Thanksgiving Weekend!

The Johnson Clan - all of us...wow.

This is the first time that our entire mini-clan has been able to be together at the same time in almost two years. It was a lot of fun!

Perhaps I shouldn't do this, but this is going to be the picture for our first-ever Christmas Card/update letter that we'l send out. I'm so excited that we're actually thinking ahead this year.

This was truly one of the highlights of the weekend for my family. My grandma made the trek from LeMars to see my brother's and our families...it was just great.

It is so hard to get all of the kids to sit down for a picture together, so when they were a bit worn from all of the other pictures, we pounced on that opportunity.

Prior to this occasion, I'd only seen this little guy once. My nephew is about the same age as Noah, and it was fun to see them run around and play.

Both of my boys loved playing with Amelie and Isaiah. It was just a blessing for me to be a part of that too seldom event.

Micah was overwhelmed and excited about all of the shoes. He's just started an organization faze...it's pretty amusing to watch.

A gathering of our families wouldn't be complete without a bit of quartet singing. This year's venue was to celebrate the engagement and upcoming wedding of one of my cousins. Let's just say that the song was funny, mostly at my cousin's expense :).

Another of the more fun traditions is that of the annual disc-golf game. We have a traveling disc-trophy for the winner of the game to hold onto until the next round. This year it was the game of the frozen not-so-tundra.... Man, it was cold and that wind was brutal.

Nap time on Saturday. I went in to make sure that Noah slept...but apparently the plan backfired, and Noah tucked me in with his buddies before leaving. This picture just makes me smile.

Fall and the Trip to TRF

One Van, Two Crazy Boys, Three Locations, Four Days, Five Pots of Coffee, Six Grandparents, and hundreds of miles...

So, Micah's new thing is to put his clothes on…well, upside down.

And he likes to be very silly and pose for his family…crazy boy

Noah is infatuated with his belly button and his nose…. The similarity is that he likes to stick things in both places. It's hilarious

Hannah doing one of her four best things (I don't have a picture of her other three telents: pooping, eating, or pooping).

Micah sure loves his sister…it's pretty cute to see them interact.

This was an over-the-shoulder shot in the car ride down to Iowa. We decided to put both boys way in the back in an effort to make them happier for the ride. It worked, for the most part. But when it didn't work…it REALLY didn't work. Oh well.

Noah's trying to fill his big brother's shoes (he also tries to fill mine, Steph's, and anyone else who leaves their footwear unattended).

Micah was going crazy outside! He would spin all around throwing the ball.

Grandma's favorite thing to do with her grandchildren.

Adventures on different terrains in the back of some friend's house.

Sometimes the adventures turned to a wrestling match…and frequently, Noah doesn't like that too much.

But when grandpa Johnson gets involved, then it's a blast.

Stephanie and I went on a date on Saturday night. The waitress at Lollies East Side was surprised that we were married because we were holding hands. It was pretty fun to hear that.

Grandpa and the boys went to Hy-Vee for doughnuts on Sunday morning.

Micah bult many creations, so I had to include one of the pictures that he comissioned.

Grandpa Johnson lives for this…

…and this too.

Hannah was introduced to two of her Great-Grandmas this weekend.

Don't grandma's just look beautiful with their great-grand daughter?

Can't you just hear Noah's squeal of excitement and see his desire to chase Micah?

I just thought that this pic was cute because of the lighting…