the baby...I'm just kind of over it.)

Colton Update:
Colton went and got his hair done at Snip-Its on Saturday, since Reid was working from home and we were driving him crazy. :) He got quite the stylish hair cut for a 1 1/2 year old. Colton still LOVES nursery and all that it has to bring into his life. Reid is so cute about Colton being in nursery... "Now... we can't give him a lot of juice before he goes into nursery because he doesn't want to have a embarrassing moment in front of his lady friends with soaked through pants."

Colton after he got his hair cut and styled by a professional.

Well... lets hope Colton and I have a good week together. I don't have to teach sunbeams this coming Sunday so maybe we will be in a little higher spirits. :)

Toddler at the park!

2011-01-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

Colton at 17 months, enjoying his new love, pears!

Colton LOVES the swings!

Reid was afraid that Colton doesn't get enough interaction with kids his own age, here is Colton with his new park friends. Two twin boys age 2 years old, 1 boy age 18 months old, and a girl age 3 1/2. Colton loved sharing toys with the new kids!

This is a caption shot from a video I didn't know I was taking. :)

Colton is a bit of wimp when it comes to the slides and climbing things, this is me trying to tell him that its not as scary as he thinks and that it can actually be REALLY fun! :) He wasn't to convinced... so I put the camera around my neck, picked him up and we rode down the slide together. He enjoyed it with my help, Colton got up from the slide and said "more, please?!"

I kept patting on the higher stair saying, "Its okay Colton, climb up here, its fun" (I'm great with giving peer pressure huh?!)...so this is a picture of him patting the same stair and trying to figure out how to get up the 1st step.

Colton REALLY enjoyed the sand this time, we have taken him to this park before but all the other times he was really frustrated at getting sand everywhere.

He is my cautious boy, he gets on his hands and feet like the boy off of The Jungle Book and "climbs" down the small steps. Reid says he doesn't mind, its less bumps and bruises... I on the other hand am like... "Come on, be a man!".

This is Colton playing in the sand! Do you see the bottom of his sneakers? They have little clear windows in them so that you can see if their shoes fit or not. Smart idea, wish I would have thought of that!


I kind of laugh at this picture cause he looks like he is going to cry, but its just him trying to look up into the sun behind me to smile at the camera. No tears on the playground this time. :) We had a great morning at the park, now its nap time! Hope everyone else in Arizona is enjoying the nice weather before it gets nasty again!

Colton

2011-01-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

This is my best friend... I got sad last night thinking of how we have to learn to share with a new baby. : ) Reid and I are NOT by any means ready for baby # 2. Is it pathetic that I don't even have a desire to find out the sex of the baby?! How bogus is that right? Reid sent me a email this week saying the days that he could go with me to the sonogram... you know... the one I needed to have scheduled 4 weeks ago. I feel like we have been asked more by random people of what we are having that what we got asked with Colton.

Reid has been working his poor little heart out. The new semester started for ASU this week which means we will see even less of Reid. The scouts have decided to hold my husband captive for longer than their allowed time. The scouts are working on getting flag schedules placed in neighborhoods as well as taking donations. They have been going out on weekends and early on mutual nights. (5:30pm-8:30pm?!) Needless to say... I hope it ends soon as I would enjoy my husbands company as much as they do.Good luck boys!

Colton has been working on new words. He has down some basic words like, momma, dadda, milk, more, juice, shoes, baby, Emma, Emmin, no, yes, and please. We are now working on some new words like: thank you (which he has almost mastered), clothes, banana, car, hungry and thirsty. He has such a cute little voice when he talks!
Colton got to join nursery about 2 months early a couple weeks ago as Reid teaches 3rd hour and now I'm teaching sunbeams 3rd hour instead of teaching 9 year olds 2nd hour. So far... he LOVES nursery and hasn't looked back! The 1st time I took him there he nearly jumped out of my arms to go play with the kids... he still has yet to care that Reid or I are gone. I guess that's a good thing right?

Our winter didn't seem to last nearly as long as the last couple of years. (It was 80 degrees on Saturday!) Its time to plant the flowers and garden already and I am very excited to do it, now if I can just get Reid on board with my excitement about the garden!

Side Note:
We have decided to take a break from Facebook for a while, so if you are wondering where I disappeared to...that's why. Maybe it will make me blog more, which is what I was hoping to do this year! : )

And there were more...

2011-01-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

Our family has a new addition as of a two days ago. We have a 2nd student living with us. She will only be with us for a month and a week. Colton has been moved to the office and we have all 4 bedrooms full! The poor thing came the same day Colton got ANOTHER cold. The poor boy has been suffering from a could for 3 days now and is doing better but the first couple nights for our student had to have been the most rough as Colton woke up many times all night long. Last night was his 1st night in a couple nights that he was able to sleep through the night and he slept from 8pm- 11am this morning! I'm so glad he was able to get some good rest.

Today I got up feeling very sick (head cold), Reid says he has a cold coming on as well. So I got up ate breakfast and cleaned and disinfected every surface possible! Haha. Colton woke when I was mopping the floors so I put him in his high chair to eat some breakfast. Mandarin Oranges, HE LOVES mandarin orange, he ate an entire can by himself for breakfast this morning with some milk to wash it down. He is such a cutie pie even when he has snot rolling down his face! I love my little bubba!

Reid as always is slammed with work and side work. He starts teaching again at ASU next week, add that to having to go to scouts we wont see him much.

I'm 23 weeks pregnant and a few days, I'm due on Mothers day this year (May 8th 2011). I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. I still need to schedule a sonogram appointment to see our little cutie pie and to know what its going to be... boy or girl. I honestly don't care what it is as long as its healthy and smart like Colton. :) Reid want's a little girl soooo bad! He talks to my belly as if its a little girl and he talks to the belly and says "you have to cuddle with us because Colton won't).

I have been watching my nephew Emmin Johnson (Karl & Rachel's son) while his parents are working. It has been good for Colton as it has taught him how to share and how you can not hit other kids. I'm hoping this has been a great learning experience for Colton so that he isn't so rough with the new little one.

Week one of the new year!

2011-01-04T11:52:00.001-07:00

Blessed...

Reid, Colton and I ran to the store last night to get some much needed cleaning supplies so I can disinfect my house. Colds have been circling around and I'm determined not to get sick again. As we were leaving the store we decided to go and grab a treat of ice cream at McDonald's. As we sat in the drive through Colton fell asleep so we ate our treat in the car so that we didn't wake him. When we were in the car discussing life and whats going on in the world we came to a wonderful subject of how blessed we are because of our sacrifice to get out of debt. Everyone thought we were crazy in the process of becoming debt free but I can honestly say how thankful I am to have done it.

We had two 2010 cars, a 2010 Toyota Corolla and a 2010 Honda Pilot. I have to say this was the biggest sacrifice I have ever made. We happened to sell both cars on the same day for a large loss that we then had to figure out how to pay in cash as the car loan places wouldn't take any other payment. So we were car less and needed a way to get lots of cash FAST. Not a lot of people know this but we then had to sell all of our furniture except for our beds and Colton's dresser and changing table as it was given to us through family and I'm sure that someone would have been angry if we didn't pass it onto family. So in the end we are car less and have a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house with nothing in it but some beds. What a change in our lives! But what a blessing that we were able to get out of debt. The nice furniture that we sold was able to pay off the cars, pay off our credit card and help keep us fed (along with our food storage) as well as pay for plane tickets to Thanksgiving/ Christmas in Kansas. I can honestly say that I now feel like I'm a newlywed/college student. Haha.

We got this crazy idea of getting out of debt quick by this guy named Dave Ramsey. He has seminars and a radio station. He says getting out of debt needs to feel like ripping off a band-aid, quick, stings a bit but so much better afterwords. We have been following Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps to Financial Peace. http://www.daveramsey.com/new/baby-steps/ We are almost done with baby step #4! Can you believe it?! We are so thrilled to be so far along in the Financial Peace steps.

