Happy Labor Day!!!

We have been in school for 2 weeks already, so it feels very weird to be celebrating Labor Day this weekend. The kids are so looking forward to sleeping in on Monday....and, I have to admit, so am I. I AM NOT a morning person. I don't function without my coffee. I sip it VERY slowly because I don't want it to empty too quickly. I've tried making another pot, but my nerves just get wired and I'm shaking like a drug addict going through withdrawl. One, large cup is good for me. What is my ideal time to wake up, you ask? Between 8:00 and 8:30a.m. I just can't sleep past 8:30...though I try my darndest. I enjoy getting up before the kids, however, making coffee for Chuck and I, fixing a big breakfast, watching a non-cartoon for an hour or so. Ahhhhh....Saturday mornings are the best.
Friday nights are also a family favorite. The end of the week, Dad's home early from work, we either eat out this night or order pizza, maybe a movie night. One of the things the boys like to do is sleep on the couch downstairs. Our bedroom is downstairs and I think they just like to be closer to us. Tanner, of course, doesn't admit that, but he says he sleeps better down there. ;)
Not sure what's in store for tonight. Chuck and I still haven't done anything for our 19th Anniversary, and we've been talking about going to a beautiful wine bar by the lake. We'll see. I'll post pics if we decide to go.
Tomorrow we have the first high school football game. Allison is in the marching band and performs at the game tomorrow. It still seems strange to cheer for the 'Cougars' rather than the 'Cardinals' from back home. But soon we will be singing along when they play the school song, and wearing blue and gold rather than red, black and white. :(
Also, this weekend in Denver is 'The Taste of Colorado'. I would LOVE to attend this festival. There's nothing like a festival of food. That's all I want to do at fairs and carnivals anyway...just eat the food. I never seem to get full at these things. Our family has stopped eating out during the week altogether, so during the weekend it's definitely a treat to have someone else make the meal for us. We have saved quite a bit of money eating at home....duh....But it has been a tough change. The kids, mostly. They beg to just go through a drive-thru....any drive-thru, but we've been pretty strict about it. I've been trying to vary our meals every night, but I think all of my meals contain pasta! I must have been craving it when I made the menu for the week. :) Next week will have to be pasta-free....o.k. maybe one night of pasta. :) It's my favorite....
As far as how school's going? I think it's going pretty well for the kids so far. Ashley's the only one that I hear who HATES it. She hates school altogether...wherever it may be. She's slowly meeting new people, and learning their personalities. Her favorite class is Theater Arts. She came home yesterday saying that class that day was amazing! The students get up in front of class and perform, and she LOVES it. Can't get enough of it. I'm so excited that she's found something that she can really get into.
Alli is enjoying her time in school, and with her new friends. She's really liking the band kids...she calls them band geeks, and yes, she's one of them and proud of it. She seems so happy all the time (except when she has to work) and I'm so glad. Do you remember how hard of a time she gave us when we decided to move here? Who knew it would change so quickly?
Tanner has to get up and out the door by 7:00 a.m. to catch the bus. That is the only complaint I hear from him about school. He's been great at getting his homework done right after school, too. Him and I have our run-ins quite often...especially when I'm tired. We feed off of each other, unfortunetly, on those days. If anything is wrong, it's always Mom's fault. Some days it can get very old. I just have to remember to keep my voice calm and quiet. Very hard.....Otherwise he's making friends at school, too, and says that everyone here is really nice. Whew.....
Mitch loves everything about school. He starts soccer next week and is soooo excited about it. He has a good friend that lives up the street from us, and they play after school quite a bit. He's trying to get over his first cold of the season. His nose is so stuffy...poor thing.
Otherwise, work for Chuck is good. He's very busy...but getting more computer time than he likes. :) He'll need some fresh air this weekend, and we live in the perfect area for that. It looks like hiking will be on the schedule. As for me, I'm trying to land a job. Who knew that finding something would be this hard? Everyone, wish me luck....I need it. I've been knitting, too, and thinking of heading to a few consignment stores to see if they will carry my knitted hats, mittens, and slippers for kids. Fingers crossed....
I hope all have a very fun-filled, safe, relaxing Labor Day weekend. And I pray that all the kids that start school next week have a safe week, also.

