Uganda

We made it! What an amazing trip! I cannot even describe how beautiful Africa is and how lovely the people are. I would move there in a heartbeat. I even mean that after thinking long and hard about the bird sized buzzing insect that divebombed my head outside the outhouse. We spent the first week in an orphanage for almost 1000 kids. I was humbled by their joy. These kids radiated it. AND more impressed than I can say with how intelligent these kids are! This boy's name is Richard. He stuck with me for the week. He acted as a translator for me, identified plants, and made me laugh.
I also got to meet one of our sponsored children. Her name is Cherry (pronounced somewhere between the fruit and Sherry). What a sweet girl. She didn't speak English. I didn't speak Lugandan. Really it didn't make much difference. We went to church together and held hands. And that's all that matters anyway.

Spring Break AK style

Our spring break has been pretty consistently rainy. Not just a light sprinkle, but buckets of 40 degree rain accompanied by strong winds. Perhaps not my first choice for an entire week home. Here are some examples of coping.
EB made cream puffs- her first foray into french pastry making... at least on my watch!
Miles layered 5 shirts, topped off with his pirate PJ's and flexed his muscles. Not his first foray into whatever that is called.
The kids dismantled my porch swing and fashioned a swinging sled. Ingenious! And we didn't even lose one of them off the deck!

More Hawaii photos and no commentary

It's late and I promised to post some pictures from our trip.

The Johnsons Do The 50th State

Our visit to Hawaii started out with a bang. We drove to the north shore of Kauai which was enjoying 50-60 foot waves. I've heard this is unusual. It didn't stop us from enjoying the beach...for about 5 minutes before a rogue wave slapped us around our midsections and a concerned lifeguard cleared us off the beach. It provided the perfect backdrop for our first wet family picture.

I'm not saying he's not foxy...

Jay came home for lunch. This was not unusual. What he decided to do while I was working on the computer was. Please enjoy.

Disabled Lizards of the World Unite!

It has become obvious to me that I have fallen behind and it is time to introduce everyone to the newest members of our household. Please meet Curly and Fluffy. They are Leopard Geckos and yes, they live inside- come on. This is Alaska. They are also both special needs. Curly is our female (did I mention they are a breeding pair?) who is very sadly blind in the left eye. This messes with her depth perception and she occasionally needs a little extra help with hunting. Fluffy is our male (they were already named when we inherited them) and he had some horrific accident involving a heavy item falling on his tail. It fell off but didn't grow back correctly. Elizabeth loves her lizards just the way they are. And that's nice. Somebody needs to. (It should also be noted that the aerial view of both lizards where it looks like they are touching noses is actually the malformed tail of Fluffy and the nose of Curly.)

Meet John Mark's Ladybug...AKA Megan

We LOVE Megan!!! This is J.M's wife Megan and for anyone who has not met her yet, she is fantabulous! Here are a few snapshots from our family camping trip last weekend while they were visiting. (Quick background, we flew into SE Heckman Lake Cabin in a floatplane of death- it was bumpy- camped for 3 days and flew home in afore mentioned death contraption. The middle 3 days were good.) As I look at these pictures I realize that Megan even looks beautiful when we're camping! Seriously, that's just showing off. Am I right?