Latest happenings

Hi again. I never got a chance to put Clayton's whitewater rafting pictures on the blog (Clayton is the one in the blue helmet). He went on our anniversary (August 18) to Ocoee River in Tennessee with some men from church, and had a great time. He was home by 4:00pm to celebrate our anniversary, so I didn't have a problem with him going on that day. :) So, here's some pictures of him whitewater rafting! I've been busy with being a Room Representative for Kevin's kindergarten class. I've had to have meetings at the school and with his teacher, and had to type letters to parents/e-mail/plan things like class parties, volunteers, etc... I'm glad to do it though, so I can be involved with him and his class, and get to know his teacher pretty well too. I also "volunteered" (got pushed into) being Kevin's soccer team's Team Mom, so I'll have to organize snacks for after games and organize an end of the season party for that too. We've been continuing with soccer practice, which Kevin really enjoys and now he kicks the soccer ball all through the house too. So, my 5 year old is definitely keeping me busy (as is my 2 month old.) Chloe is still doing well, and we have a doctor's appt. for her tomorrow. I'm anxious to see how much she's grown. And now onto that middle child of mine, who is now pretty much my constant shadow. :) Darcy was running in flip-flops on the driveway, which she has been told not to do time and time again, so here's the photo of the huge bump she got on her forehead. She skinned up her knees and hands a little bit too. But, as you can see from the picture, a little bit of love and a lollipop helped her feel much better! And I followed Jill's lead and let Darcy bake while Chloe was sleeping the other day, and she had a great time making sugar cookies and decorating them. Well, that's about it for now. We'll write more later and put more Chloe pictures in then!

Children's Museum and Movie Night

Darcy painting on the wall at the Children's Museum of Atlanta.





Movie night. Food, giggles for Kevin, Darcy holding Mommy's hair, Chloe sleeping.


Hello! On Friday, Darcy, Chloe and I went to the Children's Museum of Atlanta while Kevin was at kindergarten. We met with some of our church friends there, and had a great time (once Chloe stopped fussing and went to sleep that is!) Darcy got to play in a huge sandbox, go "fishing", paint, play dress up and eat Chick-Fil-A. Could it get any better for a 3-year-old? Of course, now Kevin wants to go too, so we'll have to make another trip there soon. That night, we had our first movie night. The kids got their sleeping bags and pillows laid out, and we picnicked on the floor...but we had to follow the kids' food rules of course. We ordered pizza, but Darcy wanted no pepperoni, and Kevin wanted no pizza! So, we pulled the pepperoni off of Darcy's pizza, and Kevin had Papa John's chicken strips instead. We watched the older, animated 101 Dalmatians and the kids had a great time. Kevin did his usual giggling, bouncing on the sofa, and getting excited thing. Darcy sat between Mom and Dad and held onto Mom's hair during the scary scenes, but she eventually moved to Daddy's lap! And Chloe slept for most of it! Hope you are all doing well.

Chloe's smile

Hello again. Even though Chloe's been smiling at us for a few weeks now, I was finally able to capture it on camera. So, here's what she looks like with a smile. Mom was here visiting this past weekend for my birthday, and we all had a great time. Clayton surprised me with a cake he baked himself, and an even bigger surprise was that he bought me a laptop! It was a great weekend.

Kevin's First Day of Kindergarten

Hello again. We've been busy with school stuff here. We had open house last week, and Monday August 13th was Kevin's first day of kindergarten. He rode the bus to and from school, but there was a little incident when getting off the bus that made Mommy decide to drive Kevin to and from school from now on. Another Mom at the bus stop was waiting for her daughter (also in kindergarten) to get off the bus, and when she didn't, the Mom asked the bus driver where her daughter was, and the bus driver just said she didn't know. She wasn't sure if she had gotten on the bus or not, she didn't know if she had maybe gotten off at the wrong spot, and she didn't apologize or try to help the mom find her daughter at all. Kevin also hadn't gotten off the bus, and I told her his name, and she just shrugged and said she didn't know where he was either. I stepped up onto the bus, and she said forcefully, "You can't get on the bus, you need to get off!" I got to the top and looked over the first seat, and thankfully there was little Kevin! I pointed to him and said to the driver, "This is Kevin!" And then he got off with me. The other Mom stayed off the bus, and the bus driver had called for her daughter, but no one ever answered. So the other Mom, who was very panicked, got in her car and drove off to find her daughter, who she assumed had gotten off at the wrong stop. We found out the next day that her daughter was on the bus after all, and ended up back at school after all the other kids had been dropped off. So, all is well and no kids were lost, however the bus driver's attitude, and the fact that she didn't have a list or system for keeping track of who got on and off the bus made me lose faith in the bus system. Therefore, we are car riders now. :) Anyway, kind of a long story, I know, but everything else is fine. Kevin's first few days have gone fairly well so far. He always starts off telling me all the bad stuff, but then by dinnertime, he's excitedly telling stories about all the fun and good parts of his day. So, I really think he's going to end up liking it. It's been quite an adjustment for all of us not having Kevin at home for most of the day though. We really miss him! So, the pictures are of Kevin on his first day of school, and Darcy also on Kevin's first day of school. She didn't want to be left out of the photo session! The other pics are of Kevin and Chloe hanging out, and of Kevin and Darcy "camping" in their bedroom. They did this for a few nights in a row, and had a blast. They used the lanterns that Grandma and Grandpa Johnson brought for them. And this past weekend, we went on Saturday to Yellow River Park, where Clayton and Kevin rode their bikes while Mommy pushed Chloe in the stroller and Darcy pushed her baby in her stroller. We had a nice time and went early in the morning before it got too hot! On Sunday afternoon, we went swimming in our neighbor's above-ground pool and had a wonderful time. Clayton played lifeguard and sat out on a bench swing with Chloe, so only Mom, Kevin and Darcy actually swam. We played with a beach ball and I taught the kids Marco Polo, which they loved although they cheated cause they couldn't keep their little eyes closed! :) Well, that's probably enough for now. Sorry it's so long! Love you all.

This one's for Jill!

Hey family. I finally succumbed to Jill's pleading and created a blog. I may not be as good about posting as she is, but I'll do my best to post pictures every so often so you can see how everyone is growing, especially Chloe. Love you all.

Chloe at one week old next to Darcy's doll.

Chloe at five weeks old next to the same doll.

Chloe close-up at five weeks old.

Mom and Nathan were here June 21-July 14 (and spent one weekend down in Warner Robins during that time. Dad came July 10-14.

The Johnson's were here July 14-29.