Patty Johnson's Blog

Lily loves to draw outside with chalk. She really loves being outside in general. She like to draw her name (even though I think she wishes there was an "H" in her name because that seems to be her favorite letter to draw), people, hearts, suns, and more.

Since Dad was recuperating from his double hernia surgery, everyone decided to help out doing yard work. Steve mowed the lawn, Mark cut down dead branches, Matt Danny & Nick raked and everyone moved the dead branches around to the back of the house. The kids had a blast playing outside together too.

Today Adam's sister Michelle graduated High School. The ceremony was very different from ours but they did about 600 less students in their graduating class. It would have probably only lasted like 15 mintues but in Stratford they have each person who got a scholarship go up to the podium and they announce all the scholarships they got and what they were for. Lily kept entertained by playing with my camera but then it was pretty much drained by the end so I could only take a couple of photos. After graduation we all went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, YUM.

The Men all had to meet for pictures at 2:30 so Lily and I hung out with Vanessa and Tiffany in the hotel room. We went to Shopko to get a couple of things and then we chilled in the room and got ourselves ready. Then, we went down for the ceremony (all wearing matching candy necklaces) and saw the guys for a little bit before they had to go into hiding. Then the ceremony started. It was a nice ceremony. Lily kept herself entertained by taking photos, mostly of the little boy in front of her. After the ceremony we all made a bee line to the bar because it was a 1/2 hour of open bar. Then, it was about time for dinner. They had pork and lemon-pepper cod. Then, they showed a little video of their original wedding and a slideshow. Then it was time for the dance. They didn't have a dj or anything just a computer attached to a speaker and the music choices were interesting so we didn't really do much dancing. Plus, most of the people left after dinner and it was pretty much our table and the table with the grandparents and parents. They didn't do any of the normal reception stuff (grand march, bouquet toss, garder throw) and the Bride was in bed by 10pm. We left at 11pm and the rest our friends walked across the street to the bowling alley where they sang karaoke and bowled. More photos of the Wedding on my dotphoto Here

Once Adam got off work we packed up the car and were off to Stratford. Michelle was at a softball game in town and she agreed to watch Lily while we went to the rehearsal dinner. Once we dropped her off we went to Ryan's parents house which is right near there. There was no rehearsal tonight but we all got together for dinner there and discussed the wedding itinerary. Then we all decided to have a bachelor/bachelorette party of sorts and hit the wonderful bars of Stratford. We went to Rocky's bar and really had a good time there. The guys played 7-14-21 dice for $1 mystery shots for a while. A Couple of us won money on finger tabs (where you unravel this paper thing and if there is a finger you win $20! Then, we played foosball and pool. At that point it was getting close to midnight so we decided it was time to all go to Adam's parents house and take a dip in the hot tub. After we all got warm & relaxed everyone went home and we went to bed.

For Mothers Day we got my mom two plants with pretty flowers. Today Grandpa and Lily decided to plant them in the yard. This time Lily didn't seem to want to get muddy which surprised me alot. They planted around the lilac tree we got Mom last year and also other places in the yard. Mom also had a couple things for them to plant in the garden so they were quite busy.

Today Lily and I spent some time at the library. I take her there about once a week to get movies to borrow but we haven't gone there to play before. She had a blast playing with a bunch of kids and they have lots of things to do including a playhouse, dollhouse, a few things for trains & cars, puppetshow stage, chess/checkerboards, and more. Lily put on a couple little puppetshows for me which was cute. We also got 4 movies, 2 videogames, and a bunch of books. It was a fun time.

We got up and checked out of the hotel and we were off to Bay Beach Amusement Park. Lily was very excited to see all the rides. First we got tickets and Lily and I rode the carousel. Then, we decided to take a ride on the train because there was no line. Then, Lily went on every kiddie ride available. She was having a blast even though she'd put on a really serious face when on the rides. Then she decided she wanted to check out the bigger rides so the three of us went on the Tilt-o-whirl ride. It was fun making it go faster and seeing how both Adam and Lily would react. Lily was then ready to go on the scrambler. I asked her many times if she was sure and I explained that it was really fast but she was determined to ride because she is quite the daredevil. To my surprise she really loved all the rides including the big ones. The only one she didn't want to go on was the ferris wheel because she thought it looked to high. It was a nice fun day at the park together. After that we grabbed a bite to eat and headed back home.


VIDEOS: Rides: Skyfighter, Ladybugs, Trains
More Bay Beach Pictures HERE

Today Adam finally decided to join us on a trip to the swimming pool. Lily is getting better and she likes to hold on to me or Adam and then kick around the pool. She learns everything so fast. After that fun we found the indoor playground where we spent the next few hours. A lot of kids came and went so Lily had a blast, especially playing tag with everyone. Once it was almost time for the mall to close we went to the food court and had some yummy hot dogs & rootbeer at A&W. Then, Lily took one final ride on a big carousel and we went back to the hotel. Then, we watched some cartoons and Lily fell quickly asleep.

More Photos of our fun at the mall at my dotphoto HERE