Introducing...

Dr. Clark Johnson (also a Master of Anatomy).  Last Saturday Clark graduated and received his 2 degrees.  It was such a wonderful day.  Clark's parents were able to come, and the ceremony was special because Vaughn was able to hood Clark.  It was awesome!
He did it, he did it, he really, really did it!  Yahoo!!! 

Clark, Tyler, Ted and Bryce...DPM buddies!

I read this quote on the Mary Engelbreit calendar, "Not what you do, but how you do it is a test of your capacity."  When I read it I immediately thought of Clark.  When we first arrived in Des Moines to start medical school the professors and several students that were in the classes before us talked about how hard it would be, they told us you can never take a day off from studying, school will be your whole life, etc.  I was a nervous wreck about what this would mean for our family and how hard this would be for Clark.
Well I wasted time being worried.  From the beginning Clark decided that Sunday was the Lord's day and that he would not study on that day.  Even though there were numerous huge tests that were scheduled for Monday mornings he never went back on his commitment.  I know our family was blessed and Clark was blessed in his schooling for keeping the Sabbath day holy.  Clark was always one to study the gospel daily along with his study of the sciences and medicine.  He always put family first.  The boys and I always felt like we were his first priority.
I had to brag just a little, because I'm so proud of the degrees Clark received, but more proud of the person that he is and the way that he handled the last 4 years! 

Caden is 2!

A happy birthday it was for our little 2 year old!  In just the last month he has started talking up a storm, and it is adorable.  He was pretty excited for his birthday, he kept saying "Happy birthday to you."  We celebrated 3 days early, but don't tell him that!

This was when he first saw his cake after waking up from his nap:


Since Caden tells me every morning he has dreams about monkeys we decided to have a monkey themed party.



Lovin that cake!



The best part of decorating for this party was that we could just use things we found in my mom's house, like the monkeys and vines she just happened to have : )


I have to give a shout to Uncle James for bringing Caden the cute monkey centerpiece clear from the Dominican Republic.  He was horrified a few weeks ago when Caden promptly removed the monkeys maracas, hands and tail when handed the monkey.  Nothing a little glue couldn't fix.



The party was a little hard for this 4 year old...it's tough when your little brother is getting all of the attention and all the new toys!

Caden was so cute opening his presents.  He would run to the table, pick a gift, run back to the opening chair, climb on the chair, open the present, then get so excited yelling and running around to show everyone his new gift.  Then he would give a cute little "tankyou," and it would all start over again.  I don't think I've ever seen a kid more excited for his gifts.  We loved when he opened a Mr. Potato head he yelled, "Daddy." 

He knew just what to do on his new scooter.

Oh how we love this little 2 year old!  We love his enthusiasm for the simple things in life.  We love his cute sense of humor.  We love his spice that comes with being 2.

Solar Eclipse

 This evening we went out to check out the solar eclipse.  It was so bright that we put on 4 pair of sunglasses and the ski goggles and then we could see it just right. 

An hour later I went outside and found Caden like this:

He was gazing at the sun yelling, "shun, shun."  It made me giggle.  I'm sure he thought we were crazy when he saw us in our glasses and goggles staring at the sun.  This little guy's funny personality and sense of humor is coming out more and more.  He cracks me up all the time.  I'm thinking he is going to always keep us on our toes. 

 

End of An Era

This weekend Clark has been able to go fishing, sleep outside in a tent with Ethan, and relax with nothing to worry about!  Friday was his last official day of this crazy 4th year of medical school.  Yahoo!

I just calculated that we traveled 5,336 miles to move us 9 times...it is great to be at this end of this year.  Tonight I took a picture of all the library cards I collected and used since last May.  All of these cards represent different places and wonderful memories, and the challenge of our gypsy lifestyle from the past year!    

I can't even begin to summarize this year...what a challenge!  The first move was the hardest for me, I was so lonely and so sad to have left our home and our friends in Iowa.  I still don't know how we fit all of our stuff in our 2 cars.  The subsequent moves each got easier, I got used to the transient lifestyle, no furniture, and the lack of a social life.  But even with the challenges I wouldn't do it any differently.

