Mimi time in El Reno!

When Dad, Aunt Susan and Aunt Bit started planning their Alaska trip, I started planning some Mimi time! I worked up a plan for Mimi to ride to Texas with Aunt Susan on July 4th, and then come to our house and stay a few days. Then the girls and I would take her back home and spend a few days in El Reno with her. It sounded like the perfect plan, and Mimi was on board! I was extremely excited to get this time with her. Then a few weeks before their trip, I found out that Mimi hurt her back and wouldn't be able to come down with Aunt Susan. I was SO disappointed. 

After our cruise, I was talking to Aunt Bit and she told me just how much pain Mimi was in. It broke my heart. But she told me that Mimi had an appointment to get an injection in her spine on July 9th. Suddenly- the wheels started turning. Dad and my aunts would be in Alaska during this procedure. I knew that Uncle Dave would be there, and was very capable of taking Mimi to her procedure. But I decided that I NEEDED to be there. I wanted to be there for Mimi, and take care of her. I also knew that this might help Aunt Susan to relax and enjoy herself if I went and stayed a couple days with Mimi. So I started the ball rolling. BUT I know my Mimi, and stubborn is her middle name! And I knew that she wouldn't readily accept the offer for me to come take care of her. SOOO- I started with Aunt Susan!! And she handled the whole thing. :) And even though Mimi tried to call me the day before I left and tell me it was too early for us to get up and Dave could take her.....I stuck to my guns and told her I WAS taking her! Poor Mimi. Never stood a chance! Ha!

In my thoughts about this trip, I decided that it would be too much for Mimi for both kids to be there. And it would be too hard to try to handle Macie at the hospital. So I arranged for her to spend 2 nights at Aunt Emily's, and decided Brenna would enjoy the alone time with me and Mimi! I think it was a good call, because she loved having all the attention and just relaxing. 

Early Wednesday Morning, Brenna and I set off on our road trip to El Reno. 

It was SOOO easy to travel with just an 8 year old. She never whined or complained and entertained herself! It was heaven. And a great opportunity for she and I to spend some one on one time. We got to Mimi's about 1pm. 

Aunt Bit and Aunt Susan had prepared me for what to expect. But even still, seeing my Mimi in that shape- hurting  and on a walker- it broke my heart. But I was so very thankful to be there. I was ready to take care of her!! (Even if she did tell me that I was getting "lippy" when I told her to quit questioning me because I was there and I had plans to DO FOR HER!) 

We visited for a while, and eventually Mimi wanted us to go see Aunt Bonnie's new apartment. So I drove us all over to Yukon. Aunt Bonnie's new place is really neat! A great place for her! And I enjoyed getting to see her and visit for a few minutes. But we didn't stay long because I could tell Mimi was getting tired. So Brenna and I took her home to rest and headed to WalMart to do our grocery shopping!

 I made Poppyseed Chicken and peach cobbler for dinner while Mimi slept. And I kept thinking how glad I was to be there and able to do this for her. Brenna was a great help! She entertained herself and helped me in the kitchen! Such a trooper. 

We all turned in fairly early since we had to be up at 5 to get ready to leave by 6 the next day. And 5am came pretty quickly. Mimi slept through her last chance for pain meds in the middle of the night, so she was hurting pretty bad by the time we left the house. But we made the hour drive to the spine hospital and got all checked in. They called Mimi back to get her prepped, and Brenna curled up with her iPad. 

They then called me back to sit with Mimi until her procedure. Brenna opted to sit in the waiting room. Such a big girl!! I sat in the back with Mimi for about 45 minutes until they were ready for her. When I got back to Brenna, she was still in the same spot. I was so proud of her. We sat there for about 20 minutes and my buzzer went off. I figured it was a mistake because she couldn't possibly be done already!! But she was. 

When I got to her, she was sleeping off the meds they gave her. I'd post the picture I took, but if she found out I'm pretty sure she'd KILL me! All of the nurses kept commenting on how she was the only person that came in there for a procedure with her hair done and make up on! Yep- that's my Mimi! Always beautiful! 

I sat there with her until they made her wake up and drink some sprite so that we could go home. It took about 45 minutes before they got her awake enough to get dressed. But they eventually did, and I went to get the car. She was way more alert than I expected on the ride home. Probably had something to do with all my talking. Well, that and the fact that she had a granddaughter driving her home that had no idea where we were at!! But we made it! We were home around 10:30, and I got her something to eat. Uncle Dave stopped by to check on her, and by the time he left, I found Brenna on Mimi's bed like this...

Out like a light! 

So, Mimi kicked back in her chair and I curled up on the couch and we joined Brenna! Naps all around! I kept expecting to get a call from the Alaska folks checking on her, but soon realized that they had to be somewhere with no signal. Either that or they trusted me way more than I thought! Haha! 

That night, I made spaghetti and salad for dinner since Mimi told me it was one of her favorite meals. Brenna was a great help yet again. Mimi napped while we cooked! Worked out great! But I just wasn't ready to leave her. Luckily Becky had offered to keep Macie on Friday night if I wasn't ready to come back. So I put in a call and set that up. I knew I would feel better about leaving her after one more day post injection. 

