Good Friday Gone Bad (or WET)

Our Good Friday started off great! The girls and I got up and I decided to let them make cinnamon sugar biscuit balls that Mamaw used to make. I found the recipe in Mom's recipe box a while back and had been wanting to make them with the girls. This was the perfect day! They loved getting to do it all themselves!

The only problem was...when 8 minutes in the oven isn't quite long enough....2 more is too much. Yep- I burned them. This SHOULD have been a clue to myself as to how the rest of my day would go, but it wasn't. I SHOULD have just gone back to bed, but I didn't.
We just cut the bottoms off and ate them anyway!

Exactly like Mamaw used to make. Except that I'm pretty sure Mamaw never burned hers.

After that, we got dressed and headed in to town to meet Josh for lunch. He was at Pops and Memaw's house helping Pops do some work, so we stopped by and visited for a minute and then took Josh with us and headed to Palazios Pizza. Graddy ended up meeting us there, which made for an extra special treat!
After lunch, Brenna and I headed to tan at Graddy's and then to the grocery store, while Josh took Macie for a hair cut. Yes, you read that correctly. Josh took Macie to get a hair cut. At the barber shop. Her hair needed to be cut something terrible, and I couldn't plan a good time to get her to town for Angel to cut it. So he said Cheryln could do it. At first I said NO. No way could my daughter go to a barber shop to get a hair cut! My Mama would haunt me for life!! All I could hear was her voice in my head screaming "Seriously Sister?!?!" But out of desperation, I finally gave in. He promised me that Cheryln cut women's hair as well as men's, and that she could do it. And the icing on the cake was when he said he would take her by himself. And I AGREED! I'm not sure I even know who I am anymore. He did call Cheryln and let me talk to her and explain what I wanted, so that helped. But my stomach was in knots the whole time. I guess it was just because I knew my Mama would have FREAKED OUT. But thankfully, it all turned out great!! Josh sent me these two pictures..

Sweet girl!! This picture doesn't do her haircut justice. It looks really cute on her.
And it was so nice to do our grocery shopping with only a 9 year old! Man- that one kid stuff is a breeze! She was helpful, never argued, never whined, and didn't fight with anyone! SCORE!
When we got home, we went ahead and made the dips that we had to take to Graddy's house and to Memaw's house on Saturday and stuck them in the fridg. (and I would later be so glad that I did that!) I also went ahead and made the cherry pie that Graddy requested. It looked great when it went into the oven..... but it quickly became obvious that I didn't seal it very well around the edges of the crust. UGH! Mimi needs to give me more lessons.

Good news is that it still tasted great! Thank goodness.
Not long after I got the kitchen cleaned back up, the Rileys showed up. We decided earlier in the day to have a little impromptu crawfish boil at our house and invite the Rileys, Baldwins, and Middletons. Sounded like a great way to spend Good Friday!!!
After a while, the guys hopped in the buggy and ran over to the Baldwin's to look at their new outdoor kitchen that is being built. Sarah and I were sitting on the back porch chatting. And suddenly we heard the kids scream in the house, so we got up and ran inside. And here is where I wish I had a picture to tell how our Good Friday turned WET. There was water POURING into the kitchen and dining room from the vents and speaker in the ceiling. I had absolutely no idea where it was coming from. I ran up stairs to see if maybe the kids had done something to the bathroom... But if I had stopped and thought for a minute, I would have realized that the bathroom was NOT located where the water was coming in. Sarah, Carter and Brenna grabbed towels and started putting them down, and I ran around in circles like a chicken with my head cut off for a few seconds, and then I left to go get Josh (who was at the Baldwin's helping them with a broken water line! Oh the irony..)
As I raced down the street- I passed Josh and Schaef on their way home. I rolled down my window and yelled something to the effect of "Water is pouring into our house! JUST GO HOME FAST!" I don't normally freak out, but I will admit... I freaked out big time! I didn't realize that it wasn't a broken pipe at the time and thought the water was still pouring into the house. Ugh- it still makes me nauseous to think about.
Josh finally figured out that the air conditioner pan malfunctioned and dumped like 30+ gallons of water, and that is where the water was coming from. I guess the bright side is that it wasn't a busted pipe!
We got a bunch of the water cleaned up pretty quickly with towels and the shop vac. But this was the scene at my house when the rest of our company arrived for our crawfish boil...

