Iowa, Water, St Paul, Coffee, Track, and Family Pictures

On cold winter days in 2008....

Some days, the normal reading of books needs to take on a new twist....or pose.

There may even be some sibling snuggle-time or quiet fun...

But no matter what, there is always running...

...and running

Perhpas they'll be a "field trip" to go see a new baby.

I think it can do mamma's good to see other kids - as long as they're well behaved :)

Picture opportunities were sparse at grandpa and grandma's

Opportunities had to be made when the children were being...contained.

And no matter what, there's always time for snow....

at least there should always be time for snow

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