Our Great Grandpa Johnson

Dave's Grandpa Johnson passed away on Monday, October 5th from Leukemia. We knew he was not doing well so we made a quick day trip to Fort Worth where we were able to see him in the ICU on Saturday, October 3rd. We are so grateful that we got to see him one last time. The viewing was on Sunday, October 11th and the funeral was Monday, October 12th. Dave's mom and brother, Andy, flew in from Oregon for the services. Dave's mom stayed with us for a couple of weeks after. We made it to the funeral but missed the viewing which was on Sunday evening. We were all loaded and ready to leave Sunday morning (it's about a 3 hour drive for us) when we realized the battery in our van was dead. Dave got that all taken care of and once again we loaded everyone up and headed to Dallas. About 50 miles from home, we got a call saying our house alarm was going off. To avoid having the police kick in our front door, we decided to turn around and head back home which meant we would miss the viewing. It turned out to be the battery on the alarm. We got up early (5:00 a.m.) Monday morning and headed back to Dallas for the funeral. He was buried in the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery. He had the 21 gun salute, bag pipes, and flag ceremony. Afterwards we went to his Grandma's church for a luncheon and were able to visit with family. We were disappointed that we missed the viewing.

Grandma & Grandpa Johnson have been so good about visiting us throughout the years, even when we lived in Utah. Indulge me a bit while I take you on a little trip down memory lane...

Taylor (10 months old) & Grandpa Johnson...

Grandpa & Grandma with Carter (6 months old)...

Taylor (6 years old) loves her Great Grandpa...

as does Carter (4 years old)!

Great Grandpa & Lauren (19 months old)...

They came to Taylor's baptism...

Carter & Grandpa have always had a special bond. Grandpa used to take the kids on rides in his big van which Carter couldn't get enough of! Carter was 6 in this picture...

Lauren (4 years old) flirting with her Great Grandpa...

They came to watch one of Carter's football games...

(Taylor age 11, Carter, age 9, Lauren age 6)

Father's Day 2009...

We love him & will miss him.

Sunday Best

Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday, after my race, we went to the Pumpkin Patch with Dave's sister and her kids. Dave's mom, Nancy (a.k.a.Grandma Matheny), has been visiting for the past week so she got to come too! They have a Texas shaped corn maze that is huge. The kids were in the maze for about an hour. They had to find "stations" in the maze to get a stamp. If they collected all the stamps, they got a free soda. Then we went on a hayride.

~Grandma & kids~

~Dave, Katrina, Grandma, & kids~

~Katrina & Nancy~

~Nathan & Carter~

~Halli & Nancy~

Coming out of the corn maze...

Outlaw 100

My friend Laurie & I biked 25 miles in the Outlaw 100 yesterday. You could ride up to 100 miles but we like doing 25 miles although we've talked about trying the 50 mile ride next time. We finished in just over 2 hours. It was a great way to start the day!

~Halli & Laurie~

Arrow of Light and Crossover

As of Thursday, Carter is no longer a cub scout. He has moved on to bigger and better things.... He received his "Arrow of Light" award... and crossed over to a whole new world.

He is officially a Boy Scout!

Yep, It's True...

On Thursday, October 1st I turned...

I had a very relaxing birthday. Dave and I went to lunch at Plucker's and then shopped a little for this awesome gift...

It's a Cricut! (a.k.a. personal di-cut machine that's awesome for scrap booking etc...) That evening we hung out with the kids, played a little PAC Man, watched Hero's and Flash forward. It was a perfect day! :)

p.s. If you missed my birthday post last year, you can click here to learn a little more about me. :)

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I most certainly did not purposely park where a lady had very rudely asked me not to park the previous day just to spite her. I am never passive aggressive. Nope...not me! And, as I was working at my crossing guard job, I definitely did not think the passing jogger was "hot" and then realize it was my girlfriend's husband. I never look at other men. Especially not good looking runners. Nor did I forget to go to my girlfriends baby shower this weekend. I have an impeccable memory and would never forget something like that. And I am not exhausted today from not staying up worrying about a sore on Carter's knee. I would never do that. Did I mention that I did not obsess about him having cancer because it has taken so long to heal. That's absurd! Who worries about stuff like that? Definately Not Me!!!

Are you feeling guilty for drying the dishes with your shirt? Hope that no one saw when you ran to the mailbox in your Jammie's? Overcome with embarrassment after your child asked the grocery clerk, who did not have a baby in her tummy, if she "had a baby in her tummy?" Well don't be! Not Me! Monday was born out of MckMama's desire to admit some of her imperfections and reveal a few moments she'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing! I know I did!

Monster Truck Rally

For Carter's birthday party this year he invited four friends to go to the Monster Truck Rally. They came home from school with him, played a little football and x-box, ate pizza, and then we headed to the Rally. It was awesome! They all LOVED it...it was boy heaven!!!

It started with a pit party. All the monster trucks, motorcycles, and their drivers were out on the arena floor to admire. They were even signing autographs!

Carter got interviewed by the announcer. They asked him what his favorite truck was, what school he went to, etc. and wished him a happy birthday!

Carter's favorite truck was the Bone Crusher....

Dave's favorite was the General....

The Hooters Girls were also out to meet the fans. Carter did not want to stand by them to get his picture taken. In fact, Dave bribed him with $20 in order to get him to stand by them so we could get a picture (the easiest $20 he'll ever make!) Carter used the money to buy refreshments for him and his buddies.

Dave didn't need to be bribed! :)

Let the games begin! Check out these tricks...

Watch closely...the motorcyclist does a back flip (just hit the play button to watch the video clip)...

Isn't that cool!

Here come the Monster Trucks...

Check out these videos...

We had a great time! The best part for me was watching Carter's face light up as he watched the show!