Since selling the cars Reid has been taking my bike to work and Colton and I would walk to the bus stop and would take the bus to where we needed to go. This was a tough task but it really taught me how to be more prepared with Colton as I couldn't just drive home really quick to get something he needed. In late December we got what I like to call is our "Dave Ramsey Car". Its a 1991 Toyota Camry DX. After taking the bus and walking to church for a couple months its was so nice to have ANY car. The Camry only cost us $800. and it has a sun roof! Haha. Its sad when I get excited about the little things even if its in a very old car, but at least all of the power options including the sunroof work! I'm so grateful that we have a car to get us around.

We hope that by doing all of these financial baby steps that we will be able to provide a wonderful life for our family and as well as for ourselves and retire early! Reid is mostly excited about the early retirement idea, who wouldn't! : )

New Years

2011-01-02T14:04:00.000-07:00

New Years:

For my new years I have decided to do a few things that I have been wanting to do for a while. My cousin Katie Hardmand is really good about blogging and recently said she is turning her blogs into a book. She inspired me to do the same thing, so for 2011 I will try my hardest to keep a pretty steady blog so that I can then turn it into a book and it can be a journal! www.blurb.com is the site where she is getting her blog book through if anyone else is interested.

My sister Brooklyn (and maybe Nicole) and I are going to do a year long bet for 2011. I'm really excited about this bet as I hope it makes us all a little more healthy. Starting January 1, 2011 we are soda pop free till January 1, 2012! This is hard for me cause I love carbonated beverages so much. The looser has to pay up $50 to the winners (if there are two winners, then $25 for each winner given by the looser). I went to Brooklyn with this idea before Christmas and she was pretty scared about doing it because $50 is a lot of money and she loves her Dr Pepper. Brooklyn called me New Years morning and said... "THE BET IS ON!".

For new years Reid and I dropped off Colton to Bill and Ravae Johnson's home so that he could go to sleep and we went out to Tempe, AZ block party and enjoyed magic shows, live concerts and dancing. Reid was happy that the band Jimmy Eat World was there and helped bring in the new year in style. We were able to do a few fun things over the holiday break this year as Reid had to take it easy from his heart attack scare that he had on my 23rd birthday. We went and swam at the indoor wave pool in Tempe, AZ. Enjoyed some parties with the family and got to see the new movie Tron last night (thanks to my visiting teachers giving us movie tickets for Christmas!) Its rated PG and is really more for the older crowed as its way to deep for kids younger than maybe 2nd grade level.

We went to Hunter Morris's baby blessing today and was grateful we were able to make it as it was a wonderful blessing to experience. We had to quickly leave as we had to get back to teach our 3rd hour classes.

2010-12-03T17:10:00.000-07:00

We had the joy of spending Thanksgiving in Kansas this year as we switch between families every other year. This year is Thanksgiving with the Sloop's and Christmas with the Johnson's and next year it will be reversed!

We had such a great time hanging out with everyone and visiting. We stayed for a good long time, 7 days! We flew into Kansas city instead of driving this year, it was sooooo much better. We played lots of games together and ate lot of great home cooked meals! Can you believe it or not, I'm 4 months prego and I went and played in the ward turkey bowl AND scored a touch down... my Thanksgiving could not have started off any better!

We were able to get our pictures taken while we were in town and boy did they turn our cute. Colton was crying the entire time because he wanted to run around in the grass and leafs instead of being held... but once my entire family started singing (with their teeth clinched) he was really quiet. There are 4 things that he loves in life so far... Basketball on the TV.... playing with any sort of ball outside.... shoes (couldn't imagin where he gets that from) and MUSIC.

When we were leaving Kansas to go back to Arizona I will never forget what happened... Felise Navidad (Christmas song) came on the radio and everything about that song reminded me of Arizona, it made me realize that its ok to have Christmas with palm trees and it be 80 degrees.... and the other thing that happened was when I was sitting in the airport (it was super early in the morning) and I was stairing out into space and realized it was snowing! I got to witness my favorite thing in the world.... the 1st snow of the season (for Kansas). Since then I have really been content and haven't even had the need to put the christmas lights out on the house this year. Haha.

We hope everyone enjoys this holiday season!

With love,

The Johnson's

SOOOO EXCITED!

2010-11-17T12:57:00.000-07:00

Wow, its been too long since I have posted anything on our blog!

To catch everyone up on our crazy lifes... her goes nothing.

We had a wonderful Halloween this year. Colton was walking just in time and really enjoyed all of his candy!
We attended the ward Halloween party that was inside the church then we all went outside to trunk or treat when the sun went down. It was still so warm outside! (Please ignore the fact that Reid has bed head in the picture, hehe)

We are expecting baby # 2 around May 8thish 2011! We are excited to have another little rug-rat running around us in circles. I will find out the sex of the baby in a couple weeks.

Thanksgiving is coming soon and we are very excited to get the chance to travel to Kansas. We will be there for a entire week! We will also be celebrating Christmas with my family while we are in town as we do Christmas in December with them every other year and the off years we do it on Thanksgiving. I think I'm mostly excited for the EGG NOGG...yummm!!!

We love this time of year that reminds us to be grateful and giving! We hope all have a wonderful holiday season!

FAMILY

2010-08-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

The family came to town and we had lots of fun!
We swam in our pool, went to a AZ D-Backs game, we went to a water park, did lots of shopping and had two birthday parties.

Since my boy Colton and his cousin Emma are born 7 days apart we decided to celebrate their 1st birthdays while the families were in town. We had Colton's birthday on Saturday and Emma's on Sunday. Colton had a blue and white fun-fetie cake and Emma had a pink and white strawberry flavored cake.

We really enjoyed the time spent with the family. It was a great way to end the summer. :)

Colton Bolton

2010-08-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

*Sorry about the picture qualitiy...gotta love camera phones!*

I have been getting a kick out of my sister in law who has nick named Colton, "Colton Bolton...or Bolton. Its so cute, he gets such a kick out of his Aunt Marissa!

Life has been a bit crazy to say the least recently.

We finished putting in a rock yard with the thanks of our friends from the ward Rick and Settina Beeler and the thanks to Reid's parents for letting us borrow the tools to keep Colton contained and to shovel rock. Reid sent us home late friday night around 11pm and he stayed till 3am finishing up... just in time for the new renters to move in the next morning. Needless to say... Colton and I didn't wake up till 12:30pm on saturday. Reid on the other hand went and worked all day. Yuck.

Reid's ear has taken him down again. I tell him that its the Lord trying to make him catch up on some much needed sleep. :)

Colton has learned how to stand up without holding onto anything thanks to his aunt Marissa who showed us how to teach him the ways. Colton also is teething again... he is trying to get one of his top teeth to come in. Right now he only has two on the bottom.

My family is coming in town this week!!! I'm very excited and very overwelmed. Its tough to have a teething toddler and a husband who can't be out of bed for more than 5 minutes.

I'm starting school again soon....ugh... it makes for a stressed out mother and wife, but it needs to be done. :)

Hope all is well with everyone! I will be sure to take lots of pictures of Colton's upcoming bday party!

Weekend....

2010-07-12T20:01:00.001-07:00

We had a pretty good weekend, considering.

Reid brought me home flowers and doughnuts on Friday... I almost started crying because I seriously thought it was Thursday and I was so ready to be done with the week.

Colton has a cold and had a fever for a day. Now he just has a lingering runny nose. :)

Reid has been working so hard at our rental house trying to change the yard from grass to rock. He spent most of the Saturday working over there. He brought be lunch on Saturday and hung out with us for a little while during the hottest time of the day... while he was here he worked on putting in the lighting cove in the kitchen. When it started to cool off outside he went back over to the rental house to work on the yard till late.

Sunday: I taught my cute little primary class. I taught about the story of Samson... you know... they guy with the hair. Anyways... I have 2 girls in my primary class that are sisters and they went on and on and on and on about how buff their daddy was!!! Kids say the darnedest things! Reid stayed home with the sick baby and was glad that I made him stay home because he had another dizzy spell with his ear.... I call them "fits". :)

We are getting excited to have all my family come in town and hope we have some energy left to play with them after all this house work! Hehe. I'm glad they are coming... its pushing us to get our projects done.

Oh I forgot... I had Reid working on going through his "keep sakes boxes" and we had some fun with Colton in the process. See the picture below!

