Oscar Stew

Cue the Rocky theme song! In May we took on our most ambitious garden project ever. More tiny plots? Please! We’re full-blown farmers now! Even though it rained a ton in May there were just enough sunny days to construct our massive shrine to agriculture.

Now before we get too proud of ourselves, let’s examine our slippery slope of self-abuse. Ryan’s doing his best to look manly next to the haul he brought home in his minivan…er…truck! He had to take all the seats out except the driver’s seat to bring this load home. Thank goodness he was able to deliver everything we needed in one trip…yeah, not so much…

We started by tearing out the crusty grub-infested grass. Then came the hard part: digging into that horrible rock-hard Colorado clay. Even if you get it wet, it’s still like trying to chip concrete with a Slurpee straw. And then there was the buried treasures…a rusty paint can lid…the gravel pit…but no electric cables or gas lines, whew!

These clod-busters might look like loafers, but they were great helpers from start to finish.

Uh-oh, Eleanor just busted a clod in her pants…Aarrrgh not another poop joke!!!

With half the backyard sprinklers out of commission the kids were more than happy to keep the turf wet…They had a little help…

mmm…Ice cold mountain water with a hint of garden hose…dee-lish.

Alright, Day 2! More like “Day…Who-Cares-We’ve-Lost-Track.” Let’s get greezed up O Fair-Skinned One; we have a lot more shoveling to do…

Top of the mornin’ to ya Ellie! That’s a big mountain of crappy clay you’re sitting on…Actually, if it was crappy it might have been worth keeping!

…denver craigslist > for sale / wanted > free stuff … 3 yards of worthless dirt…get it while it’s hot!

Does a princess sitting on the crud make it more attractive? It was gone the day we listed it, so that must’ve done the trick. Yup, for sure!

The new garden is so huge that the swingset had to be relocated to the opposite side of the yard. Ryan kept working on the garden rather than digging post holes for the swingset, so only Eleanor was light enough to enjoy it for several days. She seemed pretty upset about it:

Now wait! Don’t get the impression that we’re not into small gardens anymore. “Small” is relative, these plots are where the zucchini, melons and other giant vines are growing. 

We learn more each year we do this. We’ve heard that marigolds are really are good at keeping the mean bugs away. So far so good; only one big bug and she seems pretty harmless…

I’m not so sure about this one…better go get the swatter. (Nice model pose Bin-bug!)

A few days passed and there was still no wait line for the swing, so Ellie took the opportunity to swing like the bigs do…Stop that Ellie! It makes you look older!

That’s it! You’re in the way and underfoot Ellie! Penalty box, 5 minutes! She even has the toothy hockey player smile to boot! 

She quickly discovered that the penalty box was a lot like a sandbox, and then she didn’t want to leave…

-3+6=9. That’s how dirt works. We took 3 yards of dirt out and put 6 in, so that means 9 yards of dirt…so far…

If only all the shovel-benders of the world were this cute; we might actually forgive their laziness!

Then it happened…another trip to Orange/Blue… Surprise! Daddy promises that this is the last time…before the next time! Eleanor walks about 60% of the time now, as long as she’s not wearing shoes.

Excellent work Ellie! Looks like you’ve found the latest in high-fashion transportation. I think Rowan was expecting to be self-propelled…

We’re up to 10 yards now…and 10 shades of brown!

Where’s Drew? Man down! Looks like he’s caught a severe case of lazysummerafternoonitis. Poor kid…

Have you ever played Float the Rag? I’m not sure what the rules are, but I do know hats with headbands are required.

Oh-no, it’s an epidemic! Rowan, can you hear me?! Speak Rowan! mmmmfffbldrphh? I knew it! 

Looks like that species of Bin-bug has been identified…it’s a water bug, duh.

And now the reveal:

That’s right, we’re rockin’ the hot pink plastic flamingo. Waaaay cooler than a scarecrow.

Keep a sharp eye bird, you’ve got to protect us from the blandness of February!

So what did we plant? Name it, we probably got it. We got jalepeños…

Onions…yellow ones, white ones, sweet ones.

No less than 17 tomato plants…did we just make salsa?

Beets. Mmm, I like beets once in a while, so we didn’t plant too many.

Spinachio…It sounds tastier when you add the -io on the end of it. Try it!

Not pictured: Bell peppers, summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, rosemary, basil, carrots, lettuce, oregano, ichiban, watermelon, cantelope, tomatillo, green beans, strawberries…can you tell we’re excited?!

School’s out for summer! We enjoyed watching Drew & Brinley participate in end-of-the-year sports activities, graduation, prom…Ok, got a little carried away on that last one…

Where should we start? On the field of course! Are these girls BFFs? Attached at the hip? Well, they’re attached at the ankle for now. They are ready to win this alien race!

