Cabo!

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!!

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...

 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!

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!

 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!

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

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)

1. 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.
   
2. 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)