Sunshine & Summer Time!

2010-07-02T09:46:00.001-07:00

Above are two pictures, one of Colton and one of Emma. 7 days apart in age.

We recently found out that my family is coming out to Arizona for Colton's early birthday party!

We are going to have a full house! The following people are coming: My mom and dad, little sister Brooklyn, my little brother Massey, my little sister Nicole with her husband Trevor and little girl Emma.

We are so excited to have everyone come out to visit. The are coming to Arizona in the hottest time of the year... Humid + 115 or higher degrees. Yuck. Can someone say MONSOON?! I hope it rains at least once while they are here so the dust in the air settles and they can get a relief from the hot weather.

Anywho... We are having Colton's birthday about 3 weeks early so that we could have Reid's little brother Cole, his wife Marissa and little girl Chayse there. They will be heading back to Lubbock for his last year of law school.

We are excited to have everyone come celebrate Colton's 1st birthday!!!

The Sloops will celebrate Emma's birthday the day after so that we can enjoy her 1st birthday together before they go back to school again in Rexburg.

It still blows my mind how close Emma and Colton are in age...seperated by 7 days! Its too bad they don't live closer.

Sunshine and Summer time!

2010-06-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

We have been really busy from rental house to rental house, family gatherings to family outings...and are enjoying every minute of it. We are in the process of painting our house a nice warm color and it looks like our house is sort of cameo colored. :)

Colton is loving summer time with long walks and lots of pool time.

Reid is a busy man, he works on the rental house before work every morning trying to put in a watering system for our new trees and flood lights to light up the trees at night. We just ordered rock today and it will be delivered tomorrow, so we will be working hard all night tonight and tomorrow trying to get the rock yard in.

I have decided to take another spin at the Real Estate testing this summer instead of taking summer classes at Rio Salado. Wish me luck!

2010-06-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

Our big boy is now 9 months old. He got in two teeth a week before his well baby visit (right on track) and is in the 10th percentile for weight and 75th for height. :)

He LOVES our pool and we have had a great time playing in it while daddy is at work.

Texas & Kansas

2010-05-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

We were fortunate enough to take a trip to Lubbock TX and Shawnee KS. We started driving on Wednesday night after Reid got off work...we drove through the night and got to Lubbock Thursday morning. We then chatted a bunch with Cole and Marissa and had them show us around Lubbock. We looked at some pretty amazing house! Who knew I would ever say I want to move to Lubbock....that day has come. While we were there we went swimming with them and I was able to go shopping at the mall with Marissa while Cole and Reid watched the kiddos. On the way to Lubbock Colton popped out his very first tooth and didn't sleep a wink all night long, can you believe it?!
Marissa and I kicked the boys out of the apartment so we could watch the season finally of Grey's Anatomy. When the show was over the guys came back and we watched Talledaga Nights... I can never get enough of that movie. I love it! We slept at Cole and Marissa's beautiful apartment Thursday night and left for Kansas Friday.

It was so good to be in Kansas, we were able to spend some good time with lots of family. Congrats again to Massey and Sammie for graduating high school. I was able to see a lot of old friends at their joint graduation party which was a lot of fun! I miss being near my family.

We drove back Monday and Tuesday without stopping, Reid and I switched off sleeping and driving. Colton's 2nd tooth decided to come in on the way home. I was able to get my little fill of a Kansas rain storm while driving away. I miss those rain storms so much!

Anyways... we are back home safe and trying to get back to normal life. I have been applying for night jobs and trying to transfer to Rio Salado. Reid has been working hard at getting a watering system put into the rental house where we just planted trees.

We hope all is doing well. Colton will be going to swimming lessons soon, he loves the pool already, he kicks so hard when in the pool... with a huge smile. I love it.

Summer!

2010-04-19T10:20:00.002-07:00

Recently Reid, Colton and I went to a ward picnic where we were able to meet a lot of new people that were more our ages. YAY for friends. Its been almost two years and I am just now making friends. There is a lot to be said about staying in one ward for more than a couple months. : )

Its warming up out side, I am really excited about summer and being able to go swimming in the back yard!

Congrats to my sister in laws: Edith and Marissa, they are preggo at the same time... again. : ) Edith is due in October and Marissa is due in December (I believe). I'm so excited for new little ones that have no strings attatched! "The baby is hungry and crying.... here you go!" Love it.

My brother Massey and cousin Samantha are graduating this May from the same school! It has been so fun to see them grow up together. Reid, Colton and I are driving up to Kansas for their graduations!!!

I'm so excited to be going back home to see the family!

This weekend my little sister Brooklyn did a lot of major changes. She got 12 inches cut off of her hair (her hair is now to her shoulders) and donated to cancer in behalf of her friend who has cancer and today she got her braces off! Watch out boys!!!

We went to Tempe Movie in the park on Friday and had a great date night. See the picture of colton with the pizza.... we took a $5.00 pizza as our dinner. : )

So.... I made this for dinner last night from my new favorite website to get recepies from.... it was heaven in my mouth! Its called Quesadilla Pie. It was super cheap to make!!! simplyrecipes.com

Homemade laundry detergent (dry)

2010-04-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

Reid has given us a very strict "weekly family budget" so that we can get out of debt and save for the future that is to come.

He takes care of all the bills... IE. Mortgages, utilities, EST.
I take care of the food, baby stuff, and cars.

Since the budget is on the small side, (about half what a normal family would spend) I have been finding ways of how to get costs down so I can save a little to some day get a hair cut ; )

We have gone to cloth diapers which is that the most amazing thing in the world but it cuts out about 10-20 dollars per week on disposable diapers. : )

I have decided today that I'm going to start making "home made laundry detergent". Since we aren’t throwing away the diapers... they have to be cleaned right? Laundry cleaning = $$

If anyone else in interested in being frugal like me... here is the recipe:

Laundry Detergent (dry):

2 cups finely grated soap (yes body soap, a bar of it, use your cheese grater!)
1 cup Borax
1 cup Arm & Hammer washing soda (not baking soda, can be found in the cleaning or laundry isle)

Blend it up in a blender or food processer, put it in a container that has a lid and put a measuring cut next to it! You’re done!

Depending on the mess of the clothes: 1TBSP - 1/2 Cup

If you have a HE washer, no worries! This mixture does not suds up like the liquid soap so it’s fine for you washers!!!

Spring break & Easter

2010-04-05T09:58:00.001-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted and a few exciting things have happened in the mean time!

My not so little, "little brother" came out to visit over spring break. It was also my spring break as well which worked out perfectly! We had a lot of fun!!! We went to the Kansas City Royals spring training baseball game, Massey went mountain climbing with Reid's dad and brother. We went camping up in the mountains. We attempted to climb 4 peaks mountain range but had to turn back as it was too icy at the top. We went to the Heart attatck grill where we ate the most unhealthy food I have ever had. Every customer wore hospital gowns over there clothes and the servers wore nurse and doctor outfits. Massey ate a "quadrupal bypass burgar"... it was HUGE! My mom has since told me that he has not had a hamburger since... only chicken!!! They then wheeled him out with a wheel chair to the car. It made me so sick that night and the following day. We also made a lot of progress on the yard here at my house. we had a "pool" fence that was held together with chains that massey and I took out. I really loved having him in town. He helped out so much and I was able to feel more motivated than I had in a long time. : )

EASTER:

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Bartletts home a lot for different easter festivities. We did a money egg hunt one day. Another day we went and did a childrens hunt with their ward and had breakfast. Then we listened to conferance on there very large (50inch?) flatscreen tv.

Easter morning we decided to combine both of Reid's and my traditions. I hid baskets of goodies around the house for Reid and Colton to find and then I also made sure there was a outdoor egg hunt. Colton was very happy to have a peep and crashed hard after he had his sugar rush. : ) Reid was happy to have candie and fruit snacks.

MARCH MADNESS BABY!

2010-03-14T14:57:00.001-07:00

Wakana left us Saturday morning at 6am. It was a pleasure to have her come visit for a few months and learn of her culture.

Cole, Marissa and Chayce Johnson came into town yesterday for some good arizona weather and to visit with friends and family over spring break. We are happy to have them in town.

