Life Lately

A small glimpse of life lately...

Celebrating the one year birthday of my precious niece, Charlotte Jane.  Yep, she's the cutest thing ever :)  

Trying a new local restaurant and loving it

Enjoying card nights with neighbors...especially when the gals win!

Laughing at little man that invades my closet daily.  Guess he thought his bedtime attire needed pumps.

Making bird feeders at Food Fest...a fun morning held at our favorite food shop, Hendersonville Produce

Smiling at brothers holding hands in the backseat

Learning all about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and President's Day

Taking a midday break with the boys - procrastinating doing laundry

Soaking in these sweet faces and relishing in the quiet (for a moment at least ;))

Valentine's Day

Michael and I usually don't go crazy for Valentine's Day, but any upcoming holiday gives me the itch to create and make memories with my boys.  Personalized mailboxes coupled with a Valentine's Countdown are a Johnson tradition which was even more fun this year since Cade was old enough to participate.  There are loads of fun sayings floating around Pinterest to couple with treats...here's a list of what we did this year.
FYI: The Dollar Tree is perfect for finding treats.  I spent $10 on 14 days for BOTH boys.  Can't beat it!

* You're the apple of my eye (apple juice)

* You are the write one for me.  I'm so glad God gave me you! (fun pencils)
* You are Marvelous and Magnificent just the way you are! (M&Ms)
* Your love makes me SOAR! (Foam airplanes)
* I'm madly in love with you! (Valentine Mad Libs - Cole's favorite!)

* You make my heart glow (glow sticks)
* I have a ball when I'm with you.  You make my heart bounce! (Bouncy ball)
* It's o-fish-al.  I love you very much! (Whale crackers - and Cole let me know that he was thankful for the treat, BUT whales were in fact mammals.  Busted.)

* I love your silly faces.  They crack me up! (Silly Putty)
* You make my heart POP! (Bubble bath)
* You light up my life! (Light up spinning tops)
* There's no monkeying around when it comes to loving you! (Monkey PEZ dispensers)
* You make me feel squishy inside! (Play-Doh)

Cole wanted us to make Valentines for his classmates again this year instead of going with store bought themes and chose this free printables from a favorite blog.  They were hilarious!

I also used another printable tag to make treat for my iMom gals...packs of gum with bubbles for their kiddos.

Valentine's morning, I decorated the table in our usual Love Day fashion and the boys helped me prepare our traditional breakfast of heart shaped pancakes and strawberries.  Michael had to leave early for an appointment, but called to join in on our morning fun.

Planes!

He's officially hooked

The closest thing to candy that he enjoys

Classic Cade face

Cole's card that captured my heart...

That evening, we invited my mom over for dinner (dad was in FL gearing up for a race) and prepared a meal of bacon wrapped chicken with honey mustard glaze, roasted asparagus, baked potatoes, garden salad, and individual cheesecakes with a chocolate chip cookie crust.  Going out is always a treat, but I love an at-home candlelit dinner...kiddos and all :)  After dinner, we played a few conversation heart games and simply enjoyed being together.

My Valentine :)

First game - transfer hearts from one napkin to another using a straw

Dude did awesome!  

Daddy beat us all

Second game - dropping hearts into a vase (from nose level)

Michael surprised me with such a heartfelt gift (as always).  He gave me a journal with the sweetest letter written inside along with pictures of each room in our home pasted on the following pages.  May not seem like much, but he knows how I've been itching to paint, decorate, and simply make this house feel like home.  The pages are for me to write home projects I'd like to complete in the coming months and years and we'll take pictures along the way to document our hard work :)  Made my heart so happy!
I also had no idea that he had been putting money aside the past few months to whisk me away to our favorite B&B, Butterfly Meadows.  Finances have been tight, dates have been few, and we desperately need some alone time together.  We're heading there this coming weekend and I can hardly wait!

Happy Love Day!

High Flying Day

There's no denying that Cade is intrigued by anything with wheels or wings.  He's a digger, dumper, vehicle loving little boy and I love that about him.  The new obsession these days is planes.  Whether it's specific characters from the movie, helicopters, fighter jets, or a simple dollar store item, he loves flying and racing them around the house.  If we're out and about, you can also bet that he'll spread his arms and declare himself a high flying machine :)

Last year, both boys flew with us to Delaware and absolutely loved the airport, watching the planes take off and land, and being in the air themselves.  No fear...just giggles and huge smiles.  So, when Michael's mom told us that her friend owned a small plane at the local airport and wanted to show it to the boys, we jumped at the opportunity.  A couple of Saturdays ago, the weather was a balmy 60 degrees and we surprised the boys with an afternoon of flying fun.

Oh Gallatin....please paint the sign...

So excited to see the planes!

Testing out the cockpit

Cade's gonna fly with his feet

Cade said, "He's talkin' to me!"  Soooo cute!

Fascinated by the propeller

Ready for our taxi down the runway

Cade and Daddy's turn

I love this :)

Now, I've never been up in a two seater, and really didn't have the itch to do so...a little too claustrophobic for this mama.  I also didn't envision the boys taking to the air.  Just a simple tour of the plane, a few pictures and a trip down the runway.  Well, after his quick taxi around the airport, Cole was begging to go up.  Greg was also eager to hit the sky and kindly offered to take him up, soooo Michael rode with them while Cade and I watched and I prayed like a mad woman.  Thank goodness little dude was content with solid ground.  I don't know if my heart could've handled another round :)

When Cole took to the air (and I took to my knees in prayer).

Coming back in for the landing...I was one relived mama!

Thanks so much Greg for an up, up, and away fantastic day!