Fun Farm & Erik Drink

This morning we all woke up and had a big old breakfast of sausage, bacon, hash browns, toast, and eggs.  It was quite a feast and we all got stuffed.

After eating, Nick & I went home to get cleaned up.  I hadn’t been home in 3 days and was ready for a change of clothes.  After we got cleaned up, we stopped at WalMart to get some groceries and then headed back to Mom & Dad’s.  It was dangerous to be out driving b/c the roads were still icy even though the sun was out and the ice was starting to melt.  And people were being stupid drivers b/c they had been cooped up for so long and they thought that since the sun was out they could drive normally.  Well, this is what happened when they weren’t careful.  We had to wait for about 5 minutes while this wrecker pulled this SUV up this steep embankment and back onto the road.

Uncle Stacy brought this shirt to wear during the Super Bowl tomorrow.  It’s Brett Keisel’s actual practice shirt from his first year playing with the Steelers.  Pretty cool!

Dad took Uncle Stacy to the clinic with him for about an hour and then we stopped and picked him up on the way out to Aunt Sandy & Uncle Robert’s house.  Aunt Sandy put on quite the spread w/ a strawberry salad w/ poppy seed dressing, brisket, smoked sausages, smoked chicken breasts, potato salad, and then we brought the baked beans Mom had made.  All of the food was scrumptious and I was stuffed.

After everyone ate, Aunt Sandy had all the little kids (and Uncle Stacy joined them) come sit at the picnic table so they could have a Fancy Nancy Tea Party.  Since we don’t drink tea, she put chocolate milk in the tea pot and served it to the kids, all while talking with a British accent.  She was telling them all that they had to drink their chocolate milk w/ their pinky finger in the air, and Uncle Stacy was sure to follow her directions.

   I love that he’s squatted down sitting at the picnic table w/ the kids, eating mini pink and white cupcakes and his shirt says, “Old Guys Rule.”  Classic.  He’s such a fun Uncle!

For dessert, the adults had homemade blackberry cobbler w/ ice cream.  It was so good, b/c Aunt Sandy had picked the blackberries this summer and then froze them, so they were about as fresh as you can get in the middle of the winter.  YUMMY!

After eating, we all loaded into some trucks and headed over to the farm so the kids could go play.  I had to have Uncle Robert & Uncle Stacy help me squeeze my big old feet into some rubber boots b/c I thought it was going to be muddy, but it wasn’t.  I was laughing so hard I couldn’t see b/c of the tears in my eyes.  Then when I tried climbing in the back seat of Uncle Robert’s truck, that was another laughing fiasco, b/c I couldn’t get my leg over the console and was all twisted around.  They are so patient w/ me!  The pond at the farm was sort of frozen, and we found a golf ball and threw it on the ice to see if it would hold, but it was just slush and broke through the ice, so no one tried walking on the pond.

Tyler had a few laughing moments of his own at the farm.  Emily was telling us that during the snow days last week, she had everyone in their family put on their socks and then put plastic WalMart bags over their socks and then put on their shoes.  That way, their socks would stay dry.  She said it worked like a charm, but Caleb was so embarrassed and didn’t want to do it.  If you look closely at Tyler’s picture on the left, you can see the WalMart bags sticking out over the top of his shoes.  But, hey, it worked and kept his toes nice and dry.

Uncle Robert let the chickens out of their cage so they could eat.  He told the kids that he would give them a $1 if they could catch a chicken.  Tyler got one and held it victoriously over his head, but when he went to collect his $1, Uncle Robert told him in the fine print it says you have to be under the age of 10.  Poor Tyler!

Autumn was so excited to look in the chicken coop and see if the hens had left an egg.  She found one and Uncle Robert had her get it out and put it in his hat so he could take it back to the house when we left.

I think the kids’ favorite part of the farm was this big circular corral where Uncle Robert usually puts hay for the cows.  But, he has it tipped up on its side to store it for the winter and the kids were running around inside of it.  It looked like a huge life-size hamster wheel and the kids were the hamsters.  They had a blast playing on it.

Such awesome Johnson Men.

Heather said she found these adorable cowgirl boots at Goodwill for only $8.  She was going to give them to Brooke, but Aunt Sandy gave her new ones for her birthday so Heather so graciously gave the boots she got to Autumn.  Autumn LOVED them and put them on right away.  As w/ her tennis shoes Mom had gotten her, she could run faster and jump higher and was a better climber b/c of her new boots.  Kids are so sweet and innocent.

We tried getting the kids to stand on the fence so we could get a picture of all 4 of them.  Autumn didn’t want to, and when I told the other 3 kids to smile, this is what I got!  Such a silly group of monkeys.

After a little bit, we were finally able to get Autumn to climb up on the fence, but then Shane didn’t want to get up there.  Tyler & Uncle Robert took him and just set him up there, and as you can see in the picture, he did NOT like it and wanted to get down.  This was the best picture I was able to get of the 4 of them.  Autumn is talking, Brooke is looking away, Shane is crying, and Caleb is making a constipated face.  Oh, well.  It’s good to capture real life moments sometimes instead of always having everyone smiling.

