Easter 2012

Elle, Reilly, Ailey, Bryn, Kameron, River and Dane

Easter weekend we headed down to Stacey and John's house for an Easter get-together. We had a great time. Their cute town of Palouse has a City Easter Egg Hunt and the little kids had a ball. Our kids have never gone to a "real" city Easter egg hunt...only little Easter egg hunts at church or our own family egg hunts out at the lake...and boy did it show. As other kids were running madly and filling their baskets with as many Easter eggs as possible...Bryn, Ailey and Elle just sort of ran around putting a few eggs in their baskets here and there. It was pretty funny. I guess they didn't "get it" that you were supposed to try to load your basket with lots eggs as they were filled with candy and hoping to score ones with special symbols that you could trade in for MONEY!! River and Dane knew just what to do. Check out River's haul!! :) Bryn had maybe 5...Ailey about 8...once I saw Elle with just one in her basket!! I think she ended up with a few more though. Regardless they had a lot of fun and it was hilarious to watch them.

Elle and Bryn lining up with the three and four year olds...River in the back.

Bryn and Ailey

The weather was beautiful after a dreary Spring Break week of non-stop rain and snow. We were all ready to get outside and soak up the sunshine.

Tyler, Kelley and John

Then it was off to the playground on a SUGAR HIGH...

Ailey and River

We went back to Stacey and John's for an Easter Luncheon and a serious Stratego match.

Stacey, of course, cooked a fabulous meal. She made the most amazing Cornish Game Hens and Baked Rice Dish.


Growing up our mom used to make Cornish Game Hens for special occasions and dinner parties. I thought they were so fancy. I haven't had one in years. They were delicious. Thanks Stac.

After lunch John, Tyler and all kids all headed out to shoot BB guns and I got to sit and chit chat with my sisters. So nice. My kids have not stopped talking about how much fun they had. I can't believe John and Tyler got Ailey to shoot a BB gun. I would've loved a picture of that!! This morning while I was doing Ailey's hair I asked her what she was going to write about for her "Small Moment" at school today and she said "Shootin' BB Guns!!" Ha ha!! I never thought I would hear those words out of her mouth.

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday as well. I love it when Easter is nice and sunny...and it really feels like Spring is finally here. (fingers crossed)

Then it was off to Church in new Easter Dresses for the girls and a new tie for Kameron

So cute...and they even all kind of coordinated.

Church was wonderful. The highlight was Reilly singing with the ward choir "He is Risen". They did a fantastic job. Just beautiful.

Back home for our own Easter Lunch and fun with family. It was a beautiful weekend to reflect on the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and His Resurrection.

Happy Easter!!

Not Too Shabby

Spring is in the air...somewhat...and Spring Break is here. We are not going out of town due to the upcoming Funky Junk Sale that Sisters Creed will be participating in but we are getting a lot done around here... spring cleaning inside and out...projects!! Woohoo. I know...the kids are THRILLED. But we have managed to have some fun.

Hunger Games!!

Cafe Rio opened in Coeur d' Alene!!

Elle came over for some cousin time

Pancakes McClellan style...peanut butter AND syrup...together. Delish!!

Pedicures time three

And...nothing says Spring like a new pair of Toms

I am going back to Nordstrom next week for the Toms Wedges. I tried them on tonight and...Oohhhh...they are delightful.

Choices...choices

Oh yeah...I've been eating plenty of this. You readers know how much I LOVE my Mochi!! Thank goodness for Trader Joe's so I can get my fix. I am headed back tomorrow for more!!

Happy Spring Break!!

It's Either One or the Other


I know it's slim pickins around here for blog content. I got so out of the habit...but I feel myself coming back. No more "blog fog". Ideas for blog posts are actually coming to mind these days. I'm glad. I enjoy writing and I enjoy having a record of our family.

That said, I write two blogs and only have time for one or the other. Yesterday it was the other. So if you want to know what that picture is all about...read it here.

Oh Yes He Did

Be jealous ladies...that leprechaun is mine all mine.

Not only that...he bought that hat and 5 other styles for all of us to wear for our annual St. Patrick's Day Dinner. We rocked St. Paddy's day!! Hope you did too.

Random Things

Since our lap top was toast...and who am I kidding...even before that. I haven't been blogging. I blame it on "teenager brain". For anyone who has suffered from pregnancy brain...this is similar only about ten times worse. I really have nothing to say. If you ask Reilly, I have PLENTY to say usually in the form of yelling and screaming. I don't deny it. But when it comes to actually having any kind of deep thoughts...yeah...I got nothing. So to appease my children who like checking the blog...even when it talks about their naughty doings...I will post.

So in case you missed it:

I have been killing myself re-doing the house. Painting bedrooms and re-doing both Reilly and Kameron's rooms. Repainting nearly every piece of furniture I have to practice a new painting technique for the business. But once you do one thing...everything else needs to be done: end tables, coffee tables, curio cabinets, dining room table, dining room chairs, dressers etc... just to name a few and I am still not done and still need to paint the living room.

Case in point...

Big Events Occurred...

Tyler turned 41!!

Stacey turned 37!!

It was the Science Fair

We spend a lot of time eating here...Costa Vida...a Cafe Rio knock-off chain also out of Utah. Delish.

Hung out occasionally with this group...we are starting our own "Supper Club" so we actually get together. Life is so busy for everyone right now.

