The Life of the J Crew

Harper's 3D Sonogram Pictures!

2012-01-16T09:47:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday we had our 3D Sonogram done to see Miss Harper! While the pictures weren't as clear as we would have liked, it was great to see her again and we got to see a few details that we wouldn't have otherwise seen.

We can't wait to meet her in person in just over 9 weeks! :-)

You can see her cute nose and lips and one of her eyes. She was up against the side of my uterus so that is why the other side is distorted!

Here her little hand was in front of her eye.

Here she is sticking her tongue out at us! :-)

This is a short clip...at the beginning she sticks her tongue out, then you can see her hold up a finger like "One moment please" and then you can see her foot up in front of her face! (It's getting pretty cramped in there!) It may take a second view to see it all!

"One moment please, I'm not ready for my close-up!"

Here is a group shot of everyone that came to the 3D Sono...definitely a full house!

Harper is so loved!

We know our out of town relatives were there in spirit!

Our almost family of Four!

We have been so blessed throughout this pregnancy and hope the next couple of months fly by so we can welcome Harper into such a close loving family!

Love you all,

The J Crew

The Wild Feathers

2011-12-01T13:27:00.001-08:00

Hello there! It's been a long time I know! Life has been busy with holidays, preparing for baby girl and just the normal day-to-day stuff that keeps me busy 365 days a year!

Today I want to write about my brother's band - The Wild Feathers. They have been touring for the last month and I am just so excited for the guys and proud of my brother. They made a stop in Dallas on November 13th and I got to see them play with a full band - and it was AMAZING. If I could attach music on here, I totally would. I swear I'm not being a biased sister but they are one of the best bands I've heard in a while!

Here are a few pics from the night they played...

Haven wanted to have a picture backstage photo proving she was there in the beginning!

Ricky, Joel, Taylor & Aaron

(Preston wasn't in this one for some reason)

Taylor stopping mid-song to take a pic with me sporting my Wild Feathers shirt!

Tonight is a big night. They start their tour with PAUL SIMON! I am so excited and nervous for them! They are playing in Durham, NC and the show is sold out!

I'm even more excited about tomorrow - because I get to see them in Duluth, Georgia with 13,000 other fans! I am flying out tomorrow morning to Chattanooga to visit my friend Kristin and then we're driving into Georgia for the show. I looked it up online and I am overwhelmed at the thought of seeing my brother play in this arena...

Talk about big time!! Well, I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories to tell when I get back. I'll also have family pictures and baby updates.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I can't believe we only have 24 days until Christmas! I better get shopping!

BIG NEWS!!

2011-09-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

The Johnson Family has always been a family of three…

But God had plans that were meant to be.

As of March 2012 we’ll for ever more…

Be a sweet little happy, family of FOUR!! J

We had our 2^nd sonogram today and it was so amazing!

You can see a few new pics of our sweet baby below. It was amazing!!

“Baby J” can’t wait to meet his/her Family & Friends!

~Kasey, Jeff & Kylie

LIFE

2011-04-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

I seem to be in the habit of only posting text these days and for that I truly apologize. Hopefully the end of the school year and the summer will bring lots of great photo ops!

In case you're wondering why you haven't heard from me/us in a while, well, it's because life has been busy. In a great way, but unfortunately that doesn't leave much room for blogging. I've traveled 36 days so far this year with 3 more trips on the horizon before we even hit August! Let's see, I've been to Chapel Hill, NC, New Orleans back to Raleigh and to Atlanta twice!

Kylie is coming to the end of her 5th grade year and is excited to move up to Middle School next year. I am helping plan her end of year celebration and have already signed Jeff up for a round in the dunking booth! The kids are going to have a DJ, inflatable water obstacle course, snow cones and pizza! It should be a great party and I'm happy to be a part of the planning process.

Jeff started a new job and is loving it! He's working outside the house and enjoys being a part of the outside world for a change. He's not too far from the house so it's very convenient. We are very blessed! Our marriage is going strong and it's hard to believe that we've almost been together for 6 years and married for 3!

We're going on some fun family getaways this summer so hopefully the posts will be more interesting in a few months!

Much love from the J Crew!

First Post of 2011

2011-01-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

It's so sad that I haven't blogged in FOREVER. I really enjoy it but I always seem to put it off and months later I look up and realize just how long it's been since I have written!   My lack of time has been due in large part to my job. Not complaining AT ALL - but I have been traveling quite a bit in the last 6 months. I am really happy to be back on the Operations side of my company.

