Banana Seat Bike, Beard, Appendix, etc.

Violet gets boxes of hand-me-downs pretty regularly from cousin Jada. She was especially jacked up to get this Hannah Montana shirt although I don't think she is really into that music scene. She does know who Michael Jackson is but when she says his name it sounds like "Uncle Jason".

Henry is still trying to refine his technique on the training wheels.

Unique Thrift Store was had some good deals on bikes a while back when I found this classic banana seat for Violet. I guess it will just have to sit in the basement for a few years -- but for five bucks it's pretty sweet. It says "RAINBOW" on the chain guard and it has a custom white wicker basket.

This likely qualifies as animal abuse on some level but it's cute as all get out.

This is the coop and garden after the big harvest.

Henry has somehow willed himself to have to poop every night at around 8:30 or 9:00 so he can get out of bed. The other night he came out in the hall and said "Bad news, Dad -- I have to take a number four".

Henry seems to be getting along just fine in pre-school. He has a couple of buddies he seems to get along with.
Violet looks so grown up in this one.

Mama and Violet...

I came down with a little tummy ache a couple weeks back and ended up having to get the ol' appendix taken out. It kinda put a damper on my week but now I'm back and better than ever. I'm also a couple months into my best beard ever. I was put on lifting restrictions for a week so I couldn't pick up the kids. Violet is at a stage where she really likes being held so I had to sell her on hand holding and now she likes it. The other day when we were running errands she wanted me to hold her hand while we were driving.

Back to School, State Fair & Wayward Goats

It's back to the grind and the start of a new routine this fall. Henry now has preschool three days a week and gets to ride to school with mom on those mornings. He seems to be adjusting well. Prior to the open house, he was a little nervous about the whole deal. We met his teachers and stayed and played Lego's for a while until he remarked "I think I'm gonna like preschool."

So with that he took his lunch...

and officially began the odyssey of his formal education.


Where the hell does the time go?

We also went to the State Fair. It went really well. We spent almost the entire day there. We last went when Violet was still an infant and we made it about 90 minutes or so. Here's mama and Henry in action on the Tilt-a-whirl.

I tried my darnedest to win Henry a large stuffed animal but failed.

We met this guy...

Henry had his four year check up a while back and everything seemed good. He was about 65% for height and 45% for weight if I remember correctly.

The harvest is in. We have way more tomatoes than we know what to do with. Lots of onions, carrots, and variety of peppers.

The chickens still haven't given us any eggs yet. The turkeys are getting huge. We took in two wayward and morbidly obese goats from a gentleman who is moving out of state. Status quo for Rancho Johnson.

Yes, Henry has a panty liner on his head -- and on his shins. For some reason, they hold some novelty value amongst the youth in our household. I guess it offers some protection from bumps and bruises.

Henry has a wicked temper. If he isn't getting his way he has taken to screaming "YOU'RE FIRED!" That, coupled with the fact that he is very sensitive and a pretty intense dude has made it kind of trying at times with him at this particular stage in his life.

Violet and Henry started with their first and second seasons of dance class, respectively. Violet especially digs all aspects of dance.

Violet will sneak off to her room and change clothes like ten times if given the opportunity. Her vocabulary is still growing like crazy. She had a brief stage where she was carrying dolls with her everywhere she went but seems to be over it.

We took a detour to Stillwater on our way home from the State Fair for old times sake.

Summer Shenanigans

Henry loves critters. He found this tree frog and scooped it right up. I like that he has no fear when it comes to stuff like that. He is very good with the chickens. He will pick them up all the time and can round them up and get them in the coop in no time.

He can also be an out of control beast at times. This photo captures that sentiment.

The both of them love to play in, on and around my truck for some reason -- Violet especially. Violet likes to sit in the cab and play around. She calls it "Violet's Truck". A couple nights ago she was in her truck with no diaper on and whizzed on the seat. Not cool. It hard to stay mad at her though. I swear Henry wears pants sometimes.

This is your basic Tuesday evening here. I get home from work, the kids jump in the truck and act crazy, I run around and feed goats and chickens and whatnot. I bought two turkeys on a whim at the co-op last weekend. They are very akward looking creatures. I plan on eating them for Thanksgiving. Their names are Bachman and Dan. I believe they are Royal Palms. I will get pictures soon.

