A lot...

After a long week of being stuck in the house we finally got out...a lot!!!

I took the kids to Little Monkey Bizness on Thursday afternoon. They had fun and burned off some energy which was nice. Totally worth the $7.50 I had to pay per child to play!


Totally!

Friday was spent like any other day which usually consists of playing with trains, cars and more trains. Every once in a while we get in a little time playing with the Dora dollhouse as well.

I love this picture. Cash and Riley were so excited because we were going to see Elmo and all the other Sesame Street friends at the Sprint Center.

Cash loved it. He was dancing and singing. I wish I could have got him on video, but it was too dark in there to get a good picture. He was really cute and so excited!

Tripp liked it too. He kept pointing at the stage and squealing. I was surprised at how long he just sat on Darin's lap and watched the show.

Riley sat like this the entire first half of the show, just staring. She was in awe of all that is Sesame Street. She covered her eyes when Elmo told her to, she clapped her hands when they said to and she stomped her feet as directed.

During the second half she changed seats to be closer to Cash and Merak. The second half didn't quite hold the kids attention like the first half, but they still loved it. I told Darin that I thought that it was maybe about 30 minutes too long. We would have been golden if we would have gotten out of there sooner than we did.

To top it off, as we left the Sprint Center we had a little problem. I guess a little boy had a problem which became our problem. We were next in line to "board" the escalator and the kid in front of us was having problems.

First of all, where were his parents? He looked to be about 8 years old or so. Anyway, the kid attempted to get on the escalator like you normally do, but after placing one foot on the revolving stairs, he decided against it. Leaving one foot on the moving stair, he began to do the splits with his other foot back on solid ground. I was standing behind him with Cash and Riley who were determined not to let this person stop them from their turn on the "ride". I am holding onto their hands, telling them to wait, not wanting to let go of their hands, but trying to figure out how to help this little boy who had a look of panic on his face.

He was now in the full splits and just laid down on the stairs. One of the Sprint Center employees was standing behind me and said do you need me to stop it? I kind of screamed at her yes, so she did. She stopped it, the little kid got up and ran down the stairs. Meanwhile I was thinking she would just turn the escalator back on. I was wrong. So there I am, with all these millions of people standing in line behind me and Riley starts to freak out. She is screaming and crying and all of these people think it is my little two year olds who caused this ruckus among us. I told Riley that the ride was broken and we had to walk, but she would not move. Darin is on the other side of the escalator with Tripp in his arms (he was the smart one who decided to fore go the escalator and take the stairs) so he hurried down the stairs so he could coax her down. She wasn't having it so I just picked her up, kicking and screaming, kept hold of Cash's hand and pulled him down the stairs.

We got to the bottom, I put Riley down and she did her famous flop to the ground and went into a full blown tantrum. You couldn't pick her up, that just made it worse. So we let her be for a little while and then I just grabbed her hand and led her out of the building, through downtown KC, down the stairs of the parking garage, all the way to the car, crying the entire time. We got her into her car seat, gave her some water and after about 5 minutes she just stopped crying. Cash turned to her and asked her if she was okay now. She told him yes and that was the end of it. Cash said "Mama, Riley okay now. She's all better."

Crazy.

Bad parents who don't pay attention to their kids.

Evil escalator.

Today we took them to a train display at the mall. They had tons of train set up and Cash was in heaven. They all liked it, but we had to take him back to the display a second time because he just kept asking for more trains. They had a Thomas and Percy train there too, but he was more interested in the big trains that pulled 100 cars behind them. After we left he kept asking us to "go get me all those trains, I want to get all those trains okay mom?"

So we had a busy couple of days and I am so glad that I got these pictures up before we leave for Florida. Tomorrow will be a busy day packing and trying to get all of our things ready to go. Pray for us as we fly! Its a 2 1/2 hour flight, but we all have our own seats so it shouldn't be too bad. I have a lot of little treats to bring along to keep them happy in the air!!! Hope everyone has a geat week and I will update when we get back from Clearwater!

Darin...

Full Name: Darin James Johnson

How long have we been married? It will be 4 years in March

How did you meet? My friend and college roomie was getting married. After her rehersal dinner we all went across the street to this total hole in the wall bar which was actually really close to where I lived at the time, but I had never been there.