Us Pools sure know how to throw a party!!

There was no point in canceling our cook our since we had already bought the stuff and everyone was there. There wasn't really anything else we could do to the house after we mopped up the water and called the ac people and restoration company to come in and look at it. And because we have amazing friends.... the guys cooked all the food while Josh dealt with house stuff.

Even though I am sure Josh didn't enjoy much of the evening due to workers showing up periodically to look at the house, the crawfish were great! And the company was even better!

Josh did eventually eat... but it was after the photo opp. So he missed out on the pictures. :(
The restoration people came in and put 9 industrial fans in the attic and the living room to help dry it out. And they were FREAKING LOUD! Oh my- it sounded like a jet engine was about to take off in our house. But I had to keep reminding myself that at least we were home and it wasn't any worse than it was!
Things eventually calmed down and we all enjoyed some time visiting on the back porch. And taking selfies.
Kids first!

They did this themselves, and I was pretty proud!

 I love this group of ladies! I am so thankful that God placed us in QSR. He knew just what I needed and where we needed to be.

And this one right here. Man I miss her. When I found out that the Riley's were moving, I was sad. I knew we would miss them. But honestly- I had no idea HOW MUCH I would miss them! I miss hanging out on Friday and Saturday nights. I miss them driving up on their buggy at random times. I miss calling them on a cold day and saying "We've got soup on for dinner." I miss texting Sarah when I had a crappy day and sitting outside after the kids were in bed venting and hashing out all of life's issues over a bottle of wine. I. Just. Miss. Them.

But I am thankful for nights like these where we can all be together and enjoy each other. Well.... as much as you can enjoy yourself when there are fans causing all kinds of racket in your living room! Sarah and I even went back for a late night snack...

Because....MUDBUGS!!
So even though the circumstances of the evening were less than desirable- I was still thankful to get to enjoy these wonderful friends! And I was beyond grateful that they were there to help us mop water!!!

 



Macie's School Egg Hunt

On the Thursday before Easter, Macie's class got to have an Easter party and egg hunt. Due to our schedule being switched up at the high school, I couldn't go. I wanted to be really upset about it, but I have tried to get better at realizing that I can't be there for EVERYTHING- even though I really want to.
I asked Brandi the week before if maybe Maylee might like to go and hunt eggs with Macie. And of course she did! I am blessed with some pretty amazing people in my life I tell ya! Not sure what I would do without great friends.
So I sent extra eggs with Macie so that her BFF could go and hunt and party with her. I think it was a WIN WIN for both girls!
We made use of last year's Easter dress that her Mrs. Sara bought for her.

OH the SASS!!

I am so glad that these cuties got to hang out together!!

 

 

And Ashley sent me a text and said everyone was asking Macie and Kaleigh if they planned their matching outfits!

Sweet Babies!! I love that they matched without planning it!

I am forever thankful that there are people in my children's lives that take care of them when Mama and Daddy can't be there! They will never know how much these pictures mean to me! 



 

Spring Break Shenanigans 2016-pt. 2

On Friday, Josh worked again. Us girls didn't really have any plans. So we decided to head to town so I could tan and run a couple of errands. While I was at Dad's, I thought about Mom's wigs sitting in the closet. I had already asked the Center if I could donate them there and they said yes. But I had been avoiding it. I don't know why, other than it was just hard. It wasn't something I wanted to do. And despite the fact that I love all of the ladies at the Center, it was going to be beyond hard to hand them Mom's wigs. But as I was laying in the tanning bed, it hit me... Let the girls do it! That would take some of the pressure off of me going in by myself. And it would be something they could do in memory of their MeMawMom. Win-WIN! So I asked them if they wanted to do it, and they both got huge smiles on their faces and said YES!! So we loaded them up and off we went.

