Binford Block News

First Day of School 2010!

2010-08-25T09:46:00.003-06:00

I think we all could have used another couple of weeks of summer, but here we are: the first day of school already. Wow. The girls were both excited, but nervous, to start 3rd and 5th grades. I dropped them off, got to go on a run, and now am getting ready to start back to work at 11:30 this morning. Here we go!!

Morning Mood

2010-05-01T16:38:00.003-06:00

Grace did a beautiful job at her first piano recital today. Cool as a cucumber, after beginning in the wrong hand position, she corrected herself and continued on un-phased. Aunt Jenn, Uncle Matt, Peter, and Sam were able to be there to support Grace, which was wonderful, because Daddy had to leave this morning for his conference and Anna had company dance rehearsal. I think Grace is proud of how she did--and relieved that it's over!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T15:13:00.004-07:00

We had a wonderful Halloween: great weather, warm costumes, good friends, and lots of candy! The girls looked adorable as a Quidditch-playing Ginny Weasley and as Harry Potter himself. Peter the dinosaur, Sam the pumpkin, and Tucker the red Power Ranger joined us to go to a Halloween open house at a friend of ours before going trick-or-treating.

Note: My mom and I knit the girls' scarves--SIX feet each and in the round: a true labor of love! :-) And, even though the girls sported USC colors all night, the Ducks still trounced upon the Trojans. Whew! (Thanks, Mom! Without you and the swine flu, I don't think I would have finished those suckers!!)

5K

2009-09-13T11:11:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I ran my first 5K ever. Never having been a runner, I started on the "Couch to 5K" program about seven weeks ago. It was a really great program that kept me running, motivated, and without injuries. Since starting, I've run almost every other day at around 6:30 in the morning--and have felt great. I was really happy I signed up for the 5K over a month ago, because the idea of it looming also kept me motivated.

The race went well, although I did have to jump into some bushes (thankfully there were some!) and pee about a mile into it. I'm still flabbergasted that I did that, but it really was an emergency, and it seemed like everyone else was pretty focused on their own race to notice some crazy incontinent woman peeing in the bushes... Anyway, I finished in 32.10 minutes and placed 90th overall (putting me about in the middle of the pack). I was hoping to run in under 30 minutes, but now I have a goal for next time!

Here are some pictures of the run:

Starting the race:(Of note: Crazy waving woman on the right (286) is Adam's sister and one of my best friends, Jenn. She ran the race, too, and finished 8th overall out of the females. She rocks and I want to run just like her someday.)

Me finishing the race:

Videos of both the start and finish:

Although not every moment was "fun", the whole experience was really, really fun--and fulfilling--and I can't wait to do another one!

The girls, Adam, and I also ran a 1K Fun Run about an hour after finishing the 5K, and I'll post a video of that later. Both girls (and Adam) ran the entire way--including the big, steep hill at the end--and I was really proud of all of them.

Family

2009-08-27T21:22:00.002-06:00

This picture makes me so happy, I can barely stand it. We have almost no pictures of all four of us together. Happy, happy faces. All of us. Together. :-)

First Day

2009-08-24T10:21:00.005-06:00

Wow. My girls are now in fourth and second grade! How did they get so old?! There was no dawdling today: the girls got right up, dressed, did their hair, ate, and brushed their teeth with plenty of time to spare--for pictures!

Grace was very excited this morning. She said she felt nervous as we walked down the hill, and even held my hand the whole way, but walked into her classroom on her own after turning around for an extra hug (I did not cry...). She has really gotten so brave and independent over the past two years. She really seems like a big second grader:

Anna was pretty nervous this morning. She proclaimed that if she was feeling that nervous, she couldn't imagine how nervous Emma was feeling (her friend who is coming to Polk from a montessori school). I even got to hold Anna's hand walking down the hill today!

Even though the girls had plenty of squabbles this summer, they will miss having so much time to play together now that school's in. Anna is very, very excited for Grace to have her favorite teacher yet, Mrs. Blair, this year. This will be the first time Grace will have a teacher Anna's had.

Grace's best neighbor friend, Sam:

The walking group (I think Sam is wishing he had walked ahead with his big brother and friend, who are too cool to walk with the rest of us. We liked having Sam walk with us today, though):

Can't wait to hear how today goes!

The End of a Great Summer

2009-08-23T20:33:00.005-06:00

Wow. I cannot believe this summer is already over. Tonight, my feelings are bittersweet, because I'm excited for this school year, but I love having us all home together; we quite enjoy one another really. Even though Adam has been back at work for a month now, it has still felt like summer around here. We've had a wonderful summer. Our summer began with a visit from Soley, her boys, and Mikaron; we had a great time drinking wine in the backyard and chatting as the kids played castle, webkinz wars, and Wii. We were then joined by Adam and Rich for a weekend with our home stuffed past capacity. I always love my time with Soley and Mik, and it seems to just get better as our children become close friends, too. After Soley's family left, Mikaron stayed for a few more days. As always, the visit felt too short; my time with my best girlfriends always fills me up, gives me perspective, and makes me wish we all lived closer to one another

Shortly after they all left, we left for our big summer vacation: we drove across Nevada, visited with my Uncle Mark and family outside of Sacramento, and drove to the Redwood Forest from there, where we camped for three beautiful, fun nights. The Redwood Forest was super fun: huge trees, beaches, AND banana slugs! Then we took two days to drive up the coast, getting us to Gramma and Poppy's home. We had a great time there, slip-and-sliding, eating delicious meals, going to a butterfly sanctuary and a world festival in Salem, and enjoying a huge family reunion. My mom, Oma, joined us there and took the girls down to Eugene, where they went to a children's choir performance, a wave pool, saw "Up," and fed some cute goats. While the girls frolicked with Oma, Adam and I got to spend two glorious days in Portland. I don't know who had more fun. It was really, really great. Then, Adam and I joined the troop in Eugene to play at parks, scooter along the river, play mini-golf, visit alpacas and goats, and dye yarn. After all that fun, Adam did the impossible and packed all our stuff back in the car and we headed back home.

Once home, we got to celebrate lots: July was filled with the 4th, Grace's birthday (7!!!), and Pioneer Day (Utah's holiday which is seriously bigger than the 4th around here). Grace's birthday was definitely the most fun. On the big day, we swam at our favorite outdoor pool, went out to her favorite sushi restaurant (is she cool or what?!), and had cake and ice cream back at home with Jenn, Matt, and the boys. A few days later, we had her hiking birthday party, which was really, really fun. A few kids couldn't come because of vacations, but she had a nice group of some of her best friends, the weather was surprisingly cool, and we didn't lose anyone. :-) We hiked home to have a water balloon fight and ice cream sundaes.

After all that was done, we settled into a really relaxing summer of mostly swimming, playing with each other and playing with friends, playing in the back yard, and going to the library. We didn't do a whole bunch of "stuff," but we had a really great time. Grace learned to ride a bike and swim this summer, Anna read countless books, I started running and my eye is doing better all the time, and Adam went on a short backpacking trip with one of his best friends and began his new position in July as the Director of Teaching and Learning at Weber State.

Now, Adam starts teaching this week, Anna starts 4th grade and Grace starts 2nd grade tomorrow, and I begin my training to be an Interventionist (tutor) at the girls' school this week. It will be 17.5 hours/week, which I hope will be just about perfect. We'll see how photography goes this fall; I had a couple of photoshoots in July, which went well, but I'm still taking it slowly as I still get headaches when I take a lot of pictures. So, I'm hoping to be busy, but not too busy... That's always the goal, isn't it?

Even though we didn't take pictures of a lot of what we did this summer, I put together a slideshow of the pictures we did take:

If you want to see these photos bigger, and much better quality, or if you want to order anything, go here.

I'll be sure to post Back to School pictures tomorrow! (sniff)

Dance Recital

2009-08-05T16:31:00.003-06:00

Yes, Anna's dance recital was in May... But, that was also when baby Sam was born. And anyone who knows anything about me knows that a baby's arrival means me taking hundreds of pictures. So, I took pictures of Anna's recital, then took hundreds of pictures of the most adorable baby ever, and didn't even remember having taken any pictures of said recital. Until a few days ago. So, I've finally posted them onto Smugmug ( http://kjohnstonphoto.smugmug.com/ if you want to see more).

(If you look on that site, you will get to see "Big Grace," the daughter of a good friend of mine, and my girls' idol. My girls absolutely love to carpool with Big Grace every week: she is silly, open, and kind. Honestly, if my daughters are as great as her when they're 15, I will be blessed indeed. Both girls wish Adam and I went on more dates, so Big Grace could babysit more. I think we should definitely listen to them... I took lots of pictures of her, because the batteries on all three cameras her family brought died right when the recital started.>

I was super proud of Anna, and it was fun to relive that night working on these pictures. Most of you know Anna loves dance--and her commitment to dance ramped up quite a bit when she started taking Contemporary in addition to Ballet and then started with the dance troupe her teacher started up in the Spring. Anna was dancing three days a week for a few months--and her dedication really showed in the recital. Best of all, she really looked like she was having fun. She shone. I teared up (both at rehearsal and at the recital). There is something so beautiful about seeing your child do something so completely and so happily.

This is Anna with Emma, one of Anna's best friends since they were four.

Pixie Grace

2009-07-25T16:30:00.003-06:00

So, for months now, Grace has wanted short hair. I don't know why it's taken me so long to relent... I love short hair, I constantly stressed out about how messy Grace's hair always was, and I knew she could pull off short hair with her adorable face. I guess I was worried she didn't really mean it; I mean, if she hated it, we couldn't just paste the hair back on. But, for the last two haircuts, she's asked for short hair, we've gone with the cute a-line, and she's repeated that it "isn't short enough." So, today, we went to get haircuts and we went as short as Grace wanted. And, again, Grace is right. She looks absolutely adorable. And she loves it. She has been all smiles since getting it cut. She's off showing it to Sam up the street right now. But, first, I had to take some pictures:

Oh, Anna got her hair cut, too, with some layers. She still wants it long and is planning to grow it out to donate to locks of love. I think she looks gorgeous, too. (She also loves Grace's hair.)

Potter Mania

2009-07-24T17:15:00.003-06:00

We all listened to the first Harry Potter book on our road trip to Oregon last month, and Anna is currently reading all of them; this has begun something of an obsession for both girls of everything wizard-ish. Last week, they dug out their Halloween costumes from two years ago, added some Harry Potter charm (thanks to a good friend's Potter Party we got to go to), and I had to pull out my camera. I haven't taken many pictures of the girls lately, so I thought I'd share. :-)

Lucky Me

2009-03-20T15:25:00.003-06:00

I have been blessed enough to have been busy doing this recently:

This adorable little one is only five days old here. Having not known whether or not I was ever going to be able to take pictures again only a few weeks ago, each image feels like a gift to me. I feel so lucky that I am seeing well and able to take these pictures. I had a horrible headache the rest of the day after this shoot and my eyes were sore, so I won't be doing it often yet, but I'm getting there.

If you want to see the whole gallery, they can be found at: http://kjohnstonphoto.smugmug.com . Then just click on the first gallery. (For some reason, the gallery isn't loading normally; clicking "refresh" will bring up the images; I'm trying to get that fixed... Annoying!)

Adam's gone this weekend to New Orleans, so it's just us girls. We're planning on having a good time tonight with friends, will be busy with the cookie booth all day tomorrow, and perhaps have a movie night Saturday night. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Orange Belt

2009-03-05T14:23:00.007-07:00

Almost two weeks ago, Grace tested for her Orange Belt in her martial arts class. She did amazingly well. She is so calm and focused! She was even better prepared for this test, mainly because she knew what to expect and knew to trust herself and not worry about what other kids were doing. We were very proud of her--but I think she is even more proud of herself!

Grace showing off the many stars she's earned by doing chores every month (red=300-399 chores; blue=400+ chores!):

The yellow and orange belts waiting while the white belts tested:

Grace doing "TK 1", taking down a boy :-)

Grace after getting her orange belt, shaking Bhak Bonnie's hand (her only female teacher, who can kick some serious ass while still being super cute--a GREAT role model for a little girl!), the whole group after earning their belts, and the proud girl.

We ended the evening by going out for malts, fries, and Grace even got a strawberry tart. It was quite a decadent end to a great evening. Now she's moving towards earning her purple belt! (which will be a while...)

a blur

2009-03-04T10:01:00.004-07:00

I have lots more to write, but I'm only on a brief escape from helping in Grace's class during a surprise assembly, and wanted to share...

It seems obvious now, but I was talking to Grace's teacher this morning and saying how much better I'm doing now, etc., but how most of January and February were spent obsessing over my eye and the stress of all that and I don't remember much else. She responded, saying, "yes, it was all just a blur, literally and figuratively." I like that. A lot. Because it really, really was.

But, yes, it is getting better. I'm doing more, feeling more like myself everyday, and still healing well. I go back to the doctor next Thursday--on World Glaucoma Day. I'm thinking about bringing a cake. With a big eyeball on it. All those wonderful people in that office need a huge thank you anyway. And, what's the point of having glaucoma if I can't have a little fun with it, too! :-) Glaucoma Day. The whole concept totally cracks me up.

March 12.

Just keep swimming, swimming...

2009-02-18T17:04:00.002-07:00

There has been blessedly little to write as of late... Things are going well. The pessimist in me just keeps waiting for something to fall apart, but so far, things continue to go well with me and my ol' eye. I just couldn't wait a whole week to see the doctor (I started worrying; so much could happen in a week!), so I went in yesterday, where my left eye was at 5, my vision a bit worse at 20/40 (it will continue to fluctuate for a while), and the right eye I have started to have nightmares about was holding steady at 23 (still high, but okay in the short term until the left heals a bit more).

