Catching up in 2012

I've been slacking lately and have had a difficult time finding time to update the blog and download pictures. Now that I'm 95% caught up, let's talk about what's going on with the family.

Me...
*working my butt off.
*almost 13 years in education and I have not only my 1st due process hearing coming up, but my 2nd and 3rd as well. How fun!!!
*enjoying the finished products in our backyard and looking forward to putting grass down in March
*wishing I had more time to spend with friends on the weekend. But still enjoying watching sports.
*really wanting to get away for a quick vacation. See bullet #2 and the reason why I can't get away!!!

Bryan...
*not sure if it's been mentioned previously but Bryan was promoted to the shop foreman at his dealership. GO HIM!
*staying busy with work but enjoying the new position.
*working on getting all of the things in place in the new garage and trying to find time to install the new car lift.

Raegan...
*finishing her basketball season in 2nd place. One last tournament before it's done for the season.
*finishing up her winter futsal season. Not sure what place they are in. Again, a tournament coming up soon.
*finishing up the winter indoor season. They are in first and will take first place when all is said and done.
*continuing with tumble/cheer class once a week. Doing her standing back handspring by herself at class. Not yet transferring that skill outside of class.
*continuing to do well in school. Finished the 3rd 6 weeks with all As. Rocking out her benchmarks. Making great progress in GATES.
*just finished running her business at Beckopoly with her friend Natalie. Duct Tape Creations made 85 Beck Bucks!!

Samantha...
*continuing with gymnastics once a week. Enjoying going and making progress. Working on her cartwheel!
*enjoying time at Ms. Sherry's house and talking about going to her new school next year.
*DRAMA. Taking the #1 position in the family as drama queen.
*causing problems at bedtime. Lucky to be alive most days.

Mallory...
*doing her cartwheel. Coach Jessica says she will need to move up to a higher level class soon!
*perfecting her roll as the boss. Having no problems bossing others around all the time.
*pretty mellow most of the time but continues to have a very short fuse. She hears "stop crying" often and is really good at turning the water works off with counting.

An update from the construction is that everything is done. The pool has had water in it for a few weeks now. There is a spot on the bottom of the pool that might need to be fixed. We're waiting to hear back from Paul about it. The garage is done and looks great. The carlift is there but needs to be installed. The fairlane and all of the things in storage have been cleared out. The Futura still needs to make it's way here from the Sharer house. Hopefully soon. We plan to start landscaping soon. Sod will go down in March when the weather is a little more predictable. We also need to do the fence along the dog run. But it all looks so nice. Although we've gone way over budget, I'm glad we had everything done. We have our own little oasis in our backyard. As far as swimming goes, I have been in as well as all of the little girls. It was rather cold but I had to teach the dogs how to get out. Shady has also fallen in and I had to rescue her fully clothed. Levi goes in whenever he is allowed in the backyard. He just loves swimming and it doesn't bother me to have him in the pool.

Happy New Year!!

No pictures from NYE but we headed to the Schmuckers to spend time with good friends. It was a smaller group than last year. The Shepherds went to a Stars game and the Wilson's were skiing. But all of the kids got along well and the adults had a good time catching up.

I know 2012 is going to be a good year!

Johnson Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was a little bit different, but change is good sometimes. This year Noreen and Ellie went to Iowa to spend Christmas there. Sloane and Aaron were here and of course Bubbie, Grandpa, and Aunt Carole. The kids all had a great time spending the day together and of course got some fun things. Hilary Klotz came over to spend the afternoon and evening. And this year the Sharer's and Kiernan's decided to come over again. We all had a nice Christmas dinner and the kids all had fun together. We missed Ellie but had another Christmas party when she got back from Iowa. Bring on 2012!

Santa Has Arrived!

Santa came to our new house and brought lots of goodies to the girls. Samantha and Mallory got Baby Alive dolls and iTouches. Raegan got an iPod docking station and new bedding for her room. The girls also got the usual things from us: PJs, clothes, shoes, games, books, etc. Santa also brought very full stockings.

Christmas Eve with the Sharer group

This Christmas Eve we went over to Dan and Kristen's house. We had a nice dinner and then opened presents. We all got several nice things and everyone had a good time. After dessert and presents, we headed home to wait for Santa to come to our house!

Garvin Gardens, Arkansas

We took a short trip to Hot Springs Village before Christmas. Raegan did not go because she didn't want to miss a birthday party that week. Jean and Carole also went. Bryan stayed home with Raegan. While we were there, we took a trip to Garvin Gardens, just outside of Hot Springs. They put up millions of lights at Christmas time. The girls really liked looking at all of the lights.

The rest of the week we just hung out at the house. We had a little gathering with all of mom and dad's friends. We also did some shopping and wrapped a bunch of Christmas gifts. It was a good break from all of the construction at the house!

Byron Nelson Cheer Classic

This year BNHS cheerleaders had a clinic that the little ones could attend. (Of course Raegan is too cool and too old to go to the clinics anymore). Samantha and Mallory went with their friends Ella and Maggie. I think they had a good time. I know Mallory did. But upon arriving to the gym for a parent show off, Samantha fell on the group on threw a tantrum. She then proceeded to stand in the line with either her shirt or her fingers in her mouth. Mallory on the other hand did all the little moves and was having a great time. So mark the clinic down as a success for one and a failure for the other. Maybe next time Samantha will have a better time!

Sharer Grandkids Annual Picture

We went over to the Sharer's house to do our annual Christmas tree pictures with all of the grandkids. Again, not very successful. We had one that didn't want to take pictures at all. And of course getting everyone to look in one direction at the same time is damn near impossible. Oh well. This is the best we got!

Sloane Turns 13!

Believe it or not, Sloane turned 13 on December 5th. I still can't believe she is so old and so much taller than me :) I remember the day she was born and taking care of her as a baby. Sloane is a big part of our family's life and is such a good big cousin to the girls. We are so lucky to live so close to Aaron and his kids.

So Sloane had a paintballing party. Aaron and Bryan took a group of girls to indoor paintballing. Raegan went along as well. They had a great time. We made her cake while they were having fun. It turned out super cute. Happy Birthday Sloane!

My attempt at Christmas pics...

We didn't have family pictures done this year because of all the craziness in the family. So I attempted to take pictures for the Christmas cards. I got a few good ones. Sure wish I knew how to work my camera though and shoot in manual mode!! One of these days I'll find some free time to take a lesson or 2.