Adam and Maja's wedding

I'm finally getting pictures on here of my brother's beautiful wedding. I took off to Spokane on Friday evening, and returned home on Monday night. It was a great, hot and very fun weekend. I stayed with Adam and Maja to 'help' with Luci. I don't know how much I helped them....but it sure helped ME---I got to kiss her all day long. She is a complete doll, even though she was a little scared of me at first.

Meeting Maja's family was really special, too. What a great, warm and welcoming family they are. Their house is in the midst of a huge remodel, but they welcomed us with open arms. Here is the weekend in pictures:

On our first morning together. See the smile??!!

Her bashful look...

Swimming before the rehearsal.


At the rehearsal....(is it hot enough?)

Wedding morning.....cheerios and the Vikings game (pre-recorded).


Luci unpacking everything Mommy just packed. She was very happy while doing this.

Having her jacuzzi bath before the big day!

At the church, helping Mommy get ready.

Here's Maja sneaking up on Adam....

Lorrie, Alaina and Jonnie

Flower girls and ring bearers. (Alaina and Luci, Aidan and Jonnie)

Grandma Jeanne and Miss Luci Belle

The LeBon sisters (minus one) dressed in black. Danielle, Lorrie, me, and Sharyn. We really missed Julie. :(

Grandpa David (Maja's Dad) and Luci

I love this picture of us and Adam.

Beautiful Alaina looking at the breathtaking stained glass.

The Wedding Party....

A little breather before the ceremony.

Dad and his son....

After the ceremony...ready for the air-conditioner!!

The beautiful...and DELICIOUS....wedding cake. Maja loves her cake, and she did an excellent job in picking this one. Each layer was a different flavor. I'm craving some RIGHT NOW!!

At the reception. We're finally cooling off.

Sharyn and Adam...

Lorrie and Adam.....

Danielle and Adam....

Me and my Mommy and Daddy...

Cutting the cake....

DANCING TIME!!!!!!

Peter, Maja's brother, sang to Adam and Maja for their first dance. So amazing. My girls are obsessed with this song now. :)

Warming up to Auntie Lorrie...

Grandma and Jonnie dancing. Jonnie LOVES to dance, just like his Mom and Aunties.

Dad and Mom...

Twinkle toes getting his groove on...

Maja serenading her Twinkle-Toes Junior...

Sorry, Maja, couldn't resist posting the scary, sexy bride picture....

Lorrie's got the touch.......

So, there's the pictures! Actually, it's about half of what I took.

Thank you, Adam and Maja, for a great weekend. I was very honored to have been there and to celebrate with you. I'm so happy to have a new sis-in-law--especially one as great for Adam as you are. I love you both!!

New Student registrations, MealPay, Payschools....

We are in the throws of registrations. Man, I didn't realize there was so much information! My brain is swimming...I can't imagine what the kids are going through.
The girls and I met with their school counselor last week and got their schedules and a tour of the school. A little confusing, to say the least. I hope they give out maps for them.
One major surprise I received that day.......school fees! We've never had to pay more than $25.00 for a registration fee at our previous school...here you have to pay for your textbooks, materials, some tests, uniforms for phy ed. and numerous other add-ons. I was completely shocked when they told me the total for the 2 girls----over $300.00! I was speechless. I had another heart palpitation when I registered Tanner and was informed of HIS fees......over $300.00 for HIM ALONE!! How can people afford to send their kids to PUBLIC school??? Don't our taxes go towards books and materials? I haven't even checked to see if they're charging my 2nd grader to attend school yet. All that doesn't include lunches, or year books, or activity passes.......sigh.........I just don't get it.

On to other news......Allison joined the marching band and has made a couple friends already. I'm happy for her, and anxious for Ashley to start school and meet people. It makes a new move so much better. I want their evenings filled with parties (with nice kids :) ), football games, bonfires, movies. After a quiet summer, I'm ready to start taxiing them around again. I love hearing the stories they come home with as they meet and get to know new people.
Both girls start this Friday. Say a little prayer for them.