It was a wonderful blessing to get to be with family in Boise, Durango and Albuquerque.  It was an adventure to get to see so many beautiful landscapes as we drove across the country.  It was fun to get to experience new things and places.  We saw many miracles- with Caden's health, with housing, with safe travels.  And most of all I'm grateful that we were able to stay together as a family.  Our life didn't stop this year, it was just different.  We have a year full of memories that I will always cherish...and I'm grateful for just one more move coming up an a permanent address for at least the next 3 years! 

Mother's Day

There are a few things I always want to remember about this Mother's Day.  I want to remember being woken up to Ethan racing into my room with a bottle of syrup yelling, "would you like some maple syrup?"  Caden followed close behind and offered me his "baketball."  Clark and my Dad followed behind him with breakfast and juice in bed.


The best part of my day that I don't think I can ever forget happened at church.  The primary kids ages 3-11 came to the front during the meeting to sing some Mother's Day songs.  Ethan was so excited, he marched up to the front and went directly to the podium and pulled the microphone down by his mouth.  "Oh no, oh no, surely someone will move him over by the other children," I thought...but no one moved him.  When the song started you couldn't hear the piano or any of the other kids as Ethan's cute 4 year old voice belted out, "Mother I Love You," over the microphone!  Oh my word, we laughed so hard we cried.  Every once in awhile he would peek his little head out from around the podium and give us a thumbs up sign and a big grin.  After the first verse the Bishop stood up and lifted the microphone so it wouldn't be right in his face, but his voice still rang out quite strong!

What could be in my Mother's Day presents?

2 Cute Boys!  What a surprise!  I'm the luckiest mom around!

I want to remember how Ethan decided the gift bags were really a jack in the box.  I thought it was pretty creative.



I want to remember the Whoppers I won during Relief Society for being the mom to have had the biggest baby.  Caden won me the treat with his 10 lbs. 1 oz.  There was another woman there that had a 10 pounder so I won by one ounce.  Hoping and praying this third baby will not win me any future Whoppers.

I want to remember the fun bubble popping dance party we had after a delicious dinner prepared by Clark, my Dad and my brother James.  It was awesome!

I thought some nice mother-son photos would help me really remember the day...but getting one of those is easier said than done!  Here are a few though to remember the Mother's Day I had with a 4 year old, an almost 2 year old, and a baby on the way.

 

Baby Talk

For the last 2 years I have felt like a mom of a toddler and a baby, but the last few months I have realized my baby has turned into a toddler.

On Easter he just started talking, before he said several words, but that morning he woke up and turned into a mocking bird.  He repeated EVERYTHING he heard, and it was like his vocabulary expanded x10.  It is pretty cute to hear him talk, he has such a low little voice.  I love how when he wants a piggy back ride he says, "piggy backer," and I love how he says, "baketball," for every type of ball.

I've also noticed lately that he eats as much as a little boy, sometimes more than an adult!  He's got attitude, spunk and opinions like an adult as well!  He keeps us on our toes and keeps us laughing.



Can this age be any better?

Since I no longer feel like I have a baby, I guess it is time to announce that we are expecting baby number 3!  Next week I will be done with the first trimester.  A few weeks ago we were able to see the little heartbeat on an ultrasound, it was amazing!  We are so thankful to welcome another baby into our home in November!

Gone Fishing

Today we went to CJ Strike Dam for a little fishing trip.  It was a cool day, definitely not a day you would want to get in the water...unless you happened to be trying to untangle your son's snagged fishing pole and slipped on the rocks and fell all the way into the water with wallet and cell phone in your pocket...and then you would be Clark.

And this is how poor Clark attempted to warm up the rest of the day!

The rest of us managed to stay dry and rather enjoyed our day on the lake!



Could it be a day on the lake without a drumstick?

 

Ethan enjoyed Grammy's music as much as the fishing.  When I asked him what he likes more, fishing or dancing...he replied, both.



Caden enjoyed a nice nap on top of a pile of life jackets

Grandpa finally caught a fish, it was a family effort to get it in the boat.



