Bridgeport City Pool

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Jumping off the diving board



After two years of asking, I finally took Bethany to the Bridgeport City Pool. Why did it take me two years? Well, we travel a lot in the summer, we live at a lake, and I just plain didn't want to go. I did not want to go prancing around in front of all the high school kids I knew would be there in my bathing suit. I avoided going to the pool at every request. Brian finally went with us. He didn't swim. He sat and read a book. It made me feel better to be there with another adult. I only saw eight kids I knew. We went on a Sunday afternoon after school had started, so there were not too many people there. We had a really nice afternoon. I regretted not taking her earlier. I suppose next summer I can manage to take her on a Sunday afternoon. I still am not sold on going on a week day, when the pool is crawling with kids that I teach. Maybe we could find a pool in Fairmont we could go to. The drive would be worth, not seeing my students. There is just something about being in a bathing suit around your students that bothers me. Bethany enjoyed the day, but said the water tasted funny. Lake water tastes better than chlorine water in her opinion.

First Day of School 2010

Sweet Bethany

Another school year has begun for the Johnson family. Bethany is in second grade this year, in Mrs. Barnes class. She is doing well with her school work, and is enjoying reading chapter books now. I am very much enjoying reading to her whole books without pictures. It is one of my favorite things that we do together. We have been reading the "Zack Files", "Junie B. Jones", "Ramona" books, "Magic School Bus" books, and "Magic Tree House" books. I'm glad I saved all the books I enjoyed as a girl. I have the "Anne of Green Gables" series waiting for her. I read them I think in fourth and fifth grade. I love reading, and I love reading to Beth even more. Maybe I'll take Bethany to Prince Edward Island after we read the Anne books together. It has been a dream of mine to go there for a really long time.

All I want for Christmas is...

Bethany has lost both of her front teeth! She looks so cute. They have been out for a while, with no sign of the new teeth cutting through her gum. So, the song "All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" is hers for this Christmas season. She is doing okay without them. I love how cute she is, but I do wonder when those big girl teeth will decide to a make an appearance.

The WOW Factory

A great discovery was made this weekend. Trina and I took the kids to the WOW factory in Morgantown. It is ceramics and pottery shop, where you can walk in and paint pieces of pottery. It was a very fun afternoon. I painted a dress vase for flowers. Bethany painted a bunny for Easter. Jake and Molly worked on various pieces as gifts for their grandparents.

We will go back in a week, and pick up our fired pieces. We might just sit down and paint something else. It is definitely a good activity for cold winter afternoons or hot summer days. We will go again for some painting fun.

Maple Lake Easter Party 2010

Bethany and I attended the Maple Lake Easter party again this year. She had a nice time doing some crafts and playing with the other kids.

She had a fun time during the egg hunt. She found a bunch of eggs, and then sorted through her goodies on the porch of the clubhouse.

Bethany also got to visit with the Easter bunny. She got a treat from her basket during the party. After the egg hunt, crafts, and snacks were over Bethnay played on the playground with the other children.

Endless Snow...Winter 2010

The winter of 2010 had endless snow. It was either snowing, going to snow, or had just snowed. The we had layer upon layer of snow. There were piles of old crusty snow lingering for months. We managed to have some fun in the snow, but it did loose some of its fun after weeks of frigid weather.

This particular storm we gained nine inches. This was not the biggest or the smallest accumulation we had this season. I just happened to measure the amount and take a picture. Bethany and the dogs enjoyed the snow much more than I did.

Bethany liked to make snow angels. The dogs would jump on her, and they would all wrestle around in the snow for a bit. The dogs loved to snoot around in the snow with their noses, and play tag. We all had enough snow this winter.

Ginger Bread Houses

When we were home over Christmas break, I wanted to build ginger bread houses. I mixed up ginger bread dough, and Brian drew up the plans for the houses, but we didn't anticipate how long it would take for the pieces to glue together with icing. We ended up making ginger bread cookies instead. They were very yummy.

Sometime after Christmas, Mom found ginger bread house kits with pre-made house forms, candies in bags for decorating, and icing mix. Natalie and Bethany talked about making the houses for weeks while we waited for the weather to be good enough for travel. Over the birthday celebration weekend, the girls built their houses.

Winter Birthday Celebration

In February, we celebrated my Mom and Dad's birthdays. There was a break in the snow, so Bethany and I drove down to Winfield before the next storm arrived.




We had a birthday dinner including a Coca Cola cake, which Mom requested. I"d never made one before, but had always enjoyed them. Bethany helped Grandma blow out the candles.




Alex always enjoys hanging out with Mom and Dad. He loves snuggling up with Mom in her bed.




We had a very nice weekend. We are thankful for another year to spend together.

Swimming Party with Molly and Friends

To celebrate Bethany's seventh birthday with school friends, we had a joint birthday party with her friend Molly who was born the exact sameday as Beth at the YMCA. Bethany and Molly are in different classes this year, so each girl got to invite ten friends from their respective classes. The theme of course was Aeril. Bethany's classmates who attended were Hayley, Darrin, Corrine, Audrey, Johnna, and Molly.  