We were standing around talking and this guy came up to talk to me. I wasn't really thinking anything of it and then I noticed that he was everywhere I went. I even came out of the bathroom and he was there. I picked up this newspaper that they put out here in KC called The Pitch and pretended to read it so he would leave me alone. He came up beside me and said "anything interesting in there?'

So I finally gave in and talked to him a little. He was nice, but too short for my taste. Through our conversation we found out that he knew the guy that cut my hair. Random piece of info, but relevant for later. I was going to leave and he asked me for my number. I said I would give it to him, but he couldn't write it down. He had to remember it. I knew there was no way he would remember. And...he didn't.

About a month later I went in to get my hair cut. When I came in Joe, my stylist at the time, was smiling at me with this weird look on his face. He said that his friend, Darin, called him, told him that he met me at Jerry's a while ago, lost my number and wanted Joe to give me his number so that I could call him. Joe told him he was crazy. He said "dude, she's like 8 feet tall." Anyway, Joe persuaded me to call, said he was a good guy and all that jazz. So I called and now we are married with 3 kids. Guess his shortness didn't bother me too much after all!

Who asked who out first? Darin asked me out first.

What was your first date? Well, we went to Tanner's Bar and Grill. I remember that I had a pretty bad cold so Darin told me I should eat spinach dip because that would be good for me. Don't ask, I don't know.

We hung out at Tanner's for a while and then he took me to Jerry's. Nice, I know. Back to where we met. I got to meet all the people that he hung out with. I remember talking to Charles the most. Charles is from Scotland so I really liked to listen to his accent. When I got home after I had basically been gone all day, my roommates boyfriend said "you must have had fun because you have been gone for like 8 hours". It was a fun day.

Who said 'I love you' first? I don't remember, but I am pretty sure it would not have been me.

How did he propose? He took me to our favorite place to eat, J Alexanders. We ate and then we ordered dessert, which we never usually do, but I didn't really think anything of it. He went to use the restroom and came back carrying the cake and had the ring stuck inside. He put the cake down in front of me and just asked me to marry him. He tried to kneel down, but the booth we were in was one of those that was kind of raised up off the floor so he couldn't. He was pretty nervous.

Who's taller? Me. I am 6 feet tall and he is about 5'10, maybe 5'10 1/2 on a good day.

Who is smarter? Depends on the subject. Darin is one of those people that never really says "I don't know" because even if he doesn't know, he will make you think he does. Part of the salesman in him I guess. =)

Who does the laundry? Darin does the laundry and folds it. I put it away. Unless it is something that I don't want dried or something like that, then I do it myself. He always gets irritated because I ALWAYS leave kleenex in my pockets and it gets all over everything. Or all my clothes are inside out. I asked him what the big deal is if the clothes are inside out and he said because its like you have to fold it twice. Oh, and his favorite thing...big basket of little clothes! Funny.

Who pays the bills? Darin

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Well, if you are standing and looking at it, I do. But if we are in bed, Darin is on my right.

Who mows the lawn? Darin. He tried to show me how once and the mower basically took off without me. He was like "okay, that's enough of that". I think I could if I had to though, but I would probably rather pay someone else to come do it for me. I do help shovel the driveway when it snows. Does that count?

Who cooks dinner? Darin. He is a good cook. I am trying to cook more. I think it will be easier once the kids start eating more of the stuff we eat.

Who wears the pants? Depends, I think we are pretty good at coming to decisons together...most of the time anyway.

What do you like to do together? Just be at home with the kids watching Dateline, Friday Night Lights, American Idol, whatever show we are into at the moment.

Does he have any hidden talents? Hidden? No. Everything about Darin is pretty much out in the open.

What do you admire most about him? His ability to forgive people and forget about it. I wish I could be more like that. I can tend to hold a grudge for a while. I may forgive in time, but I never forget.

His best features and qualities? He is funny and can usually always make me laugh, he is someone most everyone likes to be around and he is very accepting of others. He loves his kids.

Who has more siblings? Me. He is an only child and I have a brother and a sister.

Who eats the sweets? Well, we both do, but he has no self control. He does really good all day. Drinks his protein shake in the am, eats a good lunch, a good dinner and then when 8 or 9 o'clock hit, if there is candy or chocolate in the house, watch out! Then he always follows his binges up with a "I'm such a pig". But he does get up and is at the gym every morning at 5:30 so he deserves a little treat, right?!

What does he do that surprises you? I have been with the man for almost 8 years now...nothing surprises me about him anymore. He will bring me home cards for no reason every once in a while or leave me a nice note.

