Rescue Me!

Last Tuesday afternoon, I get a call from Adam saying that he got his little truck stuck in the snow while trying to take a shortcut (in the middle of nowhere) to a job site.
So, I loaded up the kids and a tow strap and drove an hour and a half to where he was stuck. I drove several miles through deep snow and mud. I almost got stuck a few times myself.  I kept telling the kids to pray that we wouldn't get stuck before getting to dad. Well, I should have told them to pray that we wouldn' t get stuck. Period.
Because as soon as we pulled up to dad's truck, He hops in my car to "get it in position" to pull his truck free, He got my car stuck.
Now my car was stuck even worse than his truck.
SO...we had to PUSH Adam's truck free, then use it to pull my car free.
It took a couple of hours but eventually we got both car's out of the snow.

Adam learned not to take shortcuts through snow when you don't have 4 wheel drive, and I learned that next time Adam gets stuck.... call for back-up!

It's Always fun for everyone when Grandpa AND Grandma come!

Grandma and Grandpa Quist came up for a quick visit last week.  It was so much fun to have them here to play games, read stories, watch movies, and play in the snow.

With Grandma and Grandpa's help we made the biggest Jenga tower ever!

It FINALLY fell over on Caleb's turn. SO much FUN!

On Monday, we went to our favorite sledding hill and had fun in the snow.

Tuesday morning was spent watching movies and playing more games.

We were sad when it was time for them to go home, but we know we'll see them again soon and make many more fun memories.

Block Heads!

Of the many toys that get with played with in our home there is one set of toys that withstands the test of time. They survive the spring cleanings, the DI drives, and the broken toy round-ups. year after year, day after day these toys get played with.
BLOCKS!
They are roadways, pony barns, airports, castles, motorcycle ramps, garages, and so much more.
I found this set of blocks at Goodwill over five years ago and I'm sure that twenty years from now my grandkids will be playing with these same blocks.

Love...

As usual we had a fun and exciting Valentines day filled with love, laughter and  lots of red dye #40.
Every year, after the kids go to bed on Valentines eve I get to work making them each a big heart sugar cookie. Even though it's the same thing they get every year they always act so surprised when they see their cookies on Valentines morning.
I was shown so much love throughout the day with sweet notes, cards, drawings, and kind acts, and of course CHOCOLATE!!
I love my little family SO MUCH! I'm so grateful for my four eternal Valentines!

The kids loved counting up and showing off all their loot!

By dinner time Eliza had a MAJOR sugar hangover. She said she couldn't eat a thing. The rule at our house is: you don't have to eat if don't want to, but you do have to join us at the dinner table. So...at least she showed up.

Outstanding!

In the past two weeks, all three of the kids received the "prestigious" Outstanding Citizenship award at school.
We are so proud of each of our children and their efforts to do their best at school.

Great job Eliza, Sarah and Caleb!

Quick Trip

Last weekend we took a quick trip down to the valley to hear my Aunt Pam and Uncle David speak at church about their mission to the Dominican Republic.
We traveled down on Friday and spent the night in Florence at Adam's brother Richard's house. He and Cali were so sweet to let us stay and made us feel right at home. On Saturday morning Adam took the kids on a very adventurous buggy ride with some of the Gurrs. From what I hear, it involved a lot of rock crawling, and the kids weren't exactly thrilled with the trail. If MY kids were scared, you know it was a rough ride.
I, on the other hand, had a very fun  time thrift store shopping out in Casa Grande with my sister-in-law Becky. I found some new treasures for my shop and enjoyed visiting with Becky and getting to know her better.

Saturday evening we met up with the Andersons and went to  MONSTER JAM out at Chase Field. All the kids loved every minute of the show.

Even with the earplugs it got really loud in that place.

The highlight for the kids, was seeing the Motorcycle riders doing all their crazy tricks and flips out on the field. The highlights for me were seeing the monster trucks jump and crash. I got a few pictures of the excitement::

 

We spent Saturday night at the Andersons, then  got up bright and early on Sunday to go to Pam and David's  ward.  It was so great to get to see and hear them after 18 months of missing them. They had so many incredible and uplifting experiences to share, and I loved seeing so many aunts,uncles,cousins, and my grandparents.  I hope that one day  Adam and I can serve a mission together.

Elder and Sister Johnson

The rest of the day was spent hangin' out and having lunch at my parents house with all of my siblings. I love when we all just sit around and visit while the kids play with cousins, and that is just what we did.  I am so grateful to be a part of TWO great Families and for all of the fun we have together.
It may have been a quick trip, but we made memories that will  last forever.