A new smile

Here she is!



The family at the pumpkin patch:



On the swings...



Lovely girl:



I love this picture:



Oh, alright. I know what you all want to see:

Daddy's girls

What rhymes with "Nantucket"?

It's that time again,
Time to show our skills are mad:
Game night proves they are.

On Sunday night, Than, Susie, Mandy, Lance, and myself were in attendance.

For those unfamiliar with the creation of these masterpieces, let me explain. For game night, we usually get one piece of paper per person and write the first line of a haiku (5-7-5 syllables) or a limerick ("There was a young man from Japan," etc.), pass them on, write the second line of our neighbor's, and so on, until all the poems are finished. The results are usually clever and occasionally brilliant.

Here are the best poems, in my opinion, from our latest game night:

Limericks
It's a shame that "Mother's" went under
Buying all those shares was a blunder
My house has foreclosed
It might be bulldozed
And what sweets can console me, I wonder?

My roommate is wearing a dress
I think he's had too much stress
Brewskies galore
Now he's on the floor
And he looks kinda hot...but I digress.

Haikus
Sweet ringtones galore
And I found the perfect one:
"Ding-a-ling-a-ling!"

There's gold in them thar
Thick and sturdy molar teeth -
transplanted wisdom.

Big banking's fizzled
The subprime market's collapsed
Death comes unexpect--

Mount Nebo in autumn

Last week we went on a spontaneous trip up to Mount Nebo to see the fall colors.

This is what we saw:





A random zoom on some of the leaves:



Very steep hillside:


At a scenic overlook:




Running into the woods:


Elizabeth and Angela hugging in the woods:


Exploring:


Elizabeth, with a storm coming:


Some of the trees looked like they were on fire:


Overlook:


Blurry, but you get the idea:

Labor Day weekend

Elizabeth licking off the whipped cream (she missed a spot):





Angela in her PJs:



Dancing:



Beautiful:



Who can keep a straight face through this? Not me.

Bridalveil Falls, Provo

The top of the falls:














I honestly can't remember what's going on here:

Friends & family

Angela made friends with the most disgusting, horrifying creatures I've ever seen in my life: two hornworms.


Elizabeth has this sign hanging on her bedroom door; it makes me feel like part of an exclusive club:


Our sweet little girl woke up at 5 am this morning. Two hours later she fell asleep on the couch while eating a piece of toast:

I stole this 'tag'

I stole this from Jenny Rosengren. I hope she doesn't mind.

Angela's responses:

1.What is something mom always says to you? Don't push the buttons that are in my bathroom.

2. What makes mom happy? Obeying her.

3. What makes mom sad? Throwing a fit.

4. How does mom make you laugh? Doing funny things.

5. What was mom like as a child? Kids.

6. How old is your mom? I don't know.

7. How tall is your mom? Bigger than me and taller than me.

8. What is your mom's favorite thing to do? Wrestle.

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around? Um -- do the dishes.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? I don't know.

11. What is your mom really good at? A lot of stuff.

12. What is your mom not very good at? Not kids' stuff.

13. What does your mom do for a job? A lot of things.

14. What is your mom's favorite food? I don't know.

15. What makes you proud of your mom? Telling me to do the laundry.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would it be? I don't know.

17. What do you and your mom do together? Family!

18. How are you and your mom alike? We have blue eyes and the same skin.

19. How are you and your mom different? Not having the same hair.

20. How do you know your mom loves you? Taking her flowers.

Elizabeth's responses:

1.What is something mom always says to you? Clean up my room.

2. What makes mom happy? Playing.

3. What makes mom sad? Not cleaning up our room.

4. How does mom make you laugh? Lots of things.

5. What was mom like as a child? A kid.

6. How old is your mom? 31.

7. How tall is your mom? I don't know.

8. What is your mom's favorite thing to do? Playing with us.

9. What does your mom do when you’re not around? Work.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? I don't know.

11. What is your mom really good at? Making her bed.

12. What is your mom not very good at? Being a kid.

13. What does your mom do for a job? I don't know.

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Apple Jacks!

15. What makes you proud of your mom? Playing Candy Land.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would it be? Elina.

17. What do you and your mom do together? Wrestle.

18. How are you and your mom alike? We have the same skin.

19. How are you and your mom different? Have different eyes.

20. How do you know your mom loves you? Showing your love.

The best and worst parts of motherhood

Here are some things I wouldn't mind never hearing again:

"Come see my poop!"

"I don't like your dinner."

"Do we have to?"

"You're not my best friend!"

(From the kitchen) "Waterfall!"

"I wanted to win!"


But there are good things too, and I can't hear these often enough:

"I love my toys, and I love my books, but I love my family the best."

"You're my sister, and my best friend."

"I need snuggles and loves!"

"Good night. Sleep well. See you in the morning. I love you!"

"I'm thankful for my family."

"I want to hug and kiss you!"

Family portraits

These are already on the new Johnson/Brown blog, but I had to put them here too.

Our newest family portrait:


And a long-lost wedding picture:



Who drew these? Hint: the girl with the most detail in the drawing of the whole family is the artist herself.