More "Cinnamon Buns"?

I have a few more pictures to upload for our vacation but I thought I'd just do these for right now. We went to the Straights of Mackinaw and this was one of the beaches we were at! It was beautiful. This is Leah, we buried her, it was easier to keep an eye on her this way!

We were quite pleased with our sand turtle!

Abby had tons of fun digging and playing on the beach!

this is probably my favorite picture of him. I don't know what he enjoyed more, eating the sand or sleeping.

He fell asleep on the beach so we covered him up to avoid sunburn. He did nearly sweat to death! That boy can sweat like a stuck pig!

We uncovered his feet to give him some ventilation!

We were trying to get dry.

Isn't she so cute?

I love the beach, it just lends itself to long walks and holding hands, especially if you have such a wonderful husband and daddy as Joshua!

I think this one's on here twice . . . sorry!

Ever in search of that perfect family picture, it probably won't happen until the kids are both in their twenties . . . will we ever get one of all of us looking and smiling at the same time? Well, if not, here's for posterity, we really were all together in the same place at the same time, even if we weren't all on the same page!

There's not much to explain, this is where we went after the beach.

This is some Father Marquette guy who took the gospel or at least some form of it to the Indians.

There were a bunch of these diaramas in the Indian Village!

Check out the naked guy in teh background, he was person of interest for at least ONE person.

We had the distinct pleasure of taking another picture with the other naked guy! Thanks Amy and Mark for the wonderful time!

We got to feed some Japanese deer in the Indian Village . . . hmmmmm.

THE END

Cinnamon "Buns"

We had the great pleasure of going on vacation with a dear family, the Weeks, up to their cabin in the UP - for those of you who don't speak Michiaganian, that's Upper Peninsula! We had a wonderful time!  I can't find the rest of my pictures, I had some really great ones of Abby and her dad and of Andrew.  I'm hoping they are at home on a cd or I'll have to call Amy and see if she can get me a copy of them!  Come to think of it, they may be on the other computer . . . yep that's where they are . . . OKAY!  Now that you have entered the scarry thought life of one Patty Johnson!  We interupt this thought for a word from our sponser . . . Seriously, I didn't get a long enough nap today, it got interruppted THREE times, some people go to church and get religious so they can get straightened out for their week - I take a highly religous Sunday Nap, oh well!  Back to the vacation.  We went to the UP.  Rode quads - that's mighiganian for 4 wheelers, went to a sand dunes place that was kinda scarry, ate incredibly good food from probably one of the best cooks in the world! - that is NOT an exaggeration either!  Cook that cake from the previous blog - she came up with it!  Back to vacation - we went to two beaches, I think I have now swam in 3 of the great lakes, We crossed the bridge - that was neat, until we saw the movie of how it was made - boats don't look so bad now!  We saved the children or rather Joshua and the girls saved the children and sang to the children and loved on those children.  We went to Mackinaw City and saw the laser light show, it was neat except for how loud the music was.  We fellowshipped, we did something INCREDIBLY important, we scrapbooked and made cards - almost as religous an experience as a Sunday nap!  We played games - the slapping game of which I HATE and other fun games like that.  We did a bonfire several nights and read ghost stories 0f which I guess I'm horrible at (Sorry, Mark, just had to get that dig in! Mark here is my hero, he can read a ghost story that will chill your bones!)  But the reason for the blog name is because when we went to the beach Abby kept getting sand on her rear, like all of us and Amy would call it Cinnamon Buns.  Isn't she so cute?  They made sand turtles and took walks and Andrew ate the sand, I have to find those other pictures because they are just as Tona would say, TOO CUTE!  Overall it was by far one of the best vacations I've ever had - I considered my honeymoon a vacation and that was probably the best.  We look forward to next year!  And the year after that and after that, until they tell us we can't ever come back!  Thank you Mark and Amy for allowing us to come and make such wonderful memories!  You guys are the best!  

Half Birthday Fun

You're going to want to go to the bottom of this post FIRST so that you get everything.  I was posting on a mac with pictures for the first time and it actually puts them in order as you upload them and so I got them out of order!  Hopefully, I learn yet!  

