HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Too Many Photos

I have too many darn cute photos from Christmas. It is going to take me half of 2010 to go through them all!!

Here are Gigi and Rodolfo making the most midget snowman I've ever seen.

Snowfight! :)

Christmas morning

Mindos making snow angels.

Gigi received a beauty salon from Santa. We all got our hair done by her, including Elle!

Merry Christmas Darling!

Well, baby, it's cold outside! We are sitting in a winter wonderland today and I cannot help but think tomorrow will be a white Christmas. Georgia and Rodolfo are out sledding right now and I wonder if I will ever get to finish my Christmas shopping. I have a few stragglers left on my list to buy for and was hoping I'd make it to the store today. But I'm having so much fun sitting in my warm house, watching the snow fall and listening to Gigi giggle about the sledding that I don't want to go anywhere!! Maybe I'll hit the mall in an hour or two...

Just wanted to wish you all a wonderful Christmas wherever you are. May the joy of the birth of Christ fill your hearts and transform your lives.

Merry Christmas!

love, JoDee

Cracker Nut

Here is a very small glimpse of the fun Rodolfo, Gigi and I had last night. We started our evening at the Oklahoma City Art Museum's Cafe where Gigi had a delicious PB & J sandwich and some fruit while Rodolfo and I dined on steak and tomatoe bisque. Then we headed over to the Civic Center, stopping briefly to watch some ice-skaters, before finding our comfy seats. We went to see the Nutcracker, or as Gigi keeps calling it, the Cracker Nut. Georgia was 100% enthralled by her first ballet. I have to say that the costuming was top-notch and the dance at the end of the first act was breathtaking. During intermission we had to persuade Gigi out of her seat. She didn't want to leave because she thought she was going to miss something. We explained that a little bell would sound warning us before the second act began. It was so funny when she heard that bell ring. She made a b-line for the theater, running full-speed ahead. We had to really run to catch up with her! Mr. Bear came along with us. We dressed him in a bow-tie so he would be appropriately dressed for his night out at the theater. We took a family photo by this gigantic Christmas tree, but it won't load. So, anyway, I thought a photo of Mr. Bear enjoying his lemons was better than nothing. This evening was so fantastically magical that I'm pretty sure the Cracker Nut will become a family tradition. Anyone want to come next year??? :) Oh look, the tree photo finally loaded!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Things I am thankful for in 2009:

my family
my garden and potager
sunshine
my camera
the internet
cardamom
aveda mint tea
Grover
Wally
Dr. Randine Lewis
blueberries & lemon
Elle Decor, Town & Country, Vogue
Anthropologie, Janie & Jack, Target
Hydrangeas, peonies, roses
pianos, especially player pianos
The Flavor Bible
Flaxseed Oil & Wheatgrass Shots
travel possibilities
seat warmers and electric hugs

Tennessee Family Reunion

We spent a long weekend in Tennessee relaxing and having a fabulous time hanging out with a side of the family we need to see a lot more often. Many thanks to Chris and Barbara for opening their home to us-- what a resort nieghborhood you live in! It was very touching to listen to Uncle Ronnie talk about family. His role of family patriarch suits him nicely. He reminded me a lot of Papa. Besides all of the lineage information he shared, I would like to add that if the innate stubborness of any Johnson is a clue, I'd definitely say that we descended from the William Wallace clan. :)

Georgia had a great time hanging out with all of her new-found cousins. She vividly remembers swinging with Trent and sliding with Kendal. Just today she asked me where "the boys" went to (referring to Hunter and Oliver). I had to break it to her that they were still back in Tennessee. She and Sophia had fun chasing each other around and brushing each others (and their own) hair (see photo above). But my favorite memory of Georgia and Sophia is from Big Ed's when they were licking parmesan and eating chocolate cupcakes-- what a mess indeed!

Happy 4th!

July 4th was surprisingly cool and rainy this year. The Graves invited us over for a cook out. Georgia and Ashleigh had a good-old time running around in their bathing suits even though it was a little chilly. We popped kid-friendly fireworks, ate and talked. It was very low key and relaxing. On our drive home we passed downtown just as the grand finale was shooting over the night sky. The timing couldn't have been better. Was a nice way to top off our 4th!

Memorial Day

In memory of my grandparents Byron and Muriel Johnson -- to two loving people who taught me and my sisters about patriotism, love, hard work and honor through their actions, stories, laughter and hugs, I salut you and send you kisses and hugs from Oklahoma. I miss you guys.