Seriously- these two melt me! I love watching the pride they get when they do things for their MeMawMom. They carried these wigs in to the Center and marched right in like they owned the place. I loved getting to hug all the wonderful ladies that took such good care of my Mama. This place and these people hold a very special place in my heart.
After we were done, we headed to Baskin Robins for ice cream! The girls didn't even know what Baskin Robins was, so I was all too glad to introduce them!

32 flavors and Macie Claire chooses vanilla. Crazy kid.

After that, we did some grocery shopping and then stopped by Memaw's to take her a bowl from MeMawMom's house that we knew she would want. And I ended up leaving CHLDLESS! Holy moly! I'm pretty sure I can count on one hand the number of times I have been home ALONE since 2010. It's rare I tell ya! I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself. So I chose dishes, laundry, and REBA! I'm so wild and crazy..NOT! But I did enjoy my few hours of time!
Saturday we went to Marlin and Jason's baby shower for our Baby Z and Peanut! I am so glad that we can now post pictures of these two angels!! I love them both something fierce!!

 

After we left the shower, I dropped Brenna and Macie off at Aunt Kim's for their much anticipated sleep over! They had been begging all week to go to her house, so we finally made it happen. They absolutely LOVE their Aunt Kim and LOVE LOVE getting to have sleepovers with her. I'm pretty sure it is because she doesn't believe in telling them NO! LOL! I keep telling her that they will love her no matter what...even if she does tell them NO occasionally!! I didn't get any pictures from their adventures that night- but I know they had a blast!! Fun is always had at Aunt Kim's house!!
This gave Josh and I the opportunity to get away for a bit and just enjoy being together without having to take kids to the bathroom or break up any arguments on who was going to sit by whom or whose turn it was on the ipad. A little piece of parent heaven!
We started at the Ale House to hear a band that a Ft Worth fireman is in. And quickly realized we were not quite young enough to hang there that night! LOL! So we opted for some Boo Rays for crawfish, and progressed to the winery. It was WAY more our type of atmosphere! We hung out here...

Well- ok- technically we were in the seats next to these. But I sent this picture to Mike and Becky to tell them they should stop by on their way home since the seats next to us were empty! And I enticed them with this picture...

Sangria! YUMMY! And it must have worked- because her response was "VROOM VROOM!" LOL! And 30 minutes later they came walking in! It was a great evening. Relaxing at it's finest!! And the absolute best part?? I slept till 10 AM on Sunday!! That was beyond awesome in my book. Best gift ever! Thanks to the most amazing Aunt Kim!!!!
We ended Spring Break with a cook out with the Baldwins and Middletons at our house. Nice and laid back evening full of friends and fun. Couldn't think of a better way to end a wonderful week! I can't think of a single thing I would change if I could about our week. It was just right for us. We got out of town, spent time with lots of family, relaxed, had fun, and most of all just enjoyed each other and the time we had together!! Perfection.
Now let the countdown to Summer begin!!

Spring Break Shenanigans 2016-pt. 1

On Monday when we got home from Oklahoma, Josh and I decided to take the girls to eat at the Hibachi place in town. We had been wanting to do this for a while, but just hadn't gotten around to it. I knew Brenna would love the experience of watching them cook it. And I also that with Macie- it would be a coin toss. I should have gone with my original instincts and left her with Memaw or Nina... because it wasn't a hit with her.
Brenna Grace, however, LOVED it! She was in awe the entire time they were cooking! Chinese food is one of her favorites, so I knew she would probably enjoy the chicken and fried rice. But the cooking was her favorite part. I loved her reaction when they made a huge fire on the grill..