For those of you who don't know, I moved to the Sales side of my company not long after we got married because I wasn't sure about the travel part, but sales just wasn't my thing...and I missed the planning and execution of meetings and events. So, thankfully, the Operations team took me back and I couldn't be happier. In the last 8 months or so I've had meetings in Orlando, Dallas, several in Raleigh including a 2 week stint in Raleigh.   I also visited Charleston, South Carolina which was beautiful! I love the old southern charm and wish I could have had J with me there to experience the city! So far I've started 2011 with 2 straight weeks of traveling...and I miss my family but I am also very happy and thankful for my job.

OK! Enough about me! On to the fam...

We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. It was our year to have Kylie and we enjoyed lots of family time and even got to skype with the in-laws.   It was so great because my brother was in town from LA (and Melissa from Austin) and we got to spend some quality time together including a 2 hour trip down memory lane watching videos of me and Taylor as little kids. It was awesome. We finished the year with our neighbors and dear friends Dean and Catherine...we cooked an awesome meal, played games and drank champagne until about 2:30 am...the best part was the quick walk home since we were only right next door.

Kylie is mid-way through her 5th grade year and quickly approaching her 11th birthday. TIME FLIES! It's so crazy! She's suddenly becoming aware of more things these days like clothes and hair. She is doing great in school and we couldn't be prouder! Next week she starts her orientation at the middle school and I am sure it will be so strange to have a middle-schooler in the house next Fall!

Jeff is working so hard and staying busy running his business and also picking up the slack while I'm traveling. I have such a loving and caring husband and I am very blessed. I guess since the last time I blogged we have celebrated our 2 year anniversary! I can't believe how quickly the years go by.

Marley - our sweet Smooch Pooch will be 3 years old this coming Sunday! We love her so much and she brings an immeasurable amount of joy to our family. It's hard to believe she's been a member of the Johnson Fam for almost 3 years!

Wow, I'm totally ranting and raving - but I kinda feel like I had to catch up!    If you actually took time to read this blog, I hope it didn't bore you to tears! One of the many resolutions I have is to blog more often. We'll see how that pans out.

I hope 2011 is a great year for everyone...including us! We hope and pray it has LOTS of great new adventures in store for us! :-)

Family Pictures

2010-07-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

For my Mom's 50th birthday, we gave her a family portrait sitting and it took her almost 2 years to use it! I'm glad she finally did because the pictures turned out great thanks to the amazing Kelly Alexander! Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

The whole fam! Including the sweet doggies!

The Johnsons

We love those bulldogs!

Our photogenic pup

Our beautiful grandmother Meems!

Mom and her kids

Melissa, Moo & Tay - it looks like Muddy is smiling too!

Good lookin' guys

Girls

Bulldog cousins!

Sweet couple!

My loves :-) (Minus Kylie - see our family pic at the top of the blog, I didn't want to list it twice!)

I'm shocked to know that it's mid-July and Summer is quickly fading! (At least the school summer break) We are excited to get Kylie back after her being gone for 2 weeks and we'll have her for 16 days straight! Let the fun begin!

Much love,

Kasey

Cabo!

2010-06-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, Jeff and I had the pleasure of a week long vacation in this beautiful place. To make things even better, we were invited by some of our best friends, Kristin and Neil, who moved to Tennessee right after our wedding so we don't see them as often as we'd like.

Our trip started out with a cancelled flight and a 6 hour stay in the DFW airport, followed by a pretty interesting stay at Days Inn with no luggage...but soon we were safe in Cabo and ready to relax!

This is before dinner on our first night. We look pretty relaxed after a day by the pool!

We went to dinner with the Pratts down on the Marina...after making it down the row of the salesmen trying to get us to dine in their restaurant, we ended up at a great little place with an awesome surf and turf special that caught everyone's eye (well, except me...)

Dinner at Ole Ole on the Marina

Did I mention the views from our beautiful resort? When can we go back?

It was so great to spend time with one of my very best friends...we enjoyed catching up and found that we never ran out of things to talk about! (The guys were happy with their books and ipods but we love to chat!)

We stayed in a great place that had a full kitchen, 3 bedrooms and a great outdoor sitting area and dining table so we enjoyed making food during the day and then going out for dinner downtown at night.

This was at La Dolce, a cute little Italian place that Jeff and I found on our last trip to Cabo. It was great!

Most of the time we laid by the pool and relaxed but a few days Jeff and I ventured out to see the town. We really enjoyed our walk down around the marina and were amazed at all the beautiful sights that Cabo has to offer!