Guilty pleasures? He likes to watch football, hockey, basketball...really any sports He loves to ski and tries to get out at least once a year. Before we had kids he would take a couple ski trips to Colorado every year. He likes to golf during the summer.

Who is more stubborn? Me for sure.

Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Darin.

There you go. A little "blog" for Darin since all of my posts are usually about the kids! We love you Dadda! Thanks, Jen for tagging me. Those are fun!

Fun in the snow!

So I am finally getting these pictures up! We had gotten all that snow and the kids really wanted to play in it, but it was always so cold. That and I still had not gotten them boots for the winter...or gloves. We had originally planned on taking them sledding, but every time we had a chance it was always freezing outside and really windy. We finally just bundled them all up and let them play out in the yard.
Cash loved it.

Riley loved it. She was a little obsessive about making snow angels.

Tripp was not a big fan. It could have been the freezing cold wind blowing in his face, the icy snow that kept creeping into his pant legs or this Steelers snowsuit that we borrowed from our friend that really had him upset. We will never know for sure. Hey, it was either the Steelers snowsuit or the pink and purple one. And yes, he has a pink and purple scarf on. I know mother, you bought him his own, but it was in the wash so he borrowed Riley's.

He prefers playing indoors with his dad's ski helmet.

This picture makes me laugh. I had went into Cash and Riley's room to check on them like we do every night before we go to bed. It was about 10:30 at night and I saw little Riley on her bed. I ran to grab my camera because I thought she looked really cute cuddling with her little panda. I snapped a picture and then I heard this little voice from the other side of the room say "mama, take my picture."

Even half asleep, this boy knows how to cheese it up for the camera! He is his father's son.

Well, this weekend should be busy for us. Saturday we are taking the kids to see Sesame Street Live which should be fun. Friends of ours got us free tickets so that was hard to pass up. Saturday night I have some college friends coming over for dinner and Darin is making us spaghetti and meatballs...all from scratch! We also might try to squeeze in a train display they have set up at the mall. They have a big Thomas engine AND a Percy engine so I know they would love that. We leave for Clearwater Beach on Tuesday so we also have to pack all our stuff! Busy, busy, busy. Hopefully I will get to update about our weekend before we go out of town. I will try hard! Happy Thursday!

Funny...

This morning I was sitting on the floor, taking Riley's temperature. Cash came up to us and asked Riley what she was doing. I told him that I was taking her temp and he looked at me and said "No mom, I can talk to Riley." He looked at her and asked again. Riley said that she was taking her temperature and Cash said "Okay Riley" and Riley said "Okay Cash". It was pretty cute.

Just a photo of Tripp taking a little rest in the car.

7 Things & 14 Months

Just had to post these. I was going through and trying to find my kids' first pictures with Santa. They made me laugh and I can't believe how much they have all changed since these pictures. Crazy how fast time flies.


Well, I have been tagged to do the 7 things you don't know about me. Most of you who read my blog are family or close friends and I realize that there probably aren't many things you don't already know about me so I will try to think hard of some good ones. Here goes...

1) I love music. In college, I used to spend all my extra money on cds. My dad would always make me mix tapes in high school (that I still have) or cds once those became the new thing. I would tape jingles from commercials on tv that I liked and my dad would put those on my tapes too. I remember "If I Could Be Like Mike" that I got from a gatorade commercial I think? Another one was "Proud To Be Your Bud" from a Budweiser commercial. Nice, I know.


2) To this day when it is early in the morning, still dark outside and I can hear the birds chirping incessantly, it makes me a little sick to my stomach. Just thinking of all those cold, dark mornings when I had to get up and go jump into a cold, gross pool (yes, the outdoor pool we swam in in the summer was really gross) and know that I was going to be handed some really hard, long set...really stirs up some bad memories. I mean, I don't know how I did that for so long. But, I guess I wouldn't be where I am today, with the friends I have today without it...swimming that is.

