HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIRK!

The timing was great for your "surprise" trip through Precision Ag to Montery, CA!  For one thing, you get to celebrate your last birthday in the thirties there.  And you also get to miss the last (hopefully) snow storm of this long winter.  It's hard to tell what the weather and roads are like in the city but CTV at supper time told people to stay home tonight.  The heavy wet snow made highways slushy and now it's likely freezing.  No travel is advised on many highways.  Now, aren't you glad you are in California, Kirk, even if it is raining?  I guess Lindsay was a bit put out with you for not staying home to celebrate your birthday!

I didn't have to make a quick trip to Estevan when Kirk Leonard arrived.  He was overdue so I was admitted to St. Joseph's hospital on the 22nd for inductions the next day.  I remember that there were some nurses in training on the maternity ward that day so they were observing as he was delivered at 4:22 pm.  I once figured out how far apart Clare and Kirk are in age.  If you are interested, (or even if you're not) Clare is 18 months, 1 day, 2 hours and 1 minute older than Kirk.  The only picture that I have on the computer of Kirk's baby days is one taken with Grandpa Horace Leonard Johnson in the kitchen in "the old house" at the farm. The bottom cupboard on the left is still in use in our basement storage room.

Kirk was hesitant about starting Sunday School when he was 3 1/2. He said, "There's too much girls." So he left the nursery class with all girls and joined Clare in the kindergarten class with Donnie and Kirby among the girls there.  He was happy when Mark Hanson moved to the Torquay area and joined him at Sunday School and confirmation classes later on.  (By then I'm sure he wouldn't have complained about "too much girls".

Kirk was slow in learning to talk. With an older brother and sister around, he really didn't need to talk as they were quick to figure out what he wanted. If it had wheels it was a "kanuck". When it came to reading though, he beat them all.  One Sunday afternoon when he was about five, the three kids were playing upstairs.  All of a sudden Laurel and Clare came tearing down the stairs all excited.  "Mom, Kirk can read!"  They were playing school and "the teacher" said it was reading time so Kirk started to read.  He didn't have the Dick and Jane book memorized either as I first thought.  I guess he was paying close attention when I read the same story books over and over to him.  Gen Kvammen worked in the town library and she would get a kick out of Kirk as he would take the same books home time after time.  He knew what he was doing!

 Now Kirk enjoys reading bedtime stories to his own three children, Carter, Lindsay and Jamie. They also love to hear him tell stories about when he was a kid.  Once when we stayed with them while Kirk and Shauna were away on a trip, Lindsay made the comment "I miss my dad's stories".  So I had her tell me some of the ones that he shares about his childhood and that was fun for both of us.

Kirk spotted an orange Camaro in an Estevan used car lot when he went on a school ski trip in grade ten.
He convinced Howard to take him in and have a look at it.  They ended up buying it and Kirk was all set, just had to wait a few weeks until his 16th birthday so he could drive it.  It served him well for many years and it isn't long since he parted with it.  Here's a picture of three generations of Johnson men riding in that car.

Kirk, Howard and Carter in the Camaro
Three generations of Johnson men!

Well, Howard is already snoring away so I better end this blog and crawl in with him.  I haven't said much about Shauna in tonight's blog but their anniversary is coming up in a couple weeks so I'll have more to say then.  Enjoy this week away Kirk.  We love you lots and are very proud of you and your family.