The marina

Later in the week, another couple joined us - Clint and Carla....they were friends of Kristin and Neil and we all hit it off and had a great time!

The girls riding in the convertible Jeep...Jeff and Clint had to take turns riding in the very back which was a little scary considering some of the drivers in Mexico aren't the safest.

Neil did a great job keeping us safe!

Best buds...

My favorite guy and an infinity pool with a breathtaking view...

life doesn't get any better!

One day we went to explore the beach and then

took a water taxi with Clint and Carla to see the famous arch

Took a little break and had a frozen drink...

And the guys smoked some cuban cigars that they picked up along the way!

It was a great trip and a much needed break from the day-to-day grind of work and life in general. It's nice to go away from the email and cell phones and get to sleep in and spend time with great friends. It was like we re-charged our "batteries" and are ready to face the next half of 2010!

Thank you again to our friends for inviting us - we are so blessed to have you in our lives and we hope to see ya'll again soon.

Can't wait to go back...

Much love,

Kasey & JJ

Goodbye Fourth Grade!!

2010-06-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

It's been a great year!

Hope everyone has a silly, fun summer!

Thanks to Mrs. Draughon and Mr. Warfield for all they did for Kylie this year. We can't wait to see what 5th grade brings!

Jeff and I are off to Cabo on Sunday - expect pictures and a much more detailed post upon our return!

Enjoy your Summer!

Kasey

A Day in the Life of Marley...

2010-05-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

It's pretty nice to be a dog in the Johnson house... I know it's crazy to write an entire post about your dog but this dog is one of the best things that has ever happened to us! She brings so much joy and laughter into our home. (Plus, she's pretty photogenic!) Hope you enjoy a few pics of what Miss Marley's been up to lately!

First there's "game time" - see her playing Monopoly below...

Then maybe a dip in the pool...

A little nap time during the day while Daddy works...

A little sun bathing in Mom's favorite spot...

And finish up the day with another nap on the cool floor...

(She's very lady-like and crosses her legs!)

Oh to be a dog! That's the life! We love you Marley!

Hope you all are having a great spring...more to come on our family soon! Kylie is almost finished with 4th grade and we can't wait for Summer!

Have a great week!

~Kasey

Spring Break & March 2010!

2010-04-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

We had Kylie for Spring Break this year and it was so much fun! It was a fun-filled week...see below for the recap!

Kylie and I went to the American Girl store for lunch at the Bistro. Kylie, Rachel (her American Girl Doll) and I had a great time...

and we had some surprise guests...

Kylie was so excited when Meems and Mimi showed up! It was an unexpected and great surprise!You can see the joy on Kylie's sweet face!

Another day, Jeff and Kylie had a Daddy/Daughter date and went to lunch at Purple Cow and then saw Avatar in 3D. The picture below is actually from another movie (How to Train Your Dragon) but I'm sure this is how they looked. Hilarious. Love these two people...even when they are wearing funny 3D glasses!!

Spring Break ended with Me getting to have a "Girls Night" and see Black Eyed Peas in concert with some of my dear friends! Below is a picture of Mary and I at the concert. We stayed in a hotel and had an absolute blast!!

(Gotta love Mary's Fergie T-shirt that she picked up at the show.)

The week ended with another snow... 8 inches to be exact on March 20th! I think that is a record.

Kylie went to spend the night with Popo, Coco and Mikael so we didn't get to play because it melted by the next day! However, the girls had fun doing their "photo shoot" that I don't think they even missed it one bit!

I love the serious faces - our girls are growing up!! They did this all on their own - the outfits and everything. Mikael put everything together in a photo album complete with credits, etc. Too cute!

The rest of March was filled with fun too - we celebrated Ava's 5th Birthday at Chuck E. Cheese and cleaned out the garage!(something that was much needed and we were actually really excited to do as a family!)

Sweet Kylie with the Birthday Girl Ava!

Marley got to relax as we cleaned out the garage. Here she's laying on our "Plankets" - the tarps we use to cover up our plants in the winter. She kept finding things to lay on and it was too cute!

I would say that March was quite a success! Love to all! XOXO

Kylie's 10th Birthday!

2010-02-28T14:54:00.000-08:00

Kylie is 10!

