Birthday Bike

Marmee and Buelo Phil gave Zara her next big girl bike for her birthday this year. Here she is taking it for a test drive. Looking good, Z!

Happy 7th Birthday, Zara!

Zara chose to go to Triple C on her birthday this summer (we offered she could stay home from camp that day, but she declined). We were planning the usual evening celebration at Red Robin, but to start her day off right we all had birthday blueberry muffins and sang her happy birthday at 7:30 in the morning. The zebra bandana (which, curiously, she is also wearing, as a babushka, on her sixth birthday) was an accessory for "wild west" dress up day at camp. She also had a sheriff badge that said "birthday gal" (sadly, not pictured).

Amity's First Haircut

Amity has been asking to have her hair cut for awhile now. Wes has been on board but I've been dragging my heels. Finally, I gave in. I will miss her adorable curl (of course we saved it!) but have to admit her hair looks very cute now (though ponytails are a bit harder). She was a champ, sat relatively still while Wes, in family tradition, gave her her first haircut. Notice the hypnotic effect the movie they are watching has on not just Amity but Zara, too.

The wooded path (connecting parts of the Monticello Trail)

We were feeling inspired to take a little hike, but wanted to do something close (under 10 minutes from home) and yet somehow also novel. The answer turned out to be the lovely, berry speckled (and boy did we eat a lot of berries) path that is a "short" (actually I'm pretty sure it is longer) cut between 2 parts of the Monticello trail. Along the way we found this plaque, which I'm pretty sure hardly anyone ever sees... but hey, novel. Mission accomplished.

Amity's First Day of Camp

Here are 3 glimpses of Amity's first ever day at CBI. In the first picture, she and Zara are getting ready to head out to their respective camps. The second and third pictures were taken by Jill at CBI after Wes dropped Amity off, to show that yes, in fact, Amity was having a good time. We've heard nothing but great things from Amity and her counselors Emily and Gemma. Double bonus is that Emily will be one of her preschool teachers this Fall. Ah, we're all happy to be back at CBI!

(Rising) 2nd Grader

Another year at Johnson's come and gone, and her stands Zara, ready to conquer all of the challenges 2nd grade has to offer.... after summer vacation.

Unusually Large Diploma, Framed

Unusually large diplomas require unusually larger frames. Thanks to M and P for this graduation gift. It is the only one I have framed so far, and in fact both of my previous Michigan diplomas could fit, together, in this one frame.

Sandbox

We've had this play structure set up in the backyard for awhile now. However, we left the sandbox portion sand-free as the youngest member of the family has been in a sand-eating phase. Now that she's pushing 2 and a half, we figured we'd give it a go. So far, so good, though we need to get a bit more sand. The first round was 9 bags (50lbs each) and the suspension in the Prius was NOT loving the added weight.... we've got two more bags to add in now. We'll likely also need some sand toys/containers/play things, though the girls seem amused enough, for now, with just experiencing the sand. Score!

Hodge Girls

This is the day Marmee left to go back to Australia. We always have lots of fun when she comes to visit. Next time around our gang is planning to go see her (and Buelo Phil, and perhaps Uncle Brian) in Brisbane. But for now, here's the four of us girls. Anyone see a family resemblance?