Lazy Summer Days and a Cute Towel to Take Anywhere with You

Summer is almost over!!! I haven't posted a lot because I've been running the business while Eric has been on a shoot. But I'm sad it's almost over. We've been having fun in the backyard with all of our animals and our tiny, tiny dinosaur pool. 

 

Scarlett has been able to get out and try eating the rocks 

 

--- So I don't normally post about my business but I got a chance to try these cool towels from this company I love! They were fun for Farrah cause they were pink, warm, small enough for her to be wrapped and not face plant, and they were pink. Did I mention that? So If you guys are in need of a quick-drying travel towel for camping or the pool, now that summer is almost over ;) ... I recommend these. A lot. Here is where you can try them. 

 #rocksaredelicious #summeristooshort #traveltowels #johnstonhomestead #mykidslovebunnies

Guess Who's back!!

Ok, so maybe I need a second me.  I know I have been gone while but I'm back.  I am going to get this going again and update you on my life. How do you do it? I can't keep everything going and 4 children fed and happy.

Really... I will try to be better...

Phone Phobia

Ok so I think the actual term is "telephonophobia" but whatever it is called I have it. I can't do it. I think it runs in my family but it is real and I suffer. I think its cause I am afraid of what the other person wants. A substitute teacher, help at an event or did I do my visiting teaching (No...Again). I am not a good person. I almost always say yes and then I end up having lots of fun (usually). Why am I like this? I love texting. Thanks to whoever invented it. No small talk, and if I want I can wait an hour to respond to think up a good excuse.... I mean get up the courage to say yes. I'm just sayin...

Baby Gage

Ok so yes it has been a while. Life with baby is busy! And it seems facebook is so much easier. But for those who havent seen these on Facebook.....

Here is our Gagey... The light of our lives....our blessing....the one who makes me laugh and smile every second I am with him... yes even 5 am

Baby Poll!

So the the day is almost here! I am so close (like 2 weeks away) and we are excited to find out what gender the baby is! Ok so I want to see what you all think! You should guess the gender and the birthday! So far every time we have people guess it ends up a tie! We are due the 15th but hoping for a tiny tiny bit earlier!

We'll see!!!

Kind of embarrassing

Ok guys! I am giving away free camisoles and for some reason only one person has entered! (I think its cause blogger makes you have a google account) Thanks Ashley! I hope you win but I really want others to enter. If you can enter go to my Allegrowear blog www.allegrowear.blogspot.com and enter! Its totally free! There's like 7 ways to enter and it's as easy as making a facebook comment. Let me know if you have problems but I figure since you are all bloggers you can figure it out!

Thanks and good luck!

Sooooo...For those of you who don't know :)

We are having a little Johnston! We have been waiting a really long time and we are sooooo excited! I have had a really hard time announcing it because I feel like I might jinx it. But I obviously can't hide it any more and I tried to wait until I saw most of you so I could tell you in person but I am feeling the baby like crazy and I know it's going to be fine so tadaaa!

We are due July 15th so I am like 28 weeks. We are not finding out what it is.. (cue the shocked expressions of "What? Why? You would!)

It's going to be a surprise! Eric says he is going to paint the nursery half pink and half blue and then fix it before the baby sleeps in there! He he... more work but he is soooooo excited he thinks it will be fun!

I am thrilled and look forward to this little munchkin! I am amazed at every little kick, punch and hiccup. At one of the ultrasounds we saw the baby yawn (if that's possible) and suck on its hand and the umbilical cord. We are so in love with it already!

I have loved every minute Eric and I have had alone to be married and the chance we had to just play but we are excited (how many times can I use that word) to be parents!

Wish us luck! I know our life is going to change... a lot! :)

England & Scotland

We just got back from England & Scotland last week so perfect time for me to actually blog!

Eric was the UPM (Unit Production Manager) for a promotional trailer for a movie called “Burnings of the Heart.” I was lucky enough to tag along and help with the wardrobe! Here is the crew and some of the cast in front of the Bamburgh Castle where we shot.