Double digits are BIG TIME! ;-) We had a great time celebrating with friends and family and appreciate everyone remembering Kylie on her special day. We started the weekend by going to Great Wolf Lodge on Friday with a few friends. Mimi joined us for pizza and cake and got to experience the "kid-fest" that is Great Wolf Lodge. It's like a mini Disney World and they sure know how to play to a parent's soft spot when it comes to spending money. :-)

Walking in to GWL, you can see a few rides from the outside.

That funnel ride was Jeff and my favorite!

The girls - ready to get out of the cold and into their bathing suits!

They loved their kids cabin in our room! It was pretty fun!

Cookies I had made for her friends - they were supposed to be the "take home" gifts but got eaten pretty quick because the girls were hungry! I love the lady who makes these - she does such a great job!

Kylie wanted cookie cake and the girls were so excited to eat it!

Mimi gave her the Hannah Montana movie and some money to spend how she wants!!

Thanks for coming and hanging out Mom!

We thought it was so ironic that the day we had Kylie's birthday, there was more snow than ever before - so it was funny that the girls were swimming. We had them step on the patio for a quick shot of this once in a lifetime occasion!

Big hugs for Daddy!

Because GWL only allows a certain number of people, we had to have a two-night event. The twins and another friend, Natalie, came over and had a slumber party and went to see Percy Jackson and the Olympians, the Lightning Thief at Studio Movie grill.

Being silly with the twins - her long-time buddies.

We had a great weekend - and Dad & Kase came away quite tired - but it was all worth it. Kylie had a wonderful birthday and the weekend was a success!

Now that we've had all the snow - bring on SPRING!! We're ready for some convertible weather!

Snow in Texas!

2010-02-28T14:19:00.000-08:00

I must admit, I'm so behind in posting this but I am committed to catching everyone up! So, January and February brought lots more snow to North Texas than I've ever seen in my lifetime - and it called for some fun snow days for the family! See below for some great pictures! Jeff and Kylie made their first life-size snowman and Marley had a ball playing in the winter wonderland!

Our beautiful home with lots of snow!

Marley "chillin" in the snow - literally! :-)

Daddy & Kylie working on their snowman!

She has that look like she's about to hit somebody with a snow ball!

The finished product! Even Marley got in the picture!

More to come - we had a blast for Kylie's 10th Birthday!

Yummy Tortilla Soup Recipe

2010-01-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

One of my New Years' Resolutions is to get more creative and courageous in the kitchen. While this recipe isn't hard AT ALL, I am proud because I have made it twice now and I am slowly building my confidence in the kitchen. I got it out of my Bride & Groom Cookbook from Better Homes that my Mom gave us. They have lots of great recipes! Give it a try if you want a quick, easy and very yummy tortilla soup recipe! Enjoy! Stay tuned for my next recipe...Tex-Mex Chicken and Rice Casserole...can you see a pattern? I love Mexican food!

Tex-Mex Tortilla Soup (Makes 6 main-dish servings)

1 – 1 ¼ pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs or breast halves (I use the breast halves)

3 14-ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained

½ cup chopped onion

¼ cup chopped green sweet pepper

1 to 2 teaspoons chili powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

3 cups tortilla chips, coarsely crushed

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

1 avocado, seeded, peeled and cut into chunks (optional)

Snipped fresh cilantro and/or sliced fresh jalapeno chile pepper

Lime wedges (optional)

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces; set aside. In a 4-quart pot combine broth, undrained tomatoes, onion, sweet pepper, chili powder, cumin and black pepper. Bring to boiling; add chicken. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add corn. Return to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer covered for 10 minutes more.
Sprinkle each serving with tortilla chips and cheese. If desired, serve with avocado chunks, snipped cilantro, sliced jalapenos and lime wedges. (I usually just do the avocado and cilantro because the jalapenos are too hot for Kylie)

A White Christmas!

2010-01-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

Brace yourselves...this will be a long post! We had a lot of fun over the holidays! (Complete with 5 different Christmases!) We were so surprised to see snow on Christmas Eve...and then again a few days later. It really make it feel more like Christmas when there's snow on the ground. We had a fun holiday this year, but it was very busy. Unfortunately we didn't have Kylie for Christmas this year, but we used the time to surprise her with a completely new room! We moved rooms, painted, bought furniture and artwork, etc! It was great! She was totally surprised and excited. She said the room makes her feel like a big girl. (Pictures below)

Christmas # 1: We started Christmas early on the 19th celebrating with my Dad, Courtney (lovingly known to Kylie as Popo & Coco), Mikael, Nana & Papa. We had everyone over to our house and Jeff made his famous chili. Kylie was so excited to get her first American Girl Doll from Popo and Coco! She named her Rachel.

