Jamie's Wedding

Jeff's sister, Jamie, got married on Saturday. The wedding went smoothly and was beautiful albeit, very, very hot!! We welcome Matt to the family and wish him, Jamie and her daughter, Renee every happiness. By the way, the Ring Bearer might just have been the cutest Ring Bearer ever...

Happy 22nd!

HAPPY 22nd BIRTHDAY HEATHY!!!!!!!!

You are the best sister any girl could ever ask for and the boys are so lucky to have you as an Aunt. Thank you for all that you do for us. I'm sad that we won't see you today...the first birthday that I haven't shared with you:( But, we'll be thinking of you and can't wait to see you soon. Have a great day...be proud you're living your dream!

Love,

The 4-iveaus

Luke's 1st Birthday

We celebrated Luke's 1st Birthday in 2 parts...his actual birthday was July 8th but we didn't have his big family party until the 12th.

PART 1:

Jeff, Matthew, Aunt Heather and I helped Luke celebrate his actual bday with a special bunny cake (a Johnson tradition) that Matthew helped me decorate. We then opened presents...Luke got lots of cute outfits from Aunt Heather and a dump truck from Matthew (he decided about a month ago that he really wanted to give Luke a Tonka dumptruck just like his...I thought that was sweet).

Matthew's masterpiece (all his idea, I just did *most* of the gel work...he told me where and what!)

*Do not try this at home* This was a staged pic! I do NOT let Matthew push him around like this!!! Hahaha.

PART 2:

We had Luke's family party in at the cottage. Thank you to all that made the trip over. We even managed to have nice weather (something nearly impossible this summer). Luke got some really nice gifts and we are so grateful to have such wonderful families.

A little more my style:)

Yes, Luke is in fact, holding a toothbrush. Cake followed some outside time playing on the beach, in which my darling husband let Luke get completely soaked and covered in sand (keep in mind he WAS wearing an outfit that matched the decor but had to be changed...I know, I know not a big deal). So, I had to wash him up in the bathroom where he grabbed his toothbrush and under NO circumstances was he going to let me take it away!!

Yup, he still has the toothbrush...

Still holding it.....

Not sure when he let go of it but as you can see, he hung onto it for awhile...

Despite being devastated that my baby is 1, we had a great time celebrating Luke's birthday and are so, so lucky to have such a happy, healthy boy. The finale? Nana's trip down this weekend...she missed the party but we're excited to see her on Sunday:)

Unbelievable!!!!!

It is absolutely unbelievable to me that this picture was taken a year ago today!! A YEAR AGO!!! Yes folks, that's right...today is Luke's 1st Birthday!!

July 8, 2008

I continue to try to wrap my mind around my baby turning one and I just cannot for the life of me believe how quickly this year has passed by. I have very mixed emotions about this birthday...so different from when Matthew turned 1! Then, I felt excited...this time, while I'm happy to be celebrating a year of having Luke in our lives and the joy and love he has brought us, I'm reminded of how fast time is passing by and that makes me really sad.

My sweet baby boy

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little buddy Luke. We love you so much and look forward to another year of watching you grow.

Our little 1 year old!:(

Thomas the Train and July 4th

Last weekend we went down to Edaville USA to ride on Thomas the Train. I knew Matthew would really enjoy it but wasn't expecting Luke to react one way or another...boy were we surprised!!! He LOVED it!! I think that we (mostly I) forget that he is not a baby, baby anymore:(

We had a great 4th...did a BBQ here with some friends and then went over to catch some fireworks. Matthew had a blast running around with his buddies and really enjoyed the fireworks. Luke on the other hand, was very frightened of them at first but after a bit, did a complete 180 and decided that they were great! He was clapping and waving and having a blast!!:)

A tribute to my Mom on what would have been her 63rd Bday...

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to the Best Big Brother and Uncle in the world!!

I couldn't have asked for a better brother and my boys are so lucky to have you in their lives. Thanks for loving them as if they were your own and being my rock through the years in good times and especially in bad times. We love you so much;)

Elmira Graduation

See below for a slide show of Heather's college graduation. The weather was awesome and we had a great time. Spent time on Saturday walking around campus, swimming in the pool at the hotel and then we all went out to dinner to celebrate Heather's accomplishments. The graduation on Sunday went well and we survived our almost 15 hour round trip car ride with the boys!

Heather-great job, we love you!!!!!!!

Really??

(Yes Heather, I am stealing your favorite line )

I can't believe that later today we will be on our way to my BABY SISTER's college graduation!!! It is crazy to think how fast time flies...it seemed like just yesterday she was born and just hours ago her and I were on looking at colleges together! REALLY??

Heather, I hope you know how proud of you I am. You are a wonderful person, sister and aunt. Jeff, Matthew, Luke and I wish all the success and happiness in the world as you graduate and start the next phase of your education. We can't wait to see you and share this occasion with you.

I also hope you know how proud of you Mom, Nanny Johnson and Nanny and Grandpa Couser would be. They are there with you in spirit and watching from above.

Hmmm...

WHAT DO

this baby

AND

this guy

HAVE IN COMMON???

Memorial Day '09

We had a fantastic yet busy Memorial Day. The weekend started off with Jeff working and the Boys and I going to a good friend's BBQ...Matthew had a great time running around with his buddies and I had a good time socializing with mine:)

By the time we got there Jeff already had the window in and the trim put back up on the inside. The weather was a bit cool but we were still able to grill some steak tips and walk down to the "puddles"...Matthew favorite place to throw rocks.

Matthew loves pushing his little brother in the stroller

The weather on Sunday started off ok but lunchtime brought a bit of rain. Luckily, it cleared up in the afternoon. I kept Matthew busy by bringing him to the playground and candy store while Jeff continued to work on replacing the bathroom window. He was able to help Daddy for a bit though. After nap the kids played outside, ate an early dinner and then, as promised, we headed down to the arcade and got ice cream (now possible as Matthew is old enough for Lactaid and it seems to work). After the boys went to bed, Jeff and I celebrated my birthday (a bit early)with a lobsters and wine:)

Daddy's big helper

Again, the pacifier is needed to prevent Luke from eating sand!

Matthew helping me give a VERY sandy Luke a bath

Monday was spent playing outside, cleaning and finishing up some little projects. The weather was AWESOME and it was tough to leave!!!

BRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!

So, the 2 big projects we've been working on this Spring at the cottage were replacing the bathroom window and redoing the walkway to the sand. Here are the final products;

Happy Memorial Day everyone...thanks to those who have served our country and to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for it.