Verona Carnival

Last weekend we were looking for something fun to do, and decided to check out the Verona Hometown Days Carnival. What a great event!

I wanted Daddy to carry me at first...I loved watching all the big carnival rides, but there were a lot of people, too!  We spent a lot of time at the two petting zoo tents.  At the Herpetology tent, I petted lizards and iguanas and snakes, plus I got to see huge tortoises up close.

There was  a nice lady doing face painting for the Madison Herpetology Society, and she painted a kitty on my hand for me (even though a kitty isn't really a reptile).  We also went to the regular petting zoo.  I loved the alpaca, but he was kind of skittish.

There were also goats, a donkey, a sheep, and a potbellied pig that shared a cage with a gigantic Flemish Lop rabbit.  So cute!

On the way back to our car, we spotted a carousel.  Daddy took me on a ride- it was the most fun I had ever had!  I was so sad when the ride was over that Mama agreed to take me once, too.

I can't wait until the carnival comes back again next year!

Another 2nd Birthday Party!

My friend Maddie had her birthday a little while ago, and I had a great time. It was Elmo-themed, which was so much fun! This is Maddie in her special Birthday Girl Elmo Shirt:

Maddie also had a bouncy house at her party. Oh, my what a great invention! Here are a few pics of my Charlotte friend and I playing!

Visiting Great Grandma Dorothy

Last weekend Mama and I traveled to Dawson to visit Great Grandma Dorothy. Boy, was it an adventure! It started out with a long trip to Rochester, where I visited Papa Todd (but somehow Mama doesn't have any pictures of that- sorry! I know there were camera flashes going off, so I'll have to get some photos from Papa).

Next, we drove to Auntie Manda's house. Baby Campbell and I had so much fun playing with his toys while we waited for our mamas to get everything packed up!

Beep beep!

Me and Campbell watching the car being loaded.

Baby Campbell slept most of the way to Dawson, but I was too excited to sleep.   Here is a picture Mama took at a rest stop:

When we got to Grandma's house, Baby Campbell needed another nap. While he slept, Mama took this picture of us- four generations of Johnson women!

Mama let me play with her camera, and I took this picture of both my grandmas all by myself- pretty good, huh?

I got Mama up at 4 am to start our trip to Dawson (I actually got Mama up at midnight and told her I was all done sleeping and ready to get up for the day, but she made me go back to bed).  I was too excited to sleep much more, though, so at 4 Mama let us get up for good.  I wasn't at all tired, but Mama said she could have used a few more hours of sleep.  I didn't get tired again until 4:30 that afternoon.  Mama took this picture of me after I finally fell asleep for my (late) afternoon nap.

This is Great Grandma's cat, Sam.  Sam is a really nice kitty.  He likes to be vacuumed, and he doesn't mind when I pet him.  He also didn't mind when Campbell poured his water into Sam's food dish.

This is Grandma's sand box.  So big!  Campbell and I had lots of fun digging and scooping in it.

One of the best parts of visiting Grandma was the big tractor outside her front door.  Campbell and I visited it many times over the weekend!

I was a pretty happy kid all weekend...here are some pictures Mama took of me playing.

Auntie Manda and Mama took Campbell and me to the park in Dawson...I had a lot of fun showing Campbell how to be a big kid at the playground.

Baby Campbell doesn't travel light- he takes his Nuk, his Ribbit blanket, and his Bun-Bun bunny everywhere (even to the park)!

In the morning Great Grandma made us a big breakfast.  Here is a picture of my huge grin after Great Grandma gave me my first piece of cinnamon bread!

Mama set up the camera to take one last picture of all of us before we left to drive back home.  I am so glad to have such a wonderful family!

Sweet Dreams

"Auntie Kristin Friend come tomorrow, breakfast! No Uncle G- G flying, airplane, high! Uncle G worker. Kristin Friend come self, breakfast with Elsie!" 

 -Elsie, as she falls asleep anticipating a morning visit from Kristin.

Water bills and a truck.

It turns out last term's higher-than-normal water bill was not caused solely by my sudden fascination with hand washing, but rather by a washing machine that was running unsolicited "phantom cycles" whenever it pleased. Yes, full cycles, when empty, often in the middle of the night.   It also only ran with hot water, and it sometimes stopped mid-cycle for no apparent reason, then refused to start again.

