Spring Break Fun!

We enjoyed a nice weekend with my oldest brother and his family who came to visit from Phoenix. We spent the majority of the weekend at Durango Mountain Resort (i.e., Purgatory). Everyone, with the exception of Sarah, my sister-in-law and I, enjoyed either skiing, snowboarding or both. The entire weekend was filled with blue bird days which was great. We also had the little ones out to enjoy the sun on sleds, though Sarah really didn't want to ride the sled but would rather pull it along. Even Daisy the golden retriever was able to join in on the fun and get one sled run down the hill.

Sledding at the end of the day.

Sarah and I enjoying the sunshine. Just chillin as we watched Hayden and Jack during their snowboarding lesson.

Sarah would rather pull the sled empty then let you pull her along. Very risk adverse little girl.

Hayden and Jack snowboarding for the first time.

All the kids piled into the play room before bedtime.

We also enjoyed a combo birthday celebration while everyone was in town to celebrate Sarah, my brother and my sister-in-law's birthdays which all fall in the last week of March/first week of April. Everyone enjoyed princess cupcakes especially our little girl dressed up as a princess for the occasion. Kirk and I will celebrate Sarah's birthday again on the day, March 30th, with a smaller celebration and gifts.

Enjoying the final stretch

All is well with the Johnsons. We have about 6 more weeks to go before Baby J #2 arrives. We are excited but at times feel somewhat panicked by the fact that our days are numbered until we will have two kiddos to raise. The pregnancy is still going well though I do feel bigger and slower these days especially by the end of the day. The baby is very active and continues to tap dance on my bladder most of the time. So I'm wearing a path to the restroom both at work and home.

We've been spending time on the weekends relaxing and doing spring type chores like trimming bushes, blowing leaves, fixing gutters, etc. so that it's done before the baby arrives. Sarah is a big helper in the yard. The weather has also been nice allowing more frequent trips to the parks. Sarah's 'school' has their Spring Program tomorrow evening so we will post pictures of her all dolled up soon. She has been singing up a storm at home these days with the new numbers they've taught the kids.

We are excited for next weekend when my oldest brother and his family will be here from Phoenix for a long ski weekend in Durango. We managed to get a town home at the Durango Mountain Resort with access to the lodge which will be so nice for the adults and kids. We can't wait!

Picture of Sarah and I at Berg Park on the bridge over the Animas River. Kirk and I felt bad that we didn't have too many 'belly' shots this time around, so we decided to document the next few outings.

Sarah playing with the baby papasan that we pulled out to clean and have ready. The rule is only baby sister or Sarah's baby dolls are allowed in the chair. So while boy baby rests snug as a bug, Sarah enjoyed her snack.

Sarah is all about dressing herself lately. And before nap on the weekends, she will de-pants herself and run around in her panties. Her latest obsession is her shinny black shoes that I bought last year in Phoenix that now finally fit her which will be great for the Spring Program.

Everyone is resting with their blankets.

Playing and 'hiking' at the park.

Great News!

After days of hard work by an incredile amount of people (friends, family, state troopers and various organizations), Alan Gage was found yesterday afternoon. Our prayers and thoughts continue to be with Dalon and the boys.

A sad time...

While we were in Albuquerque on Sunday getting ready to leave the hotel, I noticed at the bottom of the news a headline running across the ticker about someone with ConocoPhillips Alaska who was killed in an avalanche. Kirk's Blackberry was out of juice so we couldn't Google to find out more until we got home. We did so Sunday evening once the dust settled and Sarah was in bed only to find out that ConocoPhillips lost their Alaska president and our next door neighbor in Alaska, Alan Gage, was missing due to an avalanche in the area where they were snow machining. Kirk and I sat in shock and sadness. Both Alan and his wife are born and raised Alaskans and are absolutely wonderful people. They took care of us like no other the weeks and days leading up to our departure from Alaska to New Mexico. And Sarah loved their two boys, ages 3 and 5, who are spiting images of their father and have his adventurous spirit.