My little brother comes into town tomorrow night to visit us for spring break. He will be in Monday night around 10:30pm and will leave the following Monday around lunch time. We have a lot of fun work and fun planned for his visit.

Colton is teething like crazy, the poor boy seems to have a lot of discomfort from his teething gums and cry's all the time. No teeth have came through yet.

Reid has started another project in the house... The floresent lighting in the kitchen was way to heavy for the j-boxes that housed the lighting and was ripping out of the ceiling. We figured the ceilingless hallway can wait, as we needed to fix the kitchen light problem before they fell on someone. We decided since we had to put in new drywall and j-boxes why not put in what we would really enjoy, so Reid has been working his rear off to get the project done. He is lifting the ceiling and then putting tract lighting in. I'm very excited to see the finished product! I really enjoy remodel projects!!!

Picture above is a drawing of what the lighting will look like in a raised ceiling in our kitchen. To the right of it was another option of just putting in new j-boxes and drywall patching. We choose to raise the ceiling for better resale.

Selection Sunday is today and I am uber stoked about it! I LOVE BASKETBALL. Basketball has been my life since I started playing at a young age and watched my dad and uncle play at the church all the time when I was even younger. Good luch to all teams!

Mr Sunshine... Mr Golden Sun... Please shine down on me!

2010-03-03T13:44:00.001-07:00

Massey Sloop, Marissa Johnson, Cole Johnson and Chayce Johnson are all coming to visit for spring break!

Who could have asked for a better spring break, right?

I'm really starting to get excited for the summer after all the rain and clouds we have been getting. Thank you for sending more spring my way... now I'm getting the summer ich!

I have been cleaning the pool EVERY DAY trying my hardest to get it to look semi clean. It's so tough to clean a pool by hand!

Wakana leaves in 10 days. It has been quite the adventure.

My grandpa and grandma sloop called me this afternoon telling me they are sending a broken Massey to me. My brother has joined a mens national Rugby team. My grandpa says he "just knows that Massey's nose is broken, because it slopes in" and my grandma says he had two black eyes and a messed up leg. They both think "why would you ever want to inflict pain for fun as a sport?!". Good for my brother though... he needs some sports in his life that doesn't involve a fising pole or a shot gun. Massey's last game was against a team in Oklahoma and on Thursday he is playing a team from Minnesota! GOOD LUCK, DONT LOOSE ANY TEETH!

Colton is getting so big. We went to his well baby visit and was told that he is in the 50% for weight, 75% for height and 50% for his head. When I told the doctor that he sleeps through the night and then takes a huge nap during the day she said he wins the price for being the best baby she has ever heard of. : )
Colton was giving his shots and a extra one... Colton got his first shot of the swine flu! This is a recent picture of my tall lanky boy with his band-aids on.

School has been really rough this semester. I have never done a college semester full time... and I'm attempting it with a 6 month old and all online. Please pray for me. I need it!

One of my classes ends early! My marketing class ends one week before spring break and although I am sad to not have that class (its my favorite) I am glad to get a break!

I signed up for full time summer classes! I also signed up for full time Fall classes. I'm in "getter done" mode for school, if you havent noticed.

We have had a great time meeting little baby Emmin. He is such a little doll. : )

CRAZY WEEK!

2010-02-19T15:19:00.001-07:00

The Johnson's have kept super busy this week...

Meagan: Homework, grocery shopping, showing a rental, walks with Colton, watering the yard and plants (please green thumb, work!), tending to the baby as a single mother (wife of a architect), washing the Pilot by hand with colton in the shade, cleaning house, more homework...and cleaning the pool.

"A mother's work is never done" -Shelly Sloop (my mom)

Reid: Lots of late nights and multiple all nighters. Sleeping for a couple hours during the day in the car. Emailing his wife because his phone died. Had a deadline yesterday!

Colton: working on crawling, learned how to scream da da da da da through the house, learned how to roll over from his back to his tummy. Learned how to roll all over in the crib at nap time. Very cranky... misses daddy.

Wakana: Keeping Meagan from going nuts. Returning late to the Johnson home to eat and sleep. : ) The life of a college student!

We hope all is doing well!

Sunday Naps!

2010-02-15T16:55:00.002-07:00

There is nothing better than a Sunday nap!

Colton is growing so fast, we love his little voices and facial exspressions. Colton is really loving his "johnny jump up" he pushes off his feet so hard that the spring doesn't work (in the air)... he flys in the air with a huge smile!

Reid has been working hard this past week and will work super hard this week. He has a huge deadline for the temple on Thursday. One step closer to being finished!

Meagan is working hard at school. She is greatful for the time she gets to get the homework done when Colton is taking his naps.

We had a great weekend as a family. Wakana spent the weekend at a friends house. We went shopping for pots and pans to replace our teflon pans that were flaking off into our food. (Extra seasoning, Reid calls it)
We found the best deal at Macy's (of all places)... we were trying to decide between cast iron or stainless steel. I was afraid of the kids pulling the cast iron on themselfs and hurting themselfs pretty badly... and we remembered that both of our parents have stainless steel pots and pans that have lasted 20 + years. So we ended up getting a really nice set of stainless steel pans and pots.

This is what we purchased with our washer and dryer rebate money. : )
http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=286749&PseudoCat=se-xx-xx-xx.esn_results

Saturday I didnt get to bed till about 2:30am because we were working on the house and homework buying pans and my lesson for teaching the 9 & 10 year olds the next morning.

Sunday came quick and we actually made it to church on time! I do not enjoy 9am church and with my luck... this ward never changes from 9am.

Church was great, but we were glad to home and crashed out on the couchs.
(See above picture, colton didnt realize it was family nap time)

We are really enjoying the weather here right now. The car said 81 degrees yesterday! Now if only it would stay that nice... I am greatful to have a pool though for when the heat comes.

After our naps, we went to Bill and Ravae's house for amazing dinner and some socializing.
If we could just all get along that would be a mericle... maybe in the secound coming. hehe.

I was just not in the mood to hear about the contention of baby names, houses and cars. Usually I can handle it... but its getting old.

For Valentines, my wonderful husband deep cleaned the bathroom! What a blessing. I hate hate hate cleaning bathrooms. : )

We hope all is doing well. We are over coming our colds and are greatful for it!

Love,
The Johnson's

Oh Colton....

2010-02-11T11:19:00.003-07:00

Colton turned 24 weeks old (6 months) on Tuesday!

He is doing really well at sitting up on his own!

Reid, Wakana, Colton and I went for a Sunday walk down the street to the lake a couple of sundays ago. It was so nice to get out and relax.

School is going well for me (Meagan)... I'm taking a full load this semester (12 credits). Colton has been taking great naps lately, which is super helpful when I am trying to get school work done.

Reid just got his yearly review... he came home and said "they said they love me." He got a much needed bonus and raise. But here is the catch... they want him to become principle. Anyways, we will see if Reid will take that position or not. We are hoping to talk to them to see if we can open another office somewhere else like Texas or Colorado (in between our two parents) and then he can be principle there.

Side note: Ravae (Reid's mom) was praying for us to live here for FOREVER... and I was praying to move...I guess she is a little better with asking for things from the Man up stairs. Hehe.

Wakana (our foreign exchange college student from Japan) is still with us and will be with us for another month.

We are getting vacation hungry... any ideas?

SCHOOL AND WORK

2010-01-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Our lifes have been a little crazy to say the least...

Meagan is going to school full time this semester (all online) and Reid is working 2 jobs.

Meagan changed her degree from Interior Design to a Buisness degree in Marketing... so far... she LOVES it.

So far this year is turning out ok, Reid is only working 2 jobs instead of three so now we get to see him in the evenings. We actually got to go walk the mall with Colton last night to wear him out and get a fruit smoothy. YUM! Its nice to have a husband... hehe.

Reid is still teaching at ASU one night a week but they dropped his MCC classes because they were not full enough.

Reid says the Gilbert temple is on its way... but I think that every time he says that... he jinxes it.