In case the races weren’t exciting enough, Rowan doing the Riverdance was quite the sideshow…

Hey Binnie, that’s a pretty sweet sag in them gangsta jeans you’re wearin’. I think they be Drew’s! And spots, ruffles and stripes? Only the Binbob can rock that style!

Rowan got first place in the clown-hairball shotput competition…not sure what the rules are on that…

Ryan said, “Where’s the war paint? The mud pit? The kilts? This ain’t a real tug ‘o’ war!” I don’t think they care…

This picture of Eleanor pretty much sums up the rest of field day…thud.

This is what Drew got to do instead of field day! Isn’t his little tooshie adorable, though!?

Flippin’ funnel clouds Batman! What can we do to keep the troops entertained while hunkered down inside this scholarly shelter? Creepy puppets are a sure bet! 

All’s well that ends well. We finally got to go home in time for dinner and bedtime. We had to get up early the next day to get the best seats at graduation. The Beacon of Cuteness helped us save seats…as long as she had a cracker.

C’mon, sing it! Daaah, Da-di-da, daaa-daaaah, daaah, da-di-da, daaaaah…Class of 2023!  Brinley made another fashion statement by insisting on wearing her clunky old gym shoes. Gotta  love a girl that knows what she wants…

Each graduate had their name read and any advice they had for next year’s class. The kids in the back are riveted with excitement, can’t you tell!? Are any of these kids on the Honor Roll?

Juice, cake, and hugs were served afterwards in the cafeteria. You ok Brinley?

Aw, Binnie is gonna miss her teacher! We’re gonna miss her too…We’re now without a kindergartner for the next 2 years!

Brinley told us that one of the things she will miss the most is the routine…Art, Gym, Music, Library, Recess…not to mention riding the big yellow bus! Dry those tears Binnie, we have plans for you! Summer School is now in session! Enrollment? Mandatory! Bwahahahahaaa! 

And just like that we have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader!

I know this might come as a shock to you, but I love fabric. I love the colors, the texture, and knowing that I can create something that never existed before. So, when the fabric makers of the world came to Salt Lake to strut their stuff, I had to be there. I couldn’t just stand on the shore in this ocean of fashion and wait for whatever the tide would bring in; I had to drown in this sea of creativity!

Now I couldn’t show up to the International Quilt Market looking like a rookie. I just happen to have the coolest Aunt in the world that runs the best quilt shop in the industry. I picked up the supplies for this bag over a year ago, and I knew I would find plenty of treasure to haul back home, so I finally made this monster of a carry-on for my voyage through the threads… I call her Beatrice; she is so big she deserves a name!

Kelsey and I aren’t giddy with excitement. Nope. Not even a little.

Everyone is gonna think we’re full-on fabric freaks! Quick, do something that’ll disguise who we really are! This spy act is fooling everybody! See, nobody is noticing a thing! Nobody at all…

Uh-oh, something tells me we’re gonna get stuck in this quagmire of quilts all day! Let me in! Let me in!

Ok, so we got there way early. Can you blame us? We felt like a couple of 5 year-olds on a field trip!

Once we finally made it in, there was awesomeness and inspiration at every turn!

Meeting some of my favorite companies & designers was so much fun!! If only I hadn’t been so camera shy…I only snagged pics of empty booths, to save myself the embarrassment of looking like a groupie.

I think it’s pretty safe to say that my friend Joel stole the show. I wish I had been brave enough to take a picture of the whole booth….but in my defence, the show was packed! There was never a right time to take a picture!

After the show we were quite exhausted. Kelsey wanted to nap…I couldn’t wait to dig into my bag of goodies!

This is just some of the lovelies that we snagged along the way.

The day after the show I got to hang out with my mom & all my sisters. I present to you: the Johnson girls of the present and future! I would say past, but for now that would only be me…and only my purse is in this picture. Pretty good lookin’ bunch, eh?!

After spending 4 hours at IKEA you can’t go wrong with some fro-yo and a place to put your feet up for a while!

On Day 3 of my vacation from motherhood (thanks Ryan!) we spent the day hangin’ at Jenna’s place enjoying the three F’s: food, fabric, and friendship! 

Even if we weren’t feeling like friends first thing in the morning, a whip cream topped scone always does the trick!

What would a weekend at the Quilt Market be if we didn’t quilt? Remember what they say about idle hands?

Johnson girls don’t get together without cooking either. This time we tried our hand at homemade tomato soup…

The ingredient list was extensive. The stems you ask!? They pack some serious flavor!

This quilt ain’t too shabby either. Thanks Joel!

The only thing that could have made this soup even better, was a grilled cheese sandwich. Then we’d really be 5 year olds!