As I’ve mentioned before I grew up in a big family and being a slacker wasn’t an option.  You had chores weekly and they better of been done or there would be no going to the roller rink on Saturday with your friends.  My husband Eric was a very self sufficient guy when I met him.  He could already cook better then me (and still can), plus he can iron a mean men’s collar shirt.  I’m grew up in the 80′s when wrinkled cotton was in.  I prefer clothes that I don’t have to iron, (thank you for the dry cleaner and my love for good fitting jeans).   I don’t have near the patience Eric does when it comes to cooking.  A blessing from God above that he does because well the Johnsons we like food. Seriously, at any point if you came to our house and looked at our t.v. recorder you would see many food channel shows such as Chopped, Worst Cooks in America, Diners, Drive-in, and Dives to just name a few.  What is so funny is how much the kids have picked up.  We laugh at their critiques and our excited when they say we should make that or can we go there?  We are constantly impressed with their love to try new things even if they still give us that kid excuse of “What is that? It looks gross.”

As a mom one of my main goals especially bringing up boys was to teach them that being a family is like being part of team.  When everyone works together everyone benefits. When they leave my home I want them to know how to take care of themselves, and to do it well.  So when we told Cole that when he started Middle school he would be responsible for one meal a week there was “Are you kidding me?”  but he stepped up and asked “what I’m I suppose to cook?”

Over the years he has helped in the kitchen and has learned some basics of boiling an egg, making a grilled cheese, pancakes, and of course baking cookies.  But this was the first time I really let him pull out the good knives and use the gas stove, and have to make a complete meal from beginning to end.  We kept it simple and something that I knew he personally liked, taco salad.  He did a great job (with a little coaching), and some basic instructions.  Little brother was overjoyed to of not gotten food poisoning.  (Yes, there is drama with boys too!) Over the next couple of weeks he’ll learn  more complicated items but for now this was the perfect start and he actually kind of liked it.  I’m looking forward to the day when I won’t have to come up with dinner at least one night a week.

Berry Picking at Gizdrich Farms is an annual tradition at the Johnson house.  It was something I grew up doing in Michigan and I wanted my kids to have the same experience.  Even though they pick different berries they still have the same amount of fun. I wish I could weigh them after we finish picking because I’m not sure who gets more their tummies or the bucket.  Besides looking for the best berries to pick they enjoy finding the little frogs and bugs along the way.  I just enjoy the quiet morning in the field and listening to their conversations, (They are always entertaining).  One of their favorite things to do is have a contest on who can find the biggest berry and it always gets a name.  But at the end of the picking they always a get a reward for their hardwork. This year they picked about 11 pounds.  We stop at the Ranch’s Pie shop and get fresh berry pie they made that day.  We don’t care if it’s 9:00 a.m. or 1:30p.m.  A piece of pie is a must!

Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays.  Growing up my grandfather owned a cottage on a lake not far from where I grew up.  It was a summer home where my dad spent most of his youth.  Every summer I would spend the three summer holiday with my entire family including Aunts, Uncles, and my cousins.  We swam, fished, played games and ate.  One of my dad’s favorite things to do was to catch turtles, and I mean he would catch like 20 of them.  We would all get to pick one and then have a race to see whose turtle swam back to the lake the fastest.  It was always a huge highlight.  As we got older I loved being able to go to the fireworks with my older cousins.  We had such a great time and these are some of my favorite childhood memories.

For my kids it will be completely different experience but I hope the same heartfelt memories.  Fourth of July is already their favorite holiday next to Christmas.  For them it is a sense of freedom and safety as we close down our street to celebrate with friends and neighbors. It is an invitation only party and it’s funny how so many people know about this annual event.  It is a great feeling of community and why this street is so close to our hearts.  It is such a great day to remember so many of our freedoms and the choices we get everyday.  Some of the fun things this year was the double sided slip and slide, the dunk tank, the decorated bike parade, the pie eating contest, who can find the most worms contest, the freeze dance contest, and a annual favorite is the dad’s on kids bike race.  Always a good laugh.  There is always a ton of food.  My husband always makes his ribs and he is hunted down, our other neighbors did a pig roast!  All I know is that the day after fourth of July it looks like the end of the world on our street.  We celebrate with a bang!