I get this little bubble under the conjunctiva occasionally, which he assured me was normal, but he said it should remind me to take it easy. So, I'm trying to take it easy, which is surprisingly easy, since I get so damn tired after doing very little. I think a lot of it is the fact that I've just had two surgeries in one month, but it could also have a little to do with the fact that I've done little else in that month besides watch TV and eat sugar. Needless to say, I am not in the best shape... Oh well, all in good time, all in good time...

The pressure is still a little low in that left eye (it get so exhausting, worrying about "too high!" then "too low!"; it can drive one crazy, believe me), so the doc may start decreasing the number of times I use the steroid drop. Considering I'm instilling one drop every two hours, there's a lot of room for decreasing. I am looking forward to that, not only because that is a lot to keep track of, but also because the doc now thinks that is why I'm often so shaky. Before the second surgery, he and Adam both thought I was shaky because of nerves and stress (likely), but now I'm still shaky, and it is probably because I'm all ramped up on steroids. It's a bad feeling. So, I'm looking forward to that ending.

So, you can see, I'm doing pretty well without the drama which had nearly taken over my life for a while, but I'm not really back to normal either, so I'm kind of caught in the middle... And am therefore feeling kind of blah... I'm grateful I'm on the road back to health. I really, really am. But, I'm left with this odd feeling of "now what?" I am feeling well enough to have helped in both girls' classes this week, but still ill enough for that to have left me exhausted. But, every day keeps getting better, which I really couldn't say a few weeks ago, so I will just embrace that and know everything will work out.

In other news: Adam is doing a big talk tonight about Frankenstein (my husband!); Grace is testing for her orange belt on Friday night; Anna made the Dance Company she tried out for with her current teacher, so now she will have even more practices and get to perform more. We are all hopelessly addicted to Mario Cart.

Yee Haw!

2009-02-12T12:33:00.002-07:00

GREAT NEWS!!!!

Eye pressure: SEVEN

Vision: 20/25

Next Appointment: ONE WEEK (I'm afraid I'm going to miss the doc...)

Woo Hoo!

My eye looks great, he says the stitches will "soften," making them more comfortable, and the goop in the morning is just from the stitches.

I am beyond elated. Now I've just got to continue to heal, but it's looking good. Really good.

Whew.

What a ride.

Memories

2009-02-12T08:33:00.003-07:00

Just wanted to write down some memories of this surgery before I forget (I was awake longer this time, so I got to experience more before falling asleep:

Blue dot over my left eye (always good to know they've got that straight before going under).
My doctor talking to me and keeping eye contact with me while the nurse put in the IV.
Recognizing Dr. Simmons as Grace's anesthesiologist.
My doctor asking me how I slept that night. Not well, but then he assured me that he slept great. I asked him what he had for breakfast: eggs and toast.
I was the first surgery of the day.
Super cold, cold room
Dr. Simmons asking me four different times if I've ever gotten nauseous from anesthesia. No, and still didn't.
The nurse on my right, Dr. Simmons on my left, other people beyond, can hear Dr. Brodstein (my god-like Opthalmologist) in the room to my right.
Eleanor Rigby, I am a Walrus, I Wanna Hold Your Hand (at which time I fell into oblivion)
I will never listen to the Beatles in the same way again. Have wanted to listen to them ever since.
Breathing through an oxygen mask.
Dr. Simmons starting the anesthesia, feeling cold run through my veins, him telling me it may sting, me assuring him it just felt cold, wondering when I would fall asleep.
Looking up at the huge lamp above me.
The nurse on my right telling me they were "going to take good care of me" right before I must have fallen asleep. Feeling SO reassured by that. I hope she knows what I nice thing that is to say to someone on the table.
Waking up.

Surgery is such a bizarre experience, and I've found myself in awe of people whose jobs involve operating on other people. I cannot imagine that ever feeling normal. I am so grateful there are people out there who do that--especially surgeons--but it seems like they must be an entirely different breed than me. Although I was finally able to watch two versions of my surgery on YouTube yesterday without gagging (I really, really wanted to be able to see exactly what was done to me, and it really did help me), I still find it unbelievable that it can be done. I've become mildly obsessed with Dr. Brodstein, picturing his life, wondering if he thought about my upcoming surgery at all on Sunday, perhaps studying up a bit (ha!), wondering what his routine is before a surgery, wondering what he feels right before cutting into my eye... Wow. I mean, that must be quite a rush. I could never, ever, not in a million years do anything like that, but I'm glad he does it. I picture his wife, listening to the stories of his day--is she unbelievably proud of him and hang on his every word or has even that become mundane to her? It's got to be somewhere in between. I just can't stop thinking about him. I did this with my OB, too, so I know I'll get over it... It just feels like such an intimate relationship: to be trusting this man with my eyeball, my sight, and to know that he's just another human being like me.

Anyway, I go in to see him again in about an hour. I feel a lot better than last time: my body feels much better; I'm tired, but not completely wiped out; I'm seeing pretty well. I do have more pain in my eye: sharp pains and I can feel the stitches, which hurts. And, both mornings I've woken up with tons of gunk in my eye. I'm kind of worried it's infected, but I'll find out soon enough. It could also just be my eye reacting to quite a bit of trauma in the past month.

I'll let you know how it goes... (I'll try not to faun over my doctor too much...)

patchless

2009-02-10T18:29:00.003-07:00

by Adam

Karyn's doctor visit today went well: The patch came off and she can see with her left eye. It's not perfect, but it wasn't supposed to be because, well, she's just had surgery on it. It hurts, but that's reasonable since she has stitches in her eyeball again. Mostly she rests, listens to audiobooks and watches a little bit of t.v. She's in good spirits overall, all things considered.

Most importantly, the eye has pressure (so she can use it), but not too much -- 6 mm Hg, in case you were wondering -- really very low, but not as low as the "zero" she's been measuring since they last took out a stitch. And, that's a good pressure to start from as things start to heal. On Thursday she goes back to the doctor to check things again.

In case you were wondering, my eyes are just fine. My nerves less so, but getting better. Tomorrow I'll teach a class for the first time since Thursday, training the ophthalmologists of tomorrow.

post-op update

2009-02-09T11:05:00.002-07:00

by Adam

Just an update for those of you checking in: Karyn is home from her surgery and is doing well. She got a different dose of anesthesia and came out feeling much better than she did last time. (Same anesthesiologist that Grace had about a year ago -- a very nice man with a good gauge for the right amounts and kinds of stuff.) The doctor said she did great and that the "bleb repair" he did went exactly as planned. Karyn asked how he was doing this morning, and he was happy to report that he'd had a good night sleep and a healthy breakfast of eggs and toast.

Now she's home and in bed, dazed but basically in good spirits, all things considered. She has a patch (again) on her left (duh) eye and she will see the doctor again tomorrow morning to have the patch removed and basically start over with healing. The good news is that we know a little bit more about how this goes.

[Also, in case you think that the term "bleb" is some kind of slang or stuff I'm just making up, you can verify for yourself that it's really a medical term. If it's on Wikipedia, it must be real, right?]

Update

2009-02-08T15:40:00.004-07:00

I've just finished rereading this blog's past month's postings, and I am saddened by how depressing it has become! I used to be embarrassed that it was just filled with fluff: pictures of my girls and happy little status reports. What power this little eyeball has had on my life!

But, in rereading my words over the past three weeks, I found it comforting to have all those thoughts there to remember the road I've been on. And with each post, I not only remember how I was feeling at the time, but also the huge amount of support I felt from so many of you. This little blog has become a rather important connection to the rest of my world during all of this. Sometimes it has just been too much to try to call people back or even send individual emails, but this blog has allowed me to connect with all of you to--at the very least--reassure you that I am at least seeing well enough to type on the computer! At times that has been tougher than others, but I, too, have always been glad to at least have that (barring the first couple of days post surgery).

And, unfortunately, we are at that point again. I am scheduled to have another eye surgery tomorrow morning: at about 7:00 a.m. mountain time (think of me!). Although I'm certainly not happy to be having another surgery, I am more ready for this one. Not only do I know more now what to expect, I have not been able to see out of my left eye for over a week (longer if you count the time leading up to the stitch being taken out and my eye deflating--it's all relative now, you see...) and I'm ready for my doctor to fix that.

Before, my pressure was out of control high, but I could see just great out of it, so I was stressed about my sight. Now, I know, literally, what it looks like on the other side, and it's better than this. Squishy eyeball has definitely been the worst. I, of course, know it could be far, far worse, but this has been uncomfortable, stressful, and frustrating. It's unnerving to have my big, honkin' glasses on and not have that impact my vision AT ALL in my left eye. Fortunately, I've had a few mornings of relative good sight when my pressure goes up a bit before the "bleb" (what my doctor is fixing tomorrow) fails and my eye deflates and I lose any pressure and sight I've had. It is very, very reassuring that when the pressure improves, I CAN see. With all the things that have gone wrong and having some swelling inside my eye (bad for the optical nerve), it has been reassuring to have a peek at what I can see when my eye is filled up like it should be.

This surgery won't be as long as the previous one, since he won't have to do anything to my inner eye (the holes are already working super well, as we know), but I do still have to go under anesthesia. Recovery times start over again tomorrow, but it doesn't feel as brutal knowing what to expect. I know this first week will be pretty bad and I'll be relatively useless, but I know I'll be back to walking the girls to school the following week. It's easier to get through a bad week, knowing it's only a week, right?

Anyway, I'll have Adam update the blog tomorrow to reassure everyone that I'm doing okay. I think we should be home by around noon.

Until then, signing off with some pictures:

Self portraits of me (for the main purpose of showing people that my eye doesn't look too grotesque, just mostly dialated--and it looked about this good the day after surgery). Anna let me know that we should change the way my Mii looks on our Wii, since I'm "not that smiley anymore." Ouch. I did change it, because she's right... But I plan on changing it back soon:

How I currently see through my left eye with or without my glasses on (our backyard):

hmmm...

Better:

Here's to seeing this well in a few weeks!

Thank you for all of your well wishes, thoughts, prayers, and for being my lifeline!

long road

2009-02-05T16:43:00.003-07:00

I am really feeling sorry for myself... I had to go back to the doctor today. My eye pressure is still at zero. He put another gigantic patch on my eye, trying to help it heal; I go in tomorrow, but it's looking like I'm facing another surgery on Monday, starting the entire process again. This is so completely frustrating and depressing. Ironically, my mom left this morning at my urging (stupid girl).

I'll let you know if the surgery is a go or not when I know. Until then, please, please continue to send healing vibes my way.

zero

2009-01-31T11:18:00.002-07:00

After worrying for months about my eye pressure being too high, it is now at ZERO, which is, not surprisingly, too low. My eyeball is literally squishy like a sponge. Seriously yucky. Because it has no pressure, my eye isn't able to focus at all (no more 20/15, that's for sure...) and it hurts even to blink. Who knew this would be such a roller coaster?! Ugh.

So, my doctor took out a stitch yesterday, hoping that would keep my pressure from climbing after he sees me every few days. Having my pressure climb that way told him I was healing too fast (me being such a young spring chicken and all), so he gently pulled out an 1 1/2 inch long stitch (he numbed my eye first), opening up the hole a little more. Well, within a half an hour, my eye hurt and I could barely see. So, now, after another lovely visit with my doctor, I have been told to take it even easier than before, up my steroid drops (which will ideally raise my pressure), and hope for improvement within the next few days. My doctor seemed alert and vigilant, but not panicked, which reassured me A LOT. Because, to me, this is rather alarming. Even with all the things going on with my eye, it has still felt like an eyeball. Right now, my eyeball does not feel like an eyeball should. I was not expecting to take such a step back as this feels like.

This experience is definitely teaching me perspective and to be appreciative of what I have. Just yesterday morning, I was wishing I could see better, wishing I could just have my normal life back. Who knew that just a few hours later I would be wishing my eye were just back to its state it was in the morning. So, now I'm appreciating the fact that I am continuing to heal, that I can see a little out of my left eye, and perfectly out of my right, that I have such a good doctor, that I have insurance, that I have so many good friends, and that I have such a loving family. I don't know what I will feel like tomorrow, and I am trying not to worry about each new stage of this awful process, but today I am thankful for all these things.

I am also never again going to apologize for just posting pictures on this blog, because now I wish that were all I were doing. I thank you all, though, for continuing to read. Hopefully, soon, you will get to see beautiful pictures of my great kids again (Grace has not only lost her other front tooth, her new one is already coming in! Anna is now big enough that we just had to buy her some size TEN pants--how can that be?!).

seeing the stars

2009-01-28T08:32:00.003-07:00

Okay, so things are definitely looking up since the last time I wrote. Sorry if I worried anyone; it was just a bad day, which including reading all about the surgery I already had done to me on the internet--which totally freaked me out. Since then, my body started feeling much better, I started a simple knitting project that involves very little looking but much sanity saving, and I've been getting back into the game a bit. Every day someone's taken me out at least once to eat or even run errands, and I'm back to walking the kids to school. I also got some photo albums, so I could finally start putting years worth of pictures into albums--a great doable project that keeps me from feeling idle.