It has been rainging a lot here, and I'm loving it. Colton is sleeping better during the days because its cloudy. I'm thinking for the summer we will get the black out curtains for his room. (This is a picture of the park by our house under water)

FAMILY

2010-01-07T11:48:00.000-07:00

RING....RING....RING.......................OH CRAP REID! WE ARE LATE FOR OUR FLIGHT TO KANSAS!!!!!!

We were very lucky to have my little sister call us Christmas morning to wish us a merry christmas! We ran out the door soooo fast and drove really fast... slowed down.... drove really fast and slowed down...dang speed cameras! Anyways we ran through the airport like crazy people and we had ONE minute to spair before they were going to close the doors to the plain on us.

We were glad to have Colton with us because when we got on the plane everyone looked angry till they say colton in his cute little outfit. We sat down and the lady got on the announcer and said that we are about to take off they are almost done loading bags.... Then we heard one single thud.... haha that was our bag.

We made it to Minneapolas MN and they had a lot of snow but they are use to it and the roads and runways were great.... We got on our connecting flight and headed to Kansas.... that was a different story. We landed on a very scary snowy/icy runway but made it safe. The lady got on the microphone and said.... "well... we got you here. good luck out there" When we arrived it was 9 degress with a windchill of 3!!!

We had a great time over Christmas and New Years with my family. Nicole and her husband Trevor and baby emma came as well. It was fun to have the babies together. They are only 7 days apart....crazy huh!

Reid and I were able to help my parents out as part of there Christmas present and we put in baseboard in the kitchen where they had taken it out to put in new tile. We ran out of time to do the baseboard in the basement... but that just gives us another reason to go visit! ; )

Colton got the 7 day flu while in kansas and is still on the mend from that. I can tell he is feeling so much better though because he is smiling so much more! I am greatful for that!!!

Cole, Marissa, Reid, Bill (Cole and Reid's dad) and I went to the Mesa Temple last night! It was so neat to be with all of them. We were able to do a bunch of family baptisims for both Marissa's family and Bill's. (ours) There is always such a sweet spirit when doing baptisms. There were a lot of youth there... I love to see them interact.

I will put picture up as soon as I get them from my sister nicole and my mom.

; )

Holidays

2009-12-23T15:41:00.004-07:00

DEAR SANTA....

I wan't a stress free, drama free Chistmas full of cheer and happiness... oh.... and a puppy.

; )

Just joking, we hope everyone is enjoying this holiday season. This year has flown by!!!

We have lots planned for the Christmas season.

Christmas Eve: The famouse fondue dinner at Bill and Ravaes home with Reid's siblings and their children and dog?

Christmas Day: We are getting on a plane at 8am and heading to Kansas. We have a lay over in Minnisota on the way there (they are expecting blizzard conditions that morning) and salt lake on the way home. Reid, Colton and I are going to visit my (meagan's) family. Nicole (meagan's little sister) and husband and baby will be visiting too. We are excited to meet baby emma for the first time. She is only 7 days younger than our little Colton. It will be fun to see them together.

Day after Christmas: MEAGAN'S 22nd B-DAY!!! I'm meeting a friend at starbucks for some hot coco in the morning. Then are all going out to lunch for some REAL BBQ. We will make a appearence at my friend Heather Aulic's Wedding reception and then my mom agreed to make lazonia for dinner. (I LOVE HER LAZONIA!) Thats a great birthday if I have ever heard of one.

New Years: We will still be in Kansas celebrating New years with the family. We Then take a plane home on
New Years day at 2:30pm.

We hope everyone has a very merry Christmas and a happy new year!

January 3rd (I think).... Nicole and her husband Trevor are coming down to Arizona to visit and to go watch Boise state play in the fiesta bowl. It will be fun to have them in town.

Quick Family Update: We have a exchange student from Japan living with us till March I think. She has really good english and is going to ASU to study english and international relations.

-Meagan Johnson-

ITS A HOLIDAY SEASON..... LALALA....

2009-11-30T17:40:00.004-07:00

Reid turned the big 30 on Nov. 19th!

I was so excited to turn on the Christmas music the minute I went in my prius on Thanksgiving morning to grab some last minute things at the grocery store!!!

We had a great Thanksgiving with lots of family around. The Johnson grandparents and cousins all met up at Bill and Ravae's home for a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. One year later and I'm still trying to get use to the fact that Arizona people are so casual. I was getting ready for Thanksgiving when Reid said...."remember Meagan... casual" so I had to go get undressed. There are some things I miss about Kansas and thats one of them.

After the clothes change I grabed my "green stuff", Reid grabed Colton and we were off. We had a great time getting to know Carla and her husband a bit more. It was also so good to see the other cousins as well. The food was to die for as well!

We got our Christmas lights up on the house and our tree done well before Thanksgiving but we are really leaving the lights on them now. I love the lights, they bring a smile to my face every year.

Christmas is right around the corner! We will be flying to Kansas Christmas day! I'm very excited to see my new neice and my sister!!! It will be so good to see them for a couple days before they take off to go back to Idaho again. I'm also excited to see my parents and Brooklyn and Massey. I'm really hoping it will snow while I'm there.

With holiday cheer,

Meagan Johnson

2009-11-14T13:14:00.003-07:00

I caught colton putting his hands like that on the bottle and got a picture before he moved. It
cracked me up.

We put Colton in his walking toy because he WILL NOT do the tummy time without screaming
his head off. So I put him in this while I get things done and he can hold his head up really well now.

We made a very quick trip to Kansas for Haloween weekend. This is Reid and I bullriding at my moms resturant. Ps. for Haloween....Colton was the Cowardly Lion, I was dorthy and Reid was the scare crow from the wizard of oz.

This is Colton in a very cool outfit that my mom's friend got him. (Angie D.)

What a busy time of year!

We have finaly moved back to our newly remodeled home. There is still a lot of work to do in it but we are making great progress.

We got new designer carpet in the bedrooms, 6 inch baseboard, 2 inch door trim and crown molding and all new paint on the walls.

The carpet prior to the new stuff was a mess. The previous owner carpeted AROUND the furniture! We are very happy to have our new carpet but are super anael about getting it dirty.

Anywho...enough about the fix ups.... We moved in last saturday. We had all of our stuff in a POD outside our home. So it ended up being a pretty quick move in. I have been unpacking like a crazy person all week. Only room left is the living room. I got all 4 bedrooms unpacked and set up as well as the kitchen. I feel pretty good about the progress. :)

I set up the Christmas tree this week too! I LOVE Christmas time and I knew that if I didnt get the tree up soon it was never going to get up. (With having crazy lives and all)

Today we are going to put the lights on the outside of our house! YAY for one story houses. Last year Reid and I were both CRAZY and took Christmas light hanging to a new level with such a tall house.

Marrisa and Chayce came into town for the passing of Marrisa's Grandpa, It was so great that we got in town from kansas to be able to see them for a little while. (Even though we were half asleep running on about 2.5 hours of sleep.) Chayce is growing soooo fast. Its fun to see.

Colton is growing fast too these days. Random strangers keep coming up to me and asking how old he is. He is a big boy for only being about 3 months old. They are surprised when I tell them the age. We just hope he keeps growing so he can take on his aunt Brooklyn in basketball. ;)

We are very excited that the holidays are right around the corner. We are mostly excited to see family that we usually dont get to see very often!

We will be in Kansas this Christmas and New years, and at the Johnson grandparents for Thanksgiving.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

2009-10-22T15:31:00.002-07:00

My hubby Reid surprised me for our anniversery and told me to pack up and that were were going somewhere for the weekend. He didnt tell me where we were going till we got close. We went up north to Sedona, AZ and stayed in a very nice hotel on the side of a mountain.

Reid, Colton and I rented a Jeep and took it off roading for 4 hrs the following day (anniv. day). Colton slept the entire time... I'm sure it was from the jeep being so bumpy going over huge bolders. We had a blast!

We are family...la la la...

2009-09-21T10:49:00.004-07:00

Colton turns 1 month old tomorrow!!! Thats so crazy!
The little man is eating a lot and growing so fast.

Reid's mom was so nice to babysit for us Saturday night... Reid and I were able to get away and go to the ASU home game. What a blast!!! (Pictures at the bottom are of us at the game)

Colton is already rolling over... SCARY!