Macie did watch very intently.

But she was dead set on not eating that food. And in an effort to avoid drawing any further attention to our child who held her hand over her mouth the entire time... we didn't fight it. She sat there and never touched a single thing. I wanted to be really upset with her, but I had to remind myself that I knew better than to think she would eat something "different". I couldn't beat her be upset with her for something I knew going into it. BUT she did get to go to bed without diner. Sorry for your bad luck kiddo. It wasn't like we were trying to make her eat liver and onions- it was rice and chicken for crying out loud! OH Macie Claire- you are giving me more gray hair than I should have at 36. And I don't see it getting any better.
After we finished eating, we headed home. But on the way we decided to stop by Pops and Memaw's and say HI. We hadn't seen much of them in the last week because Memaw had the flu- YUCK! So we were all ready to visit for a bit. The girls enjoyed showing them the new Face Swap app on their ipads, and we all laughed till we cried!!
Josh had to work on Tuesday. So the girls and I decided it would be a great day to head over and see his new fire station! They always love to go to Daddy's station, and we hadn't had a chance to go and visit since he moved stations. The highlight for the girls is that there is ALWAYS something good to eat at the fire station! Usually popsicles or cookies. And the new station didn't disappoint!

We got a tour of the new station. And just as we were about to check out his new fire truck, he got a call. But the girls were just as happy to wave to him as he drove off with the lights and sirens on!

 

Since we were already on that side of town, we decided to drop in on our Nana and get a hug! Of course, we called first! ha!

We hadn't been there 5 minutes when Nana was already offering the girls candy and cookies!

Macie Claire was all over it!



We visited for about 30 minutes and decided we needed to get on the road to our next destination. We didn't want to wear Nana out, but it was so good to see her feeling better and just "being Nana".

These two pictures melt my heart. Sweet girls giving love to their Nana!

 Next, we headed to meet up with Nina, Aunt Kim, and Kyson for dinner! The girls were SOO excited to see Kyson! Now that he is in Lubbock, we don't get to see him often. So they get super excited any chance we get!!
But did I get any pictures??? No. Bad Mommy!!! I can't believe I didn't take a single picture the rest of the night!! We had so much fun visiting and eating dinner. And we even talked everyone into following us to Target to go shoe shopping for the girls! Not much beats walking through Target with the whole famdamily while laughing and having a good ole time! It was a great evening!!
On Wednesday, Josh and I had to go sign papers for our refinance on the house. The girls were GREAT sports! I didn't think it would take more than 5-10 minutes.... 1 hour later we left. OOPS! But they were very well behaved! And only complained like 5-6 times! (just keeping it real) But in their defense, I wanted to complain too. I signed my name so many times it was ridiculous. But we got it done! And now we can start on our shop and new patio!! And as a prize, we took them to Chick Fil A. Chick Fil A makes everything better when you are 9 and 5! (heck- it helps when you are 36!)
Maylee had asked for Macie to come and play, and Brandi had said she would be laying out by the pool and soaking up some sun if I wanted to join. Soak up sun?? Yes Please! So we went there after lunch. The kiddos played while we chatted and relaxed. Brenna kept getting closer and closer to the pool. She wanted to get in so bad she couldn't stand it.

And she kept telling Madison "I dare you to push me in!" So I finally gave Madison the go ahead to do it! The only thing I didn't expect was for it to take Brenna off guard and for her to turn toward the rock wall. Oops!! I thought she had hurt herself pretty badly, but all she got was one small scrape. However, she came up MAD! And I don't mean a little mad- I mean MAD MAD! She looked at Madison and said "Why did you do that?" Brandi and I were dying laughing (after we figured out she was ok from hitting the rocks), and that embarrassed her even more. She spent the rest of the time we were there pouting. Little snot!! She kept telling me- "I was just kidding! I didn't want to be pushed in!" HA! I was about ready to throw her in the deep end if she pouted any longer!! But I decided to take her home instead.
That night was homemade pizza night! The girls love when their Daddy makes homemade pizzas. (and so do I!) It's one of our favorite nights! And to make it even better- Pops came and joined us for dinner!!!
After we ate, the girls started begging Josh and I to jump on the trampoline with them. After my food settled, I obliged. Man- wanna know how out of shape you are? Jump on a trampoline!! Holy moly! My legs were jello within minutes. And the girls quickly informed me that they wanted Daddy to jump with them instead of me, because "he bounces us better than you". Well ok then.
And I gotta admit- he did bounce them pretty high!