We made contact with Dalon, Alan's wife, at the beginning of the week. What an incredible woman! Her strength and collective nature is truly impressive. We are thankful they have an incredible support network of family and friends surrounding them at this time. The search and rescue teams finally made it out today after waiting an entire week due to extreme weather conditions and high avalanche danger. We hope and pray with each day that the rescue teams are safe and a speedy recovery of Alan is in the near future. Our prayers and thoughts are with Dalon and the boys each minute of every day. For more information and updates, those with facebook can join two groups: Friends and Family of Alan Gage and Gage Recovery Efforts. Please pray for the Gage family.

http://www.adn.com/front/story/1148765.html

Valentine's Day Weekend

We enjoyed a nice weekend in Albuquerque last week. We stayed across the street from the Uptown shopping area which was a convenient to walk across the street to some of our favorite shops and great food. It was nice to be able to visit Borders books like old times on both Friday and Saturday night. Sarah did well at the hotel with sleeping in a double bed on her own like a big girl. We brought our portable bed rails and lined them with pillows to make it difficult to roll off the bed. She loved it! We visited the zoo and aquarium which were hits with Sarah. She had a great time at both but I think her experience at the aquarium topped the weekend. Sarah is a brave little girl (much more brave than her mother) and pet a baby sting ray four times. She will tell you how big and brave she is too which is cute. We look forward to our next opportunity to return to Albuquerque most likely with baby sister in tow.

Everyone is doing well otherwise with health, work, 'school', etc. I have an appointment on Friday for a check up. When folks ask how I'm doing, my response has been "I'm large and in charge". The baby is very active and seems to favor one side over the other with kicks and pokes. My lower back and pelvic areas still remind me that I'm pregnant especially if I walk a bunch during the day. I've started my nesting a bit this weekend with gathering the necessities needed for the baby's arrival. I've managed to misplace or give away a few items that I had to break down and buy today. And I'm feeling the need to clean every nook and cranny in the house. :-)

Quick update...more to come

Just a quick update on life in the Johnson household.

All is well with everyone on the mend from the latest round of illness except for Ms. Sarah who is in the midst of another mild ear infection. So we are wondering if our follow-up appointment with our family practice doctor later in the month should include a revisit of the ear in tubes discussion.

Baby J is doing well. I met the OB who will deliver the baby and I love her. She made me feel super comfortable instantly. We scheduled the delivery for Thursday, April 22nd. Baby J will join the rest of the Cristofano and Johnson family who seems to occupy the months of March, April and early May with birthdays. I failed my first glucose test so spent half a day last week in the hospital doing a 3-hour glucose tolerance test. I found out today that I passed with flying colors which was great news. So I will continue on with eating various holiday treats (in moderation of course, ha ha ha).

We are off to Albuquerque at the end of the week, fingers crossed, for the first time. We have our sights set on the zoo, aquarium, shopping and dinner at PF Changs. We are looking forward to the change in scenery.

Busy Month

It's been a busy month and I can't believe January is almost gone. Here's a brief catch up...

I was able to resurrect my mommy vacation, that was originally scheduled for September, to Anchorage the first week of January. I flew north for 4 busy days of visiting friends, shopping, pedicures and eating at some of my favorite restaurants. I brought my camera with the intention of taking several pictures but remembered after the fact even though I was carrying it the whole time. But I did manage to get one picture of our old house to show Kirk the changes done by the new owner (which look great). Kirk and Sarah did well at home and it helped that I prepared meals in advance for easy warm up after long days at work and daycare. I had a wonderful time and look forward to our next trip in the future. Seeing my girlfriends was the perfect therapy a soon to be second time mom really needed!

Once I returned home, work went into hyper drive for both Kirk and I. I'm excited that a leadership workshop I facilitated to kick off integrated operations went very well last week and the bosses were pleased. Work should slow down a bit towards the end of the month but pick up early February. I did provide notice to my supervisor that my last day in the office will be the first of April. I was able to work out a one year leave of absence with the company which was nice to leave the door to return partially open. I'll use the remainder of April to nest and get things ready for the baby's arrival (plus get a couple of last minute massages in). Right now the 39th week is April 19th. So sometime that week, baby Johnson #2 will arrive unless she decides earlier is best.

As far as baby goes, all is well. We are both growing in size. My lower back is still reminding me that I'm pregnant along with the sciaticia. I had a minor melt down after my last appointment when I found out my doctor of choice was going to be in Spain the week of April 19th therefore, would not be performing my surgery. So, I will have the opportunity to meet another doctor in the practice on Friday to hopefully start establishing a relationship over the next three months. I was proud of myself for keeping it together in the doctors office when he told me he would be gone and waited until I got to my car to let the waterworks flow and snot fly while I babbled to Kirk on the phone. Ugh, so frustrating.

We enjoyed a nice dump of snow this past week. It reminded us of Alaska with the daily snow and shoveling. Sarah was loving it as well!

Finally, I'm on the mend from another round of sinus and middle ear infection which followed me home from Alaska. The middle ear infection came with a bulging ear drum on the verge of bursting. That made hearing out of my left ear difficult but Kirk and I tried to make light of it though he had to repeat himself more than usual.

Sarah enjoying the snow.

Our little artist.