Colton is getting his blessing at church this coming sunday!

Baby Johnson is here!

2009-08-29T14:44:00.003-07:00

Our beautiful little boy was born Tuesday August 25th at 8:40am!
His name is Colton Massey Foley Johnson.
He was 7lbs 4oz and was 21 inches long.
Here are some pictures:

The baby is on his way

2009-08-21T06:16:00.002-07:00

I (Meagan) went to the OB/GYN yesterday for my weekly visit and found out that our little boy is on his way.
I am 2 cm dialated and 80% effaced.

Reid's boss and his wife took the both of us out to a nice lunch at "California Pizza Kitchen". It was mighty tasty! Then they told us we had to go back to Reid's office.

We got to Reid's office and found everyone upstair in the conference room with baby gifts and cake! They are way to sweet!

Reid said yesterday to his boss that he has been eating for 2 because he is so nervous for the baby to come. (news to me!) I'm glad I'm not the only nervous one. Haha.

Reid will be an amazing dad! We are both nervous and excited for this little bundle of joy to come "change our lifes forever"!!!

2009-07-03T17:50:00.010-07:00

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND!

(Above Picture: Reid holding his neice on Fathers Day!)

Reid got the day off today (WHAT A TREAT!) Thanks Architekton!

He woke me up and told me that he had been awake for a couple of hours and that I should come out to the pool with him for a late morning/ early afternoon swim. THE POOL WATER IS PERFECT! There is about one thing that I like about Arizona.... amazing pool weather!

(ABOVE PICTURES: Reid putting the baby crib together!)

He is off working on one of our rental houses right now... while I take it easy and stay hydrated. (Water leak in the walll!)

(Above Picture: Reid and I (Meagan) in front of our house.)

Tonight we will be heading to the other rental house and mowing the yard ect. YAY ;)

(ABOVE PICTURE: Reid cutting wood to make new baseboards in the bathroom!)

Tomorrow we will be taking it easy... probably enjoy more time in the pool in the morning and then in the evening we will be going to his office building and watching the Tempe Town Lake Firework show from a A/C (pregnant friendly... hehe) office building. HAPPY 4TH!

Yesterday was my little sisters Birthday. THE BIG 2-0! She is happy not to be a teen anymore since she has her first baby on the way.

Edith and Marissa (my sister in laws) also had birthday these past couple weeks! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THEM TOO!

Reid and I are getting very excited about having our son soon. I wish I were 40 weeks already... I just want him out already. haha.

We went stroller shopping at REI.... I have found the stroller of my dreams! (You know you are getting old when... haha)

(Above Picture: My baby sister and I being goofy at my other little sisters wedding reception. Wow... I really want to cut my hair short again...)

My parents are sending my baby sister out for 2 weeks (1st two weeks in aug!)... she is crazy, and full of energy. She has always been my little partner in crime. :) It will be a blast to have her here! Reid is excited to take her to the water park... while I cruise around in the lazy river. HAHA.

(Above Picture: Me cutting up Watermellon, Cantellope (sp), and strawberries.)

We hope you all have an amazing Independance Day!

With love,

Meagan Johnson

SPREAD THE WORD

2009-06-10T15:39:00.002-07:00

Reid and I have decided to put together a little home buisness we like to call:

PETAL CAFE

Thats right... we (mostly Meagan) are doing wedding and special event flowers! So if you have a family member or friend that is looking for a florist, please send them our way! :)

A website will be going up soon! Stay tooned!

On another note, we had a whirlwind of parties recently... first it was Mr. Taylor Morris's 1 year birthday out near there house. (We really enjoyed being out there... Meg swears that the air is much cleaner and its cool outside)

We had a small middle of the week pizza dinner with those who could make it for Bill Johnson's birthday.

Then we had little Miss Chayce's 1 year old birthday party. It was at the Agnee's (sp?) home. We had a great time, and it was perfect weather outside. Couldnt have asked for better weather lately!

Then we had another dinner party for the one and only Bill Johnson with all the family. The cookies Karl and Rachel made were to die for!!!

Baby Hayden update:

We had another sonogram done last week to make sure that he stays cookin' a little longer. Everything seems to be fine. I have only had minor contractions since the hospital scare.
I am able to move around more now and get some boxes unpacked! :)

Hayden (as of last week) was 2.5 lbs already!!! I was also told he has HUGE feet. We are hoping he will be able to use those big feet for sports in the future. Swimming, Basketball, and Soccer. Hehe.

Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather outside! We sure are!

Spring came and went!

2009-05-10T10:03:00.002-07:00

Rachel's teenager face:

We graduated puppy school!

Easter lambs at Grandma B's farm!

Easter basket!

Reid rides his bike to work - 24 miles a day

2009-05-06T10:10:00.002-07:00

Reid's grandpa Bartlett got me a book..."the mother of all baby books". IT IS SO DANG GOOD. I have had to leave it in the car so that I can get some stuff done around the house. He said the also have one called "the mother of all pregnancy books" and "the mother of all tots books"
It has really shead some light on how to get ready for a baby. I AM A HORRIBLE READER...in that... I HATE TO READ. But this book has sucked me in! It gives advice from mothers and statistics on different facts.

" 70% of woman are overly excited about having a baby and then when it comes, they are overly disorganized because they were all about making the baby cute instead of practical."
- Mother of All Baby Books-

I was glad to read that... because I am very very very practical when it comes to children. (Maybe because I was a nanny to 3 children all under the age of 4) I'm all about sticking them in a clean diaper and pushing them out to play. (I did that when I was young...and look how I turned out. haha)

Reid really liked the part in the book that said something to the effect of, "find clothes that are easy for diaper changing...". He said he didn't really think of that before...and he said that my idea of having our kids wear wunzies was a PERFECT idea.

I have a OB GYN appointment today and are excited to hear what they have to tell me about little Hayden.

Hope everyone is enjoying the 103 degree weather!!!

ps. we close on our house next week!!!

School....

2009-04-28T13:36:00.003-07:00

OUR LIFES....

School is almost out for the semester! 2 weeks and counting!!!

Its starting to get really hot here... 100's hot!!!

Our puppy still thinks he is a puppy and likes to chew things to bits.

WE MOVE IN 3-ish WEEKS!!! (Pool in backyard....here I come!)

I asked my sister-in-law Marissa if she wanted to help Reid and I plan a CO-ED baby shower this summer... and she said I'm not aloud to plan my own and that she would do it for me. She is so sweet! :)

EXCITED TO MOVE! (I'm sure Reid's Parents are too haha)

BABY KICKS A LOT!!! ps. we are naming him Hayden Massey Foley Johnson.

Spring Break! (and other recent pictures)

2009-04-15T10:52:00.011-07:00

I am really bad at updating my pictures on here, but I finaly have some time to get around to it. The first pictures is of Reid and the puppy Bentley taking a nap. (I found them on the bed when I came home from my evening drafting class at MCC)

The 2nd picture is one of (me) Meagan at the Diamond Backs Baseball game. It was the 2nd home game of the season. Reid and I had a lot of fun rooting the home team on! GO D-BACKS!

The next picture is of our puppy Bentley, he LOVES to be in the front yard rolling around in the grass.

There are a couple of picture of my "little" brother Massey, it was his birthday when I was in Kansas. He turned 17! He has a cell phone in his hand because he is talking to my other sister Nicole (who lives in Rexburg with her husband).

Then there are a bunch of picture that look like we are at dinner. We were at Jose' Peppers. There are pictures of my Grandpa sitting with two of his grandsons. (Massey and Jeff) There is a picture of my dad and his little sister Rose. There is a picture of Brooklyn and my cousin Kersten and a picture of my mom. (feeding her face) hehe.

Last but not least, there is a picture that I got of Brooklyn when we were watching the NCAA tournament. GO MU!

ITS A BOY!!!

2009-03-31T10:28:00.002-07:00

If you haven't found out already... Reid and I went to the OB GYN yesterday and were able to find out the sex of the baby. ITS A BOY! Reid said the cutest thing when we left the office building... "I'm so happy"... I then asked... "why are you so happy?"... "CAUSE WE ARE HAVING A BABY BOY!!!"
Its so neat to see the excitement in Reid. I really wanted a boy all along so we are both very happy that a little boy is on its way.