Later that night I started thinking about Six Flags for Thursday. I knew it would be kinda chilly, and HOPED that would keep a lot of people away. So I thought it might be a fun thing to do! And as it turns out, the Rileys thought the same thing!

So Thursday morning we got up, got dressed in our green for St. Patrick's day, and headed to Six Flags!! Unfortunately- everyone else in North Texas had the same idea.... So much for no lines. But we made the best of it!!

We ran into Bugs and Daffy on our way into the park!

 

 Our first ride was the Mexican hat... or whatever the technical term is for it...

At least the line for this wasn't too bad. And both kids love it! Next up was the Conquistador! They wanted to ride in the very back- which sounded like a great idea to Macie Claire! At first.

She soon decided that the back was a little much and rode the whole ride holding onto my arm! ha! But she was still smiling!

The swings are always a hit with us! It's one of my personal favorites.

We met up with Sarah and Carter after this. The big kids wanted to ride the bull ride. And I knew Macie was just a tad too short for this one, but we decided to give it a shot and see if they would let her on anyway. Unfortunately it didn't work and they wouldn't let her ride.

The result of being brave enough, but not quite tall enough.

She broke my heart!! She wants to be a big kid so bad! She is a dare devil, and would ride pretty much anything. I still don't know why the height requirement is so tall for this ride. She can ride the shock wave for crying out loud! Poor baby. So after this, Brenna went with Carter to ride Runaway Mountain, and I took Macie to ride the Mexican Hat and the Conquistador again. We also rode the Tea Cups. And I think you can tell by the look on her face that she was back to being her happy self again.

After we reclaimed Brenna, we opted for a funnel cake. Because- LUNCH! Don't judge. We also had a big soft pretzel and a coke!

Just a word for the wise.. When sharing a funnel cake with these two, don't stop to post a picture. Because they will eat the WHOLE STINKING THING! I only got one bite!

We decided to try and ride the bobsled before heading home. Probably our biggest mistake of the day! We waited in line over an hour and a half! We sent this picture to Daddy and said "Bobsled or bust!" I came real close to choosing the "or bust" part.

Notice that they are still smiling. Mine was a little fake- just to be honest. I was DONE. Ready to go home. But they were all in for the bob sled. I had a friend ask me yesterday how I kept Macie entertained for an hour and a half in line.... Well, all I can say is that she is a great sport! It wasn't hard at all. So proud of these girls. I can't wait for Disney World in June!! (but thankful that Josh will be with us, because this solo Mom bit is rough.)
Friday and Saturday coming soon!!





Spring Break 2016 at Mimi's

When Spring Break was approaching this year, it came with a lot less anxiety. It was still hard to think about spending it without Mom, but I knew I could do it. I had done it already.
After spending some of last Spring Break at Mimi's, I knew we HAD to do it again! The girls love going, and I- of course- enjoy my Johnson family time! The trip had already been planned back in October during girls weekend, so when I mentioned it to Mimi while Dad and I were there in February, she said "It's already on my calendar!"
The plan was for us to leave as soon as I got out of school on Friday and head north. The girls got out at noon on Friday, but I had to work all day. On Thursday night, I started looking at the weather, which was calling for rain all afternoon from Texas all the way to Oklahoma. And the more I thought about it, the less I wanted to drive in the dark and the rain. So in some moment of insanity or bravery.... I entered for a half day sub just to see what would happen. And it FILLED! I knew I wouldn't take off if I didn't have a sub, but since I did.... GAME ON!!
As soon as the kiddos got out of school, I met them and Josh for lunch and then we headed north! Next stop... MIMI'S HOUSE!!
The traffic on the way up was no fun. I was very thankful that we were driving before dark! At one point I sent this picture to Taron and told her "We'll be there some time next week."