They are pretty good together about 85% of the time.

Went up north on a Sunday fishing trip with my brother and our boys.

The weather wasn't the greatest but it cleared up long enough for Uncle Jesse to pull one up. Eli manned the net while Henry made observations and yelled whatever came to mind. "THAT FISH IS CRA-ZEEE!"

Eli has perfected the sneer...
I have no explanation for this one. This is apparently what goes down while dad is at work.

The harvest has been slow to come in this year. Kinda mild summer and kinda dry. We just had our first half dozen or so tomatoes ripen so it should be fast and furious from here on out. I made some pico de gallo last nite. Next: Heritage Tomato Bloody Mary Mix! (Side note: Henry insists we call them "Spicey Henry's" around him because "Bloody Mary" sounds kinda gross. Alright.)

I have to work on my carrot picking technique. I had a few snap off as I worked them up with a trowel.

Summer Fun: Nature & Giant Headphones

We spent last weekend -- our sixth wedding anniversary and Mama's 29th birthday -- up at an island retreat in Wisconsin with some friends and family.

Mama and Violet got dolled up in matching toenail polish for the occasion.


Me and niece Jada chilled out on the beach with our ipods and giant headphones. She is all into the High School Musical scene and thinks Troy Bolton is an absolute dreamboat.

Henry took in some sun with Jesse & Brandi's newest addition, their Boston Terrier puppy "Rick".

Mama & Henry hang out on the dock...

Henry could put on a clinic when it comes to peeing in the out of doors. As you can see, he didn't even have to take off his life preserver. Note the clenched butt cheeks and jutting pelvis to avoid swimsuit drippage. I have him using both hands for better aim until he proves he's focused enough for one hand.

We put a few miles in on the paddle boat. Please pay no attention to my doughy and undefined mid-section.

Some of the gang hang out on the beach in front of the cabin -- an elegant design with a danish hip roof covered in cedar shakes.

This picture is a classic -- Henry, Eli, and Rick. It kinda sums up the current relationship between Henry and his favorite cousin Eli. They have a lot of fun together but after about a half hour or so one of them is usually crying or running away. I should have never taught them "heart punches".

Jada and Henry chilling out by the beach...

Jada and Violet on the dock...

Local Man Saves Baby Cardinal From Certain Doom

Cuban philosopher Jose Marti once said that there are three things that a man should do in his lifetime: Plant a tree, have a son, and write a book. And if he were alive today, he may very well have said that a suffiently updated blog could replace the book part of the equation. Henry and I planted this arborvitae last weekend. It's only taken three years but we are starting to get to the landscaping...

On Saturday,Mama was watering the hanging baskets and found out the hard way that there was a mama cardinal with some babies had made a nest in the basket. One of the babies wasn't quite big enough to fly on his own and kind of fluttered to the ground. Here he is...

I didn't want this little guy to end up like Gary the Hummingbird so I decided I would act fast and get him back in his nest. He made a break for it under mama's car...

But I finally managed to scoop him up.

Home sweet home. Mama Cardinal came back a while later and everything seemed to turn out OK. I wonder if Jose Marti ever rescued a baby cardinal from certain doom.

Violet has been doing very well in her transition to the toddler bed. I think we implemented the perfect blend of love, fear and paranoia in laying down the groundwork for the big switch. She proudly proclaims to be a "big gowal" now. Indeed.

Here she plays with the new kitty. It's been so long since we have had a cat but it did not take long to remember why they are questionable housemates -- they puke and crap everywhere and they won't look you in the eye. I can only hope that her presence is a deterrent to the mice.

On Sunday morning Henry and I went to watch the weigh-ins for the annual Taylors Falls Catfishing Contest. Cousin Eli and Uncle Jesse did not disappoint. They just missed a top 10 finish with this baby:

Uncle Dave and Cousin Matt took 5th place with these two:

And, as usual, Jethro and Cooter took home the big money with these monsters:

Happy 4th Birthday Henry!

We celebrated Henry's 4th birthday last weekend. He should be set in the toy department until Christmas. He wanted a Spongebob cake.Grandpa Fred and Violet...

Henry loves his Darth Vader mask with built-in voice modulater. Thanks Grandma Judy!

Henry cashed in all his birthday money for a kitten to help contain the local mouse population. This is Charlie...