The kids couldn't wait to swim.  The only thought they had while eating cupcakes with chocolate seashells on blue icing filled with creme was, "When can we swim." One little boy said, " Enough of this girl stuff let's get wet." when we were opening gifts.                                                       

Bethany is Seven!

When I was pregant with Bethany, I took water aerobics at the South Charleston Recreation Center the entire time. I was swimming three days before Bethany joined us in this world. I joked then that Bethany would become a mermaid when she grew up.


It turns out that my joke was very prophetic. Bethany loves, loves, loves swimming. She has been taking swimming lessons since August at our YMCA. She can do sommersaults in the water and a handstand. She swims like a seal.



She also has a fascination with mermaids. She takes her mermaid Barbie with her to swimming lessons. She takes the Barbie diving with her in the pool during free swim at the end of class. Its pretty cute to watch.



This year she had an Ariel theme birthday party. Gigi and Poppa braved a terrible snow storm to celebrate with us this year. Gigi and Poppa gave Bethany an Ariel bedspread set for her room. She was incredibly excited to sleep with a mermaid princess.




I am interested in seeing if Bethany's love of swimming continues throughout her life. Do I have a future swim team member as a daughter? Will she move to the ocean and join her mermaid sisters? At the very least I hope she will take water aerobics with me someday.

Bottom Right Tooth: First One In and First One Out!

On February 8, 2010, Bethany Noelle Johnson lost her very first tooth. When asked about the incident, Bethany stated that "It was fine. At first I was really scared, but it was okay." Bethany's Mom was talking to her Dad on the telephone in the parking lot of Gambino Chiropractic when the tooth broke free. Dad wasn't going to take Bethany to swimming because Bethany's tooth was bleeding after biting into a chicken wing at dinner. While the parents were talking on the phone, the tooth just popped out as easy as could be. Mom instructed Dad to give Bethany a wet tea bag to bite onto for a few minutes to stop the bleeding.

Mom rushed home to see the her baby girl. By the time she arrived father and daughter were happily watching the Disney channel, while the tooth resided in a fruit dish waiting to be washed. Bethany wants the tooth to be extra clean for the Tooth Fairy. She hopes the Tooth Fairy brings her money, real money. Apparently, PawPaw told her the Tooth Fairy brings fake money to children.

 This tooth was Bethany's first tooth, it made its appearance the last week of August in 2003. A week and half later the next door neighbor tooth appeared. Watch for updates for the departure of the second tooth and the results of the Tooth Fairy's first visit to 161 Maple Lake.

The Puppies get their first Cocker Spaniel Haircut!

Over the Christmas break, Tippy and Daisy had their female surgeries so that we would not have puppies in our future. Bethany did not really like this idea. She thinks having puppies would be a great event.  Somehow, the surgery was taking away something precious from Tippy and Daisy. I told her we had to have the surgeries because we signed a contract with the breeder that we would. Thankfully, this settled the debate. A contract is a very important agreement, which can not be broken. Maybe we did take something precious away from Tippy and Daisy, but consequences of not taking away this ability are also tremendous for the humans involved.

The surgeries were quite the ordeal for the pups. We had to keep them separated from each other for two entire weeks. The pups felt fantastic after a couple of days and were offended that they could not play with each other. We rotated them in and out of their crate every few hours for fourteen days. They developed games to play through the bars of the cage. They curled up next to each other with bars between them to sleep. It was very pitiful.

At last the recommended time of separation was over, they were reunited about ten o'clock on a Saturday night. We had new snow on the ground. Tippy and Daisy were frantic with puppy mania. The puppies played gleefully with puppy smiles on their faces well into the night. They raced in and out of their dog door out into the snow and back again. They tumbled and romped. They barked and chatted. They howled at the world a message of pure joy. They had each other again.

To celebrate their recovery, we took them for a bath and a trim. They got their first official cocker spaniel haircuts. Our puppies aren't little babies anymore. I'd say we have reached the teenage years already.

Winter Hibernation

The winter has been cold and snowy, or soggy and deary. We are in the aftermath of a snow storm as I write this. We were lucky in that we only got about eight inches this time. Washington DC had thirty inches. The weather channel is calling the storm a "Winter Powerhouse". It apparently has broken some snowfall records in the midatlantic region.

Bethany and I have been spending a lot of time in front of our fireplace or undercovers reading. This weekend we prepared her Valentines for school. She and her Dad worked on her Valentine box. We also set up a crystal growing garden. I made some vegetarian chili. Today I think we will make some muffins.

We went out in the snow yesterday with the puppies. I shoveled the driveway. We are watching a lot of cartoons and episodes of Hannah Montana on television.

During the week we are keeping incredibly busy. Monday night is swimming lessons. Tuesday night is art class and water aerobics for me. Wednesday night is swimming lessons. Thursday night is water aerobics. I am glad we are busy during the week. It keeps me from completely hibernating during this frozen time. I truly just want to be under the covers all of the time.

Bethany reported to me this week that  Phil the groundhog saw his shadow, and that we would be having six more weeks of bad winter. I hope that groundhog gets back to sleep after being rudely awakened, if we are indeed going to have more bad winter. Being unconscious and cold is much better than being cold and awake.