Plotted, Schemed, Imagined, Dreamed, Worked, and Planned with these ladies for our upcoming sales and the start of the Vintage Show season.

My house is an utter wreck and I am too... so if you come by for a surprise visit I will pretend I am not home. For reals...and I have. Sorry if you were one of those people.

I've been busting my butt to get ready for these upcoming April shows:

Held downtown Spokane at The Spokane Public Market, April 14th and 15th. Woohoo!!

Held April 28th in Post Falls, Idaho

Getting the gym at 6am five days a week to do this:

If only I looked like this...damnit.

Doing a bit of this before I fall asleep each night around 8:30 pm. No lie. I have been reading the weirdest variety of books. I am sure you are on pins and needles for my reviews...try to contain yourself. You may have a LONG wait. But weird combo of books they definitely are.

I've been hanging out with the birthday boy whenever we get a moment together...while we take turns dealing with fun like this...just another night at the Johnsons.

So even though I rarely have a deep thought these days...I DO have time to pin pretty pictures. If only my life and house were as organized as my boards!!

Till next time...

image via Pinterest

Yeah...so not been happening lately. Part of the problem was our lap top kicked the bucket and we ordered a sweet new one. Another part of the problem...no time and too tired. But I do enjoy writing and keeping track of what is going on around here so I will try to get back into the swing of things. Now to figure out how to download pictures and do about 100 other things on this computer. :) Later.

February Indulgences

February is truly a month to indulge...in romance...chocolate...little luxuries...and some fun reads. Both of these books fit the bill. One is a funny easy read and one is a great epic tale. Pick your pleasure. You will enjoy both.

First up...
This book written by Mindy Kaling aka Kelly Kapoor from The Office was a FUN read. It requires very little thought and very little time. I think I read it in about a day. I found it to be hilariously funny. The back cover alone sealed the deal.

If you don't find that funny then a.) I don't understand you and b.) you won't like the book. In my case, however, as I picked it up from the hold section at the library I actually laughed so hard that I snorted with laughter. Oh yes... Snorted.With.Laughter... much to the humiliation of my 11 year-old son, who was like "Geez, Mom!!" as he furtively looked around to see if anyone he knew just saw/heard me.

I thoroughly enjoyed Kaling's collection of short humorous essays, musings and lists. I laughed out loud many times. I found the first half particularly funny...the middle section and how she rose to fame a bit less so... and then it got really funny again.

For your enjoyment:

On high school:

“The chorus of “Jack and Diane” is: Oh yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone. Are you kidding me? The thrill of living was high school? Come on, Mr. Cougar Mellencamp. Get a life.”

"Teenage girls, please don’t worry about being super popular in high school, or being the best actress in high school, or the best athlete. Not only do people not care about any of that the second you graduate, but when you get older, if you reference your successes in high school too much, it actually makes you look kind of pitiful, like some babbling old Tennessee Williams character with nothing else going on in her current life."

On married couples:

“I don't want to hear about the endless struggles to keep sex exciting, or the work it takes to plan a date night. I want to hear that you guys watch every episode of The Bachelorette together in secret shame, or that one got the other hooked on Breaking Bad and if either watches it without the other, they're dead meat. I want to see you guys high-five each other like teammates on a recreational softball team you both do for fun.”

This book is constantly compared to Tina Fey's Bossypants. I read both and enjoyed this one much more.

My rating: Excellent. Unless you have no sense of humor. Unless the back cover didn't make you laugh.

Next up...


Remember how I've told you about the deal I have with my husband...we read several books a year that the other one picks out...therefore making it impossible that we ever become that boring old couple who have nothing to talk about. Well, this was one of the books I was assigned to read by Tyler. At first I wasn't too jazzed about it as it is in the ol' Fantasy genre and I am not a fan of Fantasy. (Big shout out-- to the random person on Goodreads who told me "maybe I should read more fantasy"...so I could stop writing mean reviews about her favorite author.) I took her advice and read some more fantasy and still don't like her favorite author. Sorry.

Anyway...my husband has been talking up this series of books for over a year and in such a way that they actually DID sound interesting. He promised me that it was more like historical fiction (but of a place that doesn't actually exist) with a few fantasy elements thrown in. He was right.

From Amazon.com:

"Long ago, in a time forgotten, a preternatural event threw the seasons out of balance. In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes to the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom’s protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens.

Here an enigmatic band of warriors bear swords of no human metal; a tribe of fierce wildlings carry men off into madness; a cruel young dragon prince barters his sister to win back his throne; and a determined woman undertakes the most treacherous of journeys. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones."

I REALLY liked the book!! Sort of shocking...probably because to some die-hard fantasy readers it is soft fantasy. (The reviews show that readers either love it or they hate it.) I enjoyed it being set in a medieval style world with knights, kingdoms, and political intrigue. (A critique of some fantasy readers.) I enjoyed the world of the Seven Kingdoms. I could picture it. Not too many weird creatures and not too much magic. I loved the idea of the length of the seasons...where different seasons could last for years. I had fun getting immersed in that fantasy world. I enjoyed, despised, rooted for, and cared about the characters that Martin created. I want to know more and I wish there was a prequel. That is saying something and I am eagerly awaiting getting my hands on the second book in the series. Who knew?

FYI...It just dawned on me that the Harry Potter series (that I loved) is fantasy with magic. Maybe I'm not such a hater after all.

This is the perfect series to get cozy and read this winter. Go ahead and indulge. I will be.

My rating: Excellent