Easter Bunnies

We went to a little children's boutique to get Gigi and Elle's picture with a bunny rabbit for Easter. The rabbit was the furriest and most calm animal I have ever seen!!! He must have been tranquilized. I really wanted to snap pictures of Gigi while the photographer was working, but the photographer gave me the evil eye and didn't want me snapping any photos while she worked (understandably, she was, afterall, trying to sell her pictures). So, we took a few after the photo shoot while in the store. I couldn't get any great shots because Gigi was already worn out from the bunny shoot. But, here is one that I kind of like.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day (February 14) is Georgia's half birthday! On the 13th, Rodolfo and I had planned to see The Pink Panther 2 on a date night to celebrate the holiday. As usual, we were running late on the evening we planned to see the movie. We had child care arranged through our church, but we missed the start time of the child care (6:30) and so were at a loss of what to do. We still really wanted to see the movie together, and then we decided, well, why not bring Georgia along? We had never taken her to the movies before and we weren't sure how she would behave but decided to give it a try. Happily, I can type that she loved it! She sat mesmerized at the large screen and hardly blinked the entire two hours. It was a real treat for all of us! The movie was pretty hilarious, with the best scene in the Vatican.

The following day, Valentine's Day proper, we were invited to a friend's house where Gigi had the fun of cutting out brownies from a cookie sheet, decorating the brownies with icing and sprinkles, and then eating them up to her hearts content. And I had the pleasure of a nice evening's meal without having to worry about clean up. Thank you Rebecca and David for inviting us over!

Feliz Navidad!

Here is the interior of the Catholic church in the center of Retalhuleu. It is arrayed in its Christmas splendor. The tradition in Latin America is that one attends midnight mass and then returns home for a feast of traditonal food, including the ever-tempting tamale. The festivities last all night long heralded in by a string of fireworks and firecrackers at the moment the clock strikes midnight. Since there are little ones in the family right now we didn't actually go to mass. Instead we let the kids swim at Irtra and then we went to Cynthia and Hector's house for a delicious pork and tamale dinner. Which, a note on Cynthia as chef, she is an artist in the kitchen. I've had a lot of good meals, but these meals have been prepared with instuctional RECIPES or by someone who has had years of education in the culinary arts. Cynthia, on the other hand, is a natural chef and concocts the most amazing combinations of food straight from some inner source of food knowledge that she must have been born with. Ever since I met her 10 years ago she has always been working wonders in the kitchen. I remember the first turkey she served me, the pasta with eggs in Spain and now I can't get that pork dinner, with its garlic and apples out of my head. I also think that preparing wonderful meals is how she shows love to her family. It takes a lot of energy and effort to prepare the kind of meals she makes, and I know the cooking that she did over the holidays was a way to tell her brother, my husband, that she loves him very much.

Anyway, after our meal, Beatriz and Georgia performed an impromptu concert and ballet with numerous repetitions of Cielito Lindo, Los Pollitos Dicen and Doe a Deer from the Sound of Music. At midnight I rushed the girls upstairs, where Hector was sleeping, and low and behold as the fireworks were exploding we heard the distinct voice of Santa cheer HO! HO! HO! When we went back downstairs he had left all sorts of presents. Favorites were a microphone where the singers could continue their concert and for Hectorcito his train sets.

It was an exhausting, enjoyable evening. Unfortunately my photos are blurry from that night. All I have are my vivid memories, but sometimes that is enough. In the future, as the kids get older, I hope that we can attend mass. Although I am not Catholic, I love the rituals and traditions of the Catholic church especially at Christmas time.

Harvest Day

Gardens! Gardens! Gardens! That is all I have been thinking about as of late. Celebrating Thanksgiving is really just a big celebration of the year's harvest. Even though we are no longer much of an agircultural society we continue to celebrate this most American of holidays. Part of me wishes we could still feel the real "Thanksgiving" of a boutiful harvest. I love the idea, though maybe not the difficult reality, of working the earth and watching food emerge from it. I recently read Animal, Vegetal, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. The book preaches the virtues of eating locally. It is an interesting read. In it she proclaims that the only truly "American" food that our country's citizens unanimously share is the Thanksgiving meal. The Turkey, the cranberry sauce, etc. are a meal that all Americans eat and love. I've always thought that the United States had several foods unique to the States. For example, jambalya from Louisiana, bar-b-que from the Southwest and Clam Chowder from the Northeast. But. as Kingsolver points out, these are regional meals and not eaten by everyone in the country. The ubiquitous hamburger comes to my mind as another option... it is very American and very universally eaten. But, I suppose it is not the most traditional of foods if we are looking at history over the entire span of our country. Kingsolver doesn't mention the hamburger, that I recall, so I still think it could win a decent second position in the limited "American" food culture.

