dog sock

keeping a sock on a dogs foot (because of a nasty sore he keeps licking) is harder than it looks.

sometimes...

sometimes large, carefully groomed pots of petunias along a small town road are breathtaking

sometimes finding a bootleg, outlawed in california merry go round, in a tucked away park 

can be the highlight of a road trip. 

sometimes its hard to understand why cars like this were built in the first place

sometimes you have to be reminded that everything in utah closes on sunday

sometimes hand made, hokey life sized dinosaurs are actually kind of endearing

sometimes vintage signs are pretty fun to look at

sometimes you should re-think buying a black car

sometimes being inside a tee pee is pretty cool

sometimes you just have to stand in awe of an artist who was not afraid of taking on a large project

sometimes you have to appreciate others differences and love them for it

sometimes its good to marvel at the good works and talents of others

sometimes a filet o fish and fries tastes really good, especially in the company of rugged 

 cowboys with manure on their boots

sometimes a walk by a sparkling lake and the shade of a pine tree is magic

sometimes you just gotta embrace your faults

sometimes when you see beauty like this you know there is God

sometimes there are certain things you just gotta see

sometimes the colors in nature are simply amazing

sometimes shorts and flip flops dont work, even in july

sometimes buffalo hold up traffic for miles, and dont care

sometimes your camera focuses on the wrong thing and it turns out good anyway

sometimes baby bison are adorable...just glad we didnt get killed by his mom

sometimes the quiet of walking through a graveyard is good for the soul

sometimes putting your feet in a natural hot spring feels divine

sometimes it pays to look up when you are touring a 100 year old courthouse

sometimes when youre told to take an extra hour to see some beautiful scenery...you do it

and sometimes you do something on a whim

and sometimes it turns out alright

poor mortals are we

i cant let a july 24th go by without remembering my niece jessica.

that is her on the far right, perched next to my little emma (complete with her scotty dog sweatshirt and leggings)...all of us (shanna, aenon and melissa from left to right) in 3d glasses ready to watch a little michael jackson at disneyland.

she was called home on july 24th, 15 years ago.

and she was ready for that next new chapter in her life.

and yes, i say life, because she is very much alive...and well.

much better off than us poor mortals.

like grandma henrie used to say, she was ready to move on to the next adventure.

jessica was just more ready and more prepared than the rest of us.

and that is a good thing.

here we go again

its starting again...

so excited for a new season, even though we have no goalie.

who needs a goalie anyway?

and yes, that is my boy, the one with the big thighs, and the big gut...number 13.

lets hope he gets a new number.

im not superstitious or anything.

june gloom gone

so this was last week.

notice the sweatshirts?

now it is 95.

can we stop with the extremes?

sleepy head

been having trouble sleeping lately.

dont know whats wrong with me.

today i made it till the alarm went off at 6am.

red letter day.

usually when i awaken unexpectedly, the number i see on the clock starts with a 3 or a 4.

sometimes even a 2.

then it becomes impossible to fall back to sleep.

did i say impossible?

truly impossible.

maybe its cuz i always have some creature in bed with me,

whether it be some little blonde chatty girl,

or a large dog.

and just maybe i will miss that one day,

and if i didnt have that, i wouldnt sleep at all.

motley crew

this is an early morning run to brueggers with a bunch of boys who

first talked me into driving them by the house they had tee peed the night before...

(of course i had no idea this was going on at midnight)

unfortunately it had all been cleaned up 

(their gardeners happened to be the lucky ones assigned that task)...

and remind me to buy toilet paper the next time i go to costco.

then sawyer asking as he was getting out of the car, 

"sister johnson may i borrow your uggs?" 

he was conveniently barefooted.

so glad i could be so helpful.

