It has been said many times of the eldest child in the family that he can adapt to just about any environment (nicknamed Adapt-a-Jake). We are learning that this trait is one reason that USAFA is a good fit for him, since he has been placed in many different situations and endured many changes over the past two years. What I love to see is that no matter where he is, he’s just Jake–just himself.

He kicked off his summer by flying to Sacramento, CA, to be stationed at Travis AFB for a few weeks. He faithfully texts pictures and sends updates, which makes this mother very happy! Jake is in the process of gathering as much information from Air Force officers about various jobs in the AF. One job he is particularly interested in is piloting “heavys”, such as very large cargo planes. His first week at Travis, he went inside a C-17 and spoke with the three-man crew about what it’s like to fly this behemoth aircraft.

And if the C-17 wasn’t big enough, another day the USAFA group of cadets entered the largest aircraft in the Air Force: the C-5 Galaxy.

For Jake, this experience has certainly fanned the flame of wanting to be a pilot!

But his time in CA has not been all business. The cadets have had ample time to explore northern California. They toured San Francisco during their first weekend there.

They had beautiful weather to go with the beautiful scenery!

I get all sorts of pictures of nature from Jake, but I admit my favorites are the photos of him.

This one made me chuckle…

because when I zoomed in on what was hanging from underneath his shirt, this is what I saw:

Apparently, the group toured a Krispy Kreme store. I now have a video of the doughnuts going through the glaze machine.

This picture proves that no matter where Jake is, his eyes are looking up to the heavens. I have a half dozen pictures of this sun with a halo. Most people wouldn’t give this scene a second thought. But Jake found the beauty in it.

Peter was beginning to notice some hair growing on his upper lip; and he was also getting comments from teammates about it. So he approached Jim and me the other night asking if he could learn how to shave.

My mind immediately went here:

What?? Wasn’t it just yesterday that this little cherub-faced toddler slathered Jim’s shaving cream on his face in an attempt to be just like Dad?

Apparently, several years passed without me noticing, because this is what I saw the other night. First, Jim modeled for Peter.

Then the toddler-turned-teenager was on his own.

Jeremy turned twelve last week. I reminded him that he has entered the final pre-teenage year of his life, so he should savor it!

We began the special morning with birthday pancakes.

Jeremy was asked to babysit the neighbor boy, so he joined us around the table.

There’s always room for more around the table!

Later, the birthday boy received some birthday phone calls, which he received at the swing.

Every year, his birthday coincides with his favorite sport. And he has had bonus playing time this year: Peter’s team has been short players a few times throughout the season, so Jeremy has been called up to play with the big boys, including last weekend.

It’s fun to see him partner with his brother and contribute to the team.

Jeremy continues to add spunk to the family, as well as beyond-his-years discernment. I pray that God continues to grow him in faith and wisdom.

Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,
for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold. (Proverbs 3:13-14)

My mom sent out the call a few weeks ago for any runners who are interested in running the Cosley Zoo race this year. There were three takers, so after a late night of baseball, returning home shortly before midnight, the three of us and my mom suited up for the run.

The weather was race-perfect cloudy and chilly. We set out two-by-two, and my mom and I got a kick out of seeing the big boys trying to make their way through the crowded streets, passing as many people as they could.

I was sick with a head cold, so I estimated that I was taking in about 50 percent of the oxygen needed because I couldn’t breathe through my nose…but we still finished strong. And had fun doing it!

The race is called the Run for the Animals. The boys called it the Run for the Food at the Finish Line. Or as we like to say about my running mom, it’s the Run for the Race T-Shirt!

Our kitchen table was one of the first pieces of furniture Jim and I bought after getting married 22 years ago. We lived in an apartment across the street from an oak furniture store and thus bought much of our furniture from there. Twenty-two years later, we can prove that oak lasts!

However, with five kids, we can also prove that oak scratches and stains. One unnamed child determined that a table knife can put deep grooves into the edge of the wood. Another unnamed child demonstrated that nail polish can stain the wood, and that nail polish remover does not only remove the polish but also the wood stain.