Anyway, to commemorate Harvest Day, Gigi made some art work of a turkey at school. Here is her piece. Isn't that so cute? They used pre-cut pieces of fabric and glued them onto the paper along with some buttons for eyes. Gigi explained to me how she laid each piece down and pressed on them with her fingers. I'm assuming she had some help with the positioning of each piece. So, it may not be 100% original artwork, but I love it all the same.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone, a few days late!

Happy Halloween 2008!

Happy Halloween! Georgia is going to be Abby Cadabby from Sesame Street today. Here is a photo of her out in our backyard this morning. Wally will be a pirate. If I get a good shot of him I'll add it to the blog as well!

Okay here is Wally's best shot. He doesn't look too happy because he wasn't. However, once he realized that wearing that costume got him a ticket out of the house and on a walk through the neighborhood he perked up quite a bit. Later that evening Rodolfo and I went to a party where we dressed up as Ceasar (Rodolfo) and a flapper (me). My mom has some of those pictures, I'll see if I can snag a few.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! Gigi turns 1.5 years old on this fun holiday! I took the top picture this past weekend to document Gigi's half birthday.

Yesterday we had lunch with a friend that I have known since before she was born! Michelle Fichtel Graves is the daughter of my parent's good friends Karen and Mike. When we were growing up we went on vacations together and, since we lived in different states, would see each other about once a year. Michelle now has an adorable 22 month old, Ashleigh. Since we both live close by we thought it would be fun to get our daughters together. And what fun we had! Ashley is so talkative and happy! She sang many songs and entertained us with complete sentences! I was so impressed. Gigi and Ashleigh hugged each other non-stop. I think they are on their way to becoming great friends!

I hope all you have a wonderful Valentine's spent with those you love.

Pigtails

I just found some photos that I forgot to post a few weeks ago. This was the first time Georgia wore pigtails. We were going to my dad's office party. I tried to make her look very Christmas-y with the red sweater and sparkling wizard-of-ozish shoes.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

On my birthday, Monday morning, we awoke to an icy wonderland outside our window. The crepe myrtles gleamed in the sun with their crystaline crown. My rose bushes, whose leaves had not yet fallen, were little green soldiers frozen in time. And all of our precious Sycamores, whose scrawny new branches have proven to be so strong against the Oklahoma wind, also succumbed to the storm. They were bowing down to the street pressed by the weight of their icy leaves. Throughout the day Gigi and I heard the sound of cracking branches and crashing limbs. All of these old trees around here took a real beating. It was humbling to be reminded again of nature's force. I like to think of it as her way of trimming the branches, but oh how she does it!

I wish I had taken pictures, but my camera was accidently left in Yukon last Saturday. However, I do have some pics I snapped of Gigi running around the Christmas tree. Just thought these might be enjoyable to put on the blog. They are, at least, pertinent to the season!

Thanksgiving

There is a lot to be thankful for this year! Topping my list are:

Sleep, macaroni & cheese, a working heater, sunshine, the internet, visits to and from the grandparents, phone calls from sisters, furry friends, health, promotions, curtains & chandeliers, baby kisses, zoo trips and of course my wonderful husband and beautiful daughter.

As the round of holiday cheer begins, I want to wish all my readers a happy and fabulous Christmas season!! May you spend it with those you love and may the joyful reason for this season fill your hearts.

love, JoDee

Happy Father's Day!

Today we celebrated Father's Day. We had a nice time hanging out at Granny & Grampy's house. Georgia gave her Papi some orange swimming shorts. Hopefully these will be put to good use at the beach this summer! Papi says that he has had a very nice day and the best gift he recieved was Georgia's beautiful smile. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

We have celebrated Mother's Day all weekend long. Yesterday the fam came over to our house for a delicious picnic on the porch. We had lots of fun chatting and joking around with everyone. Then this morning Rodolfo made me scrambled eggs with tomatoes and toast. It was very sweet of him and quite delicious. This afternoon we went over to Nana and Grandpapa's house for lunch. Aunt Mindy took tons of pictures and here are some of them.

Dress shopping

Easter dress shopping is upon us. Out of the myriad of dresses available I had to select only one. This pink dress is so cute. I purchased it thinking maybe it would be the one. It got the "best twirly dress" vote from Aunty Rebecca. But then, finally, after careful consideration, the winning Easter dress is instead the beautiful floral one below. It was chosen for its simplicity, length, collar and empire waist. We look forward to debuting this dress at the Easter parade.