Kids in a tree...how can it be?

So, I went outside one day and saw this nutty view.  Yes, all three kids are perched in a tree reading:)

This is what I saw when I looked out the window at 6:30 a.m.

I have three kids that will occasionally shut doors after they get out of the car.  I have to say that I have NEVER had a problem with forgetting to shut a car door, so, it's hard for me to remember to check to see if THE DOOR IS SHUT when they get out of the car.  Luckily, I also have a car that has a battery that is robust enough to last rhough the night and still start when we got in the car to drive to school:)

Don't you just love a good pumpkin patch?

I am always charmed by a field full of orange pumpkins!  We left with several great pumpkins--but not without examining almost every pumpkin in the field. 

Hanging Flowers

We were in Leavenworth this summer and I found these fantastic hanging plants.  The pictures just don't do them justice-- I was stunned by their beauty.  Someday, I am going to have a substantial enough front porch to have hanging plants like these hanging by my front door!

Life is a maze

There must be some life analogy in here somewhere.  Several cousins went through the maze, some got through it in minutes, others wandered around until they were "found" by their helpful cousins.  I stood on a platform above it and watched them all wander at different paces and try different routes until they were all safely out. 

Seth's baptism

Seth got baptized just after we got home from England.  He had to wait a month, but he really wanted to get baptiszed at home so that he could have his cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents there.  Seth's friend Keaton waited until Seth got home to be baptized so that they could get baptized together.  Between the Johannesen and Skiles families, it was a large group!

The Johannesen Family Annual Caroling Event

We visited a few rest homes and caroled our hearts out.  Dad was the tenor and base section this year. 

Caroling for Dad

We went caroling tonight-- our annual event-- we go to 2 Nursing Homes at their dinner time.  It's a fun tradition and we sure missed our lead tenor tonight!!!

So, we decided to virtually knock on Alan's door and carole for him when we got home:)

We are not great but our hearts are in it:)

What a FAMILY

While we were in the UK this summer, my family had a reunion (it was sad to have to miss out on the fun!) and I just came across this awesome family picture.  Most everyone was there--Cheryl and her family, Heather and her family and the Brocks are missing from the picture, but it looks like those that were there had a great time!!

Oh, and did I mention the dishes??

Ryan, Katy and I went to the factory stores to look for DISHES!! Now, I have to say that I had not been a dish shopper in the past, but these girls CONVERTED me!  What a great day.  The pictures can't even begin to capture the breath-taking factory stores.  It's probably good that the day I went shopping, I thought that I would have to figure out a way to ship my stuff home...if I'd known that the military packed and shipped 500 lbs, I would have thrown away clothes shoes etc and shipped 500 lbs of DISHES!  My self-restraint was admirable (well, that's all in how you define it, I went $150 over my original target budget :)

but, as it turned out, quite unnecessary!!

Sisters

Oh how I miss being around my sisters (and mom and nieces) !! Here's a random collection of pictures with these fabulous women.  What fun it is to be around sisters.  What a gift you each are in my life!!

Hammerton Zoo

So, we were out driving around our house one day and, in what seemed to be the middle of no where, we found a small zoo. From the outside, it looks like there's not much there, but, the tigers, camels, cheetahs, reptiles, owls, marsupials etc etc etc would beg to differ!

After we spent some time admiring animals, we headed to the play area-- and, yes, that rope climbing thing IS just as high as it looks in the pictures. Parks have all sorts of cool and dangerous things here in England where the legal system doesn't seem to run the country quite like the litigious U.S.!!

NARDIS - Seth's music adventure

The white cliffs of Dover

I love Dover-- ever since I was little and my mom read me Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, I imagined the cliffs of Dover to be grand-- they do not disappoint!!

When we have traveled to France (twice!) we have been able to get up close to these magnificent cliffs--it is an spectacular contrast to see the cliffs up against the channel

Kailey's 9!!

Kailey turned 9 on Saturday--
She wanted to go to the London Temple and then go to a castle. We headed out for the temple at 12:30 and, the 1.5 hour drive took us until 4:30!! London traffic is a sight to behold!! We got to the temple after it had closed but spent some time on the fabulous grounds and then went out to dinner. Instead of a castle, Kailey has a sweet memory of being able to experience London traffic for her birthday:(. She was thrilled with the temple and the fanfare at dinner (they turned the lights down and sang her happy birthday at the restaurant)

We had the Turners over for dinner on Sunday and celebrated with a lasagna dinner and a birthday cake.

Safefield Farm House-- our home in England

We have been living in a 100+ year old farm house in Alconbury, England. It's about 20 minutes from Cambridge. For those of you Jane Austen and Georg Elliot fans-- think Mansfield Park and MIddlemarch (well not for the manor houses, but for the location--) both books were set right in this area of England. We've had fun in this 3 story house set on 600 acres

Mother's Day Breakfast with Jordan

Jordan's class did a mother's day breakfast-- it was very sweet! Their teacher taught them how to do a hand massage, they sang songs, recited poems, and treated us to a nice breakfast. Very sweet!

Lymes Regis-- England's Jurassic Coast

We had some friends come over the other night and they mentioned they were headed camping in Lymes Regis. We hadn't heard of it-- they invited us to go along and so, two days later (and another trip to the camping store) we were headed down to the magical Jurassic Coast! We camped for 3 nights and combed the beach for fossils. Lymes Regis is the place where the first dinosaur in England was found-- it was found by Mary Ammes, she was just 12 years old at the time. When the tide is out, the dedicated fossil hunter can find amonites, dolimites, fools gold, molton rock from a volcano, quartz and sea glass. We are the proud owners of at least 40lbs of such a collection of artifacts-- how much does it cost to mail home ROCKS!! We had a great time camping with the dinosaur bones!!