Reid had the flu or food poisening yesterday and is doing much better today!

I'm happy to be back where its WARM! My plane got cancelled and re-schedualed for the following day because we were hit by a snow and ice blizzard! I am very happy to be back.

Other exciting news.... WE FINALY GOT A HOUSE... for real this time! We got a house in Tempe. We already put our earnest money down. YAY! Reid found it while I was away in Kansas for two weeks. It will be a fun house to fix up. :)

CANT WE JUST FIND A HOUSE ALREADY?!?!

2009-03-06T14:58:00.003-07:00

So...I'm pretty sure we have put at least 4 different offers on 4 different houses and are STILL homeless. (Not quite homeless, since Reid's parents have been so nice to let us come destroy there house)

I am now 14 weeks pregnant... I have felt the baby flutter twice... and yet I really am not showing that much. I think I was showing more in Mexico (a couple weeks ago). But the baby is most defiantly hiding on near my back and on my hips. Rather than out in front like it was a couple weeks ago. I went to see the doctor March 2ND and they could not find the heart beat this time...so I had to get a ultrasound and the baby did NOT want to be disturbed. He/she kept moving around every time we got to see him/her. So I have decided it has the stubbornness of a Sloop/Bartlett. :) We hopefully get to know the sex of the baby on March 30th!!! Stay tooned for that (Edith and Eric... you will be one of the 1st to know... we owe it to you!)

Next week we are putting our puppy in a boarding place called Preppy Pup, and we are headed out to Nashville, TN. We have decided to start singing careers there... just kidding!

Reid found out through his work that there is a tile factory that wants people to come tour. Since Reid feels like he should know more about tile for the temple work....and since its all expenses paid... we jumped at the opportunity! I have to pretend that I work for Reid's firm...and I get to go for free to. yay!

Then for spring break... March 16th-21st.... I got a plane ticket to go visit my family in Kansas. I messed up (HONESTLY) and booked it from the 16th-28th. So I will be gone for 2 weeks. (So Reid will be able to catch up on house plans, rental houses est.)

I hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather... I sure am!

PS. Reid and I got new cell phones and numbers!

Reid: 480-620-1508

Meagan: 480-620-1037

... yes... its true...

2009-01-09T16:19:00.003-07:00

My eggo is prego....

Reid and I have been married for almost 4 months now and we recently found out that we will be having a new addition to the family this year. I am almost 6 weeks pregnant. My due date is September 4th 2009. We are really hoping for a baby boy - all the 1st babies of two families have been girls... so we are hoping to beat the odds and get a boy first. Nausea has began earl... it started at about 4 week. The doctor told me to take Vitamin B6 - it is AMAZING! I highly recommend it!

As you all remember... I got engaged 22 hours before my younger sister nicole... she got married a couple weeks before me... YUP, guess who is also pregnant.

Nicole is 4 weeks along... So I hope I can beat her at this one and have my baby be older. : )
(Just kidding, kinda!)

I have decided I am going to have the baby without any pain killers, so even if nicole does have her baby before mine... I still one uped her. Haha. It should be too bad right? My mom was able to do with with her 4th child... I pretty sure I can do it with my first.

Reid has become Mr. Serious since we found out that I am preganat... He says its cause of the finances. I told him to chill out, that we will be fine. (That seemed to help a bit)

I'm still trying to learn how to say NO to my husband about his crazy ideas... he is so darn persistant!! (But I'm tring my best Eric Morris, haha)

I am pretty darn excited to be a mom... if anyone has words of advice... please share.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

2008-12-17T15:53:00.003-07:00

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

We are loving the cooler rainy weather here in Arizona. Can you believe how close Christmas and Meagan's Birthday and New Years is?! We were able to get our shopping done last night and Meagan wrapped the presents today. We had a lot of fun trying to find different things for family members... hoping they will love what we picked for them.

We started reading the Book of Morman as a family, we are just overcome with the amount of blessings we have recieved from just doing something as little as reading scriptures. We are so thankful for the gosple in our lifes.

Meagan LOVES christmas music....and makes the dog like it too... which makes her very full of excitement and happyness... which is VERY LOUD at times. ; ) Reid is happy that Christmas only comes one time a year and is learning to have selective hearing for Meagans expressions of holiday cheer.

Reid went to Salt Lake City, Utah today for work... he gets to tour some very special buildings. I'm sort of jealouse of his oppertunity to tour the buildings. Reid comes home around 9pm tonight to a holiday filled wife. : )

Meagan's Parents and two younger siblings return from a Christmas vacation to Hawaii tonight. Brooklyn says she is very sunburnt and does not want to go back to Kansas were its snowing. They sent some fun pictures throughout the week...it looked like they enjoyed themselfs to the fullest. The said our family and Nicole and her husband are not alloud to go to Kansas for Christmas. (They wanted us to start our own traditions) We are excited to see them in the spring (maybe)!

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and New Years...

Love,
THE JOHNSONS

....WHAT WE DID FOR THANKSGIVING....

2008-12-04T15:29:00.007-07:00

For thanksgiving... our little family of three (3) decided to take a road trip to BURLEY, IDAHO. We met my little sister Nicole and brother-in-law Trevor in Burley
(where Trevor's parents live).

We left rainy Phoenix, Az Thanksgiving morning at 6:30am and drove all the way to Burley.

We were able to play in the snow a little bit at a rest stop in the mountains.

It was a good drive, our 8 week old puppy never made a mess in the brand new car. (thank goodness!) He also never made a mess in his puppy diaper!

(There are a few pictures in here of him... his name is BENTLY)

We had a great time in Burley with my sister and her in-laws. We were able to have a turkey dinner with everyone from Trevors side on Friday evening.

It was so nice to get away from the warm weather for a weekend and smell some fresh air.

Below are some pictures of us cutting down trees and making it into firewood for Trevors family to enjoy this winter. They were very greatful for the 4 extra people to help. : )

We hope everyone had a enjoyable Thanksgiving!!!
Enjoy the pictures!

Holidays!!!

2008-11-21T08:52:00.001-07:00

So, we had to give our dog back to the pound... we did not realize that she was deathly sick (till we took her to the vet). She could barely keep her own body up by the last day. We miss her... she was such a good dog with people!

This semester of school is almost up... I wish I would not have taken a class this semester (since I had my wedding and my sisters wedding!). Oh well... life goes on... I just hope I at least passed!

Our house is up for lease! And we are in the process of buying a new house that is a little bigger. It has one extra bedroom. We are crossing our fingers and saying our prayers... hoping that we get the offer on the new house.

Reid is not doing to well... he turned 29 and it about killed him. (just kidding, kinda) He has been dealing with this ear desiese for a while and he got another "attack" this past weekend. We had to leave church half way through sacrament meeting so that he could be in bed all day. We got his dad and a high priest leader to come over and give him another blessing. He can at least walk around without getting dizzy and is able to go to work and get work done. : )

Thanksgiving-

We are going up to Burley Idaho to have thanksgiving with my newley married younger sister and brother in law. Kansas is about double the driving time...so we will have to plan a trip to go there in the spring... EASTER??? On the other hand... my parents didnt want us to come until after Jan 1 2009. I think they are still trying to get over the shock that their two oldest daughters just got married within a couple weeks of each other. ; )

Christmas-

We are going to have Christmas in Arizona this year! Reid, Bill (Reid's dad), maybe Cole (Reid's brother) and I are all going rock climbing!!! I'm really excited to go rock climbing... Reid and I got to LA Fitness to work out. (to get ready for the exciting climb... and to get back in shape...) I am so sore from the gym... I guess thats what I get for not exercising in the past 2 years!!!

The day Reid lost a bet to Meagan....

2008-11-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

Well... a few crazy things have happened in this past week.