I was back to the doctor yesterday, who pushed on my eyeball again (ouch!) and got my pressure down from 19 to 4. Nineteen is still pretty good, but his concern is that I'll heal too fast, so he keeps reopening the flap (ugh) to ensure it doesn't heal over. I am actually seeing 20/15 in that eye with my glasses on (of course!), so my eye IS working really well, but because my eye is being kept dialated, that affects my vision. It sounds like keeping my eye dialated is pretty important at this point, so I'm determined to settle in and get used to seeing this way, because it could be a while. He said even when he has me stop the dialating drops, it will take 7-10 days to wear off, so I'm looking at being dialated for at least another few weeks.

My mom is being super helpful, making meals, helping keep the girls' schedules, homework, and practicing afloat. I think she'll be leaving within the week, though, so I'm trying to get used to going it alone again. I think I will have to learn to change my priorities a bit--does laundry really need to be done yet? Hairballs floating across the hardwood? What hairballs? This will be good for me...

Anyway, I'll keep in touch. Thanks for being there! :-)

I've fallen and I can't get up

2009-01-24T22:14:00.002-07:00

So, things are certainly better than they were, but I just need to say that this still really sucks. I still can't see super well, I can't drive, lift anything, bend down, knit, or read. I'm feeling like a caged animal. Sorry to vent, but I've kind of hit a wall today and am feeling depressed about it all. I know I am lucky to still have my sight at all, but the outlook of going to the dr for visits every couple of days, possibly having to repeat the surgery some day in the same eye or the other one, probably not being able to wear contacts ever again, and still being nervous about this recovery is a lot to take in. Before today, I was very much just focused on getting the pressure down in that eye. Now, I'm looking ahead to the future, possibly having to alter my life more than I am ready to.

Or maybe not. Maybe things will be better than I'm thinking right now.

Karyn's back...

2009-01-23T17:41:00.002-07:00

Well, hello again. :-) I thought it was high time for an update from me. I'm still not seeing super well (probably due to the fact that one of my new drops keeps my eye dialated) and I tire out awfully easily, but I feel better every day and am therefore feeling loads better than when Adam last wrote.

I've been back to the doctor yesterday, where in response to my pressure being up to 23 in the left eye, he pressed my eye with his thumb (hurt like crazy), getting my pressure down to 4. It's bizarre to me that following such a precise and delicate surgery, the adjustment involves playing uncle with my eyeball... I will continue to go in every few days which could be for a while. No one's really saying how long. I do know that the doctor told me (after the surgery) that the surgery was the easy part, now comes the "hard" part. Yikes. The surgery seemed might hard to me...

The good news is that my new glasses already came in today (which I just ordered on Saturday in a panic), my mom and I headed out to pick them up and go out to lunch, then tried to visit people at the yarn store, but I tanked and had to go home to pass out. It's disorienting being out not being able to see well, but I know it will get better with each passing day. And, quite honestly, I'm just glad I can see at all.

My mom's been supremely helpful, as I can't drive, lift anything over a gallon of milk, or lower my head past my heart, so she's been busy keeping the house afloat and shuttling the girls to and fro.

The girls are doing okay. Anna had a tough time leading up to the surgery. She was really nervous and cried a lot when we would talk about it. Grace has had a tougher time afterwards, wanting me to take her to MP and read to her. It's hard for her to understand why I can't do these things yet, especially since I look relatively normal (except for a very alert looking left eyeball).

I've been completely humbled and grateful for everyone's kind words both here on the blog, and in calls and emails. I am so thankful to have all of you in my life. There is nothing like a crisis to make you realize how much you are loved--and I definitely feel loved indeed. Thank you. Each of you helped me face this surgery, which I found very, very scary, with bravery and strength--and I'm going to be okay.

I'll be back in touch soon.

Eye Surgery Update: Good news & pictures!

2009-01-20T13:36:00.003-07:00

This is Adam, filling in for Karyn.

I'm glad to report that things are going as well as we could have possibly hoped for. Karyn is really barely recovering from the surgery itself, feeling really groggy and out of it ever since she got pulled back into consciousness. It hasn't helped that she's been out of adrenaline, hadn't eaten at all before the surgery, and that she's been wearing a patch and a bunch of gauze over her left eye. It's been really disorienting.

But, the good parts:

The doctor, right after the surgery* said that it went very well. No problems and no extra manuevers.
Karyn woke up after the surgery -- that's the part that always relieves me -- and she came home.
Louise (Karyn's mom) got here this morning to help out.
I took Karyn to the doctor this morning, where the patch got to come off and they checked all things they need to check. For me, it was really interesting to see all the different things they could look through and all the different things they could look for. The doctor even pointed out to me the various features of the procedure, holding Karyn's eyelid open as he did so. (Not very comfortable for Karyn, but it was really fascinating for me.) They checked the pressure in her left eye and it measured 16 mmHg. (I include the units of measure for any physicists or any of my physics students checking in.) This is exactly in the normal range, and much much better than the elevated pressures she'd been sustaining for the last few days. This is without medication in this eye.
Karyn's much more comfortable to have both eyes open, and the left eye doesn't feel that bad. It feels better than her throat, actually, where she had a breathing tube during the surgery. Her vision is surprisingly good, even minutes after removing the patch.

Now Karyn goes back to the doctor every few days to check on how the healing is going and if anything needs to be done to modify the pressure some more. There could be some more fine tuning with the eye, but so far (aside from having the surgery in the first place) things are going as well as they can.

Karyn hasn't been behind her camera lately, but I took a few shots, both before and after the surgery:

Karyn with Anna, behind the small army of medications she was taking to try to prevent surgery.

Karyn showing her calm cool collected self before the surgery.

Staying warm under my coat. The socks aren't upside-down, they're made to go either way . . . I guess in case you need to climb a wall or something.

Just a few hours before she got the patch removed.

Now, Karyn is taking a nap, Louise is doing laundry, and I'm on my way to get the girls from school. It all feels much more calm than the weekend. Thanks to everyone with the well wishes to Karyn -- she's really appreciated knowing that people are thinking of her.

_____

* If you're interested, the procedure is called a "trabeculectomy". If you google such a thing, you can get an in-depth description of the different things that are done, and you can even see some video footage of procedures. (Not really recommended, actually. Very graphic and maybe more information than you'd want to know.) The basic technique is that they open up a flap in the exterior of the eye, do an incision that goes to the iris that will allow fluid to drain out and prevent pressure build-up, and remove a sliver of the iris so that it doesn't fill in this piece of the plumbing. Then they treat it with some cancer medication which prevents cell growth, keeping that opening clear for drainage. Karyn goes in over the next few weeks to make sure that this basic plumbing is just the right gauge to allow pressure to be relieved, but also not be too low.

Surgery

2009-01-19T08:17:00.002-07:00

It's a go. I'm having surgery today at about 10:30. The pressure was no better than yesterday. Adam and I are leaving in a few minutes to start preregistering and all that fun stuff. Jenn and Peter are coming over to take care of the girls. Thank God for Jennifer. She's been a hero through all of this.

Please send good thoughts my way.

Bummer

2009-01-18T21:31:00.002-07:00

Hi. Well. It's not good news.

I will probably be having eye surgery tomorrow on my left eye. Damn glaucoma. It's a long story, and I'm exhausted and terrified, so we'll see how far I get.... Starting last week, I wasn't feeling like I was seeing very well, but I had just gotten my new contacts, so I was thinking perhaps I got the wrong box or something and was going to call to see. Well, I woke up on Saturday morning with a boring pain through my eye, a significant sensitivity to light, and my eye was really red. I went in to see the ophthalmologist on call, who determined I had developed inflammation (by an unknown cause), which was causing my pressure to be really high again: 44 (anything over 20 is a problem). To further the problem, the only treatment for this inflammation is steroid drops, which tend to cause my pressure to skyrocket. So, he gave me additional drops for the glaucoma along with the steroid for the inflammation, totaling five drops to be administered at various times throughout the day.

I felt pretty good last night and my eye was looking a lot better. I was supposed to see the dr at 8:00am this morning, but when I woke up at 7:00, I could barely see through my left eye. It was like looking through a really dense fog. And, totally freaky to me, my eye wouldn't focus on my reflection in the mirror, just drift randomly around. I called the dr, and went right in. My pressure was at 46. We headed to the 24 hour pharmacy to fill another drug, this time a pill to control the glaucoma systemically.

Then, I went back in at noon, this time to see my own ophthalmologist, a glaucoma specialist, who I trust and like very much. Even with five drops and a pill, my pressure was still at 40, which is high enough to go blind if left that high for long.

I'm going in at 7:15 tomorrow morning, but barring a miraculous drop in pressure over night, I will have to have surgery in order to relieve the pressure. I am so scared and overwhelmed and confused about why this is happening.

I want to be able to see. Desperately so. It makes me cry every time I think of that being jeopordized.

The surgery should go well, though. If my doctor says it needs to happen, I will do it. I doubt I will have time to post on here before knowing for sure what is happening, but I wanted at least to let people here know, because many, many people I know and love check this blog, and I figure the more people thinking of me tomorrow, the better. So, whether you pray or not, please send good wishes my way tomorrow. I'm feeling awfully weak right now and I need all the strength I can get from you. I'll let you know when I can how I'm doing.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-06T08:53:00.003-07:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is enjoying a great new year. We got back from Oregon on New Year's Day, the girls are back in school as of yesterday, and I am finally working on two photoshoots I took the week before Christmas and have felt guilt ever since for not getting to them until now. Of course, there wasn't much time to thoughtfully sit at my computer for hours at a time in the past two weeks... Probably not for many of you!

We had a great Christmas. Jenn, Matt, and Peter got home from Wisconsin a few days before Christmas, so we were able to spend much of the 24th with them, eating yummy food and opening some presents. On Christmas morning, the girls "slept in" until 6:40 (we told them they couldn't wake us up before 6:30), we talked them into a morning snuggle in our bed for a bit, and then we headed downstairs a little after 7:00. It is no surprise to anyone that our girls are spoiled: they really didn't need anything, but got plenty just the same. Anna got the much anticipated Nintendo DS, Grace got a digital camera, and they both got a wooden marble run from Santa. By 8:15, we were done opening presents, ate a yummy breakfast, and had all day to play with new things, pack for our trip, and watch the snow fall.

Unfortunately, watching the snow fall wasn't as relaxing as it could have been had we not needed to fly to Oregon that night. You see, a huge storm was predicted for Christmas evening, and the fact that it was already snowing inches and inches in the morning did not sit well with paranoid, worry-wort me. So, I was worried all day, wondering if we would really go, and worried we'd get stuck in the airport.

Well, we didn't get stuck in the airport, we got stuck on the plane... We got to the airport in plenty of time in order to avoid driving in the storm and to allow Jenn to use our car to pick up Gramma and Poppy who were flying here from Oregon. So, we got to see them for a minute before they headed up to visit Peter and his parents for a few days. So, we were now at the airport with no car (which ended up being inconsequential anyway). Then, the snow started. And I mean, it really started. The snow was falling horizontally and accumulating inches/minute. They closed the airport. Then they opened one runway and whisked us onto the plane. We felt like we had caught a lucky break: it was only a half an hour after our planned departure and we were already getting on the plane! Well, where our plane was in the terminal, all the snow and ice that was swirling horizontally got jammed up in the left engine, causing it to not work. So, an hour later, we were finally on our way after they brought a huge blow dryer out to melt all that ice and snow. At this point, our captain announces that the de-icing is taking longer than usual, like 10 minutes/plane and we are sixth in line, so we were looking at waiting another hour or so for the plane to take-off. Five and a half hours later, we finally took off (at 3:00am). I still don't know what really happened. There was lots of swirling snow, very little plane movement, very little communication from the pilot (I don't know how much more he knew), and very little sleeping. The girls (and every other kid on that plane) were very, very good. They didn't fall asleep until around midnight and even then it was very irregular, so by the time we landed in Eugene, it was 4:30am (Utah time) and we were extremely disoriented--I felt like for the whole time we kind of lost a day.

But, once in Oregon, we had a great time. First we got to visit my mom, who gave the family a Wii and the Wii Fit for Christmas. I am not a video game person at all, but that thing is awesome! We had a blast playing it with my mom and practically had to drag ourselves away to do anything else, but we did: we went to see The Tale of Desperaux, we painted pottery, saw friends for breakfast, went yarn shopping (the girls were thrilled), and beaded bracelets. And then returned to play bowling, golf, tennis, boxing, and ski jump. Wow. That thing is fun. :-)

Then we headed to Adam's parents who were back from their trip to Utah and ready to host us despite not having had power for four days before leaving. Their home seemed to be in the epi-center of the big Oregon storm: trees were snapped all around them, leaving tree carnage everywhere. I cannot imagine how much work that will be for Poppy to clean up. Fortunately, Poppy knows all about trees and has a manly-man tractor and truck that should help. It was nonetheless as beautiful as ever at their home. We got to watch movies and play with daddy's Legos, and Adam and I even got to go on a date while the girls went to the amazing Gilbert House with Gramma and Poppy.

Then, we headed back to my mom's on New Year's Eve to eat crab and play more Wii before packing it up to go back to Utah early the next morning. Thankfully, the flight home was uneventful and quick, and we're all glad to be back. It's been snowing lots lately, with beautiful sunny days with bright blue sky in between.

Now things are slowly getting back to normal. I took the Christmas decorations down yesterday, which always makes me a little sad, and shelved the Christmas music for another year.

Anna gets her retainer off tomorrow, which you can only imagine how excited she is for that.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. I've loved the Christmas cards we've gotten from so many of you--and I'm hoping more are still coming!

