Summer, summer, summer time....

It seems as though no matter how hard I try to stop and smell the roses the days pick up speed and time passes by! As quickly as these days go there is one thing I know for sure, there are so many things that I am thankful for. In the past few weeks have been so busy for the Johnson family. We started swimming lessons with the kiddos, flew up north for the Avilla Family Reunion, headed east to Ohio for a wedding and then back home to celebrate one of the greatest holidays...Independence Day!

Swim lessons have been a blast and absolute comedy. We are taking parent and me swim lessons so it's really is Johnson Party of Four in the pool. Riley is wild and slightly spastic but the little girl loves the water and being in the pool with Mommy, Daddy and Parker. Parker on the other hand is a little on the skinny side :) The poor kid starts to shiver as soon as his toes hit the water and for those of you that don't know him he's a screamer, and he loves to keep his presence known in the pool.

First Day of Lessons

Ironically, Danny is running the swim lesson program that we take the kids to so he's been busy working this summer making sure everything runs smooth. Before the end of the first week of lessons the kids and I flew up to visit Mema and Bubba and spend some real quality time with everyone before the Avilla Family Reunion. It was such a great trip, the weather was beautiful, I had a Simply Fondue date with my two best friends (Mom and Leah) and then we got to get all of the great-grand-babies on the Avilla side together. We are truly blessed!

All 7 great grand babies (with Lucy Roy on the way)

Avilla cousins (minus Brandon)

As quickly as we arrived in Livermore we headed back home and with no time to waste we were doing laundry and packing for a trip to Ohio. Holy Toledo was a term used often in our house growing up and I got to see what this Toledo place was all about :) We were in Toledo for Drew and Sarah's wedding (7/3/10). Danny was in the wedding and he and I were celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary on the same day. It was a beautiful wedding, the reception site was amazing and I couldn't have been more thrilled to be just spending time with Danny, dressed up and dancing with our babies.

Riley and Parker at their first baseball game (Go Mud Hens!)

Looking for ducks with Ali Babba (translation Alex Baca) and enjoying the backyard in Toledo. What I would give to have this kind of space behind our house, it was amazing!!

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At the Drew and Sarah's wedding (and our 5th anniversary)

My only request for going out to Ohio for a wedding on the 3rd was that we be back in Garden Grove by the 4th. PERIOD. There was no way we were going to miss the fun, festivities and tradition that we've created at our house. Mom, Dad, JD, Nicole (JD's gf...who I adore by the way), Leah and Charlie were all at our house. They had been kickin ass and takin names to get our house and the food ready for the 4th. We had an amazing spread of carne asada, beans, rice, the best salsa, the famous fondue...and the list goes on. We had an early day of travel leaving the hotel in Toledo at 4:15 (1:15 CA time) but it was all worth it, we were home by 11:00 and survived the day of flights.

Happy 4th of July!

For me is wasn't about being home for the block party or the fireworks it was about being with the ones we love. Even in our most tired moments we had our family, friends, lots of laughs and love to keep us all going throughout the day. As I reflect on this 4th of July it truly was great but there was one thing missing (or one person). Uncle Kyle wasn't there, instead he was working and making sure that we as Americans can continue to celebrate our independence and freedom. (We miss and love you Kyle! We are so proud of you!)

We love you Kyle!

We've taking a dive head first into the summer and have enjoyed every second of it. I am continuing to look forward to the many events coming up over the next few months. I am also trying to brainstorm ideas for the fall semester while keeping the idea of work to a minimum. If there is anything I know for sure it's that I have the most incredible family, I have two healthy babies and a wonderful husband. Anything else is just icing on the cake.

PS:
Tomorrow starts the concerts in the park! Now we know it really is summer, I can't wait!!!