Happy September Birthdays!!

So, September went by and I missed my birthdays! There were a lot in the family! So, Happy Birthday to everyone!

Tom, Sept 12, age 17 Ada Sept 14, age 94?
Tiff Sept 14, age 20
Spence Sept 23, age 10
Steve Sept 26 (I couldn't resist using both these pics of him!), age 51

What's in a Name?!

So, every time I get pregnant (and even sometimes when I am not pregnant), I think about names. What will I name this child?! Well before I even know if it is a girl or a boy, I generally already have thought of a number of names. Of course at this point, I have definite requirements for names, the main one being that they need a unique name. I just cannot imagine going around saying "These are my kids, Solace, Ender, Armour, and Bob." Just doesn't really fit with the rest does it?!

My other requirement has been that their name has to mean something. This requirement has becomes harder and harder to fulfill. Solace Rebekah-Solace means peace & comfort, and Rebekah is named (not spelled thought) after her mama. Steven Enderton-Steven after his dad, both his grandpa's, an uncle, & a great-uncle, and Enderton after my maiden name. He's basically a walking tribute to my dad... :) Armour Wesley-Admitedly "Armour" doesn't have the meaning behind it that I had hoped for in a unique name, but it was a unique name that Wes and I both really liked (and stole from a professor of Wesley's), and Wesley, is obviously after his papa.

So far, all the names we have used are ones Wesley has come up with. Thank goodness I listened to him! Otherwise Solace would be Paris (this was before Paris Hilton really became famous). And if I had been choosing, I would have a boy named Creighton by now (but now that we are going to be living in Omaha for another 4 years-do I really want a Creighton? It is not so unique of a name there.)

I have a few ideas for this baby-all very cute and unique, some with great meaning, others are just names I love (like Armour was). This is your chance to voice your opinion. Please feel free to add your ideas to ours using the comments option on this blog. (Andrea-if your husband is submitting names, they may need to be sensored through you first, I know how Jeremy gets when he is coming up with "unique" names!) :)

Let the names flow in, and remember-you can leave comments on this blog even without a google sign in. It will be left as "anonymous" though, so please leave your name in the comment somewhere. Just so I know who to thank for the wonderful ideas! :)

GG & GGpa's big trip to Spokane!

We had a great time last week visiting with "GG" (Great-Grandma) and Great-Grandpa Nelson. We visited/met GG'a niece and nephew that live here in Spokane, went to River front park, to Bowl and Pitcher, and various other fun spots around town. Sadly, my camera screwed up on a lot of the pictures I took, so here are just a few that worked. Enjoy! We LOVE having family visit and had a BLAST with GG and Great-Grandpa!

Great-Grandpa and Solace on the carousel. This is the only carousel pic I took that worked. This will come as a surprise to those that know Wes, but we all rode. Wes thinks it may be the first time he's ridden one of these since he was a small child. He did great, and didn't even have to barf after! :)

On the bridge at Bowl and Pitcher
Solace
Ender
GG, Wes and Army
On the side of the bridge.
GG watching Army throw rocks
Great-Grandpa watching the rock throwing!
Everyone and Allen (GG's nephew, Wesley's first cousin once removed) at Anne's grave. Anne was GG's sister that lived and died here. We went with Allen, Anne's son, to see where she is buried, and it is quite close to our home. It was good to meet family and learn about the family ties to Spokane.

All about Me (aka Where are my curly fries)!

Whenever I get the chance to perform again, I cannot help but think of Andrea and Arby's-she knows what I mean-Heidi knows too I am sure!

So, many of you are aware that for the past 3 1/2 weeks, our poor kids have been shuttled from sitter to sitter, and Wes and I have hardly been home at the same time because I have been rehearsing for a show, the Heart Follies Show. It is a fundraiser that Sacred Heart (the "other" hospital-not Deaconess where Wes works) does every year. Wes encouraged me to audition (auditions were open to friends and family of all medical professionals in the area), and I did and I got a small part. I sang the opening number with a group of girls. It was basically "Good Morning Baltimore" from Hairspray but the words were changed, so it was called "The Big Heart Follies Show". I was also a singer in the chorus, a dancer in "Love Shack," and a comedian/singer/dancer in "Medical Mayhem". All these are just different acts through the show. It is simply a variety/follies show.