For me, the start of the school year will bring a fresh start for me as well. My plan is to find a J.O.B.!!! This process is completely foreign to me...I don't know the first thing about writing a resume. AHHHH the anxiety!!! Chuck tries to give me pointers and advice and I just get annoyed. I know it's because I'm scared and nervous, and I don't have a lot of confidence in this area, and I don't mean to take it out on him. I know this will be really good for me, I'll probably love getting out in the world again, needless to say, help ease the stress on Chuck, too. It's just that dang comfort zone again. I have to face the fact that my kids are older and I have to start thinking about ME again. Something I haven't done in 17 yrs. Scary stuff. Who am I? What do I like to do? All questions I haven't asked in years.

On a different note:

This weekend I take off to Spokane for the wedding of my baby brother. I'm so excited for the both of them. And, also, very excited to be getting such a WONDERFUL sister-in-law. Maja, you are amazing....and the perfect woman for Adam. I can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend. You better have some good dancin' shoes. Us LeBon's are dancin' fools! :)

I'll post more later--with tons of pictures, I'm sure! I apologize for such a random post. I think I may have had too much coffee this morning. :)

One night in Vail

Chuck's sister Lynn and hubby Gary came to visit us last weekend. It was so fun...and a little odd...to have someone from back home here in our little house in the mountains. They had rented a condo in Vail--which is about an hour and a half away from us. They came to see our town, have lunch, see the house, then head to Vail. We were meeting up with them on Saturday morning to do a little sight-seeing, and maybe a hike or two.

Once in Vail the boys wanted to swim. We have hardly swam this summer, and they were missing it TONS. So, we went swimming---until it rained.

After that, we got dressed and headed into Vail. Our goal was to take the gondola up the mountain (something I wasn't too excited about, being afraid of heights and all) and have dinner. Well, due to the rain and lightening strikes they shut down the gondola. I did a small cheer inside. :) So, we settled for a restaurant that wasn't at 10,000 feet.

Afterward, we headed back to the condo and found a fire pit by the creek. Yes, another creek. I think Chuck and I will be buried by a creek. ;) We found some wood and made a great fire. There are no bugs here, so we ate salsa and chips and had some drinks by the fire. The food did attract a furry visitor, though. When it got dark and we were talking, a big raccoon came crawling out of the bushes and brushed up against Chuck's legs. The raccoon was as startled as we were, I think, and all I could do was thank God it wasn't a skunk. :)

The creek was excruciatingly cold. Check out this picture....you couldn't stay in the water longer than 30 seconds.

This is the best picture!

Lynn and Mitch were the toughest--or had the toughest feet--and stayed in the longest.

Tanner's shocked face.

"Hurry up and take the picture, Mom!!"

Uncle Gary--the boyscout--making the fire.

It was a late night, and soooo much fun!

THE NEXT DAY.....

We decided to drive another hour west to Glenwood Springs to hike. We wanted to see 'Hanging Lake'. The brochures all said that it was an easy hike, so we knew the kids (and choice adults--myself included) could do it. We packed enough energy bars and water to feed an army...then headed out.

An easy trail so far....I hope it's a little more rugged than this!

The cement trail led us to this....beautiful. Mitchie....don't drink that water!

My guys with their 'camel backs' on.

"Mom, this trail is tough...let's rest..."

The trail followed this stream.....completely uphill.

Another rest. He is sitting on a rock ON the trail.

Breathtaking scenery.

But...some of us were NOT happy. :)

Even Lynnie needed a rest.

Oh my.....we're almost there!

After hiking for over an hour, we came to this. This is a lake at the top of a mountain--hence the name 'hanging lake'. I guess the earth at one point was level here, then a large portion of it sank, forming the lake. It was crystal clear.

If you look really close you can see the rainbow trout swimming below the water.

Just beautiful...

The Johnson hiking crew. Poor Allison had to work this day, so she wasn't able to come. :(

Here's Tanner at the top of the waterfall.

On our way back down...but still at the top. Oh this picture makes me nervous. I'm clinging to the mountain.

O.k. maybe I'll get a little closer for this shot.

Fine....I'll get in the picture. Notice the death grips I have on the boys? VERY VERY HIGH!!!

The trek down did not take us very long. Mitch practically RAN the whole way down. Where do they get their energy?? All in all, it was well worth the "EASY" hike up.

Thanks, Lynn and Gary, for a great weekend. It was so nice to see you.