Preview

We had a hard time getting there! It took 60 hours instead of the usual 20 or so. We left SLC at 6 am on Saturday. Got over JFK airport by 3 or so EST and then the turbulence started. We circled Long Island about 2 1/2 hours. Tried to land twice and then diverted to Syracuse. The pilot said there were 75 mph winds and it just wasn't safe to land.

Lovely.

Then after about 15 of us hurling in JFK we had another turbulent landing in Syracuse.

FINALLY on the ground... we sat... for 3 more hours.... on the tarmac.

The flight crew was AWESOME! And brought us pizza from the terminal. It was the best pizza I ever tasted. I think we were starving to death.They finally they decided no chance of landing again in JFK. So they put us up for the night and sent us back at 7 am in the morning. We were so lucky we landed in Syracuse cause the people stranded at JFK were left to sleep on the
benches at JFK.

No freaking way.

So 6 hours of lines,10 hours of waiting in the airport, and 3 more hours of waiting on the tarmac... we took off for London.

We finally made it! Good thing I am ornery when I don't have food and prepared for any lack of food I may have encountered. Eric was happy that I had a whole backpack full of food.

SO YAY! London. One day late but LONDON!

Eric got our car and had to drive on the left side of the road! AHHHHH! He was un-phased but I was sitting in the passenger seat (America's Driver side) and like, "AHHH! No steering wheel!"
We finally met up with the rest of our party and drove to Northern England. Some of the most beautiful country I have ever been to!

We stayed at a little cottage at Bilton Barns.

An actual farm people.

It was so great! And English cottage on a farm. My dream trip!
We had some great days in England. The weather was awesome except one day when we were shooting our burning at the stake scene. Which kind of worked for it... making it all ominous and such. We scouted some beautiful places that we didn't use but went back and saw later. Like Warkworth Castle. We also stayed near a little town that Eric just loved called Alnmouth. It was like what you picture in movies. A darling colorful set of buildings on a beach. Luvs it.

So then of course on our days off we had to run up to SCOTLAND! Our motherland. Eric is a Johnston (me too now) and I was a Campbell and I'm not going to mention that my clan beat up Eric's clan.... A lot. Sorry babe!

This Johnston Terrace was right next to the main Royal Mile street that the Edinburgh castle is on. The Johnstons must have been important! The castle is below. We made it about 2 minutes too late to go in. We went to Hard Rock instead. Silly Americans.


London! I haven't been to London for about 8 years and never with Eric so I was super excited to show him all the places I loved (he's been there too but lets me be the expert) I wanted to show him where I lived but never made it. We did get a special below at Big Ben. And Eric got some other great shots below. Luckily the weather held up for the 8 hours we had in London!
We had an awesome time. We'll be back London. We'll be back.

Jogger Blogger

I've been a horrible blogger! I know! I'm going to catch you all up on our life in the next couple of weeks! But I saw this and I am a treadmill junkie so I thought I would share! Sorry there is a commercial at the first.

recipe: ice cream bonbons

recipe: ice cream bonbons

Shared via AddThis

Do you think we'll make it?

We thought we would try out for the Amazing Race! Haven't heard anything yet. We shall see....

Funniest video ever -

This is a friend I used to do "Murder mystery" game nights with. Needless to say I almost died every time we hung out. He's the torturer....

Win a free tutu!

Hey everyone! Go to this really cool blog. She always has good deals and giveaways and there is no purchase necessary. They are featuring my business this time. But there are always good deals and stuff. Sometimes even free stuff!

My business is featured on this cool blog! Enter to win a free tutu!
http://shoppinghigh.blogspot.com/2009/05/pixie-dust-tutu-giveaway-30-value.html

Tank the Toy!!!