But we persevered and we MADE IT!! I was so thankful to see the Country Club Rd exit on I40. And we pulled into Mimi's garage right before it started raining again. Thank goodness! I was water logged!
The girls were quick to start pulling out their toys and get their play time on. They don't waste any time getting started playing when we walk into Mimi's. And Mimi and I didn't waste any time curling up on the couch to catch up. (even though we spent an hour on the phone earlier in the week catching up too....) And soon, Taron came in to join the party! WOOHOO! I just love my time in El Reno. We cram as much family time and laughter as humanly possible into whatever time we have.
We ordered pizza for Aunt Susan (aka- Uncle Susan)to pick up for us, and Nolan joined us. And it doesn't take us Johnson's long to be together before the smack talk starts and the cards come out! We ate our pizza and jumped right into our first game. It was every man for himself. And let's just say.... I didn't come out on top.
This was how Macie felt about our long day...

She was in bed not long after this picture. And Aunt Susan had a class the next morning, so she headed home pretty quickly as well. That left the Abners, me, and Mrs. Johnson.... I mean Mimi. I kind of thought we might all call it a night. I figured that Mimi might be done with cards for the night. But you know who's idea it was to go another round?? Mimi's! So we drew for partner's, and it was the Abners against Mimi and me. hhhmmmm. I wasn't sure how to be nice to Mimi at the card table! I mean- I've had years of practice at getting beaten by her and talking smack to her.... so it's hard to learn to be NICE!
We sent this to Dad when he sent me a message and told me he was stopped for the night.

I guess my screen on my phone was a little dirty.... LOL!
We finally called it a night some time around 11:30. Party Animals we are!!
Saturday morning, the girls woke up early- as usual. I made them play on their ipads for a little while. But about 8 I couldn't hold them off any longer. So I got up and made Macie some breakfast and Brenna and I started on our morning ritual at Mimi's...

Before we left for Oklahoma, Brenna begged to stay an extra day at Mimi's. I told her that I figured 3 days was all Mimi could handle of us and the chaos we bring when we visit. But I asked her why she wanted to stay an extra day. She said "So that we can drink Cappuccino 4 mornings instead of 3!!" ha! She is my child.
Mimi woke up shortly after we started on our coffee and joined us for cinnamon rolls and cappuccino.
I have said it before- and I'll say it again- Morning coffee and conversation at the kitchen table is my favorite part of the day. Lots of wisdom gets shared at that table, and lots of words get soaked up. I am on the soaking up end. I love our one on one time and the talks we have. Pretty sure Mimi thinks we are just drinking coffee...
Before we knew it, it was noon! oops! So we decided to get dressed and head to SIDS for lunch. Because when in El Reno- one must eat at SIDS.... at LEAST once!
Taron came over and met us and we headed out to meet up with Nolan. And a picture to torment the rest of the Johnson clan is always in order!

After lunch, Taron and I had an agenda....PIE. And much to our surprise- our Mimi didn't have pie crust OR cherries!! What?? It's like we don't even know her anymore! So we quickly remedied the problem and drove Mimi to the store to get cherries and pie crust! And since we don't do anything in moderation.... we got enough stuff to make TWO deep dish pies! Yes Please!

Our clean slate!

And once again- it's really not about the pie. (ok- maybe it's a little bit about the pie). But it's more about this right here...