First Grade Brilliance

2008-12-23T13:58:00.005-07:00

I've never done this before, so here it goes... (if this works, I'll try to upload some more)

Last week, the first grade sang at the downtown Ogden's Christmas Village. It is completely adorable and bitterly cold. It was bittersweet, knowing this was our last 1st grade Christmas program... Well, until we get to go to Peter's (and his coming sibling's!).

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

Grace's first award!

2008-12-23T13:45:00.004-07:00

Grace with her adorable teacher, Ms. Cotter.

Grace won the Community of Caring Award for her class this month; the quality this month was Respect. Good job, Grace! The Johnston girls are on fire these days! :-) We're very proud. Here is what her teacher wrote about her:

"Grace is nominated for the Community of Caring Award, because she always acts respectfully towards her classmates, her classroom, and her teacher. Grace remembers the rules of respectful listening and never speaks while someone else is talking. She acts kindly and thoughtfully towards other students and always tries to help if someone is hurt or upset. Grace is very generous and will share with anyone who asks. She uses polite language and never says mean things to anyone. She keeps her desk clean and respects classroom materials. Grace models respectful behavior every day. I'm so glad to have her in my class!"

We couldn't agree more.

Now, the girls are FINALLY out of school. Not until today at 1:00pm. Crazy. And it's been snowing tons around here, which has made the fact that the girls were still in school seem even crazier. Hopefully, we'll still get to Oregon Christmas day. Thankfully, we fly into Eugene, which doesn't seem to be getting hit quite as hard as Portland.

I hope everyone out there is safe and warm!

Award Schm'Award

2008-11-25T21:13:00.002-07:00

No, we really are very proud of our little award winner. Anna won this month's Community of Caring Award for her class. The quality this month was "Courage." Mr. Cottle wrote that Anna is always willing to try new things, go the extra mile on assignments, and follow the rules even when others aren't. But, really, she won the award, because she volunteered to sit by the biggest trouble-maker in the class when Mr. Cottle asked if someone would be willing to "sit by Tegan who won't talk to him." I still can't believe Anna was the one and only volunteer--my little, quiet Anna! But, I guess Mr. Cottle couldn't really write that on her award certificate. :-)

Yeay, Anna! We are very proud of our courageous little lamb.

All I Want for Christmas...

2008-11-23T21:22:00.002-07:00

Grace lost her tooth! It's been loose for just about forever, but it FINALLY came out this morning--literally fell right out of her mouth onto her tongue. Very, very exciting indeed. :-)

The other front one is loose, too, so it looks like Grace just may be singing the song for Christmas!

Science Fair

2008-11-23T20:42:00.005-07:00

So, this is a week over-due, but I still wanted to post about Anna being in the Science Fair last week. Ironically, even though Adam dedicates two days of his time to do a really cool "Science Show" for each grade at the girls' school, neither one of us was really wedded to our girls doing a science fair project. We figured that when they are really interested, they'll do one. Well, or until 4th grade when it's required... Even though Anna has wanted to be in the Science Fair for the past three years, she didn't really have the lasting interest it took to get the project done, and Adam and I don't believe in being the driving force in making it happen (or we're just too lazy...). But, this year, Anna did it. What was it that held her attention and inspired an eight year old's best work? Peas. Yep. Anna stacked peas. And she did a marvelous job. (Almost) All by herself.

In addition to sharing a picture of the proud girl in front of her poster, I wanted to include Anna's brainstorm list for her project (exactly as written):

Sience fair progets

paper airplanes.
stacking peas.
How does the World spin?
How big do pe[n]cils get? [in reference to a giant pencil she saw in Adam's office that day, a cherished gift]
How big is space?
How long has the Earth been Earth?
How does balencing bird balence so well?
How are stars made?
Why do cars need gas?
Why do people litter?
How are mountains formed?
How do trees and plants grow?
How long will it take me to sing my ABC's?
How do circles (gears) work?
How do people grow?
Why does when mentos and coke mixed together it blows up?
Why did france give us the statue of Libertey?
How does electresety work.
Who was the first person on earth, and how were they born?
How many pieces of bacon are in a pig?

Brilliant. If only we all continued asking such questions our whole lives.

Hello Again

2008-11-10T11:31:00.002-07:00

Okay. So it's been awhile.

I admit that I've been a bit paralyzed by the whole idea of blogging. I want my blog to be more thoughtful and not just a string of images, but upon thinking of doing so, I end up stopping blogging altogether. So, I'm back to posting images of my children. That's what I feel comfortable doing right now. I just want people to realize that I recognize that that is all I do on this blog.

I absolutely love reading some blogs that are deeply personal; I find them engaging and brave. I know mine is not that. Perhaps that is for another blog. Or a diary. I don't know.

I do know there are a few out there who enjoy seeing pictures of my kids--and I do like taking pictures of them--so this is the place for that right now. If you want to see the other pictures I've taken lately, check out: www.kjohnstonphoto.smugmug.com . I'm really proud of the work I'm doing right now; it is fun, exciting, and fulfilling. I want to make it into something more.

So, with that said, here is a new string of images of my daughters:

Enjoy!

Carving Pumpkins

2008-11-10T10:52:00.001-07:00

After a flurry of dinner, dance, and martial arts, we finally made time to carve a couple of pumpkins the night before Halloween:

Halloween

2008-11-10T10:16:00.005-07:00

We had a great Halloween. The weather was unusually warm, my mom was visiting for the week, both girls had class parties, and they got to go trick-or-treating with Peter.

Anna was a free-spirited gypsy:

And Grace was a very serious veterinarian (she had this face on for every picture!):

(I made the lab coat and scrub pants and found the perfect scrub shirt with puppies all over it at a second hand store!)

Trick-or-treating at night with Monkey Peter:

Crazy Hair Day

2008-11-10T10:09:00.003-07:00

Trying to play catch-up...

Today was crazy hair day. What to do?? We didn't have a lot of time this morning, so we went with the stand-by "lots of pony tails and ribbons" look. Perfect ray of sunshine on a rainy, dreary day:

And, no, Grace STILL has not lost that tooth! It's the exact same tooth that held on in Anna's mouth, too. Any day now... And then we'll take Christmas card pictures. :-)

Yellow Belt

2008-09-20T14:49:00.003-06:00

After a very intense two-hour test, Grace earned her yellow belt last night. She had an excited cheering section:

And, boy, did she ever earn that belt! She definitely got nervous, but she impressed us all by how well she continued trying and stayed focused the whole time. The test was certainly harder than I thought it would be. There was a "movement" section where she had to show that she had mastered white belt material, and then there was a "stamina" section, which quite frankly felt like just enduring the two hours was enough, but they also ran for four minutes straight, held the push-up position for a minute, and other such torture. There were two kids (including Grace) testing for their yellow, two testing for orange, and three testing for purple, so lots going on. She did GREAT. We are very, very proud of her--but more importantly, Grace is very proud of herself. She still just loves MP and can't wait to start learning yellow belt material.

She will be a yellow belt for a while now. While she needed to attend 13 classes in order to test for a yellow belt, she will need to attend 26 classes to test for the orange belt. There is also quite a bit more material. And, she will be able to start sparring! Wow. She's excited and nervous to do that...

After having taken off their current belts and getting ready for the belt ceremony:

Shaking hands with Mas Pat, her favorite teacher who taught her intro class:

Cutting her yellow belt with a machete-like Indonesian fighting knife (very cool):

The new yellow belt:

We then headed out for some well-deserved dessert with Peter (who was a champ for making it through that big test!), Jenn, and Matt. Grace got a strawberry tart (and shared some of my malt). It was a good ending to a big night.

Then, she woke up and played soccer today... Whew!

Sweet Dreams

2008-09-16T22:01:00.002-06:00

This is how I found Anna sleeping tonight:

Cracks me up. (And thrills me that I can take this pic with my ISO cranked way up and not use a flash!)

Good Night!

Soccer!!!

2008-09-14T21:38:00.003-06:00

It's soccer time again around here! Grace actually had her first game last weekend, but I had to miss it to go to a Girl Scout Conference. This week, there was no way I was missing it, though. Grace was awesome--especially in the first quarter before she got tired. She was much more in the game, blocking the ball, turning it around, and running with it. It was so exciting to see! The girls have moved up to U8 soccer now, so the field is bigger and they play eight minute quarters now instead of five: much more tired girls! Five girls play at a time now, though, instead of just three, so they're learning positions now, too. Adam is again the coach--and thinks he may even need to buy some running shoes for practice and games! He is a great, patient coach with some very excited girls who love to hug each other... often. :-)

In other news, Grace is testing for her yellow belt this Friday. She is very excited, especially since we went to an open house on Friday and saw one of her teachers (the only woman) kick some serious ass. Bahk Bonnie was seriously tough, graceful, and amazing. Two of the highlights the girls can't stop talking about was when she was sparring with two men and totally took them down, even though they were "about a foot taller than her" (Anna's words), and when she broke metal with her head! Not a bad role model for Miss Grace, eh?!

Anna has started her two dance classes (ballet and contemporary dance both with Miss Beth) and violin. Anna loves it all, and she's even started waking up extra early to practice a half an hour before school, so there is less to worry about in the afternoon. That is working out quite splendidly, actually. Her class of 35 was just split on Friday, since they hired a fourth 3rd grade teacher. I think there are more like 25 in there now, which should help me sleep better at night. She seems to like her teacher and is happy.

Grace is doing well in first grade. She comes home tired, but happy, and is truly becoming a good little reader. She is diligent about her homework and quotes Ms. Cotter often, often describing how nice she is. She proclaimed this weekend that she was "sure [she's] going to have a good year in first grade." She no longer seems to be kissing Conner on the playground, but is still his--and many other kids'--friend. I helped in her classroom a couple of days last week, and even stayed to have lunch, and got to meet many of her friends.

I'm still adjusting to my life without the girls all day. I was kind of looking forward to some time to be bored, which really hasn't happened yet at all. The days fill up fast! I've gotten lots of doctor appointments taken care of (my eyes are doing well!), had a photoshoot up in Logan last week, am compiling pictures to finally update my website, and am hoping to finally paint our bedroom (a project on hold for the past 2 1/2 years!) this week. The afternoon/evenings are completely packed with lessons, so it's so nice to be able to breathe and get some things done during the day.

Looking Sharp

2008-09-02T12:25:00.002-06:00

Thanks for the new clothes, Gramma!!! The girls absolutely LOVE them--and it was cool enough today to wear the whole ensemble. :-) As you can see, they look adorable. Anna wanted to be sure I fit the shoes in the picture, since those are her favorite part. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

School Days

2008-08-27T09:15:00.003-06:00

It's only the third day back at school, and it's all craziness around here:

We tie dyed these outfits (plus much more) this summer, and this is what the girls chose to wear to school today. And this is how they pose when I tell them to just do "whatever they want." :-)

School is going well for both of them. Grace's teacher is every bit as wonderful as we anticipated she would be, and she seems to have a nice class. She has found friends to play with at every recess, some old and some new. We have learned, though, that she and her best boy friend from last year have been KISSING on the playground... Eie Yie Yie! I suggested that they find other things to do with their time instead of kissing each other, and Grace replied that they're "only kissing on the cheeks, Mom!" I said it would still be a good idea to have something else in common. And, she told me that she likes to call Conner "Connie" and he calls her "Gracie." I can only imagine this--and it scares me half to death! She also likes to play with her friend from preschool, Will, and our neighbor, Sam. I can only hope she's not kissing them, too... She's been playing with some new girls in her class, too, but can't seem to remember their names. I don't think she's kissing them either. :-)

I'm getting less information from Anna about school (although she definitely isn't kissing anyone, because she is completely appalled by Grace thinking of kissing boys). Her class is enormous: 34 kids. The whole school actually is completely bursting at the seams. The principal is currently working things out, and I'm trying to trust in her, although I admit to waking up with panic attacks and worrying about the chaos that has become the girls' school. Letters may have to be written; board meeting may need to be crashed, but it will work out in the end. I hope.

Anyway, Anna likes her teacher and comes home telling his funny jokes or doing silly tricks that he showed them. I can only hope she's learning something in there, too. No homework has come home yet, so I really don't know. She is still playing with a lot of her friends from last year. Apparently they have a meeting place on the playground, so they can all find one another. Anna is talking about some nice new girls in her class, who I'm sure she'll befriend soon enough.

And, here is a funny picture of Grace that my Uncle Mark took with his camera while he was here on Sunday:
Hilarious. Thanks for sending this to me, Uncle Mark! Grace brought in a copy of it to school for show and tell today. :-)

First Day!

2008-08-25T11:39:00.004-06:00

Here are a few pictures of the girls' first day at school (Anna: 3rd; Grace: 1st). This morning went well--no crying from Grace! She only said she wanted to go home twice after entering her classroom... But then after a good hug, she sat down at her desk and was very brave. She's come a LONG way since last year! Once I helped Anna find out where to hang her backpack and she found some friends, she was fine to walk down the hall into her class without me.

I can't wait to find out how their first days went! I'll be sure to report...

P.S. I have had a GREAT day. I've officially declared the next two days my vacation days. It's been a mighty long time since I've even been alone, much less spent a whole day on my own, so I'm giving myself some time to enjoy it. I know I'm going to get busy soon enough, so for now I'm just letting myself relax a little bit. The joy of it all!

New Things

2008-08-20T22:54:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Adam has been gone A LOT lately and it seems any time I try to get anything done, the girls start fighting. So, I'm getting very little done. I think we're all missing having him around. I know many of you are parenting more alone than I am most, if not all, of the time. I can honestly say I so honor what you do. It is such hard, hard work.

I took a few pictures today of some new things that have happened lately: bangs for Grace and a retainer for Anna.

