Texas & Kansas

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!

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)

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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....

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

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

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

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....

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

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!

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!