Kylie with Popo, Coco & Mikael Getting her American Girl Doll!So happy!

They gave us a platter that says "The Johnsons". We used it several times over the holidays.

I love how Marley wanted to be included in this picture!

Christmas # 2: Next stop was Briarwood for Christmas with Mom's family. Unfortunately the weather was bad so some of the family couldn't make it, but we had a great time anyway! We always do a gift exchange and have a full blown repeat of Thanksgiving dinner - which is awesome! It was neat because we spent the night there and for the first time in many years we woke up on Christmas Morning with my Mom & Brother! What a treat! Here's a picture of our house as we left to head to Richardson...

So pretty! I love the way snow makes a house look so cozy and inviting!

Here are some pictures from our fun on Christmas Eve!

Fun opening presents!

Jeff got an outdoor clock to go by the pool and then Meems gave us a hanging candle that matched perfectly!

Meems & I sharing a hug after opening her present from us!

Even the dogs got new toys! We thought it was so funny that Mimi had gift bags for each dog (Marley, Muddy & Bailey) They actually knew which toys were theirs too!

Marley having fun with her new toy! Muddy with his squeaky Christmas light!

Christmas #3: Christmas Day we went to the annual Christmas party at Dad & Courts. Taylor & Melissa did an awesome shrimp boil and I took the opportunity to show off my new platter with the appetizer we brought. It was great to catch up with family and friends!

Christmas #4: Trey, Suzanne and Hayden came to Dallas to celebrate with us on the 27th of December. The adults did a gift exchange so that was fun! Hayden and Mikael had fun opening presents! We missed Kylie but she was definitely there in spirit! Here we are with our cousin Hayden who is 5. He's getting so big!

Christmas #5: Finally, the biggest Christmas of them all was our celebration with Kylie! We got her on the 28th of December so we were on day 9 of opening presents. We were so excited for her to arrive that we felt like kids on Christmas ourselves! We couldn't wait to surprise her with her new room! She had acquired quite a few presents from all the different family so she was excited to open everything. First things first though, we had to surprise her with her new "Big Girl" room....

Giving Dad big hugs after her surprise...

She literally had tears in her eyes because she was so happy

A room isn't complete without a new big girl dresser!

She loves her purple and pink Paradise!

After the big room surprise, we headed downstairs to open gifts and Mimi got to come join in on the fun. Kylie was so excited about her presents from all her family!

Our beautiful Christmas tree and mantle with stockings & presents!

Can you see the excitement in her face? She loved her Fashion Studio from Grandma & Grandpa!!

New robe from Mimi - and she got one for her American Girl doll - so now they are twins!

We had an amazing Christmas this year. We ate and drank like Romans (and are paying for that now! The gym is about to be our 2nd home!), enjoyed great friends and fun. We love all of our family and friends and you are the ones who make the holidays special for us. We all put so much time and effort into shopping, presents, events, etc. but when it all comes down to it - the most important thing is the people (and animals) we surround ourselves with. We hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season and we wish you a bright and prosperous 2010!

One last photo to end with...this is how we felt when it was all over...Marley shows it best! ;-)

Love and hugs to all!

-The J Crew

Thanksgiving in Tucson!

2010-01-08T07:38:00.000-08:00

Things have been a bit busy with t he holiday season just behind us so I'm finally getting around to posting about our fun trip to Tucson to visit Jeff's family for Thanksgiving. We were there for a week and it was a great trip! Jeff's brother Tom and his fiancee Stacy joined us as well so it was great to catch up and great to let Kylie spend some good quality time with her Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle & future Aunt!

The week was filled with lots of baking and cooking, fun dinners, games, etc. We also met up with some of Jeff's friends from high school who he recently reconnected with. It was cool to meet people who have known Jeff for so long. See below for a few pictures to recap the week!

Here Kylie and Grandma are licking the beater after making the homemade whipped cream we ate with our homemade pumpkin and apple pies!

The whole fam! Grandma, Grandpa, Tom, Stacy and the "J Crew" coming down on Mt. Lemmon

Daddy & Kylie with Emma...J was showing his U of A pride!

Kylie loves her Grandpa!

A night out with Troy & Jen Hoch - Jeff's friends from High School!

We are so thankful for our family and friends. Thanksgiving was a great time to reflect on the many blessings we have as a family! I promise to not get so behind on posting next time!

I leave you with a shot of a beautiful Tucson Sunset...

Happy Anniversary to Us! (A little late!)