The kids wanted to play in the hamster wheel one more time before we had to go.  Tyler had them get in a line and told them to hold each other’s bummy.  He meant the back of each other’s coats, but Caleb grabbed a big handful of Autumn’s rear end and we were dying w/ laughter.

After we were able to compose ourselves and stop laughing, we told them to just hold hands instead.  I love it when we go to the farm, b/c the kids can just run around and get dirty and keep themselves entertained without the TV or movies or anything electronic.  They get to experience the joys of make believe and imagination and just good old fashioned playing.

We were finally able to tear them away from the hamster wheel and they all loaded onto the tractor for a ride back to the cars.

We rounded up the chickens so we could put them away.  Brooke was a brave little girl and held one of the chickens.  Autumn just wanted to pet one, but not hold it.

I love this peaceful scene of the swing looking down onto the pond as the sun slowly started sinking behind the horizon.

I thought this was another serene picture w/ the outhouse in the background and the wooden bench next to the chains hanging on the tree branch.  I was showing Mom the pictures I took (over 100 of them) and she said that Dad made this outhouse for Uncle Robert for Christmas one year.  I didn’t know that, which makes this picture all the more special.

This duck was testing his luck by walking on the ice.  He would take a few steps and then fall through the ice and then try again.  Eventually he got to a spot where the ice was thick enough that he could walk on it.  It was fun to watch him.

Uncle Robert let Autumn steer the tractor back to its parking spot and she thought she was in hog heaven.

Where else could she get such fun experiences?  We are so blessed beyond compare.

I thought this was such a cool shot w/ the row of mailboxes against the backdrop of the power lines.  I wish the lighting had been better, but it is what it is.

I could not get enough of this chicken coop.  Uncle Robert built it and it’s so country-esque.  There’s just something so peaceful and serene and exciting out on the farm.

We got back to the house and talked for a little while.  It was great to see Uncle Stacy & Uncle Robert sitting and chatting.  I am glad that they are such a close-knit family and that I get the chance to know all of my aunts and uncles.  There are some families that don’t talk to each other and are estranged from one another, but not us.  I realize more and more how blessed I am to have such a great immediate and extended family.

We finally headed home at 6:30 and thank goodness the temperature stayed above freezing so all the snow and ice that melted earlier in the day didn’t re-freeze.  We got back into town around 8:00 and we were all hungry since we hadn’t eaten since 2:00.  We decided to take Uncle Stacy out to Cheddar’s since they don’t have that in Utah.  While we were deciding what we wanted to eat, the waiter came and got our order for drinks.  Out of nowhere Nick said he wanted to get a Bloody Mary (virgin of course).  I was about to tell the waiter no, but Uncle Stacy said to let Nick try it.  So, Nick got one and tried it and as you can see from his facial expression, he did not like it at all.  I tried it and it just tasted like a spicy V8 drink.

We enjoyed our food and just talking and spending time w/ Uncle Stacy.  A trip to Cheddar’s is not complete without a Cookie Monster, so we ordered one.

Me & My Little Autumn Bottom

Since there was only one cherry on the cookie monster and both Nick & Autumn wanted it, Uncle Stacy asked our waiter if he could bring us some more cherries.  He was so nice and brought us a bowlful.  Autumn was really happy about it.

I’m not used to eating that late at night, and was stuffed.  We dropped Uncle Stacy off at Mom & Dad’s and then came home.  I went out to check the mail and was surprised to find a package from Slovenija.  It was from Luka & family.  It was a Christmas card along w/ a note from Luka, 2 Erik drinks, and a DVD.  Luka said in his note, “Hope the DVD will help you and Autumn learn or re-learn some Slovene in a fun way.”  Isn’t that so sweet and thoughtful?

The best part, though, were the Erik drinks and the note Luka sent.  Before I went to Slovenija, I made a bunch of lists.  A list of people I wanted to see, a list of foods I wanted to eat, etc.  I was able to check off most of the things off my “To eat” list, but one of them I wasn’t able to find was this drink called “Erik” that had penguins on it.  I used to drink it ALL the time as a missionary, and loved it.  But, I looked in every grocery store I went in while in Slovenija in October and I wasn’t able to find it.  Well, Luka found some and mailed it to me.  It was mailed on 12/21/10 and just got to me today, so it took over a month to get here.  But it was SOOO good and tasted just as good as I remembered it.  I even closed my eyes while drinking it and felt like I was back in Slovenija for just a moment.

Here is proof of how much I loved this stuff.  This is from June 2004 when Jonesy and I went back to visit.  We were packing up all of our stuff to fly back home and I am holding a box of Erik drink and making a sad face b/c it was going to make my suitcase too heavy.  I was so sad to have to leave it behind.  Below is some of the note that Luka sent:

“I saw these two babies in a vending machine at the hospital and just had to get them for you.  I’m super glad that I’m able to help you out with your ‘to do and to try checklist’ in re-visiting Slovenija!!!  Even by just sending you these two simple things.”

It cost a lot of money to mail those drinks, and I am so touched that Luka would be so kind and thoughtful.  It means a lot to me.  Often it’s the little things that mean the most.  Luka and his family are some of the most incredible people I know and I count myself as incredibly blessed and lucky to know and love them all.