(i think he looks pretty darn cute in them, dont you think?)

poor max had to wait in the car with me, wrapped in the blanket he grabbed from the couch...

too bad he didnt put clothes or shoes on.

seems like there are a lot of boys very comfortable running around my house just in their underwear.

not sure if that is a good or a bad thing.

and nothing like warm brueggers in the early morning.

i wouldnt know, havent had a warm, toasted bagel in like a year.

big boys

you know, i like my men large and in charge.

known fact.

camping with girls

dropped off eden in the church parking lot for girls camp.

and this is cj...quite possibly the cutest, darlingest girl on the planet.

she has a glorious deep voice and curly long hair to die for.

and you should see her siblings.

all amazing works of art, those kids.

some people just get lucky with amazingly good genes.

then eden texted me to look in the mail for her ap scores.

i retrieved them, and anxiously opened the envelope up.

ta-da...

fives on all of them, except a mere four on us history.

such a slacker in us.

maybe thats good, eden...i am afraid you are proving to us you are mortal,

and not a supercharged human calculator complete with a motherboard on steroids.

ok, so maybe some of us got the good genes.

man time

hunter conquered half dome last week.

nothing like male bonding...

with amazing leaders and several man boys.

and a special thank you to those men who risked life and limb

to give my son an experience he will never forget.

priceless.

our flag was still there

i guess it was high time to make a batch of red, white and blue cupcakes...its been awhile.

its also a time to celebrate our freedom, our independence and our bravery as a country.

and a time to sing the star spangled banner.
and stick a twirling flag windmill in the urn by the front door.

 i am a patriotic sap.

i get teary eyed when the flag is around, and anyone in uniform walks by.
i get teary eyed when military jets fly overhead, like at the freedom festival a couple of years ago.
what is wrong with me?
there i am crying about jets...go figure.

have always been that way, and i think its not going away any time soon.
so family, you will just have to accept that your mom has a weird soft
spot for planes...especially military ones.

so for our festive celebration, we all piled in the car (all 6 of us), visited yogurtland (this was all happening at about 8:45 pm) and ventured onto the 5 freeway in search of fireworks.
driving aimlessly is more fun than you would think.
the trip was magical, as we all searched the skies for colorful bursts of light.
and surprisingly, got a great view of some great fireworks.

and to all you people out there who have served this country in one way or another...

thanks for fighting for a worthy cause.

thanks for being brave.

and thanks for putting your life on the line for something worthwhile.

my dad is one of these.

so, thanks dad.

from the bottom of my heart.
(i think the soft spot thing is inherited...yeah thats my excuse...its in the genes)

all 5

(this photo doesnt show all 5, but i liked it for some reason)

...under one roof. 

magic to a mother of young adults who are spread all over the country at times.

magic to a mother who knows all are safe, tucked in bed, like when they were little and you had full control over where they were and where they slept for that matter.

my mother used to always tell me that this time was special, that one day i would miss putting them to bed under one roof. i listened, but could not comprehend what she was trying to tell me.

now i know. 

sometimes you just have to live it to get it.

and i have come to realize lately i am a fortunate woman.

have counted my blessings maybe a little too often lately.

have realized i am blessed beyond measure despite my trials.

that the Lord has given me all of my difficulties for a reason, and that it is my responsibility

to make them positive experiences...to make something not so good, a blessing in disguise.

so that is my mission in life...to turn it around.

and one day i will look Him in the eye 

and i will say,

"i turned it around"

and i am glad i did.

but i still will be glad when all 5 are under my roof.

and am realizing...

i like the beach...very much.

died and gone to fried food heaven

i may or may not have eaten chocolate dipped bacon yesterday at the del mar fair.

i may or may not have actually enjoyed watching bootleg lifted trucks go around a dirt obstacle course.

and i may or may not have enjoyed watching one of those bootleg trucks flip over and crash, broken glass and crushed steel everywhere, driver smashed underneath the rubble (he did exit unscathed), ...and i may or may not have i cheered for him when he crawled out of the wreckage. 

oh, and the monster trucks...liked them too.

maybe i should really move to riverside.

id fit right in.

and i may or may not have eaten deep fried avocados (the best ever...cant get them outta my mind...still fantasizing a little bit about those) and a cinnamon roll with the "works" ie: loads of cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts, witnessed others eat a pile of deep fried onions, mushrooms and artichokes, a chicken sandwich made with a krispy kreme donut as the bun, a gooey slice of cheese pizza and pretzels the size of dinner plates. seriously a food fest like i have never seen before in my life. i was really tempted to experience deep fried butter, deep fried pop tarts...or the kicker, deep fried twinkies (i dont think my kids even know what a twinkie is)...but such fun to experience something new. and dane even rode rides that i never thought he would enjoy (his face as he twirled around was priceless) and took part in the whole carnival shooting water game thing, winning a large sonic the hedgehog stuffed 

animal which i had to carry the rest of the afternoon. 

can we go again?