This is the second time these boys have gone fishing here.  Lucky boys!

Groupon Saturday

Last Saturday was all about the Groupon.  I think it is fair to say that my mom is THE Groupon queen.  I've had my fair share of crazy experiences because of Groupons I bought that I didn't know much about...Saturday we added 2 more to our list.

Clark and I took the boys to the world famous Circus Gatti, okay so you've probably never heard of it either, but it was a great deal.  I have to admit despite the low budget it was entertaining and our boys loved it. 

But there were quite a few things that cracked me up.  First of all we noticed a tall structure that just didn't look safe, there were several shims of different material and sizes holding up the sides.  We quickly realized the structure was for the tight rope walkers, and there was no net underneath.  When they started their routine it looked like their costumes were about 3 sizes too small (maybe they were substitutes?).  A man in a black T-shirt came and stood under the wire, I'm assuming to catch the walkers if they fell?!  In the middle of the act, the man did fall, he somehow caught himself with his foot and climbed back up on the wire.  It was crazy!  I thought we were going to see a death, but he cut his act short and didn't ride the BMX bike across after he started.

Another favorite was the fact that Caden could stand right on the edge of the elephants with a strong barrier of Caution tape to protect him from being smashed.

Ethan got a free moustache from the clown with a magic marker.

Note the baby in the stroller outside of the ring.  During the show we noticed a stroller with a baby struggling to get out down on the circus floor.  He was all alone which concerned Ethan a lot!  After the circus one of the ladies went and pushed him a little closer, just the life of a circus baby I guess.

 

 It really was entertaining.  Tonight as I was tucking Caden in he kept saying, "circus, circus," I guess it made quite an impression on him too!

The second adventure the Groupon queen found for us Saturday was to go cheer on the Treasure Valley Roller Girls at Rollerderby!  Oh my fishnets!  It was an adventure to say the least.  I don't know what was more entertaining the crowd or the roller girls. 

 I can now say I know roller derby, I learned terms like jammer, hip check, fresh meat, and fishnet burn. 

Some of my favorite roller derby names of the night were:  G.I. Jane Saw, Demolition Barbie, Hellen Brimstone, and the crowd favorite Udaho. 

Thanks for a fun day of Groupon adventures Grammy!  By the way, if she signs up for roller derby her name will be Gram "Bone" Cracker.

Our Travels to Destination I: Boise (Part 2)

We made it!  This is our last move until we move to Colorado to start residency!  It took us about a week to get from Durango to Boise, and it was a jam-packed week.  We got to Salt Lake City late Sunday night, and Clark flew out the next morning to Des Moines to take his final exam to earn his Master's Degree in Anatomy.  This was a big test...a pass/fail situation that determined if he would get the degree or not.  He flew back to Salt Lake Wednesday and got an email later that afternoon saying that he had passed with flying colors!  Yahoo!!!  What a relief!  We were so excited!

While in Utah we got to spend time with my Grandpa and Nada, they were so nice to open the Turpin Hotel to us for so many nights.  We got to spend an afternoon with Kelly and cute Sara.  We spent a few nights with Weston and Erica and got to see their amazing progress in their home renovation.

With Erica we went to Temple Square and took the boys to the Book of Mormon children's exhibit at the Church History Museum.  It was amazing!

 We got to be there to celebrate James' graduation for his Master's Degree in Engineering from BYU.

I call this one the bitter beard face.

That weekend James took us out for a ride in his boat.  Despite the chilly water James, Clark and my mom all skied, and the boys played in the water.

Yes that is snow on those mountains!  (And the BYU Y)

Little EE was so warn out he fell asleep as we drove back to the dock.

Then I got my real treat of the week!  On Sunday my Dad, Clark and the boys returned to Boise.  Clark gave me a few days off to spend with my mom in Salt Lake.  We had a great time!  We had to set our alarms every morning just to make it to breakfast by 9 am.  We shopped at the new City Creek, ate yummy food, and went to 2 plays!  What a fun little getaway for me.    

Erica and Erica joined us for a night at Desert Star.

We are so happy to be in Boise now and for Clark to start his FINAL rotation!