Baseball season at last!

Yesterday was the field work day and practice begins on Monday with no pre-season restrictions...it's baseball season!

He's focused - and thrilled to have new cleats and pants that fit. In fact, he was focused on sliding to get his new pants stained so he looked like a ball player. Oye vey.

It's a hit! 

This is Shannon's stance and tough game face. 

Watching the ball - and practicing switch hitting!

There's no such thing as stopping at first in our yard!

And Shannon has a modified "freeze baseball" version of the game. This is when she's frozen from a tag. Play ball!

Bryan's 34-tunate Year!

Happy 34th, Bryan!

Lots of birthday hugs from Shannon and tickles from Dad.

She helped him read each card and open all the presents. 

A carrot and coconut cake with a buttermilk glaze and orange cream cheese frosting. Just for my Sweet (tooth)!

Because who doesn't help blow out candles in a scuba mask?
We love you, Bryan!

Fire Station Field Trip

Mitchell's class went to the fire station today. We had sunshine and lots of fun!

The boys are waiting their turn with the hose.

Mitch knew just what to do with the hose.

He did give me a smile, in the midst of being busy fighting a faux fire.

Mitchell's buddy, Konner.

Here's the crew!

Arizona!

We enjoyed a long weekend in Arizona to celebrate Aunt Dianne's 70th birthday! What could be better than time with family in a warm place in February? We flew down Thursday afternoon and enjoyed ourselves completely!

We stayed with Joy, Tom and Toby, which was lovely. Friday morning they went to work and we had breakfast at the Brouwers' and then went to the zoo with Grandma Vicki. Here, Mitch and Shan read the map together.

This picture reminds me of a similar photo from our spring 2012 trip to AZ. 

The kids loved the zoo. The weather was perfect and we walked a lot! 

Mitchell loved finding the stingrays in this pool.

This rhino was incredible. We learned they can run up to 30 mph, are surprisingly "agile" and can turn on a dime. That would be a sight - as long as it was turning away from you!

I was smitten with this beastie!

We all were, really. It was the coolest part of the zoo, until...

we got to feed a giraffe! It had a LONG blue-grey tongue that felt like sand paper. 

She was definitely interested in our treats.

Our giraffe loving crew was overjoyed - the new best part of the zoo - until...

the tiger roared! And it roared a lot! What a sound! Do not be fooled by this kitty lapping water. The roar's reverberations quite literally filled me with fear and I was sure SJ would fall off her father's shoulders into the compound, where we would have to leap in after her. Which one of us would save her and which would be eaten wasn't clear, but the fear of the roar was real!

Back at the Brouwers' watching some serious ping pong.

We had a nice pizza dinner at Arcadia Park on Friday evening. Hope got a lesson in throwing (and catching) from the Coach.

Saturday morning, after some serious play with Toby, we enjoyed a parade in Scottsdale. 

Lots of horses and bands, as well as some strange oversized party bus!

Back to Brouwers for a dip in the (cold) pool. The kids would not be denied!

Shannon paused for all of 3 seconds to soak up the sun before racing off again.

Not to worry, there was an oil slick on the pool water after the kids entered due to the copious amounts of sunscreen!

Yes, they pushed him in. Three times. What a good sport!

Saturday afternoon the Johnson men (Dave, Ivan, Bryan and Mitchell) went to an ASU baseball game. More perfect weather and a W for the Sun Devils. Mitchell has announced that he wants to play ball in that stadium when he gets older. Hmmmm....

Saturday evening we enjoyed a birthday dinner at the Cornelius home. Here is our group shot: Kim, Bryan, Mitchell, Shannon, me, Dave, Vicki, Tom, Joy, Ivan, Janice, Jess, Derek, Michelle, Grace, Brent, Hope, Toby, Bob, Dianne, Rachel and Alecia. 

Poolside dining

Kid picnic

Toby and Mitchell

Enjoying Vicki and Dave's slideshow of the family.

Dianne and her brothers.

A red, white, and blue cake true to Grandma Bertha's tradition!

We then watched a dvd of Dave, Ivan, Dianne, Jasper and Bertha's 1959 trip around the USA. There was a lot of commentary from Dave - and a lot of laughs!

Cracking up

Fun to meet Jess and spend time with Derek.

Dianne capped off the evening demonstrating - yet again- why she is such a beloved member of the family. As she shared with us, Bob reached out and held her hand. Strength, devotion and service embodied in that small frame. Happy 70th to a wonderful woman! What a fun weekend!

Spring Cleaning Already?

We had a beautiful day in every sense today. It was a rare Saturday with NOTHING on the calendar and, to make things sweeter, it was above 65 degrees outside.  Mitch and Shannon woke up as best friends today and honestly I can't remember a single bad moment between them all day long. It was incredible.

They believed it to be so nice that shirtless cleaning of the play house was in order.

They gave it a major scrub down.

Such happy kiddos make my heart sing. I'm sure tomorrow will be less amicable, but today was a treasure.

Skiers!

We took the kids on their first skiing trip on Friday. Mission Ridge lacks snow in a major way, but the bunny hill had enough. We drove up the mountain and through the clouds to a sunny, warm and beautiful day!

We rented gear on the hill for a surprisingly good rate. Here they are before any skiing happens.

Shannon's story and Mitchell's got off to different starts. Shannon struggled mightily. The one ski, one boot method didn't suit her fancy.

Mitch, however, worked hard to walk up the hill sideways several times. He was very focused and patient!

Shannon melted down. Completely. We had to go to the truck for a timeout and a near-nap. Poor frustrated baby girl.

Meanwhile, Mitch was working on the balance and comparing the one ski to a skateboard.

Then Grama got him on 2 and he walked up a few more times.

The enthusiasm was evident. Grama promised he could ride up the rope tow if he climbed up once more.

And he did! Over and over and over again! He loved to be let go and come flying down the hill into my arms. I was running along the base of the slope (in ski boots, mind you) catching the kids as they came down a la Holden Caufield's catcher in the rye. 

Shannon saw the joy Mitchell was experiencing and wanted in on the action. She, too, rode up the rope tow and came down solo. I never got a photo of them careening downhill completely turned loose because I was running and catching. The smiles were huge, though!

This is the end of the day. They had a great time overall with no major injuries, no one was cold, and the smiles won out. A successful introduction to skiing! If only tickets would always be $10...