We have a new addition to the family. He is 1 pound 6 Ounces and 12 weeks old. He is our new little doll. He and Mia wrestle all day (when they are not sleeping or pooping) He is so fun but we are remembering how hard it is to have a puppy compared to a 3 year old potty trained puppy. Mia is way lower maintenance. But he is the funniest little thing. He barks..... well - squeaks at everything including paper, our feet and even the carpet. Right now he is barking at my typing fingers. He sleeps like Frankenstein with his legs in "rigor mortise' positions. It's hysterical! Anyways, He is our baby doll and we love having a little friend for Mia.

Sorry for the cell phone pictures!

Pixie Dust Tutus

So as you might know I own my own Dance clothes e-store. (www.allegrowear.com)
I am laughing right now because in one of my very first posts I complained on how un-domestic I am and now here I am announcing that
I am designing my own tutu line!
I love it. I have been doing it for about a month now and they are selling very well. They are darling and here is a picture of my little niece Sophie wearing one. We have more coming but this is the only one I make right now. Let me know if you want one and I will give you 25% off for being a friend or friend of a friend! Or buy them here.

Here is a description:
These short fluffy tutus are perfect for princess tutus, baby tutus and dance tutus alike. Made with soft, high quality tulle and and a sewn waist band for easy pull on. Elastic band for growth. Tutus are perfect for the petite pirouette ballerina at ballet class but are also perfect for portraits, ballerina birthday parties, princess tea parties, weddings, dress up, pretend princess play, day outings, fairy dress up or holidays.

NKOTB FOREVER!!!!

Okay. I am serious when I say this. It is not a joke. I have the pictures to back it up!

I went to the New Kids on the Block Comeback tour concert on Saturday. It....was.....Awesome.
Eric loves the group, and anything from the 80's. I always tease him that he is an old man because he always sings 80's music like New Kids, or Millie Vanilli. He is so old school. But when we heard they were coming to town he nearly died of excitement. Then Jeff (Eric's little brother) bought us New Kids on the Block tickets for our birthday's, he was ecstatic. I was like, "Is this a joke? Where's my real present?" But I laughed and was excited to to go as a joke.
So we went thinking that it would be hysterical to see 5 fourty-year-old men trying to dance around like a bunch of teenagers. But oh no... It....was.....Radical. First of all the place was packed (not kiding) with tons of young girls, my age girls, and older women. They were all freaking out when they came on. Dying I tell you. When they started dancing they were so good! I was dying. And all their music was updated, leaving out the synthesizer effect on most of the songs which made the songs current and ..... tubular. I thought would just be laughing but I was truely impressed and I have to say I screamed like a little girl when they came down into the audience and were 7 feet away from me. Eric and Jeff were laughing at me now.

Donnie Wahlberg winked at me. Seriously.
This is a picture of all of them when they came up in the middle of the audience. We were so close. Someone threw a "I 'heart' Mormon girls" up to them. Donny is wearing it in this picture. No Joke.


Then to top it off. We sat right next to David Archuletta and his family. Not kidding!
Notice the 2 tiny little girls guarding the booth they are sitting in. Yeah That's going to help if he get's rushed. Anywyas. It was fun to see him too.



What a great night!

So Saturday night we got to go see a premiere of one of the movies Eric helped Produce. I love going to shows that Eric has worked on. I am always so proud of his shows even if they are not Oscar Winning. People always pull me aside and tell me how much they love Eric and how he pulled the show together with such ease. They couldn't do it without him. I am so proud of him!

It was a fabulous show and I cried like a little girl. The movie is called Gordon B. Hinkley, a Giant Among Men. It is a documentary but also with reenactments. The actors were well cast and you have a hard time not laughing at the boy Gordon and his brothers. They are darling! T.C.. the Director, always does a phenomenal job. He has done lots of other shows, including "Joseph, the Prophet of the Restoration." He is a talented Director of Photography and a good friend. This would be a great Christmas gift for hard to buy for people. It's at deseret book or at Living Scriptures Website.

I love Gordon B. Hinkley and I love to learn about him. It is nice to know of his mistakes so I see that I can be a better person even with all of my faults.

Anyways it was a blast!

