Finally, the cat is out of the bag!

Finally! The cat is out of the bag. After knowing about the change since the first of July, we can now safely say to all that we are about to embark on a change. Kirk and I have accepted jobs with ConocoPhillips in Farmington, New Mexico. We finally told BP today that we are leaving the company and Alaska. My last day is Aug 7th and Kirk's is at the end of the month. It was a difficult decision to make especially since we have to say so long to so many wonderful people and this amazing state. But it's not goodbye forever and that is what we have to keep reminding ourselves everyday. It was time to get back closer to home especially now that we have Sarah.

Moving has always been a subject in the Johnson house but timing just never seemed to be right or the potential jobs weren't quite right. Our last attempt to move was in 2006 before Sarah was born when we thought we were going to move to Houston. After job hunting for a week, we decided Houston wasn't for us. At that point, any potential for a move was put on the back burner. But after Sarah was born and we took a couple of trips to Colorado, we decided it was really time to be closer to family. We made contact with a former BP co-worker now in Farmington and it took off from there. Our interview trip was over the Memorial Day weekend. It was the first time Kirk and I left Sarah overnight with anyone. She stayed with Kirk's parents in Delta, CO (3 hours from Farmington) and we headed down to interview and tour the area. Boy was that hard to leave her! Plus she was teething, had an ear infection and wasn't sleeping. That added challenge to having composure during the interview process.

Farmington will be a change for sure given it's a smaller town than Anchorage and a flatter terrain than what we are used to. I've lived next to a mountain range all my life so it will be the first time that I won't have that...instead we have to drive 45 minutes to Durango. But trust me, that is going to be one drive we will take many times to some of the best skiing in the Rockies. And it's even better that Telluride is only 2-2.5 hours north from Farmington where the skiing is great and we have family. My folks are in Denver and we will also be closer to my brothers in Phoenix and Orlando.

With that said, the chaos will now begin...

The house is now on the market as of yesterday. We celebrate our 10 year marriage anniversary Aug 8th. Right after that, we head down to Durango, CO/Farmington, NM for our house hunting trip Aug 10-18th. We are excited for the trip since we will also be able to visit our close friends Brant and Clotho who will also be in Durango for a visit with family. We plan to stay in Durango and commute to Farmington since Farmington doesn't have vacation rentals/hotel suites. We ended up renting a condo in Durango to share with Kirk's parents who will be taking care of Sarah for us during the day. THANK YOU! Once we return to Anchorage from the house hunting trip, the movers will show up to pack the house on Aug 25th and then we will be 'camping' in an empty house until mid-late September. After the movers leave, Kirk's dad will show up from CO to help Kirk fly the 182 down to Farmington while Sarah and I hang back in Anchorage. Kirk is forecasting about 10 days to get the plane down to New Mexico. Let's hope for a great trip! There are some days built into that for fishing stops along the way.

Needless to say, our heads are spinning and emotions are on a rollercoaster. The waterworks are easily turned on at times...we read our friend's blog (the Yancey's posting "One Way Ticket") and cried. We are trying to keep it together so that Sarah doesn't think her parents have lost it. (it may be too late for that already!) Stocking up on natures' prozac (vitamin B complex) is helping. ha! We will keep trying to update the blog as we go along with the process. Once the movers take the computer, we may be out of communication for a little bit. Until the next posting...

As Kirk says: Wings up, wheels down, blue skies forever

Shoes, Baskets and a Twirling Office Chair

All is well at the Johnson house. The sun has finally graced us after an extended period of straight rain and socked in weather. YAHOO! The newspaper says this is the coldest summer in a while. There is fresh snow on the peaks outside of town to boot that will hopefully be gone within a few days.