3) I am legally blind and I have a lazy eye. Attractive, I know. I was not blessed with good eyes...neither was my brother. Luckily I have managed to avoid passing that trait onto my own children. Well, Riley has glasses, but no lazy eyes to be seen. I know I have a picture of me and Adam when we were little. It was taken during a swim lesson so obviously neither one of us have our glasses on. We are just smiling away, both with one eye turning in towards our nose. I used to get made fun of a lot for it, you know cause it totally offended all the other perfect little children, so I got pretty good at hiding it. I learned how to make my eye look normal by just making things look even more out of focus. I could use my eye muscles I guess and not let it "go lazy". I have done that for so long that in order to let it be lazy now, I really have to relax it, concentrate and I can only do it for a little bit. In fact, when I told Darin that I had a lazy eye, he didn't believe me and it took me a while to be able to show him cause I just couldn't do it. You can't see it when I wear my glasses or contacts because they correct it. Weird. Maybe I should have left that one stay something you didn't know about me, huh?!

4) The total weight I gained with all 3 of my kids is 150 lbs! Still have a good 30 or so that I would like to loose. If I could just gain a little willpower! I swear, I eat way too much. Sometime soon, that has to stop.

5) I love salty foods and put salt on almost everything I eat. I salt my toast.

6) My husband does almost all of the cooking and cleaning around our house. Well, now we have a cleaning lady that comes once every two weeks because between the kids, the animals and Darin traveling it was something we really needed. Her name is Ivette and she is pretty great. She always speaks to my children in Spanish and I love it. She always calls them "mi amour" or something. Don't know what it means or how to spell it. Something "love", I think. I took French in high school.

7) I find myself thinking about things like how I would get all 3 of my kids out of their car seats in the event that my car went over a bridge and into the water, or how I would get them all out of the house if there was a fire at night and I was home alone because Darin was out of town, crazy stuff like that. Sometimes I think I could become one of those people afraid to leave the house because of what could happen...agoraphobics...thats what they are called. Part of being a parent I guess...worrying.

Anyway, that is it! Hope everyone is having a good day. We are celebrating Tripp's Golden Month Birthday...he is 14 months on the 14th!!! You know like his Golden Birthday only in months. Just an excuse to make cake balls without feeling guilty...which they are not quite as easy as everyone says. Not easy to do with kids I guess I should say. Now I must go release the beasts from their room as I am pretty sure, from the sounds of them jumping off their beds, that they did not take a nap today despite many threats of taking away their toys for the day. Kidding, I am not like that...most of the time! =)

Pray for Kate...

I follow a blog about a little girl named Kate McRae. She was diagnosed with a rare brain tumor this past summer. She is in need of some more faithful people to pray for her so I thought the least I could do was pass this on.

http://www.prayforkate.com/

Chuck E Cheese!!!!

Went to Chuck E Cheese for the first time tonight for a birthday party. They had so much fun. I wish I would have taken my camera. It was fun to see them get so excited about everything. They all gave Chuck E five and a hug which I was surprised about. Riley was scared at first, but after she saw Cash do it, she knew she was safe to proceed!

They loved the games even without using any tokens, but once we showed them what they tokens were for it was all over. Once we ran out of tokens, Riley was running around picking up cups off the floor and checking to see if there were any tokens left in them. It was pretty funny.

They also liked the little tv station thing they had going on there. They were dancing and watching themselves up on the big screen. I have never seen Riley dance so much. Tripp loved it too which was cute. He was ALL over the place and had the biggest smile on his face. Cash was really liking Chuck E the best and even thanked the Chuck E logo on the outside of the building for letting us play when we left.

Still the same old Chuck E Cheese, well, except for the fact that when I went there it was called Showbiz. And now they have dancers. They were very serious about there job too. Really wish I had a camera for that one. Next time, next time.

Here are some pics from the other day that I thought were cute. Riley never wants to wear a hat except the last few days she has been asking for it so I had to snap some photos cause she looks so cute in it!

A little bit of everything...

Pictures from our dinner adventure to J Alexanders. We decided to take the kids to one of our favorite restaurants. J Alexanders is the restaurant where Darin proposed to me. It is a pretty nice place so we were a little nervous about taking the kids there, but they did great. They even tried a little Rattlesnake pasta which is the dish I get every time we go there.

How cute is this? I love when they are so tired that they can just fall asleep anywhere. Well, as long as they fall asleep before meltdowns from being too tired happen!

We finally got those C batteries we needed. They LOVED Elefun. Riley loved it the most I would have to say!

We also made the trip to the Ronald McDonald House to drop off the donations. It was a quick trip. Cash really wanted to play on their playground, but it was covered in snow.

We tried to get a family photo in front of the Ronald McDonald plaque. It didn't turn out too bad.

Riley sleeping with her car she got for Christmas. I told you that she loves it!