Yup, our washing machine was broken.  Mama tried to fix it (with the help of a fantastic guy named Dave from here), but it was really broken.  Badly.  When she realized just how many parts would have to be replaced for it to run again (and when she considered the fact that it was old enough to have fake-wood paneling), she and Daddy decided to just buy a new washer.  Which is important, because the new washer was delivered to my house.  In a TRUCK!  A truck, in my very own driveway!  I got to stand in it and everything!  Mama made sure to take pictures for me to share- what a fun day!

Baseball- a guest post from Mama

Today Elsie blew me away by saying out of the blue during lunch, "Elsie get helmet, put helmet on.  Elsie play baseball!"  I'm not sure where she even learned about baseball!  I tried to get her to repeat it for the camera, and this is what she said:

 

I guess her recent trip to Dawson has left her channeling her Great Papa Harold, an amature ball player!  She is named after Harold's mother, after all!

A visit from Gramma RJ

Gramma RJ and my David friend came to visit me last week, and I had lots of fun. Here are a few pictures of me being a big kid at the park with Gramma:

Visiting the animals!

Last week my friend Lucas and I went to the Humane Society to take a tour. It was so much fun! First I got to meet the "Behavior Dogs":

They aren't real, they just look real (I still really liked petting them and giving them hugs, though). The caretakers use them to help determine if new dogs who come to the shelter are aggressive with other animals.

After that we visited the horses, the chickens, the dogs, the cats, and the "critters." Here is a picture of me in the critter room, looking at all the animals:

There were lots of birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, and LOTS of rodents. I liked the bunnies best!

After we visited all the animals who were looking for homes, our guide took us back to her office where she had three guinea pigs, a rat, and a snake. I got to pet them all!  I especially liked the soft, soft rat.

I wish all those animals we saw had homes of their own, but I sure am glad that they have such a nice place to stay until they find their forever homes!

My fingers are crossed!

Fifteen months after this:

And this:

And this: 

Mama and I did our part again by going here to cast our vote:

After voting we went to the park to celebrate democracy- here I am saying, "I VOTED!" in my best big loud voice:

  

Since I am still too young to do it myself, I need my friends and family to help recall Walker and protect my education and my future for me! 

If you live in Wisconsin, I hope you go to vote today, too! Thank you!

My first date

I went on my first date last week.  It was with my Henry friend.  We went to the park; we dug in the sand and played cars and shared a snack.  It was a little weird because Mama came, too, but she mostly left us alone and it was lots of fun.

Super Mom? A guest post from Mama

There is something about woodworking, using one's own circular saw and assorted power tools, that truly makes one feel like a Super Mom. I had this lovely experience over the last few days while creating a pair of racks for Elsie's room. She has been needing a place to hang her things- a bag of doll clothes, her "jewelry", her hat and coat- and I think she will enjoy being able to do it her self and organize her toys. Yes, I probably could have gone to the store and purchased something similar for not much money, but the experience of picking out my own piece of lumber (Cherry!), planning, measuring (twice!), and cutting the wood, sanding, staining, drilling, and hanging the finished project is very empowering. Mostly, it's just a wonderful change of pace for a mom who's artistic endeavors of late have been limited to knitting and sewing. Be warned- when I finally get around to buying a new electric sander, the saw dust will really fly!

Tricycle!

Last time I was in MN, Mama and I visited Grandma RJ's house 

and I found a tricycle.  I brought it upstairs to use.  

First I made my Paige Baby try it out to see if it was safe.

She thought it was fun, so I tried it out (with a little help).

 

I was pretty confident in my skills, so Grandma carried me outside 

to practice riding on the open road.

 

 I COULD have ridden the tricycle really far if I wanted to, 

but I thought I might still be a little bit too small for such a big bike. 

Grandma and I helped Paige take a ride instead.

At the zoo

Up close and personal with a friendly orangutan. 

The giraffes just seem to really like me, and come in for a close look whenever I visit them.

Playing in tunnels.

Feeding the goats.

Bedtime Conversation Transcript

Mama: We had a fun day today, didn't we?

Elsie:  Yeah!  Yoga class.  Park.  Baby Finn's house.  Played.  Pet Callie Puppy.

Mama:  That's right! We went to Baby Finn's house and you petted his puppy.

Elsie:  Elsie pet chickens!

 Mama: Such a fun day! You petted Callie Puppy, and you petted the chickens. We'll have another fun day tomorrow, okay? Good night!

 (Mama starts to leave bedroom)

Elsie: MAMA! Chicken made BIG POOPER!