2009-10-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

10.18.08

It's hard to believe that (over) a year has gone by since our wedding day.
It really seems like just yesterday that we were getting ready to say "I Do"
and experience one of the best days of our lives.

We were so excited to see each other! The anticipation was killing us! :-)

What an amazing year it has been! I've heard people say that the first year of marriage is the hardest and others say it's the best time of your life. I'd have to agree with both points of view. It's been a great journey so far but it's come with it's fair share of bumps along the way. Our relationship is rock solid but it's the outside factors that have been tough! (Can we say economy?!?) We've made it out in one piece tough and it gives me so much hope because I feel like Jeff and I have been through so much in our four years together that we can endure anything God has in store for us!

So, now for the fun part! The Anniversary weekend! Jeff sent me an email a few days before and said to "be ready by 11am on Sunday dressed cute and casual, bring a nice outfit for dinner and pack an overnight bag." I didn't know anything else but just those few details! I was so excited. Well, to my surprise, he had booked an amazing spa treatment for the 2 of us at ZaSpa at Hotel Zaza in Downtown Dallas. We had an 80-minute hot stone couples massage followed by a relaxing and very romantic aromatherapy bath with champagne. After that we walked to get an appetizer because we hadn't eaten all day. We came back to our hotel room, took a nap and then got ready for dinner. Jeff then took me to Morton's Steakhouse where we had a yummy steak dinner followed by dessert with the top of our wedding cake. (Successfully frozen for the year thanks to Mom!) We also drank a bottle of "J" Pinot Noir that my Aunt Suz & Uncle Trey gave us last year - we had been saving it the whole year!

Dinner at Morton's one year later...I think we've held up pretty well! So happy & in love!

We woke up the next day and had a few mimosas, great breakfast & most importantly celebrated Jeff's 41st Birthday!! What a great weekend it was! Happy Birthday Honey! Thank you for an amazing weekend - and more importantly, for being such a loving, thoughtful and romantic husband! I couldn't ask for anything more!

Here's to many, many more anniversaries!

Love you!

Yay for Four!

2009-09-02T13:04:00.001-07:00

Four has multiple meanings in this post!

First of all, Kylie's First day of FOURTH grade!

Time flies when you're having fun! It's hard to believe that the school year is already upon us. Kylie is excited to be a big fourth grader now and we are excited about the year ahead. Her teachers are wonderful (she has 2 this year) and have been very open and easy to talk to so far. We can't wait to see all the wonder and challenge that 4th grade brings!

Proud Daddy

Couldn't have a post without a recent picture of Marley!

The second "four" in our lives is Jeff and I's FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY!
Which is also a four - Friday, September 4th!
Yes, I know it's just the anniversary of when we started dating, but despite the wedding anniversary next month, this one is still so dear to my heart. It's wild to look back on the past four years at all we've been through and accomplished. I am more in love with my husband today than any day before and I feel like our relationship gets stronger and richer all the time. Ironically we're going through a series at church about marriage so it's been fun to have a little refresher course as we approach the First anniversary of our wedding. We're taking some time off this week to relax and enjoy time with each other...we are so excited!

So, thank you to all of our friends and family who have been there over the last four years! We appreciate your love and support!

Happy Labor Day everyone!!

Summer 2009

2009-08-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I know it's been quite a while - hopefully the school year will be better for my blogging habits! We've had a great summer so far and can't believe the 1st day of school is just around the corner. Just to re-cap, we've been swimming a LOT, eating some great food, grilling a lot thanks to our new grill in the backyard, playing with Marley, having friends over, etc. We were so happy to have Kylie for 4th of July this year - that was very special. Last week Kylie and I had some "girl time" and went to get pedicures and new school clothes. It's amazing how fast she is growing up - we get closer every day.

Also, we've recently had fun with the Gibbons Family, below you'll find pics of the sweet kiddos - they get along so well!! We are so grateful for our wonderful friends...we are so blessed at the great friends we have who are always there for us and Kylie!!

Ava & Kylie - cute goggles Miss Ava!

Baby Joe & Sweet Neel - Joe was trying to figure out how to use Aunt Kasey's cell phone!

Kylie's going to be a great big sister one day! She loves these kids!

Well, that's it for now! Congrats to all our friends who've had babies this summer! The list is getting quite long!

