Birthday Balloon

March 18 is a significant day around the Johnson household. Matt celebrated the big 35, while Braden is excited that he is officially 3.5 years old as of today. We remember Matt's late Grandpa Johnson who also shared the March 18 birthday. Sadly, Matt's Grandpa Dethier passed away this year on March 18. It will always be a day we celebrate, while also remembering special loved ones who are no longer with us.

We started the beautiful morning off with a private sunrise hot air balloon ride a few thousand feet above the Temecula valley.

We enjoyed views of the lake, wild flowers, and wine country.
Braden searched for wildlife down below (we spotted horses, a coyote, and some rabbits) and he checked out the inside of the vast balloon with his homemade "telescope."
Braden enjoyed watching the highly technical manner in which the balloon is deflated and put back in the sack...all the guys use their weight to deflate and shove it in!

Most 3-year-olds don't have the opportunity to go for a hot air balloon ride in the morning before heading off to preschool. Braden proudly displayed his First Flight in a Hot Air Balloon Certificate.

We topped Daddy's birthday off with some gifts Braden picked out...a toy truck and silly putty. It wouldn't be a birthday celebration without ice cream cake with batman figurines on top right before bedtime.

Who's Scott?

Braden walked out of the bathroom with a puzzled look on his face. He said, "Mom, why are we using Scott's toilet paper?" Having no clue what he was referencing, I had to walk in the room myself to see where Braden came up with such a crazy question. Sure enough, he saw the package and said, "See, S C O T T. Do we need to buy some at the store?" Sometimes this kid is too smart for his own good. I explained that Scott is the brand and we can look for toilet paper manufactured by Johnson next time we go shopping.

Springtime never fails us...a beautiful evening called for a walk to the park.

Silly Sport

I decided I want to go back to preschool. Braden's school offers so many fun activities. Unfortunately, Braden said I'm "way too big," so I guess I'll live vicariously through Braden.

For Sport Day, Braden wore his jersey and shorts he wears while riding his quad. I snapped his picture outside his school where he was pretending to do jumps and wheelies on his invisible quad.

Braden loves doing anything where he can be active. Hopefully he will be very athletic so he can get a sports scholarship, be a pro athlete, and allow us to retire early. His favorite activity is riding his quad, so I guess that's his sport for now.

When I Grow Up...

Braden's school is focusing on the theme, When I Grow Up. I was excited to see the career choice my 3-year-old was heading toward...

Firefighters are popular with young boys, so it seems natural that Braden may want to head down that path. Maybe Uncle Billy can hook him up with a job in about 18 years. Oh, nevermind....

Braden doesn't have intentions of being a firefighter. Apparently, he wants a job where he will "have lots of money and treasures and get to fight with a sword." Every mother's dream...

Bad Hair Day

Rather than covering his bed-head with a hat like usual, Braden had Daddy put forth some effort for Wild Hair Day at preschool.

Braden seemed a bit unsure about how the final product would turn out...

He was quite pleased with the colorful pouf that was created! Nope, it's not a wig!
The hair-do gave Braden a bit of extra heighth over his buddy, Daniel.

The Brat in the Hat

Braden really isn't a brat, but it was the only relatively appropriate word I could come up with to rhyme with hat. In honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday, Braden wore a hat he made at preschool and looked through every Dr. Seuss book he owns. I was practically thinking in rhymes after reading so many books!

Braden was reading every word he could sound out with great enthusiasm!

Someone else we love shares Dr. Seuss' birthday, so Happy Birthday Uncle Roderick!!

Little Rascals

We were able to sneak away for the weekend to hang out in Ocotillo Wells. We enjoyed riding trails through a variety of terrain. Braden would probably live in the desert if he could...especially if Addison was there with him!

These head lights were all the rage with the kids.

I've had to accept the fact that getting a normal smile out of a 3-year-old boy is extremely challenging. Now getting one from a girl is a whole different story....
We took a break from our ride to check out the "lost city," an area that is filled with rocks shaped and stacked into bizarre forms.

Braden took a moment to chill out on this "man's lap."

When Braden wasn't riding his quad or cruising around in the Rhino, he loved hanging out in the Baja...with Addison of course.

Two wild kids running off into the amazing sunset...

Disney with the Dethiers

We were excited that Matt's Uncle Brian, Aunt Joy, and his cousins, Nicole and Lauren, came down to Southern California for a visit. At the last minute, we were able to coordinate our schedules to meet up for dinner....Somehow meeting up for dinner turned into a 2 day trip to Disneyland.

After dinner, Braden decided that the perfect way to get acquainted with his cousin would be to jump on the couch cushions together in the hotel room.

We headed over to Disneyland around 9pm, right about the time it started getting cold and rainy. That didn't stop us from spending a couple hours on rides and watching the fireworks displays.

Braden just can't seem to refrain from scaling anything that appears to be "climbable." Instead of posing inside this giant letter "C," he wanted to show me that he could climb up it. He was successful until he fell on his butt.
Always a ladies' man, Braden gave Minnie a kiss on the cheek.

The very long line for the Toy Story ride was worth waiting in...just to get a photo of our family wearing 3-D glasses!

Brian won the Toy Story game, so we're quite convinced he spent the whole day on this ride practicing, prior to our arrival.

Braden would've probably gone on the scariest ride at Disneyland as long as Lauren was sitting next to him. He was quite pleased to have a buddy to hang out with.

After a chocolate muffin for breakfast, a giant lollipop seemed like a logical mid-morning snack.

Braden had the best seat in the house for the parade.

The sign at this ride's entrance estimated a 15 minute wait...it was only off by about an hour! We realized lots of people were riding alone which was probably delaying the line. I was looking forward to riding with Braden once it was finally our turn...

Braden had other plans, and I had to ride alone! This pout returned once we had to leave the park. Other than that, we had a great time at the happiest place on earth!

Braden thinks he gets bigger muscles every time he eats...even if it's ice cream. The flexing thing is cute now, but hopefully it doesn't continue into his teen years.

Guess he wants Papa to get bigger muscles too!

Advice Column

Braden enlightened me today when he commented on the fact that I always say, "Hurry up. We are running late!" Whether it be to work, school, or church, we always seem to be rushing. Most of the time, Braden isn't the one who creates this last minute stress. But somehow even a 3-year-old can sense that everyday life seems to be less peaceful than it should be.

As Braden was winding down for bedtime, I noted a few things that he does naturally everyday...and so should we!

Life Lessons from a 3-year-old...

Lesson 1--Relax!!....While chilling out on his lion rug, Braden put on part of his lion costume from Halloween 2 years ago.

Lesson 2--Have Fun!....Braden found his Foster Farms chicken costume that he wore as a baby. He ran around the house clucking and waving his arms...he was supposed to be settling down for bed, but he got sidetracked for a little while.
Lesson 3--Be Happy!...Braden's smile is enough to brighten up my day, even on the most stressful occasions.

Dog Days of Winter

Winter? What winter?! Even though I mistakenly dressed Braden in warm clothes, it was a beautiful day to spend at the beach. The inappropriate attire didn't stop Braden from running around in the shore with Pepper and Enzo at Dog Beach in San Diego.

The relaxing day at the beach I envisioned turned into chasing two very energenic dogs and one extremely active 3-year-old around.

Braden either has a future as a pitcher....or he is just a typical boy who loves to throw anything and everything he can get his hands on!
Daddy jumped off the edge of the sand, so naturally Braden followed suit.

Braden was very concerned about Enzo drowning, so he used his skills to coerce him out.

He is quite a cutie, even with a piece of seaweed wrapped around his head!