Grace looks adorable anytime, but she looks very cute indeed with bangs:

And, her hair stayed out of her face during MP without any clips (great for Grace who hates having her hair done or having it styled--simple is best with her).

Anna can't believe what I asked her to do:
Show off her new stylish retainer! :-) She's doing great with it. She should have it out around Christmas.
Already a pretty smile...

Adam gets back Saturday night. He and the girls start school on Monday morning. I have a list started of all the things I'm hoping to get done when they're gone. I cannot believe both girls will be gone all day. I'm going to miss them so much! But, I have to say, this summer has felt pretty intense, so I'm excited to get back on top of things and have time to think and figure out what I want to do with my life. Wish me luck!

My eyes are doing pretty well. I'm on two different drops which are keeping my pressure down. I go back to the glauc. doc. in a couple of weeks and see how I'm doing. Thanks for all the kind thoughts and words!

Maine

2008-07-30T09:51:00.002-06:00

Pictures of our wonderful trip to Maine are posted on my SmugMug site! All 315 of them! :-) (narrowed down from 700...)

kjohnstonphoto.smugmug.com

We had a fabulous time visiting with family, swimming in lakes, tubing, kayaking, canoeing, going to the beach, eating lobster, jumping off docks, tramps, and paddle boats into lakes, hanging out in a really cute town for a day, jumping in puddles, knitting on the deck, and reading--and I had a blast taking pictures of it all! The weather was perfect the whole time until the last two days when it poured and thunderstormed, but even that felt perfect, too.

Enjoy the pictures!

Gramma and Poppy: You can print any pictures you want directly from that site and they will mail them to you within the week. Let me know if you have any questions or if you want any of these in black and white. Thank you for a wonderful time in Maine! We are all looking forward to seeing you again in the fall.

sweet, sweet sight

2008-07-30T09:27:00.004-06:00

What a week I've had... Ended up with an emergency visit to the ophthalmologist on Saturday after the symptoms I'd been having on and off since April (a hazy film coming over my eyes, rainbow halos around lights, sensitivity to light, contacts slipping off my eyes easily, nausea, and headaches) got more persistent and worse.

Turns out those symptoms are not good. The pressure in my eyes was incredibly high (48-50, normal being between 10-20) and I was diagnosed with glaucoma. No, not good at all.

The doctor prescribed two different drops to get the pressure down and I spent a sad, stressful weekend at home with my glasses on reading horrible things online about glaucoma.

Monday morning, I headed back to the doctor to check my pressure again and take a battery of tests. That appointment ended up being the best-case scenario, really. I do have some damage to my optic nerve in my right eye, but the left is okay and now that we've caught it and are treating it, there hopefully won't be any more. My pressure was way down (11 in the right and 27 in the left), so I'm continuing the drops and it doesn't look like I'll have to have surgery for now.

Thankfully, the doctor said my chances of going suddenly blind are very, very slight (definitely my worst case scenario) and I found out I can't do anything physically to make glaucoma worse, so photography, working on the computer, knitting and reading are all okay. Thank God.

I go back to see him again on Monday. And I have an appointment to see my dermatologist to try to get off the topical steroid meds I'm on for my psoriasis, which could have brought on the glaucoma in the first place. Unfortunately, he could "fit me in" until the end of August. What gives with the dermatologists? I've had this problem before; I need to get in, but he's booked for months, and they can "squeeze" me in a month from now... Gee, thanks for fitting me in your schedule... I don't get it.

But, anyway, I wasn't even sure I was going to write about this here, but I started a post about Maine and couldn't NOT write about this first. This is definitely forefront in my mind. Even though the news I heard yesterday was all pretty good and I know it's all going to be okay, it's still scary and depressing and exhausting to think about. I really like seeing...

Merpati Putih Grace

2008-07-23T20:11:00.002-06:00

This week, Grace's anticipation to take karate (or more specifically, "Merpati Putih", or just "MP" (pronounced em-pay), an indonesian martial arts) was finally fulfilled when she took a three day "try-it" camp, culminating in earning her white belt today. It would be an understatement to say she enjoyed taking MP... She absolutely loved it. She took to it with confidence and an excitement she doesn't often have for new things. It was exciting to see. She came home each day bursting to show off what she had learned: punches, kicks, and blocks. The only bad part for her was having to wait until 6:00pm every night... Needless to say, we signed her up to continue taking MP, where she will be part of the larger class and begin earning her yellow belt (and then orange, then purple, then blue...). I have a feeling it's going to be a long, long wait until her next class on Monday... She rather liked going every day! She was very tired tonight (the girls are going to sleep Utah-time, but waking up Maine-time...), but pulled through for me to snap a few pictures of her in her cool outfit and NEWLY EARNED white belt!

We're back!

2008-07-22T08:38:00.003-06:00

After a great time in Maine, we're back home safe and sound. I'll write much more about it once we're a little more settled and I've had a chance to go through the hundreds of pictures I took.

For now, though, I wanted to post a picture I took of my mom with the girls the day before we left on our trip:

It's always nice to have Oma here. We went swimming, went to two movies, rode the train to SLC, and she frolicked with the girls while I got things ready for Maine. Thanks for coming to see us, Oma! Come visit again soon!

Maine-bound

2008-07-08T22:46:00.001-06:00

We're off to Maine tomorrow morning... :-) Hope everyone has a great couple of weeks!

Happy Birthday, Grace!

2008-07-06T21:14:00.002-06:00

How can she be SIX?! What a beautiful girl. I don't care how old she is, I still see the little baby in her. I hope I always do. The first moments knowing Grace were truly magical: she was an old soul at the beginning, looking at me with wise eyes, like she knew all the answers already. Parenting her continues to be trying to know the person she already is and helping her find her strength, bravery, and patience. Grace humbles and amazes me everyday. Thank you, Grace, for teaching me so much and for being so true to yourself. I learn so much from you.

All Grace asked for from us was a guitar, which we happily picked out for her. She idolizes Brandi Carlisle, which I think is pretty darn cool. I picture this on her album cover some day:

Grace with the BEAUTIFUL cake Oma made for her (thanks, Oma!!):

whole new holes

2008-07-02T20:29:00.003-06:00

Here's hoping I don't shock the grandparents....

Anna got her ears pierced on Monday. She's been wanting them pierced for quite a while now, and finally talked Adam down from his original thought of 32 being a reasonable age to put holes in her head. I got my ears pierced at seven, so after that age seemed like fair game to me. We both agreed she had to be old enough to take care of them herself, which, quite honestly, she really wasn't when she was seven. Well, around Christmas time Adam and I told Anna that she could get her ears pierced when she felt ready. Once given the okay, her pleading all but stopped, and she would only occasionally bring it up (I think it was more the temptation of the forbidden that enticed her). Finally she started bringing it up again a few weeks ago and while Auntie Mik was here seemed to be the perfect time to do it. I must say I was really, really glad to have Mikaron there with me for support (I got nervous!!). Anna was the picture of serenity and poise, though. She got a bit nervous, they put both earrings in at the same moment (why didn't they have that technology when I was a kid?!), and she declared immediately after that she was "okay" and was excited to see what they looked like. Really, Mik and I both agreed she was amazing. Grace loved watching it all and has even said since that she's "proud for Anna." I'm happy that she still looks like a little girl, just a little sparklier. Adam was shocked we went without him, and often talks about Anna "before she had holes in her head", but I think he's adjusting just fine. And, you have to admit, she looks quite cute:

I have had quite the exciting week. Adam completely surprised me by having Mikaron fly out for my birthday (Soley couldn't make it--we missed you, Soley!!!). Adam and the girls came to visit me at the Needlepoint Joint, which was already a surprise, and a few minutes later, Mikaron walked into the shop. It was perfectly executed. I was stunned and immediately started to cry. It was great. Then Adam surprised me again by saying we were headed to Alta Lodge for two nights. Here I was planning to go to GS day camp for the next two days, and Adam informs me that they already know and I only think they need me: they don't. So, very disoriented, I leave work (everyone there knew, too), go home and try to pack (if only I had known, I would have done laundry!). Well, we had a great time needless to say. It was so nice to spend so much time with Mik with nothing else we had to do... We had a lot of plans to do lots of different, fun things: yoga, hikes, a movie, time at the spa, but mostly we ended up sitting on the beautiful patio, talking and eating: DIVINE. We did sit in the hot tub and sauna, we made it to REI for a birthday shopping spree, and we flew down the mountain on the alpine slide, but my fondest memories will always be just hanging out with Mik. Thank you so much for coming out to spend the weekend with me, Mik! I loved every minute!

Then, after we got back from our relaxing weekend, Adam and the girls had a big party for me (I had found out about this part of the surprise). We had a great group of some of my favorite people. It was a great, great day. I was exhausted from all the hullaballoo, but--Man--what a way to turn 36! Thank you so much, Adam. You make me feel special every day, but this weekend topped it all. :-)

New Me

2008-06-26T09:19:00.003-06:00

It's amazing how great cutting 10 inches can feel... I was ready and I LOVE my new hair! (and didn't Anna do a great job with my big ol' camera?! The first one is even at 3.2! She's got a steady hand.) The girls get their hair cut this afternoon.

Girl Scout Camp

2008-06-25T22:10:00.003-06:00

Last week, Anna and I got to go to Girl Scout Camp. We had a GREAT time (and it fulfilled my dream of going to camp). We learned lots of songs and games, Anna (and I) made new friends, we had great camp counselors, the weather was perfect, we were busy, busy the whole time, and it was especially nice to have that time with just Anna. Anna is a busy girl these days, and when she is home, she plays so well and so much with her sis, I don't have a lot of time to be with just her. Being at camp together was really a joy--a time I'll always remember for sure. I often say that Anna is the nicest person I know, and being there together reminded me that she still is. She is such a nice person: always so happy and agreeable, willing to try new things, honest, and I even got some snuggle time with her every morning when she climbed into my sleeping bag with me (now that REALLY never happens anymore!). We've been singing all the songs all week and can't wait to share them with the rest of the Brownie troop. Oh, and Anna's camp name was Starry Night. Very fitting, I think! There are many great pictures of our trip (Adam's camera did okay!), so here are quite a few:

Learning to tie knots as we wait for our dutch oven breakfast (that the kids and counselors made).

Trefoil Ranch, which is east of Provo, is a GORGEOUS camp.

Starry Night riding Derby, a frustratingly lazy horse who kept stopping. She learned to be super assertive! That is Mt. Timpanogas in the background. Again, beautiful.

Inside the lodge eating our lunch.

Starry Night with all of her loot from the Trading Post. She brought up her cookie credits from selling cookies and got to buy lots of good stuff: a pillow, a fan/flashlight, and two horses (one for Grace--see, I told you she is nice!)

Doing the limbo... Not one of Starry Night's strongest skills. :-)

Their troop did one of the flag ceremonies for the whole camp (there were probably about 100 kids there). Starry Night and Yellowfeather folded the GS flag.

Mist (Annakai) and Starry Night writing during a stop on one of our hikes.

Starry Night with two girls from her troop who also came to camp, Chocolate and Mist, and their camp counselors, Sundance, Hershey's, and S'mores.

A rare picture with me (Sunny Day)! Starry Night had just been a turtle in a skit, hence the face make-up. This is right before we loaded up and went home. It was a great, great time.

Since we got back from camp, we've been swimming a couple times at some outdoor pools, gotten together with some friends, the girls started swim lessons, and Girl Scout Day Camp starts tomorrow. Oh, and I cut all my hair off. :-) I was even able to cut a 10" ponytail off, so I can donate it to Locks of Love. Now my hair is SHORT again (not as short as I've been before, but still pretty darn short). I love it and will try to have Adam snap a picture of me tomorrow to post.

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T08:06:00.003-06:00

To all the fathers out there, Happy Father's Day!!!

To Adam, Happy Father's Day, hun! Thank you for being such an amazing father for the girls and such a great partner for me. Father's Day is so much more fun now than it was for me growing up. Thank you for making that true.

To Gary, Happy Father's Day! Thank you for being such a kind, loving, honest, sincere father. You are everything I could ever want in a father-in-law. I can only hope Adam turns out as good as you have. :-)

And, to my mom, Happy Father's Day to you, too. Thank you for being both my mother AND my father growing up. I don't know how you did it, but I thank my lucky stars you did. Thank you.

Last night, I went to one of the best baby showers ever for a friend from my knitting group, Kristi: good food, great company, and perfect presents. One member of the group said that "every group has a heart, and Kristi is the heart of our group" and I couldn't agree more. Kristi is one of those enviable people who likes most people and most people like her, and is completely generous with her time, love, and attention. So very different from me.... I really don't know how she does it. But, it was great to celebrate Kristi's first baby, who will be born in July. Kristi got oodles of knitted gifts (ironically, even more than usual from our knitting group!); it was obvious all night how much we all adore Kristi. Here is what I made for her baby:

It's Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket made out of Ecco, a superwash DJ weight wool (very springy). It was truly a fun knit. While knitting it, it is like origami, in one piece that looks like nothing wearable, then you cast off, make one fold, sew two seams at the shoulders, and you have a jacket! A great, great knit. I found the pattern in her book, The Opinionated Knitter.

Before the baby shower, we had a perfect day going on a bike ride along the Ogden River Parkway with Jenn and Peter (we were quite the entourage!), stopping at a new shop along the river for some warm beneighs (sp??) and cafe au laits. It was finally a warm day and was just beautiful out.