They hire a director (Jaime Donnegan) to come in and do it each year. He does a good job, and it is amazing how the show comes together in 3 weeks.

I had a blast doing the show, and LOVE that Wes helped my to be able to do it! I would be a total jerk to give all the credit to Wes though, because I couldn't have done it without the help of all my new Spokane friends that watched my kids! Thanks Carly, Audrey, Kristi, Jaisey, GG & Great Grandpa Nelson, and everyone else that helped me out!! You are all amazing!

So, this is the first show I have done outside Utah, and wow, the costuming is different! Try not to be too shocked! :) I have to say though, I figured it really wasn't any worse than my costumes in South Pacific were in Utah, so here are a few of the pics I took backstage.

Program cover

Laura and MeMe in my opening dress at the matinee show-my hair was much better the evening show!
In our Love Shack Costumes-aren't we bright and shiny?! FYI, my original costume was not short like this or tight like this, but the director changed my dress the night before we performed because he said I needed to be in a brighter dress.
Just me in my Love Shack costume-it's the shocking one!
These two are Internal Medicine Residents that work with Wes. Molly, Ruth, and me in our Love Shack costumes!

Doesn't this picture give the impression I was a star?! These are the girls I sang with (one is missing)
Our director (R) is loving that he made an older Sister (nun) try on this crazy red wig in front of everyone at the cast meeting.
My Medical Mayhem costume-basically I just borrowed Wes's work clothes! I was supposed to be playing a "know-it-all resident".

My Finale costume. Originally I was supposed to be wearing the short red one, but I wanted something else, and someone happened to have this for me to wear, so this is what I wore in the finale.

I'll finish by just throwing out a few of the reviews/comments I received:

"You are so fun to watch I just watch you in every number you're in! I just think you are fabulous!" (That one was a guy backstage that was really a star of the show-I was wearing the red dress at the time...)

"I love your voice" (various people)

"How was the show? I saw it earlier and you kicked A*% I love you!" (Drunk male nurse outside the bar across the street as I was walking to my car after the evening show)

"Nice Dress!" (Wes)

Surprise

Well, we got an awesome surprise last week! We were not expecting this right now, but we could not be happier or more excited! It is still really early, and most people wouldn't even mention it this early, but most of you know, I cannot stand keeping great news like this to myself for even a second! It was horribly hard to be quiet for a week! Baby Johnson #4 is due May 23. I will post more about how we found this out, and the funny story of Solace, and how we told the kids later, but for now, I am finally getting tired (at 12:15), so I will try to get some sleep!

Birthday Bash.

For my birthday, Wes and I ate at a way-too expensive restaurant that was similar to a Benihana. This is my awesome b-day snapshot-they dress you up and everything there...awesome. Aren't we cute?! (As a side note, the funny thing is that they project the image up on their wall-and it is huge BTW-so we were projected on the wall like that all night...) Thank you Annie and Shawn for watching the kids so we could go get our goofy photo! :)

Watch out Fair, here come the Johnsons!

We went to the fair! Here are some highlights! I didn't put up the cow pics which I know will disappoint Wes, but here are some otehr highlights!

Aren't we Bee-utiful?! You learn so much at a fair-like the anatomy of a llama!
Check out the bunny between those babes!
Walking past the rides we didn't let anyone ride...
By the biggest pumpkin-Wes knows the guy that grew that thing!! He's a doctor too!
In the Teepee.
Coming out.
Out.

As a family we love to go for walks and play at the park!

We walk to Riverside a lot and play there. The first 3 pictures are of one such walk, the others are of the boys and parents visiting the park while Solace was in school yesterday. Dad has had late night shifts so he is home to play with us in the mornings this week. Awesome!

Ender

Solace Looking at fish
Riding the Carousel
Ender LOVES to ride the giraffe!
Mommy took Armour...
He didn't like it much-he got scared!
When we got off, he was mad at mom, and only wanted dad.

This is the look he gave mom every time he noticed her looking at him after the carousel.

Mom gave him donuts to buy back his affection! Worked like a charm.
Handsome boy!
Though it is an incomplete family picture, it's still cute! We missed Solace so much that day, but she was having fun at school without us!
I am holding on the monkey bars all by myself!
Starting to slip...help...(mom grabbed him)

I can do that too!
Peek a boo!
Right back at 'cha!
Pretty mommy's turn to pose.