Not only was the table in sorry condition, but the chairs were literally falling apart. We had already thrown out some and replaced them with hand-me-downs from the old neighbors; now even those had become rickety. The big guys in the family were careful about not sitting in certain chairs, lest they end up on the floor.

We were at a crossroads: do we bite the bullet and replace the constantly-used table and chairs, or is there another solution? Besides the sentimental value of the table, it was still quite sturdy. So we opted to sand down and re-stain it.

This worked out well because we were able to pick a stain that matched the trim of the house.

As for the chairs, we found a great deal on unassembled, unfinished chairs from, where else but Amazon. This endeavor required much elbow grease and time, but everyone definitely thinks twice now before putting a knife edge to the table!

Memorial Day weekend was especially memorable this year because Jake and his girlfriend, Tiffany, flew in for several days. It sure was good to spend time with them!

The brothers were quite excited to have the oldest one home, and they got started right away with playing ball games bright and early the first morning.

Meanwhile, Ruth had a substitute teacher for math.

But it wasn’t all work for Ruth; later that day, Tiffany brought her to Walgreens to buy nail polish and face masks. Ruth’s first face mask:

She thoroughly enjoyed having Tiffany here, and soaked up every minute with her.

These guys spent a day in Chicago and stopped to visit Mom and Dad for dinner.

It seemed that at every turn, the brothers were competing in some kind of game. I don’t know if this will ever change! We had our family picture taken for the church directory, and as soon as they were done posing, they ran over to the carpetball game.

And though the weather was sizzling hot, they played many rounds of Spikeball and cornhole. Always competing.

Ruth was on hand to cool her brothers down with a spray from the hose.

Jim took advantage of his muscly sons and had them move timbers to the backyard.

As long as these oldest two weren’t competing against each other, they were enjoying their time together.

Our backyard maple tree is a favorite hangout spot.

Some things will never change.

We decided to celebrate Jeremy’s birthday early so that Jake could join us. Here are the guys in deep discussion on the deck:

And Mom and Ruth on the friendship swing:

On our final morning before Jake and Tiffany headed back to Colorado, Peter made his famous blueberry-cheese crepes. A great way to cap off a wonderful weekend!

It was no small logistical task to coordinate our trip to Orlando for Cru new staff training. Jim and I preferred not to be away from the kids for that long, so they joined us for a portion of the time. After squaring away Molly for the weekend (she spent a couple days with her old friend Nora), we made our way to the airport. This was Ruth’s first trip on an airplane since she was a baby, so she was quite excited.

Jim instructed her on what it takes to get a plane ready to fly, and she was an eager learner. Once on the plane, she repeated to me what was taking place. Just like her father, what kept her busy durning the flight was looking at the flight plan.

Once in Orlando, our training got underway immediately. Meanwhile, the kids rode roller coasters at Sea World and took advantage of the hotel’s miniature golf course. Jim and I found them during one of our breaks:

Sunday was Mother’s Day. We were given the evening off, so Jim had bought tickets to see the comedian, Tim Hawkins, perform at a local church. We laughed much.

Then on Tuesday morning, we brought the kids to the airport so they could fly home and get back to school.

It was sad to see them go, but we knew that we would not have seen much of them for the rest of the week anyway, as our training went from morning until late at night.

Our new staff group toured Cru headquarters one day, and one thing that really got me excited was the Jesus Film part of the ministry. Just last year, millions of people made a commitment to follow Jesus after watching this movie, which has been translated into over 1600 different languages! You can watch it online, or download the app.

Meanwhile, back at home, my mom was coordinating homeschool, baseball, and Cornermouse jobs. I knew they were in good hands! She and Derek shuttled kids to game…

after game…

after game.

Cornermouse had two substantial jobs that needed coordination. Mom went above and beyond by delivering one order into Chicago!

At the end of our ten days, Jim and I were officially commissioned as missionaries with Cru.

We are thankful to be part of such a solid organization that upholds Scripture and aims to reach the ends of the earth with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We also were encouraged to meet a bunch of great like-minded people from all over the country. Jim and I were among the oldest, as many of the new staff were newly graduated or newly married. Because we had rented a car for the week, we were the airport shuttle for a bunch of people early Sunday morning. Double buckle!

Our time in training helped fuel our excitement over what God has called us to do.