Last Sunday, our good friends from college and early SLC days, Cable and Lesley and their two boys, came to visit us. They were visiting Cable's parents down in SLC and came up for the evening. It was so great to see them again. Their boys are adorable (and their parents are not bad, either!). :-)

And, at the beginning of the week, we had a great time visiting with the Girz family, who moved to Ohio last August. It was great to see Anna and her best friend, Ana, together again (who Grace absolutely adores, too), and Grace loved playing with her pal, Nick. I loved getting to hang out with their parents, too. And, while they were here, we got to see Suzanne, Emma and Kate a lot, too. That was one really great part of our week. We got to go to the Nature Center, have lunch along the river, the dads took the kids swimming and Kim, Suzanne, and I went on a hike, we had a pizza party at our house, and we took the new train to SLC and went to the planetarium at the Gateway. Thanks, guys, for visiting and for spending so much time with us while you were here! It's just not the same without you here; we miss you every day. Keep in touch!

I'm off to put some cinnamon rolls in the oven. Grace just finished her card while I've been typing this; Anna is still asleep and will have to finish hers later... Good thing Father's Day is ALL day. :-)

Riding Trinket

2008-06-05T15:16:00.003-06:00

The highlight of our summer so far has definitely been the girls getting to ride our friend Stacy's horse, Trinket. Trinket is an amazingly kind, well-behaved horse, and Stacy is equally as kind--and is amazingly good at sharing her horse enthusiasm and knowledge with the girls. I can't think of anyone Adam or I would trust more with our girls on a horse. Anna started by getting to brush Trinket down, including her mane and tail:

Grace wasn't so sure at this point, preferring to take care of Trinket's carrot and apple we brought for her:
I have never, ever seen Anna smile as big as when she was on the horse. She absolutely loved it. It was so good for her to learn to HAVE to be loud enough for Trinket to hear her, and "click like she means it." Anna got it, and Trinket listened. A good lesson indeed for her to use with everyone in this life.
I wasn't really sure if Grace would ride Trinket on this trip, because she usually prefers to check things out first, but she got right on--without even a pause. She liked riding her and also had a smile on the whole time, but didn't want to go again after her first ride. That's okay. She, of course, is ready to go again, as she says, "now that she knows what to expect." All good training for her life as a farmer (still what she wants to be when she grows up). :-)

In other, much sadder news, this week, we had to put our cat, Oskar, down on Saturday. Although we all loved Oskar (including everyone who has ever come to our home, because he had such personality), it was time. He had been peeing on our carpet downstairs last fall, stopped, and then started peeing again last week. We did all the tests, and he was perfectly "healthy." He was also attacking our dog. Whenever he barked. Even in front of company. Not good. He also tended to walk around the house moaning more often than not. We really think that although he was physically healthy, his mind wasn't. So, it has been sad and a bit empty not having him around, but the house feels much calmer (and I'm finally starting to get the smell out of the carpet...). Both Tycho and Celie (our other cat) are much, much happier. And I'm not kidding. I think it was for the best. But a really, really hard decision to make. And a hard thing to explain to the girls. They're doing pretty well, though, and giving lots more love to the pets we still have than they ever have before.

Last Day

2008-05-29T14:25:00.003-06:00

Well, I can't believe the girls are officially in 1st and 3rd grades now... They have each had really fantastic school years; we really couldn't be happier. Grace learned and grew up so much this year: she is now reading simple books and is much braver socially and is more confident. Her teacher gave each child a special book of her work and activities through the year. It is adorable and fascinating to see all that Grace did in kindergarten and how much even just writing her name has improved. She is definitely ready for 1st grade (but I'm not so sure I am!). Here is Grace with Miss Moore:

As most everyone knows, Anna has also had a great year. Her teacher continued to inspire and awe me. Plus, I just really, really LIKE her. I know Anna will miss her. Anna is still reading phenomenally well. She just loves it and finds so much pride and satisfaction in reading. It really is one of her most favorite ways to spend her time. Here is Anna with Mrs. Blair:

We also found out who the girls will have next year as their teachers. I'm really happy about who they got, but it should be kind of confusing keeping them straight: Grace has Ms. Cotter and Anna has Mr. Cottle. Cottle/Cotter: confusing! Both teachers will be good fits for the girls. Unfortunately, Grace's best friend got another teacher, but Mikah will be on G's soccer team next year and they will have lots of playdates:

Cute

2008-05-27T19:33:00.001-06:00

A completely cute baby I photographed last week (it really was a busy, busy week; I don't jest...). She looked directly at me for every picture. Love her. She made my job very easy indeed.

Dance Finale

2008-05-27T19:27:00.002-06:00

Also a week ago, the girls had their dance recital. They both danced beautifully. They will still be taking dance this summer, though, so I guess it's not really a finale after all...

With the infamous, wonderful Miss Beth:

Soccer Wrap-Up

2008-05-27T14:42:00.005-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Grace had her last soccer game. She absolutely loved playing soccer--and it was really exciting to see how much the girls improved this year. Even though Adam's soccer knowledge was minimal at best at the beginning of the year, he was an amazing coach. This spring, when I finally went to a soccer practice, I was amazed by all the drills they did at practice: it was like Adam knew what he was doing! Quite a stud. :-)

Anyway, here are some pictures of Grace and her team playing in one of their last games:

(Adam ties A LOT of shoe laces)

After their last game, we had the team (and many of their supporters and fans) over for an end of season BBQ. It was super fun. We've been lucky to be a part of such a cohesive team. We really loved all the girls and their parents. Hopefully, they'll be together again next year.

Grace is already signed up and ready (and so is Adam!).

taking over

2008-05-24T17:21:00.005-06:00

Karyn left for California last night to be there for Jessica's college graduation and the after-celebrations. Nice going Jessie!

But just because Karyn isn't here doesn't mean that we can't continue the blog with the same breakneck speed that she so religiously dedicates herself to.

When Karyn's out of town, we engage in crazy behavior and wild times. Specifically, we ride public transportation, this time the train to Salt Lake. This was Anna's first time on the heavy rail line; Grace and I rode it once before. We went with Peter and his parents, whose names escape me for the moment. Everyone under the age of 9 got to get a new book. Everyone over the age of 9 got to pay for the new books and lunch.

A few days before this, I got to go with Anna's 2nd grade to Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine, the largest man-made excavation on the entire planet. It was rainy/snowy cold and windy and it was hard to see the other side of the big hole (which is over two miles away), and almost as hard to see the bottom (which is almost a mile down). I suggested driving the school bus down there, but if you consider the size of the other trucks in the mine you realize that there's a reason the school bus shouldn't be in the mine. The big scoops could quite literally and quite easily pick up the entire bus with plenty of room left over for copper ore.

The next day was swim day for the entire school, one grade at a time. I went with Grace's kindergarten class with a few other parents (Karyn was at the yarn shop for the day). I was one of two dads, which meant the two of us got to oversee the kindergarten boys' changing out of wet swimsuits, drying off, and getting back into clothes. There were a few missing socks and only one extra pair of underwear lying around. I didn't take any pictures. You can picture it quite clearly.

Anything but Brown Brownies

2008-05-21T20:25:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, our Brownie troop met for the last time this year; they looked so sunny walking around Nature Center in their new tie-dyed shirts! One mascot (Peter) and 13 girls equals two tired leaders.

T-Ball Dropout

2008-05-13T19:22:00.002-06:00

So, even though we have officially dropped out of T-ball, Grace still loves to wear her hat. Just seeing her wearing it on and off throughout the day is worth the $15 we paid for her to play t-ball, even though we only ever made it to one practice. We were all pretty excited for Grace to play t-ball... It was Grace's idea, out of the blue, that she wanted to play t-ball this year. Oma, excited she has a granddaughter of her own heart, bought her a new mitt, balls, a tee, and a bat. They practiced while she was here last month, Grace remembering everything Oma told her.

Then we had practice: an hour and a half practice. Immediately following her hour long dance class. It was hot out that day. Grace did great, though. Then she got sick and missed the next practice. Then she didn't want to go. I never really wanted her to go, because DUDE, t-ball is INTENSE! Who knew the t-ball schedule would be so grueling??!! Two games/week plus and hour and a half practice. On top of us already juggling dance, soccer, school, and Girl Scouts. So, we dropped out. She has plenty of time left to be a baseball star. So, for all of you out there who don't think I know how to stop, I proclaim, "UNCLE!"

Grace still plays catch in the backyard with her daddy, and--even cuter--bats Tycho's balls to him off her tee. A perfect end to the story if you ask me. :-)

Happy Mother's Day!!

2008-05-11T12:28:00.002-06:00

Happy Mother's Day out there to all the wonderful mothers I know! I hope you all have a wonderful day. I awoke to find a new bird bath from the girls for our front yard. We're still waiting for the birds to find it. I also got french toast and bacon for breakfast, a plant and card from Anna, and a fun paper flower pot with Grace's traced hands for flowers with coupons on them (for one free hug/kiss/cleaned room/picnic (g's idea)). Very fun to get things from them that they made themselves. I love school crafts. Now, we're off to Costco for lunch and kitty litter. Yep, us Johnston's are darn classy people, in case you didn't know! :-)

Catch Up (again)

2008-05-11T11:30:00.004-06:00

So, I kind of suck at this blogging thing...

So much has happened since I last wrote! I'll try to briefly catch you up:

First of all, Adam came home. It was very emotional, since I just felt so, so lucky to have a husband who could come home. It was hard having him gone when Suzanne's husband died--for the girls, for me, and for him. It was just so easy to picture the giant loss his absence would be. I now have two friends who have lost their husbands; the tragedy of losing someone so young is so unfair and tragic. I feel lucky every day to have Adam in my life. Even with all the emotion of Emma losing her dad while their dad was away, the girls seemed baffled why Adam and I were crying when he saw them and me again. I'm glad for them that they can still be so innocent.

It has still been snowing on and off all spring. In fact, we've still had very few days that feel like spring. But, this week, all my tulips and our gorgeous tree bloomed. Spring has sprung! Now, hopefully the snow is gone for good...

One of the best things that has happened since I last blogged is my mom came to visit (which was fun), and Adam and I got to go to San Francisco together for three days. It was great fun for everyone. The girls had a ball with Oma, playing t-ball, dying sock yarn, going to movies, and "getting to do whatever they wanted" (quote by Grace). Adam and I had a wonderful time in SF; it was especially nice being able to talk with him without interruptions. Of course, a lot of the time it was about the girls... :-) It was great being away, but great to come back home, too.

Suzanne's Shawl

2008-05-11T11:07:00.002-06:00

Last Saturday, the girls and I took Emma to the Fairy Tale Ball at the Treehouse Museum here in town. When we went to pick her up, I brought the shawl I had just finished for her mom. It is the Landscape Shawl by Fiber Trends, made out of Lorna's Laces sock yarn. When my friend lost her husband, all I wanted to give her was a hug. I drove over and immediately gave her one, but I still felt helpless in what I could do to help her. So many people were already doing so much: we baked cookies; when we delivered them the evening of the viewing, we found six other packages by their back door. It isn't that they didn't love the cookies, it was just one more thing amongst so, so much. Suzanne had to mail letters to every patient her husband had seen in the past three years to notify them of his death... That totaled 4,000 letters. I couldn't even imagine Suzanne having to do that. So, I hurried over to pick up what she had, and my mom and I quickly finished 500 for her; by the next day, another woman from church had arranged a pack of women also wanting to help to finish the rest. That's the thing with the Mormon church: they know how to give support to one another. It's enviable, really. My friend is still receiving meals and someone is still staying with her every night. I sometimes wonder, though, if it isn't too much. Emma mentioned on Saturday night how she wished no one would stay with them anymore. Her disappointment was palpable, after being so completely happy at the Ball, when she returned home to find a church friend there. Anyway, with Suzanne already receiving so much help, I didn't know what I could do that would be different than what she was already receiving. I did know I was thinking about her all the time and continued to feel like I just wanted to wrap her in a hug all the time. That's where the idea of knitting a shawl for her came from. More than anything I know, knitting is my act of praying for someone: every stitch, I thought of and prayed for her. While knitting something for someone, it is impossible for me to not think of that person the whole time I'm knitting it. So, here's the shawl, my hug for my dear friend, Suzanne:

I know the hardest times are still ahead for her. I only hope that this shawl provides some comfort for her in the months ahead. And, of course, anything else I can do for her.

Dude, we don't look 18 years older--do we??!

2008-03-31T21:11:00.004-06:00

Just discovered all the pictures from Adam's camera. Yikes, we take a lot of pictures! Here's one I just had to share: Mik, Soley, and me. We've been best friends since Freshman Year at LC (18 years ago!!!) and are still going strong. I love you both so much!!!!

(and I knit the sweater I'm wearing: the Tangled Yoke Cardigan from the Fall Interweave Knits)

Happy Cousins

2008-03-31T20:56:00.003-06:00

One of the best things that has happened to me in the past fifteen years was reconnecting with my half-sister again. And it has only gotten better since we now have motherhood in common instead of just a shitty dad. While in Colorado, we only got to spend two days with Jara and her family, but we had a wonderful time--and the girls all loved playing together. Now we just need to see each other more often!!

Thanks, Jara and Soley, for a great time visiting with both of your families! We all had a wonderful time. I'll upload your pics soon--I promise. And, thanks, Mik, so much for flying out to CO to see us. It's always, always, always fantastic to spend time with you! I love you all so, so much.

Daddy Love

2008-03-31T20:46:00.003-06:00

Not only is Adam a lot of fun, he's also a really good sport. The girls and I miss you and can't wait for you to come home!