That night, I knew exactly when my aunts had cell signal....because my phone started lighting up with texts and questions! We eventually decided to face time them. It was great to talk to them and hear about their trip! And I loved that Mimi got to see them too. 

Brenna, Mimi and I took this selfie after we face timed...

You can tell we are all a little exhausted! But we were enjoying just being together. I've learned a lot of tough life lessons in the last year. And the importance of time is one of the biggest. Time with the people you love. Time is something you can't get back. And I will never take it for granted. I certainly didn't take one moment of the TIME I had with Mimi for granted. I enjoyed every second. 

The next morning, we got up and slowly started getting around. Coffee was priority! Mimi and I had some great talks over our morning coffee. Showers followed that. Mimi seemed to be getting around a lot better on Friday than she had been on Wednesday and Thursday. That made me so happy. We decided that a trip to SIDS was in order! That made Brenna's day! 

We even had to take pictures to send to Alaska! 

Yes, Brenna ate two double meat hot dogs!! SIDS can bring out an appetite in you that you never knew existed! Has that effect on me too. One of those coneys was mine.... 

And so was this onion fried burger with extra pickles!! 

And then we sent this to Alaska.....

Because- what's the point of eating at SIDS if you can't make the rest of the Johnson clan jealous??!! It's what we do. And we are good at it. But it's all done in LOVE. Usually. 

After lunch, Mimi needed to run some errands. So I took her to the post office and the pharmacy. I snapped this as she was walking into the post office- ALONE... Because did I mention she's stubborn?? But check it out! No Walker! Just a cane! And standing up straight! 

She was so much better. 

After the errands, we went home, and I asked her where her ironing was so that I could do it while she napped. Stubbornness didn't want to tell me! The background story is that ironing is how she messed up her back. She spent a whole day ironing, and the next day sweeping the garage. Sooooo- I was gonna take care of that for her. She FINALLY told me where her shirts and the ironing board was. Well- where ONE of her ironing boards was. Because she apparently has two. Yall- my Mimi is serious about her ironing I tell ya. Still not sure why she has TWO. 

Anyway..... I sent her to rest and promised her I would only iron her shirts. She was going to look into taking her pants to the cleaners, but wouldn't tell me which one so that I could take them. Did I mention that her middle name is Stubbornness? SOOO- I texted this picture to Aunt Bit and Aunt Susan...

And told them that if she fell asleep that I was doing the pants too. And guess what....

I sent this picture next with a caption that read "I'll show her to take a nap!" And when she woke up 2 hours later I was down to only 3 pieces to finish! I was so happy to have it all done for her! Because I know that was a load off her mind. 

We spent the rest of the evening just relaxing and visiting. About 8pm, I was coming out of Mimi's room and saw her fall! It scared the crud out of me! She tripped over her walker and fell on her bad leg. I kept asking her every few minutes if she was ok. I MAY have driven her to the verge of nuts asking so often. But I was worried. She assured me that she was ok, but I knew she wasn't. I could tell she was hurting. At about 11pm, I went in to go to bed. And as soon as I closed the bedroom door, my stomach became full of knots and I got a lump in my throat and tears started. How could I leave her and go home the next morning? I knew I had to get home to Macie, but the thought of leaving Mimi was killing me. I texted Josh what had happened and told him I was going to leave a bit later the next day to make sure she was ok. He replied with "bring her home with you". And suddenly- I had my answer! But I never thought she'd go for it. So I texted Aunt Bit and Aunt Susan "I would give anything if Mimi would come home with me tomorrow." And suddenly I had all of Alaska on my side telling me to get in there and talk to her! And to take her home with me! So- after some coaching from them, I opened the door and marched in and pled my case to Mimi. She tried to say no. And she tried to say she'd think about it. (Which I knew meant that she'd work on a reason not to go all night). But the texts were rolling in saying "tell Mimi this" or "show this to Mimi". I didn't want her to think I was forcing her to do something. She's 81 for Petes sake! A grown woman! So I told her that the decision was hers. But that I wasn't going to bed until she said yes. So she had a choice...kind of....except not! She eventually said she would go! And the relief I felt in my stomach was amazing. God is good. He orchestrated the whole thing. Because less than an hour before I hadn't even given a thought to bringing her home with me. And now- here we were! I think the happy screams from Alaska could be heard for miles! And I shed some thankful tears as well. Not only was I thankful to not have to leave her in the pain she was in, but I had just scored 10 days with my Mimi!!! Totally unplanned! Little did I know that God had done the whole thing. He knew I needed her as much as she needed me. 

Next up- 7 days with Mimi in TEXAS! 

4th of July fun!

We had a wonderful 4th of July this year! We started our celebrations on the 3rd by dressing in our patriotic best! Mainly because I knew we wouldn't be wearing much more than swim suits on the 4th! 

An impromptu photo shoot was in order! 

I couldn't believe that they were so cooperative and posed so well! 