Kate Elizabeth & Hailey Claire Collins - our good friends & neighbors' twin girls born May 29th

Isley Reese Batson - a friend at work had a sweet baby girl on July 8th

Jake Colton Graham - my cousin Amber had her baby on July 11th

Mayson Scott Hayward - a friend from DFF had her baby boy on July 20th

Jillian Katie Shurts - another friend at work had a sweet baby girl on July 27th

Bryce Laney Booher - my friend Laney from high school had her sweet baby girl YESTERDAY!

Whew! That's a ton of babies! Guess there's something in the water around here. More to come soon! Let the countdown to cooler weather and more importantly...FOOTBALL SEASON BEGIN! We can't wait!

Love,

Kasey (& Jeff, Kylie & Marley)

3rd Grade Field Day!

2009-05-15T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today was Kylie's Field Day at Smith Elementary! Jeff was able to stop by and say hi and get in on the fun! He said Kylie was having a blast!

Kylie with her friend Natalie at Field Day
Balancing Act! Way to go girl!

She has a full day of fun because after school she's going to a friend's slumber party where they're going to see the Hannah Montana Movie & have fun girl time!

This weekend will be full of excitement with a wedding tomorrow night and then Sunday my Mom and I are hosting an Engagement Brunch for Ashley! (Pics to follow!) Next weekend we are headed to Austin for Taylor's graduation from UT! We are so proud of him and can't wait to celebrate with the whole family.

Well, that's it for now! Have a great weekend and hopefully we'll be better at posting more often over the summer!

Johnson Update!

2009-04-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

We haven't posted anything in a while so we thought we'd give you a quick update. Life is treating us well and we've been pretty busy over the last couple of months! Here's a few of the highlights...

Kylie did EXCELLENT on her TAKS test and only missed one question! She also got straight A's on her last report card and was on the A-Honor Roll. We are so proud of her! She takes the math portion of TAKS next week and we know she will do amazing. We couldn't ask for a better student as our daughter!
Jeff is facing this economy head on and has been looking for ways to expand his business. We have found some awesome opportunities that bring us hope for the future!
Kasey is still moving right along at Dallas Fan Fares and celebrating her 2 year anniversary of being with the company. She also recently volunteered at the Winners for Life charity event (the charity she used to work for) and got to see many old friends and colleagues. Her birthday is just a week away and we look forward to celebrating the big 2-7 with our friends and family!
Marley is as cute as ever - just eating, sleeping and playing. Couldn't we all be so lucky?
Easter was laid back this year but we got to go to the "Gospel Brunch" at House of Blues with Tom & Courtney so it was a fun time. We just missed not having Kylie with us for the first time in a few years.

Well, that's it for now. Sorry for the lack of pictures but we promise to add some soon. Take care friends!!

Kylie's Slumber Party - Part One

2009-02-26T19:52:00.000-08:00

Jeff making the Cookie Cake for Kylie - it turned out perfect!

What a great Dad and Husband he is!

Mimi and Lauren watching everyone play Rock Band! Mimi came over to help us with everything and we can't thank her enough!

Maddie, Lindsay, Kylie, Natalie & Grace eating pizza and having fun!

Elena, Mikael, Juliana & Lauren having fun too!

Let the Games Begin...

First, the Mummy Game! Each team had to wrap their "mummy" and finish their role of toilet paper before anyone else. The girls had a blast and Jeff even got to play!

They loved the "Freeze Dance" game. A few of the girls were amazing! Maddie was the champ that night and got to take home a small prize.

After the fun, we opened presents and had some yummy cookie cake. Then we changed into our PJ's and played one last game. The girls watched High School Musical 3 and went to sleep!

We survived our first big slumber party!!

HAPPY 9TH BIRTHDAY KYLIE!

Kylie's 9th Birthday -continued!

2009-02-16T15:29:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Kylie opening Rockband on her birthday!

Kylie's 9th Birthday!

2009-02-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

Kylie had such a great birthday this year thanks to all of our friends and family! And...it's not over yet! She still has her slumber party on Friday to look forward to. (Marley even joined in on the fun!) We hope you enjoy these pictures and we even have a video of her opening her big present from the family - - ROCKBAND! We had a blast playing it on Saturday and our family was the perfect "3 man band". Kylie is so good at the drums and Jeff and I switched off between Guitar and Vocals. (For those of you who have heard me sing...it's not pretty!) Hope you all had a great Valentines! We certainly did and are thankful for our sweet Valentine...Miss Kylie!

School Days - 80's Style!