We have learned since starting Cornermouse Catering that jobs tend to come in spurts. Months will pass with no orders, then all of a sudden, there will be three or four that come in at one time.

This was the case last week, when three orders came in, two of which were with a short turnaround time. The Cornermouse crew came over one morning to bake cupcakes and sugar cookies for a graduation reception. The next day, Peter frosted and iced.

On the heels of that big job, there was request for cake pops.

Ruth was brought in as an apprentice.

She helped with the sprinkles.

The final product was a cake pop bouquet. Beautiful…and tasty!

They’ll have a few days of rest, then back into the kitchen for two more jobs!

Whereas some people like to post their accomplishments on social media,

Ruth prefers the old-fashioned chalk on the sidewalk method of communication. When I returned with Molly from our run the other day, this is what I saw before walking into the house.

She has started a routine each morning of running two laps on the WA track across the street, and on this particular day I could congratulate her with a “good job” upon entering the house!

You know the gentlemen’s rule in nature of “take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints”? Our family has a hard time following this rule.

After we moved one year ago and declared the backyard a whiffle ball field, it wasn’t long before two big patches were worn away on the lawn: one for home plate and one for the pitcher’s mound.

The boys suggested to Jim that it would be cool to have each covered with turf. Within hours, Jim got to work making this suggestion a reality. Not one to do something halfway, he dug and installed two batter’s boxes: one for rightys and one for leftys.

He had some help from the neighbors.

The pitcher’s mound turf is temporary, to be rolled up and set aside when not in use. Before long, it was time for the ceremonial first pitch.

Batter up!

The hardest part was taking turns.

No more bare patch of dirt at home plate! And because Jim dug to fit the turf down into the lawn, the boys can just mow right over it with the lawnmower.

Our photo storage program generates photos from “this day in…”. The other day, this popped up from 2005:

Each sibling has a unique relationship with another, and these two are no exception. Ever since Peter was born, Derek has taken him under his wing and gladly borne the responsibility of big brother.

Aside from their size, things haven’t changed much in 13 years…

We endured the long winter and have prevailed! It is now officially time to bring out the whiffle balls for good.

Molly takes her seat in the stands.

The competition begins with Jim, a.k.a. Papa, with the emphasis on the last “pa”.

He has a wicked pitch that the boys have a hard time hitting. When Papa isn’t around, they do their best to emulate his pitching, and then attempt to hit off of one another.

Last weekend, Judi and Dave brought Aiden over to swing the bat a few times.

It was fun to have the little guy around.

Ahhh, spring…

I walked into Ruth’s room the other day and saw her stuffed animals arranged on the floor. They were in church, and the dog was preaching to the rest of them. I commented on how the dog must be a captivating preacher, as he had the animals’ full attention.

It had been a long time since we made sushi. Unfortunately for Jim and Derek, we had it for lunch on a school/work day, so they were not around to enjoy the Japanese goodness.

Well, I should say Japanese-inspired goodness. I don’t know how authentic our version of sushi is…at least it has seaweed.

Most of the fun is had in the artistic creativity. Yum!

Is it April 19…

…or December 19?

After last year’s spring break in Colorado, we admittedly were lamenting over our spring break “staycation” this year. It didn’t help that when we looked at the forecast for the week, nothing but cold, cloudy, rainy weather was being predicted.

But we made the most of it, and you know what? It ended up being a terrific week! In fact, Peter even made the comment that it had been one of his favorite spring breaks because we just went day-by-day deciding what fun things we would do together. Those who know the Johanik family well know that we are a little competitive. So, much of our week was spent in competition.

Jim took the boys to Top Golf while Ruth and I did some grocery shopping. Then we embarked on a game of Catan.

We raided the WA field house and set up for badminton.

We all had a blast with this, as we rotated teams and continued to improve the more we played. It did get pretty intense at some points.

On another day, we went to Pinstripes for some bocce ball and bowling. Ruth was hilarious to watch in bocce ball as she intently set up her shots. We learned that bocce ball is her sport, as she was more accruate than both her teammates!

Thankfully you get a tape measure along with the balls. There were several moments when the tape measure was extended so that we could determine who was closer to the jack. Everything is a serious competition.

