Changes everywhere

As you can immediately see, the blog has been completely overhauled. While I enjoyed the Japanese flower version, the layout was too buggy and I often had difficulty logging into my dashboard to post. The slideshow page didn’t layout well enough, and I still had too many details to correct. So a new layout was called for. I have to say that of all the iterations the blog has gone through, this one is my favorite. It’s the cleanest, has the best code, and is the easiest to work with. As a result, I’ve been able to have more fun and incorporate more bells and whistles.

Maybe this sweeping blog change is a reflection of all the other changes we’ve been going through as a family. 2008 has proved (thus far) to be a very challenging and whirlwind year for the Johnsons.

We’ve had some personal crises to overcome. There are a few of you out there who know what I’m talking about. For those of you who don’t, just know that we are overcoming them and that things are going well. As Longfellow wrote, “Into each life a little rain must fall…“. I also like Lord Byron:

The thorns which I have reap’d are of the tree
I planted; they have torn me, and I bleed.
I should have known what fruit would spring from such a seed.

Of course, if you want better fruit, you simply plant a better tree.

I will not wallow, nor will I expound upon the situation. It’s done and we are moving forward as a family. So, let’s talk about the family in June:

Zachary

Zachary turned 5. We spent the evening at grandma’s pool having a picnic, opening presents, and swimming. It was a great time and Zachary loved his gifts. Then, the next day he got to go to Chuck E. Cheese with his cousins. So far I’d managed to avoid that place for 5 years, but now that he has a taste of it, I’m sure there are more excursions in my future. Is this place one of Dante’s 9 circles of hell?

On the same day as his birthday, Zachary also “graduated” from preschool. He’ll start kindergarten in August. Unbelievable!

Jonah

Jonah continues to be a source of pleasure and a source of frustration. While he is SO smart, and really funny, he does have a temper. There’s usually at least one tantrum a day over taking away something he’s not supposed to have. Thankfully, the tantrums don’t ever last very long and he’s easy to divert. He loves playing with Zachary, and of course all of Zachary’s toys. They do play together well and both love to build with the big legos.

Chris

This year we celebrated Father’s Day at the zoo. It was hot, but it was nice. Zach didn’t want to feed the animals at the petting zoo, but Jonah loved it. Chris loved the elephants, and Zach’s favorite part was riding the train at the end.

Chris and I also celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. We went to Universal Citywalk to see the Blue Man Group, then had a wonderful steak dinner. It’s always so odd having an “adult” dinner without the boys. I’m already looking forward to next year. Chris promised that we’d spend our 10th anniversary in the place where it all started—Vegas baby!

As always, there are more pics and slideshows on the Eye Candy page. I’ve uploaded a ton of pictures since the last 2 posts.

Whew, that’s a lot to catch up on. Happy July everyone!