2009-01-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

Kylie came home last week and told us that she needed to dress up in 80's clothes... We were a little unsure of how to pull it off but then I remembered the old Bruce Springsteen shirt that I wore to a party a while back. We thought you would like to see it! She's here at the school assembly with a few of her friends. Jeff and I thought it was pretty funny because these kids had no idea what the 80's were. We also got a kick out of thinking that I was born in '82 and Jeff graduated from High School in '86. Anyway, besides putting together last minute outfits, we've been busy with work and looking forward to Kylie's 9th Birthday party in a couple of weeks! We've also been dealing with the ice storm and Kylie's school was closed for the day. Jeff and I worked from home so it was nice to have a change of pace. Next week I'm off to Orlando for a meeting and Kylie and Jeff are going to the Daddy/Daughter Dance. Should be a fun couple of weeks! It's also Meems' 76th Birthday on Saturday so we are going to stop by and say hi and give her some birthday hugs!

Jennifer's Wedding

2009-01-13T08:22:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we went toone of my co-worker, Jennifer's Wedding. It was really fun for us to attend our first wedding since our own! It was at a vineyard in Grapevine. We had a great time and Jennifer was a beautiful bride! Other than the wedding, we've been busy with birthday parties and we finally took the Christmas decorations down! The house looks so bare. Work is busy and things are going great. That's all for now...

Holiday Fun

2009-01-05T19:57:00.000-08:00

We had a great time over the holiday break. Christmas is always a busy time for us as we have several different Christmases and events. We had Kylie for 11 days straight and it was so much fun! We watched Christmas movies, took a carriage ride to look at the Christmas lights and Kylie took a gingerbread house making class with Mikael and had a blast! For New Years Eve, it was just Jeff and I and we enjoyed a night out with our good friends. We are excited about what 2009 has in store for us and hope to keep up with our blog more frequently! We welcome your comments and ideas!

Happy New Year!!

Our First Christmas as Mr. & Mrs.

2008-12-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

We are very excited to spend our first Christmas as Newlyweds! We are also blessed to have Kylie for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year. We have decorated the house and last night as a family we drank Egg Nog and put the ornaments on the tree. This is my favorite time of year and we enjoy spending time with family and friends. We are busy this season with holiday parties, shopping and still getting back into the swing of things from the wedding. Here are a few pictures from our holiday fun - you can see the great lights my hubby put up last week! And of course...Marley was pooped from all the hard work she did sleeping and watching us run around the house - she's our little Santa Dog. We wish you a very happy holiday season!

Getting Back in the Swing of Things!

2008-11-10T13:30:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I had a very productive weekend and it felt good to finally make some progress on our house. It's been great to catch up with our friends and family. The pictures above are from the "Galactic" Concert at House of Blues last week.

This weekend I also co-hosted a shower for Chelsee Glasco and it was great to see some of my friends after the wedding. It was fun to talk about the wedding and all that happened and reflect on everything. Chelsee is so cute pregnant! We can't wait to meet "Baby G"!

Have a great week!

Just Married!!

2008-11-05T11:20:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I are so happy to finally be married! Our wedding was absolutely amazing and everything went off without a hitch. We are anxiously awaiting the pictures from our photographer and will post some as soon as we get them. Our honeymoon in Maui was an absolute blast and we enjoyed hiking, sailing, snorkeling and just relaxing on the beach. It was great for us to have some down time and we are looking forward to being back in town as husband and wife and to spend some great time with Kylie!! We've had a lot to do since we got home but it's been fun unwrapping gifts, putting our dishes in the cabinets and hanging out at home with Kylie and Marley. This weekend we have some down time and we are so excited to be together and reflect on the past 11 months. What a fun ride it was!! Thanks to everyone who contributed to our special day...it meant so much to us!

Our First Wedding Shower!

2008-06-30T07:43:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday our good friends the Hobbs' and the Cookes' hosted a couples shower for us. It had a luau theme and everything was perfect down to the last detail. Alan and Kari welcomed our friends and family into their home and everyone had such a great time. We ate, drank and played the Newlywed Game...which was quite entertaining. Jeff and I were reminded once again how great our friends are...and how lucky we are to be surrounded by such caring, loving family and friends during this special time in our lives. Thank you to everyone who attended and made it an evening we'll never forget!

This is new for us!

2008-05-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

I've always seen people who had blogs and thought I'd never be one of them, but I think it might be a fun way to keep people updated on our lives, hear the funny stories about planning a wedding, newlywed trials and tribulations and all the other exciting things that life has ahead of us! Thanks to Kristin for showing me it can be done! Hope you all enjoy!