I am now the (not so proud) owner of a full head of BROWN hair. Haha. Reid really wanted me to go back to my natural color, so to make him happy... I did it. (I will get pictures up soon)

We went to a NBA game last night... the HOUSTON ROCKETS vs PHOENIX SUNS... Houston is my team and Reid was cheering for the suns. Reid and I made a bet that if my team lost that I would have to become a suns fan (until the rockets beat them) and if my team won... he would have to wear a shirt to work that says something about him loosing. (PICTURE)

Reid and I have decided to save our pennys... move in with his parents for a couple months and buy another rental property. We figure... the market is amazing right now for 1st home buyers... why not take advantage of it. So we are meeting with the realistate broker tonight about finding one.

We got a new dog... the pound said she was 8-9 months old and we took her to the vet and they said she is more like 3-4 YEARS old and that she has tummy worms!!! So we took her back to the pound and we will be getting a new one soon (Can you believe they let you exchange your dog within 14 days of buying them if you dont like it, or if it gets sick!)

Reid and I are going to Rockey Point, Mexico this weekend!!! We are going to be there with Karl (Reids younger brother) and his wife Rachel, as well as Mark and Tiffany J. We will only be there from saturday till sunday... but we are pretty excited about it.

Is everyone getting ready for some turkey?!?!

2008-11-10T12:51:00.000-07:00

My three younger siblings at the Arizona Open House!

From left to right:
Massey, Nicole, Meagan, and Brooklyn

Hope you enjoyed some pictures! These are not professionally done... I had my sister take pictures with my camera on my wedding day. I will be sure to put up the pictures when I get them from my photographers!

ENJOY!

NEW PUPPY!!!

2008-11-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

We got a puppy last night!!!
Reid and I were having a hard time picking a name, cause she is a girl. (you dont realize how hard it is to pick a girl name, but not have it be a human name!)
Her name is * Coda * She is such a sweetheart. She is pretty timid right now, trying to adjust to the new environment. She is a labrador retriever/ queensland heeler mix. Coda is 9 months old! Her face is VERY much lab dominate and she is taller than Reid parents dog (which is a queensland heeler).

Her first adventure coming home was a stop at Reid's parents house. We wanted to see if the two dogs would get along... THEY DIDNT...haha. Kate (parents dog) attacked Coda.

Reids dad helped us pick out this dog, he went on his lunch break and checked her out (after he showed us to her on the internet). Bill was really hoping we would get her. I really wanted a labrador retrever and I think Reid's parents really wanted us to have a Queensland heeler... so we got the best of both worlds. Im just glad she favors more of a lab!!!

Elections:

I told Reid that if Obama won that the world would go crazy and hate us even more and start bombing each other (our alies ect) Low and behold... it was not even 24 hours later that Russa told us they hate us even more and Isrial is being bombed again. Surprise surprise...

All I have to say is... I TOLD YOU SO!!!

- Honeymoon - Halloween - 2008 -

2008-11-03T12:43:00.001-07:00

I have added pictures to the post from Halloween and our honeymoon.

Honeymoon agenda (to go with the pictures)

Vegas, NV- what happens in vegas...stays in vegas. : ) Just kidding. We saw the "O" Circus O' La show there and had a plast walking around the Balogio, watched the water show out front and at an amazing all you can eat place in the Balagio. (VERY FANCY!)

Moab, UT- we drove from vegas to moab and rented out a brand new condo for the night. Then we woke up early and went on a two hour Hummer tour up "HELLS REVENGE". It was a lot of fun! (to the right are pictures of Reid and I on top of mountains, during the tour!)

Denver, CO- We drove threw a really bad BLIZZARD WARNING on the way to Denver (the picture shows where it first started snowing) It was 19 degrees outside and I was going 10 miles a hour down a mountain with cars in ditches everywhere! Go little prius go...! We just tryed to stay warm the first night, we got some Chipotle and went to bed. The following day we went to a Hockey game!!! It was really fun to watch, Reid got us front row seat... we had a blast! We went back to our same hotel and Reid got us hot coco and we watched some tv and went to bed.

Salina, KS- We stayed in a little town near Salina, KS at a cute bed and breakfast. We felt really bad because we left from Colorado a little to late and didnt get into Kansas until late! The family was really sweet, they had two young children. The family restored a old farm home and rents out the rooms upstairs. VERY CUTE! In the morning they served us an amazing breakfast.

Shawnee, KS- WE MADE IT!!! Reid and I got to Shawnee (where my parents and siblings live) at about 1pm Friday afternoon. We really enjoyed our time with the family there!

WE ARE MARRIED!!!

2008-10-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

We are married!

Reid and I were married on October 18th 2008 at 3pm in Mesa Arizona (Mesa Arizona LDS Temple). We are really enjoying our new lifes as a married couple.

I'm personally excited to be a aunt of three adorable children!!!

We are learning a lot about each other... I'm learning that Reid is A LOT like my dad. :)

We went on a crazy honeymoon all over the USA, we went to Tempe Arizona the first night and then off to Vegas the 2nd night where we watched the "O" show. Then off to Moab Utah where we took a hummer tour guid trip up vertical mountains!!! It was by far the coolest thing I have ever done in my life!!! (On the way to Denver we hit a BLIZZARD!!! We will put pictures up of the crazy drive... the weather channel said "Blizzard warning") Then off to Denver Colorado where we just relaxed the first night and went to a hockey game the 2nd night. Then off to a cute little town in kansas (a couple hours west of Kansas City) where we stayed at a bed and breakfast of a restored farm home! Then off to Kansas City where my family lives!

In Kansas:

The first night we got there my sister (who flew in for the reception) and Reid and I went and got our feet worked on at a nail place. Reids feet have never looked better!!! (You should get your husbands to get there feet done, its worth it!) Then we met up with the family for dinner and headed off to my little brothers Varsity Football game! It was 34 degress outside and they won...so it made it all worth it in the end. We went back to the house and enjoyed hanging out with my family for the night. The following day, Reid and I left the hotel and went to my parents house and cleaned up TP that was all over there trees outside and then at a great home cooked breakfast. Then off the decorating the club house. We had a great reception in kansas! We went back to our hotel after eating dinner with grandparents, parents, and my siblings. Sunday morning we went to church, and got there right in time to hear my cousins Sammatha and Ronnie and my siblings Massey and Brooklyn all sing together in front of everyone! They did an amazing job.

Well... I hope I did not talk your ear off... I will put pictures up soon!!!

Reid, Meagan, Colton and Anna Johnson

Family

1st tooth - BIG GIRL ANNA!

CHRISTMAS CHEER

Colton & Anna

Happy Thanksgiving week!

FALL FESTIVITIES WITH THE FAMILY

Ziplock Fresh!

House

Blessing Weekend

Memorial Day Weekend

Hospital Pictures of Anna

Babies!!!

Easter 2011

Baby Baby Baby

The car!

Family

Where did the time go?

Family Date Night

I'm an Aunt (again)!

New York

A new couch!!!

Earthquake + Tsunami = No Airport in Japan

Flu

Lots of things on the mind...

Colton

Weekend Trip to Kansas

The weekend is over!

Our Valentines Day

Valentines Day!

The day when Colton and I got to use the car....

BREAD

DATE NIGHT

EXAMS

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

On my mind...

Baby?

My eggo is preggo...

Family

Sundays

Toddler at the park!

Colton

And there were more...

Week one of the new year!

New Years

SOOOO EXCITED!

FAMILY

Colton Bolton

Weekend....

Sunshine & Summer Time!

Sunshine and Summer time!

Texas & Kansas

Summer!

Homemade laundry detergent (dry)

Spring break & Easter

MARCH MADNESS BABY!

Mr Sunshine... Mr Golden Sun... Please shine down on me!

CRAZY WEEK!

Sunday Naps!

Oh Colton....

SCHOOL AND WORK

FAMILY

Holidays

ITS A HOLIDAY SEASON..... LALALA....

We are family...la la la...

Baby Johnson is here!

The baby is on his way

*SPREAD THE WORD*

Spring came and went!

School....

Spring Break! (and other recent pictures)

ITS A BOY!!!

CANT WE JUST FIND A HOUSE ALREADY?!?!

... yes... its true...

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

....WHAT WE DID FOR THANKSGIVING....

Holidays!!!

The day Reid lost a bet to Meagan....

NEW PUPPY!!!

- Honeymoon - Halloween - 2008 -

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