Oh, there's the cake!  And a picture of me too.  I really was there!  I promise!  The candles were really neat, they were trick candles that kept catching fire!  

Papaw and Mamaw, or maybe it was Aunt Hannah, also gave the kids a sucker from Poland.  Abby ate most of it!  

It's a hit already!  Anything you can chew on, MUST be good!  

Mamaw and Papaw got Andrew this really cool, soft, noise - but not too loud, making bus!  

We also got Abby a bubble gun!  I had alterior motives here . . . no more having to sit and endlessly blow bubbles!  

Andrew is dual thumbed, he likes them both . . . just thought you might want to know that U.B.I.

If you look in the foreground here you can see parts of the wonderful, awesome totally cool gift my great brother gave the kids, the reason it is not all put together, is because Wal-mart did not send us the right wood!  We have too much of stuff we can't cut down or is too small and none of the decks . . . which is what everything is attached too!  We got a call today saying the stuff should be here Thursday!  How exciting . . . I'm planning on posting some pictures then! I was goign to post every few days . . . day 1 "la te dah" day 2 "ho hum" day 3 and so on, but we'd be working on day 47 and a 1/2 by now . . . so you'll just get the thing in one lump sum when it is finished and by the way David, the box LIED, it took MORE than 10 to 12 man hours for 2 people, More like one straight week of work . . . we've been working on it all the time . . . We are NEVER moving!  

Recognize the wrapping mom?  Thanks for the tradition!  

We got Abby a tea set . . . she loves this thing!  

The Howards were able to come to our half birthday "party"  They got Abby this place setting and Andrew a Car's one!  

This was the table.  I should have taken a picture before I started getting all the food on it.  It was a feast and a good one at that!  The cake, which for some reason I can't find on this computer, (it might be on a different card and didn't get transfered) the cake was WONDERFUL!  I will give you the recipe, but you have to call it Amy's Mouse Cake - she came up with it and she is a phenonimal cook!  You take a chocolate cake, from a box, I used dark chocolate fudge from that one that says Moiste Deluxe or something like that.  After the cake has baked you poke holes in it and pour two cans of sweetened condensed milk.  I have done it with one can, but two get's down in there better.  Put the cake in the friderator to cool.  Take a 32 oz carton of heavy whipping cream and add a little bit of powder sugar and vanilla.  I don't have exact measurements, being a dumper, I don't always use them.  After whipping the cream for several minutes and when soft peaks have begun to form, add cocoa and powdered sugar alternately till you have desired taste.  I love dark chocolate so my "frosting" tends to be a little more bitter.  The cake WILL compensate, because it is very sweet by this time.  After the cake is cooled comepletely spread this cream or mouse or frosting, whatever you want to call it on top.  You can serve this right away, but I found it was better the next day after having been in the fridge all night!  Eat and enjoy, but be careful, if you was to put it on top of your head, your tongue would beat your brains in to get to it!  

I was trying to be all photo savy here . . . This was a napkin ring I made for their half birthday, and thought I'd try to get a cool shot.  

Mom, this one's for you!  We didn't have Wal-mart bags, but double wrapped Meijer bags are almost as good!  

If you're scrolling up, now you can see her excitement.  If you are scrolling down, read the comment on the next photo. 

She doesn't seem to thrilled, but believe me, that was the best idea, (And he's had some pretty good ones!) her dad has ever had for a gift!  She absolutely loves it!  

Here she is peeking, trying to get a look at the present.  For a couple weeks she did not call her bean bag chair her bean bag chair, she called it her birthday present!  

We had a tradition in my house growing up that all birthday presents were wrapped in Wal-mart bags.  Now, I'm still not sure if that was so my parents could save money on wrapping and put it into the gift or what, but a tradition none the less.  So when I went to wrap her bean bag chair, obviously, I didn't have a walmart bag big enough!  So we made her close her eyes.   

I love this picture of her.  I washed it out, something you can do on iphoto of Mac.  Pretty Cool huh?  

My children, already, are so opposite of each other, it's not even funny!  It's funny how two people can come from the same parents and be so different!  

Abby has such a tender spot for her brudder.  She can be so rough and mean, but she loves him so much!