Catch Up

2008-03-31T19:03:00.004-06:00

I've had lots of pictures to post from our wonderful trip to Colorado a couple of weeks ago... I've finally started putting some on here, and will continue either tonight or tomorrow, so keep checking back!

Thanks to everyone who left kind words on my blog. My friend continues to be amazingly strong. The funeral is tomorrow. I've been able to help very little, since she is flooded with family and church help. I'm preparing to fill in whenever she needs me. Right now, we're taking over breakfast goodies and peanut butter cookies (since her church has completely covered dinners for now) for them to find when they get back from tonight's viewing. I only wish I could do more.

Adam comes home in two days. We're all very excited to have him back home. He's been gone since last Monday to NYC, Connecticut, and now Baltimore for two conferences, etc., etc... I feel so, so lucky to have a husband to look forward to having back home with us, believe me.

Confetti Eggs!

2008-03-31T14:39:00.003-06:00

(per Soley's request: hee hee. Sorry, I can't figure out how to move this picture to the bottom...)

Every year, my mom makes confetti eggs for us, which the girls enjoy more each year. This year, we brought them to Colorado to enjoy with Soley's boys. It was a hoot. Thanks, Oma!

Dress-Up at the Belts

2008-03-31T14:16:00.003-06:00

Okay, so we learned that playing dress-up with boys is MUCH different than with girls...

Although initially a little jarring to see my little ladies (ha!) stabbing their daddy with swords and breathing like Darth Vader (never really did get used to that one), it was kind of a refreshing change from princess play and "Sarah and Emily" that the girls play together constantly (apparently the names I should have chosen for them). The girls had a blast, and really, who could blame them? Those boys have quite an impressive assortment of knight, viking, super hero and warrior garb. You are amazing, Soley!

no title; no words

2008-03-26T19:24:00.005-06:00

A very dear friend of mine here just lost her husband last night; one of Anna's closest friends lost her father. He was diagnosed with lymphoma three weeks ago, had surgery, started chemo, it seemed to be going well, was feeling bad last night, an hour later he stopped breathing. I'm without words. So, so tragic. They were close family friends. We would occasionally take care of one another's kids in order to go out on dates with our hubbies or just to be able to sanely run some errands. I love these kids; I love my friend; I love her husband. He was a good, good man, and a wonderful husband and father. I cannot believe he is gone. How does a family survive that, missing such an important member? It makes my heart ache for them: these two girls and their mother. It could just have easily happened to me and my girls. I continue to weep for them. And I'm just the friend. A friend who doesn't really know what to do or say or how to help. The only thing I can think of is to please, please erase the past 18 hours, but I can't do that.

Even though most of you don't know them, please pray for my friend and her girls.

Oof

2008-03-25T20:43:00.002-06:00

Just checking in. I know it's been a while... Things here are busy--but good. Grace is completely better; Anna is doing great; we just got back from a fantastic trip to Colorado to visit family and friends; Adam is now gone for almost two weeks.

We're all well. I will write more. Tomorrow.

On the Up and Up

2008-03-05T10:50:00.003-07:00

Wow. I just have to send my youngest child into surgery and I get FOUR comments on my blog... Although I loved getting all the comments (it always makes me feel good!), I still have to say it wasn't enough to cause me to get munchausen syndrome or anything (in case you were worried). I'll just have to think of other ways to get more comments... Hmmm.

This has been quite a week--one I wouldn't want to replicate again. And it has made me very, very grateful to have such healthy children and really a very blessed life. Because even as hard as some points of this week have been, I know it's NOTHING compared to what many people live every single day. And, I am so lucky to know this is temporary, Grace is getting better, and will be better than new when she's all healed.

With that said, Grace had a tough run for the first three days. Once we stopped the tylenol with codeine, she totally turned a corner and started doing much, much better. Who knew she'd feel better only being on tylenol?? After looking at her throat, I can confidently say I would still be in a lot of pain, but Grace is eating, playing, and is in pretty good spirits. Kids are amazing. The codeine was making her very nauseous, so she wasn't eating a lot and then throwing up, but had hardly anything in her stomach. This made her really lethargic and just pretty miserable. All Grace wanted to do was have me read Junie B. Jones: we read eight books in 2 1/2 days (and now 12 since her surgery!). I have felt a bit like I have a newborn again, but instead of nursing, I'm reading. Both I enjoy, but both are exhausting in excess nonetheless. As you can see, Anna has done her best to make Grace feel better:

In the last couple of days, Grace has even been up coloring and watching movies (which feels like sweet relief, I have to admit). She still rests quite a bit, stays in her jammies all day, and refuses to brush her hair, but if there is any time to indulge her it is now, I figure. She is officially sick of sugar, too, preferring to eat green beans, macaroni and cheese, and soup.

Also news in our home is that the Girl Scout Cookies came Monday! Picking up the troop's 143 cases at the Baptist church down the hill was quite a trip. Our troop's cookies filled my Pilot to the ceiling and another mom's Expedition to the ceiling. I'm just glad they all didn't have to come here.... There just isn't room AT ALL! I must say, I'm proud of our girls and how much they sold, but I am glad they didn't sell anymore this year... One troop had 860 cases. Dude. That's a lot of cookies. Here is Anna's haul:
Good job, Anna!

True Grace

2008-02-28T21:02:00.005-07:00

We're all pretty tired tonight, but here's the brief rundown for today. Grace did great, living up to her namesake with total calm all morning, even though she didn't eat at all and had to wait an hour before we even went back for pre-op -- and we had gotten there at our scheduled time of 11:15. She was pretty hungry. But once she got going, she never skipped a beat. She woke up after surgery totally calm. She was everyone's favorite patient for the day. The doctor said she had a lot of tonsils and especially a lot of adenoids to come out, so she should do a lot better in the long run. For the moment, she's been switching between feeling okay most of the time and feeling really run down and nauseated other times. Still, she's been drinking a lot and she had some strawberry ice cream for dinner.

Here's a brief photo documentary:

Pre-op, ready with hairnet, funny socks (over her hand knit red and pink ones), and Surgical Center zebra that she got to keep.

Consulting with Mommy

In the red wagon (with the zebra, and her bunny, and Lambie of course), pulled by the anesthesiologist.

A few minutes after she came out of surgery, drinking her water and getting a book read. The pulse monitor is on her finger, and the I.V. is in her other arm.

The orange popsicle was better than the blue one.

So Mommy got to eat the blue one.

A ride in the wheelchair to the car!

'Twas the Night Before Surgery...

2008-02-27T19:18:00.002-07:00

Dude. This just isn't fair at all! I found out this afternoon that we don't take Grace in for her surgery until 11:15 am, which means after at least 45 minutes of pre-op, she won't be in surgery until after noon. Mind you, she can't eat after 11:00 tonight. She can have clear fluids until 7:00am. Tomorrow is going to be one LONG morning... And Grace is a girl who likes her breakfast. I feel so badly for her!! She's rolling with it now, but I think the wait--and the fact that she'll be STARVING will be tough.

Apparently, they schedule surgeries starting with the youngest children first; younger and younger children are going into surgery, so the poor five year old gets pushed back to noon...

She's currently stuffed with her favorite: sweet and sour chicken and shrimp lo mein, and her Aunt Jenn's yummy chocolate peanut butter chip cookies. She said this evening after dinner, "when you hear a big burp tonight, it'll be me," which sent Anna into hysterics, causing her to let a huge fart. Boy, to have a burp joke AND a fart happen that close to one another: funny, funny, good times around here. I never thought I'd enjoy it so much, too.

It's at least something to hang on to as we head into tomorrow...

Genetics

2008-02-25T20:34:00.003-07:00

Grace quote: "Mommy, is it really true that if I marry Peter our children will have three eyes?"
(Peter is Grace's cousin)

FYI

2008-02-25T13:11:00.004-07:00

I realize I've been MIA for a while here... Sorry! I did realize that I never posted when Grace's surgery is going to be: this Thursday, February 28th. Sometime in the morning (we'll call Wed. night to get the actual time). So, pray for, think of, send positive thoughts her way this Thursday!

Grace is ready. She is literally counting down the days until her surgery (saying, "I wish today were already the zero day!"). We're going to the grocery store today after she's done watching Sesame Street to load up on liquids and soft foods she will want when she's recovering. She got a care package from Oma, one is coming from Gramma, and we went to the bookstore on Saturday to get a few things. So, life seems pretty fun right now. I think the reality might not be so fun. But, Grace has a good attitude and does seem to handle pain pretty well (better than I do anyway!).

Oh, when we asked Anna how she felt about Grace's surgery, she said she was worried that Grace would be crying in the night and wake her up, because she really hates that. That's our thoughtful, selfless one... I do think she's more concerned for Grace than she let on, though. I'm glad she'll be in school with other things to think about all day!

And, Poppy comes for a couple of short visits bookending his conference in Idaho starting tomorrow. We're looking forward to seeing you, Poppy!!

Southern Hospitality

2008-02-14T13:05:00.005-07:00

So, I don't know if it's because the poor child shares a birthday with ol' George W, but this is Grace's most recent writing:
While driving one day, Grace announces that she can spell "Texas", and proceeds to spell it perfectly (she had just seen it on a billboard). Then, we get home, she's asks me how to spell "welcome," and a few minutes later tapes this beautiful poster to our wall. This was a few days ago, but I still don't want to take it down. Cracks us up.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T12:51:00.002-07:00

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Valentine's Day! I'm in between class parties and thought I'd send hugs out to all you lurkers.

The bummer of today is that Grace had to miss her Valentine's Day party (I still had to go, though....), because her throat infection is back. Yep. Not even a week after finishing her antibiotics, the fever, nagging cough, and swollen tonsils are back. So, we're currently waiting to hear back from the ENT, who is doing surgeries all day, but I'm expecting we're back on for the tonsillectomy. At least, I'm definitely ready for it now. I was a little worried before if it was justified or not, but seeing the infection come back this quickly AGAIN, I just feel for Miss Grace and want her to feel better. Fortunately, since I am the Room Parent and was in charge of her party, I got to bring lots of loot back for her to enjoy, so she's pretty excited about the table-full of candy, cookies, and crafts.

Now I go to Anna's party in an hour and do it all over again (but I'm at least not in charge of this one).

This has been one of those crazy busy weeks where I wonder how other parents do it all. I am certainly not saying I'm busier than anyone else out there; it's just doing me in this week. I'm tired, I feel stretched too thin, I haven't had time to exercise or even knit, and I just to take a nap. And I'm not a napper.

Next week will be better.

Yet Another Update

2008-02-05T19:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, so now we're waiting another few weeks before moving ahead with Grace's surgery (if at all). The most recent antibiotic worked so well that Grace's throat looks better than it has in months. The hope is that now that we've cleared this infection, we're in the clear. Of course, it's entirely likely she'll get another one, and in that case, we'll definitely get her tonsils out. But, the doctor (and I) felt good about seeing how this goes and not rushing into anything. We need to see him again in three weeks anyway to see if her hearing is better in her right ear. She's had an infection, which we think caused her to fail her Kindergarten hearing test, but she still failed it today after seven days of antibiotics, so we'll see if the fluid is gone when we go back, and if her hearing improves. If not, perhaps she'll be getting tubes, too... So, I'll surely let you know when we know more.

I think Grace is actually a little disappointed. There's already been so much build up, and she's been preparing for it a lot by talking about it, having dreams about it, and--as you know--drawing pictures. But, that is no reason to go ahead and put her under and have surgery, so we'll see on February 26th.

Cross your fingers that the infection stays away!

Oops...

2008-02-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the confusion: Grace's surgery is MONDAY, Feb. 11th. I corrected it below, but thought I should let you know here. Sorry!

Two Words

2008-02-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

MORE SNOW!!!

Yep, we're getting even more today. It's hysterical and a bit frightening how much we have (and they're predicting another storm on Wednesday). We had a good foot more by 11:00 this morning--and it's supposed to snow through tonight. So far, we keep getting even more than they say. We've been here now thirteen winters (isn't that crazy?!) and NEVER have we seen snow like this!

Oh, Adam PROMISED his rib felt okay shoveling like this (I think he's getting a little stir crazy). I offered...
p.s. Sunday night update: we ended up getting about 18 inches today. It's supposed to continue snowing until tomorrow. Here's crossing our fingers that school will be cancelled tomorrow! Oh, I ended up shoveling the driveway later. I did my fair share. And, we're officially out of room. No more room for anymore snow. It can stop now. :-)

Little Monkeys

2008-02-03T12:46:00.000-07:00

Pictures of the girls rock climbing on Thursday afternoon:

Anna really liked it right away. She got to the top of this rather large boulder, and then wasn't sure how to get down. Fortunately, she kept her cool, figured it out, and got down safely and shakily. She then went up and down it at least ten more times.

Climbing up even higher:

Grace took a little more coaxing (and a big ol' push from her great friend, Mikah):

She did start climbing independently after a little while. Never went very high, but had a great time:

out they come

2008-02-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

Grace has to get her tonsils out. Monday, Feb. 11th. I'm scared silly; she's giddy about getting to eat popsicles, watch movies, and miss school. I also think she's excited to not have her throat hurt. She's had pretty much a constant throat infection for months now, and even when she doesn't, her tonsils are super enlarged and swollen.

This is a picture Grace drew of her surgery. That's the doctor standing with rather gigantic tonsils in each hand, and her in bed with her mouth open.

Again, I'm scared sick.