The next morning the kids and I took the train and met Jim in Chicago after he finished teaching. We didn’t spend much time there, but we left with our bellies full from a good breakfast.

This was the one day of the week when the temperature got into the 50s, and we took full advantage of it. We rode bikes on the prairie path…

…to our favorite bagel shop.

When we returned, the boys played whiffle ball while Molly played fetch.

A few times throughout the week, we got to talk to Jake, who was in the Dominican Republic building things and leading kids in VBS activities.

Later, the Monopoly board was brought out. This most certainly caused the most arguing and frustration. Here, Jim is attempting to persuade Ruth to make a trade.

To cap off our week, we had some fun time with cousins. Once again, we made our way over to WA to play some basketball

and dodge ball.

I cannot express how thankful we are to have this option to play indoors when the weather is inclement!

Our week ended in Chicago at Grandma and Grandpa’s for an Easter celebration and delicious meal. Derek provided background music.

My mom had various activities for the kids.

My dad read from the Bible and shared some thoughts on the significance of Resurrection Sunday.

Then we ate!

Here, Grandma and Grandpa pose with 9/10 of the grandkids.

A great end to a great week!

I have some catching up to do on the blog here! The month of March ended with spring break, which I’ll save for the next post. Some of the adventures we had before that were:

petting a camel at the Wheaton Academy spring musical. And it didn’t spit at anyone!

At the musical, we cheered on friend Anna. She was part of the children’s choir, which added a nice touch to the performance.

Molly has been working on her sketching skills and showed off her self-portrait.

Peter takes “foo-foo drink” orders every afternoon. Ruth is usually the first to ask for hers.

That scar under Ruth’s right eye? That was from jumping off the neighbors’ swing during an Olympic competition they were having. One of the neighbor girls felt so badly for Ruth that she looked her in the eye as Ruth was crying and told her “I give you a 10!”

We are taking full advantage of our proximity to WA. My dad came over after work one day and worked on some batting practice with the kids.

Jake went through Recognition at USAFA, only this time, rather than being yelled at, he was the one doing the yelling. I’m pretty sure he preferred being on this side of things!

The boys have enjoyed many competitive events…

…which is a perfect segue into our Spring Break week…

As the list of necessary repairs on the 14 year-old car grew, we knew that the time to replace the Volvo was drawing near. We had hoped that it would last long enough for Peter to learn how to drive in it, as he was a mere several days old when we bought it.

In fact, I have vivid memories of sitting in the driver’s seat at the dealership nursing my brand new baby as Jim closed the deal on the car! Sadly, the cost of the looming repairs was far more than the car was worth, so we made the decision to replace it.

As I think back, I do get a little sad thinking about all the good memories we had related to that vehicle. Within a year of bringing it home, we went on a road trip to Colorado, including driving through the Moab desert in Utah.

The kids fit so well in the way back at that time,

and Peter was content in his infant seat.

So long, Volvo. Thanks for being such a reliable workhorse!

Last weekend, Jim, Derek and I flew to CO to visit Jake. Though there were no sporting events that weekend, the homework was piled on for Derek. He took advantage of any free moment to get some done.

There were not many free moments, however, as we spent much time skiing and hanging out together. Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to drive to the slopes…and we were joined by half of Denver, as the traffic was significant heading west into the mountains. In order to cross the continental divide, we could either go through the mountain driving through the dry, safe Eisenhower Tunnel; or cross over the mountain by taking the snowy, cloudy pass. Guess what we chose! Adventure!

Once we got there, we found the conditions extremely cold and windy, but we did make the most of it.

These guys tackled moguls and skied through glades of trees (despite Jake having 10 stitches put into his elbow after a ski fall the weekend before) while Jim and I happily stuck to the blue runs. We did spend a lot of time skiing together too.

The weekend was way too brief, and as usual, it was hard to drop Jake off and leave the mountains. But I am thankful for the time we had.

When you’re homeschooled, a snow day means you get your work done while there’s a winter storm going on outside.

However, you are motivated to get it done faster than usual so that you can join your friends playing outside in the snow.

For Molly, a snow day means romping through the powdery stuff, sniffing for buried treasures.