Sarah is doing well. It appears that more teeth are making their way through...two molars on the right and the next set of bottom teeth. She is doing well considering. We have great videos of her playing in the rain puddles that I need to pull off and post. But for an appetizer, below are some recent shots of her playing in the office. Her latest favorites are a basket from our friend Mikie lined with tissue paper, her shoes and the office chair that twirls. She likes to carry the shoes in the basket and walk around the house. Sometimes it's the magnetic letters from the frig instead of the shoes. She also likes to put things on the office chair and twirl them. Too cute.

She has also expanded her vocabulary and can say bubbles, "arah" for Sarah, "mmmm" for moo and ba ba can mean ball, "ba ba" as in what the sheep says or bye-bye. She also shrugs her shoulders and holds up her hands when she is looking for something.

15 Month Check up, First Haircut and other Pics

After receiving some feedback regarding Sarah's hair and Kirk also feeling it was time we had Sarah's hair cut for the first time last night. The 'ram horn' curls in the back were starting to get unruly. Though it took some convincing, I eventually got on board. So we took her to Great Clips. The beautician placed the booster seat in the chair and we thought we would try to see if Sarah would sit on her own. She did - and loved it! The beautician gave us a card with pieces of her hair to remember the event. The cut turned out cute and the ram horn curls are gone for now.

During the hair cut:

Ta Da - the new Princess Peanut!

We went to see the doctor today for her 15 month well child visit and shots. She is now:

Weight: 23 lb 2 oz (50-75th percentile)

Height: 31-3/4" (75-90th percentile)

She was quite emotional through the whole thing for whatever reason - must have been too close to the lunch hour. She is now good with shots until 2 years.

Here are some other recent pictures:

Action shot of Sarah coming down her new slide. Since the Alaska summer has been less than ideal, the slide has seen more inside than outside days.

At the Anchorage Zoo carrying her rain suit at the Brown Bear exhibit.

Walking her duck that Grandpa Len made for her.

Removing the entire contents of my wallet:

Her new walk lately - the inspector with her hands behind her back. Too cute!

Arctic Thunder

After living in Alaska for over 10 years, Kirk was finally able to attend the Arctic Thunder Air Show at the Elmendorf Air Force Base last weekend. Sarah and I missed out because of other commitments. Check out some of the great shots Kirk captured.

Videos and Ketchup

Here are two short clips of Sarah we finally took off the video camera. Enjoy.

Sarah's Bike Helmet:

Sarah's Belly:

We also found today the secret to getting your toddler to eat something they really don't want to - ketchup. I couldn't understand why Sarah wouldn't touch her chicken nuggets at home but would take second helpings at day care...until today. If the nugget is presented in it's plain old fashion, it's a no go. But with a nice red hue, it's all good. Once the secret was revealed, we put ketchup on the halibut we were trying to feed her at lunch in addition to the chicken nuggets. Ketchup on pasta, soy beans and corn is also good. Yum Yum.

More words and body part identification!

I mentioned in an earlier post that Sarah is starting to expand her vocabulary. It's amazing what each day brings. She is now saying: bye-bye and when asked to say doggie she proceeds with "uoof, uoof, uoof". She can also tell you what a monkey says "ooh, ooh, ooh". Too cute. She is obsessed with her belly lately. If you ask her where her belly is, she will pull up her shirt and show you...unless she is wearing a onesie in that case she proceeds to get royally irritated because she can't show you. She can point out her nose (most of the time by picking it with her little finger), eyes (but again most of the time pokes her eyes), head, hair and sometimes ears.

The day care tries to sign to the kids and she has picked up a couple of basics either there or here at home. So we try to keep it up. She is really good at doing the sign for more. But it seems she does it to not only indicate hunger and when she wants more crackers but also when she wants more of something else like playing, etc. She can do the sign for finished but just shakes her hands instead of the illustration. We are trying to teach her please but so far it's been more of a belly rub.

Words!

Sarah is starting to expand her vocabulary lately beyond the usual "mama" and "dada". Her latest words are: nana for banana, car, ba for ball and gurt for yogurt. It seems everyday she picks up something new - it's great!