The unexpected...or...maybe not...

Okay, okay, so how many of you have locked your keys in the car? That's what I thought. :) How about locking your keys in the car after strapping your child in the car seat? Okay I'm raising my hand. It might be to hard to explain...but I'll try. I need to come up with some kind of solution to keep my keys on me at all times. Since Derek has had to rescue Cassidy and I several times now. He's our Hero, always! :) Soon Derek won't allow me to drive anymore. :)

Well let me tell you about this last time it happened. Cassidy and I had a fabulous time eating at RedRobin with family. We had a great time visiting with Aunt Barb and my cousin Erik. Well it was time to say goodbye and Cassidy and I were walking to the car but Cassidy wanted to wave good-bye several times as they drove off. So of course we were the last ones to leave. :) I put Cassidy in the car and let her play in the car for a little, before the trip back home, and decided to lock the doors so she couldn't open the door and fall out. (I know I need to change the doors to child lock.) I watched her play from the doorway. After a little while I put Cassidy in her car seat and strapped her in but forgetting I had locked the doors and forgetting that I put my keys down, I closed her door and then started walking to my door. Soon realizing I had just locked my keys in the car and my daughter. NOT AGAIN!!!! Of course my cell phone was in the diaper bag in the car too. So what do I do???

I saw a lady sitting in her car parked beside me and asked if I could use her phone, but she didn't have one, she actually was about to start her shift at RedRobin and kindly offered to keep an eye on Cassidy while I ran inside to call Derek. Of course I was at the RedRobin at Southgate and Derek works near Monument so it would be awhile before he comes. So the lady at the counter insisted to call the Fire Department instead of Derek since they're right next door and are always helping them out. Of course at this point I just wanted to hide because she shouted out loud to her fellow co-worker to run next door and to ask the Firemen for help saying, "This mom locked her child in the car!" I know the whole restaurant heard her. She was really nice but kind of panicky. I was so embarrased.

She walked with me back to the car and was amazed at how calm I was. Well, you're probably thinking this isn't the first time that's why. :) But also I knew Cassidy was safe in her car seat. She was so good, just sitting patiently, holding onto her balloon. But probably wondering why mommy wasn't driving home yet.

Then just a couple of minutes later, I hear the sirens, yup the whole firefighter crew were on their way to save the day. I felt silly because of my dumb mistake they had to go all out to help me. It was quite the sight! Let's just say all 4 of them jumped out of the truck with huge smiles. One of them told me this wasn't the first time they had to do this, I don't know if that made me feel better or not. They were all so nice! A couple of them were waving to Cassidy through the windows while the other two worked on unlocking my door. It didn't take long at all.

Now the guys were the first to open the door and started talking to Cassidy and that's when she lost it and started crying. She didn't see me, and had no idea what was going on with all these people looking at her. So I took her out of the car and tried to console her when one of the firemen asked if she would like to sit in the firetruck. Of course, through the tears, she was able to say yes, with her little voice. She loves trucks and cars! The experience turned out to be a fun experience and a good time. Cassidy gave each one of them a high 5 and blew them kisses as they drove off. My little girl was safe and had some one on one time with true heroes. THANK YOU to the fire crew of Station 4!

Hopefully I have learned my lesson once and for all!!!!

Thankful for our blessings...

This Thanksgiving was pretty quiet. Usually we either have family over or we're out of town with family. But due to a recent family vacation, earlier in November, Thanksgiving just kind of sneaked up on us.

It was a wonderful day, spending time together, with our little family. We still wanted to have the traditional Turkey dinner so we did. Let's just say we had lots of leftovers, and Derek even bought a little turkey. We spent the day relaxing, and playing with Cassidy. After our naps, later that evening, we went to a friend's house to eat dessert and play games. It was a perfect day! We have so much to be grateful for!

Johnson Vacation

We just got back from Texas. We had the chance to spend a week with Derek's side of the family at Holly Lake Ranch, near Tyler, Texas. We had a wonderful time, and now we're trying to catch up on sleep. :)

We flew to Dallas and rented a car to drive to the resort it was about 2 hours. The flight went well, since we didn't have a booked flight Cassidy was able to have her own seat. She enjoyed looking out the window. When she saw the big puffy clouds she would say, "oh wow"! We were able to meet Grammy, Sara, Scott and the kids at the airport since their flight came in after ours and then we carpooled together to the resort.

It was so good to reunite with the rest of the family. The kids have changed so much! The last time we got together was when Cassidy was 7 months old, for our sealing. The neat thing is that Cassidy has 3 cousins the same age as she is, we all had babies last year. And when we were together last, they were all bald, and not moving much. But on this trip we had 4 toddlers running in every direction. It was also neat to see Brynna, Amber, Grace, Michael, and Ben (the older cousins ages 4-8). They took good care of the little ones. And of course we can't forget Macey the youngest of the bunch at only 3 months old. What a cutie!

The resort that we stayed at was so pretty. We had 4 units right next to each other and each unit had a huge hot tub, so it was fun to fit all the kids in the tub for bath time and of course us adults were able to enjoy it too. :) We were in the great outdoors lots of pine and oak trees. The colors were changing, it was so beautiful! Couple of nights we watched the deer right outside our front door. We were also near a lake and had the chance to go canoeing and use paddle boats. Of course none of us swam in the lake due to the sign that read, Alligators in natural habitat. Thankfully we never came face to face with one. The kids enjoyed playing in the sand, on the playground, and of course just running all over the place.

Each night each couple took a turn with cooking dinner one night, dessert another night, and being in charge of entertainment. Derek and I brought karaoke for our entertainment night. It was so funny to watch and listen to everyone. Grammy was the best! It was a good time. Other nights through out the week we played games like Dominos, and SkipBo and watched movies, the brothers played Halo on the Xbox, the girls stayed up late talking. One day we spent the entire day in Tyler, Texas, going to the horse stables for the kids, wildlife museum, rose garden, and eating out at Texas Roadhouse.

There was a lot to do at the resort also, we had access to play put put golf, volleyball, basketball, tennis, and ping pong. It was so fun to spend time with everyone! They also had board games for the kids and would put out a puzzle for anyone to put together. Guess who sat at the table putting the puzzle together? Yup Derek, and his brothers. It made the ladies at the front desk very happy, and wanted to frame each puzzle they were able to put together. It was cute.

We had a treasure hunt one day for the kids, a sports day with teams, hikes and exploring trails around the area, and took turns for double dates out in the town or at the resort. I don't think Cassidy was ever bored! We think she enjoyed being with her cousins, Grammy,uncles, and aunts so much that she wouldn't ever want to sleep, so she wouldn't miss out on anything! She wanted to throw out naps all together. We will never forget our great week and we will always remember the times we had with everyone! We already miss being together. Thanks everyone for the good memories!

Lunch Visit

Aunt Barb came over to have lunch with Cassidy and I. It was great to be able to see her and to spend some time together. We sat around talking and eating grilled cheese and ham sandwhiches. Thanks for coming over Aunt Barb. We love you!