Trick or Treat!

We've already been trick-or-treating up here in New England. For some reason, our town does Halloween the Sunday before from 1-4 so we had a trick-or-treat party yesterday. The kids all had a great time - 14 in all! A few of the older ones, Conner included, went over to a neighboring development for round 2 after sorting through the loot gathered in our neighborhood. Ah, to be a kid on Halloween (or any holiday for that matter!) My mom got the boys trick-or-treat bags that say, "trick-or-treat." Here's a video of Grady wanting to hear the bag talk to him.

I'm fighting a nasty cold/sinus infection/??. I've been feeling pretty lousy since Wednesday night so I'm hoping that whatever this is will have run it's course soon. I'm avoiding the pool at all costs during this time...not a good combination!

I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is almost upon us. I'll be heading down to North Carolina with the boys on November 19th to spend the holiday with my mom and Brian as well as Shawn's family - Shawn will join us the day before Thanksgiving. Fortunately, we'll be able to do Thanksgiving with my family and Shawn's. This will be a first for us! Someday we'll be able to remain at our own home for the holidays.

Dash!

Bam Bam...of course Grady wouldn't sit still for a good picture!

Unkie Luke!

As some of you know, Luke is out in LA. Two days ago, his episode of Score was on MTV and I've linked his song. The show is a dating contest where two guys are competing for a date with a girl. In order to win they each have to write a song and she chooses which one she likes the best. Luke did a great job...didn't get the girl...but had fun.

Fall is finally here!

This is what we see each day out of our kitchen windows!

Well, a great time was had by all at the shower this weekend. The weather was perfect, Mrs. Carson and Robyn had the place decorated beautifully, we had lots of yummy food, I could go on and on. I was so happy that the event went off without a hitch and Sayward had a lovely shower. The whole weekend was great, really. I got to spend some much needed time with my grandmother and her sister, my great aunt Nancy, and I felt as though I ran into someone familiar at every turn.

My flight got in very late Sunday night so I spent Monday getting some errands done as well as the piles of laundry that gathered over the three days that I was gone. I think the boys had a good time when I was away - one pair of Conner's pants were totally trashed. That means fun, right? Shawn is in Long Island for the week with the new sales rep. Turns out the guy they hired is a boy (man now) who grew up across the street from me...this world continues to get smaller and smaller.

Have a great week!

My mom, Sayward, and me before the shower.

The "diaper" cake! (I really don't know why I didn't move that bread...silly!)

The mommy-to-be.

A quick shout out...

Hi Ashley!

Still Life with Sugar Substitute

My son, Conner, the aspiring photographer.

Grammy and Pappy left this morning, much to the dismay of Conner. He would wait, as patiently as possible for a four year old, until 9 o'clock whereupon he would wake his Grammy up. That kid is such a sweetheart. We had a very nice, rainy visit.

Yesterday we experienced go-kart racing at it's finest at F1 Boston, where Shawn, Pappy, and I raced along with 7ish others. The course is indoors, good for us since it was very wet, and very official feeling. The staff educates you on flags, warnings, etc., you get suited up in a driving jumpsuit, helmet, and neck brace, and off you go. I was the only girl racing in our group and I came in third...ahead of Shawn and Pappy! Slow pokes!

After the race, we went to the outlets in Wrentham and did some shopping. Even with the rain we still managed to find a couple of bargains along the way...the weather didn't seem to hamper anyone's shopping. I never tire of cruising the outlets.

Today was spent getting some much needed running around done for the shower this coming weekend. The work on my end is not quite finished but I'll have some evening time to myself as Shawn will be out of the office this week. I'm very excited to be heading back to Pittsburgh for Sayward's shower as it will definitely be a beautiful party with lots of good company and fun!

This past week packed some excitement in the Johnson home when we discovered that Grady can climb out of his crib. Thankfully, he climbed out while I was getting ready on Friday morning so I was able to purchase and assemble a tent for the top of his crib before his afternoon nap. Shawn suggested just putting Grady in a toddler bed. Um...if you've met Grady you know that's not even a remote option. The tent seems to be doing the job - Grady is not able to climb out and I no longer find the contents of the crib strewn throughout his bedroom, so it's serving two purposes quite well.

I'll be sure to post some pics from the shower when I return. Have a great week!

Conner and Grammy.

Conner and Pappy.

Some portrait photography by, you guessed it, Conner.

The Grades.

Where it all went down.

Waiting for our race to be called.

All suited up and ready to go!

I'm a little pancake!

Here's Grady in cahoots with the other team. She's lucky she's such a cutie!!
This is a song we sing at Grady's swimming lesson, obviously to the tune of "I'm a little teapot." It was stuck in my head this morning, thus prompting me to make pancakes for breakfast and reminding me to post my recipe. If you've ever been a guest at the Johnson home then you've more than likely tried my pancakes, for which the recipe is often requested. So, if you've had them and want to replicate your experience, although, is that REALLY possible, or want to try something new then here you go.

2 cups flour
4 T sugar
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 cup french vanilla yogurt
2 eggs
4 T butter melted
milk to thin

You can use flavored yogurt for a yummy twist. One of my favorites is to use Banilla yogurt (it's a Stoneyfield Farm flavor - I'm kind of partial to their yogurt), add chocolate chips, and serve with whipped cream.

Enjoy!