Stop picking on the Mormons

Okay. So I have to say what so many are thinking. Okay maybe just me - but it really bugs me. Why do people always pick on the Mormons? Seriously. Wednesday after Proposition 8 passes, they single out the Mormons from the other millions of voters who voted for it that came from dozens of other religions.

"ProtectMarriage.com, is a broad-based coalition of California families, community leaders, religious leaders, pro-family organizations and individuals from all walks of life who have joined together to support Proposition 8.

Over 1.1 million Californians signed petitions to place Proposition 8 on the ballot, and over 4.3 million voters already passed the very same language included in Proposition 8 as Proposition 22 in 2000."

-from the ProtectMarriage.com website

http://mojoey.blogspot.com/2008/11/list-of-churches-supporting-prop-8.html is a blog that lists over 100 churches that supported it.

So seriously. Why all the hate towards Mormons? Mormons know enough about hate. It has nothing to do with us hating gay people. We all know and love one or two or many people who are gay. I have nothing against the person. But I don't support it. I know a lot of people who have been addicted to drugs as well. I don't hate them. It is just something I don't believe is right. And there is enough evidence in the Bible to show that God doesn't support it either. But he doesn't hate the people who are Gay.

And now all I see is how we are hateful. And then they proceed to list all of the reason why they hate Mormons. Come on! Does any one see the hypocrisy in that? Believe whatever you want but realize that I have the right to believe whatever I want too. And isn't the whole point of democracy that people can vote how they want, no matter what religion they are? Churches aren't in the voting booth with you while you are voting. The people spoke for themselves. Not the LDS church.

So why pick on just us. Are they out protesting all of the other represented religions that voted for it? No.

And we are the ones who discriminate. We are the ones who hate.

So my last point is two part. In the last five years or so there have been so many stories about Polygamists. And which church do they almost always credit the crazy to? LDS. Not FLDS. So first, get your facts straight people.

And second, why is polygamy so wrong if Gay marriage isn't? If everyone can marry any one, or anything they want, then why does the media freak out at polygamy. Cause it is a freaking double standard. I don't believe in Polygamy either but how is it so different?
This world is insane.

Stop picking on the Mormon's already.

Hee Haw

So in one of my favorite months of the year (October) there is always lots of fun crap to do. Last week Eric, me, and Jeff - Eric's little brother went to nightmare on 13th street, the haunted house. Holy monkey, that was scary. I almost peed. But....didn't. But that same day I got to go to a more family friendly place called Hee Haws with my niece Sophie for a school field trip. It is a cute little corn maze (shaped like a spider in a web) and they have animals an such. Sophie loved it! She had her eyes set on the slide the whole time and when she finally went down it she had a few good runs in with her friend Luscious (yes, that is her real name) but then got scared. The guy putting the kids on still sent her down even though she was crying. (Ya, whats up with that?) and didn't like that at all. But she did love the hayride and the pumpkins and the animals. I would definately take your kids there if you need something fun to do for Halloween.

Why am I not more domestic?

I have come to terms with it. I am not domestic or crafty. I probably never will be. How many Super Saturdays have I been there feeling like it is Stupid Saturday and wondering how long that the crappy uneven blanket I made would sit in the closet until I got rid of it. I don't scrap. I don't stitch. I didn't even blog until last week. Whenever I go out with the Johnston clan, instead of hanging out with the ladies in the kitchen, I end up doing all of the paint balling and waterfall jumping with the boys.

But I think I am okay with it. I was talking to my friend Melissa's mom today and she said she didn't become domestic until the last few years. So I think there is hope. So for all of you out there that think a grilled cheese sandwich is dinner... for those of you who have jumped off ten different 30 foot waterfalls but have never used a glue gun... and the only thing you made in your entire house has misshapen words and uneven borders... RISE UP AND JOIN TOGETHER WITH ALL THE WOMEN THAT AREN'T....

Rolls! I cook great Rolls. Whewwhh! I was starting to freak out a little.