Time with our Mimi. Watching her make her famous cherry pie, learning how it's done, planning how long it will be before we can dig in, laughing at our lack of fluting skills for the pie crust, and talking about eating it straight out of the pan without getting in trouble- since she loves us so. Memories in the making.
While the pies were cooking, Macie Claire napped, Brenna played outside, Taron, Mimi and I put in a season of Reba, and I got out the ole ironing board to get Mimi's ironing caught up. It was a relaxing afternoon.
When Macie woke up, Mimi and I took the girls to the park to complete the one thing they requested to do while we were there- feed the ducks! Mimi had a whole loaf of bread for them to take, and they were in heaven!

I really love these comparisons from Spring Break last year..

And this one tells the whole story... Last year, Macie was a little timid of the ducks/geese. This year, she ventured out from behind her Mimi....a little! You can tell in all of the pictures that she still stuck pretty close to her!

On the way out of the park, the girls ran up to play on the playground for a minute. This little stinker showed us how she can do the monkey bars! Holy strength batman!

Their other request was to play on the merry go round. But it had rained so much that I wasn't sure about it (and I knew we needed to head back to get dinner ready). So we stopped by the other park where the merry go round was and I spotted one off by itself, so we pulled in to let the girls play. Brenna was pushing Macie...

And suddenly I noticed she was picking up her feet funny. Then it dawned on me... she was running around in MUD! It was everywhere, and her flip flops were coated! oops! So we loaded them up and headed for the house to get dinner ready (and to clean up Brenna Grace!)
While we prepped dinner.... these 4 kept themselves busy playing with pegs...

Suddenly I remembered that I hadn't taken a picture of mine and Taron's beautifully fluted pies! And guess what.... a rodent had already gotten to one of them!

Ok OK- so it only had one hole in it when I saw it... but I couldn't be let out on this little adventure. SO I grabbed my spoon and joined in!
After dinner.... it was game PIE on!!! We were (not really) sneaky about it and started just digging in!

And then it happened.... she heard us giggling and we were CAUGHT PIE HANDED!

I'd like to tell you that we were sorry- but we clearly were not. We are Johnson's..and we eat pie. It's what we do best. And Taron and I? Well, we eat our pie from the pan. Mimi keeps telling us that when everyone is there that we will have to use a plate for our pie. We keep telling Mimi that she just needs to make extra pie so that Taron and I have our own. I think that she and I are being very reasonable. I mean- we ARE willing to share the SAME pie for goodness sake!
And ya wanna know what that pie looked like in 3 hours??

We did have a little help though, from the newest member of the Johnson Pie Club! We believe in starting them out early and training them right!

It's a biblical thing really. It is written "Thou shalt gather with family, play canasta, and eat pie straight out of the pan." Hezakiah 4:10
From there we moved to the card table. I had been holding on to these HUGE cards since January!! And we were all chomping at the bits to pull them out for Mimi. But we wanted to wait until she got up and went to the bathroom or something. But as luck would have it, that woman has the biggest bladder I've ever seen! haha! We played a whole game of canasta before she FINALLY got up to leave the table. So we pulled the cards out as fast as we possibly could and set them up.

And of course we gave Mimi all the red 3's!

Yall- it was EPIC!!!
Mimi came back and proceeded to start cleaning the kitchen while we were all about to die from the anticipation! We finally told her to come sit down, and when she walked to the table and looked.... this was her reaction!!



Let's see if this video will post...

EPIC I tell you! Her laugh was the best thing I may have ever heard! Although it was pretty hard to hear hers over OURS! I do believe we got her good!
We then proceeded to play another round of cards, where Nolan and I got our REARS handed to us. But that's really only because Mimi and Taron cheat. (or at least that's my story for why I always loose!)
Sunday we got up and headed to church (after our morning coffee of course!) and then out to lunch. We had a great time visiting with the Abners! After lunch, Taron and Nolan went over to the Abner's, Aunt Susan went home to pack for her trip, and Mimi and I and the girls went home to chill. Macie took a nap (because when you play hard at Mimi's, you must also nap hard!) Brenna spent time playing in the living room and soaking up some attention...