Also of note, we just got our second snow storm of the week--each bringing in at least ten more inches of snow. We've got crazy tons of snow. Like feet and feet. It's gorgeous. Also, I took the girls rock climbing at a rock climbing gym downtown yesterday afternoon with some friends from school. Both girls did really, really well--and were still my cautious girls, but impressed me with their bravery. Pictures of both the snow and the rock climbing coming soon.

Falling Apart!

2008-01-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

Before sharing the exciting news of the day, everyone should send some good thoughts/prayers/positive chi to Adam, who broke a rib this week. He's functioning and doing pretty well, but is in a lot of pain, and will be for the next couple of weeks. As far as tragedies go, this is very, very minor, but it surely doesn't feel so to Adam when he sneezes... He broke it when he fell flat on his back while teaching others how to curl on Tuesday. The fall knocked the wind out of him and he remembers worrying that he broke his cell phone when he heard a crack. Well, his cell phone was safe in his front pocket, but when he was still in pain on Friday, went to the instacare, where he learned he did indeed break his rib. He's got a wrap to wear when he wants and some ibuprofen. Ouch.

In better news, Grace lost her first tooth this morning! I can no longer deny she's growing up... She's quite excited and can't wait for the tooth fairy to come tonight.

Takin' Back the Blog

2008-01-24T16:17:00.001-07:00

Okay, so it's been nice that Adam's been keeping you all posted, but I figured it was time for me to start blogging again and reclaim this space. I won't whine about how busy I've been or anything either. But, here is one thing I've been doing this week:

This is a good friend's new baby at ten days old. Her husband is an artist and that is one of his paintings Luca is in front of. It's not everyday you get that kind of backdrop. :-)

Since I last wrote, it's also snowed ANOTHER ten inches (the Adam-created mountain in our front yard is now at least seven feet tall...) and just starting to snow again now. It's absolutely beautiful here. And cold. This morning was 5 degrees when I was walking the girls to school. Yikes! Fortunately, there's never a reason to be cold when you have knitters who love you. :-)

And, yes, Jenn and I are now completely CPR/first aid certified. The idea of anything happening in my presence is terrifying, but the thought of not knowing what to do if it did terrifies me even more. So, I feel a bit better now. Now Jenn and I are insane enough to consider taking our Brownies up to camp this summer... It's an organized program with camp counselors and everything, but this is a VERY energetic group of 7-8 year old girls. We may need alcohol (when we get back, of course...).

Parenting is easy

2008-01-23T12:08:00.001-07:00

Karyn hasn't been posting much lately because she's been "busy." Today, she and Jennifer are in the big city (that's Salt Lake City) doing first aid training. Ironic that the guy without first aid training is here taking care of the kids.

Fortunately, parenting is easy. Just give the kids cookies, as I demonstrate today:

And other times, they just lie there reading and writing:

Or plummeting down a mountainside (in their new sleds!) . . .

On Monday, we got another 10 inches of new snow, so Tycho and I walked up the street to the trailhead and went skiing:

Now, where did those kids go? We need to bundle up to go get Anna, walk home, take a nap, and then get ready for dance and violin. I'm fairly sure that Karyn and Jenn are out drinking Cosmopolitans.

Rock Star

2008-01-17T11:05:00.000-07:00

This is Grace, posing with her ultra-hip shades from the eye doctor. With them, she plays the role of a rock star, which has extended from yesterday afternoon all through this morning. (She wore them to school today.) The doctor said she may be dilated for today, but everything about her eyes is just fine, aside from some plumbing that's a little narrower than most, leading to a few more infections and some occasional tearing when she's watching a movie.

Graceful Skiing

2008-01-10T20:42:00.000-07:00

Grace decided that trying out skis for the first time would be a good idea today, especially since there's snow up to my knees in our back yard. I (Adam) skied with her for a while, breaking the trail. She kept asking for more trails and eventually had a whole network of them crisscrossing all around the yard. Then she stayed out even after I went in, just skiing, falling, getting up, skiing, repeat. She says she likes skiing more than ice skating.

Looping back from around the swingset.

This is just after having fallen, now back on her feet and ready for another loop.

STILL coming!

2008-01-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

Update:
It still hasn't stopped snowing! Crazy, crazy. We have gotten at LEAST 18 more inches from what we already had. We've got a mountain in our front yard that is about five feet high. Walking the kids up the hill this afternoon was quite the adventure, since most people hadn't shoveled and the streets up here weren't yet plowed, so we were walking in snow that went up past their knees--even when crossing the streets! Thank God Adam is on sabbatical and could help shovel:

What's even crazier is that apparently SLC only got an inch this morning...

It just keeps comin'!

2008-01-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

The snow around here just keeps a comin'. It's awesome! It seems like for the past couple of years, there has been a storm here and there, but the snow had time to melt in between and the storms never really amounted to much. Well, the snow took its time getting here (with record highs and nearly no precipitation in November), but it's here now. We're in the middle of getting yet another snow storm--and it must be our fourth or fifth in a row since just before Christmas. Here's the girls getting ready to walk to school this morning (with helpful, on-sabbatical-Adam):

2007 in review

2008-01-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

Living with a photographer and having 3 . . . no, 4 cameras in the house and having other people show up with cameras means we have a lot of pictures. So, one fun thing we get to do is sort through them at the end of a year. Here's one organization of it, 60-some pictures in a slideshow (together with a plug for Brandi Carlile's music):

http://kjohnstonphoto.com/2007hits.mov

Feel free to holler if this doesn't work. It's a big file, but it seems to stream okay. I originally tried to post it directly into the blog, but the resolution was really poor for all of these still images.

Or . . . I also did things the old fashioned way here:

http://kjohnstonphoto.com/album07

When Mom's away

2008-01-05T15:57:00.000-07:00

Christmas day addendum

2007-12-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

Update: Adam would just like to add that he didn't just go "on a hike" on Christmas Day, but was actually skiing with Tycho up on the bench above the house. Pretty idyllic place to live . . . see:

Peaks above Taylor's Canyon.

Tycho bounding through the snow on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.

Of course, the same snow that provided the skiing also had to be shoveled.

The snowbank from shoveling is now burying our little tree in the front!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T22:29:00.001-07:00

Here's hoping everyone had a wonderful day! We had a great, great day. Yesterday, it started snowing at about 3:30pm--and didn't stop all night. We already had a lot of snow on the ground, but we woke up to at least eight more inches (I think). It was a gloriously beautiful day: fresh snow and bright blue skies. It was one of the prettiest days ever. Adam went on a hike with the pup, and my mom and I went on a nice walk in the afternoon. The girls stayed in their jams most of the day (well, I'll be honest: Grace was in her jams ALL day!), so they didn't ever play in the snow. But, we're supposed to get even more over the next few days, so they'll have more opportunities, I'm sure.

The girls were officially spoiled by Santa and by all of our wonderful family and friends. Thank you everyone!!! We got lots and lots of games this year, so that kept us busy most of the rest of the day. It was a really wonderful day all together finished off by a yummy ham dinner. :-)

Sadly, my mom leaves tomorrow morning. We've had a wonderful visit with her: lots of baking cookies and Linzer Torte, playing games, the girls got to go to a movie with her, sledding, movies in the basement, and reading "Little House." We will all miss you!!

On Thursday afternoon, Adam's parents come for a visit for Christmas #2. Should be another wonderful day--but this time topped off with a Bowl Game (to watch Poppy's favorite team: the OSU Beavers!).

Christmas Eve was also terrific, beginning with dropping off Christmas presents to a family our block sponsored for Christmas. It's amazing to me how generous people are. My neighbor and I ended up dropping off two carloads worth of presents and food (including the fixings for a whole Christmas dinner) to a single mom with five kids. This is an annual tradition on my street, and I was thrilled and honored to be such a big part of it this year. It truly helped me--and my whole family, I'm sure--recognize and appreciate how very lucky we are.

Christmas Eve ended with the girls' pageant at our church: Anna was an acolyte and a reader, and Grace was an angel. They were adorable, the church was beautiful, the music wonderful, the service just right. Again: very, very lucky.

Again, I hope everyone had a very happy day.

Merry Christmas!!

Santa & Sledding

2007-12-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took advantage of the storm of new snow that came through the night before. Here's our trip (3 blocks away from the house) up the trail on snowshoes and then down the hills at the golf course, including lots of action shots.

A happy 10-year-old puppy.

Some sloppy telemark turns!

When did this become no longer fun?

Oma after an exciting ride down the hill.

And here's the apres sledding activities:

Then, last night the girls (along with Mom & Dad and Oma) waited outside in the cold (20 degrees) to visit Santa. It all paid off:

Santa asking Anna if her room is clean.

Here's Grace telling Santa she'd like "a doll".

Right now, light snow is falling, John Denver and the Muppets are playing (over and over and over) and another round of baking is, well, baking.

Whew

2007-12-17T08:58:00.000-07:00

FINALLY took our Christmas Card pictures yesterday (pink eye is gone, it wasn't snowing, we were all home at the same time)--right before heading out to do a shoot for our friends with a dog and two horses! I must say, the scale of horses changes EVERYTHING. They are BIG. Very fun, though.

Here are some other pictures of the girls from yesterday:

Girl Scout Camp

2007-12-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Girl Scout Camp and even though I'm exhausted from hardly getting any sleep--between the snorers, the girl who kept turning her flashlight on and off, and the poor girl who kept sleep talking (who was obviously having a bad, bad dream), there was very little chance to get any real sleep--I had to write to all you with girls out there: join Girl Scouts. It's awesome.

*#@# Martha Stewart....

2007-12-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm sure it's not Martha's fault, but EVERY time I try to bake this chocolate cake of hers, I screw it up. It's gotta be me, I know, but it seems to only be a problem when I bake THIS cake. When Anna was turning six, I was baking her snow princess cake in the special bowl that when inverted turns into a dress that you can stick half of a Barbie into. Well, I overfilled the bowl and cake batter was POURING out onto the floor of my oven. Complete mess. That time, though, I had time to go to the store to get more cocoa powder and buttermilk and make a new one in time for the party. This time, well, no such luck. I only had time to make the cake ON Anna's birthday (last Sunday), couldn't find the cake testers my Aunt Joan gave me years ago, figured I'd baked the cakes the designated times so they must be done, only to check on them twenty minutes later to find they had totally fallen in. Ever the optimist, Anna declared that it was fine, we could just fill the holes in with frosting, so I turned one over on the rack, only to have half the cake fall through, producing a huge, irreparable hole. Worried that I was ruining Anna's birthday and the memories she would have of her big 8th birthday, I start to cry--assuring this to be a birthday memory she'll never forget. Nice. We ended up laughing, and putting together a new plan to go get a cheesecake from Costco. We totally didn't need to get the cheesecake, though, since we still had cupcakes I made from the extra batter, ice cream, and gingerbread cookies we made the night before. So, we had a birthday feast. I have vowed to never again make this cursed cake. Too bad it is SOOO good...

Besides that hullabaloo, Anna had a great birthday. No party this year, because we have started an every-other-year friend's birthday party plan (which I HIGHLY recommend to all you over-achiever moms out there--I'm a recovering one, so I know how hard it is to imagine. But trust me on this. It's a great thing.). So, we had a day of Anna opening presents, a blueberry pancake breakfast, Anna talking to grandparents on the phone, we went and saw "Enchanted", went on the obligatory trip to Costco to pick up the cheesecake, met Jenn, Matt, and Peter at Anna's favorite restaurant for lots of shrimp and noodles, and then came to our house for our dessert feast. Anna had a great day and didn't seem to mind not having a party At ALL. Whew.

That's probably because it's been one party after another around here lately. We had a big gingerbread and ornament making Brownie meeting on Tuesday, I helped in Anna's class yesterday making 23 gingerbread houses, and she got to bring doughnuts to class on Monday. We also finally got our tree last Saturday and had a blast baking gingerbread, listening to John Denver and the Muppets, and putting ornaments on the tree.

Anna also had her big violin concert on Monday--and it was GREAT. I never thought I'd say that about 32 new violinists playing together, but they really sounded good--especially considering Anna's class of six and the other class of 25 had never played together until they were on stage in front of an audience. And, they even playing "Are You Sleeping" in a round. Wow. I know it sounded much better through these mother's ears than any ol' Joe, but hearing Anna declare once we got in the car after it was all over that "that was the funnest thing I've EVER done!!" was absolute music to this mother's ears.

With all this all this happy chaos surrounding Anna, we can't forget about poor little Grace. She is doing better now, but has had pink eye that wouldn't go away (on the weekend I was FINALLY going to take my xmas card pictures--I've been so busy taking everyone else's.... And they're still not done!!!). When I took her to the doctor, we found out that she has also had a throat infection and a sinus infection. I had NO idea. When I asked her if her throat hurt, she said "only when I swallow." I tell you, she has been a total trooper and has been very, very good considering how awful she must have felt. We've also recently been to the dentist to check out her two front teeth that got knocked when she fell down a few weeks ago. They are turning grey (eie yie yie!) and an xray confirmed they are dead. Now we just wait and see. Hopefully, she'll lose these normally in the next year or so and her new ones come in just fine. That's the best case scenario. I don't even want to think of the other options.

This afternoon, Jenn and I are taking my two girls to an overnight Girl Scout Holiday Minicamp. It should be a lot of fun. I'm already behind getting ready for Christmas and can't seem to catch up anyway, so we'll go make some good memories together (and hopefully I won't cry!). :-)

Grace, with pink eye, rolling out gingerbread cookies:

A little TOO thick...
I don't even remember what they were being so goofy about, but it was funny at the time:
The sunken cake (she doesn't look too traumatized):
The cheesecake and the cute 8 year old:

The beasts of my shame: