Life and Times of The Johnston family: Presidents To A Birthday Bash!

Monday was Presidents Day and last year it didn't go so well so I was worried for this year...I wasn't sure how to approach it and present it so it would be fun and interesting. So school time came and I started into my spiel that it was presidents day and why we celebrate it. It went pretty good and she seemed more interested this year, then later when she was doing ABC Mouse they had a special song and story about Mount Rushmore and the presidents there, Elizabeth listened to the story everyday that week. She loved hearing about them! She also remembered talking about the president of the United States from when we were discussing the election, which seemed to aid in her interest of learning about past presidents. I'd say it went much better this year...YAY! She also solidified her ability to recognize numbers to 100 and beyond! So all in all I'd definitely say school that week was a success! Tuesday was dance and tumbling, Tony met me there to bring Elizabeth home so I could go with my mom to our Relief Society activity which was a get to know you dinner. It was a really neat idea! There were 4 courses and everyone switched tables after each course, so we got to visit, and get to know lots of different gals! Then after dinner we sat in a big circle and introduced ourselves, then after that we all pulled a question out of a basket and had to answer it about ourselves. We went around the circle twice...it was really fun! My mom and I were both very glad we went! Wednesday was a super hard day for me with the kids. They are seriously suffering from cabin fever from this terrible winter we've have! And they were driving me crazy!! So Tony and I decided to use a coupon we had for a local Fun Center for a pizza, pop and 2 hours of bowling, and we invited my parents to get out and have some fun with us. And we had SO much fun!!! Tony won both games, I lost both games(I seriously suck at bowling, but still manage to have fun ;)) My parents did pretty good themselves! Elizabeth loved it, and Devin even enjoyed himself! It was a great night and perfectly served its purpose. Thursday was just a typical day. Friday my mom took us to lunch at the Davis School District's little lunch cafe that's in the Freeport Center. It was really yummy! It was a very fun Friday thing! After lunch I put Devin down for his nap then my mom did a Spanish lesson with Elizabeth which she thankfully did better for this week! Then we went "home", ya know....downstairs ;), and Elizabeth was playing, a while later she came to me and told me she was freezing and sat in front of our space heater. Then all through t.v. time she complained that every part of her body hurt. When she started physically shaking I asked her what was wrong and she told me she really didn't feel good and just wanted to sleep and just like that was passed out....it was crazy! So I took her temperature which was at 103.5. I called her pediatrician office and because she was under 5 and has asthma they wanted to check her out, and of course they could see her in an hour which is how long it takes to drive there(in good traffic) so I rushed to get us ready my mom graciously watched Devin for me and we were off to St. Marks(the office is located in their Women's Center) we got there only four minutes late and Elizabeth slept the entire way, and fell asleep again as soon as I set her down in a chair in the waiting room! They tested her for the scary bad flu that's been going around and for Strep and a bladder infection...all of which came back negative. So the dr told me to just watch her and hopefully it would just run its course. She slept all the way home, I picked up the happy meal I promised her if she'd let the dr swab her nose and throat(as she was terrified to let them do it...and for good reason as both of those are horrible!) We got home and she just fell asleep in the kitchen chair in front of her dinner so I put her on her couch(which was folded out to a bed) and let her watch a couple shows, gave her ibuprofen and put her to bed. She woke up Saturday morning fully recovered and as good as ever! So we're assuming it was a nasty 24 hour flu bug that she just had to sleep off. So we all went to Lowe's to pick up her Build and Grow kit(for her and Tony to do together at a more convenient time) and few other things we needed. Then it was up to Riverdale to hit up the Zurchers party store to get the stuff for Devin's 2nd birthday which is 6 days from today!!! We found everything we need to have a fun Toy Story party. Then we went to the Walmart up there and picked up birthday presents for our 3 year old niece and nephew(from different families) and cash for our older nephews' birthdays. That night we headed to the Classic Fun Center in Sandy for the big February and Devin's birthday bash(since Devin's birthday is only 3 days into March we combine him with the other four February birthdays) IT WAS SOOOO MUCH FUN!!! Our kids loved the bounce houses(Devin had to be with Tony...he wouldn't go by himself, but then he loved it!) Matt(Tony's brother who was graciously hosting everyone) got some pizzas for dinner which Devin didn't touch and we could only get Elizabeth to eat half a piece(I hate mealtimes!) Then Tony on rollerblades took Elizabeth around on her scooter, and Devin rode his firetruck by our tables. Because it was his birthday Devin got to spin the prize wheel...and he won THE GRAND PRIZE!! Which was ten bucks! GO DEVIN!! Then Tony took him in the little tube where they blow fake dollars all around you while you attempt to grab them. Devin didn't scream but he did not like or appreciate it either! Tony did manage to grab like 36 "dollars" which translated into tickets. Then we went over to the arcade and let the kids play some games and ride some of the little rides, where we earned a few more tickets. Then we went and traded in our tickets for some little prizes. Devin got a little blue spotted dog we can turn into a necklace, a yellow car and a construction worker little rubber duckie. Elizabeth got a pink little dog, a purple small mermaid doll and a pink small barrel of monkeys...not a bad haul I'd say! Oh and also in there we also had Devin open his presents, he started a bit earlier than the others cause he was getting bored and being difficult so his aunt Ketty brought his gift from them...which was the best present EVER! It's a bag she made that we filled with the Toy Story figures she gave him...he LOVED it! He also got a cute outfit from his great grandma(she gave him and his cousin Carson matching outfits!) and one from his Aunt Alicia and Uncle Derek(and family). His Uncle Matt and Aunt Steph(and family) got him a super cute church outfit that we're going to use for his Christmas outfit this year(as it's 3T and he won't get to that size this "cold" season) but he is going to look SO good in it! Grandma and Grandpa gave him a fun magnet shapes tow truck from IKEA, and his Uncle Russell and Aunt Alicia(and family) gave him a nice soft nerf soccer ball which was a favorite along with the Toy Story stuff. It was a kinda crazy...but super fun birthday bash night!! Oh and I should mention it snowed most of the day so we didn't have the best travel conditions but we made it safely both ways. Sunday the kids did well at church(although Elizabeth did sass her teacher a bit which she was given a stern talking to about...sometimes I don't know what to do with that girl!) But her teacher was very impressed with her knowledge of baptism, which made me proud! Oh and we were officially called as the Bear den leaders in sacrament so there ya go that's our new calling. Tony couldn't be more excited! I'm going to enjoy in once I get into the groove of it I'm sure! We ended the night with a movie night, we let Devin pick and he of course chose Toy Story (I decided on Toy Story 2). And that was our week!

These are some pictures of the kids looking at blog posts from about a year and a half ago...they spent almost an hour doing this!