That night, we went out to celebrate Graddy's birthday since he would be in Alaska on his actual birthday. We enjoyed dinner at Railhead, and as a plus there was a balloon artist there! 

Brenna chose an Elsa crown....

That her Daddy tried on....

(Back off ladies...he's mine!) 

Macie chose a purple puppy...

And as soon as the balloon guy heard that it was Graddy's birthday, he went to work on a special hat just for him....

Hahaha!!!! A beer mug complete with foamy bubbles! 

It was a fun night!! Especially for these three.... 

They sure do love their Graddy!!! 

On the 4th, the girls and I got up and started on our red, white, and blue cake baking tradition! This year we went with cupcakes. 

Then the rest of the day was spent enjoying friends at the Riley's. 

These two had been separated for WAY too long. The Baldwin's had been on vacation for almost 4 weeks, and Macie Claire was having BFF withdrawals from Maylee! They had a great day together, and we're pretty much inseparable. 

Sometimes, when you've missed your BFF so much, you just need to share the same chair to eat a cupcake. 

Brenna had a great day too! She was in heaven playing with Landry and Jaylee. 

Madison, Jaylee, Brenna and Landry

Macie and Maylee eventually decided that they needed to go for a drive. 

The conversations we overheard while they "drove" we're hilarious! At one point, Macie said "Hey Maylee, let's go pick up some friends!" Oh boy. I caught a glimpse of the future...and I got scared! 

When the sun went down, we all migrated over to the pond for fireworks. Schaef and Carter put on a great show for all of us! 

Best seat in the house! 

Of course, these two were connected at the hip! You can see the total exhaustion on their faces! 

It was a great time with great friends!! Doesn't get much better than that! 

On the 5th, we got together at Pops and Memaw's to do some fireworks because...TRADITION! We've done fireworks at their house every year as long as the kiddos have been around. And probably before, but my memory isn't that good! Josh and Pops always put on a great show, and the kids love doing sparklers together! 

Sweet Macie! 

When did my Brenna grow up?? I'm not liking this. 

Aunt Emily isn't one to be left out of anything fun!! Shouldn't everyone have an aunt who plays as hard as the kids?? 

As soon as the sparklers were done, the show started! 

And these guys got a front row seat! 

Emily, Memaw and I just sat back and enjoyed the squeals of pure delight that came from these 3 munchkins! They had so much fun! I loved hearing them scream and giggle every time a firework went off. I'm pretty sure this is one of my favorite parts of July 4th. Hanging out with family, watching Pops and Josh enjoy setting off the fireworks, and listening to these 3 cousins have the time of their lives!! 

Brenna's Post- Our week with Aunt Bit and Taron

I decided to let Brenna write her own post on her week with her Aunt Bit and Taron while we were on our cruise. The following is what she wrote.....

Mom and dad were about to go on their cruise and my Aunt Bit came to baby sit. It was very kind of my Aunt Bit to come all the way from Alabama just to baby sit me and Macie for 6 days. We had the best time at Yogurt Story. At the schoolhouse sno cone stand I even introduced Aunt Bit to wedding cake flavored sno cones and she loved it. We even went to Chili's to eat. we had so much fun. At our house, we used our crayon maker. It was so much fun but our crayons turned out very small. And we can’t even use them. We went to Boo Rays and I love that restaurant so much. And I bet Aunt Bit does too. We went to Graddy’s house and I asked Taron if I could be her napping buddy. She said yes, but she napped without me. So I just napped alone. But we were about to go home when I started. We went to Belk and shopped for Taron. We got her make up because there was a wedding in Oklahoma for her friend. And the make up was for the bride. That day we went to Braums and got ice cream. And I ate so much that my stomach felt sick. And Taron made an appointment for us to get our nails done at Nailogica. She kind of got frustrated on the phone because they told her she could come now but we were eating lunch then and she wanted to make an appointment later. But we had a lot of fun.
While we were at home, we invited Graddy over to eat dinner. And that was very fun. We went to Splash Kingdom one day. And that was very fun. But it was the most exciting thing we did that week. I love Splash Kingdom.
We got to have slumber parties every night and that was fun. We got to watch two movies and they were Cinderella and Ariel.
Dear Aunt Bit and Taron,
Thank you for coming to babysit me and Macie. We had the best time. I bet you did too. I hope we can do it again.
Love, Brenna

So, I am guessing that the big thing you can gather from her week is that it was "so much fun"! LOL! Below are the pictures of their week.

Church bus selfie with Taron! 

Some of my favorite people on earth!! 

Brenna insisted that Aunt Bit and Taron get to experience The Funky Munky!! I think they liked it! 

A little Barbie coloring.... 

I think these sweet girls got braids most every day from Taron. :) 

Shopping fun!! 

A few lunch selfies while at Fuzzys with Graddy! 

Dinner at Graddy's house.....

And on the last day, while we were driving home, they had to make one last run to town for some frozen yogurt!! 

And this was our view as we drove up at home! 

Sweet girls were waiting on us!! 

I was beyond glad to see and hug these princesses!!!