springdellgirl

 Five For Friday

1.) The Infamous Yard Sale

How we spent most of our time...LAUGHING and FREEZING

Last Saturday Stacey and I had our annual yard sale. This year we convinced Kelley to do it with us and to let us do it at her house. Ha!! That was a real coup. Kelley was not happy about this yard sale one bit and tried to cancel numerous times... which Stacey and I flat out refused to let her. OVERRULED!! She was not a fan until she walked away with the most cold hard cash.

2.) Kameron's 1st Gig

This kid was over the moon when word came down that the Jr. Jazz Band got a **gig** (their word) to play at the Red Lion River Inn. Karma. Making fun (behind their backs of course) of certain kids in high school has given me: 1.) An AV geek as a husband, 2.) A band geek for a son (My stint as a French horn player does not count because it was against my will), 3.) A choir geek for a daughter.  Can a THESPIAN and a FLAG TWIRLER be far behind? Lesson learned Karma. Lesson learned. I say this all with love... and they know it. They try to mock me back. But can you really mock an honor student. Yeah...no.

Action Shot...and only 1/2 the band

3.) Company PAR-TAY

Every year Tyler's work holds two fabulous company parties. One in the Spring and one in the Summer. It may have taken us 10 years but we have FINALLY gotten it down. After years of bumbling, fumbling, and lugging all kinds of baby paraphernalia...last night the Johnsons worked like a well-oiled machine. I have never been SO PROUD.

This event begins with dinner at Riverfront Park...catered. Every year we are late. Every year we miss the shuttle. Every year we are last in line...left with the dregs of food, crappy pop, and nowhere to sit for our ginormous (by WA State standards) family. Then we have to snarf it down in record time (not possible if Ailey is your child. She is SLOW.) to try to find a seat in the IMAX movie...for SIX PEOPLE (and usually an enormous stroller.) It has been hellish.

This year we timed it perfectly. We arrived VERY EARLY. We got a shuttle to ourselves (unheard of). I thought we would be first in line for the food. No. Thwarted by retirees (they are the usual people who thwart us) All the retirees are invited and they get there good and early. Guess they like a free meal and movie maybe even more than a family of six. Luckily this year, we were second in line behind an elderly couple. Everyone had their assignments when the doors opened and it was go time. Reilly was to move in like a flash...push a two-top table and a 4-top table together in record time thus creating a table that would actually seat our family. Kameron was to move like the wind dragging Ailey and Bryn in and seating them at the table all while strategically placing jackets and purses to repel all the "Hey can we sit with you guys people". Worked like a charm. Reilly got food for herself and Ailey, Tyler got food for himself and Bryn, Kameron got food for himself and was on chocolate chip cookie patrol and Mt. Dew alert. Turns out retirees REALLY enjoy the Mt. Dew and DON'T eat the nasty raisin walnut cookies which I am sure were purchased for them, while I was coordinating the whole dance...Including finding the box of chocolate chip cookies...they were trying to foist off those raisin walnut cookies first. THE NERVE. We ate a delicious meal in record time, went back for more Mt. Dew and cookies, and headed into the IMAX movie where we got our PRIMO seats. Well played Johnsons, Well played.

They also do a raffle where they give out lots of $20 bills. These guys were on the edge of their seats!! But unfortunately lady luck was not with them.

Lady luck was on our side!! 

Both Tyler and I won crisp $20 dollar bills one right after the other. We ignored the muttered "no fairs" and "jerks" from our sweet children. I am loving Tyler's face as he awkwardly and against his will took this happy winning shot in a packed theater of his co-workers. See his inner joy?

4.) Celebrity Day

Today was celebrity day at the elementary school. Kameron was Steve Young circa his BYU days and Ailey was Anna Pavlova. They came up with these jewels all on their own. I was proud...again.

5.) My Nemesis 

Don't let the granny face and gray hair fool you. She is pure evil. If you go to the gym, you know that not all machines are created equal. At my gym, especially not the ellipticals. There are only three remaining machines of the kind of ellipticals I like. One is my favorite, one stops working half-way through, and one is too far from the TVs. So every day I do my warm-up on something else like the bike or treadmill and then do my work-out on my favorite elliptical. This old crab apple likes the same machine I do. Every day I feel her beady eyes on me and then just when that highly coveted machine clears (others like it as well) and I go to make my move...she makes her's. She shuffles over there and thwarts me. EVERY. DAY. I know she waits for me to make my move because I've tested her. Yes, I am aware that sounds sad and pathetic but it is boring at the gym and it gives me something to think about and stew over. Now when I am thwarted she can hardly contain a self-satisfied grin. I will almost get to the machine first and she will scuttle out of nowhere and beat me to it. Today I turned the tables. I arrived 20 minutes earlier and beat her to the punch. I smirked, she pouted and gave an "hrumphff" and moved on. VICTORY.

If you only knew the fugly photo I had to take of myself to get that old biddy in the shot!! I was completely contorted and trying to be sly that produced the most heinous photo of me to date which I shamelessly sent to Tyler to show him what she looks like... I am sure it will now pop up on his phone whenever I call thus replacing the previously most fugly photo of me wherein I am jumping out of a swing. NOT CUTE.

So there's my Five for Friday. No, the irony of # 2 isn't completely lost on me. I'm sure I am destined to become that old crab apple at the gym whose greatest joy in life is thwarting middle-aged mothers...and families that want a free dinner, movie, chocolate chip cookies and Mt. Dew.


HAPPY FRIDAY!!