And Mimi and I watched the rest of the first season of Reba. It was a great afternoon of relaxing.
By the time Taron and Nolan came back over, Macie was awake and playing littlest pet shop. Taron was all too eager to relive her childhood and join in on the fun!

We enjoyed a late supper of leftovers, and cards resumed! I guess if you were on the outside looking in, it would seem that we play a LOT of cards when we are together. And you would be correct! First- we all enjoy playing canasta and we only get to play it when we are all together. Second- it's not COMPLETELY about the cards. It's about the time we get to spend together.... and the smack talk! A trip to Mimi's isn't complete without calling her "Mrs. Johnson" at least once, and accusing her and Taron of cheating! (which they do)
Aunt Susan showed up about 9 and visited while we finished our game. I figured Mimi would be ready for bed after that. I felt sure that we had successfully worn her smooth out! But you know who's idea another hand of cards was?? Our party animal grandmother's! So we fueled up...

and embarked on another exciting game of canasta at 10pm! It was 1am before I finally crawled into bed. Holy moly. I was beyond tired! But it was worth it to WATCH Mimi and Taron CHEAT! Yep. I said it. They cheated. Out. Loud! Did you know that it doesn't count as cheating if you don't say anything? That's correct! You can shake your head and use your eyes- just as long as you say "I didn't say anything" or "I'm just thinking to myself" (0ut loud. With words.) Aunt Susan and I are gonna use some "Mimiisms" next time we play canasta! Maybe then we will win.....
Monday morning came VERY early. We had to be packed and leave by 9 since that is when Mimi's house keeper comes. (well- we didn't HAVE to be gone by then, but I told her to not change her house keeper schedule!)
This was a welcome sight at the breakfast table..

And how fitting that it was also Pi day!~March 14.~3.14
After we were all packed up, and hopefully left Mimi's house in the order we found it... we said our good-byes. That's always the hardest part. Why can't all of my family live in the same state?? Probably because there isn't one single state that could handle all of us in the same place! It would be scary I tell ya!
I'm just thankful that Mimi puts up with her guest room looking like a tornado blew through, her living room being stuffed with toys in every available corner, and her bar being covered with markers and paper for a couple of days so that we can all enjoy being together. Brenna and Macie look so forward to our Oklahoma time, and I love it that they love it so. The time we spend with Mimi, Aunt Susan, Uncle Dave, Taron, and Nolan is so dear to me. The only thing that could make it better is if my Daddy, Aunt Bit, Uncle Byron, Grayson, Alisa, Roby, Erin, and Kyson could all be there too.
From Mimi's, we headed over to meet Taron at Aunt Susan's house and all of us headed to the outlet mall.
We got there a bit early, so we had some time to kill. And time to kill with a 9 and 5 year old isn't always good. But we managed to keep them busy by giving them tasks to do, like running back and forth while we timed them! ha! And by taking selfies...

When the stores finally opened, the girls were eager to hit up Justice! Their favorite store, and my worst nightmare. But we made it. And they got to spend some money on junk- so they were happy! And Taron had her first Justice experience!! ha!
We made the rounds to our favorite stores. And God bless Taron- she kept the girls busy while I looked at a couple of places. It so reminded me of my Aunt Bit. That is exactly what she would have done. I kept telling Taron we could go into stores she wanted to go into, but she just kept tagging along with us. And when it was time for us to head out, she headed back in to do some shopping of her own. Oh how I love that cousin of mine! I didn't expect her to go along to help me with the girls- but that's just her...just like her Mama. And her Aunt Sherry! It is exactly what they would have both done. I literally teared up when I realized what she had done. So thoughtful, and so sweet. And I loved that the 4 of us got to spend some time together. Time is a precious, precious thing that I will never take for granted!!